What If…
Brief Summary: What if Kuwabara plucked up the courage to seriously ask Yukina to be his girlfriend? What if Hiei found out? And worse yet, what if another secret was to be revealed?
There he stood, Kazuma Kuwabara, eye-ing bouquets through the window of a small flower shop. He hadn't thought he'd ever find himself in such a girly environment, and yet, there he stood; money in pocket and eyes on price-tags. The small blow to his ego was worth it, though. After all, today was special…
He gulped, as he thought to himself 'Wow, small store, big prices…' as the redhead gawked at the long row of numbers before him on the small, laminated card. But he shook his head of that thought and put on a brave face, 'Not cheap-ing out on this one, especially not for Yukina.' His mind echoed. Still, he slightly dreaded the prices that stuck to the store window. Taking another gulp, he entered the flower shop.
Once inside, the tall boy was greeted by a woman in her mid thirties, wearing gardening gloves and potting a sunflower. After she had finished, she turned to him with a smile, "Hello, what can I do for you?" the boy's cheeks flushed a bright pink as he looked to his feet in embarrassment.
"I, uhh..I'm looking for some flowers. You know, umm…for a girl." The woman laughed softly.
"A girl, huh?" She teased as she pulled off her gloves, "Well, I think I might be able to help you there. Does she have a favourite colour?" Kazuma shrugged his shoulders, still refusing to make eye contact.
"I dunno what her favourite colour is." He confessed in a sheepish way, "I never asked her." The lady shook her head with a smile. Typical young boy.
"Well then, do you have any colours that remind you of her?"
"Oh, that's easy!" The young boy beamed, then paused as he thought, earning another laugh from the lady. "Oh, right! Green and, uhh…red!" The lady nodded and pointed to a small bouquet in the corner, "Is that what you're looking for?"
Within the baby blue packaging of the bouquet, were small, crimson coloured flowers which faded to a mint green at the tips of each thin petal, they looked delicate – just like Yukina. Perfect.
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, exactly what I want!" he then took a fist full of his money out of his jacket pocket and looked up at the lady with a goofy grin on his face, "How much for it?"
The lady looked him dead in the face, smiling sweetly.
Oh boy…
"That'll be 3683.25 yen."
His jaw dropped.
"Hey, Yukina." Keiko called, "Do you want to stay after school and study for a while?" With a smile, Yukina nodded.
Yukina had decided to attend school with Keiko two months prior to this day; she had been planning to stay in the human world for a while, as she was staying with Kazuma and Shizuru. She thought going to school would be beneficial. Some days, she would stay behind and do extra schoolwork with Keiko.
The two sat at their desks quietly while another student handed out books to the rest who decided to stay behind and study. All muttered a quiet "thanks" as the heavy textbooks sent the dust on the desks flying through the air. Yukina softly blew the dust out of the way as she opened the textbook to the desired page and then proceeded to take notes in her notebook. To say she had only been attending school for two months, she was getting the hang of science.
Kazuma ran as fast as his legs could carry him, occasionally stumbling over small stones, but making sure all the flowers were still in tact. They'd damn well better stay that way, after the amount of money he forked up for them! He hurried in destination for the school, hoping Yukina would still be there by the time he arrived.
To his surprising luck, there she was fifteen minutes later. She was walking out with Keiko and a few other girls, chatting and giggling as teenage girls do. His speed increased as he sprinted towards the green haired girl.
"Yukin—!" He had almost finished yelling her name, until he caught his foot on a large rock and went tumbling downwards and landed straight on to his face. He heard Yukina gasp as he landed to the ground with a loud thud.
Quickly, Kuwabara rose again and, clumsily, ran up to her.
"Kazuma-kun," she said worriedly, "Are you—?" she was cut off as he rose his arm and stood perfectly stiff, his head facing downwards and red with embarrassment. Now, she had a face full of almost petal-less flowers – as most of them had fallen off as a result of the fall.
She blinked with her large, round eyes.
"Kazuma…?" she raised her eyebrow slightly, looking up at the redhead, who was still blushing furiously as the girls behind her (Not including Keiko) gasped in glee.
"Yu-Yukina-san…" He gulped and looked up at her face. Her eyes were now a vision of confusion and slight worry. "W-will you…?" She tilted her head as the girls shrieked happily: "Oh, how romantic!"
"Will I what, Kazuma-kun?" Gulping one more time, the red-faced redhead took a deep breath and finally released the question that had been gnawing at him out at last.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" he almost said it too fast to be audible, but Yukina understood it. Keiko had explained these things to her after Yukina witnessed a similar scene between two other students. At first, she was amused, but then taken aback by the utter seriousness of his tone. Sure – he'd flirted with her before in order to try and win her over, but she had always thought that he was just trying to be funny. Now, however, the look in his eyes screamed truthfulness. Her mouth hung open in shock, as she turned back to the giggling girls behind her, who simply nodded and whispered "Say yes!" several times before jumping up and down like children as Keiko sighed in annoyance towards them.
Yukina turned her attention back to Kuwabara as he stood, desperately awaiting her answer and continuing to hold the bouquet inches away from her face. A few seconds of seemingly endless silence passed, before Kuwabara scrunched up his eyes, fearing rejection.
The faint sound of crinkling packaging could be heard, causing Kuwabara's eyes to snap back open. Yukina wrapped her arms around the packing and gently pulled the tattered bouquet from his grasp with a smile.
"Yes, Kazuma-kun," She beamed, hugging the bouquet close, "I will."
Now, the air was filled with not just the girls' elated screams, but Kuwabara's, also.
"This is a joke, right?"
"Shut up, Urameshi! No, it's not!" Kuwabara crossed his arms with a proud smile on his face, "I asked Yukina to be my girl, and she said yes!" Yusuke burst out laughing at the redhead. Kurama shook his head.
"I, for one, am happy for the two of you." He smiled towards Kuwabara, though, with a look of slight concern. Yusuke laughed harder.
"Are you kidding?! Hiei'll kill 'em!" Kuwabara's proud smile dropped and was soon replaced with not only fear, but anger.
"What? You mean that dwarf likes her, too!?" He exclaimed, then smirked, "Well – too bad! She said yes and that's that!" Kurama let out a sigh.
"Kuwabara…" he turned to Yusuke, who was still splitting his sides with laughter, as if asking for approval. "Do you think we should tell him?" Yusuke's face immediately straightened with seriousness.
"Do you think that's a good idea?"
"What other choice do we have, Yusuke?"
"Well…okay, you got me there; I guess we had to let 'em know someday." Kuwabara cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
"What? What's the big secret here?" Kurama inhaled deeply before starting.
"You see, Kuwabara…"
The three girls who accompanied Keiko and Yukina were walking together after Keiko and Yukina decided to go to Keiko's house - possibly to study more.
"Those two do nothing but study." One girl joked, "They're gonna work themselves to death, I think." The other girl shook her head as she laughed. The two walked under a large tree and stopped while they were conversing.
"Wasn't it so sweet?" One asked the other, "The fact that he brought her flowers?"
"Yeah," the other nodded dreamily, and then giggled, "Even if he did drop the majority of them."
"I'm glad Yukina said yes," she continued, "Kuwabara looked so embarrassed!" Suddenly, there was an abrupt rustling of leaves overhead. The two girls looked up, only to see nothing unusual, and shrugged it off, simply dismissing it as a bird.
"They make such a cute couple."
"Don't they?"
Their voices faded away as they walked on further, continuing to discuss all the little details of the days earlier encounter.
Little did they know, the two had just set a fire ablaze. As Hiei loomed over the branch he had just been sleeping on, before he heard the outrageous news. His sister…and that idiotic human! How could this be so? A rage began to boil within Hiei as he gritted his teeth, disgusted at the very thought of his sister and that pathetic human – he was almost nauseated at the implication. If that damn Kuwabara ever hurt Yukina…
"This is unacceptable." He growled through gritted teeth. "I must put a stop to this."
And with that, the fire demon sped off – determined to find Kuwabara.
Keiko and Yukina walked in silence. Yukina was smiling ear-to-ear, still holding on to what was left of the bouquet of flowers Kuwabara had presented her with. Keiko couldn't help but smile too, it made her happy to see Yukina so happy.
But, on some level, a bit of envy had arisen in Keiko – of course, not the level of envy which led to resentment, of course not! But a small part of her wished that Yusuke would be as affectionate towards her as Kuwabara had been with Yukina. She shook her head.
'Like that would ever happen.' She thought as she let out a small, inaudible sigh. That just wasn't how Yusuke was. But in the end, would she really have him any other way? She didn't know.
A thought just occurred to Keiko, as she turned to Yukina.
"Yukina, why are we headed towards Kurama's house?"
"Hm? Oh, did I not tell you?" Yukina smiled, "I wanted to borrow his notes for science." Yukina then put her finger to her chin in thought.
"Come to think of it, Keiko, didn't we see Yusuke and Kazuma head over to Kurama-san's house?" Keiko nodded.
"I think so."
"Maybe we'll surprise them by coming over!" Yukina beamed once more, hugging the flowers closer. Keiko laughed nervously.
Yukina sure seemed smitten all of the sudden.
"W-what…?" The redhead yelped. This was not good.
"Y-you mean to tell me, that Yukina and Hiei are…" Kurama nodded.
"Brother and sister." Yusuke chimed in, seemingly enjoying the look of horror on Kuwabara's face. Kuwabara held his head in his hands. On a usual basis, he would proudly laugh "Ha! I'm not scared of that gnome!", but now was different. Not only did he care about Yukina, but he also knew just how destructive the fire demon could be – he certainly wasn't too proud to admit that he would not want to be on the receiving end of Hiei's rage. Not one bit.
"B-but…" he looked up at Yusuke and Kurama with the utmost seriousness, "I would never hurt Yukina." The two nodded.
"We know, buddy." Yusuke said in a somewhat comforting tone, "But you've got to understand, if Hiei finds out, he'll be fuming." Kurama nodded in agreement.
"Perhaps it is best that we keep this new relationship between the two of you on a low level. Hiei has never been the understanding type."
'Don't I know it…' Kuwabara's mind said sarcastically. Why did he find this out now? He sighed.
"Geez."
"Don't worry about it, it'll be fine." Yusuke said reassuringly, "Just be careful not to screw things up." It was then, a knock on the door was heard. Kuwabara bolted upright, turning completely pale.
"Relax, if he was gonna kill you, he wouldn't politely knock on the door." Yusuke chuckled at the expression of his teammates face. Kurama stood and opened the door to the living room.
"Hello?" he sighed somewhat in relief upon seeing that it was Yukina and Keiko standing in front of the doorway.
"Oh, Keiko, Yukina," he smiled, "I didn't hear you come in."
"Shiori let us in." Keiko said simply and passed through the door, setting her backpack down on the table. Yukina coyly followed behind, blushing as she made eye contact with Kuwabara, who seemed more relaxed in her presence. Though, something seemed off about her facial expression, as if she were hiding something.
Setting down the flowers, Yukina took a seat next to Kuwabara and gave him a small smile, earning one in return. Keiko glared at Yusuke.
"Hey, what's that look for?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You could have told me you were coming here." She said, crossing her arms.
"Aww geez, Keiko. Quit naggin' me!" Yusuke groaned. Keiko sighed and muttered, "Jerk."
In a flash, Hiei was stood outside Kurama's house, glaring into the window of the living room. He saw all 5 sat around the table conversing, but his crimson eyes were fixed on the two at the far end of the table; Yukina and Kuwabara. Yukina was hugging Kuwabara's arm innocently as he blushed with a goofy grin on his face. Hiei rolled his eyes.
The fool wasn't worthy of his sister.
He prepared climb in through the open window and pummel the oaf into a coma, when he saw the look in his sister's eyes. She looked…happy. As she gazed up at the redhead boy, her eyes were filled with a sweet look of admiration and joy. It had been the first time Hiei had ever seen the ice maiden look that way. The last person he thought he'd see her look up to in that way would be that fool, and yet there she was: staring at him like he was her hero.
Hn…
The fire demon made his way into the room as quick as a flash, grabbing the unsuspecting redhead by the collar of his shirt.
"Huh?" Kuwabara dumbly looked up at the otherwise shorter male with a look of confusion. Hiei growled and raised his fist, "If you think I'm going to allow this…" he readied himself to drive that fist straight into Kuwabara's dumbfounded face, "Then you're highly mistaken!" he swung his arm with full force and rammed it into the soft feel of skin. A yell could be heard throughout the house, but it was not the yell of Kuwabara.
"Brother, don't!"
Silence filled the air.
Yukina stood between Hiei and Kuwabara, hugging her brother's arm – which had gone straight into her stomach. All sat in shock, staring at the two. Yukina grunted in pain and let go, holding her hands over her belly. Instantly, the shocked and guilt filled Hiei dropped Kuwabara and grabbed his sister by the shoulders.
"Y-Yukina!" he cried, "Are you…what…why!?" he barked. Yukina smiled up at Hiei with a pained look on her face was she still held her stomach. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Brother…don't hurt Kazuma-kun…" she whispered. Hiei's head turned in the direction of Kurama and Yusuke, who both looked just as in shock.
"How…?" Hiei started, but was answered by Yukina removing her hands from her stomach and embracing her brother. He stood there, perfectly stiff and stared into space. She wasn't supposed to find out. Ever. His anger began to boil again, until he heard the faint sound of her crying.
"Yukina?" he asked, pulling away and looking concerned, but trying his best to hide it. She smiled up at him again, as her tears fell to the floor as hardened gems.
"I understand, now…" she said, "I understand why you look so familiar, now. I understand why you came to save me when we first met. You're my brother." She began to sob happily, leaving Hiei, and everyone else, dumbfounded.
Kuwabara was the first to speak after the silence had befallen the room.
"Yukina, don't cry." He pleaded, "I hate to see you cry." His voice was soft, as he put a hand on the ice maiden's shoulder. Yukina turned back and smiled warmly.
"I'm crying because I'm happy, Kazuma-kun…" Kuwabara couldn't help but smile back and pull the ice maiden into an embrace, leaving Hiei standing there, still staring emotionless at the two. He stared as they hugged one another, and he saw that joy again - The joy in his sister's eyes as she looked up at Kuwabara. He turned on his heel and readied himself to leave.
"Brother, wait." Yukina said. Hiei didn't turn around; he only answered with an emotionless "What is it?" Yukina walked to him and kissed his forehead softly, causing his eyes to widen in surprise and his cheeks to redden. She pulled away once more, smiling.
He hung his head.
"You…weren't supposed to find out, Yukina."
"Why not," she cooed, looking at her brother with confusion, "Why was it so bad that I'd find out?" Hiei sighed.
"You deserve better than to have me as a brother; I'm nothing but a filthy criminal. You're too pure to be associated with a monster like me."
"Hiei, you're not a monster." She said, almost sternly. He looked apologetically at her, and then turned to glare at Kuwabara.
"You…better not hurt her, oaf." He threatened - Earning a sincere smile from Kuwabara.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Hiei exhaled slowly, letting all the anger flow out of him.
Suddenly, everything seemed somehow…simpler.
In the next few days, everything died down. Well, almost everything. Of course, the rivalry between Hiei and Kuwabara hadn't decreased by much, but they both tried to make an effort not to let it show in front of Yukina.
Her stomach was still badly bruised by the blow it had suffered by Hiei's fist, but she had it seen to by Genkai, who assured her the bruising should be gone soon enough. Though, it did prevent her from doing much physical activity, such as sports at school, but she was finding she could live with it.
"Kazuma, I'm fine." Yukina laughed, as Kuwabara was trying to help her walk, so as to not put too much strain on her stomach.
"You're sure?" she nodded in response, and he let go. She smiled and shook her head and slipped her hand into his. At first he blushed, but then his own lips grew into a smile. The two walked, hand-in-hand, home from school. He slipped his free hand into his pocket as they walked along, while she let her free one clutch her lunch-bag.
"Hm?" Kuwabara questioned, "What's that for?"
"The birds." She said simply and she looked off in the direction of the park, where several pigeons landed to pick up scraps of food left over, or tossed aside by lazy students. Yukina released Kuwabara's hand and dug into her lunch-bag, grabbing a handful of bread crumbs and throwing them a few feet away from her in all directions. As a result, a flock of the birds landed and greedily devoured the bread crumbs, earning a laugh from the ice maiden. Kuwabara smiled.
"Can I try?" he asked. Yukina nodded and poured a small amount of the bag's contents into his large hand. He readied to toss the bread crumbs, as Yukina did, but then…
"ACHOO!" he yelled as he sneezed, causing the contents of his hand to go flying through the air and all over him. Yukina laughed harder as a small group of the birds landed atop his shoulders and head, eating happily on top of the 6 foot boy.
"Ah, geez…" he sighed. Yukina smiled. When the birds finished, they flew off into the trees. Yukina took his hand once more and lead him under a nearby tree, and sat with him.
"Kazuma-kun?"
"Yes?" he asked in response. Yukina leaned her head against him and closed her eyes.
"I really like you." She smiled, leaned up and pecked him on the lips. Kuwabara smiled goofily.
"Y-yeah…I like you too~" he sighed dreamily as his lips still tingled. Yukina shook her head and leaned on his shoulder again. It was surprising how much had changed in the space of a mere few days.
The two stayed that way for a while.
"Yusuke, pick up that trash right now!"
"C'mon Keiko! The birds'll eat it!"
"Yusuke!"
"Quit naggin' me!"
Of course, some things never change.
[AN: I had fun writing this! ^^ I hope people enjoyed reading it. I'm kind of concerned I might have done some parts OOC, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that, please give feedback.]