~I do not own any part of Yu Yu Hakusho. The characters are created and owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. My characters are entirely fictional and belong to me.~

Chapter 10: Stormy Night

"I'll work on a questionnaire while you cook, is that okay?" Shuichi offered as Keomi shooed him out of her kitchen.

A grin covered Keomi's face, "I don't mind." In all actuality she would rather have him do that then help her cook dinner. She didn't want him to find how little of food she had in the cupboards. She never ate breakfast, lunch was a given since she didn't want anyone at school to bother her anymore, and dinner was iffy always depending on what she was doing that night. Most of the foods in the cupboards were easy light snack high in calories to keep her energy up when she was on the go, which she always on the go.

Keomi sighed as she got to work, she needed to make it look like she wasn't a starving student though she was. Putting the rice on the stove to simmer and then setting the table Keomi went to the fridge and opened it up. Dismay filled Keomi's stomach as she surveyed what was in the fridge. Half a gallon of milk (almost expired), a pitcher of juice, a half empty jar of pears, some yogurt, a container of strawberry cream cheese, half a bag of bagels, cottage cheese, whipped cream, apples, and grapes. Shutting the fridge door she moved to the cupboards where she picked out a jello packet, determined to make something sweet for desert. Getting out the bowl and spoon it hit her that jello took some time to set and she didn't have that kind of time to wait for it. Sighing she started to put the ingredients away before she remembered the cottage cheese and whipped cream in the fridge. The perfect ingredients to making a pink jello salad, and was what she was going to make. It was simple and easy, Keomi grinned before she set to work on it.

Keomi was just finishing up, going to go check on the rice, when a tree branch snapped off one of the nearby trees in the wind. Keomi turned her head at the sound right as it smashed through the window. Automatically reacting, Keomi rolled over the table to avoid the glass but managed to end up with a fork in her thigh. Keomi landed on the other side of the table and ripped the fork out of her thigh. Dropping it to the ground and watching as the glass flew in the house Keomi thought the worse was over until Shuichi appeared suddenly. She had totally forgot about him and when he whipped open that door he might have reached mach 1 in speed.

Shuichi saw the glass flying towards Keomi and acted instinctively to save her life. He leapt out of the room, tackled her to the ground, and held her in the protective safety of his arms.

As the wind and glass blew wildly about in the kitchen the table flipped over sending the dishes and food flying. After the glass settled on the floor Shuichi released his hold on Keomi as pink salad dripped off his forehead and down his back. Keomi stared at him as the bowl slipped off his shoulder and fell to the floor with a thunk before her eyes flew to the broken window and she jumped up. Running over the glass barefoot to the window she pulled on the extra pane of window, an emergency pane, and yanked at is as rain drops splattered on her face. The stubborn window pane didn't bug as Keomi cussed out loud at it before slipping on a piece of glass. Shuichi caught her easily with one arm as he was suddenly at her side. They set to work instantly, getting the pane over and closed off the window. Keomi sighed a breath of relief before she looked at the mess of a room that used to be her kitchen.

"Well no use sitting around gaping at the damage," Keomi said under her breath as she squatted down and started to put the pieces of glass in her hand. Shuichi gathered his up into a pile until Keomi came over with a garbage can, broom, and dust pan. Sweeping up the broken glass and dumping it where it could do no more harm to anyone Keomi got to work on gathering up the remnants of what was left of her dishware while Shuichi turned the table upright and the chairs.

"Shuichi…" Keomi stood at the sink as she turned to look at him. She was going to thank him before she got a good look at him.

He turned to look at Keomi only to find her staring at him wide eyed and gaping. Guess she finally saw the bowl of pink salad covering him.

"I think a shower is in order….." She finally said slowly. "Follow me." She walked into the bed room, then into another small room with a laundry basket and cabinet. The floor was tiled and Keomi slid open the wood door on her right to show him the bathroom. The sink and mirror were on her right as she walked in, the toilet on her left, and the bathtub/shower right in front of her. She turned on the water, testing it a few times with her hand before explaining the knobs to him before turning and leaving. He peeked his head out of the bathroom door to find her opening up a cupboard and pulling out a towel for him along with a bar of soap.

"Use these," she handed them to him and then continued to order him around. "Now give me your uniform. I can wash it while you are showering." She said as she stood there waiting.

Shuichi didn't argue with her as she glared at him to hurry up. He slid the door shut and a few minutes later he opened up the door and stuck out his arm holding his clothes. "Here you go…" This was the awkwardess thing he had done all night.

"All of them, Shuichi." Keomi said as she took them from him, already knowing that he still was stockholding his underwear from her.

"All of it?" He asked, peered at her from behind the door. How did she know that the pink salad had leaked down his back and into his pants? Then with just a look from Keomi he handed it over to her.

Satisfied she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her to leave Shuichi alone to bathe. Walking to the laundry room, she checked the size of his clothes before throwing them into the washer with her uniform. She started it before heading back into the bed room. She pulled open the wardrobe and began going through her fathers clothes in search for something close to Shuichi's sizes. 'I need to dejunk this soon.' She thought to herself as she pulled out a pair of jeans and smiled at finding one exactly Shuichi's size. Going on to find a t-shirt and sweater Keomi was doing well until she had to go through her dads boxers trying to find his size. She frowned at not finding anything until she opened up her brothers drawer and there sat a perfect match for Shuichi. Gathering up the clothes into a pile she walked over to the door and knocked.

Shuichi was already out of his shower and drying his hair when he heard the knock. He stood near the door, "Yes?"

"Um, its me. I have some clothes you can wear." Keomi said as her face flushed bright red.

"Okay," he replied as she opened the door from the bed room and stuck her arm in with the clothes into the dressing room. He heard the door open and smiled as he saw her arm there, holding the stack of clothes for him as he stuck his head out of the bathroom and into the dressing room. Apparently she wasn't going to come in any further from the bed room. "Thank you Keomi," Shuichi said as he took the clothes from her arm and she withdrew quickly.

"No problem. You don't have to wear the sweater unless you want to, but since it's cold I thought…..—"

Shuichi smiled at her thoughtfulness as he looked through the pile. "Its okay, thanks…again."

Keomi didn't respond as she disappeared from the door after shutting it. She went back into the kitchen were she looked around and then went over to the stove. At least the rice wasn't all over Shuichi. She chuckled at her little joke before removing the rice and fixing up dinner the rest of the way. She was just finished carrying the edamame rice and tea to the kotatsu when Shuichi came out of the bathroom. Keomi surveyed him, making sure the clothes were neither too tight or too loose on him and he could feel her eyes on him. "I'm glad the clothes fit."

"How did you know my size?" Shuichi asked as he knelt at the kotatsu and Keomi handed him chopsticks.

Keomi poured the tea, "I looked at your uniform and luckily my brother and dad's clothes were the same sizes. Tea?"

"Yes thank you. Are you sure that they won't mind me wearing their clothes?"

"I can vouch for them, they don't care." Keomi said as she passed the tea cup to Shuichi and he took it. "I humbly partake."

Shuichi repeated after Keomi and they began to eat in silence before Keomi pulled her text book closer to her and she began studying while eating. Shuichi watched her and she felt his eyes on her and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Sorry, I shouldn't eat and not study at the same time. It's a habit," she apologized again before pushing the book away from herself.

Shuichi just nodded his head at her, trying to figure this girl out. There was so much more to her than what met the eye. She seemed so mysterious underneath that school façade she put on.

After Keomi finished eating, she pulled her text book back toward her and continued on studying. Shuichi joined in shortly thereafter as he placed the bowls next to each other.

After thirty minutes of studying there was a buzz as the washer finished. Keomi stood up slowly as she had been putting pressure on her ankle and her legs. She started to walk and flinched from the wounds on her legs. The fork wound had been forgotten but now as Keomi stood and walked to the laundry room she remembered it as pain flamed through her leg. She would have just used her energy and sped up the healing process but while Shuichi was still here she would have to let it be as she would have to use her demon energy.

Throwing the uniforms into the dryer, Keomi limped her way back to the bed room. Her leg was probing as she walked back into the bed room and Shuichi's head flew up. He looked up at her before his eyes flew down to her calf and then her thigh. He stared so intently Keomi wondered what was wrong before her leg throbbed again. She was just beginning to glance down to see what the problem was when Shuichi spoke.

"What is that?" He almost growled at her. "Is that blood on your leg? Did you get injured by the glass?"

Keomi's brow furrowed as she looked down at herself. "No…." She offered as she tried to inspect her leg without Shuichi knowing. But that would never work, he noticed too much. She moved forward, to go around the table to sit down and get right back to studying but Shuichi's glare caught her off guard.

"There is fresh blood leaking down your leg, are you injured?"

Keomi swallowed, she would take care of her injury later, after she cleaned it and all. "I'm fine."

Shuichi frowned before moving quickly over to her side. In a matter of seconds Keomi's pants were at her ankles as Shuichi's stripped her efficiently.

"Shuichi! What the hell-?" Keomi began as she yanked down her long undershirt to try and cover herself.

The frown still resided on Shuichi's face as he inspected her thigh, the clear imprint of four holes from a fork were leaking blood down her leg. Without a word he stood up and disappeared into the dressing room.

Keomi leaned over some to try and peek into the room to see what he was doing as she heard drawers opening and closing rapidly. He was looking for something but what was he looking for?

Shuichi came marching back into the bed room with a frown and in his hands he held a bandage wrap for her leg. He knelt near her bare leg and began to unwind the bandage that was going to go on her leg.

Keomi stepped away from Shuichi then, "I'll think I should shower first and then wrap it."

Shuichi looked up at her, the bandage already unrolled and ready to be put to use. "Hmm, yes."

"Okay then…" Keomi whipped her pants up her legs before grabbing a clean pair of everything and rushing into the bathroom leaving Shuichi alone in her room.

Keomi bathed, light speed fast as she knew Shuichi was waiting for her to get out and it was just plain awkward to be naked when there was a boy in the other room. She dressed as rapidly as she could after wrapping her thigh. She pulled up the skin tight leggings and the loose flowing shorts before putting on a quarter sleeve shirt. Keomi was not taking her time getting dry and getting dressed as she didn't want to make Shuichi wait any longer. She exited the bathroom only eight minutes after entering and Shuichi was patiently waiting for her to come out.

"Did you wrap your-?"

Keomi didn't let him finish as she felt his eyes on her thigh, it wavered there before going down to her ankle. "I wrapped my thigh already. Though I need help with my ankle. Do you think you could-?"

"Sure, come over and sit. No more kneeling…" Shuichi order and Keomi obeyed. He wrapped her ankle with relative ease, noting how much better it seemed than before. "Start on the questionnaire." He slid a piece of paper towards her and she took it and thus began the studying once again.

Time passed as the two studying away, all the while the typhoon raged outside and they sat comfy in the small apartment. That's all the two did as they were focused on their homework and nothing else.

Shuichi had finished with his paper and his eyes were taking a break from the paper as they looked around Keomi's room. His eyes found the clock and he studied it for a moment before speaking to Keomi as she leaned over the table, working on the questionnaire. "It's really late, do you think your family got stuck in the typhoon and that is why they aren't home yet?"

Keomi didn't answer as her eyes flew up to look at the clock and then back down to the paper.

"Keomi? Your family, when will they be home?" Shuichi pressed her again with his question.

Keomi twitched and cleared her throat. Shuichi looked at her inquisitively before she spoke as she slid the paper to him, "Is question 17's answer correct?"

Shuichi took the paper as he noted to himself that she avoided his question and changed the subject, trying to distract him with homework. He nodded his head and she went back to studying. Shuichi's eyes wandered over Keomi's studying form before going to his own paper and then moving on to look around the room. There had to be something in her room that would give away her personality and what she did on her free time. The more he looked all he saw were books, she was apparently a nerd through and through. There was a giant pile of folklore books off to the side and many papers were shoved in between the pages of books. History, myth, and folklore books scattered the floor near the floor at the opposite end of the table of where they sat. The corner of a cabinet caught his eye and he followed it up while he studied it. He turned to ask Keomi what was in the cabinet but judging by her stance; lowered head, concentrated face, and muttering under her breath, Keomi wasn't going to notice him. Moving slowly as to not to alert Keomi he made his way to the small cabinet residing in the middle of the room, strategically placed. He opened up the doors to find two pictures in the middle.

Keomi heard the wooden doors open and her head flew up and she spun around to see Shuichi looking inside at the two portraits. Standing up quickly she stood by him and shut the doors, all the while not looking at him.

Shuichi went and sat back down, leaving Keomi standing at the cabinet, her hands tightening on the round wooden handles.

Taking in a deep breath, Keomi turned back around and sat down smoothly. She went straight back to working on the questionnaire but she couldn't focus on the paper that sat in front of her as her mind wandered off, almost in a panic.

"Were they close relatives of yours?" Shuichi asked, almost as soon as she settled down in her spot. His eyes watched every moment of her body, as if trying to figure out the mystery that she was hiding.

Fate had decided what was going to happen that night, and that night the truth about Keomi's past would come out. There was no fighting it as Keomi shut her eyes and sighed, dropping the pencil from her hands and giving up on homework for the moment. "The woman is someone I didn't know, but I have been told many things about her."

Shuichi's lips curved upward on the side, speaking in riddles wouldn't do her any good.

Keomi waited for Shuichi to say something but he just laced his fingers together and leaned forward. Putting his chin on his hands he waited for her expecting her to go on. "The woman was my mother, she died right after giving birth to me. Giving birth put to much strain on her body and she died. My father, he loved me twice as much to make up for the not having a mom. We were happy," Keomi cleared her throat.

Shuichi remained silent, biding time as he knew she would continue.

Keomi glanced up at Shuichi and only held his gaze for a moment before she turned her head and looked away. "A few years ago he died in a car accident." She didn't bother to mention that he was on his way to pick her up from school for her birthday and take her out. Keomi swallowed harshly, "It's just me and my brother, Ouija, now."

"Where is he?" Shuichi asked plainly.

"He lives with his girlfriend though he visits occasionally to pay rent and check on my grades since he is paying for tuition too. I'm thinking about getting a job, I'm pretty sure that I can handle school, the homework load, and work at the same time." Keomi smiled shyly, unsure of what Shuichi would think. The only reason she was thinking about getting a job was so that she could get food since Ouija hadn't given her enough money for food so she was practically starving.

Shuichi nodded his head, "I think you would be able to handle it." He didn't say anything more as Keomi was silent. He was also pretty sure that the only reason she wanted to get a job was so that she wouldn't be starving. Shuichi had noticed how light and underweight she was when he was carrying her and then when he saw her almost bare and empty cupboards he knew why.

Keomi bit the side of her tongue as she remembered the last time Ouija had come home raging drunk. He had lost his temper with her and hit her a few times before he had passed out on the floor. She had scrubbed the floor for hours before the alcohol stains went away.

Shuichi studied Keomi's face, she had told him a lot about herself and her past that he didn't know and he felt closer to her but still it felt like there was something she was holding back something from him.

"Well this is embarrassing…." Keomi's face was red in an instant as she peeked at Shuichi. She answered his quizzical look that he gave her, "You are the first person I've ever told…." She trailed off.

Shuichi nodded, "That's nothing to be embarrassed about but if it makes you feel any better I promise not to tell."

Keomi smiled up at him, that was the answer she needed to hear.

Shuichi smiled back but inside there was something that was tugging at the side of his consciousness. She was still hiding something, something majorly important.

After their little getting-to-know-each-other session the two went back to their homework. Shuichi finished up quickly after the break and Keomi told him that he could help himself to the folklore and myth books scattered at the other end of the table while she continued to study and review.

They were quite content too, just going on reading and reviewing the night away until there was a bang from the other side of the wall. Keomi ignored it as she was bent over her homework knowing that it was just her neighbor in the apartment right next to hers.

"What-?"

"That was my neighbor, Miss Reiko Nishizawa. The walls are thin so sometimes we can talk through them," Keomi explained without even looking up.

Shuichi raised an eyebrow at Keomi and then looked at the wall before flipping open the book as his finger held his spot for him and began reading from where he left off.

A few more minutes of absolute silence followed until it was broken abruptly with a load moan. Keomi's head shot up with a questioning look as she tried to figure out what made the noise. Her eyes went to Shuichi but he stared back at her just as perplexed.

There were more moans and then a loud grunt before words were heard through the wall. "Yes…..yes…..ah—ahhh!"

Shuichi and Keomi both turned their heads and looked at the wall as the voice continued to emit single syllable words. They both stared at it in an almost shock like state.

"I'm gonna cum! Ah~!"

Keomi's whole face went red as there was one load long gasping moan that followed the exclamation. Her head went back to her book and the problems on the paper. Why did this have to happen? Why did Reiko have to bring home her boyfriend? And why did they-? Keomi shook her flushed face as the noises continued. "Um say Shuichi? How bout we move to the kitchen…?" Keomi asked as she was already beginning to gather up her books.

Shuichi didn't answer as he grabbed his books also and they quickly exited the bed room as the neighbors continued on.

The once comfortable studying silence that had surrounded Keomi and Shuichi now abandoned them and left them with the total embarrassing awkward silence. As Keomi was finished up reviewing she pulled open her English book and started to read and study some more proving that all she ever did at home was study. Keomi would have liked to go into the bedroom to grab another text book but with Reiko and her boyfriend Keomi wasn't sure that she even wanted to look Shuichi in the face again. And right now the only way she could get away with not looking him in the face was to center all her attention to the books and papers in front of her.