Chapter two. I hope you actually find this interesting. Oh, and Kuwabara will make an appearance. It's just that…it can't quite happen yet. Don't get me wrong; I don't hate him or anything, I just need to keep him out of the way until I can get the plot set out.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the song 'How Do You Do' by Cascada or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter 2. How Do You Do
Ow…my head hurts.
Yusuke woke up the next morning with a horrid hangover, making him clutch his head in pain. What the hell did I drink last night? he asked himself. I didn't get drunk…
He remembered that girl…K…Keiko, coming into his room because Hiei had sent her, and talking to her, laughing with her, enjoying a conversation that had suddenly become awkward when she told him it was time for her to do what she had been paid to do.
After that, it was all just a blur from which various images emerged to test every single one of Yusuke's senses. In fact, here was one now.
Smooth, creamy skin, so soft to the touch and remarkably unblemished for one who was no longer a virgin.
That was almost enough to make Yusuke's demon side leap out and start on the sleeping Keiko all over again. With difficulty, Yusuke reined in his carnal desires, groaning inwardly as another image resurfaced as he glanced at Keiko's peaceful, relaxed face. If he didn't hadn't known that he had some of the strongest mental shields in Demon World (courtesy of Hokushin's training), he'd say that Hiei was putting these thoughts into his mind with his Jagan eye.
Lips that tasted deliciously sweet…the scent of strawberries…I see you comb your hair and gimme that grin.
It's making me spin now, spinnin' within.
Before I melt like snow, I say "Hello,
How do you do!"
She was waking up now. Yusuke sat up and started pulling his clothes on while Keiko yawned and stretched.
"Good morning," she said pleasantly, and Yusuke wondered how she could be so casual after what had happened last night. But then again, most of the girls who had come into his room (there hadn't been that many) had left before he woke up.
"Morning," he grunted in a very Hiei-like fashion, standing up and swaying when his head throbbed. "Ow…"
Keiko giggled at the sight of him, sloppily dressed with his hair sticking out in every direction. Yusuke turned and glared.
"I have a hangover," he stated, as if that would answer all her questions.
It did. Keiko got up and began dressing. She noticed the surreptitious glances that Yusuke cast in her direction, but pretended she didn't notice, drawing her clothes on over her bare body without any embarrassment. After the third time that she'd woken up in a demon's room, she had realized that no one cared anymore whether she tried to hide herself or not.
It's like we're already married or something, the thought occurred to her, and she blushed in spite of herself. No, no, never. A human and a demon could never be married. That was why Raizen had starved to death.
He had gone through with his promise, Keiko realized. The dancer's inner thighs didn't ache the way they usually did after spending a night with a demon. Yusuke had been gentle, stopping when she screamed out in fright or pain, taking care not to allow his fangs to dig into her skin. Keiko smiled to herself and pulled her shirt on.
I love the way you undress now, baby begin.
Do your caress, honey, my heart's in a mess.
I love your blue-eyed voice, like Tiny Tim shines through.
How do you do!
"You want me to get you something for your hangover?"
Yusuke glanced at her in surprise. "Like what?"
Keiko shrugged. "Do demons drink coffee?"
"Not much. It's mostly water or…human blood."
Keiko giggled. "Have you ever tried coffee?"
"Once. On my…eightieth birthday, I think it was. Freakish weather, hella cold. Kurama and Hiei tricked me into thinking that the coffee was hot chocolate. Hated it."
Keiko laughed even harder at the image. "Well, my friend Shizuru always gets hangovers after she drinks too much," she informed him. "And she's tried quite a few methods. I'm not sure if it'd work on a demon, but she says that drinking a lot of coffee and water helps."
Yusuke nodded. "Dunno where I'm gonna get the coffee, but I'll see about that. Thanks."
Well, here we are crackin' jokes in the corner of our mouths
And I feel like I'm laughing in a dream.
If I was young I could wait outside your school
'Cause your face is like the cover of a magazine
Keiko stood awkwardly. "Uh…well, I guess I should get going, huh?"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow, a habit he'd gotten from being around Kurama too long. "Why?"
"Well, my job's done here, so I might as well…you know, go."
"Where?"
"You know that café on the floor below the pub? The dancers work there part-time as waitresses to earn some extra money sometimes." Keiko combed through her hair with her fingers and cursed how messy the dark strands were. "I'm supposed to be on cashier duty, and I can't be late. Well, I'll see you around."
She left without another word, leaving Yusuke to stare after her in some sort of hung-over daze.
Smooth, creamy skin…"Shaddup," Raizen's heir snapped to no one in particular, burying his face in a pillow.
Keiko's pillow.
The scent of strawberries…
"Aw, screw this!" Yusuke tossed the pillow clean off the bed and stalked out of the room. Gotta go find some coffee…
How do you do, the things that you do.
No one I know could ever keep up with you.
How do you do!
Did it ever make sense to you to say bye,
Bye bye?
"Keiko!" Botan ran up to the girl when she arrived back at her dressing room. The former Spirit Guide's eyes were wide with concern. "Are you all right?"
It was customary for dancers to be concerned about their fellows' welfare after coming back from an all-night visit with a demon. It wasn't a strange sight for a dancer to drag themselves backstage and collapse immediately, their clothes shredded and their skin lacerated and bloody. Botan fully expected Keiko to start crying right away about the pain and horror of the night.
But, surprisingly, Keiko's image seemed perfectly peaceful and serene even though it was early morning and everyone was grumpy. She seemed in a kind of happy euphoria, and Botan blinked. "Keiko? Are you all right?" she repeated her question, but in softer tones. Had her friend finally snapped?
"Unbelievable, Botan," Keiko finally murmured, turning her tawny eyes on her friend.
"Huh?" The bluette was taken aback. "Er, what'd you say?"
Keiko didn't pay any attention to her. "He seemed so familiar, though," she muttered dreamily. "I think…I think I've seen him before…"
"Oh, psh," Botan laughed. "Of course you've seen demons before. They're everywhere."
"But this lord was different. He was so gentle…so kind to me…he treated me like a…a…" Keiko stopped herself and shook her head vigorously. "What am I talking about?"
The happiness was gone, leaving only business. "Botan, do you have the contraception pills?"
Taking the two tablets that Botan offered her, Keiko quickly swallowed them, then realized something. "Don't you have a shift at the café?" she asked Botan.
Botan's candy-colored eyes widened, and she gasped. "Oh, no! I totally forgot!"
"I'm supposed be down there in…" Keiko checked the clock on the wall. "Half an hour. Botan, hurry and get dressed. We need to go."
I see you in that chair with the perfect skin.
Well how have you been, baby, livin' in sin?
Hey, I gotta know, did you say "Hello,
How do you do?"
On the flipside, Yusuke was stumping down to the café in a distinctly bad mood. Even after practically drowning himself in cold water, he couldn't get the headache to stop, let alone his thoughts of Keiko. He was on his way to the café now to see if he could fine some coffee and try out the dancer's method.
He practically mowed someone over at the end of the hall. Instead of apologizing, Yusuke snapped at them.
"Hey, watch where you're going, bastard!"
Then he took a closer look at who was sitting on the ground. "Oh, hello, Hiei. Didn't see you."
"I didn't think you would," Hiei snorted, getting up and dusting himself off. "Can you even see straight this morning?"
"Considering the amount of alcohol he's drunk," Kurama joined the conversation, chuckling mildly, "I wouldn't bet on it."
Yusuke rolled his eyes, then groaned at the resulting pang it sent through his skull. "I'm going down to the café," he mumbled, almost incoherently. "Getting some coffee."
"I thought you hated coffee," Kurama pointed out as the three set off together.
"Keiko said drinking coffee would get rid of hangovers."
"Keiko?"
"That dancer who was in my room last night…which reminds me…" Yusuke stopped short, whipping around to glare at Hiei as best as he could without making his headache worse. "You were the one who set us up, weren't you?"
Hiei smirked. "You didn't seem to have a problem with it."
"Still!" Yusuke didn't even know why he was arguing, since Hiei did have a point. Maybe it was just for the sake of arguing…
"It wasn't a big secret that you were interested in her," Kurama added, unable to resist the tease. "I suppose you liked the present, hm?"
"Speaking of presents, you haven't given me a present."
"Well, even I don't have enough money to spend on hundreds of birthday presents," Kurama said dryly. "But I'll think of something, in due time."
Well, here we are spending time in the louder part of town
And it feels like everything's surreal.
When I get old I will wait outside your house
'Cause your hands have got the power meant to heal.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked, suspiciously. Hiei snorted.
"Kurama won't tell you anything more than he wants you to know. Stupid fox." He said the last part under his breath.
"Maybe I'll send Keiko to your rooms sometime as well," Kurama joked, watching Yusuke's eyes widen.
"Hey, don't copy me," Hiei growled. "I was the one who thought of it first."
"So did you have fun, Yusuke?" Kurama pressed, putting emphasis on the word 'fun'. Yusuke's cheeks reddened slightly.
"If I hadn't known that you'd lived most of your life in the Human World, I would've said that that comment was worthy of Yoko Kurama."
Kurama laughed. "Well, he's a part of me now, so I suppose it's only fitting."
"Stupid fox," Hiei muttered again.
How do you do, the things that you do.
No one I know could ever keep up with you.
How do you do!
Did it ever make sense to you to say bye,
Bye bye?
Has anyone noticed that I always end songfics with the last verse of the song? And this chapter is hecka short...
Oh well…
Kuwabara's up in the next chapter! Hurray! Just remember to REVIEW!