Disclaimer:

I do not own the pretty fox

I don't have Hiei under locks

Yusuke darling is not mine

Though Katsu thinks he's very fine

May Botan whack you with her oar

If you say I own these four.

Pharaoh, priest, or thief king old

Sadly, none are mine to hold

Yugi-tachi's oh-so-cute

Yet I give him up without dispute

CEO and all relations

Are certainly not my creations

It might be magic, it might be free

Or underneath a willow tree

But please remember, last of all

If under Hogwart's roof they fall

Roses are red, violets are blue

I don't own, you don't sue.

Sighs Ok, so I got a little bored and wrote a creative disclaimer. Not my fault, I swear!

Creampuffs, Lemondrops, and a Little Bit of Blood

Approaching Genkai's temple, Kurama spied Hiei in one of the nearby trees. As usual, the fire demon looked rather disgusted with life, planning the demise of whatever living organism interrupted him next. Sensing the yoko's approach, his head snapped up as he 'Hn'ed a greeting to the fox-demon. Kurama motioned for Hiei to follow him inside the temple, and the fire demon (for once) quickly descended from his perch to trail him.

An explosion followed by a string of descriptive swearwords from somewhere in a surrounding courtyard announced the whereabouts of Yusuke. The two (ex) thieves followed the noise to a rather charred clearing.

Raising one eyebrow to Yusuke's glare, the only explanation Kurama received was a shrug and a growled, "My damn aim's off." The surrounding trees told them that he'd been drilling himself target practice all morning – charred branches littered the ground, and one actual target lay about 50 yards away, a blackened hole slightly off-center.

A small grin came onto Hiei's face. "I've been avoiding him all morning," he said softly. "It's like giving an untrained child a sword – sometimes their blind swings are more dangerous than that of a trained swordsman."

Kurama's eyebrow shot higher. Deciding not to question the two, he reached into the bag and withdrew the letters. "I thought we should open these together." Smiling sweetly, he passed the letters around, both his friends staring at him as though the redhead had announced that he was, in fact, a flying pink daisy, and intended to join a troupe of daffodils passing through town on the next full moon.

Kurama ignored the looks and quickly slit his seal open with a spare rose thorn, as Hiei simply remelted the wax and watched Yusuke mutilate his envelope for lack of a letter opener. They all quickly scanned their letters, and as Hiei finished, his disappearing in a wisp of smoke and charred ashes.

"The fool wants me to teach? Teach ningen children?"

"Either of you know how the hell I'm supposed to teach Dueling, of all things? Or if I can change the name to 'Kick-Ass 101'?"

Hiei's eyes flew open, a look of slight panic on his face. "There's no way I'll teach the same class as you. Absolutely not."

Kurama tried to control his laughter, small snickers making it out nonetheless. Hiei was on the verge of murdering him (actually, he was internally choosing whether to strike him or Yusuke first…) as Botan once again swooped down on them without warning, barely missing Yusuke's head.

"Dammit, woman, I am not a fucking runway!"

Giggling, Botan shook her finger at him. "Now, now, if you don't learn manners you'll never get anywhere in life, Yusuke!"

"I'm already fucking dead, Botan!"

Seeing the effort was wasted, Botan shook out her blue ponytail and faced Hiei. "I'm sorry, Hiei, but unfortunately, you will be teaching with our favorite Spirit Detective. Koenma's orders, I'm afraid." Her oar took her a few feet higher, sensing the fire-demon's rage.

Accepting fate (((But vowing to kill Koenma in the most painful way he could think of later))) with still slightly shaking fists, Hiei simply stated, "Hn. Children?" The idea of babysitting again was not Hiei's favorite – Yusuke at least had possessed power, but these children….

Well, they were ningen. Simple as that.

Cutting off Hiei's train of thought, Kurama suddenly asked, "When do we leave?"

Botan beamed. "Immediately! And I'll be joining you!"

Pacing in his office, Dumbledore assessed the situation. Accompanying him was both Professor McGonagall and the strange, white-haired man who he hadn't had the opportunity to dismiss. The albino (((who had introduced himself very politely as Ryou Bakura on the trek back to Dumbledore's office))) was now lounging in one of the nearby wicker chairs, his tongue flicking over a creampuff flecked with….

Blood?

Dumbledore decided he didn't want to know.

McGonagall had (((predictably))) taken an immediate dislike to the man and was sitting as far away as possible to avoid actual contact with him. She nervously folded and unfolded a paper in her hands, something an owl had delivered in a black envelope minutes before, announcing the death of Professor Sprout.

Admiring a trinket nearby, he softly said, "There must be a connection."

A snort nearby indicated Bakura's thoughts. "No shit, Sherlock."

The headmaster smiled to himself as Minerva's eyes flew open in rage, and she turned one of her infamous stone cold glares on the poor man. He flinched, and even his hair seemed to wilt somewhat, his face acquiring an expression of innocence.

And he dropped the creampuff, instead picking up a previously offered lemon drop from the headmasters desk, enjoying the treat immensely before thoughtfully restating his comment.

"Ano….what I mean to say is….well, isn't that rather obvious, Professor Dumbledore? Two of your teachers attacked in the same week, ending in fatalities. Both were women…." McGonagall's eyes flashed again, earning a cringe from the boy. He sighed and walked towards the exit. "I'll just leave now…"

The headmaster got the distinct impression that had McGonagall been in her animagus form, she would have been whipping her mottled brown tail from side to side. 'I am going to regret this,' the headmaster thought to himself.

Not taking the effort to tear his eyes away from the sparkling whirligig, he murmured quietly, "Stay, please, Ryou. We may need you after all. Taking over the late Professor Trelawney's job will not be easy, but if you feel up to the challenge…."

Bakura's hair flipped up again, ((('Curious, that.'))) and he seemed to regain confidence, striding back to the wicker chair and picking up his creampuff.

"As I thought." Bakura smirked at Professor McGonagall, positively radiating a gloating sensation.

Minerva looked ready to kill both of them, hindered only by the fact she couldn't figure out which of the males to attack first.

Both Dumbledore and Bakura were careful to put extra wards on their doors that night, before ordering extra night's supply of lemon drops.

Reviews!

First of all, I'm really, really surprised no one has tried to flame me yet. Seriously! It's kinda scary! So, in conclusion, I love you all!

PenPusherM: Yes, well, you've gotta love Mokie. He's just so fricken adorable!

RainOwl: Thanks – and here it is.

Computerfreak101: Good things come to those who wait – and here it is!

Crazy Hyper Lady: Thank you!

Shrowded Angel: Salutes Will do!

Winged Moon: Well, thank you! I'm glad to hear you think so!