Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Beautiful Thing ❯ Chapter 7

Rocklover ~ Thank you! You're so nice!! lol I hope you like chapter seven. I even tried to get it out early for once. (even though I still didn't get it out that early)

Animehasmylife ~ hey thanks for reviewing again, dude. Love the input and stuff!! If you've got anything special that you wanna see in here, drop me a message or something. ^_^

Seara ~ I'm glad you had fun in ocean city! When I went, it was supposed to rain a lot, too. But I got lucky and it only rained a tiny bit one morning. Dude, the teenage mutant ninja turtles rock!! I have a crush on the mean one. I feel like such a retard for liking the TMNT - all my friends make fun of me except for one, lol. I'm stumped on some yusuke/roxy scenes, so if you've got any suggestions for me, that would be cool.

Kurama13 ~ oh my goodness! 10 out of 10 on everything! Thank you so much!! That makes me feel so awesome about my story. I don't wanna force you or anything, but keep reading if you like it. I'd love to know what you think.

Nenagh24~ I am smiling really really big. Stunned?? Awesome! To tell the truth, I never expected anyone to like my fic so much! Yeah I like the TMNT song, too. I like mikey and raph the best!

Anime_Addicted ~ I thought the ending was so sad. I almost didn't want to put it in. thank you for reviewing my fic again!

craziTMNTfan ~ dude. You spelled TMNT wrong in your review. you're retarded. yeah that was some funny shit at the fair the other night. Haha, I'll never get over that. I loved how Candace gained momentum as she rolled down the hill.

A/N: I went to the fair with my two friends the other night. Well one of them really wanted a candy apple, but she was broke. After she begged for a while, I gave her the last of my money and told her to buy a damn apple. In return, I could give her a dare when she came back from buying her food. I dared her to hop the picket fence that we were sitting by and to log roll down this big hill and into a small parking lot at the bottom. This is a really large, really public place, mind you. She rolled faster and faster as she got further down the hill. I couldn't believe that she actually did it. I wouldn't have accepted the dare in a thousand years! Good god, it was hysterical. I was in tears. When she reached the bottom, some old guy offered her some mardi gras beads if she'd do it again.

Chapter Seven

I haven't been to school in three days. Haven't been out of my pajamas in three days, either. I've been sitting, sleeping, and eating on my couch watching cartoons. The only time I've been up and moving is when I went the couple of feet into my kitchen so I could grab an armful of food and walk back to my couch. I haven't exactly looked into a mirror recently, but if I did, I'm sure that I'd look how I feel: miserable.

Maya and those stupid boys have called at least fifteen times. I've refused to see any of them. Why? It's a mixture of laziness and embarrassment. Mostly laziness. Either way, I didn't want to be bothered for a couple more days.

I was in the middle of a four-hour Courage the Cowardly Dog marathon when my phone rang again. I almost growled in frustration. Couldn't these people get a frigging clue? When I heard Maya's voice on the machine again, begging me to open the door for her, I got up and yanked the phone jack out of the wall.

Okay, who is with me when I say that butt imprints on your cushions are really gross? I had been sitting in the same spot for so long, there was a giant indent on one side of my sofa. Yeah. When you get butt prints on your furniture, you know that it's time to start doing something with your life.

Instead of curling back up onto the couch I walked into the kitchen, not picking my feet up off of the floor. My socks made a shuffling sound as I went from cupboard to cupboard in search of food. I finally found some frosted flakes to munch on, seeing as how I ate everything else I owned. Tucking the cereal box under one arm, I pulled open the fridge. Only to find that there was no milk for my frosted flakes.

"Bummer," I muttered to myself, and shut the door to the fridge. I put the cardboard box down on my counter, but grabbed a handful of cereal to walk around with.

As I ran some water for a shower, I looked into the bathroom mirror and took notice of my tear-stained face. My eyes were still red from the crying I had done over the past couple of days.

`I look like shit,' I thought, trying to scrub what remained of my tears from my cheeks.

Moments later, I stepped under the spray of warm water and tried to relax. However, my gaze kept being drawn to the kanji on my hip. `Yusuke Urameshi.' I squeezed my eyes shut. `I really need to pull it together.' The thing with Yusuke almost had me forgetting about the other mysterious tattoos that had appeared. I don't know what they stand for, or how they got there, but I'm starting to grow attached to them. I especially like the dragon across my chest; the design and attention to detail was extraordinary.

After an hour went by and I ran out of hot water, I turned off the shower and got dressed. I dried my hair, did my make-up, and nabbed another handful of frosted flakes. As I pulled my trademark black t-shirt over my head, I remembered about those giant cuts that Hiei had so kindly inflicted on my stomach. Yanking my shirt back up and glancing down, I was shocked to discover that they were gone. There weren't even any scratches to prove that I'd been attacked.

I frowned, but shrugged it off anyways. Wandering around my apartment, I headed towards Larry to feed him.

"You know," I said, bending down to look at him, "you fish have got it made." It sounds absurd, I know. But hey, when all else fails, talk to a goldfish.

I sprinkled some fish flakes into his glass bowl, and watched as he quickly swam up to the surface of the water. I smiled at him. "You don't gotta deal with nosy bodyguards and best friends that pry into your business and ring the phone off the damn hook." Larry just stared at me and I could swear that he thought I was a loon. I sighed.

Taking a step away from the computer table, I went to the two windows facing the parking lot and opened them. I was about to turn back to my television when I heard, "Roxy! Roxy, wait!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I returned to the window so that I could yell back down to Maya, who was standing on the sidewalk of my apartment complex. But before I could even open my mouth, she was already yelling something else to me.

"Roxy! We were really worried!" People were starting to look at her strangely, but she didn't seem to mind. "That Yusuke kid told me to leave you alone for a while, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay!" I wanted to drop my head into my hands and pull out my hair. Of all the people who knew me… Urameshi was the one who knew what was best. Go figure. Maya continued, "He wouldn't even let any of us inside the building! Kazuma got mad at him a few minutes ago, though. He yelled at Yusuke and told him to just go and see you."

I leaned halfway out my window to stare down at my best friend. "Wait, so where is he now?" I called.

I saw Maya stop and think for a moment. "He should be on the elevator by now." Then, when she saw my slightly angry expression, she said quickly, "But don't worry! He brought something to cheer you up!"

"Aargh," I growled, and pushed off of the windowsill. I don't know how well I'm going to be able to interact with Urameshi just yet. I'm still reeling over that one kiss he gave me! I know that I can't let it happen again, but somewhere inside I'm hoping that he'll surprise me like last time.

A knock at the door interrupted my train of thought. Cautiously, I walked to the peephole and looked out.

Urameshi was standing a few feet away from my door, looking like a guy who was forced to come up here and check on me. `Which he was, by the way,' I reminded myself.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had reached for the doorknob and pulled open the door. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Yusuke face to face. My god, he looked good. He wore a pair of baggy jeans, but they weren't hanging so low on his hips that I could see his boxers. I hate pants like that. Makes me wanna give the guy a wedgie. Yusuke also wore a semi-tight white t-shirt. I doubted the shirt would look as nice on anybody else, and I also doubted that I would have this hard of a time keeping my eyes off of them.

I didn't notice until a few moments later that Yusuke held a beautiful red rose at his side. I looked up into his eyes, and noticed that he was smirking. `Oh god, must have caught me staring.' I blushed profusely, and muttered, "You wanna come in?"

"That's kind of what I came up here for," he said smoothly, and moved past me into the apartment. After I shut the door behind him, he held the rose out to me. "Shuuichi told me to give this to you. He hopes you feel better, and he said you did a great number on Ame." Yusuke looked a little confused. "Who the hell's Ame?"

I gingerly accepted the rose from him, and went into the kitchen. "She's my foster mother," I said distractedly. I filled a coffee mug halfway with water, and stuck the rose in it. Then I went back into the living room where Yusuke waited.

Urameshi shoved his hands into his pockets. "What'd you do to her?" he asked.

I set the coffee mug down on the table in front of my couch. "I punched her," I replied. I cut my eyes to him. "She had it coming."

"Yeah?" There was a moment of awkward silence before he averted his eyes and asked, "You wanna get out of here for a while?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

~

The two of us had headed straight for the boardwalk a couple of blocks away. Maya and I used to go to the boardwalk all of the time, just to walk up and down it to check out all of the shops. The boardwalk's right on the waterfront - there's an awesome beach right next to it.

Me and Urameshi were actually having a pretty decent conversation as we walked down the crowded path. This place is always packed at night time. It's too hot during the day, and no one can resist the awesome lights from the carnival once it gets dark out.

"And you won the entire dark tournament?" I demanded incredulously. "I don't believe it. Even I've heard of team Toguro."

"You have?" Yusuke looked mildly surprised. "How?"

I grinned. "Maya keeps me up to date on the toughest dudes in Makai. I keep getting into fights with different demons, and she wants to make sure that I don't start something with the wrong one."

"Nice."

I grabbed hold of his arm as a smile lit up my face. "Over here, Urameshi." He let me drag him off of the boardwalk and into the sand of the beach. Unlike the boardwalk, the beach was basically people-free. Couples strolled along the water's edge, while a few children played here and there.

I plopped myself down onto the sand and watched as Yusuke did the same. We sat facing the ocean, observing the waves as they crashed on the shore. For the moment, I forgot about all of my worries.

"So how'd you become a spirit detective?" I questioned. Yusuke raised his intense brown eyes to my auburn ones.

He looked away first. "Got run over by a car," he mumbled.

A wide grin spread over my face. "You got mowed over?"

He scowled. "Shut up."

I giggled. "I'm sorry," I said a minute later, still laughing.

Yusuke smiled a little. "I said, shut up!"

"I can't…help it," I forced out in between giggles.

He was grinning now. "Yes, you can. Knock it off!" Urameshi pushed me on my side when I wouldn't stop laughing at him.

He leaned over me, his chocolate colored eyes sparkling with amusement as he tried to look threatening. "You want something to laugh about?" he demanded.

"No!" I squealed when he tickled my ribs. "Get outta here!"

"I'm sorry," he mimicked. "I can't help it."

I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. "Stop!" I almost screamed.

"Never!" He kept tickling me, and watched me suffer beneath him. I was squirming around, but he kept me pinned down with one of his hands.

Eventually, I gasped in a lungful of air and got the strength to tackle Urameshi. He rolled me over, then I rolled him over, and we went on like that for a good five to ten minutes. The whole time we were playfully yelling obscenities at each other. People walking by smiled serenely at the two of us, telling their companions how it must feel to be young and in love.

It ended with Urameshi on top, pinning both of my wrists down at my sides. We both were panting for breath, our faces only inches apart. Keeping his eyes on me, he lowered his head so that his lips hovered just above mine. He was just about to close the distance between us when we heard a disapproving sound from our immediate left.

Our gazes snapped to the large form of Charlie. My eyes widened. `Oops.' I desperately wanted to scramble to my feet and apologize, however Yusuke decided that he liked resting nearly all of his weight on me and wouldn't move. His hands were planted on either side of my head, and I could clearly see the quick flash of irritation towards our interruption.

"Charlie!" I squeaked.

My friend chuckled and tut-tutted again. "I remember being your age," he said, fondly.

"Charlie, this is Yusuke Urameshi," I introduced the two guys. Charlie offered his hand for Yusuke to shake, but Urameshi just grunted and nodded once.

The big man started to slowly walk backwards. "I'll let you two get back to what you started," he teased.

I blushed bright red while Yusuke smirked. As soon as Charlie was out of ear-shot, I pushed at Yusuke's well-muscled chest and whispered fiercely, "Get off of me you big butthead!"

"Butthead?" he raised his eyebrows. During our scuffle, Yusuke's hair had lost its gelled form, and it hung loosely instead of in place. He looked adorable.

I smiled, showing that I wasn't serious. "Yes. Now get off of me or I'll kick your ass."

Yusuke chuckled. "Yeah, okay, Red."

After we both stood up and brushed ourselves off, there was a loud gunshot. I witnessed the change in Yusuke almost immediately. He looked around, his gaze intense. "Get down!" he yelled. He grabbed my arm and went down with me. Bullets struck the sand around us where we lay. There was a moment of silence, absolute quiet. "Let's go," Urameshi commanded.

We were up and running quicker than you can say "boo". At one point, Yusuke had taken hold of my hand and safely guided me through throngs of people. Only once he was sure that we were out of shooting range did he slow down. He didn't even notice that our hands were still tightly clasped.

He turned off of the boardwalk and down 23rd street. My apartment's on 109th.

We walked in complete silence for a while before I stopped and faced him. "Thank you," I murmured, and threw my hands around his neck. Remember that one time where I called him a crappy bodyguard? My bad.

He brought his arms around my waist and held me tightly. We molded together perfectly, though I tried not to think too much of it.

On 52nd street, he stopped at a movie rental store. We got a couple of movies - some comedy, and some action. Then, on 85th street, he stopped for ice cream that we ate on the way home.

By the time we got back to my apartment, it was close to midnight. Urameshi followed me up to my room, and then dropped onto my couch once he pulled out the bed.

I changed into my pajamas - a pair of sweatpants and a white tank top - and joined him on the pull-out couch. We put in an action movie first, and I fell asleep before it was even halfway over.

~

I woke up laying on something warm and solid. I didn't want to get up. Snuggling deeper into the warmth that I had discovered, I was slightly surprised when it moved. Cracking open one eye, I surveyed the object.

The object was Urameshi, and the position we were in was rather comfy, yet embarrassing. My head rested on his chest, with one arm wrapped around his waist. My legs were tangled with his and the sheets. Yusuke had wrapped an arm around me, keeping me locked in place, while the other one rested on my lower back.

"Mmn," I mumbled, burying my face into his shirt.

"Mnn," he replied, pulling me even closer to his body.

The two of us soon discovered that it was close to ten o'clock in the morning. We were both late for school again, but neither of us seemed to mind.

Maya soon came knocking, and without waiting for permission, she opened the door to my place. She stopped short when she saw the way Yusuke and I had fallen asleep. "Roxy, get your ass up," she began bustling around my living room, picking up things and opening windows.

"Go `way, devil whore," I mumbled.

She had me and Yusuke up and ready for school in less than a half an hour. Yusuke insisted that he'd walk to the high school when Maya offered him a ride. I had hopped into the car with My and asked, "What's up?"

"I don't like them," she muttered.

I looked over at her, surprised. "Don't like who?"

"Them," she spat. "Any of those boys. Two of them are demons, and one's a half demon. The two full blooded demons are thieves, and they're highly dangerous. They're ruthless killers, Roxy. You're dealing with Youko Kurama, here."

I arched an eyebrow. "You've done your homework."

Maya turned towards me. "I don't want you around them. Promise me."

I blinked, and then growled. "They're nice guys, Maya. They wouldn't hurt me." Wow, listen to me now. Looks like my opinions have 180'd.

"You don't know that," she argued back. "All I know is that they're dangerous criminals, and two of them have killed for fun."

"Yusuke saved my life yesterday," I ground out through clenched teeth.

Maya grunted. "Roxy, just promise me!" She pulled her convertible into the school parking lot.

"No!" I got out and slammed the passenger side door. "Bite me, asshole!" I gave her the finger as she sped out of there, hopping mad. I was pretty hopping mad, too. Where does she get off?

~

Four hours and five class periods later, I was the one who was sleeping at my desk in the back. However, I was jarred awake by the shrill rings of the telephone at the front of the class.

I watched through heavy-lidded eyes as the teacher answered it. I was just about to go back to sleep when I heard, "Miss Masuro!"

"Yeah?"

"Phone call," the teacher handed over the phone. He looked grim.

Confused, I said, "'Lo?"

"Miss Masuro?" A deep male voice responded.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm sorry to have to inform you, but your friend Maya Callahan is here at the Trenton Hospital. She's in ICU. Miss Callahan wanted you here with her for her last moments."

My heart stopped. "Last moments? What the FUCK are you talking about," I raised my voice.

"Miss Masuro, Maya Callahan was shot in the lung today at approximately ten forty five a.m. I'm afraid she only has a few hours to live at most."

The blood drained from my face. Maya was shot only shortly after she left me at the school this morning. "Is there anything that can be done? Anything at all?" my voice sounded desperate, even to my own ears.

"I'm sorry, Miss Masuro. We did the best that we could."

A single tear ran down my cheek as I replaced the phone on its hook. The teacher avoided my eyes as I walked right out of the classroom.

I felt like screaming. Why does everyone keep getting taken away from me?

End chapter.

A/N: Oh boy, I hate myself for this ending. I swear to god, I cried as I was writing it. ~ hey just wondering. Do you guys mind if I respond to your reviews? Does it bother you that there's a bunch of stuff before the chapter actually begins? It bothers the crap outta me when I read stories with a shitload of review responses. Do you like it when I write back? Anyways… I tried for some Yusuke/Roxy moments here… but I'm running a little dry in the ideas category. Oh, and I need some help, people. Tell me about Yusuke's demon form/personality. Do you think I should work that into the fic?