Please note: there are two endings to this story. I let some of my friends read them, and it was a tie as to which was preferred. Therefore, I posted both so that you may be the judge as to which you like best.
Teenage FoolishnessDisclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
"Are you sure this'll work, Kuwabara?"
"Course, Yusuke. I do this to my cat all the time," Kuwabara whispered so as not to wake his prey. Kuwabara may not be the smartest kid around, but his street smarts told him it would be suicide to get caught–not to mention what his sixth sense was doing. "Besides," he added, "don't you want revenge for that April Fool's trick he pulled?"
"Of course, you dummy!" Yusuke hissed, but inside he wasn't sure it was worth it. Granted he'd never seen Youko looking so peaceful, but for Koenma's sake, he was SLEEPING! But, what were the odds Kurama would fall asleep in this form again? For once, Kuwabara was right: the opportunity was too good to pass up. One question lingered, though "How are we going to get away?"
Kuwabara snickered, "We run, idiot. I mean, it's not like he's Hiei or anything!"
Hiei stood in the corner in pure amazement thinking, 'I don't even want to risk crossing him in a good mood and those two are going to PROVOKE him into a bad one! They're dumber than I thought.'
Hiei watched silently as Kuwabara took his finger and lightly dragged it along the edge of Youko's ear. One short flick and Youko's ear rested still again. 'Better stop while you're ahead,' Hiei thought at the duo. They snickered, "You're just mad, because you didn't think of it. You can join us if you'd like. He got you good, too," Kuwabara taunted.
Bristling, Hiei retorted, 'Hn. I'd rather be condemned to listen to your endless prattling for all of eternity than participate in such an absurd scheme.'
"Your loss." Kuwabara turned to Yusuke, "Your turn." Drawing a deep breath, Yusuke extended his arm dragging his finger across Youko's other ear. Only a small twitch. No where near as satisfying as Kuwabara's flick. A little more confident, Yusuke tried again. Flickity-flick and Youko's arm shot toward them; the teenagers shot back a couple of feet and watched in relief as Kurama scratched his ear.
Yusuke smirked. He had no idea what was so amusing about watching his friend's ear twitch in annoyance and discomfort, but it was addicting. "Hey, Kuwabara. Let's do it together and see what happens."
Kuwabara grinned at the possibilities. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Did they want to die? Hiei mentally recoiled and vanished. While the boys' fate would be most amusing, the risk of being mistaken for an accomplice was NOT worth any amusement he would gain.
Yusuke smirked and began a soft countdown, coordinating their efforts. "3... 2... 1...."
Youko jerked violently, but neither ear ever moved.
ENDING NUMBER 1
Yusuke looked in abject horror at the fist attached firmly to his wrist and his finger hovering only moments above his target. His eyes wandering further down, Yusuke flew back in pure terror, nearly yanking his arm out of its socket. Surely, that would have been a much more pleasant fate than the one in store for him, for the hunter had become the hunted.
Kuwabara, taking all this in, timidly glanced down to find out what could scare his long time rival and friend into backing away like that. Terror gripped his heart as he beheld Youko. He'd rather face Hiei in a sword battle to the death than this any day. So, he didn't face it and hit the floor out cold.
If those teens had ever had any doubts about Kurama's demon heritage, the look of evil anticipation on his face banished those doubts forever. Dropping the immobile Kuwabara's wrist, Youko rose from where he was lying and trained those demonic eyes on Yusuke.
Yusuke swallowed hard as he heard the calm, quiet words Youko spoke.
"It appears there are a few things you need to learn the hard way."
ENDING NUMBER 2
Yusuke looked down in abject horror at the fist attached firmly to his wrist and his finger hovering only moments from its target. Glancing at Kuwabara, their eyes met and both were thinking the same thing, "Nice knowing ya, pal." In an unspoken unity, they looked down to see how their friend, and they would use the word loosely in this case, was going to take their "prank".
Hoping for the best, Yusuke locked eyes with Youko. Terror gripped his heart, and he unconsciously threw himself back. Never again would there be any doubt in Yusuke's mind about Kurama's demon heritage: the look of utter glee over whatever punishment his mind had devised was proof enough.
Kuwabara's thoughts couldn't have been farther from Yusuke's: 'What on earth have I been putting my cats through? ..." but his thoughts wouldn't stay there for long.
Never releasing the teens' wrists, Youko rose to a sitting position and calmly, quietly spoke words that could have frozen the strongest of souls in fear.
"It appears there are a few things you need to learn the hard way."