*Note* Hello everyone! So as a way for me to kind of thank my readers for following my story for this long, I figured I'd write a Halloween special for them. Please note that this story has no correlation with my Going to the Place Where I Belong story, well except for the yu yu hakusho part :) Now this was originally supposed to be a 'short' but then it just kept getting longer and longer and now is like a mini novella at 31 and a half pages lol. Well I hope you like it, and if people would like me to continue with this storyline let me know and I may continue writing it after I'm finished with Going. Also sorry for all of the dots but fanifiction won't let me have the kind of space between paragraphs like I wanted. Enjoy and I know it's late but Happy Halloween!*

Kuwabara had answered the phone when it had rung and spoke with the one on the other end, a decent amount of time had gone by before he hung up, and an excited smile played on his lips before he ran through his home. He couldn't wait to share the news with the rest of his family, it was too bad that both of his parents were out at the moment, but at least he knew Shiziru was going to be the happiest to hear it since she was home. All through the house he ran calling out his sister's name, over and over he called and each time he didn't get an answer; finally he had had enough and went straight for her room, much like he should have done in the first place. When he reached her door he raised his hand to knock only to have the door swing open to reveal a very unhappy looking Shiziru; she must have just woken up out of a deep sleep. Kuwabara gulped nervously as he slightly backed away from his sister, one that looked very ready and willing to clobber him into a pulp.

"Heh heh… hey sis… it's a good thing I just caught you waking up," nervously he scratched at his head.

Shiziru narrowed her eyes at her brother, "Baby bro, you better have a very good reason to be running around the house yelling like an idiot and waking me up."

She cracked her knuckles.

"Hey I'm not an idiot!" his eye twitched at the insult.

Shiziru took a step closer to her brother, "Do you have any idea how late I was up last night!?"

"It's good news! I swear!" he didn't like the look his sister had.

"You better spit it out quickly baby bro, before the only thing spitting out of your mouth is your teeth."

"I just got a call from Namine," like his sister suggested, Kuwabara spat it out as quickly as he could.

Hearing Namine`s name seemed to quell her anger.

"Namine?"

Kuwabara nodded his head enthusiastically, "Ya."

"What did she call about?"

A big grin came to his face, "She's coming for a visit!"

Shiziru seemed to perk up, "When?"

"She says she's leaving later tonight and won't be landing until sometime tomorrow."

"That's a long flight."

Shiziru ran a hand through her hair before rummaging through her pant pockets and produced a lighter; the one Sakyo had given her, and a package of cigarettes. With a cigarette clamped between her lips she flicked her lighter and brought the flame to the tip of her smoke and set alight the end. Kuwabara didn't like it when his sister smoked, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't succeed in getting her to quit.

"Ya, Namine said that she'd give us a call before the plane landed."

"How long is she visiting for? And where is she staying?" Shiziru eyed her brother and hoped he wasn't stupid and forgot to ask their cousin for that important information.

"She's staying at a hotel that she already booked and paid for, and she said until Tuesday. She sounded really excited about spending Halloween with us, you know since we haven't spent a Halloween together since before she moved."

Halloween huh? Shiziru remembered back to the Halloweens they shared together and all of the silly pranks Namine used to play on Kazuma.

"It's too bad she's going to be disappointed that she can't spend it with you, seeing as how you already promised to hang out with your friends on Halloween."

Kuwabara's face paled.

"Dang it! I gotta go call everyone and let them know Namine might be joining us!" and like an over excited child, he ran back down the hall and more than likely back to the phone.

Shiziru sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, what is she going to do with her brother? Even though he is almost a grown man now, he still sometimes acts like a child. It's hard to believe that he's almost done high school and that he proposed to Yukina, even though he doesn't have a ring. At first Yukina was speechless but after a while she came around, smiled and told Kazuma yes. It was the best day in Kazuma's life, though he promised her he'd get a ring once he was finished high school; he figures with the small part time job he has now he'll be able to save up and get one by that time. Again Shiziru sighed, when was it that Kazuma started to become his own person? She remembered back with fondness to the many memories she shared with her brother and his struggles to find himself. Though deep down she was proud of how he turned himself around and didn't follow the hoodlum path like she had, sure Shiziru has her regrets, but now she's happy with how her life is going now.

"I guess I can't keep calling you my baby bro anymore can I Kazuma?" Shiziru sadly asked no one.

Another puff she took of her cigarette and then returned into her room, she needed to get some more sleep if she were to be in a better mood for when her cousin arrived.

All in a hurry Kuwabara ran back to the phone and tried to dial up Yusuke Urameshi, but the phone line was busy so he tried for Keiko and it was the same thing.

"Gah Urameshi!" Kuwabara became frustrated with his friend; he should have known that Urameshi and Keiko would be tying up their phone lines by calling each other.

Then it was like a light bulb appeared lit over his head, "Oh I know! I'll call Kurama!"

Quickly Kuwabara flipped through their number and address book and found his friends number under his human name, it was a good thing Kuwabara had to look up the number; otherwise he'd forget to ask for Suuichi instead of Kurama. Ya Kurama's human Mother would probably wonder why he was calling her son after a wrestler, and he didn't feel like coming up with an excuse on the spot if she did ask why.

The dial tone rang and rang; he started to think that no one was home, but on the last ring before the answering machine would kick on someone answered.

"Hello? Minamono residence," it was Kurama's Mother.

"Hi Mrs. Minamono it's Kazuma Kuwabara calling," he did his best to remember his manners.

"Oh hello Kazuma, it's nice to hear from you after so long."

"Yes ma'am, sorry I haven't called as much, but I've been busy with school and studying for exams."

"I remember Suuichi having to do all of that, and it wasn't all that long ago either."

Kuwabara smiled as Kurama's Mother sounded sentimental at the memory.

"Does Suuichi happen to be home ma'am?"

"Oh I'm sorry Kazuma, but Suuichi's out at the moment. He's been spending a long time out on evening walks lately. Now I don't mean to be a prying Mother, but do you happen to know if anything happened lately? He always seems so sad when he comes home after his walks," Shiori kindly asked.

Has something happened?

"No ma'am he hasn't mentioned anything to me," Kuwabara let out a sigh, "Well thank you anyway ma'am."

"Sorry I couldn't be of any more help Kazuma, would you like to leave a message for when he gets home?"

Nah he wasn't going to bother, it's not like it was something majorly important anyway.

"No thank you ma'am. Have a goodnight."

"Thank you, you too Kazuma."

Shiori bid him farewell and hung up the phone.

Damn, why wasn't anyone home!? Sure it's not like it was world shattering news that his cousin was coming to visit, but he at least wanted to let everyone know so it wasn't such a big surprise.

Still… he wanted someone to know, that way if they had to change their plans to include her at least it wouldn't be last minute.

"Ah to hell with it, I'm heading over to Urameshi's place," Kuwabara decided and headed for the front door.

In two swift movements he had his street shoes on and headed for the door, but before he left he figured he'd let Shiziru know he was heading out.

"I'll be back later Sis, I'm heading out."

Kuwabara didn't wait for a reply as he stepped out into the late October weather and closed the door tightly behind him.

...

The flight had been a long one, and even though the seats had a little bit more moving room Namine still ended up feeling cramped and claustrophobic, and the child who sat next to her didn't help either; not when he was continuously leaning in over her to watch her TV screen and to look out the window. Looking out the window she understood, but climbing over the armrest to try and peek at her TV screen, and even trying to read the book and magazines she brought was another thing entirely. Constantly through the fourteen hour flight Namine had kindly asked the boy to stop climbing over her and disturbing her peace, and for a short while he had, but then started back up like she hadn't said a thing. Eventually she reached the point where she spoke with the mother, or at least tried to; the Mother looked highly medicated and didn't seem to be grasping what Namine was saying. She groaned with annoyance as the boy ended up hitting her in the ribs during one of his climbing sessions. Finally she had had enough and called for a stewardess and the boy was told that if he didn't settle down that they were going to have to move him to another part in the plane, the person in front of the boy's seat mumbled something about throwing him in the cargo hold. It sounded like a good idea, let the boy run around down there for the rest of the flight. In the end the boy remained in his own seat and allowed Namine to get what little rest she could before the plane landed, and she still had to call her cousins to let them know she was almost there. When the last remaining hour came around the head stewardess announced it, and it was then Namine figured it would be the best time to phone her cousins just like she promised she would. Using the built in phone in the seat, Namine paid a ridiculously high price and dialed her relatives homestead, it rang a few times before someone answered and at first she didn't recognize the voice and thought that perhaps, she had misdialed. Thankfully to her relief, and wallet, she hadn't misdialed; it just turned out to be a very tired sounding Shiziru who had answered.

"Hey cuz, I take it you've landed then?" Shiziru asked over a strange noise, it sounded like something was being swatted at.

"Hey Shiziru, no I still have an hour to go roughly then we're supposed to be landing," she heard more of that strange noise, "Shiziru what is that noise I keep hearing?"

"The idiot of the family thinks he can steal the phone from me, so I had to show him who was boss."

The idiot of the family? She wasn't talking about Kazuma was she?

"You don't mean Kazuma do you?"

"The one and only," there was another sound, "He's persistent I'll give him that."

Namine couldn't help but laugh and smile as she looked out her window, how she missed her cousins.

"Does he really want to speak with me that badly, even though I spoke with him last night?"

She could hear Kazuma's voice faintly in the background, it sounded like he was grappling with Shiziru for the phone.

"What can I say, the idiot misses you,"

"I'm not an idiot!" Kazuma angrily yelled, he sounded closer to the phone.

Namine heard a loud thud from the other end of the call, uh oh, that didn't sound too good.

"Don't yell into the phone!" Shiziru snapped at her brother.

Aw, poor Kazuma.

"Maybe you should let me talk to him quickly," Namine suggested after a recorded message warned her that she only had a minute remaining for the call.

"Okay, one sec," Shiziru agreed.

There were more noises on the other end and then the distinct sound of someone handling the phone.

"Hey Namine!" it was Kazuma.

"Hey Kazuma, listen I don't have much time left, but I figured I'd let you know that I have less than an hour left and then we'll be landing. I'll call you from my hotel room and maybe see about getting together with everyone for dinner, well lunch… lupper… whatever the hell the meal time is," she laughed at her own idiotic rambling, she was too tired to think straight.

"Okay that sounds like a plan, I'll let Shiziru know and we'll meet up. Oh hey, before I forget, do you mind coming and hanging with me and my friends on Halloween?" Kazuma quickly asked.

Friends? As in the plural form of friend, Namine smiled at the news; her cousin didn't seem to be able to make friends when they were growing up, and hearing that he had some now warmed her heart.

"Sure, no problem," she continued to smile into the phone, fully knowing he wasn't able to see it.

"Actually Nami, would you mind if my friends came to meet you today? You know, just so you can meet each other," aw he used his nickname for her.

The recording message came on and informed her she had less than twenty seconds remaining.

"Shoot, sorry Kazuma my call is about to end. Um ya sure they can come, I'll call you later and we'll talk more, but I have to hang up now. Sorry. Talk to you soon!" Namine hurriedly delivered her farewell to her cousin.

"Okay bye! See you soon Namine!"

"Bye" Namine just managed to deliver her final goodbye to Kazuma just before there was a beep and then a dead tone came over the phone.

Namine grumbled at the dead telephone receiver she held, for the amount of money they charge you they could at least make the phone call last longer than five minutes. No longer needing the phone Namine placed it back into its cradle and snuggled back into her seat, she might as well try to get a few more minutes of sleep before traversing the bustling airport. She'll need her wits about her when it's time to brave that overcrowded place.

Suspiciously Namine peeked out of the corner of her eye over to the little boy, and just double checked to make sure he wasn't showing any signs of being rowdy; once she closes her eyes she doesn't want to be startled awake by the boy climbing all around again. He wasn't, he was just sitting there flipping through the channels on his little TV screen. Good boy. Once again Namine snuggled deep into her seat and tried her best to block out the noise and catch a few winks before they landed.

Easier than she thought she would, Namine slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Busy didn't even touch the right word to use for the condition of the airport, the best way to describe it, it was an overpopulated gathering of people and they were all struggling to find their own way through the mass of bodies, chairs and beeping shuttles. It took Namine nearly an hour to claim her baggage, get through customs and to navigate her way to the exit where she could hail a taxi. Luckily for her there was an unoccupied taxi just outside of the doors and she quickly claimed dibs by calling out to the driver and lulling him into conversation. While the man helped her deposit her luggage into the trunk, he politely asked her how she faired during her long flight, and she kindly replied. The driver followed Namine around the vehicle and opened the passenger door for her and kindly closed it behind her after making sure she was safely inside.

The ride to the hotel Namine was staying at wasn't all that far from the airport, but was still a length away and all during the ride the polite driver engrossed her with conversation and stories of life as a taxi driver. Honestly Namine had never heard such exciting stories before from a driver; normally they were boring and ordinary, but this man claims to have survived a collision where his vehicle had flipped and caught on fire, or surviving having a parking garage collapse on him. Now she didn't know exactly how much of what the man said was true, but even if that was true that would be miraculous on its own; especially surviving at large building collapsing around you and being trapped, only to have rescuers pull him out days later. Miracles certainly are miracles, and this man seems to have had plenty over the course of his employment as a taxi driver, again if any of what he said held a grain of truth. Finally when they pulled up to the fancy looking hotel the driver offered to help Namine with her bags, but she kindly declined and grabbed all of her belongings, paid the man, and tiredly walked into the lobby through the large double doors.

Every item in the lobby, well almost every item, looked like it was plated in gold or had a marble type texture to it. Wow… this place sure likes to try and stand out, ornate vases lined a path way to the elevators, what appeared to be quartz pillars speckled the lobby, oil paintings lined the walls, and elegant red and burgundy carpets led the way to the reception desk. Namine whistled low as she eyed everything, it's amazing how she could afford a place like this, especially after living a childhood where her family didn't have a lot of spare cash. But now things were different, now that she had her own professional job that paid her well, a job she had worked extremely hard to get. Namine shook her head to clear it, that was the past and this is the present, the very thing she should be focusing on. She took a deep relaxing breath and strolled over to the reception desk, it's about time she checked in and found her room.

The lady at the desk greeted her and not realizing she had done it greeted back in English, after the receptionist gave her an awkward face of not understanding Namine had clued in and apologized in Japanese. After living in America for the last few years she was more accustomed to speaking in English now than she was her native tongue.

"I'm sorry about that, I've been out of the country for a while," Namine apologized.

The receptionist waved her apology away, "That's okay Miss, I'm just glad I didn't have to go look for our translator."

This hotel has a translator? Wow now that is prestige.

"May I please have your name so I can check you in?" she asked in a very professional voice.

"Oh yes of course, it's Namine Kuwabara."

The lady quietly repeated Namine's name as she scrolled through a computer.

"Ah yes, here it is; you'll be staying with us for five days and have already paid the booking fee," she recited off from the computer.

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay then, you'll be staying in room four-o-seven, just to inform you housekeeping is every day, and that we do have a restaurant just down that hallway there if you were to ever get hungry," she smiled at Namine before turning to fetch a key off the wall.

If I were to ever get hungry? Do people not get hungry around here anymore? Namine wanted to laugh.

"Here is your key Miss Kuwabara, and I do hope you enjoy your stay with us. If you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask."

Namine reached out and accepted her room key, "Thank you."

It was time for her to get up to her room, unpack a few things and call her cousins again to sort out their meeting details. So there she went following the purposely laid out rugs that led to the path of vases, which led to the elevators and pressed the call button. All the while she continued to survey her surroundings, instrumental music played from the hallway that housed the hotel's restaurant, and other patrons lounged around. It was a very hotel like scene, nothing out of the ordinary. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open revealing an empty compartment and that didn't bother Namine in the slightest, after all the less people in the elevator with her the less stops she had to make on the way to her room. In she went with her luggage in toe and pressed the button for the floor she needed, the doors closed and not even a minute later the doors opened up to her floor. Namine left the elevator and walked down the hallway a few doors and used the key to open her room, and when she pushed open the heavy door, Namine paused. The room was gorgeous; there was crown molding along the ceiling, thick black curtains framed the massive window, beautiful scenic paintings decorated the light caramel and gold walls, and the bed… oh the bed. Never before has she seen such a huge bed, it must have been bigger than a king sized bed, and the comforter alone looked soft as silk, and Namine wanted to run her hands over it. In a fond daze Namine walked farther into her room and carelessly left her belongings just inside the small hallway, the door clicked closed behind her, she proceeded to the bed and lazily ran her fingers along the irresistibly smooth looking fabric, ooh, and it was so soft. Namine was going to enjoy sleeping in this bed alright. Oh how she wanted to just plunge into the over inviting bed, but she reframed; she remembered she promised to call Kazuma back and she did say when she got to the hotel.

A sigh escaped Namine, "Okay, I'll unpack a few things and then I'll call Kazuma."

With a plan decided on Namine got to work on unpacking the few things she wanted to get out of her suitcase, like the shampoos and other containers she had brought with her, and her vitamins along with some other items. Once they were all set out and in place where they were easily accessible during her daily routines, she went and sat down at the small desk near the window and dialed up her cousins. Just like the first time she had called her cousins to let them know she would be coming for a visit, Kazuma had answered the phone.

"Hey Kazuma, I'm at my hotel now and ready whenever you are to grab some food, I'm starving!" Namine said with the corner of her lips curled into a small smile.

"Oh hey Nami! What do you mean you're starving, didn't they feed you on the plane?"

"They did around the start of the flight, after that it was just pretzels and water," she explained while her stomach rumbled hungrily, "I'm ready to eat a good meal now."

Kazuma chuckled, "I heard your stomach grumble just now, well I called my friends I mentioned to you earlier and they're all here so we can leave whenever you want to go for lunch."

Oh that's right, Namine had forgotten that he wanted to bring his friends along so they could meet, but what about Shiziru is she not coming?

"That's great to hear Kazuma; I can't wait to meet everyone, but what about Shiziru? She's coming too right?" her brow furrowed in worry.

"Ya she's coming, she's upstairs getting ready for when you called, and she takes forever getting ready heh heh."

It was good to hear his chuckle again.

"Oh Kazuma I've miss you so much, it's not the same without you. I can't wait to see you guys again."

Namine felt slightly lonely in her spacious hotel room by herself.

"Me too Nami," he trailed off for a moment before continuing, "So where is it that you want to go to?"

Hmm, where did she want to go? Ooh wait, she knew exactly where she'd like to go.

"Do you remember that restaurant our parents used to take us to whenever we managed to get good grades?" Namine excitedly asked.

Kazuma hummed and hawed, "You mean the one a few streets over from our old park?"

"Ya that one!"

"Sure we can go there, what time do you want to meet?"

"How about in thirty or so minutes? I'll call the place and book a table under Kuwabara," for a moment Namine had forgotten there were going to more than just her and her cousins, "Um Kazuma how many people are there coming?"

"Just four, and then there's you, Shiziru and me, so seven."

Another smile surfaced, "Okay, I'll see you all soon!"

The excitement grew inside of Namine, she felt like a small child on her birthday.

"Ya we'll see you soon!" Kazuma responded excitedly himself.

"Bye Kazuma."

"Bye Namine," her cousin hung up.

Excitedly Namine had disconnected the call with her cousin and immediately looked up the restaurant number and reserved a table. Once she was done with the phone she replaced it into its cradle and dashed over to her suitcase, she needed to find something else to wear out to lunch; Namine didn't want to show up wearing her flying clothes, which consisted of black track pants, black slip on shoes, and her blue and white patterned t-shirt. No she wanted to wear something nice, especially since she was going to be meeting her cousin's friends.

"Hmm, what should I wear?"

...

Kuwabara had hung up the phone and immediately ran to tell his sister to hurry up because they needed to get going soon if they didn't want to make Namine wait. A few minutes later and both of the Kuwabara siblings came down the stairs and motioned for their friends to join them at the front door. They all put on their street shoes and headed out the door, the women of the group grew excited and chatted amongst themselves about meeting another relative of Kazuma Kuwabara's; and it was a girl no less.

During the walk to the restaurant everyone happily conversed, teased and joked with one another. They were just a group of friends going out for lunch, there were no pending apocalypses, and no demon hordes threatening to break into Human World that they had to try preventing, they were normal. Everything was normal, or so Kuwabara first assumed, that was until he stole a look over to Kurama and found him slightly… forlorn. Kurama didn't talk much during the walk, instead he glanced around to the fall colored trees and Halloween decorated buildings, his eyes looked haunted. Was there something the matter?

"Hey Kurama, is there something bothering you? You look… almost miserable," Kuwabara asked in a concerned tone, he was worried about his friend.

Kurama glanced over to Kuwabara and then back to the tree he had been observing, "It's nothing Kuwabara, but thank you for your concern."

He didn't buy it.

"Come on Kurama, I don't mean to push you but… even your Mother had asked me if something was bothering you lately."

That caught Kurama's attention, "My mother?"

Kuwabara nodded his head, "Ya, last night when I called looking for you she had asked me if everything was okay with you. You don't have to tell me, but just know that if you ever want to talk about something, I'm here for ya man."

Kurama felt momentarily touched by his friends offer.

"Thank you Kuwabara, but that isn't necessary."

Well at least Kuwabara tried and at least he offered to listen if Kurama ever needed to talk.

The more autumn trees they passed the more Kurama's eyes became haunted and sad; like he was reliving a sad memory. Maybe he should confide in his friends, after all it's been a very long time he's had to carry this secret alone, this time of year is when it became most unbearable.

Kurama sighed heavily; it was time for him to admit one of his secrets.

"Actually Kuwabara… there is something."

His friends slowed down and patiently waited for Kurama to continue.

"It becomes hard for me around this time of year," he paused and tried to find the right words, "there is something you don't know about me…"

Kurama took a deep breath to help steady himself, "Back when I was Yoko Kurama and was running around the Demon World… I had a mate."

Yusuke's jaw dropped at the news, Kurama had had a mate once! Wait a minute… had a mate?

Kurama took notice to everyone's shocked expressions and explained, "She was killed long before I had my botched burglary and fled to Human World."

Kurama looked longingly at a vibrant yellow leafed tree, "Her name was Hana and she loved the fall season the most. Losing her almost brought the death of me, but I kept going because I knew that was what she would have wanted, and a part of me wondered if she'd ever be reincarnated, so I searched, but I never saw her again. However, now I can no longer look at a fall tree without thinking of her, so every fall I've taken up going for evening walks to try and quell the bitter and lonely emotions that run rampant through my heart. I never meant to worry anyone… but it's something I do to help deal with her loss, even to this day."

Longingly he reached out and grazed his fingers down the length of a nearby hanging leaf, he missed and ached for his lost mate and every year he went without her made the world seem that much dimmer and bleak. Having his loving mother did help, but only to an extent… nothing could replace the love he had for his mate, the raw edges of the hole in his heart throbbed with her loss. It would never be fully healed again, not without his Hana.

"I'm sorry to hear that man," Yusuke lightly gripped Kurama's shoulder in a form of comfort.

He didn't know what Kurama was feeling, Yusuke couldn't even imagine the kind of hell Kurama went through year after year, and not to mention what he felt when he saw loving couples. He didn't envy the man, and Yusuke felt sorry for his loss and wished he could do something to help his friend, but sadly knew there wasn't anything he could do.

Not wanting to have his friends dwell on the unpleasantness which made up his current state, Kurama put on a small smile and tried to encourage his friends.

"But never mind that; we're supposed to be on our way to meet your visiting cousin, we don't want to keep her waiting."

Kuwabara hesitated, "Are you sure Kurama? We don't have to go if it's hard for you…"

Kurama tried his best to seem reassuring, "Trust me Kuwabara I'll make it, I've had to deal with this for a very long time. It's just being in the fall season makes it a bit harder."

"Well… if you say so."

Everyone felt saddened for their friend and the part of his past he shared, but there was nothing any of them could do; like Kurama had said, he's had to deal with this since long before they had all met.

"The restaurant is just up ahead," Shiziru pointed out in an attempt to move past the uncomfortable aura.

Kuwabara looked down to his wrist watch and grew excited all over again as he noted the time, Namine should be here any minute.

"Let's go then, I'm so hungry I might have to resort to eating someone," Yusuke wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, "Maybe someone like Keiko."

"Yusuke you perv! We're out with our friends; you should learn how to behave!" Keiko punched him in the arm as her face went red with embarrassment.

"Okay enough lovebirds, let's get going before Yusuke gets charged for indecent exposure," Shiziru shook her head and continued on.

They laughed and watched as Keiko's face grew even redder, and Yusuke just grinned like his usual self. Keiko embarrassingly waved everyone off before she hurried to catch up with Shiziru, she really wanted to get past that embarrassing moment, and the others just chuckled and followed after them. With one last yearning glance at the fall trees Kurama let out a disheartened sigh and headed for the restaurant, all the while trying to lighten his mood so as to not bring everyone else's down with his.

...

Namine marveled at her hometown's hustle and bustle, she missed the local markets, the smell of street food cooking, and the beautiful trees in their fall colors. She didn't mean to, but Namine spent a little too much time reminiscing about her childhood and now she was running a few minutes late. On the brighter side, at least it was because she was remembering fond memories and not trying to decide on an outfit. Deciding on her clothes didn't take long, in the end she went with a short sleeved t-shirt, navy blue jeans, a brown leather jacket, a pair of green chandelier earrings, and her favorite brown heeled boots. It's casual yet 'hit the town' ready if needed, and she was glad she settled on it. As it turned out, on her way to meet up with her relatives, Namine had received many compliments for her clothing from people passing by. Receiving the compliments brought a smile to the surface and that smile grew even bigger when she spotted Kazuma pacing just outside of the restaurant. Her heart beat faster at the sight of him; it's been years since she had last seen her favorite cousin, she missed spending time with him and just hanging out and talking. Since her family had moved to America Namine didn't get the chance to talk with her close cousins as much, mainly because of the time differences and the highly priced phone bill they'd get, so Namine's Father told her no more calling, and it had broken her heart to have to stop. But now here she was and just a few yards apart, she could feel the beginning prick of tears starting and she delicately wiped at her eyes; she didn't want her silly tears to ruin her eyeliner.

Finally Namine couldn't take the wait anymore and sprinted towards her cousin.

"Kazuma!" she happily exclaimed.

He turned at the sound of her voice just in time to catch her as she jumped to hug him.

I've forgotten how tall he is.

"Namine!" he happily greeted back as he hugged the daylights out of her.

With Namine in his arms, Kazuma twirled around a few times before setting her back down on her feet.

"It's been so long!"

"I know! And look at you, you're hair looks even lighter now… and longer," Kazuma looked his cousin over; it's been five long years since he's last seen her.

"Me? Look at you! You're a giant!" she teased, "But at least you've kept your hair the same."

"I kept telling you I was going to be way taller than you, but you never listened."

Namine giggled, "Ya but I was only seven or eight years old, and that was when you kept trying to get me to eat my vegetables."

Kazuma poked her in the side, "It worked didn't it."

She waved his finger away from her side, "Ya, ya."

Curiously Namine looked around the area, she didn't see Shiziru anywhere.

"So where's Shiziru? And your friends you mentioned? I'd love to meet them."

"Oh ya, well we got here a few minutes ago and since we didn't see you we figured you were already inside waiting. When we got in there they told us no one had shown up for the reservation yet, so everyone is at the table already and I came out here to wait for you."

Aw.

"Sorry I'm late, I got caught up in a walk down memory lane on the way here," she sent him an apologetic look, "lead the way Kazuma."

"Heh, heh, right this way Namine," Kazuma held open the door for her and followed her in to the brightly lit restaurant.

"Oh wow, this place hasn't changed at all!" she was amazed that the interior and layout of the place was still how she remembered it.

"Ya they really haven't done much to it, except giving it a fresh coat of paint every few year," Kazuma smiled at Namine as she looked about with fondness, "Come on, our table is over here."

Gently Kazuma took hold of Namine's elbow and steered her to the far side of the building, and as they came closer and closer to their designated table, Namine spotted her other cousin. The feeling of butterflies appeared in her stomach as she also noticed the other people who sat with Shiziru, again she had forgotten she's meeting new people today and a wave of nerves washed over her; ever since she was a child Namine grew shy around new people. With the help of her cousins and family she slowly grew out of the habit, but after being bullied and picked on for as long as Namine had been it has proven to be a difficult obstacle to tackle. Though with time she had improved little by little.

As calmly as she could Namine took in a deep breath to help calm her nerves and followed Kazuma over to the table. Step after step Namine took and soon she found herself close to the table, Shiziru must have sensed she was near, because her cousin looked over her way and smiled once she saw her.

"Hey cuz, long time no see," Shiziru greeted as calm and collective as ever.

"Hi Shiziru!" Namine greeted happily.

The butterflies completely forgotten she made her way through tables and chairs to get to her cousin and pulled Shiziru into a hug, she returned the hug with just as much feelings as Namine had; they were close growing up and having to move away was a life changing event for all of them. All throughout her childhood Namine had looked up to Shiziru as a type of role model, she was everything Namine wanted to be, strong, smart, beautiful and confident. Over the years both of her cousins tried to help Namine out, especially during the time when she was bullied; Namine was teased and made fun of because of the color of her eyes, they were a mix of different shades of blue and a small tint of purple. Now a days people thought they were beautiful eyes, but growing up she had been called 'freak' and 'monster' because of them, she was also teased for not filling out like the other girls, it had taken her a bit longer and now she looked like any other eighteen year old girl. But during the time when she was picked on it had sometimes gotten physical, the other kids would poke and push, pull and yank at her hair, they would even sometimes follow her home and throw things at her. Luckily there was a time when her cousins had been waiting outside of her house for her to return home from school, and when they saw her being picked on they came to her rescue. After that encounter Shiziru had insisted that she'd teach Namine how to defend herself, and that it wasn't okay for her to be treated that way. Namine owed her cousins a lot for helping her out back then, if they hadn't shown her how to stand up for herself it was more than likely she'd be a total shut in, but thanks to them she wasn't and she now had the confidence she needed to tackle whatever life threw at her.

As Namine pulled out of the hug she shared with Shiziru, she heard the unmistakable sound of utensils clattering onto a plate and someone quietly gasped a name, and it felt like it was directed at her, but it wasn't her name. Standing up straight after finishing her hug with Shiziru, Namine turned to the other occupants at the table and smiled in greeting.

"Hello everyone, I'm Namine, Kazuma and Shiziru's cousin."

Everyone greeted her back, but one man, the one with the long red hair and vibrant green eyes; he stared at her with an unbelievable look in his eyes, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Namine wasn't sure what it was, but there was a feeling deep within her that made her heart skip a beat when she looked into his eyes… they looked familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. It was peculiar.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked the stunned man.

He shook his head slightly as if to clear it, "No, sorry I didn't mean to stare," he paused for a moment, "It's just you look like someone I've seen before."

Oh, well that wasn't uncommon for her to hear.

"That's okay; maybe you've seen some of my photos?" Namine asked as Kazuma kindly pulled out a chair between him and Shiziru for her to sit down in.

Namine sat down and removed her jacket and scarf before the man answered her.

"Photos?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure they sell the magazine here. I model for a clothing magazine back home in the United States," Namine couldn't keep the pride from her voice.

"Wow you're a model? Kuwabara never said anything about that, or that you lived in the United States either," the woman with long brown hair gushed.

Namine looked disbelievingly over to her cousin, really? He never mentioned what she did for a job or where she was visiting from? Oh Kazuma.

"Did you tell them anything about me?" Namine asked her guilty looking cousin.

Sheepishly Kazuma scratched at his head, "Well… no I forgot; I was just so excited that you were visiting."

She shook her head at Kazuma and then brought her attention back to his friends, "Let's start over; hi I'm Namine Kuwabara, I'm their cousin on their Father's side, I live in New York City and I model for a living."

"I'm Yusuke Urameshi, that's Keiko my fiancée, he's Kurama or Suuichi, and I'll let Kuwabara introduce the other lady," Yusuke recovered his mistake with a smile.

"Well which is it? Kurama or Suuichi?"

The name Kurama somehow felt familiar to her ears, but Namine doesn't recall ever hearing that name before.

"My name is Suuichi, but Kurama is a nickname," the red head explained.

Namine tried out both of the names and found she favored the feel and sound of Kurama for his name rather than Suuichi.

"Hm, I actually like the nickname Kurama, which would you prefer me to use?" Namine politely asked, she wasn't about to start calling him by his nickname since they had only just met.

Quietly she sat and watched as he seemed to savor the sound of her saying his nickname, like he hadn't heard it spoken in such a long time. Slowly he opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Which ever one you wish, I answer to both," Kurama answered.

"Well it's nice to meet all of you, Yusuke, Keiko and Kurama," she smiled at everyone before turning to Kazuma, "Now Kazuma who is this lovely lady beside you?"

"You mean you?" he teased.

She joking swatted at him, "No, I mean the one you unconsciously lean towards whenever you get to far from her," Namine eyed him suspiciously; there was something there that hasn't been shared yet.

Kazuma's face brightened and the woman's went a shade of pink.

"This is Yukina, she's my fiancée," he wore a large grin.

His fiancée, No way!

"Oh my goodness! Congratulations Kazuma!" Namine gave him a sideways hug in congratulations.

Namine felt so proud for her cousin, he went from having no friends to having some and now he's engaged, she couldn't be happier for him. Kazuma deserved to be happy for all of the things he's done to help out others, especially Namine; with everything he's helped Namine with she wished for his happiness, and now he's found it.

"Thanks Nami, you'll come to the wedding won't you?"

"Of course I will! Just give me a good heads up to when that is so I can arrange it off," Namine thought that was such a silly question, would she go, of course she would!

"So Namine, do you have any other family like brothers or sisters?" Keiko asked before taking a sip from her water glass.

"No it's just me and my Dad now, my Mom lost her fight with liver cancer last year and passed away," Namine fiddled with her water glass as she tried to restrain the urge to cry.

Whenever she thought of her Mom it would bring Namine to tears; she was very close with her Mom and missed her terribly, her Mom was her support when things became too hard and frustrating in her life, and now she was gone.

"I'm sorry to hear that Namine," Keiko reached over and gently clasped Namine's hand.

"At least she's not in pain anymore," Shiziru piped up, her eyes looked sad.

Namine agreed, "Ya, she's in a better place now."

Before anyone could say anything else their waiter appeared and asked if they were ready to order, and everyone nodded yes. They ordered their meals and chit chatted the rest of the afternoon away in the restaurant, Namine grew to like Kazuma's friends and was happy to apart of their group for the next few days.

Once they were done with their meals and decided to leave the restaurant they all agreed to go for a stroll through the park, which also hadn't changed much since Namine had last been there, it still held the lovely pond, large playground for children and now it seems they even grew a small mini maze. After seeing the maze Namine pleaded with her relatives to go through it with her, but Shiziru declined saying it was for kids and left to go sit on a bench with the others who had shook their heads no. The only ones who agreed to go with Namine were Kazuma and Kurama, Namine knew it was indeed childish of her to run through a small maze for kids, but she couldn't help it; this park is a part of her childhood and this maze wasn't there, so she felt the need to include it in her fond memories. All through the maze Kurama had kept close and faintly smiled when he assumed she wasn't looking, and when she found herself at a dead end he quietly chuckled, but then there was Kazuma going his own way and whenever he hit a dead end, he just stepped over the hip high bushes. Namine told him that he was cheating and defeating the purpose of the maze, and in his Kazuma fashion he waved her off. Namine had rolled her eyes and tried again to find her way out of the mini maze, all the while Kurama followed her like a lost puppy, and she just brushed it off. After they tackled the maze Shiziru asked if anyone wanted to continue on with the walk or if they wanted to do something else, in the end everyone agreed to keep going on their stroll.

The day went by in a blur, Namine had enjoyed spending her time with everyone; particularly Kurama, he seemed to be the one most interested in her, it was like he wanted to know everything about her. In the end they had gone for a walk, stopped for some coffee, went and seen a movie at the theater, and decided what exactly the plan was for Halloween. Eventually time had slipped by rather quickly and before anyone knew it, it was already late in the evening, and Namine couldn't stop herself from yawning; today has been a long day for her with the long flight. Tiredly Namine had bid goodnight to her cousins and friends, and while doing so Kurama looked almost hesitant to say goodbye; it looked like a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, but he told her goodnight anyway. Namine had thought it was strange to have noticed the almost panicked look in his eyes, but she brushed it off saying it was probably her imagination. Sleepily after parting ways she headed for the hotel she was staying at, luckily for her and her steadily growing sore eyes, the hotel wasn't too far away. It didn't take her long to reach the hotel, enter the lobby and summon an elevator, she tried her best not to drag her feet along the way when she walked, but it happened anyways. Once she was safely in her room Namine changed into her knee length nightgown and crawled into the ever inviting bed. Ooh this bed should be illegal for how soft and amazingly comfortable it was, after the day she's had with being cooped up in the airplane this felt like heaven. It wasn't long before she slipped peacefully away into the realm of dreams.