Chapter Seven- Keiko

"Look, this may come as a surprise," Yusuke said after several minutes of eating. "But I am good at cooking and recently, I had thought of marrying Keiko and working at her parents' restaurant."

"That sounds wonderful," Yukina said.

"It does, but it won't happen now." He pointed at his ears. "There's no way I can show myself in public. Keiko would accept me, but I'm sure her parents won't, not to mention my own mother."

"That is all true, but maybe you could try to explain to them with Keiko there to support you," Kurama suggested.

Yusuke gave a nod. "I could call her and ask her to come here so we can talk."

"Yes. Do that after dinner."

Yusuke dialed the Yukimura house later on and, to his relief, Keiko answered. "Hi, Keiko," he said before moving the receiver to his ear.

"Yusuke? Where have you been!? I haven't seen you lately."

"I know," he said, bringing the mouthpiece to his mouth. "Listen, we need to talk. I'm at Genkai's place in the mountains. Ask Kuwabara to show you the way." He moved the receiver up.

"Why not meet me somewhere else?"

"Believe me, that's not an option."

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll talk to Kuwabara in the morning. Night, Yusuke."

"Night, Keiko." Yusuke hung up and went to his new bedroom. He had managed to convince Keiko to come to him and prayed the revelation would turn out okay.

Keiko walked toward Yusuke's apartment, confused. She had called Kuwabara this morning and Shizuru had said he had gone to Yusuke's home to bring his friend some clothes. She thanked her and quickly headed out there. She dashed up the stairs and once at the open door, called, "Kuwabara?"

"Keiko?" came a reply. Kuwabara appeared with a large overnight bag.

"Kuwabara, Yusuke called last night and asked me to come see him. He said you could show me the way to Genkai's."

"Yeah, I can do that. In fact, I'm going there now." He stepped out and closed the door, relieved that Yusuke's mom wasn't home. He didn't feel comfortable of explaining his friend's absence. "So, Urameshi didn't say why?" he asked as they set off down the steps and then the sidewalk.

"No. He only said that meeting somewhere else isn't an option."

"Well, he's right."

"Kuwabara…what's Yusuke hiding?"

"I can't tell you. Trust me, it'll be a surprise and I think Urameshi wants to explain it himself." Kuwabara was sure that Yusuke wanted to show Keiko his demon form instead of just telling her as she would likely not believe him and would want to see him to believe it.

Yusuke was training in his room with Genkai in concealing his energy while the psychic tried to determine what kind of attacks her successor was capable of doing now. His Spirit Gun could easily be adapted to his demon energy and the same went for his recently acquired Spirit Wave. Genkai had encountered wolf demons before and knew that they, like foxes, could harness a power of nature. The type of power was not clear immediately and all she could do was wait for it to manifest itself.

Yusuke had been meditating and pulling in his energy when his eyes opened and he sniffed the air. He smelled fox, but it wasn't Kurama. He also smelled human. "Keiko and Kuwabara are here," he said and Genkai left to meet them. Yusuke rose to his feet and sniffed to lock in Keiko's scent so he would remember it. He then focused on Kuwabara's scent and found it was getting stronger and heard him approaching him. The door opened and Kuwabara came in with a bag.

"Hey, Urameshi. I dropped by your place to get some clothes and stuff for you." He tossed the bag and added, "I figured you'd be able to hide your ears and tail with hats and tail-less pants."

"Awesome. Thanks, man." Kuwabara left as Yusuke opened the bag and rifled though it to change his clothes and hide his hair and ears. He borrowed a ribbon from Yukina to tie his hair back and up before tucking it under a baseball cap. He checked his reflection and nodded; aside from his claws and eyes, he looked human. Hopefully, Keiko won't really notice. He headed out of the room and heard voices on the porch. He walked over and slid the door open further to see Genkai, Yukina, Keiko, and Kuwabara. His friend looked as if he was having trouble maintaining his illusion as it flickered on and off, the effect lasting only for a moment.

Keiko looked behind her at him before getting up and heading over to face him. "All right," she said in irritation. "What is going on? Kuwabara refused to tell me earlier."

"I'll explain, but let me finish before you say anything. The team had gotten a case to arrest a female fox demon. She liked going to a club exclusively where only canine demons can get in. You know, foxes, wolves, dogs, and others. Hiei, Kuwabara, and I were given formulas to disguise ourselves so we could get in. The arrest went smoothly enough but the fox had kissed us before the arrest with a special balm to keep us in our disguises. She had thought we were bounty hunters and thought trapping us in our disguises would serve us right."

"So…you're a demon now?"

Yusuke nodded as he removed the hat, undid his hair, and his tail punched through his pants. "Yeah. I'm a wolf demon now."

Keiko's eyes roved over Yusuke's body, while her fingers played with his hair. She saw his eyes had the intensity of a wolf and that his ears lacked the red-dusted look of his hair and tail. She took in the length and fullness of the tail before noticing the claws on his fingers. "Yusuke, I'm sorry," she finally said.

"Thanks. I was concerned that you wouldn't accept me now."

"Why wouldn't I? We're still friends and…you're cooler-looking than most of the demons I saw at the tournament."

"How about me?"

Keiko looked over and blinked at seeing a blond-white fox. "Kuwabara?"

"Yeah, it's me. I took a fox demon formula and learned I can cast an illusion on myself. It's a bit of a drain on my energy but I was assured that the more I use it, the longer it will last."

"Can you do that, Yusuke?" Keiko asked, looking at him.

Yusuke shook his head. "I can't. Believe me, I tried but nothing happened. The only thing I can do is turn into a wolf."

"Turn into a wolf?" she repeated.

"It's just my body and voice that changes. Actually, Kuwabara, you can change to a fox as well."

"I can?"

"Yeah. Hiei told me about it."

"What demon is Hiei now?" asked Keiko.

"He's a wolf like me. A white one."

"Who can still use fire," came Hiei's voice before he appeared in a white blur. He looked at Kuwabara and Yusuke before adding, "You two should be getting a power like that soon. Wolves and foxes share this ability."

Keiko saw the stunned looks on her friends' faces and knew that they would discover their powers before long. Keiko felt a keen interest in finding out what power they gained and seeing them in action.