Disclaimer: I own neither X-men nor Yu Yu Hakusho. I don't know WHO owns
them, but it certainly isn't ME. AND I OWN NONE OF EDGAR ALLEN POE'S WORKS,
GOT IT!?
- : - : - : - : - : -
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.
ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: NO. ROMANCE. WHATSOEVER. NONE. AT ALL. ZIP. ZERO. NADDA. NOTHING. UNDERSTAND?
- : - : - Chapter Fifteen: First Clue - : - : -
To the Tantei, the school week went by with relative swiftness. Even with Scott breathing down their necks due to their newfound friendship with the Brotherhood, the days seemed much shorter than they would have thought --of course, said feeling might have been due to the fact that they attended hardly any classes aside from history (with Kurt, Pietro, and Lance) and gym (with Rogue, Scott, and Jean).
In fact, the Tantei spent the majority of the school day hanging out together with the Brotherhood in the small alleyway that Pietro had showed them on Monday.
Thursday afternoon, however, was an exception.
On that day, the Tantei and Brotherhood were busy 'persuading' the drink and snack machines in one of the back hallways to give donations to the 'Feed the Hungry Juvenile Delinquent Mutants of the World' fund.
Pietro was frowning as his hands moved in a pale blur, attempting to pick the small lock that held the front of the snack machine closed. Lance and Fred stood back to watch, Fred being the more attentive of the two for obvious reasons.
"It's times like this," Pietro muttered absently, "That I REALLY miss Toad."
He was immediately the sole focus of all three demons' attention, the same question showing upon their features.
Lance noted the odd looks that Pietro's comment had drawn. "He's another member of the Brotherhood," he explained simply.
"'Toad' ?" Yuusuke repeated. "You actually call one of your friends 'Toad'?"
Lance shrugged. "Actually, his name is Todd Tolansky. 'Toad' is his mutant name."
Pietro grunted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, Toad uses his tongue and messes up something inside these things. Really gross to watch, but it gets the job done. Stuff just pours right out of these things, like an avalanche of food."
Kurama looked slightly sickened. "His . . . tongue?"
"That's what I said." Pietro smirked at the red-haired kitsune. "It's about six feet long, kinda' greenish, and slimy. It's why we call him Toad. . . . That, and he can jump like a freakin' grasshopper on steroids."
Kurama sent a disgusted look at the silver-haired mutant before moving away toward one of the windows lining the right side of the hall to peer down at the school grounds from the second-story vantage point. Hiei went with him, his steps making not a whisper of sound.
Yuusuke frowned at Lance. "All right, Shakes, I'm curious . . . What exactly is a frog-mutant supposed to look like? Green and warty?"
Lance laughed. "Green? Yes. Warts? No . . . not yet, anyway. He's short, probably shoulder-height on you or me. Semi-long hair, kinda' greasy, brownish. Big eyes. . . . And he hardly ever stands up straight. His legs are real skinny; they aren't built for standing or walking. He crouches most of the time, like a toad."
"If he's one of your guys, how come he hasn't been around?"
The small grins that had adorned the faces of the three Brotherhood members abruptly disappeared.
Pietro's efforts at the snack machine ceased, and the door creaked open slowly. The young mutant backed away, his expression cold. "Have at it, Fred."
The largest of the mutants moved forward slowly, his attitude one of equal reserve. Even when he started in on the first packages of food, he made an obvious effort to be quiet.
Yuusuke's eyes narrowed at the odd behavior. "What, did he ditch you or something?"
Lance snorted. "We wish we knew."
"He ain't been around for us to ask him," growled Pietro. "Just disappeared about a week ago, and he hasn't been seen since."
Yuusuke instinctively filed away the small tidbit of information away for later. "Have you looked for him?"
"Of course!" Pietro looked offended at the insinuation that they wouldn't have searched for their missing companion.
"We've even sent a message to Magneto," said Lance soberly. "And we usually try our best to NOT draw his attention."
Yuusuke's frown deepened further. "'Magneto' ? You've mentioned him. Did he reply?"
"Not with anything useful." Pietro leaned against a wall and folded his arms over his chest, the fingers of one hand tapping against the opposite bicep. "Basically said that he had his own problems and we should deal with ours like 'true mutants.' Knowing Daddy-Dearest, he'll probably send a flunky to see if there's anything worthwhile going on down here . . . and ignore us."
"He's your father?"
"I believe that I mentioned something of the sort," growled Pietro tersely.
Hiei's voice, dry as ever, interrupted. "Despite how I loathe to interrupt such scintillating conversation, I must ask how well you searched for this companion of yours."
"Well enough," retorted Lance with glare at the black-clad demon's back.
Neither Hiei nor Kurama looked away from the window, their gazes intent upon something on the school grounds below.
"Long, dirty hair," murmured Kurama. "Odd posture. Big eyes. Greenish complexion . . . I have to agree with Hiei. If this boy is who we think he is, I must say that I have very little respect for your skills as detectives."
His interest piqued, Pietro disappeared from sight, reappearing between the two demons, neither of whom so much as twitched at his surprise appearance.
Pietro's gray eyes widened in shock as he gazed down at the two figures below; one was a grown man wearing ratty, torn clothes, and the other . . .
"It's TOAD!"
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurama loped gracefully behind the two remaining Brotherhood members as they ran down the deserted hallways of the school. It was lucky that they were moving at a relatively good pace; by the time any teachers peaked out of their classrooms to discern the cause of loud noises within the halls (read: Fred's thundering footsteps), the culprits were long gone.
Fred and Lance led the way --Pietro had disappeared from sight within a second of spotting the younger Brotherhood member outside the school. Lance was ahead of Fred by a long margin, but Fred, despite his labored breath and fatigued movements, didn't look as though he was going to give up any time soon.
Yuusuke and Hiei jogged lightly behind Kurama, Yuusuke curious about the 'Toad' mutant, Hiei annoyed at the horribly slow pace.
As they burst through the last set of doors standing between them and the outdoors, Kurama's nose was suddenly filled with a scent that he knew all too well.
He slowed abruptly, then stopped, his head raised, drawing in deep breaths of air, his eyes scanning his surroundings.
He sensed more than saw Yuusuke and Hiei appearing to either side of him, their postures equally alert as they saw him tense.
The only other beings in sight were Pietro, Lance, and Fred clustered around the short, skinny boy that Kurama had suspected to be 'Toad,' and another man who was walking away, dressed in clothes that a beggar would have been mortified to wear.
Yuusuke's eyes were narrow as he looked up at the slightly taller demon. ="Talk to me, Kurama."=
="I smell demon."=
Yuusuke's eyes turned immediately to Hiei, who shook his head minutely at the silent query.
="I sense no youki aside from ours,"= said the fire demon softly. ="No shields, either. As far as demons go, we're it."=
Yuusuke nodded curtly, looking back to Kurama. ="What else does your nose tell you?"=
="The scent is strong,"= replied Kurama. ="If not a demon, then a human who has been in its company for a long while. There is something more, as well-- -"= Kurama closed his eyes completely. ="Something from the Makai. There's no mistaking THAT smell."=
Yuusuke smirked. ="Home, sweet home. . . . All right, Fox-boy, who's our guy? 'Toad' or Suspect Number Two?"=
="Two,"= Kurama said shortly, and he set off running after the retreating man, Yuusuke and Hiei hot on his heels.
Pietro and Lance looked up as they passed, confused, but Yuusuke waved them back, and they obeyed, despite their thorough bemusement at the three foreigners' odd behavior.
"Hey, you!" Yuusuke pulled ahead of Kurama and Hiei even as the man paused and turned, a frown crossing his unshaven features. "Yeah, you, wait up!"
The man stopped completely, his eyes lowering. The three demons fanned out as they came to a stop before him.
As usual, Yuusuke took point. "All right, guy, start talking."
The man shifted his weight from foot to foot, never looking up. "Talk?" he asked, sounding much like a confused child. "Talk what?"
Yuusuke blinked. "Yeah . . . talk. What're you doing here?"
"I have nothing for you," he mumbled, curling in upon himself, gazing steadily at the ground. "Nothing for three boys. They gave me nothing. Nothing, not for you, nothing---"
Yuusuke arched an eyebrow. ="THIS guy could be our big break? He's cracked."=
A shudder passed through the man's frame, and he straightened suddenly, gazing into each of the three demons' eyes. ="You speak the Master's tongue?"=
Hiei's hand was around the man's throat in a flash, pressing upward until the man was forced onto his tip-toes in order to breathe. ="How do you know this language?"= snarled the fire-demon. ="Speak while you still have a tongue with which to do so."=
="Did . . . the Master . . . send you?"= Ugly, gray-brown eyes glared down into flaming crimson. ="Does the Master . . . doubt me?"=
="You are a human,"= said Kurama coldly, pressing closer to the captive despite the rancid scent that assaulted his sensitive nose. ="Not even a mutant. A mere human. How can you know this tongue?"=
The man laughed, a harsh, cawing laugh that clawed its way out of his throat like a living thing. ="The Master is very kind."=
Yellow-white energy crackled into existence around the hand Hiei pressed hard against the man's windpipe, and the fire demon hissed in surprise, losing his grip. The man toppled to the ground, scrambling swiftly to his feet and racing away, still laughing.
Hiei's youki spiked, and the air wavered with blistering heat as he glared after the man. ="Low-level,"= he spat, disgusted. ="He had a warding charm from a higher demon, B class at least. Would it make much difference if I merely kill him now? I can burn the evidence."=
="Hiei . . ."= Kurama sent a warning Look toward the smaller demon. ="Don't bother."=
="We didn't get anything from him!"= protested the Jaganshi, still furious.
="No, we do have SOMETHING, at least,"= murmured Kurama in reply. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out toward the other two demons. Hanging from his grip was a small, clear, plastic sac, filled with gray- green dust with a slight, glittery sheen. ="'Two' had it in his pocket. What do you think it is?"=
Hiei glared at the object in question, still disgusted by the fact that his 'prey' had escaped, but the heat was swiftly fading away to more bearable levels. ="Hn."=
="Very helpful, Hiei,"= Kurama said dryly. The kitsune turned emerald-green eyes to Yuusuke. ="My Lord?"=
Yuusuke laughed lightly. ="Hell, how should I know? Fairy dust?"=
Kurama cracked a small smile. ="Who are we to say? It is a clue, at least."=
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
- : - : - : - : - : -
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.
ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: NO. ROMANCE. WHATSOEVER. NONE. AT ALL. ZIP. ZERO. NADDA. NOTHING. UNDERSTAND?
- : - : - Chapter Fifteen: First Clue - : - : -
To the Tantei, the school week went by with relative swiftness. Even with Scott breathing down their necks due to their newfound friendship with the Brotherhood, the days seemed much shorter than they would have thought --of course, said feeling might have been due to the fact that they attended hardly any classes aside from history (with Kurt, Pietro, and Lance) and gym (with Rogue, Scott, and Jean).
In fact, the Tantei spent the majority of the school day hanging out together with the Brotherhood in the small alleyway that Pietro had showed them on Monday.
Thursday afternoon, however, was an exception.
On that day, the Tantei and Brotherhood were busy 'persuading' the drink and snack machines in one of the back hallways to give donations to the 'Feed the Hungry Juvenile Delinquent Mutants of the World' fund.
Pietro was frowning as his hands moved in a pale blur, attempting to pick the small lock that held the front of the snack machine closed. Lance and Fred stood back to watch, Fred being the more attentive of the two for obvious reasons.
"It's times like this," Pietro muttered absently, "That I REALLY miss Toad."
He was immediately the sole focus of all three demons' attention, the same question showing upon their features.
Lance noted the odd looks that Pietro's comment had drawn. "He's another member of the Brotherhood," he explained simply.
"'Toad' ?" Yuusuke repeated. "You actually call one of your friends 'Toad'?"
Lance shrugged. "Actually, his name is Todd Tolansky. 'Toad' is his mutant name."
Pietro grunted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, Toad uses his tongue and messes up something inside these things. Really gross to watch, but it gets the job done. Stuff just pours right out of these things, like an avalanche of food."
Kurama looked slightly sickened. "His . . . tongue?"
"That's what I said." Pietro smirked at the red-haired kitsune. "It's about six feet long, kinda' greenish, and slimy. It's why we call him Toad. . . . That, and he can jump like a freakin' grasshopper on steroids."
Kurama sent a disgusted look at the silver-haired mutant before moving away toward one of the windows lining the right side of the hall to peer down at the school grounds from the second-story vantage point. Hiei went with him, his steps making not a whisper of sound.
Yuusuke frowned at Lance. "All right, Shakes, I'm curious . . . What exactly is a frog-mutant supposed to look like? Green and warty?"
Lance laughed. "Green? Yes. Warts? No . . . not yet, anyway. He's short, probably shoulder-height on you or me. Semi-long hair, kinda' greasy, brownish. Big eyes. . . . And he hardly ever stands up straight. His legs are real skinny; they aren't built for standing or walking. He crouches most of the time, like a toad."
"If he's one of your guys, how come he hasn't been around?"
The small grins that had adorned the faces of the three Brotherhood members abruptly disappeared.
Pietro's efforts at the snack machine ceased, and the door creaked open slowly. The young mutant backed away, his expression cold. "Have at it, Fred."
The largest of the mutants moved forward slowly, his attitude one of equal reserve. Even when he started in on the first packages of food, he made an obvious effort to be quiet.
Yuusuke's eyes narrowed at the odd behavior. "What, did he ditch you or something?"
Lance snorted. "We wish we knew."
"He ain't been around for us to ask him," growled Pietro. "Just disappeared about a week ago, and he hasn't been seen since."
Yuusuke instinctively filed away the small tidbit of information away for later. "Have you looked for him?"
"Of course!" Pietro looked offended at the insinuation that they wouldn't have searched for their missing companion.
"We've even sent a message to Magneto," said Lance soberly. "And we usually try our best to NOT draw his attention."
Yuusuke's frown deepened further. "'Magneto' ? You've mentioned him. Did he reply?"
"Not with anything useful." Pietro leaned against a wall and folded his arms over his chest, the fingers of one hand tapping against the opposite bicep. "Basically said that he had his own problems and we should deal with ours like 'true mutants.' Knowing Daddy-Dearest, he'll probably send a flunky to see if there's anything worthwhile going on down here . . . and ignore us."
"He's your father?"
"I believe that I mentioned something of the sort," growled Pietro tersely.
Hiei's voice, dry as ever, interrupted. "Despite how I loathe to interrupt such scintillating conversation, I must ask how well you searched for this companion of yours."
"Well enough," retorted Lance with glare at the black-clad demon's back.
Neither Hiei nor Kurama looked away from the window, their gazes intent upon something on the school grounds below.
"Long, dirty hair," murmured Kurama. "Odd posture. Big eyes. Greenish complexion . . . I have to agree with Hiei. If this boy is who we think he is, I must say that I have very little respect for your skills as detectives."
His interest piqued, Pietro disappeared from sight, reappearing between the two demons, neither of whom so much as twitched at his surprise appearance.
Pietro's gray eyes widened in shock as he gazed down at the two figures below; one was a grown man wearing ratty, torn clothes, and the other . . .
"It's TOAD!"
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurama loped gracefully behind the two remaining Brotherhood members as they ran down the deserted hallways of the school. It was lucky that they were moving at a relatively good pace; by the time any teachers peaked out of their classrooms to discern the cause of loud noises within the halls (read: Fred's thundering footsteps), the culprits were long gone.
Fred and Lance led the way --Pietro had disappeared from sight within a second of spotting the younger Brotherhood member outside the school. Lance was ahead of Fred by a long margin, but Fred, despite his labored breath and fatigued movements, didn't look as though he was going to give up any time soon.
Yuusuke and Hiei jogged lightly behind Kurama, Yuusuke curious about the 'Toad' mutant, Hiei annoyed at the horribly slow pace.
As they burst through the last set of doors standing between them and the outdoors, Kurama's nose was suddenly filled with a scent that he knew all too well.
He slowed abruptly, then stopped, his head raised, drawing in deep breaths of air, his eyes scanning his surroundings.
He sensed more than saw Yuusuke and Hiei appearing to either side of him, their postures equally alert as they saw him tense.
The only other beings in sight were Pietro, Lance, and Fred clustered around the short, skinny boy that Kurama had suspected to be 'Toad,' and another man who was walking away, dressed in clothes that a beggar would have been mortified to wear.
Yuusuke's eyes were narrow as he looked up at the slightly taller demon. ="Talk to me, Kurama."=
="I smell demon."=
Yuusuke's eyes turned immediately to Hiei, who shook his head minutely at the silent query.
="I sense no youki aside from ours,"= said the fire demon softly. ="No shields, either. As far as demons go, we're it."=
Yuusuke nodded curtly, looking back to Kurama. ="What else does your nose tell you?"=
="The scent is strong,"= replied Kurama. ="If not a demon, then a human who has been in its company for a long while. There is something more, as well-- -"= Kurama closed his eyes completely. ="Something from the Makai. There's no mistaking THAT smell."=
Yuusuke smirked. ="Home, sweet home. . . . All right, Fox-boy, who's our guy? 'Toad' or Suspect Number Two?"=
="Two,"= Kurama said shortly, and he set off running after the retreating man, Yuusuke and Hiei hot on his heels.
Pietro and Lance looked up as they passed, confused, but Yuusuke waved them back, and they obeyed, despite their thorough bemusement at the three foreigners' odd behavior.
"Hey, you!" Yuusuke pulled ahead of Kurama and Hiei even as the man paused and turned, a frown crossing his unshaven features. "Yeah, you, wait up!"
The man stopped completely, his eyes lowering. The three demons fanned out as they came to a stop before him.
As usual, Yuusuke took point. "All right, guy, start talking."
The man shifted his weight from foot to foot, never looking up. "Talk?" he asked, sounding much like a confused child. "Talk what?"
Yuusuke blinked. "Yeah . . . talk. What're you doing here?"
"I have nothing for you," he mumbled, curling in upon himself, gazing steadily at the ground. "Nothing for three boys. They gave me nothing. Nothing, not for you, nothing---"
Yuusuke arched an eyebrow. ="THIS guy could be our big break? He's cracked."=
A shudder passed through the man's frame, and he straightened suddenly, gazing into each of the three demons' eyes. ="You speak the Master's tongue?"=
Hiei's hand was around the man's throat in a flash, pressing upward until the man was forced onto his tip-toes in order to breathe. ="How do you know this language?"= snarled the fire-demon. ="Speak while you still have a tongue with which to do so."=
="Did . . . the Master . . . send you?"= Ugly, gray-brown eyes glared down into flaming crimson. ="Does the Master . . . doubt me?"=
="You are a human,"= said Kurama coldly, pressing closer to the captive despite the rancid scent that assaulted his sensitive nose. ="Not even a mutant. A mere human. How can you know this tongue?"=
The man laughed, a harsh, cawing laugh that clawed its way out of his throat like a living thing. ="The Master is very kind."=
Yellow-white energy crackled into existence around the hand Hiei pressed hard against the man's windpipe, and the fire demon hissed in surprise, losing his grip. The man toppled to the ground, scrambling swiftly to his feet and racing away, still laughing.
Hiei's youki spiked, and the air wavered with blistering heat as he glared after the man. ="Low-level,"= he spat, disgusted. ="He had a warding charm from a higher demon, B class at least. Would it make much difference if I merely kill him now? I can burn the evidence."=
="Hiei . . ."= Kurama sent a warning Look toward the smaller demon. ="Don't bother."=
="We didn't get anything from him!"= protested the Jaganshi, still furious.
="No, we do have SOMETHING, at least,"= murmured Kurama in reply. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out toward the other two demons. Hanging from his grip was a small, clear, plastic sac, filled with gray- green dust with a slight, glittery sheen. ="'Two' had it in his pocket. What do you think it is?"=
Hiei glared at the object in question, still disgusted by the fact that his 'prey' had escaped, but the heat was swiftly fading away to more bearable levels. ="Hn."=
="Very helpful, Hiei,"= Kurama said dryly. The kitsune turned emerald-green eyes to Yuusuke. ="My Lord?"=
Yuusuke laughed lightly. ="Hell, how should I know? Fairy dust?"=
Kurama cracked a small smile. ="Who are we to say? It is a clue, at least."=
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -