"Obligation and Duty"



Chapter 4

*****

"So, now you have two friends," Yusuke said, slipping Rei's sleeve off her shoulder.

.oO{Woah, now, Yusuke... We might be friends, but this is too fast...} Rei thought as Yusuke situated himself so that he was comfortable.

"Yusuke? Um..." Rei stopped as he pressed his lips to her neck.

"Hmm...?" he barely said.

"I think we're moving too fast..." Rei sighed as he kept kissing. So far he had kissed every inch of her neck and was now on her collarbone.

Yusuke lifted his head, "Too fast? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I barely know you and here we are getting really cozy," Rei said as she sat back.

Yusuke nodded, "So kissing is off-limits?"

Rei thought for a moment, remembering how she felt when he had kissed her. "Well, kissing might not be too bad, but I'm definitely not sleeping with you tonight."

"I wouldn't ask you to do that," Yusuke said as he went back to his kissing. Rei thought it would be better if she didn't give into the feelings that were welling up inside her so she looked Yusuke over.

He looked a lot different than when he did the first day she met him. This time his hair wasn't slicked back and he was wearing slim blue-jeans and a white button up shirt.

"You're really cute that way..." Rei said out of nowhere. Yusuke looked up and raised his eyebrow.

"With your hair down. It's cute," she said as she messed with a few strands.

"You're cute anyways," he said and tried to slide Rei's kimono down farther but Rei put her hand to her chest and kept it from moving. Yusuke gave her another puppy-dog face, but this time she wouldn't give in.

"No. Not any further. If you keep going, I WILL end up sleeping with you."

"I guess you're right. But..." Yusuke was cut off when Rei put her finger to his lips. Yusuke was sitting cross-legged on the couch so she sat herself on his legs, but never moved her finger the whole time. Finally she removed her finger and Yusuke was about ready to say something before he was cut short again by her kiss.

Rei's kiss was short, but soft. Yusuke couldn't help but pull her in for another, and this time it was a bit longer and more passionate. Yusuke moved his hands to her hips and Rei slung her arms around his neck.

"Mmmm... I could get use to this REAL soon," Yusuke said when they finished.

"You and me both," Rei said as she started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hey, no fair. You wouldn't let me go any further and here you are messing with me..." Yusuke laughed.

"That's because it matters if a girls chest is exposed. Guys don't have anything to show," Rei said with a little princess look.

Yusuke sighed and gave in to her undressing, but was kneading her thighs the whole time. Soon his shirt was off and his lean-muscle build was showing. Yusuke stretched out his legs on the couch and Rei stretched out on top of him.

"You're really tempting," Yusuke sighed as Rei gave him another kiss. Rei sat up and threw her hair over her shoulder as she hiked up her kimono's skirt to her thighs.

"I know it, too," she said with an evil grin. "Do you think I look good in short things?"

Yusuke's eyes got wide as he looked at her. Her kimono's sleeves were down, showing her shoulders and her thighs were exposed and he couldn't help but say yes. Rei smiled and gave him another kiss.

Rei sat up and leaned over Yusuke as she reached for the clock by her couch. 2:30 a.m. the bright red letters read, and Rei was starting to feel the time.

"Sorry to say this, Yusuke, but I think I need to go to sleep," she said with a yawn. He nodded, but wouldn't let her move.

"C'mon, I'm going to bed," she said with a little more force this time.

"I was quite tempted to say 'You'll go to bed with me' but you probably would've taken that the wrong way," Yusuke said as he let his grip loosen.

It took Rei two seconds to think about where she wanted to sleep and she chose Yusuke. She stretched out a little more and snuggled against his bare chest. He wrapped his arms around her and it didn't take them very long to fall asleep.

Rei didn't wake up till 10:30 and noticed Yusuke wasn't there anymore.

.oO{How in the world did he get up without waking me? He must be pretty strong.} Rei thought as she sat up. She looked at the coffee table beside her couch and noticed a note on it.

It read: Rei. Thanks for the great night, but next time I'll make it better. Be ready. Sleep well, Yusuke.

Rei shook her head, "I hope that's not anytime soon. Yeah, maybe I liked his kisses, but I don't think I'm ready to give my virginity away..."

She got up and headed for the kitchen and grabbed an orange for breakfast. She made her way to the living room and sat down.

"I wonder what Kuwabara is doing today... or maybe even that Shuichi kid..." Rei mused as she ate. She decided to just walk around town again today, and she quickly got dressed and ran out the door.

Rei walked aimlessly about the alleys and and through all the trees in the outskirts of town. As she was walking something drew her up a path and she found herself in front of an old, run-down Shinto shrine. Rei walked toward it and stopped dead in her tracks.

.oO{There it is again...} she thought as she heard the rustle of leaves and the feeling that someone was following her. She whirled around landed a roundhouse kick on someone. She stopped for a second and saw that it was a guy about an inch shorter than her dressed in all black and had black hair shaped like flames.

He just about doubled over because Rei had hit him in the stomach but quickly recovered. He had a white bandage on his forehead, but that's all the rest Rei could tell because he ran off too quickly for her eyes to follow.

.oO{That is sooo weird....} she thought as she rubbed her arms. Rei looked one last time at the shrine and quickly walked home, hoping that she wouldn't run into that kid again.

When Rei finally got back home it was 4:30. As soon as she opened the door, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she said, picking up the receiver.

"Hello, is this Rei Amerasu?" a woman's voice said on the other end.

"Yes it is, who is this?"

"This is Taneka from the hospital. Your grandmother has just been brought in and she keeps asking for you. You should probably come quickly."

"Alright, I'll be right there," Rei said as she clicked the receiver back down on its base. She grabbed her jacket and ran back outside.

She ran all the way to the hospital and the clerk directed her to her Grandma's room. Her grandma was laying in the hospital bed, hooked up to a breathing unit, and the doctor was standing beside her. He turned when Rei entered the room and quickly ushered her into the hallway to talk.

"You're Rei, I presume?" he said.

Rei nodded, "Yeah. What happened?"

"She hadn't been doing very well, but she has been getting steadily worse each day. She had a fall this morning, so that didn't do her any good."

Rei sighed, "Will she make it?"

The doctor shook his head, "I don't think she'll even make it through tonight."

Rei nodded and walked back into the room. Her grandma raised her eyes and smiled.

"Hi, Grandma," Rei said.

Even though Akuza was hooked up to the breathing unit, she could still speak.

"Hi, darling. I have something to tell you," Akuza began. "When I leave, you won't be able to live in the house. It seems these damn men at the Insurance Agency won't let me transfere all the money I have saved to you."

"That's alright, Grandma. I'll figure out something."

Akuza smiled, "You are so much like your mother. Always able to take care of yourself. I still feel terrible about not telling you about the house earlier."

"That's alright. Don't sweat it. I found an old shrine I could live in on the outskirts of town," Rei soothed.

Akuza nodded, "Alright, I won't worry. Before you go, I want to give you some advice; don't let men treat you like shit, but don't treat them terrible, either. And for Kami's sake! get some new bras!"

Rei laughed, but only to hide her tears. "Alright, granny. Will do." Before Rei left she kissed Akuza on the forehead. The priest came in and gave Akuza her last rights, and then she was gone.

Rei couldn't believe it. The only person who had ever cared about her was now gone. The only reason she had come back to life was now dead.

.oO{Where's Botan when you need her?} Rei mentally cried. She was walking out of the hospital, not noticing anything around her when she ran into someone.

She just sat there on the ground and didn't bother appologizing or anything. She heard a laugh and finally looked up.

"That's twice in two days," Shuichi, the kid she met yesterday, said.

"I'm sorry," Rei said, but she really didn't sound like it.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My grandma just died."

He instantly became serious. "I think I should be the one appologizing. I didn't mean to laugh at you."

Rei waved the comment away, "It's alright. I need to hear someone laugh," she said with a smile.

Shuichi nodded, and just then someone came up behind him.

"Alright, Kurama, let's have the mirror," an all-too-familiar voice said.