Disclaimer: I own neither X-men nor Yu Yu Hakusho. I don't know WHO owns
them, but it certainly isn't ME.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
"blah." means that the words are in English (unless the section is told from a Japanese-speaker's point of view with only Japanese people talking -- I.e. Kurama, Yuusuke, Hiei, etc.)
~"blah."~ means that the words are in Japanese.
="blah."= indicates words spoken in a Makai dialect. (Wait a few chapters . . . you'll see what I mean . . .)
- : - : - Chapter Two: Entertainment - : - : -
When Ororo Monroe (sometimes known as Storm) heard that the latest mutant presences detected by Cerebro were located in JAPAN of all places, she had expected to land in the middle of a huge city with tall skyscrapers and cars everywhere, seeing as Japan was the pinnacle of technological advancement.
She did NOT expect to step out of the Blackbird into something that might have come out of a Japanese fairytale book.
She knew that, if she walked far enough, she would find all the skyscrapers and cars that she could want, but for now . . .
The coordinates that she was told were the optimum place at which to meet the newfound mutants were directly on top of an ancient shrine, which was made of wood and paper screens, with Japanese symbols ("Kanji," Logan had told her gruffly) carved everywhere, and all of the shrine grounds were shielded from the outside world by a thick, aged forest.
They had 'parked' the Blackbird in a flat field that lay behind the aforementioned shrine (with the cloaking device safely activated to ward off prying eyes). When Ororo and Logan had gone in search of someone who might be of assistance in finding 'Yoo-soo-kay,' 'Shoo-eeh-chee,' and 'Hee- aye,' they were greatly surprised to enter through an open 'doorway' of the shrine and find themselves looking upon an short, aged woman kneeling on the floor before a low table, sipping at a small cup of tea, with two other cups ready and waiting.
"Shut the door and have a seat," the woman had ordered, her voice low and gravelly but the words coming out in near-perfect English. "They'll be here shortly."
Ororo had exchanged a startled glance with Logan, but after a short moment's deliberation, he had obediently slid the screen closed and moved forward to kneel across from the old woman. Ororo had followed shortly after.
The old woman had poured a small amount of tea for each of them, and Ororo and Logan had taken small sips for politeness' sake. Logan murmured something that Ororo didn't understand, but she caught their names somewhere amidst the odd, meaningless jumble of syllables.
The woman nodded once, and replied. Logan inclined his head toward her respectfully.
"Her name's Genkai," Logan translated. "Apparently, she's the teacher of the ones we're here for."
Ororo stiffened. "She knows why we're here?"
"I knew before you even GOT here, young lady."
Ororo stiffened and turned to meet the old woman's disconcerting gaze.
"I---" Ororo felt more off-balance now than she ever had in her life. "I apologize, but I'm very confused."
"Don't worry yourself over it." Genkai took a long sip from her own cup before speaking again. "Doubtless, you'll be even MORE confused by the time this fiasco is concluded."
Genkai said nothing more, and neither Ororo nor Logan seemed willing to break the silence.
They had only been waiting for perhaps five minutes when there was the sound of voices conversing outside, and Genkai smirked slightly as she rose to her feet.
"There they are."
A loud call broke through the near-stillness, and Logan translated once more.
"Approximately, 'Roro, that means, 'Hey, Granny. Guess who?' "
" 'Granny' ?" Ororo watched as Genkai crossed the room on near-silent feet. "She's RELATED to one of them?"
Genkai paused and turned toward them, smirking slightly. "No. That's the Dimwit's nickname for me."
With that, she continued forward and opened the door, stepping outside.
Ororo looked to Logan for some clue as to what was happening. " 'Dimwit' ?" she asked, at a loss.
The man merely got to his feet and walked to a position nearer to the doorway where he could look out at the newcomers. Ororo sighed and, feeling like a lost puppy tagging along behind whoever happened by, went to stand beside Logan.
As far as the new mutants went, she didn't know what she expected them to look like --She had seen some strange things during her time as an X-man, after all.
However, she did NOT expect anything like she saw. They were such a strange blend of 'normal' and 'bizarre' that she didn't know quite what to think.
The taller of the two was a slender young (man? woman?) with long red hair and deep green eyes. He/she had a sense of poise and self assurance about himself/herself that was rarely found in one so young. He/she moved with an odd sort of feline grace, indicating both strength and intense muscle control all at once, which impressed both Ororo and Logan to no end.
The shorter was a young man with raven hair slicked back from his face by way of liberal application of hair-gel. His eyes were a dark shade of chocolate brown, glittering with a fiery spirit. A cocky smirk was fixed firmly upon his lips, and there was an arrogant jauntiness to his movements that spoke of self-assurance by the barrelful. He was clad in jeans and a black tank-top, despite the cold weather, and looked perfectly comfortable for all that he HAD to be chilly.
Ororo immediately labeled THAT one as Trouble, Capital T. He seemed a little TOO confident in himself for her tastes. Arrogance never took anyone anywhere good, and she suspected that the boy would learn that lesson the hard way at the Institute.
The dark-haired boy spoke with Genkai for a short while, but Logan translated none of it. Ororo looked toward her companion for an explanation, but the tall man was frowning, a small crease appearing between his brows, as though he couldn't understand half of what was being said.
Genkai sent a glance back toward Ororo and Logan, and the conversation continued for a few more seconds before Logan stepped forward and introduced himself.
Ororo felt decidedly out of her depth. She didn't know ANY Japanese aside from words like 'hai' and 'konnichiwa.' Logan was the official translator for the trip, but she knew that he generally went straight to the point, and diplomacy could hang for all he cared.
Oh, well . . .
Ororo stepped forward to stand beside Logan. "These are the ones? Would you tell them what a pleasure it is to meet them, Logan?"
Logan poured out more of the gibberish that Ororo knew to be Japanese, and the two young men focused their eyes upon her.
Then the oddest thing happened.
Ororo was looking straight at the raven-haired young man, and he . . . flickered.
It was like seeing one of the holograms in the Danger Room go on the fritz. The dark-haired young man was standing still, looking calmly at her, and then his image 'twitched,' going in and out of focus within the space of a microsecond.
In less than a heartbeat's time, his image had settled once more, but now his eyes were cool, calculating, appraising both Ororo and Logan with the cool focus of someone who KNEW that something important was going on.
Ororo frowned and blinked.
She was imagining things . . .
Wasn't she?
- : - : - : - : - : -
Ororo wasn't the only one to notice the odd 'flickering' of Yuusuke's image. Kurama now eyed the raven-haired young man with no small amount of interest.
The scents of smoke and sulfur hung heavy in the air, as well as the odd, musty smell that indicated the presence of something of great age . . . Dead giveaways that the area had recently been visited by an inhabitant of the Reikai . . . specifically, Koenma.
The youko spirit within Kurama stirred, curious.
So, the little godling had just passed through . . . and judging by Yuusuke's new, alert posture, the Reikai Tantei had just been given their marching orders.
Kurama turned his gaze toward the two strangers.
The woman with the silver hair had taken a step nearer to her companion, leaning close to whisper a question in his ear.
Kurama --possessing the senses of a youko-- caught the quiet phrase with ease.
"Logan . . . the redhead . . . a he or a she?"
The tall, feral-looking man chuckled slightly, smirking, but before he could answer, Kurama decided to speak. The emerald eyed young man took a step forward and bowed politely at the waist toward the woman.
"With all due respect ma'am," he said in perfect, albeit slightly accented, English, "I am relatively certain when I tell you that I am a male."
The woman jerked slightly in surprise, flushing all the way up to her ears --no small feat for one with skin so dark-- but she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. "I-- Sorry. Really, I am. I apologize."
"No harm done." Kurama smiled disarmingly. "In all truthfulness, you aren't the first to have that problem. It's becoming quite a regular occurrence."
Kurama then turned and bowed in greeting to the man.
The man --Logan-- returned Kurama's bow with all the ease of one who knew Japanese culture intimately, although Kurama thought that he could detect a low chuckle from the man at the silver-haired woman's embarrassment.
"It is a pleasure to meet both of you, sir, ma'am," said Kurama, tilting his head to one side, putting forth all the manners and charm that living as Minamino Shuichi had taught him. "If I might ask, what brings you to Japan? Genkai-sensei mentioned that you wished to see Yuusuke and I."
The woman --Ororo, Kurama reminded himself sternly,-- recovered her poise and nodded, smiling slightly. "That's right. We have a bit of . . . startling news . . . for you and Mr. Yuusuke. We came for one other as well . . . but he doesn't seem to have shown up."
Genkai snorted, folding her arms behind her back. "The Sociopath doesn't show up for ANYTHING prearranged unless one of THESE two drags him along by the scruff."
Kurama cracked a small smile. "Hiei can be a little . . . reclusive, when he wishes, yes. He'll show up later, if he so desires."
An irritated call broke through the air. ~"Oi!"~
Keeping his expression placid, Kurama turned slightly to face a scowling Yuusuke. ~"Yes?"~
~"You KNOW I can't speak English!"~
~"If you had paid any attention in the language classes at your school, then there wouldn't be a problem."~
Yuusuke grimaced. ~"For god's sake, Kurama, do NOT turn into Keiko on me! Just a little help with translation would be nice."~
Kurama made an ironic little half-bow in Yuusuke's direction, smiling teasingly. ~"Whatever My Lord desires, ne?"~
Yuusuke arched an eyebrow at the little jibe about his Toushin status. ~"Har-dee-freakin'-har-har."~
Kurama shook his head slightly and sighed, but caught the other boy up on the conversation thus far --having to pause for quite a while whilst Yuusuke snickered about the 'guy or girl' issue,-- and Logan performed a translation recap for Ororo.
The youko within Kurama was snickering with glee. Even if there WASN'T a chance to fight on the new assignment, dealing with the two foreigners was generating a whole load of entertainment all on its own . . .
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR CHAPTER ONE:
: Yusukeholic : Thanks bunches! I'm glad you think so.
: oOKeairaOo : I LOVE what you did with your screen name! Those little oO- Oo's are SO cute! And thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it!
: Siora : I'm happy you like the story! As far as nicknames go, I just didn't know what Hiei's was and made up a new one. *leans forward and whispers confidentially* I like my nickname for Hiei better anyway. Shhh. Don't tell. ^_~
: Kailyssia : As far as the language barrier, I pretty much answered that in this chapter, but there'll be more info on that later if it needs clearing up. And thanks for reminding me about anonymous reviews. I'd forgotten to uncheck that stupid little box. *growls* Annoying little bugger. IT'S A REVIEW THIEF! .;
: Thu6666 : Thanks.
: Jax9 : . . . o.O; A man (or woman, as the case may be) of many words, aren't you? And anyway, I posted again, didn't I?
: Kittengrl39 : I'm glad that the web-page helped you out. It's nice to know that people are actually reading all my little boring side notes! I hope you like the rest of the story! ^_~
: khelen : Thanks. I will.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
"blah." means that the words are in English (unless the section is told from a Japanese-speaker's point of view with only Japanese people talking -- I.e. Kurama, Yuusuke, Hiei, etc.)
~"blah."~ means that the words are in Japanese.
="blah."= indicates words spoken in a Makai dialect. (Wait a few chapters . . . you'll see what I mean . . .)
- : - : - Chapter Two: Entertainment - : - : -
When Ororo Monroe (sometimes known as Storm) heard that the latest mutant presences detected by Cerebro were located in JAPAN of all places, she had expected to land in the middle of a huge city with tall skyscrapers and cars everywhere, seeing as Japan was the pinnacle of technological advancement.
She did NOT expect to step out of the Blackbird into something that might have come out of a Japanese fairytale book.
She knew that, if she walked far enough, she would find all the skyscrapers and cars that she could want, but for now . . .
The coordinates that she was told were the optimum place at which to meet the newfound mutants were directly on top of an ancient shrine, which was made of wood and paper screens, with Japanese symbols ("Kanji," Logan had told her gruffly) carved everywhere, and all of the shrine grounds were shielded from the outside world by a thick, aged forest.
They had 'parked' the Blackbird in a flat field that lay behind the aforementioned shrine (with the cloaking device safely activated to ward off prying eyes). When Ororo and Logan had gone in search of someone who might be of assistance in finding 'Yoo-soo-kay,' 'Shoo-eeh-chee,' and 'Hee- aye,' they were greatly surprised to enter through an open 'doorway' of the shrine and find themselves looking upon an short, aged woman kneeling on the floor before a low table, sipping at a small cup of tea, with two other cups ready and waiting.
"Shut the door and have a seat," the woman had ordered, her voice low and gravelly but the words coming out in near-perfect English. "They'll be here shortly."
Ororo had exchanged a startled glance with Logan, but after a short moment's deliberation, he had obediently slid the screen closed and moved forward to kneel across from the old woman. Ororo had followed shortly after.
The old woman had poured a small amount of tea for each of them, and Ororo and Logan had taken small sips for politeness' sake. Logan murmured something that Ororo didn't understand, but she caught their names somewhere amidst the odd, meaningless jumble of syllables.
The woman nodded once, and replied. Logan inclined his head toward her respectfully.
"Her name's Genkai," Logan translated. "Apparently, she's the teacher of the ones we're here for."
Ororo stiffened. "She knows why we're here?"
"I knew before you even GOT here, young lady."
Ororo stiffened and turned to meet the old woman's disconcerting gaze.
"I---" Ororo felt more off-balance now than she ever had in her life. "I apologize, but I'm very confused."
"Don't worry yourself over it." Genkai took a long sip from her own cup before speaking again. "Doubtless, you'll be even MORE confused by the time this fiasco is concluded."
Genkai said nothing more, and neither Ororo nor Logan seemed willing to break the silence.
They had only been waiting for perhaps five minutes when there was the sound of voices conversing outside, and Genkai smirked slightly as she rose to her feet.
"There they are."
A loud call broke through the near-stillness, and Logan translated once more.
"Approximately, 'Roro, that means, 'Hey, Granny. Guess who?' "
" 'Granny' ?" Ororo watched as Genkai crossed the room on near-silent feet. "She's RELATED to one of them?"
Genkai paused and turned toward them, smirking slightly. "No. That's the Dimwit's nickname for me."
With that, she continued forward and opened the door, stepping outside.
Ororo looked to Logan for some clue as to what was happening. " 'Dimwit' ?" she asked, at a loss.
The man merely got to his feet and walked to a position nearer to the doorway where he could look out at the newcomers. Ororo sighed and, feeling like a lost puppy tagging along behind whoever happened by, went to stand beside Logan.
As far as the new mutants went, she didn't know what she expected them to look like --She had seen some strange things during her time as an X-man, after all.
However, she did NOT expect anything like she saw. They were such a strange blend of 'normal' and 'bizarre' that she didn't know quite what to think.
The taller of the two was a slender young (man? woman?) with long red hair and deep green eyes. He/she had a sense of poise and self assurance about himself/herself that was rarely found in one so young. He/she moved with an odd sort of feline grace, indicating both strength and intense muscle control all at once, which impressed both Ororo and Logan to no end.
The shorter was a young man with raven hair slicked back from his face by way of liberal application of hair-gel. His eyes were a dark shade of chocolate brown, glittering with a fiery spirit. A cocky smirk was fixed firmly upon his lips, and there was an arrogant jauntiness to his movements that spoke of self-assurance by the barrelful. He was clad in jeans and a black tank-top, despite the cold weather, and looked perfectly comfortable for all that he HAD to be chilly.
Ororo immediately labeled THAT one as Trouble, Capital T. He seemed a little TOO confident in himself for her tastes. Arrogance never took anyone anywhere good, and she suspected that the boy would learn that lesson the hard way at the Institute.
The dark-haired boy spoke with Genkai for a short while, but Logan translated none of it. Ororo looked toward her companion for an explanation, but the tall man was frowning, a small crease appearing between his brows, as though he couldn't understand half of what was being said.
Genkai sent a glance back toward Ororo and Logan, and the conversation continued for a few more seconds before Logan stepped forward and introduced himself.
Ororo felt decidedly out of her depth. She didn't know ANY Japanese aside from words like 'hai' and 'konnichiwa.' Logan was the official translator for the trip, but she knew that he generally went straight to the point, and diplomacy could hang for all he cared.
Oh, well . . .
Ororo stepped forward to stand beside Logan. "These are the ones? Would you tell them what a pleasure it is to meet them, Logan?"
Logan poured out more of the gibberish that Ororo knew to be Japanese, and the two young men focused their eyes upon her.
Then the oddest thing happened.
Ororo was looking straight at the raven-haired young man, and he . . . flickered.
It was like seeing one of the holograms in the Danger Room go on the fritz. The dark-haired young man was standing still, looking calmly at her, and then his image 'twitched,' going in and out of focus within the space of a microsecond.
In less than a heartbeat's time, his image had settled once more, but now his eyes were cool, calculating, appraising both Ororo and Logan with the cool focus of someone who KNEW that something important was going on.
Ororo frowned and blinked.
She was imagining things . . .
Wasn't she?
- : - : - : - : - : -
Ororo wasn't the only one to notice the odd 'flickering' of Yuusuke's image. Kurama now eyed the raven-haired young man with no small amount of interest.
The scents of smoke and sulfur hung heavy in the air, as well as the odd, musty smell that indicated the presence of something of great age . . . Dead giveaways that the area had recently been visited by an inhabitant of the Reikai . . . specifically, Koenma.
The youko spirit within Kurama stirred, curious.
So, the little godling had just passed through . . . and judging by Yuusuke's new, alert posture, the Reikai Tantei had just been given their marching orders.
Kurama turned his gaze toward the two strangers.
The woman with the silver hair had taken a step nearer to her companion, leaning close to whisper a question in his ear.
Kurama --possessing the senses of a youko-- caught the quiet phrase with ease.
"Logan . . . the redhead . . . a he or a she?"
The tall, feral-looking man chuckled slightly, smirking, but before he could answer, Kurama decided to speak. The emerald eyed young man took a step forward and bowed politely at the waist toward the woman.
"With all due respect ma'am," he said in perfect, albeit slightly accented, English, "I am relatively certain when I tell you that I am a male."
The woman jerked slightly in surprise, flushing all the way up to her ears --no small feat for one with skin so dark-- but she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. "I-- Sorry. Really, I am. I apologize."
"No harm done." Kurama smiled disarmingly. "In all truthfulness, you aren't the first to have that problem. It's becoming quite a regular occurrence."
Kurama then turned and bowed in greeting to the man.
The man --Logan-- returned Kurama's bow with all the ease of one who knew Japanese culture intimately, although Kurama thought that he could detect a low chuckle from the man at the silver-haired woman's embarrassment.
"It is a pleasure to meet both of you, sir, ma'am," said Kurama, tilting his head to one side, putting forth all the manners and charm that living as Minamino Shuichi had taught him. "If I might ask, what brings you to Japan? Genkai-sensei mentioned that you wished to see Yuusuke and I."
The woman --Ororo, Kurama reminded himself sternly,-- recovered her poise and nodded, smiling slightly. "That's right. We have a bit of . . . startling news . . . for you and Mr. Yuusuke. We came for one other as well . . . but he doesn't seem to have shown up."
Genkai snorted, folding her arms behind her back. "The Sociopath doesn't show up for ANYTHING prearranged unless one of THESE two drags him along by the scruff."
Kurama cracked a small smile. "Hiei can be a little . . . reclusive, when he wishes, yes. He'll show up later, if he so desires."
An irritated call broke through the air. ~"Oi!"~
Keeping his expression placid, Kurama turned slightly to face a scowling Yuusuke. ~"Yes?"~
~"You KNOW I can't speak English!"~
~"If you had paid any attention in the language classes at your school, then there wouldn't be a problem."~
Yuusuke grimaced. ~"For god's sake, Kurama, do NOT turn into Keiko on me! Just a little help with translation would be nice."~
Kurama made an ironic little half-bow in Yuusuke's direction, smiling teasingly. ~"Whatever My Lord desires, ne?"~
Yuusuke arched an eyebrow at the little jibe about his Toushin status. ~"Har-dee-freakin'-har-har."~
Kurama shook his head slightly and sighed, but caught the other boy up on the conversation thus far --having to pause for quite a while whilst Yuusuke snickered about the 'guy or girl' issue,-- and Logan performed a translation recap for Ororo.
The youko within Kurama was snickering with glee. Even if there WASN'T a chance to fight on the new assignment, dealing with the two foreigners was generating a whole load of entertainment all on its own . . .
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR CHAPTER ONE:
: Yusukeholic : Thanks bunches! I'm glad you think so.
: oOKeairaOo : I LOVE what you did with your screen name! Those little oO- Oo's are SO cute! And thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it!
: Siora : I'm happy you like the story! As far as nicknames go, I just didn't know what Hiei's was and made up a new one. *leans forward and whispers confidentially* I like my nickname for Hiei better anyway. Shhh. Don't tell. ^_~
: Kailyssia : As far as the language barrier, I pretty much answered that in this chapter, but there'll be more info on that later if it needs clearing up. And thanks for reminding me about anonymous reviews. I'd forgotten to uncheck that stupid little box. *growls* Annoying little bugger. IT'S A REVIEW THIEF! .;
: Thu6666 : Thanks.
: Jax9 : . . . o.O; A man (or woman, as the case may be) of many words, aren't you? And anyway, I posted again, didn't I?
: Kittengrl39 : I'm glad that the web-page helped you out. It's nice to know that people are actually reading all my little boring side notes! I hope you like the rest of the story! ^_~
: khelen : Thanks. I will.