Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Never have, never will.

"I'm sorry, Shy, but making you come is for your own good."

I ignored my best friend and kept my attention on the scenery passing by the train's window. Since meeting at the ramen shop, I'd in no way acknowledged Keiko. Not at the restaurant, not during the car ride, not in the train station, not on the train. Call it my own personal version of revenge. Stupid, childless revenge.

Yusuke's obnoxious laughter pealed through the compartment and I glanced across the aisle to the booth the guys were sitting in. The four had been deep in discussion about the demon attack but apparently they were on new topics.

Catching sight of an old man sitting in the row behind Yusuke and Kuwabara, I scowled. The seemingly endless weird looks I'd received were starting to get old. I stuck my tongue out at the old geezer. I was well aware of how strange I looked, what with my collection of bruises, but that didn't justify people staring at me. Especially old men. Didn't he know staring was rude?

"Shy, please talk to me," Keiko begged.

"Would you just let me goddamn sulk? God, a girl can't be in a pissy mood around here without getting pestered." I allowed myself the faintest of smiles, just to let Keiko know I wasn't serious.

"I really am sorry." Her tone was apologetic, her voice worried. It was as though she had truly thought I was angry with her, that she was damaging our friendship. I understood that she was trying to protect me, but that didn't mean I had to be receptive of the protection.

"I know. I'm just frustrated. I really just need some time to unwind, be by myself. So I can deal with all the almost getting killed crap, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that. But you have to see it from my point of view too. You could have been killed because of me. Do you know how that feels?" She leaned across the gap between our seats, making our booth seem much smaller. "How would I live with myself if I let you stay in the city and you were killed? I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't."

"Don't worry about it, Keiko. You blackmailed me, I'm on the train, and that's all in the past."

She sighed and asked worriedly, "We're okay, right?"

I nodded. "Of course, friendships don't end over one fight." She was stressed. It was incredibly apparent and I had no doubt that she was overreacting to our little tiff because of her anxiety.

Seeking to change our line of conversation, I asked, "Did you talk to your parents? To explain about closing the restaurant and all that."

"Yeah. I had to lie of course, but it couldn't be helped."

Okay, so I hadn't picked a much better topic, this one was just as stressful as the first. Keiko had never told her parents the truth about Yusuke and the Makai, which meant that she couldn't explain why she was leaving the city. It was her biggest secret and it ate at her all the time. She felt like she was lying to her parents, hiding a part of her life, and she was, but like she said it couldn't be helped.

I can't help but feel bad for Keiko at times. Who and what Yusuke is dictates so much of her life. It's changed her relationship with her parents. It adds unimaginable stress to her life: worry for Yusuke and now this threat to her life.

Worse than all that, it prevents her from ever achieving the one thing she grew up wanting. Keiko told me countless times about her wedding. She'd planned everything, right down to the slightest detail, but it would never matter. She and Yusuke were never going to get married.

It was no fault of Yusuke's. Keiko had divulged to me that he had proposed to her. In fact he'd done so on more than one occasion. The first time was before he left for the Makai. The second was roughly a year ago.

Both times Keiko said no.

The first time she claimed she wasn't ready, and maybe that had been the truth at the time, but the second time she was forced to admit the full extent of her reasons for refusal. From what I had gathered from our conversation the next day, the gist of her problems stemmed from the fact that he was a hanyou, a half-demon. Keiko didn't want to tie him to her. She was afraid that as she aged he would no longer love her. She feared that he would realize that he was still young, that he had yet to experience all that life had to offer him, and become unhappy with her.

It was a silly fear. I knew that, Yusuke knew that, even Keiko probably knew it. Keiko was Yusuke's everything, his life. Without her he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Which was why I felt there was more to Keiko's fear, things that I needed to figure out on my own by piecing together all the tidbits of information I had about their relationship.

With marriage would come mating, and therein lay the problem. I had only a limited amount of knowledge about demon mating, but what I knew was enough. I knew that a mating was permanent, that there could be no 'divorce.' I also knew that a demon's lifespan was tied to that of their mate. It was the issue of a mating's permanence that bothered Keiko. Fed by her fear that Yusuke would become dissatisfied with their relationship, she dreaded what would happen if they mated.

For his part, Yusuke had accepted her reservations and looked past them, pretending that he was content. I had little doubt that he still wanted to get married, to mate with Keiko, but he would never press the issue with her. If she changed her mind he was ready and waiting, and if not then he would continue his pretense of happiness.

Keiko was watching her hands as she clasped and unclasped them in her lap. "I told them we wanted a vacation."

"Who wanted a vacation?"

"Yusuke and I."

I hesitated a second and then said, "Why don't you pick a new topic? I suck today."

She laughed, dismissing my comment with a wave of her hand. She paused thoughtfully, trying to think of something to talk about. Her eyes flicked to the boys and lit up. I watched her warily as she turned back to me, a wicked glint in her eye. Catching me off guard, she hopped into the seat beside me and leaned forward conspiratorially.

"Keiko?" I asked tentatively. "What are you doing?"

"Did you think anymore about what we talked about?"

"What did we talk about?"

Her eyes darted back to the boys and then she leaned closer, lessening the distance between us despite the fact that I leaned backwards. "You know, about dating and –" another glance over her shoulder, "– Hiei."

"No way! We are not talking about this right now."

"You said I could pick the topic," she whined, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Damn it, Keiko. Fine, but only if you stop invading my personal space."

Grinning, she leaned back and watched me, waiting for me to start talking.

"I guess you may be right. About the whole being scared of relationships thing, I mean."

I scowled as she pumped her fist in the air and grinned victoriously. "What made you realize I'm right?"

"If I knew this would give you a superiority complex I wouldn't have admitted it at all." I glared out the window and waited for an apology.

"Sorry, Shy. But do you realize that that is two victories for me and none for you?" When I didn't answer, she sighed and said, "Sorry, no more gloating."

"Damn straight," I laughed. "Anyway, what was the question?"

"What made you realize I'm right? That was word for word by the way."

"Congrats, you're awesome," I said dryly. "But I guess I just finally admitted the truth to myself."

"I told you that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."

"Yes you did, and once again congratulations, you're awesome."

"I can't help but get the vibe that you don't really mean it."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "As for a certain other person, I have no intention of dating him. Besides he said himself that he's not 'interested', so it was never an option."

"Shy," Keiko groaned in exasperation.

"What? Are you going to tell me you want me to date him? Don't be crazy, Keiko."

"I just don't think you should rule it out. Dating would be good for Hiei and if you think he's attractive…" She trailed off, letting me fill in the blanks.

"Hey, no names, for all we know they're listening to us." I glanced over her shoulder and gave a sigh of relief when I saw that they were still absorbed in their own conversation. "Don't try to hook us up, Keiko. I'm warning you."

"Come on, Shy. Why not?"

"Because I'm not interested."

Keiko started to speak, but I shook my head and interrupted her, "No way, no how. So deal!"

"These are the longest stairs ever. Remind me to tell grandma to install an elevator or escalators or whatever."

"You are by far the most pathetic excuse for a man I've ever met."

"You know what, Shy?"

"What, Yusuke?" I replied, feigning seriousness.

"You're cruising for a bruising, that's what."

"Just so you know, someone already beat you to it, Urameshi," Kuwabara interrupted.

"Keep your opinions to yourself," Yusuke snapped. "Didn't your parents ever tell you to only speak when spoken to?"

"Ha-ha, very funny. You have the maturity level of a small child."

"Look whose talking. At least I couldn't eat a small child."

"I blame you for this," Keiko said to me.

"What? What did I do?"

"You antagonized Yusuke and now the two of them are going to bicker for hours."

"You say that like it doesn't happen all the time," I quipped.

"Don't be a smartass," Keiko snapped.

Frowning, Kurama said, "I feel as though everyone is fighting today."

"Hn," Hiei added.

"Hiei is an incredible orator. Seriously, no joke," I murmured to Keiko.

She stifled a laugh with her hand and replied, "If he hears you, he'll kill you."

"His social skills are simply astonishing."

"You're digging your own grave," she said, turning a laugh into a cough.

"Keiko, are you alright?" Kurama asked, concerned.

We both burst into uncontrollable laughter and Keiko finally managed to say, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He eyed us as though he feared for our sanity and then turned his attention to Hiei.

"Jeeze, Keiko, way to almost get me caught."

"Well, don't make me laugh."

"It's not my fault you thought I was kidding. I even said 'no joke'."

My legs were protesting the climb up the stairs and I was glad I'd foisted my suitcase off on Kuwabara, because as it was my duffel bag felt way too heavy. I glanced toward the top of the stairs to see that Yusuke and Kuwabara had started racing, despite the fact that they were both carrying suitcases.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Urameshi," Kuwabara yelled in between pants.

"Like hell, you will!" Yusuke pulled ahead of Kuwabara and was a dozen steps from the top when Genkai made an appearance.

"Damn it, dimwit, will you stop yelling and shut the hell up?"

Yusuke paused mid-step, surprise apparent on his face, and Kuwabara barreled past him, stumbling to a halt at the stop of the stairs.

"Holy shit," I murmured, "Kuwabara won?"

"Apparently," Kurama replied, his voice equally low.

Yusuke was still paused, balanced precariously on a step. "Yusuke, you may want to close your mouth before you catch something."

He ignored me, turning enraged eyes on Genkai. "What the hell, Grandma? You just made me lose!"

The old psychic turned her back on him and walked away, calling over her shoulder, "You're training should have prepared you for surprises. You have no one to blame for your loss but yourself."

I walked past Yusuke, slapping him on the shoulder as I went. "Don't worry; you'll suck less next time."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Pretty much what it sounded like. Your performance was pathetic; hopefully you'll do better next time around."

I reached the top of the stairs and followed Kurama and Hiei toward the shrine. "Make sure Kuwabara comes out of his stupor. I think it's supposed to rain tonight. The last thing we would want is for the winner to become sick."

My words seemed to wake Kuwabara up and he shook his head, seemingly too surprised by his win to understand what was going on. "Did I beat Urameshi?"

"It was a fluke," Yusuke snapped.

"Whatever lets you sleep at night."

"You know what, Shyle?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Am I cruising for another bruising?"

"Yeah, I'm going to kick your ass."

"You and what army?"

He glared at me, threw up his hands, and stomped off down the path.

"Wait, so I really won?" At my nod Kuwabara whooped and bolted after Yusuke. "Take that, Urameshi. So much for your speed."

Yusuke ignored him, continuing to tramp his way towards the shrine.

"He isn't a graceful loser, is he?" I asked Keiko.

"Not so much."

I yawned as I shove my empty suitcase into the closet of the room I'd be staying in. We'd spent the whole day talking to Genkai. Or, I should say, most of us had been talking; Yusuke had been bickering. By the time I'd been able to come unpack it was ten o'clock and, after my adventures on the previous night, I just wanted to get to bed.

I changed quickly and headed for the bathroom that our group was sharing. I had a feeling there were going to serious conflicts over the bathroom and as soon as I stepped into the hallway I saw I was right.

The door was closed and Yusuke was sprawled on the floor in front of it. "What are you doing?" I asked. He and Hiei, who was leaning against the wall, glanced at me.

"Keiko has been in there forever and I'm making sure that I'm the next one in."

Sighing, I slid down against the wall and leaned my head back. "Why do you need the bathroom next? Do you even own a toothbrush?"

He flung a leg out in a halfhearted kick and I watched, unfazed, as he missed horribly. "I do own a toothbrush, thank you very much."

"Good to know."

"Don't act like you're not interested, especially after just asking me if I had one."

"Have you ever heard of a rhetorical question?" I asked.

He huffed and rolled over so that he was facing the wall, his back to me. "Hurry up, Keiko," he yelled. "I'm sick of your friend already."

I rolled my eyes at his childish antics and glanced at Hiei, who had closed his eyes and was appeared as though he was not even listening. "So, I'm assuming you want the bathroom before me."

He opened one eye and glanced at me. For a fleeting second I allowed myself to admire just how attractive he was, but stopped as soon as I thought of what Keiko would say. "I was here first. There is no reason for me to allow you to use the bathroom first."

Nope, just chivalry, but hey, who really cares about that anymore. I didn't voice a response, instead looking at the bathroom door as it swung open, connecting solidly with Yusuke's gut. "Holy shit, what the hell?"

I snorted, "That's what you get for being an ass, Yusuke."

"You know what, Iraheta?"

"I feel like you're using that question a lot today," I observed, keeping my voice as nonchalant as possible.

"Yusuke, why were you lying in front of the door?" Keiko asked. She looked exasperated, as though she was dealing with a small child.

"If I wasn't Shyle probably would have tried to cut me."

"Cut you? Are we in first grade?"

"I don't trust you."

"So that's a yes, right?" I asked. Shooting me a glare, he scrambled to his feet and dove past Keiko, slamming the door behind him. "How do you live with him?"

"Patience, lots and lots of patience," Keiko replied. She glanced at Hiei, who had once again closed his eyes, and then back at me. Quirking an eyebrow suggestively, she said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I stuck my tongue out at her as she turned and headed for the room she shared with Yusuke. "I do not understand that immature gesture."

My eyes snapped to Hiei. He was watching me, disdain clear in his eyes. "Oh, um, it's kind of stupid."

"Yes, I can see that."

I blushed and glanced at the bathroom door, pleading silently for Yusuke to be quick. "It's just a rude, immature way for people to show their contempt or irritation for a person or action."

He snorted and closed his eyes once more. "Humans have weird habits."

"I'm not going to lie; I think demons do weird things too. I think it's all about how you grow up, if you're used to something or not."

He didn't respond and a second later Yusuke emerged from the bathroom. "There I went fast and everything."

"Could have been faster."

"Do you go out of your way to annoy me?" he snapped.

"Nah, it just comes naturally," I grinned at him cheekily.

"Take a really long time, Hiei." With that he turned and walked the same way Keiko had, disappearing into their room.

Without glancing at me, Hiei entered the bathroom, leaving me alone in the hallway. My thoughts immediately went to the conversation Keiko and I had had on the train. If Hiei wanted to date me, would I be willing to date him?

I wasn't so sure. He was attractive but so far he seemed to have a lot of flaws. If Keiko was right and he like humans more than he used to, then I'm glad I never met him in the beginning. Not to mention his rather pathetic social skills. I'm sure he could be pleasant if he wanted to, but he clearly doesn't want to.

So unless I saw something else in him that I liked, he was just going to be some very nice eye candy, something to look at other than Kurama's pretty boy self.

Hiei emerged from the bathroom and walked past me without acknowledging my presence. Knowing I was being obnoxious, I called after him, "Night, Hiei."

"Hn, night."

His social skills are simply amazing.

AN: So, there's the newest chapter. I really wanted to post last Friday but I simply didn't end up having time. That is over though. My AP tests are both done (this is like my celebratory my-life-not-longer-sucks chapter) and I will have a crap load more free time. Trust me when I say I plan on writing a lot more. Plus track is over in a week or two and then I will have more time than I know what to do with.

I hope you like the new chapter and if you have any criticism or questions I'd love to hear from you. I love hearing people's questions because it lets me know if I'm not being clear. Sometimes I know what I mean or why something happened but other people don't, so if you tell me it's confusing I'll know to go back and change it or address the issue later.

Also, does anyone want me to say who the chapter title is sung by or for me to explain why I chose the title? If you do just tell me and I'll start doing that.

And now I'm finally done wasting your time.