I liked that last chapter so much that I am getting right to work on a new one :D
I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Kudos go out to kuwayukifan91 for the chapter idea!
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Yukina stood in the kitchen, drying the dishes that Shizuru handed her after washing them, wanting so badly for the chores to be done so she could go up and study with Kazuma. A knock on the door made both girls jump and Yukina set down the plate she was drying to go and open it.
"Hello, Yukina, is Shizuru here?" Kurama stood on the front step, looking suave and calm as always. Before Yukina could even answer him, Shizuru yelled that she was in the kitchen and Yukina just smiled and ushered the demon inside.
"Come on in, Kurama," Shizuru welcomed him from the sink, "What brings you here so late?"
"Hiei is in town," Kurama informed them, "He said he was going to have a long talk with Kuwabara. I figured I should be here in case things get out of hand."
"Why would it get out of hand?" Yukina asked in surprise.
"Because your brother kind of hates mine," Shizuru reminded her, "Well when he comes, he better knock this time. I swear he just appears inside and it's creepy."
Kurama laughed, but he didn't let them in on his secret: Hiei was already here and was already engaged in his conversation with Kuwabara upstairs.
"Excuse me, girls, I need to go and let Kuwabara know Hiei is coming," he said, needing to get upstairs so he could hear the conversation. He left the girls in the kitchen and went up to lean his ear against the door, listening to the conversation unfold.
A smile spread across his face when he heard Hiei's quiet comment before he left and he nodded, leaning away from the door. It had gone fairly well and he was glad there hadn't been any bloodshed. Satisfied, he walked down the stairs, passing Yukina on her way up, and went into the kitchen where Shizuru was wiping off the countertops.
"Hiei was already here, wasn't he?" she said, not really sounding like it was a question, "I felt him come in upstairs. Is Kazuma alive up there?"
"Yes, he most certainly is," Kurama assured her, "He very grudgingly gave Kuwabara his permission to be with Yukina. I am surprised, really, I thought he was going to go on another of his fruitless tirades about humans and demons not mixing."
Shizuru sighed, leaning onto the counter.
"This feels like a hopeless romance movie," she said grimly, "They're fine, but everyone around them thinks it will never work."
"We don't," Kurama offered, "However, they have two whole worlds against them. The human world will never accept Yukina and the demon world will never accept Kuwabara. They certainly are star-crossed lovers."
"Yeah, they have a few people on their side," Shizuru admitted, "I just hope they can ignore it all."
"So do I," Kurama agreed.
"You wanna hang out here for a while?" Shizuru asked boldly, "Those two will be studying up there all night."
Kurama looked at her with some surprise, but then he smiled and followed her into the living room.
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The next morning was a Saturday and Kuwabara was already awake and studying, trying hard to catch up on the mountain of homework on his desk; Yukina and Shizuru were in the living room eating breakfast as they watched the news.
"More alien spotting," Shizuru stated, her tone unimpressed, "In our world this time. Some demon must have been feeling like pulling a prank."
"Or eating someone," Yukina said sadly, "Will our worlds ever be able to handle living side by side? The demons know about human world, but why can't the humans know about ours?"
"Humans couldn't handle the truth," Shizuru replied simply, "Most humans think their world is the only one and that demons are just tales and that the Spirit World is just a story to keep people in line."
"Ryuu took it well," Yukina reminded her, thinking back to the day at the hospital when Kazuma introduced her to the man. He had accepted it easily and with great interest.
"But he also had already seen something unusual and unexplainable," Shizuru reminded her, "He was in a state of mind to be more accepting. The majority of humans are comfortable in this world and that is all they want."
"So they would react badly to a demon?" Yukina asked sadly.
"Very badly."
"My people would react badly towards Kazuma as well," the ice maiden sighed, "They hate male demons...I can't even imagine how they would feel about a human one."
Shizuru gave her small friend a sad smile.
"Kurama summed it up perfectly," she said, "You and Kazuma are star-crossed lovers, for sure."
Yukina blinked silently, not comprehending Shizuru's statement.
"What does that mean?" she asked, innocently, cocking her head slightly.
"It's...wait, you haven't heard that story, have you?" Shizuru remembered she was talking to a demon who was fairly new to the human world, "It's a line from a very popular human love story called Romeo and Juliet."
"A love story? I really enjoy love stories!" Yukina was very interested, "Is it a movie?"
"There are several movies," Shizuru informed her, "But the original story is a book, a stage play to be completely accurate. You should ask Kazuma to tell you about it, he probably knows it cover to cover."
Yukina was up off the couch in a flash, heading towards the stairs. Shizuru smiled as she watched her go, she had just pulled off another round of matchmaking without even trying very hard. Yusuke and his "Superior Cupid" title could suck it.
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"Kazuma!"
Kuwabara looked up from his math homework and blinked in surprise at Yukina's loud entrance to his room.
"Um...yes, my love?"
"I'm sorry," Yukina blushed brightly and covered her mouth with her hand, "That was very loud."
"It's alright, beautiful," Kuwabara chuckled and turned his chair around to give her his full attention, "What's on your mind?"
Yukina approached him quickly and sat sideways on his lap without ceremony, causing his eyebrows to raise in pleased surprise. Now that Yukina had gotten more comfortable with physical contact and expressions of affection she did things like this randomly, not that he would ever complain but it did make him uncomfortable sometimes for reasons he never let her know about...at least not at this point in their relationship. Even now he expected her to notice the obvious change in his pants...but she never seemed to be aware of it.
"Shizuru said you could tell me a love story," Yukina informed him.
"Uh...sure, I guess," Kuwabara was very confused, but he would never deny his lady anything she asked. If she wanted a love story, he would just have to make it up on the fly.
"She said there's a book," Yukina continued, "Called...Romeo and..."
"Romeo and Juliet?" he offered.
"Yes!"
"And she said I could tell you the story, huh?" Kuwabara had to admire his sister's support, "Well, I don't know it off the top of my head, but I can read it to you if you'd like. If you read it on your own, you might not understand it too well. It's written in a very old fashioned human world style."
"Ok!" Yukina grinned, excited by the idea of him reading a story to her. She had seen human parents do such a thing for their children and she found it very relaxing, she was definitely no child but she imagined the effect would be the same.
Kuwabara glanced back at his unfinished math homework and hesitated for a moment before patting her on the ankle in a motion to get up. She slid off his legs and plopped down on the bed, waiting for him to join her and read to her.
"Get up, silly," Kuwabara laughed, nodding towards the doorway, "I don't have the book here. We'll have to go to the library."
"What's a library?" Yukina was interested, anyplace she had never been before always excited her.
"It's a building where they keep books," Kuwabara explained, "You can go and borrow almost any book you want and bring it home, or you can sit there and read it."
It sounded fun.
"Ok, let's go!" Yukina was down the stairs before Kuwabara could even respond so he just smiled and followed after her. When he got downstairs she was already slipping on her shoes.
"Hey, Shizu, can I borrow your car?"
"Sure, but if you wreck it, I will kill you slowly and painfully," Shizuru replied, "Key's are by the door."
Kuwabara grabbed the keys and pulled on his sneakers, stumbling out the door to keep up with his excited girlfriend as she headed for the car. He was determined to always open the car door for her.
"Thank you," Yukina said quickly as she slipped into the passenger seat. Kuwabara shut her door and went around to the driver's side and got in with her. They headed downtown to the town library.
"I can't even remember the last time I was here," he mused as he parked outside the building. He ran around to open the door for Yukina and she bounced out of the car with an expression of pure joy.
"This is a lovely building!" she squealed, eyeing the pillars with delight.
Kuwabara smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, ushering her towards the doors. When he held the door open for her and she walked in, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in amazement as she took in the sight of the dark wooden shelves filled to the brim with books of all colors and shapes. The stairs headed up immediately in front of them to an area brightly lit with natural light from overhead windows and large picture windows around and Yukina pointed out an area by a window overlooking a fountain. They made their way to the cushy looking couch that was by the window and they plopped down in it, both laughing quietly.
"Oh, Kazuma," Yukina breathed out softly, her voice sounding awed, "This place is beautiful. There are so many books! Have you read them all?"
"No way!" Kuwabara said in surprise, "I could never read all of these!"
"I want to," Yukina whispered, her eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Let's start with the one we came for," Kuwabara gave her a wink and pulled her up to her feet. He took her around and showed her the different sections of shelves and told her what types of books they held. When they reached the correct section, Kuwabara scanned the shelves until he located the title and pulled the small book down and handed it to Yukina to examine.
"Are we going to take it home or read it here?" she asked.
Kuwabara looked out at the reading area. Since it was a Saturday, most kids and teens were out having fun, not focusing on homework so the reading area was mostly empty with the exception of an elderly woman who was knitting near the non-fiction sections and a young boy doing puzzles in the center of the floor.
"What would you like to do?" he asked.
"I want to stay here," Yukina replied without hesitation, "I love it here."
"Ok, come on."
They took their spot by the window again, the farthest from the other people as they could get. Kuwabara sat with his back against the arm rest, one leg on the couch, the other foot he placed on the floor beside the couch to create a perfect space between his legs for Yukina to sit and lean back against him. Yukina immediately joined him on the couch, leaning back onto his chest, she tilted her head back to look up at him and she smiled brightly.
"Ready."
Kuwabara smiled back at her and opened the book.
"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene..." he began the story in a soft voice, as not to disturb anyone else in the reading area.
The story went on and Yukina's eyes scanned the pages in amazement as she read quietly along with him, she felt relaxed and happy and safe sitting there on that couch with Kazuma's deep rumbling voice in her ears. The young boy was still putting together his puzzle on the floor, but Yukina noticed the old woman had stopped her knitting and was listening to the story as well, her face had a soft smile on it as she examined the pair on the couch. Yukina smiled shyly at the lady and was glad when the lady nodded and smiled in return.
The story continued, the lovers spotted each other at the party, Romeo proclaimed his love underneath the balcony, Mercutio was killed, Tybalt was killed, families fought, and the lovers' lives ended in tragic death. By the end, Yukina had dropped a single tear gem onto her lap.
"What did you think of it, love?" Kuwabara asked as he shut the book and set it beside the couch.
"I fail to see how that is a wonderful love story," Yukina sniffed sadly, "They both died and their families were so hateful. Romeo killed her cousin!"
"Yeah, it definitely could have had a better ending," Kuwabara agreed, "But the point is they loved each other even though everyone else told them it was wrong. They knew it was right, and they loved each other enough to ignore their families plans and be with each other no matter what."
"We might not have it so bad after all," Yukina said softly, "At least your sister wants us together, and my brother told me he will allow it for now."
"We just have two entire species against us," Kuwabara reminded her quietly, not wanting to be overheard by the old lady.
Yukina took that statement in and the story suddenly clicked in her mind. She jumped up from the couch, making Kuwabara flinch at the sudden movement, and spun around to face him with a serious expression.
"That's right," she said sadly, "We have two entire species against us. That's more than Romeo and Juliet ever had! I'm so sorry, Kazuma, I'm sorry...this will never work!"
Kuwabara looked up at her in shock.
"What are you going on about?" he asked, afraid of the answer.
"Us," Yukina clarified, "We can't be together! We can't, it won't work, it never works! My kind and your kind...we just don't belong together!"
Kuwabarabara felt his heart sink and he felt his shoulders slumping more and more as she continued to make that statement over and over. She had no tears in her eyes, no sadness...all he saw was acceptance and a cold expression he immediately wished he'd never had to see. It looked to him as if her heart had frozen over.
"We can be friends but that is all we can ever be," she said, a final blow to his already breaking heart. He swore he felt it shatter to tiny, icy pieces as she said those words. Blinking back the tears that were forming in his eyes and swallowing the unmanly sob that was threatening to come out of him, he stood quickly and backed away from where she was standing, staring at the floor with her crimson gaze.
"But...Yukina..." he whispered, it was all his vocal cords would allow, "I love you..."
"We can't. It will only end badly."
Kuwabara let his eyes close, he clenched his jaw to keep from blurting anything out that he might regret. He wished he could sink into the floor right then and there and cease to exist.
"I'll walk home," Yukina's voice sounded like a scream in his ears. She was dismissing him. She wanted him to leave.
So he did. He backed away slowly, his gaze never leaving her form until he turned slowly to head down the stairs, his entire body began to shake in the effort of remaining upright and not completely breaking down in public. He scrunched his brows together and took a deep, steadying breath then he walked down the stairs and out the door. He managed to make it to the car before he completely broke down.
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Yukina felt everything. She felt his fear, she felt his shock, anger, and desperation...and she felt every bit of his pain. But she remained silent and still as a stone, not letting her heart react to the intense emotions flooding her entire being. She had to do it, she had to stop this thing in its tracks, humans and demons could not be together, she knew that now.
Kazuma would have to accept it. He would have to understand...they were only ever going to be doomed. Just like Romeo and Juliet, their relationship would only cause problems for those they loved and they would never have a happy ending.
Yukina felt a sob rising in her throat and she tried to swallow it, but she only managed to turn it into a choked gasp and she covered her mouth with her hand as her defenses fell and the feelings hit her like a lightning bolt. She sat back down on the couch, which was still holding onto Kazuma's familiar warmth, and she laid down to soak up the last of it as she cried silently, tear gems falling onto the cushion.
I'm doing the right thing. I am. Kazuma needs a human like him. Someone who won't cause more problems for him.
She repeated this mantra to herself over and over again, but it wasn't helping the sudden ache in her chest.
But if this is really for the best why does it hurt so much?
Yukina felt a hand on her shoulder and she jerked in surprise and looked up to see the wrinkled face of the old lady looking down at her with an expression of pity.
"Dear, I would like to talk to you if that's alright," she said softly, "Come with me, the library is closing. Let's go and talk on the front steps."
Yukina vaguely thought that she should not go anywhere with a stranger, but she doubted an old lady could cause her much harm so she followed silently, wiping away another forming tear gem. The little boy doing puzzles followed them and Yukina assumed he must be there with the old woman.
The old woman brushed off a step when they got outside and sat down, staring out across the street towards the park. Yukina heard the door lock behind them so she sighed and sat next to the woman and waited in silence.
"Isn't that a beautiful sight?" the old woman sighed, causing Yukina to raise her head and look around.
"What?" she asked, not seeing anything in particular of interest.
"The sunset, dear," the old woman replied patiently, "When I first saw a Human World sunset, I knew right then that I would never get used to them."
Yukina now gave her full attention to the old woman and it hit her...a slight youkai. The old woman was a demon, an absolutely ancient demon.
"How long have you been in the human world?" she asked, curious now as to what this old demon's story was.
"I have been here for two thousand human years," the demon replied, "And I have seen millions of short human lives pass by me. I have seen them rise and fall and try and fail."
"Humans...are so fragile," Yukina sighed sadly.
"Yes...they have fragile bodies and fragile lives," the demon agreed, and she turned to fix Yukina in her golden gaze, "But never have I met a species with stronger hearts and more powerful abilities to love."
Yukina stared at the old demon in silence, knowing that she had more to say.
"I saw you and that human boy," the demon said seriously, "Do you love him?"
Yukina hung her head and sighed, nodding gently. Yes, she did. She had told him that, hadn't she?
"No, not yet you don't."
"What?" Yukina was surprised, "How do you know anything about me?"
The old demon met Yukina's gaze and considered her face for a long moment.
"Because I see myself in you," she replied in a whisper, "What are you afraid of? Why did you tell him the things you did?"
"Because...I realized the story he told me was true. Humans and demons can't be together like he wants...our people will never understand. He'll die and I'll live on and all we worked for will be nothing. Love just ends in death."
"That's true in a way," the demon agreed, nodding sagely, "Humans and demons alike will not understand and he will die long before you. But love is so much more than death."
"And you would know?" Yukina felt a bit nasty for her reply, but she was tired and cranky and brokenhearted.
"I would know better than anyone else," the demon assured her, "I fell in love with the Human World three thousand years ago when I finally made it out of Demon World...and I fell in love with a human not long after that."
Yukina regarded the lady carefully.
"Come," the demon demanded, "Walk with me."
Yukina stood and followed the lady and the boy into the park across the street.
"I fell in love with a human," the demon repeated as the boy ran ahead to chase a squirrel, "He was twenty four years old when I met him, back then the world was completely different. Humans hadn't discovered everything they have now, they were still hunters and farmers trying to figure out the world."
Yukina listened with interest, her love of human history stories making her want to hear more.
"But humans haven't changed much in two thousand years," the old woman chuckled, "He told me he loved me and did everything he could to show me what that meant. I thought he was funny, I thought he was kind and sweet...but I was a demon and he was a human and I would not allow myself to feel the same for him."
"You were smart not to," Yukina sighed, "It hurts so much."
"No, dear, I was a fool," the woman corrected her, "Because by the time I realized I could not fight my feelings forever, he was halfway through his life and people lived shorter lives back then. By the time I accepted his love and showed him love in return, he was getting gray hair. He died three years later of a terrible human sickness."
Yukina felt her tummy tighten uncomfortably, tears stung her eyes again.
"See?" she said sadly, "It wasn't worth it."
The old woman stopped walking and turned to face her, placing her hands on her arms and looking her deep in the eyes.
"Oh, you are very wrong," she said quietly, "It was, and is, worth every tear and every lonely night I have been through since. Because, my dear, to have loved him even for three short years was the greatest achievement of my life."
Yukina stared silently back at the old woman and blinked in surprise. The woman's eyes were brimming with tears, but her face was peaceful and her lips raised in a smile and Yukina knew there were memories flooding the old demon's mind, memories of the human she loved and lost.
"Don't you see, honey?" she whispered, "Humans love with everything they are, that boy is already connected to you so profoundly that he will never be able to completely let you go. Human love cannot be compared to anything else in all of the three worlds, there is nothing more powerful. To be loved by a human and to love a human in return is the greatest thing a demon can be a part of."
"But...he's gone," Yukina reminded the woman sadly, "Your human...he's gone. He was such a tiny part of your life."
"No," the demon shook her head and smiled, "He was the most important part of my life. The rest has simply been an existence. I know I will meet him again in my next life,so I live this life the best I can, knowing I will see him again and knowing he is waiting for me."
"Didn't it hurt you terribly to lose him?" Yukina asked.
"I have never felt such pain before or since," the demon admitted, "But the time I had with him was worth all of it. I know it would be the same for you...and you have the chance to love now while you are both young and have much time ahead of you."
Yukina fell silent and walked beside the demon until they came to the edge of the park which opened up to an empty field waiting to be developed by the city. The sunset was bright red now and the open field gave them both a great view.
"It's not too late, my dear," the demon said softly, "You know in your heart what is truly right...and what you told him is not it. You know deep inside that the opinions of those around you do not dictate your heart. Forget Shakespeare's ending, he always had a fascination with tragedy, you have to write your own ending."
Yukina felt hope rising in her chest. She wasn't the first demon who had gone through this and she probably wouldn't be the last. She recalled the tale of Yusuke's ancestor, Raizen, and his love the human woman...if they had not given in to their love then Yusuke would never have existed. Everything happened for a reason.
"Star-crossed lovers is not a bad thing as many people think," the woman's next words snapped her back to the moment, "It simply means two of the most unlikely people can miraculously cross paths in a massive universe. You have the choice to make the most of your meeting with this other star...don't let it pass by and mean nothing."
"You're right," Yukina breathed, feeling the massive weight on her shoulder lift, "You're right! Thank you. Thank you for sharing your story! I have to go and find him!"
"Just remember," the old demon clasped Yukina's hand between hers and smiled, "There are people, both demon and human alike, who WILL support and understand you. Not everyone is against you. Now go and make this right. Don't waste a single moment because time goes by so fast. I must go now, dear, I am taking this child home to his mother now, I am just his nanny."
"Thank you," Yukina said one more time, "May I ask your name?"
The old woman shook her head.
"My name is not important," she said gently, "You will not see me again."
And with that the woman began walking away, she called out to the young boy and the two of them left the park hand in hand. Yukina watched them go until she couldn't see them anymore and then she turned to look one more time at the sunset. It certainly was beautiful.
"I must get home," she whispered to herself. Home, she decided, was wherever Kazuma was. She turned and took off at a run in the direction her heart led her and, as she ran, she swore she saw a red string connected to her finger leading the way home.
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I meant this chapter to be longer but it's about 4,700 words already so...I think I'll just write another.
kuwayukifan91, I took a few liberties with the demon lady and her tale to make things a bit more dramatic. I figure Yukina needed a moment that absolutely sealed her resolve, because Romeo and Juliet really doesn't encourage love and it could really shock a person who didn't understand it well.
Hope you liked it!
Hope everyone liked it!
Hope I get more suggestions and reviews!
Keep calm and sing Megallica songs, ya'll!