Toxic Bishounen: My first fic! Hope you all like it.

—Notes—

First, this will have multiple yaoi couples in it. (Kuwabara/Yuusuke, Itsuki/Sensui, onesided Kurama/Kuwabara, Kurama/Kuronue, onesided Keiko/Yuusuke (non-yaoi), Yomi generally going with just about any boy he can get his hands on, onesided Yomi/Hiei, onesided Karasu/Kurama, onesided Ani Toguro/Yomi (?), and maybe more.)

Second, there will be a lot of OOCness here. I know in reality Kuwabara's a lot tougher, and Yuusuke's not going to be some guy-magnet, and Kurama's never played soccer and would never be the creepy-vengeful type, and Hiei's got no love life at all, and Keiko doesn't talk this much, and Genkai isn't as creepy, Sensui would NEVER be so friendly with the Reikai Tantei-gumi, and Yomi's actually not this much of a lecher with the boys. So…don't sue me or flame if your favorite character is acting really screwy.

Third, this is a retelling of the yaoi manga series "Eerie Queerie" by Shiozu Shuri. The cast of characters will be:

Kazuma Kuwabara as Shiozu Mitsuo

Urameshi Yuusuke as Hasunuma

Yukimura Keiko as Suzaka Kiyomi (deceased)

Kuronue as Shiiba Natsuko (deceased)

Kurama as Shirai Ichi

Genkai as Hanamaki Kikuno

Koenma Daioh as the Zashiki Warashi

Jaganshi Hiei as Hibiki Kanau (deceased)

Yomi as Chief Priest Mikuni

Sensui Shinobu as Kagami Itsuki

Itsuki as Fujikake Shino

Random OC as Yoshitan

Shura Akachan as Mikuni Akachan

Touya as Yoshikado

Jin Kaze Tsukai as Murasaki

Ototo Toguro as Sanjaya Satoi

Karasu as Sanjaya Niro

Ani Toguro as Sanjaya Ichiro

Hagiri Kaname as the class president

Mitarai Kiyoshi as Yaegaki Atsuko/Atsushi

Botan as the random maid

Eikichi as Yumi, the Sanjaya family cat

So, here I shall start the story!

"It all started one morning as I was walking the streets, looking for someone to fight…"

Kuwabara Kazuma stopped in front of a girl in a school uniform. She was staring at the ground, moving around a bit of gravel, and her brown hair was pulled back into pigtails.

"Oh…" Kazuma started, staring at the girl. "Hey, are you OK?"

She looked up at him with her huge brown eyes. "Can you…see me?"

"…What…?" Kazuma asked. Duh, he could see her! She was right there in front of him!

She floated up into the air, happily cheering, "You can see me! Yay!"

Kazuma stared. "This was apparently a place where someone passed away," he thought to himself.

"The victim died instantly and was killed by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Yeah, this is it," she explained. "This is about me. …Bummer, they didn't even run a picture of me."

Kazuma looked up from the old newspaper obituary the ghost had given to him. "Uhh, Keiko, even if you possess my body, ther's not gonna be a whole lot you can do. Since the person who ran you over was caught, I think you should just rest in peace."

The ghostly girl smiled. "No way! There are still some things I want to do."

Until last week, Yukimura Keiko had been an eighth-grader at Sarayashiki Junior High. She must've gotten pretty bored since she became a ghost. No one could see or hear her.

She moved closer to Kazuma. "Hey, is that a science test you're studying for? It doesn't look that hard. Science must not be your best subject."

Kazuma glared. "It's none of your business whether I'm good at it or not! Besides, I bet I got a higher grade than you on last week's test."

"Oh, really?" Keiko asked. "I got a 97. How about you?"

Kazuma puffed out his chest. "A 12! Beat that!"

"Hoo…while I'm possessing you, I might as well try to put some sense in that carrot-topped head of yours."

As luck would have it, the first ghost Kuwabara Kazuma met would end up getting her way with him.

"Hel-lo! Are you listening, Kazuma? Since you can see and hear me, you can't just pretend I don't exist." She yanked on his ears.

"Hey!" Kazuma shouted, waving her away. It looked to normal people as if he was crazy, striking at air. He saw this and quieted down. Keiko stared at him.

"Uh, Miss Yukimura, since I am the only one here who can see and hear you…could you please be a bit more considerate?" he muttered.

"Call me Keiko. You act as if we're strangers."

"We are strangers," he thought angrily.

"Oh well, at least you're not afraid of me," Keiko said with a Cheshire-catlike grin. "Otherwise, I'd be better off talking to myself."

Kazuma thought to himself, "I see you. I hear you. Nothing I can do about it."

"Oh, this is our classroom. It's just like I remember it. My old desk hasn't even been moved yet." Suddenly, something caught her eye. She stared at it, following its every move. "Ohmygawd! He's here! For once, he's actually come to school! Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do?"

"I'm going to have to stop by the temple on my way home from school. I hope an exorcism won't cost too much…" Kazuma thought to himself.

Keiko spoke suddenly, startling Kazuma. "Kazuma! This is fate, y'know. It's my big chance. But no one other than you can see or hear me." Kazuma felt a sudden chill like he usually did when a spirit was behind him. "Sorry, Kazuma, but I gotta do this!"

Keiko's spirit entered Kazuma's body, pushing him out.

"Whoa, this is creepy! What just happened? Hey, what am I doing over there? What the heck is going on? I'm outside my body!" Kazuma thought, realizing what just happened. His body moved closer to a boy with slicked-back hair and tough-looking brown eyes. Before he could react, Keiko (in his body) said to the boy…

"Excuse me, Urameshi… I've had a crush on you for a long time."

"Uh…" the boy said nervously.

The class all stared at him. Three boys called out, "So Kuwabara Kazuma plays for the other team? And we thought you were just a softie for small animals." They turned to the boy. "Hey, Yuusuke, what're you guys gonna do—go out on a date? Wow, we can't believe he actually did it. This is the first time I've actually seen a real gay guy."

Urameshi Yuusuke said nothing.

The boys in the class kept taunting Kazuma, but Mr. Takenaka came in and shut them up.

At lunch…-

"Hey, Kazuma, when you're dead, you have no reason to hold back," Keiko commented. "Still, it was kind of embarrassing… Hey, what's the matter? You're so bummed out."

Kazuma glared at Keiko. "Thanks to you, I have to hide behind the school to eat my lunch."

Keiko smiled. "Oh, Kazuma, you're sharing your feelings with me. How sweet."

"You know, Keiko…" He squeezed his milk carton so hard, it burst. "Keiko, you… you violated the sacredness of the living!" he shouted, crying anime-style.

During just this one day, she had made him do all kinds of things. In one class, she had moved his desk next to Yuusuke's (intentionally). Later, his textbook disappeared (intentionally). Then, in gym class, he and Yuusuke had been paired up (intentionally).

"I'm sorry, Kazuma. I didn't know you were in the same class…frankly, I never really noticed you at all," she mumbled apologetically. Then, going into 'chick mode', she rambled, "I've had a crush on Yuusuke for about a year, but until now, the only thing I knew about him was that he was a school-skipping delinquent, a pervert, and some other bad stuff I don't really care about." She grinned. "This sure feels like fate!"

"I really need to get exorcised…" he thought.

Back in the classroom, at the end of the day…-

"Whew…Yuusuke has got to think I'm a freak by now…" he thought, staring into space. His textbook was gone—again—and thus he was reading Yuusuke's. However, for Kazuma…

"Hey, Kuwabara, I was thinking…" When it rains…

"…I wouldn't mind going out with you." ...it pours.

Kazuma stared at Urameshi for a second, then ran straight to the local temple on his way home. However, an exorcism of a human soul was too complicated for the priest there, so Kazuma went home to start dinner.

"You cook your own dinner?" Keiko asked. "So where's your mom?" She stopped. "I'm sorry. Are you an orphan?"

"My mom and dad are alive and well, thank you. They just work a lot."

"Oh, I see." Keiko sniffed at what Kuwabara was cooking. What the heck was that stuff? It looked like pancakes, but it smelled like three-day-old meatloaf.

Silence hung in the air, broken only by the TV's blaring weather report. It was probably going to be sunny, as usual.

"If I may ask, do you get lonely?" Keiko asked. She paused. "Kazuma! Answer me. Are you mad at me? You're mad about what I said to Yuusuke. Aren't you?" She paused again, expecting a response. "Is that it? C'mon, tell me!" Getting still no response, she started bawling anime-style. "You've got to understand. You're the only person I can talk to!"

"…Brat…" Kuwabara thought. He tried to respond calmly. "I'd rather keep to myself, thank you."

"Hmm…" Keiko grinned. "Well, that explains why you don't have any friends at school. Why are you so quiet?"

"Please, just leave me alone," Kazuma thought angrily. An old proverb popped into his head: A crow crying is already laughing.

"I kinda like being alone," Kazuma replied. "I guess I'm also used to it because my parents have always been so busy, and my sister's always out doing who-knows-what with that Sakyo guy."

"You like being alone? When I died and became a ghost, I popped in on my funeral. A lot of people came to pay their respects. But it was so strange. No one, including my parents and friends, not even Yuusuke, noticed me. Even when I did this." She poked Kazuma on the nose. "That whole time, I was all alone." She stopped looking sad and jumped up into the air. "Ya know, that sucked! If I had a body, I'd celebrate today's encounter with Yuusuke. I'll make seafood spaghetti for you…how's that sound? I'm a great cook! Oh, all I have to do is take over your body and make it."

"Don't you dare," Kazuma grumbled. He thought to himself, glad that she couldn't hear him, "Keiko's a manic girl, crying one minute and laughing the next. She's also selfish…"

Kazuma glared at her for a moment, then told her, "I'm gonna go take a shower, so stay out of trouble. Go watch TV or sumthin'."

As he shut the door, Keiko shouted, "What? How boring!"

The next morning…-

"Good morning, Kazuma," Kuwabara Shizuru mumbled as she ambled towards her brother. She was still half-asleep and wearing pajamas. "You're up early…" She lit up a cigarette and stared at what Kazuma was making. "A box lunch? Unusual…"

"Good morning, Shizuru," Kazuma said with a grin. He sounded very different. "I made one for you and one for Sakyo, when you see him next."

Kazuma's older sister took another long puff on her cigarette, then mumbled, "Huh. To school already? Something's up, you've never been like this about anything, especially not school."

"Well, today's different. Have a wonderful day, sister!" He rushed out of the house, his voice almost singsong.

At the bus stop…-

Kazuma looked around confusedly. "Uhh…where…am…I? I was in bed…I think?" He looked up at the street sign overhead. "Akamatsu 4-Chome? Where the hell is that?"

Keiko floated past, drooping. "Whew…possessing someone sure takes a lot of energy. I'm pooped! …But it'll all be worth it soon."

"Argh…not Keiko again…" he thought. "Oh, here comes the bus—HEY!" He looked down at his hands. Two of his fingers had been burnt, and six others had been cut. "M-My hands… they sting!"

"Hurry up, Kazuma!" Keiko shouted. "We're going to school on this bus!"

Kazuma stepped on, grumbling at Keiko, "Can you please tell me why the hell I'm here? And what happened to my hands?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I cut it… just a little. I made lunch for you—I hope you like it."

"This is not funny," Kazuma thought. "Just feel free to take over my body whenever you like. …Don't tell me that was an instant meal!"

"Kuwabara?"

Kazuma looked over. Yuusuke was standing right there.

"Hey, Kuwabara! What are you doing on this bus?"

Kazuma realized that she had put him on this bus so they could meet Yuusuke. He yawned—loudly.

"Wow, that's a pretty big yawn," Yuusuke pointed out the obvious. "You've gotta pretty big mouth, too, so I'm not surprised." He smiled.

Kazuma ran to the other end of the bus, distancing himself. "He's so gay…" he thought, glad that Yuusuke wasn't a mind reader.

Yuusuke stared blankly, then followed Kazuma to the end of the bus.

"Even if Keiko keeps possessing me, I must defend my virtue no matter what it takes," Kazuma thought. He turned around and came face-to-face with Yuusuke.

"Kuwabara…why are you avoiding me?" Yuusuke asked politely. He put one hand on Kazuma's face. "You look pale. Are you feeling sick?"

"Don't touch me! If you do, I'll bash your face in, Urameshi! And I wasn't really in the fighting mood—don't make me resort to violence!"

Yuusuke stared some more, moving his hand to Kazuma's shoulder to try to calm him down.

"Don't get any closer to me!" Kazuma shouted, then turned and ran back to the front of the bus.

Keiko screamed at Kazuma. "Hey, Kazuma! Whaddya think you're doing? Yuusuke's worried about you. There's no reason to try and hit him. No violence!"

"Shaddup!" Kazuma retorted.

"……?" Yuusuke wondered, watching Kazuma as he acted like a total hotheaded baka.

After school…-

Kazuma stormed towards home, mumbling various obscenities characteristic of himself.

"You know, Kazuma," Keiko remarked, "Happiness is all around. All you have to do is seize it!"

"Stop seizing my body, then!" Kazuma thought to himself. "I'm pissed—I'm tired of her playing with my body like it's some kind of ragdoll! Thanks to her, everyone thinks me and Yuusuke are a couple!"

"Haven't you had enough? Hurry up and move on!" Kazuma growled angrily.

"No way," Keiko replied. "Oh, hey! Kazuma, wait a minute." She floated through the front door and into the Kuwabara residence.

"…What? Free…at last? Whoa! Cool!" Kazuma thought. "Now what?" he asked, unsure whether his freedom was real.

"Welcome home, Kazuma."

Kazuma stared at Keiko.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"What the hell was that, Keiko?"

"Oh, there's never anyone here to greet you when you get home from school. It must make you feel so lonely. Wouldn't you feel better if someone was here to greet you?"

Kazuma sighed. "There's nothing I can do about it since there's no one around."

"But I'm here now," Keiko said, smiling. "Welcome back, Kazuma."

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Kazuma thought, entering his house and picking up a magazine about ghosts.

"Why are you reading all those ghost magazines?"

"My last resort is to perform an exorcism on myself."

"What a drag. Let's play magical bananas instead."

"…And why are you so hyper today?"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Hello?" Kazuma asked, opening the door.

Yuusuke smiled. "Hi."

BANG! Kazuma slammed the door. "Don't I have some homework to do?"

"If you don't let him in, I'll haunt you and all your descendents," Keiko threatened darkly. Kazuma sighed and opened the door.

"You sure are hot-and-cold. You called me last night, remember?"

Kazuma stared blankly. "Uh…I did?"

"Yeah, like at two in the morning."

Kazuma glared at Keiko, who was whistling innocently. "So…?"

"You don't remember? You asked me to come over tomorrow 'cause it's a holiday. I told you I had some stuff to do, but I'd be happy to come over when I got finished. Comprende?"

"Tell him you do! Now lend me your body, Kazuma!"

Kazuma scrunched up his face. "No. Yuusuke, I'm not feeling too good…"

"Lend it to me!" Keiko grabbed Kazuma's arm.

"I won't let you!" Kazuma waved his free arm wildly.

"Uh…Kuwabara?" Yuusuke asked, staring at Kazuma. Apparently, the latter was maniacally slapping at thin air. "Do you…need your head examined, or what?"

Keiko had won the fight and taken over Kazuma's body. "Oh…hey. Yeah, well…I'm sorry. It's nothing, nothing at all. Heheh…" she mumbled, blushing. "Come in, come in, please. I'll make you some tea."

"Uh…sure," Yuusuke replied.

"I was thinking we could maybe go out… but being together alone like this is nice too," Keiko (in Kazuma's body) commented.

"This is not good. I'm getting very nervous…" the real Kazuma thought. "Please don't kiss me. Please don't kiss me… I wish I had a chastity belt on."

His worst nightmare was just beginning. Keiko looked at Yuusuke and asked, "Will you kiss me?"

Yuusuke stared at who he thought was Kazuma, then mumbled, "Okay… I guess."

"Yippee!" shouted Keiko.

That did it. Kazuma floated over to his possessed body and started strangling himself (which wasn't really him at the moment). "No, Keiko! It's my body!"

"It's just a kiss! Get off!" Keiko yelled back.

"Over my freakin' dead body!" Kazuma growled fiercely.

"You're so narrow-minded, Kazuma! If you don't like it, go in the other room!" Keiko screeched.

"CUT IT OUT, KEIKO!" Kazuma screamed. "You still don't get it! This'll never go anywhere! When you enter my body and get close to Yuusuke, he's falling for me, not you! Geez, girl, wake up and smell the coffee! Using someone else's body to make up for what you missed when you were alive won't make things better! You may be enjoying this, but you're ruining my life, you little wench!"

"…Horrible. You're horrible!" Keiko shot back. "How can you say such things? What's important is the soul, right? The body is just a container. Even if it's you on the outside, my heart—my insides—belong to me. And that means it's me Yuusuke sees! Besides, don't you prefer being alone, Kazuma? This should be perfect for you! Why don't we just stay switched? I don't like being alone! There are still so many things I want to do. I don't want to just die like I did."

Yuusuke stared, then stood up.

Keiko kept going. "…Never. I'm never going to return your body! I'm… what the—?"

Yuusuke threw his arms around Kazuma. The real Kazuma backed away, watching.

"Yu…Yuusuke… l-let go. It's hot! It's… uhh…hot in here…g-get off. S-Seriously…"

Yuusuke only held on tighter.

"I'm not returning!" Keiko screamed. "I'm going to stay, and there's… nothing… y-you… can do… about… it…" She trailed off.

Some time later…-

"Are you awake?"

Kazuma sat up bolt upright. He wiggled his fingers. "Right on! I'm back! I'm back!" He noticed Yuusuke sitting next to him and turned a weird shade of whitish-green.

"Don't worry," Yuusuke said. "I didn't do anything you'd regret."

"Uhh… what's this about?"

Yuusuke held his jacket open. Strips of paper hung on the inside. "These are charm cards. They help get rid of ghosts."

"Um…Ok… I think I get it." Kazuma looked around. "Hey, where's Keiko?"

"Her name was Keiko, huh? I guess she was repelled to some other dimension, maybe."

"So, wait! You knew what was going on?"

"Well, sort of. I can't see ghosts. (Demons, however, are different.) But since you were acting so nutty, I figured you were either schizophrenic or possessed. After waiting a bit, I found out it was the latter. Looks like I was right."

"Lucky for me…" Kazuma started. "Keiko was an eighth-grader at Sarayashiki Junior High, the one we go to when we actually go to school."

"Huh. I see. I think I knew her… she'd always gripe at me for skipping school." He handed a stack of charm cards to Kazuma. "Just in case."

"Yuusuke… I'm real sorry 'bout this."

"Don't mention it. It's tough for me too, y'know. I just wanted to see if those would work."

Three days later…-

Kazuma never really saw a reason to speak to Yuusuke after that. Although he was still getting crap for it, his life was (for the most part) back to normal. But something just seemed to be missing…it just didn't feel right.

At school, after class…-

"Kuwabara."

"Huh?" Kazuma turned to Yuusuke, who had happened to drop by.

"You're out of all that trouble, but you still seem kinda down. Is Keiko still on your mind?"

"Uh…not particularly."

"Then hurry up and get over it. Don't look so sad."

"I'm not sad! Kuwabara Kazuma never gets sad!"

Yuusuke leaned in next to Kazuma, staring into the other's eyes.

"What?" Kazuma asked.

"Kuwabara… I—"

The bell rang. Kazuma stated the obvious and ran off.

He thought to himself, "Was I lonely? I don't think so. Keiko was annoying—a total pain in the neck. She seriously ticked me off 'cause she did whatever she liked with my body…my body, mind you! I thought I'd be relieved now that she's gone. It is nice and quiet… Yuck, my lunch tastes horrible. I do miss her cooking…"

He walked down to where he had first found her. She was pushing gravel around, as usual. She stared at him and said flatly, "…Kazuma."

"I thought I'd find you here."

Keiko turned away. "Why did you come? I thought I was a nuisance. Selfish and annoying…"

"Yeah, you sure are," Kazuma remarked.

"Whatever…" Keiko mumbled. "I don't intend to take over your body anymore."

"I came to get you… Keiko."

"…Why?" she asked.

Kazuma put out his hand. "Because I wanted to."

That day, Keiko didn't take over Kazuma's body—she didn't even try. She just sat by his side and watched Yuusuke. Occasionally, when her and Kazuma's eyes met, she'd smile at him. And since we all know Kuwabara's a big fat softie, his heart melted every time. He would then flip the page of his textbook for no reason.

At lunch, Keiko asked, "Kazuma, will you call Yuusuke after school?"

"All right. Why?"

"I wanna pick up where we left off last time."

The entire contents of Kazuma's juicebox sprayed out of his nose. "Y-You want to use my body for this, don't you?"

"Well, of course. Y'know, I've never kissed anyone. To die without ever having a first kiss…that's sad!"

"I-It sure is…" Kazuma sputtered. "Well, okay. No matter how much I'll hate it, I'll let you. But you have to promise me you'll only do it once, all right?"

"Yaaaaaay!" Keiko shouted.

On top of a hill…-

"Wow, Kazuma, the view is great!"

"Yeah, isn't it cool?"

Keiko paused, looking out over the horizon. "You know, Kazuma, I hated myself when I was alive. I was always worried about what others would think, always afraid they might not like me. I was never very good at expressing myself. At school I was a follower, never wanting to take any chances. I would just stand there and admire Yuusuke from afar. I was such a wimp. I wanted to change, but I couldn't—I didn't have the courage. I was so lonely the entire time. I hated myself for being such a coward. I kept saying I'd change eventually…and then I died. It's unbearably painful when I look back on my life. I was so sad when I met you, Kazuma."

"Wow. You're like a completely different person from the Keiko I know."

"Huh?"

"I think this Keiko is good. I don't dislike you."

"…Thank you."

Yuusuke walked up to the two. "Kuwabara?"

Keiko (now in Kazuma's body) replied, "So good to see you, Yuusuke."

"…Keiko?"

Keiko nodded. "Kazuma came to get me." She turned to Kazuma's spirit. "Kazuma, if you don't mind, could you turn the other way? After all, it is embarrassing to have someone watch you."

She was too late. Kazuma screeched, "Look, I don't wanna see this anyway!" He was closing his eyes, covering his ears, and on top of all that, he had distanced himself.

"I'm sorry," Keiko mumbled to Yuusuke.

"Why's that, Keiko?"

"When I heard you say that you'd be willing to go out with me, I was so happy. Those were the words I'd beem dreaming to hear while I was alive. This is so cool! I was so happy, I didn't realize what a terrible thing I was doing to you and Kazuma. I got carried away. I was selfish. I realized that after you repelled me from Kazuma's body. Even though your answer was really directed at Kazuma. I… did a terrible thing. I'm sorry." She brushed a tear away.

"Don't worry." Yuusuke smiled. "We were both being honest, and that's okay. I remember an amazing girl who went to Sarayashiki. She always held the handle near the bus door, and sometimes she'd nag me about going to school more often. That was you, wasn't it, Keiko?"

"You… noticed me?

"Yeah."

"Oh…thank you! Yuusuke, I… had such a crush on you." She turned to Kazuma's spirit. "Kazuma, thank you for letting me take over your body."

"Uhh… that sure was long…" Kazuma mumbled once he was back in his body.

"We didn't kiss. I just talked to him as myself. I wanted to kiss him soooo bad. But the joy you get from that is only when you experience it with your own body. I'm so glad I met you, Kazuma."

"Um… Keiko?" Kazuma mumbled.

"I revealed my true self to you, Kazuma. I'm finally able to express my true thoughts and feelings. That's all I ever wanted. Even though I caused you trouble, you came to get me. I'm so glad you accepted me for who I am. Thank you…it's such a heartwarming feeling. To finally be truly honest with yourself is so liberating. It's awesome to be accepted as you are. I'm no longer lonely. Because of you, Kazuma, I'm finally happy. I hope the next time I'm reincarnated, I'll have the courage to be true to myself. If I like someone, I'll make sure I tell him with my own self. Kazuma, I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused. I…"

Kazuma piped up. "After you left, I thought it would be a relief having my own body back. But I really did miss you. I found myself feeling really lonely. I'm glad I met you too, Keiko! I won't forget you!"

Keiko put one arm around Kazuma. "Be happy, Kazuma. Thank you. You mean a lot to me too. Goodbye…" She disappeared alone into a cloud to await the next ferrygirl to Reikai.

"Goodbye…" Kazuma said quietly. He turned to Yuusuke. "Now I almost feel okay with the idea of being possessed…"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"…Interesting."

"That was rather disappointing, though—I didn't have the nerve to hug her back."

Yuusuke stared out over the horizon. "Yeah…sad."

"She was selfish to the end, just leaving all of a sudden like that." Kazuma was smiling. "Sometimes we don't even understand our own feelings."

"Some people are like that, but can't come to terms with it," Yuusuke added.

"Yeah, they just won't admit it. Are you that way?"

"Mm…you could say that, sometimes. But you should never be afraid to be yourself."

The truth is, Kazuma wasn't too much of a fan of being alone. "Perhaps having friends will be fun after all…" he thought.

"Hey, Yuusuke, can you cook? I can't. Why don't you help me with tonight's dinner?"

"Sure," Yuusuke replied. "When you enjoy someone else's company, I'm sure even your cooking would taste good."

(Hooray, I finished! But this is only Chapter One. There will be more! Wait, and Chapter Two will be up soon!)