Is it Wrong to Fall in Love?
Chapter Nine
I saw Yusuke walking by the quiet, dirty alleys of downtown Tokyo with his hands in his pockets. Judging from how high his shoulders were hunched, I knew that he had the same problem Keiko was facing. Or at least he had the other side of the problem. Yet all the same, he had it.
I smiled to myself. Who would have thought that Urameshi Yusuke could be so concerned about his love life like that? He looked so upset about his recent misunderstanding with Keiko—you wouldn’t exactly expect that of him if we go back six years from now. Time has sure changed him a lot, I thought, smiling to myself.
I flew close to him. "Hey, Yusuke!" I called using the most cheerful voice I could muster. "You feeling fine there?"
Yusuke whipped around in surprise when he heard me. When he saw me, he quickly turned back around and resumed ambling. "It’s you," he said.
"But of COURSE it’s me," I replied. "Were you expecting…Keiko, perhaps?"
"Oh, shut up!" he snapped, making me almost fall off my oar.
"Hey, I was just trying to help the two of you," I said. I flew beside him. "Keiko seems very upset, Yusuke. I think she deserves your apology."
"Yeah, yeah." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You don’t have to tell me that."
"Well?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why don’t you go and tell her that you’re sorry? Tell her why you told her all those nasty stuff last night."
"Geez." He shook his head. "I don’t even know why I said them in the first place."
"I’m SURE you don’t," I responded sarcastically.
Yusuke glared at me. "Are you trying to help or are you just annoying me?"
I grinned. "Both, I guess."
As Yusuke stared at my face—longer than he had intended, perhaps—I noticed his frown slowly dissolve. He raised both of his eyebrows in suspicion. "You had been crying, weren’t you?" His tone was softer.
I shrugged, as if saying, "big deal". I took a deep breath. "Yeah. And so? I’ve completely buried my problem in my mind."
"Like I believe in that." He looked away. "If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were crying with Keiko a while ago. And if I were that stupid, I’d shout to the world that what Keiko had said is right—that you ARE in love with Koenma."
I smiled wryly. Yusuke had the habit of being so tactless at times—but of course, I—EVERYBODY—was so used to that already. "I guess I could give you a high school diploma for that."
"Gee, I’ve always wanted to get one." He smiled. "So you were getting yourself drunk last night…because of him, right?"
"And YOU were drinking yourself to death because you’re leaving Keiko and you have no other choice."
"Oh, but I DO have a choice," he told me. "I could stay here and all…it’s just that…"
"That?"
"Oh, I don’t know."
I shook my head and gripped my oar tighter. "Our feelings…can be so confusing sometimes, right?"
"True."
My gaze lowered on the ground. I stared at my shadow the light of the sun created. Riding my oar, floating about three feet from the ground.
"Hey, I hear someone coming," Yusuke warned.
I quickly hopped off my oar and changed into human clothes magically. At almost the same time, a roughish-looking thug appeared in front of us. He didn’t even raise his eyes at the two of us.
"So," Yusuke said when the man was out of earshot, "what are you going to do?"
"I have no other choice," I admitted, bitterly. I thought it was best for Yusuke to know everything. "I…Koenma confessed to me this morning that he has feelings for me. But I know…the wedding will push through."
He raised both eyebrows. "Oh? Why’s that?"
I looked up at him and smiled. "You’d never get it."
"Ah, come on."
I shook my head stubbornly. "Maybe you would—after tonight."
I was dropping hints to them already—to Yusuke and Keiko. I began to wonder what their reaction would be when Koenma-sama tells them about my death. I wouldn’t know, of course. Perhaps never. Would the two of them cry because they didn’t understand the clues when I said them?
"Whatever," I muttered finally. My oar materialized on my hand. "I must be going now."
"Right." Yusuke gave a little nod. "By the way, thank you."
I smiled. "Just talk to her, okay."
"I’ll do that."
Despite Yusuke’s rugged features, he still had those moments when he looked so innocent. Today was one of those times. He might be the king of one of the Makai kingdoms, yet in every other way, he was the oblivious boy I knew six years ago.
I felt tears stinging my eyes as I looked at this boy now, who had turned into a man. I didn’t notice it before—I just saw how much he had changed now.
I pressed my lips together and extended my hand to him. "Good luck…little brother."
Yusuke broke into a grin and took my hand. "Little brother."
"Yeah." I gripped his hand tighter.
"Well…thank you, o-neechan."
As much as I didn’t want to let go of his hand, I did, for I knew that it was time to say goodbye. As I hopped on my oar, I told him, "I want to see the two of you settle down and have lots of babies someday, okay?"
Yusuke rolled his eyes, yet he was still grinning.
With a smile that I hoped was more encouraging than despondent, I flew away. I took a one last look at the city of Tokyo before going back to Reikai.