InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Those We Leave Behind ❯ Dancing in the Moonlight ( Chapter 8 )

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Those We Leave Behind

Chapter Eight

Dancing in the Moonlight

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“So your first day was enjoyable?”

“I told you! It was fine.”

They were approaching the house just after school had let out for the day.

Kurama was hopeful she could adjust well to the new environment. If that meant she spent her days mock ridiculing and teasing him, all the better.

He saw how the other boys stared at her throughout the day. He felt extremely concerned for her well-being, or at least for his vested interest in her. He would most certainly handle anyone who would try to harass her.

When they were directly in front of the house, Kurama noticed a gasp elicited by Kagome, followed by her rushed movements to the door.

That was when he saw Yusuke, slumped defeatedly against the door, broken and torn.

“Yusuke! What has happened?” inquired an uneasy Kurama.

“Keiko,” Yusuke mumbled incoherently.

“What happened to Keiko? Is she hurt or in some sort of trouble?”

After a pregnant pause, he shamefully admitted, “She left me.”

“This Keiko person was your...girlfriend?” asked Kagome trying to understand his situation better. He gave a slow, curt nod.

“I'm sorry Yusuke. I know how much she meant to--”

However, Kurama was interrupted by an annoying beeping noise. Yusuke pulled some sort of electronic device from his pocket and tossed it to Kurama.

“You answer the pager. I'm not going.”

“Yusuke-”

“Why don't you go to work Kurama and leave Yusuke to me?”

Kagome's suggestion took both males by surprise. However, although he was surprised, Yusuke didn't really care. Kurama wanted Yusuke to go in hopes the mission would end more quickly and he could return to enjoy Kagome's company sooner.

Seeing his hesitations, Kagome simply ordered, “Kurama, go.”

Kagome puzzled him. For the first time since he'd known her, Kagome was serious. It was rather disconcerting. He did, however, agree to go. He went down the street to an empty park, where he spoke with Koenma to find out where he would meet Hiei and Kuwabara.

Without Yusuke there to fight with, Kurama was sure Kuwabara would take up fighting with Hiei. It was bound to be a long mission.

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Back at the house, Kagome had changed into regular clothes and packed her handy yellow bag. She emerged from the house and coerced Yusuke to stand up and walk with her away from the house.

She was going to try to cheer him up.

“Look. I know you wanna make me feel better, but no school girl is going to be able to help me.”

“Whatever put you under the impression that I am just a little school girl?” she asked to his annoyance.

“Oh, I don't know. Because you are!”

They reached the very same park Kurama had only moments ago departed from. He wondered where she was going when she bypassed all the park benches until she made a bee-line for the largest tree in sight. He followed her in bewilderment.

“What are you doing school girl?”

She chuckled at the nickname and wondered if any guy she saw potential in would ever use her name.

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you're gonna climb that tree.”

“How very observant, but you're only half right. We're gonna climb that tree.”

“I don't climb trees,” he argued in quizzical tone.

“Relax chicken we're only gonna go on the first branch up. Are you always this much of a wuss?

“I am not a wuss.”

Kagome ignored him and climbed with Yusuke in tow. They settled so that both had their legs dangling facing the sun sinking into the west. They were silent for a period of maybe ten minutes watching a large party tent being set up. As the sun began to set, Kagome spoke in a very serious tone that unnerved Yusuke.

“You assume that because I appear to be a normal girl I couldn't possibly understand the pain you are suffering. You couldn't possibly imagine the sorrow I have endured or the hardships I have survived. It is important to never discredit the trials of those we deem weaker than ourselves, for they may be far superior in strength.”

At this she took a pause to collect her thoughts and try to phrase her point properly.

“Now Yusuke, do you want to tell me what happened?”

It irked him how she never once looked up at him while she spoke. But, he felt that she did understand and that she was sympathetic.

“Keiko and I have been friends since we were kids. But, she was the good girl and I was the bad boy. I thought that made us incompatible, but she never once failed to defend me from those jerks at my school.” His voice grew softer, as if treasuring the memories of this girl who had so obviously broken his heart.

“About three years ago, I almost died. When I didn't, she and I became inseparable. Today I had wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't in school. And believe me that was weird. Keiko hasn't missed a day of school ever.” Now, getting caught in the moment, Yusuke started yelling, “She yells at me all the time for ditching and she gets so--”

Kagome interrupted by clearing her throat.

“Sorry.”

“It's okay. Keiko missed school?” she prompted him back to the topic he brought up not moments ago.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I was gonna drop by her house and see what happened, but then I saw her waiting for me in her regular clothes when school got out. She had wanted to tell me the day we met, but I had an emergency call from work. She had told me she was going to some distant relative of hers who was willing to pay for school, but only in England because the geezer had no other family. He can get her into some prestigious school she always wanted to go to. She also said her parents were moving in with the coot and she wouldn't be able to come back for a long time.”

“And even then, it's a long shot.”

“That's exactly what I was thinking.”

“You want to hear mine?”

“You've got one?”

“Yeah. I've got a bad one." 'I just don't know how to convert into someone from this era will understand.' "On my fifteenth birthday, I had this jewel. Well, this random lady tries to take it. This guy saves me from the lady, but turns on me. It breaks. In order to fix it, he decided to help me look all over the city. We team up to find it. He ends up making some passes at me. Well, it wasn't til later I learned it was because I looked like his ex-girlfriend.

“Ouch.”

“Not even halfway done. We collect maybe half of the stupid thing when who should appear but the ex. She nearly kills me, steals the pieces I had, and delivers them to the jerk who manipulated them and broke them up to begin with. He forgives her. I catch them together not once, but several times."

Why was she doing this? She wasn't healed yet. She should have waited to talk about this...but talking to him was so easy.

Me, being the idiot I was, forgave him. Then, when some guy hits on me, he accuses me of being untrustworthy. To make a really long story less long, he ends up giving his life for her. His last words to me were `I love you, but I promised to be with her forever.' ”

Yusuke wished the asshole was there now. He'd kill him. What kind of heartless bastard would do that? How could you lead someone on like that? It wasn't right.

He absently noticed a band walking to the tent.

“You'll be okay Yusuke. We both will.” For the first time since they settled, Kagome looked Yusuke in the eyes and delved into his soul. “We both will,” she repeated while placing her hand gently atop his.

Suddenly a tune familiar to Kagome emerged from the tent. Kagome smiled softly. She hopped off and started dancing. It wasn't seductive. It wasn't sexy. The way she danced reflected who she was. It was free.

We get it on most every night

When that moon gets big and bright

It's a supernatural delight

Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

“Yusuke?”

“Yeah Kagome.”

 “Are you afraid or something? Get down here and dance with me.” He silently agreed and they hopped off the branch.

 We get everybody here is out of sight

They don't bark and they don't bite

They keep things loose they keep things, they keep it tight

Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

They took each others hands and danced.  It felt good. Being held by a comforting embrace. They were both starting to get into the music. He was spinning her. They were smiling. With all the drama in their lives, both felt like they needed to enjoy every ounce of happiness they could. 

Dancing in the moonlight

Everybody's feeling warm and bright

It's such a fine and natural sight

Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

 They danced without a care in the world, knowing that someone else had experienced the same pain they had. Although they were both surprised by it. Yusuke thought, despite her sarcastic tongue at times, Kagome was too beautiful and sweet for the pain she's suffered. Kagome thought that despite his bad boy image, Yusuke was too kind and caring to have to deal with heartbreak.

Yusuke, the baddest boy of junior high was dancing with the purest priestess in history. But tonight, they were joined together by the music and their shared pain.

By the end of the dance, both had been laughing and filled with joy in finding someone who understood.

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