Writing this chapter was actually kinda hard. Writer's block and since not a lot of people write Yusuke/Keiko fanfics now, inspiration can be limited. I know what I want to write, but fleshing it out smoothly is the challenge. Oh well, moving on lol. Demon Yusuke switches between plural and singular form, by the way. He says 'we' when his thoughts and actions sync with Yusuke, but says 'I' when talking about his own thoughts. Now on with the story!

Edit: As of May 26, 2017, I've gone back to update all my chapters. If you see an error, let me know. I'm not very happy with some of these chapters, and may revise, but only after finishing this story.

Chapter 10

The Beast Speaks!

Raizen sat, waiting expectedly. Yusuke walked up to him. Without warning, Yusuke slammed his fist into Raizen's cheek. The war god lost balance and Yusuke delivered another hard blow to his stomach. Raizen caught his hand, crushing it. Yusuke screamed out, yanking his hand away. He fired off his spirit gun. It hit and blew both demons back. Raizen landed and glared, wiping the dust off his face. Yusuke laughed.

"Oh, come on. What's with the sour face? You know I had to pay you back for the beating you gave us earlier. We can't be the only one banged up."

"Don't make me lose my patience with you," Raizen gritted out.

Yusuke sat on a nearby rock, hunched over with a smirk, "So what do you want to know?"

Raizen walked over and leaned against a tree. "Tell me about the girl. Why do you wish to protect to the point that you would kill me?"

"I don't need a reason to want to kill you, old man. I wanted to protect her, that's all."

"We Mazoku don't protect anything or anyone without a strong attachment," Raizen countered, "What is she to you?"

Yusuke looked him in the eyes.

"She is mine and no one is hurting her. No one."

He glared dangerously at Raizen and let out a low growl.

This was a level of possessiveness that he had never seen in Yusuke before. The guy was always so carefree. He never cared where he went, how people saw him, nothing. He held no grudges and never took his responsibilities seriously. Who was this boy he saw now?

"This isn't like you. From Hiei has told me, you haven't known these people for more than a week."

"You didn't know Mom long. It's not like you're one to talk," Yusuke retorted.

Raizen gave an agitated sigh. He knew if he tried explaining the differences in their situations, Yusuke would only say he was making excuses. They were quiet a moment.

"She slapped the shit out of us," Yusuke stated with a grin.

Raizen quirked a brow, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Keiko. The first day we met she was ignoring us. We thought it would be funny to grab her butt and see her scream or blush. We rubbed her butt and she slapped us hard. Twice actually, and the second time she hit us so hard, we made a dent in the ground. She knew we were a demon; she knew our power. At that moment though, she didn't care. I thought it was gutsy and honestly it turned me on."

Raizen smiled, understanding all too well. "That is why you're attached to her?"

"That's part of it. I see things differently when I'm around her. It's hard to explain, but it's like I have a second set of eyes. She…calms me. When we retrieved that scroll from those demons, they made a comment to us about Keiko. They talked about raping her. I lost it. I couldn't break free completely, but I made sure I killed them."

Yusuke clutched the rock he was sitting on, feeling a chunk shatter through his grip. He stood up. Raizen saw the pent up rage in Yusuke and recognized the same anger in himself. It was actually a toned down version of Raizen's anger when he realized his mate was dead. He smiled bitterly.

"Keiko, is her name? She comes off as a mouthy one once you anger her," said Raizen.

Yusuke chuckled, "Yeah, she gets demon strength when she's angry. I like it though."

"Your mother was the same way."

The two sat in silence, listening to the wind whisper in their ears. Yusuke reverted back to his half-demon form. Raizen looked at Yusuke sternly.

"Yusuke, when I created the demon-human village, I had only two people in mind, you and your mother. You were the two I thought of when I vowed to stop eating humans, and even now as we move forward to equality between all races, there are two people I fight for above all. That's how it works, that's why I asked about the girl. When you love someone, everything you do is for them, regardless of whether it's good or bad. You seek their affirmation and I needed to know that the one who holds your heart wouldn't lead you astray."

Yusuke blushed, "Geez, why do you have to make it sound overly romantic?"

"I love embarrassing you, even if no one else is around to see."

"Jin and Chu say I should stop it, before it gets out of hand. She could be a liability and a weakness," admitted Yusuke softly.

"I doubt you'll be able to avoid her. Even if you don't see her, she'll be in your thoughts. You'll be distracted and that's a real weakness," answered Raizen casually.

He continued, "However go slowly with the girl. Assuming she led a sheltered life, she knows nothing about demons' mating rituals or courting habits. Besides you have other duties. Hiei and Kurama are currently doing emissary work since that is more up their alley. You however lack the political and social grace to properly attain information so you'll keep your ass in the city. You know if a war breaks out like the rumors say, I won't be able to fight."

Yusuke looked at his dad sadly. "I know that. It's just…I know you're getting weaker. No one would be angry if you eat humans. You won't live if-"

Raizen cut him off. "After all I told you, you think I would be so weak and so spineless to go back on my words?"

Raizen stood angrily. "Get your ass up. We've spent enough time talking."

Yusuke stood and readied himself. Raizen sent a punch towards him and Yusuke blocked, sending a punch of his own. Raizen pulled Yusuke to the ground kicking him in the gut. Yusuke coughed and broke away. 'Damn I should have never said anything. This training is gonna be brutal.'

Keiko knocked on the apartment door. Sanosuke opened the door and smiled at her. He let her in, "Hi, Keiko. Only Kuwabara and me are here right now. Yusuke is with his dad."

"Oh really? Kurama left earlier to do some business for the king. I guess everyone has been busy today."

Keiko sat on the couch and Sanosuke followed her.

"Um hey have you eaten yet, Sanosuke? It's almost dinner time and I was going to cook anyway."

Sanosuke smiled brightly. "Can you make your family's ramen? I really like that."

Keiko returned the smile, "Sure. You know my dad is actually thinking about opening a shop here once we get everything together so I better get used to cooking it again. You think it will be okay to cook it here?"

Sanosuke nodded and Keiko began pulling out ingredients to make her family's signature ramen. She boiled water for the eggs and set another pot of water on the burner to boil for her broth. Sanosuke watched her contently, sitting on a bar stool at the counter. The apartment door opened and a battered Yusuke trudged inside. He could smell pork belly and onions cooking. The warm aroma almost made him forget his aches. Keiko moved from the kitchen to help Yusuke. She walked him over to the couch to lie him down.

"Yusuke what happened?" she asked.

He looked just like he looked that night at the festival. His shirt was gone and she could see not only the jagged blue tattooed markings under his eyes and arms, but now on his shoulders and chest as well. Keiko knew he was muscular, but she didn't imagine how defined he would be. She found herself ogling his body for much too long when she saw Yusuke's smirk. She turned away as he began to speak.

"It's nothing major, just a little sore after training. What are you doing here, just enjoying the show?"

Keiko ignored the second part of the question, "Oh I wanted to come up and make you some dinner as a thank you. Plus Sanosuke hadn't had dinner yet. I didn't think it would be any trouble."

"I see. Well it smells good anyway."

Keiko smiled before getting back to the food. Sanosuke eyed Yusuke worriedly from his seat. Yusuke looked really hurt and he had no idea why his hair was so long, but his tattoos looked pretty cool.

"Are you sure you're okay? Your dad seems really harsh to train you like that."

Yusuke flashed a tired smile and thought back to his father's words from earlier. Everything he did, he did to help Yusuke. 'The least I can do is actually give my all for the old man.'

"I'm fine," Yusuke rose from the couch, "See? I'll be back to full strength by tomorrow. Right now though, I'm gonna take a quick shower."

Yusuke left and twenty minutes later came back out sporting a white shirt with a pair of grey sweat pants. His markings were gone and his hair was back to its regular length. Yusuke sat in a stool near Sanosuke.

"See I'm back to normal now!" said a refreshed Yusuke.

"Ok, if you say so. I have a question that's been bugging me though."

Yusuke looked at him interested. "Okay, what is it?"

"Yusuke, why did you save me? I know you saved the others because they helped me, but…why did you even care? I was so excited when you said I could come with you, but…" Sanosuke asked timidly.

Yusuke scratched his head bashfully, "Oh that was it? You had me scared for a second. Well, I guess because you kinda reminded me of myself. When I was born, my dad was off fighting, and my mom was all alone. She was young and all of a sudden she had a child with some man that no one knew. People started making up rumors about her and my dad, saying she had betrayed the human race to have me. The villagers were just cruel and they forced my mother to the outskirts of town so they wouldn't have to deal with her."

Keiko listened eagerly, slicing the scallions for their food quietly. She didn't want to miss a second of Yusuke's story.

Yusuke continued, " As I grew up, I noticed the only time we went into the village was when we were low on food or medical supplies. The only other time I even saw people other than Mom or Grandma were when some villagers fell ill. Mostly we were alone until she died."

"How did your mother die?" Sanosuke asked.

Keiko looked at Yusuke. His eyes were soft and aimed at the floor. He bit his lip and tried to stop his quivering body. Keiko walked over a placed her hand over his, offering a small smile. Yusuke looked at her. He slipped his hand over Keiko's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I don't know how she died. I was over at Grandma's while my mom was treating a traveler who had been wounded in the woods. When I walked back over to our hut, I found her. She was lying face down in some medicine she'd been mixing. It looked like she just collapsed. I didn't know what to do. I just lost control. My spirit energy awoke and everything else is a blur. I guess I blacked out because when I woke up, our home had been destroyed. It got out that my mom was dead, but the villagers were saying that I killed her. I used my demon blood to kill my own mother. I wasn't allowed to go into the village for anything or speak to the villagers. Grandma found me and kept me safe until the war was over and my dad came back. When I came to your village, Sanosuke, the way your villagers looked at you was the way the people from my village looked at me…and my mom."

Keiko looked down. She wondered if she was really any better than the rest of the villagers. She had been raised on the village's protocol all her life. Everything they did was for the good of the village, but she never thought about the people like Sanosuke. Children like him were treated as an unknown and a possible threat before they could even defend themselves. Before, she never thought anything of it. That's the way it had always been, but she knew now her way of thinking had been wrong.

Yusuke smiled, "I know you must have felt pretty lonely and confused, I know I was. After my mom died, I felt really abandoned."

Sanosuke nodded, subconsciously hugging himself. Yusuke gave a sad smile.

"I was scared. Something good did happen though from that. I told you my spiritual powers awakened, right? Well, Grandma ended up training me until my dad found me. She gave me a way to get out all my anger and confusion. She taught me how to fight, to protect, to feel something other than sadness. Then I met other fighters like Jin and Kurama and I wasn't alone. I had a purpose. That's why I really want you to get stronger. I want you to know your purpose."

Sanosuke smiled with new resolve. "I will! I'll get even stronger than you!"

Yusuke laughed, "I'd like to see you try, kid."

Keiko let out a laugh of her own. "Well you're going to need a good meal if you're going to get any stronger. I should get back to preparing it."

"I bet it will taste great too." Yusuke replied.

Sanosuke agreed. "Keiko is a really good cook. Her family made lots of food for the festivals; they were the best!"

Keiko blushed at the compliment lightly and concentrated on boiling the noodles correctly. Yusuke lifted his eyebrow with a smirk.

"The best huh? You know, I cook a little myself. Next time I'll cook something for you."

Keiko turned. "You cook?"

"Yeah, I'll cook for you anytime. We could cook together. We could do a lot together," said Yusuke with a wink. 'I love making her blush.'

Keiko reddened deeper and went to collecting bowls for the meal.

"Um, so Yusuke you were raised partly by your grandmother? She sounds like a sweet woman."

Yusuke thought back to his earlier story. "My grandmother? Oh sorry, she wasn't my grandmother. I just called her Grandma and she's far from sweet. She may have helped me get stronger, but that old hag put me through hell with her training."

"Yusuke that's so rude to say," reprimanded Keiko. "Who is she then?"

"Her name is Genkai. She protected the villagers from demon attacks when she was younger. Maybe you'll meet her. She lives on the outskirts of the city here."

Keiko set the boys food in front of them with chopsticks and grabbed a bowl for herself. She sat in between Yusuke and Sanosuke. They blessed the food and began to eat.

"Sanosuke's right. This is delicious!"

"Thank you, Yusuke. My dad is the real cook though. He said he's hoping to start cooking in his own shop once we get settled. I'm surprised, but I think he likes it here a little."

Yusuke agreed. "It's actually funny. He's calmer now living among hundreds of demons than when I first saw him in your village."

Keiko drank a bit of her broth and set the bowl down. "Yeah, he can be, um, tense at times but he means well. He only became like that when the village was constantly on alert."

"When I think how he talked to you though, I still want to kick his ass."

Sanosuke cracked up and Keiko elbowed Yusuke. "Oh, I meant I want to kick his butt."

Sanosuke laughed lightly and helped himself to another bowl of ramen. Keiko sighed. Yusuke decided to just move on with something positive.

"He loves you though. Anyone with eyes can see he would still risk his life for his family so I guess he's alright in my book."

Keiko smiled softly and rested her head against his shoulder for a quick moment. She felt Yusuke's muscles relax and he leaned his head against hers. He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through her hair absentmindedly.

"Hey Yusuke, how about tomorrow you, me, and Keiko go see that Genkai lady? I'd love to learn some stuff from the lady who taught you," Sanosuke asked turning toward them.

Keiko and Yusuke pulled away quickly, sitting rigidly in their own space.

"Uh, yeah sure. Kurama and Hiei won't be back tomorrow anyway. How does that sound to you, Keiko?"

"That sounds fun. Maybe Kuwabara and Botan will want to come too."

Yusuke had honestly forgotten about them for a moment. He was hoping for more alone time with Keiko, but maybe, after thinking of his friends' conversations, it was probably better to have people around. It forced him to take things slow with her.

"Yeah, you tell Botan and I'll let Kuwabara know what's going on. We'll meet here tomorrow morning then. Get your kusarigama ready, Sanosuke, you're gonna have a tough day tomorrow."

Alright another chapter is done. In the next chapter I don't know whether I want to focus more on Hiei and Kurama's role and introduce the villain or introduce Genkai and have her teach some stuff to Sanosuke and probably Kuwabara. Also is it actually bothering anyone that I haven't devoted any real time to see Botan and Kurama get to know one another? Just wondering about that. Anyway thank you reading this and if you have any questions/comments let me know. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!