Demon’s Destiny

Kuwabara stood there silently with Yuusuke in his arms. Having been awakened in such a manner had not been… unpleasant. He had been lying in bed after Yuusuke left, berating himself for taking advantage of his friend when he was in such a weakened state when his emotions hit him in the face like a splash of cold water. He loved Yuusuke. That’s why his relationship with Yukina hadn’t worked out, and she had seen it from the beginning. And that was also why he was willing to offer him any comfort that he needed to get over this mess with Keiko. It surprised himself, how easily he was accepting this development.

Yuusuke had started trembling, sobs shaking his body once again. Was he still beating himself up over what had happened? When Yuusuke suddenly pushed him away, however, he was stricken to see tears streaming down his face. Yuusuke stood silently, shame playing across his face, which was turned downwards towards the floor. Kuwabara, confused, took an uncertain step forward. It was apparently the wrong thing to do.

Yuusuke backed away from him, disappearing he moved so fast as he recovered his clothes. He was out the door moments later, leaving the stunned man standing there in his wake. What had happened? Did he regret… the kiss? But he had been the one who had started it. And it had felt so… right. So why… The answer was so obvious; he felt ridicules not to have noticed it before. He was afraid of rejection. Since Keiko had left him, he had been questioning his worth, so naturally he expected the same treatment from Kuwabara.

Since society also frowned upon same sex relationships, he probably had thought that Kuwabara would turn into a raging homophobe in reaction to his kiss. Tears threatened to well up in his own eyes at the emotional trauma Yuusuke had been subjected to all of his life. Kuwabara leapt into action, shrugging into his clothes almost as fast as Yuusuke had, grabbing his wallet and keys before sprinting out the door after his retreating friend.

He had to find him before he could try to do something terrible to himself, and who knows how he could react in such a condition.

Yuusuke ran through the streets as fast as he possibly could; he had to put some distance between himself and Kuwabara. He wouldn’t allow their friendship to be tainted further than it had been already. Several bystanders felt a gust of wind blow past them, unable to see the boy running so desperately from his fate.

Genkai… Yuusuke changed his direction. Genkai would know what to do; she always did. Running through the forest in front on Genkai’s temple shrine, he was struck once again with the irony of the situation. Hadn’t something like this happened in one of Shakespeare’s plays? He could faintly recall some of what had been studied in his high school’s literature classes. Shakespeare had written many famous English plays… but he hadn’t devoted much attention to his teacher at the time and so forgotten what had been taught. How he wished things had been different!

He took the steps ten at a time, reaching the top of the mountain in seconds. This was where he had been taught by Genkai to master the Rei Haddou Ken… the Spirit Wave. Many memories were tied up in this place, but he wasn’t here to reminisce.

“Genkai-shihan!” He called as he entered the temple’s red arch. His speed slowed fractionally before he stopped altogether, breathing heavily from the sudden exertion. Hearing a door open, he looked up to see his mentor in her usual robes of red and tan.

“Yuusuke… are you alright?” Genkai asked, concerned for her pupil.

“Iie… Genkai-bassan!” He threw himself at her, hugging her small frame much like he had been last night with Kuwabara. The powerful old woman wrapped her arms around Yuusuke. He had been like a grandson to her, and it pained her to see him this way. Silently she drew him inside and sat down, pulling him along with her. Letting him cry his grief out, she waited patiently for him to reveal what was troubling him. She knew him well enough to know that if she pushed for an answer before he was ready to tell it, it would frighten him away. Then who would he turn to? She didn’t have to wait as long as she thought as he began sobbing out brokenly everything that had happened from the day before until what had happened this very morning.

“Bassan… what if he hates me?” He finished, looking down into his hands that he had arranged on his lap. “Kami knows I hate myself.”

“Yarusai!” Genkai said sharply. “There is nothing wrong with your feelings. I have known for some time that Keiko wasn’t the right one for you; no one who truly loves another would try to change them.”

“Dai ke do…”

“So what is this about? I won’t have you sniveling about because some slut cheated on you. Move on!” Her gaze softened slightly. As always, this boy needed a good slap in his face to make him see things properly.

Yuusuke was quiet for some time as he pondered her words. They were true, as usual. Why had he allowed himself to get like this in the first place? There was nothing in his relationship with Keiko that was worth continuing it, and he was pretty sure that what he felt for Kuwabara he had felt for some time. He needed to stop worrying. Everything would even itself out.

“Arigato, Bassan.” He looked up with a small smile at the small woman and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. She would always be there for him, he knew. Her harsh words always were truthful, and she never failed to force him to see things from a different perspective.

Genkai smiled gently at him before rising. Walking to the sliding, rice paper door, she called over her shoulder,” Yuusuke… be sure to follow your heart on these matters. It will never lead you wrong.”

He looked at her gratefully as she left him alone to his thoughts.

“Genkai-sama!” A familiar carrot-topped man skidded into the courtyard of her shrine, falling onto his face as his momentum caught up to him.

“Kuwabara.” Genkai acknowledged him.

“Yuusuke! Is he here?” He looked around franticly. “I’ve got to find him!”

“Sit! Panicking will serve no purpose but to waste your energy.” She dragged him by his ear, folding his tall form over double, to the wooden steps of her shrine. “I have something to discuss with you.”

Kuwabara looked at her oddly, rubbing his ear. “Aa.”

“What are your intentions towards Yuusuke?”

The question floored the unsuspecting man. “N-nani?” How could she possibly know? Unless… Yuusuke told her! He was here!

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Yuusuke wa doko ne no? He’s here, right? I’ve got to talk to him-”

“Yurasai!” Genkai snapped for the second time that day. Young people nowadays; so disrespectful. “You will not see him until you answer my questions!”

“But"

“Answer!”

“I…” He blushed a furious red. “I’ve found that I think I… that I… I love… him. I don’t want to see him hurt; he has been wounded enough already! I just want to make things better between us…”

Genkai gave him a calculating look that lasted for several minutes, which also started to make Kuwabara squirm. “You’ll find Yuusuke through the second door to the left. And you’d better let him know how you feel.”

Without another word, Kuwabara charged off like a flash before you could blink. Genkai couldn’t help but wish him luck; those two boys would need it. It wouldn’t matter to some how well their personalities complemented each other, and they would need all of their strength to see this through to the end. An end that would probably last their entire lives.