Just Between Us Friends

A Friend In Need
By cillaxox

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu Yu Hakusho; it’s characters, or etc., etc., etc.

cillaxox: This story takes place about week after “Just Between Us Friends” I apologize in advance if the time line seems a little sketchy.

Kurama and Yusuke were sitting in Kurama’s park, the park that he returned to every now and then to seek solace. Over the past few weeks he had begun sharing the park with Yusuke and it quickly became their park instead of just Kurama’s. The two boys sat in silence watching the sunset; there was some space between the two of them on the bench that they were sharing. As the sun inched closer to the horizon the pair moved closer together as if drawn by the same force, until finally Kurama was nestled agaiYusuYusuke’s side with the younger boy’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. Sitting in this position it was easy for the young Spirit Detective to lean his mouth down and capture Kurama’s rose-petal soft lips in a loving kiss. Nothing else existed for them for they were lost in a world specially designed for the two young lovers. They felt free of the prying eyes of others and were comfortable enough to let the true depth of their feelings for one another show.

However, unbeknownst to them they were not alone. In the dim background a single pair of eyes watched their every movement paralyzed by what they saw. The big brown eyes filled with tears, looking away momentarily only to focus once again on the riveting sight. The small figure trembled with anger, yet at the same time was swallowed by an all-consuming sadness. The only reason the shadowy form moved was because it heard its name being called. “Keiko? Keiko where are you? It’s time to go,” a distant voice called out. Keiko stood up and brushed off her dusty knees and tried to her best to wipe away as many tears as possible. “I’m coming,” she called out in a voice that was cracking under the strain of trying to maintain normalcy. She hurried off to catch up to the others trying to think of anything except what she had just witnessed. She had come to the park to do volunteer work, but instead she uncovered a shocking truth that threatened to ruin her and Yusuke’s relationship forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

‘What’s her problem?’ Yusuke thought to himself as he meandered down the schools quickly emptying hallways. Lunch was now over and he was thinking about skipping out for day at least that was until he saw Keiko. He could’ve sworn that she had been crying, because her eyes looked swollen and red. What really caught his attention though was the way she looked at him. It looked as though she was mad at him, but it wasn’t the usual frustrated kind of mad Keiko usually showed him, but instead it was the ‘I really hate you’ kind of mad. Yusuke was confused by Keiko’s actions and he wanted to know what was going on so he decided to hang around until school was over.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The last few hours of school were a real drag for Yusuke; to him it felt like his body had entered an area where time stopped. Not only was being in school for so long bothering him, but his teachers as well as his fellow students were starting to piss him off too. It took all his willpower not to get up and walk out of class on several occasions, but he managed to hang in there out of concern for Keiko. When the last bell finally rang Yusuke was outside the school building in a flash waiting on the sidewalk for Keiko to show. Fifteen minutes later his patience was rewarded when he saw her exit the school doors surrounded by a small group of friends. She was smiling, but it wasn’t her customary exuberant smile that was full of kindness and confidence, instead it was the small forced smile of someone who wanted to be alone.

Five minutes later the group friends parted ways and Keiko left for the lone walk home. Two blocks later Yusuke joined in walking along with her, “What’s wrong with you?” he asked bluntly.

Keiko didn’t answerer him or look at him all she did was quicken her pace. Yusuke matched her speed and asked again, “What’s wrong with you?”

Once again Keiko walked faster still ignoring Yusuke’s presence. The dark haired boy easily caught up with up her, he then grabbed her arm and tried to make her stop moving Keiko tried to pull her arm away from Yusuke’s grip, but she couldn’t get loose. Still refusing to talk to the boy she slapped him as hard as she could in the face simultaneously pulling her trapped arm free and ran off down the street. Yusuke chased after her calling out her name and telling her to stop.

Keiko made a sudden left turn down an alley in hopes of losing Yusuke, but unfortunately for her he found her shortly. “What the hell is your problem, huh? Why the hell are acting like you lost your mind?” Yusuke yelled directly in Keiko’s face.

Keiko stubbornly kept her silence not giving Yusuke the satisfaction of an answer.

Yusuke continued questioning Keiko only this time it was in a gentler voice, “Why were crying at school today?” Keiko turned her head away from Yusuke’s face trying hard to hide her rapidly forming tears. “Why won’t you look me in the eye Keiko?” he questioned, “Why are avoiding me? Why are you mad me? Why did you give me such an evil look at school today? Why won’t you answer me? Did I do something to upset you? What’s going on Keiko?”

Yusuke was practically breathless after this barrage of questions, while he temporarily stopped talking to gather more air Keiko looked up at Yusuke and asked him in an angry voice, “How could you Yusuke?”

Yusuke looked at Keiko confusion evident in his eyes, “How could I what? I haven’t even done anything to you!” he yelled in a defensive tone.

Keiko’s eyes filled with tears as she spat at the dark haired boy, “I saw you! I was there Yusuke I saw everything!” Tears were streaming down her face her hands couldn’t move fast enough to stop the flow of the twin rivers.

“What are you talking about, what did you see Keiko?” Yusuke asked trying hard to keep his voice calm.

“I saw…I saw you last night…I saw you doing something last night…” The strain of the situation was too much for the young girl and she fell to the ground, she pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms protectively around her legs and cried.

Yusuke knelt down and placed his hands on her shoulders and told her in a low soothing voice, “Please Keiko tell me what I did to hurt you so much.”

Keiko swallowed hard she took a couple of deep breathes and said in a shaky voice, “I saw you kissing Kurama last night in the park.”

Yusuke fell back against the pavement shocked by what he just heard, “What do you mean you saw me…” he couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“I saw you Yusuke, I saw you,” Keiko repeated in hushed tones.

“Keiko,” Yusuke began as he reached out to hold Keiko, but the girl moved away from his arm and told him in a sad voice, “Please don’t touch me.”

Yusuke dropped his hand to his side and stared at the concrete trying to think of how to console his closest friend. Keiko broke the awkward silence by asking Yusuke, “How could you do that Yusuke? How could you kiss Kurama like that you’re supposed to be friends!”

Yusuke stared even harder at the concrete he couldn’t bear to look Keiko in the eyes and face all the pain that was reflected in them. “Keiko I wanted you to find this out in a different way. I wanted to tell you this face to face.” Yusuke said. He summoned all of his courage just so he could look Keiko in her eyes, which were filled with unshed tears and unfathomable sadness and told her, “I’m in love with Kurama.”

Yusuke could actually feel the young girl’s heart breaking he felt the same gut wrenching pain that was tearing through her body rip throughout his own. Keiko let out an ear piercing cry and fell forward into Yusuke’s lap he wrapped his arms around her body and held her tight. “It’s okay Keiko let it all out. I’m here for you,” Yusuke whispered in her ear trying to sooth her sobbing.

Keiko jerked herself out of Yusuke’s grasp and spoke angrily to the young man, “Don’t touch me! Don’t talk to me! I don’t even want you looking at me anymore Yusuke! I hate you!!” having got all this off her chest she gathered her belongings and ran away leaving Yusuke sitting alone in the alley. He desperately wanted to go after her, but he knew it would be best to leave her alone. Even though it pained him Yusuke did the only thing he could do, he went home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

‘She hates me,’ Yusuke lamented to himself, ‘she doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore. I can’t believe I’ve just lost my best friend.’

Yusuke was roused from his thoughts by a gentle rapping at his front door. At first he made no move to answer it, but the knocking was persistent so he made his way towards the door to see who it was that was bothering him. “Yeah what do want?” Yusuke called out as he opened the door.

“Hello to you to Yusuke,” Kurama answered a sunny smile shining brightly on his face. His face quickly fell once he saw the dismal expression on Yusuke’s face, “What’s wrong?” he asked quickly his voice laced with concern.
ile ile he waited for Yusuke’s answer Kurama whisked the younger boy over to the couch and seated him yet Yusuke still hadn’t given a reply. “Yusuke please tell me what’s wrong,” Kurama gently prodded.

Yusuke let out a sight and said, “Keiko hame. me. She saw us kissing in the park last night and now she hates me.”

Kurama was so startled by what he just heard he wasn’t able to speak for a minute. Once he found his voice he said to Yusuke, “Yusuke you know deep down Keiko doesn’t hate you she’s just very upset and needs some time to calm down. She loves you dearly after all.”

Yusuke dropped his head into his hands and said in a sullen voice, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Realizing what he just said Kurama covered his mouth with his hand not quite sure of what to say next.

Yusuke continued talking despite having his head in his hands, “I didn’t think she would be this upset. Maybe it’s because of the way she found out.” Kurama choosing his words carefully asked, “Do you think she was in love with you?” Yusuke lifted his head and shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, “I don’t know, I guess she was in a way.” The two boys sat in silence neither one of them quite sure what to say next.

“Have you tried talking to her again?” Kurama asked trying to come up with a way to help solve Yusuke’s problem.

“I’ve called her house at least a dozen times, her mom finally told me to stop calling. What should I do Kurama?” Yusuke questioned his eyes searching Kurama’s face for an answer.

The older boy placed a comforting hand on Yusuke’s lap and told him, “The only thing you can do right now is give her some time. If you go to her now you only make the pain worse. It’s best you give her a chance to sort through what she’s feeling on her own, then talk to her. I know it’ll be hard for you, but it’s really the only option.”

Yusuke let out a long sigh and mumbled, “I guess you’re right.”

Kurama patted Yusuke’s leg not sure what else he could say that would cheer the younger boy up. “I just want to make her happy,” Yusuke said.

A shadow of worry passed over Kurama’s face as he questioned, “What do you think would make her happy?”

Yusuke let out a joyless laugh and said, “Us not being together and me telling her that what she saw was a mistake.”

Kurama frowned and asked in a voice tinged with concern, “Is that what you want to do Yusuke? Pretend that there’s nothing going on between us?”

Yusuke looked at the older boy and quickly told him, “No! I was just thinking out loud. I could never act like I don’t care for you even if it would make Keiko happy. What would make her happy would make me miserable, but more importantly it would hurt you.”

Kurama squeezed Yusuke’s leg tighter and told him, “It will all work itself out Yusuke just try to be patient.”

Yusuke gave the red haired boy a weak smile and told him, “I know things will work themselves out somehow.”

The two boys spent another hour together before Kurama finally left to go back home. As he walked back to his house he said to himself, ‘In six weeks time if this situation hasn’t resolved itself then I will take matters into my own hands.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Six weeks later nothing had changed. Yusuke still went to school sporadically and was ignored by Keiko until he decided to skip out for the day. As a result the time that he spent with Kurama was either used to sulk or put on a façade of apathy. The situation was also beginning to put a strain on their relationship. Lately it seemed like Yusuke didn’t want to spend any time together, usually when Kurama asked Yusuke if he wanted to do something the younger boy would refuse and tell Kurama that he just wanted to be alone. Kurama knew that things were really upsetting Yusuke and by association the predicament was also beginning to upset him so he set his plan into action, which was why he was at Kuwabara’s house.

Kurama knocked on the door and was momentarily greeted by Kuwabara’s older sister, “Hello Shizuru,” he greeted politely before he asked, “Is Kuwabara home?”

“What do you want with my baby brother?” she asked playfully.

“I have a personal favor to ask of him,” he answered refusing to tell her more than was necessary. Sensing the seriousness of Kurama’s visit Shizuru stepped aside and let him in telling him, “Kazuma is in his room.”


“Thank you,” Kurama called out as he headed towards Kuwabara’s room.

Kurama knocked on Kuwabara’s door and heard a deep voice question from behind the closed door, “Who is it?”

“It’s me Kurama,” the red haired boy answered as he waited for Kuwabara to let him in.

“Hey Kurama!” the carrot-topped boy called out excitedly as he swung his door open. “What brings you here?” he asked as he stepped aside to let the older boy in. Once Kurama was his room Kuwabara closed his door and then went to sit down on his bed.

Still standing in the middle of room Kurama said, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Sure no problem anything for a pal,” Kuwabara answered.

“Before I ask you for your help though there are a few things you need to know first,” Kurama said as he sat down on the bed facing his friend. Kuwabara nodded his head and waiting patiently to fint wht what was going on. Kurama cleared his throat and related the events of the past few months to his stunned teammate. Kurama began with his recent involvement with Yusuke and concluded with the current predicament facing Yusuke and Keiko.

Kuwabara stared at Kurama rapidly blinking his eyes in disbelief. “You and Urameshi?!?” he questioned hardly believing what he was hearing.

The older boy nodded his head yes a small smile spreading across his lips. “How long have you two been…you know together?” Kuwabara asked his eyes still slightly bulging.

“For about 3 months now,” Kurama answered still smiling.

“You and Urameshi,” Kuwabara said again in a disbelieving tone. Kurama simply nodded his head this time and waited for Kuwabara to calm down.

“You and Urameshi have been together for three months and you’re just now telling me and the only reason you’re telling me now is because you’re having problems. That’s not the way friende sue supposed to act,” Kuwabara said in an indignant tone.

Kurama stared down at his hands and said, “Well when you put it that way it does sound rather bad, but all I can say is that we handled it the only way we knew how to.”

Kuwabara let out a snort and told Kurama, “Yeah and look how well it turn out. Tell me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me like Keiko is miserable, Yusuke is miserable and now you’re miserable too. Maybe if the two of you decided to talk about your relationship sooner you wouldn’t be in so much trouble right now.”
ramarama let out a heavy sigh he stood up to leave and on his way out he said to his friend, “I didn’t come here to be berated I came here for your help, because I believed that I could trust and depend on you obviously I was mistaken.”

“Don’t act like such a baby,” Kuwabara told him, “You know I’ll help you. I just wish you had told me earlier you know how much I hate to be out of the loop.”

Kurama gave his friend a grateful smile and sat back down on the bed.

“So let me see if I got this straight. You and Urai hai have been dating for three months.”

Kurama rolled his eyes and said, “Yes I do believe we’ve already covered this.”

“I wasn’t finished yet smart guy,” Kuwabara retorted.

“I’m sorry please continue.”

“As I was saying you and Urameshi have been dating for three months. A month and a half ago Keiko saw you two kissing and now her and Urameshi aren’t friends anymore.

“Yes that about sums it up,” Kurama answered nodding his head thoughtfully.


“Geez, what a mess,” Kuwabara said scratching his head.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Kurama replied staring out the window.

“So what is that you want me to do to help,” Kuwabara questioned.

Snapping back to attention the older boy said, “I have a plan and I need you to play a small part in it.”

Kuwabara scrunched up his nose and said, “Only a small part you kept in the dark for three months and now that you need my help you’re only offering me a small part!”

Kurama let out a laugh and asked his teammate, “Will a medium sized part suffice?”

Still grumbling Kuwabara said, “It’ll have to do. Now what’s your plan?”

Kurama smiled and told his carrot-topped friend, “Ok this is my idea.”

Fifteen minutes later Kuwabara was worriedly staring at the floor, “I don’t know about this Kurama I don’t like the idea of lying to Keiko and Yusuke.”

Kurama placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and told him, “I don’t like lying to them either, but this is the only way.”

“I still don’t know maybe if we give them more time they’ll come around eventually.”

“Either that or they’ll just grow more and more apart until the damage becomes irrevocable. Is that what you want Kuwabara?”

“Of course not! I just wish there was another way.”

“I’ve been thinking about this for over a month this nis no other way. Will you please help me?”

Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders and said in a resigned voice, “All right I’ll do it. I want to see them be friends again just as much as you do.”

Kuwabara left the room only to return a few moments later carrying the telephone receiver. “I hope this works,” he said as he dialed a phone number. “May I please speak to Keiko? Hey Keiko it’s Kuwabara. Listen I have a huge favor to ask you can you come over to my house tonight. Yeah I got a problem that I need your help with. You can that’s great! Look I really appreciate this, so I’ll see around 6pm, is that okay with you? Great, great I’ll see you at 6 o’clock then. All right I’ll see you later.”

After he hung up the phone Kuwabara tossed the phone to Kurama and told him, “My half is done now it’s up to you.” Kurama nodded his yes and quickly dialed the phone number that he now knew by heart. “Hello Yusuke, it’s me Kurama. I was calling to see if you could meet me at our usual spot tonight. Well I know you don’t feel like going out, but I would really appreciate it if you would meet tonight. Because I have something to talk to you about and I’d rather not do it over the phone. Don’t be silly of course I’m not breaking up with you. So you’ll meet me tonight then. Good, I’m really looking forward to seeing you. I’ll see you at 6:30 then. Good bye, oh and Yusuke do try to be on time tonight.”

“Well phase one is complete. Shall we prepare for phase two Kuwabara?” Kurama asked putting on a forced smile.

Kuwabara nodded his head yes and said, “Yeah let’s do this.” He quickly looked away not sure what to do about the sadness clouding Kurama’s green eyes. Hating to see a friend of his in pain he finally questioned, “Are you all right Kurama?”

“Of course I’m fine,” Kurama answered showing his friend another fake smile.

“You don’t have to pretend for me,” Kuwabara told him, “This whole time you’ve been so concerned with Yusuke and Keiko that you haven’t told me how you feel. So how are you doing? And please don’t lie to me this time.”

Kurama stared at his feet and answered in a low voice, “I’m scared that if our plan fails Yusuke will never be able to forgive me for making the hurt of losing his best friend that much worse for him. I’m also scared that if this plan fails that Yusuke and I will no longer be together. He’s been so distant lately and he grows even more distant with each passing day.” Kurama paused and looked out the window again then continued speaking, “It’s been over three months since he last told me he loved me.”

Kuwabara’s jaw dropped slightly when he recovered he asked in a stunned voice, “You mean he hasn’t said it since your first night together?”

Kurama nodded his head yes and said in a sad voice, “It’s been so long that I’m beginning to think that I imagined it in the first place.” Kurama looked Kuwabara in the eyes, a small smile forming across his lips and told him, “Look at me rambling on and on, when we should be preparing for tonight. So we’re clear then? Yusuke and I’ll be in the park at 6:30 at which time you will bring Keiko there too, okay? It shouldn’t take you more than twenty minutes to get there.” After pausing for a moment Kurama continued talking, “Well I better be going I have some things to take care of before 6pm.”

As he turned to leave Kuwabara caught him by the arm and told him, “Don’t worry you have the Protector of Love on your side there’s no way your plan can fail.”

Kurama finally gave his friend a genuine smile and told him, “Thank you I really needed to hear that. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Kuwabara waved at his friend’s back and called out, “Yeah I’ll see you later.”

As he was heading out the front door Shizuru called out from her spot on the couch, “I hope everything works out for you.” Her comment catches Kurama off guard, but instead of trying to figure out how much she knew about his problem he just called out over his shoulder, “Thank You.”

As Kurama walked back towards his house he thought to himself, 'Please let this work.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey you’re right on time! So Keiko how are ya?” Kuwabara called out cheerfully to the girl as he let her inside.

“I’m fine Kuwabara how are you?” Keiko replied as she stepped inside.

“Oh I’m cool. Look I’m really glad you could make it tonight I really need your help big time.”

Keiko smiled at Kuwabara and as she made her way towards the couch she told him, “It’s really no problem so what is it that you need my help with?”

“Oh you see the thing is…” Kuwabara who was still standing by the open door suddenly yelled, “No Eikichi come back!”

Keiko hurried back to the door and asked Kuwabara, “What happened?”

Looking very worried Kuwabara told her in an anxious voice, “It’s Eikichi she’s gotten loose.”

“Has she run off like this before?” Keiko questioned as she looked outside in hopes of spotting her friend’s kitten.

“No this is the first time it’s happened. I have to go find her before it gets too dark,” Kuwabara answered as he ran outside and started looking for his kitten.

Keiko followed him outside “Hey wait for me I’ll help you look for her,” she called out after Kuwabara.

The two of them spent about ten minutes searching the surrounding area for the lost kitten. “I’m sorry Kuwabara, but I don’t see Eikichi anywhere. Besides it hasn’t been very long maybe she’ll show up in a little while,” Keiko said.

Still searching for his kitten Kuwabara answered, “No I have to find her tonight! Please Keiko you have to help me find her.”

Seeing the concerned look etched into her friend’s face Keiko said in a gentle tone, “Of course I will, now let’s get going it hasn’t been too long so I’m sure we’ll find her in no time.”

“Thanks Keiko,” Kuwabara said, “Let’s go check out some of Eikichi’s and my favorite places to go.” With that the two them took off in search of Kuwabara’s pet.

Shizuru watched from the window as the pair ran down the street while she watched them she absent-mindedly stroked the small kitten that was curled up in the windowsill sound asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was now 6:28 pm and Kurama was stationed in front of Yusuke and his usual spot in their park. 'I hope he gets here soon,' Kurama thought to himself as he paced in front of the park bench. He had been waiting there since 6:15pm and in the short amount of time he was waiting he was already starting to lose his resolve. ‘I hope he gets here before Kuwabara does. If he doesn’t then this will be a total disaster.’

Five minutes later he was still pacing when he heard a voice from behind him call out, “If you keep that up you’ll wear a hole in the ground.”

Kurama felt a small smile creep across his lips as he turned around and saw Yusuke standing behind him. “Well I had to do something to keep myself entertained while I waited for you,” Kurama answered as he sat down on the bench.

As he sat down next to the older boy Yusuke told him, “I’m only three minutes late this time so quit complaining.”

Kurama let out a chuckle and said, “Yes I noticed that too. I must confess I didn’t expect you for at least another ten minutes or so. What made you decide to show up so early?”

Yusuke turned his head to face Kurama and answer“Wel“Well you said that you really needed to talk to me, so I figured it has to be important. And since you said you weren’t going to breaking up with me I guess you have good news or something else like that.”

Kurama winced as Yusuke said those words, but the younger boy didn’t notice. When he failed to give Yusuke a reply the dark haired boy asked, “So which is it? Is it good news or something else?”

Kurama took a deep breath and told him in a soft voice, “It’s someg elg else.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kuwabara finally stopped running when he saw they had made their way to the park that Kurama had told him about. He waited at the entrance for Keiko to catch up and thought to himself, ‘A few minutes late, but it’s okay.’

When Keiko finally caught up Kuwabara told her, “Eikichi and I come here sometimes so maybe she came in here.”

Keiko stared vacantly at the park entrance her bottom lip trembled slightly as her mind was flooded with unwanted memories.

Noticing her unease Kuwabara asked, “Are you okay?”

Keiko slowly nodded her head yes and told him, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you’re all right Keiko?” Kuwabara questioned again.

Keiko’s reply came more quickly this time, “Yeah I’m okay I just got lost in thought a minute ago. Let’s go look for Eikichi.”

A small frown formed at Kuwabara’s brow as he told her, “Yeah let’s go look for her.” Pushing his growing doubts from his mind Kuwabara started running again with Keiko trailing behind him.

“Slow down you’re going to fast!” Keiko called out to Kuwabara’s back as he ran ahead of her navigating his way through the park.

“I’m sorry, there’s a bench up ahead where you can sit down and catch your breath.”

Keiko let out a sigh of relief and followed Kuwabara unaware that she was heading to a prearranged meeting place.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Are you going to tell me why you asked me to come here or are you going to make me guess,” Yusuke joked as he waited for Kurama to speak.

The red haired boy was trying to wait until he saw Kuwabara arrive, but so far there was no sign of him. ‘I’ll give him two more minutes,’ he thought to himself as his eyes made another sweep of the park. A few moments later he heard two distinct voices in the not to distant background Kurama was relieved to hear them, but at the same time he was also nervous.

Yusuke noticed the voices too, because his head snapped towards the direction that they were coming from, “What have you done Kurama?” he asked in a tense voice.

“Yusuke I…” the younger boy didn’t even give Kurama a chance to answer he was already standing up to leave when he felt a firm grip on his wrist.

“Let me go!” Yusuke hissed between clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Kurama told him his calm voice belying the turmoil that was building up inside him.

The two voices were steadily moving closer it was only a matter of seconds before they reached the bench.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“The bench is right around these bushes,” Kuwabara told Keiko as they neared the designated spot.

He had spent the past few minutes telling jokes to keep Keiko distracted so she wouldn’t notice what part of the park they were, so far it had worked because it wasn’t until they rounded the bushes that she realized where they were. Despite her best efforts she let out a gasp as recognized the notorious site, but what really surprised her was the sight of Kurama trying his best to restrain Yusuke.

“Yusuke,” she whispered in a voice laced with both happiness and sadness. She stared at her former friend with mixed emotions not quite sure what to feel, unfortunately the bitterness won out. “What’s going on here,” she asked her voice filled with anger.

She didn’t give anybody a chance to explain, “I’m leaving,” she said as she spun around to leave.

As she turned around she ran into Kuwabara’s chest, he gently held her by her small shoulders and told her, “No you need to stay Keiko.”

Realization washed over her face as she pieced together the evening’s events, “So you were in on this too Kuwabara? I thought you were my friend,” she said in an accusing tone.

Kuwabara stared at his feet and told her, “It’s because you and Yusuke are my friends that I did this.” He then gently led Keiko towards Yusuke and told the two of them, “You two need to talk.”

Yusuke let a derisive snort and said, “Talk to yourself I’m leaving.” He yanked his hand out of Kurama’s grasp and asked him in a whisper that no one else could hear, “Is this the way you treat everyone you care about or just me?”

Kurama grabbed Yusuke’s arm again with his left hand and told him, “Your wrong Yusuke it’s because I care about you that I did this. I would rather try and fail then sit back and do nothing while you’re in pain.”

Kurama then raised his right hand and a thick wall of vines burst through the ground surrounding Yusuke on three sides. Kuwabara pushed Keiko towards Yusuke and stepped back from the incomplete enclosure.

“Will you please talk to each other?” Kuwabara asked with pleading eyes.

Keiko and Yusuke stared at the grass neither one of them daring to say anything Yusuke was the first one to speak, “It looks like there’s nothing left to say anymore.”

Keiko swallowed hard and said with a hollow voice, “We’ast ast words.”

Kurama stepped back and stood next to Kuwabara then said, “Then you leave me no choice. Even if the only thing you two can agree on is that you hate me then you will at least have one thing to talk about while you are inside there.”


“What do you mean?” Yusuke and Keiko asked at the same time.

“He means you’re not coming out until you talk to each other,” Kuwabara answered.

“Whether you decide to remain friends or not you two still need talk to one another. If you leave now with the way things are between you the pain will never heal. You may not believe me now but five or ten years from now you will look back at this moment and regret that you never said what was on your mind,” Kurama said as he raised his right hand again and sealed the two inside the vine prison.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t think they’re talking,” Kuwabara his left ear was pressed tightly against the green wall.

“Give them some time besides it sound proof,” Kurama sighed he was sitting on the bench and watching the su.
.

Once the sun had dipped beneath the horizon the park lights came on. Kuwabara came and joined him on the bench, “What if Yusuke decides to blast his way outta there?”

An unexpected smile appeared on Kurama’s face as he asked his friend, “How fast of a runner are you?”

The two boys shared a quick laugh then Kurama continued speaking, “I don’t think he’s going to force his way out.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because he wants this to work just as much as you and I do.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Let me out of here!” Keiko yelled as she banged her fist against the inside of the vine dungeon.

Five minutes of this passed before she paused for a break. “Is it really that bad being in here with me?” Yusuke asked, instead of breaking out he opted for leaning against one of the walls.

“It’s worse,” Keiko said as she began to kick at the wall instead of hitting it with her hands.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders at the insult and asked, “And why is that?”

Keiko stopped kicking the wall, she turned around and leaned against it so she could face Yusuke and told him, “You hurt me Yusuke.”

He let out a long sigh and told her, “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Is that supposed to magically make the past month disappear? Is that supposed to unshed all the tears I cried? Is that supposed to give me back all the sleepless nights I’ve spent thinking about you? Is that supposed to make everything normal?”

“What do you expect from me Keiko?”

“I expect a lot more than ‘I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.’ You broke my heart Yusuke,” Keiko whispered as slid down the wall until she was sitting against the ground her back resting against the vines.

Yusuke did the same thing until his positioned mirrored Keiko’s. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Yusuke said in a low voice.

Keiko scoffed and told him, “I think we’ve already established that doesn’t do me any good.”

The two of them sat in silence for five minutes they looked at everything in the cramped space except each other. “I always thought one day it would be me that you would kiss and hug. I just knew that one day underneath a starry sky you would whisper in my ear ‘I love you Keiko,’ but that’s not going to happen now. You’ve found somebody else to love Yusuke. It should have been me! Why wasn’t it me? What is it about me that you find so unlovable Yusuke?” Keiko sobbed.

“Keiko you’re my best friend and I do love you please don’t doubt that. It’s just that I can’t love you the way you want me to.”

“But you can love Kurama like that,” she asked in between sobs.

Yusuke took a deep breath and told her, “Yes I can love him like that, I can see myself being in a relationship with him and having it work out for a long time to come. I can see so many things with him that I was never able to see with you. For a long time I tried to imagine myself with you. I wanted so badly for you to be that special someone, but you weren’t. I know you’ll hate me even more for saying that, but it’s the truth.”

Several minutes past before Keiko said in a small voice, “Even if you couldn’t see those things Yusuke I could see them. I could picture us having a future together. One day we could have had a life and a family together. You can’t say for certain we couldn’t have a successful relationship you can’t predict the future. It could have worked out Yusuke.”

He shook his head sadly he looked at Keiko’s face and asked her, “What would our future together be like Keiko? What would we be doing?”

Keiko stared thoughtfully at her knees and said, “Well I would finish school, start a career, and eventually we would start a family.”

Still looking at her face Yusuke asked, “What about me Keiko? In this future of ours what would I be doing?”

Keiko looked up and made eye contact with Yusuke, “You would …you would be…I don’t know I guess you would….” Understanding his point Keiko looked away from Yusuke’s face and resumed staring at her knees she then said, “Just because I can’t think of what you would be doing in the future that shouldn’t make a difference.”

“But it does make a difference Keiko,” Yusuke said in a gentle voice.

“Well what do you think your future would be like with Kurama?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you see yourself doing in the future Yusuke?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then why does that make a difference? Why is it okay for you to be uncertain with Kurama, but not with me?”

“Because Kurama doesn’t know either. Kurama and I both are both unsure of what will happen next and that’s okay, because we can both easily adapt to the changes that inevitably come. While you on the other hand already have most of your life planned out and if we were to be together your plans would be turned upside down. I wouldn’t be able to give you the life you wanted or deserved.”

“Don’t say that!”

“You have your whole life ahead of you Keiko, you’ll find somebody else.”

“You have your whole life ahead of you too Yusuke. How can you be certain that Kurama’s the one you want to be with?”

“I can’t be, but it just feels so right being with him that I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”

Over the course of their conversation Keiko had gradually stopped crying now she was wiping away her excess tears. “I can understand how you feel I can even accept it, but you still hurt me,” she told him.

Yusuke looked up towards the ceiling and said, “I used to always tell myself that I would never do anything to hurt you, but as usual I managed to mess that up too. I really do care about you Keiko, but I can’t live my life for you. I can’t always do what will make you happy. Look I can’t take back what happened, what’s done is done. Besides even if I could take it all back I wouldn’t, because it would mean exchanging one person for the other, everything would still be the same except it would be Kurama that I was trapped in here with. I don’t want to lose your friendship Keiko, I know you hate me, but isn’t there some way we can work through this?”

Keiko leaned forward and gently held Yusuke’s hand then told him, “I don’t hate you Yusuke and I don’t hate Kurama either I’m just hurt and disappointed. I want us to still be friends too, but it’ll take some more time. Things won’t go back to normal overnight, but we’ll work through this some how.”

Yusuke smiled and asked her, “Do you really mean that?”

Keiko shyly nodded her head in agreement and squeezed his hand tighter. “Well then I’ll give you as much time as you need and when you’re ready let me know."

Keiko nodded her yes again and promised, “I will.”

Yusuke jumped to his feet and said, “I don’t know about you but I’m ready to get out of here.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

From outside the green cage Kurama and Kuwabara felt a small burst of Spirit energy.

Kurama said to the carrot topped boy, “They must have come to some sort of agreement.”

The two them got off the bench and went to go see how things had turned out. Once all the smoke had cleared Yusuke and Keiko stepped through the hole he created. The two redheads waited anxiously to hear what had transpired. “Is it good n” Ku” Kuwabara asked hopefully.

Yusuke and Keiko shared a look then Yusuke spoke, “We both still want to be friends.”

“But I still need more time, “ Keiko chipped in.

“So we’ll just wait and see hap happens next,” Yusuke concluded.

Kurama smiled, Kuwabara let a howl of triumph and slapped Kurama on the back. “Well congratulations on a job well done it looks like your plan was a success,” Kuwabara congratulated him.

While Kuwabara was still praising Kurama Yusuke snuck up on him and punched him in the jaw.

“Hey what was that for?” he yelled at Yusuke.

“That was for trapping me with those for stupid vines.”

Kuwabara hit Yusuke in the shoulder and told him, “That wasn’t me that was Kurama.

“Well then that’s for going along with his plan.”

“If that’s how you thank me for helping you I hate to see how you thank Kurama,” the taller boy said as he rubbed his jaw.

Yusuke rotated his injured shoulder, he looked in Kurama’s direction and said, “I’ll deal with him later.”


Kurama looked down at his feet with a downcast expression. “I just want to thank both of you for getting me and Yusuke together. If you two didn’t stepped in when you did who knows what would have happened,” Keiko said with a bright smile.

“Nice to know somebody appreciates my efforts. See if I ever help you again Urameshi. Come on Keiko I’ll walk you home,” Kuwabara said as he headed towards the park exit.

“Good night Kurama, good night Yusuke. I better see you in school tomorrow or else.” Keiko said and just before she turned around to leave fixed Yusuke with a small almost imperceptible smile.

He stuffed his hand s in pockets then rolled his eyes as he said, “Yeah right. I’ll be there with bells on.”

Keiko gave a final wave and turned around to follow Kuwabara out.

“Good bye Keiko and thanks for your help Kuwabara,” Kurama called as the two of them walked away.

“Well Keiko and I have already made progress,” Yusuke said.

“Oh really how can you tell?” Kurama asked as he walked over to stand next to Yusuke.

“That’s the first time she’s smiled at me in over a month,” the dark haired boy answered with a small chuckle.

The pair moved over to the bench and sat down, “So how did you plan on dealing with me?” Kurama asked.

Yusuke move closer to the red haired boy and gave him a big kiss. “That’s how,” he whispered in Kurama’s ear before kissing his lips again.

When they broke off their kiss Kurama questioned, “So you’re not mad at me then.”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Yusuke asked rhetorically, “You gave me back my best friend. If anything you should be mad at me, lately I’ve been a real asshole to you.”

Kurama let out a small laugh and said, “Yeah you have been, but I’ve long since forgiven you for it.”

“That’s good to know,” Yusuke said as he leaned in and planted another kiss on Kurama’s soft lips.

Kurama gently pushed the younger boy back and told him, “For awhile I thought you and I weren’t going to make it.”

Yusuke let out a small sigh and told him, “I thought the same thing too. I believed that tonight you were going to break up with me, because I was being acting so weird. To be honest I was scared I was going to lose you too.”

Kurama wrapped his arms around Yusuke’s neck and gave him a hug as the red haired boy held Yusuke’s body tightly he told him, “It would take a lot more than you acting like a jerk to get rid of me.”

Yusuke flashed Kurama a bright smile he then turned his face towards the older boys and gave him a passionate kiss. He pulled back after a few moments and said, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“What’s that?” Kurama asked as he planted small kisses along Yusuke’s jaw line.

“I love you and I hope you never forget that I do.”

Kurama smiled into Yusuke’s dark brown eyes and said, “Deep down in my heart I know you love me, but when I don’t hear you say it it’s pretty easy for me to forget that you do.”

Yusuke gave Kurama short kiss on the lips then told him, “Then I guess I’ll just have to tell you more often, starting right now. I love you.”

Kurama smiled at his love and told him, “I love you too. Now if I’m not mistaken we have a lot of making up to do.”

A wolfish grin formed on Yusuke’s face as he asked, “When you say ‘making up’ do you mean make up sex too, because if it does my mom is going to be gone all nig


Kurama stood up and pulled Yusuke up with him he leaned in close and whispered huskily in his ear, “When I say ‘making up’ I mean anything you or I can think of, now let’s go back to your place.”

Yusuke placed his arm around Kurama’s shoulders and as they left for his apartment he told him, “I love the way you think Kurama.”


cillaxox: There’s still more to come so if you like how this is going be on the look out for more chapters.

**Please Review**