Chapter 3: I Call Dibs on the Bathroom!

            There is a rather widespread rumor that states the belief that a person's personality can determine their sleeping habits. For the sake of having an example or two, let's look at Tatsu and Miyuki. Tatsu has always been the type of girl to be rough, tough, and uncoordinated. She does what she wants when she wants to and takes crap from absolutely no one. She relies on brawn over brain and, because of this, often gets herself in to heap after heap of trouble. Miyuki is her exact polar opposite, being kind, polite, and just a tad bit timid. She likes to assist others and shows great self-control in the anger department, though she very well has been known to become a verifiable demon when angered strongly. She thinks rationally, coming up with quick plans and ideas that can be helpful, but are…often ignored.

            The two aforementioned young women are as different as night and day. Their many difference also make an appearance as the two sleep, making it fairly easy to pick apart demeanor and personality type just by glancing at their sleeping forms. Or…at least that's what Kurama and Hiei thought at the particular moment. Kurama, being the gentleman that he is, didn't mind giving his new female acquaintances use of his spare bedroom in the least. After the incident with Marionette and, considering Miyuki's home seemed unsafe after the battle that took place around it, it would only be wise to allow the rather confused pair to stay with Hiei and himself in the quaint little apartment he had rented for the stay outside of Tokyo. He was a nice guy. What harm could it be to keep a few extra bodies under his temporary room?

            Hiei wanted to laugh at the sight before him. Infact, the somewhat vertically challenged (Hiei: I'm killing you for calling me that later, Utena.  Utena: Eep.) fire demon had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from smirking. He had rarely been known to loose his stony composure and he had no intent of allowing himself a few moments of amused laughter. He'd damn well like to, though. Tatsu and Miyuki hadn't really minded sharing the guest bed. They were both fairly small in build and the bed was large enough to comfortably accommodate the both of them. That proved no problem at all. Miyuki was sleeping quiet peacefully, curled up on her side, breathing soft even breaths, the air around her calm and tranquil. Tatsu on the other hand must have been fighting zombies in her sleep. The raven-haired girl lay sprawled out on her back, arms flung over her head, one foot hanging off the edge of the bed, blankets tangled around her legs and torso. How the two of them could share a bed and not have trouble catching any sleep was totally beyond Kurama and Hiei.

            "Maybe it would be best if we woke them now. We do have a lot to do today and it would be best if we got an early start."

            "Hn. You can try to wake them up. I'm not risking a bloody nose so early in the morning," Hiei said casually, leaning against the wall with an aura of indifference all about him.

            "I should have known that you would say that."

            Kurama sighed and rubbed his left cheek, winching very slightly at the forming bruise that was making it's appearance there. He had figured that Miyuki would be easiest to wake up and thusly made the mistake of shaking the sleeping girl in an attempt to rouse her. All that had gotten him was a swift slap to the face, a sleepy murmur, and a still snoozing Miyuki rolling over on to her side. For someone who seemed so gentle, she packed one hellva good slap, unconscious or not. (Reminds ya of Keiko, doesn't it?) Considering the treatment he'd received from the more timid girl, he could only image what Tatsu would do to him in her state of unawareness. The scarlet-haired man rubbed the space between his eyes for a moment, sighing deeply as he thought of a game plan that didn't involve some form of injury.

            "Hn." Hiei growled in annoyance at his friend, brows drawing together as he glared at the two sleeping in bed, before his eyes closed again, face turned in the opposite direction of the young women. "All right! Wake up, wenches! We don't have all day to waste waiting for the two of you to get extra beauty sleep!"

            "Smooth, Hiei. Very smooth." Unison moans of protest followed the loud demands of an impatient Hiei, accompanied by some stretching, yawning, and a slowly upright Miyuki. "Smooth…but effective."

            "Good morning, Kurama-san, Hiei-san," Miyuki muttered, trying to be polite, but unable to hide the annoyance in her voice and on her face, glaring at the deadly pair pointedly before focusing her attention on rubbing her still heavy eyelids.

            "Huh? Whazzat?"

            Tatsu sat up quiet quickly, eyes half-lidded as her head darted back and forth in a half-frantic manor, her brain filled with many a fuzzy thought. Everyone went completely silent, three sets of eyes going wide with shock, gazes fixing on the unknowing Tatsu as she muttered incomprehensible questions. Hiei tweaked one eyebrow, teeth gritting in agitation while both Kurama and Miyuki blushed deeply at the sight before them. Tatsu obviously didn't realize that her somewhat baggy tank top had shifted to the side during the night, which left her chest visible for all to see. Kurama began to stutter, trying to form a solid sentence. Hiei turned his head away, muttering about stupid, indecent ningen women.

            "T-Tatsu-san…" Miyuki said in a shaky voice, one eye twitching as the sleep-befuddled girl's blue-eyed gaze turned to her.

            "Hm? Whaizit?" Tatsu looked down slightly, noting how Miyuki was rapidly indicating to her own chest, hoping that her best friend would catch the meaning of the gestures. "Yeah. So you have breasts? So what? They're there. They may be small, but they're there."

            "Thanks for reminding me," Miyuki grumbled, arms crossing protectively before her previously indicated breasts, annoyed at being reminded of their unimpressive size.

            "Whatcha all red fer, Pretty Boy? Ya look like ya just walked in on yer mama taking a shower." Tatsu asked, gaze turning to a still stuttering, beat red Kurama.

            And then it suddenly clicked. Tatsu glanced downward, finally seeing that her…fairly large proportions were bared for all in the room to see. Rather then immediately kill the nearest person or living thing, as was her typical reaction to such an event, Tatsu reacted how almost any girl would when stuck in such a situation. She righted her shirtfront, crossed her arms, and screaming loudly.

            "Ya fuckin' perverts! Ya saw my Alps! Ya saw my mother fuckin' Alps!"

            Tatsu jumped out of bed, tripping for a second due to the sheets wrapped around her legs, before rushing out of the room, furiously cursing Kurama and Hiei, shouting promises of torture that involved much eye bludgeoning and a hellva lot of hot wax. Miyuki recovered quickly from the strange event and even stranger analogy her friend had used to describe her assets, sliding out from under the blankets to follow the very enraged girl out of the room and hopefully offer some reassurance. Kurama blinked several times, taking a deep breath as he tried to whip the image of Tatsu's undress out of his mind. Hiei, with a look of emotionless indifference, then said in a dull, simple voice…

            "Hn…It must be winter in the Alps."

*           *           *           *           *

            "Stupid men, seein' my Alps! I should kill um. No. I'll rip off their testes first, and then kill them, by hanging them by them. Mwahahahah… " Miyuki could hear the grumbling from the back room as she dialed the number to her home. She hadn't the time to leave a note at her house thanks to Hiei's impatience. After all the zombie killing, er, re-killing, she had been too tired to call when they finally got to the apartment.

            "Dad's gonna kill me for this…. and that's before he sees the car…." Miyuki thought, biting her lower lip as the phone rang five consecutive times before the message machine picked up.

            "Hello, this is the Furikomu residence. We cannot pick up at the time, please leave a message, your name and phone number and we'll call you back. Thank you. " The teen blinked in surprise, wondering why her father wasn't home.

            "Hello dad. This is Miyuki, Tatsu and I am over at a…. friend's house and won't be back till later. Don't be afraid, I'm fine and I'll call you every day so you won't get worried. Love ya and Good-bye. " She hung up, hoping that her father would get that before he rushed around looking for her.

            "Whazz up with tha long face, Miyuki? You okay? " Tatsu stuck her head out into the hallway, before sliding up and resting an arm on the older girl's shoulder, staring at the phone for a while before Miyuki realized that she was staring also. " Mah. Your dad's gonna be fine. You've spent two weeks over my house before he had a fuckin' fit, no worries! " Miyuki nodded, watching her friend grab a towel and head for the shower, singing a song that went sorta like "I'll kill those mother fuckas if they walk in on me. Gonna take a shower, so I don't feel nasty… it means no worries, as long as ya don't mess with me… " To the tune of the Lion King's A Kunamattata. 

            "I guess she's right, I shouldn't worry." The white haired girl turned from the phone and followed the other girl.

*           *           *           *           *

                Kurama sighed, pushing the eggs around the pan, not really paying attention to the cooking but more to what Koenma had told them after the girls had finally fallen asleep from exhaustion last night.

            " So that's the story, this Marionette wants them for something, but we don't know what. Not to mention that he is unusually strong for an unregistered demon. " Kurama stated, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. " I think it best if they are put under protective custody. " Koenma thought over this, his eyebrows pushing together making his toddler face almost comical in this position.

            "No… I think you two should take care of them. They seem to be comfortable around you two, and haven't lost it thanks to your abilities. I think they would be most uncomfortable if they were transported to the Makai. Yes, I think you two should do this and give Yuusuke and Kuwabara a break for once. After all, Kuwabara is planning a wedding. I'll be sure that you'll be adequately provided for, the girls can't go home now can they. Don't worry; it won't be to hard… "

            "THIS IS INSANE!! WHY ARE WE ASSIGNED TO THIS! I SHOULD JUS— " Hiei shouted, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him when he was cut off by the toddlers serious eyes.

            "If you do this, then I will wipe your records clean and you will be free from this job." Hiei was silenced immediately, and he sat down, his eyes wide and shocked. "But only if the two are not harmed, and this Marionette is removed, only then will your records be stricken." Both demons nodded, too shocked to respond as Koenma handed them a credit card with Chibi versions of themselves on it and shooed them out of the office. "Good luck!" He waved to them cheerfully, but Kurama could have sworn, as they were passing through the door, that he heard Koenma mumble something that sounded like, "You're gonna need it."

            "Kurama." Hiei's voice snapped Kurama out of his daze along with the smell of smoke, "Your eggs are burning." He pointed down at the pan and the kitsune's eyes followed, widening at the sight of a blackened substance steaming on the bottom of the pan.

            "AHH!" Kurama shouted, swinging around, almost hitting Hiei in the face with the hot pan, and throwing the mess into the full sink. It landed with a hiss and sank to the bottom under the bubbly water. Hiei snorted, a smirk on his face, as he watched the panting redhead put a hand to his heart and turn to him. "Why didn't you tell me BEFORE it started burning!"

"I was just walking by; I thought you'd like to know before you caught on fire too."

"Oh. Sorry, I was thinking. "

"About what Koenma said?"

"Yes…. Do you think that he's telling the truth? "

A shrug was his answer. "How am I supposed to know? I guess he was, why would he lie?"

"To keep us on his side, he might be afraid that we might drift to Marionette's side.  " Hiei froze and his cold red eyes examined the taller man carefully.

"Were you thinking about it?"

"About what Hiei?"

"Joining that bastard."

"NO! Of course not…. " Kurama pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat down on it backwards. " I just…. I just could smell fear on Koenma, he knows more then he lets on about Marionette, and he's very afraid. He's normally strait forward about what we have to do, but with this mission, strait from the beginning, he's been very vague. Like…like he doesn't want us to know what really is going on around these parts. I have a feeling that Marionette is stronger then even Koenma thinks he is. "

"You sound afraid."

"Not afraid, just wary, I have a bad feeling about this." Green eyes locked with red ones, pleading for him to understand. Hiei stiffened for a moment before relaxing and sighing. "Thanks." Kurama smiled, closing his amiably to which the fire demon snorted.

"I would just love to continue this conversation but I have to pee." He swirled around and began to walk to the bathroom, but just as he turned around he saw Tatsu heading strait for the same place. "Hell no…. " He growled, glaring at the Chinese girl who happily glared back before taking off and running for the point of conflict at the same time Hiei chose to.

"Tatsu!! Wait up! " Miyuki cried, chasing after her best friend, not looking out for where she was going and ran right into Hiei, both becoming tangled up on the floor allowing Tatsu to get to the bathroom first.

"MWAHAHAHAH!! DON'T WORRY MIYUKI! YOUR SACRIFICE ISN'T IN VAIN!! " SLAM!

Tatsu locked the door behind her and kept laughing as she got into the shower.

Kurama watched all this with wide eyes, wile Miyuki and Hiei attempted to get untangled, the demon growling about idiotic Ningen women and the girl apologizing like crazy. "This is going to be a very interesting mission."

*           *           *           *           *

"I need to call Auntie Ami, she'll be very upset if I don't visit her, and if I am staying here, I need to get Onii-san's sword." Tatsu thought as she turned off the shower and stepped out onto the rug, grabbing a light blue towel and wrapping it around her form.

"NINGEN!! GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM NOW!! " Hiei's voice was strained, betraying his need to pee as he loudly banged on the door. The ebony haired girl smirked as she took a smaller towel and dried her long hair.

"I'll get out only if we can go somewhere after we're all ready."

"FINE! JUST GET OUT!! " Tatsu grinned and threw open the door, smacking the fire demon in the face and allowed Miyuki to rush in and lock the door.

"Thanks Hiei!" The blue-eyed girl said in a singsong voice before sauntering into the room she had slept in.

"Damn you……. "

"I feel weird wearing your clothing." Miyuki stated, fidgeting in the red kimono that Kurama said would bring out her eyes. She and the rest of her new roommates were walking down the street of the city, she and Tatsu both wearing some of the guys clothing. The shorter of the two girls was up front, garbed in one of Hiei's tops and Kurama's bottoms since the aforementioned pants were too small for her, and was walking quickly. Kurama and Miyuki were walking side by side and Hiei lagged behind, trying not to seem like part of the group to the onlookers.

"Ningen. How much longer to we get where we need to be? " Hiei asked loudly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at the back of Tatsu.

"You know, we shouldn't go much further, where we are headed is just a bunch of run down apartments and slums. I don't think we should go there with two young women. " Kurama stated, looking at the map he held in his hands. This comment earned two equally deadly glares from the girls, and Tatsu gritted her teeth.

"I happen to LIVE in one of those run down apartments in the slums, THANK YOU VERY FUCKIN' MUCH!!"

"Sorry!" Kurama waved his hands in front of him, sweatdropping at his idiocy. "I didn't mean to be rude, I didn't know! I bet it's a very nice town; I can't wait to get there, let's go! "

Kurama laughed slightly, speeding up his steps so that he was in front of even Tatsu. Miyuki blinked and sped up also, Hiei snorting and picking up his pace. Tatsu screwed up her face in determination and sped up enough to be back in front till they finally reached a blue run down building that had the name Ryuuzaki on the dilapidated door. Hiei and Kurama exchanged looks of disbelief, as Miyuki and Tatsu walked through the door.

"Auntie Ami!! Where's you be? "The Chinese girl shouted, walking through the ruined and cluttered kitchen. She blinked; the room seemed more destroyed then normal, glass shattered on the floor and signs of a struggle in the hallway. "Ami…" Tatsu hastened her step, Miyuki whispering her best friends name as she realized what Tatsu was thinking.

"I sense death… " Kurama stated, his eyes wide as he followed the two.

"AUNTIE AM—" Tatsu froze as she walked into the living room, her aunt was lying on the rug; the shag around her body was no longer brown but maroon and in the corner of the room lay a marionette doll.

"No!" Miyuki gasped, gripping Kurama's arm and hiding her face in his shoulder. Hiei walked past the two and stared at the old woman on the rug, her gray hair matted in the back with dried blood, and her left hand reaching in the direction of the phone.

"She's dead."

" … " Tatsu twitched, her ice blue eyes locked on the body, her hands so tightly fisted that blood was drawn as her nails bit into her palms. " He's going to die… " She growled, running to the mantle over the run down fireplace and grabbed an object wrapped in cloth. The wrap was thrown off, revealing a sword, the handle covered in dragon scales and gripped by a claw, a closed eye in the center where the blade hit the grip.

"Tatsu… " Miyuki asked, reaching out for her friend, who just swatted her hand away.

"Marionette! Where the hell are ya?! You want us; mess with us, not people who have nothing to do with this!!! HEY BASTARD!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!! " Tatsu shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. There was a creak from the corner of the room and the puppets eyes glowed; it's painted on smile widening into a sadistic smirk. Tatsu twitched, her pupils shrinking as the doll's cords became taunt and it stood up. The puppet was a rendition of Pinocchio only instead of being friendly; it sure as hell was evil.

"I think you got his attention Tatsu!" Miyuki stated in a small voice, backing up as the Pinocchio began to shake and quickly grow, sending pieces of the building flying as it crashed through the dilapidated roof. "Run!"

"I am NOT getting killed by a giant Pinocchio!!! I swear to god that's the lamest death ever!! " Tatsu growled as she backed away, "Well Auntie Ami, you always said that you'd rather be dead then deal with the world. Well ya got your wish! " The Chinese girl bit her lip, and gave a grin, "I'm not going to be upset. I'll see you again some day…" That was the last she saw of the woman who had saved her from the streets when she was three, as the red eyes of the puppet locked on to her and her friends, it's smirk reaching ear to ear as it crushed the living room and then the front of the blue house in its chase.

*           *           *           *           * 

"This is the lamest bad guy I have ever seen since that cop guy off of the pink panther cartoons!" Tatsu growled, twitching as Miyuki nodded, the puppet unceasingly chasing the four of them.

            "Damn you ningen, if I didn't have to protect you I'd destroy that thing!! We've been running for 15 minutes!!!" Hiei shouted, unused to having to run from his enemies, he was not very happy about the current situation.

            "I'll watch the girls, try and disable the thing!" Kurama ordered, and Hiei nodded, swirling around in his tracks.

            "Fe Fi Fo Fum!! I'm gonna eat you mother fuckas!! " Tatsu mocked, and Miyuki laughed, gripping her sides in pain from the mirth.

            "Owww!" She moaned, nearly doubling over from the pain, her feet moving on their own in their exhausting run. Hiei pulled out his sword and brought it across the puppet's chest, nearly cracking it in half as a wave of energy sent the fire demon flying. "Hiei-san!" Miyuki cried, running up to the dizzied man, trying to help him up.

            "Get off of me ningen!" He growled, smacking her hand away. Tatsu stopped by their side as Miyuki started yelling at Hiei about not having any manners at all and Hiei not caring at all. Kurama slid to a stop by their side, pulling a rose out from his hair and snapping out the rose whip.

"We can't just stop, we have to keep going! "  He shouted, bringing the whip around the puppets legs, binding them tightly. He took hold of Tatsu's wrist and pulled her after him, hoping to all that was holy that Hiei would watch out for Miyuki. The Marionette stumbled on the vines, unbalancing it and sending it flying forward. Hiei and Miyuki still hadn't moved both to preoccupied with each other than the doll.

"You ass! I try to help you and you just brush me off! "

"Baka Ningen, I don't need your help so back off before I take off your head! "

"Lemme go!!" Tatsu growled, pulling her arm out from Kurama's grasp, "Miyuki! "  She dashed back to where her friend was standing, "Get the fuck out of there!!!" She rushed past the two and unsheathed her brother's sword, holding it up in defense of the falling puppet. "Onii-san, your sword better work like you told me it would." Kurama gasped and turned around, seeing his and Hiei's only chance of being released from work running to her death.

"Tatsu!!"  The kitsune shouted, but stopped when a strange blue light began emanating from the sword in the Chinese girls hands. The Eye opened in the middle, a strange mix of blue and red, and locked on to the Pinocchio wanna-be. Tatsu watched with wide eyes as the sword wrenched free of her hold and with a flash cut the strings that held the puppet up. Hiei twitched a few times, unsure of what to expect from the now lax creature that was rumbling from the inside and with an uninteresting pop! It landed on the ground about the size of an acorn. Everyone just blinked; expecting the small doll to come to life again, for sure it wasn't over yet. But the sword landed right in the chest of the doll, splitting it in half and the aura surrounding the place went dead.

"Holy fuck that was strange…. "

*           *           *           *           *           *

"That's it my lord?" One court member asked, wide-eyed and completely confused on Marionette's tactics. "I know it can't end like that!"

"It served its purpose, now the mothers will know what's going on and they must come out of hiding." The red eyes of the demon locked on to his minion, as he lifted the cup of wine to his lips, the image of Tatsu's older brother's sword on the screen in front of him.

*           *           *           *           *           *

"Lady, Tatsu's used the sword. " A young man with dark blue hair walked into the darkened room of a Chinese home, his eyes blue eyes, illuminating the small room. The woman gasped, pulling her cloth covered hand up to her mouth.

"It has started then. We must call her then. " The long black hair of the woman swayed as she lifted her self to her feet with the utmost grace, and walked through the wall to where the phone was and dialed a number she hoped she would never have had to use.

*           *           *           *           *           *           *

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww….." Tatsu wined, standing up from her work. She had changed the name Minomoru, the title on their small house that Kurama had rented since the apartment proved to be too small, and wrote all the last names of the inhabitancies on the mail box. It was messy and done with permanent marker but it would do for the time being. She moaned in pain as she turned around and forced her overworked legs to move up the walkway. She opened the door and closed it behind her, moaning again as she realized that she was going to have to climb stairs to reach her bedroom. "God damn mother fuckin' stairs!" She growled, hobbling into the dining room and sitting down on a chair. "Frickin' legs, crampin' up after a little running… " she leaned over and began massaging her legs, attempting to remove the pain from the limbs.

"Are you ok Tatsu-chan?" Miyuki asked, walking past her thoroughly annoyed friend with a book and a bottle of bath bubbles in her hands. The Chinese girl nodded, glaring at the offending limbs as Miyuki noticed that Hiei wasn't around. "Hey, where's the idiot demon?"  

"Gloating because he didn't get to kill the puppet."

"Oh god! How could anyone be so full of himself? "

"Dunno….SHIT THAT HURTS!!!" Tatsu shouted and Miyuki laughed, walking off to take a stress relieving bath.

"Tatsu?" After a few minutes of screams from the dining room, Kurama finally decided to check it out, starting to get worried. Tatsu was sitting in a chair; her knees pulled up to her face, making her look uncharacteristically childish. "Are you ok?"

"No." She growled, ice blue eyes locking on him with all the venom of eighty-two king cobras, her left hand massaging the muscles on her leg. He saw her wince as all the pain shot through her again.

"Hn, you can't even be gentle to yourself can you."

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT IMPLYING?!"

"NOTHING! Here just let me help you." He pulled at her leg and just ended up getting a face full of sock covered foot.

"Pervert! Don't you even think about touching me!!!!!!"

"Don't be so full of yourself! I would never try that on you!! You're not my type. " Kurama flashed her a look of annoyance, tugging at her leg again and began loosening the abused muscles. Tatsu glared at him, and then looked off to the side, trying to ignore her instinct to take out her brother's sword and do to him what it did to Marionette's creature. "Just think of me as a roommate, or a brother."

"I hate my brothers and I don't really care for any of my former male roommates. There were reasons I lived with my aunt. "

"Well…..as a father then?" that was really stretching it. He was only in his twenties after all.

"My father's a dick."

"Is there anyone you DON'T dislike?"

"Miyuki….my aunt….that's about it!"

"What about your mother?" he couldn't understand how anyone could dislike their mothers.

"………."

" Sorry. Didn't know that that was a sore topic. " He put one leg down and quickly finished the other, embarrassed for asking such a question. " Tatsu? "

"………."

"Tatsu I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean, don't start ignoring me now. "

"……."

"For Christ's sake Ta-"

"SNOREEEEEEEEE" Kurama had to stifle a laugh as Tatsu started to snore softly, put to sleep from the massage. He smiled and picked the girl up, once again amazed at how such a small child could make her self seem so awful and big. He quietly walked up the stairs, passing by where Hiei was resting in a tree. He gave the kitsune a strange look and Kurama shook his head, walking into Tatsu's room, that was already trashed thank you very much, and setting her down in bed. He then headed to Hiei's side, sitting down on the window sill.

"For some reason, I have a feeling that this job is going to get much more complicated…"

(End of chapter 3)

Author's Note: Hi there minna-san. We're really, really sorry that it's taken so long for us to update this sucker. Several circumstances as of late, with the addition of Writer's Block, have kept us from getting any writing done. Sorry again minna. Well, we're both dying of heat exhaustion and sleep deprivation, so no omake/theories right now. We'll try to update the next chapter more quickly. Until then, read and review, please.