A/N: This chapter's title comes from those old Snickers commercials… remember them? Man, I loved those… I don't particularly like Snickers bars, but I love their commercials! XD Please read and review! Sorry I haven't updated in a while!

21. Another Unfortunate Side Effect of Hunger and the Quest to Hiei's House

It was Saturday morning, and Kuwabara was sitting around the house, thinking about his romantically challenged life. Things with Yukina didn't work out. The thought of him going out with Botan drove the girl to nearly kill herself, and Keiko just beat him up when he asked her out. He sighed. Maybe he really was hopeless…

Shizuru came downstairs, still in her pajamas and turned on the TV. A show about flesh-eating sea monsters was on, and she changed the channel, turning to a cartoon about talking monkeys.

Kuwabara looked at his sister with a new kind of interest. A very different feeling suddenly came over him… Without even thinking, he leaned over and touched Shizuru's shoulder.

Shizuru turned around and stared at her brother, a cigarette hanging from her lips. His awkward, squashed face gazed romantically at her. Shizuru narrowed her eyes… What was he up to?

"Will you go out with me?" he asked, a sappy look on his face.

Shizuru backed up, her eyes widening. The cigarette fell out of her mouth as she leapt off the couch and started walking toward the kitchen. Kuwabara stayed on the couch, his upper body suspended in midair where he had hung in front of Shizuru.

Shizuru unplugged the toaster from the wall and carried it back into the living room. Kuwabara was still on the couch, awaiting an answer from his enraged sister.

He got his answer in due time. Shizuru lifted the toaster high above her head and brought it crashing down on Kuwabara's. There was a sickening crunch as the toaster made contact with his skull and a crash as Kuwabara fell to the floor facefirst. Shizuru lifted the toaster back up again and started repeatedly bashing him on the head and wherever else on his body she could think of.

After about five minutes of severe toaster-beating, Shizuru stopped. She set the toaster on the couch and put her hands on her hips. "Does that answer your question?" she asked coldly.

"Yes, ma'am…" said Kuwabara from on the ground.

Just then, a commercial for Snickers came on the television. The man advertising them had acted out a scene where he tried to get a date with an elderly woman. Another voice said, "Impaired Judgment: Another Unfortunate Side Effect of Hunger."

Shizuru scoffed. "I'll say… impaired judgment… The nerve of Kazuma!" She walked upstairs to her room so she could change clothes. She was going to see Hiei. She had to tell him NOW that she loved him. She didn't think she could handle another strange, romantic mishap like what just happened…

Changing into a pair of green cargo pants and a burgundy T-shirt, Shizuru walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Kazuma? What's going on in there?" Kuwabara's mother peeked into the living room on her out of the house to go to work. "Why is the toaster on the couch?"

Little white stars were flashing before Kuwabara's eyes, and his brain was even more jumbled than usual. With slurred speech, Kuwabara answered, "I'm making toast for the squirrels…"

Shizuru stormed out of the house, her sandals clacking angrily on the sidewalk. She looked around the dirty city street. She then realized that she had no idea where Hiei lived… She cursed under her breath. "Great…" she sighed.

Just then, Luna Minamino and her friend were walking down the opposite side of the street, talking loudly and giggling. Kurama hangs out a lot with Hiei, and since Luna's related to Kurama, she might know where he lives! Shizuru thought suddenly and ran over to the other side of the street.

"Luna! Hey!"

Luna and her friend turned around and saw Shizuru running at them. "Hi, Shizuru," Luna said, waving.

"Do you know where Hiei lives?" Shizuru asked, getting right to the point.

"Uh… wait a second, yeah, I do!" Luna said. "I had to go over there once and sell him Girl Scout cookies."

"Can you please take me there?"

"Sure! Follow me!"

Shizuru followed Luna and her friend as they walked nearly halfway across the city. They had entered the rural part of town where very few houses were built and there was almost nothing there except for a big green field. Toward the end of the field was an old, large tree.

Luna led her to the tree. The tree, at first glance, looked totally unremarkable, but once they got closer, Shizuru noticed that there was a small, Hiei-sized door carved from the bark. Nice house… Shizuru scoffed bemusedly. She didn't know how anyone could live in a tree…

Luna put her fist to the door and knocked loudly three times. "Who's there?" a deep voice that didn't sound like Hiei's asked.

"It's me, Shizuru," Shizuru said, calling over Luna's shoulder.

"Uh… come in…" said the voice.

Luna and her friend backed away and left Shizuru standing by the door. Shizuru hesitantly opened the door and gasped at the sight in front of her. "What in the world…?"

NEXT TIME: THE KITSUNE RETURNS AND TRUTH OR DARE!

Reviewer Responses!

Red Kitsune Flames: You really didn't see that it was Genkai? I thought the pink hair would give it all away… heh heh. Yeah, I know, that is one of my story's flaws (among others). I wrote this before I watched the end of the Dark Tournament saga, so that's why Genkai was a bit out-of-character. And when I edited this, I had no idea how to change that without warping the entire story. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Heh, I was kinda hoping nobody would notice… :-P Oh well. Thanks for the review!

Princess Random: To answer your question as to why Genkai would do something so stupid: Yay for OOC-ness:sweatdrop: Only explanation I can give… Lol, well thanks for the review!

evilchik: Well, she caused her fair share of trouble. n.n But there's plenty more trouble to come, so don't worry about that! The Hiei Saga begins next chapter, so stay tuned to hear more about his interesting life! Thanks for the review!

Fruit is NOT a Dessert: Trust me, I've written more disgusting things, but yeah, the whole Genkai plot twist was just totally random, and it had almost no point at all. Thanks for the review!

paisley: I'm surprised a lot of people didn't see it coming either. I thought it was SOOO obvious! O.o But I always think that, because I'm the author… heh. It makes me happy though that I surprise my readers. Thanks for the review!

Sami Kurama's Stalker: I'll take the compliment on plot twists. n.n Usually it's just a totally random, completely pointless twist, and I just try to work around it… O.o Ah well. Thanks for the review!

Youko Kitsune's Girl: I know, poor Yusuke. Poor OOC Genkai, because she would never kiss Yusuke… Oh well. Man, isn't fanfiction great, these people can do anything… ha ha. Thanks for the review!

blue kitsune251: Well maybe you can guess what's happening next chapter. ;) Thanks for the review!

Deus X Machina: Thanks for witholding the spoiler. I still have yet to see all the YYH episodes (I'm waiting for my next chance to go to Best Buy and buy DVD #28. That's how far behind I am. T.T). But I know that Genkai is OOC, and that's because I wrote this before I even saw the end of the Dark Tournament. Glad you enjoyed it anyway! Thanks for the review!

RoseAngeI: Well thanks for finally writing a review! They make me happy. :D :D :D Thanks again!

hieifan123: Lol, that's okay, you're not the only one who didn't figure out who Spritzy really was. I'm surprised; I thought the pink hair would totally give it away… Oh well. More points for me on the Suspense Meter. XD I'm glad I can entertain! Thanks for the review!

Takara Taji: Yeah, I know, Genkai is WAY-OOC. But! I have an excuse (a bad one, but an excuse nonetheless)! I wrote this story before I saw the end of the Dark Tournament, so I didn't really know how Genkai would act (I was still new to the series). And that's my awesome excuse. Thanks for the review!

Jillian Jiggs: Really? Best you've ever read? I'm flattered. n.n :blush: Heh heh, I'm glad you like the whole "Everyone loves someone" thing. I know some people find that annoying, but personally, I love pairing up everyone… It's fun. XD Thanks for the review!

Kitsune Chic: Hee hee, tormenting the Idiot Duo (Yusuke and Kuwabara) is always fun. n.n Sorry I didn't catch the time typo. I thought I was doing a good job of editing this… :grumbles: Oh well. We all make mistakes… heh. Thanks for the review and the immortal words!

Moomoogirl1: I never forget reviewers. They are all special to me. :big, cheesy grin: I'm glad I could make you laugh! Thanks for the review!

--crazykitsune17--