BIG TIP: If you know for a fact that I've posted a new chapter but the site
continually tells you that it doesn't exist, make certain that you are at
the URL of where the chapter SHOULD be and type ONE PERIOD at the end of
the address and hit enter. It should take you to the page. This trick also
works well on those 'site experiencing overload' pages, but sometimes it
won't go through.
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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. AND I OWN NONE OF EDGAR ALLEN POE'S WORKS, GOT IT!?
Also, most of the kitsune information in this chapter (aside from direct references to Kurama or his past) is from http : // w w w . comnet . ca / ~ foxtrot / kitsune / kitsune 1 . htm (Do I have to say it again? Copy, paste, remove the spaces and hit enter.). I used some snippets of info from there to flesh out my kitsune explanation, but some of it is tweaked slightly.
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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.
ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: NO. ROMANCE. WHATSOEVER. NONE. AT ALL. ZIP. ZERO. NADDA. NOTHING. UNDERSTAND?
- : - : - Chapter Sixteen: Mall Mayhem, Part One of Two - : - : -
- : - : - Friday Afternoon - : - : -
No one ever said that the Brotherhood house offered much in the way of entertainment, but on Thursday afternoon, Lance freely admitted to himself that the levels of excitement to be found at 'Home Sweet Home' had sunk to a nearly nonexistent low.
The TV muttered and fizzed to itself over in one corner, the random flashes of pictures across its screen sending the shadows of the living room flickering and dancing with each new image.
Fred lay sprawled in the recliner, a bowl that had once contained ravioli balanced upon his rotund belly, a dribble of red sauce running down one side, mirroring the thin line of drool trickling down the large mutant's chin. His feet were propped up upon the milk crate (topped by one of the more ratty cushions to be found within the house) which was currently acting as an ottoman for the Brotherhood.
Lance was seated upon the couch at the opposite end of the room, a small pile of rubber bands on the couch cushion beside him. At the moment, one such rubber band was stretched tautly between his two hands, one end looped over his thumb and the other pinched between the index finger and thumb of his other hand.
The seismically inclined mutant sighted along the length of the rubber band, looking toward his target, released a short breath, and fired.
The small projectile slapped against the bare sole of Fred's foot, which twitched in response.
This was not one of his more original games. Aim for Freddy's foot. If the rubber band made contact, one point. One additional point for each time Fred's foot twitched. Each time Fred snorted or mumbled in response to a hit, it meant a negative point. If Fred woke up, automatic Game Over.
His current score: three-hundred and seventy-nine.
In other words, Lance was seriously considering going to stand in the middle of a street and wait for a car to come through; then at least SOMETHING exciting would happen.
Pietro was probably already doing something of the sort; the silver-haired mutant had a bad habit of playing chicken with vehicles on secluded, back highways. It had annoyed Mystique to no end when Pietro had singled out HER car as one of his targets.
There had been no talking to her for a week after that. Lance was pretty certain that Toad had opted to exit through the second story window of his bedroom in the mornings rather than try to get breakfast from the kitchen and chance running into Mystique.
Lord, forget the name 'Mystique.' The blue-skinned woman should have called herself 'Banshee.'
Lance sighed and picked up another rubber band, stretching it between his hands, a meditative frown upon his face.
One would think that things would have livened up a bit with Toad back home, but instead, it seemed as though things were actually more BORING.
Ever since Kurama had spotted the youngest Brotherhood member on school campus and Lance, Pietro and Fred had confronted the prodigal mutant, Toad hadn't been acting . . . well, Toad-ish.
- : - : - Flashback - : - : -
Pietro was already pelting Toad with rapid-fire questions by the time Lance and Fred managed to reach the pair of mutants. Lance noticed that Yuusuke, Shuichi, and Hiei had stopped just outside of the doors and were talking quietly amongst themselves, but Lance had thoughts only for Todd.
"Where have you BEEN?" he demanded as soon as Pietro stopped for breath. "Who's that guy you were with? Are you okay?"
Toad backed away slightly, looking defensive. "Hey, yo, back off, ya'll. I was off doing somethin' for Lady-Blue, 'at's all."
Lance was distracted momentarily as Yuusuke, Hiei and Shuichi ran past, apparently going after the strange guy that had been with Todd. Pietro looked as though he might follow, but Yuusuke turned slightly as he ran and waved the silver-haired mutant back. Pietro frowned, but obeyed, turning his attention back to Toad, but his gray eyes continually darted toward the three new mutants until they disappeared from sight around the corner of the building.
Pietro frowned down at the youngest member of the Brotherhood. "Yeah, whatever, Frog-boy, but who's the bum that was with you?"
Toad scowled petulantly. "Ain't any o' your business, yo. Confidential stuff, straight from the boss-man."
Pietro scoffed. "Since when do you hop solo?"
Toad grinned, his yellow-ish eyes narrowing. "Since a week ago, Streak; ain't you been payin' 'tention?"
With that, the young mutant dropped into his typical crouch and hopped away from the group, toward the school, soon disappearing inside.
Fred frowned, perplexed. "That was . . . weird."
Lance's eyes were narrowed in deep thought. "Looks like Toad's gone through some changes."
Pietro scowled darkly. "THAT," he growled, "is NOT Toad."
"It looks like him, though," protested Fred. "Smells like him, too."
"Ha." Pietro sneered derisively. "Magneto NEVER assigns solos to the 'lower mutants' like us; too much 'margin for error' . . . Something smells rotten, and for once it isn't Frog-boy's armpits."
- : - : - End Flashback - : - : -
Lance jerked in surprise as the object of his musing hopped through the living room door. Toad paused, crouching in his typical fashion, and looked around, smirking when his gaze fell upon the rubber bands littering the 'ottoman' beneath Fred's feet and the matching rubber band stretched between Lance's fingers, ready to be fired.
The frog-mutant tilted his head to one side. "Creative."
With that, he hopped back the way he had come, disappearing upstairs.
Lance blinked. Not even a 'yo'? He found himself beginning to agree with Pietro.
Toad not saying 'yo' was like . . . well, Kitty not saying 'like.' It just didn't happen.
There was definitely something wrong with Toad.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"But, PROFESSOR---!"
Xavier turned a stern, admonishing gaze upon Kitty from where he sat behind his desk. "I see no reason for you to interfere."
Kitty frowned. "But have you SEEN them? It's, like, complete and total DISASTER."
"They've been here for almost a week, Kitty. They seem to have survived thus far without interference on our parts."
"Imagine what other people are going to think! They ARE our responsibility now, you know."
Xavier sighed. "Kitty . . ." He trailed off, uncertain of what to say. She DID have a point.
"They're students of the Institute," Kitty continued. "THEY reflect upon US. Almost everyone agrees with me. There's, like, Jean, Rahne, Storm, Jubilee, Amara . . . even ROGUE . . . in her own creepy, Gothic sort of way."
Xavier sighed, reaching up to massage his temples. "Kitty, I HIGHLY doubt that they will appreciate ANYONE butting in on their business. They seem to be very private people."
"Come on, Professor!" Kitty turned pleading eyes upon the older man. "It doesn't have to be, like, an INTERVENTION. Consider it a 'Welcome to the Institute' treat!"
The professor sighed once more, this time in defeat. "Very well. I'll alert Ororo. You can see her for . . . what you'll need. Do TRY to restrain yourself somewhat."
Kitty beamed. "Sure thing!" she chirped. "You can count on me!"
Xavier watched the girl leave with no small amount of apprehension showing upon his face.
He shook off the feeling with some effort, and he sent a tendril of his consciousness out of his body, down through the several floors that separated him from the large laboratory that Hank had claimed as his own.
~:Hank?:~
For a short moment, he had a glimpse of a computer, its screen filled with small-sized text, and a pair of large, blue-furred hands dancing across the keyboard . . . before his eyes saw only his office once more.
~:Ah, there you are, Charles. I was wondering when you would check in.:~ The scientist's mind-voice was colored with slight amusement, but there was something else beneath the surface, some suppressed excitement which intrigued Xavier greatly.
~:Any progress identifying our intruder?:~
~:Not the intruder itself, but there is a WEALTH of information on Logan's 'kitsune' creatures. It's all very fascinating.:~
~:Enlighten me.:~
~:To start off, in legends they are portrayed as anything from gods to saints to imps to demons. They appear in large part to be mostly amoral. Some people seem to respect them highly, sometimes to the point of worship, while others view them as either annoying pests or horrible monsters that enjoy playing games with people's lives for the mere fun of it.:~
Xavier felt the slightest twinge of amusement. ~:I do hope that our 'kitsune' is not of the latter persuasion. What else?:~
~:Well, what Logan told us. Increased age means increased power, increased power means more tails. Nine is the maximum. They can have command of one of thirteen elements, such as light, dark, wind, fire, water, and so on, and it seems that they can change shape at will. Also, coat color factors in: most kitsune are colored like normal foxes. Those with silver or golden coats are either very old or very powerful.:~
Xavier frowned, closing his eyes in thought. ~:If this creature truly IS a kitsune, then which would it be? Old . . . or powerful?:~
Hank chuckled. ~:If I might say so, Charles, I would probably bet on both. In other legends I have encountered, they speak of another world where supernatural beings --demons, if you will, and that includes kitsune-- reign supreme. In order to survive for any significant amount of time, one must be resourceful AND powerful. If tails are gained through power, then it would take a long while to gain such power, and if they are gained through age, then one must gain more power to survive long enough. Sort of a chicken-or-the-egg concept, if you will.:~
~:Hmm. You haven't happened to come across any legends about silver kitsune, have you?:~
Ah, there was the source of that excitement. Xavier could feel the emotion coming to the fore as Hank began his explanation.
~:One, and only a snippet at that. It's a short clip from an ancient Japanese text. The text itself was damaged in a fire, so there's only a short bit of a legend. It speaks of a kitsune possessed of a silver coat and multiple tales. He was a renowned thief in the alternate world of which I spoke, and many of the demons feared his name. He was said to be ruthless in battle. The only name given is The Youko. Intriguing, isn't it?:~
Xavier nodded absently, despite the fact that Hank couldn't see the gesture. ~:Very. Is there anything else?:~
~:Not right now. Nothing of importance, anyway.:~
~:Very well. I'll tell Logan and Ororo what you found. Perhaps they'll have some suggestions.:~
~:Will you tell the students?:~
~:Yes. Tomorrow afternoon. It's when we plan to introduce Yuusuke, Shuichi, and Hiei to the . . . extracurricular exploits . . . of the X-men, and it's also when I plan to explain Shadow Tempest to the students in detail. They'll need to know.:~
~:That's bound to go over well; a new enemy for them to exhaust themselves training for. Break it to them gently, won't you, Charles? . . . Speaking of the three new ones, they still have yet to come in for physicals. I'm itching to know how Yuusuke's abilities work.:~
~:Yes, and we have to break YOU to them gently as well. Perhaps after training tomorrow.:~
~:I could probably squeeze them in today.:~
Xavier grimaced at the reminder of the afternoon's 'activities' for the three new students. ~:They're busy this afternoon.:~
Curiosity sparked within Hank. ~:Busy? I thought today was 'no-training' for the students.:~
~:It is, but Kitty insisted that I allow her and the other girls to take them out for the afternoon.:~
~:Doing what?:~
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei glared blackly at the massive hordes of humans milling around him in all directions, filling every inch of the 'mall' with their noise.
The small-statured demon glanced up at the ever-calm presence of Kurama at his side. ="Tell me again, fox, how did we get dragged into this concrete hell?"=
Kurama sighed softly . . . almost too softly to be heard over the veritable roar of voices which assaulted them from all sides. When he spoke, it was with slight irritation coloring his tone. ="Because both you and Yuusuke felt that less than three changes of clothes would suffice for this mission, and apparently Kitty --along with several other students-- refuses to be associated with us until you own something, and I quote, 'like, decent.' "=
Hiei sneered. ="Idiots."=
Kurama sent a quelling glare down at his companion. ="Hiei, I have to agree with them on this. Wearing THAT to a human school is NOT a way to blend in with the locals."=
Hiei glanced down at his own clothes before he could stop himself. He was clad in his normal black ensemble, complete with cloak and white scarf --as well as his katana, but that was hidden deep within the folds of black cloth, well away from prying eyes.
Quite frankly, he could see nothing wrong with the outfit. It had served him for over . . . well, he had lost count, but several centuries at least.
Of course, he had to admit that he WAS drawing odd looks from the natives.
He snorted in disgust.
Ch. Humans.
- : - : - : - : - : -
It was a simple fact of life: all males had an innate fear of the word 'shopping,' especially when said word was used together in a sentence with the word 'woman,' 'girl,' or 'female.'
Thus, when Kitty had found Kurt and Yuusuke training in the Institute gym -- where Yuusuke was busy giving the fuzzy, blue mutant a crash course in martial arts-- and informed them of the afternoon's itinerary, the two boys had merely been following instinct when they had tried to make a break for it.
They hadn't counted on being cornered by Rahne (in wolf form), Jubilee (sparks ready and flying from her fingers in a definite, threatening fashion), and Rogue (who clearly intended to milk the experience for all the entertainment it was worth and was bound and determined that the victi-- er, guests of honor not be absent).
In all honesty, the girls had only been interested in 'acquiring' Yuusuke, but the raven-haired foreigner had insisted --read: threatened bodily harm to anyone who disagreed with him-- that the blue-furred mutant tag along.
Misery loves company, and whatnot.
Jean had been the one to go after Shuichi. She considered him to be the most mature and levelheaded of the lot, and so she had merely explained the situation to the red-haired foreigner. They had discussed things like rational adults, and Shuichi had readily agreed.
Since none of the girls had felt up to the task of convincing Hiei, that task had been delegated to Shuichi. No one knew how he did it, but somehow the redhead had managed to convince Hiei to come . . . without any blood being shed.
Who said that miracles didn't happen?
With Jean driving the Institute's black van --having acquired the keys from Logan-- and Kitty keeping an iron grip on the group's credit card --given to her by Storm, as per the Professor's orders--, the students had set out for Bayville Mall. In all, the group consisted of Yuusuke, Hiei, Shuichi, Kitty, Jean, Rogue, Rahne, and Jubilee.
Needless to say, it was quite a squeeze. Kitty had sat in the very back (behind Yuusuke, Hiei and Shuichi) while Jean and Rogue took the driver and passenger seats up front. To save everyone from extra bruising, Kitty had phased herself, Rahne, and Jubilee so that they could all sprawl wherever they wished without injuring any of the car's other occupants. There HAD been an incident with Rahne sticking her head out of the car (literally), but it had been rectified swiftly thanks to Kitty's intervention.
It had been an . . . interesting . . . ride.
In short, all of the passengers shared one thought upon arrival at their destination:
Thank god it was over.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kitty was in her element. With Jubilee flanking her on one side and Rahne on the other, she chattered happily about The List of Things-To-Be-Done.
"---There's that awesome place down on the other end of this hall with great summer clothes. Those three DEFINITELY need some light stuff to wear. Hmm . . . and what about shoes? Are there any sales today? Did either of you check?" She laughed, blushing slightly. "I, like, completely forgot."
"Hah!" Jubilee grinned broadly. "Shame, shame! Shopping Queen is losing her touch!"
Rahne chuckled slightly as well. "Ach, dinna' be pickin' on her too badly, now, Jube. She jus' be excited to be dressin' the laddies like her own life- size dolls, d'ya ken?"
Jean appeared suddenly on Rahne's other side, smiling. "She's got you pegged, Kitty."
"Oh, hush, you!" Kitty swatted playfully at both Jubilee and Rahne. "You're horrible, the both of you!"
"D'ye no mean the three o' us?" queried Rahne innocently.
That earned her an extra swat from Kitty.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"And this! And this, and this! And --oh! DEFINITELY that!"
Shirts and pants and jackets and sweaters piled themselves higher and higher in Yuusuke's arms as he was double-teamed by Jubilee and Rahne. He nearly choked when the wolf-girl came up holding several pairs of boxer shorts in one hand, grinning broadly.
"An' here's jus' what any good lad needs, no? Here ye go." She added the shorts with a flourish to his already significant pile of clothing before disappearing back into the 'SALE' racks like a fish disappearing into the ocean.
Yuusuke had come to a conclusion regarding the female mutants from the Institute: they all, one way or another, had to be related to Genkai. There was no way that they could have devised this torture without a little of the Grandma's blood running through them.
Had it not been for his greater-than-average strength, his spine probably would have telescoped in on itself long ago. As things stood now, he had to crane his neck to see anything at all over the vast amounts of clothing in his arms, and he didn't dare move a single foot lest he trip on some unseen obstacle.
Kurama stood silently beside him, placidly holding his own burden of clothing which, if anything, was larger than Yuusuke's own. Forget double- teamed; Kurama was being split between the entire group of girls as a five- way dress-up doll.
There was a muted snarl behind him, and Yuusuke twisted his neck around just enough . . . to see Hiei.
Or, at least, what he assumed was Hiei. In all honesty, it looked like a large, multicolored ball of denim, cotton and polyester set precariously atop a pair of diminutive, black-clad legs.
Yuusuke groaned as Jubilee appeared and added three shirts, four pairs of shorts, and a pair of loafers --Loafers?! What made her think that he would ever wear LOAFERS!?-- to his own pile before disappearing once more.
"It's official," mumbled Yuusuke. "I have died and gone to hell."
"YOU!? Vhat about ME?"
Yuusuke turned to see a pair of blue eyes peering at him from over a pile of lacy shirts, denim skirts, peasant tops, and --dare he say it?-- even a bra or two.
"At least YOU three get to hold MEN'S clothing!" continued Kurt vehemently. "I'M stuck as the ladies-vear rack!"
Kitty appeared from between two shelves of shoes to perch a pair of high heels atop Kurt's pile. "Oh, shut it, fuzzy. It's not that bad."
Kurt glared at the cause of his current misery. "Do I take YOU vith ME to pick out undervear!? Vhy can't you just pile this stuff on the floor somevhere?"
Kitty looked offended. "God, Kurt, don't you know ANYTHING about shopping? That would be, like, practically BEGGING other people to root through our stuff! This way, nobody messes with our choices."
Kurama looked oddly resigned to his fate, but asked, "Just how much of this do you actually plan to buy?"
"Well, it depends." Kitty 'hm'ed to herself thoughtfully and began to tick things off on her fingers. "We have to try everything on, and then, like, get each other's opinions and check out different outfits. We might have to swap sizes once or twice . . . If something's a bit overpriced, then we'll check out other stores and compare prices . . ."
Yuusuke heard Kurama groan softly, and he agreed wholeheartedly.
There was an odd sounding 'whumph' somewhere behind him, and he turned to see a pile of discarded clothing upon the floor . . . clothing that had previously been held by a certain small-statured fire demon.
"Hey!" Kitty glared in the direction that Hiei had run in, toward the front of the store. "Get back here!"
Yuusuke found himself grinning for the first time since entering the store. "Way to go, Hiei!"
Kitty 'hmphed' to herself, her hands braced on her hips. "Darn it. We'll have to split his load now." She went over to Hiei's pile and began to gather up the scattered clothes, placing them atop Kurama's and Yuusuke's own armfuls, adding to the weight of each pile by at least a fourth, if not a third, of what they had previously held. "There . . . and you two'll have to help us decide what to get him as well. We can't, like, forget about him, now, can we?"
Yuusuke groaned and leaned his head against the sizeable stack of clothing he held, his previous euphoria completely forgotten. "Damn you, Jaganshi . . ."
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
10 REVIEW RESPONSES:
: Takahashi Shuurin : Hello again! Sorry about Fido. He's a little overprotective. No, I've never heard of 'John Donne.' Sorry I can't help. Yes, I LOVE "The Raven"! It's my favorite poem in the whole world. I've been trying to memorize it (FAILING so far, but still trying, nonetheless). I love the meter he has going in the middle of each verse: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, / Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before . . . " My favorite line. ^_^ Yeah, you must really think that I'm nuts now. . . . It would be funny if the Tantei's homework managed to get in the way, wouldn't it? Kurama: "We are greatly sorry, Koenma, but we couldn't finish our Geometry homework AND stop Kurorashi from destroying the Ningenkai as well!"
: Gemini Star 1 : I don't know any sites off the top of my head. Why not just go to yahoo and search for 'X-men Evolution' under images? Or even 'X- men uniform.' Are you giving them full-fledged X-men outfits or trainee suits? Right now, the Tantei have only worn their trainee suits, but they'll get their own uniforms in a short while. Yes, Kurama will call himself Kurama, but I thought that only 'Kura' meant 'storehouse,' not 'Kurama.' *shrugs* Meh. Whatever. About the grade-levels: I'm doing the best I can there. I actually do background research for my stories. If I'm uncertain, I look up the answers on the internet. I've looked over several X-men sites, and the site that seemed to be the most accurate gave those grade levels (except for Jean's, which I tweaked a bit due to opposition from my readers. -_-; ).
: Mistress of Dragons : Oh, lordy. Wisdom teeth? *winces* You poor thing! But congrats on finishing your story. I might check it out if I get this chapter finished quickly enough (if I can't think of what to write, I go ahead and do review responses, which is the situation right now. -_-; I hate writer's block. Blech.). Just to let you know, you're pretty close on a couple of your guesses, but you'll just have to wait and see which ones I mean!
: Queen of Roses (previously TCOD) : No, I wasn't sick. At least, not within the past month. I was just uberly busy (I'm a late Christmas shopper. I've got the bruises to prove it. *shows a shoeprint-shaped bruise on the back of one shoulder* *grumbles* Stupid shopping maniacs with their stupid rabid temperaments and their stupid tasers and their stupid steel- toe shopping boots . . . ). Anyway, if I have anything to say about it, this story will be nice and obedient and turn out nicely. If it doesn't, I'll just revise it. (PS- I like your new name.)
: YYHgurl : I'm happy that your sister liked it. I love to here about people recommending my story to other people. It gives me warm, fuzzy feelings. Also, it turns out that I HAVE read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. My mom and I went to a bookstore and I looked her up out of curiosity. I've read In the Forests of the Night (I also love that poem, "Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright." Uberness!) and it was really good. I've vowed to look up some other books by her and read them.
: ~*CLS*~ : Yeah, well, you get a review response anyway. I've pretty much decided on names now, but thanks for the offer. As for the 'wonderful chapters' . . . *blushes* Well, I write when I feel inspired, and if I don't feel inspired, I listen to my anime soundtracks and watch anime until I DO feel inspired. I'm glad that you think they're wonderful, though. Uber!
: Millie M. Banshee : Well . . . wow. Just wow. *blushes* I think that's one of the nicest reviews I've EVER gotten (and considering that I have *glances at review counter* eight-hundred and sixty-one ---er, sixty-two, now-- that's pretty good!). Your review gave me warm fuzzies! I hope you liked this update!
: Dragon Scythe : I think that the picture-shrinking dealie IS an XP thing. Lord knows, '96 never did that for me. As far as your other questions go, I have no idea when the next movie is coming out, but I hope it's soon! ^_^ And the only X-men sites that I visit tend toward episode guides and character profiles for Evo. Is that what your looking for?
: Wildfire's Flame : BTW, love your screen name. Thanks for your awesome review, I'm glad you liked the story so much! Is this posting soon enough for you? I'm trying to get them out quickly, but I've had some problems with the dreaded Writer's Block Monster. -_-; I hope he moves on to someone else soon. Having him sit by my computer all day is annoying.
: Wood Nymph : Believe me, I'm trying.
- : - : - : - : - : -
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!?
Also, most of the kitsune information in this chapter (aside from direct references to Kurama or his past) is from http : // w w w . comnet . ca / ~ foxtrot / kitsune / kitsune 1 . htm (Do I have to say it again? Copy, paste, remove the spaces and hit enter.). I used some snippets of info from there to flesh out my kitsune explanation, but some of it is tweaked slightly.
- : - : - : - : - : -
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 Sixteen: Mall Mayhem, Part One of Two - : - : -
- : - : - Friday Afternoon - : - : -
No one ever said that the Brotherhood house offered much in the way of entertainment, but on Thursday afternoon, Lance freely admitted to himself that the levels of excitement to be found at 'Home Sweet Home' had sunk to a nearly nonexistent low.
The TV muttered and fizzed to itself over in one corner, the random flashes of pictures across its screen sending the shadows of the living room flickering and dancing with each new image.
Fred lay sprawled in the recliner, a bowl that had once contained ravioli balanced upon his rotund belly, a dribble of red sauce running down one side, mirroring the thin line of drool trickling down the large mutant's chin. His feet were propped up upon the milk crate (topped by one of the more ratty cushions to be found within the house) which was currently acting as an ottoman for the Brotherhood.
Lance was seated upon the couch at the opposite end of the room, a small pile of rubber bands on the couch cushion beside him. At the moment, one such rubber band was stretched tautly between his two hands, one end looped over his thumb and the other pinched between the index finger and thumb of his other hand.
The seismically inclined mutant sighted along the length of the rubber band, looking toward his target, released a short breath, and fired.
The small projectile slapped against the bare sole of Fred's foot, which twitched in response.
This was not one of his more original games. Aim for Freddy's foot. If the rubber band made contact, one point. One additional point for each time Fred's foot twitched. Each time Fred snorted or mumbled in response to a hit, it meant a negative point. If Fred woke up, automatic Game Over.
His current score: three-hundred and seventy-nine.
In other words, Lance was seriously considering going to stand in the middle of a street and wait for a car to come through; then at least SOMETHING exciting would happen.
Pietro was probably already doing something of the sort; the silver-haired mutant had a bad habit of playing chicken with vehicles on secluded, back highways. It had annoyed Mystique to no end when Pietro had singled out HER car as one of his targets.
There had been no talking to her for a week after that. Lance was pretty certain that Toad had opted to exit through the second story window of his bedroom in the mornings rather than try to get breakfast from the kitchen and chance running into Mystique.
Lord, forget the name 'Mystique.' The blue-skinned woman should have called herself 'Banshee.'
Lance sighed and picked up another rubber band, stretching it between his hands, a meditative frown upon his face.
One would think that things would have livened up a bit with Toad back home, but instead, it seemed as though things were actually more BORING.
Ever since Kurama had spotted the youngest Brotherhood member on school campus and Lance, Pietro and Fred had confronted the prodigal mutant, Toad hadn't been acting . . . well, Toad-ish.
- : - : - Flashback - : - : -
Pietro was already pelting Toad with rapid-fire questions by the time Lance and Fred managed to reach the pair of mutants. Lance noticed that Yuusuke, Shuichi, and Hiei had stopped just outside of the doors and were talking quietly amongst themselves, but Lance had thoughts only for Todd.
"Where have you BEEN?" he demanded as soon as Pietro stopped for breath. "Who's that guy you were with? Are you okay?"
Toad backed away slightly, looking defensive. "Hey, yo, back off, ya'll. I was off doing somethin' for Lady-Blue, 'at's all."
Lance was distracted momentarily as Yuusuke, Hiei and Shuichi ran past, apparently going after the strange guy that had been with Todd. Pietro looked as though he might follow, but Yuusuke turned slightly as he ran and waved the silver-haired mutant back. Pietro frowned, but obeyed, turning his attention back to Toad, but his gray eyes continually darted toward the three new mutants until they disappeared from sight around the corner of the building.
Pietro frowned down at the youngest member of the Brotherhood. "Yeah, whatever, Frog-boy, but who's the bum that was with you?"
Toad scowled petulantly. "Ain't any o' your business, yo. Confidential stuff, straight from the boss-man."
Pietro scoffed. "Since when do you hop solo?"
Toad grinned, his yellow-ish eyes narrowing. "Since a week ago, Streak; ain't you been payin' 'tention?"
With that, the young mutant dropped into his typical crouch and hopped away from the group, toward the school, soon disappearing inside.
Fred frowned, perplexed. "That was . . . weird."
Lance's eyes were narrowed in deep thought. "Looks like Toad's gone through some changes."
Pietro scowled darkly. "THAT," he growled, "is NOT Toad."
"It looks like him, though," protested Fred. "Smells like him, too."
"Ha." Pietro sneered derisively. "Magneto NEVER assigns solos to the 'lower mutants' like us; too much 'margin for error' . . . Something smells rotten, and for once it isn't Frog-boy's armpits."
- : - : - End Flashback - : - : -
Lance jerked in surprise as the object of his musing hopped through the living room door. Toad paused, crouching in his typical fashion, and looked around, smirking when his gaze fell upon the rubber bands littering the 'ottoman' beneath Fred's feet and the matching rubber band stretched between Lance's fingers, ready to be fired.
The frog-mutant tilted his head to one side. "Creative."
With that, he hopped back the way he had come, disappearing upstairs.
Lance blinked. Not even a 'yo'? He found himself beginning to agree with Pietro.
Toad not saying 'yo' was like . . . well, Kitty not saying 'like.' It just didn't happen.
There was definitely something wrong with Toad.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"But, PROFESSOR---!"
Xavier turned a stern, admonishing gaze upon Kitty from where he sat behind his desk. "I see no reason for you to interfere."
Kitty frowned. "But have you SEEN them? It's, like, complete and total DISASTER."
"They've been here for almost a week, Kitty. They seem to have survived thus far without interference on our parts."
"Imagine what other people are going to think! They ARE our responsibility now, you know."
Xavier sighed. "Kitty . . ." He trailed off, uncertain of what to say. She DID have a point.
"They're students of the Institute," Kitty continued. "THEY reflect upon US. Almost everyone agrees with me. There's, like, Jean, Rahne, Storm, Jubilee, Amara . . . even ROGUE . . . in her own creepy, Gothic sort of way."
Xavier sighed, reaching up to massage his temples. "Kitty, I HIGHLY doubt that they will appreciate ANYONE butting in on their business. They seem to be very private people."
"Come on, Professor!" Kitty turned pleading eyes upon the older man. "It doesn't have to be, like, an INTERVENTION. Consider it a 'Welcome to the Institute' treat!"
The professor sighed once more, this time in defeat. "Very well. I'll alert Ororo. You can see her for . . . what you'll need. Do TRY to restrain yourself somewhat."
Kitty beamed. "Sure thing!" she chirped. "You can count on me!"
Xavier watched the girl leave with no small amount of apprehension showing upon his face.
He shook off the feeling with some effort, and he sent a tendril of his consciousness out of his body, down through the several floors that separated him from the large laboratory that Hank had claimed as his own.
~:Hank?:~
For a short moment, he had a glimpse of a computer, its screen filled with small-sized text, and a pair of large, blue-furred hands dancing across the keyboard . . . before his eyes saw only his office once more.
~:Ah, there you are, Charles. I was wondering when you would check in.:~ The scientist's mind-voice was colored with slight amusement, but there was something else beneath the surface, some suppressed excitement which intrigued Xavier greatly.
~:Any progress identifying our intruder?:~
~:Not the intruder itself, but there is a WEALTH of information on Logan's 'kitsune' creatures. It's all very fascinating.:~
~:Enlighten me.:~
~:To start off, in legends they are portrayed as anything from gods to saints to imps to demons. They appear in large part to be mostly amoral. Some people seem to respect them highly, sometimes to the point of worship, while others view them as either annoying pests or horrible monsters that enjoy playing games with people's lives for the mere fun of it.:~
Xavier felt the slightest twinge of amusement. ~:I do hope that our 'kitsune' is not of the latter persuasion. What else?:~
~:Well, what Logan told us. Increased age means increased power, increased power means more tails. Nine is the maximum. They can have command of one of thirteen elements, such as light, dark, wind, fire, water, and so on, and it seems that they can change shape at will. Also, coat color factors in: most kitsune are colored like normal foxes. Those with silver or golden coats are either very old or very powerful.:~
Xavier frowned, closing his eyes in thought. ~:If this creature truly IS a kitsune, then which would it be? Old . . . or powerful?:~
Hank chuckled. ~:If I might say so, Charles, I would probably bet on both. In other legends I have encountered, they speak of another world where supernatural beings --demons, if you will, and that includes kitsune-- reign supreme. In order to survive for any significant amount of time, one must be resourceful AND powerful. If tails are gained through power, then it would take a long while to gain such power, and if they are gained through age, then one must gain more power to survive long enough. Sort of a chicken-or-the-egg concept, if you will.:~
~:Hmm. You haven't happened to come across any legends about silver kitsune, have you?:~
Ah, there was the source of that excitement. Xavier could feel the emotion coming to the fore as Hank began his explanation.
~:One, and only a snippet at that. It's a short clip from an ancient Japanese text. The text itself was damaged in a fire, so there's only a short bit of a legend. It speaks of a kitsune possessed of a silver coat and multiple tales. He was a renowned thief in the alternate world of which I spoke, and many of the demons feared his name. He was said to be ruthless in battle. The only name given is The Youko. Intriguing, isn't it?:~
Xavier nodded absently, despite the fact that Hank couldn't see the gesture. ~:Very. Is there anything else?:~
~:Not right now. Nothing of importance, anyway.:~
~:Very well. I'll tell Logan and Ororo what you found. Perhaps they'll have some suggestions.:~
~:Will you tell the students?:~
~:Yes. Tomorrow afternoon. It's when we plan to introduce Yuusuke, Shuichi, and Hiei to the . . . extracurricular exploits . . . of the X-men, and it's also when I plan to explain Shadow Tempest to the students in detail. They'll need to know.:~
~:That's bound to go over well; a new enemy for them to exhaust themselves training for. Break it to them gently, won't you, Charles? . . . Speaking of the three new ones, they still have yet to come in for physicals. I'm itching to know how Yuusuke's abilities work.:~
~:Yes, and we have to break YOU to them gently as well. Perhaps after training tomorrow.:~
~:I could probably squeeze them in today.:~
Xavier grimaced at the reminder of the afternoon's 'activities' for the three new students. ~:They're busy this afternoon.:~
Curiosity sparked within Hank. ~:Busy? I thought today was 'no-training' for the students.:~
~:It is, but Kitty insisted that I allow her and the other girls to take them out for the afternoon.:~
~:Doing what?:~
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei glared blackly at the massive hordes of humans milling around him in all directions, filling every inch of the 'mall' with their noise.
The small-statured demon glanced up at the ever-calm presence of Kurama at his side. ="Tell me again, fox, how did we get dragged into this concrete hell?"=
Kurama sighed softly . . . almost too softly to be heard over the veritable roar of voices which assaulted them from all sides. When he spoke, it was with slight irritation coloring his tone. ="Because both you and Yuusuke felt that less than three changes of clothes would suffice for this mission, and apparently Kitty --along with several other students-- refuses to be associated with us until you own something, and I quote, 'like, decent.' "=
Hiei sneered. ="Idiots."=
Kurama sent a quelling glare down at his companion. ="Hiei, I have to agree with them on this. Wearing THAT to a human school is NOT a way to blend in with the locals."=
Hiei glanced down at his own clothes before he could stop himself. He was clad in his normal black ensemble, complete with cloak and white scarf --as well as his katana, but that was hidden deep within the folds of black cloth, well away from prying eyes.
Quite frankly, he could see nothing wrong with the outfit. It had served him for over . . . well, he had lost count, but several centuries at least.
Of course, he had to admit that he WAS drawing odd looks from the natives.
He snorted in disgust.
Ch. Humans.
- : - : - : - : - : -
It was a simple fact of life: all males had an innate fear of the word 'shopping,' especially when said word was used together in a sentence with the word 'woman,' 'girl,' or 'female.'
Thus, when Kitty had found Kurt and Yuusuke training in the Institute gym -- where Yuusuke was busy giving the fuzzy, blue mutant a crash course in martial arts-- and informed them of the afternoon's itinerary, the two boys had merely been following instinct when they had tried to make a break for it.
They hadn't counted on being cornered by Rahne (in wolf form), Jubilee (sparks ready and flying from her fingers in a definite, threatening fashion), and Rogue (who clearly intended to milk the experience for all the entertainment it was worth and was bound and determined that the victi-- er, guests of honor not be absent).
In all honesty, the girls had only been interested in 'acquiring' Yuusuke, but the raven-haired foreigner had insisted --read: threatened bodily harm to anyone who disagreed with him-- that the blue-furred mutant tag along.
Misery loves company, and whatnot.
Jean had been the one to go after Shuichi. She considered him to be the most mature and levelheaded of the lot, and so she had merely explained the situation to the red-haired foreigner. They had discussed things like rational adults, and Shuichi had readily agreed.
Since none of the girls had felt up to the task of convincing Hiei, that task had been delegated to Shuichi. No one knew how he did it, but somehow the redhead had managed to convince Hiei to come . . . without any blood being shed.
Who said that miracles didn't happen?
With Jean driving the Institute's black van --having acquired the keys from Logan-- and Kitty keeping an iron grip on the group's credit card --given to her by Storm, as per the Professor's orders--, the students had set out for Bayville Mall. In all, the group consisted of Yuusuke, Hiei, Shuichi, Kitty, Jean, Rogue, Rahne, and Jubilee.
Needless to say, it was quite a squeeze. Kitty had sat in the very back (behind Yuusuke, Hiei and Shuichi) while Jean and Rogue took the driver and passenger seats up front. To save everyone from extra bruising, Kitty had phased herself, Rahne, and Jubilee so that they could all sprawl wherever they wished without injuring any of the car's other occupants. There HAD been an incident with Rahne sticking her head out of the car (literally), but it had been rectified swiftly thanks to Kitty's intervention.
It had been an . . . interesting . . . ride.
In short, all of the passengers shared one thought upon arrival at their destination:
Thank god it was over.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kitty was in her element. With Jubilee flanking her on one side and Rahne on the other, she chattered happily about The List of Things-To-Be-Done.
"---There's that awesome place down on the other end of this hall with great summer clothes. Those three DEFINITELY need some light stuff to wear. Hmm . . . and what about shoes? Are there any sales today? Did either of you check?" She laughed, blushing slightly. "I, like, completely forgot."
"Hah!" Jubilee grinned broadly. "Shame, shame! Shopping Queen is losing her touch!"
Rahne chuckled slightly as well. "Ach, dinna' be pickin' on her too badly, now, Jube. She jus' be excited to be dressin' the laddies like her own life- size dolls, d'ya ken?"
Jean appeared suddenly on Rahne's other side, smiling. "She's got you pegged, Kitty."
"Oh, hush, you!" Kitty swatted playfully at both Jubilee and Rahne. "You're horrible, the both of you!"
"D'ye no mean the three o' us?" queried Rahne innocently.
That earned her an extra swat from Kitty.
- : - : - : - : - : -
"And this! And this, and this! And --oh! DEFINITELY that!"
Shirts and pants and jackets and sweaters piled themselves higher and higher in Yuusuke's arms as he was double-teamed by Jubilee and Rahne. He nearly choked when the wolf-girl came up holding several pairs of boxer shorts in one hand, grinning broadly.
"An' here's jus' what any good lad needs, no? Here ye go." She added the shorts with a flourish to his already significant pile of clothing before disappearing back into the 'SALE' racks like a fish disappearing into the ocean.
Yuusuke had come to a conclusion regarding the female mutants from the Institute: they all, one way or another, had to be related to Genkai. There was no way that they could have devised this torture without a little of the Grandma's blood running through them.
Had it not been for his greater-than-average strength, his spine probably would have telescoped in on itself long ago. As things stood now, he had to crane his neck to see anything at all over the vast amounts of clothing in his arms, and he didn't dare move a single foot lest he trip on some unseen obstacle.
Kurama stood silently beside him, placidly holding his own burden of clothing which, if anything, was larger than Yuusuke's own. Forget double- teamed; Kurama was being split between the entire group of girls as a five- way dress-up doll.
There was a muted snarl behind him, and Yuusuke twisted his neck around just enough . . . to see Hiei.
Or, at least, what he assumed was Hiei. In all honesty, it looked like a large, multicolored ball of denim, cotton and polyester set precariously atop a pair of diminutive, black-clad legs.
Yuusuke groaned as Jubilee appeared and added three shirts, four pairs of shorts, and a pair of loafers --Loafers?! What made her think that he would ever wear LOAFERS!?-- to his own pile before disappearing once more.
"It's official," mumbled Yuusuke. "I have died and gone to hell."
"YOU!? Vhat about ME?"
Yuusuke turned to see a pair of blue eyes peering at him from over a pile of lacy shirts, denim skirts, peasant tops, and --dare he say it?-- even a bra or two.
"At least YOU three get to hold MEN'S clothing!" continued Kurt vehemently. "I'M stuck as the ladies-vear rack!"
Kitty appeared from between two shelves of shoes to perch a pair of high heels atop Kurt's pile. "Oh, shut it, fuzzy. It's not that bad."
Kurt glared at the cause of his current misery. "Do I take YOU vith ME to pick out undervear!? Vhy can't you just pile this stuff on the floor somevhere?"
Kitty looked offended. "God, Kurt, don't you know ANYTHING about shopping? That would be, like, practically BEGGING other people to root through our stuff! This way, nobody messes with our choices."
Kurama looked oddly resigned to his fate, but asked, "Just how much of this do you actually plan to buy?"
"Well, it depends." Kitty 'hm'ed to herself thoughtfully and began to tick things off on her fingers. "We have to try everything on, and then, like, get each other's opinions and check out different outfits. We might have to swap sizes once or twice . . . If something's a bit overpriced, then we'll check out other stores and compare prices . . ."
Yuusuke heard Kurama groan softly, and he agreed wholeheartedly.
There was an odd sounding 'whumph' somewhere behind him, and he turned to see a pile of discarded clothing upon the floor . . . clothing that had previously been held by a certain small-statured fire demon.
"Hey!" Kitty glared in the direction that Hiei had run in, toward the front of the store. "Get back here!"
Yuusuke found himself grinning for the first time since entering the store. "Way to go, Hiei!"
Kitty 'hmphed' to herself, her hands braced on her hips. "Darn it. We'll have to split his load now." She went over to Hiei's pile and began to gather up the scattered clothes, placing them atop Kurama's and Yuusuke's own armfuls, adding to the weight of each pile by at least a fourth, if not a third, of what they had previously held. "There . . . and you two'll have to help us decide what to get him as well. We can't, like, forget about him, now, can we?"
Yuusuke groaned and leaned his head against the sizeable stack of clothing he held, his previous euphoria completely forgotten. "Damn you, Jaganshi . . ."
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
10 REVIEW RESPONSES:
: Takahashi Shuurin : Hello again! Sorry about Fido. He's a little overprotective. No, I've never heard of 'John Donne.' Sorry I can't help. Yes, I LOVE "The Raven"! It's my favorite poem in the whole world. I've been trying to memorize it (FAILING so far, but still trying, nonetheless). I love the meter he has going in the middle of each verse: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, / Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before . . . " My favorite line. ^_^ Yeah, you must really think that I'm nuts now. . . . It would be funny if the Tantei's homework managed to get in the way, wouldn't it? Kurama: "We are greatly sorry, Koenma, but we couldn't finish our Geometry homework AND stop Kurorashi from destroying the Ningenkai as well!"
: Gemini Star 1 : I don't know any sites off the top of my head. Why not just go to yahoo and search for 'X-men Evolution' under images? Or even 'X- men uniform.' Are you giving them full-fledged X-men outfits or trainee suits? Right now, the Tantei have only worn their trainee suits, but they'll get their own uniforms in a short while. Yes, Kurama will call himself Kurama, but I thought that only 'Kura' meant 'storehouse,' not 'Kurama.' *shrugs* Meh. Whatever. About the grade-levels: I'm doing the best I can there. I actually do background research for my stories. If I'm uncertain, I look up the answers on the internet. I've looked over several X-men sites, and the site that seemed to be the most accurate gave those grade levels (except for Jean's, which I tweaked a bit due to opposition from my readers. -_-; ).
: Mistress of Dragons : Oh, lordy. Wisdom teeth? *winces* You poor thing! But congrats on finishing your story. I might check it out if I get this chapter finished quickly enough (if I can't think of what to write, I go ahead and do review responses, which is the situation right now. -_-; I hate writer's block. Blech.). Just to let you know, you're pretty close on a couple of your guesses, but you'll just have to wait and see which ones I mean!
: Queen of Roses (previously TCOD) : No, I wasn't sick. At least, not within the past month. I was just uberly busy (I'm a late Christmas shopper. I've got the bruises to prove it. *shows a shoeprint-shaped bruise on the back of one shoulder* *grumbles* Stupid shopping maniacs with their stupid rabid temperaments and their stupid tasers and their stupid steel- toe shopping boots . . . ). Anyway, if I have anything to say about it, this story will be nice and obedient and turn out nicely. If it doesn't, I'll just revise it. (PS- I like your new name.)
: YYHgurl : I'm happy that your sister liked it. I love to here about people recommending my story to other people. It gives me warm, fuzzy feelings. Also, it turns out that I HAVE read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. My mom and I went to a bookstore and I looked her up out of curiosity. I've read In the Forests of the Night (I also love that poem, "Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright." Uberness!) and it was really good. I've vowed to look up some other books by her and read them.
: ~*CLS*~ : Yeah, well, you get a review response anyway. I've pretty much decided on names now, but thanks for the offer. As for the 'wonderful chapters' . . . *blushes* Well, I write when I feel inspired, and if I don't feel inspired, I listen to my anime soundtracks and watch anime until I DO feel inspired. I'm glad that you think they're wonderful, though. Uber!
: Millie M. Banshee : Well . . . wow. Just wow. *blushes* I think that's one of the nicest reviews I've EVER gotten (and considering that I have *glances at review counter* eight-hundred and sixty-one ---er, sixty-two, now-- that's pretty good!). Your review gave me warm fuzzies! I hope you liked this update!
: Dragon Scythe : I think that the picture-shrinking dealie IS an XP thing. Lord knows, '96 never did that for me. As far as your other questions go, I have no idea when the next movie is coming out, but I hope it's soon! ^_^ And the only X-men sites that I visit tend toward episode guides and character profiles for Evo. Is that what your looking for?
: Wildfire's Flame : BTW, love your screen name. Thanks for your awesome review, I'm glad you liked the story so much! Is this posting soon enough for you? I'm trying to get them out quickly, but I've had some problems with the dreaded Writer's Block Monster. -_-; I hope he moves on to someone else soon. Having him sit by my computer all day is annoying.
: Wood Nymph : Believe me, I'm trying.