Shiningheart of ThunderClan doesn't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

When I woke up this morning, I thought it was going to be a day like any other. I got up at six AM, took a shower, got dressed in my everyday uniform of a dark gray hoodie and black skinny jeans and left my house to begin a half-mile walk to my school. What I was not expecting was to be knocked out, thrown in the back of a van, and regaining consciousness tied to a chair with the business end of a gun pointed at my forehead.

Confused? Yeah, I was too. It's at this point in time that all thought, rational or otherwise, flew from my brain. Instinct took over my entire mental facility. Naturally, like the dumbass that I am, I started cursing like a drunken sailor and hurling insult after insult like an episode of Jerry fuckin' Springer.

My reaction seemed to have stumped my captors. I could see two of them just beyond the shine of the light in my eyes exchanging looks, both confused and astounded. They'd probably been expecting me to freeze in fear and stare with my jaw dropped like an idiot. They were expecting a timid and nervous, possibly shy girl who did as she was told and faded easily into the background.

If that was what they wanted, they kidnapped the wrong girl. I may be eighteen, but I've been the protector of myself and my brother since we were made orphans three years ago. I knew how to take care of myself, both mentally and physically. In the midst of my rage, I heard a door open. A third person took a single step into the room and stopped dead in his tracks at my swearing. Now that my eyes were used to the lighting, I could actually look at them and see details.

The two who I had first seen were both male. The height difference was significant. The taller one stood an entire foot and a half over his companion, and had ginger hair that was leaning more towards an orange-ish shade. It was teased into a high curl on his head that gave him a similarity to Elvis Presley, just uglier. His face looked like it'd been beaten into the ground a few too many times. He wore a wife beater that could do with being a size up, because it hugged him so tightly that I could see the six pack on his abs. Blue jeans were slightly baggy, but not baggy enough that he'd have trouble running.

His shorter companion seemed to be more amused at my outburst than anything else. His dark hair was slicked back with so much gel that it gave a blue-ish shine to it. His eyes resembled the color of milk chocolate. They were bright with humor, and I could tell that his shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. His clothes were the same color and make of the other male, though his fit slightly better. The sleeves were ripped off to show his slim muscles. It's hem was tucked into blue jeans that looked like they were painted onto his body and the ends were tucked neatly into tennis shoes. If this were a regular meeting, I'd wolf whistle at how... let's say, shapely the pants were.

The newcomer was a female who wore a pink kimono. The obi was a bright blue that matched her oddly blue hair. Even odder was her eyes, a bright bubblegum pink. Her skin tone would normally be rather pale, but she was blushing brightly at my words and anger. She scurried towards the shorter of the two and leaned closer to whisper something. I heard the words clearly, despite how quiet she tried to be. "She seems to be... a tiny bit upset."

A tiny bit upset? A tiny bit upset? Oh, I will give you 'a tiny bit upset', lady! "If you're gonna fuckin' talk about me, do it where I can't fuckin' hear you!" I snapped with a snarl. "Who the fuck are you bastards and why the fuck did you kidnap me?" A horrible thought struck me just then, and I tried to lunge towards the woman with a roar that made the shorter male tuck her behind him for protection. The ropes did their job of restraining me, but that didn't stop me from trying to get to her. Maybe if I tried to move enough, they'd fray and let me go. "I swear to every fuckin' god damn diety you fuckers have ever heard of that if you even go anywhere near Mikail, I'm gonna rip your fuckin' heads off!"

She squeaked a little and ducked down behind the male, who was still pointing the... Wait a minute, the fuck? What I thought had been a gun was just his hand made into the shape of a gun. I fuckin' flipped for nothing! That only fueled my anger, and I spat at the ground between us with a glare of pure fury. None of them said anything until my anger seemed to fizzle out. The shorter one was the first to move, and that was only to put his hand down at his side. He kept the gun shape of it, though. "Yeesh, never heard a chick swear like that before... You sure she's the one we're after, Botan?"

The woman popped her head up from behind him and looked to hesitate before slowly nodding. "Yes... At least, the information seemed to match up perfectly! Red hair, green eyes, lives alone with her brother... And she was leaving at the exact time we were given! Probably on her way to kidnap another child..."

... Okay, what the fuck are these people on and where the hell can I get some? I narrowed my eyes at them and growled out, "What the hell have you people been smoking? One, I've never harmed a child. Two, I'd never want to harm a child. Three... I was on my way to fuckin' school, you twits!" I paused thoughtfully before smirking. "Although, maybe I should thank you lot... At least I have a legitimate excuse to miss my math test today. Seriously, the bastard who invented the pathagorean theory needs to fuckin' rot in hell."

"That would be the pythagorean theorem, not theory." The new voice made my head snap to the side, where two new men were standing silently and watching me. The speaker looked more like a chick than a dude. Red hair fell in graceful curls to his shoulders was the same shade of blood. His green eyes shone with an intelligence and cunning that made me want to scooch away from him, for all the good it would do for me. He wore a white dress shirt with an open collar, and fiddled with the cufflink of one of the sleeves. Black dress pants cut off just above his shoes, a sensible pair of sneakers that ruined the full effect of the ensemble.

I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to disregard the fear of him. "Where's the party? Did you have a meeting with the mayor of Dumb-Ass Town, or somethin'?" He narrowed his eyes while the man who'd first spoken gave up the battle and howled with laughter. I smiled cheekily at Red and said, "Or are those fancy duds for me? Aww, I'm all choked up now. You didn't have to dress up for lil' ol' me, you know!"

His tone went slightly icy when he answered. I guess I hit his sore spot. "Actually, I was having dinner with my mother and stepfather. I assure you, Miss Jennifer, my 'fancy duds' have nothing to do with this... shall we say, visitation?" I gaped at him. Dinner? How long had I been out? My stomach chose that moment to gurgle, and I glared at it. Traitor. The red-head chuckled at me and answered my unasked question. "You've been unconscious for quite a long while, actually. My friend here," he gestured with one hand to the boy I hadn't yet examined, "hit you with a bit more force than was required. I apologize if you feel any unnecessary pain."

I shrugged at him as best I could while still incapacitated. "I actually feel better than I usually do after waking up. Maybe whatever pain I might have felt already went away while I was sleeping. I always have been a fast healer." I turned my head to look at the fourth boy and found myself blinking in surprise when I recognized him. "Hey, you're the hobo at the park that Mikail says he sees every time he walks home!" I blurted out. His red eyes narrowed dangerously at me, and I winced. "Ooooh... That wasn't supposed to be out loud. Eh heh... Sorry?"

He growled at me, and the sound made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. He shifted his weight a little so that the sword at his side was easily in view. "I could slice your neck from here if I wanted to, half-breed." he warned. I believed him. Quite easily, actually. He gave off that feeling of 'I'll kill you if you even breathe too loudly'. I took the opportunity to scrutinize him better. His red eyes were narrowed dangerously in my direction. He wore a black cloak that only ended near his black boots, hiding everything else but his hands and the sword that hung in full view. Those hands were deep in his pockets, possibly clenched into fists. I'd probably already pissed him off with all of my yelling.

The tallest boy, the one who'd yet to speak, snickered loudly. "Hear that, shrimp? The kids 'round here think you're a hobo!" Oh God, please don't... He already wants to see me dead, don't make it worse for me! Then he turned to me and bowed all politely and gentlemanlike. "Don't pay any attention to the midget, Jennifer! He's got the manners of a spatula."

That... That's kind of a random comparison. And I know this is a really, and I mean really, late reaction, but how the hell do these guys know my name? "Okay, so, I'm pretty sure you guys have some questions for me. And I have some questions for you guys too, so how's about a compromise?" I looked around at them all. Only the girl and the tall guy looked curious. The chocolate-eyed boy was too busy trying to steady his laughter and the other two looked... Well, let's just say I'm quite happy that looks can't kill. "We'll take turns. You guys get first question, then I'll ask, then you ask, and so on and so forth. Deal?"

Chocolate Eyes finally calmed down enough to nod. He jabbed a thumb towards himself and said, "I'm Yusuke. This," he gestured with his head to the girl, who'd finally come out from hiding behind him, "is Botan. Idiot," he elbowed the tall man in the side, getting a grunt of pain and a cry of indignation, "is Kuwabara. Formal dude," he pointed at Bloody Hair, whose eyes had never moved from me. "is Kurama. Happy Sword Guy," the name quickly drew said Happy Sword Guy's glare away from me, which I was beyond thankful for, "is named Hiei. Careful, he bites."

Che, as if I didn't already draw that conclusion. I gave Yusuke a sarcastic smile and said sweetly, "I've noticed, actually. Thanks for the heads up, though!" He laughed again, though not as hard as before. I wiggled around a little and said hopefully, "So, any chance of these being moved? I'm not going anywhere so long as Happy Sword Guy is around." Hiei swung his glare back to me, and I looked innocently at him. "What? Yusuke said it first! It's his fault!"

He snarled wordlessly and started to stalk towards me. Kurama stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "She may be purposely provoking us, Hiei. There's no point in losing our tempers this early in the game." Ha, game he says... This is a bit too intense for this to be a game. Unless they kidnap random innocent women every other Tuesday. The one who kidnaps the most interesting wins! ... God, I need to get some therapy... "And I'm afraid that the ropes are purely a precaution, Miss Jennifer. We do not yet know how you will react once you hear of the reasons for our meeting."

I stared blankly at him and said, "Okay, I lied when I said you guys get first question. Could you please drop the formal shit, dude? I really don't think I'm in any position to tattle on you if you do." I tugged at the ropes for emphasis, and saw amusement for the first time in his eyes. That's one victory, at least.

Kurama nodded slightly and moved towards Yusuke and the other two, leaving Hiei to lounge against the wall all by his lonesome. Me thinks he doesn't care all that much about it, though. "Very well then, Jennifer. First question: tell us your basic information. Full name, age, birthday, and race."

I blinked at him in surprise. "Um... Don't you guys already know that? I mean, you and Kuwabara have already called me by name..." None of them answered, waiting in patient silence. Even Hiei seemed ready to wait. I sighed heavily and spoke clearly, enunciating so that they could clearly hear everything. "Name: Jennifer Oakley. Age: eighteen. I'll be nineteen in about a month, though! My birthday is on November fourteenth, and today is October thirteenth. My hair color is natural, as is my eye color. My younger brother is named Mikail. I'm older by five years. He's not my actual brother, like we don't share any DNA. Mom adopted him after my dad died. She said that she wanted a man in the house in the future, for when she was old and feeble and couldn't do shit."

The memory made me smile sadly. I missed my mom. She'd died in a mugging, murdered by some scum-bag for her jewelry and money three years ago. She'd been the best mom I could have had. She was funny and sarcastic and loving. The others gave me a few moments to reminisce before Kuwabara gently put me back on track. "And what about your dad, Jennifer? How did he die?"

I had to force away the choking feeling in my throat. Now was not the time to fall into mourning, for either of my parents. The boys might not have realized that I noticed, but they didn't ask how my mom died. She was the murder victim, not him. Why the interest in his passing? Despite the suspicion, I sighed again and said, "I don't really remember much. We were at the beach. I was building a sandcastle with Mom on the shore and my dad was swimming the water. Next thing I know, she's on her feet and waving her arms and pointing in the water."

The memory made me shiver, even now. I'd never seen her as scared as she was then, not even after. "There was a shark in the water. I don't really know how it happened. Maybe the shark killed him and dragged him off to deeper waters. Maybe it'd just taken hold of him and pulled him under until he drowned. Maybe his death didn't even have anything to do with the shark. We were at the ocean; maybe one of the stronger undercurrents had caught him. Either way, we never saw him again. His body was never found."

A tear slithered down before I could stop it, and I wiped my face on my shoulder as best as I could. They gave me another moment to gather myself. For kidnapping bastards, they were pretty chill about that. Any other kidnapper might have grown impatient and killed me already. Well, Hiei didn't count. He'd tried to come after me before, only for Kurama to pull him back. I took a deep breath and said, "I get two questions now, since I answered two of yours." They all exchanged looks before Yusuke nodded for all of them. He seemed to be the leader. "Is Mikail safe?"

I could tell they hadn't been expecting this, not even Kurama. They exchanged even more looks, and their hesitation made me afraid for him. I begged them with my eyes for an answer. Yusuke looked at me, considering, for a few moments. Then he murmured something to Botan, who nodded and left the room. "Botan will go check. We hadn't really thought much about him when we... erm..."

It gave me amusement to see how uncomfortable he was in acknowledging it. I offered it up with a crooked smile. "Kidnapped me? Took me against my will? Knocked me out and threw me in the back of a van like a sack of potatoes?" At least he and Kuwabara looked ashamed of themselves. As ashamed as they were, it was nothing compared to their shock when I threw my head back and laughed. "Dudes, it's in the past. So long as you answer all of my questions, or at least the ones you're able to, we're cool." A bit bipolar, yes, but that's how I am. Easy to forgive and easy to forget.

Yusuke nodded slowly, looking at me thoughtfully for a bit. I met his eyes steadily, curious as to what he was thinking. Did he think me a fool for being so willing to let it go? I probably would if our positions were reversed. Then again, I still don't know why they had kidnapped me. That would be my second question, once Botan came back. I wanted to know how my brother was before I went on.

All of us waited in silence. For each minute that passed, I became even tenser. By the time ten minutes had come and gone, I was getting antsy. I wanted to pace, pull at my hair, fiddle with my clothes, do something to get rid of this restless energy. What was taking so long? Did she have to actually run down to my house to see if he was there? Where were we, anyway? There wasn't any windows that I could look out of. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all painted black. The only furniture in the room was the chair I was sitting on.

All in all, nothing was really giving me any clue to what was going on. I almost pissed myself when Botan came running back into the room, hair all askew and face panicked. "He's gone! I can't find Mikail anywhere!"