Metamorphosis


A normal teenage girl (or as normal as teenage girls get) goes through some major life changes when she is suddenly thrust into a world filled with supernatural beings. Being one of Yusuke Urameshi's friends isn't a walk in the park-Elizabeth Simons could vouch for that. (Yes, this is a basic rewrite of the episodes/movies with my OC involved, but I would like to think she brings tasteful changes to the story line)

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to the writer(s) of Yu Yu Hakusho.

Hi all!

I have honestly been sitting on the first few chapters of this fan fic for years. It was spur of the moment tonight that I decided to post it. Going to see what the general responses are through reviews to see if it is worth continuing to post chapters-so PLEASE let me know!

Enjoy!


I let out a pained grunt as my knees connected with the rough pavement outside the front doors of Sarayashiki Junior High, the blue uniform skirt doing nothing to blanket them from the harsh and sudden fall. My glasses cluttered to the ground with the force of my abrupt descent, and my palms ached as I slowly righted myself, laughter echoing around me. Looking behind me to my right I could see the group of 'popular' girls as they all snickered behind their hands, the one that I evidently passed too closely to had her foot stuck out rather awkwardly behind her. My eyes narrowed in annoyance, realizing she and her oversized foot were the reason for my fall.

"Fucking clown footed heifer." I muttered angrily under my breath in English as I reached for my glasses, unfortunately unable to see a thing without them. I pushed them back onto my nose, now able to clearly see that the same girl had an irate look on her face as she approached me. Apparently I hadn't been quiet enough in my retaliation.

"What did you just call me, outsider?" The girl's snobbish voice called over to me in the native language of Japanese, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes slightly. I had been living here with my family for five years now, but people like her would forever dub me the outsider. I was used to it now, of course, and it hardly phased me anymore.

"You'd think you could come up with something more original by now." I replied snidely, allowing myself to slip back into Japanese, as I gathered up my books. Hey, I may get bullied a lot, but I was by no means a push over about it. I fought with words, not with fists. Fighting with fists I left to my neighbor and good friend Yusuke Urameshi. Speaking of which, where was the little asshole anyways?

"Go back to the pasture where you belong, cow." I laughed at her pathetic insult, shaking my head once more. True, I was rather overweight compared to most of the girls in my class. I felt rather guilty when I thought in such stereotypical ways, but it was true that many of the native girls here had much smaller and more delicate builds than myself. I had curvier curves than average, but I had learned to deal with them and those that made fun of me for them through the years. Water off of a ducks back as one might say.

"I'll go back to the pasture if you go back to the street corner you came from, slut." I replied easily whilst she and the other girls gasped at my audacity. I smirked some, finishing with picking up the rest of my supplies and throwing them haphazardly into my bag.

"Elizabeth!" I heard the familiar voice of Keiko calling whilst I stood and turned around, ignoring the girls as they muttered angrily behind me.

"Hey there, Keiko. How has your morning been?" I asked lightly with a cheery smile, whilst she looked at me in concern.

"Evidently better than your own. What happened to your knees?" Keiko asked in worry as I glanced down to finally take in the damage. They were red, and tiny dots of blood were coming to the surface, but other than that it looked like a pretty clean scrape.

"Oh nothing, tripped and fell, you know how clumsy I can be."

"Oh, I'm sure." Keiko replied in a dubious tone as she looked over my shoulder towards the group of girls, throwing a glare their way. The group now looked nervous as they shuffled out of view and on into the building. I couldn't help laughing a bit as I watched them. Nobody messed with Keiko, not since grade school after she had established her friendship with Yusuke. People quickly learned that if you messed with her, you had Urameshi to answer to. "Those girls giving you trouble again?"

"When aren't they, Keiko?" I asked as I rolled my green eyes in irritation. "Seriously though, I handled it."

"You handled it, huh?" Keiko lifted a brown eyebrow as I lifted one of my own back at her in a mimicked expression. She couldn't stop her lips from quirking a bit in a small smile, shaking her head lightly at me as she did. "Have you seen Yusuke this morning?"

"Nah, he was supposed to have met me out front of our building so we could walk to school together, but he never showed so I just went on ahead." I replied as I shrugged my shoulders carelessly. It wasn't unusual for Yusuke to sleep in, or skip school all together. Keiko, on the other hand, was the exact opposite and was always on time and never skipped. I suppose that's why those two were so good for one and other, or would be once they got over their combined stubbornness to realize that.

"I can't believe him. Skipping school again." Keiko huffed irritably as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He's going to make this high school look even worse than it already does." She muttered, reaching out and grabbing a hold of my arm, tucking it in with her own as we made our way into the building. "Honestly, I don't get why Yusuke can't take education seriously. Nobody gets anywhere now without a proper education…" My mind started to block out Keiko as she went on her usual 'education is the only way to have a future' speech. I knew she meant well, and I felt horrible on most occasions for blocking her out when she got like this, but at the same point I knew the lecture wasn't meant for me. I could get that she was worried about Yusuke and his future, but I had told her numerous times that someone who doesn't want to be helped won't be. That, and if she continued to pressure Yusuke into changing, she was going to end up pushing him away. The boy never did as he was told, and that was something that I kind of grew to admire about him. He could think for himself, and whilst he might not be book smart like Keiko and I, unlike Keiko and I he was street smart. He had a lot going for him in that aspect, and it had also saved Keiko's and mine's skin on quite a few occasions. Yusuke is really a good kid caught in a bad living situation to be honest, what with his dead-beat, long-lost Father and his alcoholic Mother. Though Astsuko usually meant well, and she obviously loved Yusuke, things were always tense for him at home, which is how we had become such good friends. He spent a lot of time over at my place, when he wasn't visiting with Keiko, and he had once confided in me it was because when he was at my place it was like he had a normal home life. My parents treated him with respect, like he was one of their own, and he truly appreciated it. Of course, the compliments ended with the threat of physical brutality should I ever tell anyone what he had confided in me.

I would've been worried had our conversation that evening not ended that way.

"Elizabeth, are you even listening to me?" Keiko's slightly high-pitched voice broke through my musings as I looked over to her quickly, humming in affirmation whilst nodding. "Oh really, so what was I just talking about?" She asked with a dubious, quirked eyebrow.

"Drugs, sex, and rock and roll?" I asked playfully, giggling as she huffed in annoyance and rolled her pretty brown eyes.

"Honestly, you're almost as bad as he is."

"Almost? Only almost? I'm really going to have to start upping my game here."

"Don't you dare! One Yusuke Urameshi is more than enough for me, thank you very much." Keiko groaned a bit as I laughed, squeezing her arm affectionately.

"Come on, class president, let's get to homeroom." I smiled as she smiled back to me, and we continued on in an amiable silence down the crowded school hall.

Little knowing that today was going to change both of our lives forever.

~ Metamorphosis ~

"I bet he's here somewhere." Keiko chattered on as we moved down the hall during our lunch break. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to waste my time trying to track down Yusuke during my lunch hour, but Keiko had other ideas.

"Keiko, honestly, I know what you're doing is full of good intentions, but maybe you should just let the boy be. He'll be here if he wants to be, and if not, then that is his prerogative." I sighed as I clasped my hands lazily behind my head whilst moving through the once more crowded hallways.

"I know." Keiko frowned, and I felt guilty hearing her disheartened voice. "It's just that nobody but us seems to care enough to try and help him make the right decisions. It makes me…feel responsible for him." I frowned hearing her as I stopped, reaching out and gently taking her arm in my hand to stop her.

"That stops right here and now, Keiko. Yusuke is not your responsibility. He is your friend. The choices he makes don't reflect upon you, alright? They reflect upon himself, and one of these days he'll grow up to realize that too." I told her firmly as she paused for a moment to take in what I said, sighing and slowly nodding as she frowned.

"I just want what's best for him."

"I know, sweetie." I replied softly as I squeezed her arm gently in reassurance. "And he knows that too, but right now he's a stubborn teenage boy stuck in his rebellious stage. When he finally grows out of it he'll realize what you've been trying to show him all along and he'd better have the good sense to thank you for putting up with his sorry ass for so long." I grinned at her as she obviously couldn't help a smile, giggling even. I was glad I could make her smile, even when she looked and obviously felt so discouraged. "Now, the only place we haven't checked is the roof, wanna give that a try before lunch break ends?"

"Sounds good to me." Keiko agreed with a small smile as we moved through the hall to the stairs, climbing them up to the highest floor. At the end of the hallway was the stairs that led up to the rooftop, which we climbed in silence till we came to the door. Keiko opened it with a little too much force in my opinion, and we both blinked at the brightness of the sun as it reflected off of the roof surface. Looking around our eyes finally landed on the black haired culprit we had been trying to find our entire lunch hour.

There was the great Yusuke Urameshi, crouched against the wall as the sun beat down on the three of us. A light breeze was the only relief from the heat as we both made our way over to the punk.

"We've been looking for your ass everywhere, Urameshi." I grunted in annoyance as I crossed my arms, Keiko standing next to me and looking just as irate.

"Hello to you too, Lisa." Yusuke replied lazily as he looked at us both with his 'don't give a damn' attitude. I watched then as his brown eyes turned to Keiko, seeing them light up with interest now and I held back a smug smirk as his eyes locked right on Keiko's legs. "Hey, nice skirt."

Keiko, oblivious to Yusuke's leering, crossed her arms in irritation as she regarded him. "All the girls have to wear these." She replied in a no nonsense tone as Yusuke visibly rolled his eyes. I sighed, leaning back against the wall next to him, preparing myself for Keiko V.S. Yusuke: Round 200. Seriously, these two just needed to kiss, get their freak on, and get it over with in my opinion. Yusuke shifted next to me, and I glanced down to catch him digging into his pocket to find some gum, flicking it in the air to catch it in his mouth. I reached out, though, and snatched it in mid-air, grinning smugly as I flicked it into my own mouth and started to chew.

"Hey! That was mine." Yusuke grunted indignantly as I gave him a smug smirk.

"And now it's mine. Playground rules, my friend, finders keepers." I replied with an easy shrug as Yusuke narrowed his eyes irritably, but I could see them twinkling with amusement as well. The connection between Yusuke and I was very different than Keiko's and his; the major difference being that we'd never feel anything romantic towards one and other as we were far too platonic in our friendship for that.

"Just like all the boys have to wear blue jumpsuits," Keiko continued on, as if her argument hadn't been interrupted, "which I notice you're not." She pointed out in annoyance.

"Oh, give me a break, Keiko." Yusuke groaned as I hid my smile behind my hand, slowly sliding along the wall out of the way of the fighting duo. "I look better in green." This only added fuel to Keiko's fire as her normally kind brown eyes glinted with dangerous intent.

"You know, the boy does have a point-"

"Maybe I'd be more tolerant, Yusuke, if I could see you in class more than once every ten days!" Keiko huffed, effectively cutting me off whilst turning away from us to look out over the rooftop towards the buildings of the city beyond. "You give our class a horrible attendance average, which gets me in trouble as a class representative." Keiko began to spiel on now, and I watched as Yusuke silently stood, Keiko completely oblivious as he moved behind her. My mouth fell open as I watched him grab onto the hem of her uniform skirt, and he had the audacity to throw me a playful wink as he did, his smirk full of perverted mischief. I nearly groaned, shaking my head and rolling my eyes, knowing he was going to be in for the bitch slap of his life when he was caught.

And he would be caught; Yusuke Urameshi may be smooth, but he wasn't that smooth.

"Plus you won't be able to graduate middle school!" Keiko continued on, completely unaware as Yusuke began to lift her skirt ever so slowly. I blinked a few times as I watched his brown eyes dart under the material with interest, wondering what on earth Keiko could be wearing for underwear that would have his attention so rapt upon her bottom. "Sometimes I think you don't care about anyone but yourself, and then you don't even do that right." Keiko turned sharply towards where I now stood alone, her eyes blazing and obviously irritated that Yusuke hadn't said a single thing during her rant. Not as if he could with the way she had went on anyways. "Do you hear me?!" She paused as she took in the fact that it was just me there, and I innocently shrugged my shoulders before raising my hand to point my index finger towards the teenage boy that now stood behind her. How could she not feel the draft?

"Nice uniform, it's lacy." Yusuke observed with amusement in his voice and appreciation in his eyes. Keiko's face went bright red with the realization that Yusuke was peeping her, and quickly whipped around, the sound of skin slamming against skin echoing over the rooftop. I winced as I heard and watched her slap him right across the face, a nasty red handprint left in the wake of the hit. Yusuke, though, looked nothing less than accomplished, even as he was obviously a little dazed from Keiko's hit. After all, he had been the one to teach her how to fight, me as well but not as successfully. He had landed hard on his ass before quickly getting to his feet, Keiko nattering angrily and obviously embarrassed.

"Yusuke, you pervert!" She shouted, and I shook my head at the dumb look on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets, still looking rather happy with himself. "People like you should be strung up in the street!" I giggled at the thought of Yusuke Urameshi being hog tied upside down off of a streetlight. Maybe I'd even be able to convince a few kids that if they hit him hard enough candy would spill out.

Yusuke didn't even bother to respond as he dazedly, yet happily, skipped back through the door into the school.

"Dumb boy! Hasn't grown up a bit since he was four years old!" Keiko seethed as I walked up to her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"They never do." I grinned a bit as I looked over towards her. "But I think that's one of the things that attract you to him." I added as she threw me a warning glare and I quickly held my hands up in surrender. "Hey, hey, don't kill me for telling the truth. You realized that he liked what he saw, right?" I added cheekily as Keiko huffed, the blush reappearing on her cheeks. "A HA! Knew it! You liked that he peeped you."

"Oh, you need to grow up too!" Keiko cried out indignantly, only solidifying my suspicion as I laughed slightly.

"Keiko, Keiko, it's okay to like that he pays you extra attention. Especially when you both are too stubborn to admit how much you like one and other." I replaced my hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently once more. "You know, all jokes aside, I really think he does like you, Keiko. He holds a special place for you that no one else will. You're lucky to have that with him. With anyone really, but with him especially." I murmured, looking out over the rooftop wistfully. Truth was, I wish a boy would think me worthy of their time of day, worthy of protecting, and caring for. I've had crushes like any healthy fourteen year old, and I know I'm still young, but it'd be nice if one of my crushes in the future didn't outright reject me as they have in the past.

You're a really nice girl, but…

I'm not ready for a relationship…

You're a really great friend…

I'm just not attracted to you…physically…sorry….

That's what it always came down to; I had a great personality, but my looks weren't good enough. Some boys had been nicer about saying it than others, whilst others had come right out and said it, but it all led towards the same excuse over and over and over again. Oh, I know how self-pitying that sounds, and melodramatic, but it is true. Freckled, pale skin, overweight, short body, big nerdy glasses and boring brown hair; I didn't exactly scream pretty. Boys wanted it all, when I only had part of the package to give.

"I suppose you're right." Keiko sighed heavily then as she calmed down a fair bit, letting her arms drop from being crossed over her chest. "A-are you sure that he really was…looking at me like that?" She asked hesitantly, and my heart ached seeing the same insecurity I always felt around boys in her own eyes.

"Oh, Keiko." I murmured softly as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her into me. "He definitely finds you attractive. I watch as he looks at you all the time when you aren't looking." I smiled softly as I saw the blush returning to her cheeks once more. "That boy loves the way you look, and he'd be crazy not to. I'm going to tell you this in the most platonic, non-homosexual way that I possibly can." I took a deep breath to think about my words as Keiko looked at me, clearly amused. "You are smoken' girl!" I grinned as she burst into laughter, her eyes twinkling prettily. "No, really, Keiko, you're so beautiful, anyone would kill to look like you, okay? What is even more important is that you're beautiful inside and out, and Urameshi would be a fool to let some other boy try and whisk you away." I added seriously as her laughter died down some, smiling appreciatively at me as she did.

"Thank you, Lisa." Keiko smiled as she hugged me back then and I rubbed her back gently smiling softly as well.

"There is no need to thank me for simply telling the truth, you know that." I replied evenly as she leaned away, nodding and smiling still as she did.

"I know, but I wanted to anyways." She sighed as she let go and I did as well. She stretched her arms over her head, letting out a small groan as she did before dropping her arms heavily to her sides. "Shall we head back in? The bell for class will probably go pretty soon."

"Yeah, sounds good to me, though if I had my choice I'd hide up here like Yusuke." I groaned, thinking of what was ahead of me. I was in for a full hour and a half of Math; not exactly my favourite way to pass time.

"I know you would." Keiko replied dryly, having a very good idea of what was going through my mind right now. "How did you do on the homework last night by the way?"

"Well, I gave it my best shot." I answered feebly as we walked back into the shade of the school.

"Would you like to get together tonight to go over last night and tonight's homework?" Keiko offered kindly as I quickly nodded, giving her a grateful smile.

"I'd really appreciate that, Keiko. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably fail Math."

"Oh, most definitely." We both giggled as we moved on down the hall and stairs, only to be stopped by a couple girls from out class as they called out to Keiko meekly from around the corner. I didn't really know them all that well, but felt a little concerned with the worried looks on their faces. "What's up?" I questioned lightly as Keiko tilted her head curiously.

"Why are you hiding around the corner?" Keiko added gently as we both stopped on the stairs to regard both girls.

"B-Because we're scared of the Great Urameshi." The one the blond pig tails spoke up in a frightened voice, and I couldn't help the bark of laughter that left me. I have heard him called that many times before, but the hilarity of it still got to me each time.

"Let me tell you something about this 'Great Urameshi'." I smirked as I placed my hands on my hips. "He's whipped." I pointed my thumb towards Keiko as she bashfully pushed my hand down.

"Elizabeth." She growled my name out in warning, a tell tale blush on her cheeks before looking back to both girls.

"I don't understand how you guys can talk to him." The short brunette added fearfully.

"Aren't you afraid of what he might do to you? Or worse, what people might say?" The blond added and I blinked a couple times, before the smile dropped from my face and I quickly became irritated. I hated when people put image before everything else. Seriously, if there was one thing I had to learn early on in life, it was to not care what other people thought of me.

Though sometimes that philosophy really sucked ass.

"Not really." Keiko replied lightly as she regarded both girls kindly. "Elizabeth isn't right about him being 'whipped' in any sense of the word, but for the most part he just wants you to think that he's dangerous. On the inside he is more like a lamb." I couldn't help bursting into laughter hearing Keiko's description, grabbing onto the railing of the stairs for support.

"You're right, Keiko, being whipped is totally worse than being 'more like a lamb'." I laughed loudly as Keiko shot me an annoyed look.

There goes Yusuke's manhood. I mused silently to myself, imagining him walking down the sidewalk and suddenly stopping to double over, checking for his suddenly absent dangly bits. The image only caused me to laugh harder, my knees giving out as I landed on the stairs. Distantly I could hear the other two girls asking if I was okay, and Keiko reassuring them that I was and to just ignore me.

Thanks Keiko, nice to know you'd be on top of things if I wasn't okay.

After a few moments I managed to calm down enough to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"Yeah, Keiko, but you haven't heard the latest." The brunette spoke up in an almost excited voice as she leaned forward. "He's super tough, and he kills for fun." I nearly burst into laughter once more, hearing the stupid rumor. I didn't know what was worse, that Yusuke no doubt started the rumor himself, or that these girls actually believed that nonsense. Yusuke was afraid of spiders for goodness sake. What kind of sadistic mass-murder was afraid of a tiny eight-legged insect?

"Yeah, and if you cross him he'll whistle for two thousand bad guys with guns!" The blond finished excitedly as I shook my head, smirking as I did. Keiko was clearly amused by now as well as she lightly waved off their stories with a smile.

"Oh come on, now. Yusuke doesn't even know how to whistle." Keiko informed the duo, and both looked stumped at this revelation.

"What?" The brunette gasped as they both looked towards us wide eyed.

"Yep, and to top that, the boy is positively tone deaf. Even if he could whistle, he couldn't whistle a tune to save his life." I informed them amusedly, slowly standing back on my feet next to Keiko.

"Besides, Yusuke couldn't order around two people let alone two thousand." Keiko frowned some, ending sadly. "He doesn't have many friends." I frowned a bit, realizing how true that was. Other than myself and Keiko (and he refused to acknowledge us as friends though we clearly were) he really had nobody. Well, unless you could count Kuwabara as a friend, and that kid has been trying to best Yusuke in a fight for years, the poor buggar.

"Not what I heard." The blond replied rather snootily as the brunette looked rather smug as well.

"Yeah, I think we would know." She added as I couldn't help feeling irritated by them both now.

"Well, since you both obviously know Yusuke so well, we'll mention you guys to him. I'm sure he'd love to meet you both." I replied evenly as they both got wide eyed.

"Oh no, that's alright! Really. We best be getting to class now!" The blond rushed out, grabbing her friend's hand and pulling them both down the hall as fast as she could.

"Honestly." I sighed heavily as I shook my head, looking to Keiko. "Can you believe the crap coming out of their mouths."

"Knowing that it probably came from Yusuke's mouth first, I can." Keiko replied dryly as she watched the two girls leaving as well.

"The population of this high school needs a new hobby, other than spreading bull crap that is."

"Amen to that, Elizabeth."

~ Metamorphosis ~

Keiko and I walked down the streets towards my building, planning on working on our Math together as she had promised earlier that day. It had been a fairly peaceful walk home, but as we turned the corner we both knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

An ambulance was sitting outside of my building.

My stomach dropped as my initial thoughts were on my parents. My Father had, had a rough year medically. He suffered from a minor stroke in the fall, and ever since then I had been on high alert when it came to him. It had really scared me to realize that my Dad wasn't as invincible as I used to believe.

Growing up really sucked sometimes.

"Oh god, Dad?" I gasped out as Keiko frowned deeply, reaching for my hand and squeezing it gently.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Elizabeth, it could be for someone else in the building." Keiko tried to calm me down as I nodded, but nonetheless my steps quickened as we made our way there. As we walked by the wall I nearly collapsed in relief seeing both my parents holding one and other as they stood out in the yard.

But my heart stopped once again as I saw where the paramedics were coming from.

"Yusuke." Keiko's broken voice filtered through my shock as I watched the paramedics leaving Atsuko's apartment with an empty stretcher. "Oh god no, please, no!" She moved to run towards Yusuke's apartment, but my Father reached out and pulled her into him tightly to stop her. "What's going on, Mr. Simons? Is it Yusuke? Atsuko? Are they alright?!" Keiko's voice was frantic as she mindlessly fought against my Father's hold, and I moved up quickly to help him, boxing her in-between myself and my Father.

My Mom looked at us both with tears clearly in her eyes, and my dread only worsened as she sobbed softly. "It's Yusuke." She managed to get out, obviously extremely upset. Oh no…please…this could only mean one thing. "I'm so sorry girls but he's…Yusuke is…"

"NOOOOOO!" Astuko's horrified scream suddenly ripped from her apartment, and I felt my blood turning ice cold as Keiko grew limp between myself and my Father. My Mom nor Dad needed to fill me in any further, I already knew.

Yusuke was gone.

~ Metamorphosis ~

I stared blankly ahead as I waited outside of the apartment, unable to face the truth that lay inside. I was a coward, I know I was, and I also knew I should get my ass in there to pay my respects to Atsuko. Hell, even Keiko managed to pull it together long enough to go in there. Yet here I stood, still in shock that one of my best friends was gone, I would never see him ever again.

Death had always been a concept that terrified me. My Grandmother had died when I was fairly young, and the idea of just simply ceasing to exist, of never coming back, it scared me. To think that one day I'd just be gone, nothing left of me, just rotting six feet under and never to accomplish anything further in my life, was disheartening to say the least. Thinking of all the things that I would miss seeing or doing actually made me feel rather depressed.

Now to know that my best friend, my fourteen-year-old best friend, would never walk this earth again made me ache deep in my chest. I could feel my eyes burning from unshed tears as I thought of him; energetic, loyal, honorable wouldn't be words that many would use to describe Yusuke Urameshi, but I would. I still couldn't get over the fact that I had just been talking to him not six hours ago.

And now I'd never have another conversation with him again.

Rubbing my hand over my face I began to realize how many times I had just thought about myself when it came to Yusuke's death. How pathetic was that? Though I suppose it was a normal reaction at the same time, and no doubt Keiko was having similar, if not more painful, thoughts at the moment. She had just lost her best friend, and if she was being honest with herself, her first love, and it must be killing her.

The guilt weighed down on me once more as I turned to look back at the front door, knowing that I should be in there to support her right now, but I just couldn't.

Some best friend I am. I scoffed to myself as I lightly kicked at the dirt, giving a heavy sigh as my tears felt like falling over once more. Both my parents had retired to our apartment after helping Atsuko prepare for the visitation. Both had been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from the day and were no doubt grieving together at this moment for the boy they had considered a son.

"Yusuke." I sighed heavily as I looked up to the sky. "You've no idea how much you're needed here. I know you were rarely told it, but seriously dude, we're messed up without you." I whispered sadly, a couple tears managing to slip by before I turned sharply hearing sobs coming from the doorway. I watched as the two girls from the hallway at school escorted Keiko out, my friend clearly upset as she began to whimper out Yusuke's name. Fighting back more tears I rushed over to her, grabbing her gently by the arms as I lightly shoved the girls away. They hadn't been much help anyways, they were more concerned about getting Keiko away before she caused a scene.

"Just go." I growled lowly to them, too hurt, too upset to even try to be nice to them right now. I pulled Keiko into me tightly as she sobbed loudly into my shoulder, gently coaxing her from the doorway so others could go in the pay their respects. I frowned deeply as we passed by Kuwabara, slightly shocked as I heard his angered shouts whilst his friends tried but failed to drag him back from the building. Was Kuwabara…grieving? I turned to watch as I thought for sure I heard him let out a sob, his body dragging his two friends through the yard and to the doorway. That was as much as I saw though before I turned my attention back to Keiko, her body limp and stumbling against my own whilst I guided her over to my apartment.

"I know it hurts, Keiko. I'm so sorry." I whispered to her gently as I guided her through the living room, her sobs having calmed down into tiny sniffles, and I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned. I almost had to drag her down the small hallway into my room to my bed, gently sitting her down before watching as she flopped down on the covers, out cold. I sighed, shaking my head sadly as I realized she must have passed out; the day had obviously, and by rights, been too much for her. I removed her shoes, shifting her gently to lay on my bed ontop of the covers since it was a warm night to begin with. Brushing her hair back I could see the tear streaks on her cheeks and the redness to her eyes. "Oh, Keiko…." I whispered sadly as I sat down next to her, watching her even breathing.

"Yusuke, why did you have to decide to become a hero today of all days?" I muttered to myself, a few more tears slipping out as I thought about him once more, before turning and shutting the lamp next to my bed off.

"I'm going to miss you, you great big idiot."


Well, there ya have it! The first chapter. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Until next time!

Tiggs1990