A Matter of Trust and Other Drabbles

Collection 02

by Shawny Wong

Author's Notes: These drabbles were written for the yyh100 Live Journal Community. Sadly the community has been inactive for a long time. I'm also guilty of not writing anything for YYH in a looong time. But I needed to take a short break from writing my Naruto fics, so I decided to write something else - something short and unrelated to Naruto. Enjoy!

Title: Mistletoe
Word Count: 276
Challenge #71: Give love on Christmas
Characters: Kurama, Kuwabara

Shotoku University's winter dance was a long-standing tradition, always held after finals and heralded the coming of winter break. And in accordance with tradition – the main dance hall was decorated with evergreen and mistletoe.

Mistletoe! It just had to be mistletoe!

"Minamino-san!" A pretty brunette (he couldn't remember her name at the moment) from his art class slipped next to him. "Are you enjoying the party? Aren't the decorations lovely? Oh, will you look at that!" she exclaimed with false surprise. "We're standing underneath some mistletoe!"

Kurama stifled the urge to bang his head against the nearest brick wall in frustration. He honestly should have expected it. But he, too, had been looking forward to a night of relaxation after a grueling week of exams. The winter dance was anything but relaxing, not with all his senses (and demonic power over plants) actively working to keep him from being molested.

He didn't even look up. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken. There is no mistletoe."

The girl looked up – genuinely surprised this time. "What! Where…?"

"Call me paranoid, but I think there's an excess of mistletoe. The decorating committee went overboard this year." He deliberately ignored Kuwabara's snickers.

That had been the 5th attempt to catch him under the mistletoe within the last half hour. He should have stayed in his dorm – where it was safer. Kuwarbara's sensitivity to the paranormal let him feel the faint tingle of youki around his friend. Coincidently, all the mistletoe within a 10-foot radius of Kurama vanished silently.

"What? Not going to give out any love at Christmas?" he teased his friend.

"It's not love," Kurama responded dryly. "It's hormones."

Title: Bound to You
Word Count: 166
Challenge #62: Have I repaid my debt?
Characters: Yusuke x Keiko

As a general rule, Yusuke hated being in debt. Being in debt meant you owed someone; it bound you to that person until the debt was paid.

Yusuke owed Keiko more than his life. She ran into a burning building to save his body. She breathed life into him to restore his spirit to his body. She gave his life meaning. (He's not sure he would have chosen to come back to life if it weren't for her.) And there were all the little things she did for him:

She stood up for him when other students and teachers maligned his character – even if he wasn't there to hear it. She shared her lunches with him when he didn't bring his own. She never forgot his birthday. She worried about him when he got into fights. She believed in him.

He'll never be able to repay all his debts to Keiko. Yusuke is glad because this means he'll have an excuse to be with her forever.

Title: For Mother's Day
Word Count: 111
Challenge #68: Tell her the Truth
Characters: Kurama

It was Mother's Day. He hated the holiday. On this day, more than any other, he felt like a fraud. It made him… not cranky… because infamous demons just didn't do cranky… irritable and restless – which was strange. A fraud was the least of his crimes. He'd been a thief – one of the best – and a cold-blooded killer. He was a demon, for Enma's sake! None of those things even fazed him. And yet, the fact that he was not the son his mother deserved bothered him more than he could stand.

She deserved to know what he was.

He took a deep breath.

"Mom? I have something to tell you…"

Title: Simply Human
Word Count: 222
Challenge #65: no powers of your own
Characters: Yusuke x Keiko

Keiko was Yusuke's weakness. The realization that she was helpless against his enemies… The realization that she would always need to be saved, like some damsel in distress… It was a bitter pill to swallow. All of his friends were either supernatural beings or had supernatural powers despite being human (like Kuwabara) and could defend themselves.

She was simply human – with no powers of her own.

So she worried about it – and even wondered if Yusuke would be better off without her. (If she left him, then he would never need to risk himself to save her or to protect her.) She was a weakness he didn't need. It troubled her… until the day Yusuke found out.

"Let me get this straight. You think I'd be better off without you – because you have no powers of your own?!"

Keiko nodded mutely, surprised at the anger flashing in his eyes.

"Baka! You're the reason I fight! You're the reason I breathe! You're the reason I exist! You can't leave me because I'm never letting you go!"

With each word, Yusuke took another step closer until he had her backed up against the wall with no escape.

"You're mine and I'll always keep you safe," he whispered fiercely – right before he kissed her so passionately – so possessively – that she never worried about it again.

Title: Taking a Risk
Word Count: 458
Challenge #33: Double Edged
Characters: Koemma, Botan (hints of Kurama x Botan – if you squint really hard)

Koenma sucked on his pacifier in agitation. What a mess! His father, Emma – the King of Hell, was going to be furious when he found out! Yusuke had retrieved all three artifacts successfully. But why – oh why couldn't he have done so without damaging the Mirror of Utter Dark? On top of that, what in the world was he supposed to do with two demon criminals?!

"Make them work for you."

"What?" Koemma looked blankly at his blue-haired subordinate.

"You wanted to know what to do with Kurama and Hiei, right?" Botan asked. "I know it's unusual, but I think you should make them work for you – as Spirit Detectives. The best way to catch a criminal is to think like a criminal. Kurama and Hiei are perfect for the job. Besides, Yusuke needs a team. He can't handle everything by himself."

"Are you crazy? Kurama and Hiei are demons! They can't be trusted!"

Botan shook her head slowly in disagreement.

"They might be demons, but… they're different. Kurama didn't have to help us fight Hiei, but he did… and got hurt doing it. I trust him. He's not like other demons."

"And Hiei?"

"Have you seen Hiei's file? He's searching for his twin sister. Every single crime he's committed has been for her – to bring him more clues to her location or to give him more power to find her. If we tell him that he'll have more resources to find her, as a Spirit Detective, and help him with his search, then he'll stay loyal to you."

Koemma sucked on his pacifier slowly as he thought over Botan's proposal. It was risky, at best. But… Did the potential benefits outweigh the risk? Kurama and Hiei were both powerful, intelligent demons. If they could be convinced to work for him as Spirit Detectives, they would be a great asset to Reikai (the Spirit World). However, trusting them would be a double-edged sword – and dangerous. He could use it to cut his enemies – or someday it could stab him in the back.

Despite her ditzy attitude and innocent appearance, Botan was a great judge of character – one of the best. He had never known her to be wrong before.

"Hmm… It might work. Do you really think they can be trusted?"

"I would trust Kurama with my life," she said without hesitation. "As for Hiei, as long as we help him find his sister, he'll work for you. And if we do find his sister for him, he'll feel like he owes us – and he'll definitely repay that debt."

Years later, Koemma was glad he took that risk. Kurama and Hiei became his double-edged sword, protecting both the Spirit World and the Human World… from demons like them.

Author's Notes: It always seemed strange to me how quickly Kurama and Hiei went from enemies to allies. In one episode, Yusuke's fighting them. In the next, they're his teammates! This is my take on how it could have happened. Bleh! This was written at 4:00am. Not my best work.

Title: Finding My Angel
Word Count: 307
Challenge #67: charming little angel
Characters: Yusuke x Keiko

He found her again. This time her name was Kaori – not Keiko. But she was still the same. That was all that mattered. He watched from the shadows as the little girl played dress up with her dolls and had a little tea party. She was such a charming little angel at this age. She always was.

His smile was bittersweet.

Sometimes, he wished for mortality. How ironic for a Demon Lord! He could remember several lifetimes with her. Each had ended much too soon for his liking, lasting half a dozen decades at most. Despite loving him – a demon lord – in each lifetime, Keiko's soul remained pure – and would always be reborn in the Human World. He just had to find her.

He laughed silently as he watched the pig-tailed little girl trip in high-heels that were much too large for her. Now that he found her again, all he had to do was wait.

10 years later…

Kaori cursed as she hurried to school. She was going to be late! She had stayed up so late last night studying for a midterm that she had overslept this morning. Rounding the corner, she ploughed straight into a warm body.

Oh no!

In an amazing display of athletic grace, the other person managed to rescue them both from an undignified tumble.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and…" Her breath caught in her throat as she got a good look at the other person. It was a young man who looked to be her age with dark hair and deep brown eyes. And… There was something achingly familiar about him. "… I'm sorry. Have we… met?"

"I don't think so," he grinned at her. "My name's Yusuke. It's my first day here at Arata High School. Maybe you can show me around?"

Author's Notes: Yusuke becomes a full demon – with an immortal lifespan, right? I always wondered what would happen when Keiko eventually dies. I imagine he won't let something like death get in his way! Yusuke's stubborn like that. This one has potential to become a longer story. Too bad I don't have the time to write it.