Hey everyone! I'm really sorry that this is so late. Things didn't go as planned (when do they ever) and so I ended up updating now because of a pm from a fan TykkiMikk which led me to this update. Thank you and for those Caught Inbetween fans I know I said I would update the next chapter first but this will help me get my butt in gear and focus on my stories plus this story is more popular. I've wasted enough of your time so enjoy! Rated T for cursing.

P.S. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but Yusuke is only a little older than Keiko. He ages the same as a human and is not really old compared to Keiko.

Chapter 5: Tranquility

After Kurama waved and left, Yusuke turned to Keiko and realized he was right. Keiko did look dead on her feet. "Why don't we go sit by the pond? That way you can rest a bit while we talk."

Keiko didn't know when she came to stand but assumed it was when Yusuke first came into the clearing. Keiko sighed in relief as she sat down, her muscles enjoying the rest. Keiko looked at Yusuke and was amazed at how perfect he looked. He gracefully sat down with the sun landing on his face making his eyes shine. He looked so peaceful. He seemed to be enjoying the scenery as he relaxed, getting his first real good look at the place. Keiko had been afraid when he approached earlier but now that everything was resolved her adrenaline rush was fading leaving her worn from earlier. She hoped this wouldn't take too long though she was glad to have some more alone time with him.

"So who all did you tell about me and what I'm here for?" He was interested to see who she trusted with this info. He felt her lean into him and rest her head on his shoulder. Yusuke made sure to keep still and saw Puu landing close by.

"Well you know I told Kurama. I also told my friend Boton, the blue haired girl, Kawabara, and Kuwabara's older sister Shizuru. I hope you don't mind but I trust them all and none of them will tell anybody else." She was so sleepy. She had let herself rest on his shoulder; half afraid he would push her off but when he didn't she had started to drift off. The next thing she knew she felt hands on her head.

"Come here. Why don't you sleep on my lap a little? You are tired and need rest. Don't worry, I'll watch over you and make sure you get back to the village." Yusuke's voice was soothing and Keiko quickly drifted off to sleep. Yusuke watched as her eyes closed and her breathing evened out. She was beautiful. When he first saw her he knew she was special. He had been surprised by her slapping him but couldn't help but admire her strength. Yusuke found himself stroking her hair; soft and well kept, it felt nice as he ran his fingers lightly through it and admired the color. It reminded him of a warm summer day and he remembered the kiss. He had been thrilled that she had kissed him even if on the cheek. He wondered what her lips would taste like but resisted the urge to kiss her. He would not take advantage of her while she was sleeping. She shifted in her sleep and he adjusted his body so that she could be comfortable. She seemed so serene and he noticed how soft her skin was as he rubbed his hand down her arm. Yusuke found himself yawning so he told Puu to keep guard as he lay down, gently shifting Keiko so that his arms wrapped protectively around her. He put her head on his chest and the last thing he noticed before falling asleep was that she fit perfectly with his body.

Three hours later Keiko woke to the sun in her eyes and could hear birds chirping. The light burned her eyes so she closed them before realizing she could hear something else: a heartbeat. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts and figure out where she was and why she found herself sleeping on the ground. Then when everything from last night came back to her she realized that she was snuggled up next to Yusuke. She was warm and even though her rest was short, she became aware that this was the best sleep she had ever gotten in a very long time. She was content to lie here for a while before noticing that she didn't know how long they had been here. Opening her eyes again she judged that it was close to noon using the sun's position. 'That means we've been here for a few hours! What if the others are worried? No Kurama promised to tell them what happened but they would still be worried. I should probably get up.' Saying and doing were two very different things as Keiko soon realized. For one, she didn't want to wake Yusuke as she didn't know when he had last slept. The other thing was that by getting up she would be putting an end to this moment. She would go back to work and he would continue searching. In a week he would leave and she would probably never see him again. She wanted to enjoy their time together while they still had it. Letting her gaze shift up to Yusuke's face she was startled to see soft, brown orbs looking back. Apparently Yusuke was already awake.

"Sleep well?" His voice was quiet as if he didn't want to shatter the silence. He shifted as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes but he didn't sit up. When Keiko tried to move from his side his arms shot out, holding her to him. "Don't get up yet. Just lay with me a little longer please?" His voice was pleading and he had puppy dog eyes that she couldn't refuse. She relaxed against his body as she laid her head back down on his chest.

Laying there for a while, they took comfort from the other's presence and warmth but all good things must come to an end. They both knew how this would play out and neither was happy with the outcome. That's when Yusuke spoke. "Keiko I'm going to you a promise." She lifter herself up so she could look at his face. "I promise I will return. I don't know when exactly but I will find the time to see you again." His eyes were sincere and Keiko felt her eyes burning. She knew he would keep that promise. She blinked back her tears as she hugged him fiercely.

"It's a promise." They would meet and have more times like this.

Yusuke broke out laughing, shattering the mood. "Man Keiko you're heavy! Not only did you surprise me with your strength but also with how much you weigh." Yusuke didn't see the danger till it was too late. He laid on the ground with his cheek burning from where Keiko had slapped him as she got up and stormed to the edge of the clearing, red in the face.

"Are you coming or not?" The annoyance in her voice was strong and he decided to get up before she left him behind.

"Aw come on Keiko. Don't be mad. I didn't mean it!" Sounding like a child, if anyone saw him trailing after her like a kicked puppy nobody would guess that he was the prince.

Back in the village, Kurama was talking with Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Boton. He had told them about Yusuke leaving out the fact that he was actually a demon. Boton already knew but she wasn't human either. Shizuru also knew but he was worried about how Kuwabara would react. He didn't want to have to fight his friend. They were starting to get worried about Keiko. Even though she was with Yusuke and they somewhat trusted him, something still could have happened. Kurama decided to go search for them and the others volunteered to accompany him. Walking to the edge of the forest where Kurama and Keiko had entered, Kurama signaled for them to stop. When they looked to see why he was stopping they saw him smiling. They followed his gaze where a bout of laughter rang out. They all loosened up then they recognized Keiko's laugh. Soon two figures strolled out of the forest side by side. Yusuke had a big grin on his face and Keiko was lightly giggling. The two stopped as they came to the group. Taking charge, Keiko decided to properly introduce everyone to Yusuke.

"Starting from the left there's Kuwabara, Boton, Shizuru, and of course Shuuichi." She pointed to each of them as she said their names and they all gave their own form of greeting. "Everyone this is Yusuke." Yusuke gave them a small wave.

With introductions out of the way Boton asked the question that was on everybody's mind. "Keiko what took you so long? Kurama told us you were just going to talk but it's been hours! What were you two doing for so long?" Keiko blushed at the implications of her friend's questions.

"Sorry about that. Sleepyhead over hear fell asleep on me and I didn't feel like waking her so I lay down and took a nap as well. Heh gave me an excuse not to work." Yusuke was grinning but the others could see a twitch develop in Keiko's eye.

"You know I'm not surprised that no demons will attack you. What really surprised me was the fact that your breath didn't make the surrounding plants wilt!" Keiko grinned cheekily as Yusuke glared at her.

"Hah shows what you know. They're scared of me. Anyways there was so much we could do in the clearing alone and you go and fall asleep! You ruined all my fun." Keiko growled but decided to drop the issue. Someone had to be mature.

Suddenly Keiko turned to Yusuke. "Hey Yusuke? I just remembered that when we first met you mentioned you had been to Sakura before. Why is that?" She had remembered when she caught a glimpse of the village nearby and was curious. 'It seems I'm not the only one' Keiko noted, seeing everybody else's faces staring at Yusuke.

"It's not like I came to attack it or anything." Yusuke defended himself. "I come here sometimes when I need to get away from the palace. Sometimes I feel trapped there. This place is very open and spacious and far from the palace. There's more freedom here though I normally wouldn't come this close to the village. I know the name cause I've heard it mentioned by some villagers before that had wandered away from it." He didn't really feel like mentioning how his father had a map of every village in his kingdom. He didn't want his new friends to mistrust his father or think badly of his dad.

The group would have stayed and talked with Yusuke but they all needed to help out in the village so they had to bid Yusuke farewell. Before Keiko left though, Yusuke bent down to whisper in her ear. "I'll see you again. It's a promise." Barely after saying that, Yusuke grabbed Keiko's chest and squeezed. Before Keiko fully turned to slap him he had run off back to the forest, waving at her as he left with a shit-eating grin.

"He will pay for that later." Keiko muttered about what she was going to do the next time she saw him. Puu flew to her and she gently grabbed him out of the air. "Don't worry Puu I don't blame you for your master being a pervert." Keiko turned back to look at the forest one more time. "I'll hold you to that." With that she walked away. Yusuke in the forest heard her and grinned before he got back to searching. Keiko caught up to her friends since they had left before she did and they walked back to the village together.

Once in the village everyone had a job to do. Kurama and Kuwabara were to help with the rebuilding of the burnt houses while Keiko and Boton were swamped with clothes that needed to be repaired. Shizuru was to help with looking for people who may not have made it out. She also used her awareness to warn others if a house was going to collapse. By the end of the day the entire village was tired. They were lucky this time though as nobody died. Five people were found alive but injuries ranged from slight smoke inhalation to some broken bones. Fortunately it was discovered that everyone would make a full recovery.

Keiko trudged back home after fixing who knows how many articles of burnt clothing. Sometimes the clothes couldn't be salvaged so she had to scrap it and make a new outfit. Keiko still had more work tomorrow but for now she wanted to sleep. She had seen Boton watching her probably wanting to find out all the "dirty" happenings between Keiko and Yusuke but work saved Keiko from her interrogation. She knew she couldn't avoid it forever but this gave Keiko the chance to have a clear and awake mind.

It wasn't till a few days later that a lull in work allowed Boton to pounce and corner Keiko. "So spill! What really happened when you two were alone and I don't want the abbreviated version? I want juicy details I can blackmail you with later!" Keiko sweat-dropped.

"Nothing really happened besides what Yusuke said earlier. I fell asleep and he decided to sleep as well. Then when we woke up we walked back to the village and met all of you." Even though Keiko tried to play it off as nothing, Boton could see the blush on her face. She grinned.

"Let's say I believe you. What then is the cause of that blush dear Keiko? Is there something you're leaving out?" This was the biggest reaction Boton had gotten out of Keiko concerning a guy and she wasn't about to let the opportunity pass her up. What else are best friends for besides teasing and embarrassing the other?

Keiko glanced at Boton and figured there was no escaping this so she quickly looked around before lowering her voice. "You can't tell anyone this later. I started falling asleep on his shoulder but he laid me down so I could sleep on his lap. When I woke up," By this time Keiko was blushing a fierce red, "I was wrapped in his arms and sleeping on his chest. He was so warm." Keiko trailed off thinking about it. Yusuke was gentle with her and even though she slapped him he never hit back. That could be because she's a girl but she had the feeling that he wouldn't put up with someone else slapping him. Keiko remembered how comfy she was laying with him and the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

Boton watched Keiko after she trailed off and had to stop herself from giggling at the dreamy look on Keiko's face. She still wasn't sure if Yusuke could be trusted but for now she decided to leave Keiko alone. That night when Keiko went to sleep, she hugged Puu imagining that he was Yusuke with his arms wrapped around her protectively. She slept well that night.

So that was my attempt at fluff and sorry this took so long but review and tell me what you thought.