I know you guys have been waiting for a long time, but it's finally frickin' here! The third installment in the Tricycle Trilogy!
I still don't own YuYu Hakusho or a little red tricycle.
Sorry it took so long. I knew the basics of what I wanted, but no inspiration. The other day, after writing a stupid little Twilight one-shot (which isn't up but will be eventually), I decided to get back to work on my other things that had disappeared from the face of the Earth (and my mind). It was quite a long list... which has things added nearly every day as I remember more. I sat down to write this, and about five paragraphs in, I knew what the ending would be.
And it's beautiful, no?
So, enjoy the third and final installment of the Tricycle Trilogy, "Avenging the Little Red Tricycle"! Please, afterwards, review, R&R my other YYH fics., and hit up my poll, okay? Thanks!
"My tricycle..."
Yusuke was kneeling on his rooftop. It almost looked like he was praying over the destroyed tricycle as though it was the ruined statue of a god.
Keiko walked over to him and slapped him across the face. "Yusuke, quit whining! We have more important things to worry about!"
He looked up to her, his face streaked with tears. "Like what?" he asked in a small voice, sounding as though he couldn't understand something more important than the death of his beloved tricycle.
"Perhaps like the mob gathering around us?" the redhead with them murmured.
Slowly, Yusuke rose to his feet. Hand-in-hand, he and Keiko walked over to where Kurama was standing, near the edge of the roof. Looking over, they saw an amazing sight.
They were surrounded by a silent sea of people.
"Damn..." Yusuke muttered, taking in the sight with awe.
"They're possessed."
"How can you tell?" Keiko asked.
"You wouldn't be able to," Kurama explained, "but Yusuke can tell you. Their auras are human, but it's overshadowed by something else, something non-human."
Yusuke nodded bleakly.
"What do we do?"
The Fox answered with a phrase rarely heard from his lips: "I don't know."
They fell silent, the feeling of despair washing over all of them.
Then Atsuko Urameshi walked up onto the roof.
"Convert the heathens," she said in a slightly monotone voice, pointing toward the three near the edge. "You know that is your duty."
One of the aliens answered her in a nonsensical foreign language.
"The girl," she argued. "The girl is open. You may take her."
"Like hell," Yusuke growled, firing his Spirit Gun at the aliens.
Kurama grabbed Keiko's wrist and pulled her along, running past Atsuko and down the stairs.
"You better take good fucking care of Keiko, Kurama!" the Detective yelled. He emphasized this with another blast of his Spirit Gun. "I already lost my tricycle; I don't need to lose her, too!"
- -
"Stay close to me," Kurama commanded as he let go of the girl's wrist.
Keiko nodded, grabbing the back of his shirt.
He summoned his rose whip, using it mostly to clear a space around them. He hoped to scare them away with near-misses, but if anyone came too close, he would hit them.
Keiko saw this as an opportunity to finish her project. "Kurama, what's the hardest thing you've ever–"
"Not now, Keiko. I'm a little busy trying to save our lives."
The farther away they moved from Yusuke's house, the bolder and more determined the mob became.
"But it's for a school project," she protested, knowing how important school was to him.
At least Kurama had his priorities straight. "Keiko, what's more important – your grades or our lives?"
She didn't answer.
- -
Finally, they cleared the mob. Kurama brought her to his house, thinking that it would be a safe place.
He was wrong.
His mother answered the door, a look he did not like at all in her eyes. "How gorgeous," she said, her voice slightly higher than normal. Then, bending closer, she whispered, "You are an Earthling male... aren't you?"
And that was the first and only time Kurama slammed a door in Shiori's face.
- -
"Wait!"
"Doesn't she know when to give up?" Keiko asked breathlessly.
"Obviously, you are not familiar with my fangirls." Kurama laughed without humor. "This isn't uncommon."
They'd spent the last hour running around town, avoiding the possessed, looking for a safe place, and hiding from Kurama's mother. So far, none of the places they'd tried had been any good. But...
"Kuwabara's house isn't far from here," Keiko said.
So the two headed for their last hope.
- -
The house was eerily quiet, but at least Yusuke was waiting for them. He was standing on the front porch, staring up at the dark windows.
"Should we go in?" Keiko asked after immediately running to Yusuke.
The Detective nodded, so the three headed inside. It was dark.
"Kuwabara's here somewhere, though," he muttered. "Shizuru, too."
Suddenly, a single light flicked on, revealing Kuwabara sitting in an armchair. "Heathens," he hissed.
"Heathens," Shizuru echoed somewhere in the darkness.
Then they heard a pitiful whimpering. The three looked down to see a cat carrier at their feet.
"Why do you have Eikichi in a cage?" Keiko asked, bending down to free him.
"No!" Kuwabara's sister shrieked. "Do not unleash the demon!"
Kazuma lunged at them, but it was too late. Eikichi was already safe and comfortable in the brunette's arms.
"No!" he yelled in terror. Then everything changed.
Kuwabara sneezed.
A demon-looking spirit was sent flying out of his nose by the force of the sneeze. After a piercing squeal, it vanished.
The redheaded boy looked around, confused. "When did you guys get here? And why is it so dark?" He paused a moment, and then asked, "And why does Shizuru sound like the Wicked Witch of the West?"
Shizuru, wherever she was, sounded like she was foaming at the mouth.
"That's it!" Yusuke screamed triumphantly. "The aliens are allergic to cats!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Kuwabara asked blankly. But no one bothered to clue him in, since they were too busy kidnapping his kitten in order to save the world.
"What about Shizuru?" Keiko wanted to know.
"She isn't going anywhere," Yusuke responded as they ran out the front door. "We'll come back for her later. Come on!"
- -
A few days later, the gang threw a party in Yusuke's honor. Koenma refused to acknowledge this in any way; he didn't consider what had happened to be a crisis of any sort.
"We should be holding it in Eikichi's honor!" Kuwabara kept protesting. "He's the one that saved the day!"
True, no one was exactly sure why Yusuke got to be the guest of honor, since this was technically all his fault. But no one wanted to hold a party in honor of a cat, either.
Everyone was sitting at the table, eating and laughing, when Keiko stood up and banged a glass with a spoon to get their attention. "Most of you were wondering why I chose today for the party. Well, it's because today is a special day. Yusuke?"
Everyone turned to Yusuke, who was staring at Keiko blankly. "What is today?"
"It's your birthday!" she answered as his mother came out with a cake, candles ready.
"Is it just me," Yusuke whispered to Kurama, "or are some of those candles actually lit cigarettes?"
His friend chuckled. "Just go with it."
After happy birthday had been sung, and Yusuke had blown out the candles, he was ordered to close his eyes.
"I have a surprise," Keiko said with a wink as she walked out.
Yusuke obediently closed his eyes and Keiko wheeled in her gift. "Ready? Happy birthday, Yusuke!"
He opened his eyes to see her pulling a tarp off the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
He got up and walked over to her. He pulled her close to him, and kissed her in front of everyone.
A few people cheered.
"Thank you," he whispered before pulling completely away. Then he sat down on his gift, keeping Keiko's hand in his, settling them in his lap.
Silence fell as everyone waited for Yusuke to say something else. Finally, he looked up to Keiko.
"Did you ever finish that project?"
She shook her head no. How could he be thinking about that at a time like this?
He smiled. "Can I tell you about the most meaningful birthday gift I've ever received?"
And then he proceeded to tell Keiko the story of the little red bicycle.
– Kuramastrass –