Yusuke Can't Take the Heat
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or any of its characters being that they all belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. The only thing I do own in this story is my OC Jasmine.
Notes: This one shot takes place in between Chapters 22 and 23 of my multi-chaptered fanfic "Musical Espionage". If you all haven't had the chance to check that and my other completed works out yet, they and the first 21 chapters are all available to read on AO3, , and on my tumblr side blog. Also this piece is inspired by yyhfanfiction's writing prompt #49 Yusuke hates spicy food. Nobody knows why, until he tells someone he trusts and he realizes that was a mistake.
One Shot Synopsis: Yusuke hates eating spicy food and after confiding to Kuwabara about it one evening, he soon realizes it's a mistake when Koenma and Jasmine find out. One Shot. Ties in with "Musical Espionage". Inspired by yyhfanfiction's writing prompt #49.
It was a late Tuesday afternoon and Yusuke was hard at work at the Yukimura Café with stocking the shelves and pantry with food items. Mr. Yukimura walked in through the backdoor and smiled at his future son-in-law. He was so proud of him. Unlike most people, Mr. Yukimura always believed that Yusuke was a good kid that needed to find his niche in life and looking at him now; he was beginning to believe that the young former spirit detective might have found it in this line of work.
Approaching him, Mr. Yukimura cleared his throat, "Good job Yusuke. After you're finished with those spices, you can take the rest of the day off."
Hearing that, Yusuke looked over his shoulder and smiled, "Thanks Mr. Yukimura. Are you sure you don't need any more help with anything else?"
Mr. Yukimura shook his head, "Nope, not at all. You've been working so hard today, you deserve to go out and have some fun for yourself. Why don't you ask Keiko if she would love to go out with you tonight?"
Yusuke smiled at that. It had been a while since he and Keiko went out on an actual date. Plus, Kuwabara and Yukina were going out tonight so, perhaps a double date with them would be fun.
He nodded at Mr. Yukimura's words, "That sounds like fun. I'll ask her. Thanks Pops."
Mr. Yukimura gently patted him on the shoulder, "No problem, Son. Now, get out of here and go have some fun."
Yusuke chuckled and untied his apron before tossing it into the laundry hamper. He walked out from behind the counter and approached the stairs to the upstairs apartment, shouting, "Hey Keiko! Let's go out! We can go meet Kuwabara and Yukina!"
Keiko emerged from her bedroom. She needed a study break anyway, "Sure, Yusuke, you don't have to shout."
Meeting him at the bottom of the stairs, Yusuke surprised her with a soft kiss on her lips making her giggle like a schoolgirl. Usually he didn't like to show his affection in public but, since the café current didn't have any customers, Yusuke figured it wouldn't hurt to give his fiancé some love.
Taking his hand, Keiko asked, "So where are we going?"
Walking out of the café and down the street, Yusuke replied, "Kuwabara and Yukina are getting some dinner at some new restaurant in Mushiori City. I don't know what it is but, it's some foreign stuff that's not easy to come by here in Japan. It's supposed to be really good."
Keiko felt her stomach rumble at that, "That sounds great. I love foreign foods. So what are we talkin'? American? Italian? Anything from the Celtic countries?"
Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, "Not a damn clue. We'll know when we get there."
A short bus ride later, the couple arrived in Mushiori City and only walked two blocks to their destination. Keiko's brown eyes lit up when they approached the restaurant, "Ernesto's Mexican Cuisine? Oh Yusuke, I...I am speechless."
Staring at the restaurant too, the former spirit detective felt the same way. Before he could say anything, Keiko dragged him inside. She squealed with delight, snapping Yusuke out of his thoughts. The seating hostess asked the couple, "How many in your party?"
Before Yusuke could answer, Kuwabara's voice piped up, "Hey Urameshi!"
Yusuke then replied, "I'm with him."
The seating hostess bowed, "Certainly." Standing upright, she guided Yusuke and Keiko to Kuwabara's and Yukina's table.
They sat down and were handed their menus before the woman departed leaving the two couples to their own devices. Yusuke looked around some more removing his coat and draping over the back of his chair, "This is some place you picked out, Kuwabara."
Kuwabara chuckled, "This stuff is great. I've only had it a few times when Jasmine came over to our house to eat. Americans have great tastes when it comes to foreign stuff."
At the mention of the Alaskan demon hunter, Yusuke sighed, sitting down, "I'm sure they do." Not wanting to think about Jasmine and their upcoming rematch in the Alaska State Fair Tournament that was to take place in the summer, the half demon ex-spirit detective began to check out his menu.
Reading the names of some of the delicious looking dishes, Yusuke groaned. Keiko found something that looked good to her and hearing the sound her boyfriend was making, she looked at him with concern, "Yusuke, are you okay?"
Still staring at his menu, he then began to complain, "Is there anything that's not smothered in salsa and hot sauce?"
Kuwabara looked up from his menu and nodded, "Yeah. There's a build your own burrito. You can put whatever you want in it."
Looking for what his best friend mentioned, Yusuke found it and sighed with relief. He really didn't want to damper the mood but, he harbored a deep secret that he never told anyone about. In fact, Yusuke didn't like spicy food. Not only that, he couldn't handle them. Period. This was so secret that not even Keiko knew about it. His mother, Atsuko did but, she wasn't a gossip anyway, even while intoxicated so, Yusuke's secret was safe with her.
He replied, "Okay, I'll have that. What about you, Yukina?"
Everyone shifted their attention to the lovely ice demon. Yukina's beautiful red eyes sparkled while she scanned her menu. She licked her lips at all of the pictures of the various dishes. They all looked so yummy to her. Yukina blinked her eyes, "Oh wow, I don't know. They all look so delicious to me. I've never seen food this appetizing before."
Keiko eyed her with interest, "So you never had food like that in the Ice Village?"
Yukina looked up from her menu and shook her head, "No. Spicy foods are outlawed there. I don't remember why exactly because they never caused me any harm. Kazuma was afraid they might the first time I tried, what was it called again? Oh yeah, those yummy things called tacos. Mmmmm...the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Oh and the hot sauce he drizzled over it, it was like...an explosion of flavor going on in my mouth. It was the most amazing experience with Human World food I have ever had the pleasure of enduring."
Yusuke began to grow envious of the ice maiden. How could she possibly handle it? She's an ice apparition. He was sure that spicy food would harm them but, he was now sorely mistaken. Yusuke then shook his head and looked back down at his menu when a waitress showed up.
"Hello, are you ready for your drinks?"
Kuwabara closed his menu and nodded, "Yes and we are also ready to order."
The waitress withdrew her pen and pen pad from her apron pocket, "Wonderful. Ready when you are, sir."
Kuwabara cleared his throat and went ahead and ordered, "I'll have a root beer with the tacos that have the refried beans and the Mexican rice on the side. Oh, can you bring us some chips and salsa as an appetizer?"
The waitress nodded as she wrote that down, "Certainly." She looked over at Yukina, "What about you, Miss?"
Yukina looked at her menu and replied, "I would like some root beer too please and may I have some ice cream floating it?"
The waitress wrote that down and nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
Yukina smiled at that and began to order her food, "Wonderful, you're so kind. Okay, for my dinner I would like the tacos with the crunchy shells and the rice and beans on the side, oh, this super yummy looking thing called a taco salad. I want to try that. Oh and this super delicious looking thing that looks like a wrap that's covered in cheese, beans, and hot sauce."
Kuwabara looked at what she was talking about and chuckled thinking she was being so cute, "My love, that's called a burrito. Do you want that too?"
Yukina eagerly nodded, "Yes, please."
The ordinary human waitress eyed the beautiful demon woman with interest, "Are you sure you want all of that?"
Yukina looked up from her menu and nodded, smiling with enthusiasm, "Yes ma'am. I'm very hungry."
The waitress just awkwardly nodded, writing down Yukina's order finding her behavior to be very odd. Shifting her attention to Keiko she asked, "What about you ma'am?"
Keiko glanced at her menu and requested, "I would love some root beer to drink and to eat, I would love the build your own burrito with chicken, black beans, refried pinto beans, cheddar cheese, Mexican rice, lettuce, guacamole, and hot salsa."
The waitress wrote that down, "You got it. How about you, sir?" she asked Yusuke.
Yusuke stared at his menu, "Hm, I want a root beer float and the build your own burrito with beef, sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, black beans, refried pinto beans, lettuce and mild salsa."
Writing down Yusuke's order and collecting their menus, the waitress then left to go get the four friends' drinks. A minute or two later she returned with the drinks and the chips and salsa appetizer and left once again. Kuwabara's dark eyes glinted with excitement, "Oh yes!"
He grabbed a tortilla chip and dipped it into the hot salsa and took a bite. The spicy salsa tickled his taste buds and he sipped from his root beer, "Hot damn, that's good stuff. Try some, Urameshi."
Yusuke just stared at the chips and salsa awkwardly and shook his head, "No thanks, Kuwabara."
Keiko too took a chip and dipped it into the salsa, "Oh come on, Yusuke. Try it. It's really good."
Yusuke sighed with annoyance, "I'm good, thank you."
Yukina took a chip and dipped it into the salsa. Popping it into her mouth, she giggled, "So much flavor, I can't wait for the main course."
Kuwabara took another chip, "Don't be such a wuss, Urameshi. Try it. You won't know if you like it if you don't."
The former spirit detective glared at him, "How many times do I have to say this? I don't want any."
Keiko eyed her fiancé with a curious expression. She never saw Yusuke act like this. Usually he was the kind of guy that would eat anything that was given to him. Keiko found this behavior odd as did Kuwabara. Yukina on the other hand, was a little too distracted by the chips and salsa and her root beer float, admiring the taste of them.
Kuwabara raised one of his ginger eyebrows at him, "You okay? You don't seem like yourself."
Keiko nodded in agreement, "Yusuke, this is...odd. You're usually not a picky eater. Out of all of our friends, except for Koenma, you don't care what you eat. You're like a human or should I say half demon garbage disposal."
Yusuke just stared at his root beer float and didn't say anything. Kuwabara then asked, "Did something happen to in the Demon World? Did Raizen make you eat human flesh or something?"
Yusuke shook his head, "No, he didn't make me eat human flesh. This...has nothing to do with Demon World. Can we just drop it?"
Before Keiko and Kuwabara could say anything, the sound of Yukina slurping down the last of her root beer float was heard. The other three table occupants looked over at the beautiful ice maiden who then started laughing, "I would like another please? Oh and more chips and salsa. They're so yummy."
At her words, Kuwabara chuckled looking at the two empty bowls, "Certainly, my love." He gently patted her on the back, chuckling and saying with adoration, "I love a woman with a healthy appetite."
The waitress returned with their food and set down everyone's plates before going back to get more chips and salsa and another root beer float for Yukina. Keiko and Yusuke eyed the demon woman in front of them as she began to chow down on all the food she ordered.
Yusuke stared at her with amazement, "Holy shit, Yukina. How are you able to eat all of that?"
She didn't get to answer his question, when Kuwabara chimed in. The red haired psychic chuckled thinking of how cute his demon girlfriend was, "Her people eat a lot, Urameshi. But, they don't get fat like the animals in the Arctic."
Yukina looked up from her plate just finishing off her taco salad with sour cream, salsa and guacamole on her lovely face, "We do. It's supposed to help us survive the subzero temperatures of the Ice Village."
Seeing her face, Kuwabara sighed and laughed in adoration, thinking she looked so attractive this way. Hearing that, she looked over at her human lover, "Kazuma, do I have something on my face?"
He nodded, "Yes, my love but, you still look beautiful."
Yukina sweetly giggled at Kuwabara's compliment and dove back into her meal, grabbing a taco off her plate. Yusuke and Keiko both laughed at their display of affection. Yusuke picked up his burrito and took a bite. Sadly, since everyone was too distracted with what was going on, nobody realized that the waitress accidentally gave Yusuke and Keiko the wrong burritos.
The half demon ex-spirit detective wound up getting Keiko's and Keiko got his. When the hot salsa hit his tongue, Yusuke let out a loud grunt and dropped the burrito onto the table. He scrambled to find a napkin and covered his mouth making motions and gagging sounds like he was going to vomit.
Kuwabara, Keiko, and Yukina abruptly stopped eating and looked at him with concern. Keiko then spoke in a frantic voice, "Yusuke? Yusuke, are you alright?"
He shook his head in a no and got up and rushed to the men's room. The following morning, Kuwabara made his way over to the apartment that Yusuke and his mom currently resided in. He hoped that Yusuke was okay. Kuwabara didn't understand what happened at the Mexican restaurant and like Keiko and Yukina, he assumed that the former spirit detective must have gotten sick despite how it didn't make much sense to him.
Usually when people get sick with food poisoning, they didn't immediately start vomiting afterwards. Knocking on the door, he waited for about a minute until Yusuke answered.
The two friends stood there in silence for a few seconds until Yusuke asked, "Hey Kuwabara, what's up?"
Kuwabara slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "Can I come in?"
Yusuke nodded, "Sure."
He let Kuwabara into the apartment and shut the door behind him. The red headed psychic then asked, "What the hell happened last night?"
Yusuke blinked his chocolate brown eyes, "What do you mean?"
Slipping his hands out of his pockets, Kuwabara replied, "When you took a bite from that burrito that turned out to be Keiko's, you looked like you were going to puke. Urameshi, me, Keiko and Yukina didn't know what was wrong, so we couldn't help you. Tell me, what caused you to act all sick like you did?"
Yusuke plopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands. He sat there and realized that he couldn't hide his secret any longer despite being afraid of Kuwabara possibly making fun of him over it. Moving his hands off his face, he drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled out.
Determined that he was as ready as he was going to be, he then said, "Kuwabara, before I tell you anything, you have to promise to keep this between us. If you don't, I'll kick your ass."
Kuwabara sat down on a chair in front of the couch and sighed. It wasn't like he didn't deal with Yusuke's punches on a regular basis anyway, "Okay, I promise. So what is it?"
Placing his hands on his lap, Yusuke then spoke, "I...I can't handle spicy food."
Gauging the look on Kuwabara's face, Yusuke waited for a response as they sat there in an awkward silence that seemed like an eternity. Finally, Kuwabara then responded with a laugh. Yusuke's dark eyebrow began to twitch in anger and annoyance, "Dammit, it's not funny."
Immediately, Kuwabara tried to regain his composure, "Sorry but...wow, I never thought of you as the type, Urameshi. You're an S Class demon that's Raizen's heir for fuck's sake."
Still feeling annoyed, Yusuke sighed, "I know. I never told anyone before now because, it's so embarrassing. The only other person who knows is my mom but, she never told
anyone anyway. You have to promise me, Kuwabara. Don't tell anyone. If someone besides you finds out about it, I won't be able to live to it down. Not even Keiko knows."
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow at that, "Why not? Don't you two know pretty much everything about each other? I thought she was the person you're closest to."
"She is but...like I said..."
"What, you thought that was too embarrassing to share with her? Come on, I doubt Keiko would even care."
Yusuke felt like his patience was wearing thin at this point, "I'm warning you, don't tell anyone. Not even Keiko. Keiko can't know about this. I mean...what would she think?"
Kuwabara sighed in annoyance for his best friend, "Okay, I won't tell her or anyone else. God Urameshi, you're such a wuss."
"Do you want me to kick your ass?"
Later that evening at the Kuwabara House, Shizuru walked in after finishing her shift at the beauty salon. Placing her purse on the wooden kitchen table, she glanced at her brother who was now watching TV, "Shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
Kuwabara tore his dark eyes away from it and replied, "It's already finished, Shizuru. If you don't believe me, it's sitting next to your purse all packed up and ready to go to school tomorrow morning."
Not trusting his word for it, Shizuru opened up her brother's book bag and withdrew his now completed homework assignments. She smiled seeing that they were all finished, "Nice job, Kazuma. Sorry for not believing you before."
"So, can I just take the rest of the evening off? I'm caught up on everything until the end of the week."
Taking a look at his other assignments, Shizuru nodded, "Sure, Bro." Slipping his homework back into his book bag, she asked, "So what was going on with Yusuke?"
Kuwabara turned off the television set finding that he was unable to focus on his current program. He sighed, "Urameshi had some trouble at the restaurant last night."
Shizuru blinked her lovely brown eyes and eyed her little brother with concern, "What sort of trouble?"
Not being able to stop himself, Kuwabara then began to spill the beans, "He can't handle eating spicy food. Urameshi totally freaked out when he took a bite from Keiko's burrito by mistake. He thought it was his and when he tasted the hot salsa, he acted like he was going to be sick and ran into the bathroom. I don't know if he threw up though."
The elder Kuwabara sibling bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "Dammit Sis, that's not funny."
Shizuru took a deep breath trying to regain her composure, "Sorry Kazuma but...that's just too funny. Who'd have thought that Yusuke was such a wimp when it comes to eating spicy food? I mean, come on. He's a descendant of a Demon World King for fuck's sake. You'd think he'd be able to handle it."
She burst out laughing once again. Kazuma rolled his eyes, "Shizuru, it's not that funny. Stop laughing!"
Seeing as it was pissing off her brother, Shizuru's laughs grew louder. Deciding he had enough of his sister making fun of Yusuke, Kuwabara got up from the couch, slipped on his sneakers and left the house to meet up with his old gang.
The next day at the Sun Street Beauty Salon, Shizuru went to work on her current client's hair which so happened to be Jasmine. The elder Kuwabara sibling was so overjoyed to work with her best friend's curly hair. Not many women in Japan had naturally curly hair like Jasmine, her sister Caroline and their mother Janine did. As a hairdresser, it bummed her out how she didn't get to work with natural curls often.
Seeing her best human friend's happy face, Jasmine smiled. She was due to get her hair done anyway and no matter how much Koenma protested to having her hair cut, Jasmine needed to get rid of the dead, frayed and split ends. Everyone was beginning to notice and those like her sister and even Kotennyo and Koashura remarked that her hair was starting to look bad. It was only Koenma that claimed her hair still looked fine.
Examining the damage closely, Shizuru then said, "Jasmine, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take off more than an inch. I'm sorry."
The Alaskan psychic sighed, "Well damn. How much are we talkin?"
Still examining her best friend's curls, Shizuru said, "I'd say about a good two inches. Unless you want to go shorter though, I seriously doubt you would go for that. If I just take off the two inches, your hair, when it shrinks back, will still go over your shoulders but, think of it this way, your curls will look way nicer without the dead weight."
Jasmine smiled at that, "Just the two inches then. You're a good beautician so, I trust you."
Draping a cover over her friend's slender body, Shizuru smiled, "Great. Is there anything else you would like for me to do? You have some beautiful natural red highlights that I've been dying to bring out. Do you feel comfortable with me giving you some light highlights? Nothing too drastic, just something that looks natural."
Jasmine thought about it for a moment and nodded, "Sure. I haven't had my hair dyed since high school."
Shizuru chuckled guiding her Alaskan friend to lean back into the sink to start wetting her hair down, "I remember that. The principal from Meiou High got pissed and demanded you dye your hair back to your natural brown."
Jasmine laughed at that memory, "Looking back on that, I shouldn't have dyed my hair that bright red. It didn't look right with the color of my eyes and eyebrows."
Both psychic women laughed at that. Still chuckling, Shizuru said, "It's good that you realized the error of your ways. Imagine how Koenma would have reacted if he seen you that way."
Sitting up while the elder Kuwabara wrapped her head in a towel to catch the excess water, Jasmine's eyes widened thinking about that, "Oh my god. I can just see him now. He wouldn't think I was attractive looking like a demented clown. Holy crap, what was I thinking?"
Shizuru laughed, "You're not the only one who made questionable fashion choices in high school. Remember that crazy perm I had during my senior year?"
"Oh, I remember that. You got that because you thought mine and Caroline's curls were the coolest thing ever and you really wanted some of your own. When you got that perm, your hair clearly couldn't handle it. It came out all wrong. My grandma Lydia gets her hair permed and it looks bad but, not as bad as the one you got."
Shizuru nodded her head in agreement, "Totally. Holy shit, I thought my hair was going to fall out from all of those chemicals. To this day, I still felt like I got lucky."
As Shizuru removed the towel and began to gently comb through her Alaskan friend's thick, curly hair being as gentle as she possibly can on her sensitive scalp, Jasmine added, "Hey we both learned from those experiences. Everyone does stupid shit in high school. Even my sister did. No matter how much Carol denies it. We both know that she's not perfect."
"She really isn't. You both have flaws and I still love you guys."
Finished with combing through Jasmine's wet hair Shizuru picked up her scissors, changing the subject, "Speaking of flaws, my brother told me something funny about one of his friends last night."
"How funny?"
Shizuru snickered, "Very. It's fucking hilarious. My brother told me that Yusuke Urameshi can't handle eating spicy food. He found that out during their double date with their girlfriends the other night."
Jasmine's dark brown eyes widened at that, "Are you fucking serious?" she began to laugh.
Shizuru couldn't help but laugh as well, "I so am."
Still laughing, the young demon hunter remarked, "He's the heir to the late King Raizen, a demon king. I thought all demons can handle that. Hell, I'm a human that's well, white and I can handle spicy foods. Even Koenma in his toddler form can handle it. You should see him eat those little itty bitty peppers and those long skinny ones whole. He doesn't even flinch or ask for milk to neutralize the acid. He just keeps chowing down on those things."
Shizuru stopped laughing and looked down at her with wide eyes, "Seriously, in his toddler form?"
Jasmine nodded, answering truthfully, "I'm not making that up. Just last week while we went over to my parents' house to eat for dinner, Koenma switched back to his toddler body mainly because my dad bet him he couldn't handle his homemade "Fiery Death Salsa" and ate the whole fucking jar in front of my parents, without tortilla chips. He ate the whole thing with a spoon. My parents just stood there in shock when Koenma asked them for another jar."
"Was he at least sick afterwards?"
Jasmine shook her head as in a no, "Nope. He was just fine. No heartburn or indigestion."
Shizuru sighed, "Lucky bastard. I guess being a god gives him a cast iron stomach. I can usually handle spicy food myself but, not your dad's salsa."
Jasmine chuckled as Shizuru went back to work cutting her hair, "Hey, we warned you didn't we? To be fair, not many people besides myself, my dad, and Koenma can. But, you have to admit, my dad's salsa and even the rest of his homemade canned and jarred goods are delicious."
Thinking about William Black's homemade pumpkin butter, Shizuru licked her lips and nodded, "Mm hm, you got that right. Speaking of, when is he making more of that delicious pumpkin butter and homemade applesauce?"
Gazing into the mirror and not even moving her head as her Japanese friend continued to cut her wet curly locks, Jasmine answered, "His newest batches are going to be finished on Friday, same with the "Fiery Death Salsa"."
"I'll be looking forward to it except for the salsa."
Both psychic women burst out laughing once again as Shizuru finished cutting Jasmine's hair and began to prepare the right dye to bring out her natural red highlights. That following Friday, Jasmine finally got the chance to go to Spirit World to see Koenma since starting her new semester at Mushiori University.
The prince himself has been quite busy with his daily duties and his music with the band. He was currently hard at work with working on the current stack of paperwork on his desk.
Stamp...rustle...stamp...rustle...
"Sigh. I am so glad I'm almost finished with this. It has taken me over two hours to complete. At least Jasmine is coming to see me. I missed her so much." Koenma thought to himself.
Speaking of his lover, the large pink and yellow double doors opened to reveal Jasmine dolled up and carrying a covered basket in her small hand. The young demon hunter then spoke to get her loving boyfriend's attention, "Koenma, my love, I'm here."
The tall and handsome prince looked up from his work and formed a smile on his face gazing at his woman. Suddenly, he noticed something a bit different about her, not being able to take his lovely brown eyes off of her. Early in the week, he protested to Jasmine having her hair cut, thinking that it would destroy her beautiful curls but, he was wrong.
Even though he preferred her hair to be natural, she still looked beautiful to him with her hair being two inches shorter and her natural red highlights being a bit more noticeable but, still looking natural. Jasmine smiled, walking up to his desk, flashing her slightly crooked teeth, "What do you think?"
Koenma sat there speechless for a minute and replied finally finding his voice, "You...you look beautiful, my queen."
Now standing in front of him, she giggled taking the compliment, "Why thank you, Koenma." She walked around the desk and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead.
Letting her sit on his lap and taking her slender body in his strong arms, Koenma added, "Shizuru did a nice job. I'm glad she didn't cut your hair too short."
Jasmine chuckled, "Don't worry, it's still long. I did say that I needed the dead ends to be cut off. Keep in mind; you have a girlfriend who would never have short hair unless she was to fall under a terminal illness that requires having her hair cut off."
"You're not prone to developing cancer are you?"
At his question, Jasmine giggled and kissed his cheek, "No, it's only with the smokers in my family and since I don't smoke, I'll be just fine. My breasts, uterus, ovaries and all of my lady parts are safe. Though, it doesn't hurt to do self breast exams and go to my gyno for checkups."
Koenma chuckled and remarked, "You also have a boyfriend to help with the breast exams. I'll notice if something isn't right while I play with them."
Thinking about the fun they have in the bedroom, Jasmine laughed, "That you will."
Koenma slipped the Mafukan out of his mouth and gave his lover a quick kiss on her small pink lips with Jasmine returning the same love. Breaking the kiss moments later, the prince changed the subject noticing the covered basket on Jasmine's lap, "What's in there?"
Slipping the Mafukan back into his mouth, she smiled once more, "I'm so glad you asked that. My parents sent you a care package with lots of homemade goodies."
Koenma perked up at that feeling excited about the basket's contents. Since he had returned home from his short stint in the Human World, Jasmine's parents, Janine and William Black, were always concerned if he was eating, sleeping or even taking breaks from his heavy workload and sent Jasmine to bring him things like food, canned goods, and other items, usually homemade.
Reaching out to the basket's cover, he took a peek and the first thing he noticed made him squeal in delight. Jasmine giggled thinking of how cute his reaction was and set the basket on his desk, careful to not knock any of the processed or unprocessed documents over. Koenma removed the little dishtowel that covered the basket's opening forming a bright, happy smile behind his pacifier.
The basket's contents were revealed to be homemade goods such as Janine's famous chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, brownies, rice crispy treats, a loaf of homemade sourdough bread and two pumpkin pies that William baked, a bag of home dried and baked pumpkin seeds, and various home canned jars of pumpkin butter, apple butter, cinnamon applesauce, jams, marmalade, vegetables such as various species of squash, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, many different types of hot peppers, and last but, not least, a few jars of William Black's Famous Fiery Death Salsa.
Koenma's brown eyes sparkled gazing at all of them especially since his name was written on every jar, the bag of pumpkin seeds, and the colorful saran wrap that covered the baked goods. Slipping the Mafukan out of his mouth again, he shifted his attention back to his lover and showered Jasmine's lovely face with kisses showing his gratitude.
Jasmine giggled at that, "You're very welcome, my prince. I'm glad you're excited."
Koenma kissed her cheek one more time and pulled back. He bobbed his head up and down, grinning ear to ear, "I am, my queen. I am. Your parents really outdid themselves this time."
He hugged her, holding her slender body close to his, "I love you, Jasmine."
"I love you too."
They shared another kiss and pulled away seconds later. Looking back at the basket, Koenma asked, "Could you grab me a jar of that salsa?"
Jasmine nodded and grabbed a jar from the basket before handing it to him. Koenma felt his mouth water thinking about the "Fiery Death Salsa's" taste from the other night gazing at the peppers, garlic, tomatoes and the other veggies contained in the glass jar. Jasmine giggled at his reaction, thinking of how adorable her boyfriend was acting, "Would you like to open it? I brought some tortilla chips."
She leaned over to the desk and reached inside her purse. Koenma smiled, "Yes please."
Sitting upright, the young demon hunter held the bag of tortilla chips as Koenma opened the jar. Opening the bag of chips, Jasmine reached inside, grabbing a chip before offering the bag to the prince. Dipping her chip into the jar of extremely hot salsa and making sure to scoop some of the hot peppers onto it, she said, mentioning, "You know, Koenma? The other night at my parents' house, I thought you wouldn't be able to handle that salsa. I am so glad I was proven wrong."
Koenma chuckled dipping his chip into the jar, getting a big scoop of hot peppers, "Hey, you learned something new about me." He shoved the pepper and salsa covered chip into his mouth, hardly reacting to the peppers' spiciness.
Jasmine chuckled, reaching over for her water bottle to wash down her chip. Taking a sip of water and reaching for another tortilla chip, she offered her water to her lover. Koenma shook his head and held up his hand to signal that he's alright without it. Grabbing another tortilla chip himself, he added, "People like me, okay, death gods mainly, can withstand the oils emitted from these peppers."
Shoving the now salsa and pepper covered chip into his mouth, Koenma made an audible moaning sound. Jasmine looked at him with concern and was relieved when he remarked, "I can't believe didn't notice this on the first bite."
Jasmine blinked her dark brown eyes, "Noticed what?"
Staring at the jar of salsa, he said, "William added a smoky flavor to this batch. I quite like it."
Smiling, Jasmine informed him, "Dad smoked the peppers and garlic for it. I'm glad you enjoy it."
Popping her chip into her mouth and washing it down with her water, she added, "It's such a shame that you, me, Dad, and Kuroko are the only people who can handle this. Koashura and Kotennyo are too chicken shit to try it, my sister says it goes past her limit of spicy foods but, we all know that's bullshit, Raito can't, and poor Shizuru and even Kazuma can't handle it."
Scooping more salsa onto his next chip, Koenma's eyes widened, "Wait, Kuroko can handle this? When did she try it?"
Jasmine reached inside the chip bag, "Just this afternoon. I swung by her place to drop the same goods off. She and her hubby were very curious about the salsa so, they opened one jar and tried it. Shogo began to freak out and started to drink from their kitchen sink. Poor guy, but Kuroko, holy shit, it's no wonder why you hired her as spirit detective. She's one tough chick. Hell, she said it was the best salsa she ever tasted."
Koenma chuckled at his lover's story, "That sounds like her alright. You are correct, she is tough. One of the toughest women, besides, you, Genkai, Caroline, and Kotennyo, I know. She's one of the few people that know I can handle spicy food. Back when she was spirit detective, she would bring me spicy food from the Human World all the time."
He sighed, "I missed it. But now," He kissed Jasmine's pale freckled cheek, "I have you. In fact, our little picnics are way better than ones Kuroko and I had...as friends."
Jasmine giggled at his awkwardness, "Even if you did date her, it's really none of my business."
"I didn't but, I only had a crush on her."
"How can I blame you, Kuroko is super cool. If I was interested in girls, I would be crushing on her too." Both lovers laughed at what Jasmine just said. Changing the subject somewhat, Jasmine pulled out another tortilla chip from the bag and said dipping her chip into the salsa jar, "At least one of your spirit detectives can. If Sensui was still alive, I would have let him try it."
Koenma laughed, "If he was, I know Shinobu wouldn't have had a good reaction to this salsa, same with Itsuki. Neither of them, from what I remember can handle anything above what you humans call "Medium"."
Popping his chip into his mouth and swallowing it, he asked, "What did you mean, at least one of my spirit detectives?"
Sipping from her water, Jasmine reached into the bag again, "Well, I learned something interesting from Shizuru at the hair salon earlier this week. She found out through her brother that Yusuke cannot handle spicy food at all. In fact, he nearly puked at the new Mexican restaurant in Mushiori City when he took a bite from Keiko's burrito by mistake."
Learning of that new revelation, Koenma's jaw dropped. A minute or two later, he burst out laughing. Jasmine couldn't help but laugh as well. Her lover's laughter was contagious. After laughing from what seemed like a few minutes, Koenma tried to compose himself, "Oh wow. Wow. That is interesting. So interesting in fact..."
He trailed off for a moment and formed a devious smile on his handsome face, "...the next time he calls me "Toddler" or "Pacifier Breath", I'm going to use the information you gave me against him."
Jasmine laughed deviously about that, "Oh Koenma, you're so bad, so naughty. I love it."
They started laughing again and began to discuss on what they were going to do during their dinner with Yusuke and Keiko tonight. Later that night, Koenma and Jasmine arrived in the Human World carrying the same basket Jasmine used to deliver the homemade goods to Koenma earlier that day.
The only contents that were contained in it now were a jar of the "Fiery Death Salsa", her bag of tortilla chips and at least one jar each of the various hot peppers. The lovers approached the Yukimura Café and walked inside.
Hearing the door sliding shut, Yusuke looked up from the counter and gave the couple a nasty glare, "What kept you two? Late because you couldn't resist to fuck each other's brains out?"
Keiko rolled her eyes at that and slapped Yusuke upside the back of the head at his stupid comment. He groaned as he brought his hand up to the sore spot. Koenma and Jasmine both sighed in annoyance at him with the prince responding, "No Yusuke. If we were, it wouldn't be any of your business."
Sitting down at the table across from Yusuke and Keiko, the lovers tried their hardest not to start cracking up at what was to come. Seeing the looks on their faces, Yusuke raised one of his dark eyebrows not really getting a good feeling about it, "What are you two up to?"
Smirking from behind his pacifier, Koenma tried to act innocent, "Oh nothing. Jasmine brought a surprise for the two of you to try. You see, her father makes some of the best home jarred goods in the three planes of existence. In fact, one of those items just so happens to be homemade salsa."
Thinking about the salsa's spices and its smoky flavor, Koenma felt his mouth begin to water. Jasmine giggled setting the basket on the table, "Mm hm, I brought a jar and a bag of tortilla chips as our little appetizer for our dinner tonight."
All the sudden, Yusuke began to feel awkward about this whole thing. The memory of incident from the other night began to come back to him. Jasmine reached inside the basket and withdrew a jar of the "Fiery Death Salsa" and her bag of tortilla chips.
Eyeing the jar, Keiko's brown eyes began to sparkle and she felt her mouth water. She was looking forward to trying the salsa gazing at the peppers, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes and other veggies contained in their little glass prison. Yusuke on the other hand began to sweat in nervousness not getting a good feeling about this at all.
The former spirit detective sat in his seat, clenching his hands into fists, thinking in head, "Oh shit, I hope this salsa isn't going to be what it's going to be."
Suddenly, something dawned on him, how could Koenma and Jasmine know about his secret? Using his deductive reasoning, he then realized the truth. Kuwabara must have blurted it out to someone and the prince and his commoner girlfriend must have heard it from the person Kuwabara told. Yusuke clenched his fists tighter. So tight to the point of where his fingernails dug into the palms of his hands.
Thinking to himself, he angrily thought, "Kuwabara is so fucking dead. His face is going to meet my fist."
Noting his former spirit detective's behavior, Koenma smirk from behind his pacifier and asked, taunting, "What's wrong Yusuke? Did Jasmine do something that made you uncomfortable?"
Not taking his anxious gaze away from the jar of "Fiery Death Salsa", Yusuke replied trying to keep his cool despite feeling pissed off at Kuwabara and beginning to freak out about what was to come, "N..no, Pacifier Breath. I just wish you and Ice Queen decided to cancel this little dinner because you obviously have more important shit to do and she should probably be training with her family or something. We do have our rematch coming up this summer at that Alaskan tournament. I just can't help but think of how much fun it's going to be to beat her in her homeland and in front of her family and friends."
Jasmine sighed in annoyance at that and retorted, "Keep talking smack all you want, Urameshi. Just because I'm in medical school, it doesn't mean I'm not still on break and not training. In fact, I'm using this time off from school to improve on my skills along with my teammates. This summer, during the Alaska State Fair Tournament, my team and I are going to mop the floor with you guys."
Shifting her large dark brown eyes to the jar of unopened salsa in front of them, she formed a dark, sadistic smirk on her small pink lips remembering what Shizuru told her earlier that week. Trying to keep herself from snickering, Jasmine added, "Until then, my teammates that consist of my college buddies, my siblings and my Aunt Theresa will keep up our training. Now, shifting gears,"
She grabbed the jar of salsa and began to open it. Koenma bit down on his pacifier and snorted trying to suppress his laughter. Hearing that, Keiko raised an eyebrow at him and Yusuke narrowed his chocolate brown eyes in a glare, "What are you laughing at Toddler?"
Koenma stopped laughing. He sucked on his pacifier for a moment trying to regain his composure. After taking a deep breath, he replied, "Oh nothing, Yusuke."
Hearing the popping sound of the jar of salsa opening, the prince smirked from behind his pacifier. Setting down the lid, Jasmine set the open jar down on the table before opening the bag of tortilla chips, "Okay, who's willing to try my dad's salsa first?"
Passing a worried glance at the jar, Yusuke immediately said, "Keiko, Keiko will first."
Keiko snapped her attention over to him. Puzzled by her half demon boyfriend's behavior, she gave him a look of concern and at the same time, a little bit miffed that he just threw her under the bus, "Yusuke, what is going on?"
Yusuke immediately began to backtrack, "Nothing. I'm okay. Nothing's wrong."
Jasmine began to tap her fingertips on the table top, "Well? I'm waiting."
"Hold your fucking horses, Ice Queen."
"Oh touchie." The Alaskan demon hunter rolled her large dark brown eyes. Koenma just sat there loudly sucking on his pacifier to keep himself from laughing. Jasmine took his hand as a silent gesture to get him to settle down. But gauging Yusuke's behavior, they both knew that he figured out that they know his little secret and boy, the lovers wanted to exploit it. Especially Koenma for the way his former spirit detective made fun of him and treated him while he was still under his employment and continues to do so, game, set, strike the match.
Keiko sighed and threw her hands up in defeat at Yusuke's stubborn behavior, "Okay, fine. I'll try it first."
She reached her hand into the bag of tortilla chips and dunked her chip, making sure to get every kind of vegetable in the mixture onto it. Keiko sniffed it, trying to test her palate with the salsa's scent first. She smiled at the smell of the spices and found that it had a smoky smell as well.
Her mouth began to water. Keiko had a liking to foods with smoky flavors making her look forward to trying this salsa. She smiled and said, "Well, here it goes."
Keiko popped the salsa covered chip into her mouth. The other three table occupants watched for her reaction. Right away, Keiko's tongue was not only bathed in the smoky flavor of the salsa but, the intense spiciness of the peppers contained in it.
She let out a loud "Mm" sound. Yusuke, Koenma, and Jasmine sat there confused not being able to determine her reaction. The beautiful ordinary human young woman swallowed it. She formed a bright smile on her lovely face while fanning herself off, "Oh wow. Wow. That was..."
Everyone sat on the edge of their seat until Keiko said, "...amazing! Delicious."
Jasmine smiled flashing her slightly crooked teeth bewildered that Keiko handle the intense spiciness of her father's famous "Fiery Death Salsa" like Koenma, herself, and Kuroko Sanada, "I take it you liked it."
Keiko eagerly nodded as she took a sip from her tea, "Very much. Thank you for introducing it to me, Jasmine." She reached her hand into the bag of tortilla chips and withdrew another chip.
"Yusuke, you got to try this. It's really spicy but, it has a rich smoky flavor. Wow, Americans make the most delicious concoctions."
Hearing his attractive girlfriend, the woman he loves more anything, including fighting and cooking say "really spicy", Yusuke said amazed that Keiko could handle it, "I think I'll pass."
Jasmine and Koenma immediately shot the ex-spirit detective a death glare. Keiko raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh come on, Yusuke. Try it."
Glaring at him, Koenma interjected, "Yusuke, just do it. If you don't, I'll tell. I know your secret."
Hearing that, Yusuke snapped his attention to his former boss, "I fucking knew it. Don't you say a fucking word Toddler. I'll tell Miss Eskimo about all the bullshit you put me, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei through when we still worked for your baby ass."
Koenma burst out laughing, "Fat chance of that. Jasmine already knows. I tell her everything."
Jasmine nodded at that, "It's true, Urameshi. I even know about him not paying you and that he has this cute little birthmark on his sexy ass that's in the shape of a music note. Oh and how his toes go numb when he has an orgasm. We tell each other everything."
Yusuke started laughing at the revelation of Koenma's toes going numb while having an orgasm and the thing about the music note birthmark. Keiko tried not to choke on her second salsa covered chip. Poor Koenma's mouth gaped open and his pacifier fell onto the table, "Jasmine, that was supposed to stay between us."
She gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry about that. You can share something about me to make us even."
Koenma formed a smirk on his luscious lips. Shifting his attention back to Yusuke and Keiko, he said, "Jasmine named her favorite big pink dildo "Prince Charming" and she has these really sexy series of pink birthmarks on her tailbone just above her beautiful butt. I like to kiss all of them while we're intimate."
Jasmine's pale freckled cheeks blushed a deep shade of red at that. The prince snickered, grabbed his pacifier off the table, leaned over, gave her a quick kiss and said, "There, we're even."
She gave him a stern, yet seductive look, taking on her BDSM persona, "Oh how I'm going to punish you later for that."
Getting a little turned on over it, Koenma chuckled, "Looking forward to it, my queen."
They shared another kiss and parted seconds later. Yusuke continued to laugh his ass off and Keiko began to snicker as well, thanking her lucky stars that Yusuke hasn't revealed any secrets about her. Getting back to the task at hand, Koenma reached his hand into the bag of tortilla chips, "Okay, I guess I'll be the next one to eat some of this. Don't hog it all Keiko."
Taking out a tortilla chip and holding it between his long fingers while holding his pacifier in his other hand; he gave Yusuke his best poker face. Gauging Koenma's expression, Yusuke, deciding to be a cocky jackass said, "I fucking dare you. No, I motherfucking, triple dog dare you, Toddler. Try the fucking salsa, if you can handle it. No wait, to make this sweeter, eat it while you're in your toddler form."
Remembering the same dare from Jasmine's father, William Black from earlier in the week while he and Jasmine had dinner with him and her mother, Janine, it took all of Koenma's self control to not laugh in Yusuke's face right then and there. Oh, the Mazoku was in for a shock.
Looking at Jasmine, he said, "You dare me to?"
The young demon hunter snickered at her celestial boyfriend, "Do it."
Koenma popped his pacifier in his mouth and reverted back to his toddler form. He looked around the room and thanked his lucky stars that Keiko's parents were out for the evening for a date night. Shifting his attention to the jar of "Fiery Death Salsa", he could feel his mouth watering thinking about the taste of it.
The now toddler looking prince climbed up onto the table, sat down and dipped his tortilla chip into the jar scooping up as much peppers as he can onto it before shoving the pepper and salsa covered chip into his mouth.
Yusuke waited for baited breath as his currently pint sized former spirit detective boss chewed up his chip with the super spicy salsa. Koenma didn't even react to the hot oils of the peppers or the spices of the salsa at all. He swallowed his chip, formed a cruel smile on his cute, chubby face and began to gloat gazing at Yusuke's shocked expression, "Oh what's wrong Yusuke? Were you convinced that little old me can't handle it? Well, guess what? I CAN!"
Getting up in Yusuke's face, Koenma said, "SUCK ON THAT!"
Jasmine burst out laughing thinking it was the funniest thing ever. Koenma walked across the table and high fived his loving girlfriend. Chuckling she said, "Oh you naughty, naughty boy."
Laughing, Koenma replied, "I'm bad. I deserved to be punished."
"Not when you're like that."
Still laughing, he sat down on the table next to her, "I know. If you were to "punish" me while I'm in this degrading body, that will violate our ground rules." He hugged her, "But hugs, hand holding and high fives are okay."
"They are but, get your face out of my boobs. Koenma..."
"He, he, sorry but, I love them."
Jasmine shook her head and gently pulled Koenma off of her. He still laughed like the little pervert he is when it comes to her. Keiko shook her head, "Well, it looks like Yusuke isn't the only one who likes to feel up the woman he cares about."
For saying that, Yusuke reached over and grabbed Keiko's boob, "You got that right. They're so squishy."
She sighed with annoyance and gave him a well deserved slap. Yusuke laughed like a total idiot, "Totally worth it."
Koenma howled with laughter over it as did Jasmine. Finally regaining her composure, Jasmine reached her hand into the tortilla chip bag and grabbed a chip. Yusuke eyed her with interest. He wanted to know if she could handle the salsa that was made by her own father.
Jasmine dunked her tortilla chip into the salsa jar making sure to get some peppers and some of the other vegetables onto it. The young demon hunter's mouth watered looking forward to her bite. Oh how she loved her dad's salsa and everything he cooked, baked, or canned with his two large hands. Jasmine felt so blessed to have a father who is so talented when it came to food preparation.
She popped her salsa covered chip into her mouth. Jasmine purred at the taste of the salsa as the spices and the spiciness of the peppers danced over her taste buds. She swallowed it and said feeling like she could breathe fire, "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff."
Jasmine sipped from her water bottle and it took every ounce of her self control to not start laughing at Yusuke's reaction. The former spirit detective just sat there with his mouth gaping open. Koenma snickered, "Close your mouth, Yusuke; a bug might fly into it."
Finally finding his voice, he retorted, "What the fuck was that? Don't tell me the Eskimo can handle that."
The current toddler looking prince and Jasmine looked at each and started cracking up. They shifted their attention back to Yusuke and Keiko. Jasmine lowered her water bottle and nodded, "Damn straight I can. Holy shit, it was always such a treat when my dad made up this salsa. Only me and him can handle it but, I think my sister can. She doesn't want to admit it because she doesn't want to hurt husband's feelings."
"Poor Raito." Koenma chuckled.
Turning the open bag of tortilla chips around, Jasmine formed a smirk on her pink lips, "Okay Urameshi, everyone else here has taken a bite or in Keiko's case, two. It's your turn."
Yusuke realized he would have a hard time getting out of this but, he had to at least try. He would do anything to keep Keiko from finding out about his secret, "No thank you."
Jasmine narrowed her large dark brown eyes at him. Koenma crossed his short arms over his small chest and barked at him, "Come on Yusuke. Don't be a chicken. Try the damn salsa. If you don't, I just might let it slip to your darling Keiko about your little secret."
Yusuke shot him a death glare, "Don't you fucking dare, Toddler. I swear I'll..."
"You what? You have nothing on me. Not anymore. Like I said, Jasmine and I tell each other everything."
Realizing he and Koenma were at a stalemate, he began to grit his teeth. Poor Yusuke was having trouble trying to think of way to get out of this. Jasmine began to drum her fingertips on the table surface, "We're waiting. You're not going to bail on us. You do, we tell. Face it, Urameshi, you're shit out of luck."
Yusuke glared at Koenma and Jasmine, "Fuck you both."
Koenma laughed, "Um, no thank you. Jasmine and I aren't interested in threesomes. After this whole thing is over, I'm going to switch back to my sexy adult body, take her back to Spirit World and fuck her right over my desk in my office. I'm going to make her scream out my name while I drill her with my big, hard..."
Just before his former boss could finish sentence, Yusuke covered his ears and began to shout at the top of his lungs, "LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR DICK OR THINK ABOUT YOU AND MISS ESKIMO ICE QUEEN HAVING SEX!"
Koenma and Jasmine both burst out laughing. Keiko sighed with annoyance not only at her boyfriend but, with the lovers as well. She then spoke over them, "ENOUGH!"
Koenma and Jasmine stopped laughing at Keiko's booming voice and Yusuke stopped shouting and uncovered his ears. Keiko gave all three of them a look of disgust, "Stop it. Just stop it. All of you need to stop treating each other like garbage. I'm sick of it. Yusuke, try the damn salsa and Koenma and Jasmine, stop picking on him with whatever blackmail you two have on him. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. I'll find out what is eventually because I know Yusuke. We grew up together. Whatever secret it is and no matter how embarrassing it might be, I'll love him no matter what. Jasmine, I believe you're the same way with Koenma."
Both lovers sat there taking in Keiko's words. Jasmine was the same way with Koenma. Looking over at her currently pint sized boyfriend, she thought back to a year ago, during his birthday party at Genkai's. She remember the first time she seen him in his current toddler appearance.
She remembered how he thought she was going to break up with him over it but, she surprised him when she didn't due to her background of being a demon hunter, she encountered weirder things in her life. Koenma being in his toddler form was no big deal to her. When Jasmine didn't breakup with him over it, Koenma knew, right then and there, that she was the right girl for him.
Koenma looked over his small shoulder at her. He and Jasmine took each other by the hand and shifted their attention back to Yusuke. The former spirit detective just sat there letting Keiko's words sink in. He took in a deep breath. They had been there for each other through thick and thin. Keiko was the one person in his life that stuck by him when nobody else did. For the longest time, she was his only friend and didn't give a shit about what her so-called friends thought about her hanging out with him.
If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have even gone through Koenma's life ordeal for him. He would have just either remained as a ghost or tried to convince the prince to send him to Hell or wherever just so he could escape from the people who treated him like shit or just simply ignored him. Staring at Keiko and looking into her sparking brown eyes, Yusuke then took a deep breath and it dawned on him.
Who the fuck cared if she learned of his secret? Shifting his gaze back to the jar of "Fiery Death Salsa", Yusuke drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled out. Reaching into the bag of tortilla chips, he withdrew a chip and said, "Here goes nothing."
He dunked his chip into the jar of salsa and scooped some onto it. Holding his salsa covered chip he stared at it for just a moment. Finally plucking up the courage, Yusuke popped it into his mouth and braced himself for the impact of the salsa's intense spiciness from the peppers.
Immediately, he felt like his taste buds were on fire. Resisting the urge to puke or spit it out, Yusuke was determined to power on through it. Keiko, Koenma, and Jasmine all watched for his reaction.
Both lovers began to feel guilty about this whole thing seeing the poor ex-spirit detective's chocolate brown eyes began to water. Right away, Keiko began to get an idea of what secret Koenma and Jasmine were implying. Yusuke finally swallowed it, feeling like his mouth was in flames due to the hot oils of the peppers, "W...water!"
Jasmine passed him her water bottle. Yusuke opened it up and began to chug the entire thing. Koenma jumped off the table and used his floating levitation ability to float into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door. He spotted the carton of milk and grabbed it.
Shutting the fridge door, he floated back to the dining room and sat down on the table, "Yusuke, here. Drink this."
Yusuke grabbed carton of milk. He nearly tore the top open and began to chug that liquid down too. Seconds later, he finished off the carton and set it down on the table breathing hard. Keiko gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Yusuke are you okay?"
Koenma and Jasmine both gave him looks of concern. Jasmine bit her lip for a moment and asked with genuine sincerity, "Holy shit. Are you going to be alright Urameshi? Fuck, Koenma and I shouldn't have forced you to try it."
Koenma nodded with agreement, "Yeah, it was too much for you."
"Yusuke, is...is this your...secret?" Keiko asked him.
Deciding to be honest with here, he nodded, "Y...yeah. Keiko..." he paused for a moment and began to scratch the back of his head, "...I can't handle eating spicy food. The reaction you just witnessed here and from the other night at the Mexican restaurant was real. I told Kuwabara but, it seems that he must have told his sister and she must have said something to Jasmine about it."
"Yeah and she said something to me about it." Koenma informed him.
Keiko chuckled for a moment and gave him a loving smile, "Oh Yusuke, that's okay. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, it makes me feel better."
Yusuke raised one of his dark eyebrows at her, "How?"
Keiko chuckled thinking that he couldn't be any cuter right now. She leaned over and kissed his pale cheek, "It makes me feel better because, I now know that you and other demons aren't these perfect indestructible beings. Heck, your spirit detective boss is a god and he has flaws."
Koenma was about to say something defensive but, he just shrugged his tiny shoulders in response to it saying, "Eh, she's right."
Jasmine giggled at that, "She is." She wrapped her arms around his small body and made him giggle by tickling his midsection.
Koenma started to laugh, "J...Jasmine...s...stop. T...that tickles."
The young demon hunter couldn't help but laugh as well. Even in his toddler form, Koenma had an infectious laugh, "Even in that tiny body, your tummy is so ticklish. It's so adorable."
Yusuke and Keiko both laughed at their display of affection. Keiko smiled, "See? Jasmine loves Koenma despite his flaws and..." she looked over at him and took his hand, lifting it to her lips and kissed it, "...I love you despite yours."
Yusuke tore his chocolate brown eyes away from Koenma and Jasmine as his current toddler looking boss was still under the mercy of Jasmine tickling his stomach. Jasmine stopped feeling like she tortured him enough. Koenma stopped laughing and took a deep breath. He jumped off the table and switch back into his tall and handsome adult form.
He took Jasmine into his long arms and whispered into her ear, "You owe me big for that."
Snuggling up against his body, she gave him a sly expression, "Oh I do now? As I recall, you owe me, my prince."
Koenma slipped his pacifier out of his mouth. He tilted her face up to his, their lips inches apart from each other's, "Let's say we're even."
Jasmine just giggled and smiled at that as Koenma brought their lips together into a deep and loving kiss. As the lovers began to make out with each other, Yusuke and Keiko both smiled at each other. Gazing at the woman he loved since childhood, Yusuke felt relieved to know that Keiko still loved him in spite of him not being able to handle spicy foods. He realized that his irrational fear of her finding out was just that, irrational. Why did he think that she would think less of him if she found out? Just like Koenma worrying about Jasmine seeing him in his toddler form, it was normal to want to be perfect in the eyes of the person of your dreams. Even though Keiko knows about another one of his flaws, Yusuke was still perfect to her in her eyes.
~The End
Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this. Chapter 22 of "Musical Espionage" is coming very soon. Stay tuned ;)