I seem to be suddenly re-addicted to this storyline. It's all I can think about lately, and I think it's mostly due to all the wonderful people who have stuck with me, especially considering that everyone who has read the original will know what happens before it does. Talk about spoilers.
There are still some things from the original I am hesitant about repeating. There were so many headaches the first time around I would much prefer to avoid. If anyone would like to help me sort through this mess, then feel free to e-mail me. I get the feeling the people I usually run my ideas by are getting sick of listening to me…
D.J: "Why can't I eat the box the refrigerator came in?"
Dan: "Because eating cardboard ruins your life. You'll end up living on the street in a box… Then one day you'll eat the box. Then you'll be homeless."
(I really shouldn't watch Nick at Night while writing…)
Just to let ya'll know, I was really happy with the way this chapter turned out. Yay!
Warnings: Is this really necessary? Sigh. Yaoi-ness. AU-ness. Non-Ownership-of-Characters-ness.
Whistling cheerfully to himself, Yusuke Urameshi rounded the street corner and came into view of the house he would never again have to call home, as long as everything went smoothly in his new place of residence, anyway.
He awoke to the wonderful, woefully unfamiliar smell of breakfast cooking downstairs, finding himself tucked securely in a warm, comfortable bed. The clothes he had worn the night before were folded over the foot of the bed waiting for him, clean and dry.
They looked horribly shabby in the clean, expertly decorated room Kurama had been so kind as to give him, yet he changed into them after spending only a few moments glaring and then proceeded to go downstairs.
Kurama was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and sipping at a glass of orange juice. Hiei stood before the stove, making omelets.
Yusuke had to fight hard not to laugh, nor to make a "housewife" comment, but the urge to ask the short demon where he had put his frilly apron was strong.
"How good to see you, Yusuke." Kurama greeted him with one of his small, mysterious smiles, barely glancing up from his paper. "Please, join us."
"I wouldn't wanna'…you know…intrude."
Hiei snorted rudely. "Well then, by all means, get the hell out of my kitchen."
Kurama made a small noise that could very well have been a laugh, face completely hidden behind his paper. When he did bother looking up, only his eyes showed, strikingly green, framed by reading glasses.
"You have chosen to live here, correct?" He murmured.
Trapped by his eyes, Yusuke could only nod.
"Then you are to feel free to share our meals." As if his announcement settled it, he retreated behind the newspaper once more.
"You're treating me like a guest. If I'm living here, then I'm…you know…not one."
"Of course you are not." With a sigh, he folded the paper and set it aside, giving his full attention to Yusuke. He had not yet dressed, and was wearing a pair of black silk pajamas with a matching robe bearing tiny embroidered flowers in differing shades of gold. The long mass of his glossy hair had been pulled up on top of his head in a messy bun. Somehow, the entire effect was almost more compelling than the way he looked normally, when he was pulled together so gracefully and efficiently. "I am certain we can find some little chore for you to do to earn your place here."
"Um…thanks."
Kurama continued to watch him until, at last, he took a seat at the table.
"That's my seat." Hiei said, not bothering to turn around.
"Why don't you bite me?"
"Yusuke? That is his seat."
"Yeah, but I was here first."
"Please, don't cause a fight. He is very particular about this." Kurama offered him a small smile, eyes warming. "I, too, have been kicked out of that chair before. I have learned to merely quietly accept Hiei's quirks. Life is much easier that way."
Mollified, Yusuke moved, sitting next to the fox. Hiei came to the table balancing three plates of food better than the most professional waiters – and glared when Yusuke opened his mouth to comment. Kurama gave him a warning glance (how often was Hiei so nice, anyway? Stupid to waste this unusual occurrence…) and Yusuke quickly stopped himself from commenting.
Once he was certain Yusuke was not going to say something that would start a fight, the small demon turned his attention to Kurama.
"I do not have quirks." He stated coldly, sitting.
"Yes, dear."
Kurama managed to wait until Hiei's attention was focused on his food before letting his amusement show. Yusuke had to fight the urge to laugh; it wasn't often he saw the cool, collected fox so at ease.
The three ate in silence for a few moments. Despite Kurama's warm welcome (well, for Kurama it had been warm, anyway) Yusuke soon found it very uncomfortable to be sitting at a table between the two demons sharing a meal. Kurama had always been a mystery to him; whether or not the fox thought of them as friends, to Yusuke it still felt as if they were barely acquaintances. And it hadn't been that long ago, at least in Yusuke's memory, when Hiei and he had been enemies. He had never dreamed, when they first met, that he would one day be breaking bread with the small, irritable demon who had tried so vigilantly to kill him.
He coughed, uncomfortable.
"What do you have planned for today, Yusuke?" Kurama asked, bestowing him with one of those closed, unreadable smiles he was so well-known for.
He shrugged. "I was thinking about going by to pick up my stuff. After that? I dunno."
"You speak like a moron." Hiei stated, not bothering to look up from his food.
"May I give you a ride?" Kurama offered before the human boy had the chance for a retort.
"I was gonna' walk." He answered with a dirty look for Hiei. "Clear my head, figure out what to say to ma…" He turned back to Hiei, a scathing remark prepared. Kurama lightly touched the back of his hand, drawing his attention back to the redhead.
"May I pick you up then?" He smiled. "I have errands to run today and will be out anyway."
"You sure?"
"Certainly."
Yusuke had told Kurama he wanted to walk so he could, in essence, plan out the battle strategy to be used on his mother.
Unfortunately, while he got plenty of thinking done, none of it had to do anything with the woman.
Yusuke had resolved himself to ignore the fox's flirtatious behavior as much as he was able. If Kurama couldn't help himself then anything less would be insulting, not to mention embarrassing.
But he could still remember the soft pressure of Kurama's hand atop his own, the strange intimacy of his voice in the car, the warmth that filled his eyes whenever he was amused.
Shaking his head, the boy tried once again to banish the thought from his mind, as well as the memory of the fox's hand, sliding slowly up his leg.
Kurama was lucky he had not been jumped last night.
Yusuke started up the familiar walkway to his house, noting with surprise that only two windows had been broken during his mother's party.
He found the floor of the living room littered with the bodies of unconscious revelers, as well as bottles, pizza boxes, and potato chip bags. His mother was sprawled across the bottom three stairs, in a state of undress he was careful not to observe too closely.
Yusuke shrugged off his uniform jacket and used it to cover the unconscious woman before slipping past her up the stairs.
His first stop was the bathroom. After a few moments of searching he managed to find an old pillowcase. Working quickly, he stuffed his toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and hair gel into it. After a few more moments thought, he put in every unused bar of soap he could find, a half-used tube of toothpaste, and a hairbrush and comb. After a few more moments, he had the incredible luck to find two sticks of deodorant in the back of the linen closet. They were so old he doubted the brands were even in production anymore, but something was certainly better than nothing.
He racked his brain and decided there was nothing else there he needed. He retreated to his bedroom only long enough to set the satchel of goods onto his bed before going for the hall closet. After much struggling and no small amount of cursing, he managed to dig up an old suitcase, which he brought back to his room.
He was halfway through packing his clothes when he realized with embarrassment how shabby everything was. He was still staring at what he had always considered to be his "good" jacket when he heard his door swing open.
"Do we have any coffee in the house?" Atsuko asked, voice hoarse and dull as she literally hung on the doorframe. A glance at her showed she had put on Yusuke's uniform jacket and located a pair of pants. Her eyes were painfully bloodshot, hair dull and tangled.
Yusuke turned back to his packing.
"I don't know." He answered stiffly.
His mother made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh. "I feel like shit." She decided, coming into the room and flopping down on his bed. "I am never drinking again."
Yusuke grunted, not believing her.
Dully, she bounced up and down a little.
"You need a new mattress."
"Thanks for noticing."
"Will you go buy me coffee?"
"No." He said shortly. "I won't."
"What's wrong with…?" Her voice trailed off. "What are you doing?" She asked, finally noticing her son's actions.
He scowled.
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"
"Yusuke…" Her hand reached out, resting on the back of his in a strange parody of the way Kurama had touched him just that morning. He looked at her slowly, fighting the sudden rage welling up within him. "Baby, what are you doing?" She asked softly. There was real fear in her eyes.
He couldn't face those eyes. Sourly, he turned back to his task.
"Yusuke, you have nowhere to go."
"I'll be all right, mom."
She shook her head, fighting past the pain of her hangover. "I'm so sorry, baby." She whispered.
"It's all right."
"I'll stop, I swear." She whispered, closing her eyes. "Gods, what kind of mother alienates her only child? I can get better, Yusuke, I can. But you have to stay with me. I need your help."
He leaned forward and tenderly brushed his lips across her forehead, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"I wish I could believe that, ma." He whispered against her hair. Outside, a car horn honked once, twice. A glance through the window showed Kurama's sports car waiting outside on the street.
Atsuko gave a quiet whimper, attempting to cling to him as he gently disentangled himself from her.
"I can't stay here. I'm sure if you ever sober up you'll understand." He zipped up his suitcase and picked it up, throwing the pillowcase of toiletries over his shoulder.
She began sobbing quietly as he walked out the door. Trying not to hear her, he felt like the worst son in the history of the world.
Yusuke's expression was like a dark thundercloud as he got into the car, closing the door a little too vigorously after himself.
"You could have put those in the trunk." Kurama said with forced lightness, noting the lack of leg room the boy's luggage left him.
Yusuke shrugged, but did not answer.
Kurama turned in his seat, reaching out a hand to brush the backs of his knuckles against the human boy's cheek. He had hoped to gain some sort of reaction from the dark haired boy – some action he could recognize as belonging to Yusuke, his friend.
If anything, the young detective actually leaned into the touch.
"Can we get out of here, Kurama?" He asked hollowly.
"You should buckle your seat belt." The fox said lamely.
Yusuke didn't move.
Troubled and unsure of what he could possibly do to help his friend, Kurama leaned forward and pulled the seatbelt securely around the human, clicking it closed. On impulse, he brushed a featherlight kiss against the corner of Yusuke's mouth.
"I think you are very brave." He stated quietly. "And also very strong. But you need not be those things all the time, my dear. You will destroy yourself if you try…such an eventuality would make me quite sad, I'm afraid."
He pulled back and faced frontwards once more, putting the car in drive.
He thought he heard a quiet sob next to him, but did not look. If the human boy was crying, he didn't want to know. Yusuke Urameshi deserved that bit of dignity, at the very least.
Two days living with the demons, and Yusuke was beginning to feel more like himself again.
His dreams were haunted by those last moments with his mother, and the fear that he had walked out on her when she may have been ready at last to change. The guilt over hurting her, the loathing he felt for himself for not being strong enough to stick by her.
Awake, he was able to ignore all of it though. She had promised to quit before, he reminded himself. But she loved her addictions more than she had loved him, and this time would have been no different. Hoping was a waste of time.
If his companions saw the pain he was so ruthlessly shoving aside, they made no mention of it.
Kurama didn't know it, but he had earned Yusuke's eternal gratitude and loyalty for his words of comfort, as well as the fact that after saying what he wanted, the fox had chosen to leave him alone. If the beautiful demon would have tried to push the subject, Yusuke may have been destroyed completely.
Even Hiei had been a help, though surely the small warrior would hate to know that. The very fact that he did not act any differently toward Yusuke was a healing balm all in itself. Surely Kurama had told him everything, but the ill-mannered little snot was as rude and condescending as ever.
Yusuke could almost kiss the prickly little runt.
But he wouldn't.
He asked them both not to reveal his new location to anyone they knew. He needed time to sort through his own shit before attempting to go back to fixing the problems of spirit world.
"Tell the brat to shove the missions up his ass." He had informed them lightly. "I'm taking a vacation."
Neither minded following these instructions, and seemed to take great amusement in the chaos and confusion having spirit world's detective go missing was causing. Koenma had the Bermuda Triangle searched three times before Kurama and Hiei finally admitted to him that they had proof Yusuke was alive and well.
"He needs only a short time of leave." Kurama had explained to him soothingly, calming the toddler from sending out special forces to search for the detective. "When he is ready to return, he will. Surely you are aware of the stress he has been under?"
"But…but…"
Kurama had smiled that smooth, charming smile, running a hand leisurely through his hair. "He will return when he is ready, barring an emergency." He promised.
Noon of the second day, Yusuke returned home after his afternoon jog and discovered that he could find neither of his housemates anywhere. He didn't, of course, look too hard for them, having already walked in on them in embarrassing situations more times than he would like to think about.
Deciding he would rather not think about it, Yusuke grabbed a change of clothes from his room and went to take a shower.
Yusuke stopped short upon entering his room after cleaning himself up, staring at the pile of black and white cloth resting atop his bed. Suspiciously he stepped forward and picked it up, holding it before him. His eyes widened as he realized what it was he held.
"What the hell?"
"Kurama and I decided that you need to do chores to earn your place in this house."
Yusuke spun to find Hiei in the doorway, arms crossed and expression smug.
"Unfortunately for you, the fox left me in charge." The small demon continued, voice devoid of even the slightest hint of compassion. "I decided that you will be responsible for the mopping, the dusting, the vacuuming, the dishes, and, of course, cleaning the bathrooms." He smirked, raising his voice to speak over the human boy's protest. "That object in your arms is your uniform. You will wear it while doing your chores."
"It's-a-French-maid's-outfit." Yusuke ground out through clenched teeth, bristling.
"What's your point?" The demon asked, lip quirking.
Kurama stuck his head into the room as Yusuke began to stutter.
"Are we having a party in here?" He asked with pleasant detachment.
Furiously, Yusuke brandished the skimpy outfit. "He expects me to wear this!"
Kurama blinked several times, surprised.
"So?" He asked finally.
Yusuke stared at the two demons, mouth agape, for several long moments. Finally, a fragile smirk crossed his lips.
"I get it." He said finally, weakly. His voice trembled just the slightest bit. "You guys are hazing me!"
"Hazing?" Hiei blinked. "What's that?"
Lost in his indignant anger, Yusuke missed the amused look the two demons shared.
To Be Continued
I have a thing for pretty men in eyeglasses with their hair fixed all messy. Would Kurama really need reading glasses? Of course not. But I like the image. To me, Kurama's morning attire is very, very sexy. You can disagree with me if you like, but you'll never convince me differently. The reading glasses and messy bun stay. The might even make other appearances later.
A softer side of our detective. Was Yusuke's thing with his mom ooc? Personally, I don't see it that way. Despite (or perhaps because of) all his bluff and bravado, he is a young man who cares very deeply – when he can be convinced to care, that is. The situation with Atsuko breaks his heart because he wants so very much to believe in her, but knows doing so would be a mistake. Thankfully, he's strong enough to realize the need to help himself first.
A good point was brought up. Yusuke's tattoo and piercing. I haven't yet decided what to do, so let's take a vote. (I've so grown to hate "makeover" fics) Who's for it, who's against? (I won't be piercing the ear, because it's pretty pointless after he becomes neko and starts to hide them. But there are many, many other suitable bodyparts…) Here's your chance to actively have an effect! Let me know what you think!
Response to Reviewers:
KyoHana - Thanks so much for the review! I don't know why, but I seem to really like making arrogant people like Yusuke loose their footing...(grins) He's too cute. I love messing with his mind.
Mieco - I was only half serious about pressure. I tend to overthink everything and worry incessantly about the smallest little detail. But I enjoy my worry. Hope you liked the chappie!
kit-kit - My vote goes for belly button, at the very least. But I'll wait and see what the general response is...
Cryptic.kitsune - Here you go. Like I said earlier, definitly slower, but not as slow as with Hiei. Probably around chapter five, maybe...
hanahana-chan- thankies!
kikira-chan - I have an obsession with detail. I've been told I use too much, actually, but I don't care. I don't like it when the characters are invisible forms floating around in nothingness having a conversation. (grins) Thanks for reviewing!
Jena - I live for Hiei and Yusuke's "arguments." Now that they're living in my head again, I'm never bored.
BlueUtopiah - thanks for reviewing! What do you think of ch 3?
Abi - I would never dream of letting go of Neko-Yusuke! Thanks for reading!
Fran - Thanks!
I have a headache. Well, see you all next chapter! Don't forget to review; you know how happy it makes me! (And a happy Kit is better equipped to goad Hiei and Yusuke into arguments...) Thanks again, minna!