Dachi Part 5- Pursuing only the dreams that may not come true
The three demons and one human returned to human world in much higher spirits then when they'd left. The bond between Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to never have weakened and Hiei and Kurama were content to bask in the glow of their friendship.
"What'd you call me bitch?"
"By your true name, tall-ass. Fucktard!"
"Urameshi!"
The two best friends had been arguing nearly non-stop since they'd left demon world. Neither Kurama nor Hiei knew exactly why, but they were going at it nevertheless. They'd only paused in their bickering when Boeton arrived to take their captives. They'd laughed when one of the demons stirred and she beat him with her ore. As soon as she'd taken off, the demons tied to the front of her ore, the two resumed snipping at each other.
Now the group was nearly to the school and the boys had yet to shut up. As the school gates came into view, however, Kuwabara stopped responding to his friend's taunts. There, standing primly outside the school gates was Keiko. She smiled as she took sight of Yusuke and waved. Yusuke paused mid-insult and waved back.
Kurama looked at Hiei. "Well, this is where we get off, isn't it?" The two passed their teammates and then turned in a direction away from them. Kuwabara was seriously contemplating doing the same, but he couldn't conjure up a good enough excuse. 'And Urameshi said he wanted me to join them sometime. Great.'
At the school gate Keiko threw her arms around her boyfriend and gave him a gentle kiss, which he returned quite eagerly. Kuwabara was steadfastly looking in another direction. Any direction, just not at the two lovebirds cooing next to him.
'Wait, that's not fair to Urameshi. He doesn't coo, it's more of a groan. Or the sound he makes when he's got drainage.' Kuwabara smiled at the thought. 'I'm starting to think this lovey-dovey stuff doesn't fit him...'
"Oi baka!" Kuwabara flinched as a fist clocked him in the back of the head.
His own hand flew up to where he'd been hit. "The fu- I mean heck was that for?"
Yusuke half glared at him. "I've been trying to talk to you doofus!"
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly scratching at the back of his head.
Yusuke snorted. "Whatever. Just wanted to know if you wanna come with me and Keiko for food." He failed to notice the look his girlfriend sent him. It wasn't exactly friendly.
Kuwabara, on the other hand, caught it and instantly decided that accompanying the couple would be a very bad idea. "Nah. I got stuff to do Urameshi."
"Like what? Trying to kiss your own ass? You can do that later!"
"I don't kiss a- butt, unlike you. But I just got other things to do. Thanks for asking though." Kuwabara nodded to his friend and half-bowed to Keiko and turned to leave.
"Ah, c'mon Kuwa, you know you're hungry. Hell, I know you're hungry cuz your frickin' stomach was growling the whole damn way back here."
"Yusuke-kun," Keiko interjected in a girly tone of voice. "Why don't you let him go on home. I'm pretty sure he does have better things to do then hang out with you." Though she said this to Yusuke, during the last bit her eyes were fixated on Kuwabara.
"But Keiko-"
Kuwabara plastered a large grin to his face. "She's right Urameshi. Like I wanna see your ugly mug for any longer than I have to, right?" He punched Yusuke lightly in the shoulder. "I'll see you around."
"Kuwabara wait." Yusuke had grabbed Kuwabara's right arm, making the boy wince a little. "I..." He looked to where his girlfriend was clinging to his other arm. "Never mind. I'll see your ass later." With that he let his friend on his way. Away from him.
Keiko tugged on his arm. "Come on Yusuke-kun! I'm sure you're hungry and I am too!" Though she was complaining, she had a strangely satisfied smile on her face. Yusuke nodded and began walking in the direction of the shopping district.
Over the next week, Keiko didn't smile as much, especially when Kuwabara was around. And he was around a good deal more than before. Everyday that week, Yusuke had dragged Kuwabara in from the roof to sit next to him while they ate lunch. Keiko's group of hang-ons had quickly taken note of this and whispered about it since the first day. The whispers increased as the days went on. Yusuke seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was doing something wrong.
'It is wrong,' Keiko thought, pouting. 'He's my boyfriend so he should be spending time with me.' She was currently walking along, her hand firmly in Yusuke's. But she was not happy, for on the other side of her dear boyfriend was his best friend. The two were talking animatedly about some stupid subject that she cared nothing about.
The fact that the boys were talking didn't bother her much. It was the gleam in Yusuke's eyes that unnerved her. 'He looks so much more interested and involved when he talks to Kuwabara-san.' She bitterly added the honorific to the end of the boy's name. 'I only call him that because it's the proper thing to do and I have no intention of changing that. Even if he has ruined every afternoon this week!' She frowned in frustration.
It was true. Every afternoon that week Kuwabara had been dragged along on their afternoon excursions, whether it was to the noodle shop or to the park. He was always with them. Keiko hadn't minded the first day being as they were just going to the park and Yusuke had looked really desperate to have time with his best friend. She'd agreed only a bit reluctantly that time.
When Tuesday came, however, she was confused to see why the boy had to accompany them again, and to her parents shop no less. She'd only just opened her mouth to protest when Kuwabara had declined. She'd been quite pleased that she wouldn't have to be the one to tell Yusuke, but her joy faded when her boyfriend insisted that he come along. Once again, she agreed.
Wednesday came along and this time she outright said no. But again luck was not on her side as they had a project at school that was due the next day and required a partner. As usual Yusuke and Kuwabara had paired up, therefore the orange haired boy needed to come with them. She'd sighed at that, but decided to bring along her own partner to, in a sorts, make it even.
To the arcade they went Thursday afternoon. She was less than thrilled to go there on a normal basis, but to have the long legged buffoon with them made her even less inclined to go. She'd had hope that the afternoon wouldn't be too terrible with several opportunities to gush over how awesome her boyfriend was and chances to get him to 'come to her rescue'. She tried many different games that she was positive she couldn't defeat on her own and had called for Yusuke's help every time, but much to her dismay, Kuwabara assisted her instead, her boyfriend far too wrapped up in whatever he was playing. Even her attempts to have him win her a stuffed animal were fruitless. Sure she left the arcade with an armload of stuffed toys, but they'd all been because of Kuwabara's efforts and not Yusuke's. The boys had enjoyed their time together much more than she would have liked. The whole afternoon she'd been nearly completely ignored.
Today was Friday and like all the other days Kuwabara was walking with them to a destination, of her choice this time. Keiko decided to take Yusuke somewhere he would've liked as a sort of apology to how she'd been acting all week. In truth she wanted to give him an opportunity to be a gentleman as well as a loving boyfriend.
It was all set up perfectly. Well perfect sans the six-foot nuisance. She'd picked a hamburger restaurant that opened mere days ago and was already becoming a lover's hangout. On top of that, they served vanilla shakes, which were Yusuke's favorite. She knew he couldn't resist and if she just happened to want to share... It was perfect.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, both Yusuke's and Kuwabara's eyes lit up. They loved hamburgers almost as much as they loved fighting.
"Alright! Burgers!" Yusuke grinned toothily at his girlfriend. "This is awesome Keiko!" She blushed at the compliment, trying to look modest.
"I thought you'd like it. Let's go inside." Kuwabara, never one to be impolite, lest it be Yusuke, thanked her as well, but she ignored it.
They all took a seat in a booth near the back of the place. Kuwabara slid in first, followed by Keiko and then Yusuke. She may not have liked the boy very much, but she felt a little distance between the boys would make her presence better known.
Yusuke dug into his back pocket for his wallet. He opened it and a frown came over his face. "What is it Yusuke-kun?", she asked genuinely concerned.
"Eh, I spent all my money at the arcade yesterday. Damn."
Keiko dug into a small pocket on her skirt and counted her own money. It appeared that she only had enough for herself. 'Dammit. And I thought he'd be able to pay for me. There goes my plan.' Both boyfriend and girlfriend were looking less than thrilled at this point.
"Don't worry, idiot. I'll pay for you."
Yusuke's head shot up from where he'd hung it, disappointed. "You serious man?"
Kuwa looked incredulous. "'Course I'm serious. You love hamburgers as much as I do and I should have enough money for you." Yusuke smirked at his friend, then jumped out of the booth and grabbed his hand. He paused long enough to ask Keiko what she wanted before he took off to the ordering counter. She glared at the back of Kuwabara's head. How was it that he kept ruining everything? She'd have preferred it if they could have shared a meal instead of him being a chivalrous bastard and paying for her boyfriend. 'Damn him', she thought angrily.
When the boys returned, her anger at the afternoon increased. She had thought that Kuwabara would purchase separate meals for them. She was enraged to find that he'd only had enough to get two burgers, one large fry and a large shake. She was disappointed to find that her own money had purchased a lonely meal for one. Worse yet, Yusuke had repositioned himself to where he now sat on the other side of Kuwabara, farther away from her then ever. He passed her tray over to her and immediately began to dig into his shared meal.
"Dammit Urameshi, save some fries for me!", Kuwabara grunted out as he tried to snag a few for himself.
"Oh, so now you want to eat, do yah?", Yusuke asked, mouth full. He swallowed and addressed Keiko for what felt like the first time that afternoon. "This idiot over here only had enough to get food for me. The bastard didn't even think about what he was going to eat." Kuwabara stuck out his tongue at him. "Forced him to get this instead." He took a sip on the shake before him. Through the clear straw Keiko could see that it was not, in fact, strawberry, but vanilla.
Trying not to seem to incredibly upset, she took a dainty bite out of her own burger and chewed, being sure to swallow unlike the two in front of her. A few minutes passed in relative silence, besides the random sounds of struggle that came from the two boys next to her as they fought over French fries.
Finally she asked what had been on her mind since they began eating. "Yusuke-kun... Is that a vanilla shake you're drinking?", she inquired as nonchalantly as she could.
Yusuke snatched the cup out of Kuwabara's hand, who had been sipping at it, to take a drink himself. "Yep."
"Oh," she said softly. "I thought you liked strawberry," she said appearing to have her attention focused on her meal.
Kuwabara had now snatched the shake back and was holding it protectively to his chest. Yusuke pouted. "Yeah, I love strawberry." He attempted to reach for the vanilla flavored drink but his friend blocked him by turning towards Keiko.
"Then... why?"
"Cuz," he reached for the cup again. "Kuwa hates strawberry flavored stuff. Says it can't possibly taste as good as the real thing." He gave up on his shake quest and snagged a fry instead, taking Kuwabara's last bit of ketchup along with it. Kuwabara looked over and frowned. He then excused himself to go get more ketchup.
Seeing that now was her chance, she scooted over to Yusuke and started in on him. "Yusuke, why is it that he's come with us every afternoon this week?"
Yusuke blinked. "It's been a week already? Cool."
"Yusuke," she tried again, "Why?"
He shrugged. "He's my best friend and I wanted to spend time with him. I always have a pretty good time with you so I thought he might wanna be there too."
She scowled at his answer. "And what about my enjoyment, Yusuke?"
He looked quite surprised. "You mean, you weren't having a good time too?"
"No, Yusuke, I wasn't," she snapped at him. "In fact, ever since he's been coming along I haven't enjoyed my afternoons!" She softened her tone till it sounded wheedling. "I want to spend time with you Yusuke. Not you and your best friend." She started tracing patterns up and down his arm. "It's not that he isn't a great guy- I'm sure he is- but I want to spend my afternoons with you, and you alone. Is that so much to ask?"
Yusuke was actually contemplating whether it was or not when Kuwabara reappeared. He shoved Yusuke over as he sat down and dumped the ketchup packets on their tray. "She's right Yusuke."
Her eyes lit up. He agreed with her? Maybe he wasn't so dumb after all.
"I do like spending time with you two, but I've kinda felt like a third wheel. You guys are dating after all." He ate a fry.
"But Kuwa-"
He slugged him on the shoulder. "Don't even start. Your girlfriend. You spend time with her. You can be with me some other time, I'm sure." Yusuke looked from his best friend to his girlfriend finding himself defeated. He sighed, but nodded.
Keiko smiled triumphantly and returned to eating her meal. She was still a bit unnerved when she would look up to find the boys interacting so intimately with each other, but she knew that this would be the last she ever saw of it.
As the trio was walking towards their homes that evening, Kuwabara and Yusuke remained oddly silent. Keiko believed this to be a good sign and was fairly content with the way the afternoon turned out. What she failed to noticed was that the boys were playing a game of 'punch you, punch me' in the fading sunlight.
They were nearly at Kuwabara and Shizuru's apartment when Yusuke punched a little too hard at the orange haired boy's right shoulder.
"Shit!", he gritted out through clenched teeth. Yusuke stopped walking to look at his friend.
"You okay man?" Kuwabara nodded his head 'yes' but from the pain he saw on his face in the dying rays of light was clear that he wasn't. Yusuke removed his hand from Keiko's and touched at his friend's shoulder. "Is this where it hurts?", he whispered. Kuwa nodded then winced when the spot was pressed down upon. "When'd this happen?"
"It's nothing really, just a sore muscle...", he began.
"When?"
"During our last mission, okay. But like I said, it's just a sore muscle. I haven't fought in a while and I overworked it." Yusuke looked like he didn't quite believe him. "And we've been playing tennis all week in gym." Yusuke looked like he was thinking it over for a moment before he nodded.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He started walking again, Kuwabara and Keiko following. "Remember that one day when the tennis ball smacked you in the eye? Damn that was funny!" Kuwabara felt at said eye and muttered something under his breath.
Both friends departed that evening neither knowing what was to come in the next week.
sorri this was shorter than the other parts, but it just breaks up that way. sux. i kno. if anyone gets the urge to draw ANYTHING looks at Kazima then draw one of the scenes at the burger joint. it's my fav part i think of this entire fic. or any of their afternoon get togethers... blah... c'mon, i want some pics and i kno some of u hav deviantart accounts. pleez massuh?
thanx to: Saferia(good God ur so kyute! hugs and i'm just messin bout u being to young; i read my 1st lemon at 11 ), LaDiDaAnifan(keiko a whore, losing her pimp? had a good laugh w/ Kazi bout that one), JovianShe-Wolf(unfortunately Yusuke's an idiot and there's another two parts after this one), AlibisDragon(goodness, you're too nice to me!), Trans(the whole realistic character thing is a major compliment for me. thanx. and u must luv the kuwabara, he is the BEST XD), andKazi-chan(dun kill me dammit. and dun use my real name in your reviews. dun wanna get stalked.). Also thanx to ppl who read but didn't tell me. I luff u all too.
next chapter is also kinda short and will b out on Wednesday, the 20th. unless i think i'm gonna die b4 then in which case i'll post the rest of this thing early. dun count on the death dearies.