A/N: Hello again, I should be updating Atlas but the plot bunnies won't get lost when it comes to this story. I know several people that are keeping up with my other fic, so don't fret, I will update it again eventually (I have half a chapter already written even). I've always been transparent when it comes to how I update – sporadically and when I feel like it. Hoping to get more plot into this chapter, so stay tuned.
Disclaimer: In the first three chapters, go look for it there if you want.
Warnings: Same as always! (I'm too lazy to write them out today!)
. . .
Ren dropped me off several hours later, it was already dark out but I could see the apartment's lights blazing cheerily through the windows that faced the street. I knew Keiko was waiting for me and even though I had calmed down significantly I still didn't want to face her. I was just standing in front of our gated door, staring at its handle like it had all the answers.
"Do you need me to walk you up?" A call came from behind me somewhere.
I turned around to see that Ren hadn't moved on like I thought he had, he was still parked on the side of the road and I could see him leaning over the passenger seat in the car so he could yell out the side window.
"You wish Ren." I winked at him and then pulled out my key so I could unlock the door.
I heard him curse before the cruiser finally pulled back out onto the street and slowly drove off. I knew he was watching to make sure I actually entered the building so I gave the guy a break and went inside, but I took my time walking up the three flights of stairs to our apartment door.
As I reached the entrance to our home, I saw that Keiko had put out the doormat we had picked together after I saw that all our neighbors had one. It said "Enter at Your Own Risk" with a warning symbol and was just a basic brown in color; Keiko thought it would be appropriate considering I lived here and could seriously injure someone if I wanted to.
I could hear laughter beyond the door and a smile graced my face – I was happy they hadn't remained upset after I left. No matter what happened between me and my friends, I would still want them to be happy. My hand hesitated on the doorknob; I was having difficulty deciding whether or not I wanted to go in. I could tell that it wasn't just Keiko and Kazuma inside, which meant their friends were still here. I didn't want to ruin their fun by interrupting.
I was about to turn around and walk back out when the door suddenly opened and there stood Yusuke. He was grinning widely and that grin only spread when he saw how shocked I must look. He peaked back inside for a moment, and then satisfied with whatever he saw, shut the door and barred my entrance by putting his back against it.
"Yo!" He waved sarcastically, the lopsided grin still firmly in place.
"Uh…how did you know I was out here?" I was kind of suspicious of this guy as it was…but how had he known I was standing outside the door? Did he have X-ray vision or something?
"I can smell a pig from a mile away."
Now that was just goddamn rude, "I suggest you never call me that again if you don't want me to kick your ass."
He chuckled, "Wouldn't that be police brutality?"
I shot him a scathing glare, the fact he was right and I couldn't lay a finger on him unless absolutely necessary made me seethe. I had the sudden wish that I could catch him in the act of committing a crime someday so I would at least get the chance to tackle him.
"Can I go in, please?" I decided it would be best just to ignore him instead of letting him suck me into some childish and petty argument.
He eyed me up and down, his eyes taking much longer to do so than I was comfortable with, but I could tell it wasn't sexual to him. He had no interest in my body…but what was he looking for and why?
"Listen, Morimoto – "he used no honorific after my name, another ploy to rile me up I'm sure, "I came out here to apologize."
My mouth fell open in surprise and all I could do was gape at him like a fish out of water gasping for air. I really needed to be on my toes around this guy, his attitude and moods seemed to shift at the drop of a hat.
"Why?"
"Because, you're going to be seeing a lot of me and Keiko really likes you, don't ask me why. I give Keiko a hard time about a lot of things but I care about her…and she cares about you, so it would be better for all parties if we could at least be civil."
I raised an eyebrow, contemplating what he had just said. I was impressed by his maturity, especially because he gave off the impression that he would never grow up.
"Will you be able to overlook the whole cop thing?"
"If you stop thinking I'm some kind of criminal, than yeah, I can."
"Well…are you some kind of criminal?"
His face turned serious, the smile falling away to reveal a range of emotions, from sadness to anger. He frowned, his eyes turned downcast but a moment later it passed and his brown eyes flicked up to me once more.
"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I have never committed a crime, because I have. I was a horrible kid and made a lot of bad decisions. I could blame a number of things for why I did it but really, it was my own fault in the end."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" I was pretty lost at this point, though my respect level for the man in front of me had just jumped significantly higher.
"Keiko and Kuwabara were pretty upset after you stormed out so I dragged more information about you out of them. You're an interesting character Morimoto – I'd like to get to know you better."
I was floored, honestly unable to form a reply; Yusuke having taken notice of this clapped a hand onto my shoulder and that stupid grin spread across his face again. "But don't go thinking we're suddenly buddies, I hate cops and that will probably never change."
"Don't worry Urameshi-san, I will make it change." I would too and he won't even realize it is happening until it's already all said and done.
His hand squeezed my shoulder, a bit tighter than was necessary, "I doubt that, but it will be fun seeing you try."
He let his hand drop and turned back to the door so he could go back inside. "Oh and Morimoto, you can call me Yusuke from now on." He smiled at me from over his shoulder, then turned the knob and let the door fall open.
I grabbed his hand before he could enter, "Yusuke?"
"Yeah?"
"Call me Kasumi, okay?"
He smiled softly, "Sure. Now come on, we're throwing you guys a house warming party!"
"Huh?" I stumbled behind him, bewildered and spinning from this complete change of character on his part.
He just laughed as he dragged me through the door, only stopping long enough to allow me to kick my shoes off before he pulled me further into the living room. There was still a fire blazing in the fire place and I took notice that there were two new additions to the people sitting on my furniture. In one armchair was Hiei and across from him sat the older Kuwabara. I was surprised Shizuru was here and I could tell that she had been drinking heavily. Actually, I noticed before that Yusuke smelt a bit like alcohol but I hadn't said anything.
Now I knew why as I could see beer cans strewn about the floor and table. My inner cop grimaced at the sight but I was off duty and needed to let some things slide. We were all almost legal and I couldn't say that I hadn't drunk underage. It would be hypocritical of me to reprimand them.
On the couch was Shuichi, Keiko and the final person I did not know. It was definitely a girl but her bright blue hair was rather shocking. I had a hard time taking my eyes off the back of her head but took notice of Kazuma sitting on a pillow by the kotatsu, beer in hand and face flushed from the alcohol.
He was the first to spot us as Yusuke pulled me over to the group. "Kasumi-chan, you came back!" He cried out loudly, causing the room's occupants to turn and stare at me.
I felt like a deer caught in headlights as Yusuke dropped my hand and then moved behind me to grab my shoulders so he could wheel me over to the kotatsu. He pushed on my shoulders until I sat on a pillow, my back to the fireplace, the heat of the flames warming me up nicely.
Then Yusuke plopped down next to me and across from Kazuma, grabbing a beer and taking a long drink from the can. A drink was placed in front of me by a grinning Shizuru and I looked up at the older woman quizzically.
"Hey Kasumi, how have you been?" She sat back down in the arm chair, letting her legs stretch out in front of her and kicking Kazuma in the back in the process.
"Hey!" He turned to her incensed, but she only laughed at him.
"I've been well Shizuru-san, how are you?"
"Same old, same old, just trying to put up with this idiot from day to day – you don't happen to have an extra room for him do you?"
I shook my head, "Nope, sorry. But the couch is always available."
Kazuma, fearing his sister would kick him more if he stayed in his current spot, crawled his way over to me. He draped his long body over my shoulders, his head resting against the side of mine.
"She's so mean to me Kasumi-chan, can I stay here tonight?" He whined, causing Shizuru to sneer at him in disgust.
"Mean to you? I feed you, clothe you, and pay your college tuition, what more do you want?"
"You do not pay my college tuition! I received scholarships thank you very much!"
She snorted, "So what, the rest is true."
I rolled my eyes, patting Kazuma on the head comfortingly. "Of course you can stay here Kazuma, I'm sure Shizuru doesn't want to deal with your drunken ass anyway."
Shizuru laughed raucously, "Isn't that the truth!" She held her beer can up to me in a mock salute, and then took a swag.
"Awe, Kasumi now you're gunna gang up on me with her too? So mean…" He pouted and then nuzzled my head like some kind of animal.
Fed up, I shoved him off me and made him fall over backwards. He sprawled out on the floor, managing to hold his beer up so it didn't spill and then just laid there. Laughter filled the room and I tried my best to smile, but I was very uncomfortable surrounded by all these people I didn't know.
Yusuke leaned over so he could whisper in my ear, "Don't look so stiff, pig."
I didn't bother to whisper back, "Stop calling me that!"
He leaned back and released a laugh straight from his belly, making Kazuma sit up so he could see what was going on and then start laughing himself like some idiot, even though he had no idea what Yusuke had said.
A second later my redheaded friend seemed to realize it too, "Hey, wait, what's so funny?"
Yusuke only laughed harder, slapping Kazuma on the back and making the poor man pitch forward. I caught him before he could slam into me and he smiled gratefully. "Thanks Kasumi…and I'm really glad you came back."
He sounded suspiciously more sober than he had a moment ago but when I turned to him so I could tell him I was sorry for storming out something caught my eye before I could. The blue haired girl I had yet to be introduced to had stood up so she could slink her way down to the final space open at the kotatsu, directly across from me.
Her hair was extremely long and held in a high ponytail so it swished behind her back as she moved. I looked for roots at the top of her head but couldn't see any, meaning it was a well done (if odd colored) dye job. I kind of liked it honestly. I had never been brave enough to dye my hair any color, let alone a bright cotton candy blue.
She was pale, with nice features, a button nose and big, full lashed eyes. Her eyes though, oh kami, she was another one with weird colored eyes. Did Keiko have a lot of friends like this? The woman's eyes were an interesting shade of pink, almost magenta but a little brighter than that. If they didn't remind me so much of Hiei's I might have thought they went well with her candy colored hair, but now I was just freaked out.
When she stretched out a hand in greeting I shirked away from it, rearing back like a frightened animal. An aura of death hung closely to this woman, gripping to her like the claws of some beast and I refused to shake her hand. She drew it back, very obviously stung by my rejection and Keiko finally stepped forward. She had yet to speak to me, probably angry at the way I had left earlier, but she came around the kotatsu so she could fold her knees underneath her and sit next to me on the floor.
"Kasumi, this is my friend Botan, I'm sorry I didn't introduce you sooner."
The blue haired girl tentatively smiled again but instead of trying to shake my hand, she shot up from her seat and bowed. Her beautiful hair spilled forward over her shoulder but she made no move to rise from the bow. Remembering that I was not an uncouth slob, I stood as well and bowed in return.
We both returned to our seated positions and I felt Keiko's hands grip my shoulders tightly. She pulled me into a hug, resting her chin on my shoulder. "I'm sorry about earlier Kasumi-chan and I want to talk to you later, but for now, let's just enjoy tonight. Does that sound okay?"
I nodded and drew back so I could smile at my friend. She returned the gesture and then rose to go sit on the couch again, striking up a conversation with Shuichi. His hair was down now, flowing in gorgeous dark red waves over his left shoulder. Someday, I wished to run my fingers through it and see if it really was as soft as it looked. He noticed me admiring him and smiled knowingly, I blushed a bright red when I realized I'd been caught and turned back to the woman I had just been introduced to.
"It's very nice to meet you Kasumi, I've heard a lot about you! It is wonderful to be able to put a face to the name!"
I eyed the other woman up and down, cracked open my beer and drank from it. I knew I was being rather rude, but my suspicions regarding these people had not lessened, if anything they had only grown since coming back home.
"I hope they've been telling you good things." I finally said.
Kazuma scooted up next to me, pushing Yusuke out of the way so he could fit and getting a punch to the side for his efforts. He glared at the other man, but didn't retaliate, more than likely because he would forget his train of thought if he did. "Of course we told her good things, Kasumi! Right, Botan?"
Botan smiled happily, "Right!"
"Kasumi," Kazuma leaned over the table so he could rest his head on his arms and look up at me, "Don't be scared of Botan, I know she's funny looking but she's harmless, I swear."
"Who are you calling funny looking, mister?!" Botan squawked indignantly.
"When did I ever say I was scared of her?" I scratched the back of my head, running my fingers through my hair nervously. A drunk Kazuma could easily give away secrets about me I'd rather remained hidden.
"Well, you wouldn't shake her hand, that's a clue there. Plus – "He reached out and took my hand, like a palm reader he flipped it over and traced the lines there with his pointer finger. "I've known you long enough to be able to read you pretty well. You are afraid of just about everyone sitting here."
The room fell into silence, everyone having obviously heard what Kazuma had to say. I scrunched in on myself, snatching my hand back from him and ducking my head so my hair would fall forward and hide my face. I drank what was left of my beer in one fell swoop and I could see through my fringe as Shizuru pulled another one out of a cooler by her chair and handed it to me. I cracked that one and chugged half of it in my nervousness.
"Careful, you keep drinking like that you'll end up on the floor, pig."
The beer can I was holding ended up slightly misshapen as I crushed it in my anger, but remembered last minute there was still liquid inside it. That damn Yusuke, I was going to kill him if he kept it up.
"What did you just call her Urameshi?!" My eyes widened in shock, Kazuma had sounded seriously angry. A drunk and angry Kazuma was a thousand times worse than just regular old drunk Kazuma.
"What are you deaf? I called her a pig."
A second later and my orange haired friend had Yusuke lifted off the floor, held up by his shirt in Kazuma's fist. Yusuke looked completely unaffected, a cocky grin spread over his lips and his pinky finger digging for gold in his right ear. He flicked the ear wax at Kazuma and that was apparently the taller man's last straw. He hit Yusuke hard in the face, the other man's shirt ripped and he flew a few feet across the floor, skidding on his sock clad feet.
"Urameshi…I suggest you never call her that again. Kasumi isn't a pig, she's a respectable woman!"
"Ha! All cops are pigs to me; I don't care how great you think she is!" Yusuke ran at Kazuma, grabbing him in a headlock and kicking his feet out from underneath him.
They went barreling to the floor, punching each other and wrestling like a couple of morons. At one point they came pretty damn close to the fire blazing away in the fire place and for a moment I thought I would have to extinguish them, but last second they rolled in the other direction. Droplets of blood could be seen marring the shiny surface of our floors as their punches broke skin, their noses running red and I groaned in irritation because I knew I would have to clean it up later.
"Idiots…" I said. Only to look up in shocked surprise as the same word left the mouth of the black clad male a few feet away from me in the arm chair. We had spoken in unison and Hiei's face held an expression that must have closely mirrored my own.
He covered it up a moment later, ignoring that it had ever happened and I was happy to do the same. If I was being honest, I could happily ignore his presence for all eternity, if it wasn't such a suppressing one anyway.
That tiny little incident was long forgotten when Yusuke chose to pick up and literally throw Kazuma in my direction – I was positive he had meant for him to hit me too. Unfortunately for Yusuke, I was aware of my surroundings and I rolled out of the way quickly to avoid being squashed into the wood beneath us.
Kazuma's fall was only slightly cushioned when he landed on the pillow I had been kneeling on scant seconds before his descent. I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't had the wind knocked out of me and then I crawled over to my friend to see if he was alright. The goofy grin on his flushed face told me he was fine, so I sat on him, using his body as a replacement for the cushion he had accidently stolen.
I made sure to sit directly on his stomach, too.
He groaned in agony, my weight apparently being worse than Yusuke's previous beating as his features scrunched up into a grimace of pain. "Why are you sitting on me, Kasumi?" It came out strained and he moaned again.
"Stop being a baby, I don't weigh that much!"
"Yeah, but I've been drinking." He whined.
"I know, maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to drink underage." I smiled sweetly down at him, his face a mask of outrage.
"Sheesh, you're so mean Kasumi."
"I know that too."
"You know everything."
"Glad you realized that." I took pity on him and slid off his gut, but I was unable to help the laugh that escaped my mouth as I did so.
Our little moment was rudely interrupted when Yusuke decided to say, "Kuwabara, why don't you take her upstairs, you seem close enough!"
I noticed Kazuma visibly stiffen, his eyes narrowed and angry. "Urameshi, I would never do that with Kasumi, I'm in love with Yukina!"
Shortly after his exclamation of devotion for the woman he loved, I could have sworn I heard something akin to a growl, but it had been too low to properly register. My eyes darted around the occupants of the room, but not a single one acted like they had heard it nor did any look like they were the culprit. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, but I pushed the feeling aside so I could pay attention to what was going on in the here and now.
Yusuke only shook his head at Kazuma, "It was a joke, no need to be so serious."
My drunken friend then turned his head towards me, not bothering to move from his spread eagled position next to the kotatsu. "No offence Kasumi…I mean, I guess you're pretty and all, but you're like my sister. It would be super gross."
"Oh, gee, thank you so much Kazuma-kun. That makes me feel like a million bucks."
"…You're being sarcastic…right?"
"Oh kami," I put a palm to my forehead in exasperation. "Yes, I was being sarcastic."
Laughter could be heard around the room, Kazuma's drunken stupidity was always funny if not slightly pathetic, but he took the ribbing like a champ and only smiled.
Yusuke sat back in his original seat, his back to Hiei in the arm chair and next to Kazuma who was finally stirring from his sprawled out position. Yusuke pushed my beer can towards me across the table and I picked it up, nodding my thanks. He smirked, a sudden gleam in his eye that made me instantly wary.
"Hey, Kuwabara was telling me earlier that you're actually a pretty good fighter, but I think he was blowing smoke up my ass."
I avoided answering right away by taking a big gulp of my beer which was warm by then and kind of disgusting. I swallowed with a grimace but took another sip so I could finish it off, crushing the already mutilated can until it was a flat disk.
I set the hunk of aluminum down on the floor beside me, reminding myself to pick it up later. Without further distractions I turned my attention back to Yusuke. "Yeah, I know enough to get by."
I heard Kazuma snort beside me, "Enough to get by? Stop being so humble, it's stupid."
"Kuwabara said you knew like, three different styles of marital arts or something."
"It's four actually…"I mumbled, not really interested in talking about my private life with these people.
"Four?" He looked me up a down for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, his thumb and forefinger going to his chin in contemplation. "No way – not possible." He sat back, shaking his head.
"If you're trying to goad me into a fight it won't work, I could care less if you believe me or not." His demeanor turned slightly guilty (only because he'd been caught) but he still had that worrisome gleam in his eye that told me he was rerouting his plan.
"Maybe I am, so what? You're probably all talk anyway."
I didn't bother to mention that I had not once said a thing about myself and it had in fact been Kazuma who had told him anything to begin with. I just rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore him if only for my sanity.
Sadly, he made it nearly impossible. As soon as I turned away from him, perhaps even to talk to the strange blue haired woman across from me, Yusuke got physical with his goading. He poked me hard enough to make it hurt, right underneath one of my ribs. I cringed away, slapping his hand, but he only smirked.
"I wasn't finished talking to you, ya know." He grinned, flashing his not-so-pearly whites at me (staining on his teeth told me he either smoked or drank a lot of coffee) and leaned over to poke me again for good measure.
I swatted his hand again, my face screwing up into a snarl. "Stop touching me!"
"Yusuke, leave Kasumi-chan alone!" Keiko had piped up after my vehement refusal of his fingers on my person. I didn't like people to touch me without permission, the invasion of personal space made me nervous and defensive.
Keiko and Kazuma were the only people I let freely touch me. Hitomi had been the touchy feely type, but not me. I suppose that's why I liked martial arts so much; it gave me the ability to prevent people from entering my personal bubble when I didn't want them to – or kick them out if they did.
"Oh come on, I didn't do anything to her!" He scowled; obviously annoyed Keiko had interrupted his bullying.
"I just watched you poke her in the side Yusuke; do you think I'm blind?"
He smiled cheekily at his girlfriend, "Maybe."
If looks could kill, Keiko's would have at that moment. It was obvious she put up with this kind of crap from him often and she was just about sick of it. "Yusuke, you're such an idiot!"
"Yeah, you've told me that about twenty times today already Keiko, so who's the idiot now?"
I decided to add my two cents, "You obviously. If she's had to tell you that twenty times and it still hasn't gotten through your head, I think that makes you pretty stupid."
"Who asked you anyway?" He snapped.
I log cracking and falling further into the fire made me jump and I was momentarily distracted from Yusuke's heated stare as I watched with interest as Hiei got up fluidly from his chair and made his way to the fireplace. My eyes followed his every movement as he bent to gather a couple of small logs from a stack set on the hearth. He tossed them in, picking up a poker so he could push around the embers and catch the new wood on fire. The flames roared back to life, heating my back further and I sighed in content.
That little noise that left my mouth made his eyes shoot to mine, I had avoided direct eye contact up to that point, too uncomfortable around him to even dare look into those eyes made up of such an interestingly stunning color. Those pools of blood narrowed, lids dimming some of the brightness of the red. I drew in a sharp breath and averted my eyes much too late. I felt as if I had stared any longer I would have been drawn in and drowned by those eyes.
An odd, cynical chuckle left his throat making me want to look again but I resisted the urge. He made his way back to the armchair in his characteristic silence, slipping back into the seat as if he'd never left it. I was worked up by then, nervousness making me twitchy. I started twining and untwining my fingers in my lap, cracking my knuckles and not even noticing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shizuru lean over and plant another beer in front of me. I grabbed the can in appreciative elation, because it gave my fidgety hands something to do. The smooth metal was slick with droplets of cold water and it made a satisfying crack as I popped the tab.
"You like to drink Kasumi?" Yusuke asked from beside me.
I suppressed a grin at his question and then decided to lie, "Not really."
"Is that so? I seem to remember a certain party from several months ago that Kuwabara couldn't stop raving about for ages. I heard you got completely shitfaced." A smirk spread across his lips, Yusuke believing he had apparently revealed some major revelation.
Kazuma scratched the back of his head and chuckled half-heartedly, "Sorry Kasumi, but I had a lot of fun that night. I don't really get to brag about awesome parties and even if I do, Urameshi is usually right there too so I can't brag to him – the only person who matters." I rolled my eyes at the last part – Kazuma would probably never stop competing with Yusuke, even over insignificant crap.
"Ah, but you see, that one night does not prove if I like to drink or not. So it doesn't matter if you told him Kazuma." I said smugly.
"How doesn't it prove it?" Yusuke asked, folding his arms across his chest and staring at me from down his nose as if to intimidate me into answering how he wanted.
"Because, it was a special occasion and you don't know how much alcohol it takes to get me drunk. I could have had only a few drinks and been smashed for all you know."
Sometimes, my friend's blatant need for honesty made me want to strangle him, as Kazuma decided to butt-in. "Kasumi, you drank an entire bottle of sake to yourself that night along with a six pack of beer at the beginning of the party.
I blushed in embarrassment, burying my face in my hands and vigorously shaking my head. Damn you, Kazuma!
Yusuke's cheer of triumph made me flush further, it spread down my neck to my shirt line and I suddenly felt much too hot. I tried to keep most of myself covered if at all possible, an odd habit I had picked up from years of unnecessary self-consciousness and also the reason why I owned so many sweatshirts. Now, the police jacket I was wearing felt stifling and I pushed my anxiety aside so I could shrug it off and fold it neatly. It joined the crushed beer can beside me on the floor.
That left me in my plain dark blue t-shirt and black pants, my necklace being my only accessory. I realized belatedly that my glasses were also in place and crooked (I wonder how long they had been like that?) so I reached up to fix them. As soon as I took my hand away from my face Yusuke's shot forward to snatch the lenses from nose. He nimbly hopped up from his seat and ran a short distance away from the kotatsu, into a more open area of the living room.
My vision had blurred, so I couldn't see much of what was going on. I could see the Yusuke shaped blob waving his arm around madly in the middle of the room though. I easily surmised that he must be holding my glasses aloft, using them as some sort of hostage.
I heard Keiko release a short scream, her anger levels rising dangerously but I diffused the situation before it could get much further. Yusuke had finally pushed me into action and I wasn't going to let Keiko take the glory for putting him in his place.
"Keiko-chan, its fine, he's just messing with me. You know I can take care of myself." I smiled at her reassuringly before rising from the floor as gracefully as I could considering my sudden blindness.
"That isn't the point Kasumi; he's acting like a three year old!" She made sure to turn around on the couch and yell the last part in Yusuke's direction but he only laughed in her face, still waving my glasses around tauntingly.
I made my way around the table, but tripped over the pillow Yusuke had previously occupied. I stumbled and used the closest object to me to regain my balance. That object turned out to be the back of the armchair Hiei was sitting in, but I studiously ignored that fact even though I was close enough to touch him. I pushed off, letting my hand slide over the fabric as I went and my eyes flicked to the mysterious man only briefly. I could make out the general shape of his body and most of his features, which is how I realized he was staring directly at me. I was suddenly thankful for my blurry vision because if the animosity rolling off of him was anything to go by I would say he was glaring at me rather heatedly.
I turned away coolly, acting like I hadn't even noticed that he was looking at me, and then maneuvered around the rest of the furniture so I could meet Yusuke out in the middle of our living space. I could hear as our guests shifted in their seats to get a better view and all it took to take away my trepidation was to pretend I was in an arena. This was just like another competition and I had thousands of eyes on me then – this was nothing.
I chose to start off nicely, because I wasn't willing to make the first move and wouldn't touch him unless he came at me, but I was prepared for the worst.
"Can I have my glasses back please? I can't see very well without them." I said it as pleasantly as possible, but it came out forced and fake, even to me.
"Nope, I think I might keep them." Then I watched as he put them over the bridge of his nose and was only a little disappointed that I couldn't actually see what he looked like in them. Even I thought my eyewear was pretty damn ugly, it must look even worse on him.
A moment later he managed to grate on my nerves again when he said, "Wow! You really are blind as a bat! I can barely see out of these!" Then he laughed like a maniac but didn't take my glasses off.
"I'm not going to ask nicely again, so just give them back." I demanded.
"Not unless you fight me." He sang out.
"I'm not going to fight you, it's not appropriate."
"I don't care that you're a pig, pretty sure I already went over that."
Kazuma let out a shriek of outrage when Yusuke once again called me by that offensive term, but I pivoted on my heel so I could face the opposite direction and tell him to "shut up". He was silenced almost immediately and I'm sure if I could see he would be sitting there with his mouth gaping open. I didn't wait to find out and turned back around to face my bully.
The second I completed my turn Yusuke charged me, I blocked the first punch and a pleased grin spread across my face. The idiot had been stupid enough to come at me first, now I could kick his ass.
He countered with an uppercut to my ribs; I stopped the hit by grabbing his forearm, taking less damage. I pushed his arms away from me, using his body weight against him so I could force him back. He slid a couple of feet across the floor, his socks not providing any traction. He compensated for the slide rather quickly, using the slippery floor to his advantage so he could skate back towards me.
Shit, this kid is serious. I didn't actually want to fight him!
I jumped out of the way as he tried to sweep my feet out from underneath me and then hopped back further so I was practically touching the couch. Thinking he had me cornered, Yusuke ran at me again but I jumped higher than before, twisting myself in midair so I could grasp the back of the couch with both hands and vault over it. Everyone sitting on its surface was smart enough to move out of the way, shooting to their feet. I landed in a crouch on top of the kotatsu, sending all of our drinks flying from the table. Beer sprayed across the floor, sparkly amber bubbles mocking me as I thought about the sticky mess I would have to clean up after this.
Yusuke had been stopped in his tracks behind the couch, stunned by my acrobatics. For the first time that evening Shuichi took the chance to speak with me, as he was standing beside the kotatsu, beer covering the hems of his pants. I didn't bother to look embarrassed, because if it weren't for Yusuke his clothes would never have been ruined. He only had his friend to blame.
"That was quite an advanced move you just pulled off, considering you led us to believe you were much less skilled." His voice held a hint displeasure, as if he were annoyed I had lied.
I kept my eyes on Yusuke, who was making his way over to me even as I replied to the redhead. "It would be a stupid mistake to give away any information on my abilities to strangers. I don't owe any of you an explanation."
"You are also quite smart, it would seem." He said, impressed by my answer.
I didn't get a chance to continue our little chat because Yusuke had finally recovered and made it to the table. He looked ready to knock me off it, the wheels turning in his head trying to figure out the best way to go about it. It could potentially become a free for all if we were to continue fighting here, so I jumped from the wooden surface, Yusuke laying chase as I ran back to the open area of the room. I felt like I was playing tag at this point and would need to get serious eventually, but I was still stuck on finding a way to prevent that.
He seemed to like to attack his opponents head on, so I whipped around just in time for him to try to tackle me, I didn't dodge, but instead let him try to grab me and caught him in a grapple instead. I laced the fingers of our left hands together, squeezing with all my might and applying pressure so I could force his arm down. My other hand had grabbed his upper shoulder and while I had him considerably distracted, I pushed down with all my might. I ended up going down with him, but successfully smashed his face into my floor.
I heard his nose crack and cringed in sympathy, but I didn't let up my hold. He didn't stay down for long but easily turned the tides on me, throwing me off his prone form and head-butting me in the chin while he was at it. My teeth clacked together painfully and I swear my brain rattled in my skull a bit. I gripped my head and put some distance between us, but never let my eyes leave him. Fighting with blurred vision was nothing to me. I had made sure to practice blindfolded over the years just in case something like this very scenario ever happened, where I had lost the privilege of my sight for one reason or another.
I'd had enough, I took a stance, spreading my legs far apart and bending at the knees so I was parallel with the floor. I held one of my hands defensively in front of me, my elbow bent and one held out towards Yusuke, both with open palms.
"Come if you dare, Urameshi." And I added a cliché 'come over here' finger motion just to piss him off.
I heard Kazuma breathe out an, "Oh shit," from somewhere across the room when he recognized the stance. He'd seen me compete enough to know what I was doing.
As I predicted Yusuke ran at me head on again, closing the short distance between us almost instantly. My first hit landed in his solar plexus, palm open and throwing him back with the force. I had knocked the wind out of him and as he bent to try and recover I used the opening to land a second hit on him. I approached with a balled up fist, hopping a short distance into the air and smashing it into the side of his head, sending him slamming into the hard wood below us.
I had used a little more force than I had needed to and I regretted it the second I heard his skull knock against the floor. I straightened from my stance, not realizing I had just made a huge mistake by letting my guard down. I assumed that last blow would have knocked him out and I went to check on him, so when he rocketed up off the floor and landed an uppercut straight to my jaw I hadn't seen it coming.
I don't know how it didn't break my teeth.
The force of the blow was so strong that my vision went completely black for at least thirty seconds. I had fallen to the ground, crumpled into a ball and spitting blood in great globs onto the wood. I had bitten my tongue so badly that no matter how many times I swallowed blood continued to fill my mouth.
Shit! I kept spitting, not giving a shit about the tiny pool of the red liquid I could feel leaking against my cheek.
"Yusuke, that's enough!" I heard Keiko scream fiercely, but I wasn't done yet. Bleeding tongue aside, he hadn't hurt me too badly.
I rolled onto my back so I could perform a Kip-up to get back onto my feet, many years of practicing the move making it fluid and perfect. Yusuke took a second to look impressed but then we were at it again. I blocked another hit aimed for my stomach and went to sweep his legs out from under him. He had expected that, so he hopped over them and before he touched the ground, swung out a leg to kick me in the side. I used my forearm to block it, grabbing his shinbone and holding his leg aloft.
Before he could break my hold, my other arm shot out and punched him straight in the testicles. I knew the fight was over then and there – I also knew Yusuke would hate me forever now, but it was totally worth it.
I let his leg go so he could fall to, and curl up on, the floor in agony, making an ungodly noise that was much too high to be coming out of a man's mouth. Tears streamed from his eyes and his hands clasped his family jewels desperately as he attempted to recover. I walked to him so I could stand over his prone form, a smug grin stretching my lips.
I wanted to laugh at him; I really did, but that unnatural blue light had entered his eyes again, even as I watched tears pool in them and spill down his cheeks. He was undeniably pissed off, his eyes set into a glare that could melt your face off if you let it. It froze me to the spot, my mouth open in what would have been a mocking chuckle, but it had caught in my throat. A chill ran down my spine and my brain screamed at me that I was in danger, but I didn't heed the warning in time.
Yusuke's hand shot out and grabbed my right ankle, pulling me with more force than I thought he could produce in his current situation, and I fell backwards, the back of my head smashing into the floor. It bounced, hitting twice and making me cry out in pain.
I had no chance to recover as he pulled again, dragging me across the wood until he could climb over me and straddle my waist. His fist moved faster than I could see, smashing me hard in the cheek and cutting it open. The second punch I only just barely blocked with the palm of my hand, but the third and final one broke my nose, spraying blood over my mouth and cheeks. I coughed as I choked on the fresh blood that started to fill my mouth along with the old from my tongue.
There would have been a fourth, maybe a fifth or more if Hiei hadn't somehow appeared next to us and pulled Yusuke off of me with ease. The black haired man struggled, his anger blinding him to the pain in his genitals and wishing only to come at me again but Hiei would have none of it. He held on like it was nothing, tossing the other man behind him and whirling around so he could stand in front of my body and bar Yusuke from coming near me.
I hadn't noticed before, but everyone had moved not just Hiei. Shuichi was to my left; I could see his sock clad feet and stained pants from my vantage point curled up on the floor. Kazuma and Keiko were behind me, one of them had put their hands on my back and the other in my hair. I assumed the one peeling my hair away from the blood on my face so they could assess the wounds was Keiko, the hands felt smaller. Botan had come over to grab Yusuke by one of his arms, trying to calm him down but only succeeding in getting him to sit down in one of the arm chairs.
With Yusuke out of the way and being tended to, Keiko ran off to get a first aid kit but the blow I had just taken to my pride wouldn't allow her to clean my wounds. Before she could come back, I rose from the floor with labored breaths, unable to breathe out of my nose and in more pain than I had thought possible from such a short fight.
"Kasumi, what are you doing?! You're bleeding everywhere; we need to fix you up!" Kazuma yelped, scrambling to try and get me to sit back down, but I shrugged him off angrily.
I turned and snarled at anyone who cared to listen, "I will fucking fix myself and I suggest you all stay the hell away from me for the rest of the night."
With that I stalked off to the bathroom so I could inspect the damage, not noticing as I tracked blood with me and only caring about getting into the shower and curing the stiffness in my muscles. I made sure to stop and grab my discarded glasses, which had landed rather harshly on the floor sometime during the fight, and I took notice of the crack travelling all the way through the right lens. With a look of disdain, I let them hang from my fingers in a limp hand as I reached the darkened wash room. I knew I would have to wear my contacts until I could get a new pair and the thought caused a well of disgust to travel up from my belly as I tossed them onto the counter surrounding the bathroom sink.
I slammed and locked the door, stopping to take a good long look at myself in the mirror. My nose was a bit off center, bloodied, and purpled and with a tiny hoarse scream I righted it by pinching it with my forefinger and thumb. I heard a knock on the door, but ignored it.
I lifted my chin to see a large purple bruise already starting to form there and stuck my tongue out to see rows of still bleeding teeth marks. I spit into the sink, little red droplets marring the pristine white of the ceramic and then turned my cheek to check the cut there. It wasn't too deep and had already started to clot, but there was a reddish purple bruise formed there already and the inside of my cheek had a hole where I had bitten it almost clean through.
I grimaced at the sight of my face, as no amount of make-up would ever cover this up, and then winced as it caused a shock of pain to travel through my skull.
"Kasumi?" A muffled call came from behind the door – Kazuma this time.
I twisted the hot water tap so it would come spraying out of the hand held shower head hanging on the wall and be hot by the time I removed my clothes. I stripped, dumping my clothes into a laundry basket I had placed in the cubby hole in the bottom of the tiny bathroom closet.
I dragged a white plastic stool over to the shower nozzle and pulled it from the wall. I sat and just held the thing aloft so it would spray down over my whole body, wetting my hair and washing away the blood in a big red whirlpool down the drain.
I heard Kazuma sigh beyond the door and then his heavy footsteps as he walked away. Loud shouts sounded a moment later, but the rushing water drained out the actual words so I decided it was best to pretend I couldn't hear it at all.
I directed the sprayer around my body, taking extra care around my wounds and face. When I was satisfied with the amount of blood I had managed to wash off, I reached behind me to my little purple shower caddy and pulled out some body wash. I hung up the shower head so I could pour some into the palm of my hand. I knew it was going to sting something awful, but I washed every inch of myself with it anyway, including my face. I picked the nozzle back up again, rinsing all the soap off and using it so I could take a gulp of water and swish it around my mouth.
The metallic tang of my blood was still present even after I spit the water out and I knew my tongue wasn't done bleeding yet. I wasn't worried though as it had slowed significantly since when I first bit it.
I contemplated soaking in the bath, but knew I would only end up sitting in pink stained water and the thought was unappetizing, so I compromised by just turning the heat up on the shower. I hung it on the wall and then dragged my stool closer so I could sit under the stream.
I didn't move for a long time. Didn't think, didn't feel. All I did was allow the water to rush over me. I slipped into a meditative state, letting my mind become empty, letting my emotions go and just being.
. . .
I didn't wake up until the water had turned ice cold and shocked me out of it. I immediately shut it off, shivers running up and down my spine and making goose-bumps rise up over my skin. I padded out from the tiled off section of the bathroom, snatched my glasses off the side of the sink so I could gently place them over my nose, grabbed a towel from the closet and then slowly opened the door so I could peek out the crack.
I hadn't thought to grab clothes considering what had happened and would now have to either ask Keiko to go get me some or walk out in just my towel.
The living room lights had been shut off and the fire place remained burning brightly, illuminating the room in a flickering orange glow. An argument could be heard coming from the direction of Keiko's bedroom and it didn't take a genius to figure out she was having it out with Yusuke.
I surveyed the rest of the room and didn't see the presence of anyone else, meaning they had all left after this little escapade and for that I was thankful. There was no need for me to embarrass myself further.
Taking a chance, I slipped out of the bathroom quietly and made to tiptoe to my own room, but a deep voice stopped me in my tracks.
"I see you're alive." He sounded almost disappointed as if he were hoping something might have happened to me while in the shower.
I stiffened, completely forgetting about my state of undress when I heard Hiei's voice ring out from the dark. I don't know how I hadn't seen him before but he had moved from the armchair to sit in one of the windows that were almost directly next to the fire place, my vision of him fractured thanks to the break in my lens. The sill on the window was certainly large enough to fit a person, but he was the last I had ever expected to see sitting in such a place.
It had started to rain at some point, the lights of the city making the streams of water running down the glass glow different colors and causing the glossy surface of Hiei's eyes to flicker mesmerizingly. I ended up staring, but when his eyes never left mine I took the offering greedily, soaking up as much of his odd visage as I could.
Why is he still here? I thought and my confusion must have been apparent, because he answered my unspoken question a moment later.
"I remained here to keep an eye on the fire, the rest have gone off upstairs or home."
"Upstairs?" I questioned. I knew Keiko and Yusuke were up there…but why would the others want to witness the obvious blow out occurring on the second floor?
His eyes narrowed in distaste, but he continued to answer me. "Yes. Kuwabara and Shuichi are in your quarters and the older Kuwabara as well as Botan have returned to their homes."
Seriously, who uses the word 'quarters' when referring to a bedroom in this day and age? This guy is weird. Though not the most important thing to be worrying about at that moment, the thought came unbidden and if my face didn't still hurt like a bitch I might have laughed a little.
Then I thought about the rest of what he had said. "Wait, why are they in my room?" I didn't particularly want two boys picking through my stuff, thank you very much.
"They believe you need medical attention." He didn't elaborate further and deemed the conversation over, if him turning back to stare out the window was any indication.
At that point I conveniently remembered the fact I was practically nude and slapped a hand to my forehead at my own cluelessness. I ducked my head, my face heating up in a bright scarlet flush. The damage had already been done however, as I had been standing here a good five minutes in my fluffy red towel. Hiei hadn't said a word and I wondered if it was because he was trying to be a gentleman or if he just didn't care.
Lost in my inner turmoil I couldn't help releasing a yelp of shock when a tanned hand, a jacket clutched in its fist, appeared before my eyes seemingly out of nowhere. My stunned eyes shot to the hand's owner to discover Hiei with his arm held out and my police jacket in its possession.
My brows furrowed in confusion and then it dawned on me. He's trying to help me.
I reached out and tentatively took the article of clothing from his grasp. He let his arm drop afterwards and then just stood there. He kept his line of sight respectfully trained off to the side somewhere over my shoulder. This sudden odd change in behavior had me nervous and I had been anxious as it was all night. My nerves completely shot at that point, I gave up on giving a shit.
I let the towel drop from around me, it curled up around my feet on the floor and I saw his eyes widen just the tiniest bit, giving him away and telling me he was still paying attention out of the corner of his eye. I pulled the jacket over me, it was just long enough to cover my ass down to the final curve where my backside connected to my thighs. It would be nigh impossible, even if I kept ramrod straight, to prevent my butt from flashing someone. As soon as I moved, I knew the jacket would ride up but I would have to make do.
"Thank you." I whispered. I saw him nod in answer and then left him, walking towards the stairs. I didn't turn around to look at him again until I had reached the landing. I stopped at the railing and searched for him within the fading light of the fire. He was back in the window, but the tilt of his head and position of his eyes reflected off the glass showed me was still watching – studying, was more like.
I turned away quickly and proceeded to my room. I stopped to take a deep breath, my hand on the knob and then twisted. I let it fall open silently and stuck my head around the door. I was greeted by a smiling Shuichi and a worried looking Kazuma.
Kazuma was sitting on the end of my bed; he had placed my tiny television/VHS player combo on top of the one bookcase I owned, which sat directly in front of my new full size mattress – there was some old action movie playing, but no one paid it any attention. The bookcase itself remained empty otherwise, because I had been unable to unpack most of my belongings. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow, it would seem.
Shuichi sat in the armchair he had placed by the one window in my room hours earlier, legs crossed and looking like the epitome of a gentleman.
How in seven hells was I going to get to my clothes without one of them seeing something I'd rather they didn't. Kazuma had gotten up from the bed, wondering why I hadn't come through the door yet I'm sure, so I bit the bullet and blurted, "I need you both to close your eyes!"
Kazuma stopped midstride, bewilderment clear on his face. "Why?"
"Just do it and don't open them until I tell you to."
He made a little 'Oh' shape with his mouth as it dawned him why I needed him to do what I asked, realizing I wasn't decent for the company of men. So he dutifully shut his eyes and then turned around for good measure. Kurama chuckled lightly in the corner but obeyed my command as well, though he didn't turn around like Kazuma.
I crept onto the tatami mats my bedroom floor consisted of, sliding through the doorway sideways in an attempt to keep any unseemly parts of me hidden, and then tip-toed over to my open closet. Just as I dropped the jacket from around my shoulders I heard Kazuma screech behind me and I whipped around to see him with his arm stretched out, pointing an accusing finger towards me.
"Wasn't Hiei downstairs?!" He bellowed, voice a higher pitch than was necessary.
"Kazuma, turn around, for God sakes!" He had the decency to blush and look ashamed of himself, before swiftly turning on his heel. He snatched a pillow off my bed (I noticed someone had been kind enough to make it for me and by how neat it looked I would bet it had been Shuichi) and buried his face into it.
"I'm so sorry Kasumi!"
"It's alright, just don't do it again." I proceeded to pull clothes out of the boxes I had stacked in the closet, hunting for a pair that would be suitable to sleep in. I finally found an old set of Gi and took the loose black pants to wear along with a loose grey shirt. That was when I remembered what Kazuma had been yelling about in the first place.
"Oh yeah," I said, as I almost fell forward trying to pull my pants up over my legs, "Hiei was downstairs."
Kazuma's head shot out of the pillow, but he didn't make the mistake of turning around a second time. Not that it mattered; I had just slipped my shirt over my head.
Fully clothed I walked over to Kazuma and tapped him on the back, "It's okay to turn around now." I said with a smile that hurt my cheek.
As soon as the words left my lips he spun around and gripped me by my shoulders, intense soft brown eyes staring straight into my soul. I screwed up my face, rearing back away from him and putting a hand to his chest to try to push him off. What the hell was his problem all of a sudden?
"Did he see anything?" He finally asked, eyes still boring into me, searching for an answer like his life depended on it.
It took me a minute to remember what it was he meant but when I did, I just laughed in his face. "What are you jealous or something?" I said, teasing.
His mouth dropped open and a blush bled into the skin of cheeks, but he made a valiant recovery and instead just looked a bit peeved now. "No! But if he saw you naked I'm going to kick his scrawny ass!"
"Now, now Kuwabara, I'm sure Hiei didn't see anything." Shuichi intervened, amusement obvious in his tone of voice. "And even if he did, he's not exactly…interested in that sort of thing, now is he."
Kazuma thought on that a moment, I could tell because his 'thinking' face consisted of him screwing up his upper lip and drawing his eyebrows down over his eyes. He refuted Shuichi's logic a moment later with some of his own. "Nah, you might be right in most things man, but Hiei's still a dude even if he's a freakin' weird one."
He let my shoulders go so he could turn and converse with his friend and I sighed in relief. I crawled into my bed, sliding underneath the crisp sheets, a feeling of contentment washing over me. I sat with my back against the headboard and waited for my friend to pay attention to me again.
"I disagree Kazuma; I do not believe Hiei would act so ungentlemanly."
"Yeah well, I know you know him a lot better than the rest of us do, beside maybe Urameshi, but Kasumi is hot."
I sputtered indignantly from the bed, wishing I had something nearby to throw at Kazuma and a second later (when a shifty little grin moved the corners of his lips skyward) that wish turned into a need for two items, so I could throw something at both my friend and the fiery redhead in the armchair.
Kazuma turned to me all apologetic, a nervous smile on his lips and a hand scratching the back of his head. All his personal signs of nervousness, embarrassment, guilt, or shame and I had learned to read each one for what it was – this time it was embarrassment, but it was unapologetic, even with his best efforts for it to be so.
"What, it's true!" He shouted; the new blush on his cheeks deepening.
"Says the guy who clearly stated earlier that he would never sleep with me." I was only picking on him, but I made a good show out of being offended.
"Yeah, but only because it would be weird and I'm completely devoted to someone else!" He was being serious, not realizing I was only kidding and so I decided to keep my little charade going.
I flipped a wet lock of hair over my shoulder and stuck my nose in the air, "Not like you would have a chance anyway – not with someone as…hot as me." I winked at him, puckering my lips up and giving him a kissy face.
"Shut the hell up Kasumi, you're such an asshole." He shook his head, finally figuring out I was only playing with him.
I cackled rather evilly but my fun was ruined much too quickly when my broken nose scrunched up and shot spikes of pain through my head. "Ouch!" I touched the tender spot carefully, prodding at it and frowning when I discovered it was just as large as it was before I got into the shower, if not more so.
Kazuma had the gall to laugh at me now. "Serves you right, your nose looks like a potato!"
I glared at him, but the effect was ruined thanks to my bruised face and he only waved me off so he could sit on the end of the bed. "So Kasumi, I'm gonna get you some ice to put on that giant blob you call a nose – " I went to kick him from under the blankets but it slowed my movements and he was able to sidle over and out of reach.
"And Shuichi here will help clean you up." I rolled my eyes, not finding the help at all necessary but I knew Kazuma would insist on it so arguing would be a pointless waste of breath.
He left, presumably to get the ice, and Shuichi took over his spot. "It seems as if you did a fairly good job cleaning the wounds yourself, but would you mind if I took a look at them?"
I shook my head no, telling him I wouldn't mind and he shifted so he was on the side of the bed and to my left. I tried to believe his position was meant just to be friendly, but when his hands reached over to gently turn my head slowly from side to side, a blush heated its way through me anyway.
His skin was smooth, his hands well taken care of and nicer than any set of hands I'd ever seen. His touch was light and not at all romantic, so before I could shame myself further I fought back the odd sensations Shuichi's fingers caused to rise in me. In doing so, I was only slightly disappointed when he broke the contact.
"They are going to be quite painful for a few days yet and the bruising is extensive, but with time everything shall fade and go back to normal. You did a nice job setting your nose as well." He complimented and as was all too common for me lately: I acted like a shy little school and flushed bright red.
He leaned over to retrieve something from my bedside table, I hadn't noticed before but an array of medical supplies was neatly placed upon it, from disinfectant to bandages of all sizes. Shuichi grabbed the bottle of disinfectant, several cotton balls, and an ointment.
"I do not think you will need any stiches or bandages, but I would like to make sure the cuts on your face do not get infected. This will sting a bit, but please bear with me."
I was sorely tempted to tell him I could do this myself, but I allowed his long tapered fingers to swish the soft cotton around my face, not even grimacing when I felt the sting of the alcohol. He cleaned each cut meticulously, being gentle but making sure he had cleaned any and all debris from the wounds. Just as he finished, Kazuma entered my bedroom again, with ice wrapped in a cloth. He watched silently as Shuichi took another cotton ball and I leaned forward a bit so he would have better access to smear the antibiotic ointment on my cuts. Finished, he smiled at me once again; his teeth perfectly straight and almost a blinding shade of white and then threw out the used cotton in the tiny trashcan I kept semi-hidden next to my nightstand.
Kazuma tossed me the ice and I gratefully placed it over my throbbing nose as he climbed into the bed beside me, crawling under the covers fully clothed and grabbing the remote to my TV off the other nightstand. Shuichi rose an eyebrow at his actions but I just shrugged at him – this was something Kazuma and I did, who cares if it was weird.
Shuichi headed for the door and before he could leave I remembered my manners, "Minamino-san, thank you for your help. It was very nice to meet you."
He nodded, "It was nice to meet you as well and it was absolutely no problem. I'm sorry that our friend did such a thing to you. We should have stopped it before it even began."
"No, it was my own fault and if I had taken him seriously to begin with I probably wouldn't look like this." I waved a hand over my face, like it was some prize in a game show, and he chuckled softly.
"Yes, well while that may be the case, I will still apologize on his behalf. I doubt he will do it himself."
"Don't apologize for that asshole Shuichi, he doesn't deserve the kindness." Kazuma growled beside me, punching the buttons on the remote a little harder than was really necessary. He started to rewind whatever movie he had put in and that's when I knew he would be spending the night in here with me.
Sharing a bed with Kazuma was no big deal…at least not in the normal sense. The only reason I dreaded it at all was because he was a notorious blanket and bed hog. More than likely I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning devoid of warmth and dangerously close to falling out of the bed. I fell back into my pillows, the ice lying forgotten in the palm of my hand and groaned.
Then I thought of something, something much worse than waking up with no covers and one of the horrors of many girls across the world. I shot up in the bed with a yelp, eyes wide and panicked. The two boys stared at me in bewilderment, confounded by my sudden change in behavior, but I just turned to Kazuma with a pout that could put a toddler to shame and said, "I have a date this weekend!"
His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion but Shuichi laughed from across the room. How the hell am I supposed to go on a date when I looked like I had been used as a human punching bag?
. . .
A/N: Okay, so the fight scene in here is terrible, but I am trying to practice and get better so later on they won't be as bad. Yusuke is a dick, as you all know and this won't be the last time him and Kasumi fight. He is obviously holding back, no Reiki or anything, because Kasumi is a weak little human haha. Oh and I wanted to explain a Kip-up! It's a classic move you see in a lot of Kung-fu movies, where a fighter lands on their back but uses their arms by bending them and kind of rolling into a ball so you can launch yourself up back onto your legs. You can do it without hands too, but takes a lot more strength and flexibility. It's kinda hard to explain, but if you google it and look at the images you will know exactly what I'm talking about!
Hope this chapter was okay, I'm not exactly happy with it, but I don't hate it either. Let me know what you think! Thanks!