Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.
Chapter 5: Splaining to Do
Criss wasn't sure exactly what Shuichi Minamino was thinking. She'd never been so confused by a single person her entire life. Usually, she could sum up a person's personality in one word. That word had never been confusing, and now Shuichi had gone and taken it.
Well, actually, that had always been her word. Until now. It was a little unnerving to think that she didn't know what was going on in his head. She may never have understood herself, but usually she understood other people just fine. This went against every common idea on people she'd ever obtained.
And for some dang reason, she liked it.
She dressed in her typical night outfit. Criss had never really worn anything that would be construed as "pajamas". She wore the tank top that she always wore under her clothes and a pair of baggy pants. If those pants happened to be the same she wore during the daytime, she didn't mind.
"Where you going so late?" Jun's tired voice poked out from the top bunk. "It's ten."
"I promised to meet Shuichi and JD on the roof. Wanna come, I think they said you could if you wanted to."
"You mean that hunk from downstairs? I'm there!" Jun took about ten minutes longer to get dressed and was about to start applying makeup when Criss stopped her.
"It's dark up there, cakes, they ain't gonna notice," Criss said. "Besides, you look like an angel without it. More so, in my opinion."
"Oh, all right," Jun rolled her eyes. "Let's go!"
Criss led the way to the end of the hall, where a rickety old fire escape ladder led them up onto the roof. Shuichi and JD were already there.
"Sorry I'm late, Shuichi, Jun was asleep when I told her," Criss said.
"It's all right, we were a little 'late' ourselves." Shuichi gave JD a pointed look.
Suddenly, Shuichi looked a little nervous. What was there to be scared of? He was among friends. Criss cocked her head to the side and waited to be informed. After a minute, Shuichi reached into his pocket and removed a small cell phone. Except when he opened it, it didn't look like a cell phone anymore.
Inside of the "phone" was a tiny screen and several small buttons that didn't look anything like a normal telephone pad. Shuichi soon explained what it was.
"This is my Spirit Communicator," he said. "I'm a detective from the god prince Koenma Junior. I've been sent here on a mission. That is, to find a new team of Spirit Detectives for the American Midwest. There has been some unknown activity near Jefferson College, therefore I enrolled here. You three are the strongest students on this campus."
There was silence. Criss stared at Shuichi, more than a little weirded out. This was the new foreign exchange student that she was supposed to know? Shuichi was suddenly a completely different person.
"I was wondering when you'd get around to introducing yourself formally, Shuichi," Jun said, a little knowing smile on her face. "Or should I say, Kurama?"
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" JD said. "Rewind, back up, and break it down."
"I'm with the J on this one, Shuichi," Criss shook her head. "We're supposed to be these all-powerful Spirit Detectives you need?" She turned to her roomie. "And what do you mean, 'Kurama'. Doesn't that mean 'car'?"
"No, it doesn't," Shuichi smiled. "That's 'kuruma'. Let me explain a little better. I am part of a team of Spirit Detectives in Japan. Our main leader, I suppose we'll call him, is Yusuke Urameshi. Our job is to keep the ningenkai—the human world—safe from spiritual entities that mean to harm humans. Usually, but not always, these entities are demons."
"Demons?" Criss's back went rigid as the name slipped from her tongue. "Like, fire and brimstone and hellfire demons?"
"Er…actually, that's usually caused by Lord Enma, Koenma's father…" Kurama laughed nervously at this.
Criss blinked. "Okay, everybody, grab a seat, gather round, Shuichi's got some 'splainin' to do."
…
…
…
Kurama told Criss, JD, and Jun a short run-down of how he met Yusuke Urameshi. He gave a short overview of some of the missions they had done. It was almost like a small chapel, how everybody listened in stunned silence.
"Sounds dreadful, when can we start?" Criss asked, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "I don't know what this Urameshi person was thinking, but he must be real stupid to have ever agreed to this. How did this junior god or whoever he is convince him?"
Kurama hadn't informed them of Yusuke's extenuating circumstance in hopes of never having to say that they'd all been halfway blackmailed into this. Well, sort of. Hiei was the one who was completely blackmailed into it. Yusuke kind of had to and Kuwabara… After seeing Yukina Jaganshi, he doubted the idiot would ever look back on when he was completely unaware of demons.
"Yusuke had to, as a repayment of debt," he answered. "He is a very…unique person. He likes kids. One day, he saw a little boy playing with his soccer ball in the street. A car was speeding toward him. He jumped in front of the car to save the little boy, killing himself. It was really his first redeeming move."
Criss blinked at him again. "So the idiot kills himself, Ko-whatever decides to bring him back if he agrees to fight demons? And you're asking us to do it for nothing? Risk our lives and our family's lives? Count me out."
She spun out of the battered lawn chair and headed for the door.
Kurama sighed. "I had hoped that a C-level human would be able to help me. It appears she has misplaced her judgment."
"What was that?" Criss spun around. "I've got priorities, Shuichi. I've got people to protect that you can't even begin to imagine. Good night!"
She slammed the door. Kurama winced at the sound and turned back to Jun and JD.
"What's that s'pposed to mean?" JD scratched his head. "That chick has some issues, dude. I don't know what they is, but she's got 'em bad."
"Once again, your vernacular speech has escaped me," Kurama said.
Jun laughed. "He's saying that there's something wrong with her, Kurama."
"I gathered that much. What about you two? Are you willing?"
"Sweetie, I'm no angel," Jun said. "If you ever need my help, I'm willing. But I'm not going to stick with your little gang."
JD shook his head. "Yo, man, I'm wit' you all the way. But you gotta admit, man, this is some freaky stuff."
"I concur," Kurama laughed. "Had I been unaware of any of this, I would have been, as you say, 'freaked'."
"You mean you wasn't?"
Kurama sighed again. "That story will take more time to tell than we have, my friend. To make a long story short, I am a fox demon reborn in a human's body. I am over a thousand years old and if any demons knew whom I was or where I am currently… I have a rather unsavory record with most of my previous kind."
"As do I, from my mother," Jun said. Kurama had almost forgotten that she was still there. "I was a lowly E demon when you died, Kurama. Maybe you'll remember me? My mother introduced us, once."
Kurama merely blinked. JD jumped up out of his seat.
"Am I suddenly surrounded by demons or somethin'!"
"It would seem so," Kurama said. "I'm afraid I don't, Jun, enlighten me."
"That's a shame, Kurama-kun," Jun said. "They got really friendly, the old Youko and my mother. In Philadelphia, remember?"
.I've got a bad feeling about this one, Shuichi.
..That goes double for me..
.She can't be...can she.?
…
…
…
I think that Kuronue's death affected Youko in more ways than the movie suggested. I realize that Youko is a very complicated person, and that he isn't as sex-oriented as some might think. I'm sorry if my story comes off feeling that way. It's just that Youko seems only to speak up when his motives sway from Shuichi's.
I'm afraid I never read the manga, so any information contained there that isn't in the anime has not reached me. My views reflect into my stories, and sometimes my portrayal of certain characters is altered by my views on what they motives are. Youko's motives and Shuichi's motives usually are the same. But I believe that on some points, they diverge. Shuichi knows Youko's past with the Gold Digger and doesn't want Youko to make the same mistake, in his body, no less. That's why this conflict is occurring. Jun is not the Gold Digger, but she is extremely close in looks and appeal.
For whatever reason (there is one, I just can't say it yet), Jun is extremely attractive to Youko's fox side. He wants to know more about her, he is curious, fox-like, in how she functions. Someone this "beautiful" must have something more. Youko's curiosity, though it is not plainly stated, is with more than her sexuality. It's just that that is the outlet that he uses to figure her out. She is a puzzle. Youkos, in my experience, love puzzles. Criss is one, too, but the outlet through which Youko is trying to figure her out is different than Jun's.
Hey, Kirei Kiane, maybe you'd like to discuss characters a little more in depth in a chat room? Email me, and we can set up a date! I love your insights, they're so intuitive. And I think you'd probably like to chat live, rather than writing essays… I must admit, though, I do like them.
Sillylittlenothing: You'll love how Criss's memory problem comes into play. I just know you will. It's not that I don't like yaoi, it's just that the way a lot of people portray them in other fics is just…wrong. Hiei is way too affectionate and Kurama is just…girlish. Kurama's not girlish! He's not a girl! He's just a fox spirit! Fox spirits are beautiful!
Has anyone ever seen the arctic fox up close before? They're GORGEOUS. I got to pet one once at the zoo. They are just so precious and their fur is sooooooooooooooooooo soft and pretty. We have red-tailed foxes here in Kansas, wild ones, and there's this one who thinks that my backyard is his playground. He comes back there with his kills and stares at my pet chickens. I'm kinda glad I padlocked the coop…