One More's A Crowd
by Riisha
Yusuke and Keiko for you here …
Chapter 3
Hit and Miss
“That was great, Mina-san,” Kurama called.
“Come on, Onishi!” Yusuke said. “You could do better than that!”
Hiei only grunted.
Mina’s blue ki began to fade away all around her.
It had been a week since Mina’s death. She had passed the test and was resurrected by her archenemy, Tetsuya. Mina was surprised at the development. But when she confronted him and asked him why he did it, all he’d say is that he got it from a dream, and realized he was probably the only one who could do it.
Even Botan, who was with Mina at the time, wasn’t sure if she was to believe him.
After that, training started. Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei were always doing their best to help her. At least, Kurama was doing his best. (A/N: Sorry, just had to comment. LUCKY GIRL! She’s got the Makai right hands to help her out!)
They set up a dummy that she could practice moves on. For now, they were letting her show what she already knew, growing up as a streetfighter.
“How about using your Reiki?” Kurama suggested.
“No prob …” Mina grinned. A blue disc of ki formed in her hand. She had recently found out that this was her power.
“Go!” Yusuke called.
She ran, charging toward them, another disc forming in her other hand. Just before reaching them, she leapt into the air, throwing both discs toward the dummy.
Both discs hit the dummy where its chest was supposed to be.
“All right!” Yusuke called.
Hiei nodded in slight approval.
Kurama clapped his hands, “Congratulations. Looks like we don’t have to train you all that much here.”
But when Mina dropped to the ground, she looked up. “Oh shit!! That wasn’t right!!” she cried, “That was terrible!!”
Kurama and Yusuke both facefaulted as suddenly she started crying.
“Wh-wha?!” Yusuke yelled.
“Why are you crying?” Kurama asked, “Straight through the heart! You’ve got great aim!”
Mina sobbed, “I was aiming for his knee!!!” ()
Kurama facefaulted.
“Er …” Yusuke sweatdropped. “That’s all right! Just always aim for the knee!”
Kurama shot Yusuke a glare.
“What? I’m trying all right?”
He sighed. “Fine. Mina-san, just try again.”
“This is taking too long,” Yusuke said. “Why don’t you try fighting me? No reiki, just ourselves.”
“Yusuke!”
Mina stared at him a while.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Kurama asked, a hand to his forehead. “We are to be responsible for Mina-san.”
“I’ll take it easy on her!” Yusuke said simply, cracking his knuckles.
“Hey! I can take care of myself!” Mina protested.
“Hn.” Hiei grunted. “You shouldn’t be so confident.”
“Yeah!” Yusuke said. “He’s right!”
“I was talking about you.”
“WHAT?! HEY!!”
When Yusuke turned back to Mina, she was already charging.
“HYAA!!” She yelled as she jumped up, aiming her foot at his face.
Yusuke dodged it, jumping back but she was already lunging again.
“THEREOVER!” she cried, punching up. “HEREUNDER!” She cried again, punching down.()
“Mina-san … That did not make sense …” Kurama said.
“Made sense to me …” Yusuke groaned, putting a hand to where he was hit on the stomach.
“Baka.” Hiei muttered.
Mina was already making another move, bombarding him in a barrage of fists. Yusuke looked up and blocked each and every blow. She shot out a foot every now and then, but he’d just step back or jump out of the way. She’d proceed to another shower of fists, and still, he’d block all of them.
She finally put all her force into one punch aiming for his face. Yusuke stepped sideways, grabbing her fist. Mina’s eyes went wide.
The next thing she knew, Yusuke was behind her with both of her arms pinned behind her back.
Yusuke grinned a cocky grin as he released her arms. “You’ve got a lot to learn.”
Mina plopped to the ground, exhausted. She looked up at them, a worried look on her face.
“But, still, Mina-san, that was pretty good,” Kurama nodded his appreciation.
Mina beamed, though weakly.
Kurama turned to Yusuke as an afterthought. “By the way, Yusuke …” He asked. “Have you told Keiko about your training yet?”
Yusuke blinked. “Keiko?”
-----*-----
“Class.. this is an istress-istrain diagram.. coincidentally.. this is an istress-istrain diagram for isteel.” ()
Keiko looked worriedly around. She didn’t make talking in class a habit, but she leaned over to Kuwabara and whispered.
“What has been happening to Yusuke? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Ah … well … er …” Kuwabara tried to think of a reply.
[dong, dong, dong, dong …]
Phew …Kuwabara thought, wiping his brow. Saved by the bell. He got up, practically running to the door to escape Keiko’s questioning.
“Kuwabara-san!” Keiko called. “Please tell me!!
“I’ve got PE next!” He called back. “They might lock me out of the dressing room!!”
-----*-----
“Well, she should know!” Yusuke said confidently.
“Did you tell her?” Kurama asked.
Yusuke grinned, “Of course not!!”
Kurama facefaulted, klunking to the floor.
“Y-yusuke … I think this is something your fiancée should know … A-and if she finds out about it from someone else …”
“Hey! Don’t sweat!” Yusuke said with complete certainty. “It’s not like Kuwabara will blurt it out to her in class or something.”
-----*-----
Kuwabara sighed to himself.
“Class, when the player scores, the scorer should say, ‘Pwent’!” ()
He felt so uncomfortable every time Keiko mentioned Yusuke’s absence from her daily routine. Every time she’d ask where he was. It wasn’t like he could say out right. ‘Oh! You’re fiancé is out with a beautiful girl! But don’t worry about it … even though he’ll be with her almost every day for a while.’
“Kuwabara-san!!”
Kuwabara whirled around. K’sou!! He could hear her and she was at the girls’ area!! In fact, it sounded as if she were right beside him!!
“Kuwabara-san … I’m right here.”
Kuwabara turned to the side and jumped away, facefaulting.
“A-ah!! Keiko-san!!” Kuwabara exclaimed. “I-I didn’t know you were here!! S-so … i-is there anything wrong?!”
“Kuwabara-san!! You haven’t told me about Yusuke yet!! I-I’m sorry … I-I just worry about him! I-is there something wrong?”
Kuwabara couldn’t say anything except, “Ah … ano … are … eh?”
“Kuwabara-san,” Keiko sighed. “Please. I really need to know. I haven’t seen him for several days now! I know it can’t be his … work … because, he hasn’t had any in such a long time. And you’d be gone too, if it were so. I really am … so worried for him.”
Kuwabara tried to grin at her. “Ah … eh … are … Well …” He scratched his head. “Ah you see. There’s nothing wrong!! You don’t have to worry about anything. He’s just with Mina-san after all.”
Keiko froze, her eyes wide, “Mina-san? Who’s Mina?”
Kuwabara facefaulted. Suddenly he dashed out of there.
“Kuwabara-san!!!”
-----*-----
“You trust that baka to not say something?” Hiei inputted.
Sweatdrop from Kurama, “Yusuke … H-he has a point …”
Yusuke shrugged. “So she finds out. No big deal. Right?”
-----*-----
Kuwabara was trapped. Keiko was staring at him, her eyes seeming to pierce his body. He gulped.
“Kuwabara-san!” Keiko said, quite calmly. “I just need to know who this Mina person is. That’s all. At least I finally know where he is most of the time, and I don’t have to worry about him!”
“Ah!! Well …” Kuwabara tried to grin again, “Don’t worry about anything!! Mina is not some girl that Yusuke had just met recently and he’s with at this very moment … I mean, there’s nothing happening with them right now. You have no worries.”
Keiko’s face drained of color. “A-a girl? H-he’s with another girl right now?”
“No!!” Kuwabara yelled, “I didn’t say that!”
But Keiko’s hand was already swinging backward …
-----*-----
Kurama put a hand to his forehead, “I-it could be a very big deal.”
Hiei just shook his head, looking away, “Ningen no baka …”
“You have a fiancée?” Mina finally asked.
“Yup!” Yusuke said. “Known her since we were both kids. And she’s never struck me as the jealous type.”
-----*-----
Before, Kuwabara knew it, he was flying across the air, into the stratosphere.
Keiko just stood there with her hand in after-slap position.
When Kuwabara came back down to land, she cried out at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?! Who else knows about this?! Th-this … girl?!!”
Kuwabara looked up, a large hand mark on his face. “Ah, well Noone …”
“NOONE?!”
“E-except … me … Kurama-san … The shrimp … Botan … Koenma …”
“EVERYONE?!”
“W-well … not everyone … Oneesan doesn’t know … and neither does Yukina-san.”
Keiko just stared blankly at him for almost a full minute.
And suddenly she bolted.
“K-keiko!!” Kuwabara called after her.
-----*-----
“So, what’s the problem then?” Mina cocked her head to one side.
“You don’t get the point!” Kurama said, “If Keiko jumps to conclusions!!”
“Bah! What are you talking about?!” Yusuke said, “If I know Keiko, she knows me. And if she knows me as much as I know she knows, she’ll understand perfectly!!”
-----*-----
“Class, welcome to the world of the living… minus the dead …” ()
“K-Keiko!!” Kuwabara whispered. “I-I’m sorry … H-he should’ve told you … D-don’t worry about it!!”
Keiko was trying her best to listen to their teacher. But thoughts were swirling around her head.
What is Yusuke doing? Why is he with someone else?! Doesn’t he remember that he still has me?! I-is he over me?! Is our engagement nothing to him now?!
She swatted those thoughts away, No!! It can’t be like that!! Everything we’ve had … he won’t throw it away just like that!!
“I’m fine now, Kuwabara-san,” Keiko whispered back to him. “I’m all right … really.”
“Oh! That’s good!” Kuwabara brightened. “I mean, even though Mina-san is funny … and nice … and beautiful … I knew that you wouldn’t care at all that Yusuke’s been with her practically every day.”
Keiko’s eyes were dots and her face was white. “Sh-she’s funny? A-and … b-beautiful too?! A-and he’s with her every day?!”
“Ahehe …” Kuwabara facefaulted. “B-but, there’s a lot to like about you too Keiko!! Y-you’re also beautiful and you’re smart!! I’m sure he won’t do anything to harm you!”
Thoughts were jumbling around Keiko’s mind anew.
He doesn’t like me anymore! It’s all over!! He takes one look at another girl and he’s gone!! Why hasn’t it happened before? Has he been too busy as a Reikai Tantei?! And now …
I can’t have this!! NO!! I won’t let him throw me away just like that!!
“If that’s the way you like it … so be it …” Keiko clenched her fist.
“You said something, Keiko?”
Keiko turned to smile sweetly at him. “Ah … I’m fine now. Really! Don’t be so concerned.”
-----*-----
“C’mon!” Yusuke yelled, turning to Mina, “We’ve still got to work on you!!”
Mina nodded.
As the two of them ran for clearer ground. Kurama mumbled to himself, “If she knows you as much as you think … She’s got plenty to worry about.”
-----*------
Author post script a.k.a RANTS!
And we see a whole new side to Keiko-san!!
I don’t know if I’m being accurate … if Kuwabara and Keiko still go to high school after the end of the series. If so, they’d be third years and graduating. Oh well, it was necessary to get rid of those three challenges anyway … =P
I’d love it if anyone could tell me what Keiko really calls Kuwabara and vice-versa. And what Kurama calls Botan and such. Do they do the ‘san’s or something? Or what?