See end of chapter for notes.


Appetence (org. French): n. an eager desire, an instinctive inclination; an attraction or a natural bond


Chapter Eight: Awaken


In Which Our Hero Gains an Ally and Our Traveler Gains a Companion


It took a long time for Yusuke to even realize he was waking up. His first coherent thought was If every mission is going to put me in a sickbed, I'm going to start demanding hazard pay. His second thought was a confusing, panicked jumble best summarized by Keiko!

He shot up in bed, ignoring the pain that shot across his nerves and the full-body ache in favor of finding out exactly what had happened. Except the room wasn't his, and that threw Yusuke off long enough he had to pause. Two redheads leaned over the nearby desk, one of which he'd recognize anywhere.

"No, look, you can pull a negative out of the equation, see? And if it's negative…"

"It points down!" Kuwabara finished, furiously scribbling something on a sheet of paper. "Why can't my actual teachers explain things like this?"

"What the hell?" Yusuke asked. Maybe he did actually die again, because Kuwabara studying had to be part of some bizarre dream.

Kuwabara spun around on his chair to grin at him. "Oh, hey! Urameshi, you're finally awake! Have a nice long nap, huh?" He laughed, tossing the pencil onto his desk. "You're in my room—you've been asleep for three days! Don't worry about your mom, I told her you were staying at my place for a while."

"Three—" He finally placed the second redhead. "Wait, I know you! You were helping out Keiko and Botan!" And hadn't watching that fight on the big screen been nerve-wracking as all hells. Keiko had been fighting for her life, had maybe even—no.

He smiled and offered a short bow. "Minamino Shuuichi. And you are Urameshi Yusuke, Detective of Reikai."

Yusuke tensed. "How d'you know that? Are you some sort of youkai, too, because I'll tell you, after Suzaku—"

"Not at all," Shuuichi assured him. "I merely questioned Botan-san afterwards, and convinced her to tell me everything."

"Botan? Then she's all right at least… Clearly you're fine. What about Keiko?"

"Guess what, though!" Kuwabara interrupted, leaning forward and grinning so widely that Yusuke was certain he was hiding something. "They've closed the school down for a week! Iwamoto's being investigated by the police and is going to have to go to the hospital. Shuuichi cracked two ribs!"

"It is not nearly as impressive as he makes it sound," Shuuichi said, picking up a piece of paper from the desk. "Incidentally, Kuwabara-kun, you've mixed your terms here."

"Never mind that, tell me what happened to Keiko!" Yusuke demanded. The pair of them exchanged a long look over his head. He lunged forward, almost fell on his face, but successfully seized the collar of Shuuichi's neat shirt. "Minamino, if you got her killed, I swear by all that's holy I will punch your pretty-boy face in—"

"Now, Yusuke, is that any sort of first impression?" Botan asked cheerfully from the open doorway. He spun without letting go, dragging Shuuichi along behind him, only to see Botan and Keiko both standing there, perfectly safe. "Wha—but—"

"Kuwabara's idea!" Shuuichi said quickly, pushing his slackened grip away. "Though I did think he was going a bit far…"

"What? Minamino, you liar! You agreed to it!"

Whoever's idea it was, Yusuke was more than happy to switch to his usual victim. It was astounding how often beating on Kuwabara made him feel better. By the time he stopped, he was almost cheerful. "I'm really glad to see you two are all right!"

Yeah, they were definitely all right. Aside from not even having any bumps or scrapes to share between the pair of them, Keiko was glaring at him more fiercely than any of the youkai he'd yet faced. Oh, boy. Survive an excursion into Makai, only to be slaughtered by a pissed off girl? Story of his life.

It took an hour or so for Yusuke to be caught up on all the details of what had happened in the last three days. He almost laughed himself into unconsciousness again when he found out Kuwabara was now teaching Shuuichi about reiki in exchange for algebra help, and that the deceptively innocent looking redhead had basically tricked Botan into telling him everything that had been going on. Still, he had to face the music eventually, and so he offered to walk Keiko home.

It went better than he had expected. Which was to say, Keiko now knew exactly what he had been up to since his resurrection and had demanded to be told whenever he was on a mission in the future. That, though, was a headache for a later date. Kuwabara had told Mom not to expect him back for another few days, so she'd probably gone another binge. As far as Yusuke was concerned, that meant Kuwabara had volunteered to put him up for a while.

When he got back, Kuwabara and Shuuichi were sitting in the backyard, legs crossed and eyes closed. Yusuke took one look at them and turned on his heel to go bother Shizuru. This was unsuccessful, and Yusuke ended up being roped into helping with dinner, much to Kuwabara's glee when they came back inside half an hour later.

"Shut up! Just because you burn everything you put on the stove doesn't mean we all do!" Yusuke yelled, waving a fish-y spatula in Kuwabara's direction. This was not intimidating, of course, but hey, he tried.

"Cooking is a valuable skill if one wishes to be independent," Shuuichi put in. "Shizuru-san, do you need any more help?"

"Are you staying for dinner?" she asked, putting her current cigarette out in the ashtray.

Shuuichi wrinkled his nose slightly. "I would like to, if it's not an imposition."

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "If it was, I'd have kicked you out hours ago. You're actually making Kazuma study."

"Sis!" Kuwabara protested, but didn't add anything more. He glanced at Shuuichi. "Will your mom be okay with it, then?"

"Oh, yes," Shuuichi said with a fond smile—the first honest one Yusuke had seen from him. "She has a date tonight with Hatanaka-san, so as long as I'm home before ten or so she won't even know I was gone."

Huh. Okay. Yusuke shrugged, honestly not sure what to make of the other teen. He wasn't exactly one to mix with respectable people, and Shuuichi radiated the sort of clean-cut propriety that under normal circumstances twigged Yusuke's irritation like little else. Except… Well. Except he was here. And he was respectful with Shizuru and patient with Kuwabara and he didn't look down his nose at their rundown apartment, but he talked casually about lying to his mom and had manipulated Botan. Not to mention the downright viciousness he'd fought those insects with at the school. Minamino Shuuichi had a definite not-so-nice streak, however well he hid it behind charm and innocence. Not that that was a problem. Honestly, it made Yusuke like him a bit more. Benefits of being a punk, he supposed. People who weren't at least a little bit violent weren't as trustworthy as those that were.

By the time dinner was done (Kuwabara had been forced into dishwashing duty by his sister, again), Yusuke had decided that Shuuichi was (going to be) a friend and that he seriously needed to lighten up. With that idea in mind, Yusuke pushed back his chair, stretched, and said, "Oi, Shuuichi. Fight me."

Both red eyebrows leapt up. "Beg pardon?"

"Fight me!" Yusuke repeated. "I've been stuck in bed unconscious for three days and I'm itching for a good brawl. Outside, come on, come on!"

"Ah," Shuuichi said, looking somewhere between amused and bemused, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not have my pretty-boy face punched in." Kuwabara stifled a snort of laughter from the sink, and was ignored.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Okay, first, that was a dick move." Shuuichi shrugged agreement. "Second, if I was actually mad about it, I wouldn't be asking you to fight me, I'd just punch you. I'm after a friendly fight. Sparring or whatever you call it."

"Point taken," Shuuichi said with a smile. "Still, Urameshi-kun—"

"Uh-uh. Yusuke. And don't you dare add a -kun to that, Shuuichi."

He hesitated. "Yusuke, then. As I was going to say, Yusuke, I'd still rather not fight you right now. I try not to commit to battles I know I can't win."

Yusuke sighed, and plopped back down in his chair. "Aw, come on, I saw bits of that fight against the insects and I know you're good. If you're going to lie, come up with a better one."

Shuuichi shook his head. "I'm not lying. Even Meiou has heard of Urameshi Yusuke, and your considerable skill has only been enhanced by your training with reiki. I wouldn't object to a spar, really, but our styles are diametrically opposed: you are very street, while I am very not. A spar would be a mess, especially now when you are still injured and I am distracted. So, rain check?"

"You're the only person I know who would schedule a damn brawl," Yusuke grumbled, slumping forward to lean his chin on crossed arms.

"Don't tournaments have schedules?" Shuuichi asked, and laughed when Yusuke flipped him off without even looking up. "If you're bored, I have a suggestion."

"Swear to God, Shuuichi, if the next word out of your mouth is homework…"

"Actually, Kuwabara-kun has said you play video games?"

Yusuke looked up. "You play video games?"

Shuuichi shrugged. "I'm not just a nerd, you know. My mother gave me a DS my last birthday, and Hatanaka-san was kind enough to give me some games to go with it."

"Yeah?" Yusuke straightened. "What do you play?"

"Well, I've always liked puzzles, so Professor Layton is a favorite. I've played through Pokemon Pearl a couple of times, too. What sort of games do you like?"

"Eh, I usually go in for FPS or whatever else lets you blow shit up," Yusuke admitted. "But I've got a kickass team in Pearl. We should totally battle!"

"Do you have your DS with you?" Shuuichi asked, sounding genuinely interested.

Yusuke paused. "Dammit!"

"Bro has a PS2," Shizuru called from the living room. "If you have to pound each other into the ground somehow, you could use that."

"Yes!" Yusuke practically threw himself up the stairs. "Come on, Shuuichi, I know he has at least one fighting game."

"If you gave it back after you borrowed it!" Kuwabara said. "Wait for me, Urameshi, it's my game, I want in on this!"

Yusuke could hear Shuuichi promising to wait in the kitchen, before the older teen followed much more calmly. "He should be done by the time you finish setting up," Shuuichi explained as he joined him. "Do you mind if I…?" he gestured towards Kuwabara's stack of games.

"Knock yourself out, dude," Yusuke said, having already snatched Street Fighter from the stack and busily plugging in cords.

"Oh, he has Silent Hill 2… I've been dying to play that," Shuuichi said after a few minutes. Yusuke glanced over his shoulder with a grin. Shuuichi noticed the look and rolled his eyes. "Mother doesn't approve. It's too violent, apparently. I hadn't managed to find a PS2 or a copy of the game before tonight."

"Right, right. Well, we can do that after I beat you at a few rounds of this," he said, waving the case. "Come on, come on! Get down here and grab a controller."

Shuuichi grinned—actually grinned, wide and challenging and like a normal teenage boy—and grabbed for the controller in Yusuke's hand. "Best three out of five?"

"You're on!"


Minamino Shuuichi's life was boring, and it was driving Kuronue crazy. He did very little that wasn't related to either his school or his mother. He studied outside or at his desk, belonged to the science club, and took every small mishap with a smile and a shrug. Somewhat unsurprisingly, he had also received two love letters in the three days Kuronue had been following him, which he opened, read, and proceeded to gently reject.

It made the innate oddness of showing up at the Kuwabaras' that much more noticeable. But given how… nerdy… the rest of his life was, Kuronue still found himself having second thoughts about this assignment. Maybe Koenma had just misplaced the file? Maybe Reikai just didn't record lives that were this routine and picture perfect? Yeah, that's exactly what was going on…

Kuronue sighed almost silently. He'd closed The Den for days without warning before—most recently while breaking into Reikai and during the fall out afterwards—but if he didn't figure out something before Saturday he'd have to dip into his savings to pay rent for the next month. Which he really did not want to do.

That's it, Kuronue thought to himself as he followed the kid along the rooftops, insubstantial as a shadow, I'm asking Koenma for compensation next time I see him. If he says no and I lose my apartment, I'll camp out in his office, swear to the gods.

He wasn't the only shadow on the roof.

Kuronue pulled up hard, swearing rather creatively, and buried his face in his hands. "What do you want, Hiei?"

Hiei shrugged, shadows shifting against shadows, and Kuronue rubbed at his temples and closed his eyes. This conversation was bound to give him a headache, and he didn't want eye strain on top of that. "Is it wise, to parade your true appearance across Ningenkai roof tops?" He could almost feel his stare. "Kuronue."

Kuronue shrugged, playing off the nostalgia—Gods, how long has it been since I heard my true name? His wings echoed the movement, before settling against his back again. "Are you worrying about me?" he said, one side of his mouth tilting up into a mischievous smile.

This earned him a derisive sneer. "Please. If Koenma finds out exactly who he hired, we'll both be arrested."

"I'd wondered why you hadn't turned me in," Kuronue said, shaking his head. He doubted self-interest was the whole of the answer, but no point in pushing. Right now. "So what did you want?"

"I? Nothing. You're the one who almost ran into me." Kuronue pursed his lips, resisting the urge to point out that not every conversation was a fight, dammit. "Playing guard dog for Reikai?"

"Not anymore," Kuronue said, and stalked over to the low wall around the roof, leaning against it. Shuuichi still wasn't more than a minor blip against the standard background radiation of reiki every large gathering of humans had. When thousands and thousands of humans crowded together in close quarters, you had to have some sort of power to stand out—and standing out was bound to draw youkai attention. He'd be fine alone for the night, considering Kuronue still wasn't convinced he was up to anything. "Do you always hang out on top of buildings?"

Hiei sighed. "Do you always ask inane questions?"

"Hey, if we're working together, we might as well know a bit about each other," Kuronue countered, stretching his wings wide to let them bask in the moonlight. Mm, he needed to let them out more, he was all stiff. "I mean, you certainly know a lot more about me than I do about you."

"You know I'm looking for someone," Hiei bit out, and Kuronue smiled to himself. He'd known there was a reason the irascible fire elemental had shown himself tonight, and it sounded like he was finally getting to the point. "Which is more than anyone else does."

Kuronue weighed his options, wondering if it was worth it to try and befriend Hiei. "I didn't know you were looking for someone," he said at last. "I knew you were looking for something, that's all, and I guessed you'd come to Ningenkai for a reason beyond stealing from Reikai vaults." The moon was waxing towards its first quarter now, and it leant just enough light for Kuronue to make out a flicker of… something, pass over Hiei's face at the mention of the raid. "The jagan," Kuronue elaborated. "It's a recent addition. You fight like you're used to having more youki at your fingertips and your aura feels perpetually drained. No one goes through that surgery unless they're desperately seeking something, and you hate ningen enough that you wouldn't be here unless you had no other options."

Hiei grunted in the particular way which Kuronue was learning to recognize as his way of agreeing with him. Though why he can't just say yes like a normal person… Kuronue thought with a surprising amount of fondness. "So it seems Kuronue also had some brains," Hiei said.

Pretending offense, Kuronue rolled his eyes with a huff. "Yeah, yeah, just because Kurama was a strategic genius I have to be an idiot. No one seems to consider that he had a tendency to kill fools and that I lived with him for literally centuries."

"Was that the only thing the rumors got wrong?"

"Probably not. Why?"

"You seem to be taking some serious risks for someone who's just a friend…"

The old pain flared up in his chest again, but Kuronue was long practiced in ignoring it. "Why? You interested?" he asked, letting a leer play across his face.

Hiei looked startled, then slightly disturbed. "No."

"Good, cause you're a bit short for my tastes," Kuronue tossed back. Hiei crossed his arms and looked away, but didn't leave. "Hey." A grunt. He could practically trademark that thing. Kuronue suspected that was all he'd get for a while, and decided it was a sign Hiei was listening. "Compensation for getting you wrapped up in this Reikai nonsense. Give me a name and I'll keep my ear to the ground, no questions asked," Kuronue said. Proverbial olive branch extended. Now to see if Hiei would take it. Kuronue counted his breaths and stared up at the moon, listening hard for any sign of Hiei flitting away.

"A koorime. Yukina." And a snap of cloth meant Hiei was gone before Kuronue could acknowledge he'd heard him, let alone look at him again.

The koumori grinned, a flash of teeth in shadow and moonlight. Not a bad sort, Hiei, when he wasn't trying to take over the world.


Glossary

Reikai: Spirit World, Spirit Realm, Spirit Plane. Where Koenma and Botan live and work. In charge of the judgement of souls.

youkai: Often translated as "demons," "monsters," or "apparitions." Inhuman, amoral, sentient beings that inhabit a dimension parallel to our own. Most of the villains Yusuke fights in the series are youkai.

-san: An honorific attached to the name of a person of comparable or superior social rank, particularly someone you do not know well. A rough English equivalent would be "Mr." or "Ms."

-kun: An honorific attached to the name of a boy of similar or younger age to yourself who you are friendly or familiar with. There's no real English equivalent.

Makai: Demon World, Demon Realm, Demon Plane. A wilder, anarchic world populated by youkai.

reiki: "spirit energy," the paranormal energy that Yusuke and Kuwabara use to fuel their attacks, and Genkai and Botan use to heal; accessible by humans or those who inhabit Reikai

Ningenkai: Human World, Human Realm, Human Plane. The "real world."

jagan: "evil eye;" the third eye implanted in Hiei's forehead which grants far-sight, ki-tracking, an increased control over his energy, and minor mental capabilities.

youki: "demon energy," roughly the youkai equivalent of reiki.

ningen: human. Used in this fic to contrast with "youkai"

koorime: "ice-maiden." While "yuki-onna" ("snow-women") exist in Japanese mythology and are more than likely an influence upon Yu Yu Hakusho's koorime, they don't seem to be the same thing. Koorime is the in-universe name for the particular race of youkai Yukina is half of and grew up with.

koumori: literally "bat," here used specifically to describe bat youkai, namely Kuronue/Kuroji.


A note on the chapter

Forgive my patchy and incomplete knowledge of video games; it's the part I was most stressed about in this chapter, honestly. I have no system myself beyond a smart-phone (not even a DS) so I've relied heavily on my two closest fic-friends, who do know more about video games than I do. That said, I do have some broad head-canons when it comes to taste in games that mostly supplements what we see in the series. As Yusuke said, he's more into FPS (first person shooters) and other action, blow-stuff-up sorts of games. Shuuichi goes straight for the puzzles and mental challenges, and also loves horror games (when he can manage to get his hands on them). Kuwabara likes FPS too, but has a not-so-secret love of RPGs (role-playing games) too. All three like racing games, too. There is a plot-bunny that wants to play more with the idea-specifically MarioKart and that promised Pokemon fight. (I am open to suggestions for teams, by the way, especially if you can give me justifications for why it's in character.)

I'm really loving the friendship between those three, by the way. They're so much fun.

As for the conversation between Hiei and Kuronue... I find Hiei difficult to write, I'll be up front with that. So if there are aspects that seem out of character... you're probably right, but I did think about it a lot and have my reasons.


Anonymous Review Replies

Fox: The discussion about Reikai mechanics seems to have gone over well, which is honestly a relief, as I was worried it felt too much like an info-dump. As for the connection between Shuuichi and Kurama... Well, it takes longer than the reader might expect, but you've got to remember we have information the characters don't, here. Next chapter has some exploration of reiki vs. youki and more Hiei, so I think you'll like it. (Also you should know I went all flail-y and pleased when you said my lore is fantastic... Thank you so much!)

Kuro-chan: Thank you for your review, and I'm glad to see you eager for the next chapter. I don't know if you just started reading, but I (try) to update this story every Monday! I've just finished writing chapter fifteen, so it'll be a while before I run out of material and end up missing that deadline.

Thanks again to Unita and to Samjok-o for their reviews on the last chapter! And thank you all so much for your continued support of this story. Every review means the world to me.