Last chapter! And it was such a cute story, too. Oh well. Same stuff applies. Go read.

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            "YEAAAAUGH! Touya! He bit me again!" Jin wailed, blowing on his fingers. There was a neat little crescent of red marks imprinted right below his knuckles. Hiei, who'd been dropped promptly after trying to munch on the Wind Master, hit the floor and started bawling. Hiruseki stones skittered all over the floor.

            "Oi, Touya, what're ye supposed to feed the blighters, anyway?" Chu called from the kitchen. He'd managed to wrangle Yusuke and Kuwabara, but was having a hard time keeping them in their seats. There were no such things as high chairs in Genkai's temple, and the little urchins just kept squirming right out of the high-backed chairs.

            Touya growled, scraping modeling clay off of the dining room table with his fingernails. How was it that everyone assumed he knew what he was doing? Did he look like a babysitter to them? "Could you two give me five minutes?"

            Yusuke and Kuwabara ran by, Yusuke firing shots at the redhead, who was waving a wooden spoon. "Rei Gun! Rei Gun!" the young Tantei was crying, punching large holes right through the shoji screens. Kuwabara, not watching where he was going…too concerned with dodging Yusuke's attack, tripped right over Hiei. The little youkai, now doubly battered and three times as angry, ripped off his warding bandages with his teeth. Black flames seethed around his entire tiny frame.

            "JAOH ENSATSU…Kurama!"

The redhead toed his shoes off, stepping through the battered shoji screens with his usual grace. Yukina followed, surveying the damage. Large smoking holes, overturned and broken furniture, mysterious and sticky puddles on the floor, and three demon babysitters suspiciously absent.

            "Touya? Jin? Chu?" she called out. "I'm back! With the antidote!"

They came running, uttering hurried goodbyes to her and frantic greetings to the newly teenaged fox-demon, bolting out the door and back through the portal to the Makai.

            "Maybe I should have paid them," Yukina suggested, righting an end table.

            Kurama shrugged, picking up the child Hiei. "You even think about biting me and I promise you that my window will remain shut for an entire month…shut and locked, Hiei."

Hiei wasn't listening; he was too busy snuggling up against the much taller boy, muttering contentedly. Yukina wandered around the house, following the wake of destruction to Yusuke and Kuwabara.

            Not more than five minutes later the furious cries of "I'm gonna kick Yomi's ass for this!" resounded through the temple as a sticky and unkempt Yusuke and an even stickier and more unkempt Kuwabara returned to their old selves. They walked back into the front hall, trying to look as unruffled as possible but failing miserably considering they had blue raspberry gelatin ground into their hair.

            "I rather like Hiei like this," Kurama chuckled. "More portable."

Kuwabara, ever the lover of kittens and small children, went to pat the little demon's head and he chomped down on the psychic's fingers. "Kurama! Turn him back! Turn him back now!"

Three minutes later, Hiei was sitting on the floor, rewrapping his wards and trying not to notice the large wad of yellow clay mashed into the side of his head.

            "Shit, Hiei, you were a pain in the ass as a kid. No wonder nobody wanted you," Yusuke observed. The fire demon growled, reaching for his katana.

            "Better take that back, Tantei, or else!"

There was a loud metallic 'clank' at that point that got the four young men to abruptly stop and turn around. Yukina was standing in the doorway, holding a plethora of buckets, mops, sponges, rice paper for the screens, floor wax…basically the entire contents of a housekeeper's trolley.

            "Well, now that you're back to normal," she said, eyes glinting, "you can help clean up the mess you've made of the temple before Genkai gets home."

Kurama shot Hiei a look. "She's definitely your sister."

++

            It was late that evening when Botan and Koenma returned to the temple, holding hands and laughing. The building was still standing, to their surprise. And it was strangely quiet as well.

            "They've killed her and eaten her," Botan moaned. "This is all our fault!"

The Judge of the Dead and his favorite ferry-girl raced inside, finding the interior sparklingly spotless, Yukina sitting on the futon with a dish of strawberry ice cream.

            "So, did Yomi give you the antidote?" she asked sweetly, licking her spoon.

The two immortals exchanged looks. "Um…not exactly…"

She beamed. "That's all right, because I went and got it myself. You'll have to thank Chu, Touya and Jin somehow for taking such good care of the boys while I was out."

            "You went to Gandara?! Alone? After I specifically told you not to?" Koenma howled.

Yukina smiled even brighter, if it was possible. "Not alone, I had help. Kurama's friend Kuronue was very helpful. He wanted me to put in a good word for him, so he can get on parole quicker."

Botan was practically jumping up and down. "Well? Where are they?"

            "Where are who?"

            "The boys! Where are Yusuke and the others? Are they all right?" she screamed.

Yukina's expression became troubled. "Oh, well, not entirely. You see, the antidote was nothing more than colored water. They're stuck like that. And I couldn't possibly take care of them and manage the temple by myself, and you know Genkai hates children. I think you're going to have to keep them and raise them yourselves."

            Koenma dropped his pacifier, shifting instantly from teenage to infant form and throwing a mighty tantrum. "It's not fair! I don't wanna! Nonononono!"

Botan was a little more reserved. "Can I go see them?"

The koorime nodded. "They're in the other room, right through there. But I think they're sleeping."

            Botan picked up the howling god by the ear and dragged him down the hallway, pushing open the door. Ticker tape and confetti exploded in their faces courtesy of Yusuke and Kuwabara.

            "Surprise! Gotcha!" they cackled, Kurama snapping a Polaroid of the flabbergasted looks on their faces. Hiei smirked.

            "That," he pointedly informed them, "was for putting Yukina through twenty-four hours of hell. Next time something like this happens, I suggest you give us straight to Yomi and see how he likes it."

Yusuke yawned. "Yeah. Now, if you don't mind, I'll bet Keiko's having a coronary."

            "I'm heading out too. Shizuru's gonna bust my ass since she had to cover for me."

Kurama nodded, setting the camera down and pocketing the picture. "My mother must be worried sick. Coming, Hiei?"

            "If you're making me, fox."

Koenma and Botan stood stock still in the doorway, too shocked to move, letting the detectives breeze past them. Eventually, they recovered from their stupor and wandered back into the sitting room. Yukina was still eating her ice cream, swinging her legs against the futon.

            "I was thinking," she said, "maybe I should open a babysitting service."

Botan groaned, practically falling over. "She's so cruel! Since when did she turn into Hiei's twin?"

            "She's always been Hiei's twin, imbecile," Koenma snapped.

Yukina just kept on smiling sweetly, eating her ice cream and swinging her legs.

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Notes:

Yukina was so out of character…and I didn't even mean for her to get that bad. I suppose she's just having an off day. We all have them. Besides, she deserves to be angry. I'd be pretty pissed if Koenma and Botan showed up with an armload of crazy kids. That, and I really wanted to exploit the fact that she's Hiei's sister. Kuronue…heheh, I admit, I made him into Jack Sparrow. I couldn't help myself! I thought if there was anyone who could pull off some PotC it'd be him. Besides, can't you just picture that sexy chimera saying "savvy?" Go out right now and buy the latest Shonen Jump if you haven't already done so. Hiei and Kurama are finally in it! Whoopah! Plus you get to hear Yusuke utter such gems as "holy cheese on rye!"