Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own Yu Yu Hakusho or any person from any other show/comic/story that appears in here. Everyone who is not from the Yu Yu Hakusho Anime/Manga is mine (except Bowen). Tsukiko is the only character created solely for the purpose of this story.
Cerridwene: You find out who the Key is in the next chapter. I thought I was being obvious, but that might just be because I know who it is. –sweat drops- And I know I said I'd get it out by the end of August, but I'm sorry. –bows- I was lacking inspiration.
A/N: Major heads up here, I have no experience in these situations, I just type what comes to mind and post it. If anyone sees any inconsistencies or anything where the characters are acting/saying something that contradicts something, please tell me. This chapter is why this fic is rated "M" or something like that.
Warnings: DRUGS, swearing, shônen-ai references, the authoress not knowing what the FUCK she's talking about and, dare I say it? Humour. Dear gods, what am I going to do next?
Last time on First Impressions Can Be Changed:
"How far?"
"Three or four kilometres." The akage nodded and took off sprinting as his companion did the same, easily keeping pace.
The pair sprinted for a few minutes before Kurama caught on to Tsukiko's scent. They were just outside of a small suburb of Tokyo. Its narrow streets were filled with people ambling about in the pouring rain. Some were obviously under the influence of hallucinogens whereas others were just stoned. A few undisguised yôkai roamed the streets, only to be passed off by the human druggies as delusions upon sobering.
Plip. Plip. Plip. Droplets of water began to fall, growing thicker and heavier as the seconds slipped by.
"We're here. Now we just need to find her." Kurama said lightly, pushing his damp bangs out of his eyes.
Hiei growled, scowling at the dark sky, "Baka kitsune. Do you have to state the obvious?"
Kurama smirked and rolled his eyes as he strolled down the trash-filled street. A few blocks later, a rush of power came flowing from a dilapidated warehouse that looked ready to fall apart.
"Typical. Absolutely typical. She lost control," grumbled Kurama as he slid through the open door of the building, ignoring the stench of unwashed bodies pervading the air and the thunderous roar of rain on the tin roof.
Inside the drug-den, there were mismatched couches strewn across the cement floor. Tables and hookah pipes were strewn between the druggie-infested couches. The tables were littered with various, brightly coloured pills, small pouches filled with powder, and syringes with some liquid in them.
The haze of marijuana and cigarette smoke blurred the vision of the two yôkai as they searched for the lilac-haired demi-goddess. The sea of colourfully dyed hair made it hard for the pair to find her most prominent feature.
A few moments later, they saw her sprawled on a couch with a dark haired girl in a trench coat next to her. The pair were talking or rather, the girl was talking and Tsukiko was pointedly ignoring her.
"Oh, hey look! New people," the girl looked confused and turned to Tsukiko, "are they really there, or am I hallucinating again?"
Tsukiko looked up and grinned maniacally, "Hello Kurama, Hiei."
"Oh! It's Bowen!" said the girl that neither recognised. Kurama glanced over his shoulder to see a young man with shaggy brown hair wearing a gas mask was walking over to them. The man shook his head and stopped next to Hiei.
"Honestly, Blodwyn," the man picked up a black bottle, "Did you think I wouldn't find you?" He chuckles and picks her up, turning to Hiei and Kurama. "Would you . . .?" He gestures lamely at Tsukiko as he tucks the bottle into the girl's pocket and picks her up.
Kurama nods and pulls Tsukiko onto his back. He follows Bowen out of the building and into the fresh, damp air, trying to ignore Tsukiko giggling in his ear. The brunette pulls the mask off. He sat the girl down on a convenient bench and sighed. He said something in English, to which the girl replied drunkenly, waving him off. He turned back to Kurama, "Sorry about her, she tends to wander off. Ugh, I'm just glad it's raining right now. I don't know how much energy it would take to get her outside unharmed if it was sunny."
Hiei snorted sceptically, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Well she's a vamp-" Bowen began, only to be interrupted by Blodwyn murmuring.
"Still looking for the Key? How sad. Why not just ask," she paused and smirked at the pair of yôkai, "the Keeper of the Keys?"
"The 'Keeper of the Keys'? Who is-" Kurama was cut off by a giggle from the woman on his back.
"Silly kitsune, forgotten so soon?" Kurama's eyes widened with realization.
"But! But, he's dead. How can I ask him without going into the afterlife?" He asked earnestly scowling in frustration.
"Stupid. Not all that is dead stays that way. You know of the pseudo-child, Inari's daughter (1). You know your own story. Think for a moment and try to keep from being an idiot."
"So, back to your pla-" he stopped talking abruptly, reacting to the dull pain that had appeared in his shoulder. He looked down at the offending joint and saw, "Why are you gnawing on my shoulder?"
The other three looked and saw that it was very true. Tsukiko was gnawing on Kurama's shoulder with a bizarre expression in her eyes. Almost as though . . . "It tastes good."
"Alright, that answers one question, but it raises so many more." Bowen murmured dryly as Blodwyn snickered. Kurama sighed. It was going to be a long day. A very long day.
"Thanks Shiziru-san," murmured Botan as the aforementioned woman handed her a glass of water and a couple of pills, which she took gratefully.
"They should help with the headache. Just stay away from brightly lit rooms and loud noises. So pretty much stay away from Yusuke and my baby brother and you'll be fine." Shiziru replied, giving her advice on lessening a hangover's wrath. She sat down on the couch next to Botan's chair and draped her arms over the back, sighing.
Keiko walked into the room, her face bright red and dazed. She had just been talking with Yusuke in the other room. The other two looked at her oddly, prompting her to speak. "H- h- he ju- ju- just asked i- if I wou- would . . ." she stammered as she collapsed in a chair, tears brimming over a broad smile.
"Keiko-chan, would tea help you speak clearly?" asked Yukina with a knowing expression on her face. The brunette nodded soundlessly and Yukina swept off to the kitchen to fix tea. The other two just stared at her as she gazed dreamily off into space.
Just a few moments later and the four women all were holding cups of tea in their hands. "Just spit it out already!" said Shiziru, growing impatient with the wait to know what Yusuke had done.
"You all know how Yusuke and I are in our senior year of high school and we're going to graduate in a month, right?" she began, getting murmurs of assents, nods, and a "Yeah, and we're shocked that he made it this far without dropping out."
"Well, he asked if, when I graduate from college, if I would be willing to- to- to-" She stopped, unsure if she was able to say it without going into shock.
"Willing to do what, Keiko-chan?" prompted Botan softly.
"To marry him. He said he even had been saving up his wages from my parent's shop, what didn't go into savings, to buy me a ring," she held her left hand out, beaming widely, "This ring, in fact."
Botan smiled gleefully at Keiko, "I'm so glad for you. I never would have guessed he would grow up so much since the time when I met him. Back when he was, you know, dead." Though she was smiling, it seemed hollow to her. She knew that she would never be proposed to.
'Every male I know well, I'm not interested in. Kurama-san is like an older cousin, Kuwabara-kun is infatuated with Yukina (not to mention that I'm not too interested in him anyways), Koenma-sama is my boss and the closest thing I have to an elder brother, and Yusuke-kun is engaged to Keiko-chan. That leaves Hiei-san. I respect him, and I think he is quite handsome, but he's too cold. Too closed up to be more than a friend.' (2)
The motley group gingerly approached the south wing of a large stone building. "Is that it?" asked a now sober Blodwyn. Bowen had "banished" the drugs in both her and Tsukiko. He had tried to explain how this worked, but ended up not having a large enough Japanese vocabulary to describe it properly.
Kurama nodded as he stalked through the overgrown gardens. 'I guess they really did need my help.' He thought as he thanked the lacking gardener for the extra cover the vine covered terraces gave them. The five made their way to the south wing's entrance and slipped in.
They walked silently down the corridor until Tsukiko asked, "Why the hell are we being so quiet?" The others shrugged and relaxed a bit more. Or rather, everyone except Hiei relaxed a bit.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" Screeched a loud, high voice from down the hall, running towards them. Soon the source of the voice slammed into Kurama. "Yôko-san! I thought I recognised your energy signature!" It was a dark haired girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with large, red dragonfly wings protruding from her back and her arms wrapped firmly around Kurama's waist.
"Whoa, Kimi-chan?" The girl looked up and realized that the man she had been hugging did not have the silver hair and ears of Yôko. She stepped away quickly and shuffled her feet, worrying the hem of her dress' sleeves.
"I'm sorry. I thought that-" She began apologetically before being cut off by a soft chuckle from Kurama. "What are you laughing at?"
"I hear that I'm not the only one who sought refuge after death." Kurama began, smiling at the confusion on Kimi's face giving way to comprehension.
"As nice as the whole reunion is, we've got company. Your type of company actually." Hiei said quietly. Sure enough, around the corner came a winged man who looked no older than seventeen.
Alright, I've been dead long enough so I'll end it here so you people can actually get something to read rather than waiting forever. Damn, it's been close to three months now. I'm really sorry you guys, my inspiration was completely sapped. I couldn't get the next section into words so I'll be working on part II soon-ish. I'm also sorry for the shortness of this chapter.
1. This will be explained in the next chapter. The "pseudo-child" is one of my role-play characters who will be introduced in part II. All the other characters outside of the Yu Yu Hakusho cannons (except Tsukiko) are role-play characters.
2. I had to get Botan thinking of relationships. And, if you're thinking I'm weird for having Yusuke propose, then you're probably right. But they are supposed to be a few months from graduating from their senior year of high school. (A few months, tops)
Next time I end up doing this and not updating for this long. Yell at me. Please. If I'm gone for more than a month and a half, just e-mail me or leave a review telling me to get off my lazy ass and write. Chances are I probably just need the motivation.