A/n- Woohoo! I actually updated quickly this time! Anyway, thanks for the encouraging reviews everyone:-D I'm truly greatful! I would have posted this sooner, but fanfiction kept saying "servers overloaded"...grr.. Well, enjoy!

Chapter 12: The Promise

After the "ferret" incident, things went back to normal. Yusuke and Avari went to school and training on a regular basis. Koenma hadn't called on them for new missions lately. Life was smooth sailing and as time was going by, they seemed to be growing closer and closer. Everything in their relationship and everyday lives was going great.

On this particular day, it would have been three weeks since Yusuke turned back into a human. Avari and Yusuke were sitting in math class, bored out of their minds. The teacher just wouldn't stop going on about polynomials and binomials...or whatever they were called!

"I'm passing back your tests from last week," the teacher announced and handed out the papers.

Avari had her paper placed on the desk in front of her. "Yes! Another 100!" she cried joyfully. Turning around to face the person behind her, she asked, "What did you get, Yusuke?"

"Get this!" he said, happily. "A 16! That's 4 points better than last time!"

"That's...um...nice...?" she replied unsurely and did an anime fall out of her chair.

After school...

Avari stood in front of the big, iron gates outside of the school and looked around. Where was he? He said to meet him at the usual spot so they could go to training together... and he normally didn't make her wait.

"Sorry I'm late!" a voice called from her left. She looked over and saw Yusuke.

"Finally. I've been waiting for about 5 minutes," she said, but then smiled. Yusuke gave her a little kiss on the cheek, sort of as an apology .

"Before we go back to Genkai's, do you want to go down to the river?" Yusuke asked. "It's a really nice day for a walk."

"Why not," Avari replied and grabbed his hand.

At the river...

The two teenagers sat down on the riverbank and took in all of the lovely things surrounding them. It was truly a gorgeous day. The sun shined radiantly and warmed them as a cool breeze blew by. There wasn't a single cloud to be seen for miles in the baby blue sky. The grass they were seated on was a healthy green and the buttercups and violets were just starting to pop up everywhere.

"You know, it's times like these that make you feel like all of your problems just melted away," Avari said thoughtfully, breaking the silence that had been between them. "Almost like you're living in a dreamland..."

"I know what you mean," Yusuke replied, looking out at the river.

"But, I guess you just have to wake up and smell the coffee... This is the real world. You will always have problems... big or small. Nothing's perfect," Avari said, letting out a sigh. She looked down at the locket dangling from her neck. It was the source of all the problems she had in the past... and would probably have in the future. "I must admit that I'm afraid of Yamiko. He could probably show up at any given moment, take the locket and kill me if he wanted to..." she said in all seriousness.

"We all have things that we're afraid of..." Yusuke said. He looked over at Avari and moved closer toward her. Taking her hands in his and looking her straight in the eyes, he spoke clearly and surely, "I want to make a promise to you. I promise that I will never let anything bad happen to you. I will always be there to protect you, no matter what. I won't let Yamiko set a single one of his grimy fingers on you ever."

"Thank you, Yusuke," Avari said, sounding relieved. She pulled Yusuke into a loving hug.

With her safe in his arms, Yusuke whispered, "You have nothing to worry about, Avari."

Do-doot do do do do doot do-doot... They heard the sound of musical bells playing in the distance. What a great way to ruin a perfect moment...

"Hey! Is that the ice cream man!" Yusuke said with his eyes lighting up.

"I'm pretty sure it is..." Avari said, looking at Yusuke weirdly. O.o

"Do you want some ice cream then?" he offered.

"Uh... Only if you feel like it. It doesn't really matter to me.." Avari replied, sounding unsure.

"Okay!" Yusuke replied, jumping up eagerly and following the sound of the approaching ice cream truck. This left Avari all alone on the river bank.

A moment later, she heard a twig snap behind her.

"That was fast, Yu-" Avari said, turning around. "-suke?" She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw who was behind her, and it definitely wasn't Yusuke.

Right there in front of her stood a purple skinned demon who was about 6 foot 9 and had two horns on his forehead. Also, on his forehead, he bore the red X of Yamiko's men.

At the sight of him, Avari tensed up. What did Yamiko want now? She stood up and prepared to call on her Spirit Dagger. Never, in a million years, would she let Yamiko get his way and gain the power of the Raji family's heirloom, her locket.

"What do you want!" Avari barked at the demon.

"No need to be hostile," the demon said calmly. "I come only as a messenger."

At his words, Avari eased up a little. He was most likely speaking the truth. Yamiko's men may be bone crushers, but they were always honest. She knew this from experience. Besides, the demon didn't even have a weapon.

"Out with it then!" she yelled impatiently.

"Master Yamiko says that this is the final straw. Either you hand over the locket..." the demon spoke. "Or he will make sure to target all of those that are close to you."

"You can go tell my brother dearest that he's not getting the locket! Not now! Now ever!" Avari yelled angrily.

"Have it your way..." the demon said with a smirk. "I will deliver your message to Master Yamiko. I suggest you keep a watchful eye on all of your loved ones from now on." With that said, he turned around and left.

Moments went by and Avari cooled down a bit. She sat down on the riverbank again and hugged her knees to her chest. Should she tell Yusuke about this? No, it would worry him too much. In fact, it would worry everyone. Best to keep it on the down low. But, who knew what horrible things Yamiko had in store for her? Only time could tell...

"Here's your ice cream. Sorry I took so long," Yusuke said, handing her a sugar cone full of Double Fudge Brownie ice cream.

"Thanks," Avari said meekly.

"Are you okay? You seem...out of it," Yusuke said, looking slightly worried. He sat down next to Avari.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about things... That's all. No need to worry," Avari said and smiled weakly. She looked down at her ice cream cone and licked it. Even though it was her favorite flavor, it was hard to enjoy it. It felt like a weight was sitting in her stomach. She hated keeping something from Yusuke, but it was for his own good.

Until next time...

What does Yamiko have in store for Avari and the YYH characters? Will someone end up dying? -gasp- No, I'm not that mean! Some bad things are in store for Avari and the others though! Tune in next time for another amusing episode of The Power Locked Within!