Disclaimer: I don't own YYH... stop rubbing it in, dammit! .
Quote of the week: "Behold! The Crippler of Cripples! The Injurer of poor Mentally-damaged Peoples! The-One-Who-Trips-Over-Small-Children!" -Dylan (making fun of me after I tripped over a toddler that playing at the Commons playground. ...don't ask me how I did it; I don't rightfully know.)
Okay, in short: For my lack of updates I deserve to be drug out into the street and shot.
Thank you, that is all.
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The boat, which was amazingly fast despite its size, had just docked at Misery Island in about two hours; a good two days sooner than when the Reikai Tantei had traveled by whale. But, judging by the color of Kuwabara's face as he hung over the rail, Yusuke had decided that maybe it was better to take a more gentle way to the campsite; the ship had literally jumped from every wave, and the ocean was just one big blue blur when the boat had reached full speed. If Holly hadn't shown up before they had pulled out of the harbor, she might have been left behind, along with her two tag-alongs.
But, now as they stood on solid ground, the spirit detective was watching the scene in front of him with amusement. How Djornn had managed to get onto the boat had been a complete mystery to him, as he hadn't been there to watch, but now this was simply a laugh-riot. The boat's captain and a handful of mechanics were trying to lower the centaur down using a crane, and Djornn was bolting at nearly every attempt.
"No, I'm not going to get down on that- that thing!" The centaur roared, shying away from a particularly slow-witted handyman, and kicking his back legs out. Yusuke, Justin, Jin, and even Hiei were watching from the docks, the Jaganshi actually harboring a small smirk on his face as his "teacher" ran to and fro, leaping over diving sailors, clattering past the much narrower bow of the boat, and then he finally reared up and ran full-out towards the railing. Students and teachers scattered like the ants in the Happy Tree Friends as the dark-gray equine man leaped over the wooden railing and soared down, his strong hooves hitting the stone pathway below with a jarring crack, then wheeled around, sticking his middle finger up at the stunned crew. "Try that, you damn bipeds!"
"Djornn..." Suzuka placed a hand on the teacher's shoulder, then forcefully pulled him away from the docks. "Maybe you should just run on ahead and leave the ship's captain to me, okay? The last thing we need is you on another one of your tirades..."
"Well... it has seen better days..." Holly mumbled this, and Kyuro, who was sitting on her shoulder, nodded in agreement. "Yeah... are you sure we have to spend four days in this dump?" He lightly landed on the grimy wood-plank floor, and started to poke around the cabin, leaving paw prints in the dust. Holly sighed, and opened the window, then called upon a small gust of wind. The breeze willingly blew in, and kicked up small twisters of dust, which whirled around the room, then the gray cloud of dust and dirt flew back out the window and dispersed. When it was done, not a speck of dirt was left on the cabin floor and the bunks were spotlessly clean. Kyuro gave the witch an approving smirk, and happily jumped on one of the lower bunks, stretched, then curled up on a pillow and fell asleep.
The familiar was rudely awakened not even a minute later, as there was an aggravated yelp from outside, and the door swung open as a tall, draconic- looking creature stumbled in. She was shaking her head, her donkey-like ears flopping as she tried to recover from the dusty tornado; her eyes had slitted pupils, and they were turned on the witch as the newcomer straightened herself to her full height, nearly dwarfing Holly. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you were out there." The witch bowed her head a little, and was surprised when the female dragon-creature put a large hand on her shoulder. "No, it's alright. At least the cabin's clean, right?"
"Oh... uh, sure."
"Cool," a long white tail snaked through the doorway, the end coiled around the straps of a large hiking backpack, and gently placed the bag on an empty bunk. That done, she twitched the feathery limbs on her back, which was exposed from the tie-back sleeveless shirt she wore, and cheerfully introduced herself. "I'm Azure."
"Holly." The two bunkmates shook hands, but were interrupted by a muffled voice from underneath Azure's bag.
"Hey! Quit the niceties and GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Ack!" Both girls ran over to the bed and started to dig out the perturbed cat.
Lyra cautiously knocked on the wooden door, jumping back a bit as it swung inside and hit the wall with a loud crack. She poked her head inside, and timidly asked, "Hello? Anyone here..?"
"Come on in, we're cleaning up the bedroom right now..." A young woman who looked to be about seventeen stepped into the cabin's tiny living room, wiping her hands on the hem of her dark blue haori, then stopped and cocked her head at Lyra, her blue eyes strangely bright in the dingy conditions. "Well, you must be the last bunkmate... er, pardon me for asking this, but have we met before?" She ran a hand through her silvery hair, which was tied back in a loose ponytail with a black ribbon, and cocked one of her ears (they equine and sat atop her skull) as if trying to remember something.
"Uh, I don't think we have. I'm Lyra," the elder Admarant sister held out her hand, and the other young woman cheerfully shook it, then called back into the room behind her. "Hey, Kou! Meru! Looks like we have a full cabin, so you better move your stuff off of that last bunk." There was a sarcastic "Yes, missus," from the other room, and a green backpack was sent flying behind the young woman. She shrugged, her the horn in the middle of her forehead shining brightly in the sunlight, and shifted her weight onto her other hoof, placing a hand on her hip. "I'm Arora. Come on in."
"I get dibs on the lower-right bunk." Justin tossed his bag on said bed, and plopped down after it, turning the volume on his CD player up to full blast. Yusuke and Kuwabara each claimed the top bunks, and the three boys were busy unpacking when the sliding door was shoved violently; Ayame sauntered in, avoiding eye contact with his bunk mates as he sat down on the leftover bunk and started to unpack his own belongings, his scaly pet crawling down from his shoulder and taking residence on the faded blanket.
"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around the campus before. I'm Yusuke," Yusuke held out a hand to the orange-haired demon, and Ayame merely glared daggers at the spirit detective with his red eyes before "Hmph"-ing and turning back to his bag. "Riiight..." Yusuke sighed and was about to exit through the sliding door to see the rest of the three-room cabin, but the Suzuka stepped through and leaned against the doorframe.
"So, what do you boys think?"
Justin looked up from his sprawled position on his bunk and stated, "It sucks."
The inventor shrugged and went over to the far wall, which had a small handle sticking out from it; pulling gently on the odd-shaped handle, a three-foot section of the wall folded up to reveal a dark nook with a rod hung across the top. "Give it a chance, Justin; there are sure to be plenty of skeletons in the closet."
Suzuka had to duck as an unzipped bag was tossed in the closet and Kuwabara once again buried himself in a manga book. "Say what you want, Suzuka..." The bag rustled, and out popped a familiar canine skeleton, which quickly reassembled itself and jumped out of the bag, then placed its bony forepaws on Suzuka's knees, its bright green eyes illuminating the nook. The blond man took one look at Kuwabara's pet, and then at the teen himself. "Well, you're no fun..."
The first night
All was quiet in the campground, as the students had settled down fairly early, considering it was vacation; spring rain lightly pattered against the wooden wall, and the inhabitants slept soundly, all except for a little two-tailed fox. The little familiar was curled by her owner, snuggling against Kouiyo's blanketed side, her ears flicking in every direction as the rain hit the windowpane. There was a crash of thunder, and the entire room was lit up as the lightning accompanied it; the tiny fox yelped and tried to get even closer to her kitsune owner, accidentally headbutting Kou in the side.
"Flame... what is it?" Kouiyo groaned and brushed her black hair out of her eyes, then sat up. She picked up the little familiar and gently stroked Flame on her silky head. The fox whimpered and dug its slender little muzzle in Kouiyo's arms, and kept on glancing out the window with wide eyes, the Venetian blinds illuminated once more in a flash of light, and the frightened familiar caught sight of a dark shape through the pale blinds. Flame howled, her eyes bugging out, and started to struggle in Kou's arms; the loud noise woke up the other three girls in the room.
"Kou, can't you get Flame to shut her yap?" Meru grumbled, turning over on her side and burying her head in her pillow, but Arora and Lyra were less rude. The raven-haired Lyra quietly stepped down the ladder that was hooked onto the side of her bunk and tip-toed over to Kouiyo's bunk. "Kou, what's she saying?"
"I don't really know... she keeps on gabbing on about something in the window." Kouiyo handed her familiar to Lyra, and padded over to the window, taking the blind pulls in her hand. As if making a point, she turned her eyes on Flame and said, "Look, there's nothing out there, see?" Kou yanked the strings, and the blinds were pulled up, just as another bolt of lightning flashed, and a large silhouette blocked out most of the light. Kou took one look at Arora's face, and shakily looked over her shoulder, black ears flat against her head. Water was running down a long black muzzle, which was open to reveal a jaw full of sharp teeth, and four glowing red orbs, one pair larger than the other.
"Excuse me, but-"
"AIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He hated camping.
As if listening to Kuwabara snore above him wasn't enough, the rain and thunder kept on through the entire night. Yusuke, who was normally able to sleep through anything, including the first round of the Dark Tournament, was stuck in the middle of nowhere, being kept awake by lightning, thunder, and some idiot's incessant snoring. And then the June bugs joined in...
Give him the city streets any day - the noise of traffic was a lullaby to his ears - but why couldn't they have gone somewhere quieter for vacation? Misery Island... something told Yusuke it would live up to its name sometime in the next three days - and it was starting with insomnia.
The spirit detective was just about ready to close his lids and start counting sheep when the quiet noise of rustling sheets came from the bunk across and above from him. As he watched, a pair of red eyes met his own, and a shock of orange hair stuck out in the darkness as Ayame swung down onto the ladder, fully dressed with his reptilian pet on his shoulder, and stalked out the door; but not before giving Yusuke a dirty look as he slid the bedroom door shut behind him. Seconds later, the outer screen door creaked open and footsteps were heard running down the gravel path between the cabins, amidst the thunder and rain.
'Well... now that doesn't seem normal...' Yusuke sat up, cracked his neck, and grabbed his sneakers, pulling them on as he made his way through his shared bedroom and the tiny den, then took his jacket from its hook by the door and stepped through the screen door. He was instantly hit by a gust of wind, and hastily zipped up his jacket, glad that he had worn pants and a shirt when he went to bed instead of just boxers. The thunder rumbled again, and another burst of light lit up the campground, reflecting off of the deepening puddles and the water-filled footprints that Ayame had left behind.
Without much else to do, Yusuke kept his eyes on the footprints and took off at a run, looking up every so often for Ayame or the demon's flaming pet. The rain was nearly deafening, and it was surprising that such a light drizzle had turned into a thunderstorm in just a few minutes; finally, another flash of lightning, and Yusuke could see a humanoid shadow slip into the thickly wooded forest that surrounded the campsite. Shivering, he ran up to where Ayame had slipped off, and saw a small, barely discernable path through the thick brush; he sighed, and pushed a few small branches out of the way, then followed, only to slip in a large mud puddle. He reached out for a handhold, but he only grabbed a handful of slim thorny branches, and fell into a large pricker bush.
"Damn! This just can't get any better..." He slowly picked himself off, sneering in disgust at the sheer amount of muck that coated his clothes, and wiped a glob a mud from his forehead. Deciding that going after the escaped Ayame was a waste of time, he painstakingly stepped out from the brush, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked back to his cabin.
"Hey, Urameshi! Good mornin'" Jin was floating next to the huge outdoor grill, sitting Indian-style as he broke off a conversation with Lyonell and Justin. Needless to say, Yusuke wasn't in the best of moods, as he sat down at one of the long picnic tables and let his head fall down onto the table with a loud thunk. "Rough night, Yusuke?" The spirit detective looked up to see a steaming mug of coffee placed in front of him, along with a plate of eggs and sausage. With a grumble, he picked his head up and hungrily latched onto the coffee, gulping it down despite the burning sensation it left in his throat. A slender hand moved the mug down, and Lyra was smiling down at him. "Take it easy, Yusuke. You need to breathe, too."
"Hey, Lyra! Have you seen Flame around? I can't find her." A black-haired kitsune called over to the water manipulator, and Lyra shook her head, her long black braid slowly swishing behind her back. "No, I haven't. She's probably still scared of Koryu." The fox demon swore to herself, and said a quick good bye before running back off to look around the other cabins. Jin floated down next to Lyra, his head cocked and eyes filled with curiosity. "Who's Flame?"
"Her familiar. It's a two-tailed fox cub. Koryu decided to sneak up last night, and he scared all of us when he showed up." There was a clatter of dishes from behind them, and both windmaster and Admarant sister glanced back, only to see an empty dish in front of Yusuke, who was busily wolfing down another. Lyra and Jin sweatdropped, and Lyra took the plates from in front of Yusuke. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you went out for a run last night instead of sleeping."
Yusuke's brown eyes widened, and he went into a coughing fit as a bite of sausage got stuck in his throat. Jin uncurled his legs and dropped down on the ground, his mouth twisted in a grin, the trademark white fang poking out over his lower lip. "Well now... looks like she hit it on the nail." Yusuke finally stopped coughing and muttered, "Don't you guys have someone else to bother?"
Jin's ears drooped a little but he kept up his smile. "Fine, I'll go. I think the others are heading down to the lake, anyways." The redhead once again lifted himself in the air, and floated away from the table. "Oi, Urameshi, why don't you go find Hiei? Maybe you two could go sulk in some dark corner 'r something'." He glanced back at Yusuke, inwardly smirking, then flew above the tree tops.
"Something tells me you hurt his feelings..." Lyra tore her eyes away from the vanishing speck that was Jin, and walked over to the large group sink, which was stacked with dirty dishes, leaving the spirit detective on his own.
"Ah, yes... now that is nice..." The binoculars zeroed in, and sunlight reflected off of the glass lenses as the entire freshwater beach was magnified. Of course, why would he do something so trivial such as watch the scenery? Personally, the many females that had come to the beach was a much more interesting subject; because of the warmer weather and clean water, many of said schoolgirls were in their bathing suits, and this drew the thief to them like flies were drawn to cow shit.
The blond boy was sitting up amidst the thick bushes that lined the top of a rocky wall, a pair of binoculars glued to his gray-green eyes, getting himself a look-see at his female peers. The reason for his distance from the group was the fact that Lark was down at the beach, and since she was in her natural element, it wasn't a wise thing to anger her; tsunamis tended to pop up when she was upset. Not only that, but water twisters, deadly sea creatures, and very, very large waves.
His gaze wandered over the rest of the beach, and he made a quick mental note of what his friends were doing. Lyonell, as usual, was staying as far from the water as possible, while Yusuke and Kuwabara played fetch with Bones (using one of the skeleton dog's ribs as a stick); meanwhile, Holly, Chrysanthemum, and some other girls had spread out their beach towels on a grassy knoll that was in the shade of a stand of weeping willow trees, and were chatting the afternoon away. It seemed his roommates had picked up some new friends, as a tall, whitish-blue young woman with short feathery wings (which were just about useless when it came to flight, he guessed) and a long tail, was balanced on a low-hanging willow branch, the tail tightly wrapped around the rough bark. Another young woman, with a short horn that resembled Jin's protruding out of her forehead and long, silvery hair that was tied back with a black ribbon was sleeping on her towel, which was partly in the sun. The bright sunlight hit her long horse-tail, which shimmered a brilliant silver, and her hooves dully shone; her usual clothes were replaced by a robin's egg-blue one piece swimsuit, except for her dark blue haori, which she wore as an over coat.
There was a sharp prick on his shoulder, and Rogerik almost jumped in surprise, an act that would have sent him tumbling down the rocky face that bordered the fresh water beach; even worse, the multitude of sunbathing and swimming schoolgirls beneath were bound to get violent. "And what do you think you're doing?" The voice was a hoarse whisper, and had a bit of a feline hiss to it. From the moment that he looked up into the pair of dark eyes, with their slitted pupils, Rogerik knew he was in deep trouble.
"Sh-Shikyo! Erm... well, I was, uh, looking for, umm... water nymphs! Yep... I heard they're pretty common around here, so..." The blond rogue quickly shoved the binoculars in the bushed, looping the cord around one of the branches. Not surprisingly, the English teacher didn't buy Rogerik's rather lame excuse. "Really? Well then, I suppose you wouldn't mind handing over that pair of binoculars you have, hm?"
"No, sir..." Rogerik glumly onwrapped the nylon cord and deposited the binoculars into Shikyo's outstretched hand. The cat took one quick look around, then nudged Rogerik with his foot, hissing in his ear, "Hey, shove over."
The thief did a double take, but complied, moving from his spot by about a foot or two, then watched as the cat-demon crouched down, binoculars glued to his eyes. He was about to say something, but Shikyo held up one hand and smirked. "You don't tell anyone, and I can change that C of yours to a B."
"B plus."
"Deal."
It was sweltering, and the humidity made it seem impossible to breathe, much less cook dinner over an open fire. Still, this did not deter the students from building a huge bonfire in the middle of the campgrounds. As the younger students were sent to go collect firewood (with the supervision of Djornn and Rachel), Rachel had taken charge of the high-school groups, and was currently trying to turn them into five-star cooks.
Meaning, she was acting as drill sergeant to a bunch of teenagers that could barely peel potatoes without cutting off a finger in the process.
Whoo... what memories this experience was sure to create.
"I hate this trip." This was the most likely the umpteenth time that Yusuke had spoken those four words; and, while it had been amusing the first two or three times, most of his companions merely gave him dirty looks before getting back to work. "Oh, I'm sure you do, Yusuke. In fact, the entire trip was planned just to make you miserable." Lyonell grumpily quipped, struggling to open a vacuum-sealed hotdog wrapper without aid of a knife or scissors. The spirit detective snorted and got back to slicing raw veggies, accidentally nicking his finger with the knife he held.
"Argh... crap." Yusuke dropped the offending kitchen utensil and grabbed a napkin from one of the picnic tables, then watched as his friends slaved away. Noticing Lyonell was particularly having trouble, he helpfully suggested, "You know, man, you have claws; use them."
"... shut up." The cat demon twitched his golden tail in annoyance, then shredded the hotdog wrapping within seconds, trying his best not to give Yusuke the evil eye in the process. What he wouldn't give for a McDonalds way out here... No, Wendy's; Wendy's was definitely much better than McDonalds. Kurama, taking note of the cat's peevish attitude, gave a pacifying smile and shrugged.
"To tell the truth, Lyonell, cooking isn't that bad; but it would be much better if we could rid ourselves of these bees." The fox waved one away from his head, but the little insect only returned, this time with two others, and they hovered over Kurama's workplace.
"Kurama, bees make honey, and honey makes Baklava, so they're alright with me." Holly walked by, a tray of cooked hotdogs and hamburgers balanced on one hand, and a pitcher of lemonade in the other; her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and wisps of red-brown strands hung in her face. The boys stared at her, the witch's explanation of the universal importance of bees seemingly random to them, and Holly broke out into a sheepish smile. "What? What'd I say?"
"Nothing..."
"Nope, I'll just move over here... away from you."
Holly's smile turned to a frown, and she glared at Yusuke and Lyonell before turning on her heel and walking off, with a shout of, "Meanies!" lingering in the air after her.
Kurama, still smiling, but now with a sweatdrop rolling down his temple, refused to answer Lyonell's question of "...what the hell does baklava have to do with camping..?"
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Gaah... . I'm so goddamn braindead... Will finish second half of their April vacation later this week; hopefully by Sunday.
Finals bite (really, they do. Or they spit, as in the case of our practical on llama handling)... Fencing is tiring... and baby-sitting is wearing me out. And lets not even talk about the hours of sleep I've lost because Harvest Moon is so addicting; someone has to forcibly wrench the PS2 controller from my hands if I start playing, because if they don't, I don't eat, sleep, or do my homework...
Wow, that's pathetic; I live in the middle of Hicksville, go to an agricultural school, and yet I play a farming simulation game...
...
Okay... you may begin the smiting. The review/ verbal abuse button is on the bottom left-hand corner; Use it as you wish.
Quote of the week: "Behold! The Crippler of Cripples! The Injurer of poor Mentally-damaged Peoples! The-One-Who-Trips-Over-Small-Children!" -Dylan (making fun of me after I tripped over a toddler that playing at the Commons playground. ...don't ask me how I did it; I don't rightfully know.)
Okay, in short: For my lack of updates I deserve to be drug out into the street and shot.
Thank you, that is all.
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The boat, which was amazingly fast despite its size, had just docked at Misery Island in about two hours; a good two days sooner than when the Reikai Tantei had traveled by whale. But, judging by the color of Kuwabara's face as he hung over the rail, Yusuke had decided that maybe it was better to take a more gentle way to the campsite; the ship had literally jumped from every wave, and the ocean was just one big blue blur when the boat had reached full speed. If Holly hadn't shown up before they had pulled out of the harbor, she might have been left behind, along with her two tag-alongs.
But, now as they stood on solid ground, the spirit detective was watching the scene in front of him with amusement. How Djornn had managed to get onto the boat had been a complete mystery to him, as he hadn't been there to watch, but now this was simply a laugh-riot. The boat's captain and a handful of mechanics were trying to lower the centaur down using a crane, and Djornn was bolting at nearly every attempt.
"No, I'm not going to get down on that- that thing!" The centaur roared, shying away from a particularly slow-witted handyman, and kicking his back legs out. Yusuke, Justin, Jin, and even Hiei were watching from the docks, the Jaganshi actually harboring a small smirk on his face as his "teacher" ran to and fro, leaping over diving sailors, clattering past the much narrower bow of the boat, and then he finally reared up and ran full-out towards the railing. Students and teachers scattered like the ants in the Happy Tree Friends as the dark-gray equine man leaped over the wooden railing and soared down, his strong hooves hitting the stone pathway below with a jarring crack, then wheeled around, sticking his middle finger up at the stunned crew. "Try that, you damn bipeds!"
"Djornn..." Suzuka placed a hand on the teacher's shoulder, then forcefully pulled him away from the docks. "Maybe you should just run on ahead and leave the ship's captain to me, okay? The last thing we need is you on another one of your tirades..."
"Well... it has seen better days..." Holly mumbled this, and Kyuro, who was sitting on her shoulder, nodded in agreement. "Yeah... are you sure we have to spend four days in this dump?" He lightly landed on the grimy wood-plank floor, and started to poke around the cabin, leaving paw prints in the dust. Holly sighed, and opened the window, then called upon a small gust of wind. The breeze willingly blew in, and kicked up small twisters of dust, which whirled around the room, then the gray cloud of dust and dirt flew back out the window and dispersed. When it was done, not a speck of dirt was left on the cabin floor and the bunks were spotlessly clean. Kyuro gave the witch an approving smirk, and happily jumped on one of the lower bunks, stretched, then curled up on a pillow and fell asleep.
The familiar was rudely awakened not even a minute later, as there was an aggravated yelp from outside, and the door swung open as a tall, draconic- looking creature stumbled in. She was shaking her head, her donkey-like ears flopping as she tried to recover from the dusty tornado; her eyes had slitted pupils, and they were turned on the witch as the newcomer straightened herself to her full height, nearly dwarfing Holly. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you were out there." The witch bowed her head a little, and was surprised when the female dragon-creature put a large hand on her shoulder. "No, it's alright. At least the cabin's clean, right?"
"Oh... uh, sure."
"Cool," a long white tail snaked through the doorway, the end coiled around the straps of a large hiking backpack, and gently placed the bag on an empty bunk. That done, she twitched the feathery limbs on her back, which was exposed from the tie-back sleeveless shirt she wore, and cheerfully introduced herself. "I'm Azure."
"Holly." The two bunkmates shook hands, but were interrupted by a muffled voice from underneath Azure's bag.
"Hey! Quit the niceties and GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Ack!" Both girls ran over to the bed and started to dig out the perturbed cat.
Lyra cautiously knocked on the wooden door, jumping back a bit as it swung inside and hit the wall with a loud crack. She poked her head inside, and timidly asked, "Hello? Anyone here..?"
"Come on in, we're cleaning up the bedroom right now..." A young woman who looked to be about seventeen stepped into the cabin's tiny living room, wiping her hands on the hem of her dark blue haori, then stopped and cocked her head at Lyra, her blue eyes strangely bright in the dingy conditions. "Well, you must be the last bunkmate... er, pardon me for asking this, but have we met before?" She ran a hand through her silvery hair, which was tied back in a loose ponytail with a black ribbon, and cocked one of her ears (they equine and sat atop her skull) as if trying to remember something.
"Uh, I don't think we have. I'm Lyra," the elder Admarant sister held out her hand, and the other young woman cheerfully shook it, then called back into the room behind her. "Hey, Kou! Meru! Looks like we have a full cabin, so you better move your stuff off of that last bunk." There was a sarcastic "Yes, missus," from the other room, and a green backpack was sent flying behind the young woman. She shrugged, her the horn in the middle of her forehead shining brightly in the sunlight, and shifted her weight onto her other hoof, placing a hand on her hip. "I'm Arora. Come on in."
"I get dibs on the lower-right bunk." Justin tossed his bag on said bed, and plopped down after it, turning the volume on his CD player up to full blast. Yusuke and Kuwabara each claimed the top bunks, and the three boys were busy unpacking when the sliding door was shoved violently; Ayame sauntered in, avoiding eye contact with his bunk mates as he sat down on the leftover bunk and started to unpack his own belongings, his scaly pet crawling down from his shoulder and taking residence on the faded blanket.
"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around the campus before. I'm Yusuke," Yusuke held out a hand to the orange-haired demon, and Ayame merely glared daggers at the spirit detective with his red eyes before "Hmph"-ing and turning back to his bag. "Riiight..." Yusuke sighed and was about to exit through the sliding door to see the rest of the three-room cabin, but the Suzuka stepped through and leaned against the doorframe.
"So, what do you boys think?"
Justin looked up from his sprawled position on his bunk and stated, "It sucks."
The inventor shrugged and went over to the far wall, which had a small handle sticking out from it; pulling gently on the odd-shaped handle, a three-foot section of the wall folded up to reveal a dark nook with a rod hung across the top. "Give it a chance, Justin; there are sure to be plenty of skeletons in the closet."
Suzuka had to duck as an unzipped bag was tossed in the closet and Kuwabara once again buried himself in a manga book. "Say what you want, Suzuka..." The bag rustled, and out popped a familiar canine skeleton, which quickly reassembled itself and jumped out of the bag, then placed its bony forepaws on Suzuka's knees, its bright green eyes illuminating the nook. The blond man took one look at Kuwabara's pet, and then at the teen himself. "Well, you're no fun..."
The first night
All was quiet in the campground, as the students had settled down fairly early, considering it was vacation; spring rain lightly pattered against the wooden wall, and the inhabitants slept soundly, all except for a little two-tailed fox. The little familiar was curled by her owner, snuggling against Kouiyo's blanketed side, her ears flicking in every direction as the rain hit the windowpane. There was a crash of thunder, and the entire room was lit up as the lightning accompanied it; the tiny fox yelped and tried to get even closer to her kitsune owner, accidentally headbutting Kou in the side.
"Flame... what is it?" Kouiyo groaned and brushed her black hair out of her eyes, then sat up. She picked up the little familiar and gently stroked Flame on her silky head. The fox whimpered and dug its slender little muzzle in Kouiyo's arms, and kept on glancing out the window with wide eyes, the Venetian blinds illuminated once more in a flash of light, and the frightened familiar caught sight of a dark shape through the pale blinds. Flame howled, her eyes bugging out, and started to struggle in Kou's arms; the loud noise woke up the other three girls in the room.
"Kou, can't you get Flame to shut her yap?" Meru grumbled, turning over on her side and burying her head in her pillow, but Arora and Lyra were less rude. The raven-haired Lyra quietly stepped down the ladder that was hooked onto the side of her bunk and tip-toed over to Kouiyo's bunk. "Kou, what's she saying?"
"I don't really know... she keeps on gabbing on about something in the window." Kouiyo handed her familiar to Lyra, and padded over to the window, taking the blind pulls in her hand. As if making a point, she turned her eyes on Flame and said, "Look, there's nothing out there, see?" Kou yanked the strings, and the blinds were pulled up, just as another bolt of lightning flashed, and a large silhouette blocked out most of the light. Kou took one look at Arora's face, and shakily looked over her shoulder, black ears flat against her head. Water was running down a long black muzzle, which was open to reveal a jaw full of sharp teeth, and four glowing red orbs, one pair larger than the other.
"Excuse me, but-"
"AIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He hated camping.
As if listening to Kuwabara snore above him wasn't enough, the rain and thunder kept on through the entire night. Yusuke, who was normally able to sleep through anything, including the first round of the Dark Tournament, was stuck in the middle of nowhere, being kept awake by lightning, thunder, and some idiot's incessant snoring. And then the June bugs joined in...
Give him the city streets any day - the noise of traffic was a lullaby to his ears - but why couldn't they have gone somewhere quieter for vacation? Misery Island... something told Yusuke it would live up to its name sometime in the next three days - and it was starting with insomnia.
The spirit detective was just about ready to close his lids and start counting sheep when the quiet noise of rustling sheets came from the bunk across and above from him. As he watched, a pair of red eyes met his own, and a shock of orange hair stuck out in the darkness as Ayame swung down onto the ladder, fully dressed with his reptilian pet on his shoulder, and stalked out the door; but not before giving Yusuke a dirty look as he slid the bedroom door shut behind him. Seconds later, the outer screen door creaked open and footsteps were heard running down the gravel path between the cabins, amidst the thunder and rain.
'Well... now that doesn't seem normal...' Yusuke sat up, cracked his neck, and grabbed his sneakers, pulling them on as he made his way through his shared bedroom and the tiny den, then took his jacket from its hook by the door and stepped through the screen door. He was instantly hit by a gust of wind, and hastily zipped up his jacket, glad that he had worn pants and a shirt when he went to bed instead of just boxers. The thunder rumbled again, and another burst of light lit up the campground, reflecting off of the deepening puddles and the water-filled footprints that Ayame had left behind.
Without much else to do, Yusuke kept his eyes on the footprints and took off at a run, looking up every so often for Ayame or the demon's flaming pet. The rain was nearly deafening, and it was surprising that such a light drizzle had turned into a thunderstorm in just a few minutes; finally, another flash of lightning, and Yusuke could see a humanoid shadow slip into the thickly wooded forest that surrounded the campsite. Shivering, he ran up to where Ayame had slipped off, and saw a small, barely discernable path through the thick brush; he sighed, and pushed a few small branches out of the way, then followed, only to slip in a large mud puddle. He reached out for a handhold, but he only grabbed a handful of slim thorny branches, and fell into a large pricker bush.
"Damn! This just can't get any better..." He slowly picked himself off, sneering in disgust at the sheer amount of muck that coated his clothes, and wiped a glob a mud from his forehead. Deciding that going after the escaped Ayame was a waste of time, he painstakingly stepped out from the brush, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked back to his cabin.
"Hey, Urameshi! Good mornin'" Jin was floating next to the huge outdoor grill, sitting Indian-style as he broke off a conversation with Lyonell and Justin. Needless to say, Yusuke wasn't in the best of moods, as he sat down at one of the long picnic tables and let his head fall down onto the table with a loud thunk. "Rough night, Yusuke?" The spirit detective looked up to see a steaming mug of coffee placed in front of him, along with a plate of eggs and sausage. With a grumble, he picked his head up and hungrily latched onto the coffee, gulping it down despite the burning sensation it left in his throat. A slender hand moved the mug down, and Lyra was smiling down at him. "Take it easy, Yusuke. You need to breathe, too."
"Hey, Lyra! Have you seen Flame around? I can't find her." A black-haired kitsune called over to the water manipulator, and Lyra shook her head, her long black braid slowly swishing behind her back. "No, I haven't. She's probably still scared of Koryu." The fox demon swore to herself, and said a quick good bye before running back off to look around the other cabins. Jin floated down next to Lyra, his head cocked and eyes filled with curiosity. "Who's Flame?"
"Her familiar. It's a two-tailed fox cub. Koryu decided to sneak up last night, and he scared all of us when he showed up." There was a clatter of dishes from behind them, and both windmaster and Admarant sister glanced back, only to see an empty dish in front of Yusuke, who was busily wolfing down another. Lyra and Jin sweatdropped, and Lyra took the plates from in front of Yusuke. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you went out for a run last night instead of sleeping."
Yusuke's brown eyes widened, and he went into a coughing fit as a bite of sausage got stuck in his throat. Jin uncurled his legs and dropped down on the ground, his mouth twisted in a grin, the trademark white fang poking out over his lower lip. "Well now... looks like she hit it on the nail." Yusuke finally stopped coughing and muttered, "Don't you guys have someone else to bother?"
Jin's ears drooped a little but he kept up his smile. "Fine, I'll go. I think the others are heading down to the lake, anyways." The redhead once again lifted himself in the air, and floated away from the table. "Oi, Urameshi, why don't you go find Hiei? Maybe you two could go sulk in some dark corner 'r something'." He glanced back at Yusuke, inwardly smirking, then flew above the tree tops.
"Something tells me you hurt his feelings..." Lyra tore her eyes away from the vanishing speck that was Jin, and walked over to the large group sink, which was stacked with dirty dishes, leaving the spirit detective on his own.
"Ah, yes... now that is nice..." The binoculars zeroed in, and sunlight reflected off of the glass lenses as the entire freshwater beach was magnified. Of course, why would he do something so trivial such as watch the scenery? Personally, the many females that had come to the beach was a much more interesting subject; because of the warmer weather and clean water, many of said schoolgirls were in their bathing suits, and this drew the thief to them like flies were drawn to cow shit.
The blond boy was sitting up amidst the thick bushes that lined the top of a rocky wall, a pair of binoculars glued to his gray-green eyes, getting himself a look-see at his female peers. The reason for his distance from the group was the fact that Lark was down at the beach, and since she was in her natural element, it wasn't a wise thing to anger her; tsunamis tended to pop up when she was upset. Not only that, but water twisters, deadly sea creatures, and very, very large waves.
His gaze wandered over the rest of the beach, and he made a quick mental note of what his friends were doing. Lyonell, as usual, was staying as far from the water as possible, while Yusuke and Kuwabara played fetch with Bones (using one of the skeleton dog's ribs as a stick); meanwhile, Holly, Chrysanthemum, and some other girls had spread out their beach towels on a grassy knoll that was in the shade of a stand of weeping willow trees, and were chatting the afternoon away. It seemed his roommates had picked up some new friends, as a tall, whitish-blue young woman with short feathery wings (which were just about useless when it came to flight, he guessed) and a long tail, was balanced on a low-hanging willow branch, the tail tightly wrapped around the rough bark. Another young woman, with a short horn that resembled Jin's protruding out of her forehead and long, silvery hair that was tied back with a black ribbon was sleeping on her towel, which was partly in the sun. The bright sunlight hit her long horse-tail, which shimmered a brilliant silver, and her hooves dully shone; her usual clothes were replaced by a robin's egg-blue one piece swimsuit, except for her dark blue haori, which she wore as an over coat.
There was a sharp prick on his shoulder, and Rogerik almost jumped in surprise, an act that would have sent him tumbling down the rocky face that bordered the fresh water beach; even worse, the multitude of sunbathing and swimming schoolgirls beneath were bound to get violent. "And what do you think you're doing?" The voice was a hoarse whisper, and had a bit of a feline hiss to it. From the moment that he looked up into the pair of dark eyes, with their slitted pupils, Rogerik knew he was in deep trouble.
"Sh-Shikyo! Erm... well, I was, uh, looking for, umm... water nymphs! Yep... I heard they're pretty common around here, so..." The blond rogue quickly shoved the binoculars in the bushed, looping the cord around one of the branches. Not surprisingly, the English teacher didn't buy Rogerik's rather lame excuse. "Really? Well then, I suppose you wouldn't mind handing over that pair of binoculars you have, hm?"
"No, sir..." Rogerik glumly onwrapped the nylon cord and deposited the binoculars into Shikyo's outstretched hand. The cat took one quick look around, then nudged Rogerik with his foot, hissing in his ear, "Hey, shove over."
The thief did a double take, but complied, moving from his spot by about a foot or two, then watched as the cat-demon crouched down, binoculars glued to his eyes. He was about to say something, but Shikyo held up one hand and smirked. "You don't tell anyone, and I can change that C of yours to a B."
"B plus."
"Deal."
It was sweltering, and the humidity made it seem impossible to breathe, much less cook dinner over an open fire. Still, this did not deter the students from building a huge bonfire in the middle of the campgrounds. As the younger students were sent to go collect firewood (with the supervision of Djornn and Rachel), Rachel had taken charge of the high-school groups, and was currently trying to turn them into five-star cooks.
Meaning, she was acting as drill sergeant to a bunch of teenagers that could barely peel potatoes without cutting off a finger in the process.
Whoo... what memories this experience was sure to create.
"I hate this trip." This was the most likely the umpteenth time that Yusuke had spoken those four words; and, while it had been amusing the first two or three times, most of his companions merely gave him dirty looks before getting back to work. "Oh, I'm sure you do, Yusuke. In fact, the entire trip was planned just to make you miserable." Lyonell grumpily quipped, struggling to open a vacuum-sealed hotdog wrapper without aid of a knife or scissors. The spirit detective snorted and got back to slicing raw veggies, accidentally nicking his finger with the knife he held.
"Argh... crap." Yusuke dropped the offending kitchen utensil and grabbed a napkin from one of the picnic tables, then watched as his friends slaved away. Noticing Lyonell was particularly having trouble, he helpfully suggested, "You know, man, you have claws; use them."
"... shut up." The cat demon twitched his golden tail in annoyance, then shredded the hotdog wrapping within seconds, trying his best not to give Yusuke the evil eye in the process. What he wouldn't give for a McDonalds way out here... No, Wendy's; Wendy's was definitely much better than McDonalds. Kurama, taking note of the cat's peevish attitude, gave a pacifying smile and shrugged.
"To tell the truth, Lyonell, cooking isn't that bad; but it would be much better if we could rid ourselves of these bees." The fox waved one away from his head, but the little insect only returned, this time with two others, and they hovered over Kurama's workplace.
"Kurama, bees make honey, and honey makes Baklava, so they're alright with me." Holly walked by, a tray of cooked hotdogs and hamburgers balanced on one hand, and a pitcher of lemonade in the other; her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and wisps of red-brown strands hung in her face. The boys stared at her, the witch's explanation of the universal importance of bees seemingly random to them, and Holly broke out into a sheepish smile. "What? What'd I say?"
"Nothing..."
"Nope, I'll just move over here... away from you."
Holly's smile turned to a frown, and she glared at Yusuke and Lyonell before turning on her heel and walking off, with a shout of, "Meanies!" lingering in the air after her.
Kurama, still smiling, but now with a sweatdrop rolling down his temple, refused to answer Lyonell's question of "...what the hell does baklava have to do with camping..?"
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Gaah... . I'm so goddamn braindead... Will finish second half of their April vacation later this week; hopefully by Sunday.
Finals bite (really, they do. Or they spit, as in the case of our practical on llama handling)... Fencing is tiring... and baby-sitting is wearing me out. And lets not even talk about the hours of sleep I've lost because Harvest Moon is so addicting; someone has to forcibly wrench the PS2 controller from my hands if I start playing, because if they don't, I don't eat, sleep, or do my homework...
Wow, that's pathetic; I live in the middle of Hicksville, go to an agricultural school, and yet I play a farming simulation game...
...
Okay... you may begin the smiting. The review/ verbal abuse button is on the bottom left-hand corner; Use it as you wish.