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Invocations	By : Demonic_Host Category: Yuyu Hakusho > General Views: 3211 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to, or make money from, the story line or characters of Yu Yu Hakusho

Chapter List
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Invocations
Chapter eight
When was the last time that he'd been out for drinks? That was something that he had to take time to contemplate as he sipped on the local beer. As far as he could recall it had been more years than he'd had red hair. Though it was almost expected to go drinking with people from work now and again he'd always made himself scarce when everyone from the office started to gather. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the flavor now and again, it was just that he wasn't a fan of the whole intoxication aspect of social drinking. In a human body he would have had human level tolerance, less than someone like Yusuke even as he didn't re-grow up with spirits being accessible in the house. Which meant that it would have been an unknown threshold that could have left him vulnerable. And even though demon world was relatively peaceful and his life was rather lacking in the whole danger aspect, being intoxicated was a risk he didn't feel was worth the benefits.

So why was he drinking now? The simple answer was the person sitting beside him - you. After the lunch which you had brought to him yet again (this was the third time in the last two weeks), his employees had been emboldened. Apparently he suddenly became more approachable. After lunch, way before the time he would make himself scarce, one of the men who worked directly under him had propositioned you to join the office for drinks after work. The proposition been simple enough that you had understood it. What you hadn't understood was the implication that upon your uncertainty, Shuuichi was 'offered' to come drink out too so you had someone you knew. In a way it really was your fault that Shuuichi's habitual lack of imbibing came to an end.

Not that you knew that exactly. But you did get the feeling that this wasn't something he did very often. He didn't seem quite as comfortable as the other people in his office when it came time to squeeze into what, to you, seemed to be a tiny hole in the wall. It really was only big enough for the company's party to get into and that was if everyone was okay with being close to one another. Which seemed to be acceptable to everyone, though you could see Shuuichi's uneasy mannerisms, so you went along with it as well.

"What is your name?" One of the co-workers, who had just refilled another person's glass, asked in a polite, slowed down tone.

"Hanna," you answered back rather easily.

You could see that Shuuichi's attention had shifted back to his glass. It hadn't exactly been on you prior to that per say, but the question had brought him out of his own ponderings for a moment. You realized after a split second that you'd forgotten to give your last name as was customary in an introduction. It had been something that you had weeded out early on purpose with Shuuichi in hopes of getting over that hurdle as much as possible. After all, first names were always more intimate than last names. That was pretty much true in every culture you had visited so far. However, to keep that up you were always going to have to keep your last name out of it just incase he wanted to pick up on that instead. Thankfully, the people around you seemed to just accept the fact that you gave them a first name without a last one. Or they just assumed it was your last name. Either way that worked for you.

After a few questions that you could answer, and quite a few drinks down the hatch for everyone else, your level of comprehension for the Japanese language just couldn't keep up. Which meant that you had to excuse yourself and explain that you were still learning Japanese. Unfortunately that meant that rather it was on purpose or not, a lot of the things they talked about went right over your head. Especially as the night wore on and the conversation continued into a causal region not covered by any of the textbooks you had started to study. You didn't begrudge them for the conversation - after all they were just doing what they had always done and would have done had you not been there anyways. Instead you just listened for what you could understand as everyone, Shuuichi included, partook in a discussion about work.

The clock continued to tick the time away and even for you the drinking seemed to drag on and on. Thankfully you were spared from the near constant pouring of the cups as you rarely let your glass get even a quarter empty. You found that inebriation tended to be a poor state for your line of work which primarily consisted of your ability to keep your wits about you and adapt. What you found interesting was that after the first few glasses, Shuuichi seemed to follow the same idea of keeping his glass mostly filled. You were sure that the others had noticed it as well because after a while of him not pouring for the person on the other side of him, the conversation started to dwindle down.

By the time that the conversation and drinking finally came to a close the sun was long since past. You slipped out of the drinking establishment after many of the employees. The cold wind hit you like a sack of potatoes to the face. It made you miss being crowded into that tiny alcoholic station like canned sardines. You practically tripped a step backwards as you tried to acclimate from the despairing change. Unfortunately it didn't seem like you were going to be able to do that in anywhere near efficiently.

Before you had time to start taking another step forward you felt a rather heavy weight settle over your shoulders. You knew exactly what it was without having to look - Shuuchi had put his navy blue blazer over you. The faint scent of florals were soothing and the warmth really was to die for at this point. Sadly it didn't go past your hips so your legs were left out of the slice of heaven but it did, at least, give you enough warmth to feel human again. Which of course meant that you instantly started to turn around to Shuuichi to make sure that he wasn't chattering his teeth out.

You could see that his sleeves were rolled down instead of up as he has them when drinking. Other than that, he didn't even seemed to be phased by the cold. You smiled begrudgingly at the situation as you fingered the lapel of the jacket.

"Am I supposed to try and return this?" You thought you'd ask, even if you already knew the answer by looking at his face.

"No. That's not to say that you couldn't try, but you will end up wearing it all the same."

You smiled and laughed even though you were already, internally at least, snuggling up with the body heat left in the fibers. "And you're very used to getting your way."

"In most things, yes. Are you going to try and return it?"

"Luckily for you, it's cold outside and this is very warm. Also, it still smells good."

He smiled slightly at the commentary before the two of you started walking. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was making sure you got home safe and sound. Especially since you would have taken three times as long, easily, trying to navigate your own way back home. It was like he had it down to an art the way that he cut through corners here and there. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to know the subway routes by heart. It was something that you could do by yourself when you learned more of the language, specifically the Kanji, but for now you were thankful for his assistance.

It wasn't until you got to your apartment and started to return the jacket that your hand brushed his. His skin felt ice cold and the expression on his face was so controlled that you instantly knew how cold he really was. He had just been good at hiding it and controlling any shivers his body might have tried to put him through. Damn. He was incredibly good at that.

Without warning him or seeing if it was inside of his comfort zone, you grabbed his hand and pulled him inside of the apartment building. He didn't even put up a fight which you were thankful for. you really had no desire to try to be persuasive at the moment. Nor did you think you had the physical prowess to force him to do anything he didn't want to do. What worried you about the situation was the fact that even after a few flights of stairs, he barely seemed to have warmed up. Then again you had lost the feeling in your legs at some point in the trip so you weren't too much better off but at least you had his jacket to keep all your internals as warm as possible given the circumstances.

You fumbled with the key for a few seconds before finally managing to open the place up. Your apartment was still how you left it - there were textbooks spread over your table but everything else was sparse and in order. You released Shuuichi's hand when and only when he removed his shoes near the front door. That way you could be sure he wasn't about to make a break for it before you had a chance to get him nice and warm.

As quickly as you could you put his jacket back on him and went to get out your space heater. You cranked that thing up as high as it would go and placed Shuuichi right in front of it. Afterwards you wrapped your blanket around him as though he had not autonomy of his own. Considering the fact that he let himself get so cold in the first place you in the mood to trust himself preservation. Besides the only downside to giving him your blanket till he warmed up was the fact that you and your bed would end up smelling like him until you did the laundry. As he didn't have an unpleasant scent (what you could smell of it anyways) that really didn't deter you all that much.

"I am unaccustomed to being manhandled," Shuuichi's tone was rather mild, amused you would even have to say.

You paused in your mother hen routine to rounded back around him so you could see his expression. The look on his face matched the tone of voice he used.

"I'm unaccustomed to people freezing on my behalf," you replied back in a much more serious, chiding tone.

"I will admit that I'm a little cold, but I am far from--"

His words stopped short. You wondered why but that didn't last long as you realized it started raining. The rain started out slow but within a few breathes it was practically pouring. You heard him let out a long, agitated sigh. Someone didn't like to get caught out in the rain it seemed. Not that you blamed him - especially when it was cold outside.

"Unless you have a magic compartment built in big enough to fit an umbrella, it looks like your staying the night."

Oh look, you caught him off guard. The expression he made was practically owlish as he stared at you. You could easily describe it as 'cute' the way his eyes seemed to widen and dance over your face. It was like he was searching for any sort of lie on your face but in a less cynical way. Even though he found no lie or insincerity on your face, you saw that he was already preparing to remove the duvet from around his shoulders.

Before Shuuichi had time to start that protest you knew was dying to come off his lips, you started talking.

"I have a feeling you're about to protest the sleeping arrangements. I wasn't meaning that we share a bed. I have a fold up bed and extra blankets. It'd be a lot better than you walking back home in the rain. Or even standing outside till the taxi came."

Well, at least you'd guessed his protest correctly. His expression relaxed as Shuuichi mulled the idea over. After a handful of seconds he nodded in acceptance as he unwrapped the blanket from his shoulders. Though it didn't show there was a moment when he didn't feel like giving the cover back. You were right in the aspect that he had been very cold before you wrapped him up. He might have been a human for two decades and some years at this point but he'd been a demon for over a thousand; he knew his own physical limits in this body well he just didn't have to like that he had them. But they were part of the package that he had chosen when he had chosen this life over that of Youko Kurama and it was just something he had come to terms with it. Terms that a part of him still didn't have to like.

"Did you want a fresh blanket or that one?" You asked him as you went to your closet.

Beside your closet you had the foldable blanket stacked. It was wrapped neatly in some air tight packaging as was the extra blankets.. You pulled out a tri-fold bed, laying it down between the side of your bed and the airmoir. You also pulled a pillow off of your lesser used side of the bed as you waited for his response.

"This one will do," Shuuchi responded to you in a gracious tone.

You nodded as you slipped a fitted sheet specifically designed for the fold out bed. Reaching around the mattress thing, you pulled out a sweatshirt and pants. They were probably the only article of clothing that you knew would fit him. Your hips were definitely larger than his but you hoped that the string on the sweatpants could account for that. The problem was that you weren't quite sure if his chest was broader than yours though you did know that his shoulders were. So you went by the evidential width of his shoulders and yeah, other than one or two of your thinner night gowns (which you were pretty sure he wouldn't want to wear but who really knew at this point), the sweatshirt was about the only other thing that you knew would fit him.

He accepted the clothing without a fus as he folded the blanket he'd had around him onto the sleeping mat. Thankfully he remembered exactly where your bathing room was and went to change in there. You had a feeling that turning your back and expecting him to change would still be a little too awkward for this stage of the relationship. As Shuuchi dressed down you dug through your own sleeping clothes to try and figure out what the most appropriate choice would be. You had plenty of things to sleep in. It was just that most of them were either a little too sensual for a casual male and female friendship to hang around one another in or it was made in appropriate shapes and fabric but was still too thin. Or well, anything you currently had clean was too thin in your opinion. You settled on a simple white gown and a robe. This way when the lights were out for good you could hang the robe up on the bedpost.

When Shuuichi emerged from the bathing room it was your turn to get changed. Changing took a lot less time than picking out the clothes to begin with. You tied your robe around your waist securely before going back out to notice his quiet moment of introspective. It took you a moment to figure out what put him in such a pensive mood but then when you figured it out, it seemed obvious.

"If I have to pack a day bag, I like having disposable things," you started to explain.

"Excuse me?" Shuuichi probed as though his thoughts hadn't been out in the open.

"The extra toothbrush in the bathroom is for when or if I ever have to pack a day bag. Just incase I loose a bag in a taxi or plane or something for a short trip I don't want to lose my permanent stuff. I get attached beyond reasonable explanation to the stuff I do keep with me all the time."

"I understand. It wasn't the toothbrush I was concerned about," Shuuichi said with a trusting smile.

You smiled and shrugged back at him. Oh well, couldn't be right all the time. As you moved to sit over on your bed you questioned him.

"Then what were you concerned about?"

"You're okay with me staying here. Why? How do you know that I won't do something untoward?"

"You passed the extensive background check," was the simple answer you gave him.

"A background check, no matter how extensive, can only clarify a person's background. It can not predict a person's future actions without reasonable doubt."

"Shuuichi, if you wanted sex you could have hired a prostitute. If you wanted expensive sex you could have requested that in your file and you would not have gotten me. And if you wanted to rape or molest someone, a person as smart and well connected as you would know better than to try that with someone as monitored as I am."

You could see that Shuuichi nodded his head in acceptance of that logic. You took a deep breath and looked at him not for the first time. The lines on his face were rather soft, though it would be hard to call them feminine they weren't entirely masculine either. Though you had a feeling they could be in a certain light you were pretty sure that it was his hair, beautiful as it was, that kept you from seeing the planes of his face in a masculine light. His eyes, while intense, also didn't seemed very focused on anything in particular at the moment much less on you.

"You don't want sex and you don't have any unlawful intentions towards me. You wanted a friend. Friends should be able to trust one another regardless if they're male or female. Otherwise what's the point of having a friend?"

You got the smallest of smiles out of him at that and you were glad. After that it was time for lights out. Too bad you didn't know that the man lying on the floor still had a whole night ahead of him planned.
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Invocations