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 . . .)
- : - : - : - : - : -
A/N: This will not be a blatantly yaoi or shounen-ai story. There will be brother-brother relationships between Yuusuke, Kurama and Hiei, but I suppose that some of you out there could interpret their actions as 'love' if you wanted. It's your call, however you want to view it.
- : - : - Chapter Three: Demons, Mutants, It's All Cool - : - : -
Kurama tilted his head to one side, somehow managing to maintain a look of polite interest on his face. "I beg your pardon?"
They were all kneeling around the low table in the main room of Genkai's shrine, the large, shadowy statue located at the far end of the room lurking menacingly in the shadows like a squat, round-bellied specter from the Reikai. Candlelight shimmered along the walls, adding to the aura of mystery in the room.
Ororo and Logan were both giving Kurama strange looks.
Logan leaned forward slightly. "Kid, I don't think you heard the lady right. She just told you that you're a mutant."
Kurama frowned. "Yes . . . I THOUGHT that was what she said."
The red-haired young man glanced at Yuusuke out of the corner of his eye, quirking one eyebrow in question. ~"These two tell me that we're 'MUTANTS',"~ he said, keeping his voice perfectly neutral. ~"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"~
Yuusuke sent Kurama a pointed Look in return, placing his hands in his lap. ~"Where did you THINK you're odd little abilities with plants came from, 'Kid'?"~
Kurama's eyes narrowed at Yuusuke's mention of his 'talents' (and at the newfound nickname bestowed upon him by Logan), but then he caught sight of the odd movements Yuusuke's hands were making, carefully shielded from the strangers' sight by the table.
Only one with Kurama's youko eyes could have seen Yuusuke's forefinger, saturated with Reiki, drawing a series of small, glowing symbols (kanji) on the back of one of his hands, each symbol fading a few seconds after it was drawn . . .
'REIKAI'
'TANTEI'
'KOENMA'
Kurama nodded almost imperceptibly, showing that he understood.
So all of this was a part of the assignment.
Fun.
~"YUUSUKE!"~ Kurama hissed warningly, narrowing his eyes. ~"That's NOT something they need to know!"~
Yuusuke's eyes searched Kurama's face for a long moment, and then a small flicker of approval appeared in his eyes before it was carefully masked. ~"It's OBVIOUS that they already know,"~ he growled in return, scowling. ~ "You're paranoid."~
~"With good reason!"~
Kurama heard a muffled snort of laughter --undetectable to anyone not possessed of demon hearing-- from Genkai's direction, but the aged martial artist held her face as expressionless as ever.
Yuusuke shook his head, sending a short glare toward the two strangers, conveniently 'forgetting' that Logan understood Japanese perfectly well.
~"Cool it, Minamino. If they came here to cause trouble, you and I can give them MORE than enough to keep 'em happy."~
Kurama subsided, still sending 'nervous' glances toward Logan and Ororo.
- : - : - : - : - : -
A small frown creased the skin of Logan's forehead as he listened to the short spat between the two boys. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ororo looking at him questioningly.
"They think we're the baddies," he murmured shortly, when the sound of his voice was covered by the dark-haired boy --Yuusuke-- commenting brashly about his ability to handle things if Logan and Ororo wished 'to cause trouble.' "I'll handle it, 'Roro."
When the two young men went silent, Logan leaned forward. ~"I don't think either of you understand where we're coming from."~
He found himself the sole focus of a pair of disconcertingly keen gazes, but continued with his explanation. ~"We don't want any fights,"~ he said firmly. ~"We've come here to help you."~
Yuusuke snorted. Shuichi's eyes narrowed.
Ororo seemed to sense that things weren't going well. She placed a slender hand atop Logan's forearm. "Tell them who we are, if they don't believe us!"
Logan nodded, not taking his eyes away from the two prospective students across from him.
He held his hand out over the table, palm down. The young men's eyes were drawn to it reflexively, suspicion clear in their gazes.
~"Here,"~ Logan said, his voice nearing a low growl. ~"Proof."~
His fingers curled into a fist, and the tendons in his wrist grew taut as all the muscles in his forearm tensed. There was a burning pain in the skin of his knuckles, and the gleaming length of his adamantium claws slid into sight accompanied by a metallic *shnikt*.
Yuusuke stiffened, his eyes narrowing until they were almost slits, and the muscles in his shoulders grew taut.
Shuichi's response was the odder of the two. His eyes widened, and he stiffened as well, but instead of attempting to either get away or reach for a weapon, his hand went to his . . . hair?
Logan smirked. ~"No worries, Kid. I'm not gonna' chop it off."~
Those disconcerting, emerald eyes rose to glare into Logan's own, but the hand lowered once more, curling comfortably around the small, half-empty cup of lukewarm tea.
Yuusuke's eyes were still fixed firmly upon the three claws glittering in the candlelight. His gaze was cold and calculating. ~"Those aren't natural."~
~"No, they aren't,"~ Logan agreed.
~"You said that you would show us something that would make us trust you,"~ said Shuichi, his voice steady and emotionless, but there was still a wary light in his eyes.
~"The claws aren't what I wanted you to see."~ He relaxed his arm, and the claws slid back beneath his skin, settling into place along the bones of his forearm, feeling like blades of ice chilling his blood.
He spread his fingers, clearly showing the three red wounds that remained from the claws' passage . . . even as the scarlet punctures swiftly sealed over and faded away.
Yuusuke drew in a long, hissing breath between his teeth. Shuichi's pale fingers moved to brush lightly at the newly healed skin of Logan's hand before drawing away.
~"Even HIEI doesn't heal that swiftly . . ."~ murmured the redhead, looking stunned.
Yuusuke nodded once in agreement.
Genkai, who had until now merely watched the happenings silently, her eyes taking in every small movement, interpreting every nuance of voice and gesture, spoke. ~"NOW will the two of you hear these people out?"~
Yuusuke and Shuichi exchanged a short glance. A sort of silent understanding seemed to flow between them for a moment, and then Yuusuke turned to nod cautiously to Logan. ~"What sort of 'help' did you mean?"~
- : - : - One hour, forty two minutes, and three seconds later . . . - : - : -
Yuusuke held up one hand, palm facing outward, to ward off any more conversation on the part of Logan OR Ororo. ~"Okay, hold up. Let's recap and see if I've got all this straight . . . WE---"~ He gestured to himself and Shuichi. ~"---are both mutants, and YOU---"~ He indicated Logan and Ororo. ~"Are mutants as well. Good so far?"~
Logan nodded, one eyebrow arched sardonically, even as his mouth was translating the conversation for Ororo.
Yuusuke continued. ~"You and she are both are professors at a school that teaches mutants how to harness their powers fully --in secret and without any knowledge of your government-- and you want US to come to your school to learn how to 'harness' our own powers?"~
Another nod.
Shuichi spoke up at last, his voice soft, bordering on hesitant. ~"And . . . we would be among others like us?"~
~"That's right."~
Shuichi turned to look at Genkai. ~"What do you think, Genkai?"~
Yuusuke also turned to look at his teacher. ~"Yeah, Grandma, what's your opinion?"~
~"Go---"~
Logan arched an eyebrow in surprise.
~"---It'll give an old lady some peace from your ceaseless idiocy, Dimwit. And wherever you two go, the Sociopath will surely follow, so he won't be hovering around Yukina and me all the accursed time."~
Yuusuke snorted. ~"I had not idea you liked me so much, Grandma."~
~"You're perpetually dull wit never ceases to give me a migraine, brat."~
~"You know you'll miss me."~
~"Like a tumor."~
Ororo's eyes grew steadily wider with each sentence translated, and Logan found it harder and harder to contain his laughter. Judging by the warm glimmer in Shuichi's eyes, it appeared that he found the scene amusing as well.
Yuusuke shrugged, rolling his eyes. ~"Eh, whatever, hag."~ His eyes turned to focus on Logan. ~"How soon do I need to be ready?"~
Logan jerked his focus back to the task at hand much like an owner jerking an unruly dog to heel by its leash. ~"You'll go?"~
~"Meh."~ The young man gave a soft of half-shrug. ~"Why not? It's dull around here, and I'd like to see what I can REALLY do if I learn how to control my . . . talents. What about you, Shuichi?"~
The red-haired young man closed his eyes in thought for a few short seconds, then reopened them with a small smile crossing his lips. ~"I don't see why not."~
~"Great!"~ Yuusuke grinned. ~"Besides, it sounds like fun."~
Logan translated, and Ororo smiled brightly. "Wonderful. Now, we just need to talk to their parents!"
Logan nodded in understanding and relayed the comment to Yuusuke, who immediately winced.
~"Oh, crap. Are you sure there's no 'sneaking quietly out the back door' deal? My mom's a kinda' . . . paranoid . . ."~ He paused, then added, ~"And a little drunk . . . actually, she's a LOT drunk."~
Shuichi smiled at the other boy. ~"You worry too much, Yuusuke. You managed to convince her to let you train here for all those months without visiting home."~
~"That was using the 'sneaking quietly out the back door' technique."~
The green-eyed boy chuckled lightly.
Yuusuke scowled. ~"Oh, shut it, Minamino. Wait 'til they tell YOUR mom what's going down."~
Shuichi's laughter was abruptly choked off as he blanched to an interesting shade of pasty gray.
~"Oh . . . "~
~"Yeah, Minamino. Exactly. 'Oh.' "~
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR LAST CHAPTER:
: Animegirl8 : *laughs* Poor Kurama! *rubs hands together evilly and cackles* Of COURSE they'll cause havoc, and you know that Kurama will cause multitudes of social ripples, what with him being so TOTALLY bishounen and all! I won't torture them, though . . . much! Bwahahaha! *Kurama runs away, followed closely by Hiei and Yuusuke* HEY! GET BACK HERE!!! *chases*
: JCKIDSMART : Here. A chapter. Enjoy!
: TCOD / Dark : *blushes* Aw, shucks. I just like to put up something that doesn't tell people my IQ is around 0.00023th of a point! But I'm glad that I'm *glances at review* 'up to your standards.' Thanks!
: Tione : *performs victory dance* Whoo-hoo! They LIKE it! They LIKE it!
: kaze : I checked on the website, but it was down. I'll check back later.
: Katyfoxdemon2 : Here you go! A new chapter! Enjoy!
: Ginevra : I'm glad you like it so much! I'm SO proud!
: Rurouni Saiyan : Thanks!
: Kailyssia : As far as pairings go, read the A/N at the beginning of the chapter. Hiei WILL show up (How could he not? He's one of my top three fav characters! 1) Toushin Yuusuke *drools*, 2) Kurama in either form *drools*, 3) Hiei *drools* . . . and Kuwabara *gags* is around number 392 . . . ^_^;).
: Kittengrl39 : Thanks bunches. I'm really gonna' try to work something like that into the story. I have this UBER funny scene planned out (it involves Kurama, Yuusuke, some jealous Institute students, and a youko's mischievousness at work. You do the math. Bwahahaha!).
: oOKeairaOo : Thanks. I like portraying Kurama as more youko than human; it adds some interest to things. And I kinda' want to pit him against Logan in the 'sensing things' department. Fun-fun. ^_^
: Dragon's Garnet : Thanks for your support, and I agree with you on the proofreading thing. A few of my pet peeves are 'then/than' mistakes, 'its/it's,' verb tense changes in the middle of SENTENCES, and POV changes without warning. *growls* Going from 'I' to 'he' and back again in the space of one paragraph is a BIT much. Feel free to let me know if I make any boo-boos, okay? And as far as pairings go, read the A/N at the beginning of the chapter. Sorry. *whispers confidentially* I like K/H, too, but I can't write romance to save my soul. Shhh.
: Yayo : But it's just too FUNNY to pass up putting in a story, no? ^_~
: angelbird12241 : Thanks for the review, and I'll get to the institute sooner or later!
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 . . .)
- : - : - : - : - : -
A/N: This will not be a blatantly yaoi or shounen-ai story. There will be brother-brother relationships between Yuusuke, Kurama and Hiei, but I suppose that some of you out there could interpret their actions as 'love' if you wanted. It's your call, however you want to view it.
- : - : - Chapter Three: Demons, Mutants, It's All Cool - : - : -
Kurama tilted his head to one side, somehow managing to maintain a look of polite interest on his face. "I beg your pardon?"
They were all kneeling around the low table in the main room of Genkai's shrine, the large, shadowy statue located at the far end of the room lurking menacingly in the shadows like a squat, round-bellied specter from the Reikai. Candlelight shimmered along the walls, adding to the aura of mystery in the room.
Ororo and Logan were both giving Kurama strange looks.
Logan leaned forward slightly. "Kid, I don't think you heard the lady right. She just told you that you're a mutant."
Kurama frowned. "Yes . . . I THOUGHT that was what she said."
The red-haired young man glanced at Yuusuke out of the corner of his eye, quirking one eyebrow in question. ~"These two tell me that we're 'MUTANTS',"~ he said, keeping his voice perfectly neutral. ~"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"~
Yuusuke sent Kurama a pointed Look in return, placing his hands in his lap. ~"Where did you THINK you're odd little abilities with plants came from, 'Kid'?"~
Kurama's eyes narrowed at Yuusuke's mention of his 'talents' (and at the newfound nickname bestowed upon him by Logan), but then he caught sight of the odd movements Yuusuke's hands were making, carefully shielded from the strangers' sight by the table.
Only one with Kurama's youko eyes could have seen Yuusuke's forefinger, saturated with Reiki, drawing a series of small, glowing symbols (kanji) on the back of one of his hands, each symbol fading a few seconds after it was drawn . . .
'REIKAI'
'TANTEI'
'KOENMA'
Kurama nodded almost imperceptibly, showing that he understood.
So all of this was a part of the assignment.
Fun.
~"YUUSUKE!"~ Kurama hissed warningly, narrowing his eyes. ~"That's NOT something they need to know!"~
Yuusuke's eyes searched Kurama's face for a long moment, and then a small flicker of approval appeared in his eyes before it was carefully masked. ~"It's OBVIOUS that they already know,"~ he growled in return, scowling. ~ "You're paranoid."~
~"With good reason!"~
Kurama heard a muffled snort of laughter --undetectable to anyone not possessed of demon hearing-- from Genkai's direction, but the aged martial artist held her face as expressionless as ever.
Yuusuke shook his head, sending a short glare toward the two strangers, conveniently 'forgetting' that Logan understood Japanese perfectly well.
~"Cool it, Minamino. If they came here to cause trouble, you and I can give them MORE than enough to keep 'em happy."~
Kurama subsided, still sending 'nervous' glances toward Logan and Ororo.
- : - : - : - : - : -
A small frown creased the skin of Logan's forehead as he listened to the short spat between the two boys. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ororo looking at him questioningly.
"They think we're the baddies," he murmured shortly, when the sound of his voice was covered by the dark-haired boy --Yuusuke-- commenting brashly about his ability to handle things if Logan and Ororo wished 'to cause trouble.' "I'll handle it, 'Roro."
When the two young men went silent, Logan leaned forward. ~"I don't think either of you understand where we're coming from."~
He found himself the sole focus of a pair of disconcertingly keen gazes, but continued with his explanation. ~"We don't want any fights,"~ he said firmly. ~"We've come here to help you."~
Yuusuke snorted. Shuichi's eyes narrowed.
Ororo seemed to sense that things weren't going well. She placed a slender hand atop Logan's forearm. "Tell them who we are, if they don't believe us!"
Logan nodded, not taking his eyes away from the two prospective students across from him.
He held his hand out over the table, palm down. The young men's eyes were drawn to it reflexively, suspicion clear in their gazes.
~"Here,"~ Logan said, his voice nearing a low growl. ~"Proof."~
His fingers curled into a fist, and the tendons in his wrist grew taut as all the muscles in his forearm tensed. There was a burning pain in the skin of his knuckles, and the gleaming length of his adamantium claws slid into sight accompanied by a metallic *shnikt*.
Yuusuke stiffened, his eyes narrowing until they were almost slits, and the muscles in his shoulders grew taut.
Shuichi's response was the odder of the two. His eyes widened, and he stiffened as well, but instead of attempting to either get away or reach for a weapon, his hand went to his . . . hair?
Logan smirked. ~"No worries, Kid. I'm not gonna' chop it off."~
Those disconcerting, emerald eyes rose to glare into Logan's own, but the hand lowered once more, curling comfortably around the small, half-empty cup of lukewarm tea.
Yuusuke's eyes were still fixed firmly upon the three claws glittering in the candlelight. His gaze was cold and calculating. ~"Those aren't natural."~
~"No, they aren't,"~ Logan agreed.
~"You said that you would show us something that would make us trust you,"~ said Shuichi, his voice steady and emotionless, but there was still a wary light in his eyes.
~"The claws aren't what I wanted you to see."~ He relaxed his arm, and the claws slid back beneath his skin, settling into place along the bones of his forearm, feeling like blades of ice chilling his blood.
He spread his fingers, clearly showing the three red wounds that remained from the claws' passage . . . even as the scarlet punctures swiftly sealed over and faded away.
Yuusuke drew in a long, hissing breath between his teeth. Shuichi's pale fingers moved to brush lightly at the newly healed skin of Logan's hand before drawing away.
~"Even HIEI doesn't heal that swiftly . . ."~ murmured the redhead, looking stunned.
Yuusuke nodded once in agreement.
Genkai, who had until now merely watched the happenings silently, her eyes taking in every small movement, interpreting every nuance of voice and gesture, spoke. ~"NOW will the two of you hear these people out?"~
Yuusuke and Shuichi exchanged a short glance. A sort of silent understanding seemed to flow between them for a moment, and then Yuusuke turned to nod cautiously to Logan. ~"What sort of 'help' did you mean?"~
- : - : - One hour, forty two minutes, and three seconds later . . . - : - : -
Yuusuke held up one hand, palm facing outward, to ward off any more conversation on the part of Logan OR Ororo. ~"Okay, hold up. Let's recap and see if I've got all this straight . . . WE---"~ He gestured to himself and Shuichi. ~"---are both mutants, and YOU---"~ He indicated Logan and Ororo. ~"Are mutants as well. Good so far?"~
Logan nodded, one eyebrow arched sardonically, even as his mouth was translating the conversation for Ororo.
Yuusuke continued. ~"You and she are both are professors at a school that teaches mutants how to harness their powers fully --in secret and without any knowledge of your government-- and you want US to come to your school to learn how to 'harness' our own powers?"~
Another nod.
Shuichi spoke up at last, his voice soft, bordering on hesitant. ~"And . . . we would be among others like us?"~
~"That's right."~
Shuichi turned to look at Genkai. ~"What do you think, Genkai?"~
Yuusuke also turned to look at his teacher. ~"Yeah, Grandma, what's your opinion?"~
~"Go---"~
Logan arched an eyebrow in surprise.
~"---It'll give an old lady some peace from your ceaseless idiocy, Dimwit. And wherever you two go, the Sociopath will surely follow, so he won't be hovering around Yukina and me all the accursed time."~
Yuusuke snorted. ~"I had not idea you liked me so much, Grandma."~
~"You're perpetually dull wit never ceases to give me a migraine, brat."~
~"You know you'll miss me."~
~"Like a tumor."~
Ororo's eyes grew steadily wider with each sentence translated, and Logan found it harder and harder to contain his laughter. Judging by the warm glimmer in Shuichi's eyes, it appeared that he found the scene amusing as well.
Yuusuke shrugged, rolling his eyes. ~"Eh, whatever, hag."~ His eyes turned to focus on Logan. ~"How soon do I need to be ready?"~
Logan jerked his focus back to the task at hand much like an owner jerking an unruly dog to heel by its leash. ~"You'll go?"~
~"Meh."~ The young man gave a soft of half-shrug. ~"Why not? It's dull around here, and I'd like to see what I can REALLY do if I learn how to control my . . . talents. What about you, Shuichi?"~
The red-haired young man closed his eyes in thought for a few short seconds, then reopened them with a small smile crossing his lips. ~"I don't see why not."~
~"Great!"~ Yuusuke grinned. ~"Besides, it sounds like fun."~
Logan translated, and Ororo smiled brightly. "Wonderful. Now, we just need to talk to their parents!"
Logan nodded in understanding and relayed the comment to Yuusuke, who immediately winced.
~"Oh, crap. Are you sure there's no 'sneaking quietly out the back door' deal? My mom's a kinda' . . . paranoid . . ."~ He paused, then added, ~"And a little drunk . . . actually, she's a LOT drunk."~
Shuichi smiled at the other boy. ~"You worry too much, Yuusuke. You managed to convince her to let you train here for all those months without visiting home."~
~"That was using the 'sneaking quietly out the back door' technique."~
The green-eyed boy chuckled lightly.
Yuusuke scowled. ~"Oh, shut it, Minamino. Wait 'til they tell YOUR mom what's going down."~
Shuichi's laughter was abruptly choked off as he blanched to an interesting shade of pasty gray.
~"Oh . . . "~
~"Yeah, Minamino. Exactly. 'Oh.' "~
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR LAST CHAPTER:
: Animegirl8 : *laughs* Poor Kurama! *rubs hands together evilly and cackles* Of COURSE they'll cause havoc, and you know that Kurama will cause multitudes of social ripples, what with him being so TOTALLY bishounen and all! I won't torture them, though . . . much! Bwahahaha! *Kurama runs away, followed closely by Hiei and Yuusuke* HEY! GET BACK HERE!!! *chases*
: JCKIDSMART : Here. A chapter. Enjoy!
: TCOD / Dark : *blushes* Aw, shucks. I just like to put up something that doesn't tell people my IQ is around 0.00023th of a point! But I'm glad that I'm *glances at review* 'up to your standards.' Thanks!
: Tione : *performs victory dance* Whoo-hoo! They LIKE it! They LIKE it!
: kaze : I checked on the website, but it was down. I'll check back later.
: Katyfoxdemon2 : Here you go! A new chapter! Enjoy!
: Ginevra : I'm glad you like it so much! I'm SO proud!
: Rurouni Saiyan : Thanks!
: Kailyssia : As far as pairings go, read the A/N at the beginning of the chapter. Hiei WILL show up (How could he not? He's one of my top three fav characters! 1) Toushin Yuusuke *drools*, 2) Kurama in either form *drools*, 3) Hiei *drools* . . . and Kuwabara *gags* is around number 392 . . . ^_^;).
: Kittengrl39 : Thanks bunches. I'm really gonna' try to work something like that into the story. I have this UBER funny scene planned out (it involves Kurama, Yuusuke, some jealous Institute students, and a youko's mischievousness at work. You do the math. Bwahahaha!).
: oOKeairaOo : Thanks. I like portraying Kurama as more youko than human; it adds some interest to things. And I kinda' want to pit him against Logan in the 'sensing things' department. Fun-fun. ^_^
: Dragon's Garnet : Thanks for your support, and I agree with you on the proofreading thing. A few of my pet peeves are 'then/than' mistakes, 'its/it's,' verb tense changes in the middle of SENTENCES, and POV changes without warning. *growls* Going from 'I' to 'he' and back again in the space of one paragraph is a BIT much. Feel free to let me know if I make any boo-boos, okay? And as far as pairings go, read the A/N at the beginning of the chapter. Sorry. *whispers confidentially* I like K/H, too, but I can't write romance to save my soul. Shhh.
: Yayo : But it's just too FUNNY to pass up putting in a story, no? ^_~
: angelbird12241 : Thanks for the review, and I'll get to the institute sooner or later!