Hi there! Hina here. I was watching the beginning of the series the other day and then I was watching this oldish movie called 'License to Kill' and wondered if anyone ever told the poor dude who killed Yusuke that he came back to life. So I decided to write this little piece here, since I don't think anyone else ever wrote about this. Go figure! As always: Please, please, please, please, please review if ya liked it! And to flamers: If you're not Fire Apparitions…then what's the point? Ciao!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu or else Yusuke would have died in a C4 explosion or else in something even COOLER!

Irony of Sorts

My life was ruined. And it had been all my fault. It had been 4 years (4 years!) since the accident that ruined my life. No, my wife or child hadn't died in the accident, no, I hadn't been hurt in the accident, no, my house hadn't been burned down or destroyed. But in one, single, horrific moment…everything in my life had been completely destroyed. All on that day.

It had started out as a nice day. Me and my long time girlfriend had breakfast together in our favorite little café and then decided to take a ride through the city. The sights were always pretty, my girlfriend had said, and we'll be able to talk and have fun. I had agreed. And off we went, driving through the city, going far too fast, talking and laughing and having a good time. Not a care in the whole, wide world! Life was a truly wonderful thing. My girlfriend had just told a joke and I was laughing, pressing my foot even harder against the gas pedal, when it happened. My girlfriend looked up and shouted 'Hey, look out!' I looked up in time to see a small boy clutching a ball, standing in the middle of the street, right in front of our speeding car. I slammed on the breaks and before I could blink, a green clad figure had leaped headlong in front of the screeching car, pushing the boy clean out of the way. There was a sickening crack as the young body slammed first into the front of car, then he was tossed into the windshield, breaking the glass, before flying over the car and onto the cold, unforgiving street. I was terrified and sick, and then immensely guilty when I found out not 10 minutes later that he had died. And he was only 14.

For some reason, though, no one sued me. Of course, my life was ruined anyway, regardless if I had been taken to court or not. I and my girlfriend, whom I wanted to ask to marry me, broke up, her saying she could never be with me after what happened. Guilt quickly overpowered me so I didn't go to work and slowly but surely became bankrupt and lost my house. Every time I go to sleep, I see that kid's face. I never even knew his name! But I killed him. That nameless boy that I destroyed the life of, that destroyed the life of me. Now I live on the street, another homeless bum and wino, sucking down the sweet poison of alcohol to make me forget all my stupidity.

So, four years to the day, I'm stumbling down the sidewalk, a bottle of cheap wine clutched loosely in my fingers. I manage to get money when I need it so I always have some alcohol product on hand. Funny thing is: I hate drinking. But sometimes it'll knock me out so I won't see the black haired, brown eyed dead boy that I had killed.

"Hey, watch out!" Someone muttered as I pretty much ran into a figure walking down the dark alleyway I was currently on. I regained my balance and I raised my head, bloodshot eyes meeting startling brown ones.

"Wh-what?" I whispered in shock, blinking back at the face in front of me, feeling completely shocked. Standing before me, in a blue jeans and a grey T-shirt, was the ghost of the boy I had killed 4 YEARS before! I blinked my eyes several times, praying that the alcohol hadn't finally rotted out my brain cells.

"Hmm? Do I know you?" The boy asked, raising a hand to scratch at the back of his head in a confused manner. I swallowed in shock, struggling with the words for a moment before I managed something coherent.

"Were…ugh…were you ever…um…involved in a car accident?" I gasped, struggling to say something vaguely normal sounding and not stupid. The browned eyed boys eyes widened a bit and he nodded, probably thinking how strange it was that he was talking with a homeless bum in the alley in the middle of the night.

"Um, yeah! Actually, I was. Pretty much died from one, actually." He said with a shaky sounding laugh, probably freaked out majorly. My eyes twitched as I looked him up and down, thinking that if he was a ghost, he would have vanished by now. But since he hadn't, since he's speaking, since he was in a car accident…then he must be the one! But he was dead…but he was standing there. I'm so confused right now. I swallowed hard and was about to say something when he spoke up.

"Hey! Wait a sec, do I know you? You look really kinda familiar." He said looking me up and down, staring at me in the same intense way I had been staring at him a moment ago. I frowned and decided, why bother hiding? If he was alive, then I was either insane or maybe redemption was around the corner. Who knows?

"Uh, I believe so. I killed you…four years ago, I think." I said, sounding vague, as IF I didn't remember the single moment that destroyed my life. Recognition flashed through the boy's eyes as he pointed at me.

"Hey, yeah! I knew I had seen you before! Yeah, I remember that. Weird." He said thoughtfully and slightly scatterbrained in that moment, as if him dying by my car was an ordinary thing. I shook my head mutely for a moment; this was so not an ordinary thing. I decided that I might as well get all the questions out right now, lest someone kills him gain.

"You died! How are you standing here if you're dead?" I asked incredulously as I leaned slightly against the cold, stone building that lined the street. The boy blinked at me before he answered kinda slowly, a tiny smile on his face.

"Heh, what? You think I'm a ghost or something? Nope! I…um…will I did die…for a minute or two but…um…they shocked my heart or something, I guess, and I came back. I guess they sent the memo bout' my death a little early huh?" He said with a slow grin spreading across his face. I stood there, very dark thoughts flashing through my mind at those words. He HADN'T really died? My life had been RUINED because someone PREMATURELY sent out a death notice? Thank God I had a strong heart or else it would have stopped right then and there. The boy stared at me for a moment and then cleared his throat, speaking again.

"Well, hey! No hard feeling, eh? I'm alive and so are you, though you really could use a bath!" He said and grinned as he took in my disheveled appearance and my grim face; I mustered a tiny smile at his cheery outlook.

"Thank you." I managed, feeling a very odd feeling. What was that? Oh yeah, I know that feeling. Happiness and peace. I used to feel that, once upon a very long time ago. Hadn't felt peace or happiness in a couple years…like 4 maybe! The kid who wasn't dead grinned at me, clearly past the slightly awkward moment. He draped an arm around my shoulder and started steering me down the street.

"Well, name's Yusuke. Wanna go for a drink?" He asked cheerfully as we walked down the street, him all happy like the promising future boy he was and me like trying to accept the fact I'm not a sleazeball murder and not guilty guy. At his words, I glanced down at the bottle of wine in my hand and with a shrug, tossed it over my shoulder. I answered his question with my first grin in years at the satisfying sound of the glass breaking.

"Sure, I could use a stiff drink tonight." After that, me and the not-dead dead boy shared my last stiff drink in a bar down the street. I stopped drinking after that and started to get my life back on track. All because of the night I saw Yusuke Uramshi, a bright boy from a dark day. It was an irony of sorts.