To Serve and Protect
Chapter Two

Koenma released Genkai as they arrived just outside the temple in the large courtyard. It was pretty much the same as he had last seen it, while watching Yuusuke and Kuwabara compete to be the heir to Genkai's technique and defeat Rando. He wondered if Yuusuke would ever figure out that Rando had just been a means to an end – Genkai was the person best suited to teach the delinquent Tantei.

There was just no way he could have trained Yuusuke himself. Not after what happened the last time he'd trained someone.

Genkai took a deep breath of the fresh forest air, jarring him from his thoughts. "Home sweet home," she remarked mildly.

"Sorry to cut your vacation short," said Koenma.

"Bah." The old martial artist walked onto the porch that surrounded her home. "I'm just not the type to take it easy for long. Plus, that dimwit won't know his ass from a hole in the ground unless I'm around."

"He's not quite that helpless."

Her face softened almost imperceptibly and she hummed in possible agreement, opening the door to reveal a startled looking Yukina.

It took Koenma a moment to remember what the girl was doing there. She'd come to the Ningenkai to search for her brother – though she'd unknowingly already met him.

Hiei was a young man who made many complicated and often contrary decisions. His biggest issues had to do with his parentage and that he believed Yukina was better off not knowing him. But Koenma knew something that Hiei didn't – his sister wasn't nearly as clueless as she pretended to be. She would figure it out someday.

Yukina gasped, dropping her bowl of bird seed. "Master Genkai!"

Genkai grinned. "Of course! Did you really think I was gone? Koenma, help Yukina sweep up that mess and then I'll show you to your room."

This surprised Koenma. He'd just planned on seeing Genkai home then heading into town to find a place of his own. When his shock wore off, he turned back to Yukina. "Sorry we startled you, Yukina-chan."

The small ice demon flushed and she went to fetch a broom. "Oh, it's alright, Koenma-sama… You'll be staying here?"

Koenma glanced sideways at Genkai. She looked smug. "I suppose so."

The girl blinked at him with wide eyes, sweeping the seed all into one pile. "Koenma-sama, I'm very glad to see you're alright, but… You feel differently."

"That's why he'll be staying here," Genkai spoke before Koenma could. "Tokyo has enough problems without a sixteen year old former god running around."

"Former god?" The ice demon was obviously surprised. "Oh my…" Then her eyes widened again just as it seemed she was calming down. "Oh! We should tell everyone that you're back. They'll be so happy!"

Koenma frowned slightly. "I appreciate your help but information like that can be as dangerous as my presence, you know."

The azure haired girl wavered for a moment before looking firm. "They're your friends too, Koenma-sama. Besides, if Yuusuke-san doesn't hear from you soon he's liable to find a way to the Reikai and charge the palace gates. He's been threatening to. Repeatedly."

His frown deepened, surprised again. Surely Yuusuke didn't care about him enough to do anything that rash. But, if he had learned anything about the boy, it as that he was incredibly unpredictable. Some days, Koenma wasn't sure if that was a good or bad trait.

Since he really didn't feel like rescuing Yuusuke again—the recent confrontation with his father and the other gods had left him feeling impossibly drained—he decided not to stop Yukina from going to call the others.

Yuusuke was the first to arrive, panting and sweating, having run the entire way from the bus stop. He'd started running as soon as he got the call from Yukina, scaring the crap out of his mom. Then during the bus ride, he was positive that his fidgeting and general delinquent appearance scared other passengers.

Not that he cared or anything, but he didn't like strangers staring. They could mind their own fucking business.

He reached the top of the steps and leaned over, waiting to catch his breath. As he lifted his head, he took a good look around. He spotted Yukina outside, feeding the birds.

She smiled, as sweet and kind as always. "Hello, Yuusuke-san."

Yuusuke forwent a greeting of his own. "Where… are they…?" he gasped out.

In answer to his question, the temple doors opened to reveal the petite form of his master. "Dimwit," was Genkai's welcome.

Gone was the blood and the gaping wound in the old lady's stomach. Though the image stood out clearly in Yuusuke's mind still, whenever he closed his eyes; now Genkai looked the same as when he'd met her nearly a year ago. Yukina had told him so when she called, but Yuusuke couldn't quite believe she was really there, gazing at him just as sourly as always.

As if she hadn't died in his arms. As if her former lover hadn't killed her before her student's eyes. There hadn't even been a funeral. Just his silent vigil by the cave, when he hadn't been able to move or think about the competition the next day because she was just gone. She'd left him to fend for himself, confirming everything in him that fought against caring for people.

It was better not to care about others, because it always hurt.

But there she was. And he still cared. He would always care now. He loved every single one of the idiots-and Genkai was standing right there in front of him. Alive.

"Baa-san?"

Genkai frowned and darted forward, bringing a fist down on his head. "I thought I told you never to call me that." Despite the blow, she didn't sound angry.

It hurt, but it made him feel so happy. She was really there. Yuusuke grinned, and tears were in his eyes. "Baa-san! C'mere, you beautiful old hag!"

Somehow, he managed to tackle her. Either the old lady was having an off day, or Yuusuke was having a good one.

"Yuusuke!" she gasped, squirming. "You knuckle-headed dimwit! Let me go right now before I make you regret it!"

Then, during Yuusuke's touchy-feely moment, the real surprise came outside. Koenma stepped out of the entrance silently. He wore normal human clothes – jeans that hugged his hips and a plain t-shirt.

Yuusuke was surprised by this enough to let Genkai go. "… Koenma?"

It was a mistake. Freed, Genkai kicked him in the ribs and launched him into the air. He screamed as he flew and came crashing through branches in the trees around the temple. The limbs scraped harshly at his skin, hurting just as much as Genkai's kick. He felt his ribs-nothing broken.

But he was used to this kind of treatment. He picked himself up after his rough landing and went limping back, picking twigs and leaves out of his hair. The greased back locks were completely messed up by now, of course. "Ow, ow… Damn old lady…"

Genkai snorted. "You've gotten soft."

Yuusuke glared and was about to retort, except he got distracted by Koenma's appearance once again. He had to get a closer look, circling around him slowly, eyeing him up and down.

Without the cape and formal ware, the lines of Koenma's body were more obvious. He was slenderer than Yuusuke had thought originally. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Your pacifier's gone," said the teen. Without the little blue suck toy getting in the way, Yuusuke could see Koenma's lips. It was highly distracting.

"Oh…" Koenma put his fingers to his lips, as if he forgot the little blue object wasn't there anymore.

"You feel like a human." This was the big difference, though the outward appearance was just as distracting to Yuusuke. Koenma's power was still there, but it was a mere whisper of what it had been at the tournament. It felt muffled, like something was holding it in. Yuusuke felt himself growing angry.

"I suppose, technically, I am human," Koenma admitted at last.

Yuusuke's heart went cold. "Who did it? I'm gonna make them pay."

"Then I'm not going to tell you."

"Koenma!" Yuusuke growled, frustrated. "You're my friend, whether you believe it or not. I don't let anyone mess with my friends, and this is just fucking wrong. Okay, yeah, Botan explained some of it, but it's bullshit. You did the right thing and now you're being punished for it!?"

"If you try to avenge me, you'll just get yourself killed," the former god pointed out reasonably.

"How can you be so complacent about this?!" Because the teen was ready to bust some heads. If only he'd gotten out of the way in time, then Koenma wouldn't have had to pay for his mistake. The guilt was making him angrier.

"I knew it would come to this."

Yuusuke felt his eyebrow start to twitch involuntarily. "You knew ? You—oh that's just—I'm gonna— Gah!"

He had to walk off for a moment to keep from hitting somebody—it wasn't anyone's fault. Anyone there, that is. He still wanted to go charging into the Reikai and wreak some unholy vengeance on some totally unfair gods.

But he didn't. He took a few deep breaths to get under control before walking back to Koenma. "Okay. I promise I won't do anything. Now explain."

"Explain what?"

Yuusuke sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. He frowned when he found twigs, carding his fingers through the locks to dislodge the rest. "Explain what happened to you," he growled.

"The Jade Emperor sealed my powers." Koenma explained reasonably.

"Sealed how?"

Instead of answering verbally, Koenma turned around and lifted the back of his white t-shirt, revealing an elaborate seal on his back. It looked like a pretty intense tattoo-and Yuusuke knew something about tattoos, hanging around on the streets as often as he did.

Leaving his hair alone, Yuusuke leaned in to get a closer look. "Huh…"

He lightly traced one line on Koenma's back, close to the curve of his spine, forgetting to be self-conscious about intimately touching another guy. If the design was supposed to look like something he couldn't recognize it. Any normal person would just think it was a scary tattoo, but the power behind it was substantial. Someone very powerful had to have placed this on Koenma in order to seal his powers away.

Koenma shivered and Yuusuke realized what he was doing. Blushing, he pulled away quickly. "So. Your punishment for interfering in human affairs is to live as a human?"

The former god nodded, setting his shirt to rights again. He was blushing a little too. Yuusuke felt his heart beat faster.

"That's kinda ironic… in a sick way."

"Likely it's supposed to be."

"Man…" Feeling a familiar presence, Yuusuke turned to see Kurama climbing up the steps. He brightened instantly. It was hard not to be happy when he saw the pretty redhead. "Kurama, look! Baa-san and Koenma are okay!"

Kurama smiled. "So I see."

Yuusuke grinned and turned back to Koenma. "Is my hair alright?" he asked, hoping it would get rid of any lingering discomfort between them. Not that it mattered, Yuusuke was going to see that tattoo every time he closed his eyes.

Awkward didn't begin to cover it.

"It's fine."

"Though you should worry about your clothes a bit more." Kurama brushed down the back of Yuusuke's clothes to rid him of more leaves, earning a squeak from the younger man. "Just trying to help, Yuusuke," the fox said with an innocent smile.

"I'm telling Hiei on you," Yuusuke warned childishly.

"Maa." Kurama was clearly amused. "He'll just stare at you and ask what the hell it's got to do with him."

Yuusuke pouted. "But it'll make me feel better."

Kurama shook his head, smiling. "Really, it won't do any good."

Koenma seemed to be listening curiously to their exchange, so Yuusuke explained. "Kurama's being all noble because he's not sure Hiei's even hit puberty yet, and Hiei's just clueless as all fuck."

Actually, Yuusuke was perfectly aware that Kurama and Hiei's issues went way beyond that. He really hoped they worked it out, but other than occasionally being an ear for Kurama to vent to, he stayed out of it. He didn't know a whole lot about gay relationships, or relationships in general. He was getting the feeling that he wasn't very good at them, if Keiko's moods were anything to go by.

Kurama rolled his eyes fondly. "This interesting tangent aside, we can probably take this inside. Kuwabara-kun can't come because Shizuru-san's making him study and I could not find Hiei. Looks like it's just us for now."

"You don't have to stay," Koenma told him, looking at them worriedly "Yukina only wanted to let you know that Genkai and I were back."

Kurama smiled. "Nonsense. I brought snacks." He held up a box of Genkai's favorite cookies.

Yuusuke rolled his eyes himself as the box disappeared in a flash, Genkai taking it faster than normal eyes could follow. "There you go, bribing her again."

"It's called being polite."

"And it's called bribery."

"If you were more polite, she'd stop beating you up," Kurama commented mildly as they walked inside.

"Yeah, yeah," Yuusuke responded, "but then I'd never learn anything."

Genkai snorted. "If he was polite, I'd think he was dying of some incurable disease."

"I think Konzen said the same thing about Goku once," Koenma murmured thoughtfully, and only Yuusuke heard him.

He blinked at him curiously, recognizing the names. "Huh?"

Koenma flushed again and shook his head. Yuusuke continued to watch him as they sat at a table and prodded the former god and Genkai for more information about their return.

Koenma was a little different. Not just his reiki, but in ways Yuusuke couldn't really pinpoint specifically. But aside from that and the clothes, it was the same old Koenma, just in his absurdly attractive adult form. Yuusuke felt a little uncomfortable thinking about the guy being attractive, even though he had started to figure out some things about his sexuality before this. It was just weird that it was Koenma.

A group of Reikai warriors called the SDF had come for Koenma, which explained what happened to the stadium after the evacuation. Koenma had been taken before The Jade Emperor to be sentenced for the breach in protocol. No one, not even Enma Daioh, had spoken on his behalf despite Koenma's reasons being just. The seal on his back made him essentially a human being. He was to live in the Ningenkai and get along on his own.

"So how are you getting along," Kurama asked, "being mostly human?"

"It's not as bad as you might think," Koenma admitted. "Even though it's only been one day."

Yuusuke found he was curious as well. "Is it really different?"

"Of course," Koenma said, rolling the tea cup that Yukina had given him between his elegant hands. "Though it's neither bad nor good so far, it merely is."

"What things are different?" the teen pressed on, then grinned. "Or is it things that are Too Much Info, like passing gas?"

Koenma frowned lightly at him. Yukina appeared to disapprove as well. Genkai smacked his head.

"Ow, hey!" the teen complained.

Kurama laughed softly. "Keep it out of the gutter, Yuusuke."

"What's the fun in that?"

"It makes Koenma uncomfortable."

"Huh?" Yuusuke looked at Koenma curiously.

Koenma was still frowning lightly, only now he was focused on his teacup. There was a light flush on his cheeks.

"Uh… Sorry?" Yuusuke said awkwardly. He wasn't that sorry though. It was an attractive blush.

"It's alright." The blush wasn't going away too quick, though.

"So… what else is different?" Yuusuke asked, grinning. "Leaving out anything TMI of course," he added quickly, so no one could accuse him of being gross. He really did want to know.

"I'm still not used to sleeping," Koenma told him.

"You didn't sleep before?"

"Not usually."

"Wow," Yuusuke breathed, amazed. "Did you dream, before?"

"Daydream sometimes I suppose."

"Oh…" This made Yuusuke a little sad. "But dreaming is the best part about sleeping." Except for nightmares. Of course, his own subconscious hadn't been haunted too badly until recently, with fighting Toguro, Genkai's temporary death, and Koenma being abruptly taken from them.

"What about other stuff?" he pressed. "Do you get tired more easily? Do you eat as much? Did it effect your powers?"

"I don't have powers," Koenma murmured quietly.

Yuusuke's jaw dropped. "You what?" But even with the seal, the teen was still able to feel something radiate off the former god. It was small, granted, making Koenma seem much weaker than before. Yuusuke grimaced, just thinking about it making him feel worse. If Koenma was weaker then it was clearly Yuusuke's fault.

"I do not have powers," Koenma reiterated, sipping his tea. "Not in the conventional sense at least."

And that was when Yuusuke made the decision. It sounded a little stupid, even to himself, but damn , what else could he do? Just stand aside and watch Koenma try to live in the human world, when it was all his fucking fault? How could he? All he could think about was that this wasn't Koenma's fault yet he was paying for it. He was the one made human, forced to sleep and eat and have annoying bodily functions and be vulnerable !

If it got out, Koenma was a sitting duck. Yuusuke knew he couldn't allow it. Not only for his own wounded pride, or because he didn't want to feel this guilt again later. He did not want to make the mistake again of not being there when a friend needed him. Koenma had become a friend the moment he'd stepped into the ring with Sakyo and Yuusuke took that seriously.

No, even before then, Koenma had started to become a friend. It wasn't like Yuusuke had a lot of them, so it was hard to recognize. Maybe he had started to feel connected to the little toddler god long before Genkai's death.

Yuusuke was a terrible friend. He had to make this right.

"Then I'll protect you."

Koenma's eyes widened. "I don't need your protection."

Yuusuke pointed a finger at him. "Yes, you do. I'll move in, sleep in a room close to yours, and you're not going to complain about it."

"Just deciding that for yourself, are you?" Genkai growled pointedly.

But the teen was determined. "You gave me your reiki orb and made me promise to use my powers for good, remember?" Yuusuke asked her, eyes bright as he made his point. "To protect the people I care about and never let them go, like Toguro did. That's what I'm doing."

Genkai's eyes narrowed. "Koenma can take care of himself."

"Do you know how many enemies he's bound to have? He got as many boos and jeers from the crowd at the tournament as I did! If word of this gets out, your place is going to be crawling with demons. I mean, more than usual." He smiled sheepishly at Kurama. "No offense, man."

"None taken," Kurama assured, watching with interest.

"And it's not like I probably can't use the training, Baa-san!" Yuusuke went on, trying to appeal to his teacher. "Like you said, I might've gotten a little soft since you were gone." It rankled to admit it, but if it helped convince her then it would be worth it.

"Fine," the old woman said dismissively.

Koenma was staring hard at her. He looked more than a little pissed off. "You, of all people," he said, slowly, "should know that I don't need a babysitter."

Genkai shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. Her twinkling eyes gave her away though. "He made a good argument, that's all."

Yuusuke watched, wondering what was so amusing to her, and why it was pissing Koenma off. "Hey, I'm nobodies babysitter! I'm… your protector. Like a knight or whatever, protecting my bratty prince."

Koenma looked back at him finally, this time in disbelief. Yuusuke shrugged sheepishly.

He just hadn't liked being called a babysitter. It was too girly. Never mind that a lot of guys babysat younger kids, it wasn't something Yuusuke did, even if he kind of liked kids.

Kurama's voice was gentle when he spoke up. "While you're attending to your prince, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor, how do you plan to attend school? It's a long commute back to town."

"I'll just ditch like always," Yuusuke grumbled. He seriously doubted he was going to graduate anyway, with as much as he'd missed during the Tournament and even before. Keiko was a mess catching up what she had missed, and she was one of the top students!

But such were the sacrifices the heroes had to make when the world needed saving. Not that dropping out was much of a sacrifice—he hated school.

"Keiko-chan will not be pleased."

Yuusuke grinned confidently. "Leave Keiko to me."

Kurama sighed, smiling in return. "She's going to smack you for saying things like that."

"She can smack me all she likes, it doesn't matter. I've made up my damn mind and that's that!"

Genkai and Koenma were okay and back home. Yuusuke was going to make sure they stayed that way.

Koenma hid a smile behind his teacup as he shifted delicately through the energy patterns around him. He found that since his powers were sealed, he was drawn to the warmth of others' ki, not unlike a moth to a flame.

Especially Yuusuke's. With the orb, he shown so brightly now. Koenma basked in it.

But what was also on his mind were Genkai's machinations. Could it be that she had figured out how he felt for Yuusuke and meant to keep the teen around as some sick prank? If so, Koenma was not beyond a little prank of his own. He didn't like having what he could never have shoved under his nose constantly.

Suddenly, Koenma missed the paperwork—at least it would have given him something to occupy his mind with.

As Yuusuke and Kurama continued to banter lightly, the former junior god only listened with half an ear, and concentrated. When he finally found the thread he was looking for, he smiled and tugged.

An apparition appeared above them. It took the form of a petite woman with a disapproving frown on her face.

"Young lady!" said the ghost. "Where in the world have you been?!"

Yukina gasped and the boys gaped. Genkai stared. "Ka… Kaa-san?" she whispered hoarsely.

The ghost caught sight of the cookies. "Sneaking sweets again? If you keep that up you'll be the size of a house and you'll never catch a good man then!"

Genkai actually turned red. "Mom, I'm a little too old to get a man and I work off the calories…"

"Don't mumble. It makes you sound like a country bumpkin."

"I am a country bumpkin."

"Not anymore. Your father and I wanted more for you than that and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you ruin your life!"

"It's my life, Mom!" Sighing, she stopped arguing with her dead mother and turned a glare on Koenma. "Are you quite done?"

Koenma smiled as angelically as he could muster. "I thought you'd be able to deal with a – What did Hiei call it? – 'a cheap magic trick' on your own."

Yuusuke began to hysterically as he caught onto the joke and Koenma couldn't help but blushing. He didn't remember the last time he'd made anyone really laugh.

Genkai seemed to have had enough and used a trick of her own to dispel the ghost. Then she smacked her student again. "Enough, blockhead."

"Ow!" the teen cried in complaint. " I didn't summon her. What did you smack me for?"

"It's your fault."

Yuusuke pouted. "What the hell? You're rambling, crazy old lady."

"And since you're going to be staying here, you get to earn your keep. Go scrub the porch."

Yuusuke grumbled but stormed off to obey. Koenma was surprised to see that Yuusuke knew exactly where the cleaning materials were, and he went outside with them.

Koenma frowned lightly. Perhaps he should have paid a little more attention to Yuusuke's training with Genkai. Just what had she made him do for her, anyway?

When Yukina had gone outside to resume feeding her birds and Kurama headed for home, Koenma and Genkai continued to sit at the table. They could speak more freely without the others around. The former god almost asked the old martial artist immediately about Yuusuke's training, but refrained for the time being.

"Is it so bad that he's staying?" Genkai asked in a strangely soft voice.

"It's unnecessary," the former god replied, continuing to toy with his teacup. He didn't want to have to explain himself, much less his feelings. It was all very complicated, more so now that his godhood was sealed.

"Don't think I haven't noticed." Genkai looked at him firmly. "Kurama will soon as well, if he hasn't already."

"You give him more credit than you should." This was unfair of him to say, Koenma knew, but he was irritated that Genkai had not only figured it out, but was being so forthcoming.

She continued as though she hadn't heard. "But Yuusuke won't notice. He's pretty thick. You've been given an opportunity here and if you waste it, he's going to be snatched up by someone else. Take from an old lady that's lived a majority of her life alone—just take a chance, idiot."

"It might be for the best if I did nothing." From the start, he hadn't seen the use in having hope. Yuusuke wasn't the first person he had felt this way for, and the two previous times had not turned out well. Besides, Yuusuke and Keiko were meant to be together. It was Written and that was that. Koenma would not get in the way, even if he could.

Genkai eyed him keenly. "Is it?"

Koenma shrugged. "Yuusuke's the closest thing we have to a Seer." Kuwabara and Shizuru had feelings about things to come, but Yuusuke's dreams were something else altogether. Koenma and Genkai were the only ones who were aware of this latent ability that had awakened during his training. Not even the boy himself knew. "You'd best ask him."

She smirked. "You want me to ask if you two would work as a couple?"

"He'll just laugh at you."

"Maybe. Or maybe he'll notice how his feelings for you are changing before he's ready to accept it."

"I don't think anyone can read Yuusuke, least of all me."

"Hm…" They fell into a silence and Koenma stood eventually. "Why don't you go outside?" she suggested. "It's such a nice day…"

His lips twitched. "I'm going to go find a cemetery."

"That's cheery."

"Even so. Better to have help and not need it than…" He left it hanging, knowing Genkai could interpret the rest. He left quietly.

TBC.