[quote=@Genkai]
Yeah, they were in different gangs. I think Kuwabara's friends saw Kuwabara as more of the softie while they knew Yusuke was a bit more hardcore with the fighting, where as they already knew about Kuwabara's cat and such. I do like the idea of them being rivals/friends but at the same time, it will need to depend how we assume the "afterlife" bit was handled. 
[/quote]
Do we just want to keep the status quo at the start of the series and leave it at that? Because I think that would probably be the most believable. 

I like the idea of his mother being the one. Because in the show, she almost did it but was too drunk. I think with our scenario of her being more reliable, it would be more practical. He could have it that he tried both Kuwabara and Keiko (or current girlfriend) and they didn't pay any attention to it. That way we don't have to worry about making up another OC who will probably have to stick around and worry about him/her. 

I do think the idea of his having a fangirl squad is hilarious. ^^ Even if they don't appear, they totally need to be referenced!