Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Try to sue me for writing this, and
my sister and I will sic Tank on you. (Oh, and the numerous OCs that
suddenly appear every so often belong to the reviewers that sent them.)
Quote of the week: "Dear Die-ary... today I seem to be dead." -Johnny, from Johnny the homicidal maniac.
KKC: Well, the reviews are in, and the school is going ...
Fangirlitis: *starts drum roll... on a pair of bongos...*
KKC/ Kuwabara: O.O;; what the hell was that?
Fangirlitis: Hey, it's the best I could do!
KKC: *still skeptical* Riiight... Anywho, polls call a camping trip!
Kuwabara: C-camping? In the woods?
Grimoire: Yes, Kuwabara, camping. Do you have a problem with that?
Kuwabara: *looking pale* Last time I went camping, a ghost chased me, and then I got lost in a bog because I followed some will-o-wisps...
KKC: Kuwabara, any idiot who knows their otherworldly creatures can tell you that will-o-wisps always get you lost.
Kuwabara: Are you calling me an idiot? *Glares*
KKC: *cringes* Me and my mouth...
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"Thanks for taking care of Salvatore while I'm gone, Yukimi." Lyra was in a rush, packing the last of her clothes and a travel bag to bring with her on the boat. Yukimi, sitting on Lyra's full-size bed, which was covered with strewn clothes and drawing supplies, absent-mindedly gazed at the vertical fish tank, the mermaid's purse gently bobbing in the filtered water, illuminating the room with it's soft, pulsating, glow. "Well, I might as well feed the bird, since I'm going to be making daily checks on the egg, anyways. Although I do wish I could go on the trip with you guys, but I just have so much work to do..."
Salvatore, clinging onto the white bars of his newly cleaned cage, shrieked once and stormed on down to his food dish, then proceeded to toss his food pellets out onto the floor. Lyra came over, dumped an armful of clothes in the open suitcase on her bed, then stood in front of her pet's cage, whispering to the little parrot inside. "Salvatore, behave for Yukimi, okay?"
"Queek!"
"Good boy. Don't worry, I won't be gone long; only for about four days." Salvatore dirtily glared at Lyra, but stopped tossing his food all over the floor and bowed his little feathered head. "Oh, thanks so much. I promise I'll bring you back something good, Salvatore."
"Tch..."
"He really doesn't like to be left behind, does he?" Yukimi walked over, and teasingly put a finger near Salvatore's cage, watching as the lovebird went into a frenzy, wings flapping and beak opened wide to bite. Lyra sighed, and continued to pack her bags. "He hates to be left back at home when I leave; you should have seen him when I left to find a cure for Kurama during Christmas vacation." Salvatore looked away from Yukimi's finger for a moment, and squawked in reply, then bit down on the dragon specialist's pointer finger while she wasn't paying attention to him.
"OW! Little freak..." Yukimi recoiled her hand, sucking on the injured digit. Both girls jumped as Kuwabara yelled up, "Lyra, get this thing out of the kitchen!"
The elder sister sighed, and said to Yukimi, "Can you give me a minute? I'll go see what this is about." She half-ran, half-walked down the stairs to the first floor, only to stare at the large, black-furred tail that ran halfway across the kitchen floor. Of course, the tail wasn't as surprising as what was attached to it; two pairs of blood red eyes stared at Lyra from behind the kitchen island, and a rainbow-colored fin sharply contrasted against the maple counters.
"Lyra, this...thing kept asking for you." Kuwabara sat on the living room couch, constantly keeping an eye on the huge water-monster from behind a manga novel. The creature lifted its blunt muzzle and smiled at Lyra, flashing a mouth full of sharp, white teeth.
"Miss Lyra, I had decided to stop by for a moment, and I heard you were leaving for down south this afternoon." He bowed his large head low, his whiskers trailing across the linoleum floor, and in his claws he clutched a few stalks of chicory flowers. Kuwabara looked up from his manga book to give Lyra a curious glance, and the water manipulator instantly blushed while she gently took the purple flowers from the rodent-like monster. "Uh, thank you. But I haven't seen you lately since Yusuke chased you off on Valentines Day."
"Ah, a unfortunate event..." The monster sighed, the larger pair of eyes closing fully while the smaller pair only gained a saddened look, and his whiskers drooped. "I have taken refuge on the ocean cliff that is right next to this house, but I just had to visit you on a day as lovely as this, miss."
Kuwabara went into a coughing fit at this, or a laughing fit that was poorly disguised as a case of streph throat, and tried to hide his smirking mug behind his book. The monster glared at Kuwabara with all four eyes, then brought Lyra closer with his tail. His large maw was getting closer by every passing moment, and Lyra forced herself to stay calm as he quietly whispered in her ear, "Excuse me, but maybe could we continue this conversation in private? I'm not really welcomed here."
Oh, now she could hear it. Someone from upstairs was coming down, apparently with a heavy load of luggage; and even if she hadn't been able to recognize the voice, Lyra could tell it was Yusuke judging by the number of colorful expletives the speaker was using. "Oh, sure. In fact, we can go out to the cliff steps... yeah."
Both Kuwabara and Lyra winced as they heard a loud thunk, then a particularly r-rated string of curses, the F-bomb being every other word in the sentence. The creature hissed at the severe language, but Lyra tenderly closed his mouth and led him out of the kitchen, through the back door, and into the garden. Once every single black hair from his hide was outside, the elder Admarant sister let go of the monster's jaw, and they quickly snuck over to the stone steps.
"Miss Lyra, I wish you well on your journey, don't get me wrong, but are you sure that it is safe for you to be out at a time like this?" The creature once again had his tail wrapped around Lyra as they sat on the steps; the ebony rodent sprawled along the stone staircase. Lyra pulled her windbreaker tighter around her and looked at the monster, her blue eyes filled with confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Something is wrong, Lyra. I know it doesn't seem so at this moment, Miss, but the evil is constantly growing. I'm just worried that you might not make it back."
"Don't be so worried, um..." The black-haired teen searched her mind for a name for the creature before her, but found none. "I hate to sound rude, but do you have a name?"
"Hm?" His four red eyes opened wide, the creature shook his head, and suddenly clasped Lyra's hand in his paw. "No, I have no name, but I would be honored if you gave me one."
'Well, that was an easy change of subject...' Lyra thought, but managed to keep her smile going strong. "Okaaay... Uh, how about-"
"Call him rat-fink!" Kyuro's voice yowled this from somewhere in the garden, and the monster chucked a rather large rock over in the general area of the feline familiar. There was a loud hiss and the creature responded with his own fearsome growl.
"Go away, you little pest!"
Lyra sweatdropped as the two continued to growl at each other, despite the distance between them, and nervously tried to intervene. "Uh, Kyuro, leave us alone. Please." There was a grumbled "whatever," but the cat dutifully padded away, leaving the water manipulator once again alone with the creature, who was now boring holes into her head with his fierce four-eyed gaze, his eyes reflecting the light like gems. Wait, gems... his red eyes did look kind of like rubies...
"I think I have a name for you; Koryu."
"Really! Koryu... Yes, I like it. Thank you so much, Miss Lyra!" He bowed his head, and Lyra went to get up, but his clawed paw was still clinging onto her hand. The water manipulator tried to pull her hand out, but it was no use. "Uh, Koryu..?"
"Miss Lyra, I ask if I may join you, to keep you safe from harm."
"Er..." Now this was a difficult situation; Lyra didn't want to hurt Koryu's feelings, but she also didn't want to spend all vacation with the giant rat as a tag-along. But, what the heck; it wasn't like she had much of a choice. With a sigh, she nodded her head and rushed a few strands of black hair out of her face with her free hand, while replying, "Of course, Koryu. Feel free to come."
"Lyra, what are you doing out there? The boat leaves in a half-hour, so get your things ready and hurry up!" Rachel leaned out of the back door, dressed in casual-fit jeans and a green t-shirt, her blonde hair tied up in a messy braid. Lyra waved back, and ran up the steps, pausing to take a glance at the retreating rainbow-colored fin that was barely visible over the clumpy bushes that hugged the cliff wall.
* * *
"It's about time we got a real break..." Holly took her can of orange soda from the vending machine, and sat down on a bench, next to Lark and Lyra. The younger sister nodded, and pushed her sunglasses, which had slipped down her nose, back up, then watched as some of the other students came to the docks, little by little. Some of the teacher/chaperones had already arrived; even now, the three girls watched as Suzuka and Djornn chatted about the latest technological achievements, while Ryo and Rachel were busy talking with the harbormaster.
"I still say the school should have scheduled for Miami..." Kyuro was sprawled out on the back of the bench, his black fur soaking up the sun's rays. Lark reached back and scratched the back of the cat's ears, remarking, "Hey, Misery Island is better than nothing, right?"
"Lark, just look at the name. 'Misery' Island." Kyuro yawned, his sharp little fangs bright against his black fur, and stretched, only to jump down and curl up on Holly's lap. The witch rolled her eyes, and none-too-gently picked the familiar up by the scruff, placing him on the wooden pier. "Go scamper off somewhere, okay kitty-boy?"
"Don't call me kitty-boy!" But the cat stalked down the pier, dodging the legs of arriving students, and scampered up a tree, none too happy about his accommodations. Grumpily, he watched as the other students wandered in, and got himself comfortable on his branch; most of the other campers were often seen around the school, and had spared many a table scrap for the familiar, much to his enjoyment. A group of girls, about four of them, hastily skittered out of the way as a black van pulled up near the harbor entrance, and a young woman stepped out of the driver's side, a two-inch binder under her arm, and a teenaged boy from the passenger seat.
His hair was a bright orange, and he had a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder, with a rather large lizard curled around his neck, it's tail slipping off over his back, and the flaming ridge brightly burning. He took in the other students with his red eyes, and silently walked down to the dock, avoiding eye contact as he shoved past the group of girls that had almost been run over; the woman who had been driving the van was trying to run in her flip-flop sandals and long khaki skirt, barely managing to keep up with the boy's long strides.
She walked ahead, ignoring the boy as he leaned against a soda machine and softly scratched his pet's scaly chin. Brushing her shoulder-length brown hair out of her face, the young woman came up to Suzuka and Djornn and timidly asked, "Uh, one of you is Suzuka-sensei, right?"
"Yes?" The blond inventor held out his hand for the woman to shake it, but she instead shoved the binder in his outstretched hand. "I was informed that you would be supervising Ayame Mizuno on the camping trip, so I wanted to give you some of his medical records." She once again paid no attention to the stunned Suzuka's face, and continued on. "I do hope you can keep him under control; he can be moody. I would suggest you watch him to make sure he doesn't bother the other students-"
There was a sharp yelp, and a small girl ran away form Ayame, who blatantly paid no heed to the young crying girl, and went back to drinking his can of rootbeer as she ducked behind the legs of an elder fox-demon.
"Kou, he scared me!" She once again clung to the kitsune's baggy jeans, and buried her face in the female student's black tail, getting tearstains all over the silky fur. The teenaged demon sighed, and tried to calm the frightened girl as much as possible; little kids were never really Kouiyo's thing, although they all seemed to cluster around her. But Brittany was a younger human student, barely eight, who lived in her dorm, and had idolized the kitsune as soon as she had laid eyes on her. "He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just... well, heck, he scares me too."
There was a half-hearted glare from Ayame, but he still stayed silent. Djornn gave Suzuka a strange look, stamping a rear hoof in the direction of the unsocial demon, and the inventor nodded in agreement with the gesture. This Ayame was going to be quite a bit of trouble...
"I think I'm getting sick just by looking at it..." Lyonell was seated on a wooden post, gazing at the swirling seawater, despite his better judgment. Yusuke rolled his eyes, and continued to read the flyers that were posted in front of the harbormaster's office, letting his mind wander. Justin and Jin were seated on the ground, with a game of war going on in full swing, the cards neatly placed and stacked; nearby, Kurama was reading a rather thick book, totally engrossed in the black-and-white pages.
"Do we have to take a boat?" The cat demon whined, even though no one was paying attention to him. Justin grumbled something as Jin won another round, then moodily answered, "Then don't come, you dolt."
"My ace just beat your ten." The windmaster collected the pair of cards, and took a swig of his can of soda, placing it back on the wooden boards of the dock.
"Dammit!"
"Hey, guys! I managed to grab a flyer about our chaperones." Kuwabara ran up, holding a light-blue paper with a list of names printed on it; Yusuke grabbed the paper from the taller boy, and quickly read it over. "Well, the idiot and I are stuck in Suzuka's cabin, along with Justin-"
"Shit."
"- and this guy named Ayame. Jin, I think you're going with Lyonell, Rogerik, Kurama, and Hiei in Djornn's cabin."
"They're letting the centaur onboard a ship?" Jin didn't even take his eyes off of the game, and won yet another round against Justin. Yusuke shrugged and replied, "Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm not boarding with the cat and windy." The voice was quiet, and came from behind the bench Kurama was seated on; the fox distractedly waved, and mumbled "Hello, Hiei," before going back to his book. Lyonell leapt off of the wooden post, landing nimbly on his paws before asking, "What took you so long?"
In reply, the youkai held up his right wrist, which was now free of its brace and splint. Yusuke raised an eyebrow and pointed at Hiei's wrist, which was actually none the worse for the wear, despite having been encased in a small cast, and then a brace, for well around four months. "Wasn't that supposed to come off by the last week of April?"
"I heal fast."
Kurama nodded in agreement, then looked around the group, peeling his green eyes away from his book long enough to notice that one of his roommates was missing. "Hiei, did you see Rogerik around at all?"
"I thought he was with you." The reply was curt, and Lyonell sighed. "I bet he's off somewhere, around some girls or something. If you want, I'll go find him." The cat demon took a running start, then leapt onto the roof of the harbor-master's one-floor office. With a flick of his tail, he was gone and running at breakneck speed through the docks.
"Alright, everyone! Time to get your stuff together and board!" Rachel was fairly loud, and succeeded in waking everyone up. With a multitude of chattering, the numerous students all grabbed their respectful luggage, and headed towards the three large gangplanks that lead up to the boat. The ship itself was fairly large, and was colored a blinding white, with a shocking golden-yellow insignia of a slim, black-spotted feline along the sides. Underneath the logo were the words, "The Cat" in large, black letters, with a painted set of gray claw marks slashed through the ship's name.
Holly grabbed the handle of her bag, leaning her broom on her shoulder, and called out to her female roommates, "Hold on, let me get Kyuro." She called out his name, but the diminutive familiar stayed hidden. Once again, the cat was called, and this time a small, black, furry head poked out from behind a potted flower bush. "There you are, Kyuro. We have to go." The wind witch shifted her duffel bag onto her shoulder, then bent down and swept the cat up into her free arm, holding him steadily as he started to meow and struggle.
"Calm down, you brat." The witch kept her firm grip as she followed the two Admarant sisters, and they walked up the closest gangplank, finally hopping off onto the large ship. Noticing a wildly waving Ryo, they walked over to the short elf, struggling amidst the crowd, and he nodded hello to them, while handing a blue piece of paper to Lark. "Here you go, girls. This lists your cabin-mates."
"Thanks, Ryo." Lyra took the sheet from her sister and started to read the cabins as they walked into the ship's lounge (a large room with a multitude of booths and tinted windows, and a small snack stand at one end) and claimed a booth.
"This is insane... I mean, why the heck does everyone have to get onboard first?" Lark sighed and brushed a strand of black hair out of her face, plopping her bag on the floor underneath her feet. Holly shrugged, and finally released her hold on the cat, letting the black feline jump onto the booth table, where he shuddered and started to clean his tail, one of his ears peevishly turned back. Lyra handed the paper to her sister, who had unzipped her bag and was now loading another roll of film into her camera, and offered to get her friends a drink before the boat left. Both Holly and Lark declined, and the elder sister dropped her bag on one of the booth benches before going over to the snack stand. The witch leaned her broom against the booth and tossed her bag underneath her seat, then finally sat down, only to stare at the black cat in front of her.
There was no collar.
The thick leather collar, with the brass bell on it, that kept the familiar bound was gone.
"Damn." Holly muttered this, and the black kitten stared up at her, flicking his tail and narrowing his dark gray eyes. "What is it..?" Lark stopped fiddling with her camera, and followed Holly's hard stare, only to have the question die in her throat. "That isn't Kyuro, is it?"
"What was your first clue? Of course it isn't him!" She pointed at the kitten, who was now ready to jump off the table. Lark scooped him up, much to the cat's dismay, and started to scratch him behind the ear. Holly, meanwhile, had stood up and ran towards the cabin door, broom in hand. "I'll see you later! I have to find Kyuro!" Lark just stared as the witch mounted the broom and kicked off, flying over the railing and zooming above the heads of students that were still traveling up the gangplank. Turning back to the little kitten that was begrudgingly snuggled in her arms, Lark carefully scrutinized the black cat and stated, "You know, she's right. You haven't complained about anything in the last five minutes."
The kitten merely stared at her, and sighed, settling himself against her chest. He might as well enjoy it while he could.
Just a bit more... that was all. A few more seconds, and he would make it... he bit his lip, holding his finger steadily over the trigger, waiting for the right moment...
"That's where you've been! You idiot!"
The finger slipped, and the gun fired, hitting a nearby civilian, and draining the last of his health. "Dammit!" Rogerik swore, and angrily glowered at the cat demon who was standing behind him. He managed to pull himself away form the arcade game and slid his back pack on his narrow shoulders. "What is it, Lyonell?"
"Rogerik, the boat leaves in about, " the cat demon took a look at his watch, and his face visibly paled. "Four minutes..."
The thief only stared. "You're kidding, right?"
"No..." Lyonell swallowed hard and grabbed Rogerik by the arm, then started to run towards the docks, not really caring whether or not the blond was keeping up or being dragged along. Suddenly, he was jerked back, sprawling on the ground as his grip on the thief was loosened, and he glanced back, to see Rogerik clinging onto a tree, his gray eyes wide. Slowly, he pried his arms from the flora, and helped his friend up, but not before calmly saying, "Alright, first, calm down. The harbor is a minute away, I just drank an entire liter of Pepsi, and I can't run that fast." The last statement was growled out, and the twin nervously tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Sorry..."
"Tch... I don't think sorry will cut it, you numbskull." The voice, dripping with sarcasm, came from above, high up in the tree that Rogerik had clung onto. Both boys watched as there was a flash of black, and an annoyingly familiar creature made itself visible.
"Kyuro... this is just great. What are you up to now, if you're not just out for a night on the town?" The cat ignored Rogerik and daintily stretched, his back arching as he stood on his furry toes for a second, then yawned before answering.
"I fell asleep while we were waiting for the boat."
There was a gust of wind from overhead, and all three of them looked up, to see Holly quickly descending. She leaped off her broom, leaving the enchanted piece of equipment floating in mid-air, and ran over to Kyuro, sweeping him up and cuddling his slight frame. "You little ass! I just flew half-way across the city looking for you, and all you can say is you fell asleep?" As both boys watched the scene, sweatdropping as they did so, the cat sheepishly cracked a grin and hung limply in her arms.
"Ah, well, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me..."
Damn, that cat was a good liar... either that, or the witch was gullible.
"Nice try." Kyuro was delivered a skull-grinding noogie to his ebony skull, and the witch carried him over to her broom by the scruff of his neck, ready to hop back on and fly for the boat.
Okay, so you could scratch gullible off the list. Rogerik saw the steam from the ship's smokestacks from off in the distance, and ran towards his roommate, bag in hand.
"Hey, Holly, can you give me a ride?"
"Rogerik? W-what are you doing here? And Lyonell too?" The cat demon waved in response to his name, and the witch merely floated there, her brown eyes wide. "Uh, um..." She seemed to wake up then, and motioned for the thief and cat to sit behind her on the broomstick, then jumped on herself. "By all means, I don't mind. But we better hurry, I don't feel like flying all the way to misery island; I've done it once, and I don't want to do it again." Both boys nodded and clung on, and the ground flew out from under them at an amazing rate as the broom lifted off and soared towards the white ship, which was quickly pulling out of the harbor.
Lark sighed, and boredly flipped through the pages of a manga she had borrowed from Kuwabara. Holly wasn't back yet, the kitten was now sleeping on the formica table, and her sister had gone off with Kurama. Not even Yusuke was around to pester. There was a faint crunching sound from the booth in back of her, and she ignored it, until a small crumb flew up and landed in the middle of the pages of her comic. Again, more noises, and another crumb, then another. Finally, five crumbs later, she turned around in the booth, waking up the black kitten, and went to whack whoever had such disgusting table manners upside the head; her fist never connected.
Reader, if you think this was from the excellent dodging/blocking/martial arts skills of the opponent, you're wrong. No, this was because the inhabitant of the booth was too small to reach from the water-manipulator's awkward position, and because it was sitting on the table. The little creature was about a foot tall, not even that, and was grouchily munching on a pretzel rod, his little beaked face set in a scowl. It took a minute for Lark to recognize the avian demon, and when she did, she only gawked.
"Shishi..." The little creature looked up at her, and did a double take, then hastily dropped the pretzel rod and tried to scurry away. To his dismay, the girl lunged over the booth, thanking Enma that she had had the sense to wear jeans, and grabbed him. "I don't think so, Wakamaru." She lifted him up, trying to avoid his furiously packing beak, and settled back down in her own seat, her hands still securely grasped around his feathery body. "You decide to hide away from everyone for over two weeks, and when you do decide to grace the commoners with your presence, you're trying to attack me with pretzel crumbs? What kind of samurai are you?"
The little demon glowered at Lark, and crossed his little arms, then shot an equally dirty look at the kitten by her side. The little black fur ball hissed, and swiped at the demon, neatly catching Lark's sleeve with his tiny claw. He tried to pull back, but was snagged, and decided to try verbal insults. After watching the bird and feline go after it for a few seconds, Lark grabbed them both and left the lounge, bringing them outside to the back of the boat.
"Come on, Frick and Frack." Both animals shivered from the cold ocean spray, and Lark placed them on the painted-steel floor. "Now, I know neither of you are innocent animals, so I suggest you change to your true forms before a twenty-foot wave crashes over the boat. If I recall, I think I can swim MUCH better than a cat and bird." Both creatures looked at each other, sighed, and a smoke cloud appeared as they shifted back. As the smoke faded away, Shishiwakamaru, now back in his more human form, was seated cross-legged on the floor, his pinkish eyes staring out over the ocean and numerous small boats on the Port side, his arms crossed and hidden in the sleeves of his shirt; next to him was a young man, his black hair, ears and tail soaking up the April sun. Lark took one look, not even waiting for the smoke to fade away from the other man, and shrieked out, "God, my young, virgin eyes! Isn't there a law against that, Shikyo?!"
"I'm dressed, dammit!" His normally cool demeanor faded, and he openly yelled at his English student, who uncovered her eyes, made sure her teacher was telling the truth, and sweatdropped. "Sorry, it didn't look like it with all the smoke..."
Needless to say, both shape-shifters fell on their faces.
"Um... did you hear that, Kurama?" Lyra looked down from the sundeck, but the grid-iron staircase was blocking the view of who vaguely sounded like her sister. The fox next to her sweatdropped, and also looked down from the higher level. "I'm hoping I didn't..."
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*outside the guy's tents...*
Kuwabara: O.O;; Ayame scares me...
KKC: *pats Kuwabara on back* Don't worry; I'll make sure he doesn't get too violent.
Kuwabara: But... but...look at what he did to that little girl! Even shorty wouldn't do that!
KKC: Hm... Speaking of Hiei, I got a Wheel of Torture idea from Ryuu no Furui Yami , and it's directed towards Hiei-san.
Kuwabara: *perks up* Really? What?
KKC: Well, to make up for not having Yukimi go on the April vacation, Ryuu herself is going to tell you.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *pops up out of nowhere, scaring the already jittery Kuwabara* Hi!
Kuwabara: Ye-aahhh! *hides behind KKC*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: -.-* I'm not that scary... Anyways, KKC, did you bring the stuff?
KKC: *tosses plastic Walgreens bag to Ryuu* Yep; and in the most annoying array of colors known to man. Have fun.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *looks in bag and grins* Oh, believe me, I'll have fun. ^______^
Kuwabara: Wha-what's going on here?
KKC: Kuwa, quiet and get a camera - you'll wanna save this moment. *to Ryuu* Hiei's cabin is this way. *points, and the girls sneak over, then sneak inside*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: Wow... It's a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. *Almost trips of Djornn, who is sleeping on floor* Eep!
KKC: Hey, try to sneak in a little more quietly, why don't you? We're lucky Hiei is even sleeping!
Ryuu no Furui Yami: Right-o. *Hops over Djornn, and sneaks over to Hiei's bunk* *rummages around in bag* Alright, I knew that pink compact was in here somewhere... *pulls out the pink eye make-up* Ah-hah! Quick, untie his bandanna!
KKC: *Unties bandanna, revealing Hiei's Jagan* All yours. Just pass me that blush and lip-gloss. *Takes items, and the two girls get to work*
*Five minutes later...*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *sits down and wipes forehead with hand* Well, that was fun.
KKC: ^___^ *still using make-up, but this time to scribble on Rogerik's face with lipstick* That'll show him to try and grope all my friends.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: H-he did what? O.o;;
KKC: *sighs* Never, ever, let your most perverted character follow you to school. He finally stopped when Jennell tossed him the lake and Michealla kicked him in the groin.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: ...Isn't that enough punishment?
KKC: I still haven't gotten in my own revenge, so all's fair.
Kuwabara: *Sticks head through window* Got the camera! *holds up Lark's digital camera, and gives a big, dopey grin*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *takes camera, and starts snapping pictures* I say we make doubles, and post 'em all over the Internet.
KKC: Agreed.
Kuwabara: I want a few copies to send to Botan and the girls.
KKC / Kuwabara / Ryuu no Furui Yami: *look at each other, then start to evilly snicker*
*The next morning...*
Hiei: *groggily gets up and stumbles to cabin bathroom, then gets a good look at his reflection in the mirror* Those damn girls... *growls, and storms out of cabin, despite the pink and lime-green makeup that is painted on his face. Pink and green eyeshadow is on his eyelids (even on the Jagan's), he has bright red blush on, and pink lipstick*
KKC: *sitting at a picnic table, and typing on laptop* Well, nothing's up in flames... I'm saying Hiei is taking this pretty well.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *sitting across from KKC, while playing with Bones* Yeah, he is... *looks up, and face pales* Uh...
KKC: *looks up from laptop screen* What?
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *points behind the kitsune* I-it's ... hideous. O.O
KKC: Hm? *follows Ryuu's gaze* Holy CRAP!
Hiei: *standing behind KKC, still in make-up, his right arm ablaze with black fire, and left eye twitching madly* I suggest you girls finish writing your wills. NOW.
KKC: *eeps, and runs as Hiei punches where she had been sitting. The picnic bench is now in flames.* Run, Ryuu! Run! It's the illustrated midget!
Ryuu: *already running ahead of KKC* Way, way ahead of you, KKC!
KKC: *dodges a sword-slash from Hiei* Kuuuwaaabaarraaa! Yuuusuukeee! Jiiiin! Kuuuraaamaaaaa! Someone heeeeelp! Anyone!
Random students, characters, & rest of Reikai Tantei: *watch in amusement as the authoresses are chased out of camp by a seriously PO'd Hiei... and laughing too... ( . )*
Grimoire: And so, may you be wise enough to never anger the Jaganshi... no matter how ridiculous he might look.
Hiei: Excuse me?
Grimoire: Eep! *cowers in fear and decides to play dead. ...Either that, or he went into cardiac arrest.*
A/N: To Ryu-sama: I would've put your idea for "Wheel of Torture" first, but since you haven't replied to my e-mail, I decided to use Ryuu no Furui Yami's idea for this chapter. If you wanna, tell me in a review or something...
A/N: To Pegacorn: Erk... I knew I was forgetting someone when I sent e- mails to those who guesses right... ^ ^;; Sorry... Anywho, send in a request for a "Wheel of Torture" segment if you want. I'm trying to do no repeats of those who were already tortured, so that leaves out Chuu, Hiei, Suzuka, and Kuwabara. Have fun...
Quote of the week: "Dear Die-ary... today I seem to be dead." -Johnny, from Johnny the homicidal maniac.
KKC: Well, the reviews are in, and the school is going ...
Fangirlitis: *starts drum roll... on a pair of bongos...*
KKC/ Kuwabara: O.O;; what the hell was that?
Fangirlitis: Hey, it's the best I could do!
KKC: *still skeptical* Riiight... Anywho, polls call a camping trip!
Kuwabara: C-camping? In the woods?
Grimoire: Yes, Kuwabara, camping. Do you have a problem with that?
Kuwabara: *looking pale* Last time I went camping, a ghost chased me, and then I got lost in a bog because I followed some will-o-wisps...
KKC: Kuwabara, any idiot who knows their otherworldly creatures can tell you that will-o-wisps always get you lost.
Kuwabara: Are you calling me an idiot? *Glares*
KKC: *cringes* Me and my mouth...
########################################################################
"Thanks for taking care of Salvatore while I'm gone, Yukimi." Lyra was in a rush, packing the last of her clothes and a travel bag to bring with her on the boat. Yukimi, sitting on Lyra's full-size bed, which was covered with strewn clothes and drawing supplies, absent-mindedly gazed at the vertical fish tank, the mermaid's purse gently bobbing in the filtered water, illuminating the room with it's soft, pulsating, glow. "Well, I might as well feed the bird, since I'm going to be making daily checks on the egg, anyways. Although I do wish I could go on the trip with you guys, but I just have so much work to do..."
Salvatore, clinging onto the white bars of his newly cleaned cage, shrieked once and stormed on down to his food dish, then proceeded to toss his food pellets out onto the floor. Lyra came over, dumped an armful of clothes in the open suitcase on her bed, then stood in front of her pet's cage, whispering to the little parrot inside. "Salvatore, behave for Yukimi, okay?"
"Queek!"
"Good boy. Don't worry, I won't be gone long; only for about four days." Salvatore dirtily glared at Lyra, but stopped tossing his food all over the floor and bowed his little feathered head. "Oh, thanks so much. I promise I'll bring you back something good, Salvatore."
"Tch..."
"He really doesn't like to be left behind, does he?" Yukimi walked over, and teasingly put a finger near Salvatore's cage, watching as the lovebird went into a frenzy, wings flapping and beak opened wide to bite. Lyra sighed, and continued to pack her bags. "He hates to be left back at home when I leave; you should have seen him when I left to find a cure for Kurama during Christmas vacation." Salvatore looked away from Yukimi's finger for a moment, and squawked in reply, then bit down on the dragon specialist's pointer finger while she wasn't paying attention to him.
"OW! Little freak..." Yukimi recoiled her hand, sucking on the injured digit. Both girls jumped as Kuwabara yelled up, "Lyra, get this thing out of the kitchen!"
The elder sister sighed, and said to Yukimi, "Can you give me a minute? I'll go see what this is about." She half-ran, half-walked down the stairs to the first floor, only to stare at the large, black-furred tail that ran halfway across the kitchen floor. Of course, the tail wasn't as surprising as what was attached to it; two pairs of blood red eyes stared at Lyra from behind the kitchen island, and a rainbow-colored fin sharply contrasted against the maple counters.
"Lyra, this...thing kept asking for you." Kuwabara sat on the living room couch, constantly keeping an eye on the huge water-monster from behind a manga novel. The creature lifted its blunt muzzle and smiled at Lyra, flashing a mouth full of sharp, white teeth.
"Miss Lyra, I had decided to stop by for a moment, and I heard you were leaving for down south this afternoon." He bowed his large head low, his whiskers trailing across the linoleum floor, and in his claws he clutched a few stalks of chicory flowers. Kuwabara looked up from his manga book to give Lyra a curious glance, and the water manipulator instantly blushed while she gently took the purple flowers from the rodent-like monster. "Uh, thank you. But I haven't seen you lately since Yusuke chased you off on Valentines Day."
"Ah, a unfortunate event..." The monster sighed, the larger pair of eyes closing fully while the smaller pair only gained a saddened look, and his whiskers drooped. "I have taken refuge on the ocean cliff that is right next to this house, but I just had to visit you on a day as lovely as this, miss."
Kuwabara went into a coughing fit at this, or a laughing fit that was poorly disguised as a case of streph throat, and tried to hide his smirking mug behind his book. The monster glared at Kuwabara with all four eyes, then brought Lyra closer with his tail. His large maw was getting closer by every passing moment, and Lyra forced herself to stay calm as he quietly whispered in her ear, "Excuse me, but maybe could we continue this conversation in private? I'm not really welcomed here."
Oh, now she could hear it. Someone from upstairs was coming down, apparently with a heavy load of luggage; and even if she hadn't been able to recognize the voice, Lyra could tell it was Yusuke judging by the number of colorful expletives the speaker was using. "Oh, sure. In fact, we can go out to the cliff steps... yeah."
Both Kuwabara and Lyra winced as they heard a loud thunk, then a particularly r-rated string of curses, the F-bomb being every other word in the sentence. The creature hissed at the severe language, but Lyra tenderly closed his mouth and led him out of the kitchen, through the back door, and into the garden. Once every single black hair from his hide was outside, the elder Admarant sister let go of the monster's jaw, and they quickly snuck over to the stone steps.
"Miss Lyra, I wish you well on your journey, don't get me wrong, but are you sure that it is safe for you to be out at a time like this?" The creature once again had his tail wrapped around Lyra as they sat on the steps; the ebony rodent sprawled along the stone staircase. Lyra pulled her windbreaker tighter around her and looked at the monster, her blue eyes filled with confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Something is wrong, Lyra. I know it doesn't seem so at this moment, Miss, but the evil is constantly growing. I'm just worried that you might not make it back."
"Don't be so worried, um..." The black-haired teen searched her mind for a name for the creature before her, but found none. "I hate to sound rude, but do you have a name?"
"Hm?" His four red eyes opened wide, the creature shook his head, and suddenly clasped Lyra's hand in his paw. "No, I have no name, but I would be honored if you gave me one."
'Well, that was an easy change of subject...' Lyra thought, but managed to keep her smile going strong. "Okaaay... Uh, how about-"
"Call him rat-fink!" Kyuro's voice yowled this from somewhere in the garden, and the monster chucked a rather large rock over in the general area of the feline familiar. There was a loud hiss and the creature responded with his own fearsome growl.
"Go away, you little pest!"
Lyra sweatdropped as the two continued to growl at each other, despite the distance between them, and nervously tried to intervene. "Uh, Kyuro, leave us alone. Please." There was a grumbled "whatever," but the cat dutifully padded away, leaving the water manipulator once again alone with the creature, who was now boring holes into her head with his fierce four-eyed gaze, his eyes reflecting the light like gems. Wait, gems... his red eyes did look kind of like rubies...
"I think I have a name for you; Koryu."
"Really! Koryu... Yes, I like it. Thank you so much, Miss Lyra!" He bowed his head, and Lyra went to get up, but his clawed paw was still clinging onto her hand. The water manipulator tried to pull her hand out, but it was no use. "Uh, Koryu..?"
"Miss Lyra, I ask if I may join you, to keep you safe from harm."
"Er..." Now this was a difficult situation; Lyra didn't want to hurt Koryu's feelings, but she also didn't want to spend all vacation with the giant rat as a tag-along. But, what the heck; it wasn't like she had much of a choice. With a sigh, she nodded her head and rushed a few strands of black hair out of her face with her free hand, while replying, "Of course, Koryu. Feel free to come."
"Lyra, what are you doing out there? The boat leaves in a half-hour, so get your things ready and hurry up!" Rachel leaned out of the back door, dressed in casual-fit jeans and a green t-shirt, her blonde hair tied up in a messy braid. Lyra waved back, and ran up the steps, pausing to take a glance at the retreating rainbow-colored fin that was barely visible over the clumpy bushes that hugged the cliff wall.
* * *
"It's about time we got a real break..." Holly took her can of orange soda from the vending machine, and sat down on a bench, next to Lark and Lyra. The younger sister nodded, and pushed her sunglasses, which had slipped down her nose, back up, then watched as some of the other students came to the docks, little by little. Some of the teacher/chaperones had already arrived; even now, the three girls watched as Suzuka and Djornn chatted about the latest technological achievements, while Ryo and Rachel were busy talking with the harbormaster.
"I still say the school should have scheduled for Miami..." Kyuro was sprawled out on the back of the bench, his black fur soaking up the sun's rays. Lark reached back and scratched the back of the cat's ears, remarking, "Hey, Misery Island is better than nothing, right?"
"Lark, just look at the name. 'Misery' Island." Kyuro yawned, his sharp little fangs bright against his black fur, and stretched, only to jump down and curl up on Holly's lap. The witch rolled her eyes, and none-too-gently picked the familiar up by the scruff, placing him on the wooden pier. "Go scamper off somewhere, okay kitty-boy?"
"Don't call me kitty-boy!" But the cat stalked down the pier, dodging the legs of arriving students, and scampered up a tree, none too happy about his accommodations. Grumpily, he watched as the other students wandered in, and got himself comfortable on his branch; most of the other campers were often seen around the school, and had spared many a table scrap for the familiar, much to his enjoyment. A group of girls, about four of them, hastily skittered out of the way as a black van pulled up near the harbor entrance, and a young woman stepped out of the driver's side, a two-inch binder under her arm, and a teenaged boy from the passenger seat.
His hair was a bright orange, and he had a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder, with a rather large lizard curled around his neck, it's tail slipping off over his back, and the flaming ridge brightly burning. He took in the other students with his red eyes, and silently walked down to the dock, avoiding eye contact as he shoved past the group of girls that had almost been run over; the woman who had been driving the van was trying to run in her flip-flop sandals and long khaki skirt, barely managing to keep up with the boy's long strides.
She walked ahead, ignoring the boy as he leaned against a soda machine and softly scratched his pet's scaly chin. Brushing her shoulder-length brown hair out of her face, the young woman came up to Suzuka and Djornn and timidly asked, "Uh, one of you is Suzuka-sensei, right?"
"Yes?" The blond inventor held out his hand for the woman to shake it, but she instead shoved the binder in his outstretched hand. "I was informed that you would be supervising Ayame Mizuno on the camping trip, so I wanted to give you some of his medical records." She once again paid no attention to the stunned Suzuka's face, and continued on. "I do hope you can keep him under control; he can be moody. I would suggest you watch him to make sure he doesn't bother the other students-"
There was a sharp yelp, and a small girl ran away form Ayame, who blatantly paid no heed to the young crying girl, and went back to drinking his can of rootbeer as she ducked behind the legs of an elder fox-demon.
"Kou, he scared me!" She once again clung to the kitsune's baggy jeans, and buried her face in the female student's black tail, getting tearstains all over the silky fur. The teenaged demon sighed, and tried to calm the frightened girl as much as possible; little kids were never really Kouiyo's thing, although they all seemed to cluster around her. But Brittany was a younger human student, barely eight, who lived in her dorm, and had idolized the kitsune as soon as she had laid eyes on her. "He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just... well, heck, he scares me too."
There was a half-hearted glare from Ayame, but he still stayed silent. Djornn gave Suzuka a strange look, stamping a rear hoof in the direction of the unsocial demon, and the inventor nodded in agreement with the gesture. This Ayame was going to be quite a bit of trouble...
"I think I'm getting sick just by looking at it..." Lyonell was seated on a wooden post, gazing at the swirling seawater, despite his better judgment. Yusuke rolled his eyes, and continued to read the flyers that were posted in front of the harbormaster's office, letting his mind wander. Justin and Jin were seated on the ground, with a game of war going on in full swing, the cards neatly placed and stacked; nearby, Kurama was reading a rather thick book, totally engrossed in the black-and-white pages.
"Do we have to take a boat?" The cat demon whined, even though no one was paying attention to him. Justin grumbled something as Jin won another round, then moodily answered, "Then don't come, you dolt."
"My ace just beat your ten." The windmaster collected the pair of cards, and took a swig of his can of soda, placing it back on the wooden boards of the dock.
"Dammit!"
"Hey, guys! I managed to grab a flyer about our chaperones." Kuwabara ran up, holding a light-blue paper with a list of names printed on it; Yusuke grabbed the paper from the taller boy, and quickly read it over. "Well, the idiot and I are stuck in Suzuka's cabin, along with Justin-"
"Shit."
"- and this guy named Ayame. Jin, I think you're going with Lyonell, Rogerik, Kurama, and Hiei in Djornn's cabin."
"They're letting the centaur onboard a ship?" Jin didn't even take his eyes off of the game, and won yet another round against Justin. Yusuke shrugged and replied, "Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm not boarding with the cat and windy." The voice was quiet, and came from behind the bench Kurama was seated on; the fox distractedly waved, and mumbled "Hello, Hiei," before going back to his book. Lyonell leapt off of the wooden post, landing nimbly on his paws before asking, "What took you so long?"
In reply, the youkai held up his right wrist, which was now free of its brace and splint. Yusuke raised an eyebrow and pointed at Hiei's wrist, which was actually none the worse for the wear, despite having been encased in a small cast, and then a brace, for well around four months. "Wasn't that supposed to come off by the last week of April?"
"I heal fast."
Kurama nodded in agreement, then looked around the group, peeling his green eyes away from his book long enough to notice that one of his roommates was missing. "Hiei, did you see Rogerik around at all?"
"I thought he was with you." The reply was curt, and Lyonell sighed. "I bet he's off somewhere, around some girls or something. If you want, I'll go find him." The cat demon took a running start, then leapt onto the roof of the harbor-master's one-floor office. With a flick of his tail, he was gone and running at breakneck speed through the docks.
"Alright, everyone! Time to get your stuff together and board!" Rachel was fairly loud, and succeeded in waking everyone up. With a multitude of chattering, the numerous students all grabbed their respectful luggage, and headed towards the three large gangplanks that lead up to the boat. The ship itself was fairly large, and was colored a blinding white, with a shocking golden-yellow insignia of a slim, black-spotted feline along the sides. Underneath the logo were the words, "The Cat" in large, black letters, with a painted set of gray claw marks slashed through the ship's name.
Holly grabbed the handle of her bag, leaning her broom on her shoulder, and called out to her female roommates, "Hold on, let me get Kyuro." She called out his name, but the diminutive familiar stayed hidden. Once again, the cat was called, and this time a small, black, furry head poked out from behind a potted flower bush. "There you are, Kyuro. We have to go." The wind witch shifted her duffel bag onto her shoulder, then bent down and swept the cat up into her free arm, holding him steadily as he started to meow and struggle.
"Calm down, you brat." The witch kept her firm grip as she followed the two Admarant sisters, and they walked up the closest gangplank, finally hopping off onto the large ship. Noticing a wildly waving Ryo, they walked over to the short elf, struggling amidst the crowd, and he nodded hello to them, while handing a blue piece of paper to Lark. "Here you go, girls. This lists your cabin-mates."
"Thanks, Ryo." Lyra took the sheet from her sister and started to read the cabins as they walked into the ship's lounge (a large room with a multitude of booths and tinted windows, and a small snack stand at one end) and claimed a booth.
"This is insane... I mean, why the heck does everyone have to get onboard first?" Lark sighed and brushed a strand of black hair out of her face, plopping her bag on the floor underneath her feet. Holly shrugged, and finally released her hold on the cat, letting the black feline jump onto the booth table, where he shuddered and started to clean his tail, one of his ears peevishly turned back. Lyra handed the paper to her sister, who had unzipped her bag and was now loading another roll of film into her camera, and offered to get her friends a drink before the boat left. Both Holly and Lark declined, and the elder sister dropped her bag on one of the booth benches before going over to the snack stand. The witch leaned her broom against the booth and tossed her bag underneath her seat, then finally sat down, only to stare at the black cat in front of her.
There was no collar.
The thick leather collar, with the brass bell on it, that kept the familiar bound was gone.
"Damn." Holly muttered this, and the black kitten stared up at her, flicking his tail and narrowing his dark gray eyes. "What is it..?" Lark stopped fiddling with her camera, and followed Holly's hard stare, only to have the question die in her throat. "That isn't Kyuro, is it?"
"What was your first clue? Of course it isn't him!" She pointed at the kitten, who was now ready to jump off the table. Lark scooped him up, much to the cat's dismay, and started to scratch him behind the ear. Holly, meanwhile, had stood up and ran towards the cabin door, broom in hand. "I'll see you later! I have to find Kyuro!" Lark just stared as the witch mounted the broom and kicked off, flying over the railing and zooming above the heads of students that were still traveling up the gangplank. Turning back to the little kitten that was begrudgingly snuggled in her arms, Lark carefully scrutinized the black cat and stated, "You know, she's right. You haven't complained about anything in the last five minutes."
The kitten merely stared at her, and sighed, settling himself against her chest. He might as well enjoy it while he could.
Just a bit more... that was all. A few more seconds, and he would make it... he bit his lip, holding his finger steadily over the trigger, waiting for the right moment...
"That's where you've been! You idiot!"
The finger slipped, and the gun fired, hitting a nearby civilian, and draining the last of his health. "Dammit!" Rogerik swore, and angrily glowered at the cat demon who was standing behind him. He managed to pull himself away form the arcade game and slid his back pack on his narrow shoulders. "What is it, Lyonell?"
"Rogerik, the boat leaves in about, " the cat demon took a look at his watch, and his face visibly paled. "Four minutes..."
The thief only stared. "You're kidding, right?"
"No..." Lyonell swallowed hard and grabbed Rogerik by the arm, then started to run towards the docks, not really caring whether or not the blond was keeping up or being dragged along. Suddenly, he was jerked back, sprawling on the ground as his grip on the thief was loosened, and he glanced back, to see Rogerik clinging onto a tree, his gray eyes wide. Slowly, he pried his arms from the flora, and helped his friend up, but not before calmly saying, "Alright, first, calm down. The harbor is a minute away, I just drank an entire liter of Pepsi, and I can't run that fast." The last statement was growled out, and the twin nervously tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Sorry..."
"Tch... I don't think sorry will cut it, you numbskull." The voice, dripping with sarcasm, came from above, high up in the tree that Rogerik had clung onto. Both boys watched as there was a flash of black, and an annoyingly familiar creature made itself visible.
"Kyuro... this is just great. What are you up to now, if you're not just out for a night on the town?" The cat ignored Rogerik and daintily stretched, his back arching as he stood on his furry toes for a second, then yawned before answering.
"I fell asleep while we were waiting for the boat."
There was a gust of wind from overhead, and all three of them looked up, to see Holly quickly descending. She leaped off her broom, leaving the enchanted piece of equipment floating in mid-air, and ran over to Kyuro, sweeping him up and cuddling his slight frame. "You little ass! I just flew half-way across the city looking for you, and all you can say is you fell asleep?" As both boys watched the scene, sweatdropping as they did so, the cat sheepishly cracked a grin and hung limply in her arms.
"Ah, well, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me..."
Damn, that cat was a good liar... either that, or the witch was gullible.
"Nice try." Kyuro was delivered a skull-grinding noogie to his ebony skull, and the witch carried him over to her broom by the scruff of his neck, ready to hop back on and fly for the boat.
Okay, so you could scratch gullible off the list. Rogerik saw the steam from the ship's smokestacks from off in the distance, and ran towards his roommate, bag in hand.
"Hey, Holly, can you give me a ride?"
"Rogerik? W-what are you doing here? And Lyonell too?" The cat demon waved in response to his name, and the witch merely floated there, her brown eyes wide. "Uh, um..." She seemed to wake up then, and motioned for the thief and cat to sit behind her on the broomstick, then jumped on herself. "By all means, I don't mind. But we better hurry, I don't feel like flying all the way to misery island; I've done it once, and I don't want to do it again." Both boys nodded and clung on, and the ground flew out from under them at an amazing rate as the broom lifted off and soared towards the white ship, which was quickly pulling out of the harbor.
Lark sighed, and boredly flipped through the pages of a manga she had borrowed from Kuwabara. Holly wasn't back yet, the kitten was now sleeping on the formica table, and her sister had gone off with Kurama. Not even Yusuke was around to pester. There was a faint crunching sound from the booth in back of her, and she ignored it, until a small crumb flew up and landed in the middle of the pages of her comic. Again, more noises, and another crumb, then another. Finally, five crumbs later, she turned around in the booth, waking up the black kitten, and went to whack whoever had such disgusting table manners upside the head; her fist never connected.
Reader, if you think this was from the excellent dodging/blocking/martial arts skills of the opponent, you're wrong. No, this was because the inhabitant of the booth was too small to reach from the water-manipulator's awkward position, and because it was sitting on the table. The little creature was about a foot tall, not even that, and was grouchily munching on a pretzel rod, his little beaked face set in a scowl. It took a minute for Lark to recognize the avian demon, and when she did, she only gawked.
"Shishi..." The little creature looked up at her, and did a double take, then hastily dropped the pretzel rod and tried to scurry away. To his dismay, the girl lunged over the booth, thanking Enma that she had had the sense to wear jeans, and grabbed him. "I don't think so, Wakamaru." She lifted him up, trying to avoid his furiously packing beak, and settled back down in her own seat, her hands still securely grasped around his feathery body. "You decide to hide away from everyone for over two weeks, and when you do decide to grace the commoners with your presence, you're trying to attack me with pretzel crumbs? What kind of samurai are you?"
The little demon glowered at Lark, and crossed his little arms, then shot an equally dirty look at the kitten by her side. The little black fur ball hissed, and swiped at the demon, neatly catching Lark's sleeve with his tiny claw. He tried to pull back, but was snagged, and decided to try verbal insults. After watching the bird and feline go after it for a few seconds, Lark grabbed them both and left the lounge, bringing them outside to the back of the boat.
"Come on, Frick and Frack." Both animals shivered from the cold ocean spray, and Lark placed them on the painted-steel floor. "Now, I know neither of you are innocent animals, so I suggest you change to your true forms before a twenty-foot wave crashes over the boat. If I recall, I think I can swim MUCH better than a cat and bird." Both creatures looked at each other, sighed, and a smoke cloud appeared as they shifted back. As the smoke faded away, Shishiwakamaru, now back in his more human form, was seated cross-legged on the floor, his pinkish eyes staring out over the ocean and numerous small boats on the Port side, his arms crossed and hidden in the sleeves of his shirt; next to him was a young man, his black hair, ears and tail soaking up the April sun. Lark took one look, not even waiting for the smoke to fade away from the other man, and shrieked out, "God, my young, virgin eyes! Isn't there a law against that, Shikyo?!"
"I'm dressed, dammit!" His normally cool demeanor faded, and he openly yelled at his English student, who uncovered her eyes, made sure her teacher was telling the truth, and sweatdropped. "Sorry, it didn't look like it with all the smoke..."
Needless to say, both shape-shifters fell on their faces.
"Um... did you hear that, Kurama?" Lyra looked down from the sundeck, but the grid-iron staircase was blocking the view of who vaguely sounded like her sister. The fox next to her sweatdropped, and also looked down from the higher level. "I'm hoping I didn't..."
########################################################################
*outside the guy's tents...*
Kuwabara: O.O;; Ayame scares me...
KKC: *pats Kuwabara on back* Don't worry; I'll make sure he doesn't get too violent.
Kuwabara: But... but...look at what he did to that little girl! Even shorty wouldn't do that!
KKC: Hm... Speaking of Hiei, I got a Wheel of Torture idea from Ryuu no Furui Yami , and it's directed towards Hiei-san.
Kuwabara: *perks up* Really? What?
KKC: Well, to make up for not having Yukimi go on the April vacation, Ryuu herself is going to tell you.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *pops up out of nowhere, scaring the already jittery Kuwabara* Hi!
Kuwabara: Ye-aahhh! *hides behind KKC*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: -.-* I'm not that scary... Anyways, KKC, did you bring the stuff?
KKC: *tosses plastic Walgreens bag to Ryuu* Yep; and in the most annoying array of colors known to man. Have fun.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *looks in bag and grins* Oh, believe me, I'll have fun. ^______^
Kuwabara: Wha-what's going on here?
KKC: Kuwa, quiet and get a camera - you'll wanna save this moment. *to Ryuu* Hiei's cabin is this way. *points, and the girls sneak over, then sneak inside*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: Wow... It's a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. *Almost trips of Djornn, who is sleeping on floor* Eep!
KKC: Hey, try to sneak in a little more quietly, why don't you? We're lucky Hiei is even sleeping!
Ryuu no Furui Yami: Right-o. *Hops over Djornn, and sneaks over to Hiei's bunk* *rummages around in bag* Alright, I knew that pink compact was in here somewhere... *pulls out the pink eye make-up* Ah-hah! Quick, untie his bandanna!
KKC: *Unties bandanna, revealing Hiei's Jagan* All yours. Just pass me that blush and lip-gloss. *Takes items, and the two girls get to work*
*Five minutes later...*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *sits down and wipes forehead with hand* Well, that was fun.
KKC: ^___^ *still using make-up, but this time to scribble on Rogerik's face with lipstick* That'll show him to try and grope all my friends.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: H-he did what? O.o;;
KKC: *sighs* Never, ever, let your most perverted character follow you to school. He finally stopped when Jennell tossed him the lake and Michealla kicked him in the groin.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: ...Isn't that enough punishment?
KKC: I still haven't gotten in my own revenge, so all's fair.
Kuwabara: *Sticks head through window* Got the camera! *holds up Lark's digital camera, and gives a big, dopey grin*
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *takes camera, and starts snapping pictures* I say we make doubles, and post 'em all over the Internet.
KKC: Agreed.
Kuwabara: I want a few copies to send to Botan and the girls.
KKC / Kuwabara / Ryuu no Furui Yami: *look at each other, then start to evilly snicker*
*The next morning...*
Hiei: *groggily gets up and stumbles to cabin bathroom, then gets a good look at his reflection in the mirror* Those damn girls... *growls, and storms out of cabin, despite the pink and lime-green makeup that is painted on his face. Pink and green eyeshadow is on his eyelids (even on the Jagan's), he has bright red blush on, and pink lipstick*
KKC: *sitting at a picnic table, and typing on laptop* Well, nothing's up in flames... I'm saying Hiei is taking this pretty well.
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *sitting across from KKC, while playing with Bones* Yeah, he is... *looks up, and face pales* Uh...
KKC: *looks up from laptop screen* What?
Ryuu no Furui Yami: *points behind the kitsune* I-it's ... hideous. O.O
KKC: Hm? *follows Ryuu's gaze* Holy CRAP!
Hiei: *standing behind KKC, still in make-up, his right arm ablaze with black fire, and left eye twitching madly* I suggest you girls finish writing your wills. NOW.
KKC: *eeps, and runs as Hiei punches where she had been sitting. The picnic bench is now in flames.* Run, Ryuu! Run! It's the illustrated midget!
Ryuu: *already running ahead of KKC* Way, way ahead of you, KKC!
KKC: *dodges a sword-slash from Hiei* Kuuuwaaabaarraaa! Yuuusuukeee! Jiiiin! Kuuuraaamaaaaa! Someone heeeeelp! Anyone!
Random students, characters, & rest of Reikai Tantei: *watch in amusement as the authoresses are chased out of camp by a seriously PO'd Hiei... and laughing too... ( . )*
Grimoire: And so, may you be wise enough to never anger the Jaganshi... no matter how ridiculous he might look.
Hiei: Excuse me?
Grimoire: Eep! *cowers in fear and decides to play dead. ...Either that, or he went into cardiac arrest.*
A/N: To Ryu-sama: I would've put your idea for "Wheel of Torture" first, but since you haven't replied to my e-mail, I decided to use Ryuu no Furui Yami's idea for this chapter. If you wanna, tell me in a review or something...
A/N: To Pegacorn: Erk... I knew I was forgetting someone when I sent e- mails to those who guesses right... ^ ^;; Sorry... Anywho, send in a request for a "Wheel of Torture" segment if you want. I'm trying to do no repeats of those who were already tortured, so that leaves out Chuu, Hiei, Suzuka, and Kuwabara. Have fun...