Chapter 7

Yusuke just about took the hinges off the door leading to the roof as he crashed through it. He knew he had his own problems to deal with, but 'damn it' he could 'not' let one of his best friends basically lose his sanity. What he was mad about the most, was not stopping it before it got this far, after witnessing an event that had finally opened his eyes to the situation.

(flashback, a month ago)

"Who could be knocking at this hour?" Keiko asked, rolling over and looking towards the front door, even though she had to look through the partially closed bedroom door to do it. The sun was just starting to rise.

Not too many people knew about the private entrance to the apartment from the back of the restaurant. You had to go through an unmarked door and then up a flight of stairs.

Yusuke rolled over and pulled his robe off the end of the bed, tying it around is waist as he racked his brain as to who it could be. Out of the few who did know about the door, only a couple had a key to unlock it and get up here.

Controlling a yawn, he opened the door to see a very scared red head standing on the small landing and looking like he was going to have a complete melt down.

"Kurama, everything alright?" Yusuke asked as he took in the look of the red head. He was wearing only jeans and a t-shirt, no shoes and his hair was disheveled.

"May…may I come…uh in please." Kurama asked starting to shake, but Yusuke didn't know if he was cold or if it was from nerves.

"Sure." Yusuke said and opened the door wider to allow the red head to come in. Closing the door, he turned to see Kurama just standing there like he didn't know what to do next.

"Have a seat." Yusuke said, motioning to a chair.

"Th…thank you." Kurama managed to get out and took the seat. Placing his hands between his legs, he started to rock slowly back and forth.

Keiko came out of the bedroom dressed in one of her Hawaiian muumuu dresses and tying up her hair. She looked to see Kurama sitting in the chair.

"Good morning Kurama." She said, but then noticed how he looked. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"I'm…I am fine, thank you, just…would like to talk to Yusuke please…if you don't mind." The red head managed to say. He was still lightly rocking while rubbing his hands together, though they were still between his legs.

"I'll head down." She said, having turned to Yusuke with a worried look.

"Thanks…I won't be too long." Yusuke said and gave her a kiss on the forehead followed by a reassuring nod. She left, leaving by the inside entrance.

"So Kurama, are you sure everything's alright, Hiei okay?" Yusuke asked as he took a seat opposite the red head.

"I'm…I am not…Kurama." The red head said and looked to the raven haired with a child's look of being caught doing something wrong and was about to be punished for it.

"Excuse me." Yusuke's said his eyes going wide as he found himself leaning forward in his chair.

"Kurama told you about um…us…I guess is the word." The red head said.

Who Yusuke guessed was now Shuiichi balled up in the chair, bringing his knees to his chest and turning sideways in the seat, trying to make himself small.

"Yes…you are Shuiichi?" Yusuke knew he was asking a stupid question, but didn't know what to say.

"No, I'm Youko." Shuiichi huffed rolling his eyes.

"Sorry." Yusuke whispered.

"It's okay…I didn't know where else to go." Shuiichi said softly.

"Why don't you tell me why you came here and where is Kurama?" Yusuke asked, deciding to see if he could get the boy to calm down and open up.

"Kurama's not waking up. I tried to get him up this morning and he is not responding. It is happening more and more lately, so I have been getting up and taking care of everything, like going to work, or running errands. When he wakes up, I fill him in on everything and then he takes over. No one knows the difference." Shuiichi said, still balled up, his voice still soft.

"Why come here?" Yusuke asked, still confused as to why the boy had come here, if he said he went to work or ran errands.

"I am starting to get worried that Kurama's not going to wake up one morning and I am going to be home with Hiei." Shuiichi said, resting his chin on his knees.

"Are you afraid of Hiei?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Yes…I mean, no…I don't know…I'm still confused as to why Youko is in me and Hiei being a demon and I can't accept this male relationship. I do not want to be caught and Hiei be mad at me for being a ningen. He is in love with Kurama and his ties to Youko, not me." Shuiichi was rambling.

"It's okay." Yusuke said, trying to calm the boy. "I've been trying to tell Kurama that he needs to talk to Hiei about this and get it out in the open. Maybe you can persuade him to do it, tell him your side of the story and make him open up."

"I'll try." Shuiichi said and his head rolled before his body turned and sat straight in the chair.

Yusuke's eyes widened, he was a little taken aback as to the sudden change in the persona of the red head.

"I am sorry Yusuke…Shuiichi should not have come here. He usually goes to the temple…it will not happen again." This time it was Kurama who spoke. He then stood and headed to the door.

"That's it…you're going to just leave like that, after what Shuiichi's told me has been happening." Yusuke said and stood to try and block the figure from leaving.

"Let it be Yusuke." Kurama said firmly. "You have your own life to worry about, with a wife and a baby on the way. You have no room to worry about me and my relationship." He explained and moved around the raven haired to continue towards the door.

"Like hell." Yusuke said, bringing his arms up. "You walk out that door and I'll tell Hiei everything I know and Genkai, hell, I bet Kuwabara would love a good story."

"Yusuke." The red head sighed. "You would not do that." He said turning and was surprised to see the spirit gun aimed at him.

"Wanna bet." Yusuke smirked, wiggling his finger.

"I promise to tell him soon, I can handle it." Kurama said, turning and walking out the door, leaving Yusuke holding his gun. As the door closed, Yusuke dropped his arms and cursed himself, why did he have the feeling Kurama wasn't going to say a damn word.

(end flashback)

And 'damn it' he was right. Yusuke looked out over the city. He was confused and somewhat scared. He knew in a way he needed to, one, stay out of it. Kurama was right in saying he had his own life and future family to worry about, but two, he was a good friend, 'no' best friend and shouldn't best friends look out for each other. Kurama still did, even though it was a speck of dirt in a field. Kurama still paid for his meals and wanted to support the business. The red head agreed to be the god-father to the child and was always there when he needed to talk. He didn't even want to think about everything they had been through since they met all those years ago. So this time Yusuke decided to take action, he might lose the trust of one of his best friends, but if that friend was alive, well and sane, he could live with that. He needed to find Hiei first and have a talk.

a)a)a)a

He was surprised to find Hiei at the first place he looked, the apartment. He'd knocked even though he didn't expect to get an answer, but knew this was the logical place to start.

Hiei opened the door. "I don't have time to talk Yusuke, I need to find Kurama."

Yusuke could see the fire demon was packing, placing tank tops and a cloak in a backpack.

"Leaving?" Yusuke asked, eyebrows going up.

"Yes." The fire demon answered. "Mukuro called and wants me to check out some leads as to where Yomi might be hiding." He said, putting a few things in the pack before closing it and throwing it over his shoulder. "The sooner I go, the sooner I can get back. Do you know where Kurama went?"

"Yeah, he said he was going to the temple, how about I go along with you." Yusuke said as he racked his brain. Should he try and stop Hiei from leaving or would it be better if the fire demon left for awhile so he and the others could deal with Kurama.

End Chapter 7

Lyrics to the song: Drive - by: The Cars

Who's gonna tell you when…it's too late. Who's gonna tell you things…aren't so great

You can't go on…thinking…nothing's wrong. Who's gonna drive you home tonight

Who's gonna pick you up…when you fall. Who's gonna hang it up…when you call

Who's gonna pay attention…to your dreams. Who's gonna plug their ears…when you scream

(Course)

You can't go on…thinking…nothing's wrong. Who's gonna drive you home tonight

Who's gonna hold you down ….when you shake. Who's gonna come around…when you break