Alternate Universe

A Yu Yu Hakusho fan-fiction

By Zelia Theb

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is the property of Yoshihiro Togashi.

The opinions expressed by the characters do not reflect the opinions of myself.

Warnings: Male-Male relationships, cursing, sexual situations, violence, tobacco, drug/alcohol use, and possibly other disturbing innuendo. Rated R for these reasons!

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"Not as good as the one at the Dark tournament, but I can take it." Koenma's actually gone and done something right for once. We have a suite; a common room connected to three separate bedrooms, each with a king-size bed. Right now, everyone is lounging around, with the exception of Hiei, who has already taken a liking to the windowsill.

"The owner's a demon on probation," he says, still sucking on the clubbing pacifier.

"Oh yeah, mini-bar!" I shout enthusiastically. I run over to the pint-sized fridge and open it up. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I sift through the basket of snacks and other nice things on top of a nearby table and find what I'm looking for; a pack of smokes. I light up faster than Hiei on speed. Ah, just what I need to forget about everything. Forget about the case, and forget about that encounter with Kurama.

"I'm gonna hit the sack, guys," Kuwabara announces.

"Wait, we have to divide up the rooms," Koenma intervenes. Great, I wonder how this is going to end up… Gee, could it be like the last time he made us pick and choose partners?!

"This should be a no brainer!" Botan exclaims.

"You're right, Botan," bottle-breath agrees, "Because I'm assigning them." Everyone's jaw; including mine; gapes open. Assigned rooms? Come on, this is supposed to be a hotel!

"Hiei will stay with Kurama, Kuwabara stays with me, and Botan gets her own room." Yeah, and Yusuke…? Don't even think about it, diaper-boy! You better not…

"Yusuke, you get this couch." AGH!

"Hn. Why does Botan get her own room?" Hiei scowls. You'd think he'd be happy about getting Kurama all to himself…

"Because she's a girl, you moron!" Kuwabara shouts, raising a fist at the naïve demon.

"I don't need a room. I'll sleep right here," Hiei informs everyone.

"If you feel that way, Hiei, then Yusuke gets to stay with Kurama," Koenma remarks. Oh…I think I prefer the couch, now. I'd like to sleep instead of have to whack-off all night.

"Well, good night everybody!" Botan beams as she bounces off to the room in the middle. Everyone else, except Hiei of course, wishes each other the same thing and heads toward their rooms. I put out my smoke in an ashtray, leaving a short there for the next morning. Kurama and I take the room on the farthest end of the suite; farthest from Hiei that is. Hey, I'm just following the fox's lead.

I finally remove that coat from earlier and set it on a chair next to the huge bed. Damn, it sure is cold in here. I wonder where the climate control is…Ah, there. Near that window.

"Are you certain that you aren't ill, Yusuke?" What?

"I'm not sick, Kurama," I reply.

"You're shivering," he notices, "I'll draw you a hot bath and bring tea from the common room." Instead of stopping him, I stand there as he walks over to our personal bathroom and begins running the water. He comes back out and tells me to sit down, then goes out to the common room. Yusuke, you idiot. What are you thinking?


I wonder…does Yusuke like flavored or regular tea? He keeps denying his illness; so most likely he will refuse anything out of the ordinary. I should destroy any thought of brewing a remedial beverage.

"What are you up to?" Hiei asks from his perch.

"I'm making tea," I answer, "Am I disturbing you?"

"No," he says distantly. It's best that I don't continue. The relationship between Hiei and I has been awkward as of late. I know that he has always been intent on playing the role of outcast, but hardly ever with me. It was last week that he confirmed that.

By kissing me. I had always suspected he harbored such feelings, and every time the thought came to my mind, it killed me. Perhaps I led him on by the way I treated him, though I've always been endearing to those I care about; at least since I've become Shuichi. The reason it pained me so, was because I knew that I could never return the feelings if they ever came out.

It has nothing to do with his looks, his personality, his history, his race, or even the fact that I was stabbed by him once before. I simply don't feel that way for him. Granted, if he were to ever leave, or even worse; perish, I would be crushed. To me, it is like a having a sibling. No, Hiei is a brother to me.

"Tea? This late?" It is Botan, who seems to have emerged from her room. She really is quite the curious kitten.

"It is for Yusuke," I explain, "He hasn't been well since we started this case."

"That explains the running water noises…" she mentions. Oh, right! How could I be so absent-minded? I return to the room and close the door behind me to see that Yusuke is ready to light another cigarette. He's standing next to the radiator under the window.

"You shouldn't smoke, Yusuke," I express. He gives me an annoyed glare with his beautiful dark eyes, then puts the unlit atrocity down on the sill of the window. I smile, then stride over to the bathroom, where the bathtub has nearly overfilled itself. I quickly shut the water off, then place my fingertips into it. I'm relieved to discover that the temperature is just perfect.

I leave our room once again to retrieve the tea, which I hope hasn't cooled. It hasn't. I just hope that Yusuke is pleased by it. I'll do anything he asks of me tonight, even if he doesn't verbally make it clear. I know that he has been strained recently; the predicament of Keiko's capture probably does not help either. I just want him to know that I am here for him. I just wish…

I wish that he knew how I felt about him. Yet another reason why I feel so guilty with regards to Hiei. I pine for a human. I almost let myself slip tonight; and it caused problems. I lost sight of our target. Quite unprofessional and careless of me.

It is so silly. I am so old compared to the detective, but right now I am the same as he; a boy. Perhaps he added to the feeling of love that my mother Shiori had shown me. Without so much as a thought of himself, he always was ready to put his life on the line for my sake, and for others. Plus, I cannot dismiss beauty when it is always right there in front of me.

"Kurama? Having trouble finding a table?" I blink out of my thoughtful state, and set the tea down on the small reading table next to a chair.

"No…" I return, "I was just expecting to serve this to you in the bath." I feel my face flush immediately after saying so. I hope that my embarrassment isn't noticeable.

I glance over his body as he turns his head away from me. As exotic as this clothing was to wear, it certainly brings many subtle features into existence. I scrutinize my own clothing, staring down at my chest in particular, which is barely covered by the thin mesh. Perhaps I was mistaken earlier; it is cold in here.

"There's nothin' to change into," he observes.

"There are cotton robes," I remind him. He doesn't seem pleased with that suggestion. I suppose I wouldn't be either, if I were him. No one wants to sleep in a robe, next to another man no less, with the danger of it coming open overnight. Personally, I wouldn't really mind, but I will have to save those fantasies for the day that he may return the affection.

"Man, this tub is huge!" I hear him declare from the other room.

"Quite," I concur upon entering the bathroom. His shirt has already been removed, and is in his right hand.

"Eww," he asserts, "What do regular clubbers wash their clothes with? Acid?" I take a strand of my own hair, and realize that he is correct. The club atmosphere truly has decided to take residence within our clothing and very being.

"Perhaps I will need a bath after you," I state. I turn to give him privacy, but he stops me with a pensive murmur.

"It's pretty late, and the tub is pretty big. We could take a bath together," he suggests, "Just like a public bath house…" After my poor display with him earlier, I am not certain that a bath together is the answer. However, he does make a good argument. Would it disappoint him if I turned him down? Or would he realize my embarrassment and be insulted by it?

"You're right, it is rather late," I answer, removing my own minimal clothing. As we shower, I face my back to him. My excitement would be no doubt be conspicuous. I'd prefer for something so shameful to occur under the blur of water and bubbles. Yes, I did prepare a bubble bath…I hope that token of affection isn't apparent either.

In the bath, he doesn't look me in the eye. He is better off. I am having an arduous time myself, fighting the slippery porcelain of the bathtub. Our thighs are mere inches from contact. The bath isn't quite as big as we had previously believed, though someone of my intelligence should have been able to figure that out. Maybe my enamoured subconscious was acting in place of my brain.

His face is pink. Is it from the heat of the water, or from his ailment? I reach over and place the back of my palm against his forehead, which is covered by strands of hair that have fallen. He is rather warm, though checking for a fever in a very hot bathtub is never a good indicator.

"Are you feeling all right?" I ask.

Yusuke faces me, quirking an eyebrow, and says, "Stop asking. I'm fine."

I feel the skin of shoulder, which has been submerged under the water. I then feel his forehead again, and surely enough, his head is warmer than it should be. I look at him seriously, then state, "You are not. You are running a bit of a fever."

"That's not it, Kurama…" he trails off, facing back down at the bubbles.

"Is it Keiko?" I inquire, not really wanting to hear the answer, even though I already know it.

"Well, she's part of it…" Just part of it? I wonder what else is on his mind? Yusuke's life outside of detective cases may not be as carefree as he lets on. I suppose that his bad-boy image must earn him a lot of cold stares. If only he knew, that to me, every part of him was desirable. Of course, Keiko already feels that way, and has known him far longer than I have.

Of course…what was that in the club? I was so lost in my own thoughts that now I can hardly remember what Yusuke was doing…but didn't he…

"Earth…to…." A large amount of water and bubbles flew into my face suddenly; "Kurama!"

"Did you just splash me?" I chuckle. I wipe some of the bubbles off the tip of my nose, as they were disturbing my vision.

"You spaced out!" he argues playfully. Just like him, to do something so absurd just to bring a smile to someone's face.

However, no one splashes me in the face and gets away with it.

I splash back, landing a mound of bubbles on top of his hair. He narrows his eyes at me, and sends suds flying at me once more. I squint my eyes and react with another childish splish of water. What a sight we must be; two naked boys splashing in bubbles in the middle of the night.

"Hey!" he shouts as the water hits his face, "You got some in my eye!" He begins to rub at it, but I stop him. It would only make it worse if the soap spread.

"Don't," I command, "Let me take a look at it." Yusuke obliges my request, and I thumb some tiny bubbles out of his eyelashes. The white of his eye is barely pink. I stare at him, and say, "It's fine."

Damn! I slip forward, not only causing our hips to touch, but sending Yusuke's head back toward the ceramic tiling. Instead of worrying about how it will look, I quickly reach for the back of his head so that my hand will act as a cushion.

"Sorry, Yusuke," I apologize, "It's a tad slippery. Are you all right?"

"You're starting to sound like a broken record," he notes as we pick ourselves back up, our thighs still touching, "Yeah, I'm fine." I rub the back of his neck in case the impact may have caused any sort of pain, but am unable to remove it. My will power has left me.

I really am daft. It's quite obvious to me now. It's really not good that I couldn't have realized it before I had put myself in such a compromising position. He wants me to kiss him; it's clear by the look in his eyes. Who am I to deny Yusuke what he wants?

The door flies open before I can fulfill his unspoken request. Love has truly made me lose awareness, I suppose that is why they say it's so dangerous.

"Is everything okay in h…ere…." Botan says, her look changing from that of worry to utter shock. She of course is in a pair of pink pajamas. It is certainly an advantage to be able to change clothing on a whim.

"B..Botan!" Yusuke stutters, "Don't you damn people know not to barge into bathrooms?"

"Well I tried knocking, but no one answered!" she shouts back at the boy. Thinking of the others, especially Hiei, I place my forefinger over my lips, signaling for the two of them to keep quiet. After gasping out of realization from her volume, she says, "I saw the light on, but I didn't see Kurama, and I knew you weren't feeling well, and that you were taking a bath, and I thought that maybe you fell asleep and drowned, or something like that…"

"Ramble much?" the dark-haired boy next to me asks her, "Though I guess you probably just wanted a peek at the hottest Spirit Detective that Spirit World ever had…"

"Oh, shut up, Yusuke!" she orders him. I motion for them to keep their volume down.

"We were just taking a bath," I assure her.

"Then why are there bubbles in your hair?" she asks accusingly. She really is quite the interrogator.

"I felt like splashing Kurama," Yusuke shrugs, "Is it such a big deal?"

"No, it isn't," the apparition says, "Forgive me for worrying. Good night." She silently shut the door behind her as she left us alone. Thank goodness…

"Uh, Kurama?" I look over at the voice's owner, not expecting him to suddenly pull me by my neck, touching our noses. My heart is beginning to race; it's such an odd feeling. It's different, now that I know with one hundred percent certainty that he does want me in return.

"Yes, Yusuke?" I murmur onto his lips.

"I asked you to do something…" he whispers. He is right…he did request something of me.

I crush our lips together. The sensation is mesmerizing, placing me into a trance and telling me to shut down all thought processes. The ecstasy causes me to press in with my tongue and devour him. It becomes more ferocious with every penetration of his mouth. It must be tough for anyone else but me to imagine what it is like to not have had physical affection so strong in all my years of being. Even minor instances were nothing compared to the feelings I have right now, not to mention the amount of time it has been since I have had anything such as this, aside from the peck that Hiei had placed on me last week,

The human need for air is far different than a demon's. I push myself a bit further, and have to break away for some much needed oxygen. We nuzzle our noses together, which gives me the alternate idea of working down his neck. I hope that Botan doesn't mistake these splashing noises for trouble.

He moans as I lick his ear lobe. Before I nip at it again, I whisper, "You like that, don't you…" He moans again in response.

We continue, or rather, I continue. My hands begin to wander down his chest, but he starts to ease away from me. He murmurs, "Kurama…stop." I go on, but again, he pleads, "Stop…Kurama…" I smirk and start working at his ear once more, but suddenly he thrashes away and shoves both of his hands down into the water, his shoulders now slumped forward.

Oh…my… His face is contorted and he attempts to slow his breathing.

I grin at him evilly. I am so naughty.

"Crisis averted?" I tease as he breathes a sigh of relief. He shoots a daring glare my way and nods. I giggle, "I suppose I know where your spot is, now."

"I know where my cigarette is, too," he retorts, propping himself up to get out of the tub, "I'm gonna go have a smoke." I follow suit, and watch him put on one of the two robes hanging on the back of the door. Before we tie up, I steal a glimpse at him.

"Well isn't this interesting," he catches me, "I guess we'll never know who the girl is." I smirk and blush at the same time. Who'd have thought that someone would be the same size as me? It should make for some rather interesting encounters…after the mission of course.

I lay down under the covers of the bed after draining the bath, while Yusuke opens the window and smokes. Both of us are smiling; it's nice to have finally gotten that out our systems.

He joins me, both of us in our robes (most likely in fear that Botan may intrude again), and rests his head on my chest. I wish I knew if he was tired…I am not calmed down from our excursion in the water.

"Told ya I wasn't sick," he remarks.

"What do we do now?" I question, tracing the lines of muscle on his arm.

"Botan probably knows, and even though she's a blabbermouth, she won't say anything."

"You're right, it's best we kept this a secret, for now."

"Especially from Keiko and Hiei."

"Why especially Hiei?" I ask. I know why, but what makes him think such?

"He has the hots for you. I was surprised that he passed up the chance to sleep with you tonight…" He trails off, realizing the order of his words.

"It's strange about Hiei," I begin, "He exiles himself from everyone, but his eyes are always so easy to interpret."

"It's three," he says, nodding his head in the direction of the digital clock on the nightstand.

"Shall we get some rest?"

"Yeah."

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[Author's Note]

Next chapter - Anduromida's plot is revealed, along with some other things…

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and added me to their favorites list! It's a great inspiration.

For those of you who like my writing already, I am sitting on this brilliant idea for a Hiei-Kurama one-shot that I came up with in the middle of playing Super Smash Bros. Melee while listening to Metallica. Go figure =). Keep an eye or two or three out for it!

Speaking of which, this fic burst into my head while listening to Metallica's version of Astronomy, followed up by Joe Satriani's Is There Love in Space?, Bamboo, The Souls of Distortion, and Gnaahh. Strange, aren't I?

-Zelia Theb