Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, and I am not getting and money for writing this piece of fanfiction. I write simply to write and hopefully make other readers happy. .

PART I: Betting On A Win (Kurama)

I never thought I would live to see a day when Yusuke Urameshi would beat me in a game of chess. Not to be stuck up, but he isn't exactly what you'd call a "brilliant strategist". I suppose he was just lucky, ne?

Start Flashback
Yesterday after school, the phone rang, and I picked up immediately, hoping that my mother would not have been awakened.

"Moshi moshi," I answered.

"Hey Kurama! It's me, Yusuke. I was just wondering if you wanted to play chess because I just learned how to play and I bet I could beat ya'!" Yusuke taunted.

"Are you sure you want to play Chess against me? My high school team nominated me to be their captain," I warned him.

"Yeah, it'll be fun! Besides," he scoffed, "I might not be as bad as you think! So, come on, if you're that confident… Then let's bet!"

"All right then, Yusuke. It sounds fine… Would you like to come over and play? My mother is not feeling well, and I would like to be here incase she needs anything from me."

"Sounds good, I'll see you in a minute." And with that he hung up the phone.

I hung up as well, and started to clean my almost spotless room. If I was going to have company, the place had to be perfect. I set myself to work, and a few minutes later the doorbell rang.

Yusuke Urameshi stood at the door way in his usual green school uniform. There was a smirk on his face as he waited for me to let him in.

I asked him to follow me to my room and he obliged, taking his time as if he were on a leisurely stroll. It was perfectly fine with me if he wanted to procrastinate his defeat.

Time Passes

An hour and a half later I sat on my bed staring at Yusuke in disbelief and he started jumping up and down in a victory dance.

I wanted to smack myself on the forehead, but that would not go under the category of well behaved, so I internally gritted my teeth and told him that it was a good game.

The punk said, "Yeah, thanks. I know!" And then he started flashing victory signs to the invisible audience. It was slightly irritating, but I would have rather had him flashing victory signs than remember our bet.

He calmed down a bit and said, "Oh yeah! About that bet… Since you lost, I'm going to make you do something."

I thought to myself, Oh please, don't let it be illegal!

I never would have guessed what he'd make me do.

"Incase you didn't know… I'd say I'm a pretty observant guy sometimes." That was great, but I wanted to know where he was heading with this.

He continued, "And I've noticed you and Hiei… You sort of have this thing. You're the only one who can tease him or tell him what to do without getting your head bitten off. I'm guessing that that's pretty special."

Uh-oh. I thought. Where exactly is he going with this?

"Kurama… I really think that you should try to tell him how you feel, you know. I can tell that you get lonely without him, and even though he's too stubborn and proud to admit it, I'm sure he wishes that he could come back from the Makai just to visit you."

A triumphant look crossed Yusuke's chocolate brown eyes. "And now I can make you tell him how you feel because I beat you in chess!" With those words he started dancing around again, and I sat back on my bed.

It was true. I missed Hiei a lot. If only he hadn't gone back to the Makai to serve Mukuro. Then we could have continued getting closer and maybe we would be somewhere further along the path than friends. A small sigh escaped my lips and brought Yusuke back to attention.

"I guess there's no way to persuade you to make me do something else, is there?" I said knowing that there wouldn't be.

An easy laugh filled the room as he joked, "Not unless you want to do something illegal."

I chuckled weakly and said, "Right. Okay… It can't be that hard to talk to Hiei, can it?" Yusuke's silence should have warned me, but I didn't comprehend just how difficult it would be.

End Flashback