"Kazuma, may I ask you something personal?"

Kazuma Kuwabara gave a surprised glance over to his tiny companion, bringing the soda can he was sipping down from his lips as he spoke, "Of course, Yukina. You can ask me anything."

The young girl trailed her gaze down to her feet that swung gently back and forth over the edge of the temples wooden floors, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the fabric of her summer dress, "Do you ever say silly things to other people, like you do to me?"

"Ehhh?" Kuwabara blinked in bewilderment, eyeballing her down as he tried to piece her words together, "What do you mean?"

"Ah, well, ah…" He noticed her pale features begin to scrunch in distress, "I read a story where a man spoke to a woman in the way that you speak to me, only he spoke that way with other women as well. When she found out, she cried, and told the man that she never wanted to see him again."

Yukina's attention, which had been firmly planted upon her shoes during her small explanation, was suddenly brought back to her friend when her shoulders were grasped with gentle assurance, Kuwabara's voice booming with energy as he spoke, "I would never do that to you, Yukina! My heart belongs only to you, we share the red string of love, nothing can ever tear us apart! I know you don't really understand what it all means, but that's ok, I…"

Kuwabara felt a lump grow in the back of his throat as he felt himself drawn into the sweet, perplexed, ever tender gaze of Yukina's eyes. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen, the one he loved above all else, looked up at him always with the same questioning stare, never fully comprehending all of his proclamations of love, and so always unable to return it.

He swallowed and let his hands fall from her shoulders, resting them with silent and noble defeat in his lap as he turned his head away. His gaze flickered to the warm, red hue of the setting sun, and he couldn't help but notice that the color seemed dull compared to the crimson eyes he'd been pouring into not seconds ago.

"…I'll always love only you, Yukina. No one else."

Yukina watched her friends face fade from his usual bright excitement to into a pale comparison of life as he stared out into the sun, a slight detection of pain in his voice as he spoke. Breaking through her initial concern, however, she felt her shoulders relax, a sense of relief overcoming her, causing her to smile.

Her instincts were now to make a sort of physical contact, as though she could transfer this wonderful emotion through touch, and so she laid her hand on the warm skin of Kuwabara's arm, her smile intact as she spoke, "Ahh, thank you, Kazuma, I'm so relieved!"

His body seemed to gain a renewed sense of life at her smile and touch, his slumped shoulders jolting back to attention as he responded with a smile of his own followed with his gruff, though still slightly uncertain, laughter. Yukina thought back to the story she read as the two of them sat in comfortable silence, watching the sky turn slowly dimmer, and she couldn't help but linger on a certain part of the novel that seemed to follow the type of conversation she and Kuwabara had just experienced. The man had said silly things of love and dedication, and the woman smiled, and said she was happy, and she had put her lips against his. Yukina assumed it was much like Keiko had done to Yusuke that day at the beach, and she recalled everyone seeming pleased after it had been done.

She tilted her head up towards Kuwabara, whose mood, while improved from the sad state he seemed to have fallen into a moment ago, still lacked his normally upbeat energy. She considered that, perhaps, it was because of her not doing what the woman and Keiko had done, which seemed to be an essential part of conversing between a human man and woman. It could be that she was, in fact, being extremely rude by not expressing her appreciation of her friend in the form of what the book had called a "kiss", and that was the reasoning behind his muted demeanor.

The thought was enough to convince the small koorime that, indeed, she owed this "kiss" to Kuwabara, and felt horribly guilty for not realizing her rude behavior earlier. Though in what way she was to initiate a "kiss" she wasn't too certain. The way Keiko had done it and the way it had been written in the book differed greatly; while Keiko had thrown herself on top of Yusuke and knocked him to the ground, the woman had simply put her lips to the mans and the two had remained standing.

Did it matter, then, how their bodies were positioned during a "kiss"? Yukina became extremely nervous at the thought of it all and tried to remember more details of the story. She did seem to recall a part where the two had been sitting down next to one another and the man had kissed the woman. The book had said he turned the woman towards him by grabbing her shoulders, much like Kuwabara had done to her earlier, and then lowering his face towards her.

Yukina lifted her small hands and twisted her body so that she could place one on both sides of Kuwabara's shoulders. He exclaimed surprise at her and stared down at her in puzzled wonderment, and a new sensation filled Yukina's chest. Her heart was beating faster than normally, as though she had been running, and she felt her skin grow clammy and her head fog as though she were ill, yet the feelings weren't unpleasant and in fact despite the slight feeling of discomfort they brought, she found herself quite enjoying them.

"Ah…Yukina…? What are you doing….?" Kuwabara's eyes seemed to widen, a spark of excitement in their color as he looked at her. Though Yukina wanted to respond, she found that her throat had become tight and constricted, and she had to gulp down air in a failed attempt to make it better.

"Please forgive me if I do this wrong, Kazuma."

She saw him begin to question her, but Yukina thought it would perhaps be best to initiate the "kiss" now as her body was starting to tremble. She closed her mouth and lifted her head up towards his, pressing her lips against his as had been described in the story.

Something clicked inside of her just then, a new flood of emotions overwhelming her and causing her already fogged head to blank for a moment, as though, for just a second, she was no longer sitting in front of the temple, but she was some place new, unknown but wonderful and lifting.

"Oh!" She spoke softly as she jolted back from the kiss, unsure of how much time had passed. Had it only been a second? It felt as though so much had happened in such a small constraint of time, in which somehow the impossible had happened and opened a new door of possibilities.

Kuwabara sat in a stupor, his bottom lip hanging slightly as his eyes stretched wide and blank, staring unfocused at nothing in particular. It was after a small moment of silence that dread began to fill Yukina as her friends state didn't change in the slightest.

"…Kazuma? Did I do it wrong…?"

His expression remained, as though he were merely a statue with a heart beat.

"I'm sorry, Kazuma, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to do it wrong! Please don't be angry with me!"

For a few seconds all was the same, until Kuwabara, who presumably had been holding his breath, suddenly let out a loud, wheezy gasp of air, and subsequently fainted on the spot.

Yukina's horrified shriek was enough to scatter the nearby flock of birds nestling near by, her voice on the edge of sobs as she ran into the temple, "Master Genkai! Master Genkai, please help! Master Genkai!"

"Now, now, Yukina, there's no need to cry. I'm sure the big oaf is just fine." Despite the supposed "urgency" of the situation, Genkai took calm, relaxed strides to the outside porch, a trembling Yukina leaving drops of gems in their path as she wept quietly into her hands.

"Oh, M-Master Genkai, I-I-I don't know what I did wro…wrong…he was fine a moment ago and then I-"

"YAAAAA-HAHAHAHA-HOOOOO!"

The pair stopped in their tracks, barely outside the door as they watched Kuwabara, who was quite obviously conscious, prance around the temple grounds, jumping and clicking his heels together and shouting out to the heavens praise and joy as his enormous grin burned his flushed cheeks.

It took the koorimes soft muttering of Kuwabara's name to grab hold of his attention, and when we spotted the two women standing in the door way, his impossibly wide grin spread even more, bouncing over to the pair in a fit of glee, "YUKINAAAA! My love, my beautiful princess! EHHHHH? Why are you crying, my love! I, Kazuma Kuwabara, your knight in shining armor, will right whatever has wronged you! Just say the word, my wonderful angel! Anything you want is yours!"

As Yukina stood in utter bewilderment in the arms of her good friend, Genkai let out an exasperated sigh, thinking that she was much too old to be putting up with this much noise as her rough voice explained, "She's crying because of you, you idiot. Yukina said you fainted, but I see you're up and around and as obnoxious as ever."

"AHAHAHAHA! Oh Yukina, my love, I'm fine! I'm so sorry to make you cry, it will never happen again my love, I promise!"

"Oh! So…you're not mad, Kazuma…?" Yukina attempted to look up at her friend, which was a difficult task to do when she was being held quite tightly against his chest. Kuwabara felt her squirming and gently released her, holding her at an arms length as he continued to beam down at her.

"Hahahahaha, of course not, why would I be? HOW could I ever be mad at you, my sweet, wonderful angel! Ahahaha!"

"But I…I thought I had done the "kiss" wrong, and that was why you…you…" Yukina felt her body begin to tremble again at the thought of Kuwabara's eyes rolling into the back of his head, his entire body slumping over in a matter of seconds. Genkai, who up till that point had been watching the situation with bored disinterest, suddenly lifted an eyebrow at what the young girl had just stated. She sighed again upon realizing that her poor temple would not have its usual peace returned to it anytime soon.

Kuwabara, however, only laughed more and brought Yukina back into his arms again, lifting her off of the ground and swinging her slightly from side to side as he held her against him, "AHAHAHAHA! Yukina, it was the best, most wonderful, most magical, most sweetest kiss in the history of kisses in mankind!"

He placed her gently back on the ground and, in an attempt to be dashingly suave, ran a hand through his hair, grinning down at her in his most charming manner, "And there's always more time for us to practice kissing, baby! Not that you need it, of course! You're perfect just the way you are!"

Yukina, though still slightly dazed from all that had just happened, gave a large smile, clasping her hands together in joy and relief, "I'm so glad! I thought you had been angry with me!"

As Kuwabara continued to happily explain why he could never be angry with someone like her, using every positive term that he seemed to know, Genkai trailed away from the two love birds, wondering if things had not been better with that brat Yusuke living with her instead.

Once he had calmed down a considerable amount, Kuwabara and Yukina returned to their sitting positions, though Kuwabara's large smile still had yet to leave his lips. The two gazed up into the new moonlight together, counting the stars that were still arriving for the night.

Yukina chuckled into her hand, slightly embarrassed, but pleased as she responded to another one of Kuwabara's gushing comments, "I'm glad you enjoyed the "kiss", Kazuma. It's nice to be able to make you happy."

"And what about you, Yukina? Did you enjoy it too?" Kuwabara quivered inside as he asked, but it was something he had to know, and the smile he got from his companion in response told him he had made the right choice.

"Yes. It was different from anything I've ever experienced before, but I enjoyed it very much."

"Eeeehahahaeee!" Kuwabara squealed much in the manner of a school girl as he kicked his legs back in forth, though he quickly regained his composure and put on his smooth grin once more, "Well, you know, we could kiss again, if you wanted."

"Really?" Yukina blinked in surprise; kissing had seemed like something done very rarely, and only at certain moments, "When?"

"Anytime you want! Just say the word, Yukina my love! My kisses are yours for the taking!"

"So anyone can kiss anyone at anytime, then?"

Kuwabara's good mood deflated slightly; though as usual, he continued to remain upbeat, "Well, not exactly. You see, Yukina, humans usually only kiss one person who they think are very special to them. You can't just kiss anyone. It has to be someone you care for deeply…and, uh…usually, when it's a kiss like you gave me…you only give that kiss to that one person, unless you decide you don't want to see them again…"

"Ahh! But I don't want to never see you again, Kazuma! I like spending time with you!" Yukina appeared to grieve over the situation for a moment before coming to a conclusion, "...but so long as I kiss only you, I can continue to see you, right?"

"Oh…well…" Kuwabara glanced down at her, the beautiful woman he loved, who still looked up at him with the same questioning stare, not fully comprehending all of his proclamations of love…yet there seemed to be something there in her eyes, the slightest bit of understanding, that suggested to him that perhaps, someday, she would know what he was talking to her about and would be able to return it in the way he wished she would.

For now, though, he sighed. Picking up her hand, he looked at her with an honest gaze, his voice noble as he spoke, "No, Yukina. You don't have to kiss me. I'll be here with you for as long as you want me to, no matter what."

Though she wasn't fully aware of it herself, Yukina's earlier click had started wheels in movement, and her mind was beginning to grasp all of what was being sprouted out at her by her long time friend, and she realized, with some surprise, that she was disappointed at the thought of not being able to kiss him again. Even more surprising, however, were the thoughts that slithered behind it, causing her to drop her gaze into her lap in bashfulness.

"Kazuma…may I ask you another personal question?"

"Of course, Yukina. What is it?"

Yukina felt her skin respond in the same clammy, heated manner it had done earlier, her heart beginning it's pounding once more, "…will you ever kiss another person, the way I kissed you?"

Kuwabara blinked, slightly taken back. He watched her face scrunch once more in distress, and noticed the adorable scarlet hue glowing in her cheeks that wonderfully complimented her eyes. His nerves nearly broke down as he let go of her hands, instead grabbing hold of her shoulders, as he had done early, and couldn't help laughing a bit as he smiled at her, "I'd never do that to you, Yukina. We share the red string of love, remember? My heart, and my kiss, belongs only to you."

Finding the courage to look up and meet his stare, Yukina smiled, her shoulders relaxing under Kuwabara's touch, "Thank you Kazuma. I feel…relieved."

Uncertain, Kuwabara instinctively lowered his head closer to her, his eyes lowering slightly in a timid request. Yukina felt her eyes close, the pounding of her heart still loud in her ears, and lifted her head towards him. Their lips met again, and this time, Yukina decided that she fairly liked this someplace new, full of unknown wonders.

In fact, she wasn't quite sure she ever wanted to leave it. She thought perhaps that she should stay and explore, and allow the marvel of it all to lift her up and lead her head into a dizzy frenzy, and as Kuwabara continued to give her a third kiss, and a fourth, and a fifth, she felt an odd tug on her finger, as though someone had wrapped a piece of string around it.

What a silly thought that was.