THIS CHAPTER TOOK LONGER DUE TO THE LENGTHY ACTION SEQUENCES IN THE DANGER
ROOM. ENJOY, OR ELSE.
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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, Logan, Genkai, etc.)
~"blah."~ means that the words are in Japanese.
="blah."= indicates words spoken in a Makai dialect.
~:blah.:~ telepathic speech
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A/N: This will not be a blatantly yaoi or shounen-ai story. In fact, there will be NO romance WHATSOEVER. 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 Ten: A Demon's Definition of 'Fun' - : - : -
Yuusuke glared blackly at the grinning, blue-furred boy. "There's NO WAY in heaven or hell that I'm wearing THAT."
Kurt held up the black bodysuit --complete with a red and black 'X'es emblazoned on each shoulder and yellow gloves, belt, and boots-- and waved it slightly, his fangs glimmering in the cold white glow of the fluorescent lights overhead as he grinned. "Come ON. It's just a battle suit. It's a uniform . . . sort of."
"I'd have more protection if I fought in the buff."
Kurt wrinkled his nose, but then returned to pestering his newfound friend.
"Yuusuke . . . !" Kurt drew Yuusuke's name out into a lengthy, plaintive whine. "It's not THAT bad. Besides, vonce the Professor's seen you in action, he'll be certain that you get your own suit. All the other X-men have their own unique suits."
"NO." Yuusuke responded, scowling. "I won't wear it."
"Everyvone vears them in the Danger Room."
"I said 'NO.' "
"Come ON, Yuusuke, you've got to vear it!"
"Wearing something like THAT screams, 'I have a death wish; care to oblige?' I won't wear something that makes me any more of a target than I already am!"
A sly look crossed the blue-furred mutant's face. "They von't let you in, if you don't vear it."
Yuusuke scowled. He hated the idea of wearing something so . . . so . . . something like THAT. He was the last person to worry about whether or not his choice in clothing was 'fashionable,' but that suit looked like even the shoddiest of dressers would hesitate before wearing it, and comfort be damned.
. . . On the other hand, who was he to turn down a good brawl when the opportunity presented itself?
He growled but extended his hand toward the blue-furred elf-boy.
"Hand it over, Blue."
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei scowled, picking at the skintight black material that had taken the place of his usual blue tank top and black pants, thinking privately that he was glad he'd decided to keep his sword belted around his waist. His right arm felt bulky from all the bandages beneath his sleeve where they covered his Kokuryuha tattoo.
Across from him, leaning against one of the control panels that lined the 'control room,' Yuusuke scowled, still looking as though he'd like nothing so much as to Spirit gun whoever had first invented the ridiculous outfit.
It was some consolation that everyone else in the room --Rogue, Jean, Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Logan, and Ororo-- except for the Xavier human were all in similar outfits. Hiei had snickered softly when he'd caught sight of the huge, yellow X emblazoned on Scott's chest: the man was practically BEGGING to be shot.
The door of the control room slid aside and yet another black clad figure entered. Hiei could feel Kurama's energy signature even before he saw the fox and didn't bother to turn and look, so the fire-demon was treated to the amusing sight of Kitty, Jean and Rogue's eyes bugging slightly with disbelief.
Hiei turned to level a smirk at Kurama. ="You've made several new conquests, Kitsune."=
="Just what I needed,"= responded the redhead wryly.
Hiei supposed that, had he been female, he would have been impressed as well. Kurama's usual clothing did a good job of hiding exactly how fit his body was. Now wearing the suit, the contour of each and every muscle was visible for all to see.
Jean had already expressed her surprise that Hiei and Yuusuke were in such good shape. However, Kurama's physique was proving to be something of a surprise since most of the mutants had no doubt previously labeled him as a 'pretty boy.'
Yuusuke snickered. ="Watch your back, Kurama. I think Visor-Boy is getting jealous."=
Scott DID look somewhat irritated by Jean's obvious amazement. Logan appeared to have noticed the young man's ire and seemed to be amused by it.
Kurama sighed. ="Again . . . just what I needed."=
="Look on the bright side,"= said Yuusuke. ="At least you're not in your Youko form. You'd have to beat 'em off with your Death Tree."=
Xavier smiled at the three demons. "Well, seeing as how you're officially students of the Institute now, we need to judge your powers and your levels of control. We use the Danger Room for testing. First, we'll test each of you individually, and then . . . I understand that you three trained together under the same master?"
Kurama nodded. That WAS their cover story for their fighting skills, after all.
"Good." Xavier looked pleased. "Then I suppose we'll give you a chance to fight as a group and see how well you do."
He beckoned them over, toward a wall that appeared to be made up of windows overlooking a large, round room, the walls lined with panels of metal. It appeared to be simple enough.
"That's the 'Danger Room'?" asked Yuusuke, clearly skeptical. "Looks boring."
All of the mutants in the room cracked smiles, and Rogue and Logan laughed.
Professor Xavier smiled at the three new students. "We'll see."
- : - : - Test One: Hiei Jaganshi - : - : -
Hiei felt a wave of cold air wash over him as the huge doors --emblazoned with the usual 'X'-- shut behind him.
The room was big. Not as big as some of the chambers in Maze Castle, but big enough. All around, he could hear the buzzing of electricity and machinery, and he didn't doubt that there were innumerable sensors trained upon him from the second he had entered.
So, he was supposed to have one 'mutant' power. Hmm, what to choose . . .
A metallic whine from over to his right signaled the opening of one of the metal panels imbedded in the floor. A huge tentacle loomed up over him, swaying from side to side like a cobra eyeing its prey.
. . . fire sounded fun.
The tentacle snapped forward, no doubt programmed to entrap him within its coils, but Hiei merely narrowed his eyes.
Scarlet fire so bright that it appeared to be white blossomed around the entire length of the tentacle, transforming it into a writhing pillar of flickering light, and the scent of ozone filled the air, along with the snapping and popping of severed electrical wires. Slowly, the fiery silhouette of the tentacle shrunk, becoming nothing more than a worthless puddle of melted machinery.
Hiei strolled leisurely toward the center of the room, watching as more panels opened. No one could say that the humans weren't creative; he could see several mounted lasers, tentacles, saws of every shape and size, and one thing that looked like an electric tazer mounted on the end of one of the tentacles.
It was a pity that he wouldn't be able to use his speed in this fight; he'd be bored before long.
One of the saws came crashing down toward his head, and he leapt to one side with annoying slowness. It slammed into the section of floor where he had previously stood, buzzing and growling like some sort of attack dog kept from its prey.
Hiei's sword slid from its sheath at his side and he twirled it thoughtfully as he stepped away from the tazer as it attempted to sneak up behind him.
He couldn't use any of his Darkness Flame attacks obviously, since the humans would no doubt be suspicious should huge amounts of violet-black flames appear from nowhere. Therefore, he was limited to attacks using Mortal Flame.
He leapt over one of the tentacles as it swiped at his legs, then he back flipped away from another one of the saws coming in for its own turn. Several laser bolts crackled past his face as he leaned out of their way.
He caught a flash of red-brown out of the corner of one eye and turned to see a strange, four-legged robot advancing purposefully toward him, looking like a crab or spider with a strange, snakelike antenna upon its head.
He hopped away from another tentacle and sliced neatly through its thick, silver bulk, severing it cleanly.
Perhaps the robot would be more of a challenge.
He shifted his grip on his sword, focusing on his energy.
If he manipulated his youki just SO . . .
White-orange, unbelievably hot flames crackled into existence around the polished metal of his sword blade, the tongues of fire swirling and writhing with each movement he made. The fire-demon allowed himself a smirk.
Perfect.
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Yuusuke, along with Kurama and any of the mutants not occupied at a console, pressed close to the windows of the control room, watching Hiei's fight appreciatively. The Toushin had at first been slightly apprehensive when he'd seen the kinds of weapons that the humans had devised as their 'test' for Hiei, but after seeing the small demon's first few attacks, Yuusuke had settled in to enjoy the show.
Generally, he never got the opportunity to truly watch Kurama or Hiei fight. Either he was too involved in his own little death match to worry about their battles or Hiei moved too fast for Yuusuke to see any of the fire-demon's techniques.
With Hiei purposefully checking his speed to that of a human, Yuusuke was amazed at the other demon's skills. It was almost like watching a dance. Every movement was precise, executed with just the needed energy behind it and not one more iota. Every movement of Hiei's blade was accurate and deadly.
The fire attacks used by the Jaganshi were fueled by just the necessary youki; there were no flickers or flares of power, indicating that Hiei held the flame attacks beneath iron control. Lesser fighters would allow their youki to flare with their excitement and battle-rage or dim if they were injured or tired.
Hiei was a master fighter.
Another slash of the fire-enveloped sword, and the last of the tentacles fell to the floor with a crash, joining its broken and melted brethren upon the metal tiles.
Yuusuke estimated that Hiei had demolished four tentacles, three saws, two tazer-tentacles, two lasers, and the one odd, four-legged drone --it had been fun to watch Hiei sever each of the legs one-by-one before slicing the thing's body in two-- . . . all within the space of less than a minute.
="He's been practicing,"= murmured Kurama.
Yuusuke grinned. ="It's going to be fun to spar with him later."=
Kurama laughed softly.
"Amazing," murmured Xavier, causing both Yuusuke and Kurama to turn and face him. The bald man was speaking to Ororo and Logan, who were both staring at the readouts on the main console. "His skills are simply amazing. The amount of control he has . . . It boggles the mind."
"Such power . . ." said Ororo. "He MELTED the tentacles, Professor! Not even Amara has achieved THAT."
"Too bad we couldn't get any vital readouts from his suit," said Logan. "I'd kill to know how much energy that cost him. His heart's probably going a mile a minute."
Yuusuke and Kurama exchanged a glance. It was a good thing that these mutants were so very ignorant of the Makai and the characteristics of demons.
Hiei's suit was working perfectly.
Demons didn't have heartbeats.
- : - : - Test Two: Shuichi Minamino - : - : -
The room had been cleared of most debris by several robots which had come out of the walls after Hiei's fight, so now the battleground was more or less in as good condition as it had been before Hiei's 'test.'
Kurama ignored the sound of the doors closing behind him and walked purposefully toward the middle of the room. As expected, panels slid aside within seconds of his entrance, and the odd, human-devised weapons began to hone in on him. He suspected that they either possessed motion detectors or his suit was outfitted with some sort of beacon that told the machines where he was.
He reached into his hair, his fingers brushing against several small lumps near the base of his neck. In order to hold his seeds in place, he placed them in his hair and grew them out to a point where they each had several small roots entangled in his hair, anchoring them firmly. In order to remove them, he manipulated them back into their seed states to free them, and then grew them to their adult forms while he pulled them loose.
Despite the apparent ease of his movements, it required both close attention and impeccable timing to get it done correctly.
After several millennia of practice, he had gotten it down to a veritable art form.
The human's wanted a show of his powers? Well, no need to bore them with his Rose Whip again.
Blades of grass formed into three deadly blades beneath his touch, each one grasped firmly between two knuckles.
The tazer-tentacle arched over him, a blue, crackling line of electricity dancing between two extended prongs of metal mounted on the tentacle's tip.
Kurama drew his arm back and flung the grass-blades forward with perfect aim, snapping his wrist at exactly the right moment to send the weapons arrowing into the small opening in the weapon's armor which was masked behind the electric current. Two of the blades disappeared inside, and the tentacle jerked spasmodically before collapsing in a heap, its inner wiring mangled.
He reached into his hair again, feeling for another seed. It was a pity that he couldn't use his Death Tree . . . or any of his Makai plants, for that matter.
Oh, well.
He drew out another weapon, one that he rarely used but was very fond of. Kudzu.
Within seconds of its first exposure to his youki, over six feet of vines were twining in the air around him. It was what this particular vine was famous for: its amazing rate of growth and the innumerable vines that it was capable of generating. The southern United States was virtually swamped with the stuff. [1]
Four separate tentacles --three plain and one mounted with a saw-- were converging upon his position. He smiled.
The four weapons converged directly above his head before arching down toward him, and he threw the knot of vines straight into the middle of them. He dove out of the way even as he flooded his youki into the plant.
When he turned around, the entire lengths of all four tentacles were tangled helplessly in what seemed to be --and might have been-- miles of kudzu vines, turning the weapons into piles of twitching, shapeless greenery.
One of the red-brown robots was making its way toward him, the tentacle upon its head swaying with each step, and Kurama pulled his signature rose out of his hair, transforming it in a shower of scarlet petals into his Rose Whip.
A few well-placed whip attacks and several ingenious back flips and somersaults later, and all that remained in the room were several heaps of useless metal and healthy, abnormally large, emerald green plants.
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"Looks like the sensors in Pretty Boy's suit are working right," said Logan. "He's in better shape than we thought. A hundred and twenty beats per minute!"
"That's impossible," said Ororo. "After THAT workout?"
"It's what the suit says, 'Roro."
Yuusuke and Hiei smirked in tandem. The day was turning out to be more interesting than they had first thought.
"And he also possesses great levels of control," said Xavier. "He's even managed to recover all the plants that he used, see?"
True. Yuusuke could see through the window that Kurama was efficiently gathering up every smidgen of greenery present in the Danger Room, shrinking them back to their seed states and storing them in his hair.
Yuusuke laughed and headed toward the door, waving jauntily at the mutants. "See you in a few!"
- : - : - Test Three: Yuusuke Urameshi - : - : -
Yuusuke cracked his knuckles as he entered the room. The floor was once again clear of debris, and he was itching for the test to begin.
No spirit powers. That would make the fight more of a challenge . . . and, in Yuusuke's opinion, more enjoyable. All of his battles lately had depended upon his latest techniques, the amounts of reiki and youki that he could generate, how much strength his Toushin form possessed.
Every now and then, it was fun to get back to the basics of fighting. How hard he could punch, how fast he could move, how keen his senses were.
Oh, yeah. This was going to be FUN.
The first attack came from behind; he heard the air whistling as the tentacle flung itself down toward him. He somersaulted away, twisting his body as his did so, ensuring that he landed facing the offending tentacle. The soles of his boots gripped the slick metal floor firmly, and he flung himself forward, cocking his fist and charging it with his reiki, careful to keep the energy at a level that human's couldn't see.
His fist slammed into the tentacle with a sound reminiscent of a thunderclap. The metal armor buckled and shattered from the impact, creating a hole through which Yuusuke could glimpse hundreds of wires. Before gravity took hold of him once more and pulled him to earth, he reached in and yanked out a sizeable handful, effectively disabling the one machine.
As soon as he landed, one of the tazer-tentacles rocketed toward him, the electric current between its two metal prongs hissing and spitting ominously. A well-placed dropkick shattered one of the prongs, breaking the circuit and doing away with the tazer, leaving the Toushin free to reach into the gap in the tentacle's armor --the same gap which Kurama had exploited-- and disable the tentacle.
More tentacles shattered beneath reiki-charged kicks and punches. Yuusuke laughed at the feeling of power that he drew from the fight, from knowing that he was dominant, a fighter in his prime.
Toushin. War God. Demon Lord.
His hair spiked slightly, and faint blue markings appeared on his arms and torso, hidden by his suit, and upon his face. His eyes narrowed and gained the slightest tint of red in their irises.
He held himself back from a full transformation, but it felt wonderful to even slightly loosen the hold he kept upon his youki.
Not even the four-legged robot with the red armor had stood a chance.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"I can't decide what his power is, Charles," said Ororo. "He's fast and abnormally strong, but those could be attributed to hard training. His sensory ranges are off the charts . . ."
"ESP?" asked Xavier curiously.
"Not THAT advanced," said Ororo. "More like his abilities of sight and hearing are so sensitive that he's aware of virtually everything going on around him."
"Interesting," murmured Xavier. "Perhaps we should see if this 'Genkai' will come teach at the Institute, if she gets such amazing results with mutant powers."
Kurama and Hiei exchanged a look.
="Can you imagine Genkai HERE?"= asked Kurama, amused.
="I might find myself feeling sorry for the humans under her tutelage,"= said Hiei, his fangs bared in a wide smirk. ="They'd never survive."=
"I couldn't get any readings on his life signs during the fight," said Logan, irritated. "Looks like his suit's on the fritz, too. Damn equipment failure."
- : - : - Test Four: Jaganshi, Minamino, and Urameshi - : - : -
Yuusuke waited for the last test to begin, his arms folded over his chest confidently. Kurama stood by his right shoulder and Hiei by his left.
If single tests were a breeze, then a test against ALL THREE of the Tantei was going to be a yawn.
="What do you two think?"= he asked. ="More tentacles, or will they up the ante?"=
="All three of us together?"= said Kurama. ="Surely, they'll make it more difficult."=
="Hopefully,"= muttered Hiei.
There was a chorus of metallic groans as four separate panels in the walls slid aside, spitting forth around ten of the red-armored robots. Eight tentacles, all tipped with lasers, reared up from the floor, sighting in on the demonic trio, along with six tazer-tentacles and ten saw-tentacles.
Yuusuke grinned happily. ="THAT's more like it!"=
He sprung forward to meet the nearest of the robots, his fist smashing straight through the armor of its head. Kurama's Rose Whip was out and slicing through another of the robots, cutting it into six neat pieces. Hiei's sword was wreathed in flames and searing through the tentacles one- by-one.
="Do you have any idea,"= called Kurama calmly over the ruckus of the battle, ="how much money we must be costing them, destroying this many robots?"=
="They can handle it!"= replied Yuusuke, dodging beneath a swipe from another robot before darting in and ripping off two of its legs. ="Forget the machines . . . Imagine their grocery bills! Did you see how much these people eat?"=
="Veritable pigs,"= agreed Hiei, slicing off the barrel of one of the lasers before calmly slicing the rest of the tentacle into slices of equal thickness. ="The blue-furred boy . . . Kurt . . . He eats more than the Baka."=
="Kurt's pretty cool, though,"= said Yuusuke, pausing momentarily to pick out his next target. Kurama was engrossed in tangling another robot in the leafy embrace of his kudzu vines, but one of the tentacles was honing in on the redhead as its next target. Yuusuke immediately sprinted toward the kitsune. ="Oy, Kurama! Give me a leg up!"=
Kurama looked startled but hunched his shoulders obligingly. Yuusuke placed one boot firmly between the other boy's shoulder blades, and Kurama heaved upwards precisely as Yuusuke leapt upward, giving the Toushin extra height on his jump, putting him at the exact right level to place a hard punch through the armor of the tentacle, disabling it.
Deciding to save himself some effort, Yuusuke angled his descent so that his landing just happened to coincide with the position of one of the robots, resulting in a satisfying crunch of mutilated metal beneath his boots.
Hiei did away with the last of the tentacles with a decidedly professional, bored air about him.
Kurama's kudzu had curled around about six of the robots --it was hard to count victims beneath the thick layers of leaves-- and, as per the kitsune's will, crushed them beyond repair.
Yuusuke finished the last robot with a powerful roundhouse kick, a broad grin upon his features.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"It appears," Xavier commented dryly, "that our newest trio will make a habit of surprising us."
Rogue stared through the window into the Danger Room, her mouth open in unabashed astonishment. "Tha . . . that's IMPOSSIBLE! They did all THAT?"
Everyone else in the room was equally amazed.
"They looked like they ENJOYED it," said Scott.
"Like they were PLAYING," agreed Jean, staring at the three grinning boys who now conversed among themselves amidst the piles of shattered, sliced, and melted bits of what had once been advanced weaponry which would have given the US Marines pause.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Yuusuke grinned, stretching, as he reentered the control room along with Hiei and Kurama. "Professor, how often did you say we practice in there?"
Xavier eyed the boy carefully. "At least three times a week."
"Sometimes more," said Ororo.
Yuusuke grinned over at Kurama and Hiei. "Sounds like fun."
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
[1] I should know. I live in Georgia. There's no escaping the stuff!
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR THE LAST CHAPTER (If I missed anyone, blame the site for not posting your review where I could find it):
: Dark Dreaming : Yep. That shield's days are numbered, all right. ^_^ I'm evil. Poor Hiei.
: darkness flame youkai : Thankies! Hope you enjoyed chappie 10 when you finally found it!
: Aya-Mikage2002 : Thanks for your help with the names, and do you know where I could buy a mental visioner?
: ccs rox : I think that you know what the danger room is now. ^_^ Fun-fun!
: Tione : Never let anyone take your plushies! *hugs her own mound of plushies and growls at her jealous friends* MINE! Stay back!
: Everqueen : Thanks for clearing up the Das/Vas thing, but I was just having Kurt say 'Yah' as his way of pronouncing 'yeah.' *shrugs* Oh, well. *scowls* My German dictionary isn't worth the hard drive it's saved on. But I'm glad that you enjoy my story so far. We all have to start our days off right, no?
: Jax : Okay.
: Dragon Sythe : Thanks for your help.
: Terris : Thanks. a) yes. b) It's the Japanese name for Yuusuke's group, the Spirit Detectives. c) I was leaving that for you to draw your own conclusion from.
: QG : Thanks for your help with names. I hadn't even realized that I was writing 'ningen' until you mentioned it! ^_^; I've been reading too many YYH fanfics! I'll do my best to restrain myself, but you might catch a few more 'ningens' in the story! Sorry.
: Rurouni Saiyan : Thankies, and here's a new chapter!
: Katyfoxdemon2 : Thankies!
: StaplersBreak : Interesting screen name! And I'm glad that you liked my fic so much. I hope I wrote the action sequences well.
: lemmings_please : Thanks for your perpetual support of my fic, and if you see Evil Towel before I do, tell her hello from me!
: YYHgurl : Thanks for your help with the names, and yeah, I'm making d@amn certain that I'm bringing the Youko in! He's too hot to be left out! *goes off to drool over the fox-demon in private*
: Tri : Thanks for your help with the names; I really appreciate it. And yeah, Hiei is quite a bishie, ain't he?
: Mistress of Dragons : I am SO using some of those nicknames! *snicker* Pretty Boy and Runt (or how about CHIBI!? *squeals* That would be TOO FUNNY!). Thankies!
: lobo-chan : I'll be certain to check out your stories as soon as I get a chance. *eyes pile of growing AP Chemistry homework* . . . which translates as, 'I won't see you until around next Christmas, if my professor has anything to say about it.'
: Animegirl8 : You can't EVEN begin to imagine!
: oOKeairaOo : I'm glad that you think that Hiei's in character. I had a hard time writing him in, and some people think that he's a little too . . . impudent. -_-; Hey, I try.
: Pewter : SESSHIE-SAMA! *grabs and huggles tightly* Now to get my hands on the real thing! Heh-heh. Sorry about your poor mouth! That really stinks. Oh, I hope you got my E-mail okay. I sent you some pictures of Toushin Yuusuke. (I also have quite a collection of Hiei and Kurama if you want anything else!)
: Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe : If I didn't spell your name right, then it's not really that surprising. Thanks for your review! (I find it extremely ironic that your screen name was longer than your review!)
: tina : Thankies!
: SilverKnight7 : Again, are you a fan of .hack//SIGN? Thanks for the review, though.
: Seiyo-san : I'm glad that you see the good aspects of keeping me alive. ^_^ Thanks for your support!
: hanyougirl : I think that I've already answered your question.
: Saelbu : Thankies!
: Gemini Star1 : Hope you liked this chapter. It took FOREVER to write! I suck at action scenes unless I take hours going over them. Phooey. I need sugar. Hint-hint, wink-wink!
: wayfarer-redemption : Yes, there'll be more Rogue, but I've got other ideas for her and the demons.
: FoxyFireDemon : Thanks for your help with the names, but, er . . . 'my site'? 'screenshot'? WHAT are you talking about? I wasn't aware that I even HAD a site! Tell me where it's at so I can visit!
: arrow-card : NO, Hiei will NOT trip in the shower! Sheesh! He's HIEI, for kami's sake!
: TrueChildOfDarkness : You'd better convert LOTS of people to this story! Here, to encourage you. *hands over Toushin Yuusuke, Youko Kurama, Jin, Touya, and Hiei plushies* Go! Convert! Convert!
: hahazinsanity : Thanks for your help with the names, and for the two tigers! Heehee! Now I can feed them that pesky complaint from chapter one! *runs off to go get review from Risingangel12*
: Thu6666 : Thanks, and so sorry for taking so long on this one!
: Yanslana : *raises right hand* I solemnly swear to not follow in the footsteps of lesser authors and commit the sinful crime of the Original Villain Cliché. I will create an antagonist who has both character depth and good reasons for his thirst for power. I will not create another Voldemort-wannabe. So stated, so witnessed. *snickers* Hey, that was fun! And thanks for your awesome compliments. Sorry for the long wait for this chappie!
: Siora : Thanks for your help with the names, and I'm glad you thought last chapter was funny! Yay!
: Bloodfang : o.O; . . . er, thanks for the offer, but . . . heh-heh, you can keep the cookie . . . *runs away*
: shakiya : I'm so happy that you like it! I like writing Prof. X as clueless! It's fun!
: BishounenChaser : I LOVE YOUR NICKNAME! And I'm trying to find a way to get Jin into this without it being totally out of left-field!
: Angelbird12241 : It's HARD to type your name! Sheesh! Hope you enjoyed the Danger Room Fiasco.
: Evil Towel : I feel kinda' sorry for the teacher who has to teach the Brainless Ignorants of which you spoke. Sounds like some guys I know. They're in most of my classes --and I take mostly advanced courses-- and they're such MORONS. *sarcastically* I can't WAIT until I start dating. They're what my school offers as the crème de la crème. *grimaces* Fun.
: Melissa45 : Thanks.
: Marissa : Check the A/N at the bottom of the page, hon.
: takahashi shuurin: I NEVER get tired of you. You're fun to talk . . . er, type to! And yes, Youko Kurama and Toushin Yuusuke are going to be SO MUCH FUN! *cackles evilly* Yep, the X-men are in for lots of headaches with those three around. I hope that this chapter made your day again! And I think that you're VERY smart, and your English --from what I've seen-- is perfect! Ooooh! Take Latin! Latin is awesome, and then you and I can have conversations! Latina maximus est! (Latin is the best!)
: Jena : Thankies!
: carla : Thankies BUNCHES!
: ~*CLS*~ : I just write REALLY, REALLY fast! My finger's are getting stronger by the day from all the stupid typing. Glad you like it though, and good luck on avoiding your teacher's wrath.
: E-san : Thanks for correcting my German. The dictionary I have must have mixed up the definitions. *glares* Stupid computer dictionary. Got more bugs in it than a roach-motel.
: demon eyes kyo : I'm glad that you like the story so much, but, geeze, have you got it in for Logan or what? You want him to go up against Youko Kurama, Hiei, and Yuusuke? He'd get creamed by ANY of them!
: KUKU : Thankies.
: GreenEyes7 : I'm glad you like it, but what did you mean about Kurama and Ororo in chapter five? I didn't understand what you meant. And don't be intimidated by my review responses. Most people think that they're fun! Have a cyber plushie! *hands over a Youko Kurama plushie*
: Wind Wanderer : I like your screen name. It reminds me of Kaze no Tane no Nausicaa ("Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" or "Warriors of the Wind" (the butchered version of K.n.T.n.N. *scowls*) in English). Awesome movie. Anywho, thanks for the review and for the info on names. It was really helpful!
: Lcampbell947 : Thanks!
: Elyndewen Startree : Geeze, your name's hard to type! But thanks for the review! I'm gonna' try to put Wanda in, but you have to admit that she's a difficult character to write. I'll try, though, and thanks for the help with names!
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A/N: Some people have been requesting longer chapters. *glares* I'm gonna' say this one more time. I HAVE A LIFE. I am taking Advanced courses in high school. I have LATIN IV! I have ADVANCED AMERICAN LITERATURE. I have AP CHEMISTRY. Do you know what AP stands for? It stands for ADVANCED PLACEMENT. That means that I am taking a COLLEGE LEVEL CHEMISTRY COURSE in my JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL. You do the math and figure out what my homework level is like! I am doing my level best to get out a chapter every two days, if not EVERY day! There is a reason that I write short chapters! SO GET OFF MY BACK.
*sighs* To everyone else, thanks for your support and understanding. I'll shut up now.
- : - : - : - : - : -
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, Logan, Genkai, etc.)
~"blah."~ means that the words are in Japanese.
="blah."= indicates words spoken in a Makai dialect.
~:blah.:~ telepathic speech
- : - : - : - : - : -
A/N: This will not be a blatantly yaoi or shounen-ai story. In fact, there will be NO romance WHATSOEVER. 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 Ten: A Demon's Definition of 'Fun' - : - : -
Yuusuke glared blackly at the grinning, blue-furred boy. "There's NO WAY in heaven or hell that I'm wearing THAT."
Kurt held up the black bodysuit --complete with a red and black 'X'es emblazoned on each shoulder and yellow gloves, belt, and boots-- and waved it slightly, his fangs glimmering in the cold white glow of the fluorescent lights overhead as he grinned. "Come ON. It's just a battle suit. It's a uniform . . . sort of."
"I'd have more protection if I fought in the buff."
Kurt wrinkled his nose, but then returned to pestering his newfound friend.
"Yuusuke . . . !" Kurt drew Yuusuke's name out into a lengthy, plaintive whine. "It's not THAT bad. Besides, vonce the Professor's seen you in action, he'll be certain that you get your own suit. All the other X-men have their own unique suits."
"NO." Yuusuke responded, scowling. "I won't wear it."
"Everyvone vears them in the Danger Room."
"I said 'NO.' "
"Come ON, Yuusuke, you've got to vear it!"
"Wearing something like THAT screams, 'I have a death wish; care to oblige?' I won't wear something that makes me any more of a target than I already am!"
A sly look crossed the blue-furred mutant's face. "They von't let you in, if you don't vear it."
Yuusuke scowled. He hated the idea of wearing something so . . . so . . . something like THAT. He was the last person to worry about whether or not his choice in clothing was 'fashionable,' but that suit looked like even the shoddiest of dressers would hesitate before wearing it, and comfort be damned.
. . . On the other hand, who was he to turn down a good brawl when the opportunity presented itself?
He growled but extended his hand toward the blue-furred elf-boy.
"Hand it over, Blue."
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei scowled, picking at the skintight black material that had taken the place of his usual blue tank top and black pants, thinking privately that he was glad he'd decided to keep his sword belted around his waist. His right arm felt bulky from all the bandages beneath his sleeve where they covered his Kokuryuha tattoo.
Across from him, leaning against one of the control panels that lined the 'control room,' Yuusuke scowled, still looking as though he'd like nothing so much as to Spirit gun whoever had first invented the ridiculous outfit.
It was some consolation that everyone else in the room --Rogue, Jean, Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Logan, and Ororo-- except for the Xavier human were all in similar outfits. Hiei had snickered softly when he'd caught sight of the huge, yellow X emblazoned on Scott's chest: the man was practically BEGGING to be shot.
The door of the control room slid aside and yet another black clad figure entered. Hiei could feel Kurama's energy signature even before he saw the fox and didn't bother to turn and look, so the fire-demon was treated to the amusing sight of Kitty, Jean and Rogue's eyes bugging slightly with disbelief.
Hiei turned to level a smirk at Kurama. ="You've made several new conquests, Kitsune."=
="Just what I needed,"= responded the redhead wryly.
Hiei supposed that, had he been female, he would have been impressed as well. Kurama's usual clothing did a good job of hiding exactly how fit his body was. Now wearing the suit, the contour of each and every muscle was visible for all to see.
Jean had already expressed her surprise that Hiei and Yuusuke were in such good shape. However, Kurama's physique was proving to be something of a surprise since most of the mutants had no doubt previously labeled him as a 'pretty boy.'
Yuusuke snickered. ="Watch your back, Kurama. I think Visor-Boy is getting jealous."=
Scott DID look somewhat irritated by Jean's obvious amazement. Logan appeared to have noticed the young man's ire and seemed to be amused by it.
Kurama sighed. ="Again . . . just what I needed."=
="Look on the bright side,"= said Yuusuke. ="At least you're not in your Youko form. You'd have to beat 'em off with your Death Tree."=
Xavier smiled at the three demons. "Well, seeing as how you're officially students of the Institute now, we need to judge your powers and your levels of control. We use the Danger Room for testing. First, we'll test each of you individually, and then . . . I understand that you three trained together under the same master?"
Kurama nodded. That WAS their cover story for their fighting skills, after all.
"Good." Xavier looked pleased. "Then I suppose we'll give you a chance to fight as a group and see how well you do."
He beckoned them over, toward a wall that appeared to be made up of windows overlooking a large, round room, the walls lined with panels of metal. It appeared to be simple enough.
"That's the 'Danger Room'?" asked Yuusuke, clearly skeptical. "Looks boring."
All of the mutants in the room cracked smiles, and Rogue and Logan laughed.
Professor Xavier smiled at the three new students. "We'll see."
- : - : - Test One: Hiei Jaganshi - : - : -
Hiei felt a wave of cold air wash over him as the huge doors --emblazoned with the usual 'X'-- shut behind him.
The room was big. Not as big as some of the chambers in Maze Castle, but big enough. All around, he could hear the buzzing of electricity and machinery, and he didn't doubt that there were innumerable sensors trained upon him from the second he had entered.
So, he was supposed to have one 'mutant' power. Hmm, what to choose . . .
A metallic whine from over to his right signaled the opening of one of the metal panels imbedded in the floor. A huge tentacle loomed up over him, swaying from side to side like a cobra eyeing its prey.
. . . fire sounded fun.
The tentacle snapped forward, no doubt programmed to entrap him within its coils, but Hiei merely narrowed his eyes.
Scarlet fire so bright that it appeared to be white blossomed around the entire length of the tentacle, transforming it into a writhing pillar of flickering light, and the scent of ozone filled the air, along with the snapping and popping of severed electrical wires. Slowly, the fiery silhouette of the tentacle shrunk, becoming nothing more than a worthless puddle of melted machinery.
Hiei strolled leisurely toward the center of the room, watching as more panels opened. No one could say that the humans weren't creative; he could see several mounted lasers, tentacles, saws of every shape and size, and one thing that looked like an electric tazer mounted on the end of one of the tentacles.
It was a pity that he wouldn't be able to use his speed in this fight; he'd be bored before long.
One of the saws came crashing down toward his head, and he leapt to one side with annoying slowness. It slammed into the section of floor where he had previously stood, buzzing and growling like some sort of attack dog kept from its prey.
Hiei's sword slid from its sheath at his side and he twirled it thoughtfully as he stepped away from the tazer as it attempted to sneak up behind him.
He couldn't use any of his Darkness Flame attacks obviously, since the humans would no doubt be suspicious should huge amounts of violet-black flames appear from nowhere. Therefore, he was limited to attacks using Mortal Flame.
He leapt over one of the tentacles as it swiped at his legs, then he back flipped away from another one of the saws coming in for its own turn. Several laser bolts crackled past his face as he leaned out of their way.
He caught a flash of red-brown out of the corner of one eye and turned to see a strange, four-legged robot advancing purposefully toward him, looking like a crab or spider with a strange, snakelike antenna upon its head.
He hopped away from another tentacle and sliced neatly through its thick, silver bulk, severing it cleanly.
Perhaps the robot would be more of a challenge.
He shifted his grip on his sword, focusing on his energy.
If he manipulated his youki just SO . . .
White-orange, unbelievably hot flames crackled into existence around the polished metal of his sword blade, the tongues of fire swirling and writhing with each movement he made. The fire-demon allowed himself a smirk.
Perfect.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Yuusuke, along with Kurama and any of the mutants not occupied at a console, pressed close to the windows of the control room, watching Hiei's fight appreciatively. The Toushin had at first been slightly apprehensive when he'd seen the kinds of weapons that the humans had devised as their 'test' for Hiei, but after seeing the small demon's first few attacks, Yuusuke had settled in to enjoy the show.
Generally, he never got the opportunity to truly watch Kurama or Hiei fight. Either he was too involved in his own little death match to worry about their battles or Hiei moved too fast for Yuusuke to see any of the fire-demon's techniques.
With Hiei purposefully checking his speed to that of a human, Yuusuke was amazed at the other demon's skills. It was almost like watching a dance. Every movement was precise, executed with just the needed energy behind it and not one more iota. Every movement of Hiei's blade was accurate and deadly.
The fire attacks used by the Jaganshi were fueled by just the necessary youki; there were no flickers or flares of power, indicating that Hiei held the flame attacks beneath iron control. Lesser fighters would allow their youki to flare with their excitement and battle-rage or dim if they were injured or tired.
Hiei was a master fighter.
Another slash of the fire-enveloped sword, and the last of the tentacles fell to the floor with a crash, joining its broken and melted brethren upon the metal tiles.
Yuusuke estimated that Hiei had demolished four tentacles, three saws, two tazer-tentacles, two lasers, and the one odd, four-legged drone --it had been fun to watch Hiei sever each of the legs one-by-one before slicing the thing's body in two-- . . . all within the space of less than a minute.
="He's been practicing,"= murmured Kurama.
Yuusuke grinned. ="It's going to be fun to spar with him later."=
Kurama laughed softly.
"Amazing," murmured Xavier, causing both Yuusuke and Kurama to turn and face him. The bald man was speaking to Ororo and Logan, who were both staring at the readouts on the main console. "His skills are simply amazing. The amount of control he has . . . It boggles the mind."
"Such power . . ." said Ororo. "He MELTED the tentacles, Professor! Not even Amara has achieved THAT."
"Too bad we couldn't get any vital readouts from his suit," said Logan. "I'd kill to know how much energy that cost him. His heart's probably going a mile a minute."
Yuusuke and Kurama exchanged a glance. It was a good thing that these mutants were so very ignorant of the Makai and the characteristics of demons.
Hiei's suit was working perfectly.
Demons didn't have heartbeats.
- : - : - Test Two: Shuichi Minamino - : - : -
The room had been cleared of most debris by several robots which had come out of the walls after Hiei's fight, so now the battleground was more or less in as good condition as it had been before Hiei's 'test.'
Kurama ignored the sound of the doors closing behind him and walked purposefully toward the middle of the room. As expected, panels slid aside within seconds of his entrance, and the odd, human-devised weapons began to hone in on him. He suspected that they either possessed motion detectors or his suit was outfitted with some sort of beacon that told the machines where he was.
He reached into his hair, his fingers brushing against several small lumps near the base of his neck. In order to hold his seeds in place, he placed them in his hair and grew them out to a point where they each had several small roots entangled in his hair, anchoring them firmly. In order to remove them, he manipulated them back into their seed states to free them, and then grew them to their adult forms while he pulled them loose.
Despite the apparent ease of his movements, it required both close attention and impeccable timing to get it done correctly.
After several millennia of practice, he had gotten it down to a veritable art form.
The human's wanted a show of his powers? Well, no need to bore them with his Rose Whip again.
Blades of grass formed into three deadly blades beneath his touch, each one grasped firmly between two knuckles.
The tazer-tentacle arched over him, a blue, crackling line of electricity dancing between two extended prongs of metal mounted on the tentacle's tip.
Kurama drew his arm back and flung the grass-blades forward with perfect aim, snapping his wrist at exactly the right moment to send the weapons arrowing into the small opening in the weapon's armor which was masked behind the electric current. Two of the blades disappeared inside, and the tentacle jerked spasmodically before collapsing in a heap, its inner wiring mangled.
He reached into his hair again, feeling for another seed. It was a pity that he couldn't use his Death Tree . . . or any of his Makai plants, for that matter.
Oh, well.
He drew out another weapon, one that he rarely used but was very fond of. Kudzu.
Within seconds of its first exposure to his youki, over six feet of vines were twining in the air around him. It was what this particular vine was famous for: its amazing rate of growth and the innumerable vines that it was capable of generating. The southern United States was virtually swamped with the stuff. [1]
Four separate tentacles --three plain and one mounted with a saw-- were converging upon his position. He smiled.
The four weapons converged directly above his head before arching down toward him, and he threw the knot of vines straight into the middle of them. He dove out of the way even as he flooded his youki into the plant.
When he turned around, the entire lengths of all four tentacles were tangled helplessly in what seemed to be --and might have been-- miles of kudzu vines, turning the weapons into piles of twitching, shapeless greenery.
One of the red-brown robots was making its way toward him, the tentacle upon its head swaying with each step, and Kurama pulled his signature rose out of his hair, transforming it in a shower of scarlet petals into his Rose Whip.
A few well-placed whip attacks and several ingenious back flips and somersaults later, and all that remained in the room were several heaps of useless metal and healthy, abnormally large, emerald green plants.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"Looks like the sensors in Pretty Boy's suit are working right," said Logan. "He's in better shape than we thought. A hundred and twenty beats per minute!"
"That's impossible," said Ororo. "After THAT workout?"
"It's what the suit says, 'Roro."
Yuusuke and Hiei smirked in tandem. The day was turning out to be more interesting than they had first thought.
"And he also possesses great levels of control," said Xavier. "He's even managed to recover all the plants that he used, see?"
True. Yuusuke could see through the window that Kurama was efficiently gathering up every smidgen of greenery present in the Danger Room, shrinking them back to their seed states and storing them in his hair.
Yuusuke laughed and headed toward the door, waving jauntily at the mutants. "See you in a few!"
- : - : - Test Three: Yuusuke Urameshi - : - : -
Yuusuke cracked his knuckles as he entered the room. The floor was once again clear of debris, and he was itching for the test to begin.
No spirit powers. That would make the fight more of a challenge . . . and, in Yuusuke's opinion, more enjoyable. All of his battles lately had depended upon his latest techniques, the amounts of reiki and youki that he could generate, how much strength his Toushin form possessed.
Every now and then, it was fun to get back to the basics of fighting. How hard he could punch, how fast he could move, how keen his senses were.
Oh, yeah. This was going to be FUN.
The first attack came from behind; he heard the air whistling as the tentacle flung itself down toward him. He somersaulted away, twisting his body as his did so, ensuring that he landed facing the offending tentacle. The soles of his boots gripped the slick metal floor firmly, and he flung himself forward, cocking his fist and charging it with his reiki, careful to keep the energy at a level that human's couldn't see.
His fist slammed into the tentacle with a sound reminiscent of a thunderclap. The metal armor buckled and shattered from the impact, creating a hole through which Yuusuke could glimpse hundreds of wires. Before gravity took hold of him once more and pulled him to earth, he reached in and yanked out a sizeable handful, effectively disabling the one machine.
As soon as he landed, one of the tazer-tentacles rocketed toward him, the electric current between its two metal prongs hissing and spitting ominously. A well-placed dropkick shattered one of the prongs, breaking the circuit and doing away with the tazer, leaving the Toushin free to reach into the gap in the tentacle's armor --the same gap which Kurama had exploited-- and disable the tentacle.
More tentacles shattered beneath reiki-charged kicks and punches. Yuusuke laughed at the feeling of power that he drew from the fight, from knowing that he was dominant, a fighter in his prime.
Toushin. War God. Demon Lord.
His hair spiked slightly, and faint blue markings appeared on his arms and torso, hidden by his suit, and upon his face. His eyes narrowed and gained the slightest tint of red in their irises.
He held himself back from a full transformation, but it felt wonderful to even slightly loosen the hold he kept upon his youki.
Not even the four-legged robot with the red armor had stood a chance.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"I can't decide what his power is, Charles," said Ororo. "He's fast and abnormally strong, but those could be attributed to hard training. His sensory ranges are off the charts . . ."
"ESP?" asked Xavier curiously.
"Not THAT advanced," said Ororo. "More like his abilities of sight and hearing are so sensitive that he's aware of virtually everything going on around him."
"Interesting," murmured Xavier. "Perhaps we should see if this 'Genkai' will come teach at the Institute, if she gets such amazing results with mutant powers."
Kurama and Hiei exchanged a look.
="Can you imagine Genkai HERE?"= asked Kurama, amused.
="I might find myself feeling sorry for the humans under her tutelage,"= said Hiei, his fangs bared in a wide smirk. ="They'd never survive."=
"I couldn't get any readings on his life signs during the fight," said Logan, irritated. "Looks like his suit's on the fritz, too. Damn equipment failure."
- : - : - Test Four: Jaganshi, Minamino, and Urameshi - : - : -
Yuusuke waited for the last test to begin, his arms folded over his chest confidently. Kurama stood by his right shoulder and Hiei by his left.
If single tests were a breeze, then a test against ALL THREE of the Tantei was going to be a yawn.
="What do you two think?"= he asked. ="More tentacles, or will they up the ante?"=
="All three of us together?"= said Kurama. ="Surely, they'll make it more difficult."=
="Hopefully,"= muttered Hiei.
There was a chorus of metallic groans as four separate panels in the walls slid aside, spitting forth around ten of the red-armored robots. Eight tentacles, all tipped with lasers, reared up from the floor, sighting in on the demonic trio, along with six tazer-tentacles and ten saw-tentacles.
Yuusuke grinned happily. ="THAT's more like it!"=
He sprung forward to meet the nearest of the robots, his fist smashing straight through the armor of its head. Kurama's Rose Whip was out and slicing through another of the robots, cutting it into six neat pieces. Hiei's sword was wreathed in flames and searing through the tentacles one- by-one.
="Do you have any idea,"= called Kurama calmly over the ruckus of the battle, ="how much money we must be costing them, destroying this many robots?"=
="They can handle it!"= replied Yuusuke, dodging beneath a swipe from another robot before darting in and ripping off two of its legs. ="Forget the machines . . . Imagine their grocery bills! Did you see how much these people eat?"=
="Veritable pigs,"= agreed Hiei, slicing off the barrel of one of the lasers before calmly slicing the rest of the tentacle into slices of equal thickness. ="The blue-furred boy . . . Kurt . . . He eats more than the Baka."=
="Kurt's pretty cool, though,"= said Yuusuke, pausing momentarily to pick out his next target. Kurama was engrossed in tangling another robot in the leafy embrace of his kudzu vines, but one of the tentacles was honing in on the redhead as its next target. Yuusuke immediately sprinted toward the kitsune. ="Oy, Kurama! Give me a leg up!"=
Kurama looked startled but hunched his shoulders obligingly. Yuusuke placed one boot firmly between the other boy's shoulder blades, and Kurama heaved upwards precisely as Yuusuke leapt upward, giving the Toushin extra height on his jump, putting him at the exact right level to place a hard punch through the armor of the tentacle, disabling it.
Deciding to save himself some effort, Yuusuke angled his descent so that his landing just happened to coincide with the position of one of the robots, resulting in a satisfying crunch of mutilated metal beneath his boots.
Hiei did away with the last of the tentacles with a decidedly professional, bored air about him.
Kurama's kudzu had curled around about six of the robots --it was hard to count victims beneath the thick layers of leaves-- and, as per the kitsune's will, crushed them beyond repair.
Yuusuke finished the last robot with a powerful roundhouse kick, a broad grin upon his features.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"It appears," Xavier commented dryly, "that our newest trio will make a habit of surprising us."
Rogue stared through the window into the Danger Room, her mouth open in unabashed astonishment. "Tha . . . that's IMPOSSIBLE! They did all THAT?"
Everyone else in the room was equally amazed.
"They looked like they ENJOYED it," said Scott.
"Like they were PLAYING," agreed Jean, staring at the three grinning boys who now conversed among themselves amidst the piles of shattered, sliced, and melted bits of what had once been advanced weaponry which would have given the US Marines pause.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Yuusuke grinned, stretching, as he reentered the control room along with Hiei and Kurama. "Professor, how often did you say we practice in there?"
Xavier eyed the boy carefully. "At least three times a week."
"Sometimes more," said Ororo.
Yuusuke grinned over at Kurama and Hiei. "Sounds like fun."
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
[1] I should know. I live in Georgia. There's no escaping the stuff!
REVIEW RESPONSES FOR THE LAST CHAPTER (If I missed anyone, blame the site for not posting your review where I could find it):
: Dark Dreaming : Yep. That shield's days are numbered, all right. ^_^ I'm evil. Poor Hiei.
: darkness flame youkai : Thankies! Hope you enjoyed chappie 10 when you finally found it!
: Aya-Mikage2002 : Thanks for your help with the names, and do you know where I could buy a mental visioner?
: ccs rox : I think that you know what the danger room is now. ^_^ Fun-fun!
: Tione : Never let anyone take your plushies! *hugs her own mound of plushies and growls at her jealous friends* MINE! Stay back!
: Everqueen : Thanks for clearing up the Das/Vas thing, but I was just having Kurt say 'Yah' as his way of pronouncing 'yeah.' *shrugs* Oh, well. *scowls* My German dictionary isn't worth the hard drive it's saved on. But I'm glad that you enjoy my story so far. We all have to start our days off right, no?
: Jax : Okay.
: Dragon Sythe : Thanks for your help.
: Terris : Thanks. a) yes. b) It's the Japanese name for Yuusuke's group, the Spirit Detectives. c) I was leaving that for you to draw your own conclusion from.
: QG : Thanks for your help with names. I hadn't even realized that I was writing 'ningen' until you mentioned it! ^_^; I've been reading too many YYH fanfics! I'll do my best to restrain myself, but you might catch a few more 'ningens' in the story! Sorry.
: Rurouni Saiyan : Thankies, and here's a new chapter!
: Katyfoxdemon2 : Thankies!
: StaplersBreak : Interesting screen name! And I'm glad that you liked my fic so much. I hope I wrote the action sequences well.
: lemmings_please : Thanks for your perpetual support of my fic, and if you see Evil Towel before I do, tell her hello from me!
: YYHgurl : Thanks for your help with the names, and yeah, I'm making d@amn certain that I'm bringing the Youko in! He's too hot to be left out! *goes off to drool over the fox-demon in private*
: Tri : Thanks for your help with the names; I really appreciate it. And yeah, Hiei is quite a bishie, ain't he?
: Mistress of Dragons : I am SO using some of those nicknames! *snicker* Pretty Boy and Runt (or how about CHIBI!? *squeals* That would be TOO FUNNY!). Thankies!
: lobo-chan : I'll be certain to check out your stories as soon as I get a chance. *eyes pile of growing AP Chemistry homework* . . . which translates as, 'I won't see you until around next Christmas, if my professor has anything to say about it.'
: Animegirl8 : You can't EVEN begin to imagine!
: oOKeairaOo : I'm glad that you think that Hiei's in character. I had a hard time writing him in, and some people think that he's a little too . . . impudent. -_-; Hey, I try.
: Pewter : SESSHIE-SAMA! *grabs and huggles tightly* Now to get my hands on the real thing! Heh-heh. Sorry about your poor mouth! That really stinks. Oh, I hope you got my E-mail okay. I sent you some pictures of Toushin Yuusuke. (I also have quite a collection of Hiei and Kurama if you want anything else!)
: Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe : If I didn't spell your name right, then it's not really that surprising. Thanks for your review! (I find it extremely ironic that your screen name was longer than your review!)
: tina : Thankies!
: SilverKnight7 : Again, are you a fan of .hack//SIGN? Thanks for the review, though.
: Seiyo-san : I'm glad that you see the good aspects of keeping me alive. ^_^ Thanks for your support!
: hanyougirl : I think that I've already answered your question.
: Saelbu : Thankies!
: Gemini Star1 : Hope you liked this chapter. It took FOREVER to write! I suck at action scenes unless I take hours going over them. Phooey. I need sugar. Hint-hint, wink-wink!
: wayfarer-redemption : Yes, there'll be more Rogue, but I've got other ideas for her and the demons.
: FoxyFireDemon : Thanks for your help with the names, but, er . . . 'my site'? 'screenshot'? WHAT are you talking about? I wasn't aware that I even HAD a site! Tell me where it's at so I can visit!
: arrow-card : NO, Hiei will NOT trip in the shower! Sheesh! He's HIEI, for kami's sake!
: TrueChildOfDarkness : You'd better convert LOTS of people to this story! Here, to encourage you. *hands over Toushin Yuusuke, Youko Kurama, Jin, Touya, and Hiei plushies* Go! Convert! Convert!
: hahazinsanity : Thanks for your help with the names, and for the two tigers! Heehee! Now I can feed them that pesky complaint from chapter one! *runs off to go get review from Risingangel12*
: Thu6666 : Thanks, and so sorry for taking so long on this one!
: Yanslana : *raises right hand* I solemnly swear to not follow in the footsteps of lesser authors and commit the sinful crime of the Original Villain Cliché. I will create an antagonist who has both character depth and good reasons for his thirst for power. I will not create another Voldemort-wannabe. So stated, so witnessed. *snickers* Hey, that was fun! And thanks for your awesome compliments. Sorry for the long wait for this chappie!
: Siora : Thanks for your help with the names, and I'm glad you thought last chapter was funny! Yay!
: Bloodfang : o.O; . . . er, thanks for the offer, but . . . heh-heh, you can keep the cookie . . . *runs away*
: shakiya : I'm so happy that you like it! I like writing Prof. X as clueless! It's fun!
: BishounenChaser : I LOVE YOUR NICKNAME! And I'm trying to find a way to get Jin into this without it being totally out of left-field!
: Angelbird12241 : It's HARD to type your name! Sheesh! Hope you enjoyed the Danger Room Fiasco.
: Evil Towel : I feel kinda' sorry for the teacher who has to teach the Brainless Ignorants of which you spoke. Sounds like some guys I know. They're in most of my classes --and I take mostly advanced courses-- and they're such MORONS. *sarcastically* I can't WAIT until I start dating. They're what my school offers as the crème de la crème. *grimaces* Fun.
: Melissa45 : Thanks.
: Marissa : Check the A/N at the bottom of the page, hon.
: takahashi shuurin: I NEVER get tired of you. You're fun to talk . . . er, type to! And yes, Youko Kurama and Toushin Yuusuke are going to be SO MUCH FUN! *cackles evilly* Yep, the X-men are in for lots of headaches with those three around. I hope that this chapter made your day again! And I think that you're VERY smart, and your English --from what I've seen-- is perfect! Ooooh! Take Latin! Latin is awesome, and then you and I can have conversations! Latina maximus est! (Latin is the best!)
: Jena : Thankies!
: carla : Thankies BUNCHES!
: ~*CLS*~ : I just write REALLY, REALLY fast! My finger's are getting stronger by the day from all the stupid typing. Glad you like it though, and good luck on avoiding your teacher's wrath.
: E-san : Thanks for correcting my German. The dictionary I have must have mixed up the definitions. *glares* Stupid computer dictionary. Got more bugs in it than a roach-motel.
: demon eyes kyo : I'm glad that you like the story so much, but, geeze, have you got it in for Logan or what? You want him to go up against Youko Kurama, Hiei, and Yuusuke? He'd get creamed by ANY of them!
: KUKU : Thankies.
: GreenEyes7 : I'm glad you like it, but what did you mean about Kurama and Ororo in chapter five? I didn't understand what you meant. And don't be intimidated by my review responses. Most people think that they're fun! Have a cyber plushie! *hands over a Youko Kurama plushie*
: Wind Wanderer : I like your screen name. It reminds me of Kaze no Tane no Nausicaa ("Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" or "Warriors of the Wind" (the butchered version of K.n.T.n.N. *scowls*) in English). Awesome movie. Anywho, thanks for the review and for the info on names. It was really helpful!
: Lcampbell947 : Thanks!
: Elyndewen Startree : Geeze, your name's hard to type! But thanks for the review! I'm gonna' try to put Wanda in, but you have to admit that she's a difficult character to write. I'll try, though, and thanks for the help with names!
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A/N: Some people have been requesting longer chapters. *glares* I'm gonna' say this one more time. I HAVE A LIFE. I am taking Advanced courses in high school. I have LATIN IV! I have ADVANCED AMERICAN LITERATURE. I have AP CHEMISTRY. Do you know what AP stands for? It stands for ADVANCED PLACEMENT. That means that I am taking a COLLEGE LEVEL CHEMISTRY COURSE in my JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL. You do the math and figure out what my homework level is like! I am doing my level best to get out a chapter every two days, if not EVERY day! There is a reason that I write short chapters! SO GET OFF MY BACK.
*sighs* To everyone else, thanks for your support and understanding. I'll shut up now.