So i had a reader ask me what the characters' ages are and i realized i never really mentioned it. Oops. So for the record: Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara are all 22. Hiei and Yukina are 21 and Kurama is 23.

Keiko stretched her arms over head, yawning as she slowly woke up. She had slept peacefully after speaking to Yusuke, her body using the time to repair itself. Her hand went up to her jaw as she yawned again, climbing out from under Yusuke's warm blankets. 'I knew that punch was gonna leave a mark,' she thought as she walked toward the mirror hanging above Yusuke's dresser. "Not as bad as I thought it would be," Keiko said to herself as she observed the blue tinged skin along her jawbone and her split lip. 'Would have been worse if Yusuke hadn't shown up,' she thought looking around the room. 'Where is he?' Keiko walked out of the bedroom, adjusting the t-shirt and basketball shorts she had slept in.

Keiko made her way down the hallway and into the kitchen, her stomach growling slightly. 'One drawback of working late: missing dinner.' Keiko began to fiddle around the kitchen, standing in front of the coffee maker as it brewed a fresh pot of coffee.

She gasped slightly as she found a knife at her neck and someone standing behind her. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" the angry voice asked. Keiko opened her mouth to reply but found her words caught in her throat from her immense fear. "I'll ask you one last time before I slit your throat; who are you?" Keiko tried to swallow to relieve the dryness in her throat. 'From thugs on the streets to guys with knifes, I really can't be safe anywhere,' she thought, panicking. 'I could really use your help right now Yusuke!'

"Hiei, what are you doing to that girl?" a different voice asked.

Keiko used the momentary distraction to elbow the knife-wielding man in the stomach, catching him by surprise, before she ran full tilt back to Yusuke's room.

"Yusuke!" Keiko screamed as she ran back down the hall. "Yusuke, help!" Keiko flung his door open quickly and ran into him, the impact almost knocking him to the floor.

"Keiko, what happened?" he asked as panicked tears escaped her eyes. He held onto her forearms, his thumbs running circles against her skin.

"This guy came up behind me in the kitchen with a knife," she whispered fearfully as she tried to pull herself out of his grip and further away from the door.

'Crap,' Yusuke thought as he placed himself between the doorway and her. "Listen Keiko, you don't have to be scared."

"I presume she's your guest then," a voice said from the doorway, interrupting him. Keiko hid behind Yusuke as he turned to the man in the doorway. The man was slightly shorter than Yusuke with spiky black hair and wore a white shirt and black jeans.

"Yeah, she is. Did you need to scare her half to death?" Yusuke asked irritably.

The man shrugged as he turned away from the pair. "Had to make sure she wasn't an assassin. With our line of work, you never know who may be coming for us. Had to take extra precaution since Yukina is here," he replied, walking away. Yusuke shook his head as he turned back to Keiko. Hiei was one of his best men, always dependable in a jam, but sometimes his actions were a bit overzealous. "I'm really sorry about that Keiko. My friend, Hiei, can be a little overcautious sometimes." Yusuke wanted to punch Hiei as he noticed Keiko's fingers trembling slightly as she brushed her tears away. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her until she felt better. He was basically a stranger to her; he didn't want to freak her out more.

"I-is he always like that?" Keiko asked, trying to push away her fear. She was with Yusuke now and she had a feeling he would protect her from anything that threatened to harm her. He was…calming to her.

Yusuke laughed slightly. "Some days are better than others. He's just edgy because his little sister spent the night so he's on high alert. Come on let's get some breakfast," Yusuke said, leading her out of the room. Keiko's eyes finally roamed Yusuke's body now that she didn't fear for her life. Yusuke was shirtless, his chest muscles glistening slightly for the water he hadn't dried off, his jeans hung low on his hips, revealing the top of his boxers. Keiko looked away quickly, blushing. "See something you like Keiko?" Yusuke teased as he noticed the blush across her cheeks.

"Oh shut up," Keiko replied, punching him in the shoulder. She was surprised by how easy the gesture seemed, as if they had known each other for years instead of hours.

"There's your guest," a red headed man said from the kitchen as she and Yusuke entered. "I was worried Hiei had gotten to her before she could get to you."

"You saw Hiei threaten her and you didn't do anything Kurama!" Yusuke said angrily.

Kurama held his hands up in defense. "Now now you know I wouldn't do such a thing. As I questioned Hiei about what he was doing, your friend dashed off to your room, screaming your name." He put his hands down as he saw Yusuke calm down a bit, picking his cup back up as he turned toward her. "You make an amazing cup of coffee I must say. My name is Kurama Minamino; it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, holding out a hand to her.

"I'm Keiko Yukimura," she replied, shaking his hand. 'At least one of Yusuke's friends is normal.'

"Yo Urameshi, what's up with the noise so early in the morning," a man with orange hair said as he walked into the kitchen, a woman about her age wearing a nurse's uniform walking next to him. "Oh hey she's awake, hi," he said, waving at her.

"Keiko, the big idiot is Kuwabara and the girl next to him is Yukina, Hiei's twin sister, Kuwabara's girlfriend and your doctor last night," Yusuke said, introducing them. "Everyone this is Keiko Yukimura.

Keiko felt her eyes widen as she looked at Yukina; she didn't look anything like her angry, dangerous twin brother. She quickly remembered her manners, bowing to Yukina. "Thank you very much for taking care of me Yukina."

"Oh it wasn't any trouble at all," Yukina replied. "I'm just glad you're feeling alright; I was a bit worried. How's your head feeling?"

"It's okay," she replied, her hand going up to rub the back of her head gently. "It hurt when I woke up early this morning but it's okay now."

Yukina nodded, a smile lighting up her beautiful face. "I'm off to work boys; I'll be back in time for dinner."

"Crap you're leaving? Guess we're ordering take out for breakfast again," Yusuke groaned.

"Seriously you boys need to learn to cook," Yukina laughed as she walked into the elevator.

"She is right," Kurama said, shaking his head. "One of us should learn."

"Yeah that'll happen," Yusuke said sarcastically. "So what's it gonna be? Pizza, Chinese, sushi, fried chicken?"

"Umm…I can make breakfast if you guys want," Keiko said softly. All eyes turned to her, making her wish she hadn't spoken. 'Maybe I shouldn't have offered,' she thought, blushing from their intense stares.

Reviews please :]