DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi.

Chapter Three:
"Now take a trip with me, but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem…"

After the electric fence incident, Fuko seemed to lose her vigor to escape. Or at least, that was how it appeared. She simply lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She sighed and took some comfort in the fact that she was no longer picking up radio stations due to all her metal jewelry and cavity fillings. Yusuke and his team didn't exactly take comfort in this occurrence though, and were all clustered in the den talking about it.

"It's got to be a trap." Hiei stated, "She'll get us when our guard is down." Kuwabara shook his head.

"Nah….I don't think she's that evil…" He said. Yusuke and the others gave incredulous looks.

"Oh, I believe she is most definitely that evil." Kurama said once he got over his utter amazement at the naiveté of Kuwabara's comment.

"Maybe she's just waiting for the opportune moment…?" Suggested Yusuke. They all agreed that this had to be it. As soon as she saw her opening, she'd run like bat out of hell.
"So what are we going to do?" Kuwabara asked.

"I vote we take shifts waiting outside of her door, outside near her…well…the sheet up that used to be her wall, one on break, and the last of us near the kitchen. Agreed?" Kurama suggested. The others nodded, and each dispatched for their shifts.

◊†◊

Fuko gazed at her ceiling with another heavy sigh worthy of an emo kid. She was utterly stuck here with Yusuke and his stupid friends. She groaned. The thought of living with them even in such a splendid room didn't exactly appeal to her. But live with them she must; and now they were talking of how she'd have to meet with Koenma soon. Who or what Koenma was, she had no clue. She wondered what the hell was up with that Kurama guy and how he seemed to be a step ahead of her each time…But each of these thoughts ended back where she started; She'd have to live with Yusuke and his friends. She let loose a groan at the thought. She walked over to the CD player and put in an Avenged Sevenfold CD, turning on the song "Bat Country". If anything could distract her mind, it was the amazing guitar solo in the middle of it…or the sight of the member Synyster Gates. But that was beside the point. She listened as the song began;

"He who makes a beast out of himself…gets rid of the pain of being a man!!
Caught here in a fiery blaze, I won't lose my will to stand.
I try to travel through the night,
The heat stroke ridden weather, the barren empty sights.
No oasis here to see, the sand is singing deathless words to me".

She smiled half-heartedly at the powerful lyrics of the song. She turned around, deciding that she was hungry and wanting a muffin. The likelihood of there actually being anything resembling a muffin in the place where she was stuck was rather slim, but she had to move around and do SOMETHING, not liking the approaching fog of lethargy. She threw the door open only to hear a loud SMACK! And someone cursing violently. She blinked moved the door away from the wall to see the short one dressed in black. She chewed her lip to remember his name. Kiei…Hige…Hiyu… Well whatever his name was, he was loudly cursing trying to nurse a bloody nose. Fuko sighed.

"Sorry." She said.

"SORRY!? Is that all you can manage you bitch??!" He shouted through his hand and bloody nose. Fuko scowled.

"No need to be rude. After all, I was just opening my door. How was I supposed to know you'd be there??" She demanded. He snarled but didn't answer. Fuko sighed, feeling guilty despite herself for smashing his nose. She waved a hand and a tissue fell materialized itself into it. What's-his-name blinked and paused.

"How did you do that…?" He asked, forgetting his nose for a moment. Fuko shook her head.

"I just had a tissue in my hand is all. Nothing to it." She said; she had gotten quite good at covering up her abilities with smooth lies and excuses.
"Move your hand please." She instructed. What's-his-name blinked.

"What the hell?? No, I won't do any such thing." Fuko sighed. This was going to become exceedingly difficult, she thought to herself.

"PLEASE move your hand." She repeated.
"No, I'm not letting you anywhere near me with that tissue, which you DID NOT have in your hand a moment before." The guy stated. Fuko sighed once more. He brought this on himself. Quick as a flash, she had tackled him and pinned his arms at his sides and had the tissue to his nose as he lay on his back, paralyzed more by shock than her strength. Just as she was doing this however, Kurama walked around the corner. Fuko noticed his emerald eyes widen slightly in surprise.

"Am I interrupting something?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. Fuko scowled at him with the tissue to Hiei's nose. A glow of white light surrounded her hand (masked by the tissue) as she healed his nose. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"I was just helping his nose bleed." Fuko stated curtly. Kurama chuckled.

"Right, that's exactly what it looked like. I'll have to request that you find a room if you feel an inclination to do anything like that in public again." He said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye that infuriated Fuko. She walked over to him and stood up to her full height (which was actually rather tall, though not as tall as Kurama) and met his eyes with a defiant glare, then, using her wind and an air of utter dignity, socked him in the stomach and continued down the hall to the kitchen; sights still set on her muffin, singing the chorus rather merrily and loudly,

"Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn?
Too many doses, now I'm starting to get an attraction!

My confidence is leaving me on my own.
No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention…!"

†◊†

Fuko looked into the kitchen to see Kuwabara. She groaned and twitched. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore of Yusuke's flunky pals. If he said anything to her, she'd just ignore him, she decided. She stepped into the kitchen and looked around. It was a pretty nice kitchen all in all; a fridge, dark green marble countertops, prim white cupboards, and a chrome sink. Kuwabara's gaze snapped up from the manga he was reading. Fuko noticed that he didn't have half bad taste in manga…he was reading Dragon Knights. Maybe he had volume eight…She shook her head subtly. No, asking to borrow things was what FRIENDS did. She paused, the word "friends" sending a pang of sorrow regarding Eve. She sighed and opened and closed cupboards giving little acknowledgement of Kuwabara's presence. After observing about a minute of her opening and shutting the cupboards, Kuwabara asked,

"Um…are you looking for something?" Fuko paused, but didn't acknowledge him any more than that.

"I can help if you want…" He offered, scratching his orange head sheepishly.
"I doubt you have what I'm after." Fuko said coolly, not one to accept help.
"We have a lot of stuff…maybe we do." He insisted. Fuko sighed and muttered.
"Iwannamuffin." Rather quickly and quietly.

"Huh?" Kuwabara asked, not quite hearing her.
"I want a muffin." Fuko said, annunciating each syllable clearly with emphasis.
"Oh, we have those." Kuwabara stated. He walked over to a cabinet, and tossed Fuko the object of her desire, a chocolate chip muffin. All at once Fuko's stubborn expression melted away. She laughed and even gave Kuwabara a hug.

"Thanks!!' She said happily. Oh how she loved muffins. Kuwabara's eyes widened, thoroughly shocked at her response.
"Um…you're welcome…?" He seemed very unnerved by her sudden nice appearance. Yusuke walked into the room, and looked from Kuwabara's discomfort to Fuko's happy expression a bit confusedly before clearing his throat.

"Koenma wants to see Fuko now." Fuko blinked, half her muffin gone now. As Kuwabara and Yusuke led her down the hall, she wished she knew what a Koenma was…though she could admit that she wanted the eaten half of her muffin back as well.

◊†◊

Yusuke and his teammates led Fuko down a hallway that was populated with people running to and fro with piles of papers stacked high. Fuko blinked and realized in much surprise that said "people" were what appeared to be ogres. Yusuke and his friends paid little notice to these strange creatures running to and fro and shouting about "deadlines" and the "status quo". A blue one ran smack into Fuko when she had stopped and gawked. He fell back, paperwork flying everywhere. Fuko, who was knocked down as well stood up.

"Eek! Um I'm sorry…" She apologized; bending down and helping the ogre clean them up.

"Oh, it's fine. Really." He said in a gravelly voice with a cheerful smile. Fuko blinked as they both stood up.

"Really, I hope I didn't mess anything up…" She said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm kind of higher up on the chain around here so I won't catch any heat." He said, still in his chipper demeanor. He put a blue-clawed hand out.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm George." He said. Fuko took the hand, still a bit weirded out by the whole situation.

"I'm Fuko. Fuko Urameshi." She introduced herself with a customary bow.

"Oh! You're Yusuke's sister…!" George exclaimed. Fuko scowled.

"Yeah."

"Well I must say, it's an honor! You're brother has done a lot of good." Fuko blinked.

"Um buddy, are we talking about the same Yusuke?" She asked. But before she could hear George's response, Yusuke called from farther down the hall.

"Hey, Fuko, could you hurry it up??" Fuko's scowl deepened.

"Patience is a virtue!!" She shouted back at him. She sighed.

"Well I suppose I should go. It was great meeting you George." She smiled.

"Oh yes, it was wonderful meeting you too. Take care now!" George smiled and waved as she ran down the hall. She thought to herself with a grin,

"This place is a bit bizarre…I may actually fit in here."

†◊†

In front of her and the others was an official looking set of polished oak double doors. Kurama pushed the doors open and they entered an office, complete with a fancy desk, armchairs, and large rolly-chair. The back was to the five of them and whoever was sitting in it was currently watching a big TV monitor. A pretty girl sat in the corner. She had blonde hair, cat ears and hazel eyes. She gave no notice of the group's entering. She was too busy writing notes rapid-fire on a clipboard. She paused and looked up. She cleared her throat to catch the attention of whoever sat in the chair. This attempt however, failed and the person remained oblivious. She cleared her throat a bit louder, but still to no avail. Getting bothered, she took the second-to-topmost sheet off her clipboard, crumpled it up into a ball, and threw it directly at the person in the chair. The TV screen clicked off as someone shouted,

"Hey! Kumi!!! Do you mind?!" The girl, apparently Kumi, sighed.

"Team Urameshi is here with Yusuke's sister." She explained. Fuko gave an involuntary twitch to having no identity other than "Yusuke's Sister".

"Oh, right. Please have a seat Miss Urameshi." Said the person in the chair. Fuko sighed. Well "Miss Urameshi" was a bit formal but at least it was a step up from "Yusuke's Sister". She sat into the plush armchair that stood before the desk and found it much to her liking. She made a mental note to find some way to steal it, or at least buy a carbon copy of it.

"I suppose you are curious as to why you're here Miss Urameshi." Fuko held in a groan. Thus far it was sounding identical to one of the many lectures given to her by the stern headmistress at the Academy. She smirked. The best way (or rather, the most entertaining way) to deal with her was a secret art that Fuko knew better than almost anyone else (except for maybe Eve on some days). And this ancient most sacred art was none other than the Art Of Being a Smart Ass.

"Well not really, considering I'm quite certain I already know the reason I'm here." Fuko stated eloquently folding her hands in her lap and crossing her ankles in usual fashion.

"Oh? And what do you believe that is Miss Urameshi." Whoever-the-guy-in-the-chair-was asked…well really more stated than asked, but whatever.

"Hmmm…let's it be….that I've recently discovered that I have the abilities to control wind and cause explosions? Or is it because I took the last S'mores Pop Tart? Hmmm..." Fuko weighed each option with her hands.

"Explosions…Pop Tart….Explosions…Pop Tart….Eh, I guess I'm just too utterly simple-minded to come to the conclusion myself. Though I must say, if it were me, I'd totally want to yell at me about the Pop Tart." She said with a saccharine smile. Team Urameshi exchanged looks, each pained and plainly stating "here we go". The girl in the corner however chuckled to herself quietly. Fuko flashed a smile at the girl. Hey, maybe she had just found a friend…. The guy in the chair cleared his throat.

"Contrary to popular belief, it's not the Pop Tart." He stated. Fuko snapped her fingers.

"Oh sugar-cookies. I could've sworn I had it with the Pop Tarts." She said with an innocently stupid smile on her face. She smirked on the inside though. This always worked with the headmistress. All she had to do was pretend to be an idiot and not only would she be able to get away with being a smart ass, but she'd be let off the hook for whatever it was that she was there for. The dude in the seat interrupted her thoughts.

"You are here because of your abilities. It's believed that due to your curious powers you may either have an excess of Spirit Energy, or you have some demon blood in you." Fuko flinched slightly. It was unnoticed by no one except for Kurama, whose eyes narrowed in interest.

"Demon? What the heck are you saying…demon's don't exist!" Fuko said in a shocked tone, being sure to blink quite a lot.
"She's lying." Kurama stated nonchalantly. Fuko's head whipped around as she death-glared daggers at him.

"Stupid red-head." She thought venomously.

"Well, well, Miss Urameshi. Care to explain?" The guy-in-the-chair asked. Fuko put an expression of deep thought on her face and hummed and hawed only to look up, inspired, saying,

"No!" A few groans and one or two growls erupted from Team Urameshi. The girl in the corner chuckled again.

"Fuko can't you PLEASE be easy for once??" Yusuke asked with a groan. Fuko smirked.

"But dear brother, what happened to that speech about all the easy girls being sluts?"
"UGH Fuko you know what I mean!" Yusuke said, on the verge of tearing out his shiny black hair.

"Miss Urameshi you are in hot water right now, and unless you surrender what information you have, it will get even hotter." The chair whirled around. Fuko blinked. No one was there…and then she looked down to see a toddler looking up at her. Fuko bit her lip as her eyes filled up with tears.

"…What?" The toddler asked.

"Oh…nothing…"Fuko said, trying very hard to contain laughter. Team Urameshi exchanged worried looks, knowing what was next.

"Well if it's nothing I can continue and-" Fuko busted out laughing her head off, tears in her eyes.
"OMG! You're a KID! No you aren't even a kid! You're a toddler! You're like one foot one!!! This is ridiculous!! A TODDLER someone who probably isn't even POTTY TRAINED is trying to order me around!!!!" She exclaimed, still laughing. The girl in the corner smiled, holding in laughter as well. After about three solid minutes of Fuko laughing, she gasped and stopped, tears in her eyes.
"Whew. I'm good. Seriously, I'm good." She said waving a hand. The toddler, now beet red twitched.

"I'm so glad. But I am older than you are by several decades. And I am no mere toddler, I am Koenma, ruler of Spirit World." He said with an air of dignity. Fuko could swear she heard the girl in the corner mutter,

"Yeah ruler of Spirit World, except when I'm fixing your mess-ups."

"Well 'Koenma, ruler of Spirit World', do ya' mind if I go now?" Fuko asked, tired.

"Yes I do mind. You are to stay here and tell us what kind of demon blood you have." Koenma retorted. Fuko groaned.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."
"Are you really sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you really, really, sure?"

"YES!! Now tell us!" Fuko sighed and switched the ankles she was crossing.

"I am…part-" She was about to tell them that she was part toaster demon when Hiei interrupted.

"She's a fox." Fuko blinked and turned around.

"Well Hiei I'm flattered that you think so, but I think such comments should be kept until after this interrogation, don't you think?" She said with a smirk, fluttering her eyelashes. Hiei turned crimson and scowled.

"I mean that she's part fox demon." He spat. Fuko scowled.

"Damn. How did he know?"

"Easy. It's in your head." Hiei said with a shrug. Fuko blinked dumbly before it sank in.

"You little bastard! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She shrieked. Hiei smirked.

"Why? Does it…bother you?"

"YES!"

"Then my answer is no." Fuko was about to leap across the room and strangle Hiei when Kurama interrupted.

"Hiei are you quite sure??" A rather uneasy look was on his face.

"It's in her head. Her large, cavernous, empty excuse for a head." Hiei mocked, earning yet another death-glare from Fuko.

"Well Kurama it would appear that you will be Fuko's main teacher." Koenma stated. Fuko and Kurama looked at each other before both crying out

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" Koenma raised an eyebrow.

"Would you prefer Yusuke, Fuko?" Fuko suddenly stopped, scowling.

"Ah, now that brings us to our next issue. Fuko, you and Yusuke are going to make up right here and now. I want you to explain the animosity that seems to burn between you two." Koenma continued. An eerie wind filled the room and surrounded Fuko as she said in an icy tone.

"No. Never."

"Fuko, please! Just explain." Yusuke entreated.

"Why should I?! It didn't matter then and it won't matter now!" Fuko shouted, jumping to her feet and knocking the chair back a foot.

"Please detain her and sit her down." Koenma sighed. Kurama and Kuwabara walked over and took Fuko's arms, pulling her back into her seat where she sat, coldly staring at all of them. Yusuke walked over and sat on Koenma's desk and looked at Fuko, a truly sincere look on his face.

"Fuko…I'm sorry if I did something horrible to you. Really. But if you explain then maybe I can make it right, y'know?" He asked. Whether it was the way he asked or the look in his eyes, Fuko didn't know but she sighed, and looked up after a moment of intently gazing at her scuffed-up red converse. She took a deep breath and said (and sang),

"Okay…in the words of Avenged Sevenfold's 'Bat Country';

Now take a trip with me, but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem."

◊†◊