Yusuke took a deep breath of the city air, 'It's good to be back.'

All the explanations that had been made just a few days before had really wore him down. Of course, there were a few things he left out. He had never gotten around to telling anyone in Nerima about his job as spirit detective. It just didn't seem like the right time... with all the chaos that went on. Ranma seemed pretty persistent in trying to figure out his and Kuwabara's spirit energy attacks, though. It was as if he had completely forgotten about wanting to fight him.

'Shame. He was more interested in finding the pig, too. I guess I could understand after what Botan told me about that pig... Him and Ranma must have been good friends,' he thought.

He frowned, remembering how worried Botan was when he told her about the creature that had attacked Ranma.

"It could be a sign that something really big is going on, Yusuke."

"Yeah? So what do you want me to do?"

"I'm not really sure right now. I think just your showing up here has caused something of a shake up in whatever was going down. The demon obviously knew you were a force to be reckoned with and that's why it ran away. Who or whatever it's working for is a different matter, entirely. For some reason, it wanted those two boys dead and maybe even more dead, for all we know. There's something else..."

"What?"

"The demon you described to me that you confronted... It sounds a lot like a very specific type of spider demon."

"Yeah? So?"

"Well, the type of spider demon I'm thinking of... has been extinct for several years. Hundreds, in fact."

"Well, that sure clears up a lot, Botan."

"Don't take that tone with me! It's as much of a mystery to me as it is to you."

"And because I'm the spirit detective, I'm supposed to figure everything out, right?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Yusuke. There's very few leads for even the most skillful detective to go on, much less you."

"Hey..."

"Sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but we might have to wait for the next move. I'm worried about you deciding to leave this place for the weekend... If that demon shows up again, who..."

"Hey, Hiei volunteered to stick around on watch duty. If there's anything he can't handle, I'm sure he'll invite me over to even things out a bit."

"Hiei? Why did he do that?"

"Eh, he's probably just bored. Before I came here, I was starting to get bored, too. Now, I regret ever thinking of a change in pace. In case you haven't noticed, Botan, this place is filled with crazy people and curses and all that other junk! It's been a little too out of the ordinary for me. That's why I need this break."

"And because you miss Kayko, hmm?"

"Hey, Urameshi! You wanna snap out of La La Land for a while? I know my sister must sense me in the city, right now and if I don't hurry straight home she'll...," Kuwabara shouted.

Yusuke blinked and looked ahead to see Kuwabara, "Why do you let your sister beat you up?"

Kuwabara paused and his cheeks tinged red from embarrassment, anger, or both, "I don't let her beat me up..."

Yusuke smiled and nodded, catching up to Kuwabara, "So, you're just weaker than she is."

"I am not!" Kuwabara said.

Yusuke gave him a sidelong glance, "Uh-huh."

"Are you trying to start something, Urameshi? Hmph. You just don't know my sister," Kuwabara said.

"Oh, sure I do. Isn't she just a tad shorter than you, long, brown hair, and most often seen with a cigarrete hanging from her mouth? Doesn't seem very intimidating to me," Yusuke said.

Kuwabara clenched his fists, "All right! That's it! This is a fight!"

He set his cat safely on the ground a small distance away from him. punched Yusuke in the jaw. Yusuke was knocked back from the strength of the blow, but he quickly regained his footing and started to street brawl with his old friend and sparring partner.

"Yusuke! You stop that right now!"

Surprisingly, both boys stopped at the sound of the female voice and turned their head in her direction. Ikitichi meowed, alerting Kuwabara's attention to her. He picked her back up again. Kayko glared at Yusuke, making him feel uncomfortable almost immediately.

"Yusuke, you worried me sick! Where have you been? How come you haven't called?" she asked.

Yusuke straightened his hair and rubbed at his bruises. He said nothing for a while and continued the walk to the Kuwabara house.

"Yusuke? Are you going to tell me or not?" Kayko said.

A hurt tone was clearly present in her voice. Yusuke grinned at Kayko to reassure her and then frowned as he began to tell her everything he knew about what had happened in his new life in Nerima. When he finished, Kayko only seemed to look more worried.

"So... You might be going on another mission soon," she said.

"Yeah," Yusuke said.

He glanced at her, noticing how worried she was. He smiled, "Hey, don't worry. If I can handle being lectured by you, I can handle anything."

Kayko smiled softly, "You big jerk..."

They stood, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Yusuke stepped a little closer to her, 'Kayko...'

Kuwabara coughed when they reached the front of his house, "Should I... leave you two alone?"

Yusuke and Kayko lost the moment and turned to look at Kuwabara. Yusuke only cursed under his breath, "You really are asking for it..."

"You bet I am, Urameshi! You better be prepared to..." Kuwabara began.

The door suddenly swung wide open. The three adolescents were met with Shizuru. A thoroughly annoyed Shizuru. Her eyes narrowed, "Kazuma..."

Kuwabara stared at her blankly, but inwardly he was cringing. Yusuke didn't let himself look intimidated, 'Hmm. Maybe she is a little intimidating. ... To someone who isn't me.'

"You were suppose to be here... an hour ago, at least," Shizuru said quietly.

Kuwabara quickly shot a glare at Yusuke before returning his eyes back to his sister. Shizuru grabbed her brother by the collar of his shirt and pulled him inside. Almost immediately, she gave him a long list of chores to do. Kuwabara set his cat down and set to work right away, all the while muttering obscenities under his breath when he thought his sister was out of earshot. Yusuke and Kayko blinked when Shizuru's expression switched in a single second from dangerous to impassive, "You two going to stand in the doorway all day?"

Wordlessly, they went inside and sat down when Shizuru gestured for them to. Yusuke watched as Kuwabara scrambled from place to place doing various tasks. He started to open his mouth to get in a few good insults, but then he saw the dangerous expression back on Shizuru's face again. In response, he crossed his arms and smirked. The expressionless look came back to her face, "You'll be staying with us, then."

Yusuke nodded and shrugged carelessly to indicate that he didn't want some dumb explanation as to how she was able to figure that out, "Only for a little while. I can only stand being around the UGLY, SPINELESS, CLEANING WEAKLING... Oh. Oops. Did I say that out loud? I meant... Kuwabara."

The smirk on his face grew. He could just hear Kuwabara's nerves grinding together. Kuwabara rushed out of the kitchen, holding a broom in his hands. He held it high in the air, looming over Yusuke, "URAMESHI, YOU BRAINLESS NARCISSISTIC GOOD FOR NOTH---..."

Kayko stood, glaring at Yusuke, "Yusuke, how could you say those things to Kuwabara?"

Yusuke didn't look like he was paying attention to Kayko or Kuwabara who was angry that Kayko had interrupted his "truthful list of Urameshi's character traits". Yusuke stared at them cluelessly, 'Nar... Narciss... Sheesh. What kind of word is that? What does it mean? I bet he made it up. Ha! Who is he calling brainless? He can't even come up with real words for his insults! He has to make one up!'

The arrogant smirk returned to Yusuke's face until he finally noticed Kayko's piercing eyes on him. Yusuke, having not had enough fun from just getting on Kuwabara's nerves, did not back down. The smirk didn't leave, "Ah, Kayko, usually, I'd be pretending to listen to what you're saying to me. But when you get angry like that, your breasts heave up and down... It's REALLY distracting."

SMACK!

Yusuke rubbed at his cheek from where Kayko hit him. The smack had definitely tore the smirk off his face, but it was only replaced minutes later by a grin. Kayko grumbled, "Honestly, Yusuke..."

"Punk had it coming," Kuwabara muttered, lowering his broom.

Shizuru watched the entire exchange as the perfect picture of neutrality. She glanced at her brother, "Get back to work."

Kuwabara grumbled his protests, but they had no real fight to them. He headed back into the kitchen. Shizuru glanced back at Yusuke, who was still in the mind of causing more trouble, "Your mother gave you full permission to stay here, right?"

Yusuke put his hands behind his head and nodded, "Yep."

"That means she's left you in my care," Shizuru said.

Yusuke looked at her questioningly, "Uhh... Yeah."

"She has put your well-being into my capable, competent hands... The responsibility of giving you food and shelter for a couple of days. As well, as to ensure that you stay out of trouble," Shizuru said.

Yusuke nodded dumbly, 'Gee... Wonder where she's going with this?'

He blinked as he saw a strange smile suddenly appear on Shizuru's face, 'I don't think I like that look on her face...'

"I have to get going, Yusuke. I don't want my mom and dad to worry," Kayko said.

Yusuke watched Kayko stand and start to leave. He looked back at the eerie Shizuru. He turned his attention back to Kayko with just a hint of fear in his voice, "Oh, really? You can't stay a... little while longer?"

"Well, I hadn't returned home from after my visit with one of my friends. I told my parents I was on my way there. They'll be worried if I don't come home when I said I would," Kayko said.

Yusuke sighed, "Okay, okay. Well, see you later, Kayko."

'It was nice seeing you again,' he thought.

Kayko smiled, "See you, Yusuke. Be good."

She left the Kuwabara house. It was just him and Shizuru, now.

'Wait a minute. What am I afraid of? I'm Yusuke Urameshi, the biggest, baddest, punk around! I'm not afraid of...,' Yusuke thought.

Shizuru handed him a list of chores. Yusuke didn't bother looking at the list, "Hmph."

Her eyes narrowed, "You're staying here for the weekend. The least you can do is some work around here."

Yusuke eyed the long list warily, "You're nuts if you think I'm going to do all of this and not expect some kind of payment out of it."

Kuwabara eavesdropped on them from inside the kitchen, 'Heh, heh. You don't talk to my sister like that, Urameshi.'

Shizuru growled and pulled Yusuke up from the couch by his arm. Yusuke shook his arm out of her grip, "Don't touch me."

"You think you're such a punk, don't you?" Shizuru said.

Yusuke crossed his arms, "As a matter of fact, I do."

"I have ways of dealing with punks," Shizuru said.

Yusuke rose an eyebrow, "Oh, yeah?"

Shizuru cracked her knuckles, "Yeah."

Yusuke laughed, "I'm not afraid of you. And don't think you'll get away with hitting me, either."

"Oh no. I only hit punks who annoy me. I have something much better in store for you," Shizuru said.

Yusuke couldn't remember exactly how it happened. He couldn't even remember the struggle. By the looks of the place, it didn't really look like he had struggled at all. But he had to have! There was no way he'd just stand around and let someone get away with...

"BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Urameshi, you look... ridicilous!" Kuwabara laughed.

Yusuke looked down at the French maid outfit he was wearing with hate burning in his eyes, "Shut up, Kuwabara."

Trying to tear the outfit off of him so far hadn't worked. It was as if the more he tried to get it off, the more the outfit clung to him. He went about dusting the living room, grumbling under his breath, "I can't believe this..."

"Well, Urameshi. It's not like I hadn't warned you about my sister," Kuwabara said.

Yusuke looked down at the outfit he was wearing again and glanced at Kuwabara, "Has she made you wear this, too?"

Kuwabara shook his head, "Nah. She never had to put me in that thing. She's been... disciplining me since I was young."

Yusuke sighed, 'This is going to be a loooong weekend.'

Hiei sat in the tree outside of the Tendo Dojo. So far, those that had witnessed him inside the dojo a few days ago had automatically assumed he had left to wherever he came from. No one had even suspected his presence amongst the tree's branches. Occasionally, he would leave the tree to scout Nerima for anything more unusual than what was considered "normal", but never found anything. There were times he had almost been discovered, much as he hated to admit it. First, there was that time the dark-haired girl with a quick temper had thrown the big-mouthed pig-tailed boy/girl out the window. Hiei had to do some quick manuevering to avoid being slammed into by the strange human martial artist.

Then, there was that time when he had been scouting the city that the practically blind human that turned into a duck had been trying to use his hidden weapons to kidnap someone. Hiei had almost been that kidnapped someone, but again his speed saved him. And all Hiei wanted to do was forget the other time. The time when that curious, but highly irritating little old man had used his head as a spring board. Luckily, the old man hadn't thought anything of the spring board. Apparently, thanks to his hairstyle, the old man thought he was some kind of shrub...

But it had been too close. Not to mention humiliating. If Hiei hadn't been forbidden to kill humans, he'd have already done away with the idiotic old man. Hiei crossed his arms and sighed irritably, 'Detective, this place you live in now has got to be home to the craziest bunch of stupid humans I have ever seen. You fit right in.'

"Hey. Aren't you that... uhh... Hiei guy?"

Hiei blinked for a few moments and turned his head to see Ranma in the branch next to him, sporting a rather large bruise on the top of his pig-tailed head. Hiei cursed mentally, 'I need to remember not to underestimate some humans. This one does have a rather developed sense of spirit energy than most humans. Not that it's saying much.'

Ranma poked at Hiei with a stick, "You don't talk much, do you?"

Hiei's eyebrow twitched, "Do you want to die, human?"

Ranma stopped poking Hiei for a moment, "Human?"

He looked at Hiei closely, 'What does he mean by that? He's human, too! ... At least... he looks human.'

Hiei ignored Ranma's presence, 'Not that it matters that he's found me. I just wanted to be left alone. But if he continues to bother me, I could just cut his arm off. It's not killing.'

Ranma rubbed at his bruise, "So, you related?"

Hiei glanced at him questioningly before deciding to ignore him again.

"To Yusuke, I mean."

"No. Go away, human. Before you make me angry," Hiei said.

Ranma completely ignored the last part of Hiei's statement, "Good, good. So... umm... You guys all seem pretty close. I mean, like friends... You look like you'd know some of those techniques they were using in that fight a few days back."

"Fool."

Ranma pressed on, "I've been trying to figure them out, but I haven't gotten very far. Maybe... you could... train me?"

Hiei unsheathed his sword, "No."

He glared at Ranma for a moment and then sheathed his sword, grumbling, "Not even worth my time."

Ranma waved his arms a bit, "No, no! I'd be worth it! Really! Come on, you don't know what I'm capable of!"

Hiei growled, "Do not insult my intelligence, human. I KNOW perfectly well what you're capable of."

His Jagan eye glowed from underneath his white bandanna. Ranma was awed by the glowing for a moment, "Whoa... What you got underneath there?"

He unconsciously reached for the bandanna...

And then he felt Hiei's cold blade touch his neck ever so slightly. Ranma stood perfectly frozen, "Uhh... On second thought, I wasn't really that interested in what was under there, anyway."

Hiei narrowed his eyes, "Leave me, human."

Ranma's eyes shone with determination even under the threat of having his head chopped off, "No. You have to teach me how to do those techniques!"

Hiei blinked in surprise, 'Brave or stupid?'

He sheathed his sword, 'Definitely stupid. Still, a very strange human...'

"Why do you want to learn them so badly?"

"So I can be stronger. The strongest!" Ranma exclaimed.

Hiei snorted, 'Hmph. Foolish human. Power is sought only by the weak.'

Ranma noticed how displeased Hiei was at his answer. He looked around and sighed hesitantly, "And... uhh... I want to be able to protect... Ak... The ones I... care about."

Hiei studied him for a moment, 'Sincere. A moron for not admitting it in the first place.'

"It's not my place."

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Ranma asked.

"Ask the detective."

Ranma looked confused, "Detective?"

Hiei grumbled in disgust, "Yusuke."

"Him? Detective? What?" Ranma mumbled.

Hiei grew tired of his nonsensical babbling and leapt from the tree, running off at speeds Ranma couldn't even comprehend.

'Whoa. He's fast. I gotta learn those techniques... When that jerk Yusuke comes back, he has some questions to answer,' he thought.