Well, Kyo Hana, perhaps you are the only one reading this... oh well, thank you I am glad that you like the "inversed" Yomi- I hadn't seen him in the anime before I wrote his character... I did end up renting a few episodes that had him in it, but the DVD was messed up and only showed the first one before freezing up entirely! ... So, I guess I'll have to wait for when/if Cartoon Network is so kind as to show the remainder of the damned show... Anyways, enough of my ranting... do enjoy the chapter.
"Ah, come on Keiko! Don't do this!"
"Keep out of it, Yusuke!" she growled. "This is none of your business!"
"Come on, don't drop out! Even Kuwabara's staying in school-"
"Are you saying that I'm dumber than Kuwabara?" Keiko demanded angrily.
"What? No! Oh, heck no, of course not! But if you drop out, he'll definitely rub it in your face- Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head; someone had thrown a book at him.
"Are you really going to stand there and take that?" she inquired tiredly.
Yusuke shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I don't even know who threw-"
"YO!" Keiko bellowed. Everyone in the hall, students and faculty alike, froze. "Who threw this," she held up the offending book, "at him?" She pointed at Yusuke.
Nobody answered. Yusuke could feel his face grow hot. "Keiko, this really isn't necessary," he said quietly.
"You!" she yelled, ignoring him. "Why the hell did you throw this at him?"
"Hey, what are you blaming me for?" Kuwabara asked defensively. "You don't know it was me!"
"Your name's on the inside of the cover, moron."
Kuwabara narrowed his eyes. "All right!" he blared. "Which one of you fiends stole my book? I need that to learn, you know, and if I don't receive a proper education, I'll end up being a two-bit punk the rest of my life, like Yukimura here- OUCH!" He shielded his head with his hands while an infuriated Keiko beat him repeatedly with the book.
"You goddamn, moronic, loud-mouth, spineless, arrogant, sonofabitch…." she continued rambling curses and profanities, angry tears, blackened with excess mascara, running down her face.
"That will be enough!" a man's voice roared. Everyone froze.
The principal walked down the hall, observing the scene before him with distaste. "You, and you," he hissed, pointing to Keiko and Kuwabara. "You're both to report to detention, after school, for disrupting the peace in my hallways." He noticed Yusuke standing by Keiko. "You too," he added. "After school. And you," he said to Keiko. "Go clean that muck off your face." He pointed to the black streaks on her cheeks.
"Detention!" he squeaked.
"Ooh… I'm so scared!" Kuwabara called out sarcastically to the principal's retreating back. Keiko merely shrugged, and hit the carrot-top over the head a final time, before dropping the book and leaving in search of a bathroom.
"My mom's gonna kill me," Yusuke groaned. Kuwabara snickered.
"See ya in detention, Urameshi," he said gruffly, pushing him aside.
Yusuke watched him walk away, chewing on his lip. Keiko had seemed pretty angry when she left… He shuddered, unsure of whom he should be more afraid of at the moment: her, Kuwabara, or the principal.
"Our friend's returned," he stated.
"Really?"
"I saw the limousine myself."
He snorted. "And how do you know it was his? All you wealthy bastards ride around in the same damn type of car."
"I'll have you know that my conception and birth were both perfectly legitimate," he said defensively. "I saw him get out. He's staying at the Hotel Ningen."
"What?" he asked, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
"You're joking. How stupid is he?"
"I'm not," Sakyo answered. "And I wouldn't call it stupidity per se."
"Sakyo's right, Karasu. Returning to the sight of the attack on him has a somewhat symbolic meaning, at least to him. It's his way of telling the ones who plot against him- us- that he's not scared."
"Uh-huh," Karasu said disinterestedly. "But I'm not impressed. Shall we try again? Perhaps this time that bitch of yours won't miss."
"Her name is Yukina," Sakyo said brusquely.
"Whatever."
"I'm beginning to think that killing him may not be the best option…" he said vaguely, putting an end to what had the potential to be a violent argument.
"Really?" Sakyo asked.
He puffed the cigarette thoughtfully. "Perhaps. I'm not sure; give me some time to think it over. Discuss it…" he trailed off.
Sakyo waited for him to continue. "Don't even bother," Karasu said, observing his expectant look. "When he gets this way it can be some time before he talks again."
"I see," he said, watching the person in question curiously. "He does this often?"
Karasu smirked. "You don't know him so well, do you?" The subject of the conversation stood up. "Where are you going?"
"Away from you two," he said abstractedly. "You gossip like women."
This earned a chortle from the two seated men. "Oh, it is we who are like women?" Karasu asked. "I think that's the funniest thing you've ever said, Foxy." He delivered a sharp slap to the other's sparsely, leather-clad rear. "Hm," he said thoughtfully, squeezing. "You feel more corpulent than normal. Put on weight?"
He narrowed his eyes at the taunt. "That would be none of your business," he hissed, reaching around and grabbing the wrist of the harrowing hand, twisting it until Karasu yelled in pain. "I'll be going now." He released Karasu and went outside.
Sakyo raised an eyebrow. "Bit of a temper on him, huh?" he asked, observing the marks left on the wrist.
Karasu shrugged. "It varies," he said indifferently. "Kurama knows his place though- normally."
"I thought he was in charge?"
"It would appear that way, wouldn't it?" he replied furtively. He leaned back, pulled out a knife, and began to clean his nails. "Just you wait; he'll be back in a bit."
Sakyo deduced that either the two had disputes like this often, and so a pattern had been established, or that Karasu was psychic, as less than an hour had passed when the door opened and the redheaded transvestite reappeared.
"Back so soon?" Karasu asked offhandedly. Kurama glared at him.
"You may want to gather some extra hands," he said monotonously. "I have an idea."