Nothing Changes

By: Kami Kat, Head Priestess at the Temple of Dead Fandoms

For: No reason, just wanted to; idea wouldn't leave me alone

This one came from a brainstorming session I had back in January '07. See, my best bud, a certain God of Dead Fandoms, had a birthday coming up in February, and because I hadn't given him anything for Christmas, I felt kind of bad (despite his reassurances that I had done plenty; still wanted to give him something more).

So, I offered to write a fanfic for a fandom of his choosing. While waiting to hear word of his choosing, I began to wonder what I could tackle and think up fic ideas. Yu Yu Hakusho was one of the fandoms I was able to think of a story for. It's just a quick story, a simple "what-if" about an early event in the storyline, and how a little change may have affected Yusuke and Kuwabara's relationship. NOT YAOI!! Just some humor with a mildly homophobic undertone (what? It fit the characters!).

Takes place during chapter 16 of the manga (fans will recognize the scene immediately; it's infamous at this point). And yes, I ripped dialogue and scenes from the manga quite a bit (trying to keep most of it canon). Also stole from the anime when appropriate. Later events happen according to canon, I was just playing with this early one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I would not mind if I did, but I don't. The immensely funny and creative Yoshihiro Togashi owns Yusuke, Kuwabara, and everyone else. I'm merely borrowing them so that I may laugh and make others do so. Do not pay money for this story; it is not worth it. Spend that money on manga!

Yusuke, if he had possessed his body, would have been hyperventilating.

As it was, with only spirit energy to form his essence, he was managing a very excellent impression. Botan had to admire his acting ability.

Koenma just smirked. (A neat trick for someone who looked like a toddler and still used a pacifier.)

"Say WHAT?" No, no, Yusuke simply could not have heard what he thought he heard. Koenma's expression was scaring him into believing, though.

The son of the Otherworldly Judge waited, building the moment. He so rarely got to tease people like this. "This surprises you?" He chuckled. "Artificial respiration is a proven lifesaving technique."

Yusuke may have not even known that, with his grades. Hell, it was nearly a wonder the kid knew how to breathe. Though, to judge by the freaked expression he was unable to stop from spreading across his face, Yusuke did indeed know what mouth-to-mouth entailed.

The wording probably helped.

Koenma continued his speech. Nice to have someone listen to him for a change. "The only difference is that we're transferring vital energy instead of oxygen. You'll send a message to three people in their dreams tonight. All you need is for one of them to understand and act on it."

Yusuke blinked. He still looked rather… pale. Even for a ghost. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, he seemed to find his voice.

"Someone I know has to French me?" His voice cracked on the last syllables. Clearly, the boy did not like this idea.

Botan laughed out loud and beat Koenma to the explanation. "Oh no, silly!" Her eyes sparkled in mirth. "While that would certainly do, it isn't necessary. All they have to do is briefly touch their lips to yours. Like a peck on the cheek, only it's on your lips!"

Yusuke breathed out and sank some, the stress leaving his shoulders and face.

"Considering the three people closest to you, that's a very good thing," Koenma stated. "After all, I think your mother sticking her tongue down your throat might bring up a whole new set of problems." He looked just a tad sick behind that pacifier at the thought of forcing that circumstance.

Yusuke perked up, curious as a cat. "My mom? Wait, my mom has to kiss me?"

"Not exactly," Botan said, folding her arms into what Yusuke was coming to identify as lecture mode. "It is easiest to send the message to the three people closest to you, preferably those with a deep connection to you in some way. Their energy has a better chance of working quickly. Sure, we could use just any person off the street, but they might have to stay in contact with you for hours before something happened. Not only that, but the chance of us reaching anybody else with this sort of message is a risky gamble at best."

"Right," Koenma agreed. "We certainly can't ask everyone in the neighborhood to come over for kiss-and-tell."

Yusuke pondered that for a moment. To his newfound understanding of how the spirit world worked, that made sense. "So, my mom is one of the three. I bet Keiko's another." A lecherous smile spread his lips wide for a moment, before his brow scrunched up in puzzlement. "Who else am I close to? What other girl do I know…?"

Botan felt a bead of sweat trickle down her neck. "Well, Yusuke, the third person isn't a girl. It's the other person you're closest to."

Yusuke froze, his eyes growing wider and wider in recognition.

"NO WAY! NO FUCKING WAY I'M ASKING KUWABARA TO KISS ME!"

It had taken about three hours to calm Yusuke down. At one point, he'd clapped his hands over his ears, begun shouting, "Lalalalala!" at the top of his spiritual lungs, and flown off.

In all likelihood, he might have made it to India before sunrise at the speed he had been going.

Three hours wasted. Their time to act rapidly diminished.

They decided to do an easy one first.

He stood above his mother, his eyes taking in her sleeping form. A few bottles of booze littered the floor around her. Yusuke sneered, focusing some anger on the sorry state of his mom. It helped ease the tension he couldn't suppress.

Slowly, he went into her dream and manipulated events. First, to set up the scene. He would be glowing golden, lying there very peacefully. So peacefully, in fact, that his mother could not help but think of him lovingly, want to stroke his hair maybe. And then give him a kiss, like she had done when he was very young to keep the monsters away. A quick touch of the lips, just to let him know she was there and things would be okay.

He rapidly pushed himself out of the dream. Yuck, he felt sick to his stomach. His mother had stopped doing the tuck-in thing and good night kiss when he was… what? Four?

Her breath had stunk of alcohol on most of those nights, too.

Oh well. Focus. One down, two to go. His stomach lurched violently at the thought of… NO! Just go ask Keiko next. Much, much easier.

She was having a pleasant dream, he noted. Although—and this, Yusuke could not fathom—she was in her school uniform. Weird girl.

He gently glided in, letting the dream shift very slowly so as not to disturb her.

Again, he set up the situation. Him, all glowy. Her, sitting next to him. He couldn't exactly try for the mother instinct here, and the girlfriend instinct might not work—Keiko was stubborn like that. So he tried to force the urgency of the situation upon her, like the glowing meant he could see her real soon. Only, it was like a fairy tale enchantment, and he needed a kiss from the beautiful princess to awaken.

He backed out and slapped himself as hard as a spirit could. Dear Enma, when did he get all mushy? Gross!

The sun would be up soon. Maybe he could just skip Kuwabara?

"Yusuke, get over there and finish! This is your only chance to reunite with your body for the next fifty years! Do you want to lose it because you chickened out?"

Botan could be noisy for a grim reaper, Yusuke thought as he drifted towards Kazuma's house.

Kuwabara awoke screaming. His sixth sense meant that he often had terrible dreams involving people whose lives he was better off not knowing. He'd seen tons of images fit to give normal people nightmares to last until Doomsday.

Perhaps that explained his code of honor. Anything to stop those things from happening more than they did.

He'd never, ever had a dream quite like last night's, though. He lay, panting, almost hoping to forget the whole thing.

Something told him that wouldn't be happening. This dream wasn't a creation of his imagination, nor was it a relived moment from some passing spirit's life. It was something to do with the future, and important to boot.

Still didn't stop him from freaking out.

"Wh-wh-what a vile, stomach-churning dream!" he half-whispered. Sunlight hit him in the face through his window. "Gack…morning already."

Not that he would have risked going back to sleep. Nope, no more dreams, thank-you-very-much-sandman!

Still, it was too odd a dream to just brush off. Yusuke was glowing gold, and I…I kissed him. He woke up…

Seemed like something right out of a lame fairy tale. A lame, perverted fairy tale.

"Why did I dream that…?" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, as if to erase a bad taste. "Horrible, disgusting…"

A shiver ran down his spine. Was a spirit nearby playing tricks with him? He snarled. "But it means nothing! So it's morning! Who cares? I'm playing hooky!" He grabbed some clothing without really seeing it, threw it on, and stormed out of the house.

Yusuke floated near his body, able to see into his new room via a window. Botan and Koenma were beside him, also playing the attentive audience. Keiko was close, watching him, a blush on her cheeks.

Best case scenario. Out of the three, he was counting on her. She kept glancing at him, as if looking for something. Suddenly, she shook herself and left for school.

After a moment, Yusuke realized the problem.

"Hey!" he pointed to his body, "I was glowing, but she couldn't see!"

Koenma glanced his way. "Power from the Underworld enters at the feet and moves up. It'll suffuse your entire body around noon."

Yusuke ground his teeth. Stupid toddler had conveniently left that out! He could have done something different with the dream to indicate that fact. He growled in frustration, "School won't let out until this afternoon. And I can't count on Mom or Kuwabara…" He ran a hand through his hair.

What was a ghost to do? At least he could keep an eye on Keiko. He glided to the school, Botan following him at a distance. Koenma didn't seem too enthusiastic about sitting around waiting on a school girl.

Fine. Yusuke didn't want the toddler there anyway. Come to think of it, the son of Enma really should have more important things to do than float beside the ghost of a delinquent, even if he was giving said delinquent a second chance at life.

Too weird.

Yusuke located the right classroom easily and settled into position to watch and wait. Of course, his best bet was the girl who would never have thought to skip school. Heck, not only was she the type to go to school when sick, she'd even once managed to get him to go when he had been sick.

Sighing, Yusuke floated around the school a few times, trying to get rid of his boredom. Who knew being a ghost could be dead boring?

Botan followed, her eyes darting between Yusuke and the window showing Keiko. Yusuke pointedly ignored her irate looks. She looked as if she had something to say, and he really didn't want any more lectures. On anything!

Frowning as the spirit boy made his fifth circle around the school, Botan shot over next to him. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Yusuke glared at the grim reaper. "Floating," he replied in his most neutral tone, meaning it came out with a bit of the annoyance he felt at being forced to wait.

Botan huffed and went back to studying Keiko through the window. Suddenly, she jerked in surprise. Yusuke hurried back and saw Takenaka saying something to the class. Keiko looked nervous, but followed him out of the room.

"What's this about?" Yusuke asked Botan. She shrugged. Must not be a life and death issue.

Or so he hoped.

Ignoring polite protocol, he rushed through the wall—damn, he'd miss that talent when he was mortal again—and stopped beside the principal and Keiko.

Takenaka's face betrayed his worry. "I'm afraid your mother's been taken to the hospital!" Keiko's face paled as the older man went on. "The hospital would not tell me more, since I'm not a direct relation, but your father has been called. He is coming to pick you up shortly. I figured you may prefer to wait in my office." The lines around his face softened. "I'll talk to your teachers. Do not worry about any extra or missed work."

"Well, he's certainly a gentleman, isn't he?" Botan asked, scaring the death out of Yusuke. "He's taking care of everything for her."

Yusuke glanced at the wall clock and snorted. "Yeah, a whole half hour of school left. She already has all her assignments." Still, it was the sort of treatment Takenaka would give any student. Even the worst student in the school.

Yusuke growled, trying his best not to be frantic, yet failing miserably. It was five thirty! Five fucking thirty! In seven hours, he'd either be back alive or dead for sure, and right now his bet would be on death.

Keiko's dad, despite being the upstanding father type, had been more than an hour in picking up his daughter. And then the ride to the hospital! Geez, you'd think the city wouldn't have scheduled all the construction crews to be out on the same day.

"She's quite weak from the fatigue and the flu," one doctor was telling Keiko and her father. Yusuke settled down to listen. Seven hours was plenty of time.

And, if worst came to worst, floating around was actually kind of fun. And he could go peek into bath houses without the ladies getting mad. Not to mention he no longer had to steal to eat!

Yup, life as a ghost was pretty sweet!

Somehow, those thoughts gave him a sense of calm and allowed him to watch Keiko without freaking. In fact, he felt peaceful. The doctor rambled on, "But she'll be fine. She just needs some rest."

Keiko's father turned to his daughter. "There's nothing to worry about, Keiko. Go on home." He pulled up a stool, intent on staying with his wife. Yusuke watched, a bit fascinated by the display.

Would his father have done anything like that for his mother? Eh, maybe Keiko's family was just weird.

"No, Dad, I'm staying until she wakes up!" Keiko didn't need a chair and knelt by the bed. Her father sighed before handing her the small stool, a proud smile on his face. He chose to lean against the wall.

"Talk about bad luck and worse timing!" Botan buzzed about, anxious over the situation. "Her mother's not seriously ill, but it's keeping her away from where she's really needed!"

Yusuke smiled. Not a smirk, but a real smile full of pride and confidence. "Keiko's a real multitasker, but there's nothing she cares about more than her family! All she can think about is her mom. The dream's blown clear outta her mind."

Botan watched Yusuke worriedly. That wasn't the talk of someone ready to go back to living. That was the talk of someone on the verge of giving up.

"Hey!" Koenma popped up, startling both the spirits watching Keiko. He glanced between the two, then said, "The power from the Underworld's lit up your entire body. All we need now is that vital energy."

Yusuke nodded, frowning in thought. Keiko wouldn't budge, that much he knew. It might be time to consider his less desirable options.

With a sigh, he looked off into the city. As much as he wanted to be alive again, each passing minute chipped at his hope. Keiko didn't need to stay near her mom, but she would, and he would never have thought to ask anything else of her.

That left his own mother—probably plastered and in a dive bar somewhere—and Kuwabara—probably playing it up at some arcade. And damn it all, he needed to go track them down now!

Botan kept glancing between Keiko, Yusuke, and the direction of Yusuke's body. Her expression betrayed her own worry. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Of course! She's unconscious! Hold on, I've got an idea!" And with that, the grim reaper was gone. Yusuke stared after her.

"Botan?" Well, if she knew something he didn't, and it could help him gain his body back, he'd let her go for it. He floated around the window, occasionally glancing to see if anything had changed.

After another hour, the ghost boy huffed. Botan might have a plan and have set it into action, but damned if it wasn't taking its sweet old time. Time he really didn't have to waste. Six thirty now!

With a growl, he shot off into the heart of the city. Koenma watched him go.

If Botan's plan worked, he'd go get that boy quickly. But maybe it was best to have a backup plan. He smiled. Yup, Yusuke would make an excellent addition to his forces.

Finding his mother was surprisingly easy. There were only so many cheap bars in the city. It had taken next to nothing to locate the closest one to his house.

And there was his mom, next to two…

Wait, those weren't women. They wore dresses, sure, but beards too?

Yusuke floated right next to his mom and yelled, with as much force as a ghost could muster, "Hey, mom, I need you to go back to the apartment right now! I need you to kiss me!"

Whatever she may have felt or heard from the otherworldly plane of existence, she ignored. One of the drag queens—the fat one—giggled and slid closer to his mom.

Ew!

"Oh, Atsuko, you're so much fun to drink with!"

"Yeah," the other one chimed in. "You're going to stay, right?"

Wait, did the queens just hear him? Yusuke smacked his hand to his forehead, then groaned when his mom answered.

"Sure, why not?" She smiled, obviously beyond drunk. "Keiko can take care of Yusuke. Hey, waiter!"

Yusuke fled in disgust. He didn't want to know how the rest of his mother's evening would go.

That left the worst option. Now, seemingly, his only option.

He raced around to the hangouts he knew Kuwabara liked. He spotted the carrot-top racking up an impressive score on a racing game. One he himself liked, as a matter of fact. His initials were at the top of the best scores list.

Yusuke landed next to the game, staring daggers at Kuwabara. Kuwabara's eyes suddenly widened and he looked around, as if trying to spot an attacker. Yusuke stopped glaring, surprised.

"Hey, can you tell I'm here, idiot?" he asked. Not yelled, but not softly said either. Just the normal tones one would use in a noisy video arcade. Kuwabara stiffened.

"I've got that feeling again," he grumbled. "Maybe I'd better leave."

"He heard me," Yusuke muttered, shocked. The big dope had heard him! Quick as a flash, he was after the other boy, tailing him through the evening streets.

Eight o' clock already. Four more hours left. In a bold move, he floated right next to Kuwabara, walking beside him as if he had his body back and the two were out for a night on the town.

Kuwabara turned down a new street, away from where Yusuke was. The lunkhead could sense him! This street was nearly deserted. Yusuke ran to catch up, then steeled himself.

"Okay, look Kuwabara," he began, watching as the other boy's face muscle's tightened. "I know you know something's up, and I don't want you to think I'm weird or anything… but would you go break into my house and kiss me!"

Yusuke hadn't known spirits could blush, but his cheeks felt red hot. His stomach felt sick.

Kuwabara continued walking as if he hadn't heard. Yusuke growled, then swung at his head.

The second the ghost's fist made contact, Kuwabara jumped and frantically searched the street. "Nothing there," he whispered, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his face. "Could have sworn…"

He gritted his teeth and turned away from Yusuke. Yusuke screamed, then took another swing, yelling, "If I don't come back, I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life, then kick your ass up and down the River Styx!"

Kuwabara's hands jerked up as he faced Yusuke. He couldn't see the ghost, but he knew something was there, and somehow shifting into a defensive position seemed best. "I don't know what you are, or what you want with me, but go away!"

Yusuke shook with fury. Last chance, last chance! Well, Kuwabara was certainly more open to the otherworldly than other humans. The spirit boy closed his eyes and focused all his will on a single thought.

I must help Yusuke come back from the dead!

He tried to project that to Kuwabara, tried to project the admiration he felt for the other boy every time they fought, tried to project his own need to come back. He focused everything he had into that single thought.

When he opened his eyes, Kuwabara looked… well, okay, so the other boy looked a bit green, but he also looked thoughtful and contemplative.

"Please tell me you got that message!" Yusuke whined. Eight thirty! Less than four hours left!

"I guess," Kuwabara muttered, almost too low for Yusuke to hear, "that if this backfires, nobody will ever know." The taller boy's hand lashed out, hitting the wall with considerable force, venting some of his anger. He pulled it back and shook it. "And if I don't try and this is it, I'll never be able to kick Urameshi's ass and prove I'm the better fighter!"

And with that, the red-headed dope started running down the alleyway.

Yusuke stood still, overwhelmed. Kuwabara was going to help? Yes!

Wait, why was he running in that direction?

"Ah! Idiot! That's where the old apartment is! Get back here, I'm over this way!" The spirit shot after his new hope.

Damn, but this was a long night.

Kuwabara raced towards Yusuke's new apartment as fast as he could. Luckily the new address had been listed on the old superintendent's door. He would not have relished explaining why he needed to know where the Urameshis were now living. He honestly couldn't believe he was doing this himself.

Damn fucking dreams!

Still, if there was a chance that Yusuke would be back soon, and because he'd ignored that dream Yusuke would stay dead, well, he'd never forgive himself.

Really, he couldn't claim to be the toughest punk around town without knocking Yusuke's head into a couple of walls first. And it was dishonorable to do that to an unconscious person.

Hence, he really needed Urameshi to wake up!

He glanced at his watch. Ten thirty. Damn, he was still a ways away. And something—perhaps that sixth sense—told him this was all on a time limit. He picked up the pace, dodging pedestrians and cars and stray dogs and cats.

He hoped he'd make it in time.

Yusuke raced beside him. "Come on, you can do it Kuwabara!" He no longer cared what he was cheering to happen, just that he now had a reason to hope it would happen. Eleven o' clock! Just an hour left!

"Yusuke!" Koenma appeared in front of him so suddenly the spirit boy smacked into the toddler.

Apparently, spirits could hit other spirits.

"What are you doing?" the son of Enma yelled, righting himself. "You need to get to your body, now!" Koenma grabbed the ghost boy's wrist and hauled him towards the apartments, leaving Kuwabara running behind.

"What are you doing?" Yusuke frantically asked. "He's right there! I have to make sure he doesn't lose his nerve!" He tried to go back to Kuwabara, but Koenma's grip was firm.

"Botan managed to get through to Keiko. She's on her way over to your apartment right now!"

"What?" Yusuke whipped around, staring at Koenma. "She's coming?" Oh, happy day! No kisses from Kuwabara!

"She might not make it, but you need to get back to your body in case she does! Good thinking, though. Having Kuwabara come along too improves your odds. It'll be close, in either case."

Eleven forty five. No sign of either Keiko or Kuwabara. Yusuke laid in his body, almost imagining he could feel it sweating.

Fifteen minutes to go. What was taking them? An incessant pounding rang through the apartment, making Yusuke sit up and look around. Suddenly, the door burst open to his apartment with a bone-jarring crunch. Yusuke shot out of his body and went to go see.

Kuwabara stood there, knuckles bleeding from punching the door in.

Well, they'd have to get the door and lock replaced now. Damn, he forgot the big idiot didn't know where the spare key was.

Kuwabara glanced around, trying to locate Yusuke's room. He headed in the right direction and stopped when he saw the glowing body of his foremost rival. Glowing, just like in the dream.

Well, damn. And here the punk had almost hoped it had all been a dream.

He knelt beside Yusuke's bed, his face contorting into an expression of extreme disgust. "Just like kissing my dad," he murmured, over and over again, "It means absolutely nothing." Still, he made no move to actually kiss the other boy.

Yusuke glanced at his wall clock. Ten minutes! "Come on, Kuwabara just kiss me already!"

Kuwabara shook all over. "I don't hear a voice! There is no voice!" This he said louder, his eyes roaming around. "No voices!" Still, he made no move.

"Just do it!" Yusuke screamed at the top of his lungs. Kuwabara visibly jerked, screwed his face up, and went for it.

Yusuke's form seemed to lose control as it fell/crashed back into his body. He could feel Kuwabara's lips on his own, feel the energy transferring, feel life entering him as his spirit and body became one again.

He thought it would have felt weird. Like he'd feel a desire to vomit, to cut out his tongue, to run off and become a monk away from anybody who might ever know of this.

He didn't feel anything like that.

But he also felt no sparks racing through him, no hidden feelings suddenly stirring, no weird-ass perverted fantasies erupting from his thoughts. So that was at least good.

He literally felt nothing. Just a small pressure, and that was it.

And now nothing at all, actually. Kuwabara must have drawn back.

Well, okay, he had the irresistible urge to wipe his mouth and spit. But his body felt sluggish, and not in the mood to obey him.

"Oh, c'mon! I didn't just do that for shits and giggles! Wake up!" Kuwabara's very loud, very incessant voice hollered in his ear. He tried to yell back, but all he could do was make his eyes open.

A worried, slightly freaked-out Kuwabara greeted his vision.

"Urameshi?"

"You're loud," Yusuke grumbled, finding his voice. With difficulty, he sat up, well aware that his body was not used to any sort of recent activity. Kuwabara scrambled back on all fours, his face a mask of astonishment and horror. Yusuke guessed the reason. "Yeah, I'm back."

"For real this time?"

"For real, you idiot." He yawned, then glanced at the clock. 12:01am. Cutting it close right there. He almost hadn't made it. He yawned again. Wow, being dead really took it out of you. Suddenly, a piercing shriek rang through the apartment. Yusuke froze.

Oh, that's right. Keiko had been coming. And was now apparently here. And probably thinking an intruder broke in.

He opened his mouth to say something—anything—to let Keiko know the situation was alright when she came in, swinging her backpack like a club. Kuwabara, his back to the door, half turned only to get knocked into unconscious oblivion. Keiko wielded her backpack like a bat, smacking the carrot-top a few more times for good measure before stopping, a hand rushing to her face. "Kuwabara?"

"Ouch, you really got him." Yusuke smiled, and her eyes went from the unconscious boy to himself. "Yeah, I'm back," he said softly.

The next events would always be fuzzy in his memory, but he thought Keiko might have dropped her backpack and leapt across his room, her arms coming to hug him. Somehow, his own arms came up to catch her, and then…

Well, hot damn! She was a much better kisser than he would have thought! He felt his toes curl slightly as she slipped her tongue past his lips.

Oh, yeah! There were some things worth coming back from the dead for. His lips twitched into a smile as her grip on him tightened.

And to think, if Kuwabara hadn't kissed him first, he'd never have gotten this incredible kiss. Guess he'd have to thank the idiot for that later. His arms tightened around Keiko.

She was worth coming back for. And, well, Kuwabara needed to have his ass kicked back into place.

Life was good. Keiko pulled back, her eyes full of tears but her face shining in happiness. Yusuke just smiled and pulled her back into a crushing hug. It felt good to be alive.

His eyes raised and looked at the other person in the room.

Now, what to do with the unconscious Kuwabara? Probably be best to take him home before he woke up.

Kuwabara awoke in his bed the next morning. He touched his head only to wince in pain. What had he done last night? Where had he gotten all these bumps from?

Well, he'd had a dream that he'd kissed Uremeshi and brought him back from the dead. And then something had smacked him…

Yuck! Why'd he dream the same dream two nights in a row? Not the exact same dream, but that damned kiss had been in both. Well, no matter. He'd just ignore it. He had more important things to do.

"Urameshi better come back soon," he grunted as he got dressed and headed for the door. "I feel like kicking his ass more than usual."

Today seemed like another good day to play hooky.