Secondhand Observations | By : PrincessKoriandr Category: Yuyu Hakusho > General Views: 1381 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Summery: [Kuwabara, Kurama / Keiko] When Kuwabara walks in
on something unexpected, it’s up to him and his sister to play cupid and do a
little match making.
[Italics denotes thought.]
Secrets are never as well hidden as their owners
think…
Chapter One – Realization
“What the hell is going on?” Kazuma Kuwabara nearly screamed
in shock as he felt one of his oldest friends, and now college roommate cringe
at the accusation. Not that anything of what the apparition turned human was
feeling was given away, but Kuwabara liked to think that he knew this friend
well enough by now to pick up the subtle nuances of his behavior.
And having kick ass spirit awareness didn’t hurt either.
Kuwabara figured he needed it, perhaps more now then ever
before when dealing with one Shuiichi Minamino. Demons, blood thirsty shrimps,
crazy ex-spirit detectives, hell, even crazy current spirit detectives were
nothing compared to the varied layers that made up Youko Kurama. Next to him,
everyone else was adding and subtracting. Kurama was the long division. Good
thing for Kuwabara, he was good at long division. It always amazed him that a
guy that was as honest, straightforward and candid as Kurama could be was as
reluctant to speak about his emotions as Hiei. He supposed he could understand
it. The subject matter he wanted to broach came with its own set of
complications.
Keiko Yukimura.
Keiko.
Man, imagine his shock when he walked into the medium sized
dorm room he shared with Kurama and found the spirit fox locked in an embrace
so intimate that he didn’t know if he should just leave quietly and give the
couple some privacy or charge admission because this was almost as good as
quality porn. At that very moment he knew that if someone had shouted that the
building was on fire, he wouldn’t have been able to move even though his life
depended on it. It would be several more moments before he realized that he
was standing in the middle of the open doorway like an idiot and a few more
after that before he realized that a crowd had gathered behind him in the
hallway as students took turns gawking at the two oblivious people exchanging
an ambitious amount of spit on one of the two single beds in the room. And it
would just have to be his bed that the couple was on. Ewww...! Now
I’m gonna have to change my sheets!
That thought seemed to break though his shock and finally he
was able to act. Quickly he turned around and slammed the door in the
disappointed spectators’ faces, throwing the lock for good measure. He was
sure that the last thing they wanted and he needed, was witnesses in the form
of the nosey ass student body. Bad enough that that select few had seen what
they had. He was sure it would be all over the campus before sun down and that
would irate them to no end, in which would irritate him to no end
because who do you think would have to listen to it?
When he turned around, he found that while still on his bed,
the two were now as far apart as humanly possible while still sitting on the
bed. Truth be told, Kurama was perched kind of precariously on the foot of the
bed looking as if a good shake would knock him off. For one brief instant
Kuwabara entertained the thought, before dismissing it as childish. There
would be time later for that. Right now the important thing was finding out
what reason two of his best friends in the world had for giving him a premature
heart attack and making his eyes burn.
Taking a seat at the unused desk, Kuwabara pushed books out
the way in order to make room for his left elbow. Satisfied, he propped his
head in his hand before giving his friends a pointed look. “Do I even want to
know?” he asked, the question not intended for any one person but hung in the
air along with tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
Startled out of the daze of embarrassment and the lingering
effects of the most masterful kiss she had ever, or as the logical side of her
mind warned, ever would, receive, Keiko summoned the last of her tattered courage
and faced her friend’s gaze directly. She figured he was owed some type of
explanation. They were on his bed after all. But Enma, what could she
say? She barely understood it herself. One minute they were side by side at
the desk, discussing the chemistry formulas that were giving her trouble in
class. One second she was looking at the book, the next she was staring into
those great, warm green orbs and feeling all her resistant melt away. She had
known that in that instant, anything he would have wanted to do to her she
would have been willing, but what she had wanted most was for him to kiss her.
It all seemed like a pleasant haze at the time. She remembered sitting on a
hardwood chair and thinking it had to be the most uncomfortable thing in all
creation, but she also remembered being carefully laid down on a soft bed, the
thick comforter cool against her back and thinking how wonderful it would be to
have the ability of simply blinking and watching as the clothes melted from
their bodies. She couldn’t think of a thing she wanted more then to be naked
in this man’s arms. Even now, if she closed her eyes…
“Keiko!”
Startled, Keiko could feel her eyes snapping open with
enough force to bruise them. Staring blurrily at her exasperated friend, she
realized with horror that he was waiting for the explanation that never came. And
I’m sitting here daydreaming and acting like a total spaz. Oh God! I can’t
deal with this right now, I have to…
Standing up suddenly, hot cheeks covered haphazardly by
small hands, Keiko managed to say, “I..Ihavetogo!” before running to the door,
unlocking it and running through it before either man could do anything to stop
it. For a long moment they just stared at the open door as it slowly began to
swing shut, amazed that it hadn’t come off the frame altogether. The force in
which Keiko had swung the door open was enough to shatter the sheetrock wall
behind it. A small round hole now marred the perfect white of the wall.
Kuwabara winced, thinking of the lecture he would soon be
getting from the maintenance about the carelessness of the student body.
Kurama could only think of one thing, his shock still
evident in his wide-eyed gaze and the slight trembling of his hand as he raised
it to his face. I can’t believe she left me. She…left. Not that he
was mad, no…he wasn’t angry. But he was surprised. More than surprised.
Running away from the situation seemed so un-Keiko like. In all the
time he’d known her, he had never seen her run from anything. Keiko’s previous
relationship with Yusuke and the life he, and his friend, himself included,
lived was proof that not much would scare her. Or at least he thought.
Perhaps it wasn’t fear that made her flee, but
embarrassment.
Looking up at his still gawking friend, Kurama figure he
could understand. Facing anyone after being caught in such a compromising
position would be hard, but when the someone happened to be your ex-boyfriend’s
best friend…well he couldn’t think of a more awkward moment, though he was sure
it could have been a lot worse.
Like you buried knee deep inside her Shuiichi? Imagine
your loud friend’s shock then. They’d most likely have to get a stretcher for
him.
That’s enough out of you Youko! I really don’t need this
from you at the moment!
Well I do know what you need right now, the
frustrated tones of Youko Kurama could be heard clearly in his mind. You
need to get laid. If you did, then maybe you wouldn’t be sitting on the bed
giving your best salute.
Okay, that did it! Clenching his teeth and ignoring his
embarrassment, Kurama threw that mental ‘switch’ that separated Youko Kurama’s
consciousness from that of Shuiichi’s, granting him a small reprieve. While
this form was a perfect merger of the two, there were times that the youko would
awake, determined to add his two cents. The problem with that was he always
wanted to show up when life was at its most complicated and never had anything
to say that wasn’t in his own self-interests. He knew it would be so very easy
to return to being that vain, selfish creature, but everytime he was tempted he
saw his mother’s face flash before him, smiling as she reached for him with
open arms. Mother…
But as the years went by, and his circle of friends
increased, he found that he had even more reasons to fight his temptations.
Shiori was no longer the only person Kurama considered worthy of his regard.
The friends he had made over the last six years were very dear to him and he
couldn’t see life without any of them. Not even one slightly over protective
giant of a redhead. The same redhead that was currently giving him a
distressed and confused look.
“Was it something I said?”
Giving him one of his warmest smiles, Kurama shook his head
and slowly rose to his feet. Kuwabara started to do the same but Kurama raised
his hand to stop him. When he had reclaimed his seat he said, “I…just need a
little time to alone Kuwabara. Just a little time to work through some things
and then we can talk when I get back.”
Seeing that there was no use fighting, Kuwabara gave in with
a heavy sigh and a lowered head. He didn’t even look up when he heard the soft
tread of Kurama’s footsteps walking past him or when the heavy metal door
slowly closed, a faint clicking sound his only indication that he was now alone
in the room.
Feeling suddenly bone tired, he raised one hand and dragged
it though his hair, forcing the curls out of their gelled shape, before resting
on the back of his head. Massaging his neck tiredly, Kuwabara laughed ruefully
into the quiet room.
“It was something I said.”
~*~
Six hours later, Kurama came back to what he thought was an
empty room. That is until he heard Kuwabara’s tone-deaf tenor from the
direction of the bathroom.
Ah, he’s in the shower, I should take this time to at
least try and do my homework. Taking a seat at the now unoccupied desk,
Kurama picked up the textbook that had been abandoned earlier that day for a
more entertaining activity.
Ugh! Stop thinking about it!
But that was easier said than done, Kurama thought as he
absentmindedly held the textbook. For hours he had walked the campus, mind in
a whirlwind of chaos as he tried to unravel his tangled emotions and sort
through what he was really feeling for the passionate, but brutally wounded
Keiko Yukimura. Cold and disgusted, he decided that if his solitude would not
afford him any answers, then he would fall back on the mind numbingness of
routine, forcing his chaotic mind to the discipline of studying and try not to
think about the upcoming conversation he was sure his friend would no longer
allow him to dodge.
Getting comfortable, Kurama opened the textbook and tuned
out the world as he let the complex formulas and mathematics distract him from
all his cares and woes.
Thirty minutes and seven Karaoke songs later, Kuwabara
emerged from his shower feeling clean, and more importantly, relaxed. After
putting on a pair of tan slacks, a dark khaki color button up shirt and gelling
his hair, he headed for the small built in kitchen to find him something quick
for dinner before his one evening class. He had almost reached it when a
startling shock of red hair caught his notice through the open bedroom door.
He’s back, Kuwabara thought. Now would be as good
a time as any. Might as well get it over with.
Detouring from the kitchen, Kuwabara walked into the large
bedroom he shared with Kurama and stretched his long frame across his bed. He
could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as the thought of what had
transpired on it just hours ago crossed his mind. Embarrassment
notwithstanding, he thought they made a pretty damn good-looking couple. Well,
either that or he was just extremely horny. He figured it was a little of
both.
Crossing both arms behind his head, he glanced at Kurama and
noticed that his friend hadn’t acknowledged him in any way. Besides the small
grunt he allowed himself and the quiet hum of the air conditioning, the room
was silent. It was a bit unnerving, considering he was so use to the sound of
his voice. Surprisingly to Kuwabara, the guy talked all the time. He
to his mother, the professors, him, and their small group of friends. Hell, he
even talked to his sister and the houseplants! Okay, the houseplants he could
understand, but his sister? Now that…that he couldn’t understand. In all
honesty, if he could understand, he figured he really wouldn’t want to know.
Whatever those two did talk about, he was sure that it involved a great deal of
pain and suffering for the unlucky candidate and something told him they talked
about him more often than not.
Still, that would be more welcome at this point then the
eerie silence that blanketed the room. Not that he had anything against peace
and quiet, but some answers would’ve been great. He was positive that Kurama
knew he was there, no matter how engrossed he looked with his Advance Chemistry
textbook. He had that course last semester, and believe him…it wasn’t that
exciting, at least not exciting enough for the intense focus. Kuwabara was
sure that he was using schoolwork, and more importantly, that textbook, to
avoid talking to him.
Well Kuwabara wasn’t about to let him dodge him any longer.
He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know now. He knew
Kurama would never start this conversation so he gave his friend a freebie and
did it for him.
“You know what? For all your fame as Youko Kurama, the most
feared and revered thief in all the Makai, you’re a surprisingly bad liar.”
Kurama sighed in defeat, knowing that his time for avoidance
was now up and nothing short of a full blown conversation on all things Keiko
would satisfy the former Spirit Detective. And while he knew he couldn’t avoid
it, it didn’t mean he had to like it. He planned on making this as
difficult as possible, and something very small and childish inside him
rejoiced.
Kurama carefully turned the textbook over, laying it on its
face so he wouldn’t lose his place, before turning to face Kuwabara directly.
He gave the redheaded psychic a look so blistering it could have melted a led
pipe, but only caused his friend to glance at him balefully before patting his
open mouth and yawning.
Since his best glare had no effect, Kurama adopted a
long-suffering expression that faired no better. Amused but not willing to
show it, he leaned back in his chair until only the two back legs were touching
the floor, the back pressed tightly against the old worn desk. Carefully
observing his friend through grass green eyes, he watched for a reaction. “I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”
That caused Kuwabara to roll his eyes, but returned the gaze
with his own bright baby blues, even if his was clouded with disbelief.
“Riiight,” he remarked in his
driest voice. Sitting up, it was Kuwabara’s turn to give blistering,
disbelieving looks. “I guess I got it all wrong. You couldn’t possibly
be attracted to Keiko and the kiss I walked in on was the two of you doing—from
what I could see of your tongue down her throat—Saliva Research? Throat
Exploration? Or maybe you were trying to fuse together like they do on Dragonball
Z? Is that it?”
It took Kurama a moment to
realize he was grinding his teeth together. Giving the maniacally grinning
redhead another cool look, he concentrated on forcing the extra blood to leave
his face. Leave it to Kuwabara to use an anime reference to embarrass me
with, Kurama thought sourly.
By the time Kuwabara had
finished laughing; Kurama felt more in control of his wildly rioting emotions.
Taking a quick, calming breath, he began, “It’s not what you think, Kazuma.”
One pencil thin eyebrow rose at
that statement. He used my first name. Now I know I got him on the run “No?”
“No.” Kurama firmly agreed. “I
was helping her with her Chemistry Labs and then I…well that is we were…and
then we…” The sentence dropped off into dead silence. Damn! Kurama
thought as once again his face was suffused with the heat of his embarrassment,
only this time because of how easily his words tangled, leaving him with the
inability to even express himself clearly, much less convince the grinning
psychic that there was nothing going on between him and his best friend’s
ex-girlfriend. That anything that he had dreamt up was nothing more then a
figment of his obviously overactive imagination.
Kazuma merely crossed his arms
as waited patiently as Kurama dug a deeper hole for himself. He didn’t care
how much the kitsune denied it; you didn’t kiss people the way they were
kissing without a great deal of attraction. Hell, when he walked in on them
Kurama was kissing Keiko with desperation, like he knew he would never get
another opportunity and was determined to get as much as he could, while he
could. So lost in each other, Kuwabara would bet Kurama never noticed he was
using his greater weight to coerce a very willing Keiko onto her back on the
narrow twin sized bed. If he had returned any later, Kuwabara was sure he
would have been walking in on something a whole lot more mortifying then mere kissing.
Denial isn’t just a river in
Egypt, Kazuma thought.
Uncrossing his arms, the copper
haired warrior stood to his feet, stretching his long six foot five inch frame
before walking over and placing one large hand softly on Kurama’s shoulder, the
gesture meant to calm and command his attention. Besides the small flinch
Kurama gave when he touched him, there was no other reaction so Kuwabara
ignored it for the moment, choosing instead to squeezing his shoulder in a
comforting manner. When he felt him relax, he quietly observed Kurama for a
moment before speaking.
“You know,” he began. “You can
tell me anything you want. It’s very easy to lie to other people, but lying to
yourself? You don’t strike me as the type to fall to delusion.” Kazuma said,
watching as a guilty flush spread across Kurama’s face, though his expression
remained distant. “And you must be delusional if you think the only thing you
feel for Keiko is nothing more then mere friendship.”
Leaving the comfort of the
chair, as well as his friends insistent questioning, Kurama made his way to the
one window in the entire room and absently started looking out. The scenery
was nothing special, just the typical college campus. Large, historic grey
stone buildings encased the quad below like a protective mother, benches were
scattered along a red brick pathway as students scurried along trying to get to
their next classes on time, the occasional tree scattered along the landscape
with students quietly studying underneath the branches. Ideal and peaceful.
Unfortunately the scenic vision had had no effect in calming him, which only
made his confession that much harder.
“I am attracted to her. But
that in itself means very little.”
“Sure, if that was all it was.”
Kuwabara agreed.
Kurama briefly glanced away from
the window, the effort surprisingly great for such a simple gesture.
“Explain.”
“It’s simple,” Kuwabara
started. “Since I’ve known you, I haven’t seen you give a girl, not one
single female, the proverbial time of day. Sure, you give them that super
sugary sweet diabetic coma smile whenever they approach, but in the end you
turn every offer of a date, and God know what else—down.”
Smiling softly at this, Kurama
decided to have a little fun with his friend. “You know, I could be gay
Kuwabara.”
There was a brief moment of
silence, then Kuwabara’s explosive laughter started filling the room, and most
likely the entire floor of the dorm they had called home for the last three
years.
Perhaps laughter was the wrong
word, Kurama though. No, he was sure simple laughter would be a lot
quieter then the noise Kuwabara was making, and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t
make tears appear, nor would it make you wheeze like a marathon runner out of
breath. If he didn’t know better, one could think that his friend was laughing
at him and not with him.
Totally exasperated, he
stressed, “Well I could be!”
Straightening from his doubled
over position, Kuwabara wiped the tears off his face before putting on one of
the biggest shit eating grins Kurama’d had the misfortune to ever witness. “Right”
I walk in on you kissing Keiko like you could inhale her though your open mouth
and you want to tell me you’re gay? Bisexual maybe, but strictly homosexual?
Not freaking likely.”
Now Kurama was grinning,
Kuwabara’s humor infectious. “Are you even trying to win this argument?”
Throwing up his hands in defeat,
Kuwabara relented. “Sorry, sorry.” After a brief moment to get themselves
together, Kuwabara began again. “Then there’s the fact that every time she’s
near, your attention is totally absorbed by her. You don’t notice anyone or
anything when she’s around.”
Kurama was definitely feeling
discomfort again. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘absorbed’.” he said defensively.
Kuwabara only stared at his
friend in disbelief. “Oh you wouldn’t would you? What about the time you
walked into a wall because you were watching as she passed by?”
“I told you, I had something in
my eye!”
“…right. What about that time
in the cafeteria? When we ate together, you just sat, shoveling food in your
mouth, not even noticing what you’d put in it. You even ate carrots for
God's sake!”
Feeling slightly defensive
because every word Kuwabara had spoken struck uncomfortably close to home, he
shot back, even if it felt unbelievably childish. “So? Maybe I like carrots!”
Kuwabara laughed again and
Kurama could feel his teeth grinding together. Stupid! Kuwabara knows
you’re allergic to carrots.”
Shaking his head, Kuwabara could
only marvel at how hard Kurama was fighting this. It was obvious that his
feelings were more then the static lust someone feels when they’re horny and
the desire is fleeting. Well, obvious to everyone except the parties
involved. Hell, even Yusuke had noticed and that guy wouldn’t notice his hand
if it was right in front of his face. That only proved that Kurama wasn’t as
apt at hiding his feelings as he thought he was. The fact that he would try to
deny them to him, a trained psychic, was funny indeed.
“You know…you’re very good at
hiding what you feel. Out for all of us, you’re the one I find hardest to
read.”
“Oh? And here I thought it
would be Hiei giving your spirit awareness fits.”
Kuwabara couldn’t help but smirk
at that. “Yeah, at first it was like that. He’s a very closed little shrimp,
but after you find the key to his emotions, then he becomes little challenge
whatsoever.”
Smiling at that, Kurama knew
only Kuwabara would use little and challenge in the same sentence
with Hiei, but then that was him. He wasn’t the one actively courting a katana
to the gut. Kuwabara was a little more daring in that sense. He lived to
provoke the fire demon and vice versa. Both would rather lay down in front of
a oncoming train rather then admit that they were friends and as friends they
would do anything in order to keep that friend safe. That was the nature of
their friendship and to expect anything to change was really pushing it. He
was just glad that his friendship with Keiko and everyone else was far more
drama free.
Still…
Turning back towards the window,
Kurama spoke softly into the quiet room. “What I want may not be relevant in
this case. I’d really have to wonder if I should allow myself this
attraction.”
“You’re talking about Yusuke
now, aren’t you?” Kuwabara asked as he watched the redhead nod.
Kurama felt himself grimacing
painfully. “She’s been in love with him for years, had even agreed to marry
him. Then there’s the fact that Yusuke is amongst my closest friends
and…well…I don’t want to make things awkward between us.” he finished.
Walking over to stand next to
Kurama at the window, Kuwabara surveyed the scenery that his friend had tried
to distract himself with for the last twenty minutes. He didn’t see anything
that would command the spirit fox’s attention, but then again, he wasn’t the
one trying to sort through his thoughts. And as much as he wanted he help his
friend, he knew this was something he would have to figure out for himself.
All he could do was supply a few home truths and Kurama could make his decision
from there. He glanced at Kurama briefly before turning back to the window, a
thoughtful expression on his face. “You know, I wouldn’t worry too much about
it. Yusuke made his choice when he decided to stay longer in the Makai and
Keiko was tired of waiting so she broke it off with him and—if recent
observation are correct—is ready to move on with her life.
Kurama’s voice was barely above
a whisper. “But I’m sure he still loves her.”
Kuwabara gave him a pointed
look. “Then that’s his problem. Yusuke had his chance and botched it because
he couldn’t pull his ass out of demon world. It’s not like he doesn’t realize
what’s happened, but since Keiko was done with waiting for him, then what
choice did he have but to try and move on as well? So, yes he loves her. But
I’m positive he loves her enough to want her to be happy, even if it’s not with
him.”
“What if you’re wrong? Hell,
what if I’m wrong and what transpired between the two of us was nothing more
then “in the heat of the moment” for her?”
Embracing the fox with his left
arm, Kuwabara give him a tight, reassuring hug, recognizing his conversation
for what it is. “Kurama, what if we’re both right? Life is all about taking
chances. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. It’s just how it
works. You can’t let a little self-doubt keep you from what your heart truly
desires. Besides, you’ll never know unless you try, right?”
Kurama knew his friend spoke
nothing but the truth, and he had to admit he felt a lot more comfortable with
the situation now that he had talked about it, but there were still things he
needed to think about before he made any attempts at approaching Keiko. This
was too important for him to rush in without a game plan.
“I need to think on this a
little longer.”
Giving his friend one last hug,
Kuwabara removed his arm from the kitsune, but felt the need to warn him at
least one more time. “Sure, think it over, but don’t take too long. I’d
really hate for you to lose out on something so potentially wonderful because
you got cold feet.” Placing his right hand over his heart, Kuwabara said,
“Something are better felt with the heart than thought with the mind. Just
think about it, okay?”
With that said he glanced down
at his wristwatch for the time. If he didn’t hurry, he would be later for
class. “Damn! I’ve got to get a move on!” Giving his friend a sheepish look,
Kuwabara quickly gathered up his backpack and headed out of the room. His
footsteps could be heard pounding down the hallway as he made a run for it.
Alone in the room, Kurama
indulged in a small smile, touched that his friend cared enough to want to
comfort and reassure him. It was truly wonderful to have friends that cared so
much about your happiness. And that, he swore, was something he would never
abuse.
Feeling better than he had in a
long time, Kurama simply stood by the window and watched as the sun slowly
started to set, knowing that regardless of what the new day might bring, things
would work out exactly the way they were meant too.
~*~
Well folks, I hope you enjoyed
the first chapter of Secondhand Observations. I actually had a lot of fun
writing it, and hope the others are equally as fun to write. It came out a bit
longer then I expected, but that’s okay. Makes for a more interesting read. I
hate short stories/chapters, so I shouldn’t be surprised I write long one huh?
Well, we’ve heard from Kuwabara and Kurama, so next chapter will be all about
Keiko and how she deals with the situation and Shizuru’s brand of homemade
advice.
Until next time
~Kenya
While AFF and its agents attempt to remove all illegal works from the site as quickly and thoroughly as possible, there is always the possibility that some submissions may be overlooked or dismissed in error. The AFF system includes a rigorous and complex abuse control system in order to prevent improper use of the AFF service, and we hope that its deployment indicates a good-faith effort to eliminate any illegal material on the site in a fair and unbiased manner. This abuse control system is run in accordance with the strict guidelines specified above.
All works displayed here, whether pictorial or literary, are the property of their owners and not Adult-FanFiction.org. Opinions stated in profiles of users may not reflect the opinions or views of Adult-FanFiction.org or any of its owners, agents, or related entities.
Website Domain ©2002-2017 by Apollo. PHP scripting, CSS style sheets, Database layout & Original artwork ©2005-2017 C. Kennington. Restructured Database & Forum skins ©2007-2017 J. Salva. Images, coding, and any other potentially liftable content may not be used without express written permission from their respective creator(s). Thank you for visiting!
Powered by Fiction Portal 2.0
Modifications © Manta2g, DemonGoddess
Site Owner - Apollo