I feel like popping out another chapter since my husband is at work and my day is dull...
So here is chapter three!
YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH
Yukina had started high school once she started staying in the Kuwabara house, Shizuru insisted on it in case anyone ever got suspicious of why a strange girl was suddenly coming and going from the house, the neighbors were annoyingly nosey. They set up the ruse of Yukina being an exchange student and enrolled her in Kazuma's high school, which had made his day when he heard the news.
Today, a week after the day at Genkai's temple, she found herself walking home with an armload of homework that she was feeling very uncertain of. School had just started for the year and this new class was something she'd never even though of studying before...Anatomy and Physiology
The first few days, learning about cell structure and function were intriguing to her and now they had moved on to muscles of the human body and she was confused and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of muscles to learn. She'd never really thought about how complex humans were!
"Yukina!" Kazuma's voice shattered her thoughts and she turned around, smiling at him as he caught up to her, nearly tripping in his hurry. "Glad I caught you! My last class got out early so I can walk you home today!"
"That would be lovely, Kazuma," Yukina said happily, glad for the company to take her mind off the pile of homework and the two papers due by the end of the week. School was stressful...she didn't know how humans did it so easily.
"How are you liking school so far?" it was almost as if he had read her mind.
"It's very challenging," Yukina admitted, hanging her head slightly, "It is much harder than I imagined. I am learning so much, though."
The two of them chatted all the way back to the Kuwabara house and were delighted to walk in and smell dinner cooking, Shizuru stood by the stove and was stirring something in a large pot.
"Is that niku jaga?!" Kazuma asked, excitedly, craning his head over his sister's shoulder to look in the pot. Shizuru elbowed him in the ribs and he backed off quickly, hunched over and holding his side.
"Yes, now go get started on your homework or you won't be getting any of it when it's ready!" Shizuru ordered, turning to push her oversized brother towards the stairs. Kazuma obediently headed to his room, murmuring about how evil Shizuru was.
"How was school today?" Shizuru asked Yukina as the shorter girl set her book bag on the table.
"It was good," Yukina said honestly, "But there is so much homework to finish by the end of this week."
"If you need any help, let me know," Shizuru offered, "I know how odd this must be for you, Hiei said you don't have this type of education system in the demon world."
"Yes," Yukina said with a nod, "We learn more by personal experience and from our times in the human world if we get here. But sometimes we attend school in the human world, like Kurama and I."
"Are you enjoying it?" Shizuru asked, honestly interested in the small demon's point of view.
"I am," Yukina replied with a smile, "It's very interesting to learn about humans. Especially your history, it is very fascinating to see what your species has accomplished."
"Sometimes I forget we ARE different species," Shizuru admitted sadly, "I feel like it doesn't even matter, but I forget that you and Hiei must see things so different from the rest of us who have always been here. Even Kurama grew up like a human."
"It is different," Yukina said, pulling out her history homework and laying it out on the table, "But I enjoy it. It is such a big world here, much bigger than my ice kingdom...so much to see and discover."
That moment, the front door swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang that caused both girls to jump nearly out of their skins, Yusuke stood in the doorway with an amused grin on his face.
"Ugh, Yusuke, you punk!" Shizuru gasped, clutching her chest in fright, "Most people KNOCK before entering."
"Is Kuwabara here?" Yusuke asked without apologizing or looking at all sorry. "I wanted too see if he's up for a movie with Kurama and I, and you guys too if you want to come."
Shizuru hesitated a moment, thinking a movie with Kurama sounded nice, but then shook her head.
"Oh, no you don't, Urimeshi," she stated firmly, "Kazuma has a ton of homework to do before the end of the week and he is going to get it done! He doesn't have time for a movie tonight!"
"I'll ask him anyway!" Yusuke shot up the stairs before Shizuru could say another word.
A moment later, the two boys appeared walking down the stairs discussing the movie and Shizuru met them in the kitchen doorway with her arms crossed, her soup ladle dripping on the floor as she glared at her brother.
"You are going to finish your homework," she stated firmly, "You can go to the movies on the weekend."
"Aw, come on, sis!" Kuwabara groaned, "I've been at school all day and I need a break or my brain is gonna fry!"
Yukina stayed out of the argument and pulled out her muscle labeling paper and textbook for Anatomy, flipping it open to the image of a skinless human, words covered the area around the figure, pointing to the major muscles and identifying them. Yusuke left the siblings to duke it out and approached the table with interest, looking over her shoulder at her homework.
"Anatomy, huh?" he asked, making Yukina jump a little in surprise. She turned and smiled up at him.
"Yes," she affirmed, "I am supposed to learn the muscles of the human body before our test on Friday. There are so many! I had no idea how complex humans are!"
Yusuke eyed the image on the textbook page and a fantastic idea popped into his head. If THIS didn't get Yukina to notice Kuwabara as more than just a friend, NOTHING WOULD! He snatched the book up off the table and eyed it carefully.
"Yukina, I have an idea how you can learn it and have it make much more sense!"he announced, tucking the book under his armpit, "Just let me borrow this for a moment and I'll be right back!"
Yusuke took off back upstairs and was gone for quite a while, leaving Kuwabara to be slapped around by his sister and Yukina to sit at the table with a surprised look on her face at the sudden absconding of her textbook. A while later, Yusuke trotted back into the kitchen and handed the textbook back to her.
"Kuwabara, forget the movie, Yukina needs your help." Yusuke announced, causing Shizuru to halt mid-strangle. Kuwabara immediately yanked out of her grasp and slid across the tile floor to Yukina's side.
"What can I do for you, my love?" he asked, puffing out his chest, "Do I need to beat someone up for you? Do you need an errand run? Or is there a physical need I can fulfill?"
"Ugh, stop!" Shizuru covered her ears dramatically, "My virgin ears!"
"Actually it IS a physical need!" Yusuke announced, "She needs help learning human anatomy!"
The soup ladle Shizuru had been holding clattered to the floor and everyone looked over at her in surprise. She was wide eyed for a moment then she shook her head and glared at Yusuke.
"Yusuke, what the hell?" she growled, "What the hell are you playing at?"
Yusuke slung his arm over Shizuru's shoulders and whispered his plan in her ear quickly.
"Ugh," Shizuru shook her head, but took on a resigned look, "I guess you're right. Just...don't let this get out of hand."
"If it does, it does," Yusuke shrugged, "I'd say it needs to happen sooner or later."
"Get out of my kitchen," Shizuru muttered. The three of them did as she said and made their way upstairs.
"So, uh, I'm helping you with your homework?" Kuwabara asked as they gathered in his room, Yusuke grabbed a pile of papers off the desk and a roll of tape from the desk drawer.
Yukina didn't have a clue what was going on, she just watched incredulously as Yusuke approached Kuwabara from behind and pulled his friend's jacket off forcefully.
"Hey! Urimeshi, what is your problem? You're acting like a weirdo!" Kuwabara complained, but he let the jacket come off as it twisted his arms behind him.
"Yukina needs help labeling the muscles of the human body," Yusuke explained as he handed the pile of cards to Yukina, she stared at him with wide eyes. "You can't learn this kind of stuff from a picture in a book. She needs to have a look at a real human to get the real picture!"
With that, Yusuke grabbed the hem of his friend's shirt and began lifting up to pull over his head but Kuwabara shoved him away and firmly pulled the shirt back down.
"Wait, wait," he growled, "So you want me to do what exactly?"
"Be her model," Yusuke said simply.
Yukina suddenly understood and she smiled brightly.
"What a great idea, Yusuke!" she said happily, "Real life examples make more sense to me than book pictures. So I am supposed to stick these labels on the correct muscle?"
"Bingo!" Yusuke laughed, "Now, come on, Kuwabara, you'll have to get down to the bare minimum."
"Uhh...I don't think this is a good idea," Kuwabara seemed very unsure.
"I guess Yukina can fail her test if you aren't willing to help her," Yusuke said nonchalantly. Kuwabara glanced at Yukina and saw her face had fallen slightly at his refusal and he sighed heavily.
"OK, I'll help her," he complied, "But YOU can leave because we both need to get our homework done and Kurama is waiting for you at the theatre."
Yusuke took the clue and, with a simple saluting wave, he left them alone in the room. As he passed Shizuru in the kitchen he made the "OK" sign with his fingers and left the Kuwabara house behind.
YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH
"Can we start now?" Yukina asked once Yusuke was gone, "I have a lot of other homework to do too."
"Uh...sure..." Kuwabara nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "What's the first one?"
Yukina examined the card on the top of the pile. "Brachioradialis."
"Um...I have no idea..." Kuwabara began but Yukina had already ripped a piece of tape off and approached with confidence, sticking the card just below the crease of his right elbow.
"The radius bone is the long bone in the forearm on the side with the thumb," Yukina reasoned to herself, placing her fingers in the crease and prodding, "And the brachial artery can be felt here, I am assuming this is the right muscle."
Kuwabara could have sworn her touch lingered on said muscle for a moment before she stepped back and looked at the next card, but it was so quick that he couldn't be sure.
"Serratus Anterior," she said aloud to herself, her face took on a confused look for a moment before she snapped her fingers and approached with her strip of tape. She eyed him expectantly, waiting.
"What?" Kuwabara asked nervously.
"Um...your ribs," Yukina said, blushing slightly.
"Oh," Kuwabara understood and pulled his tattered t-shirt over his head, baring his torso for her to stick the paper to. He let out an unmanly giggle as she put the paper on its proper muscle group. "Tickles."
Yukina giggled to and she stepped back to look at the next paper.
"Deltoid. Oh, that one is easy!"
She reached up as high as she could to stick the paper to his shoulder and he bent down slightly so she could, he couldn't help but notice how close she was to him as she pressed the tape onto his skin. He felt his skin twitch from the contact and suddenly he felt very self conscious about this whole thing.
"Next one," Yukina sounded so cheerful that he ignored his discomfort and smiled down at her.
"You're good at this, Yukina," he told her as she approached with the next card which she stuck lower down on his forearm than the first one.
"I've been studying hard," Yukina replied, "The human body is very exciting to learn about."
Kuwabara considered that statement for a moment, wondering how exciting the reproduction chapter was going to be for her...he definitely wanted to help her study for that test. The sensation of Yukina's hands on his hip caused him to jolt back to reality and look down to the card she'd stuck there that read "External Oblique"...and there was no doubt about it, this time her hand remained there for a moment longer than it should have.
Yukina's red eyes met his gray ones and they remained like that for a moment before she giggled and grabbed the next card.
"This is fun," she stated, "This one says...gastrocnemius...um...I don't remember this one..."
Kuwabara waited on pins and needles as she thought deeply, wondering where he was going to feel her touch next. If he didn't know better, he'd think Urimeshi had planned this whole thing. It was wonderful and torturous all at once.
"Right!" Yukina finally remembered the location and she knelt down to lift the leg of his jeans and slap the card on the back of his left leg, just under the back of his knee. This one tickled too and he lightly stomped his foot to release some of the tension he was feeling from standing so straight and at attention.
"Hmm..." Yukina was looking at the next card already and looking at him funny.
"What?" Kuwabara's voice felt thick and he cleared his throat, "What's wrong?"
"You'll need to take your pants off," Yukina stated simply. Before Kuwabara could even respond she had stepped up and popped the button of his jeans, he yelped and jumped back a bit.
"Whoa, calm down," he squealed, hands automatically going into crotch protection mode, "Why do I need to take them off?"
"Because this card goes here," Yukina ran her finger across his upper thigh, and an involuntary shudder shot from the area of contact through the entire rest of his being.
"O...ok..." Kuwabara tried to cover up the shudder by shuffling his feet and he quickly slipped his jeans off before he completely lost his nerve and ran away like a child. Yukina pressed the card onto his thigh before he even had time to take a breath and then she stepped back and nodded, her eyes scanning him inch by inch. If Kuwabara wasn't completely off base, he could have sworn she looked...impressed.
"Yusuke was right," she said as she picked up the next card, "I can see all of your muscles very well. You make a great model for this homework."
Kuwabara blushed a shade of red to match his hair and his eyes refused to raise themselves from the floor where they had come to focus on a dust bunny by the foot of his bed. He felt himself starting to shake slightly from his nerves and he bit his bottom lip firmly to calm himself down. After all, she meant what she said...this was schoolwork to her and nothing else.
The next card she placed gently on his abdominals, trying obviously not to tickle him with the paper. This time, her hand remained beside the card for a noticeable amount of time, her palm resting gently on his skin, making him feel like it was on fire just from that slight contact. When she moved her hand away, she let it slowly slide down until her hand slipped limply off his lower abs and hung by her side, her eyes were still focused on the paper she left there.
"You ok?" Kuwabara asked, his voice sounded odd in his own ears. Deeper.
"Yes!" Yukina assured him quickly, almost too quickly, "Next one is...yep, I know this one. Turn around, please."
Kuwabara obeyed, twisting his head to look over his shoulder at her to see where she was placing the card. She pressed it into the curve of his back, just above the card on his hip, and this time he noticed a smile twitching on the edge of her mouth as she let her fingers slide down the rest of his back. He was almost certain this was having some sort of effect on her as well...and the thought made him feel giddy.
This continued for some time, Yukina placed cards on his bicep (which he flexed good naturedly for her), on his upper back, on his chest (which he also flexed for her and earned an appreciative second glance), on the back of his thigh, on his neck, on his temple...pretty much everywhere. Until she got to the last card in the pile.
"I guess you have to take those off too," Yukina stated simply, pointing at his boxers.
"Huh?!" Kuwabara felt his face flare a bright red and he snatched the card from her hand, "I'm gonna kill Urimeshi."
Gluteus maximus.
"It goes..."
"I KNOW WHERE IT GOES!" Kuwabara backed up as Yukina approached him, the back of his knees hit the bed and he sat down hard with an umph.
"You do?" Yukina smiled brightly, "You can put it on then if you want."
Kuwabara just stared at her for a long moment, a million questions and fears and insecurities running through his mind. She waited patiently for him to speak, her innocent red eyes staring all the while. He finally stood up and slapped the card onto the back of his boxers, deciding it was the best choice at the moment.
"Is something wrong, Kazuma?" Yukina asked, her face was scrunched in concern, "You look really nervous."
"Nothing's wrong," Kuwabara tried to assure her, his hand automatically went to the back of his neck and he rubbed it up and down, messing up the back of his hair in the process. "Just...uh...ya know, I gotta...get started on my own homework soon..."
Yukina stared a moment longer and then she smiled genuinely.
"You're right!" she said gently, "Sorry for this taking so long, I really appreciate your help!"
She stepped up to him and quickly began removing the card, making Kuwabara wince in pain as he lost several hairs to the tape. She didn't seem to notice, in fact she seemed distracted to the point that she left behind several cards and quickly exited the room.
Kuwabara was left sitting on his bed, staring wide -eyed at the door and thinking about the moment he'd just passed up.
"What the hell is wrong with me?"
YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH YYH
How was that? Isn't Yusuke a mad genius? I enjoyed writing this one even though it took me all day because I was so distracted!
You have to admit, Kazuma Kuwabara has the best muscles in the whole crew. Damn.
But, anywho, let me know what you guys think so far! Seriously, I am a review whore...