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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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YYH Recaps: Koenma Appears

Welcome to episode two, everyone! Before we get to the recap proper, I want to continue down Nostalgia Lane for a moment. Remember how last time I mentioned a Hiei bookmark I used daily back in middle school? Well, I tore through an old "treasure box" I created as a kid (a collection containing everything from a shark tooth to a small book on witchcraft. You know, the important things every child needs) hoping to find it... but I didn't. It's a hard life we lead.

However, I did find some other YYH relics that I thought you all might enjoy seeing. Behold — and, if you'd like, laugh at — my collection:

First up is a picture of young Toguro and Genkai that I wanted to use as my bookmark, but found that it was too wide. For the record, I didn't (and still don't) care about Toguro much, he was just the byproduct of finding a cool Genkai picture. Not shown is the back of the image with the names of my classmates because I made them all sign this along with our yearbook.

God bless my friends for putting up with me.

Second is a collection of very pretty trading cards that I ordered from god only knows where. I have vague memories of not finding any at my local comics shop and convincing my mom to let me order on The Olde Internet. Did I want the trading cards to trade them? Absolutely not. They exist to sparkle and make my heart happy.

Finally, I've saved what is perhaps the best for last. Now, you have to understand that grade to middle school age Clyde did not have the education that she would receive later on, which includes a knowledge of the ephemeral nature of fanworks and the importance of accurate record keeping. What this means is that I have absolutely no context for this. No author, no explanation... just the image itself.

Was this a standalone fanart? A part of a fic? Some specific request or just the will of the artist? I cannot answer these questions. I tried a reverse image search (which is, admittedly, the extent of my tech skills) and you know what the single hit I got was? "Fiction." Thanks, google. So yeah, I can only assume that my child self considered Kurama giving a de-aged Hiei a bubble bath adorable enough to save, but the artist wasn't important enough to jot down for future viewing. Sorry about that, mystery artist. And, as should go without saying, if anyone does know where this came from please let me know! Though I suspect that this is a case of a YYH-specific site closing down and the fanworks getting lost along with it. That happened a great deal before the age of AO3 when volunteers decided to put their time and talent towards saving fanworks of all sorts...

But enough of all that. Let's get to recapping!

As we established last episode, Yusuke and Botan are on their way to the spirit world to kickstart Yusuke's ordeal. Watching this after over a decade of consuming other media, I really appreciate that Yusuke acts like a human person and asks lots of questions about this. When Botan is cryptic for the sake of the audience — we're going to see "the person" who can explain everything — Yusuke is justifiably like, and what person would that be?? I mean, this is also a way to establish basic facts for the viewer and it simultaneously feeds into Yusuke being someone who is difficult for the sake of being difficult — "If someone wants to say something, they should come to me!" — but it's just nice to see a character who doesn't accept cryptic BS because the story needs them to. If Botan gives an unclear, but ~dramatic~ explanation, Yusuke is going to call her out on that.

So she explains that they're going to see King Yama and Yusuke is all whoa whoa whoa, there's royalty involved? Suddenly, he's not so adamant that they come to him.

Botan tries to reinforce this rare spark of humility and demands that Yusuke be on his best behavior from here on out.

Pff. Yeah right.

But “he can send you to oblivion forever if he wants to!” is a suitable enough threat to cow Yusuke for now. Which is interesting considering that a few hours ago he was happy to accept hell as his rightful ending. Granted, we could argue that there's a big difference between hell and oblivion — a character may not be afraid of punishment in the same way they are a lack of existence — but I'd say this ties more into Yusuke's development at the wake. Now that he's accepted that people care for him and that he should strive to return to them, the threat of having it snatched away actually means something. Even if that line is otherwise positioned as a comedic moment.

Botan flies them through a portal where we see the River Styx below and Yusuke comments on how big everything is. At first I was like, "What are you talking about? You were just flying over some major city in fictional Japan, wasn't that big too?" but this line makes more sense when they reach the palace and you realize that yeah, it's big. As in, the camera blurs while tilting down its length to show how insanely tall it is. Yusuke and Botan are tiny gnats at the gate's entrance.

"Oh man, what a pad!" Yusuke says and sure, that's one way to look at it lol.

Botan announces that she has a "new arrival" and the gates open for them, but so far there's no one else around. One part of me wants to question the time and budget put into this scene because shouldn't there be, like, thousands of people? Even just waiting outside? The idea that this is the hub of the underworld and that Botan is responsible for ferrying all the souls, yet she is guiding just this one (1) dude for a solid day is, from a world building perspective, kind of nuts. But beyond the need to develop Botan as a character (she can't be a part of the story if her job is treated realistically, with all the endless work that entails), I think this choice functions rather well from an atmospheric perspective too. Meaning, this moment is supposed to be rather tense for Yusuke. He just died, just found out the afterlife exists, just discovered a desire to get his life back, and is now about to meet a King who can toss him into oblivion if he's rude — which Yusuke always is. So this is a Very Dangerous Moment and their relative isolation feeds into that. As does the setting. Yusuke flinches back from the hallway, saying that it looks like a giant throat, so he is now literally walking into the belly of the beast.

Suddenly, the size of the palace isn't an indicator of awesome wealth, just general intimidation. Also, check out the spikey purple mountains in the background and the harsh reds of the scene, especially compared to the soft yellow of the river. All of it is designed to create an, "Oh shit" reaction in both Yusuke and the audience.

Yusuke's image of King Yama matches these surroundings:

Oh wait! Wrong character ;)

He's massive, red, shadowed, and poses a formidable threat. And how does Yusuke deal with threats? By fighting them! Even those he can't hope to beat. Remember, this isn't a situation where Yusuke has any power here, but he still desperately holds onto the possibility that he might. What if he gets off a punch on King Yama's nose? Then goes for his eyes? Yeah, that'll work!

Overlooking the fact that it absolutely would not — Yusuke's fantasy conveniently skips how he escapes Yama's clutches — what exactly is Yusuke hoping to accomplish here? Somehow take over the entire underworld? Escape as a ghost and live out his afterlife in hiding? We don't know and that's because Yusuke doesn't know. He doesn't think ahead, he just obeys this instinct to fight. An instinct that, crucially, overrides everything else. Botan has already told him that all Yusuke needs to do is be polite and everything will be fine, but it's not even that Yusuke believes that he can't achieve that; that he knows himself too well and, fearing a slip, starts planning for a potentially inevitable confrontation. There are simply no plans outside of battle plans. Yusuke just hears about someone vaguely intimidating and his brain jumps straight to, "How do I beat him in a fight?" no matter the odds, or that other options are readily available to him. Again, much of YYH's characterization occurs though its comedy, so outside of the general humor of witnessing this fantasy, it actually does a stellar job of reinforcing precisely who Yusuke is. In life the only thing he had going for him was his ability to fight. It was his one joy, his one skill, arguably the one good thing he did if we frame those reflexes as "saving" the kid... so is it any wonder that fighting dominates his every thought? It's all he knows.

And, as we'll see down the line, that single-minded obsession is very useful to the spirit world.

For now though, Yusuke finishes his absurd plans to take down King Yama and Botan asks what in the world he's muttering about back there. Which is an unintentionally hilarious line because by the end Yusuke is not muttering, but full on shouting. Botan. How did you not hear him?

Not important. They reach the next door and we get our first inkling that all is not as Yusuke (and we) expect when Botan leans into an intercom to say that they've arrived. Tech in a fantasy spirit world? This feels not only out of place, but rather... mundane? That's the point. When the doors open Yusuke expects his super scary monster, but gets... a whole lot of monsters that aren't scary at all!

The underworld is run by various demons (or ogres), though their looks are contrasted with the harried office worker personalities they've got going on. Someone is running by with a comically tall stack of papers. Someone else is shouting into a cell phone. The first two demons we see cross paths, looking like they're about to punch one another, just as Yusuke expects... except they're just dramatically getting out of the other's way, worried not about the hierarchy of this realm, but the fact that someone is behind schedule. The nerve!

"This place is a madhouse!" we hear somehow shout and yeah, that's the joke. The afterlife is just as chaotic, overworked, and — ultimately — boring as any human office. For all the strangeness of seeing hundreds of demons, this is familiar.

Which, alongside Botan's bubbly nature contrasting assumptions about the Grim Reaper, is one of the first instances of YYH undercutting the viewer's expectations in terms of looks. No one entirely looks the part they play in this tale and if you're trying to teach people to look past surface characteristics... there are worse ways to do it. Horrifying creatures with horns and sharp teeth? Nah, they're just chill dudes trying to do their job. Cutesy girl who looks like she belongs in a mall reading magazines? Nah, she's the Grim Reaper. Terrifying delinquent with a spine-chilling reputation? Nah, he makes faces at kids and saves them from cars.

Of course, the "nah" isn't accurate either. These are monsters with horns, Botan is a cutesy girl, and Yusuke is a delinquent with that reputation. The message isn't so much that people look like Thing A, but get to know them and you'll discover they're actually Thing B, it's the idea that you can be A and B (and C, D, E...) simultaneously. People — or rather, seemingly simple archetypes — can, in fact, embody multiple characteristics at once.

We'll get our third example in just a second.

Yusuke makes a comment about this being the "dead people stock exchange" — accurate — and Botan leads him to a more ornate door past all the desks. It's clear they've arrived at King Yama's office, since she's bowing and formally presenting him to... someone. Yusuke looks around for the giant beast he's imagined, only for a tiny voice to hail him from the ground.

Looks are deceiving!

“This is Yusuke Urameshi and he’s honored to meet you." Botan knows what's up. She knows Yusuke isn't going to express anything of the sort without some prompting. Too bad he's busy cracking up at this apparent child running the show. Side note: Yusuke has a fantastic laugh.

He even goes so far as to accuse Botan of lying to him.

“Why would I lie about such a thing?!”

“Why would the spirit world be run by a toddler?”

It's true! That’s a legitimate question! I love that Yusuke asks questions. The "toddler" goes on to explain that he's actually the "mighty Koenma," son of King Yama, though he's lived fifty times as long as Yusuke, "so watch your mouth." Assuming Koenma knows and/or remembers how old Yusuke is — fourteen — and is good at math, that puts him at seven hundred years old. He looks good for his age!

"And in addition to knowing the secrets of the universe," he says, "I am quite potty trained."

You've gotta love Koenma.

Yusuke's attitude changes drastically once they get down to business. Koenma produces an egg, saying that Yusuke's ordeal is to hatch it and face what comes out. The hatching part isn't difficult, all he needs to do is keep it on his person. The challenge is in the fact that this egg will feed off his spirit energy and that energy in turn will change what kind of creature develops. If his spirit is wicked and cruel, so will be the beast and it will devour Yusuke upon hatching.

However, if his spirit is good and kind, the beast will become a sort of guardian, guiding him back to his living body.

Note though that throughout this conversation the egg is always a "beast." It's a "monster." It's not necessarily intentional, but there's a strong bend towards the negative here in the description that really emphasizes the whole "ordeal" aspect. Koenma briefly reassures Yusuke that he can remain a ghost if he prefers, but he's already made up his mind. Despite another threat of being lost to a void — this time through spiritual digestion — Yusuke takes the egg almost without hesitation.

He regrets it later though.

"I can't believe I did that."

Can we blame him? I'd be nervous about some egg feeding off the energy of my soul too and I'm a former, almost straight A student (damn you, math) with no life-altering regrets and a general desire to put as much good into this world as I'm able. I’m boring. But what if those occasional, mean little thoughts you have add up? What if the prejudices you're still unlearning stack against you? Does the egg care about what you do, or only how you feel about the act? This sort of test would eat me alive!

Maybe literally.

Good thing Yusuke doesn't have time for an existential crisis!

Just as he's beginning to regret this decision, Botan points out that it won't matter if he passes if he doesn't have a body to return to. Now, why wouldn't he have a body? Maybe because his mom is set to cremate him tomorrow.

Whoopsie.

Yusuke is, understandably, distraught. We get another excellent exchange:

“Botan, is there any way for ghosts to communicate with living people?”

“Yes.”

“SO ARE YOU GONNA TELL ME?”

I swear, Yusuke is the only smart protagonist. I mean, he's dumb as a sack of bricks at times, but that's neither here nor there. Bless this fictional boy for reacting like an actual person.

Botan explains that people are more attuned to the spirit world when they're asleep, so Yusuke can deliver a message to someone in their dreams. Seems easy enough. They first head to Atsuko, but find that she's raging drunk and nowhere near sleep.

"You fool!" she yells. "No one gave you permission to die!" Atsuko continues to yell about how plenty of people survive car accidents, so why couldn't you? "Were you mad at me, Yusuke? Didn't I raise you right?"

Botan comments on how sad the display is. Yusuke's response?

“The only thing that’s sad is now she’s got one more excuse to act that way."

Y'all, that's some mature shit for a goofy shonen anime. Yeah, Yusuke recognizes that, while she's obviously heartbroken, his death has just given her another reason to do what she's been doing for years: drinking herself into a stupor. Toss in Atsuko putting the blame on Yusuke — "No one gave you permission to die!" — plus the belief that she did do a good job — "Didn't I raise you right?" — and it paints a rather bleak picture. This is by no means an uncommon theme. Negligent parents, whether they're framed that way or not, are pretty common in shonen series, but it's still rather jarring to re-watch this as an adult and go, "Oh. The situation’s like that." It's honestly a lot when you remove it from YYH's otherwise humorous, casual context.

Yusuke heads to Keiko's next and finds her sound asleep, commenting on how her room looks more "girly" than when they were kids. Check out that smile!

He's about to try and deliver his message, but Keiko is in the midst of a nightmare. “She’s crying… what’s wrong?”

Oh my god. Remember how I just said Yusuke is also the densest protagonist around? Example A right here. You just died, you fool! You just saw Keiko collapse at your funeral. What do you think is wrong??

We get a peek at Keiko's dream where she is — shockingly! — thinking of Yusuke. He's far out of reach, walking away and unresponsive to her calls. Keiko soon trips and Yusuke disappears completely.

Luckily, she has the real thing at her bedside. Yusuke tries talking to her and at first it's unclear if this supernatural stuff is really working. That is, until Keiko murmurs about how heavy he is.

Reassured, Yusuke delivers his message that Keiko needs to help Atsuko pull herself together and, most importantly, call off burning his body. We get this very soft and pretty background to establish their yet unspoken feelings for one another, though Yusuke gets close with, “I’m coming back. I don’t want to see you cry anymore" as he brushes her tears away. Aww.

Keiko wakes, thinking at first it was just a dream, but no, "I'm sure I felt it."

The next morning she heads to Atsuko's to explain the dream, only to first hear that Atsuko had a dream too, this one about Yusuke "living in some other world full of ogres and he kept knocking them down until he became their leader." It sounds absurd, of course, but it brings Atsuko some comfort to think of her boy in a place like that and Keiko backs down. Right, she'd only had a comforting dream too.

Now, there are two important parts to this exchange. The first is that this is an excellent example of how you let the characters drive the story, rather than forcing the characters adhere to the plot you've come up with. Meaning, in the latter situation, our cast would have needed to have their personalities twisted and the viewer's suspicion of disbelief tested to give Yusuke what he needs: a sleeping family member willing to believe his message. But it absolutely makes sense for Atsuko to be drunk rather than sound asleep, so Yusuke can't rely on her. Likewise, it absolutely makes sense for Keiko to be asleep, but not believe the dream once she's woken up. After all, how many times have we been persuaded by something in the dead of night only for things to look more logical and less likely in the morning? The characters act both like themselves and like people who do normal, people-ish things, which means that Yusuke runs into more conflicts. That's good! It not only raises the tension and stakes — now he has less than a day to convince someone — but makes his inevitable success feel that much sweeter. A less well written show (cough-RWBY-cough) would have had the characters change their personalities, behave in unlikely ways, or just come up with a sudden, contradictory solution because Yusuke needs to keep his body. Instead, Yusuke actually has to work for that within the bounds of the rules established and the likeliness of each plan succeeding. The first one fails? Move onto plan #2.

Second, this dream of Atsuko's has some cool implications within YYH's world. Meaning, we're about to learn in just a moment that some people are naturally more aware of the supernatural than others, even when they're not asleep. We'll also see down the line that spiritual awareness tends to run in families... so perhaps Atsuko possesses more than the average mother? I'm not saying it's necessarily intentional on the author(s) part, but we can choose to read this dream as evidence of spiritual awareness — true insight into the world Yusuke was just in and the fantasies he'd had about conquering it — rather than just a coincidental joke for the viewer. After all, Yusuke gets his own spiritual awareness from somewhere...

(Okay, so there's totally another, canonical reason for that, but we can have both!)

So, as Yusuke puts it, “This dream business isn’t gonna cut it.”

“There’s always the final method," Botan says.

“You always this vague?”

I am literally living for these interactions.

Botan explains that the more extreme form of communication is possessing a living person, but there are two rules attached: it has to be someone you know and the vessel has to be someone who is quite spiritually aware, as discussed above. Atsuko isn't a contender because the story hasn't acknowledged that she might be sensitive, that's just my own headcanon now. Yusuke outright says, “In that case I’m screwed. There’s no one like that!"

Cut to good old Kuwabara.

At first it looks as if he's just oh so conveniently sensing a spirit right when the audience has learned he has this power, but in reality it's Yusuke and Botan flying behind him that sets it off. Again: this show is pretty good about keeping things internally consistent, rather than making choices because That's Just How Stories Work, I Guess. Kuwabara's friends note that he's acting strangely and I love this detail that apparently one of the guys is new to their group because the other two need to explain that this is the "tickle feeling." Ever since Kuwabara was a boy he's been able to sense the dead around him. Some nice, some... not so nice.

He looks directly at Yusuke — even though he's not able to see him — and declares that what's following them is “A puny low-level ghost, like a haunted racoon or something.”

I'd support Yusuke's anger more if he hadn't just exclaimed his surprise that Kuwabara serves a purpose 😂

Yusuke is pissed enough though to proclaim that he won't do it, nuh-uh, no way is he possessing this guy's body. Botan's response is one of my FAVORITES in the WHOLE SERIES:

"Here's my impression of Yusuke: look at me, I’m burning!”

Literally 75% of this series is just about a found family sassing one another and I love it.

Obviously this helps Yusuke remember his priorities and he grudgingly agrees to the plan. Botan prepares Kuwabara's body somehow — idk, spiritual magic or whatever — and warns Yusuke that he only has an hour to find someone and warn them because a human body can't handle possession any longer than that. Sure. I buy it.

So Yusuke takes control and please ignore the incredible ethical issues here. The show will never acknowledge them again.

He blurts out, “Hey, check it out! I’m inside Kuwabara, feeling smooth!"

Istg I don't remember the series being this unintentionally gay. I don't even ship Yusuke/Kuwabara and I'm digging the possibilities here lol.

Back on track, his friends drag him with, “Looks like he’s back to normal” because again, 75%. What's not normal though is Kuwabara (Yusuke) suddenly charging down the street to leave them behind. He heads straight to the restaurant where Keiko's parents work, demanding to see her. They're rightly concerned about this stranger barging in and screaming for their daughter.

Upon asking who he is/why they should tell him, Yusuke makes his biggest mistake: “Because it’s me, you guys, I’m Yusuke!”

Obviously the time limit and raw emotion of knowing who he is has outweighed the knowledge that, you know, no one would believe that. Yusuke has spent the last two days bopping around as a ghost and familiarizing himself with some of the afterlife's insanity. The knowledge of what's normal for everyone else — AKA, not dead boys appearing in strangers' bodies — is not at the forefront of Yusuke's mind.

So, Keiko's parents react accordingly! The father in particular is disgusted by this claim, going so far as to threaten Yusuke with his knife and outright insult Kuwabara's looks: “Yusuke was never ugly like you… we were close family friends with that boy!" His wife chimes in that this kind of joke is particularly heinous on the day of his funeral. Between Atsuko drunkenly blaming Yusuke for his death and Mr. Takenaka grieving for what he might have been, this is one of the few times we see someone just sad for Yusuke's passing, exactly as he was and without regrets or criticism. "We were close family friends with that boy" paints a nice contrast to the delinquent persona Yusuke was cultivating.

As he's thrown out of the restaurant he says, “We should have special passwords for times like this!” Fun fact, my family does! Well, not this exact situation lol. I was given a password as a child to memorize in case my parents ever needed to send someone else to pick me up or interact with me in any way. If the stranger didn't know the password, I was to kick up a fuss. I rest easy with the knowledge that this password would not doubt assist me if I was ever in Yusuke's position!

With Keiko's parents a bust, Yusuke starts sprinting to everywhere she frequents with the hope of running into her. Or at least he tries.

Yusuke is suddenly waylaid by a group of nameless teens with a bone to pick with Kuwabara. And you know what? I like it. I wonder how much of my praise stems from coming off of RWBY Volume 8, but it's just so nice to watch a story where the plot — simple as it is — hangs together. We've established that Kuwabara is a street fighter. Last episode we watched him start a fight with Yusuke. Yusuke is on a time limit. Now Kuwabara's tendencies have created a new hurdle for Yusuke!

Needless to say, Yusuke kicks butt, even in Kuwabara’s body.

As one guy is passing out he says, “Man that hurt! I didn’t think anyone could throw punches that hardcore except Yusuke Urameshi."

Yusuke: “Darn, giving Kuwabara a good name." LOL

You think this challenge is finished though? Nah. Over the course of about half an hour Yusuke encounters a comical number of people trying to get even with Kuwabara.

As always, I like the nods towards this writing decision to help justify it, with Yusuke wondering how Kuwabara has pissed this many people off. If you want to pull off something that has a low chance of happening, it can help to give the characters a "Seriously?" moment. If both they and the audience are on the same page over how ridiculous this situation is, the audience is more likely to accept it once the character does.

By the time Yusuke escapes his hour is nearly up. However, thanks to some coincidental plotting, he spots Keiko's friends just across the street!

YYH does a decent job of making its characters feel like they have their own lives outside of what's immediately happening on screen and we get a good example of that here. We pick up the girls' conversation partway through, both of them worried about Keiko's state of mind and, given that we'll see in a second that Keiko was in the store with them, it implies that something happened to reignite this worry. They're off enjoying their day, doing their own thing, there was an event we're not privy to, and now we catch the response to that. It just helps make the characters feel more well-rounded even though they are, at their core, one-dimensional background characters who don’t even have names yet.

Case in point: the one girl is still concerned with their image. "People are starting to say things!"

Yeah, your friend's childhood friend just died. Hopefully they're saying, "Poor thing."

Anyway, Yusuke runs up to ask where Keiko is only for both girls to run away screaming. Turns out his face is messed up from the numerous fights and Keiko's friends are easily scared.

Luckily, Keiko comes out just a second later and Yusuke is faced with the challenge of how to convince her in, oh, about five minutes. Remember, we've already established through Keiko's parents that just saying, "I'm Yusuke" doesn't work. That's why he hesitates. It's not just drama for the sake of drama, he's stuck.

“I’ve known her my whole life, there must be something between us that only I would do!”

Yeeeeaah. About that 😬

Suddenly inspired (I suppose that's one way to put it...) Yusuke runs up behind Keiko and grabs her breasts. “Keiko, nice uniform! They’re so squishy!”

It goes without saying that, like flipping her skirt up, this isn't okay. More specifically, the problem lies in the story framing this as a joke for the audience, something to laugh at despite Keiko's discomfort, rather than the concept of two childhood friends actually be that comfortable with one another. But, as already established, this is one of the more ehhhh aspects of Yusuke's characterization that, luckily, will mostly disappear as the story goes on.

Note though that the show clearly wants us to think highly of this. Not just as a "joke," but as a smart solution to his problem and more evidence of their inevitable relationship — the background becomes the same soft, bubbly background we saw during their dream conversation. And, admittedly, it does work. Keiko instinctively slaps Yusuke hard enough to knock him to the ground and he starts laughing, saying that he doesn't care what anyone on the street says, she hits the hardest.

What I do like about this is that the assault isn't the only thing Keiko bases her faith on. Not only has she already had the dream, we get to see Yusuke from her perspective, showing all the mannerisms she picks up on by superimposing Yusuke's real body over Kuwabara's. Indeed, she says as much: “I knew it was you from the first time you spoke…and it’s not just your stupid gags, or how you laugh. There are ways you move and speak that in a hundred years I wouldn’t forget."

Catch me crying in this club!

Knowing she believes him and that he's almost out of time, Yusuke reiterates his message: please don't burn my body and also keep Mom on track. Only, you know, it's phrased far better than that lol. As he speaks, both Yusuke's and Kuwabara's voices overlap until the latter grows fainter and only Yusuke's voice remains. His body too. It's a nice touch, avoiding the awkwardness of Keiko having this moment with a stranger, even if that is what's happening on some level.

“I know I’ve been a bum to you at times, but please wait for me."

His hour up, now we can get the awkwardness! Kuwabara comes out of his weird trance thing to find Keiko crying against his chest. Wow, he thinks, this girl must be really into me!

God, to have the confidence of Kuwabara.

Of course, Keiko quickly realizes it's not Yusuke anymore and slaps him too for cuddling her closer. My favorite thing is that when she does this a crowd INSTANTLY appears. I mean they TELEPORT in. We needed an audience for Kuwabara's shame and YYH delivered, all logic be damned.

“Um, sorry about that!” Keiko yells as she runs away, because she's a good person who recognizes that weird spirit things just went on and Kuwabara isn't actually to blame.

“No, that’s okay. I probably deserved it," Kuwabara responds because he's also a good person and I didn't appreciate him nearly as much as I should have as a kid.

Keiko runs all the way to Atsuko's place where she finds her dressed for Yusuke's funeral. She blurts that Yusuke might still be coming back and Atsuko goes, "He already has." Turns out she opened his coffin to "smack him one more time for leaving me" — yikes — and found that his heart had started beating again, just as Koenma said it would.

Being in a shonen anime, they apparently decide to just trust Keiko's message rather than, idk, taking him to a hospital or something.

The camera tilts up to show that Yusuke has been watching all this, including that both women break down again and comfort one another. Aww. How heartwarming.

What's less fuzzy though is this mysterious egg. Yusuke takes another look and finds that it has developed a heartbeat too, presumably in time with his body's. He theorizes that he did decent things today, right? But Botan (teasingly) points out that he did beat up a lot of other kids. Rather than getting angry, Yusuke remains uncharacteristically pensive, emphasizing the magnitude of what this means for him. He's got to get it right.

No pressure or anything! We'll have to see how Yusuke balances his karmic scales in the next episode. Until then, I'll try not to put all my TV time into Star Trek: Voyager :D

See you then! 💜

#YYH #Yu Yu Hakusho #YYH recaps #mymetas

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shima-draws · 7 years

Photo

Who’s birthday is it?!! It’s KEITH’S!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEEF, I LOVE YOU

I also wrote a suuuuper sappy fic about that ring ^ down below!!

Bonus:

And now for the fluff :’)

Keith wakes to see a star outside of his window. It’s a brilliant blue, dazzling and bright, and he’s immediately reminded of the mesmerizing color of Lance’s eyes, like the deep sea. He rolls over and flings an arm out, expecting to come into contact with an entanglement of limbs and exposed wires, but all he grasps is air. Confused and still half asleep, he cracks open a dark violet eye and releases a wounded huff when he realizes that the other half of the bed is empty, its occupant long gone. His heart makes a strange leap up into his throat but he shakes it off, pushing the paranoid thoughts away before they can nag at him. Lance probably left to get a system checkup. He does that, sometimes, in the early morning before all the hustle and bustle of the day’s plans crowd in.

Rest is under the cut!!

With a yawn Keith rubs his eyes and pulls himself into a sitting position, taking a moment to stretch his muscles and kickstart his brain into working for the day. It’s still way too early, but Lance’s absence weighs heavy on his shoulders, so he knows for a fact he won’t be able to go back to sleep without him. Just as he’s about to drag himself out of bed and into the bathroom, the door to the room opens, sliding across the panel with a soft hiss of air. And lo and behold, there is Lance, dazzling ocean eyes lighting up the darkness like a beacon. They have a tendency to do that, sometimes. Keith raises an eyebrow at the tray of food in Lance’s hands as the AI makes a pouting face, crossing the space between them in a few lengthy strides. “You’re not supposed to be awake yet,” Lance whines, nudging Keith with his hip to get him to scoot over. Once he does Lance takes a seat next to him, being careful of the teetering glass of orange juice. Keith shrugs half-heartedly and releases another yawn. “You weren’t in bed, so I woke up.” The look Lance gives him has butterflies erupting in his stomach, and he hurriedly diverts his attention to the extremely appetizing breakfast on the tray. “So, uh. What’s that?” Lance promptly hands him the meal, a cheerful grin on his face. “Hunk spent all morning whipping this up, so you’d better enjoy it!” The black-haired teen blinks, his mind still fuzzy from sleep. “...It’s for me?” Lance chuckles, his eyes glowing brighter as he does. “Uh, yeah.” Furrowing his eyebrows, Keith inspects the meal of hash browns, eggs, bacon, and french toast with strawberries and whipped cream laid out for him. “What’s the occasion?” He mumbles, somewhat lost. Lance makes a weird noise in the back of his throat, drawing back in surprise. “You mean you don’t know?” Keith stares at him, dumbfounded. Should he? Is it “breakfast in bed for your boyfriend” day? “Oh, man,” Lance laughs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He shakes his head amusedly, the wires poking out of the back of his neck bending slightly as he does. “I can’t believe—alright. You know what? I’ll let you figure it out.” Keith decides it’s too early in the morning to argue with him, so he shrugs and sets to eating, practically inhaling everything on the tray. Hunk really is the best cook around, no doubt about that. In between bites he feeds Lance some of his breakfast, who happily munches bacon out of his hand and teasingly nips his fingers. Keith laughs and elbows him in the side as revenge, and the rest of their meal is spent joking around and stealing sticky kisses before sharing the glass of orange juice. “Okay!” Lance cries out once they finish, the plates squeaky clean. “Get dressed, we’ve got a lot to do today!” So Keith, with a begrudging groan, hauls himself out of bed and throws on some jeans before his boyfriend drags him out of the room and down to the workshop, where Katy is diligently doing weapon checks, her hair tied back in a messy braid. “Morning, Katy!” “Hey, Katy.” The short girl puts her tools down and hops off her stool, coming over to sweep Keith up in an embrace. “Whoa, hey!” Keith laughs as she finally sets him down and ruffles his hair, being mindful of the stains on her fingers. “Geez, Lance, you really let him dress like that?” She crosses her arms, giving the robot an unimpressed look. “Hey, hey! He can wear whatever he wants, I’m not going to hassle him about his fashion sense.” Lance holds his hands up in defense. Keith gives himself a once-over and frowns. “What, what’s wrong with my clothes?” Katy snorts, trying to hide a grin. “Who wears ripped jeans nowadays? That’s such a 21st century thing.” “Since when are you the expert on fashion?” He huffs, feeling an embarrassed pink settle on his cheeks. “Katy, bad! Katy, no!” Lance whines, gently smacking her shoulder. She has the decency to look outraged at this. “No badmouthing Keith! Not today!” “Alright, alright, I’m sorry,” she giggles, backing away from Lance’s light pats. “Anyway, I have to get back to work, but uh—yeah. I’ll see you...later.” Lance nods and takes Keith’s hand, nearly dragging him out the door. Before he turns the corner he catches the light-haired girl’s curious gaze. “You gonna do it?” She mouths, pointing to her hand. Immediately a red flush spreads across Lance’s cheekbones and paints his ears, and he swallows. “Later,” he mouths back before giving a parting wave and disappearing from view. Katy shakes her head fondly and turns back to her work, cracking her knuckles in preparation.

“Lance—slow down!” The tugging on his arm stops abruptly as Lance evens his pace, shooting a sheepish look over his shoulder at the Red Paladin. “Sorry, babe.” “Where are we even going? And—“ He looks around, noticing how deserted the ship seems to be. “Where is everybody? Where’s Hunk and Shiro?” Lance waves his hand dismissively. “Hunk’s gonna be in the kitchen all day, and Shiro is...uh. Training with Allura,” he supplies, smiling disarmingly. He is rewarded with a very uninterested look, an expression of suspicion written all over Keith’s face. “Lance—“ “Just! Go along with me on this one today, alright?” He begs, biting his lip. Oh, no. Keith is always weak for that quirk of his. He gives in with a sigh, “Alright, but can you at least tell me—“ “Sweet! Thanks, Dais!” Lance squeals happily, leaning over to smooch his cheek. Keith doesn’t even get time to respond as Lance suddenly drags him off again, and he decides he might as well stop fighting, since he’s already lost the battle a hundred times over.

They are sitting in the lounge as afternoon dips into twilight, drenched in sweat and other alien liquids. Keith chugs a water packet in seconds, tossing his head back with a groan. “Well,” Lance grins at him, looking not nearly as winded or sweaty. The perks of having an cooling system, Keith supposes. Damn those useful internal fans. “How’s your day been so far, Keith?” Keith opens his mouth to spew a list of complaints but finds himself stopping. Lance had decided to take him on multiple trips to different planets, visiting all of their old haunts from the simulator, and it was even more amazing to witness them in person instead of through a fake projection. The whole entire time Lance had lead him along, beaming as bright as a star and showering him in compliments like flower petals. Despite the fact that they’d had to make a run for it from several angry villagers, a space monster and an erupting (and deadly) geyser, it had actually been a really fun day. “...Good,” he finally answers, thoughtful. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see those planets outside of the simulator. I didn’t even know they existed for real.” Lance hums, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. “Of course they do. I had to gather my data from somewhere, didn’t I? Worldbuilding based off of actual fact is my specialty!” He moves from his place leaning against the counter and crouches in front of Keith, tilting his head to the side. Oh, Keith loves it when he does that. “But it was only “good”, huh? Not great or fantastic or “absolutely amazing, Lance”!” Keith rolls his eyes. “Oh, quit it. You know that’s what I meant—“ “How about I make your day even better?” When Keith has fully processed what’s going on, Lance is crouched down on one knee with a velvety black box, revealing a shimmering silver ring inside with an AI cube as the stone. And before he knows it that ring is being slid onto his finger. Keith barely manages to find his voice, and even then it comes out as a very timid squeak. “...Lance?” “It’s not a wedding ring,” Lance says quickly, detecting the surprise in his expression. “O—“ Keith swallows and tries again, the butterflies from that morning completely turning his stomach and heart into mush. “Okay?” Lance takes a deep breath, a nervous pink blush dusting his cheekbones. “So um.” He starts, coughing. “Keith. We’ve...been through a lot together. And—and I just wanted you to know how much I treasure you and how much you mean to me. This goes way beyond my core programming, I—because of you, I’ve been able to find myself. Not as just some copy of Lance, but as...as a person that I can be proud of. We’ve made so many memories together, memories that are ours—and even now I’m beyond shocked that you chose me,” he speaks, starting to tear up. “I’m not human. I never will be. But—but you make me human...you give me all of these! These feelings and emotions and just, just everything, down to my circuits, down to the depths of my core processors, I...I love you. With all of my “heart”...my entire being loves you!” Keith chokes on a happy sob and covers his mouth, smiling so wide he’s sure the whole entire universe can see it. “This, is, uh,” Lance stutters, laughing, “it’s a promise ring, I had to do some research into them and what they mean, but uh—yeah. It’s my promise to you. I promise to always love you. I promise to always be here for you and protect you and help you when you fall, and tell you when you’re wrong and kiss you when you’re sad—all those things!” “Lance,” Keith hiccups, his shoulders shaking. “It doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to,” he continues quickly, looking a little panicked. “You don’t even have to wear it. But...if you want. If you want! It can be a sort of...promise for our future. Someday...” Lance takes a deep breath and meets his eyes, the ferocity and emotion in them nearly overwhelming. “I want to marry you someday, Keith.” “Oh,” Keith exhales, beaming. ““Oh”? That’s all you have to say?” Lance chuckles, and Keith does too, and soon enough they’re both giggling like idiots. “Um,” Keith brushes a lock of hair behind his ear, chewing on his lip. “Lance, I...um...I’m...” He shakes his head frustratingly. “Dammit! Just, just come here!” And he pulls Lance’s collar up until he can kiss him fully on the mouth, conveying everything he wants to say through that simple action. Lance melts into it more than willingly, letting out a pleased hum against his lips. That familiar purring sound rumbles in the back of his throat, and Keith can feel how wide he’s smiling through their kiss, and knows that Lance can probably feel his equally as wide grin. Their teeth clack and bump a few times, their noses nudging against each other, far from a perfect kiss—but it means everything to Keith, who is beyond astounded that such a person exists and was made solely for him and even wants to marry him someday. Marry him! When they finally pull away, breathless and grinning dopily like fools, Keith locks his arms around Lance’s neck and embraces him tightly, hiding his joyful tears as he buries his nose into the crook of the AI’s neck. Lance holds him just as tightly, making soothing motions with his hands over his shoulderblades, and for that moment they are content. Lance catches movement out of the corner of his eye and looks down below, where Katy and Hunk are staring up at him from the ship’s main hallway, gazes expectant. Lance holds back a laugh and gives them a thumbs up through the glass, to which they respond by cheering and hooting loudly. “Hell yes!” Katy shouts, pumping a fist. “Oh god finally,” Hunk sighs happily. “I was beginning to wonder if he’d ever do it.” “Yeah well, imagine how long it’ll take him to actually propose,” the girl responds, snorting. “What are you two doing standing there?” The duo turn around and are met with the confused expressions of Allura, Shiro and Coran. “Aww guys, you missed it! Lance totally just gave Keith the promise ring!” Hunk gushes. “What?! No way!” Allura gasps, her eyes wide. “Yeah, we thought he was too chicken to do it too,” Katy smirks, amusement lacing her tone. “Oh, good. It’s about time,” Shiro sighs, shaking his head fondly. Coran chuckles from next to him. Allura pauses in her joyful squealing with Hunk, a thoughtful look settling on her features. “But, wait, did Lance not say that right after he did that he would take Keith into the dining hall?” Hunk and Katy gape, and silence reigns in the air for several moments, until— “Shit! We’re gonna be late! Move it, team!”

“Where are you taking me now?” Keith laughs as he’s dragged along once again, mouth slightly swollen and several marks decorating his neck, courtesy of Lance. The Blue Paladin looks equally as ravished but thoroughly pleased, dark brown hair ruffled and wires sticking up haphazardly. “That wasn’t the only surprise of the day, Dais,” he teases, the code in his eyes practically dancing. “Okay, I’ll bite. What is it?” Lance finally halts in front of the huge double doors to the dining hall, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips. He pulls Keith forward until he’s standing right next to him at the door, and the raven can practically see the excitement radiating off of the other boy. Lance clears his throat and calls out, “Our prince has arrived!” The doors swing open and Keith is immediately greeted with a face full of streamers, balloons and confetti, and a loud chorus of, “Happy birthday, Keith!” He stands there in total shock for several moments, barely taking in the sight of all of his friends and the members of the Resistance decked out in party clothes and holding an enormous cake (baked by Hunk, no doubt). Laughter and cheerful faces surround him on all sides, and it takes everything he has not to simultaneously burst into tears, totally overwhelmed by emotion and the love he has for these people. “You really are dense,” Lance laughs. “You seriously didn’t realize it was your own birthday?” “I...I didn’t even...” Keith starts, totally in shock. He hadn’t even put any thought into it, thinking that nobody remembered. But Lance has always known, and he’d gone and put this whole thing together, all for him. Lance beams and takes his hand, pulling him into a slow waltz, humming an ever so familiar tune. Keith smiles, wide and watery, for tears are building up in the corners of his eyes. Katy claps for them, and Hunk wipes away his own tears along with a nearly hysterical Coran. Allura nods in approval, catching Shiro’s eye, who grins shyly before glancing away. The rest of the Resistance all erupt into chatter, preparing the huge feast for the evening, and gathering up all of the gifts for Keith to be opened later. Lance and Keith sway across the floor, totally in their own world. Lance opens his mouth to sing, the melody sweet and beautiful, and Keith can’t help but start crying again. “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half crazy, all for the love of you. It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage... But you’ll look sweet upon the seat Of a bicycle made for two!” Lance leans in and presses a kiss to Keith’s forehead, and the two of them admire the gleam of his promise ring. “Happy birthday, Keith.”

AIN’T THAT THE SAPPIEST SHIT YOU’VE EVER READ?? HUH????? And yes this is totally gonna become canon in the AU. Fite me.

Aaaa thank you for joining me in this flufftastic adventure, I want to get the next chapter of AWZO uploaded soon too so :0

Please be sure to give a reblog!! I’d really appreciate it :’) I spent a lot of time on this whoops

Happy happy birthday to my favorite edgy emo kiddo

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yourlocalyorozuya · 7 years

Text

A Scrapbook of Memories FIc 01

Title: An innocence in loss.

Pairing: Abeno Haruitsuki/Ashiya Hanae

Rating: K+

A03 Link

[[hello everyone!]]

[[this is part of the new fukigen na mononokean drabble fic series that id been planning for a while!! im so glad i finally started it pHEW]]

[[im kickstarting it with the seven themed drabbles from abeshiya week, the one i wasnt able to participate in, so if they seem familiar thats why]]

[[and if you want to request a fic please drop a line in my ask! :>]]

[[enjoy!]]

An innocence in loss.

A Fukigen na Mononokean fanfiction

Was he too obvious? Maybe too obvious.

Probably.

Definitely.

He glances behind him again. Or attempts to for about .5 seconds before he chickens out and turns back. A new record!

...No, this is definitely very awkward and obvious. He sighs as he drops his head to his desk and groans in frustration.

There’s a comment from the teacher and stifled giggles, but he just. Doesn’t care right now.

Mostly because he can’t feel his face. He didn’t sleep at all...

...Huh.

...The desk felt...nice. Nice and cool. It was getting warmer outside, recently, and it felt nice against his cheek.

Huh.

For some reason, it’s hard to keep his eyes open. Though, technically, he actually does know why.

He grimaces a little, just a little, but it’s too comfortable to keep up.

It takes a while to open his eyes again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“....Wuh!”

And he sits up in his chair abruptly, regretting it immediately when his head starts to spin. "Hurgh!”

“You okay, Ashiyan?”

“...F-Fusshi.” Ashiya says, looking at the boy, “What...?”

“You fell asleep during class.” Is Saga’s input as he slides into the seat next to him.

“Yeah, that was rare! Usually, you’re so full of energy, even if you’re Hanae-chan of the Nurse’s Office!” Fushimi says.

"...Yeah...it's been a while since I heard that too." Ashiya admits. At first, he moves to swipe something from his forehead, then covering his yawn with a hand, "Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well these days."

"Bad dreams?" Saga asks and immediately Ashiya stiffens.

"...Kind of. Yeah?" Ashiya says, carefully. He seems to be playing with his hair even more now, "Yeah!"

"So it is bad dreams?"

"I mean, I wouldn't really call them bad? Or dreams? They're technically dreams..." Ashiya says , fumbling for words, "I mean, they're definitely dreams!"

"Maybe they're daydreams?" Fushimi suggests.

At that, Ashiya seems to pause and consider something. Then, his cheeks flush red and he very quickly says, "Absolutely not! They're definitely dreams!! Dreams that are definitely not caused willingly by my subcon- aack!"

And Ashiya, who'd be reaching behind himself all of this time, loses balance and falls off his chair.

"Ashiya??"

"Owww."

"Are you okay?"

"I can't feel my face."

"Y-you can't feel your face after falling on your back?"

"F-Fuzz...on my face..."

A heavy sigh. "What are you doing?"

And Ashiya freezes up again.

"Abenon~! You came to get Ashiyan?"

"Yeah. Is he alive? I'll drag him to the Nurse's Office if he isn't."

"I'm alive!! Geez." Ashiya shoots up like a beanstalk and subsequently stumbles again, holding out his arms in front of him, "Whoa!"

"Be careful!" Abeno barks at him, "And quit fooling around and get over here!"

"O-okay!"

Ashiya dashes towards the door, giving Fushimi and Saga an awkward two-armed wave.

Kind of odd.

Almost as if he were holding something.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Ashiya had never related more to the expression 'Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire' more than he had now.

Abeno was still staring at him, even as the Mononokean briefed them on what he had to do today, even as he vacantly pet and apologized to Fuzzy for almost dropping him so many times in class.

And he was trying very hard to act normal, honestly he was. But then, it was hard to do that when he could barely meet Abeno's eyes. It made for awkward greetings and an awkward atmosphere in general.

Is everything alright? The Mononokean asks with an air of concern and that seems to kickstart Ashiya's brain back into gear.

"Yes?!" Too loud, oops.

" I-I mean." Ashiya coughs and avoids the line of Abeno's glare, "I mean, yes. Everything's fine."

Are you sure, Hanae?

"Yeah. I'm fine!" He tries a smile.

"...Hm."

...Hm?

......

.....Hmm???? What was that supposed to mean? Ashiya looks back quickly over to Abeno, and he's the one who's averting his gaze, thinking about something.

"Anyway, we should get going-"

"Ashiya."

"Yes?!" Again, whoops.

"Before we go anywhere, we need to talk."

Silence. Ashiya stares at him for a long while, mouth gaping like a fish.

Finally he manages, "Am I fired?!"

"Ha?!"

"A-are we d-discussing my cause of termination?!?"

"...Why are you speaking so formally all of a sudden."

"I always talk like this!"

"Whatever, just get out!"

"D-don't push me!!"

My oh my. ( ‾́ ◡‾́ )

He manages to read that off the Mononokean's scroll before Abeno kicks him towards the nijiriguchi, and he crawls through it just fast enough before Abeno does the same.

"Ow! Abeno-san?"

"What exactly is wrong with you?"

This is when his heart kicks into overdrive. Ashiya can already feel his face heating up.

"N...what is that supposed to mean?" Ashiya's about to deny it immediately, but in a rare moment of reflection, he thinks that saying no so quickly would make Abeno suspicious.

...If he wasn't suspicious already. Abeno's still staring at him with a scowl, though really that was more of his default expressio. In fact, it was usually why it was hard to tell sometimes what exactly was bothering him, despite being so clearly irritated.

"Why is your default expression so terrifying?!"

And he said that out loud.

"What did you say?!"

"I-I mean, nothing's wrong with me!!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that?!" Abeno retorts. He sounds actually angry now.

Ashiya flinches at that and he looks away.

"See, this is what I'm talking about." He thinks he hears Abeno say that.

"Eh?"

"Nothing. Whatever it is you're dealing with, just make sure it doesn't interfere with work."

"...Okay."

....

....Like he was able to just let it go like that.

"Abeno-san?"

"Hmm?"

"That...uh. Remember that time that we were at the Legislator's party?"

"Yeah? So what?"

"That...did I..." Ashiya falters again, under the weight of that gaze.

It made him remember.

Remember certain dreams.

"D-Did I do something?"

Abeno blinks, "Something?"

"...Never mind. I didn't, huh." Ashiya sighs, "That's a relief."

"Exactly what kind of thing are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I'll, uh, go grab Fuzzy."

"Right."

And Ashiya scrabbles back through the nijiriguchi, Abeno sighs and turns away.

"Something, huh."

The wall behind his back and a hand pressed over his own.

The closest anyone had been to him...in such a long time.

"..."

Impudent fingers over his shoulders, barely focused eyes. The scent of sake on his breath.

And still, that dumb grin.

Even before he feels those lips on his.

"Something...huh."

Something restless in his heart since that time.

Abeno tries not to think about it.

"What a convenient word that is."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Liked this? You can always head over here to request some more drabbles!

Or you can check the taglist/FAQ to see what I’ve written before [and what I currently write!]

And if you wanna show some support, you can head over to my ko-fi page!

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

#abeshiya #fukigen na mononokean #from the depths of your imagination #iratheweak writes #[[urghb i have to attend weddings tomorrow need o go to b e d

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night1black2 · 7 years

Text

Sugar❁Cookie pt. 4

Wow. This didn't take me forever or anything. ( ⁺⌓ॢ⁺;)՞ sorry. @mintyoongiees ↬Jungkook Nervousness laced through Jungkook's muscles, making his legs tremble. 'This was a bad idea. Better just call it off and try it again when you have he nerve.' Problem was, when he would finally manage to get the courage, Yoongi would probably have forgotten him. All of this encouragement he had been giving himself before was to try and help him to do one thing. Go inside the library (which he was in front already, hand around one of the handles of the doors.) and see if Yoongi was there (he had given up the idea of speaking to him on way there). But the prospect of never talking Yoongi again much less never seeing him or God forbid, the senior forgetting him as easily as eating a fruit and throwing away the useless peel overpowered the unnamable fear he had. Taking a deep breath, he let himself inside, glancing to and fro; the black hair nowhere inside in sight. The deeper he went, the more his stomach writhed with worry. What if he hadn't seen that nod and his mind had made it up? Or if that was Yoongi being polite; he had seen the panic in Jungkook's eyes and pitied him? He didn't find him. A sigh leaving his mouth, he pulled out his phone, readying himself to call one of his teammates to see if he could stay the night with one of them. Doing so brought his attention the time. 11:40. Head cocked to the side, brows furrowing, and biting his bottom lip, he considered whether or not the issue was that he was there early. 'After all,' he mused while grabbing what he was tempted to officially call his seat since he head been at that same table every visit. 'Each time that I've seen him be here, it's always 12:00 or after.' Which was really strange. Did the senior not have anything scheduled in the mornings? Or was he that hardcore and was getting only around five hours of sleep throughout the week for every day? Once again, he was left waiting it out. 'Only twenty minutes. You can....read something....' He grimaced, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them, shifting so he could stare out the window. Winter had been creeping up on the campus slowly, but recently, he noticed that Mother Nature was hitting them harder without warning. 'Football season is ending soon too...' He sighed and pondered where he was going to go from here. Jungkook knew that he didn't want to go back to his home. He didn't want to burden his parents with dealing with him. Sure, they would say that it was nothing, how could he say that, he was their son? But...it wasn't only that. The cliché of wanting to be independent wasn't used as often as it was without reason. "OW!" "You're starting to make me think that you're using studying as an excuse to take advantage of the library to sleep." Jungkook rubbed his stinging shoulder where he had been hit with a binder. "Hyung!" He exclaimed, briefly glancing at his wristwatch to check the time. 20 minutes had passed that fast? No....it was only ten minute. 11:50. "I came here earlier because I knew you would do the same." He didn't bother to sit down which Jungkook took as a sign that Yoongi's visit was short. He felt a pang in his stomach which could only be described as disappointment. He bit his bottom lip, not knowing what to say next, but luckily the senior saved him the trouble. "Let's go get coffee." Eyes glancing up, the younger boy was stunned with disbelief. "Really? I mean-where would any coffee shops be open at this hour?" Shut up and just roll with it Jungkook! Ugh...why did he always say the wrong things. What if he didn't want to go with him anymore? Yoongi scoffed as he was having his internal argument and took his arm, pulling on it so he would get up. "Who do you think I am?" Starting towards the door, he held it open. "Come on. I know a place. Well, many places." He corrected himself. Jungkook followed and flinched when a helmet was thrown at him. He almost let it slip through his fingers had his instincts of a football player not kicked in. The older boy was already fastening on his own, swinging a leg over an extremely impressive motorbike. "We're going to ride on that?" Throat bobbing, the ride was both awe inspiring and fear striking. "No, we're going to walk there. I just wanted to pose for you before we started to get going. Have you taken the photo yet-yes were going to ride this now put on your damn helmet and let's go." Yoongi rolled his eyes. Clicking the buckle under his chin, Jungkook climbed onto the two-wheeled vehicle. "Hold on. I don't want to get charged for murder of you fall off." Yoongi reached behind him and grasped the freshman's hands, making it so that the younger boy's arms were encircled around his slim waist. Kickstarting the motorcycle, he leaned forward which in turn caused Jungkook's chest to seal against the senior's back. His heart erratically beat, though he wasn't sure whether it was because of the speed they were going at (or the fact that they were riding a motorbike in the school which was prohibited. Nothing like something illegal to get the blood pumping. It definitely caused at least a little bit of worry within the freshman) or if it was how close in proximity the two men where. A little bit of both? That was safe to say. Can he feel my heartbeat through his back? Well, Yoongi wasn't telling him to give him some space, so that was a good sign. Might as well take the advantage of the situation right? At the end of that thought, his arms pulled him closer to the slight senior, embrace tightening. They arrived at a very small coffee chop. It was about a mere 8 minute away from the university. "Whoa..." Jungkook did a 360 upon entering. "How did you find this place?" "Through desperate times." The senior sat down in a nearby booth placing his helmet beside him. "And also through caffeine shortages." A waiter came over and took their order as if it was a restaurant, not a café. "Uh- Pomegranate tea for me." Jungkook said, giving the small menu they had gotten back. The man wrote on his notepad and turned to the older student. "I'll-" "Have an Americano, sugar no cream." Yoongi smiled at the man and the waiter did the same, leaving the two students. The younger boy who had no been part of the interaction felt something twist inside him. He had never seen that expression on him before. And the first time he did, if was to someone else. A stranger no less! Maybe if it was a good friend of Yoongi's, it would be different..but... "How did he know your order?" "Like I said, I've had caffeine withdrawals and had to come here quite often. I'd like to believe that I'm their main regular." Then that was normal right? For the man to know automatically what he wanted....he still felt ill at ease anyways. As they waited for their drinks, silence fell between the two. Jungkook fidgeted in his seat, mind racing for things to talk about. He could only hope that his distressed state wasn't apparent to the other party. The senior didn't seem to have the same problem as he did. In fact, he was looking relaxed as could be, indifferent even. He pulled out the binder he had hit the younger student with and slipped out a couple of papers plus a pencil. The Jungkook couldn't take it anymore. He never thought that he was one to break with pressure but- "So...." He licked his lips anxiously, clasping his hands together. "Why did you take me here?" Glancing up from his scribbling (on what seemed to be....sheet music paper?) Yoongi gave him a funny look. "Well, I've met with you so often I thought that I should get to know you, not your assignment. Why, is there a problem? You don't like coffee? Or maybe you wanted to use me as a study guide and then toss me away as easily as you do that physics book?" Flushing at the mention of his attempt to get the older boy's attention, he protested, "N-no! I do like coffee and I wasn't planning to anything of the sort." Yoongi visibly relaxed and went back to scribbling. Jungkook hadn't even seen him tense up. "Good, if you said that you hated coffee, I would've walked out on you and left you here." Jungkook felt his jaw go slack, his gaze widening with shock at the prospect. ↬Yoongi He glanced up and was met with an open mouth and eyes as big saucers. "PFFFT-" he coughed, trying to hide his laughter. Wow...this kid believes everything told to him doesn't he. "I can assure you that I like coffee." The seriousness in the statement was almost enough to send Yoongi over the edge of letting the laughter erupt from his mouth. "Ahem. I get it kid." He cleared his throat, burying his nose in the sheet music so his slight grin wouldn't be seen. "You don't have to worry." Their drinks arrived and he carefully set his cup a safe distance away so that he would have enough time to take his papers away if it spilled. "Are you doing homework for your major?" The younger boy questioned, curiosity clear on his face but he didn't try to take a peek at what the senior was writing. "No, I'm doing it for astrology." "You don't have to be a jerk." The freshman pouted, taking a sip of his tea and crossing his arms, changing his focus from the black haired man to the window. Ah, it was so easy to tease him. "Yeah, I have to compose a song. I have two more days left." Alarm replaced the sulking expression. "Wait, then shouldn't you be in your dorm? Wouldn't I just be distracting you?" Jungkook stuttered, already beginning to get up. "Sit your ass down." He complied, the dismayed look hadn't left though. "What makes you think that I would be able to get anything done stuck in a room? Do you think that there would be space for inspiration?" Scratching of the head, he seemed dubious. "I don't know. I guess not?" The older boy crossed his legs, pencil tapping on the plastic of the binder. "It isn't like the homework that you do for math. You can't sit there and do it." he added under his breath, "At least I can't." "There are no formulas that help you solve some equation. Everything is out of one's imagination." The discussion went on, Yoongi showing the younger boy his process, speaking about past songs he's composed. The two compared favourite artists, genres of music, and so on. They were so immersed in the conversation that they hadn't realised that it was the next day. 2:00 am "Yeah, I think so too. It has way too much bass. Also-" Jungkook viewed his watch. "Shit! I have class in less than three hours." The senior grimaced, taking the last sip of his second espresso. "Why the fuck do you even take classes this early anyways?" "It's just how my schedule went out. I have to have time for my football practice afterwards. Though that's soon going to change. The season's ending after finals." Jungkook started to put on his jacket, pulling up the zipper. "Ah, what a life for a youngster." A laugh bursts out from the freshman, his bunny teeth flashing. 'Ah, how cute. He should smile more.' Yoongi mused, taking his stand as well and putting his papers back in his binder and the binder in his bag. "You're not old though." "Kid. I'm four years older than you are. May not seem like much, but it is." He stretched carefully. He had been in the same position for at least half an hour if not more talking to said person. What if he pulled a muscle if he did it quickly? "It's called being mature. Not old." Charming little fucker. A pleased grin slipped past his mouth and he cleared his throat to conceal it. The two walked out of the café and drove back to the university. He had to admit, he enjoyed the fact that it wasn't only him riding on the motor bike, or coming to the coffee shop. He had other friends that he went with sure, but somehow with Jungkook—maybe it was the youngster's vibe that was rubbing off on him. After all, he hadn't been around a decent freshman in....actually., he didn't think he'd ever been around a decent freshman. Which probably was why he inspired curiosity in Yoongi. Also, Namjoon's philosophical way of seeing the world sometimes worked in motivation (ha, rarely. More like they depressed him even more than he was already) but the cheerfulness and the vibrancy Jungkook's personality held- 'I don't know. He's just very enjoyable to have around to put it simply.' He had actually thought that the younger boy would leave him alone and never come back to the library in search for him. The old 'use em toss em' way of life. 'But he hadn't. Judging by the look on his face, he also had had the same thoughts as I did.' The thought of this sent a perplexing thrill up his spine and chills lifted the hairs on his arms— even though he wasn't cold in the least.

#Sugar❁Cookie #@mintyoongiees #idk #words now scramble up in me brain #@-@#I always feel like I'm treating the same word over and over again #fanfic #bts #bts fanfic #mine #my fanfic #Sugakookie #yoonkook

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