A Night Out

"Dammit, Keiko, you know I can't help it!"

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't need to!"

"...Oh?"

"Keeeiikooo, I said I'm sorry!"

"You did, yes."

"Dammit, Keiko!"

Yuusuke glared up the stairs at Keiko's room where Keiko had shut herself in for the better part of an hour. He stomped over to a chair and flung himself on it, frowning at nothing in particular. There was silence for a few minutes until the lock of Keiko's room clicked open, the sound of her footsteps loud over the enforced silence. Yuusuke refused to look up as he heard her round the couch and stop at the side table - it was a matter of principle.

That didn't stop him from sneaking glances at her feet, though. She had white shoes on, the ones that made you look taller than you were. He idly calculated how much weight she'd have to balance on her toes while wearing them and spent a moment to thank his lucky stars that he was born a man. Although her legs (well, the parts that he allowed himself to see) did look extremely nice.

He tried to sneak glances out of the corner of his eye as Keiko's feet turned around and walked over to stand a few feet in front of him. Yuusuke still refused to look up. He heard a sigh before a quiet voice broke the silence.

"How long will you be gone now?" Yuusuke finally allowed himself to raise his head.

"Not long, I'll be back by..." He trailed off as his eyes took in Keiko. He opened his mouth, then closed it, and stared. Blinked. Then stared some more. Keiko raised an eyebrow as Yuusuke's voice seemingly deserted him. "Yuusuke? Something wrong?"

Yuusuke shook his head a little and looked at Keiko again, eyes wide open. After a small silence, Yuusuke spoke in a strangled voice. "...Keiko?"

Keiko allowed herself a small smile. Yuusuke's reaction was... satisfying. At least that meant he would regret what he was doing to her, and maybe think twice about doing it again, the jerk. She smiled wider. "Do you like the dress?"

Yuusuke stared at Keiko, who, incidentally, was not looking anything like the girl who had shouted at him, slammed a pan over his head, then proceeded to ignore him for the past three days. Keiko was wearing something not-quite-white and shiny, clinging to her body in all the right places and stopping at her knees. Her hair was up, making her face look fragile, yet more mature.

She'd done something to her face - her eyes seemed larger and more mysterious, and she had on lipstick and her lips looked dewy and kissabl... no, he was not going there. He tore his eyes away from her lips and attempted to speak. He was successful on his third try, much to his relief.

"Wow, Keiko. You look amazing," he said honestly, eyes wandering in spite of himself up and down her form.

"Thank you," answered Keiko, smiling. "You didn't answer me, though - when will you get back from Makai after you go tonight?"

Yuusuke slumped in his chair, rubbing the back of his head, still looking at the girl standing in front of him. "They said it might take two months, but I can probably make it back in less than a month."

Keiko sighed as she walked over to sit on the couch. "I just don't understand why you had to go tonight. You knew that I've had these tickets for more than two months, right? I've been looking forward to tonight for so long..."

Yuusuke opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the doorbell ringing. Keiko brightened up as she got up to answer it. Yuusuke leaned back in his chair, sulking. He wondered who she'd got to go as her date instead of him. If it was anyone shady, then he didn't care if she didn't like it, he would bash the guy's face in if he so much as looked askance at his Keiko.

Yuusuke was interruped from his dark musings by the happy chatter of a familiar voice. He looked up as Keiko entered, laughing, arms playfully entwined with... he blinked as his incredulous gaze rested on telling sky-blue hair. ...Botan?!

The blue-haired deity smiled at him from her position next to Keiko. "Hi, Yuusuke! Long time no see!"

Yuusuke felt a tremendows weight lift from his shoulders as he started to grin. "Hey, Botan! So you're the one going with Keiko tonight, huh?"

Botan raised an eyebrow at him, then looked back at Keiko. "Didn't you tell him?" she asked, head tilting a bit.

Yuusuke spoke up before Keiko had a chance to say a word. "How am I supposed to know anything if she hasn't been talking to me for three days?" he muttered sourly, resting his chin on his hand. Now that his immediate worries were put to rest, he had a chance to look at the two girls in his own time.

Botan had on a full length gown of some silky, beaded material that clung to her body, flaring out from her knees and ending at her toes, in the exact same shade as her eyes. i Hey, hold on... /i

"Botan, are you wearing make-up?" Yuusuke asked in some astonishment, staring at the blue-haired girl's face, which was currently set in an expression of great excitement.

"Yes!" Botan grinned. "Shizuru did it, and she helped to pick out the dress, too! She heard that we were going to the premiere of the movie, and she told me that if she couldn't go -- she had to work -- then she was going to make sure whoever was going in her place would look the way she wanted to," she explained, laughing.

Botan looked down at herself. "And, I must say, I don't really mind -- I have no idea how to dress like this, and when I went to talk to Shizuru a couple of days ago to tell her about my week off, she said -- well, more like she demanded, really -- that I go with Keiko."

Botan smiled up at Yuusuke. "I'm very glad - I've never been anywhere special in this world, all dressed up like this!" She untangled her hand from Keiko's and walked forward towards Yuusuke, putting her hands on her hips. "Do I look nice, Yuusuke?" she asked, laughing, pirouetting in place slowly, eyes sparkling.

Yuusuke grinned in spite of himself. The bubbly ferry girl's happiness was infectious. "You look beautiful, Bota --" the words practically choked in his throat as his eyes bulged out. Botan's dress was very pretty - in the front. In the back... well.

There was a flimsy strip of cloth going around her neck, and then there was the skirt of the dress, such as it was, clinging to her and starting from only a few inches below her lower back but apart from that, there was nothing to cover her up in between. Her skin gleamed in the lights, the graceful curve of her back visible to all who wanted to look. Her hair was put up and hanging in tendrils that seemed to brush the base of her shoulder sensually, the smooth skin almost begging to be touched. Yuusuke stared. Botan was going out... at night?? In this city?? Looking like that???

No fucking way.

Yuusuke sprang up out of the chair to glower at a bewildered Botan. "There is absolutely no way that you're going out dressed in that," he ground out, trying hard to ignore Botan's bare back. Keiko was his girlfriend, and standing right there, but his hormones seemed to have multiplied exponentially in number after seeing... No, he thought forcefully. Not thinking anymore about that.

"Yuusuke?"

"No way," he repeated forcefully, eyes looking from a surprised Botan to Keiko, who seemed to be hiding a smile. Yuusuke ignored her. "No fucking way are you two girls going out at night, especially dressed in things like that," he bit out, gesturing angrily at the back, or the lack of one, of Botan's gown.

"But Yuusuke --" Botan began, only to be interrupted again. Keiko started laughing quietly. He glared at her.

"I don't want to hear it!" Yuusuke was still glaring at Keiko when the smooth, melodious voice sounded behind him from one of the chairs.

"Yuusuke, calm down. You make it seem like they're going alone." Yuusuke's eyes widened to their utmost extent as he whipped around to stare at an amused Kurama, gracefully perched on the arm of an armchair, hands folded and dressed impeccably in a black tuxedo, looking every bit the lady killer Youko was rumored to have been.

...What the... "Kurama?!"

Dammit, he needed to increase his practising if the kitsune was able to sneak up on him like that! Then again, it was Kurama... "What the hell are you doing --" he stopped short, cutting himself off, silent alarms going off in his head.

"...Oh, don't tell me..." Yuusuke's voice tapered out as he felt the beginnings of worry pool in the pit of his abdomen.

Kurama tilted his head innocently to the side as he regarded the stunned boy, whose eyes looked more wary with each passing second. "Of course," he answered, nodding at Yuusuke, the mirthful smugness in his eyes sharply contradicting the angelic smile on his lips.

"Keiko asked me to accompany her and Botan, since she was able to get an extra ticket. And I couldn't possibly say no to escorting two such lovely ladies," he continued, standing up with a fluid movement that Yuusuke felt a jolt of envy at before it struck him that Kurama would be going with Keiko and Botan.

Kurama would be going with Keiko and Botan.

Kurama would be going with Keiko and Botan.

The two defenseless girls were going to be alone. At night. With Kurama.

...Oh, hell.

Yuusuke was still standing frozen in place as Kurama walked elegantly over to where the two girls were standing.

"Shall we?" he asked, green eyes sparkling, bowing gracefully before straightening up and offering both his hands to the two girls, the very picture of a complete gentleman.

"Of course!" Botan said happily, sliding both her hands easily through one of Kurama's, grinning at Keiko as the other girl did the same. "Bye, Yuusuke!" she called out, as the three of them turned and started to exit the house. "It's really too bad you couldn't make it, though!"

Keiko turned her head to look back at the stunned Yuusuke, opening her mouth to say something before seeming to change her mind halfway through and settling for giving a small wave, eyes full of mirth. Just as they reached the threshold, Kurama stopped and turned his head back to look back at Yuusuke.

"You don't need to worry at all, Yuusuke," he smirked, green eyes dancing. "I do have you to thank, though, for letting me have this lovely opportunity to... spend all this time with both Keiko and Botan...," he trailed off, silent laughter apparent in his voice. "I'll make sure to take... very good care of them both," he promised, emerald-green eyes glinting with the slightest flicker of gold and his tone laced with the tiniest hint of suggestiveness before giving a small laugh as he exited the house with the two girls, the door shutting firmly after them.

Yuusuke finally moved from his stupor after a long minute, clapping one palm over his eye and sinking to the ground with a groan, the other hand clenched in a fist. He was going to kill Gokurin when he saw him next. if it wasn't for him, it would've been him in place of... Yuusuke had a minor panic attack as he thought again of just who the girls were being escorted by. Oh, God.

His eyebrow twitched as he heard Botan lightly warn Kurama that she wasn't used to the horrible footwear the humans had their women wear and might possibly have to lean on him quite a lot in the course of the evening, tone apologetic. Kurama's answer was too low to be heard, but the teasing tone left no doubts as to their meaning. Yuusuke groaned again, long and loud and miserable.

Oh, fuck.

-----The end.-----

(Oh, come onnn, you know that could happen. )

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