Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ You Said You Loved Me, Right? ❯ Case Six: Keiko is Kidnapped?! Confessions from a broken heart ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Narrator: With the night of the Sarayashiki festival nearing, Yuusuke finds time to rest up for the big night and hopefully capturing the Raiju, Gemmi, soon so he can then go after the creator of the Uwibami men. Elsewhere, a new, tantalizing teacher is admitted into Sarayashiki Junior High, giving off a strange aura to Botan. The ferrywoman’s suspicions are proven correct during the night of the festival, this Industrial Arts teacher, is in fact an oni. She reveals herself to be the creator of Gemmi and secretary to KoEnma! She is now ready and willing to help Yuusuke with the take down of Shazmee but in the mean time, she wants to also explore the world of Ningenkai. But with Obon week approaching the end, Yofune Nushi has yet to be caught and Yuusuke has not yet made an attempt at closing the case.

“Rew, rew?” Nanashi the cat, better known as Gemmi in disguise, mewed as he hunched up against the bathtub. Keiko soaked in the sizzling water while steam filled the bathing area of the bathroom. It rejuvenated her very being; her muscles hadn’t ached so much since. Working at the festival really did take a lot out of you. Yet, that wasn’t what brought Keiko into such fatigue. What happened earlier in the evening, seeing that she was unwanted, not needed... She felt useless. All night as she worked, Yuusuke had ran off; showing that new teacher around the festival. How could Keiko compare to such a woman. She felt awful and it was Yuusuke who made her feel this way.

“Mwee?” the pygmy fur-ball leaped up on to the rim of the bathtub and peered at Keiko, realizing she hadn’t heard its first whine for her.

“Oh Nanashi, you still awake?” the brunette broke from her thoughts. She reached over and stroked the feline’s petite ears, causing it to purr and nuzzle its head against her palm. “Gomen... I may seem out of it... Gomen...” Keiko’s expression became uncertain and then very sad. She gazed down into the water with eyes full of despondency. She glanced over her body; so many times Yuusuke had groped her and fondled her in various parts yet she knew she was still growing... She wasn’t near to anything close to matching what that Industrial Arts teacher had and she knew this. The very thought of it made her insides turn and her head billow with begrudging speculations. Plop. Plip. Plip. Plop. The water rippled from her tears that greeted it surprisingly.

“It’s not my fault, how can I compete with an older woman? His eye wanders, I can’t stop that... but it makes me feel so inferior... I can’t help being the way I am!” Keiko mumbled inaudibly to herself as she hugged her knees to her chest, the water rustling around her just as silent as her speech.

Nanashi tilted his head from one side to the other, the bald spot at the end of his tail swished around in the bath water.

“What am I saying? I shouldn’t blame Yuusuke... Iie...” Keiko shook her head from side to side as she clenched her eyes to a close. She grabbed her shoulders and leaned back. She had to think this through, she needed a clear conscience.

“Why don’t you tell me, what do you believe? Your eyes, or a close friend?”

She believed him, of course. Even if her eyes had seen the truth, she wouldn’t have believed them. She had such strong feelings for Yuusuke, how could she deny her heart? Or would that just be something that will break her in the end. Relying on an adoration that wasn’t mutual? Why did she have to make it so difficult on herself? She trusts him so much more. She already forgave him before, why not again? But for some reason, she had to be sure. She knew he wasn’t that kind of guy that did that kind of thing in warehouses, and she knew he wasn’t that kind of guy that would deliberately ignore her existence even if another female came into the picture. “He is innocent, he would never...”

However, at times, she felt as if he was growing up more faster than her, he was changing, and she just stayed the same. She was weighing him down and they both knew it. As much as it is hard to tell, Yuusuke was becoming different everyday-so much was being kept from her, she knew that. Her being responsible and proprietor of proper etiquette still didn’t seem like much to her. She had a good head on her shoulders and so did Yuusuke, yet she felt like such a virgin and saw him with much experience... He just wasn’t the same anymore. Maybe she should do them both a favor and just drop off, drop away from him completely. There was nothing she could do that could make her feel anymore grown up, nothing at all.

“Aishiteru... Yuusuke.” Keiko lifted her head from off its resting place as the rest of her body arched up from the back of the tub. She glimpsed over to Nanashi. His eyes were full of concern and he did not make a sound as he breathed hesitantly. It was as if he knew what troubled her and wanted to aid her, yet he just couldn’t. She felt the urge to cry even more now once she looked at the compassion illuminating from Nanashi’s face. All in an instant, she embraced him in a light cuddle and twirled her fingers around his fur.

“Arigatou...” she wept into the kitten’s fur yet Nanashi still didn’t make a sound. It wasn’t out of surprise from Keiko’s newfound happiness that made the Raiju-in-hiding fall silent, something outside the window terrified him; something horrendous was about to happen. A grayish-red blur slithered by.

Yukimura Diner, Downstairs-

“Did you hear that? Sounded like a scratching noise at the door?” Mr. Yukimura looked up from his hand.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Mrs. Yukimura retorted a little peeved. She was ready to surrender to sleep but she had promised her husband a game of cards first.

Mr. Yukimura threw down his hand and stood up from his chair.

“I knew I was going to win! You and your bluffing. Let’s end this now-” Mrs. Yukimura droned on but soon noticed her husband head for the entrance door of the Diner. “Anata, iie! It’s too late at night, don’t you dare open that door!”

“Aw, shh. It’s probably another lost kitten.” Mr. Yukimura cooed and placed his hand on the handle.

“That’s the thing, I don’t want anymore cats!” Mrs. Yukimura pleaded as she jumped from her own chair now.

All of a sudden, a knock was heard vibrate off the door, Mrs. Yukimura instantly stiffened up.

“Like I said before, cats don’t knock! Don’t get curious.” The wife’s hair stood on end.

“Aw, anata, what’s with women worrying so much, there’s nothing to be afraid of when you have a big, courageous man protecting you. Now,” Mr. Yukimura opened the doors and kneeled down, “Come here little kitt-” he suddenly noticed he wasn’t looking into the eyes of a kitten at all but the lower body of an Uwibami man! “EEE!”

“Big, courageous man huh?!” Mrs. Yukimura screamed and ran to the phone on the counter in a heartbeat. She tried dialing for the police in a panic as the receiver trembled in her hand but to no avail. Just as soon as her husband had opened the door the half snake, half man beast slung his rubbery arms forward and flung Keiko’s father clear across the room. His back came in contact with the edge of a table and he let out a harrowing gag.

Mrs. Yukimura had accomplished the dialing sequence but as soon as the police department’s operator came on the other line Keiko’s mother had completely drawn a blank. Mrs. Yukimura, out of terror when she saw what happened to her husband, dropped the phone and dashed over to him. Though the Uwibami man wouldn’t allow her to get any closer to her unconscious spouse. He now swung a ball of red gelatin aiming right for Mrs. Yukimura. It made impact and covered her arms and legs; she hit the floor hard. She was prepared to scream but part of the gelatinous matter began to wriggle as if alive and spread part of its self up towards Mrs. Yukimura’s face, concealing her mouth. The only word that was heard before being muffled was the poor mother shouting, “Keiko!”

Mrs. Yukimura struggled about but it was no use, the Uwibami man shot pass both the two parents once the woman ceased her actions permanently, now unable to warn or protect Keiko, and headed for the upstairs to find their child.

Back Upstairs-

Keiko was standing by the tub now as she wrung out her hair and combed through it. Suddenly, a noise came to her attention. Was someone calling her name? Keiko became a little anxious as she reached for one of the creamy orange towels that hung off a rack. Nanashi’s eyes grew diminutive as his sharp whiskers perked out while he hissed at the door.

“What’s wrong?” Keiko asked and wrapped the towel around her. She bent down to calm the creature but it still hissed even louder as its hair stood up. “I don’t see what’s the-”

FWSSH! CRSSH! DFF! DFF!

A frightful crash came from outside the bathroom and pretty much caught Keiko’s attention. It sounded as if something had ripped apart the floor in the hallway and was now punching every wall out. Keiko began to dread what was outside the bathroom and became even more horrified to realize that whatever it was it had gotten passed her parents. The clamor ceased and the entire household was silent. Nanashi had stopped hissing when the crashes had begun and was now cowering in the arms of Keiko. The lights went out.

“Oh no... oh no... Okaasan... Otousan... Iie...” Keiko edged back with wide eyes. She began to stumble over her own feet and she fell over, but to her dismay, she had leaned right up against the wall. Her breath was heavy as her back slid down the side of the cold porcelain. With the rivulets of water still dotted on her, it began to chill her body as her breath became even more rapid and her heart rate just shot up a few notches.

Beat by beat went by, she could literally hear it now. Each string strung against her rib cage as her heart bounced about, she couldn’t control it. Maybe if she was dead silent, which she already was, maybe the creature wouldn’t realize she around. A creak was heard as the door to the washroom slit open. She clutched her eyes closed and constrained Nanashi to her chest. She had never been more afraid in her life. She wished for her parents, for Yuusuke, to just burst in and yell “surprise” and say it was just a joke. And if it wasn’t... she wished Yuusuke would rush in right now and save her.

She wanted it all to be over, whatever this intruder wanted she just begged for them to take what it was and leave. Too bad for her she didn’t know that it was her it wanted...

Nothing entered the room... The outside was as silent as the dead once again. Three minutes had passed and nothing happened... It must have left, it was gone! Keiko sighed in relief as she peeked one of her eyes opened, regretting she had ever done so. There, staring at her in the darkness from the crack in the door, was the menacing, glowing eye of the Uwibami man. Keiko let out a nerve-racking scream as the monster broke through the doorway and shot towards Keiko like a bullet.

Her scream being heard throughout the entire neighborhood.

Five minutes earlier, three blocks away, under a street light-

“Okay Botan, tell me why we weren’t stationed anywhere closer to Keiko’s place if we are suppose to be protecting her from those gel bastards.” Yuusuke grumbled as he turned up the collar of his black jean jacket, the white shirt under it flicking in the wind.

“One key reason, Keiko was taking a bath and where is the bathtub? In the front on the upper floor!” Botan crossed her arms as she floated on her oar.

“USO! You think I WOULD actually peek in on her?” Yuusuke chuckled and itched his head.

Botan turned to him with a disappointed look on her face.

Yuusuke huffed, “Well we are suppose to keep an eye on her, no better way than that-”

The ReiKai Tantei choked on his words when Botan smacked him in the back of his head with her oar. “Grow up!”

“Hush now, that sound... You hear that?” Ms. Nanashi, revealing herself to be standing just from the side of the two as they squabbled, brought her curly locks from her ears to listen carefully. “Gemmi.”

“Huh? I don’t hear any-” Yuusuke began but was cut off when thunder was heard penetrating the sky. Ms. Nanashi, ripping off her “teacher” clothes to reveal her leopard-print undergarments, glanced around paranoid. “WHOA WHOA! what are you doing! Don’t do that what if-”

“Your friend’s in trouble... and so is my son.” She said as her energy began to flow over her and change her back into her true form. And with that, Yosei made off in a mad dash in the direction of Keiko’s residence.

A lightning bolt crashed over to where Keiko’s house lay in the distance.

“Eck! Keiko!” Yuusuke caught on and took off after the shiko-me.

“Delayed reaction as always?” Botan sighed and whisked off after the two in the dead of night.

Yuusuke lost sight of Yosei when he made it to the Yukimura diner but that didn’t stop him from barging in. The boy peered around and his eyes bulged when he noticed both Keiko’s parents cast aside on the floor. Yuusuke instantaneously came to both of their sides and propped the mother up on her back.

“Oh my! Yuusuke.” Botan gasped shocked and immediately came to his side.

“B-Botan... Are they... they aren’t...” Yuusuke stammered with the words.

“Keiko’s father is knocked out, and it seems that Keiko’s mother passed out just before we got here. They are not dead.” Botan clutched her chest in relief.

“Keiko!” Yuusuke suddenly realized that if this is what happened to someone that was in the Uwibami man’s way, then the one he was targeting might be in even worse trouble. Yuusuke vanished from Botan’s side, he had sprinted out of that room faster than anything Botan had ever seen.

Yuusuke practically stumbled up the stairs that were left in shambles. The entire upper floor looked as if it were turned upside down. The teenager instantly ran towards the bathroom and possibly swung the door off its hinges when he entered. There was Yosei standing before a gaping hole torn into the wall of the bathroom; the moonlight shone through and it was unbearably frigid within the bathroom.

“Iie!” Yuusuke brought himself to the ground and punched at the floor. “Keiko! I should’ve been-”

“Don’t waste your energy, get up and act like a man.” Yosei hissed, her eyes still fixated on the outside world. “A real man would confess to everything his heart desires. That’s the only way for him to see it. His powers will drain when both confess their love for each other. He feeds on a woman’s love but when she no longer lets him have it, when she loves another, he will die. Act like a man.”

Yuusuke jerked his head up, “What the hell are you talking about! Don’t tell me what to do! You’ve only known me for a couple of freakin’ hours! I’ll sit here and yabber all I want!”

“And will that help you save her?” Yosei asked calmly.

“Shove it!” Yuusuke punched the floor again.

“Stubborn.” Yosei turned around to face the boy.

“I don’t see you going after anyone! What about your son? You don’t care?!” Yuusuke brought himself up from the floor as he tightened his muscles.

“There is no way I can sense him, Uwibami secure their targets into gelatin barriers that conceal their energy. I am unable to locate him.” Yosei brought her head down. “If I could I wouldn’t be standing here right now wasting my time. I shouldn’t have gave in to his whining, he wanting to stay in Ningenkai for one more night... How blind of a mother am I...”

“You’re useless to me then, I gotta find Keiko!” Yuusuke snarled, about to turn away from the oni.

“I can sense the human girl’s energy however...” Yosei said, striking up Yuusuke’s interests.

The boy ran over to her in a haste. “Where is she-uh!”

Yuusuke looked down at his thighs to see that Yosei’s hands were cupped over them as she wriggled her fingers about his sides.

Yuusuke beamed red, “Kuso! What the hell are you doing!”

“Hush now,” Yosei’s eyes were closed as she placed her forehead on Yuusuke’s, “I need to focus on her, I need to see your vision of her, feel her own presence. There were so many girls earlier in the evening at the festival, I don’t really know who this ‘Keiko’ is. But if I can get all the information of her from you-appearance, attributes, smell-I can find her then.” Her fingers brushed up Yuusuke’s sides intimately and caressingly moved over Yuusuke’s chest.

“Can you hurry it along, doesn’t feel right when a woman does the coping and groping ya’ know.” He tried looking away embarrassed. A shimmering fragment gleamed in the corner of the bathroom but soon went dim again, remaining unbeknownst to the two.

“Complete, I found her.” Yosei brought her hands away from Yuusuke slowly as Botan made the scene. Yuusuke jerked his forehead away from hers quickly, hoping Botan didn’t see anything. “Of course, a picture would’ve done nicely too.” The female oni began to giggle.

Steam emerged from Yuusuke’s ears as he turned an even brighter shade of red. “Kuso! You took advantage of me!” He swung a punch at her but Yosei quickly grabbed his arm and hurled him onto her shoulders.

“Eheh, I don’t even wanna ask.” Botan chuckled unknowingly and itched the top of her head.

“You did quite a half-assed job, you’re very open, Yuu-kun.” Yosei teased and leaped out through the hole in the wall.

“Wait until you put me down, I’ll show you half-assed! This isn’t a time for freakin’ fooling around! And don’t call me Yuu-kun!” Yuusuke shouted as Yosei hopped about from rooftop to rooftop.

“Okay, maybe I do wanna know what happened!” Botan grinned as she hovered after the two.

“Don’t you start! Criminy, everyone’s out to get me!” Yuusuke screamed into the night air as the trio continued forth towards their destination.
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