For Today
Kurmagal

Genre: General/Drama

Rating: K+

Summary: Brief one shot about Keiko caring for Kurama after each of his fights. (slight KK)

She could kill Yusuke…no, she would kill Yusuke! Keiko thought as she stormed down the halls. Did Yusuke really have to be such a jerk would it kill him to be nice for a change! She sighed. Why was it always her? She always got left behind. When Yusuke went to fight those…what had Botan called them? Oh, yes – Saint Beasts…whatever, those were… And then there was this stupid tournament, where he had left her to beat answers out of Botan. And then there was now, when he had left her in the hotel lobby! Alone! With all these demons roaming around, she groaned, men…

Keiko sighed in frustration. She honestly wondered why she even bothered with him. Her mind continued on that train of thought, and it lead her all the way up to their rooms. When she finally reached their team's section of the hotel, At least something's going right today Keiko smiled sadistically to herself – she planned to drag him kicking and screaming from his rooms and make him tell her just what the hell was going on. However, it was then that she remembered. She didn't know which room was Yusuke's.

Keiko looked at the doors apprehensively. Sure, she thought, it would be fine if she walked in on Kuwabara or Yusuke, maybe that masked fighter, but if it was another member of the team, especially the other two…what were their names?…Kurama and ….Hiei…Keiko shook her head. She had seen them fight, and she knew those two could be dangerous. That's not completely true, her mind argued. Kurama seemed nice enough…but Hiei…Keiko really, really didn't want to disturb him.

But she had to find Yusuke … She hadn't kicked his ass yet today. Choosing a door, Keiko walked up to it and cracked it open. At first when she opened the door all she could see was pitch blackness, but gradually her eyes could make out a single figure hunched over itself, its back to her. Keiko squinted her eyes, trying to decipher who it was.

From the profile, she denounced that it was one of the guys on Yusuke's team, for its build was bigger than any of the girls' builds. She opened the door wider, allowing more light to stream in. It was then that her eyes saw red, not in an angry sense, but true real red. Keiko allowed the door to open more, and was met with the sight of thick, beautiful red hair.

Suddenly the person on the bed turned. Brown eyes met green, and for a few moments, all Keiko could do was stare. Then, the green eyes blinked, and like she was freed from a spell, Keiko was able to look away.

"I'm sorry!" Keiko said with a start, as though she had just realized she had actually walked into the demon's room uninvited. "I'm terribly sorry! I was looking for Yusuke." She stammered her apology.

The person didn't seem upset by her presence. On the contrary, he seemed amused by it. "You have no reason to apologize, Keiko," he said. How does he know my name? she wondered. "It's easy to get lost here. All of the rooms look the same," he offered, giving her a small smile, "As for Yusuke, I'm afraid he and Kuwabara have gone off on a walk and won't be back for a while."

Just my luck! Keiko thought. I spent an hour looking for Yusuke, and this whole time, he hasn't even been here! And then to top it off, I barge into the room of another member of the team! Keiko would have liked to say that, but instead, all she said was, "Oh. Well, t-thank you. And again, I'm very sorry for disturbing you!"

The fighter smiled. "You don't need to apologize. Really you haven't done any harm," he said, getting to his feet for an unknown reason – maybe to walk her to the door – Keiko didn't know. Or at least, that's what he was trying to do. However, when he stood his poised and calm aura disappeared, and he quickly sat back down, his green eyes flashing briefly with pain.

Keiko knew it wasn't her place and knew she probably should have just left. But every instinct in her body was telling her to help this fighter…this friend of Yusuke's, and Keiko instinct's had never been wrong before. She took a hesitant step forward, "Are…Are you okay?" she asked in a voice that might have just qualified as a whisper.

For a while, he didn't answer, and when he did, his voice was laced with pain. "Yes," he said, his voice matching her softness. "I'll be fine."

Keiko didn't miss the future tense, nor did she miss the blood which, until this time, the distance between them and darkness had hidden. "Is there anything I could do for you?" she asked as she took another step forward. As she rounded the bed where he was sitting, she saw that numerous bandages were lying at his feet. Her eyes traveled upwards, and she could see wounds so terrible they made her feel light-headed. "Did that demon…the one who controlled ice…he did that to you?" she asked, pointing to the wounds on his arms and torso.

He gave her a kind smile. "They're superficial, like paper cuts, really. Nothing life threatening."

"But they hurt?" she questioned, her eyes never leaving the bloody wounds. "And what about the one on your arm, that's more than a paper cut."

He looked at his right arm, at the jagged cut that ran there. "Agreed. It's more than a paper cut, but nothing life-threatening, now at least."

"I could help you," Keiko offered, picking up a roll of bandages. "I know a little about first aid."

The demon seemed amused. "You must, being Yusuke's … friend. I suppose you have seen your fair share of wounds. I do thank you for your offer, but won't Yusuke be upset. I mean you are his friend?" Kurama asked gently, putting more stress on the last word.

Keiko would have loved to say, Yes, but he abandoned me today, so I really don't care what he thinks about this. But instead, she said. "Yes, but you are his friend as well," looking into the demon's eyes in challenge. For a brief second, she thought she saw surprise there, but a second later, it was gone and, in its place, there was just exhaustion.

"Thank you. I am reluctant to admit it, but I do require your assistance," the demon acquiesced. Keiko gently bandaged his wounds, starting with the more serious and gradually progressing to the less. Though her skills were minimal at best, Kurama was patient and, being a few thousand years old, he taught her a few things about how to correctly bandage a wound. Keiko listened intently, taking in his every word. She knew that this information could come in handy in the future, especially when she had a boyfriend like Yusuke.

Her chance came sooner than she expected, and surprisingly, it wasn't Yusuke whom she had to bandage up, but rather the one who taught her many of her skills.

The sun was slowly setting when Keiko crossed the hallway silently. She had seen much earlier that day. She had watched as four people she knew fought for their very lives. In particular, she had watched the calm collected red-haired member of Yusuke's team – whose composed manor rapidly deteriorated during the duration of his fight. Now, as she stood outside the familiar door, she could only see the bright-red blood that ran in steady streams down his body.

After blinking once to clear her vision, she raised her hand and rapped lightly on it with her knuckles. There was no sound from within, and Keiko's nerves were frayed to the point she never thought they could go. So instead of doing the polite thing, knocking again, she pushed the door open and peered inside. When the door opened, Keiko took a step back at the sight before her.

Kurama lay on his bed, bleeding profusely, his head turned towards the windows. Keiko silently entered the dimly lit room and, after shutting and bolting the door, she carefully knelt beside his bed. Kurama didn't seem to notice her presence, which alerted Keiko to the severity of his wounds. Kurama always knew when she or anyone else was around. It was one of his uncanny Kurama abilities that she would never understand.

Keiko, worried that he might have gone unconscious, gently placed her hand on his head and smoothed flyaway hairs away from his face. Kurama shifted slightly at her touch. His eyes fluttered open, and he weakly turned his head towards her. "Hey," she whispered, moving her hand to his cheek. "What do you need?" she asked softly.

Kurama hated sounding pathetic, but he knew that his façade of strength and toughness had been up the moment he allowed her to help him after that first real battle with Touya. "Water," he said hoarsely. Keiko reached for the glass on the bedside table and quickly filled it at the sink. When she brought it over, she gently put the glass to Kurama's lips. She was about to let him drink from it, when he feebly shook his head. "No," she heard, "You need to raise me up." The words were so faint and weak that she thought she might have imagined them.

Nevertheless, Keiko looked around from some pillows, but she found few within reach. So she gently eased his body up and slid her own behind him. She then reached around him and, with one hand, held the glass and, with the other, she stroked his face.

When he had drank his fill, she set the glass down. Her hand kept stroking his face, and with the other, she gently rested it on his forehead. She frowned when she felt the heat radiating from it. "You're burning up!" she said, horrified, and then she bent around to see his face.

Kurama's eyes were shut in agony, his breath was coming in painful gasps, and he was shivering terribly. Worse, though, Keiko could tell by the heat she felt that his temperature was far higher than it should have been. And so she did the only thing she could. She eased herself from behind him and made a beeline for the bathroom. Once in there, she filled the tub with cool water.

When she returned, Keiko gently helped Kurama to a sitting position on the bed and draped his arm over her shoulders. After she was sure that his legs wouldn't completely give out underneath his weight, she proceeded to drag him to the bathroom. Whether it was her unknown strength or maybe Kurama's help, Keiko didn't know. All she could think was that it was dumb luck they had made it.

Keiko wasted no time in putting Kurama in the tub. It didn't matter to her that he was clothed. In fact, she was glad the situation called for her to put him in the tub without undressing him. Once he was submerged in the lukewarm water two things happened: first, it turned a sick red hue and second, his shivering increased.

"I know you're cold," Keiko whispered. She was kneeling beside the tub stroking Kurama's cheek. "But it will make you better," she continued, hating to see the way Kurama's shivers increased.

"I believe … I liked Touya's ice better," Kurama said in such a soft voice that Keiko was sure she had imagined it.

Keiko waited for five minutes to pass before she took his temperature once more, this time with a thermometer she had dug up from somewhere in the bathroom. When she found his temperature had dropped, she aided the wet and now semiconscious Kurama from the water and draped a fluffy towel around him. Once she had, Keiko half supported half dragged the now drenched and freezing fighter back to his bed.

When they reached the bed, she gently laid Kurama on it and began to remove his tattered and wet clothing. Keiko worked as quickly as she could. Soon all Kurama wore was his once white fighting pants. Keiko would have removed them too, though she wasn't sure if he was wearing anything under them, and she wasn't willing to find out.

Keiko gently toweled Kurama's soaking body off and then pulled the first aid kit from under the bed. For a moment, Keiko realized that she had been staring at Kurama's beautiful sleek muscular chest. She blushed furiously and reminded herself that he was badly injured and that she needed to concentrate on his wounds. Still the color of a rose, Keiko carefully began to bandage each one of Kurama's wounds. She noted that with each one she bandaged, her temper mounted more and more. Her eyes traveled up to his chest, where a bloody burn wound existed. Keiko felt her blood pressure skyrocket in her rage. How could anyone do this to another being?

Keiko continued her ministration on Kurama's shoulder, which had a halfway healed slash. When had that occurred in the fight? Keiko tried to remember, but for the life of her, she couldn't. Kurama had been hurt so many times that Keiko had spent most of the match with her face buried in her hands or Shizuru's shirt sleeve. Keiko gave a soft sigh. She never, never wanted to attend a demon tournament again.

When Keiko had finished with Kurama's upper body, a full half-hour later, she gently put light cover over him and began to work on his lower body. Kurama's left ankle was her main concern. She remembered all too well what that demon had done to him, and as she looked at the bloody mess that had once been a perfect working joint, she felt her blood boil. How could something completely intangible do this? Keiko shivered.

Kurama's ankle to another person who didn't know what it was would have appeared to be ground up meat. Keiko worked very hard and for quite a bit of time, trying to clean the wound and feel for anything that might have been broken. It would hurt a normal person for months, but she knew that Kurama wasn't a normal person. Still, that didn't stop her from wincing every time the barely conscious Kurama cried out as she wrapped the bandages. Once she had finished with the ankle, she moved up to his thigh. That wound was not nearly as serious as the ankle had been, and after she examined it, she cleaned it and quickly bandaged it.

Keiko finished up with Kurama's less serious wounds as fast as she could. Then, she pulled a thick blanket from the closest and tucked it around the fighter, whose body had begun to shake from blood loss. When she had completely finished, she sat back, exhausted. Realizing there was one more thing she could do for him, Keiko walked over to her purse and pulled a bottle from it. Shifting through its contents, she pulled a couple small pills from it. She knew that ordinary painkillers would provide very little relief from the pain Kurama was in, but a little was better than none.

Keiko once more raised Kurama's upper body and settled behind it. Once she had him raised up, she slipped the pills in his mouth. Then, snatching the glass from the nightstand, she raised it to the fighter's lips and listened for him to drink from it. When he did, Keiko gave him a wan smile and set the glass back down. Then, she settled back against the bed, her body supporting Kurama's.

Keiko shut her eyes wearily. If she were completely silent, she could hear the sound of his breathing, which had finally eased. And if she was completely still, she could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Keiko smiled gently and shut her eyes, and there she stayed for the entire night.

When morning came, Keiko opened her eyes. With a jolt, she realized where she was and who she was with. It was then that she thought of Yusuke. Damn it! She swore. Suddenly the soft sound of breathing caught her attention. Kurama's breathing was even andm when she reached a hand to his forehead, she found that it was cool. A peaceful smile came over her face. He'll be alright, she thought to herself, momentarily allowing herself to relax.

"Hn," a voice said. Keiko was sure she jumped twenty feet, and she looked in panic at Kurama. When she was sure he hadn't awakened, Keiko turned towards the window to look at the fire demon sitting there.

"Hello," Keiko said timidly, unsure about how to deal with this demon.

"You stayed with him the whole night." It was a statement, not a question. Keiko looked at the other demon.

"I did," she said softly, blushing like crazy.

The other demon didn't say anything. He merely stared at her in a way Keiko found unnerving. "Hn," the demon finally said, "You're awake." Yes, we've established that, Keiko thought. It took her a few moments to realize that the short demon was not talking to her.

"Kurama?" she asked, trying to twist her body around to get a look at him. When she did, she saw that Kurama was indeed awake.

The redhead gave her a smile. "Yes, I'm awake. Though," he said, wincing slightly, "I don't believe it was my best idea."

Keiko gave him a soft smile to which Hiei snorted. "And here I thought she was Urameshi's woman…girl." Hiei's correction was barely noticed by the frantic girl who apparently had forgotten momentarily about where she was. Hiei's red eyes appraised her. "I wonder how your boyfriend will react to this?"

Keiko looked wildly around. "I didn't do anything! Yusuke will understand. Kurama needed my help." Keiko looked down at the redhead in her arms as she tried to convince herself of this fact.

"I'm sure he will, but Hiei makes a good point. You need to go to Yusuke," Kurama said heavily, trying to raise himself off Keiko. However, he was still too weak and only managed to raise his body by a few inches, before he gave a soft cry of pain and fell back against her.

Had Kurama been able to see Keiko's face, he would have seen the look of panic that crossed her face. She felt torn, by her duty to Yusuke and her duty to her patient. "But…" she whispered.

"No," Kurama panted, this time managing to raise himself up. "You must go to him, Keiko." Then, when he saw her face, his voice softened. "Please, I'm grateful for what you did, but you must go. Hiei will assist me. Do not worry," he added gently.

"And when did I get dragged into this?" the fire demon asked. He looked like he was about to say something else. However, he was silenced by a look from Kurama, a look which Keiko was glad she didn't see.

"I don't know," Keiko looked uncertain. Kurama took her hands in his own.

"Keiko," he murmured as his nimble fingers wrapped around her hands, "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, but you must go. Yusuke is my friend and leader, and you are his girlfriend." Kurama's jade eyes bored into her own soft brown ones. "Do you understand?"

Keiko nodded and, as though she was in a trance, she felt herself step off the bed. Seconds later, she found herself out the door and walking to her own room. It wouldn't be till later, after she'd showered and gotten dressed in a fresh outfit, and visited Yusuke, that she would see Kurama again and, when she did, it came as a shock.

Keiko looked in astonishment at the fighter before her. Only hours earlier Kurama had been too weak to even sit up. Now here he stood before her. Looking fresh and clean, Kurama seemed no worse for the wear.

"Oy, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted. Keiko had met up with him a few minutes ago, and the two had decided that lunch sound fantastic to them. They had just entered the hallway. When Yusuke had spotted his red-haired teammate leaving his room. "Where were you last night?" Keiko froze and looked pleadingly at Kurama.

She didn't need to worry though, for Kurama smiled and said. "My apologies, Yusuke. I'm afraid I fell asleep last night, and didn't wake up till later today. Did you need me?"

Yusuke scratched his head. "No, not really," he said sheepishly. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

For a fraction of a second, Keiko thought she felt the green eyes glance in her direction, but realized she must have imagined it when she looked again. Kurama eyes were on Yusuke and Yusuke alone. "I'm fine, Yusuke." Kurama's eyes were gentle and reassuring. "I told you, my wounds were superficial."

There was a snort from behind them, and they spun to Hiei standing there. "Incredibly superficial, Kurama. Considering you almost bled to death."

There was an edge in Kurama's eyes that sent chills up Keiko's spine. "Yes, well, I am sure losing all your demon energy was no party, either. I can't imagine healing my wounds with less energy than an infant. How was it, Hiei?" Kurama voice was calm and inquisitive, but they heard the underlying tone.

"Okay." Yusuke looked at the two demons warily. "Listen, guys, I don't give a damn what you were in last night, so long as you're okay. That's all that matters, right?"

The two demons took a moment to stop glaring at one another to acknowledge him.

"Of course, Yusuke."

"Hn."

Yusuke seemed satisfied. "Good. Come on, Keiko. We gotta go find Kuwabara."

Yusuke took Keiko's hand and dragged her off, but just before they was out of earshot, Keiko heard Kurama say, "You didn't tell him about last night?"

"You're an idiot fox. Dho you really think I want him to kill you?"

"Yusuke couldn't kill me."

"In your state?"

"I'd like to know just how you can refer to my supposed state when you are the one who was eaten by his own dragon?"

"Hn."

That's it folks, though I would love to know what you thought. I wasn't always a fan of this pairing, however after reading a few stories I can totally see it. At any rate, the 'hints' of KuramaXKeiko in the story are only that, hints. But if people sho enough interest I might do a sequel. Thanks and please remember to review.

Kuramagal