Metamorphasis
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I couldn't deny that after yesterdays findings concerning Yusuke I had a certain bounce to my step. I knew I was grinning like an idiot as I walked alongside the hundreds of other morning commuters, but I frankly couldn't care less.
My best friend was coming back, and soon.
This all seemed so..unreal. All last night I stayed up, laying in bed, contemplating the idea that there really is an afterlife. That people don't just die and cease to exist. That there is something beyond the physical world. It was mind boggling to me, and I had bags under my eyes to prove how hard I was thinking about it last night. Not only that, but to have the ability to come back, for Yusuke to be able to come back..well I knew I would never truly understand. I mean, I always felt that Yusuke had something more to him, something that made him different (I would carefully use the term special) but never would I have thought he'd be able to cheat death!
But what if this all changed him?
I frowned then at that thought as I continued to meander my way through the crowded streets, towards school. What if Yusuke wasn't the same guy he had been when he had left. I mean, obviously this kind of experience would change anyone, for better or for worse. I just hope he didn't get more cocky, and think that he can defy death twice. I never wanna go through what I have been through this past week again. I never wanna see Keiko go through this again. I was so deep in thought, that I almost missed the weight of a hand on my shoulder.
"Hello there." Came a smooth and distantly familiar voice as I turned sharply towards the owner of the hand, but heart seizing instantly as I saw familiar flame red hair.
"O-Oh." I gasped out in surprise, before feeling my face blush sharply. Oh? OH?! Really Elizabeth?! What on earth is wrong with you?! I mentally berated myself as I looked towards the very same good looking guy I had nearly plowed over with my fat ass yesterday.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He quickly apologized as his hand left my shoulder. No..don't leave…
"No, no, I'm sorry, I just didn't expect…" I trailed off awkwardly then as I couldn't help laughing a little at myself. "I just didn't expect to see you again quite frankly." I finished, willing my face to lose the flush I could still feel burning on my cheeks.
"Well, frankly, I didn't expect to see you again either." The boy admitted, that graceful smile still on his features. He should be illegal.
"I-I really am sorry about yesterday." I murmured then, feeling the embarrassment still fresh from my memory.
"Really, don't worry about it. I was more so concerned about you." His mouth tilted downwards slightly in a concerned frowned as my heart literally skipped a beat. He was worried about me? "I'm Shuichi by the way, Shuichi Minamino."
"I'm Elizabeth Simons." I think I managed a nice smile? I felt so nervous for some reason though. He was so intimidatingly good looking. What was he doing talking to me? Was he really just that nice of a guy?
"Well, it's nice to formally meet you Ms. Simons." His polite smile was back as he bowed, and I bowed quickly in return. I still had to force most of the common mannerisms here, always having trouble that some people would shake hands and other bowed for respect. So different than where I came from.
"It's nice to meet you as well Mr. Minamino, but please, call me anything but Ms. Simons." I added once I had risen back to my short height. "Makes me feel much older than I am." I added lightly as he chuckled and nodded.
"Only if you promise to call me Shuichi when we run into each other again."
When? Shouldn't it be if?
"I will do that, Shuichi." I murmured softly, watching as his emerald eyes darkened slightly. I was caught off guard, and as soon as he had looked at me like that, his eyes had lightened once again. He had looked almost…angry.
"I should go, school will be starting shortly and I have a ways to go yet." He spoke up then after a tense moment of pause, and I nodded in agreement.
"Uh, yeah, me too." I replied weakly, my knees feeling like jelly under me.
"Take care of yourself, Beth." Shuichi smiled a tense smile, before he turned sharply and disappeared among the crowds.
"You too…" I murmured to where he had been standing moments before, my head spinning. What in the world had happened there?
Ding Dong Ding Dong
SCHOOL!
"Keiko is going to kill me!" I gasped, hearing the clock strike for the hour, knowing there was no chance I would make it to school on time. I turned, racing through the crowds as fast as I could..trying to keep Shuichi from my mind.
That was going to prove easier said than done.
Metamorphosis
"You were late!" Keiko sighed heavily as she frowned at me then, her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. I groaned, leaning my head back against the wall I had been propping myself against.
"I know, I'm sorry." I frowned, internally battling with if I should tell her why I was late. Somehow…somehow I felt that it wasn't a good idea. After all, it was only freak occurance that had him run into me again right? The chances of it happening for a third time were slim to none, so there was no need to make a fuss over it. A part of me was actually really disappointed with that fact.
"Elizabeth…what is it?" Keiko's soft concerned voice broke through my thoughts as I looked over to her, smiling then gently to ease her.
"Oh nothing." I waved her concern off easily as I stood up from slouching against the wall. "Just thinking."
"About?" Keiko prompted me then as she linked her arm through my own, walking down the hall with me.
"School, life, Yusuke." I sighed a bit as I shrugged my shoulders some. "I don't know, just after everything that…has come to light. Just…things seem so surreal."
"I get what you're saying." Keiko agreed as we spoke softly then between the both of us. "I was up a lot last night just thinking about it. About everything."
"Same." I laughed a little as I shook my head. "Regardless I suppose no one can really say what is to come in the future, even with what we've found out."
"That's true too." Keiko smiled as she squeezed my arm. "How…how have you been? I mean…with everything." She frowned as she stopped me then, oddly enough giving me this guilty look.
"Keiko?"
"I was just…so selfish in my grief that I never…I didn't ever ask how you…how you've been dealing with Yusuke's death." She frowned all the more. "And I am so sorry for that."
"Keiko!" I frowned in surprised hearing her as I shook my head. "You've got nothing to be sorry for! So that stops right here and now. I know what Yusuke means to you, and that's not to say he doesn't mean a lot to me too, but not quite in the same way as you. People all grieve differently, react differently to things. They way you reacted was not wrong, nor selfish."
"I just…I feel like I am always looking after Yusuke, and you're always looking after me and Yusuke." Keiko frowned some then. "I just wish you'd have someone look after you."
"That's a really sweet thought Keiko." I smiled as I patted her hand kindly then, my heart warming at her concern. "Your concern is enough for me to know that you care though, you don't have to be worried about me."
"You're just so independent." Keiko sighed then as she resumed walking and I laughed, walking with her.
"And you're not?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled and shrugged bashfully.
"I suppose, but not in the same way you are. I mean…I have…" She flushed prettily then, and I knew what she was saying. She had a different kind of relationship with Yusuke, he looked out for her because he (though he would never admit it) liked her in a romantic sense, and she did the same (even though, again, she would never admit it). I didn't have anything remotely like that in my life right now.
"I know." I murmured then, feeling that notion slightly dampen my mood. I would be nice, that's for sure, but it also wasn't something that I needed. It was just a want, and wants could wait, or not happen at all.
"It'll happen someday. A guy is going to take one look at you and see you for the beautiful person you are." Keiko smiled reassuringly as I laughed a bit and shook my head.
"Let's just concentrate on getting both you and Yusuke to pull your heads from your asses and admit you want each other first." I teased her back and she smacked my arm, rolling my eyes.
But her blushing face told me she was more than ready for that to happen.
Metamorphosis
"So Hiro asked me out today." Keiko sighed softly as I looked over at her wide eyed while we walked down the street back towards mine and Yusuke's complex.
"Seriously?" I asked, my amusement clear in my voice. "You told him to take a long walk off a short bridge right?"
"Elizabeth!" Keiko sighed as she shook her head at me. "That's not a nice thing to say. He's a charming guy, and cute." She frowned as she looked up at the sky then and I couldn't help smiling.
"But he isn't Yusuke." I finished as I poked her side playfully and she bashfully swiped my finger away.
"So are you going to tell me why you were late this morning?" She asked, obviously trying to change the subject as I felt my own face heating up remembering the encounter earlier.
"Slept in." I answered shortly and Keiko looked over to me suspiciously.
"I'm so sure."
The silence took over then as I refused to take her bait. This morning still felt like an occurrence I had best keep to myself. I don't know why, but something in my gut made me feel uneasy admitting to seeing him. The silence was soon broken though as we approached Atsuko's door.
"Uh, what's that smell?" Keiko and I both groaned together, my nose wrinkling as something (no pun intended) smelt like it had died inside of the apartment. Opening the door, it only got worse.
"Holy shit." I muttered seeing the garbage strewn all over the small apartment. "It looks like two weeks worth of piled up crap."
"I don't think we could make it across the apartment without slicing out feet on a broken bottle or stepping on something rancid." Keiko added in disgust, but we both signed in resignation, knowing we were going to have to. Both Keiko and I stepped and tip toed across the floor till we got across the room where a note had been left by the fridge. Keiko picked it up, reading it over and sighing as she handed it to me. I read it as well, rolling my eyes as I did and throwing the paper down with the other mess in the apartment we would end up cleaning anyways.
"Looks like she's back to normal." Keiko commented dryly as I nodded in agreement, frowning a bit.
"Listen, you go and look after Yusuke, I'll take care of this mess." I told her then as I shook my head in disgust. Keiko frowned as she moved into Yusuke's room, letting out a gasp of anger.
"Even Yusuke is covered in garbage!" Keiko frowned and I moved over then and looked through the doorway, my nose wrinkling in disgust as I saw it as well. "What kind of parent does this?!" Keiko asked angrily, and I sighed heavily, leaning against the sliding door.
"Atsuko isn't exactly parent of the year," I agreed with her then. "But she does love him…though she has an awfully weird way of showing it." I muttered, kicking a bottle away from me feet with disgust. "I'll grab some garbage bags."
"I swear it should be some kind of felony!" Keiko growled as she stepped forward then.
Only to step on the bottle I had just kicked.
I reached out as she wobbled and fell backwards, hooking my arms under her's as we both fell backwards now, and grunted as my back hit the sliding door behind us. The entire room shook with our fall, and both Keiko and I looked on in horror as the pile of books with the empty bowl shook and finally fell.
Right on Yusuke's face.
Keiko and I looked at each other for a moment, horrified, before we both rushed over and started to shove the stuff off of him. Keiko started to throw the books everywhere, whilst I did the same, digging for his face under everything.
"Hold on Yusuke, I'm coming!" Keiko gasped out and my head shot up, looking at her with a crooked eyebrow. "Are you okay?!" She asked desperately, and at this I couldn't stop myself.
"Keiko…he's not going to answer." I told her in amusement at her behaviour. "And he probably didn't feel any of this." I laugh a little then. Keiko shoots me an annoyed look that has me shutting up instantly.
"How do you know?" She asked sharply, and I paused for a moment.
How would I know? I mean, after all, up until the other day I never even thought that there was a world beyond our own.
"I'm going to have to come here every day, or Yusuke won't have a body to come home to." Keiko sighed heavily as we finally cleaned everything up around him. I stood, shaking my head.
"We can both take turns checking in during the day. Especially since I live in this complex." I told her gently then, letting her know she wasn't alone in this. Keiko nodded thankfully then, before moving back over towards Yusuke's body.
"He needs a good dusting." I comment lightly then, seeing how some had gathered on his cheeks and nose.
"He's not a piece of furniture." Keiko replied lightly with a slightly amused smile. I laughed a little at the thought, feeling better now that Keiko seemed to be in a better mood. She took the rag nonetheless and started to clean his face off. I saw the tender look in her eyes as she did so gently, and suddenly felt (irrationally at that) that I was intruding on a special moment.
A special moment between Keiko and the corpse of her crush.
I shiver slightly at the thought, shaking my head. "I'm going to go out to the kitchen to see if I can find some garbage bags to get this place cleaned up." I spoke up then, turning and heading into the main room. I gently closed the door behind me then, going to the kitchen and digging through the cupboards.
"Aha!" I shouted when I finally came across some, opening the bag up then and starting with the kitchen. Old toss-away noodle bowls were everywhere, along with wrappers from other junk that Atsuko had been eating. For the most part, though, it was the cans of beer and pop everywhere, some still half full.
"Wow, and my Mom thinks my bedroom is bad…should bring her over to see this." I muse to myself, thinking about how she might never complain about my messy room again if that were the case. I continued to pick up, moving out into the living area, before Keiko came rushing out of Yusuke's room looking flustered.
"We're going shopping!" Keiko exclaimed then in a high pitched voice as she grabbed my arm and started to drag me to the door.
"What?" I asked in confusion then as I looked back towards Yusuke's room. "But the mess-"
"Can wait until later! I need to go shopping now." Keiko interrupted firmly, and grabbed the garbage bad I had in my hand from me. She dropped it to the side, before continuing to rush me out the door.
What on earth had happened in that room?
Metamorphosis
Twenty minutes later found us outside of a small bakery. I looked to Keiko again with curiosity-she hadn't said a word so far.
"Stop looking at me like that." Keiko finally spoke up in annoyance, and I frowned all the more.
"What happened in Yusuke's room?" I asked bluntly then, and I watched as her face lit right up with a blush. My eyes widened then. She was embarrassed about whatever happened. "Oh, now you have got to tell me." I insist, a big grin on my face. Keiko groaned slightly then.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?" She asked in defeat.
"Nope." I reply easily, popping the 'p' for effect. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"IalmostkissedYusuke." Came her muffled response and my jaw dropped. Had I heard that wrong?
"Come again?"
"I-almost-kissed-Yusuke." Keiko looked up, hissing out each word quietly as her face remained bright red. I paused for a moment to mull it over, before my face twisted up slightly in disgust.
"You almost kissed a corpse?"
"It was Yusuke's."
"Doesn't change the fact it is his dead body." I retaliated then, tilting my head some. "There is something dark and twisted inside of you, isn't there?" Keiko huffed in annoyance, about to respond, before someone ran down the street yelling 'fire on fourth avenue!', and another man joined him, running down the street 'that makes a dozen today, the fire department can't keep up with them all!'
"Oh my god, we live in that complex." I gasped then as I looked over to Keiko with wide eyes. Keiko shares a look of terror with me, before we both go rushing back towards mine and Yusuke's complex.
When we get there the scene is absolutely terrifying. The flames are bursting through the windows, and the pails of water the men are throwing on the flames are doing absolutely nothing.
"Yusuke!" Keiko screamed to my side and we both go running forward, only to get stopped by a couple bystanders.
"Let me go!" I shout then as I struggle against their hands, Keiko doing the same. Keiko manages to break free herself, and I watch as she grabs a bucket of water and dumps it over herself, running into the fire.
"KEIKO!" I shout desperately then, absolutely horrified as she disappears into the flames. "LET ME GO!" I cry desperately as another pair of hands grab onto me to keep me there.
"It's too dangerous! Your friend is going to get herself killed!" One of the men holding me back protests then as I feel myself go weak in the knees. They let me down to the ground gently as I watch on then, my face pale as I thought about losing both of my friends now.
"The fire is blocking the door!" Someone shouts and I don't move, I can't, I'm frozen in terror as I watch that very door, praying that Yusuke and Keiko make it out. Suddenly I hear a surprising and very familiar voice behind me.
"Urameshi's house." Kuwabara gasps in surprise, and I turn my body quickly, scrambling to my feet to face him.
"Keiko went in after him!" I cried to Kuwabara then, my hands finding his shirt to help hold myself up. I feel his hands go to my waist to steady me, looking at me with concern, before fear slowly came over his face as well.
"Keiko is in there? Yusuke's Keiko?" He asked sharply, and I nod, feeling the tears burning in my eyes.
"She's trying to save his body." I cry then, and Kuwabara quickly wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him, holding me protectively as he gazes at the building, his body tense.
"She'll get out, Elizabeth, she's tough-has to be if she was friends with Yusuke." He tries to comfort me, but it doesn't work. My whole body is trembling as I go back to staring at that doorway.
What felt like hours passed, but finally I saw two shadows emerging from the doorway. I was in shock for a few seconds, before quickly running from Kuwabara's arms over to Keiko, helping her bring Yusuke's body away from the building and lay it down on the ground.
"You scared me to death!" I gasped at her as I quickly hugged Keiko, feeling her hug me back weakly. She coughed slightly, and I let her go, grabbing her shoulders so I could look her over. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine…Yusuke is fine too." Keiko murmured then as I looked down at his body completely covered by the blanket.
"Keiko…you could have been killed." I croak then, feeling my eyes burning with tears once more. "What were you thinking?"
Keiko's own eyes shone as well as she looked back to me from staring down at Yusuke. "I was thinking that life wouldn't be worth living anyways if Yusuke stayed dead." She replied honestly, and I took a moment to process what she said, nodding slowly as I did.
"Why did you go in after his body, Keiko?" Kuwabara asked then, and we both turned to him as he stood over us. In the distance we could hear the sirens of the firetrucks coming towards us.
"I promise I'll explain, but we have to get Yusuke somewhere safe." Keiko replied as she frowned, hearing the sirens getting closer.
"Let's go then." Kuwabara replied, grabbing Yusuke's body and heaving it over his shoulder. He reached out then for my hand, grabbing it firmly in his own, before I reached for Keiko's, and all together we raced away from the firetrucks and police cars that were closing in.
Metamorphosis
"I am so sorry I put you all at risk today." Atsuko frowned, looking utterly ashamed of herself as we stood in front of the burned down apartment hours later. Night had fallen, and we had managed to find a wheel chair to place Yusuke's body in. We had to wait till it was night and nobody was around on the streets to see before we could take him back and find his Mother. "Just because I was out on one of my stupid escapades." She sighed in frustration with herself. "And Keiko, your hair.." She trails off sadly as I too look at my friend's much shorter hair. The fire had singed a good amount off. I had cut it for her to make it look more even.
"It's okay, Yusuke's body is safe and that's what is important." Keiko graciously replied. We had taken the time while hiding Yusuke's body to tell Kuwabara everything. To say he was enthused with this discover would have been an understatement. Once we were able to actually convince him that we weren't crazy he wouldn't stop talking to Yusuke's body, making all these promises to kick his ass when he gets back. "I saw a row of blue fire leading me out. It was like a big explosion." Keiko had also explained everything to Atsuko over the phone this afternoon-none of us could deny that Yusuke had something to do with Keiko getting out of that fire alive. "It felt like I was surrounded by his presence. Yusuke saved me because he knows he is returning." Keiko finished happily and I smiled myself, looking down at Yusuke in his wheelchair.
"I still can't believe it!" Kuwabara laughed deeply as he crouched in front of Yusuke, grinning widely. "Yusuke you old rascal!"
"Oh son!" Atsuko knelt down beside his wheel chair, looking up at him with a big smile. "I'm so sorry about that fire but you're okay now at least, right?" I couldn't stop from rolling my eyes slightly.
Again…people, he's still dead. He may be coming back to life but he won't answer you right now.
Hopefully, though, that was going to change very soon.
There we go! Hope you liked this chapter. As always, please review to let me know your thoughts! I hope to be getting more Kurama/Elizabeth dynamic going on in the very near future!
Best,
Tiggs1990
