I can work on several stories at once, you know. This one is nearing completion already, so I decided to upload the first chapter.

To my readers from Heal Me, this one's a little bit different. Criss is another character I'm "trying out" here.

Full Summary:

Kurama and the gang are all eighteen and they've graduated from high school at last. Since Sensui, there haven't been any bigger problems to come along. (Mostly cause I haven't seen after Sensui.) Kurama wants to do foreign exchange in the U.S. Koenma agrees to let him, but only if he finds a new Spirit Detective there to help with the suddenly-exploding demon population in middle-of-nowhere Kansas.

Our dear Kurama does indeed find some powerful people in Kansas. One is Jason Dogg, a boy from New York who Kurama has a little trouble understanding sometimes. Another is the sexy, spicy Princess Juniper Gonzalez, or just Jun. And then there's Criss Nallen, who is just a touch stronger than Jun. There's a problem with Criss, though. She's the reason that the demons are coming out of the woodwork.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Treasure Island. I do own Jun, Criss, and JD, though why I'd want to own Jun is a mystery to me.

Silver Treasures

Chapter 1: College Bound

Minamino Shuichi, or Youko Kurama to his friends, stood in the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport at approximately three o'clock in the morning. The sleepy atmosphere of the usually bustling terminals was almost unnerving. He found his things on an old turnstile baggage claim and walked toward the front of the airport. His letter had claimed that there would be someone to meet him there.

When Kurama asked for a year away from Japan to study in America, Koenma had been, admittedly, furious. With the promise to find another human (hopefully not with demon blood) like Yusuke to become an American Spirit Detective, however, Kurama had managed to get the little junior god to let him go.

Kurama could still hear the planes outside taking off. There were children in some of the terminals who were wide awake. For the most part, however, most of the people were asleep or silent. There were few bright colors around the gray-painted lobby, other than an enormous painting of an orange, an oriental teapot, and a coffee maker.

So the enormous vertical banner containing his human name in perfect, bright red kanji was hardly to be missed. Kurama walked over to the peppy-looking college student who was holding the sign. A blush had colored his cheeks, of course.

"Are you Minamino Shuichi?" asked the girl in perfect, though slow, Japanese. A small smile appeared on her mouth as she let the banner down again. Her nose twitched a bit, like a rabbit's. Short, honey brown, hair nearly hid her eyes and ears. She was slightly pudgy and about half a foot shorter than himself.

"Yes," Kurama answered in English. "You don't have to speak Japanese."

"You just had to go and say that, didn't you?" she accused with a sigh. "Sorry, where are my manners, I'm Criss. Criss Nallen. I'd suggest getting used to Shuichi, Jefferson is known for its informality."

Kurama nodded. "Point taken. Thank you for going out of your way to pick me up."

Criss shook her head. "I'm awake, I know Japanese, and I'm the one who convinced the ninnies up at the college to let you in. Least I could do. Need some help with those bags?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Kurama said. He followed her out into the parking lot. Even at three in the morning, the air was thick with humidity and heat. He could smell manure and hay for miles around, along with some car congestion.

"I'm curious. Why'd you choose a little two year college like Jefferson? Most of the people there come from agrarian—that's farming—families. I'm one of few who came from a big city."

"I received a full ride scholarship," Kurama answered calmly, "to either Jefferson College or Bethel. I let my friends choose which one, from what information I gave them. They said I might 'fit in' better at Jefferson."

"Ah. Same here. Full rides to all the colleges I applied to, all of them small, two-years. Jefferson was the closest."

"Then we both chose this college by chance," Kurama mused. Criss stopped next to a very old, pale blue car and unlocked the trunk. Inside was a misshapen, stained carpet and several books of all different types. None were textbooks. Several were graphic novels, of which, Kurama was only familiar with two of the series. One of them caught his eye, however. A book that read Demon Diary.

"I figured you'd want to look at my manga collection," Criss smirked. She grabbed his suitcases and book bag, placing them gently into the trunk. On top of all the manga. "I like that one best. It's Korean, that might be why you don't recognize it."

Kurama tried to hand the book back to her, but she pushed it back into his hands.

"Read it on the way. It's thirty miles to the college, and I'll need the silence to concentrate, anyway. Lot of critters on the road during the summer."

"Critters?" Kurama asked, sliding into the passenger seat after she unlocked the door.

"Yes. I like animals, and I'm not about to run any over."

Kurama nodded. He understood a little why that would be. He liked animals, too, though not as much as he liked plants.

"What are you majoring in?" Criss asked as she backed out.

"Botany and Art. Double Major."

"Me, too. Well, doubling, anyway. Biology and Art. Okay, no more talking, please."

Kurama settled into the patched, worn seat. The seatbelt appeared new. The little car seemed to be a mottled thing, a Frankenstein. Kurama could hear that the motor definitely wasn't the original, and the stereo, which was playing M.C. Hammer softly, was brand new as well.

The road was almost pitch black, but inside the little car was enough light to read by. Kurama read through the first part of Demon Diary, trying not to laugh too loud. Raenef and Eclipse were a hilarious duo, and already he could tell it was yaoi. He wasn't too keen on the subject, but where comic media is concerned, anything goes.

Just as he was finished the second manga short at the back of the book, Criss announced that they'd arrived. Kurama closed Demon Diary and climbed out. From what little Kurama could see of the campus, it was large, spanning several hundred acres. However, it was still dark, around three thirty, and all that lit it up were globe-shaped, eerie yellow light posts.

"Wait till you see it during the day," Criss said. She smiled that little smile again, looking off in the distance. "It's beautiful. Great place to live, Jefferson. I almost never want to leave. I've only been here a week, and I already feel that way."

Kurama turned his head a little sharp, hurting his neck. "You're a freshman? How have you been here a week already?"

"Extenuating circumstances," was her cryptic answer. "I grew up here as a kid. Dad was a prof here. Got a better job at Virginia State. I came back here for college."

"Wait a minute," Kurama reasoned. "You said you lived near here and came by chance."

"I did. Just didn't realize it," she said. "I have a few memory problems, you see. Don't be shocked if tomorrow morning, I don't remember your name."

Slowly, Kurama nodded. Criss handed him one of his suitcases and his book bag, taking two cases for herself. Kurama handed her back Demon Diary, which she set inside the trunk. She kicked it closed and led the way onto a sidewalk.

"You're in 2SE, in the dorm right underneath mine in 3SE, funny enough," Criss said. "There's a hole in the floor between the two from last year, that's how I know. I put a board and a rug over it, but I don't know what I'm going to do when my roomie gets here."

"Are we the only two there for now?" Kurama asked.

"Us and the girl whose got the room by me. Her dad's a prof, so she's got a single room. One without a roomie, in other words. Sammy's her name. Chemistry major."

Kurama nodded.

"So…Shuichi, you said it was your friends who got you to come here?" He nodded. "I want to know more about these friends of yours. Did you go to the same high school?"

"No, we didn't, unfortunately. We met through work."

"Ah, the lovely work environment. Such a pleasant place when you've got the right boss. So not when you don't."

Kurama chuckled. "True. There were four of us. Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I."

"Kuwabara…isn't that a surname?"

"Yes. He disliked us using his given name…I believe it was Kazuma."

"You have many fond memories of them…right?" Kurama was a little confused by her tone. It was sad, distant, and a little jealous. "I wish…never mind."

Kurama didn't speak for a moment, as they reached a glass door. Criss pulled out a key and unlocked the door. They climbed two flights of stairs and Criss pulled him into a hallway. Just beyond the hall was a room full of chairs, a TV, and four other halls. The other halls contained four doors and a communal bathroom between them on the left and right.

"You're in the first left hallway in the first right hand door," Criss said, handing him a key. "Remember that, it's a little confusing at first." She led the way into said room, which contained a bunk bed, two dressers, two desks, and an entire wall dedicated to one huge, deep closet.

"Since you got here first, you get dibs on which bed, dresser, and desk you want. Battle it out with your roomie when they get here where it all goes. Half of the closet is yours, where the red tape is. I'll see you in the morning, Shuichi. Good night."

"Good night," Kurama said.

After she'd left, he glanced up at the ceiling. Indeed, there was a hole with a large board covering the upper part of it. He could see the beams inside his side of the ceiling. The hole was large enough for someone twice his size to get through. Who in their right mind would make a hole that large?

Kurama shrugged it off, made the bottom bunk of the bed, and fell into a dreamless slumber.

So…What do you think of Criss?