Aliens
Botan popped up behind Kuwabara and Yusuke. "Hey, guys!"
"Aaah!" Yusuke jumped away from her. "Botan, don't do that! And if you're here to tell us Koenma wants us to go nearly get ourselves killed again, you can leave. Nothing doing."
Botan pouted. "I'm hurt, Yusuke. Can't I talk to you guys just as a friend?"
"Oh," Yusuke said, visibly relaxing. "What'd you want to talk about?"
"Karaoke night!" Botan sang out. "Tomorrow Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru and I are going out. We thought you'd like to come."
Yusuke prepared to answer, but Kuwabara shouted, "Yukina! My lady of the snow!"
"I think that's a yes," Yusuke stated drily. He added, "Sure. I got nothing better to do."
"If you come, you have to sing!"
"Cause everyone definitely wants to hear Kuwabara sing."
"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted. "Like you're any better!"
"You bet I am!" They were standing toe to toe, glaring at each other.
"Eep!" Botan squeaked, disappearing and wondering what she had started.
The next evening…
"Thank god that's over," Shizuru said as her brother came down off the stage. "Kazu, do the world a favor—don't quit your day job, and never sing again." She blew out smoke, further polluting the already hazy atmosphere.
"My turn!" Yusuke shouted. He stormed onto the stage and grabbed the mike from its stand.
"If this is worse than Kuwabara's, I might have to leave," Kurama said, grinning. "My ears are still bleeding from that performance."
"Shut up!" Kuwabara said.
"It was actually incredibly painful," a cold voice said. "But at the same time, it was immensely entertaining."
Kuwabara did a double take, then turned to Botan. "How'd you get shorty to come?"
"Anything to watch you all make complete fools of yourselves," Hiei replied.
Then Yusuke began wailing his song.
"I'm sailing away
Set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free
Free to face the life that's ahead of me"
Everyone flinched back. Then Keiko said, "I'm pretty certain he's trying to give you a run for the money, Kuwabara."
"Come on," Yukina said kindly. "They're not that bad."
"Yes they are," everyone contradicted her.
Then Kurama snorted to himself and asked, "Fitting, don't you think, that he chose a song by a band called Styx?"
There was some laughter, but then Keiko said, rather sadly, "He misses the fighting. Detective work and ramen aren't really enough for him. He's been restless ever since he got home."
"So it's about longing for the freedom of fighting," Shizuru said slowly. "Who woulda thought Yusuke'd choose a serious song?"
Kurama shook his head. "Wait, and you'll see why he really picked this song. I guarantee it's not because he thinks it's serious."
"On board I'm the captain
So climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I'll try, oh Lord, I'll try to carry on"
"He's the one steering the ship?" Kuwabara asked. "Then you can count me out. I do not want to be stuck on a remote, deserted island with Yusuke for the rest of my life."
"God forbid," Keiko seconded.
"I look to the sea
Reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had"
Kuwabara covered his ears. "Can this just be over? It's terrible."
"You were worse," Shizuru said.
Keiko ignored them both and snapped at Yusuke, not that he could hear her, "What dreams? The dreams to pick as many fights, do as many drugs, gamble as much money away, flip my skirt as many times as you possibly could?"
"We lived happily forever
So the story goes
But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on"
"Why'd he pick this song, Kurama?" Botan asked. "In a very abstract way, it's about his life, but you said that wasn't his reasoning."
"It's not," Kurama laughed. "He's not that serious. You'll see. It's coming."
"A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said"
"If they're really heaven-sent angels," Shizuru said, hand to her head, "they'd take pity on the world and tell him to shut up and never sing again."
"Amen," Hiei muttered. The rest of them turned to stare. He refused to acknowledge them.
"They said come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, lads
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, baby
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me"
"Sail right off the stage, buddy," someone at another table muttered.
Yusuke's friends fell over, laughing in agreement.
"I thought that they were angels but much to my surprise
We climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the skies"
Nearly half the bar slapped hands to their ears in a futile effort to block Yusuke's failed attempt to hit the high notes.
"Singing come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me"
"I'm starting to understand what you meant, Kurama," Botan laughed. "Yusuke would never pick a song that didn't have at least one ridiculous aspect to it."
"I've been putting up with that for seventeen years," Keiko complained. "Seventeen years, Botan."
"I feel your pain, Keiko," Botan replied.
"Especially if he was singing the whole time," Shizuru added.
"Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me"
When Yusuke set the mike back on the stand, there was a loud cheer. The entire room was thankful it was over.
"Wait," Kuwabara suddenly said rather loudly. "Starship—aliens—doesn't that mean it would be Hiei steering the ship, not Yusuke?"