Author's note: Before we begin, I'd like to make a few disclaimers. First of all, as having been a Dynasty Warriors and Fire Emblem fanboy for so long, I've had the medieval, formal speech imprinted deep in my brain. Secondly, having gone to really, really shitty classes this quarter, I've been quite irritable and pissed. And what came to me in this gloomy hour? Yu Yu Hakusho.
That's right, Yusuke's truancy and his ticked off, bad-mouthed nature hit home for me. I love the series and it's currently my favorite anime. I shall now leave it this tribute...
The pairing is probably not canon, but I don't give a damn.
Warning: rated 14+ for Language
As a final note, if you've happened to read my earlier fics, let's just say that I want to rant through a series that would let me do it without any problems, and this is the perfect one.
Because We Care
Three years had passed since the last Demon World Tournament. Makuro, Yomi, the former ruler Enchi, Yusuke, and Hiei, all veterans of battles in their own right, faced off with several other demons, like Jin and Touya, to determine who would be the next ruler of Demon World.
When the blood began to dry, and when the heat of battle finally died down, one demon emerged victorious: Hiei.
Yomi and Mokuro had challenged each other, and after much bloodshed their match ended in a draw. Yusuke lost to his old 'friend,' and thus was forced to concede to Hiei and his Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
With the Tournament over, Yusuke returned to human world, bitter from his defeat and eager to lick his wounds and fight in another three years.
He sat upright, slouching a little on the soft sheets of his bed. His eyes glanced to the window, and Yusuke heaved a deep sigh. Sitting cross-legged with his elbows on his knees, Yusuke finally let out a snarl and slammed his fist in the wall.
"What the hell is going on?!" A shrill voice pierced the air. The door of Yusuke's room burst open to reveal a shocked Atsuko, who stared at her son in a mixed expression of anger and shock.
Yusuke looked bored as he glanced at her. "I'm sick of losing..."
Atsuko took one long look at her son, and burst out laughing. "Idiot! Is that all you think about? Fighting and winning some damn tournament? Look at Kuwabara for Christ's sake! He's making something out of his life, not like you or me. I'm some fucked up drunk and you, you're nothing but a bum! A stupid, violent, street bum! Sometimes I wonder why Keiko even bothers staying with you!"
Yusuke sighed. "Go away."
"Fine... I'll be getting more booze if you need me." Atsuko yawned and walked off, into the dead of the night.
She glided along gracefully in the skies, her oar making little dips and turns in the wind. As her eyes wandered to the bright street lights of the bustling city below her, Botan sighed. It had been such a long time since she had a chance to speak with Hiei or Yusuke. When she last heard from him, Kuwabara was busy with his studies. If he kept this up he might actually become a doctor or lawyer. As for Kurama, or, as others knew him, Shuichi, he was still the top student of his class, and had no intention of risking his life in order to rule a land that was gradually drifting further and further away from his life.
Botan continued to glide about, until she saw a light shine in a window right below her. To her surprise, a familiar face popped out.
"Shizuru?!"
"Botan! It's been such a while! You must be cold out there... Come in."
Botan glided her oar quickly through the window. After all, though it was the dead of night, it would be suicide for her if she was spotted by prying human eyes. Resting her oar on the side of a wall, she turned to her old friend, and smiled. "Shizuru, how's it been?"
"Funny you should ask... My little bro just sent me an e-mail from college. He's actually gotten top marks in his class." Shizuru stepped aside and pointed to a computer monitor.
Botan chuckled. "Kuwabara, getting top scores? That can't be right..." She leaned forward, staring at the monitor and reading her old friend's words.
"Huh..." She turned back to Shizuru. "Have you heard from Kurama? I heard that he went to the same university as your brother."
"Sounds like he's doing well, too. So, I thought you'd be in Spirit World. Is something wrong?" Shizuru asked, her face beginning to look concerned.
Botan smiled. "It's nothing, really... It's just that, well, we might have fired Yusuke as Spirit Detective, but our latest one, Ayame, has proven to be quite inept compared to Yusuke and his predecessors... We might have to have him show her the ropes."
"But how are you so sure Yusuke would accept your offer, Botan? You know how he is..."
"How he what? He's still quite dependable, isn't he?"
"Yusuke's... How do I put this? Changed. When Kurama and I tried to talk to him a few months ago, he was extremely cold to us, and challenged Kurama that he'd 'kick his ass in twenty seconds.' I don't know what's gotten into him..." Shizuru looked worried, and even Botan began to sense that something truly was wrong. Shizuru normally would have not given that much of a damn and would have written Yusuke off as the idiot that he normally was, but to have her show such concern, well, then he might really be unwell.
"Should I talk to Keiko?"
"Maybe you should... But she's been avoiding me lately and I have no idea why."
"That doesn't sound like her either..." Botan stroked her chin.
"Right... Since you were Yusuke's old assistant, you'd have a better time figuring this out than me. Good luck, Botan..."
"Right." Botan smiled again as she grabbed her oar.
"But wait... It's pretty late. Maybe you should get some rest." Shizuru stepped forward.
"Hmn... But..." Botan murmured.
"No matter what you might do tonight, I doubt it'll change anything. Besides, they're both asleep by now."
"Wait... I thought you guys were going to tell me when they'd get married."
"They never did, they called off the wedding a year after the engagement."
"What? And after all this time none of you bothered to tell me?!"
"Well..." Shizuru smiled embarrassingly. "Hiei went to god knows where, Yusuke and Keiko just stormed off in their separate ways, Kurama said he had some business to attend to, and my brother and I thought you'd be devastated."
"Well, I'm furious now!"
Shizuru raised her hands in the air. "Ok, Botan... Relax... Just calm down... It's over... What's been done is done. Now you should get some sleep."
"Fine... Got an extra bed or something?"
"I wouldn't be offering you if I didn't have one, right?"
Yusuke awoke the next morning and stretched. He left his bedroom to find his mother dead drunk on the couch, as usual. With a sigh, he walked out the door, breathing in the cold morning air.
He'd failed high school, and now he was simply wandering the streets, like always. It was funny. Hiei never even had to worry about 'school,' and Kuwabara and Kurama were in college, studying hard to get fine careers and make the most out of their lives.
And here he was, living in his mother's old shack, mooching off of her, awaiting for the moment three years later where he could kick all those demon's asses and become their king. Then he'd be making himself much greater than Kurama or Kuwabara, and Hiei would be forced to step down.
He walked alone, his footsteps echoing on the pavement.
Keiko had her chin in her palms as she tried to listen through the professor's lecture. Everything seemed so gloomy and uninteresting to her now, as though there wasn't any point in being here.
Why couldn't she forget about that idiot? The boy who she tried to make into someone more meaningful? All Yusuke cared about was fighting, even till the end. Even when he came back from that tournament wanting to get married, he eventually ran off to continue bashing something's brains out. Now she was twenty one, in her last year of college, and just like Kurama and Kuwabara, she was about to become a member of the workforce, giving our her energy to help society, rather than fight it or avoid it like Yusuke was.
When the professor finally stopped talking and everyone began to pack their bags, Keiko ran out of the room, and as she sprinted back to her dorm, she saw a familiar face.
"Botan?!"
"Hello, Keiko. Great to see you again!"
"Botan... It's been such a long time." The two girls embraced.
"It has... Tell me, Keiko, are you ok? Shizuru's told me..."
"I don't want to talk about her..."
"Why?"
"Let's just say that... That she..." Keiko sighed as she remembered that day.
"Keiko, he's an idiot. That's a fact you have to live with."
"Yusuke... Yusuke's just confused! He just got a bit offended that you and Kurama were worrying about him, that's all!"
"You don't get it, do you, Keiko? You and him are like oil and water. No matter what you try to do to stay with him, he'll just slip away from you. There are other guys out there, you know."
"Stop it, Shizuru! You just never had a man, your brother's got a girl, and you're jealous, so now you're slapping me in the face, that must be it. Get the hell away from me!"
"We... We're no longer on speaking terms." Keiko sighed
Botan looked worried, making Keiko feel even more guilty. "Anyways..." She smiled sweetly. "How are things in Spirit World? Have you had to ferry less people? Is everyone there doing well?"
Botan faked a smile. "Well, less ferries mean less deaths, so we're all doing better, it seems. And Koenma's as busy as he's always been."
"Botan... We've been good friends..." Keiko suddenly choked.
Botan's expression immediately returned to its concerned state. "Yes?"
"Try... Try to talk to Yusuke for me. He's been pushing me away this whole time. I can't understand why he'd do it." Keiko turned away, and Botan felt miserable for getting annoyed at her. It really seemed that Yusuke's bitterness was tearing all of them apart.
Botan nodded. "I'll do what I can."
He walked past the door of the arcade, and began to remember.
"Dimwit! Kuwabara's injured, and you don't seem to give a damn! If he got hurt, what would happen?!" Genkai snarled, ramming another fist into his chest.
"Stupid Grandma! Kuwabara's probably at his show. And he's no threat. Why should they want to attack him?"
"Idiot! The point is that they want to capture him for his powers. He might be weakened now, but it's only temporarily. If they capture him, and let him recover a little while torturing his ass alone, he might break and do what they wish."
He chuckled. It was one of the only times someone lectured Yusuke and they were right. Genkai was the only teacher who knew how to teach, and maybe it was time to give Grandma a visit... Yusuke wondered, could Grandma teach him how to get over this urge?
He hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone lately. After his challenge to Kurama, none of his old friends seemed to want to see him again. Maybe he ought to go back to Demon World and stay there, at least there he could train without having to worry about hurting anyone. After all, King Hiei wouldn't give a damn.
"Yusuke?" He heard a voice out of the blue. Turning his head, he saw a girl with light violet eyes and blue hair looking intently at him.
"Botan? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Yusuke. It's been quite a while, huh?" Botan smiled and closed her eyes.
He nodded. "Same old Botan..." He chuckled to himself.
"What was that?"
"You never change."
"Neither do you, or so I've heard."
"Well, you came to talk, right? Let's go get some coffee or something."
"Sure..."
They sat face to face in a small cafe near the arcade. Each had a cup of iced coffee in front of them as they decided to chat.
"So I thought you'd be in Spirit World, doing Koenma's dirty work."
"Well, I wouldn't call it 'dirty work,' but, well, I came to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
"Yusuke... I know work's the last thing you're willing to talk about, but both the Human and Spirit Worlds need a capable detective, and, quite frankly, your successor just doesn't do the job nearly as well as you did. We need you to help show her the ropes."
"And what's in it for me?"
"Don't talk like that! You know that every deed you did as a Spirit Detective was for the good of both worlds, for the good of humanity, not for a reward! What's gotten into you?!"
"Shut up, Botan. I don't need any more lectures, not even from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Botan raised an eyebrow.
Yusuke smiled. "It's nothing."
She crossed her arms. "Look, Yusuke, you've dragged everyone down with you when you've been so gloomy. Keiko and Shizuru even got into a fight over you, both wanting to help fix the situation and both ticking each other off in the process."
"And why should I give a damn if they feel depressed over me? It's not like I can do anything to stop it."
"Yes, yes you can."
"And what would that be?"
Botan sighed. "Stop being selfish, Yusuke, and start being kinder. Start caring about our feelings. What the heck happened to you, anyway? Before I went back to Spirit World you were a different, and, heck, I'll say it: Better Person."
Yusuke sighed and looked away from her. "A lot has changed since you left, Botan... Keiko and I broke up for good, Kuwabara and Kurama ran off to go to college, Shizuru got pissed at me for snapping at Kurama when we met a few months back, and Keiko's still heartbroken at the fact that I ditched her to compete in the tournament. Three years from now I'll kick all their asses, I know that for a fact!" He clenched his fist with a light growl.
"No, Yusuke."
"What do you mean, no? I told you already, don't think you can control me Botan. Keiko couldn't, and neither can you!"
Botan glared at him. "Yusuke, is this what you plan for your future? To continue your life as some thug? Well, remember when we first met and you said that I thought that your life was pretty pathetic? Well, I thought that you could make something of yourself as a Spirit Detective, and look what we did together. You, me, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, together you were able to stop tons of horrible and powerful demons from causing great harm to Human and Spirit World. Your teamwork saved Yukina, brought down Toguro and Sensui, and helped let the rest of us in Spirit World sleep at night. But I suppose you were doing it all to pay off your 'debt' for helping us revive you, right?" Botan sighed and looked away. "Maybe Shizuru was right... Maybe there is no point in trying to talk to you."
Yusuke looked at her. "But Botan..."
"Keiko and I shouldn't even bother, I suppose... You never change, no matter how much the two of us worry about you and try to tell you to do what's right, you insist on being an idiot..."
"And I thought you hardly told me what I should do, I thought that was Keiko's job." Yusuke smirked.
"Well, when people care about you, they can't resist trying to help you, even if you hate the fact that they care." Botan glared.
"She doesn't seem right..." Yusuke thought as he stared at her.
Botan sighed as she looked out the window next to their table.
"Botan..."
She ignored him.
"Botan... Botan! Why the hell are you acting like this? Goddamn, it, talk to me!"
"Why? So you can brush me off like you shoved Keiko away?"
"Why the hell are you acting like this?!"
"Why are you like this, Yusuke?"
"Like what?"
"I've met quite a few people in my work as a ferry girl, and I've met quite a few people who are shy, who get irritable because they're insecure, and people who shun those who care about them. But I never get to know them long enough to see them improve, so when I saw you grow up from some selfish idiot to a person who actually cared about people and fought for the good of his friends, I thought that I'd finally witnessed the growth of a human in person. But, no, you're still an idiot!"
"Botan..."
"What is it, Yusuke?" She sighed.
"Don't you get the fact that because I failed to go to school, those greedy sons-of-bitches won't hire me? If I win the Demon World Tournament again and again, I can be King of Demon World, and isn't that much better than being some doctor or lawyer?"
"Don't you get the fact that there are people who are always worried about you? People like me..."
"You?"
"And... And Keiko, and your mother, and... And even people like Shizuru. All of these people care about you. I told you this a long time ago, and you seem to have forgotten, not that I'm surprised. The reason why we yell at you is because we care about you. We worry for you, and the fact that all you care about is fighting. Don't you wonder why Kurama and Kuwabara are beginning to have people approve of them now? Don't you ever wonder why Keiko always had people look up to her instead of fear her, unlike you?"
"Why?"
"Because we care! Because we hate seeing you like this! You were meant for so much more for the world, and yet you insist on fighting like a common thug! You're a good man, Yusuke. You're just too obsessed with violence right now and that's where the rest of us come in: to help you. Is it worth it risking your life to become King? You've already started a program to ensure that changes within the reign of Demon World will be constant, and even when you're not there Demon World will easily be able to run and continue setting up tournaments on its own. Sutou was wrong. You aren't some monster. Sure, you're violent, you like to say what's exactly on your mind without thinking, and you tend to be very, very blunt and tactless, but you're not some heartless beast who thinks of people as mere food. You're Yusuke, the person we've loved, and we can't bear seeing you like this!" Botan yelled at him.
"Save your breath..."
"Yusuke, why are you brushing me away?"
"I don't want to hear it."
"Damn it, fine! I guess I failed, then. Go and get yourself killed, for all I care." She got off her seat and stormed off.
Yusuke immediately shot up. "Botan! Botan, wait up!..." He ran after her as she began to mount her oar. "Botan!"
She turned her head to scoff at him, and it happened so fast. Before she knew it, she felt lips press against her, and Botan nearly fainted. This couldn't be happening...
For a few seconds she stood there, her eyes wide in disbelief.
Yusuke looked tenderly at her. "Botan?"
"So... So what happens now? What about Keiko?"
"I... I left her, remember?"
"But... But I came here to see you... And to help talk to you for her... I..."
"We're all still friends, right?" He held her close to him.
"Yu... Yusuke..."
They stood there for a moment.
"But I'm sure you're going to run off soon after this. You're going to go and fight to become the King, and then you'll be King and in another three years you'll keep yourself locked in Demon World beating more of those brutes up, and that will happen 'till the day you die, right?"
"What if I wanted to be more like Okubo, and actually get myself a job?"
"Then you'd be getting somewhere... Granted, you won't beat Kuwabara in his new game, but you might get there. Who knows, Yusuke? The fact that you were even able to make the great Koenma into a close friends means that maybe you can do well in befriending others and becoming a great leader in business or something."
"Now that's going too far."
"Oh? And thinking that you can become King of the Demon World by beating two hardened, veteran Demons who have lived countless lifetimes longer than you and who are both extremely powerful isn't?"
"Well... I almost beat Yomi."
"Almost, but do you think he would be the same as when you fought him three years ago?"
"Hey! I nearly beat him last time, and that was only a week ago!"
"Well, fine, but Yusuke... You shouldn't go back... It's only a waste..."
"I... I guess giving it a try wouldn't hurt." He smiled at her.
"Yusuke..." She smiled back. "Let's go talk to the others. I'm sure they really want to see you too."
"Sure."
And as Botan and Yusuke walked back towards Shizuru's place, she began to wonder. Would he finally make something of himself? Would he inspired to change by those who cared? Looking back at him, she saw him smile, and she could do nothing else but hope for the best.