Disclaimer: YYH is the property of Yoshihiro Togashi. If I were him I would be creating more manga, not writing fanfiction.
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The Whims of a Shinobi
Asha woke again to the plain room that had become hers. The sound that had woken her had come from outside her room, behind the shoji screen. She pulled herself off of the futon to investigate.
In the corridor, the Spirit Detective was arguing loudly with the short woman named Genkai.
"C'mon Grandma! It was just a joke!"
"And a very bad prank it was too. If you intend to ambush somebody with your tricks make sure they can't hear you from miles away. As it is I want you to cook breakfast for everyone in this dojo."
"Easy. Food for three coming right up."
"Not so fast, idiot. There's me, you, Yukina, the shinobi--"
"The assassin?"
"Yes; shut up—Hiei and Kurama."
"Six!"
"Brekkers isn't going to be so easy to make, now, is it Detective."
Yusuke jumped in surprise at Asha's voice. Genkai simply turned to face her, but the assassin could see faint surprise in her eyes.
"How'd you do that!"
"It's my profession. And lower your voice; whatever you may think it isn't necessary to wake up the entire country."
"Hey!"
"Enough bickering, Yusuke. Go start breakfast!"
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While the occupants of the dojo waited for Yusuke to make the morning meal, they congregated in the central living space of the dojo. Kurama reclined on one side of the sofa, while Yukina sat erect on the other. Genkai lazed on the floor in front of the sofa playing video games on the wide screen TV. Asha leaned nonchalantly against the wall by the window, and Hiei perched on the sill, keeping a close watch on the clever shinobi. All in all, Asha was quite impressed with how modernly Genkai seemed to live.
"Are you sure it's perfectly safe to eat whatever concoctions the Detective creates in that kitchen, Genkai? He didn't look like the type to know how."
"Trust me, he knows how, Asha."
"Sure, Kurama, sure. And pigs fly."
"Let's go people!" Yusuke shouted from the kitchen. "Breakfast's hot!"
When Asha entered the kitchen she noticed that it too was very modern. Top of the line stainless steel refrigerator, oven, microwave, and stove were mixed with traditional Japanese pottery. She was brought out of her revere by Yusuke.
"Do ya know how to use chopsticks?"
"Chinese take-out is common in the United States. More Americans know how to use chopsticks then Asia thinks."
"Here ya go, then."
There was a low table at the far end of the kitchen, closest to where the five hungry people had entered. Set in the middle of the table was a dish of rice balls, some rice squares covered with aji (A/N: mackerel), and a large bowl of noodles. As Asha and the others sat down to eat, she whistled.
"Where'd you learn to cook Yusuke? A street punk like yourself wouldn't go near this stuff, I thought."
What the Detective said next was incoherent.
"What did you say?"
"You learn how when your mother's a drunk and doesn't cook for you."
"Oh..." Asha seemed at a loss for words. Her actions then surprised everyone at that table, even Hiei. She reached for the rice balls and squares, and the noodles, dishing some of each into the wooden bowl in front of her. She picked up her chopsticks and expertly plucked a rice square and some noodles into her bowl. For a few seconds she chewed thoughtfully on them, and then exclaimed, "Wow! This is great! Seriously Yusuke, do you want to become my personal chef?"
"Are you kidding? It's one thing when Genkai forces me to do it, but cook willingly? No way." He cracked a crooked grin, one that Asha matched with her own.
As she turned back to her food, Kurama caught her eyes. He raised a delicate brow, and Asha shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, 'I have experience when it comes to cheering people up. No big deal.'
Which, in fact, was a very big deal. No conventional assassin would do such a thing. Asha had either not been living as a shinobi for her entire life, or something traumatic had happened to her to change her personality and steer her off the traditional path...or both.
"Hey!" Asha cried.
"What!" shouted Yusuke.
"Was that a pig I just saw fly by the window?"
Yusuke looked very confused as Yukina, Kurama, and Genkai chuckled at the assassin's silly remark, while Hiei only smirked.
Whatever it was, there was something strange about her, and he intended to find out.
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A/N
Okay. The beginning of this chapter was a little hard to write. I knew where I wanted to go with the chapter, but I had a difficult time coming up with how to transition from yesterday's chapter. How'd I do?
And so Yukina's and now Kurama's interest has been peaked about our lovely shinobi. Who shall be next...