Yea! Cue the Green Day music! (song plays)
Hakuya: La, la-la, la, la, la—laaa. La.
Spike: You can stop now.
Hakuya: Yea, sure… (grumbles) …bitter mutt…
Spike: (ears twitch)
And so begins…
Basket Case
Ch 1 – Howlin' at the Moon
"Ahg, not again," Alex whined childishly. She glared at the white cat sitting at the foot of her bed, the feline staring back at her with its blue eyes, those eyes bored and the cat holding up an air of superiority. Alex went on to snatch up the star patterned collar from the cat's feet and shook it in its face. "WHY do you keep doing this, Mokuren! WHY? Every single flippin' day, you take off your collar… baka neko," she grumbled.
The cat blinked, still uninterested.
"And why the heck do I have a cat anyway? I don't even like cats!"
Mokuren growled.
Alex sighed, closing up the laptop she was doing homework on. "Bah… whatever. Fine, I'll let you run all willy-nilly the rest of today, happy?"
"Are you talking to the cat?" a voice asked from the doorway.
Alex sprung six feet in the air, just enough coverage to make her bonk her head on the ceiling. When she landed back on the bed, she rubbed the bump that rose on her head and then snarled at the guy who'd brought this unfortunate event to her day.
"Yusuke," she snarled.
Yusuke then proceeded to bolt right back out of the way he came in, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. Alex raised a brow. "Speaking of bakas… What d'you think, Mokuren? Should I go fetch?"
"Meow."
An exasperated sigh. "Oi… I'll never understand cats… But everyone should have a sidekick! Right? Am I right?"
"Meow."
"Ah, who asked you! Psh. I'm goin' outside… and I better not find any freaky shadows following me everywhere I go!" Alex declared to no one in particular as she leapt out her bedroom window.
Mokuren sweatdropped. (Yup! The cat sweatdropped, heh, heh)
Alex idly stroked a silky strand of hair at the frame of her face while she walked down the sidewalk. "Let's see… The premiere's on Opal Street. Seven o' clock… Gives me… three hours… Premiere lasts 'til… eleven. Cool. Yea, that'll work."
The girl's legs buckled as something pressed down on her shoulders. She looked up just in time to see a green blur flip over her.
"Ha, ha. See you've cooled down, eh bijin?" Yusuke Urameshi said with a big grin plastered to his face.
Alex's brow ticked. "You ass! How many times have I told you? I am NOT your freakin' springboard!" Her eyes suddenly grew big like a puppy dog's. "I-Is that a hot dog I smell?"
Yusuke blinked. "I didn't bring you a… Oh. He must be around here, huh?"
"The hot dog vendor!" Alex asked eagerly, panting like a dog now.
"The hot dog…? Why would the hot dog vendor be here! This is the suburbs!"
"Stop toyin' with me, baka! Where are the hot dogs!" Alex growled, now holding Yusuke by the collar.
Yusuke smiled nervously. "Hey, cool it girl! I'll get you one… Just put the Yusuke down, alright? Good girl," he said, patting Alex's head as she relinquished her grip. Then he glanced about the surrounding area, one brow raised. "Hey, Hiei! I got a proposition for ya!"
"Hiei? Who's Hiei? And you talk about ME when I speak to a cat."
"Hiei!"
"A word of advice, gaki. If people find out that you got an imaginary friend, then—What the heck was that?" Alex swiveled her head in every direction, so sure that she'd just seen something zip in and out. The black blur was too fast to make anything out of it.
But then she noticed something in her hand. "HOT DOG!"
"Heh, your craving for hot dogs is insatiable, bijin…"
She was too busy munching to make any reply.
Yusuke sweatdropped. The girl could be kind of crazy sometimes but hey, who was really sane these days? By the way, she was his friend. Friend. A pal really, considering Alex was a goth/punk/tomboy (depending on her mood). Today she was punk, clad in black but for a blue T with a red skull on the front. The rest of her attire was cargos, pull-on boots and her favorite long, heavy cotton sweater; it was a couple sizes too big, reached down to her knees and covered her hands if she didn't hold the cuffs up.
Oh, and you had to love the beanie cap. It had the kanji symbols for "mad dog" on it. Kyouken.
"Ureshii!" Alex suddenly cheered, snatching Yusuke's arm. Next thing, he was being dragged down the street super fast.
"Heehee… you know, that actor from Soul Stealer VI is kinda hot…"
Yusuke groaned. "Would you mind keeping those girlie hormones in check? You got a job to do!"
Alex gave him a flat look. "Yea, yea. Don't worry about me. Just watch the master at work!" the girl proclaimed and carried on marching through the crowd until she reached the rope gate.
Sidling to the edge next to the building, she swiftly dodged around a security guard and…
Ker-plunk.
"What the hell?"
"Is she okay?"
"Hey, little girl? Are you alright?"
Twitch.
Yusuke then hopped over the rope gate and kneeled down next to the face down Alex. "Oh, man…" he said in a distressed voice, "This doesn't look good… Can I use your phone? I need to call the family doctor right away."
The guard watched the girl a moment longer, wondering if she would move but when she didn't…
"Yea… Yea, of course! Go on in," the man said, holding open the door for them.
"You're too kind," Yusuke said and then slung Alex over his shoulder. As they went by:
"Sucker."
"Huh?" the security guard muttered dumbly, looking over at the other security guard.
The other one shrugged. "I didn't say nothin'."
The guards eyed each other for a long time until they decided they were experiencing the first signs of senility.
Alex and Yusuke walked into the arcade area, which was mostly vacant since the movies were about to start.
"No WAY! How'd ya manage to get extra tickets?" a girl squealed.
"Ah, you know us, Ruben. Ready to get the party started?" Alex replied to the girl with a devious smile.
Ruben was actually Ruby. She had shoulder length hair up neatly in a side ponytail and it was half brown and half a bright red (the pony tail having most of the red). Her almond sized gray eyes were at the same time innocent and conniving.
"Hell yeas!"
"Got the equipment, Yusuke-kun?"
"Duh. Girls. They always gotta ask, don't they?" Yusuke said tediously.
"Oooooh, snapdragons! Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee!" Ruby demanded excitedly.
A few minutes later…
"EVACUATE THE ACTORS! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" a portly man in a suit bellowed as several frightened people flooded out of the theater.
"TERRORISTS!"
"QUICK! TO THE BOMB SHELTER!"
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIEEE!"
Those last three statements were from Alex, Yusuke and Ruby by the way. They fell back from the crowd and laughed hysterically.
"Oh man… celebrities are so easy!" Yusuke laughed.
"Hn, yea and check this out," Alex said.
Yusuke and Ruby looked at her curiously.
She dangled some keys in front of them. "Porsche, baby! We're livin' large tonight!"
"YEA!" all three whooped at once and bolted to every Porsche they came across until the key fit one.
Since the premiere of Soul Stealer VI ended shortly, they spent the remainder of the time dodging police cars. Need for Speed! It was actually pretty easy thanks to the mayhem over on Opal Street. Ahh, the devil himself could not have done better.
However…
During the joyride, Alex at the wheel, she suddenly skidded to a halt, sending Yusuke and Ruby flying into the window. Both passengers groaned.
Alex's eyes had narrowed, glaring out the driver's window at a scene. There was a man, tall, business cut hair do, disheveled gray suit, and scheming brown eyes. He leaned in and shared a kiss with some skanky woman in a tight red dress.
"Matsu…" Alex murmured in a dangerous undertone.
"Yo, Alex! What the hell's with the rude halt!" Yusuke growled.
Alex flinched, abruptly starting up the car again, going so fast as to throw the other two passengers right back in their seats. "Right! Rolling stone gathers no algae!" she shouted with a wicked smile.
Yusuke shook his head in disbelief. "Girl, you are one ka-raaazy chick."
"Uhg… Dude, I think I might slip into a coma…" Ruby grumbled, rubbing her forehead.
"If you do, you're gonna miss out on… THIS!" Alex cackled, driving up the ramp of a parked truck and jumping over it.
"HOLY CRAP!" both Yusuke and Ruby shouted. They exchanged looks and then shouted, "DO IT AGAIN!"
"Phew… what a night…"
"Goreijou, is that you?"
Busted…
Alex closed the front door with her forehead, leaving it there for a second while she said, "Yea, it's me, kenbo. Don't sic the ferrets on me…" she grumbled and made sure to lock the three bolt locks on the door before proceeding further into the house.
Oh yea… the house was of your average two-story, middle-class design. Alex's mom was a house-wife and her father was a man working in the commercial industry (he was one of those dudes who comes up with Lucky from Lucky Charms, Tony the Tiger, you know, all those fun fellas). They were both of Humankind.
Shortly, Alex's mom, Ami, walked into the foyer, drying her hands off with a dish towel. Her hazel eyes were full of concern as she saw her daughter. She sighed, either of relief or just plain tiredness. "Josei, have you not checked the time recently?" Ami chided.
Alex slipped the beanie cap off her head, and shook her wild long talons about; her hair was black with blue streaks (at the roots they were dark blue but became a lighter blue reaching down for the tips). Shrugging a shoulder carelessly, she said, "Sorry, ma… won't happen again."
"Hm, I'd like to get that in writing," Ami said wryly.
Alex plastered a grin to her face and then walked past Ami for the stairs. Before she went up, she turned and asked, "Hey, is Matsu home yet?"
"Alexia," Ami said in a warning tone (the type a mother uses when her child denies pushing that icky Timmy Collins into the mud puddle) (nervous grin).
The girl smiled weakly. "I mean… father. When's he getting home?"
"Oh… you know. His job is very demanding. He may pull an all-nighter, thanks to this meticulous new client he has to deal with."
"Ah… 'Kay then, night ma," Alex said and then went on up the stairs. Oh, I bet he'll pull an all-nighter… Bastard…
In her room, Alex tossed the skull cap onto a rubbish-strewn desk and then plopped face first onto her bed. Cozy bed… Soft comforter… It was pretty nice on her tense joints…
But she knew what came next.
She turned face up and tilted her head back, enough so she could see out her open window. The sky was clear, allowing the full moon to pin her down with a deathly gaze. She liked the moon but she also feared it.
Why? Maybe you'll understand in a few paragraphs. (shrugs) Ahem…
So, her apple green eyes watched… and watched… Slowly her mind cleared of any and all thoughts until her body became dead weight. This was the best part. No feelings at all, no room for sadness, anger… none of those unhappy clowns or demons dancing along her shoulders. But it didn't last.
Her muscles tensed up again and she stood, shrugging off her long jacket. Then she walked around the double bed to stand at the window, head cocking to one side while her eyes trained on the moon. She blinked…
Once.
Twice.
And then…
"AHG! No, no, no, no, no…" she muttered fretfully, hugging her head. She fell to the ground and spun, using her legs and kind of walking in a circle. She continued saying "no" in a high-pitched tone as if she'd been spooked.
Then the room's dark hues swirled before her slit open eyes as she rolled across the rug back and forth, back and forth.
Roll over.
"Must—not—Do—not…" Abruptly she shot up to her feet. "AH! FINE, YOU WIN!" she burst and leaned out the window (almost falling out by the way) and howled.
Yes. Howled.
A long, even howl that mimicked a wolf's. Dogs of the neighborhood immediately started barking in return, car alarms went off, and angry pet owners started cursing the savage beast that had started all of this.
After a couple of minutes, Alex stopped, gasping for air. She put a hand to her forehead and leaned up against the window's frame, eyes closed.
"God damn, I'm pathetic…" she mumbled. Then her brows knitted together angrily as the noise she'd caused outside persisted. She balled a hand into a fist and shook it out the window toward well… "Hey, I heard that, Fluffy! Just wait 'til tomorrow! I'll shave your bloody fur 'poodle style'!" she snarled to the neighbor's dog.
Yea, she was talking to a dog. She could kind of understand dogs sometimes… (sweatdrops)
"Are you feeling alright, goreijou?" Ami asked as she shoveled a stack of pancakes on Alex's plate the following morning.
Alex blinked at the woman. "Hm? Yea, sure… Why d'you ask? Hey, Mokuren. Where'd you go off to last night?" she said, petting the white cat as he walked along the table.
"Well… It's just… Oh, never mind. It's nothing," Ami waved off brightly and then poured some coffee into Matsu's mug.
Matsu was reading the morning newspaper, his square-framed spectacles hanging off the tip of his nose. He absently picked up the mug still held in his firm grasp and sipped some of the hot liquids. Alex eyed him suspiciously for a moment but quickly flicked her attention to the yummy smelling food suddenly in front of her.
Ami sat down at the round dining table last, going about pouring a delicate amount of syrup on her one pancake and cutting it up all refined like while she watched her daughter have at the breakfast like a ravenous animal (just like Alex did with every meal). Ami chuckled quietly, shaking her head. Then she shooed Mokuren off the table.
Alex finished first, dabbing her face with a napkin and sighing contently. Ami sure knew how to cook. She gave a warm smile to her mother and said, "Good eatin's as always, ma! You should've been a chef!"
Ami laughed. "As much as I appreciate the compliment, you are the girl who even enjoyed those burnt sweet potatoes last week, hm?" she commented with a closed-eyes smile, chin rested on a hand.
Alex grinned nervously.
A horn blared outside. Bus horn. School bus.
"Whoops, gotta fly. C'ya ma. Mokuren. Matsu," Alex said, chair tipping over as she bolted out of the kitchen.
"Alexia!" Ami called after her sternly.
Alex's footsteps back-tracked and her hand appeared around the wall, waving. "I mean, father…" she corrected and then her footsteps stampeded on out again.
Ami sighed.
Outside, Alex skidded to a halt at the end of their walkway, eyes narrowed on the bus that was already on the roll. She shouldered her book bag and glared at the ground. "Bakas…" she grumbled. Hesitating. And then she went on at a walk. "Why do I bother?" she muttered frivolously.
Later, she was stalking across the empty school yard just as the bell rung. "Oooh. Late. Big surprise," she murmured and stopped again. She… felt something. It was like… fire… Sniffing the air, she detected no indications of an active fire. "I'm losin' it…" Her expression became lackadaisical once more as she shuffled along the walkways.
There it is again… She stopped, ears pricking up. This time she swiveled her head in a few directions. Her eyes eventually settled on a tree… and she could've sworn she saw a pair of red dots aimed her way. "Yea… definitely losin' it…" she muttered.
"Don't worry, you're not alone."
Alex flinched, jerking her head in the direction of the voice whose was Yusuke's. She rolled her eyes. "So what? That's two hundred and seventy eight days in a row for being late now, Urameshi? Want me to give the toast at the slacker induction to hall of infamy event?"
Yusuke smirked.
"Hey, did you like… see or… feel anything a minute ago?"
"Huh? So you felt it, did you?" he muttered pensively.
Alex gave him a suspicious look. "Alright, spill it. What're you hiding, gaki?"
Yusuke sighed (mushroom puff). "Well, uh… you kinda got a … secret admirer."
Alex's expression changed into an odd one. Before she could ask, there was suddenly… a very weird… squeal like… sound… It was making her ears bleed!
Tear droplets bounced off the corner of her eyes as she ran around in circles with her hands clapped over her ears. Yusuke watched with wide-eyed fascination as she ran about, the girl whimpering slightly like a pitiful dog.
"Uh-oh…" Yusuke muttered. He looked over his shoulder and saw a familiar short, black clad demon fall right out of a tree. Yusuke sweatdropped. "Double uh-oh…"
Hakuya: Confused? Intrigued? Answers will come in time should you be so kind as to review.
Thank you.