Yusuke probably should have been relieved after Kurama told everyone what the doctor said—that is, he had a "clean bill of health." But things in Girl World were getting far too complicated for him. Perhaps he didn't have to worry that he was getting sick, but he did have to constantly wonder if today would be "the day" and he'd get his period in class, like Kurama had. But he felt so dumb saying he was scared.

Well, maybe I just won't go to class until I get it, he thought. But then, plenty of girls went to class every day of the month. As far as Yusuke knew, Keiko had never missed a day of school. If they could deal with it, why couldn't he? The only solution was to "be prepared," like Kurama said.

"Hey, Mom?" said Yusuke nervously as he stepped into the apartment. "You home?"

"In the kitchen," called Atsuko. She was surprisingly sober, and microwaving what smelled like ramen.

"I, um…" Was this embarrassing, or what? "I have to tell you, uh…something. Or ask you something. I mean—"

"What did you do this time?"

"I think it's that time of the month," Yusuke blurted out, hoping she'd know what he meant.

"Oh," said Atsuko. "You need Midol or something?"

That was it? This was her big mom-reaction?

"What's Midol?" Yusuke asked, mostly because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It'll help if you're having cramps or bloating," Atsuko told him.

"Uh…yeah, I think I could use some of that stuff," said Yusuke honestly. Anything for relief. "But I don't actually have it yet. I've got PMS, I guess."

"Well, then, this will probably help you." Atsuko gave Yusuke two little white pills and a glass of water to wash them down. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes, by the way."

"What are we having?" said Yusuke, swallowing the pills in one gulp. "Ramen again?"

"Yes. You love ramen."

"I know I do," said Yusuke, which sounded ridiculous, but then this whole exchange was ridiculous. Why couldn't he talk to his mom about this sort of thing? He had no clue what Kurama meant when he said to "be prepared." What could be worse than waiting for something you didn't know anything about? This was actually a little scary, not just an inconvenience. He didn't technically have to do anything yet, because he was just having symptoms for now. But then he remembered what Kurama said: Pack something in your school bag. But what was "something"? An extra uniform skirt? Cleaning supplies? Diapers, maybe?

Yusuke was a little embarrassed to ask, because the way his mom spoke so casually, it was as if he ought to know everything already. He was half-hoping she'd just be straight with him and take him through it step-by-step. That was what mothers were supposed to do, right?

"I remember when I was your age, Yuki," said Atsuko, just as the microwave beeped.

"You do?"

"Yes," she said. "I was pregnant."

"Oh. Right."

"Well, I was a little older than you, about Sakura's age." Atsuko set a bowl of ramen in front of Yusuke at the table, then another one for her. "I didn't even know how my body worked—how not to get pregnant, or how to manage once I was. There was nobody to watch out for me, to make sure I didn't get in trouble." She sighed, then stuck a bite of ramen into her mouth. "I wanted to make things easier on you growing up than they were for me. But I guess I didn't do a very good job."

Yusuke remembered how his mother had cried when he got hit by that car last year, and all of a sudden he felt guilty.

"You do just fine, Mom," he mumbled.

"That's one lesson you should definitely remember—never have sex with a man unprotected," she warned.

"No chance of that happening," said Yusuke.

"Taking care of a child is hard, but I would say the trade-off is worth it." To Yusuke's surprise, Atsuko got out of her seat to stand next to him, running her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. "But the point is, now that you're growing up and everything, I want you to know you can always come to me. I want…I want to be for you what nobody ever was for me, starting now."

Hmm. Maybe this meant more to her than he previously thought.

"Thanks, Mom," said Yusuke quietly. "I definitely need some help with this."

"All you have to do is ask, honey," Atsuko replied, bending down to give Yusuke a hug, and he hugged back, smiling slightly. Maybe, just maybe, some things had changed for the better.

…

Kurama was growing ever sicker of all the attention he got in the streets, and he was starting to feel it was a little dangerous, so on Friday morning, he took the train to school. Over his school uniform he put on his favorite green fox sweatshirt, a baggy old maternity shirt of his mother's, and a big winter coat he borrowed from his stepfather. Over the short skirt, he wore some snowpants he found in the back of his closet. He pinned his long hair up with a comb so he could hide it in the hood of the jacket, donned a pair of his mother's sunglasses, and left the house in disguise. As a result of this, he was seriously overheated, and he was sure he looked ridiculous, but nobody looked twice at him, and that was just the way he wanted it.

When he got to school, he shoved the extra layers in his locker, let down his hair, and carefully stowed the sunglasses in a pocket of his messenger bag so they wouldn't get hurt. Then he went to sit down in class. He was a little concerned that people were still going to be talking about what he did yesterday, but today the students of Meiou Private Academy had something new to gossip about: Aratani Fujisaki's breakup with Yu Kaito. Apparently, Kaito was back at school today, and he wasn't doing so well.

Kurama didn't have a class with Kaito until fourth-period History, but he knew Aratani had homeroom with him, so in third-period Biology, where they would be dissecting frogs, Kurama wasn't surprised at all to see how heartbroken Aratani looked.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurama asked, setting one hand on her shoulder.

Aratani quickly shook her head, her lips pursed, her eyes shining with tears. It was as if she was the one who'd been "dumped," as Chizuko would put it. To make things worse, their next class was History, which Kurama had with both of them at the same time. Kaito sat next to Kurama on one side of the room, while Aratani sat on the other, so at least they would be separate, but still, Kurama knew this was not going to be pretty.

When they arrived and sat down at their desks, Kaito wasn't there yet, so Kurama was startled when his old academic rival stomped into the classroom, threw his History book onto his desk, and plopped himself in his seat.

"So it's true, Kaito," said Kurama a little apprehensively. "You're back."

"Is she happy now, Sakura?" Kaito demanded. Behind his glasses, Kurama could see that his eyes were red and puffy, like he'd been crying. "Is she pleased with herself, now that she's shattered my heart?"

"Kaito, what are you talking about?" said Kurama.

"Aratani!" Kaito was obviously trying to sound angry, when really, he was terribly hurt. "Didn't she tell you how she left me?"

"Yes, but she didn't seem pleased with herself at all," Kurama told him. "She was sad about hurting you."

"Then why hurt me at all? Why not just stay with me?"

"Because in the long run, it would hurt you all the more if you stayed with someone who didn't love you, Kaito," said Kurama. "Don't you think it was better that she was honest?"

"Maybe," Kaito admitted. "But I just don't know what I did wrong, Sakura. I tried to be the perfect boyfriend."

"Kaito, you're never going to get over this until you realize that it's nothing you did wrong," Kurama said patiently. "You two just aren't meant to be. The situation can be perfect, and the couple can have 100% compatibility, but if there's no spark—well, then the rest means nothing. Just because someone is your ideal partner doesn't mean you're going to love each other." Kurama smiled sadly. "Love is strange that way."

"I do love her," said Kaito.

"Well, she only sees you as a friend," Kurama said, hoping he wasn't being too frank. "But someday, you'll find someone who loves you just as much as you love them. Why not try Chizuko? She likes to write, like you."

"Sakura, she writes a gossip column," Kaito said, and Kurama was actually relieved to hear a little of that snobby tone return to his voice. "Do you really think I would sink that low?"

"Chizuko used to write a gossip column," Kurama corrected him. "She's trying to become a better person, and in order to do so, she swore to stop libeling people. I think you two would really like each other." Especially if that means Hiei can't get entangled with her, he added to himself. Maybe purposely setting Kaito up for another heartbreak wasn't the kindest thing to do, but better Kaito than Hiei.

"I really think we wouldn't," said Kaito, and however much Kurama wanted to protect Hiei's heart, he could tell Chizuko didn't appeal to Kaito, and to be honest, he wasn't really her type, either.

Unfortunately, that was when Aratani glanced in their direction. Her bottom lip trembled; Kurama's heart sunk. Kaito saw her looking, too.

"Where did I go wrong?!" Yu Kaito cried to no one in particular as he stood up in his seat. Kurama stared. It looked like he was going to bawl. Aratani obviously heard, because she actually did burst into tears. Hands over her face, she ran from the room, as students pointed and whispered. It was just too much. Kurama felt a flare of anger inside him again, but this time he couldn't keep it down.

"You know, Kaito, I've had a hell of a week, and I don't need your drama, too!" Kurama got to his feet and shoved his chair in with a bang. "Now do us all a big fat favor and stop feeling so goddamn sorry for yourself!"

Leaving Kaito and the rest of the students staring at him open-mouthed, Kurama stormed out of the classroom, heading not for Aratani, but for the courtyard. He just needed some time for himself. For a little while he just sat there on the steps, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Sakura?"

Kurama turned around to see Yu Kaito standing behind him. He nodded, and the bespectacled book snob sat down next to him.

"What do you want?" Kurama mumbled.

"I just want to say that I'm very sorry if I did anything to upset you," Kaito said quietly. "Never before have I heard such immoderate language escape your lips."

"It's not you, Kaito, it's everything." Kurama put his face in his hands. "I want all my friends to get their heads on straight, I want to win that stupid competition tomorrow, I want men to stop treating me like a sex object, I want my skin to clear up and my fat to go away, and most of all…" Kurama was embarrassed to hear how high-pitched and watery his voice sounded. "I just want some potato chips."

"Sakura, you're not fat," Kaito said soothingly. "Your beauty is simply resplendent. And any physical issues you have will clear up in a few days, I'm certain."

Kaito was staring sympathetically into Kurama's eyes, and Kurama knew instantly that not only had he heard about what happened yesterday in Biology class, but he was making it his personal mission to rectify any overwhelming emotions Kurama might have. Which wasn't good, because it was pretty clear that he still had romantic feelings for "Sakura," and now he was single, too. Wonderful.

"Thank you, Kaito," said Kurama. "I'm sure they will, too."

"Salt cravings usually indicate a sodium deficiency of some sort," Kaito continued. "In most cases I would recommend something healthier, but in this case…" Kaito's cheeks turned a little pink, and he cleared his throat. "Anyway, how about at lunch, I buy you the biggest bag of potato chips I can?"

"Oh, no, Kaito, you don't need to—"

"The pleasure's all mine." Kaito stood up and held out his hand. "Let me help you up. We don't want to be late to class."

…

All of Yusuke's teachers were impressed that he was actually attending his classes, and Keiko was obviously pleased. But all Yusuke could think of was the horrific next few days that were in store for him. How would he even know it had happened until it was too late? There was the option he was asking, but he was kind of afraid of the answer. At least his mom put a pad in his school bag for him, and once she was gone he'd jammed a few extra dozen in there just to be on the safe side, but would it be enough?

Yusuke tried to imagine himself standing up in the middle of class and announcing that he had his period, like Kurama said he had. Could he do that? Well, maybe. He knew he definitely couldn't put in a tampon while someone he had a crush on coached him from the other side, but luckily, that was one thing he was sure he would never need to do.

Around lunchtime, Kuwabara came to sit with him.

"Hey, Urameshi?" he said. "Can you do me a huge favor? It's really important."

"Shoot," said Yusuke, his voice muffled due to the sandwich in his mouth.

"Well, I was wondering if you could come with me to the doctor today." Kuwabara cleared his throat. "I need a friend to come with me because I'm really nervous, especially after what Kurama told us yesterday."

"You mean, the part about getting naked and having to lie on the exam table with your feet in stirrups?" said Yusuke. "Not to be a bad friend or anything, but I don't really want to be in the room for that."

"I didn't say you had to go in the room with me," said Kuwabara. "Just take the bus to the medical building with me and sit in the waiting room."

"Can't you get Kurama to do it?" said Yusuke, knowing it was pointless to suggest Hiei.

"Kurama has cheerleading practice for that competition he has tomorrow," Kuwabara reminded him. "Besides, you're my best-best friend."

"I don't know what your game is, but if you're trying to guilt-trip me, it isn't working," said Yusuke.

"I'm not." Kuwabara looked truthful. "I just really need someone to go with me, and I thought you were the best choice."

"Oh, all right," said Yusuke. "I'll go with you, but don't expect me to be much help."

"Thanks, buddy," Kuwabara said gratefully, and they finished their lunch.