Blurred Silhouettes

by Aina Song

As far as everyone knew, Keiko had been the one to revive Yusuke after he'd died the first time. What if her kiss had been rendered unnecessary? What if someone else had gotten to him first?

1. Part One -- Kiss

Title: Blurred Silhouettes

By: Aina Song

Fandom(s): Yu Yu Hakusho

Genre: Yaoi

Rating: PG

Warning(s): Language; Angst; Altered Scenes; Deleted Scenes; soooo much Saap…

Pairing(s): Yusuke + Kurama

Reviews: Yes, please! For the love of God, someone give me a cookie!

Author's Note: Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Italics = demon telepathy.

Another Note: This is a two-part fic, but both chapters will be under this same title, so stay tuned for the conclusion.

Teaser: As far as everyone knew, Keiko had been the one to revive Yusuke after he'd died the first time. What if her kiss had been rendered unnecessary? What if someone else had gotten to him first?

Part One - Kiss

"You should feel special," Botan advised, giving a cheerful little wave with the notebook in her hand. "Unexpected cases such as this only happen once every hundred years!"

Yusuke Urameshi glared at the blue-haired reaper and turned away. "You're just like the teachers at my school - no idea what's actually going on…" He let himself drop a little lower toward the city buildings, slowly getting the hang of being weightless.

Botan followed after him. "What's that supposed to mean? I know exactly what's happening, and I'm saying you can fix it if you follow a few steps." When he didn't answer, she cajoled, "Come on, it's a pretty good deal, don't you think?"

The dark youth paused in midair, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head. "Maybe… but, no thanks." He plastered a cocky smirk on his face, adding, "I think I like being a ghost." Glancing over his shoulder, letting her see his grin, he challenged, "You said yourself my life was kind of pathetic, right? Everybody's gonna be much happier, now that I'm erased."

Botan's eyes were wide and sympathetic. "I-I'm sorry you feel that way, and at such an early age."

He turned around, more than a little annoyed at her. "Yeah, well you gotta agree there's no point in me doin' some stupid ordeal."

She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as her oar lifted her higher up in the air. "I don't guess there's any point making big decisions in a hurry. Why don't you spend some time at your wake and think it over. I'll come back when you decide!" And with that she flew off.

"I did decide!" Yusuke shouted after her, his annoyance at her growing when she pretended not to hear. Grumbling under his breath, he turned away.

Suddenly unsupervised, he let himself float over the city's buildings, drifting aimlessly. If he was honest with himself, he knew he would miss this city. There hadn't been many things in his life worth hanging on to, but at least he'd felt right at home when brawling on those streets. Sometimes he was surprised the pavement on some of them hadn't been stained with the blood of those he'd pummeled over the years. Speaking of which…

He rolled in midair and changed direction, drifting toward the site of his last moments in life. The road there was still closed down, temporary street signs put up to detour the traffic while police still interrogated the guilty driver and surrounding witnesses. Yusuke drifted down to the street, gazing down at the pavement where he'd last seen his body before the paramedics had taken it away.

The road was clean. He had managed to die a bloodless death. He wondered why he did not feel as upset about that as he'd once thought he might, but then he remembered the kid. And Yusuke thought, in this case, perhaps the idea of a glorified death was overrated…

Interesting…

Spinning around, Yusuke stared at the glowing white shadow of a large four-tailed fox. Startled, he backed quickly away. "What the hell are you?"

A spirit, the fox replied, its voice a gentle growling tenor, same as you. The creature turned flaring red eyes toward the street, and the people loitering around the scene. This area reeks of guilt and tragedy… It looked up again, meeting Yusuke's gaze; Your death site?

"Uh… y-yeah…"

Has no one come to carry you through to the other side?

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and then she abandoned me when I refused to play by her rules." He shoved his hands into his pockets, starting to get used to encountering the strange and unusual. "So, what about you? You a reaper, too? I don't think I'd be wrong in guessin' you're not human…"

The fox's silhouette shimmered and wavered as it gave a low chuckle. No, I am not a reaper. Truthfully, you are the first to see me as I am in some time. My host must've fallen asleep again… It added almost under its breath, as though in afterthought.

"Guess that's one advantage to being dead," Yusuke commented with a crooked smirk. "Findin' out I'm not the only freak around."

The fox chuckled again. Yes.

By some strange coincidence, they both found their attentions drawn again to the street, where the last of the crowd was finally breaking apart. The police were letting the guilty driver go, and even Yusuke could not complain when all they gave the man was a ticket and a stern warning. His death, after all, had been an accident.

How did you die?

The dark youth sighed. "I saw a kid playin' with his ball on the sidewalk. I tried to tell him to find somewhere else to play, but I don't think I got through to him. I crossed the street, then looked back to check on him. I saw him kick his ball out onto the street. Right there," he added, pointing. "That was when the car came, from over there," he pointed again. "I don't think the driver or the kid were really payin' attention.

"I was told after it happened that the kid would've survived without my help, that the driver would've swerved out of the way at the last second… But at the time, I think I must've just panicked. I ran back across the street. And I pushed him out of the way." Yusuke heaved another sigh, eyes fixed upon the pavement where it happened. "The car hit me instead, and I died."

The luminescent white fox stared at him silently with those flaring red eyes, finally remarking, Sacrificing oneself for the life of another is a very noble final act…

"Yeah," Yusuke shrugged. Turning away, he lifted his eyes to meet the fox's gaze. "Hey. You wanna to come with me? They're probably gonna release the kid from the hospital any minute now, and I think I wanna see him one more time before they do."

The glowing creature dipped its head in a single nod.

~o~

The boy was coloring in a picture book, while his mother listened to the doctor's advice to watch for any signs of delayed shock or regression. Yusuke knelt before the child-sized table and watched as the boy chose a blue crayon and began using it to color in a rosebud framed within a broken window. Not a very conventional picture as far as children's books went, Yusuke supposed, but at the moment he didn't really care.

He'd only come back to this place to confirm just once more that the kid was safe and unharmed. And the boy really did seem to be happy.

Beside him, the glowing white fox suddenly flinched, its form wavering uncertainly. Yusuke straightened to his feet. "What's wrong?"

My host seems to be awakening. I must return.

The dark youth stared, "You're leaving?"

I must, the fox softly insisted, turning away and vanishing through the office door. Yusuke floated into the hall as well, barely catching a glimpse of those tails around a bend in the corridor. He chased after them. In his hurry to find the creature, he did not glance into the windows of the doors he raced past…

~o~

In one of the rooms, a red-haired youth blinked his eyes open and lifted his head from atop his arms, straightening in his chair. He let himself gaze upon the bed before him and the woman sleeping beneath its covers, even while his mind pondered the visions it had received while he'd rested.

Careful not to awaken the woman in the bed, he stood and let himself out of the room. Very quietly, he ventured along the corridor, pausing to glance inside the window of an office door. And his glass green eyes widened as his gaze fell upon a small boy setting aside his crayon for another, the blue rose he had colored displayed proudly amidst the untouched frame of shattered glass.

~o~

The next time the glowing white fox appeared before Yusuke, the dark youth was drifting along another street in the middle of the night. He paused, blinking. "Hey. Didn't think I'd run into you again…"

Neither did I, as a matter of fact, the creature replied. I expected you to have moved on by now.

"Yeah, about that," he shrugged, starting off along the street again. "Seems my death wasn't exactly expected. I'm being given a chance to come back."

The fox's luminescent red eyes widened. That's a rare and profound honor…

"One problem. My cremation's tomorrow. I have to find a friend of mine, and get her to tell my mom to keep my body safe." Yusuke shook his head, swearing under his breath. "But for some reason, I'm havin' a hard time remembering where she lives."

It is a common side-effect, the fox softly explained. The longer your spirit is trapped in this world without a body, the more you will come to lose yourself.

"But it's only been one day!"

Yes, exactly. Concentrate, and search your mind. The answers are still there, waiting for you to find them.

Yusuke closed his eyes, trying to think. Keiko… family business… apartment above a restaurant… He quickly opened his eyes again, turning his head toward a nearby street intersecting the one he had been following. "Over there!"

In little time at all, they both floated through a closed door, up a hidden flight of stairs, and through another door. Yusuke shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around. "Her room's gotten even more girly since we were kids."

The white fox said nothing, its flaring eyes drawn toward a bed across the room, and the young girl tucked warmly beneath its covers. Yusuke stepped over to the side of the bed, frowning worriedly when he caught sight of the tears slipping from beneath the young girl's closed eyelids. "She's crying…"

She must truly have cared for you, the white fox whispered at his side, to miss you so dearly.

"I-I didn't know," he muttered guiltily. "I mean, we grew up together and everything, but… for the past few years, it always seemed like we were just lookin' for things to fight about."

The fox chuckled, not unkindly. You are young, indeed…

Yusuke carefully reached a hand forth, hovering it just over the girl's shoulder, knowing an increasingly familiar frustration that he could not touch her. "Keiko… Try to listen to me."

The girl seemed to have heard him, whispering his name in her sleep.

"Get my mom to stop the funeral," he spoke into her dreams. "This is important. I need you to keep my body safe." When he felt she'd received his message, he left her dreams and gazed down at her sleeping face, at her eyes still wet with tears. "I am coming back," he softly swore to her, touching the backs of his fingers to her cheek in an attempt to catch her tears and smooth them away. "I don't want to see you cry anymore…"

A very stirring scene, the white fox gently noted as Yusuke turned away from the bed, meeting the dark youth's gaze with a kind look in those flaring red eyes. I am certain your message is well-received.

"Yeah…"

They left the Ukimoura home, wandering aimlessly along the streets. Both were quiet for several minutes, as though Yusuke was not the only one affected by his visit to his friend's dreams. Eventually they found themselves in the city park, Yusuke hovering over a bench with his legs folded under him and his hands resting on his ankles, while the fox lay down on the soft green grass to the side of the bench.

"So," Yusuke spoke, watching a small number of bats flutter amongst the branches of some nearby trees. "Who are you, anyway?"

The fox's silhouette shimmered as it gave a low chuckle. My name will not seem so important to you for much longer.

"Oh, yeah? Why not?"

You were blinded to creatures like myself before you died, correct? The fox lifted its head, meeting the dark youth's gaze. Once your spirit returns to your body, you may be so again. Why learn my name, if we may never meet again after you're revived?

"Oh," Yusuke muttered, glancing away. "Yeah, I guess I see your point. Still," he added, lifting his arms up to fold his hands behind his head, tossing a smirk up to the moon above. "I think I would've liked to have a friend from my days in limbo…"

The fox grew quiet for a long minute. But then it lifted to its feet, and there was a hint of reluctance in its gently growling voice. This may well have been our last meeting, but I must return to my host. Turning its head, the fox let its flaring red gaze take in Yusuke's profile, as though to memorize what it saw. I wish you luck.

"Thanks."

~o~

Somewhere across the city, a red-haired youth stirred awake. Automatically, his glass green eyes glanced to the hospital bed at his side. The woman under its blankets was still breathing.

Sighing, he dropped his head against the back of his chair and gazed up at the ceiling. Yet it was not the ceiling filling his vision, but the face of a certain disembodied spirit with dark hair and fierce eyes who lingered in the memory of his dreams.

"Once may have been coincidence," he murmured to himself. "Twice, however… may bear some underlying purpose…"

~o~

Some nights later, Yusuke hovered over the burnt remains of his home, clenching his jaw as he looked down upon the handful of people gathered in the street.

"I am so sorry I put both you kids at risk today," Yusuke's mother apologized with every sincerity. "Just because I was out on one of my stupid escapades." She bit her lip, "And Keiko. Your hair…"

Yusuke's childhood friend shook her head, the freshly cut ends of her hair brushing against her cheeks with the movement. "It's okay. Yusuke's body is safe, and that's the important thing." The girl paused, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "I saw a road of blue fire leading me out… It was like a big explosion, and I was surrounded by his presence…" She lowered her gaze to the wheelchair before her, and the slumbering being wrapped warmly in thick blankets. "Yusuke saved me, because he knows he's returning."

"I still can't believe it!" Kazuma Kuwabara exclaimed, kneeling down to look at the face of his strongest school rival. "Yusuke, you old rascal!"

Yusuke's mother nudged him aside, herself kneeling before her son's body. "You know I'm sorry, right? But at least now you're okay."

Hovering several feet in the air above them, Yusuke's spirit growled in hurt frustration. So many happy faces… and all for nothing. "This is so stupid," he muttered to himself. "Isn't somebody gonna tell them they're talkin' to a dead body?" His gaze zeroed in on one face in particular, and he hissed between clenched teeth, "Stop apologizing, Mom; I'm never gonna be around to tell you it's okay. I'm dead, for good!"

Floating behind them, one blue-haired reaper and her darker blue-haired coworker looked on with sympathy.

"It's so sad," one commented.

To which the other replied, "It can't be helped. He made this decision on his own."

As close as he could ever remember to crying, Yusuke squeezed his eyes shut and floated higher up into the air, putting some distance between himself and the people he would never be allowed to be with again. "Okay, Botan," he growled past the thickness in his throat. "Just take me to Heaven, or Hell, or wherever it is I'm going. I'm tired of being here."

"Yusuke Urameshi," an entirely unexpected voice answered him instead. "There's no reason to act like a baby."

~o~

The next night found Yusuke pacing back and forth across the floor of his new apartment bedroom. Perhaps not as unexpectedly as he might have thought, he was joined yet again by the glowing white fox.

The creature's red eyes were staring. You are still here?

"Yeah," he replied. "Hey, how do you keep findin' me?"

I do not know the answer to that, said the fox. I am not always given the choice where I might appear while my host's consciousness slumbers.

"Then this has gotta be some coincidence," Yusuke shrugged, cocking his head toward the other end of the room. "Anyway, look. There I am."

Turning its head, the fox moved soundlessly across the floor, pausing before the bed. Yusuke's body lay peacefully beneath a thin layer of blankets, for all purposes appearing only to be lost in sleep.

Your body's energies are fluctuating erratically, the fox observed. It must be preparing for the return of your spirit…

"According to the people in charge," Yusuke said, coming to stand at the creature's side, "somebody I know has to donate some of their own energy to me by midnight, tomorrow. Otherwise, I'd have to wait fifty-two years for another shot at life in the living."

Another visit into their dreams?

"Yeah," he rubbed at the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable. "You won't believe this, but someone has to understand the message and kiss me tomorrow before the deadline."

The fox's eyes widened, and it turned its gaze again to the slumbering body in the bed. And now you wait?

"Yes, and I hate waiting." Sighing, Yusuke shook his head and wandered around the room. "I'm so damn close now…"

Has your spirit suffered further memory loss?

"Uh, no." The dark youth paused, a slight frown turning his mouth. "I don't think so, anyway. I mean, I've been tryin' to focus more since you told me about it." He sighed, starting to feel frustrated with the whole thing. "But I guess I wouldn't really know until I need to remember something."

You make a very good point, the fox solemnly agreed. But you will be revived tomorrow?

"If I manage not to screw it up." Turning, he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned his back against the wall, the small tether working to connect his spirit with his body already allowing him some semblance of solidity. "Hey, I've been wonderin'. When I wake up tomorrow… I mean, I know you said I won't see you anymore, but…"

The glowing creature's eyes held nothing but understanding as it met Yusuke's gaze. I do not know if you will remember me after you awaken.

The dark youth dropped his gaze. "I didn't think so…"

The fox seemed to study him for a long moment. But then, with a sudden flash of light that drew upon Yusuke's attention, it had vanished… And in its place stood the glaringly white silhouette of a man, with eyes as gently flaring red as its vulpine alter ego. Yusuke stared as the glowing shade stepped close; he froze, a sudden hint of roses filling his senses as it reached a hand forth to sweep its fingertips along Yusuke's cheek.

You may remember nothing of our encounters, the strange being whispered. You may remember nothing of me. The silhouette's hand skimmed down the side of Yusuke's face and along his neck, pausing at the juncture where neck met shoulder, and the creature's own face leaned closer. Its unusual rosy scent grew more potent as the strange being captured and held Yusuke's gaze. But I will remember you.

Yusuke felt himself draw in an unnecessary breath before he could stop himself, and the white silhouette made as though to lean in even closer… But then its form wavered like ripples of water even as it faded into nothing and was gone.

The dark youth was left staring unseeingly toward the opposite wall, prominently aware of the absence of warming blood or a racing heartbeat - both of which he might have expected to be feeling at that moment, had he been returned to his body. Yet his mind, in danger of fraying as it was in his current state, was running a mile a minute.

~o~

Somewhere across the city, one red-haired youth sucked in a sharp breath as he came awake. Shifting forward in his chair, he rested his elbows atop his knees and dropped his head to his hands. His energy thrummed beneath his skin, so that he could feel his aura adjust itself in reaction. He closed his eyes, striving to calm himself even as his memory was dominated by the sights and sounds of his dream. His vision.

He remained as he was for several minutes, even after the energies in the room shifted, and he sensed the feel of another's aura. Without looking up, he feigned calm as he softly demanded, "Why do you seek me out?"

"They say the vault of King Yama is heavily guarded," replied a vaguely familiar voice from his past, "and protects weapons of great power."

He looked up, glass green eyes meeting garnet red. "You mean to steal from the Spirit King?"

He was answered with a slow, malevolent sneer.

~o~

"I suppose the only thing to do at this point is to try to contact Keiko again," Botan suggested.

"What's the use," Yusuke answered the blue-haired reaper, hanging on to her oar as they glided across the sky toward his apartment. "She's practically handcuffed to her mom…"

"What will you do, then?" Wondered the Spirit Prince, Koenma, as he drew closer to them. "It's about to be eleven forty-five."

"Time flies, doesn't it," he muttered.

~o~

Flitting amongst the shadows of the night, the redhead hesitated outside a certain apartment window and peered in. It was the very same bedroom from his dream; he'd found it. He let his gaze drop to the bed placed just beneath the other side of the glass, and its slumbering occupant… which happened to be emitting a soft golden glow.

His body must sill be waiting to accept his spirit, he observed, moving his gaze over the edges of the window. Utilizing a mere friction of his skill, he coaxed the latch free and slid the window open. He propped himself upon its ledge, carefully casting his senses outward. The very focus of his recent dreams was not in the room with him, but hovering outside the apartment building itself, surrounded by an aura of impatience and barely concealed anxiety.

He dropped his gaze again to the bed's occupant. His vulpine subconscious murmured insistently in the back of his mind, washing away any lingering doubt over the truth of his visions. Unable to resist a small drop of curiosity, he reached forth and carefully brushed the backs of his fingers along a surprisingly warm cheek. His aura reacted to the brief contact, and at last he understood.

Resting his hand to the other side of the bed's pillow, he concentrated all of his energy to a single purpose and leaned down over the slumbering human. Very gently, he skimmed his lips over twin pillows of rose flesh, before letting them settle against that suddenly tempting mouth in a truer kiss. His energy immediately flooded forth, sharing its strength between two bodies for a single infinitesimal moment, and then drew back into the redhead as he lifted his head and straightened away.

The soft golden glow cast over the slumbering human blazed for an instant, then very gradually began to fade.

The sudden metallic scratching sounds of a key working within a door's lock distracted him, and he tore his gaze away. He could no longer afford to linger there and risk discovery of his presence. With one last glance toward the bed and its occupant, he turned away and slipped out through the window, skillfully latching it once more before disappearing into the night.

~o~

Yusuke blinked his eyes open, acutely aware of the once-miniscule sensation of the blinking of his eyelids. His body seemed over-sensitive, as though making up for lost time. Even his lips tingled warmly. Very slowly, the dark youth pushed himself upright, turning his head and letting his fierce brown gaze settle upon the girl at his bedside.

It wasn't her, his mind whispered, but Yusuke gave a quick shake of his head to clear it and the thought fled him almost instantly.

Turning his body around, he cocked his head at an angle and offered a small smirk. "Hey," he greeted, his voice dry and cracking after going so long without use. "Nice kiss."