Last time, on Yu Yu Hakusho; You'll Always Have Liquor!

Yusuke Urameshi returns from his last trip to Demon World, fully intending on carrying out his promise to marry his childhood friend, Keiko Yukimura, upon his return. Much to his shock, however, Keiko has moved on with life, and Yusuke catches a glimpse of her with a man who appears to be her new boyfriend. Yusuke takes to drinking in order to forget about her, but it isn't long before Keiko sees him passing by on the streets and, in disbelief that he's actually back, blindly runs after him. However, her carelessness causes her to be hit by a car and nearly fall into a coma. Thanks to Yusuke staying by her hospital bed and yelling endlessly at her in order to get through to her subconscious, Keiko is able to wake up and recover from her injuries. Yusuke then takes off once again, leaving Keiko's new boyfriend to take care of her while he finds comfort in a nearby bar, and thus our story continues…

"He did WHAT?" Kazuma Kuwabara felt his cheeks grow numb as they flushed, showing off an angry hue of red. His sister stood nearby, eyeing the plastic phone that was currently being choked in his grip, ready to beat him to a bloody pulp the moment it suffered so much as a crack. She could faintly hear the sound of a blubbering woman on the other end, her wailing shriek familiar to Shizuru's ears.

"He's been doing this for almost two weeks! Nothing I do works, I can't even hit him anymore, it's like he doesn't feel a thing!" Atsuko whimpered on the other line, "He hasn't been home in days. I tracked him down to the Kabuto Bar, but he wouldn't leave. You're his friend Kuwabara, talk to him!"

Kuwabara felt his voice deepen, falling into an imitation of a noble knight as he proclaimed, "You can count on me! I'll get him home, don't you worry!"

Shizuru eyed him skeptically as he hung up, muttering through her burning cigarette, "Just what are you going to do, baby bro? Tie him up and drag him home?"

"Oh, I'll get him home all right! I'll get him home even if I have to beat the beer out of him!" The orange haired male fumed as he fumbled with his jacket, struggling repeatedly to shove his arm through one of the sleeves.

His sister sat down on the living room couch, casually knocking the ash off her cigarette into a nearby tray. "You know that won't work, Kazuma. You've never been able to beat him up in your life."

"That's not true!" Kuwabara's scratchy voice shouted in defense, his already feverish complexion glowing redder, "I've beaten up Urameshi plenty of times! I-"

"Quiet." Shizuru stopped her brothers ranting with a well aimed soda can thrown at his head, "Even if you could beat him up, that wouldn't work. He would just go back to the bar once you left, unless you want to spend the rest of your life with him."

Kuwabara rubbed the growing bump on his head with a growl, stifling his frustration and pain as he looked at his nonchalant sibling. After a moment's consideration, he sat down next to her with a defeated sigh, his hand still resting on his throbbing head, "Well, what do I do then? I mean, Urameshi's one of my best friends, I gotta do somethin'…"

He didn't receive an immediate response as Shizuru took another drag from her nicotine, her gaze set in thought. She let the smoke rush out between her lips and turned her attention back to her brother, speaking to him in a softer tone than before, "Look, Keiko went ahead and got together with someone else, right? Some kid from the all-boys school?"

She watched him shift uncomfortably, his eyes darting to the floor as he muttered, "Well, yeah, I guess so, but I don't know if it's anything serious…"

"Doesn't matter if it's serious or not, the fact is, Yusuke's hurt, and he's acting like a big baby over it." Shizuru stabbed her cigarette into the tray, effectively putting it out, "He's known Keiko since he was still in diapers, and he's letting something like this get between them. Keiko waited on him for a long time, and he had better stuff to do. He needs to just be glad that she has someone who makes her happy now, instead of whining about it like a selfish little brat."

They stared at each other for a good while, Kuwabara's eyebrows wrinkled in thought. Just as the room began to stale over, he spoke in a slow, uncertain tone, "So…you want me to tell Urameshi he's a baby?"

Shizuru felt her eye twitch and watched her younger brother, wondering if she should explain the situation more clearly. Instead she got up and with a wave of her hand dismissed him, "Whatever you want, baby bro."

"H-hey! Wait! Shizuru, what if that doesn't work?" Kuwabara got up to follow her as she made her way to her bedroom.

She didn't even look back as she closed the door, leaving him with only one last bit of advice, "Figure it out."

Kuwabara huffed a bit, scratching his head as he tried to put the pieces together. Slowly his eyes trailed to the phone, and an idea began to take place.

'Stupid, rude, inconsiderate, stupid, heartless, jerk!' Keiko Yukimura tried not to think about how Yusuke would have pointed out that she said stupid twice. He was obnoxious enough to do that.

Instead, she tried to hold back little tears of frustration as she stared up at her flat, white ceiling. Nearly two weeks since she'd been out of the hospital and he hadn't bothered to visit her, call her, or even drop a note to make sure she was ok. It was so typical of him not to care.

Keiko rolled over to her side, clutching her pillow to her chest. She didn't want to think about him anymore, not if he was going to ignore her so completely. She buried her face into the soft, feathery pillow and cursed herself repeatedly.

'I jumped into traffic for him? Have I gone completely insane? Hiroshi would never-' Keiko paused her own thoughts, blinking down at the floor as she collected herself.

No, Hiroshi never would let her down like that. He proved it by showing up at her hospital room each day, being there when she went home, sending her flowers and chocolates and little stuffed bears. Even at that very moment he was down stairs, helping her parents with the chores she could be doing but wasn't, all because he wanted her to rest. Yet here she was, laying in bed and pouting about another man, as if that were any way to repay his kindness.

Keiko sighed. When she was done, she sighed again, and felt the little tears start to trail down her cheeks. She huddled herself around her pillow and demanded herself to stop crying. It had been working until, by a stroke of unfortunate luck or maternal instinct, her mother walked in.

"Keiko, are you hungry? …Keiko? What's wrong? Is the pain coming back?" Her mother took her place on the bed, stroking back Keiko's hair as her eyes fluttered in concern.

"No…" Keiko muttered, her voice strained as the tears struggled to escape, "I'm fine…"

watched as her daughters face crumbled in front of her and wrapped her arms around her, rocking her back and forth gently as she spoke, "Maybe we should take you back to the hospital…"

"Mom…" Keiko gripped her mothers arm, pulling her close as she let out a small wail, "It's just…Yusuke…"

She pulled herself closer into her mothers' arms, allowing herself to cry a little more as her mom rubbed her hand up and down her back, murmuring her name softly and reassuring her that everything would be ok.

"Yusuke's back…and…" Keiko sniffled, finally gathering her strength as she sat up, "Everything was going so good, Mom. Graduation is soon and I finally have enough scholarship money to go to the University, and me and Hiroshi…" She flopped her hand in the air, letting the sentence fade off before she finally continued, "Yusuke doesn't care! He just doesn't care about me at all-he hasn't even called-I don't know why I'm wasting my time…"

hushed her tears as Keiko began to crumble again, patiently waiting for her moment to speak. When it seemed that her daughters ranting was done, she opened her mouth to offer gentle words of encouragement that, unfortunately, never had the chance to be said as a knock at the door interrupted the moment.

Her fathers' rough voice called out from the other side of the door, "Keiko, you've got a phone call! Said his name was Kuwabara!"

Keiko sniffled, lifting her head from her mothers lap as she stared at the door in puzzlement, "Kuwa…bara…?"

"Thanks for doing this Keiko, I really appreciate it." Kuwabara glanced at her, his hands gripped firmly around the steering wheel of the car.

"Huh?" Keiko jerked herself out of her thoughts, turning her attention back to the situation at hand, "Oh, no…it's no problem."

"Heh heh, yeah, guess any reason for beating Urameshi up is good, huh?" Kuwabara laughed, trying his best to lift the very stiff mood in the car. When he got no response from Keiko, he glanced towards her again, only to see her looking solemnly out the window.

Kuwabara gulped, not sure how he should handle the situation. He shifted nervously in his seat and tried a different approach, "Uh, so, sorry for not, you know, hanging out or anything lately…"

It took Keiko a moment to process his words, staring at him with wide eyes. She blinked, and then offered him a kind smile with a small, awkward laugh as she waved his apology off, "What? Don't be silly Kuwabara! We've both been busy, that's all. Besides, you visited me in the hospital, remember?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess so." Kuwabara returned her smile, and before he could stop himself, blurted out, "You know, I never saw Urameshi while I was there, what, did he visit at night or somethin'?"

Keiko's smile fell almost as quickly as it had formed, her gaze trailing down to her hands which laid properly over her lap, "Um…n-no."

Still wearing his trademark, goofy grin, Kuwabara opened his mouth to press the subject further when the glimmer of Keiko's watering eyes caught his attention. His eyes popped out in panic and his words came out in a frantic flood as he reached out a comforting hand to her, "H-Hey! Don't cry Keiko, I'm sorry! What'd I say?"

The sound of a loud, blaring horn caught Keiko's attention, making her head dart up and her eyes widen in fear, "Kuwabara, watch out!"

"Wha-? Whoa!" Kuwabara quickly turned his attention back to the road, narrowly avoiding an accident, and tried to keep his car under control as it twirled with the grace of an overweight ballerina. Miraculously, the car skidded to a stop neatly beside a sidewalk, and Kuwabara had to admit that if it weren't for the fact that their lives had been endangered he would have thought it was one of the coolest things he'd ever done.

"Eh…heh…" He managed to spurt out as he watched his fingers turn purple from the firm grip he had on the wheel. A glance to his side and he could see Keiko sitting upright, both hands clenching the nearest surface available, her cheeks a hallow little faded blue. For a second Kuwabara thought she looked very similar to a frightened cat.

Then he looked past her, feeling someone staring at him from outside the car, and grew embarrassed as he realized it wasn't just one person, but an entire crowd that gawked at them.

Kuwabara waved his hands frantically as he exclaimed in a loud, forcibly laughing voice, "Ah ha ha ha! Sorry about that folks! Nothing to see here! We're fine, we're fine! Ah ha ha ha!"

"K-k-k-k…" Keiko struggled to say his name, her mouth frozen in a terrified frown, "K-k-k…"

"Ah ha ha ha! Yup, all fine! Nothing to see! Ah ha…ha…" Kuwabara sighed as the crowd began to slowly drift away, though not before tossing him odd looks, and happened to glance at the building they were parked in front of. His face lit up as he shouted happily, "Hey, Keiko! We're here! This is the bar Urameshi's mom was talking about!"

Before he even had a chance to blink, Kuwabara felt a powerful fist ram the side of his head, knocking him over so that he was slumped helplessly against the car door as his eyes swirled in a daze. An angry Keiko hovered over him, frightened tear drops dangling in the corner of her glare.

"KUWBARA, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She shouted as she continued to pound her fist against him, "You could have killed someone! You could have killed us! Where on earth did you learn how to drive? Just wait until I tell your sister about this! I can't believe you!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Keiko, please! I'm sorry! Don't tell Shizuru about this, please! I'm sorry!" Kuwabara cried as he tried to shield himself with his arms, cowering against his side of the car.

"Ow! Please, Keiko! Ah! Look! There's Urameshi, look!" He pointed a frantic finger toward the building and found some relief from the abuse as Keiko paused in mid hit, spinning around to look out her passenger window. Kuwabara risked opening his eyes, and felt his jaw drop as he saw that Yusuke actually was standing there, leaned against the frame of the bar doorway. He had an opened bottle in his hand and a drunk, confused expression, as though he were considering whether it was worth it to stay and watch the situation unfold.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara called out happily, quickly throwing open his car door and running over to the once feared student of Sarayashiki junior high. Yusuke stared at him, his mouth slightly ajar from his intoxicated state.

"What're you do'n here?" He asked slowly, trying to stand tall and proud, but only managing to nearly lose his balance once he was away from the door frames support.

"What do you mean what am I'm doing here? I'm here for you, you big jerk!" Remembering his previous anger, Kuwabara grabbed a handful of Yusuke's blue jacket, shaking him a bit as he yelled, "Do you know how worried your mother has been? She was crying, Urameshi! She says that you haven't been home in days! What kind of son are you? Huh? Answer me, Urameshi!"

At this point, fellow bar dwellers had gathered near the entrance to watch the dramatic display, their hazy minds hoping for a good fight. Yusuke grabbed hold of Kuwabara's hands and with little effort pried himself from his grip, all while yelling in an inebriated slur, "Well she just-should've been drink'n then! Shit, 18 years of her drunk and she goes and all being sober…you just go Kuwawa…Kukuwa…you, you just go before I have ta SPIRIT GUN you…shit, I'll do it too…I dun need this…"

A stunned Keiko watched from the car as Yusuke stumbled back into the dark comfort of the bar, with Kuwabara following close behind, his scratchy voice cursing and nagging at him to come home. The rest of the drunken men watched with only mild interest now, their short attention spans losing interest in the arguing pair of boys when there was no immediate bloodshed. Yusuke took another swing of his beer as Kuwabara continued to yell, interrupting his ferocious speech with a loud, obnoxious belch.

"Look, KuwaBARA! I'll leave whenever I want, and youuuu," The alcohol sloshed around in Yusuke's bottle as he pointed a wavering finger at Kuwabara's nose, "aren't gonna stop me! Now shut up, and grab a beer!"

Kuwabara felt his face flush with frustration as Yusuke reached over the bar counter and grabbed another beer, shoving it in the carrot-tops direction.

The bartender caught sight of this and began to curse at them, to which Yusuke raised his fist and cursed back,

"Hey, hey! Do you know how many times I've saved your sorry ass? Hell, I've saved this whole dumb planet more than once, and you're not gonna give me a drink? Come on!"

"Look pal, I don't care if you think you saved an entire galaxy, if you want my beer you gotta pay up or get your ass out!" The bartender shouted, leaning across the counter in an intimidating gesture.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? Hold my beer Kuwahara, I'll show this jerk not to mess with us!" Yusuke tried to pass his beer off to Kuwabara, but he wouldn't have it, instead letting his own unopened beer bottle clank to the floor as he attempted to restrain Yusuke from hurting the poor bar employee. The rest of the bar customers crowded around and cheered on with glee as Yusuke struggled in Kuwabara's grasp, just barely freeing his hand as he pointed his fingers in the shape of a gun, aiming at the laughing bartender who didn't recognize them as even a faint threat.

"Damn it Kuwabara, let go! I'll teach this guy to laugh at me! SPIRIT-"

"Yusuke Urameshi! Just what do you think you're doing?" A female voice broke through the crowds cheering, a shrill, scolding tone that had every man stiffening and holding their breath like a child in trouble. The men turned towards the source of the shout, surprised to see an angry, tiny teenage girl standing in the bars doorway.

Yusuke blinked slowly, his heart giving a small flip as he saw his once sort-of-fiancé, her frame silhouetted against the sun which poured in from the outside, her hands on her hips, which, to Yusuke, looked curvier than he remembered.

He stumbled from Kuwabara's grasp, holding onto the counter for support as he continued to stare at her, an indubitable goddess who focused her fury on him alone, "Kei…ko…?"

Yusuke watched her blink at him, caught off guard by his vulnerable state, but quickly regained her glare, marching over to him with her usual wrath, "Is this what you've become, Yusuke? A worthless drunk who has nothing better to do than get into bar fights?"

When he didn't answer her, she let out an agitated growl and grabbed the collar of his shirt, "Come on, Yusuke, we're taking you home right now!"

The men of the bar sneered, calling out to Yusuke with mocking sweetness, "See you later, Yuuuusukkke!"

Though Yusuke allowed himself to be tugged helplessly by Keiko, he still rebelled against entering the car, requiring Kuwabara to shove him inside the backseat as though he were a police officer. The ride was silent save for Yusuke's occasional slurs of protest and Keiko's steaming anger, which would hush Yusuke for a moment, only to begin again and repeat the vicious cycle.

A light, digital ring interrupted the awkward atmosphere, causing Yusuke to roll his eyes and poke the back of Kuwabara's head, "OI! Answer your phone! It's annoying!"

"He CAN'T, Yusuke, he's DRIVING! Not everyone is irresponsible, you know!" Keiko retorted, spinning around in her seat to glower at her child hood friend, his body sprawled out against the entire backseat of the car.

Yusuke's only response was to snap his head away from her with a small "Pch," and quickly snatched up Kuwabara's phone, ignoring Keiko's complaint as he flipped it open, and acknowledged the caller with a garbled, "Whadya want?"

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY CAR!" Kuwabara and Keiko jumped at the scream that poured out of the phones small speakers, causing Kuwabara's face to pale quite rapidly.

Yusuke, however, seemed unfazed and casually held out the phone out towards the front of the car, "It's for you."

"Gahhh! Give me that!" Kuwabara frantically spun around in his seat, the car swerving as he did so, forcing Keiko to lunge over to the steering wheel and straighten them out as Kuwabara clumsily grasped the phone.

"SORRYWRONGNUMBEROKBYE!" With a click of the end button, Kuwabara threw the phone down to the floor and snatched the steering wheel back from Keiko, his face in a terrified grimace as he tried to focus on driving.

The phone began its cheerful digital ringing once more, Keiko staring in stiff silence as she watched Kuwabara's despaired expression grow more dread, his knuckles white from the strained grip he held on the steering wheel.

"…Kuwabara?"

"HAHAHAHAHA don't worry everything's fine! Yessiree everything is hunkie dorie! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Keiko felt her nerves freeze in fear at the panicked and slightly insane tone of her friends voice as he struggled to appear upbeat and relaxed.

"Shizuru…" Yusuke slurred from the backseat, pointing a lazy finger towards Kuwabara's direction, "…is gonna kick your ass…AGAIN."

"Shizuru? …Kuwabara, did you ask your sister for her car?"

Kuwabara glanced over to Keiko's, whose eyes stared at him wide in terror, and he felt the nervous sweat trail down his forehead, "Uh, uh, well, I, uh…"

"Oh, no…Kuwabara…" Keiko slumped back in her sear, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief, stopping only to glare at Yusuke as he began a high pitched laughed.

"Honor-code my ass! What kinda guy steals a car from his own sister? HUH, mister WHITE KNIGHT!"

"I DIDN'T STEAL IT! I just, ya know…borrowed it…SHE SAID FOR ME TO FIGURE IT OUT ON MY OWN, OK? It's not like I'm not allowed to use the car for emergencies!"

Keiko sighed and leaned against the door, looking bitterly out the window as she mumbled, "Yusuke's usual stupid antics aren't really an emergency…"

"Oh yeah! Well maybe I should be more like Hiroshi an' wipe your big ass for ya!" Yusuke smashed his face together with his hands and gave a gurgled impression of the boy he had met shortly at the hospital, "Hey Keiko, dun sit up, you'll hurt yourself! Hey Keiko, drink some water! Have another pillow, Keiko! Crush my stupid dignity, Keiko!"

He ignored the absolute rage emitting from Keiko's body as she barred her teeth at him. Yusuke stopped making faces and instead let himself fall back into the backseats in a relaxed state, closing his eyes and huffing out with a loud and obnoxious bellow, "You finally found someone as naggy and annoying as you, Keiko! Congratu-freakin-lations!"

He didn't see how the anger slowly leaked from her face, her eyes watering to the point of vague blindness and clearly giving her away. She snapped her head away from him, and with all the strength she could muster, turned her attention to Kuwabara, "Stop the car. I'll walk home."

Try as she might, her voice still broke with unshed tears, causing Yusuke to open one lazy eye as he looked at her, hurt and angry, ready to open the door and step out whether Kuwabara met her demand or not. Had he been able to concentrate on anything other than the large ringing in his ears, he might have felt like a complete and utter jerk.

Kuwabara was uncharacteristically silent as he pulled into the parking lot of a small convenience store. Keiko reached for her doors handle, but was stopped when the usually gentle giant grabbed hold of her wrist and refused to let go.

"No." He said firmly, only letting go when she pulled back from the door, "You stay. Just give me and Urameshi a minute."

"HA! This outta be GOOD! Come on, KuwaBARA! Let's go!" Yusuke pawed at his door and finally stumbled out of the car, clumsily following a very stiff-shouldered Kuwabara into the back ally of the small store. When they were completely out of sight, Keiko let herself sink down further in her seat, and quietly cried into her hands.

Yusuke felt something collide with his cheek. He assumed it must have been a punch.

"What the hell is wrong with you, huh! Since when do you think it's ok to speak to Keiko like that? To ANY girl like that? I outta beat you till you can't think straight anymore, Urameshi!"

Another punch. It really wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that the punches kept making him lose his balance, forcing him to stagger left and right, only to be jerked back into place by Kuwabara once more.

"I've seen you do a lot of things that I didn't like Urameshi, but that's the final straw! Keiko's my friend too, ya know! I'm not gonna let you be a jerk to her like that!"

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke grabbed hold of Kuwabara's fist, glaring at him as he stepped forward and yelled into the equally angry face of his carrot topped teammate, "Well if you guys are such good friends, why dun you just go take her home to her little boyfriend and LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara pushed his fist against Yusuke's holding grip, successfully ramming him into the brick wall of the back ally, "So Keiko got a new boyfriend, big deal! You're the one who wanted to go to the demon world! You're the one who decided to leave ALL of us behind, with only a message now and then to make sure we knew you were even still alive!"

"I told her! I told her when I got back that-I mean-"

"What? That you'd marry her? Come on Urameshi, even Kurama wasn't sure if you were actually gonna do it!" Kuwabara finally unclenched his fist and leaned away from him, his friend who suddenly appeared too pitiful for words, and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, "You know what? I don't her blame her. In fact, I'm not even surprised that she got fed up with you."

He looked away from the slight grimace of shock and hurt that splashed across Yusuke's face and continued, his words slowly melting into a disappointed mumble, "She's happy now, you know? It took her a long time to get this happy again. You should at least be man enough not to ruin that."

The pair stayed quiet for a long while, Yusuke staring in frustration down at the dirty, littered concrete below them, and Kuwabara looking anywhere that was enough to avoid his comrades' eyes. Out of the corner of his gaze he saw Yusuke's entire form start to quake, his fists balled up with pent aggravation, and with one loud, painful yell, he turned around and punched the wall with such force that it's entire middle crumbled, full bricks reduced to nothing more than puffs of powder.

Kuwabara watched as Yusuke stood there, his fist still extended in mid-punch and his head hanging low to his chest. Finally, when the clouds of dirt settled, he relaxed his body and stood straighter, as though a sudden wave of sobriety overcame him.

"Let's just get her home."

The remainder of the car ride was still, save for the occasional driving directions. Yusuke kept his forehead leaned against the window and stared at the passing pedestrians and cars, trying not to notice Keiko's red and puffy eyes. Kuwabara was right: he really was a jerk.

"Well, we're here." He murmured as they pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building. He felt the eyes of both of his comrades glued to his back as he carefully got out of the car, trying his best not to stumble or sway. He must have done an awful job, however, according to the sigh he heard from Keiko, followed by her assisting him out of the back seat. Yusuke felt Kuwabara gently place an arm over his shoulder and helped him walk up the stairs to his room, Keiko trailing quietly behind. They knocked on the door and waited patiently, but received no response, an unsuccessful jiggling of the door knob telling them that Atsuko was no longer home.

"Guess that was a waste of time…" Yusuke mumbled under his breath and leaned against the wall, prepared to sleep beside the door until his mother returned. He watched as Keiko began to shuffle items around in her purse, finally pulling out a key ring and flipping through until she came across a round silver one. She felt him eyeing her as she jammed the key into its lock, carefully turning until she heard a victorious click.

"…since when do you have a key?"

"Well, someone had to take care of Atsuko while you were away." Keiko refused to look him in the eye as she spoke, and he could hear her voice straining slightly at the attempt of sounding casual. Yet, despite her distance towards him, Yusuke still felt his heart thump just a little faster than before.

He quickly composed himself and responded with only an irritated grunt before flopping himself down on the couch, lazily kicking off his shoes in the process, "Ok, I'm home now, you guys can go kidnap someone else. How about that bartender, he could use a little roughing up…"

Kuwabara watched as Keiko appeared to ignore Yusuke's mutterings and instead began searching through the kitchen cabinets, pulling out a packet of dried noodles and a small pot.

It wasn't until she began to fill the pot with water that Yusuke seemed to notice her lack of attention to him and peered over the couch in annoyance, "Oi! What are you doing?"

"When is the last time you've eaten, Yusuke?" Keiko proceeded to ignore him as she set the stove to a medium heat. Though she still avoided his gaze, she could see him begin to grow irritated out of the corner of her eye.

"Darn it, I don't know, why?"

"You have to eat, and I don't know when Atsuko will return. This should only take a few minutes."

That thumping again. Yusuke averted his eyes from her, suddenly very interested in a stain in the couches fabric. He didn't want to risk being rude to her again, but at the same time he couldn't quite bring himself to appear thankful for her help either, so he simply said nothing and laid his head down to clear his thoughts.

"Ah…Keiko…" He heard Kuwabara attempt to whisper, "I should probably get going before sis…ah…"

"It's fine, Kuwabara. I only live a few blocks away." Keiko's voice came in reply, her tone growing softer as though it could escape Yusuke's ears, "Thank you for everything…I'm sorry you had to go through the trouble."

Yusuke felt a sharp pain in his chest. 'Trouble', that was his best definition, everyone at school had known it, and now Keiko was finally figuring it out too.

"…you sure you'll be ok with him?"

Another sting. He deserved that one he supposed, after how he had acted, but it wasn't as if he'd ever hurt her…

"I'll be fine. Thank you…you better get home before Shizuru comes to find you."

"Ok." Yusuke felt Kuwabara's eyes burrowing in his direction, as though he could see right past the couch and drill into the back of his head, "…see you Urameshi."

He grunted a reply and waited until he heard of the click of the door before he glanced up, just in time to see Kuwabara's retreating back before he shut the door behind him. Yusuke closed his eyes and savored the quiet that took place, with only the soft bubbling of boiling water to soothe his on coming headache. It seemed as though he had been sleeping for hours when, after just a few minutes, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed on the table before him. He risked a look at Keiko's face as she laid the chop sticks beside his meal. She had the same guarded look she had that day at the restaurant, right before he left for the demon world.

Suddenly Yusuke didn't feel that noodles would agree with him anymore. Still, he pushed himself up and mumbled what was reminiscent of a thank you, all the while focusing on the light steam that rose from his bowl.

"You're welcome." Keiko could feel the awkward stiffness of her words even as she spoke them. She tried to make her way back to the kitchen to clean up her mess, but felt a hand wrap around her wrist as she attempted to turn. The beating of her heart abruptly quickened, pounding so fiercely it was as though it were next to her ear instead of safely in her chest.

Yusuke's eyes never left the calming steam as he tried to piece together words in his head, his fingers lightly griping Keiko's small wrist.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it with a fruitless expression. Finally his gaze trailed up to the girl who for so long as been his closest companion, "…Keiko…"

This seemed all too familiar. Keiko felt a large lump in her throat, her nerves trembling slightly, she gently shook her hand out of Yusuke's grip, quickly turning away so he wouldn't see how her eyes dampened, "I…I'll go get you some water."

He didn't fight her, instead letting his hand flop to his lap. Though Yusuke would likely never have admitted it, he began to feel his own eyes struggle to remain steady and grinded his teeth together, as though they could form a barrier between him and his idiotic emotions.

Meanwhile Keiko took deep, sturdy breathes as the water rushed out of the faucet. This was still her friend she was dealing with, a good friend, a friend she had known from her very earliest memories. Yusuke had always been difficult, this wasn't any sort of rough spot they couldn't get through, and soon things would be just the way they always had been. They'd argue a bit, then Yusuke would slump off, and by tomorrow it would be as if none of this had ever happened…just like old times.

It was a good thought, but when Keiko glanced up to towards the back of the Yusuke's head, once more bent intently over his bowl of soup, his words whispered in her head. 'Naggy'…'annoying'…could that have been the reason he took so long to return home, because of her? Secretly, had he never wanted to be with her, had never even liked her to begin with?

A few stray tears managed to trickle down her cheek before she had the chance to rub them away with the edge of her shoulder. The cup was full, over filling actually, but she kept the faucet running, letting the noise drown out her sniffle.

"D…damn it…" Keiko heard the curse slip by Yusuke's lips and looked over at him, his shoulders hunched and bouncing slightly, as though silent sobs were making their way out of his body too. She let eyes gaze fall back down to the sink, water overlapping water as it spilled over the cups edges.

"I'm sorry…" Her whisper was barely audible above the rushing water, but Keiko still saw Yusuke's shoulders stiffen and still at her voice, "I waited…half my life I waited…"

More tears began to fall from her eyes, more than one shoulder could handle. She lightly covered her face and continued, her heart tearing at the seams with every word she spoke, "…but you never came around…even when you were here, you weren't really…you weren't here for me…"

'I didn't mean to…' The thoughts raced across his mind, but Yusuke lacked the courage to say them out loud. The truth was he loved her, but when it came to her, he was lost. When it came to loving a woman, he was lost. Whoever was supposed to have taught him never had, and there weren't many examples for him to follow.

'I do though Keiko. I love you.' The reflection put a heavy weight on his chest, yet somehow it made him feel stronger as well. When minutes had passed without any sort of response from his end, Keiko finally shut off the faucet and brought his water to him, her blotchy cheeks wiped dry. Yusuke lifted his head towards her and, with all his strength gathered into one, managed a smile of sorts.

"Hey." Keiko glanced up at him nervously, red eyed and vulnerable, and Yusuke felt himself soften inside, "It's ok. I waited too long, it was my bad, I get it. You gotta go get what you want, and if that guy is it…hell, who am I to get pissed. You're happy, right?"

Keiko stared at him blankly, nothing short of shocked, and gave the slightest hint of a nod. She watched Yusuke smile at her, but could see how it never touched his eyes, 'Am I happy…?'

"Then that's all that matters."

"Yu…" Keiko grabbed the hem of her shirt, trying to grip reality, trying not to lose herself in her emotions. It didn't work though, and fresh, though less distressed, tears spilled out. She felt her arms and legs begin to tremble, and wanted nothing more than to hug her friend.

So she did.

"Yusuke…" She cried softly into his shoulder while he awkwardly placed a hand on her back. It brought him back to a certain event years prior, with happier tears. Back then, when she had finally looked up at him, it was with a smile. He wondered how she would look at him now.

His eyes traveled all over her body, which only made him more nervous. His arm rested perfectly against the more defined curve of her waist, and her long, white skirt draped over her bottom in a way Yusuke could only call beautiful. Figures she'd do all of the good growing up while he was away, but still…

"It keeps getting bigger." He mumbled before he could stop himself. Yusuke froze in fear and felt Keiko do the same; though he had a suspicion her reasoning was different from his.

"…what?"

"Eh…heh heh heh…what?" Yusuke looked towards the ceiling as nervous sweat beads began to form on his forehead.

"What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You said something."

"I didn't!"

"Yusuke…you…you were LOOKING at me? NOW? In a time like this!"

Keiko's eyes were still teary as she glared up at Yusuke, her face flushed in frustration. She had his shirt balled up in her small fists, and for a moment Yusuke wondered if she planned to toss him off the couch.

"I didn't say anything, I'm telling you!" His cheeks were burning with shame as he lied and tried to squirm away from her.

"YUSUKE!"

"OK! You're butt got bigger! There, I said it! Just hit me and get on with it!" He couldn't even look at her as he confessed. Yusuke's entire face felt as though it was on fire from blushing and his body was braced for contact. He waited, but when there was no slap he cautiously opened one eye and to his surprise saw Keiko staring at him not in fury, but in bewilderment.

Then she began to laugh. It started out slow, but grew, until her shoulders shook and more tears escaped the corners of her eyes. Yusuke warily joined in, which only prompted her to laugh harder, and eventually they were both laughing heartily. They even had to lean against each other for support, just to stop from falling off of the couch. It was a wonderful release from all the tension that had been built, and for the first time since he had returned home, Yusuke felt like he could breathe easy again.

"Yusuke…" He looked over at Keiko, a smile on her face, "…no more drinking, ok?"

Yusuke gave a sheepish grin, but nodded.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"That's not a promise, Yusuke."

He rolled his eyes and gently pushed her away, snatching up his bowl of cooled off noodles, "Ok, geeze! I promise! Ya happy now?"

"Yes." The answer came so quickly, so firmly, that Yusuke did a double take at her. She was still smiling, and she did look…happy. He pushed down a negative thought and forced himself to eat his food instead.

"Great, now go be happy somewhere else so I can eat."

"Ehhh! I'm the one who made you the food to begin with!"

"So give yourself a pat on the back, I'm eating it!"

"Not with that tone your not!"

"What tone!"

They squabbled for the rest of the night until Atsuko came home and promptly began to cry and beat the newly sobered up Yusuke. When Keiko left, she gave him a smile, and he returned it before being smacked upside the head once again. She gave a small giggle and shut the door behind her, but on her walk home, her smile began to fade, the recent events playing over and over in her mind as she came closer to home. She tried to resolve herself before her walk came to an end, yet by the time she was turning the knob to her front door the question that rang in her head was still left unanswered.

'Am I happy?'

Authors Note: I'm sorry this took sooo incredibly long! It's been sitting half written on my computer forever...but I fully intend to finish this story! Someday...only one or two chapters left to go! Thank you so much for all those who still stuck by my story, it means a lot, and it's because of you that it's still being continued! Again, thank you!