Old Promises and New Beginnings

Old Promises and New Beginnings
Chapter 6: White Sand (Part I)


Thanks Willow!


cillaxox: What can I say? Writer’s block is a bitch, but I’m back.


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“Tell me again why I’m here.”

“Because you’re my friend and you’ll do anything to help me.”

“What’s so important that you have to go shopping at nine in the morning?”

9am is fairly early, but not unreasonably so. Unless, you were awakened by force and ordered to be ready in twenty minutes. Being a true friend Makoto acquiesced to her friend’s demands, albeit rather grumpily. She was even ready in seventeen minutes. She followed Minako to the shopping district of the city. She looked through each of the shops that they visited with half interest, she had all the clothes she needed back in her suitcase.

Makoto rephrased her previous question. “What is it you’re buying?”

Minako flipped through the items on the clothing rack. “I’m looking for a swimsuit.”

“Didn’t you bring one with you?”

The blonde girl selected a swimsuit and held it up to her body. “Yeah, but I want a nicer one.” She shook her head and placed it back on the rack, something about the design bothered her.

Makoto couldn’t keep the hint of teasing out of her voice, “Are you trying to impress a certain someone?”

“Maybe.”

“This is a competition, so I can’t blame you for wanting to go all out. I would do the same thing.”

Minako smiled more to herself than to her friend. “I just want to make a good impression.”

Even though they were both after the same guy, Makoto couldn’t let her friend buy an ugly swimsuit. “You won’t find anything in this store. Let’s keep looking.”

The two friends kept window shopping with no avail. All the swimsuits that were showcased came in bright, blinding colors that bordered on offensive. Minako leaned up against a boutique’s window. “I don’t think I’m going to find anything,” she sighed with disappointment, “I’ll just have to wear the one I brought with me.”

Being taller Makoto was able to spot what her friend couldn’t. She pointed across the street. “That one looks promising.”

Minako stood on her tiptoes and strained to see where the brunette was pointing. “Where is it?”

Makoto laughed at the blonde’s actions. She placed her arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders and guided her to the crosswalk. “Come on, I’ll show you.” They waited for the light to turn and quickly crossed the street. The brunette led her friend to the store. “This is it, Dokutoku na Fukusuo. Looks good doesn’t it?”

Minako nodded in agreement and opened the door. She looked at the clothing racks in wonder. All the clothes were stylish and definitely unique. She wasn’t even in the boutique for five minutes when she saw one. She rushed over to it and scooped it up. “This is exactly what I wanted!” She practically skipped over to the dressing room to try it on. She checked herself out in the mirror and smiled contently. “It’s perfect!”

She heard a light knocking at the dressing room door. She heard her friend ask, “Did you find what you wanted?”

“Yes.”

“Let me see.”

Minako slipped out of the bikini and put her clothes back on. “Nope.”

“It’s not like I’m going to try talking you out of buying it.”

The blonde chuckled at Makoto’s retort. She thought to herself, ‘Sorry, but I want Kuwabara to be the first one to see me in it.’ As she exited the dressing room she clutched it to her chest to hide it from her friend’s prying eyes.

Makoto turned her back on the girl, slight miffed at not being allowed to see. “I don’t care.”

At the front register a tall, slim woman with long light brown hair rang up Makoto’s purchase. As she took the swimsuit off it’s hanger and placed it in a bag she commented, “This will look really good on you.” She smiled mischievously and said, “You must have a hot date.”

Minako nodded. “It’s our first date.”

“So you’re trying to make such a great first impression on him that he forgets about all other women?”

The blonde blushed slightly, but said, “I’m hoping that’s the case.”

The clerk laughed and told her, “If you prance around in this bikini, I’m sure you’ll make him all yours.”

“I hope so.” Minako paid her bill and collected the bag. “Thank you.”

The clerk smile and told the young lady, “Come again.” She winked and followed it with, “Good luck on your date.”

Makoto held the door open for her friend and followed her out the boutique. As they walked down the sidewalk she asked, “Where do you want to go now? It’s too early for lunch and too soon to head back to the hotel.”

“Let’s go get some tea. I think I saw a café a few blocks back.” As they were walking Minako asked, “Is that who I think it is?”

Makoto squinted into the distance. “Yeah, it is.” She started waving her right arm in the air and called out in a booming voice, “Hey, Yukimura! Over here!”

Two blocks ahead the petite brunette looked around to see who was calling her in such a brazen manner. She smiled in relief when she saw who it was. A few minutes later she was joined by Kuwabara's fiancees. “What are you two doing?”

Minako held up her shopping bag. “We were picking up a few essentials for my date.”

Keiko noticed the name of the boutique on the bag. She was surprised that the girls had stopped there. She quickly replaced the startled look on her face with a smile. “Kuwabara told me about that. I hope you have a good time.”

The bubbly blonde smiled brightly. “Thanks, I’m sure we both will.”

“We were just about to go get some tea, would you like to come with us,” Makoto asked, “It will be our treat.”

Keiko readily accepted the offer. “I was on my way to the grocery store, but that can wait. Let’s go.”

Once in the café a polite waitress led the three girls to a small table with four seats. Minako and Makoto sat next to each other across from Keiko. Unfamiliar with the café’s selection the two young women from Tokyo looked over the menu while Keiko ordered without looking. Their order arrived shortly.

Keiko blew on her tea before she took a sip. “Are you enjoying your visit so far?”

The tall brunette nodded her head enthusiastically. She said, “It’s been great.”

“Because you went on a date with Kuwabara yesterday,” Minako joked.

Makoto smiled to herself. “That might have a little something to do with it.”

Keiko looked over the steaming mug at the two girls. “I heard about the surprise guest that went on your date.”

Kino rolled her eyes. “Talk about weird.”

“I’m sure Shuuichi had a good reason.” The demure brunette paused before asking, “Did you really knock him out?”

“I socked him a good one,” Makoto quickly added, “I didn’t mean to though.”

Minako was shocked. “You didn’t tell me you did that!”

Kino set down her cup and addressed her friend. “I was going to.”

“Can’t you go one day without hitting someone?!”

“I said it was an accident. He wasn’t even unconscious that long.” Makoto blushed as she remembered what the bold redhead said to her. ‘I think I’m in love.’ She looked out the window and waited for her cheeks to cool.

Minako wasn’t quite finished chastising her friend. “I hope you apologized to him since it was an accident.”

“I did. He even told me it was okay.”

“Can you at least try not to punch anyone else while we’re here?”

“Whatever, Mina.”

Keiko, who had been watching the girls the entire time, laughed softly at them. “I can tell you are good friend if you can argue like that. It reminds me of Yusuke and Kazuma.”

“Speaking of Kuwabara,” Makoto started, “Can you tell us something about him?”

“He’s a really sweet guy. The type of person you can really count on. You’ll never find a man as kind and honest as he is.”

Minako smiled down at her teacup. “I guess he hasn’t changed at all then.”

Keiko was slightly taken aback by the young woman’s comment. Aino had only met him once, how could that be enough to know anything about him? She decided not to say anything about it.

Kino asked, “How long have you known him?”

Yukimura silently counted the years to herself. “We first met in junior high, so seven years. That’s when Yusuke first met him too.”

“Have those two always been friends?”

Keiko laughed loudly at the innocent question. “No, not them, they were rivals at first. They would always fight for no reason. Kazuma was never able to beat Yusuke, but that didn’t keep him from trying.”

Minako was about to take a bite of cake, but she set her fork down and asked, “What can you tell us about Yukina? We met already met her, but we still don’t know that much about her.”

Makoto fought hard not to roll her eyes as she said, “Except that Kuwabara is in love with her.”

Keiko was stumped she didn’t know what she could say about the koorime without revealing too much. “Hmm…Yukina is a really nice too, just like Kazuma. She likes everybody and is very helpful.”

As if the first subject wasn’t hard enough to answer, Makoto questioned, “Where is she from?”

It wasn’t like Keiko could say, ‘She’s from the Makai; it’s a place where only demons live.’ That was one question she definitely could not answer. Changing the subject completely she said, “I bet you’re looking forward to your date tomorrow, Aino.”

“I’m really excited about it; we’re going to the beach.”

“Kazuma loves the beach. Knowing him he’ll go out of his way to show you a good time. I’ll bet he’ll-” Keiko jumped up and screamed loudly. Several patrons in the café looked at the young woman as if she lost her mind. She blushed brightly and quickly sat back down. She looked underneath the table and found Artemis purring innocently.
She quickly recovered her composure and asked, “What are you going to do with him while you’re gone?”

Minako reached underneath the table and scratched the cat in question’s ear. “I’m going to leave him with Makoto at the hotel.”

Keiko looked at the tall brunette in disbelief. “You’re going to stay in the hotel by yourself.”

Makoto nodded as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“All day?”

“Yeah.”

“No, you’re not.”

Makoto stopped in mid-sip. “Why not?”

“You’re going to spend the day with Yusuke and me.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s not intruding if you’re invited. I’m not taking no for an answer, so don’t even try to argue. Meet us at the apartment around 11am. Be sure to bring Artemis with you, he can spend the day with Eikichi”

“I’m sure Urameshi will be thrilled about this.”

“Don’t worry about him; I’ll take care of it.”

Outside of the café the three young women parted ways. As Keiko was walking away she hit the speed dial on her cell phone. After two rings the voice on the other end answered.

“This better be good.”

Keiko asked, “Do you remember the two girls that came in the shop this morning?”

“Sweetie, you need to be more specific than that.”

“One was short with long blonde hair and the other was really tall with brown hair.”

The disembodied voice paused shortly before replying, “Yeah, the blonde bought a bikini. She said something about going on a date. Why is it important?”

“Because she’s going on a date with Kazuma.”

Keiko held the phone away from her ear as a loud screech echoed in the phone. “You’re joking right?! She’s not going out with him!”

“That’s not all…those two women…Kazuma is engaged to both of them.” The short brunette braced herself for the response. She was surprised when it never came. “Are you still there? Did you hear what I said? He’s engaged to two women.”

The response had been delayed, because of shock. Once voice on the phone recovered it shrieked, “I am going to kill that idiot brother of mine!”


~*~THE NEXT MORNING~*~


“I’ve really been looking forward to today.”

It was only 8am and it already felt as if the sun was shining at full force. Minako used one of her hands to block out the bright rays, so she could get a better look at her companion. His statement had completely caught her off guard. “Really?”

The carrot-top looked down and gave his fiancée a smile. “Yeah, I always look forward to my day off, especially since I’m going to the beach.” While he was speaking the train pulled into the station. He stooped down and gathered both his and Minako’s bags. “I also get to spend the day getting to know you better. I’m a winner no matter how you look at it.” He nodded his head in the direction of the train. “Let’s hurry so we get good seats.”

As they rode along Kuwabara pointed out the different scenery, telling Aino everything he knew about it. He had been following the path for a few years now and as a result was quite familiar with its history. The blonde listened closely to every word the young man said.

“Pay attention to the mountain range we’re about to pass.”

Minako leaned closer to the window to get a better look. She gasped in amazement at what she saw. “That looked like a woman’s face!”

“Legend has it that one day a woman’s husband was called away to fight in a war. They had only been married a few days when this happened. The woman was so heartbroken when he left that she climbed that mountain, where he proposed to her and waited. She sat in that same spot, crying every single day, and waiting for his return. Two years later he finally returned and found her at the mountain. She was weak and barely had enough strength to kiss him and say that she loved him. She died in his arms.”

“How sad…”

“The husband then sat in the same spot where his wife once was and mourned her death. He was unable to cry, so the heavens opened up and cried for him. It rained on that mountain top for two years, until the day the husband died. Once the rain had cleared it revealed the image of his wife on the side of the mountain. Instead of looking sad, the face was smiling because the couple was finally able to be reunited.”

“That was a nice story and you told it so well.” The story had appealed to Minako’s romantic nature. Part of her wanted to believe that it was true, but she knew better. “I wonder how that legend got started.”

“Someone probably thought that it sounded better than saying erosion.”

“You have a point there.” Minako looked over at her date and smiled wistfully. “I wonder if two peoples’ love could be that strong.”

“I think it can be. If you truly love a person than anything is possible.”

Minako stared at her left index finger, allowing her eyes to follow the string that lay dormant next to Kuwabara's left foot. “I hope so.”

The time flew by; it seemed like only minutes ago they had departed the train station. After securing their belongings, Kuwabara and Minako exited the train. Being the gentleman that he was the carrot-top carried her bag. “The beach isn’t too far from here, so we’ll walk.”

Within minutes the couple arrived at their destination. Kuwabara told the young blonde, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Nothing but blue sky and white sand, it’s the perfect day to be at the beach.”

“We’ll need to find a great spot; otherwise it won’t be fun.”

“That might be harder than you think. It’s early, but it’s already crowded.” Noticing the downcast look on his companion’s face the carrot-top quickly added, “Don’t worry, we’ll find a good one, even if it means we have to look all day.”

The girl couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “It’s nice to know that even after all these years you can still cheer me up.”

Kuwabara felt himself blushing. “It was nothing.”

Minako linked arms with the carrot-top and rested her head against his arm as they walked along the beach. “It’s something to me.”

It took a while, but they eventually found the spot they wanted. Behind it was a low cliff a few hundred feet long and there weren’t too many people around. Kuwabara set the bags he was carrying on the ground. He reached into his sack and removed a collaspable beach umbrella. All it took was one try for him to bury the pole into the sand. The couple both unrolled their beach towels, laying them out underneath the shade of the umbrella.

Kuwabara commented, “That’s a nice towel.”

Minako looked at the object. It was several differents shades of blue mixed together in an abstract, but still attractive pattern. “It should be, it cost me an arm and a foot.”

“I think you mean ‘an arm and a leg’.”

“Same difference, no matter how you say it, it was still expensive. That’s the last time I buy anything from a hotel gift shop!”

The carrot-top couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s attitude. “Yeah, they always rip you off at those places. I should know, I work in a hotel.” Hoping to talk about something more favorable he said, “What should…we…do…”

Kuwabara lost all train of thought as he watched the scene unfolding before him. Minako was unbuttoning the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing. Time seemed to slow down as her graceful fingers undid the buttons one-by-one. Once the shirt was opened, it exposed the flawless skin that it had been hiding. The young woman held her shirt by the collar and slid it down the length of her arms and torso. Once the white cotton had pooled around her wrists she allowed it to drop down to her beach towel. Her hands then moved to the pair of denim shorts she was wearing, the only remaining barrier. She wiggled her hips in an unconsciously suggestive manner as she pulled the shorts down.

The carrot-top was stunned by what he saw. Her long blonde hair ran straight down her back. The ocean breeze blew several strands, causing them to dance on the wind. Her body was remarkable. It was slim, but fit and possessed just the right amount of curves. But what really caught him were her eyes. They were a dazzling shade of blue and shined with kindness and honesty. And the bikini! It was tastefully revealing string bikini that was orange in color. He felt his jaw drop as he admired the sight before him. He didn’t know if it was humanly possible for a woman to be so gorgeous.

Minako was aware of his staring and asked self-consciously, “Do I look okay?”

Kuwabara turned bright red. He quickly told her, “You look great, better than great.” Never one to hold back his feelings about an attractive woman he said, “You look really beautful.”

The young woman smiled brightly. From that reaction she knew that she definitely had made a good impression. “Thanks.” She sat down on the overpriced beach towel. “Should we go for a swim first?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Kuwabara took off his grey tee-shirt, revealing his finely sculpted torso. The parts of his legs that weren’t covered by his green swim trunks showed off his strong calves and his trunk-like thighs.

Minako’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew he was muscular, but not that he was built like a Greek god.She averted her eyes before he caught her ogling him. In order to distract herself she removed something from her bag. She asked in an innocent voice, “Kuwabara, will you do me?”

The young man couldn’t believe what he just heard. He was about to fall out from shock until he noticed the bottle she was holding out to him. He slapped his forehead in disbelief of his mistake. “You were talking about sunblock.”

She shook the bottle, blending the mixture inside. “What did you think I was talking about?”

Kuwabara took the bottle and flipped open the cap. “Trust me, you don’t even want to know.” He squeezed some suntan lotion into one hand then rubbed his palms together, all the while waiting patiently for her to move her hair.

Minako pulled her blonde mane forward over shoulder. The carrot-top placed his hands on her back and got ot work. She was amazed at how gentle he was being. His large palms moved over her back with a tenderness that she had never felt. He even went so far as to cover her arms too. She could have stayed in that moment an eternity, but it was over as quickly as it began.

“There you go, all done.”

“I’ll do you now.”

Kuwabara was close to letting his imagination runaway again. “That’s all right, I don’t want to bother you. I’ll be okay. ”

“Don’t be silly, it’ll only take a few minutes.” Once she was finished she tugged at his wrist and exclaimed, “Come on, let’s go swimming!”

Just like ten years ago, the carrot-top was caught up in the girl’s infectous manner. He quickly stood up and kicked off his sandals. “Last one there-”

It was pointless, she already had a head start on him. She called out over her shoulder, “You have to run faster than that to catch me!”

Kuwabara quickly gave chase. When he reached the water he took high steps until the sand gave way beneath him. He then swam after his fiancee always just a few strokes behind her. He gave up and called out to her, “You beat me.”

Minako swam back to the carrot-top. Once she reached him she playfully splashed water at him. “You’re giving up already? That’s no fun.”

“So you want to have some fun?”

He dove underneath the water and grabbed one of the blonde’s shapely legs and tugged on it, pulling her underwater for a few seconds. He did that four times before emerging from the water.

When Minako surfaced she tried her best to look angry. She may have been frowning, but the twinkle in her eyes and slight curl of her lips gave her away. It didn’t help that Kuwabara was giving her the innocent of look of a newborn.

He said with a straight face, “There are really big fish in this water. You have to have watch out for them.”

“Fish?”

“Big fish.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “It was worth a shot. You aren’t upset are you?”

“I don’t get upset, I get even. Maybe not right now, maybe not an hour from now, but I will.”

“I’m kind of worried now.”

“You shouldn’t be, it won’t be anything too serious.”

The carrot-top could tell by the girl’s smile that she was teasing him. Just like when they were kids he became caught up in her actions. He joked back with her, “Go easy on me, I’m more fragile than I look.”

Minako chuckled at her fiance’s response. “I’ll think about.” She turned away from him and began swimming. “Come on, swim with me.”

They swam in the ocean until their limbs were heavy with exhaustion. Back on shore they collasped onto their towels and laughed about how much they had. Once the giggles had subsided Kuwabara asked, “How about I get us some drinks?”

“That’s sounds good.”

“What do you want?”

“You pick it out, Kuwabara, I know you have good taste.” The blonde gave him a wink, “After all, you proposed to me, if that’s not proof I don’t know what is.”

“You proposed to me, remember?”

“But you said ‘yes’, so you still have good taste.” Noting the alarmed looked on his face, Minako gave him another wink and laughed sweetly. “I’m only teasing you!”

“I’m going to have to watch out for you and you’re jokes. I’ll be back with the drinks.”

Minako pulled her towel out from under the umbrella. She stretched out on it underneath the sun and smiled contently. So far her date was going great. The weather was beautiful, the sky a brillant shade of blue, and the sun- had disappeared? Rather than seeing, she felt the shadow that was covering her. She cracked open an eye to seek out the source. What she saw annoyed her more than anything. A guy with an average build, black hair, green eyes and a cocky smile was standing over her.

“Do you mind? You’re blocking the sun.”

“Sorry about that gorgeous. How about I sit down next to you and get out of the way?”

Before she could protest. He sat down and made himself comfortable on Kuwabara's towel. “I was walking by and saw you sitting all alone. I never would have forgiven myself if I let you continue to sit all by yourself.”

Minako didn’t bother to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she replied, “You’re too kind.”

“That’s mighty sweet of you to notice.”

The young woman nearly bit her tongue as she tried to keep from laughing in the guy’s face. She couldn’t believe how arrogant the chump was acting. She was about to tell him to get lost when he started talking again.

“My name is Matsuo, what’s yours?”

“It’s Unvailable.”

“That’s an odd name-” Realizing his error Matsuo chuckled and tried to play it off. “You were joking, that was pretty funny.”

“Look here, I’m not interested in you at all. I’m here on a date, so do me a favor and go away.”

“I don’t see your date anywhere, he can’t be too smart if he left a pretty thing like you all alone. He probably doesn’t even deserve a woman like you. He couldn’t possibly appreciate as much I as would.”

“I find two things wrong with what you just said. First, I’m not a thing. Second, he appreciates me a lot more than you.”

Matsuo acted like he didn’t even hear what Minako had told him. He scooted closer, placed his hand on her thigh, and said, “I like a feisty woman. I want you even more now than I did before.”

Minako knock the guy’s hand off her leg. “I told you I wasn’t interested! Go away, my date will be back any second.”

The jerk looked over his shoulder and said, “I don’t see anyone.”

Minako was at her wits end. She had a feeling if she tried to kick him away, he would only say that he liked tough women. She glanced over his shoulder and smiled in relief. It appeared she wouldn’t have to worry about the obnoxious jerk any longer.

A few seconds later Kuwabara was standing behind him. He spoke in deep voice that resonated with authority, “Can I help you with something?”

Matsuo didn’t even bother to look over his shoulder and see who was talking to him. He spoke in a dismissive voice, “No, I’m fine.”

“I only asked, because I thought you were lost.”

Matsuo sounded annoyed as he asked, “What are you talking about?”

“That’s my spot you’re sitting in.”

Ready for a confrontation Matsuo jumped to his feet and asked, “Who the hell are you?!” His eyes doubled in size as he came face-to-face with Kuwabara's chest. He squeaked in a timid voice, “Are you her date?”

Kuwabara smiled down at the other man and nodded his head. “You know who I am, but I still don’t know who you are.”

“I…was…just…just…uhm, I was…”

“You were just leaving, right?”

Now it was Matsuo’s turn to nod. He had a feeling if he tried to speak nothing would come out.

“And you aren’t coming back again are you?”

Since he was still too scared to talk, Matsuo stuck with nodding his head.

“You can go now.” The other man was about to runaway when Kuwabara prompted, “Aren’t you forgetting something.” Noting his confused expression, the carrot-top tipped his head toward Minako and said, “Apologize to her.”

Matsuo’s voice sounded desperate. He was worried that if she didn’t accept his apology he would get beaten up. “I’m sorry that I was bothering you, please forgive me!”

Minako smiled at the once arrogant, but now humbled man. “I forgive you, now will you please go away?”

Matsuo turned tail and ran away. The blonde let loose the laughter she had been holding in ever since Kuwabara had appeared. When she finally stopped she was out of breath and her sides were aching. When she could speak again she asked her date, “Next time can you show up a little sooner?”

Kuwabara passed the girl her drink. “Hopefully there won’t be a next time.” He surveyed the beauty sitting before him. He wasn’t surprised that the guy had approached her the he way he did. “I won’t hold my breath though.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re very attractive, even if I was sitting next to you guys would still come over and hit on you.”

Minako placed a comforting hand on her fiance’s arm. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Why?”

“When I’m with you, you’re the only one I see.”

Kuwabara could tell that she truly meant what she said and wasn’t just saying it to placate him. He had a flashback of the ten year old girl that once stood before him. In that moment he remembered his promise never to forget her. A nostalgic smile crossed his face as he told her, “The same goes for me.”


~*~MEANWHILE~*~


Yusuke sat hunched over in the living room armchair. His arms were crossed and his right foot was tapping impatiently. Forty-five minutes and Keiko still wasn’t ready. He supposed he should be used to it by now. He called out in an annoyed voice, “You ready yet?”

“Just give me another five minutes, okay? My hair is giving me trouble.”

The young man let out a deep sigh and sank lower into the chair. It wasn’t worth arguing about, especially after last night. They argued about Kino coming with them for almost an hour. In the end he lost, just like he always did when he argued with Keiko. To make matters worse he even had to sleep on the couch. It was his apartment and he still had to do as she said which only proved the sway the young woman had on him.

The ringing doorbell interrupted his roaming thoughts. He took his sweet time rising from his seat and walking the ten feet to the front door. Not bothering to look through the peephole he swung the door open for his guest. “Come on in.”

Makoto nodded her thanks and made her way over to the couch. Noticing that Keiko wasn’t present she asked, “Am I early?”

Yusuke plopped back down on the chair. “I’m ready to go, but Keiko is still fixing her hair. Knowing her it’ll probably be another thirty minutes.”

Upon cue, as if she was intentionally out to prove her boyfriend wrong, Keiko emerged from the bathroom. Every strand of her dark brown hair lay perfectly in place. “I’m ready.” She grabbed her purse off the coffee table. “Let’s get going.”

“I need to make a pit stop first.”

“Yusuke, you had plenty of time to do that,” Keiko said as she went to the doorway and slipped on her shoes.

“I’ll only be a few minutes and that’s actual time, not Keiko time.”

Makoto took Artemis from her hand bag, which was doubling as his cat-carrier, and set him on the floor. “Are you sure he’ll be okay here?”

Keiko smiled reassuringly. “I set out extra food and water for the cats. Eikichi is really friendly so they’ll get along fine.”

“That’s good to hear.” The tall brunette had to be certain, otherwise she would receive an earful from the cat later on.

Once Yusuke returned from the bathroom the trio was all set to go. Makoto was the first person out of the apartment. As she entered the hallway she saw someone she wasn’t expecting to see anytime soon. She asked in an incredulous tone, “You?!”

Minamino Shuuichi, Kurama to his true friends, turned and gave the young lady his most dazzling smile. “Hello Ms. Kino. It’s nice to see you again.”