The Celestial Tiger's notes: This story is a Yu Yu Hakusho / Inuyasha crossover. It will be a mixture of humor and drama. It will not be stupid…I am a serious writer and I am serious about all of my stories. I approach all of my plotlines with the intention of making them both viable and entertaining.

I have found no documentation of what city in Japan Yu Yu Hakusho actually takes place in so I am going with creative license and making it Tokyo for obvious reasons. For reference, the YYH time placement is after the Dark Tournament saga events and the Inuyasha time placement is after the scenario where Naraku tried to absorb Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha broke through Naraku's barrier, gravely injuring him and causing him to go into hiding…this is basically as far as I have seen in both shows. Also, please note that this is non-yaoi. Please enjoy and review if you wish.

By the way, constructive criticism is fine. No one's craft is perfect and helpful advice is always welcome. However, flames will neither be appreciated nor taken seriously. This is a writing community, intended for the benefit of writers hoping to better their skills and entertain others. If you have nothing nice or helpful to say, simply move on to a story that better suits your interests. Besides, to me flames are infantile and laughable at best.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, much to my disheartened chagrin.

It was a normal day at school so far. Yusuke had spent most of it sleeping through class. He had developed quite an effective way of disguising his slumber by leaning against his left hand and holding his pen in his right as if he were hard at work taking notes. He also made certain to sit in the back of the classroom so that he would be inconspicuous.

This worked beautifully until he got to a class that he shared with Keiko. She made him sit up front with her. Also, seeing him appearing diligent only made her suspicious. She knew exactly what he was doing and was determined not to let him get away with it. She made certain that he stayed awake and even half paid attention. Needless to say that by the time the final bell rang to signify the end of the school day, he was very grumpy. He stormed to his locker in silent irritation, Keiko nagging him from behind the whole way.

"Yusuke, you can't just sleep through things that you don't want to face. I can hardly believe I'm talking to the same Yusuke who put his all into that tournament. You faced all those monsters without a thought of giving up or turning back, but when you're in class, you can't even bring yourself to look at your textbook!" Keiko's tone was stern but not as pushy as it once had been. She now knew that Yusuke was a spirit detective and she had witnessed first-hand the kinds of things that such a job put him through. That knowledge had taken some of the bite out of her lectures.

Yusuke never stopped to think that such lectures were the result of concern for him and he usually suffered her rantings with impatience, vocalizing his annoyance quite liberally. But on this day he was uncharacteristically quiet as she spoke. Keiko noticed this and paused once they had stopped in front of Yusuke's locker, which showed signs that it was almost never used.

"Well…don't you have anything to say at all?" she asked in exasperation, thinking that it was odd that he hadn't already blown her off. Yusuke became still for a moment and then slowly turned toward her.

"Yeah…I got somethin' to say," he said in a tone that was strangely reticent for him. "I've saved the whole freakin' world…no…both this world and Spirit World…I've been through hell and back more than once…how can I just come back to school and pretend that everything's the same? Everything seems even more mundane and pointless than before." His voice became increasingly edgier as he said all of this but he kept his volume low because there were other students around. After a brief second of silence, he sighed gruffly and opened his locker, throwing in the books that Keiko had made him pick up before classes.

Keiko's eyes trembled as she noticed that he was deliberately avoiding looking back at her. He shut his locker roughly and then jammed his hands in his pockets, turning toward her but not looking right at her.

"So…you wanna go get something to eat?" he asked in a brusque tone."I'm starving." This question meant that he didn't really want to talk about the previous matter any further.

Keiko sighed softly and nodded. "Sure, Yusuke…let's go eat."

They stopped off briefly at Keiko's locker and then left the school together, wandering down the street in silence. Keiko was looking at Yusuke as they walked, considering him. He had changed recently…grown in some ways. Oh, of course he was still Yusuke Urameshi, loud and obnoxious, hot-headed and smart-assed, but lately she'd noticed him becoming lost in serious thought occasionally or reacting differently to certain situations than he used to.

Keiko sighed to herself, knowing that no one could go through what he'd been through without changing at least a little. In fact, all things considered, he'd surprisingly remained himself for the most part. Getting Genkai back had probably lessened the severity of the repercussions of the Dark Tournament. Instead of living with a feeling of perpetual loss, he just had to deal with memories and of course the continued weight of the burden of being spirit detective.

Keiko's thoughts were interrupted when Yusuke halted suddenly. She nearly walked right into him but caught herself awkwardly right before the collision. He made no acknowledgment that he'd nearly caused her to fall but instead directed his attention to the fast food restaurant whose door they were now standing in front of.

"Let's eat here," he said offhandedly and strode into the building before Keiko could even reply. She huffed slightly but then sighed and resigned to just let it go, following him inside.

No sooner had they gotten in line than someone cleared his throat right behind them. They turned around to see Kuwabara standing there grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Hi guys!" he greeted jovially. "I saw you come in here and decided to join you."

Yusuke frowned dramatically. "Nobody invited you to join us, ya know."

Kuwabara clenched his teeth. "Who cares what you think Urameshi! Keiko wants me here, right Keiko?" He batted his eyes and smiled a goofy smile.

Keiko chuckled softly. "Oh, come on Yusuke," she said sweetly. "Be nice." Yusuke crossed his arms and pouted like a petulant child. 'So much for him growing up,' thought Keiko as she sighed but she knew he was just being difficult for the hell of it. She turned to Kuwabara. "Don't mind him, he's just grumpy right now."

A mischievous grin spread across Kuwabara's face. "Yeah, I guess I'd be grumpy too if I was a hopeless dork."

Yusuke felt his spirits lighten a bit. "What do you mean if, butthead?" he said in a teasing tone. Fighting with Kuwabara was always a fun distraction and sometimes it even led to beating him up, which always put Yusuke in a good mood.

"At least I don't sleep through class," Kuwabara scoffed.

Yusuke smiled sarcastically and retorted with, "Glad to hear that my reputation precedes me…and you know…that's really not something to brag about Kuwabara…you don't sleep through class and you still fail…that just means you're stupid." He put a teasing flourish on this last word.

Kuwabara flushed with anger but then forced himself to calm down. Yusuke wasn't going to get him that easily. "Yeah, well…I never said I was a rocket scientist, but at least I give a crap enough to try. I bet you'll still be in the same grade as now when I graduate."

Yusuke yawned as if he were bored. "Whatever, moron." He didn't give Kuwabara a chance to respond. Seeing that they had reached the counter, he turned to the cashier and began to place his order, deliberately ignoring the fact that Kuwabara was fuming behind him.

Keiko sighed softly but couldn't stifle a small smile. Yusuke and Kuwabara had a very odd friendship. They had become very close friends with all they'd been through together but they still thrived on tormenting one another. Despite how aggressive some of their repartee could get, she knew that their dramatized hostility was just their own unique expression of camaraderie.

Yusuke finished placing his order and turned to Keiko, pretending that Kuwabara wasn't even there. "Your turn," he said with an innocent smile.

Keiko eyed him skeptically. "I'm assuming that since my order is going on the same tab as yours that you expect me to pay for it."

Yusuke grinned triumphantly. "Why, Keiko, I hadn't even thought of that but since you offered…"

Keiko narrowed her eyes at him but it was Kuwabara who spoke. "Hey, Urameshi, that's no way to treat a lady, you freeloader!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and pretended to be more interested in the tiles than in what was being said to him. Kuwabara growled at him but the cashier cleared her throat impatiently, still waiting for Keiko's order.

Having been put on the spot, Keiko went ahead and added her order to Yusuke's rather large one, paying for both of them herself. While she was doing that, Kuwabara went to the next cashier over and placed his order. Then the three of them walked to the very end of the counter to wait for their food.

Kuwabara didn't let any time lapse before he continued his sermon. "That was really sleazy, Urameshi, making Keiko buy your dinner. What kind of a man are you anyway?"

Yusuke stretched lazily. "A hungry one with no money," he replied nonchalantly.

Kuwabara gave Yusuke a dirty look and opened his mouth to say something else but Keiko patted him on the arm. "It's ok, Kuwabara," she interceded. "I don't mind buying him dinner once in a while. He has saved my life." Yusuke was about to gloat when Keiko turned a strict finger to him. "But don't you go and think that you can bum off of me all the time, you big lunkhead."

Yusuke grinned cutely, folding his hands behind his head in overplayed innocence while Kuwabara rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. Their banter was quickly forgotten, however, when their food was placed before them. They picked up their trays and found a table, all three of them silent at first as they enjoyed the taste of the meal.

The calm was unfortunately very short-lived. Soon enough, Yusuke and Kuwabara broke into another volley of loud insults, not caring how disruptive they were being.

Only a couple of tables down from them sat a young woman with her three friends. She was beating her head lightly on the tabletop, whining in frustration. "I know I failed that test. I hate math…I hate it, I hate it, I hate it…"

Her friends watched her for a moment and then sighed collectively. "I'm sorry, Kagome," said Ayumi, "but we took the best notes we could for you."

Kagome sighed miserably. "I know…it's just that if I'm not there while he's teaching it, I just can't grasp it. Let's face it…I'm doomed in that class. I just keep falling more and more behind."

The three of them looked at her sympathetically and Yuka spoke. "Yeah, but with boils and mono both, there's no way you could have attended class, Kagome."

Kagome became stiff, a tiny inaudible squeak emanating from the back of her throat as her eyebrow twitched. 'BOILS! MONO! Grandfather!' She groaned in embarrassment for all of the diseases that her grandfather had assigned her. She knew that he meant well. Trying to cover for her constant absence couldn't be easy…but still! She clunked her head on the table a couple more times for lack of a better way to express her frustration.

"Kagome, don't do that!" scolded Eri. "You don't want to add brain damage to your list of problems, do you?"

Kagome sighed loudly, her forehead still resting on the table. "Why not…" she mumbled. Just then the two young male voices that had been constantly heard in the background escalated in volume.

"WHY YOU! GIVE ME BACK MY BURGER, YOU PUNK!" came a raspy, gruff shout.

"NO WAY IN HELL, MORON!" came the strident reply followed by loud scuffling and then finally a female's voice.

"Both of you stop it! You're acting like children! Yusuke, give him back his food!"

To that was heard, "I saw him steal some of my fries! It's a fair trade!"

Then the raspy voice rang out again. "LIKE HELL…AND I DIDN'T TAKE YOUR CRUMMY OLD FRIES ANYWAY!"

More scuffling was heard and finally a loud smack followed by, "OW, Keiko! What the hell was that for?"

Then the female's voice was heard again. "Because you're being an idiot! We're in public…stop acting like a two-year-old!"

After that was heard rather loud and conspicuous grumbling that eventually trailed off as the place returned to its normal level of background din.

Kagome and her friends had been staring in the direction of the disturbance as it happened and when it was over, they looked at each other and shook their heads. Eri spoke first. "Geez…that guy sounds like an absolute jerk…oh, and speaking of jerks, how's your psycho boyfriend, Kagome?"

Kagome sighed. "He's not really my boyfriend…and he's ok, I guess…I haven't seen him in a few days…I've been too busy trying to play catch-up with school."

Eri and Yuka exchanged a look but Ayumi spoke up. "What about all the other guys that are chasing after you? You know…the obsessed guy and the older one who wants you to have his kids?"

Kagome slumped back and sighed again. "I haven't seen Kouga in a while and as for Miroku…he's interested in someone else."

"What a cad!" Eri exclaimed dissapprovingly.

Yuka nodded. "Yeah, he sounds like a major player!"

Kagome just shrugged. "Well, he's definitely a pervert but I think he's genuinely in love with this one person…it's kinda sweet."

Yuka looked at Kagome in disbelief. "You talk about this guy like you think his behavior's perfectly normal."

Kagome shrugged again. "It is normal…for him."

Eri shook her head. "And you also don't see anything wrong with your ruffian boyfriend."

Kagome's eyebrow twitched again. "I told you he's not my boyfriend! And I didn't say there was nothing wrong with him…there's plenty wrong with him! He's just…not as bad as he used to be, ok!"

Yuka pursed her lips in disapproval. "And what about poor Hojo? You know he still likes you, Kagome. He asks about you every day."

Kagome closed her eyes and took a sip of her soda before responding. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that I don't want anything but friendship from Hojo. He's very sweet but I'm just not interested."

Eri looked a bit exasperated. "Honestly, Kagome…you're just hopeless! You have the perfect guy pining for you and you want Mr. Abusive Attitude!"

Kagome frowned at her. "There are far worse guys than Inuyasha, believe me!"

Just then, as if on cue, another ruckus broke out at the same table as before, the same two male voices practically shouting at one another and once again disturbing everyone. They got more and more obnoxious until Kagome just couldn't take it anymore. This had not been her day and her temper was a tenuous thread away from snapping, especially after weathering the persistent inquisition from her friends.

Besides that, she dealt with more than enough juvenile arguing from Inuyasha and Kouga or Inuyasha and Shippou and she was in no mood to put up with it from strangers when all she wanted was to eat her meal quietly. That eerily calm expression passed over her face as she turned to her three friends. "Excuse me a moment, please."

As Kagome got up, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi looked back and forth to each other and then Eri nodded sagely. "Somebody's gonna be very sorry they pissed Kagome off."