This was originally intended to be a one-shot. However, it's eventual length cause me to reconsider. This piece is now seperated into two different parts. Expect the update soon!


Of Africa and Drinking Games

Part One


Introduction


"Yusuke, where are you?"

"Jeez, keep your shirt on, Fox boy!" Yusuke griped into the phone. Hastily, he added, "And I don't wanna hear any of your sexual innuendo, either!"

Kurama snorted into his cell phone. 'His expensive, nice, new cell phone.' Yusuke thought wistfully.

"Apparently I'm going to have to repeat myself. Where are you two?"

Yusuke gave the clock a fearful glance and winced at the time. Putting his hand firmly over the mouthpiece, he called down the hall, "Keiko! We're late!" Without waiting for a reply, he turned his attention back to the phone to attempt to buy himself more time. "Ah, but the real question is," he intoned gravely. "Where are you?"

"In front of your apartment complex," came Kurama's wry reply. "Shizuru and Kazuma are slightly tired of waiting."

Yusuke winced and held the phone out at arms length as Shizuru loudly voiced her agreement with Kurama. After a few seconds he brought the phone back to his ear. "Sorry, Foxy," he muttered. "It's just that Keiko attempting to fish her bun maker out from behind her dresser."

"Her bun maker?" Kurama asked curiously.

Yusuke slapped a hand to his forehead. "Uuuuuugh! Kurama!"

"Sorry," came the reply. Yusuke could hear the smile in the redhead's voice. Just as he was about to make a smartass retort, Keiko came stumbling into the room, her hand pressed to her heaving chest.

"Sorry for making you wait." she gasped, out of breath. She turned around, angling her head so Yusuke could see the style of her hair. "I managed to get it out from behind the dresser."

Yusuke, who hadn't really been staring at her hair at all, nodded, and replied, "Looks good," before turning back to the phone. As Keiko smoothed down her electric blue tank top and khaki mini skirt, she caught the end of Yusuke's conversation with Kurama.

"Yeah, Keiko's ready…no, you know I don't have a camera…oh, good…you mean Hiei might actually show up? Wow, you've got him totally wrapped around your finger…hey! Sorry, man…yeah, we're coming now."

Keiko rolled her eyes as Yusuke snapped the phone shut.

"Well?" He asked, turning to her and smiling. "You ready to take on the ever-so-mysterious mystery of…clubbing?"

Keiko grinned and grabbed his arm as she led him out the door. "The only mysterious thing about all of this is how Kurama seems to know the bouncers there. All the bouncers."


Part One: Guy's reunion

"Here's what I don't get." Kuwabara stated, waving his beer bottle at Yusuke. "Why, when we're lucky enough to have the entire group together without Hiei, do you have to talk about him? Can't I get a break?"

Kuwabara, Yusuke, Kurama, and Koenma had been kicked out of the girls' conversation and away from their table, the reason being that they needed time for "girl talk." Deciding to ignore the dance floor and the catchy tunes, the guys had chosen to sit at the bar and drink. Koenma had a thing for bar stools, and Yusuke wasn't one for dancing.

Yusuke shook his head, taking another swig from his drink. He let out a satisfied sigh as he brought the bottle back down to the table. "Man, you have some serious issues."

"Yeah, when listening to you one would think that you didn't like him." Koenma added dryly.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm only half of our hate/hate relationship, okay? If he was just a bit nicer…"

Yusuke snorted.

"Thanks for your support, Urameshi."

"No problem."

Kurama sighed and turned to Kuwabara. "You know, since it's your goal to become his brother in-law sometime soon—"

"That's not my goal!" Kuwabara exclaimed, giving Kurama a betrayed look. "I just want to marry Yukina! Get my priorities straight, man!"

"But—"

"I think that that says a lot about me." Kuwabara stated, staring down at the contents of his bottle. "I mean, after finding out Hiei was her brother, I wasn't turned off like any normal guy would have been. Nope, I stuck with it. And here I am," he spread his arms out wide. Koenma moved his glass. "In a bar."

Yusuke snickered.

"You have a defined definition of normalcy?" Kurama asked curiously.

Kuwabara buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Aw, don't get all intellectual on me, man! I was just saying—"

"That your level of intelligence is lower than the average person," Shizuru interrupted, leaning over her brother's shoulder. "The girls will be ready in ten minutes for our big group conversation. We still doing an all-nighter?"

"Oh, so three hours of talking girl-talk wasn't enough for you?" Kuwabara grumbled as Kurama and Koenma chuckled and sipped their drinks. Shizuru leaned over and snatched away his beer.

"I'll just be taking this off your hands," she informed him. "And don't worry; you have the rest of the night to talk to Yukina. See ya in a few." And with that she sauntered away.

Kuwabara grunted. "Sisters…" Kurama laughed softly.

Yusuke clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Kuwabara, your social skills are so lacking."

Kuwabara whipped his head around to glare at his friend. "Excuse me? Lacking? I have more friends than you, and I am acquainted with at least ten times more people than you are!"

Yusuke snorted. "So? That's all-around. What I'm saying is that your social skills are lacking…in the female department."

"He's making it sound like you go shopping for people skills," Koenma muttered to Kurama.

"Dude. I have three words for you," Yusuke leaned over to Kuwabara, who leaned away from him with an apprehensive expression. "One. Night. Stand."

Kuwabara reddened as Kurarma and Koenma started snickering. He frowned at Yusuke. "I have one word for you. N-"

"Fantastic!" Yusuke crowed triumphantly, slapping his friend on the back. Kazuma winced. "Now we just have to find you someone…hey, whaddaya know! A real looker, sitting right next to you! Gorgeous hair, and look at those eyes! Damn, ain't you lucky?"

Kuwabara gave Kurama a long-suffering look.

"I am not amused," the fox demon informed Yusuke primly.

"What he means to say," Kuwabara said loudly, poking the ebony haired man in the side. "Is that you're a sick bastard. Go sit in a random tree in Botswana."

Koenma frowned. "Isn't Botswana in Africa?" Kurama bobbed his head in a nod.

Yusuke eyed Kuwabara shrewdly. "If it's in Africa, how do you know there are trees there? I mean, isn't Africa pretty much desert and plains?"

The three other men looked away. "I don't know him," Kuwabara said pointedly to a passing customer, jerking his head at the exasperated Yusuke. The blonde woman gave him a strange look and walked away.

The young man sighed. "I knew I was never going to have luck with blondes."

Yusuke grabbed Koenma's glass from his hand and took a gulp despite the demigod's protests. "Aren't you underage?" he inquired.

"Haha. Give that back!"

"Jeez, just when you think that toddlers know how to share…" The former Reikai Tantei's eyes suddenly lit up with recollection, cutting off his own complaint. He turned to the shorter of the redheads while Koenma muttered to himself about short attention spans. "Hey Kurama, did you remember to pick up that one thing from that one store that I'm not supposed to know anything about?"

Kuwabara choked on his newly-purchased beer.

Kurama gave Yusuke a level look. "Yes, it's still in my apartment. I'm bringing it over tomorrow afternoon, remember?"

Yusuke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry Fox Boy, I'm just kind of impatient…"

"So tell me," Kuwabara drawled, leaning mock-conspiratorially towards Yusuke. "How does one acquire the services of Kurama? Without using jail threats?"

"Jail threats are usually typical for people who break the law, Kuwabara," stated Koenma, though he shot Kurama a slightly guilty glance as he spoke.

Yusuke waved him off. "Keiko's caramel corn," he informed Kuwabara gravely. "Just the promise of one bowl is enough to get him wrapped around my little finger."

Kurama made a face and downed the rest of his wine.

Kuwabara stared at Kurama, as if seeing him in a totally different light. "So he does have a weakness."

"Hiei is coming later, you know," Kurama informed him. "In about half an hour."

"I hate you."

"And he's staying the rest of the night."

"You could have told me earlier! I got all happy for nuthin'…"

"I stole the video of you singing The Village People to your broom in your teddy bear underwear."

"Oh, for the love of God! Jeez, I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're such a bastard, Kurama," Yusuke said fondly.

Kurama gave him a cheeky grin and fluttered his lashes as Koenma groaned and stood up. "Break it up, lover boys; I think the girls are ready for the official get-together."

"Yes, because we all know that it's Yusuke's goal in life to get into Kurama's pants," Kuwabara added sarcastically, looking gloomily at the bar countertop.

Yusuke winked and said cheerfully as he stood, "Nope, that's Hiei and Botan's department."

"You die tonight, detective."

Kurama and Koenma grinned at the darkly clothed koorime that had suddenly appeared as Yusuke turned around. "Oh, shit."