In Which Two Hypocrites Don't Learn Their Lesson About Clicking on Spam


L.A.: Ahem…

Amu: So….

L.A.: Yeah… it's been awhile.

Amu: People probably don't even remember us.

L.A. Been busy with life, but maybe everyone won't hate me because I have a new story.

Amu: (grins evilly) and not just any story, it's a sequel: Notebooks and Easels

L.A.: So, if you haven't read Pencils and Paintbrushes, you should probably read it first.

Amu: It's not necessary, but it'll help you understand certain things if you do.

L.A.: So sit back and relax as I, your host, and my muse a talking blue wolf wearing a crescent moon mask.

Amu: a.k.a. number 1 badass.

L.A. : (rolls eyes) guide you through a story of cliffhangers, random movie references, and two crazy hyper girls who find themselves once again in the Yu Yu Hakusho world.

Amu: I hope you have some popcorn because we're in for another wild crazy ride.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. This should be obvious by now. My life would be amazing if I did own it.


The girl didn't know why she was there. Everything about this scenario screamed danger. A dark abandoned warehouse… A mysterious invitation from a stranger…. The full moon glowing eerily in the cloudless night sky…

And yet, here she was. Standing before the building, clinching the invitation like it was a security blanket.

She smoothed out the invitation and read it for the dozenth time.

Don't you want to go back? I know you do. It claws, festers and boils inside you.

I can stop it. I can fix it.

You just need to meet me at the Old Shipping Warehouse at midnight on Monday.

S.

She had practically memorized it over the past week. How couldn't she? What this person was implying… If he could take her back, she would practically do…

"Anything." She breathed out.

"Anything?" A voice said from the shadows.

She shivered, not just because the voice scared her, but it also sounded familiar.

"Well," the voice said. "Then it seems we have an accord."


"SomeBODY once told me. The world was gonna roll me."

"Stop." Tori's eye twitch. The brown hair green-eyed girl had thought when she was reunited with their best friend during vacation, they were going to do something fun. She didn't expect a horrible rendition of Smash Mouth's All Star.

"I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed."

"Obviously, you're not if you think singing this song was a good idea."

Sira rolled her eyes. The blond haired blue eyed girl had expected her friend to be in a bad mood after the airplane. "Um, singing Smash Mouth is always necessary when recreating our childhood. I used to jam to this during the summer."

"Yeah. When we were ten."

Sira stopped at traffic light and turned to Tori. "Which is important since we must go say our farewells to the place that used to be our favorite haunt."

Tori bowed her head. Their hometown mall had gone bankrupt and was finally closing down. All their childhood haunts soon to be bulldozed all thanks to the internet.

"You're right. How could I forget."

"So," Sira turned to Tori. "What a concept. I could use a little fuel myself and we can all use a little change." Sira wiggled her eyebrows, waiting.

Tori rolled her eyes and grinned.

So, Tori and Sira sang All Star out of tune and were judged by fellow drivers as they headed to the mall.


"Well, this is depressing." Tori turned Sira.

She didn't look happy either.

The mall was a shell of what it once was. Amazon and other online stores, had taken its toll. Most of the store fronts were either closed down or doing massive going out of business sales. It was a sorry state.

Sira's eyes widen as she pointed to her right. "Nooooo! Not the Dip and Dot stand." She wailed. Where will I be able to get my ice creamy goodness?"

A couple hurried past them, sending Sira dirty looks.

"People are staring."

"I don't care. Screw the internet," Sira held up her clinched fist in emphasis. "They are the cause of our beloved mall's demise."

Tori smirked. "You don't really mean it do you?"

"No…. because without the internet I would cease to function." Sira shot Tori a glare. "You know you don't have to point out I'm a hypocrite."

Tori batted her eyes innocently. "But, then I wouldn't be your best friend."

Sira crossed her arms. "Okay, well speaking of being best friends, tell me how these businesses could survive with your accounting expertise."

She knew Sira was baiting her and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent her from coming back with a snide remark. Sira still hadn't forgiven her for switching from art. A couple months back, Tori had changed her major from art to accounting. Accounting was a good occupation. You follow the rules, do the job, and no one would complain. No one would criticize you and call your work trash even if you spent days working on what you believed was your best work yet.

Her cheek was beginning to hurt.

"For your information, there are several possibilities," Tori's eyes drifted across the store fronts. "Though I don't know if it would help since they're so specialized…"

Tori stopped dead in her tracks. Sira followed her gaze and her mood immediately soured.

A big poster was slapped on the window of their favorite video game/ dvd store. The giant face of Yusuke stared back at them. A cartoon bubble over his head stated that all seasons of Yu Yu Hakusho were 75% off.

"I still miss them too," Sira whispered.

It had been six months. Six months since their adventure in the Yu Yu Hakusho world and the portal between their worlds mysteriously closed. There was no warning. No goodbyes. One minute they were hanging out with their friends and the next, they were gone. Like they had never existed.

A hollow feeling began to expand in Tori's chest. She quickly looked away. "It doesn't matter. It's over now."

Sira frowned. "Depressing much?"

"I'm serious. We need to move on. It's not healthy to be so consumed by something that is gone."

Sira's phone vibrated. "There's always a way." Sira pulled out her phone ignoring Tori's exasperated groan.

"Do you really think they are pinning over us? No. They've moved on."

Sira's eyes widened. "Tori. I've got mail."

"Trying to change the subject isn't going to help."

Sira shook her head. "No. You don't understand. I've…got…mail." She held it up for Tori to see. In Sira's inbox was a new message. The sender was listed as unknown, but the subject line was what caught their attention.

Subject: Would You Like to Play a Game Again?

"Could be spam."

Sira smirked. "Only one way to find out." She clicked open the email.

It's time to play a game again

To Reunite with long lost friends

What was lost, needs to be found

Otherwise the clock will forever be rewound

Fix the past to reopen the present

You know the answer that must be sent.

Sira glared. "Akira must have help the Molester with this email. I told you he was evil."

Tori didn't hear her. Her heart was pounding in her ears and her breath was caught in her throat. If this email was real. If they could go back and see them. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei… Kurama. It could mean…

She realized that Sira was staring at her expectantly. "What are you waiting for?"

Sira shrugged. "Like you said. It's probably spam. We should just move on with our lives."

"Oh you know that was a bunch of bullcrap. Now send the damn email."

"Hypocrite."

"Yeah, yeah. I know throw right back at me."

Sira smirked before sending the word yes back in the email. As soon as she clicked send, it was as if time had stopped. People were frozen in mid motion. The elevator style music sound distorted and slowed down.

Tori winced. "I always hated this part."

Sira nervously inched closer to Tori. "I swear he'd better have upgraded the transportation. If we have to fall into a black hole…"

Sira was cut off when a giant hole appeared underneath them. Both girls screamed as they dropped.

The wind whistled past them as they fell deeper into the blackness. "Why is this a thing?" Tori yelled. Her words could barely be heard over the roar of the wind.

"Because they apparently have an Alice in Wonderland fetish." Sira flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to slow her flight.

Tori wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it felt like they were falling faster. The feeling was nauseating. Tori closed her eyes to try to stop herself from hurling.

A second later she felt someone shake her shoulder.

"Tori? You okay?"

Tori opened her eyes to see Sira frowning at her. "I thought we were falling."

"So, did I, but then suddenly, we were here."

Tori glanced around. They were on a sidewalk by a busy street. Shops lined both sides of the road. The sign fronts were written in Kanji.

Tori breathed out. "We made it."

A sudden gust of cold wind whipped by them. They immediately wrapped their arms around themselves as they shivered.

"What the hell. Since when was Japan cold in the summer?"

Tori felt something wet hit her cheek. Looking up, she saw the first flakes of snow drift lazily down.

Sira held out her hand as a snowflake landed on it. "Snow?"

Tori shrugged. "We're in the Yu Yu Hakusho world. Maybe their timeline different than ours?" After all, when they had returned previously, it had been at the exact moment that they were transported to the Yu Yu Hakusho world. It could have been years since they had last come. Tori tried not to let the thought depress her.

"So, what do we do now?"

Tori glanced down at Sira's and her summer clothes. She had a feeling if they stayed out here any longer, they'd start getting frost bite. "Go somewhere warm?"

Sira rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. I meant about the others. Should we go surprise them?"

Tori bit her lip. Although she still felt excited, the idea of seeing them after so long suddenly made her nervous. What if they had moved on. Or worse, what if they didn't care.

Sira perked up. "Hey. Problem solved. There's Keiko."

Tori followed Sira's gaze and saw a brown haired brown eyed girl walking with several friends. Even though it had been six months, Tori could have picked her out any where. Thankfully, she hadn't aged. Maybe it was just the seasons that were strange in this world.

"I'm going to go say hi," Sira skipped toward Keiko.

Tori was about to follow when something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she turned, her eyes widened.

"Keiko!" Sira sang as she approached Keiko.

Keiko turned around and frowned. "Yes?"

Sira grinned excitedly. "Long time no see."

Keiko eyed her warily. "I don't follow."

"It's been ages." Sira shrugged it off. "No matter. It's so good to see you again."

The other girls watched the exchange from a distance. Keiko took a slight step backwards. "I'm sorry, but I think you have me confused for someone else."

"What?"

"Have a good day." She hurried off to catch up with the other girls who huddled around her probably grilling her for details.

Sira stared after them in disbelief. "Seriously?" She stomped back to Tori who hadn't moved an inch. "I don't know what happened, but Keiko's become a bitch. I'm totally too cool to be snubbed like that."

"Sira…" Tori's face was pale.

Sira frowned. "You okay?"

Tori shook her head. She felt like she had tunnel vision. All she could see was the newspaper. "No, look."

Sira turned to see that Tori was staring at a newspaper stand. "It's a newspaper stand."

"Look at the date."

Sira frowned. "It's December. Like you said. Time probably moves faster here."

"No, look at the year." Tori urged. The black lettering wavered in her vision as if it were taunting her.

Sira turned back to the newspaper. Her eyes widened. "That was last year."

"And the same date that we first arrived here."

Sira turned back to Tori. "You mean the reason why it's winter here, why Keiko was a bitch…"

Tori slowly nods. "I think we went back in time."

Sira's jaw dropped. "Oh my Goooooooooo-"


L.A.: And thus the cliffhangers begin again.

Amu: (eating pie) I'd be mad but I'm too happy by the magical pie that's appeared before me. Probably a distraction, but it's pie. I can't resist.

L.A.: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I feel like in the past eight years, I have matured and can hopefully write better, stronger stories that-

Amu: OH MY GOD! PIE! Sweet glorious pie! Everything should be pie. People should live the life of pie but not the book because it's depressing. Only sweet gooey yummy pie!

L.A.: Never mind…Anywho you know what to do. READ and REVIEW!