Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Slight Problem ❯ Settling In ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Okay, everyone!! Here's chapter twelve!! Please tell me what you think!

I own nothing except for my own two characters, Natalie and Lisa. ^_^




Lisa woke up in the arms of the kitsune once more, and this time morning sunlight was streaming in th rough her window. Kurama gave her a gentle smile that grew when he saw her face redden slightly.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well, Lisa?”
The girl tried to fight off her blush with little success as she nodded a little shyly. “Yes. Um... Thank you... for staying with me.”
He g ave her a nod, his smile still in place. “The pleasure was mine. Now, shall we head to the kitchens for breakfast? Then we could go to Natalie's room and the two of you can... talk.”
Lisa fidgeted a little uneasily at the thought of seeing her friend after the way she had screamed at her, not to mention HIT her, the day before, but she nodded. The sooner they put this behind them the better. She slowly pulled away from her companion, almost hesitant to leave his warm, secure hold.
The girl and kitsune headed down the halls, on to the kitchens. When the two of them opened the door and stepped into the room, they stopped in their tracks, seeing someone sitting at the table, picking at her food.
Natalie looked up with wide eyes and stood up with a start, her chair almost falling backward when she saw Lisa and Kurama standing there.
Sensing Lisa's tension immediately and fearing she might bolt, Kurama placed a calming hand on her shoulder. He smiled at the dark haired girl reassuringly. “It's all right, Natalie. She is no longer angry at you. Why don't we sit down and talk?”
As if to confirm the kitsune's words, Lisa gave her friend a small, awkward smile.
She hesitated a moment longer, and then sat down with a nod. Kurama retrieved two more chairs and the two of them joined Natalie at the table.
Lisa hesitated a moment and then let out a small sigh. “Natalie... I'm sorry about yesterday...”
“Don't worry about it,” she said quietly. “I probably would have done the same thing if our positions were reversed. Besides, you were right. I did talk you into coming here in the first place.”
“But it was my choice to go with you. I'm as much to blame as you are.” She took in a deep breath. “Let's just forget about it and... try to get on with our lives.”
The young witch seemed to hesitate for a moment and then gave Lisa a nod and a small smile.
Kurama decided to speak up then. “Did you sleep well last night? If you like I could brew you up some tea to help you get some more sleep. I know you were drained of your energy, but your emotions were running high and...”
She waved it off. “I slept fine.”
The kitsune sighed in relief. “So one of the others helped you then? Which was it? Yusuke or Kuwabara?”
Lisa blinked slowly when she saw her friends face turn red... something that she didn't get to see too often.
“Neither of them,” Natalie said hesitantly.
Kurama blinked. “Koenma? Botan?”
She took a deep breath and turned a shade redder. “Hiei.”
The kitsune and Lisa's eyes bugged out of their heads in shock. “WHAT?!”
“Hiei kept you company?” Lisa asked increduously.
She nodded again. “All night.” She cleared her throat and hesitantly told them what had transpired after Lisa had raced off into the palace the night before.
Lisa's expression was so shocked it was almost comical. Her eyes were still bugging out of her skull and her mouth was hanging half way to the floor.
Then Kurama's mouth quirked. “Well, I never thought I would see the day when Hiei would be drawn to a human in such a way.”
Natalie stiffened slightly and then frowned, crossing her arms. “Hey, maybe it was just his way of making up for being an asshole,” she said with absolute certainty.
But then he made up for being an asshole by getting me to sleep the night before, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Kurama smiled in his mysterious way, but didn't argue with her. “You may be right.” He looked at his companion. “Shall we have the chefs make us some food, Lisa?”
The girl nodded in relief at the change of topic and stood to follow the kitsune to hunt down the chef. A few moments later they returned, each holding a plate of food. The three of them at in relative silence.
Natalie still picked at her food more than anything else, although she did get a few bites out of it, and Lisa managed to eat about a quarter of her food. Kurama was just finishing off his own plate when the door opened and Botan came in, a look of relief on her face.
“There you are! I've been looking all over for you,” she said. “Koenma wants to speak with you. He made up identification for you girls and is trying to figure out what should happen next.”
Kurama nodded easily and got to his feet. “Thank you, Botan.”
Natalie and Lisa also got to their feet and followed the ferry girl and kitsune out of the room and down the halls to Koenma's office.
He was in his toddler form, George at his side. The ogre came up to the girls and handed them each a manilla envelope that held their new identification. The rest of the Spirit Detectives were present as well. Natalie cast a half glance at Hiei before forcing herself to look away and found herself fighting off another blush.
“We now have no more worries about people viewing you suspiciously, and have taken the liberty of giving you 500,000 yen each to get you started off. However, now the question is, where will you girls be staying?”
The two girls exchanged a look and both shrugged. Evidently, they had no idea.
Kuwabara considered. “Well, I'm sure sis'd be willing to let one of them stay with us, once I explained about them.”
Yusuke had a strained expression on his face. “There's a spare room at MY place, but... I don't know how they'd get along with my mom...”
Lisa grinned. “I wanna meet Eikichi and Shizuru!”
Natalie hesitated. “I think I could handle Atsuko...”
Koenma smiled broadly and clapped his hands together. “Excellent! That's what we'll do then! Lisa, you'll stay with Kuwabara, and Natalie, you'll stay with Yusuke!”
The girls exchanged another look and simply shrugged again.
Koenma looked at Botan. “Open up a portal to Ningenkai for them, Botan. I think the girls would like to get settled in.”
The blue haired reaper nodded, her ever present smile on her face. “Of course, sir!” She opened a portal with a wave of her hands and motioned the two girls and Spirit Detectives to go on through. “I'll be seeing you when you have another mission!” she called after them cheerfully.
Moments later the Rekai Tentai were walking down the street with the two displaced girls. Hiei took to the trees and rooftops immediately.
Kuwabara grinned at Lisa. “After I introduce you to my sister, we'd better get some clothes for you.”
The girls both moaned. “Great, clothes shopping,” Natalie grumbled. “I HATE shopping for clothes.”
Yusuke grinned. “Never thought I'd hear a girl say that...”
Lisa scowled a little herself. “She's not alone. I'm not a huge fan of clothes shopping myself. Let's just get it over and done with.”
Kuwabara seemed to sigh in relief. “Well, at least we won't be stuck there for half the day while you girls are trying on clothes... at least I hope we're not...”
The girls exchanged another look and shook their heads as one. “I pretty much know what I'm gonna be getting already. I might try on one or two outfits to make sure I have the sizes right, but that's it,” Natalie said.
Lisa nodded. “Me too.”
Kurama smiled. “Well, let's get you girls to Kuwabara's and Yusuke's places to see if Shizuru and Atsuko are willing to take you in, and...”
Yusuke snorted. “Mom'll probably be too drunk to care or notice. I know she's not going to make a fuss about Natalie staying there.”
Natalie cast him a somewhat wary look. “Is she still going on drinking binges for days at a time like when you were fourteen?”
He let out a sigh and nodded. “Yup. Wait till you see some of the guys she takes home with her.”
The girl rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Oh well. It'll just be kinda like staying over at my... sisters...” She trailed off and quickly shook it off. Kurama cast a concerned glance in her direction, hearing the sad note in her voice.
“Yusuke!” called out a voice from behind them. Turning, the six of them saw Keiko racing up to them. The moment she got close to him, he gave him a slap across the face. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU IN THREE DAYS!!”
Natalie and Lisa both grinned broadly. “It's Keiko!” they said as one, causing the girl to turn to them in confusion.
“Um... do I know you?”
Yusuke smiled in relief. “Keiko, this is Natalie and Lisa, and they're the reason I've been held up in Spirit World for the past three days.” He and the others filled her in on the girls and their circumstances... including the fact that they knew about them and the reasons why.
Keiko looked at the girls increduously. “You mean... I'm a cartoon character?”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “You're only portrayed as one in our dimension. I'll explain how it works to you later. Right now we're on our way to Kuwabara's place to make sure it's okay for Lisa to stay there. I'll be staying with Yusuke and Atsuko until we can come up with better arrangements. After we're through with that, we're off to buy some clothes.”
Keiko brightened immediately up on hearing this and everyone had a feeling of dread in the pits of their stomachs. “Oh! I'll go with you then! I've been meaning to get some clothes for a while now!”
Kurama smiled at them all gently. “Well, shall we continue?”
They reached Kuwabara's home about five minutes later. Shizuru blinked in surprise and gave Natalie a look that told them all that she sensed the energy within the young witch. Then they all sat down with her and explained the situation, asking if Lisa could stay with her and Kazuma for the time being.
The woman lit up a cigarette and shrugged. “I'll ask about that whole being a cartoon character thing later, since I have a feeling it's just going to lead to another long drawn out explanation. I have no problems with it. She can stay here if she wants.”
Lisa sighed in relief.
Yusuke grinned. “Great! Now that that's settled, let's get that shopping over and done with.”
The girls were led to the mall and Keiko immediately dragged the two girls to all her favorite clothing stores. The girls looked at some of the clothes on display and winced. Keiko had grabbed several shirts and skirts off of the racks and was going into the changerooms.
Natalie looked at Lisa. “Let's get out of here and find a clothing store more our style before she gets out and tries to get us into a flowery skirt or something.”
Letting out a shudder, her friend nodded and they all left Yusuke to suffer with his girlfriend as they went into another clothing store.
The girls quickly went through the racks. Everything Natalie got was dark, ranging from dark blue, purple and black. The only color she had in her wardrobe were a few shirts that were a dark red. Lisa opted for blue jeans, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. She also got a few pairs of cargo pants. They all noticed that Lisa's attire were usually baggy, while Natalie opted to have clothes that were usually snug and more revealing. Then they got themselves their undergarments and paid for their purchases. As they had said earlier, each girl had only stepped into a changeroom a couple of times, much to the relief of their male companions.
They then stepped back into the store where they had left Yusuke and Keiko and saw the Spirit Detective waiting outside one of the changerooms with a somewhat pissed off look on his face. When he saw the two girls were finished, he sighed in relief.
“Keiko, Natalie and Lisa are finished with their shopping! I've gotta get Natalie home. If mom's actaully home, I've gotta explain things to her, okay?”
There was a small sigh from inside the changeroom. “Okay, but I want to go see a movie with you tomorrow, okay? And no running off this time!”
Yusuke grinned. “You got it! See you later, Keiko!” He quickly exited the store along with the others and let out a huge sigh of relief. He wordlessly relieved Natalie of most of her packages. Kuwabara did the same for Lisa.
The carrot top grinned at his rival. “Well, I guess we're splitting up now. See you later, Urameshi!”
He nodded. “Yup. Later Kuwabara!”
Natalie and Lisa each gave each other waves as they followed the others off. Kurama accompanied Lisa and Kuwabara while Hiei seemed to have simply vanished from sight.
Yusuke looked at Natalie a little sheepishly. “I've gotta warn you, our place is pretty messy. I love her, but she's not exactly Mother of the Year or anything.”
The girl at his side snorted, holding back a laugh. “I know. I could try cleaning it up for you guys a little. I mean, I have to pull me weight somehow.”
Yusuke shrugged, indicating he didn't really care either way.
When they got to his apartment, she saw the mess in person. Garbage bags and random bits of paper littered the floor, along with numerous emptied bottles, boxes and stacks of books and magazines. Lying down in front of the television, a bottle of sake in front of her, was Atsuko. She cast a glance over at them as they walked in and then blinked, seeing Natalie. She seemed to forget her soaps for a few moments.
“Hey, who's the girl? Don't tell me you're cheating on Keiko, Yusuke?”
The punk rolled his eyes. “That's what you think anytime I bring a new girl into the house. This is Natalie, one of the reasons I've been gone these past three days. I notice you've been holding up fine on your own,” he said, looking at their surroundings in obvious distaste.
The woman snorted. “Whatever. So who is she exactly? And why have you been gone for these past three days?”
Yusuke smirked. “Turn off the TV and we'll tell you.”
Atsuko, curious in spite of herself, decided she could just finish watching her show on another channel later. She shut off the television and sat with Yusuke and Natalie at the kitchen table and listened to their story. Then Natalie explained to Atsuko exactly how it was possible that she was a cartoon character in her world.
“And now she and Lisa need a place to stay since they're stuck here. I volunteered our place for Natalie and Lisa's staying with Kuwabara. You mind?”
The woman shrugged. “I don't care. But if I catch you kissing her, I'll pop you one.”
Natalie snorted. “Yusuke's nice, but not my type. Besides, I don't go for guys who've got girlfriends.”
Yusuke nodded in agreement. “I'm quite happy with Keiko.”
The woman got up and sat back down in front of the TV, her drink in hand. “I'm back to my shows. You show her to the guest room.”
He rolled his eyes again. “Yes, Mother of the Year,” he grumbled. Then he looked at Natalie and motioned for her to follow him, picking up her shopping bags for her once again. He led her to a room that had a bed, nightstand and a dresser. A large window was right across from the dresser, beside the foot of the bed. She could see a large tree outside of it. The room was just as messy as the rest of the home, but she didn't complain. “This is it. Just toss the junk wherever you want and make yourself at home.”
She nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Yusuke. I'm going to unpack and then do you mind if I use the shower?”
He shrugged. “Knock yourself out... once I'm done with it.” He left her shopping bags down on the floor and exited the room.
Natalie proceeded to unpack her new clothes and, after cutting off the tags, put them in the drawers. Then she proceeded to pick up the garbage that littered the floor of her new room, putting it into a plastic bag she'd found stuffed under her bed. She tied the bag and left it by the front door to be taken out later when Yusuke came out of the bathroom.
He gave her a large grin. “It's all yours. Towels are in the cabinet.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks.” She went into her room again, getting some clothes out of the drawers, and then proceeded into the bathroom, immediately undressing and hopping into the shower. Once she was clean, she quickly dried off and got dressed in a pair of skintight jeans and a low cut black shirt. Seeing a brush on the counter, she quickly used it in her hair and left the bathroom. She returned to her new bedroom and started to wipe down the dresser, getting rid of the grime and remnants of old spills that had stained the top and trickled down the sides.
She felt a set of eyes watching her and she turned to see Yusuke standing in her doorway, arms crossed and a mischevious smirk on his face.
“So, why don't you tell me what's going on between you and Hiei?” he asked, an almost malicious humor in his voice.
He was rewarded almost immediately when Natalie's face turned bright red. “What are you talking about? There's nothing happening between us!”
His smirk turned into a grin. “Oh, really? How come he was in your room last night in Rekai? Me an' Kuwabara were about to see if you needed anyone to talk to, but Hiei stopped us telepathically and threatened to kill us if we came in there and woke you up. So you can't tell me there's nothin' going on there...”
He was rewarded further when her blush darkened, despite her efforts to stop it. She sat down on the edge of her bed as Yusuke came the rest of the way into her room and shut the door behind him.
“I'm not sure why he did it, but he did, okay? Yes, you're right. He stayed with me all night last night, but that doesn't mean that there's anything happening between the two of us.”
The Spirit Detective sat beside her on the bed. “So spill. What exactly did happen after you went into the palace last night? And don't spare any gory details either! I've been dying of curiosity since me and Kuwabara were sent on our way by Hiei.”
She rolled her eyes. “I just know you're going to make a huge deal out of this, but okay...” She took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Yusuke everything. She told him how she had punched the pillar, breaking every bone in her hand, how she had had her subsequent breakdown, how Hiei had made his presence known, examined her hand, picked her up and set her in his lap on the bed, how he had healed her hand (she was bright red talking about that particular detail with Yusuke, who was now grinning broadly, and how she had then fallen asleep... while still sitting in his lap.
Yusuke started roaring with laughter. “I don't believe it! Hiei's got the hots for you! I can't believe I was right and he actually was cuddling with you!”
She turned an even brighter shade of red. “Oh, cut it out! It could be that he just felt sorry for me!”
“If ya say so.” Then he blinked. “Why are you in denial? I thought he was your favorite character. That's what Lisa said, anyway...”
“I'm not in denial! I'm being realistic! This is Hiei we're talking about. The last time I checked, humans weren't exactly at the top of his liking list. Much less human females.”
He shrugged, his face now serious. “Hey, he was in your mind, wasn't he? Maybe he saw something in there that he liked.”
That made Natalie pause. She remembered how Hiei had proven to her that she didn't know everything about him, and that made her wonder just how much she didn't know. Was it possible that Yusuke was right and that Hiei was attracted to something he had seen in her mind? The thought of it made her flush and she felt a strange tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. Just imagine if... The tingling turned into a mild heat and she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts once more.
Yusuke started roaring with laughter again. “Oh, boy. You've got it bad for him, don't you? I can smell your arousal and he's not even in the room!”
She turned even redder hearing this, suddenly remembering that Yusuke was now a Mazoku and had a demon's sense of smell. She was thankful that Hiei wasn't here at the moment. She would never have lived it down.
“Oh, stop it already!” she said, her face blushing madly. “Just drop it, alright? Please?”
Still chuckling, Yusuke nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, I'll back off. If anything happens between the two of you, it happens.” Then he looked at her, only a bare trace of mischief in his expression. “So, why don't we try to fix up this apartment a little?”
Greatly relieved at the change of topic, Natalie nodded, a smile coming to her face.

Okay, Chapter thirteen should be up tomorrow!! Please read and review!!