Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.
(A/N: This is the sequel to my previous fiction, "The Sun Will Shine Again" It is a Kurama and Keiko pairing and dedicated to ChibiLady, a fan of the first story who requested a sequel. Sorry it took so long. Enjoy and please R&R!)
Unbalanced Kisses
Prologue: Ghost of the Past
Keiko Yukimura felt completely at ease as she walked home from school. After a long day of books and studying, Keiko's only worry was going home to her own place where she could relax. Even if her father needed help at the restaurant it would still get her mind off missing her boyfriend. For the first time in six months, Keiko had forgotten her "what if's". . . what if her lover, Yusuke Urameshi, hadn't gone to the demon world? What if he hadn't fought? Those were questions she had asked herself over and over. But now, Yusuke wasn't her lover anymore. He was, both literally and figuratively, a ghost of her past. She was over that. She had gotten over him, just as he'd wanted. Still, it made sense that there were little traces of him left, like a ghost in her past that she couldn't erase; she knew Yusuke was probably watching her, and she hoped he was happy.
As Kurama walked the streets in his human guise on the other side of town, his mind wandered as much as his girlfriend's had been. It amazed him how, in six months, Kuwabara had temporarily stepped up to take Yusuke's place as a Reikai Tantei. Kuwabara had gotten quite strong, and continued frequent training with Yusuke's aging mentor Genkai, who had yet to fully bequeath her home to the group as promised. Kurama and Kuwabara had tried to convince her to give it to them and stay in it to help for as long as she could. Genkai was a lonely old woman, and Yusuke's sudden death had shaken her to the core. Since Hiei didn't really care for Genkai, it was Kurama who bore the responsibility of keeping her updated on the happenings between worlds. He felt a sense of duty to the lady Yusuke had held in such high esteem. Genkai often asked him if he ever planned on returning to the world of Makai as Hiei had done months ago. Kurama didn't know now if he could. Even with his mother's remarriage, he was still needed. Hiei, his most trusted friend, was no longer by his side. Hiei's loyalty to the world of humans had all but severed; his grudge with Yusuke alone had kept him coming back for almost a month after the Spirit Detective's untimely demise. Kurama had urged Hiei to put it behind him, and the little fire demon had begrudgingly done so, accepting that Yusuke wasn't returning. Hiei had pleaded with Kurama to stay in the Makai, questioning and eventually coming to loathe the human connections that the once great kitsune couldn't leave behind. Hiei couldn't believe Kurama didn't want to return to the lives they had been living before. Kurama made no sense to Hiei now; he had never imagined his old friend would give up fame and money for the love of a woman—a ningen woman at that. The former thieves still communicated, albeit rarely, and most of the time Hiei complained about his arrangements living with Mukuro. Both of their debts to society had been paid a dozen times over or more. Or had they?
(A/N:Perfect little teaser. R&R!)