Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho doesn't belong to me and never will. It's Togashi-sama's.

Separation

Chapter 2

Youko and I are ready. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Yukina, Genkai, Botan, and Koenma are there. Youko and I, as one, stand before Koenma, who is currently facing Botan and reading from the large, worn book she is holding up for him. He goes over what he read in whispers with Botan as I wait eagerly.

Koenma finally looks up at us and sighs heavily, raising his hands to face us. He begins to say words I don't understand, nor recognize. It all comes out smoothly, and I feel as if it's flowing around us like a stream, steadily growing into a large, racing river. I can sense myself in it, holding on as hard as possible to keep from being swept away. The water pushes against me, trying to force me away.

But I don't want to go. I want to stay. I have to stay. The rapids force me back slightly, and I give out a short gasp, yet regain my stance. I look to my right as I hear a scream and see a beautiful creature, dressed in white with long, silver hair, and golden eyes. The creature is in pain, yelling and fighting the river pointlessly. I watch in horror as a large wave comes and sweeps him away. I hold on as best I can, letting out a terrified, pained yell…

I gasp, coming to. I'm lying on the ground, gasping for air. I can hear several alarmed voices and my heart is pounding in my chest. I slowly lift myself into a sitting position and look at my surroundings. Koenma is on his knees, wheezing with Botan kneeling next to him. Yukina is clutching to Kuwabara's arm as they stare to my left. Yusuke's mouth is hanging open and Hiei's eyes are wider then I have ever seen them. And on my left is…

The beautiful creature in white is kneeling next to me, gasping with a hand placed over his heart. His hair is hiding the golden eyes I know are there. His tail is hanging loosely behind him and his ears are drooping. I instantly recognize him as Youko. I turn fully to him and try to get a good look at the creature I have hated for so long.

Youko's golden eyes turn to me and widen as if he had never known I was there. We stare at each other in a bewildered sort of way, and uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. It's awkward, and I'm scared to speak. Here I am, staring at the true form of the soul that I shared my body with since birth, the man I hated and loathed. Why can't I speak? I always thought that the first thing I would do if we were ever separated would be to give him a piece of my mind, but as I watch him, I feel guilty for feeling that way. Why do I feel guilty for hating a person who stole my life? Why!

"…Shuichi…"

I tense at the sound of my name. It was Youko who called me out, in a deep, full voice that made me shiver.

"Everyone, this is Minamino Shuichi," Youko says, turning toward everyone else. He stands and then holds a hand out for me. I reluctantly take it and he helps me to stand.

"…Hi, everyone…" I mutter, staring at them. Now that I'm in control, what will they think of me? Will they remain my friends, or will they never speak to me again?

"Yo, Shuichi! I'm sure we need no introduction, buddy!" Yusuke says, grinning, "Welcome to the group!"

My eyes widen. I can feel a sense of relief sweeping over everyone, including me. Yukina is next to speak, bowing politely.

"Pleased to meet you, Shuichi-san," she says, and Kuwabara hastily follows her lead. He seems somewhat at a loss of what to do.

"I'm happy to meet you, Shu-chan!" Botan cheerfully exclaims, "What's it feel like to be able to be in control now?"

I can't help but grinning. "I feel free!" I burst out, "Freedom is a wonderful thing!" Now, where have I heard that before? Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I really am free now, so I have nothing to worry about, right?

I turn to youko with a warm feeling in my heart. Where did my hate go?

"Youko-san! Gomen nasai!"

"Why are you apologizing?" He asks from a spot next to Hiei, who is leaning against the tree trunk. He seems a little too close to Hiei in my opinion, but I'll ignore it for now.

"I've always hated you for stealing my body, and now I'm apologizing for it!" I smile at him as I say this. I really do mean my apology. I've completely forgiven him, all because I feel like I owe him for willingly allowing himself to be taken out of my body.

"Well, at least the kid's honest," Hiei says. I can't help but grin at him. He complimented me, after all! I wonder if I'll get a chance to be alone with him. Probably not, considering the fact that he just flitted off… I can always hope, though.

"Ahem."

We all turn to Koenma.

"I'm just going to say that Youko will need a place to stay until he's ready to leave for the Makai, or at least make himself able to look more human," Koenma states.

"He can stay with me," Yusuke offers, "My mom won't care, or freak out about the demon thing." Yusuke sounds confident.

"Alright…" Youko mumbles, staring at the ground. "Koenma…"

"Yes?"

"Is there anyway that I can see my mother?"

The group falls silent once again. I frown. She's my mother, not his! But I keep silent. I know he loves her, and I feel sorry for him. He won't be able to see her anymore…

"I…" Koenma states, "I'm leaving that up to you, but I do not want you to inform her of otherworldly things. She should know nothing of the Reikai, Makai, demons, gods, or anything of the 'supernatural'. Do you understand me?"

Youko nods and I feel like my presence will make him feel worse.

"I-I'm leaving… I want to go home and see my family, okay?" I say. I run away without waiting for a reply.

"I'm home!" I call out as I slip my shoes off and my slippers on. I walk into the kitchen as my mother calls out a "Welcome back."

I give her a quick hug. "I love you, mother," I say, squeezing her tight. I can actually feel her in my arms! This is amazing!

"I love you, too, Shuichi, dear," she says, giggling. "It's nice to see you so cheerful. May I ask what happened to lift your spirits so much?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about, mother," I say, "Where's Shuichi-chan?"

"Playing videogames in his bedroom, of course," Mother says before turning back to the soup she's making. "Going to say hello to him, too?"

"Yep!" I say cheerfully as I walk out of the room.

I find my little brother inches away from his television screen, concentrating on his fighter. I sit next to him and he gives me a nod in greeting, never once looking away.

"Arrgh! No! No, no, no, no, no!" He exclaims angrily as "game over" appears on the screen. "I can never beat the stupid fat king! No, no, no, no! I hate this game!"

I chuckle as he glares evilly at the television screen. "May I try?"

He gives me a surprised look. "Really? I thought you didn't like videogames," Shuichi says as he eyes me suspiciously.

"I've never really given it a try, have I?" He shakes his head. "Then let's see if I like them, okay?" He nods and hands over the control.

I whistle a small tune as I walk down the street toward Yusuke's house. School just ended and I feel like visiting Youko. It's been a week and I want to ask him a few things about Hiei. After all, even though I always watched them, I haven't got a clue how to act around Hiei, or even how to find him.

I ring the door bell and hear sounds of someone running in the apartment. The door then opens and Yusuke's mom appears. She gives me a bewildered look, and then moves aside to let me in without a word. I toe off my shoes and turn to ask her where Yusuke is.

"He still hasn't come home from school," she says, puffing her cigarette.

"Is Youko here?" I ask as she flops down onto the couch.

"Oh? You know about him?" Atsuko says, visibly relieved, "Yeah, he's here. YOUKO! You've got company! Get your ass out here!"

I look around as youko walks out from behind a door. He gives me a surprised look, but smiles.

"Shuichi? What're you doing here?" He asks. He sounds tired to me, but I try to ignore it.

"I wanted to talk to you, if that's okay," I say.

"Sure," Youko says warily, "Come on. We can talk in Yusuke's room."

I follow him into another room and get comfortable on the floor. He lies down on the bed facing me, his silver hair lying about his head like a halo.

"What do you want to discuss?" Youko asks, searching half-heartedly for a blanket with one hand. He finds it and wraps it around himself.

I blush. "I want to ask you a few things about… Well…"

"Well?" He repeats.

"I want to know more about Hiei," I state bluntly.

He remains quiet for a few minutes, and then asks, "What do you want to know?" He asks it cautiously, as if afraid to answer.

"I want to know everything. What he likes, his feelings toward things, what he dislikes, his history, and how to act around him," I say shyly, "…And maybe, if you know, how to get him to like like me…"

"You're interested in him?" Youko asks, "As in, you want to be his lover?"

I blush, but nod. I stare at my hands resting in my lap as I eagerly wait for him to start explaining Hiei to me.

"…No," Youko finally speaks, "Get out."

I look up, shocked. "Huh?"

"GET OUT!"

"What's wrong?" I ask as Youko gets up and gives me a vicious look. "What'd I do!"

"Got out, damn it! You took away my mother and now you're trying to take away my closest friend? Get the hell out!"

He forces me out of the room and throws me against the wall. I hear Atsuko give out a short yelp of surprise.

"What's going on!" She asks, clutching the remote to her chest. "Youko?"

"Stay the hell away from my friends, do you understand me?" Youko exclaims angrily, shaking me. "Do you understand!"

I give a small nod and am thrown out the door, literally. The door slams as I loosen my uniform collar and gasp for breath. He almost choked me! What'd I do to deserve this!

I try to ignore my neck's small aching as I walk through the park, toward home. I don't understand Youko's actions at all. He had seemed so angry, like he truly hated me… But what did I do? All I did was ask him about Hiei, and then he became angry.

Was there something he didn't want me to know about Hiei? …No, he hadn't said anything like that. What was it he had made me agree to?

"Stay the hell away from my friends, do you understand me?"

Youko's words come flooding back. So he wanted me away from his friends? Was he worried that I would replace him? No, such a strong person couldn't be bothered by something so unlikely. Everyone still loved him for who he was, I'm sure of it. I haven't really had any contact with the others, but it's something that's almost painfully obvious. No one can replace anyone in their hearts. To them, he just looks different than normal. I'm just a new friend, that's it. There was nothing for Youko to be jealous about.

I look into the fountain as I pass it. I have a glum expression on my face and a red handprint on my neck. It seemed to be fading away, but slowly. I stop and stare at myself. This red hair, these green eyes… Is it really me?

I gasp as a movement in the trees catches my attention. In the reflection, I can see a well hidden black form on a high branch in the tree right behind me. I turn around and look up, full of hope.

The tree is empty. I sigh and look back into the water. Perhaps I'm so desperate for Hiei's company that I've started to see things? I sneak another glance at the tree, digging a coin out of my pocket. A wish that I'll get to see Hiei soon may be foolish, but at least it's something.

I yelp loudly as I turn back to the water. Hiei's reflection is staring back at me. I know he wasn't standing beside me a second ago! I turn to face him.

"G-good evening, Hiei," I say, turning to face him, getting only eye contact form him I reply. "I haven't seen you since Youko and I were separated… How've you been?"

Hiei gives me a wary look and looks pointedly at my throat. "Stay away from Youko. You won't be getting any help if he decides to kill you." He glares up at me. "I want you to go away and leave us alone. We have no need of a useless human boy. You're just in the way."

I stare at him with a shocked expression. He flits off into the sunset. I can't believe he just said that…

A/N: I'm getting better at the suspense thing, huh?