CHAPTER TWO
Kuwabara could hardly believe his luck. No, it wasn't luck. It was fate. A stroke of destiny opened Yukina's heart to him, enlightening her to his love for her. For here she was, walking right beside him with a smile on her face. Taken with the overwhelming desire to see him, Yukina traveled all the way from Genkai's temple just to declare her undying affection for him. Yukina already confessed her feelings to him! How could he lose to Hiei? What need was there to come up with a present for her, other than the desire to make her happy?
It was just too perfect. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. Somebody pinch me!
"Kazuma-san?" Yukina's sweet voice asked.
"Yes, Yukina-san, dear?"
"If you don't mind me asking… what are you doing?"
"Eh?" Kuwabara paused in the middle of pinching and stretching out his cheek. Gasping, Kuwabara hid his hands behind his back. Ignoring his burning cheeks, Kuwabara laughed, "Nothing! Nothing at all! Ahahaha!"
Yukina's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Oh, okay." Turning away, Yukina continued walking forward.
After Yukina asked Kuwabara to take her out, Kuwabara immediately complied with her request. They hit the streets of Tokyo with no particular destination in mind; they were simply enjoying each other's company.
Come on, Kazuma! This is your first date with Yukina-san. Don't blow it by acting stupid. Think of something to say! "So, um, you came to my house all by yourself? That's pretty brave of you."
Yukina laughed gently, her cheeks tinted pink. "Brave? You're too kind." I'm not brave. Yukina thought, growing despondent. Certainly not when compared to Kazuma-san and the others.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Noticing that Kuwabara had stopped walking, Yukina stopped as well to turn and face him. To Yukina's surprise, Kuwabara appeared genuinely confused. "You are brave."
Biting her lip, Yukina fixated her gaze on the broken sidewalk. She continued down the path, changing the subject. "I came to Tokyo on the first train in the morning, but even with the address you gave me, it took me a while to find your house…"
"The first train?!" Kuwabara screeched. "Yukina-san, it's like four p.m.!"
Yukina laughed, but there was no mirth behind it. "Yes, it was a long time." Brave? Stupid is more like it.
"Yoshi." Kuwabara pounded his chest. "As soon as I return home I'll draw you a map! I'll even draw you a map to Urameshi's apartment and Kurama's house so you can visit them whenever you want! I'll make sure to color code it and to have a map key so that you can keep track of…"
Yukina watched Kuwabara stride forward, gesticulating wildly. Propelled by an enthusiasm she didn't understand, Kuwabara threw around ideas that were more elaborate and absurd than the last. But even so a familiar sensation of warmth filled her chest. Putting a hand over her heart, Yukina felt its erratic heartbeat. Just like that time…
"Will you take me out?"
Kuwabara's eyes became as wide as saucers. Struck dumb, Kuwabara could only stammer, "Y-You… me… take… out… I…"
Before Yukina realized what was going on, arms scooped her up and lifted her into the air. Kuwabara shouted at the top of his lungs, "I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" right in Yukina's ear, making them ring. Kuwabara crushed Yukina into his chest, obscuring her vision. Smothered by Kuwabara's shirt, Yukina could barely breathe. His iron grip caused her body to throb in pain.
And yet something about being pressed so close to Kuwabara set her heart racing. She could feel Kuwabara's warmth radiating off of him and seeping into her ever cold body. With his arms around her, for some reason she felt safe and secure…
Ice maidens lived in a frozen wasteland. There were as emotionless and cold as the ice that surrounded them. Warmth was an ice maiden's mortal enemy. So why is it that every time I'm close to Kuwabara and feel his warmth, I'm happy?
"…What do you think, Yukina-san?"
"Huh?" Yukina jerked as though she felt an electrical shock. Kuwabara was half turned to her, with an expectant expression. "I'm terribly sorry, but I didn't catch that, Kazuma-san. What did you say?"
Kuwabara smiled, "It's all right." Turning to their left, Kuwabara pointed to a lush park, filled with sweaty joggers, couples going for a leisurely stroll, and children playing on a swing set. "Do you want to stop at the park?" When Yukina hesitated, Kuwabara hastily added, "Look, there are a lot of birds in the trees and someone walking their dog!"
"Uh," frowned Yukina.
Kuwabara wanted to kick himself. Really? It's your first date and you suggest a little walk in the park? Come on, man. You're pathetic. But, Kuwabara glanced at the horizon between the city's buildings. The sun was just beginning to touch the horizon. A lot of my ideas for places to go in my journal will be closed by the time we get there. And, Kuwabara checked the back pocket of his jeans, then made a face. I was so happy by Yukina-san's declaration that I left the house without my wallet!
Seeing Kuwabara making such a disappointed face, Yukina felt a bit of her heart crumble. She relented, "Of course, Kazuma-san. I would love to go to the park with you." …although the entire reason why I left Genkai-san's temple to visit you was to learn more about you so I could pick you a present.
Kuwabara instantly perked up, a wide grin breaking out and transforming his face. "All right then! Let's go!" Holding Yukina's arm in his, Kuwabara half dragged Yukina towards the park.
"A-Ah!" Yukina cried, too short to keep up with Kuwabara.
Kuwabara, of course, continued striding forward blissfully unaware of Yukina's predicament, rambling nonsense. "First, we can go see all the birds in the area and then we can check out that dog and ask its owner what kind of breed it is and then we can search the trees for wildlife and other things like that. You never know, you might just look up and find a possum dangling down from a branch staring at you with its beady little eyes and…"
Kuwabara and Yukina walked by a person sitting on a park bench, his upper body obscured by the newspaper he was reading. As the two walked past the bench, the man lowered the paper, revealing a man with greased black hair and shades. The man tipped down a corner of his shades, baring a brown eye trained on the young couple. The man grinned, and then raised the newspaper up again.
Urameshi Yusuke, super delinquent, ready to begin mission...
Yusuke could hardly believe his luck. He had been on his way to hit up the arcades when he spied Kuwabara and Yukina walking together in the crowd of people on the streets. Yusuke tailed them, his wager with Kurama leaping to his mind. From his perch on the park bench, Yusuke watched Kuwabara leading Yukina deeper into the park out of the corner of his eye. Finding them was unexpected so Yusuke didn't have time to prepare a plan, but that wouldn't deter him.
Hmm… how to make Kuwabara look stupid. Should be simple enough. I just can't get personally involved or I'll blow my cover. Yusuke scanned the area, searching for something he could use. …There! Across the street, Yusuke could see a band of young thugs standing over a cowering kid sitting in an alley. A very familiar sight to Yusuke. Grinning, Yusuke stood up, throwing the newspaper behind him. Perfect!
"So, kiddo, you got two choices." A man with a short black buzz cut menacingly cracked his fingers. A boy of ten or eleven dressed in a Western suit backed up. When his back hit the brick wall, he froze in fear.
"Either you dump everythin' in yer pockets and fork 'em over to us, or…" The large man stepped on a pair of glasses, shattering them into smithereens. "I'll clean yer clock." The four other lackeys began to laugh at the boy's terrified expression.
"Really? 'Clean yer clock'? Who says that nowadays?"
"Who said that?" The leader snarled, whipping around. His minions did nothing but shrug. "Michi!" The buzz cut man shouted, grabbing the guy standing next to him by the collar. "Was that you?"
"N-No, boss!" The scrawny, browned hair man cried, raising his hands. "It wasn't me!"
"I always knew ya were a troublemaker, but you went too far this time, you—"
"It was me."
Yusuke stepped partly out of the shadows of the alley. With his hands in his pockets, relaxed posture, and the shadows casting partly covering his face, Yusuke cut an intimidating figure. Then he grinned. The leader released his grip on his underling while the other three backed up away from Yusuke. Even the boy in the suit looked petrified.
"W-Who are you?" Buzz cut man asked, trying to keep the tremble from his voice. When Yusuke didn't answer, he gained more confidence, let go of his buddy, and approached Yusuke, getting up all in his face. "No, I don't care who ya are. I just want you out of mah turf in the next five second—"
"Shut up. You're annoying me." Yusuke causally waved a hand in dismissal, but the back of Yusuke's hand struck the man's cheek, sending him smashing into the brick wall. With a moan, the man fell unconscious. The other thugs and the victim stared at the man, slack-jawed.
"I-It's Urameshi Yusuke!" One of the guys gasped.
"Huh," Yusuke muttered aloud. "Good to know my name still strikes fear in people's hearts. Looks like people's brains have degenerated if they can't remember my face, tho'." The lackeys' knees began to tremble.
Fixing his gaze on the boy, Yusuke gruffly ordered, "Get out of here." Crying out in fear, the boy scrambled to his feet and ran out of the alley, leaving the remains of his glasses in his haste. Then Yusuke looked at the thugs.
A thin, feeble looking man dropped to his knees. "Spare our lives!"
Yusuke narrowed his eyes at him. "Michi, right?"
Michi blinked. "Y-Yes."
"What a girly name. I want you—"
Michi bowed low to the ground, crying, "I know it is, Urameshi-sama!"
"Urameshi-sama…" Yusuke said aloud, rubbing his chin while grinning. "I could get used to that."
"Yes, Urameshi-sama!" Michi screeched.
Yusuke's eyebrow twitched. "Shut up. You're annoying me."
"Yes, Urameshi-sama!"
"…"
"You, uh, wanted something, Urameshi-sama?" Another thug asked.
"Yes, I did," Yusuke exhaled. "You see that strange couple there?" Yusuke pointed to the park. In the far distance, Yusuke could make out Kuwabara's carrot top hair and Yukina's light green hair. When the others nodded, Yusuke motioned with his hand for them to come closer. Hesitantly, they obeyed. "I want you guys to approach them and…"
One thug leaned back and pounded his fist into the palm of the other hand. "Ah, I get it! That chick is your ex-girlfriend and you want to get even with that new boyfriend of hers!"
"Yukina, my girlfriend? Ha! I don't wanna be killed by Hiei! Or Keiko for that matter!"
"Then…" Frowning, the thug lowered his hands, a confused expression on his face. "Why do you care?"
"!" Struck dumb, Yusuke feel his entire body go rigid. I… I don't know! Clenching his fists, Yusuke tried to contain his anger, but it was a futile effort. He shouted, "Get moving before I kick your asses!"
Yelping, the thugs ran out of the alley, chorusing, "Yes, Urameshi-sama!"
"Look, Yukina-san, there's a nice flower! I'm sure Kurama would know what kind it is, but I know it'll look really pretty in your hair!"
"But, Kazuma-san, that's a dandelion."
"Ahaha, w-well, any flower will look just fantastic on you!"
"But, Kazuma-san, dandelions aren't flowers. They're weeds…"
Suddenly, Yukina felt something shove her to the ground. "Ah!" She cried in from surprise and pain.
"What was—?!" Kuwabara growled, whipping around with his fists raised.
Four guys dressed in T-shirts and ripped jeans stood in a half circle around Kuwabara and Yukina. One browned hair man stood a bit more forward than the others; the leader. He grinned, "Whoops, I didn't see that kid there. I'm terribly sorry."
Kuwabara snarled, "Who are you to treat Yukina-san like that?!"
"I'm Michi and she," Michi nodded at Yukina lying on the ground, "must be a mentally retarded midget or something because I never saw something so scrawny and dumb looking in my life."
Yukina gazed up at the group of men, her eyes widening. "A-Ah…" she backed up slightly, her entire body trembling. Those murky, dark eyes, those sneers, the never ending laughter… When Yukina looked at those men, she didn't see some run-of-the-mill thugs.
She saw Gonzo Tarukane, her torturer.
His blood boiling, Kuwabara hissed, "How dare you."
"How dare I?" Michi repeated. He stepped closer to Kuwabara until their faces were inches apart. "Like this. That little, puke green haired, red eyed devil, trembling halfwit should crawl on the ground like the bellyaching worm she is." Michi turned his head and spat at Yukina. A fat gob of spittle traveled down her face. She didn't dare move a muscle to wipe it away. Unbidden, tears welled up in her eyes.
Reeling back a fist, Kuwabara screamed, "YOU PIECE OF—!"
Michi flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. After several seconds passed, Michi cracked open an eye. The only thing in his vision was an overshadowed fist, millimeters from his nose. "Ah!" Michi cried, backing up.
A grave expression on his face, Kuwabara slowly retracted his fist. "I, Kuwabara Kazuma, am a man. You are scum. And scum ain't even worth acknowledging, let alone punching."
"H-Huh?" Michi stammered, confused.
"If you spend even five minutes with Yukina-san, you'll see that she's an angel, not a devil. So I want to you all to apologize to her and then get lost."
"W-What?" The thugs muttered, shaking in fear.
Kuwabara grabbed Michi's collar and pulled him forward, their faces only centimeters apart. "I. Said. Apologize."
Michi backed away from Kuwabara, ripping the entire front of the shirt in the process. Turning tail, he ran away like a madman, followed by his other thugs.
"I'm sorry!"
"Let's get out of here!"
"Urameshi and Kuwabara in one day? How are we alive?!"
But Kuwabara didn't even listen to them. Seeing them only made his stomach churn in disgust. Turning to Yukina, Kuwabara half leaned down to her. "Are you okay, Yukina-san, my love? I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"I-I…" Yukina murmured, shaking.
"Here," Kuwabara said with a voice as light as air. He gently wiped away the spit from her face. Yukina closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. Unconsciously, she leaned into his touch. Kuwabara, seeing Yukina's actions, smiled, but there was a mountain of sadness behind it. He extended a hand to her. After a moment of hesitation, Yukina accepted the hand and Kuwabara helped her stand.
"Yukina-san," Kuwabara said quietly, "you're beautiful, intelligent, and the kindest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. So don't you do anything silly like believe a word those creeps said, ya hear?"
Yukina, still recovering, pressed a hand to her mouth. Her eyes looked glassy and empty like a doll.
His heart breaking, Kuwabara whispered, "Yukina-san, I—"
A burst of applause surrounded them. Surprised, Kuwabara and Yukina jerked around to see that all the people visiting the park were facing towards them, clapping, and with giant smiles on their faces.
"Ahaha…" Kuwabara weakly laughed, putting a hand behind his head. "You saw all that, huh?" Murmurs of "such a gentleman" and "that'll teach 'em" reached their ears. Someone whistled and whooped. When Yukina's eyes happened to meet an elderly woman's gaze, she nodded at her, proud. Yukina blushed all the way to her toes.
Noticing how uncomfortable Yukina was, Kuwabara lightly placed a hand on Yukina's shoulder to get her attention. "I know you wanted me to take you out somewhere, but it's getting late and you must be tired from searching for my house for so long. Why don't we go back to my place and you can eat dinner with my folks? I'll make you anything you want, I promise."
Numbly, Yukina nodded.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders to shield her, Kuwabara began to lead Yukina out of the park.
"Kazuma-san…" A quiet, hoarse voice said.
Removing his arm, Kuwabara stepped back to look at Yukina's face and asked, "Yes, Yukina-san?"
Yukina gazed up at Kuwabara. The wind teased her long, sea foam green hair, blowing it around her face. Her face was flushed and her eyes shinned with tears, but Kuwabara witnessed the birth of the biggest smiles on Yukina's face.
"Thank you… t-thank you…" she breathed, choking a bit.
Kuwabara exhaled a small laugh. Then he returned to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Yukina leaned into him, prompting a smile of his own. With the sun setting behind them, the two of them walked forward together, heading towards home.
"No thanks needed."
His eye and fingers twitching, Yusuke watched Kuwabara and Yukina leave the park, opened mouthed. "I can't believe… It was going so well. I mean, sure, they were a lot meaner than I thought they would be, but that shoulda ensured my plan all the more. After all, they were supposed to, Kuwabara was supposed to punch the guy and show Yukina how much of a brute he is… wha… I…" Yusuke threw his arms into the air and screamed to the heavens.
"DAMN IIIIIIIT!"
Up next is Kurama's attempt to sabotage Hiei as he searches for his present. Stay tuned!