Teachers AIDS

(Author's Note: This is a sequel to Anger And Tears, Happiness and Joy, and kind of goes into more details on what happened surrounding Atsuko's death, and mentions how Hiei finally told Yukina about their relation.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters. If I did, I would be rich and not have to do the job I do.

Teachers AIDS -- Chapter 1

Five years had passed since the young Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi, had wed his long-time love, Suichi Minamino, a fox apparition formerly known as Youko Kurama. A lot of thing has happened to them and their group over the fifteen years they had known each other. Shortly before the end of his 7th grade year, Yusuke had been killed in a car accident after saving a boy’s life. After a series if struggles, he was brought back to life by the girl he cared about most, Keiko Ukimoura.

Because of his strength in battle, Yusuke was made the Spirit Detective of the Earth, and this is how he met the man he would fall in love with. With Kurama’s help, Yusuke won battles with demons like Hiei Jaganshi, Tarukane, many of the fighters in the Dark Tournament, and Shinobu Sensui’s band of psychic fighters. After being discovered to be a demon himself, Yusuke’s life changed even more. For the first time in several years, Yusuke would be apart from Keiko for more than a few months. This three-year absence took a heavy toll on their relationship to say the least.

For a while after his return from Demon World, things seemed to be going well for all of them. Kuwabara and Yukina were finally able to be together in the Living World for good, and this was surprisingly well-taken by Hiei. As much as he had always been disgusted by the large, carrot-topped man, he saw that his sister was happy and would live well. Kuwabara and Keiko had both graduated near the top of their high school class, and they would be starting university studies in a few months. And, as promised, Yusuke had properly proposed to Keiko and they began planning their wedding. But, as such things often do, a terrible pronouncement caught everyone by surprise.

“Lung cancer!?” Yusuke cried as his mother told him the news. “Are they positive?”

“Yes, and there’s only a very slim chance that I’ll live more than another year,” she said. “You can hardly be surprised by it, Yusuke. I mean, I’ve been smoking since I was eleven.”

“Oh, Mom,” he sobbed, embracing her and crying into her hair. “Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?”

“Yusuke, I… I don’t want to be a burden to you,” she said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mom,” he said, trying to regain his composure. “I’ve been a burden to you for the last 19 years, even when I wasn’t around. The least I can do is make sure you’re looked after before I lose you.” And so it was. During the last six months of her life, Atsuko was waited on, hand and foot, as Yusuke put everything, including his relationship with Keiko, on the back burner. Because of her school work, and work schedule, Keiko was often unable to be there at some of the darkest nights as Yusuke sat by Atsuko’s hospital bed. The one thing that gave him more comfort than Keiko was a certain apple-red-haired fox demon, and there was more than one night when the two young men would fall asleep sitting on the small couch, one of them running his hand through the other’s hair.

After Atsuko’s death, the boys realized their feelings for each other, and the wedding was completely called off. Hiei came back from Demon World and soon fell madly in love with the heartbroken Keiko, who returned his feelings. Another attack on his life rendered Yusuke without a memory of his human life, and his personality reverted back to that of Prince Yusuke, the actual son of the King of Demons, when all of Demon World was ruled by one king. Hiei and Kurama reminisced, and a bout of passion between them and Yusuke landed Hiei on the rocks with Keiko. A sudden impulse placed Keiko and Botan together, and sent Hiei back to Makuro in Demon World.

Kurama and Yusuke achieved ultimate happiness on the day of their wedding. Their happiness was shared by the reunited of Keiko and Hiei after they learned of the conception of a baby. So, as a gesture of hope for each others’ families and futures, Hiei and Keiko were married on the same day as Yukina and Kuwabara. It wasn’t until later that she found out the truth about her relation to Hiei.

“Yukina, may I speak to you for a moment, please?” Hiei said one evening at a party the group had thrown. “I have something I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I’ve wanted to make sure you were happy first.”

“What is it, Hiei-san?” she said.

“Remember several years ago, when you gave me the stone that belonged to your mother?” he asked, and she nodded. “What you didn’t realize was that the one you’ve been searching for all these years… is the one who escorted you down the aisle on the day of our weddings. Me.”

“Is this true?” Yukina placed her hand on Hiei’s arm, and searched his heart for what she could only hope was the truth. She felt the heat of immense fire, with a few trace drops of icy blood that proved that what he was saying was true. “So this is why you were so determined to rescue me from that man when we first met?”

“Yes, Sister, because I knew you didn’t deserve treatment like that from those bastards,” he said. “And I want to apologize for all the smart-mouth things I’ve said about Kazuma. I don’t think I’d have been so mean to him if I’d known how truly happy he would make you. When I saw you on your… OUR wedding day, smiling that gentle, loving smile, I was reminded of what I loved in my own bride, and only hoped that I could be as good to her as Kazuma is to you.

“Thank you for telling me, Hiei,” she said. When she hesitated touching him again, he threw his arms around her and hugged her. Just then, Kuwabara walked in and saw the scene. Yukina saw him about to freak, but she placed a finger on her lips.

“Do you want to tell him or should I?” Hiei chuckled.

“I will,” she said. “After all, it’s happy news.”

“What’s going on, Sweetie?” Kuwabara asked.

“I just found out who my brother is,” Yukina said. “And he’s been by my side for years now. Hiei.”

“Is that true, Hiei?” he cried.

“That’s right, Kazuma, I’m your brother-in-law,” Hiei said with a small smirk. “Why do you think I was so determined to save her from Tarukane when she first met you?”

“Whoa, I’m surprised I didn’t put two and two together,” Kuwabara said. “I knew you had a sister, and I knew she had brother, but it just didn’t register that it could be this way.”

“I could comment on that,” Hiei laughed. “You can be very foolish, Kazuma, but I appreciate you being so good to my sister when I couldn’t be here.”

“That’s what being a husband is about,” he said.

“You guys, get back in here!” Yusuke wailed from the living room. “This poker game has gone south with just me and Youko playin!”

“I’m comin’, Urameshi, just hold your horses!” Kuwabara called back. Yusuke was more than a little drunk, and as his loving husband looked on, Kurama could see much of Atsuko in him. Kurama had only known the woman for a few short years, but from the time he’d come back to the human world after his arrest, and had fought alongside Yusuke, he had grown to care for the woman as a second mother. He knew from speaking to Botan that Atsuko had approved of her son’s marriage to him.
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“I hate junk mail,” Kurama muttered as he collected the mail from the box near the door of the condo that they now lived in. As usual, most of it was junk mail and a few bills, but one thing in particular caught his attention. It had Yusuke’s name on it, but when he saw the big red letters BLOOD TEST RESULTS printed on the envelope, his heart nearly stopped. As carefully as possible to avoid tearing the envelope, he opened the letter and pulled out the bit of medical record inside.

“Mr. Urameshi, thank you for visiting us in our testing center on 18 November, and donating your sperm for our artificial insemination program,” the letter read. Kurama nearly collapsed. Who was Yusuke trying to give a baby to? “The specimen we collected from you was successful in impregnating a young woman who has agreed to act as a surrogate for a child which will go to you and your husband when it is born.” Tears came to Kurama’s eyes. He and Yusuke had talked about adopting a newborn, but he never thought Yusuke would go behind his back, or to such lengths to surprise him like this. Kurama placed the paper back in the envelope, and then something else caught his eyes -- the letters HIV+.

“Oh, God, no…” Kurama gasped. He looked more closely at the paper, and sure enough, the name on the sheet was Yusuke Urameshi. There had been a scare in the local blood bank shortly before Kurama had been in an accident and had needed a blood transfusion. Kurama had been tested, but there had been no positive results, perhaps because of his demon strength. Could he have given his husband this virus without realizing it? The tears flowed freely for a long time, and when Yusuke came home, he found Kurama passed out on the couch, his cheeks still red and wet from crying.

“Youko, wake up,” Yusuke said softly, gently shaking him awake. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not,” Kurama whimpered. “I just found out that my husband is dying!” Yusuke gasped, and saw the envelope laying on the floor next to the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting sick, Yusuke?”

“I didn’t want to scare you,” Yusuke said, turning his head and closing his eyes. “Now that I know I have HIV, I’m afraid that you have it too.”

“If you do have it, I was the one who gave it to you,” Kurama said. “Demons have a stronger immune system than humans, so I have shown no signs of it yet, but as with any STD, it can still be spread. I’m glad that we know about this now so that we can take the proper steps to keep us both healthy for as long as possible, with medicine for both of us and blood tests to see if I have had it to begin with. Both of us are demons, so we can stay healthy much longer than most.”

“Perhaps our children will be old enough to look after themselves,” Yusuke said with a twinkle in his eye and a wink. “Do you see us living another twenty years?”

“It’s been done, so it gives me hope,” he said. “And nine months from now, we’ll begin a real family.”

“So you saw that, then?” Yusuke chuckled. “Are you happy with it?”

“Immensely,” Kurama said. “Let’s get some dinner, and then I want to make love to you.”

“Fuck dinner,” he growled playfully. “I want you NOW.”