That Which Comes Between Two Mountains

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: The fourth chapter! Thanks for your reviews, everyone. I hope you're enjoying the story. Now, before you go on I should warn you that I've changed pretty much the entire Yusuke vs. Hiei fight. This is mostly because I thought this fight was a good chance to define Hiei's abilities from the get-go. The fight in the original manga and anime involved a lot of special abilities that Hiei never used again. Meanwhile, Hiei's fire powers were never even hinted until the Dark Tournament. It always kind of bothered me. XD

-Some parts of this chapter are from Kurama and Hiei's POVs. I felt a change was justified since this is Kurama and Hiei's introduction and what really establishes them as characters.

Bonds of Fire

If Yusuke had thought his job as Spirit Detective was difficult before, it was nothing compared to what he felt now. For one thing, he was faced with a real live youkai with superpowers and a sword that could turn humans into mindless monsters. For another, the stakes weren't just his own or Keiko's safety; if he let Hiei get away, the entire city would be easy prey. And to top all that, he was under a time limit. Already the sunny yellow glow of Botan's energy was starting to look like sparks of electricity as she was forced to exert more and more to seal Keiko's Jagan.

"Well, Detective?" Hiei prompted when Yusuke just stood there with his fists clenched. "Aren't you at least going to try? If not, you may as well tell your assistant to stop wasting her spirit energy. All she's doing is delaying the inevitable. Once she's drained herself dry, there won't be anything to prevent the eye from opening."

Botan ignored those words with a look of fierce determination, but she couldn't stop herself from whimpering as her own energy began to singe her hands.

"Don't worry about me. I'll stop this as long as I can. Just hurry up and get that sword back!" Botan said.

"Botan…" Had Yusuke really been mad at her before? Now that she was hurting herself just to keep Keiko safe, he couldn't even remember why he had been angry. Yusuke firmed his resolve, standing up so he could glare at Hiei properly. "Just leave it to me. I'll take care of this little creep."

Without another word, Yusuke charged. Hiei stared unflinchingly, not even attempting to get out of the way—stupid bastard—and Yusuke's fist connected with the youkai's face.

Or he thought it did. The edges of that face blurred, and the next thing Yusuke knew he was punching through empty air. With no solid body to oppose the force of his punch, he was on a collision course with the floor. He barely had time to shut his eyes and shift his arm to protect himself before he landed hard on the cement.

"Nice try," Hiei said quietly. "You only missed me by two meters."

Yusuke grimaced. What the hell had happened? Punches were supposed to hurt the other guy, not him! He twitched his body a bit, using the pain from that small movement to assess the damage. His right forearm had taken the brunt of the fall. The skin under his sleeve was stinging, probably scraped, and he thought he could feel blood trickling down to his elbow. At least it didn't feel like he'd broken anything. He hissed slightly and pushed himself up.

"Bastard, where did you…" Yusuke caught sight of Hiei standing several meters away. What? How did he get over there? Did he teleport?

Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"You couldn't even see me move. That's really pitiful, Detective." Hiei blurred again and disappeared. Yusuke blinked in shock, his eyes shifting to a stack of boxes where Hiei had rematerialized. The youkai noticed the lag in the human's eye movements and smirked. "Unbelievable. I can't even imagine having eyes as slow as yours." Yusuke growled in annoyance, and Hiei snorted softly, sheathing the Kouma-no-Ken. "It would just be cruel to use the sword against you. Tell you what: I'll kill you with my bare hands to make things fair."

"Gee, that's nice of you," Yusuke growled sarcastically. "If I didn't have to kick your ass I bet we would've made great pals!"

Yusuke lurched to his feet and broke into a run, quickly jabbing with his right fist and feeling the warm surge of spirit power rising to the surface. This time he saw the blur as Hiei moved to the side. He aimed a hard left at the flickering image, but Hiei was gone before the outline fully settled. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Yusuke punched faster and faster, feeling his spirit energy pulsing with frustration as he continued to miss. Why—won't—he—hold—STILL?

Hiei actually had the nerve to laugh as he sidestepped the last punch and sprang backward. Yusuke watched the little youkai move out of his reach and skidded to a stop, panting and glaring.

"Ooh, you really got me," Hiei snickered, as if they had simply been playing tag. "Allow me to retaliate."

The youkai lunged forward, and Yusuke realized that he could actually follow the movements now. They were slightly blurred, but Yusuke could still see the fist coming at him. He raised his left hand—something solid connected with his open palm—and he caught Hiei's punch.

"Got you!" Yusuke said triumphantly, closing his hand like a vice around that small fist. "Heh, try flitting away now."

Something in Hiei's face shifted, transforming his smirk into a grotesque grin. Yusuke had enough time to appreciate that Hiei really did look like a monster before his hand was suddenly blasted with heat. He screamed and stumbled backward, clutching at his wrist. Hissing painfully, the Spirit Detective raised his injured hand and stared in shock at the blisters all over it. Burns… He looked past his hand and Hiei came back into focus. The youkai's raised fist was literally blazing with fiery green energy.

"Interesting. Most humans would turn to ashes at the slightest touch of my energy," Hiei said, sounding almost impressed as the green flames licked up his forearm and vanished. "It seems you do have some spiritual defenses. However, that will not be enough to save you…or your friends, for that matter."

Hiei darted forward, yelling inhumanly, and Yusuke only had enough time to take a single step back.

The attack was devastating. Hiei's blows landed so fast that Yusuke didn't even have time to register the pain of one before another hit, each punch delivered with a blast of green fire that seared through his jacket and shirt. Two seconds and sixteen solid punches later, Yusuke swung his right forearm up in a circle, trying to deflect. He actually managed to stop Hiei's left fist, but the youkai just continued the rotating motion and grabbed onto Yusuke's wrist. Hiei growled fiercely, drawing his free right arm back and down. Yusuke watched in what felt like slow motion, seeing the blow coming but unable to react in time. The uppercut sank solidly into his gut, sending bile straight up to the back of his mouth and lifting him off his feet. In half a second Hiei had let go of Yusuke's wrist and sent his entire left arm smashing into Yusuke's middle, shoving him as hard as he could.

The Spirit Detective cried out as he was thrown backward against a large crate. The impact shattered the crate's planking to splinters, and as if to add insult to injury, the contents of the crate showered down on his unmoving body. Yusuek lay amid the sparkly, bruising rain of what he could only guess were really inconveniently shaped paperweights.

Bastard… Yusuke tried to make himself sit up. He couldn't move; the burns down his torso were agony. He barely managed to lift his head, and even then all he could see was a vague shadow of Hiei. Only this time it wasn't because the youkai was moving fast. Sorry Keiko…Botan… Looks like I screwed this one up…

And then something was in front of him. Yusuke blinked, trying to focus. What was that?

"You?" Hiei's voice faltered.

Yusuke blinked again and…yes, he could make out the curve of long red hair laying against the back of a familiar school uniform. Kurama was standing between him and Hiei, poised to attack with what looked like an overgrown blade of grass.

"K-Kurama?" Yusuke rasped. He gripped the edge of the crate and forcibly pulled himself up, blinking to clear his vision. "What are you doing here? I thought you turned yourself in…"

Kurama was silent. Yusuke couldn't see his expression; the fox youkai refused to turn around. But Yusuke could see Hiei. He could see the uncertainty as the little youkai searched his partner's face, and he could see the way that uncertainty darkened into understanding.

"So that's how it is. They let you walk in exchange for helping the detective catch me," Hiei said flatly. Yusuke's attention snapped to Kurama as the fox youkai slowly nodded. Hiei bowed his head, shadows falling over all three of his eyes. "You would have been better off staying in prison."

Hiei reached up, loosening his white scarf and black coat and tossing them aside. Oh my God, Yusuke thought in alarm. Hiei had more than three eyes—many, many more. His entire body was covered with cuts, all tinged an infected green around the edges, all cracking open to reveal filmy, corpselike eyes.

"What have you done to yourself, my friend?" Kurama asked gently.

The little monster threw his head back, laughing wildly as every one of his hundred Jagan flashed.

"I have done what no other before me has. I have discovered the true power of the Kouma-no-Ken!" Hiei lowered his head so he could stare at Kurama with eyes flickering black with bloodlust. "You see, its real power is not in making extensions of myself in others, but in magnifying my own energy. No one else ever thought to try cutting themselves with the blade. Willingness to take risks… Just one of the many things I learned from you, Partner."

Hiei smiled viciously, unsheathing the Kouma-no-Ken. His own green energy mingled with the blue from the Jagan as he let power surge around him. He neither noticed nor cared that a third aura, dangerous jet-black, crackled up along the sword and wrapped around his arm as if to bind him to the weapon. Hiei saw the fear in Kurama's eyes and mistook it for fear of him, rather than for him.

"Ha! Yes, you can feel my power, can't you? It must terrify you," Hiei gloated. "I'll bet now you wish you hadn't betrayed me!"

Hiei ran forward to attack. Kurama backed up a step, bracing himself, magenta energy spreading from his hands to reinforce his own plant sword.

Yusuke stared in openmouthed awe as metal blade met grass. The pair struggled for a moment before Kurama stepped to the side, his blade shrieking against Hiei's. The smaller youkai withdrew the force behind his own strike and spun in time to block Kurama's counter. Soon they were striking and blocking and dodging almost quicker than Yusuke could follow. They were both so fast, so perfectly timed and matched to each other—Yusuke was speechless.

They're not human, he thought with wonder as the two youkai's energies clashed. This is what I'm supposed to be competing against… Insane.

The youkai was a sharp one, Kurama thought with approval. Even after regaining consciousness he was pretending to be asleep, keeping his eyes closed while he scoped out his surroundings with his other senses. Kurama smiled when the youkai sniffed the air around him, trying to place the unfamiliar scent of a human's bedroom. Still, Kurama waited until the youkai grew bold enough to reach out with his spirit to make his own presence known. He flared his energy a tiny bit and startled the little one enough that he tried to jump out of the bed.

"F—auhhh!" The little youkai collapsed back, unable to move because of the pain it caused him. He stayed still for a moment, sweating and panting. Finally, he groaned and slowly reached a hand up to the deepest of his wounds, the one that had just missed his heart. When he felt the bandages swathed around his chest he frowned in confusion. Kurama marked his place in his book and set it aside.

"You shouldn't be trying to move just yet," he said amicably as he left his desk. He didn't flinch when the youkai's eyes snapped to him. "Your wounds haven't fully healed yet."

"You…" The youkai looked like he wanted to make a second attempt at a dramatic leap from the bed, but he simply lay there, knowing he couldn't fulfill the glaring threat in his eyes. Such nice eyes they were, too—wide and red and shaped like a cat's. It was a welcome change after looking at nothing but human eyes for so long.

Kurama smiled wider, leaning over the youkai until his hair spilled over his shoulders. Those wary red eyes flickered down as if they somehow sensed the arsenal that lay hidden among the strands. "I'm Kurama. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, but you passed out before I could say anything."

"Tch." The little youkai turned his head away, scowling at the wall. Then he blinked. "Did you say 'Kurama'?"

They really did complement each other.

Hiei was the aggressor, there was no denying that. His sword flashed brightly as he slashed at Kurama, barraging him with attacks. He was a hard martial artist—one who relied on his own brute force to pummel an enemy into submission. It was a style that suited him well with his strength, speed, and aggressive disposition.

Kurama, on the other hand, used a style that perfectly opposed Hiei's. He moved so gracefully it was like he was dancing, and each tiny shift in posture somehow redirected the smaller youkai so his strikes never hit where they should. Kurama didn't seem particularly pressed to go on the attack. While the need to draw blood consumed Hiei until he could think of nothing else, Kurama's mind was fluttering, seeking any bit of information he could use to win.

As Hiei quickly pulled back the force behind another misdirected attack, Kurama's eyes thinned. He's stronger than me…and much faster. And he knows my fighting style as well as I know his. He pulls back before I can catch him off balance. At this rate, he'll overpower me. I have to get him to stop attacking…!

Kurama blinked when a small velvet bag landed on the desk in front of him. "And what is this?"

"Just a souvenir I picked up from the house of Lord Chi," Hiei said, dropping the name of the famously well-guarded mansion as if it had been a cinch to break into. Kurama loosened the drawstring on the bag and picked up the treasure. It was a silver ring set with a dazzling, marquise-shaped emerald that was probably worth more than Kurama's house. "You can have it if you like," Hiei added.

Kurama held back a sigh. Hiei had made it clear that he wanted to partner up, and he had offered all kinds of valuables to convince the fox youkai of his worth. In the past twelve weeks Hiei had made several trips to the demon realm, only to return to Kurama's room a few days later with the most precious treasures he could steal. Kurama hadn't noticed until the third trip that Hiei's targets were emeralds—intense green ones that were cut until they sparkled with a sort of inner light. Hiei had never said anything about this, but the fact that they all precisely matched Kurama's eye color said plenty. Well, at least he wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted.

"Kurama," Hiei said, forcing himself to sound nonchalant as his gift was replaced inside the bag. "It's been three months. When are you going to let me be your partner?"

"When you've proven yourself," Kurama answered.

"How am I supposed to do that? I've already stolen every treasure I can think of, what more do you want?" Hiei asked, a bit of impatience creeping into his voice.

Kurama pretended to think about it. In truth, he had known for a while now what he wanted Hiei to do. He had simply let the unfortunate little youkai carry on with his crime spree because he wanted him to build up a sense of desperation. Hiei was now at the point where he would do anything to prove himself…even risk his life to steal the Treasures of the Damned right from under Koenma's nose. With a very deliberate slowness, Kurama answered, "Well… There is one thing you could do, but it wouldn't be very safe."

Hiei's eyes sparked with eagerness. "Can't make any big gains if you can't take some risks. What is it?"

"What's wrong? You're so quiet," Hiei taunted as yet another strike slid uselessly away. "Don't tell me you actually feel guilty now."

"…Yes, I do," Kurama answered, keeping pace as Hiei's attacks came stronger and faster. "Of course I feel guilty. You were a good partner, and all I did was take advantage of you. I'm sorry, but in the end there was nothing else I could do. I hope that you will be able to forgive me someday."

Hiei snorted with contempt. "Keh. You of all people should know, Kurama…"

Yusuke watched as if in slow motion as Hiei swung his sword, sliding it down the length of the plant blade until he cut Kurama's hand. The fox youkai's weapon reverted to a harmless shred of grass, and Yusuke's stomach lurched. It didn't matter that Hiei could move faster than human eyes could follow, because at that moment time seemed to stop. Hiei thrust the Kouma-no-Ken—and Kurama did nothing to defend himself as it speared him through the abdomen.

"K—Kurama!" Yusuke yelled, his heart leaping into his throat. Hiei's eyes were ice-cold.

"…There is no mercy for the enemy."

Hiei pushed the sword deeper, making Kurama cry out in agony as it was buried to the hilt. The fox youkai curled inward, panting, sobbing, spilling blood all over the gleaming blade and his former partner's hands. Hiei moved forward so Kurama could collapse against him.

"Die quickly," he said dispassionately.

Kurama coughed and spattered blood on Hiei's shoulder. His clammy hands fumbled over Hiei, one catching his shoulder and the other burying itself in his hair. Such a feeble attempt to comfort himself in the face of death… The impulses that had dominated Hiei for the past few days urged him to slice Kurama to ribbons and laugh at his miserable fate, but an empty feeling in his chest kept him still. Somehow, watching the traitor suffer didn't bring him the satisfaction he'd thought it would.

"Hey… Hiei?" Kurama murmured. "You'll have to forgive me for this one too."

Hiei blinked, confused by how steady his dying partner's voice sounded. That was all the time Kurama needed to slip his bloodied hand from Hiei's hair and crush the heel of his palm into the open Jagan. The little youkai let out a bloodcurdling shriek, reeling back and covering the bruised eye with his hands. He moaned wretchedly as the copies all over his body clenched shut.

Unable to hold himself up without Hiei's body to lean on, Kurama crumpled to the floor, curled in a fetal position with his hair shrouding his face.

"Kurama!" Yusuke pulled himself to his feet and stumbled the few steps it took to get to the bleeding fox youkai. "Hey! Don't you dare die on me, you son of a bitch, I was just starting to like you!"

His concern was met with a small smile. "I'm…glad to hear that, Yusuke…but I'm not that weak." Kurama turned his head so his hair slipped down, falling out of his eyes and laying across his sweat-soaked cheek instead. "And look what I've got." Yusuke blinked as Kurama grabbed the vial and yanked it free of the Kouma-no-Ken's hilt. That slight tug on the sword made Kurama's eyes flicker, and he swayed worryingly for a moment. "Y-your…assistant and I will administer the antidote… As for Hiei, you should be able to handle him on your own now."

Yusuke watched as Hiei took shuddering, gasping breaths, his hands still cupped over his Jagan. "Yeah. I've got him."

Hiei dragged his hand away from his face, his undamaged eyes watering with pain as he watched Kurama stagger away. All of this pain… It was his fault. Hiei felt his skin crawling, his body spasming as abject hatred coursed through him like an electric current.

"I'll kill you for this!"Hiei screamed."I'll kill you! I'll skin you alive and turn you to dust, you backstabbing little—"

"The hell you will!" Yusuke rumbled. Hiei's eyes darted back to him. "You want to kill anyone, you have to get through me first!"

Hiei balked at the tendrils of spiritual light twining around the Spirit Detective's body. His energy—it's burning nearly as bright as mine now! Why?! Where could he have gotten all this power…?! Hiei heard a yelp nearby and glanced back to Yusuke's friends. The blue-haired girl had the brunette's head cushioned in her lap and was staring distrustfully as Kurama offered her the vial of antidote. He wants to protect them, Hiei realized.

"That's where your strength comes from. You're not much on your own, but when someone else is relying on you, your spirit rises to the occasion." Hiei's eyes lingered on the girls for a moment longer before turning to glare at Yusuke with indignation. "Why?! They're just going to turn against you in the end! It's in their nature! There's no point in fighting for anyone but yourself!"

Yusuke smirked. "I guess I just like the whole part-time superhero deal. Makes me feel all special."

Hiei gave him a look of revulsion. "Idiotic heroism… No wonder you took the job as Spirit Detective. You're just dying for a chance to save the day, aren't you?"

"Yeah? So maybe I am. At least I'm getting something out of all my hard work. Can't say the same for you, though, can we?" As the look on Hiei's face shifted from angry to livid, Yusuke hit him where it hurt. "It must really suck to see all your great plans just slip through your fingers."

Yusuke barely had time to raise his hands to block before Hiei was in front of him, grace and form abandoned for a rage-driven frenzy of teeth and fingernails. Yusuke didn't even try to see the attack coming anymore; he just let his hands move out of instinct, and somehow, incredibly, he was defending himself. While Hiei concentrated on trying to break through, Yusuke aimed his leg in a low sweep, sending him to the ground. He dove with his fist aimed at Hiei's jaw for a knockout punch, but the little youkai caught Yusuke in the stomach with his feet and sent him somersaulting over his head. Yusuke tucked and rolled until he landed in a crouch. He rose and twisted around in time to feel a scorching fist under his chin, then two more solid punches and a front kick impacting in his chest. The last blow sent him skidding back several meters.

"C…crap," Yusuke coughed, wiping some blood from his mouth. He looked at the red streaked across the back of his hand and then glanced up at Hiei. Come on Yusuke, there's only one way you're gonna stop him. It's time to bring out the Spirit Gun. I just hope this works…

"All right, Hiei," Yusuke said, sounding much more confident than he felt. "I think I've had enough of these sucker punches. Why don't you just come at me with everything you've got?"

Hiei's eyes gleamed when he saw the blue light sparking around Yusuke's hand and concentrating around his fingertip. The fool was really going to try to hit him with a single blast? Hiei could dodge that just as easily as a punch!

"Go ahead and waste your energy, Detective!" Hiei shouted. "You're never going to hit me!"

Hiei charged forward, certain that he could avoid any attack that came at him. Yusuke stood his ground.

"Now see Hiei, that's where you're wrong," Yusuke muttered. He reached into his pocket with his free hand.

The next thing anyone saw was an arc of fantastically colored energy shooting through the air. Hiei stared in dumb shock at this impossibly-formed attack, a wave of colors no human should be able to create on his own. Hiei had enough time to see something shiny in Yusuke's left hand before he was hit by the oncoming explosion of energy. The youkai was thrown back by the force; crash-landed; rolled over and over until he finally came to a stop facedown on the floor, wisps of white energy drifting up from his body like smoke.

For a long moment, Yusuke just stared at Hiei. He wasn't sure the fight had really ended. It was entirely possible that Hiei had an impenetrable hide like Gouki's, and if that was the case Yusuke had just wasted all of his energy on a fancy light show. Even with Hiei laid out on the floor, Yusuke fully expected the wild-eyed little youkai to get back up, unharmed by the Spirit Gun blast, and murder him.

When Hiei didn't so much as twitch, Yusuke blinked.

"Holy Hell… Did that really work?" Yusuke said to himself, surprised. He scoffed. Then he snickered. Then he broke into ecstatic laughter, jumping and throwing his fist in the air with a victory whoop. "HELL YEAH! Now that's a detective tool!"

Botan's mouth dropped open as Yusuke half-ran, half-jumped over to her and Kurama.

"But… But what in the world was that? It couldn't have been the Spirit Gun!" she gaped.

Yusuke smiled broadly and held out his hand, showing off a prism-shaped glass paperweight.

"This thing conked me right on the head when Hiei knocked me through that crate," Yusuke said. "Pissed me off at the time, but I guess it turned out to be lucky after all. My spirit energy passed through it and got distracted just like light."

"Diffracted," Kurama corrected him with a weak smile.

"Yeah, whatever," Yusuke waved his hand dismissively, grinning. "It got split up into the whole color spectrum. Maybe Hiei could have dodged my Spirit Gun as a single bullet, but there was no way he could get away from a spread like that." Yusuke tossed the prism up and caught it with a hearty laugh. "See Botan, this is the kind of stuff a Spirit Detective can actually use!"

"But how did you know the Spirit Gun had all the same properties as light?" Botan demanded. "How did you know it wouldn't just break the prism?"

Yusuke laughed even harder. "I didn't know! I d-didn't even think!"

Botan glared. "You didn't? What do you mean, you didn't?!" Kurama sighed and smiled contentedly, making Botan turn her glare on him instead. "What is so funny?"

"Nothing. Yusuke just faced a terrifying youkai and won. That's enough to make anyone a bit giddy. He'll come down from the adrenalin high soon enough," Kurama murmured, taking care not to disturb the sword in his belly as he pushed himself to his feet. "And he'll start feeling those wounds again too, so you had best get to work healing them."

"Wha—? Yusuke, hey, stop moving!" Botan turned to Yusuke, attempting to calm him down a bit so she could get a look at the burns.

While the girl was distracted, Kurama discreetly made his way to where Hiei lay. He dropped to his knees beside his partner's body, turning him onto his back and pressing his ear close to Hiei's mouth to make sure he was breathing. Just knocked out… Sighing in relief, Kurama dipped his finger into the vial he had appropriated and swiped the antidote across one of Hiei's cuts. It quickly closed up and disappeared, leaving behind only a faint green tinge.

Don't worry, Hiei. I promise I'll make this up to you. Somehow, I will. Brushing a few strands of hair away from the closed Jagan, Kurama smiled wearily. Hiei had survived this ordeal, and that was a relief…but he would still feel betrayed when he woke. It wouldn't be easy to earn his trust again. But if Kurama explained why he had done what he did, maybe Hiei would understand. After all, Yusuke had understood…

Kurama glanced back, watching as Botan tried to heal Yusuke while he was thrashing about hysterically. The boy had trusted him. Kurama still couldn't believe it—he had been a youkai and a thief and a complete stranger, and Yusuke hadn't thought twice about risking his own life to save him. And now he had saved Hiei by breaking the Kouma-no-Ken's influence over him. Hiei wouldn't like it, but he, too, was in the Spirit Detective's debt. I don't know how we'll ever repay him…

Yusuke wiped some tears from his face with the back of his hand, finally starting to calm down.

"Oh man," Yusuke sighed, "I can't believe I'm still alive."

"That's great, but you still took a really big risk with the Spirit Gun," Botan frowned. She put her glowing hand on Yusuke's stomach, where the burns from Hiei's attacks were still visible through the holes in his shirt. "If that hadn't worked Hiei would be hacking us all to pieces right about now."

"But everything worked out all right in the end," Yusuke pointed out. He glanced over to where Keiko lay unconscious. "She is gonna be all right, right? And what about everyone else? Oh man, what about Kurama? That's not just a little cut, he's got a whole frigging sword lodged in his gut—"

"They're all going to be fine," Botan said, half reassuring and half exasperated. "The antidote should be enough to get rid of all those nasty Jagans, and we'll take Kurama back to the Spirit World for treatment. Everyone will be okay."

Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief. "Well then, guess that wraps up this case. Good job, me."

The next day, Yusuke was left to wonder why no one else would acknowledge his greatness.

"So you're really okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't, I dunno, have a headache?"

"I said I'm fine, Yusuke."

Yusuke Urameshi was a hero damn it. He had recovered three magical artifacts for Koenma, saved the Earth from two powerful youkai, helped a third cure his mom, and even rescued his girlfriend…friend… whatever, from a life of zombiehood. Now if he could get some kind of reward for his job well done, then he'd be happy. Unfortunately, Keiko didn't seem to remember that she had been taken hostage and that Yusuke had (heroically!) freed her from the clutches of a big bad youkai…well, a short and sinister youkai, but it still counted.

"Are you sure, cause I think maybe you're looking a little green in the face…"

"Yusuke, what are you so concerned about my health for? You're the one who keeps picking fights with pro wrestlers and guys with flamethrowers! Do you want to die again?!" Keiko snapped. She gripped the handle of her school bag until her knuckles turned white. "Why do you have to make me and your mom worry about you? You're so inconsiderate! There are some times when you just have to back off and let the police handle it!"

"Yeah, cause that's totally an option," Yusuke mumbled under his breath. "I bet you're just mad that I didn't tell you about Botan…"

Maybe his reflexes had gotten a little better after fighting with a youkai who moved faster than normal eyes could see, but for once Yusuke actually managed to duck Keiko's slap. They both blinked, momentarily stunned that their little ritual hadn't gone the way it usually did. Then Keiko huffed and whirled around, resuming the walk to school.

Botan suddenly appeared over Yusuke's shoulder, dressed up in her schoolgirl outfit and pouting with disappointment. "Aw, you still haven't made up with Keiko?"

"Well it doesn't help that she doesn't remember me saving her," Yusuke scowled.

"But you know she can't know about all that," Botan pointed out. "Normal humans aren't supposed to have proof of the supernatural." Which meant that even if Yusuke fought off an entire army of crazed youkai to save Keiko, he'd never be able to take credit for it.

"Have I mentioned that I hate being a Spirit Detective?" Yusuke asked.

"Nope, but I'll make a note of it," Botan chirped.

"Rhetorical question, Botan."