Hey guys, the Lord of Impeccable Timing here, with a wonderful new story for you all. I guess you'll see where it's going after a couple of chapters, and I hope you all enjoy it. It'll wind up being a dramedy [drama + comedy = dramedy, just in case you don't know]. Expositions rock!

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, which is sad, but true.

The day had begun like so many others. Kurama woke up to his own circadian rythm at nine to the locking of the front door (as his mother and soon-to-be-step-father left for work) and the simultaneous slamming of the back door (as his cousin snuck back into the house from her night of...well, he didn't know what, but she had certainly taken to leaving at random points during the night ever since school had let out for the summer. And, like clockwork, she would come in just as his parents left for work. Oftentimes, Kurama had considered asking her where she'd been, but he knew that his questions would be asked in vain).

Yawning, he stretched before getting out of bed and making his way to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon entering said kitchen, he caught sight of his cousin at the table, slowly sipping her morning coffee.

"Good morning Umi," he greeted cheerily, pouring himself a mug of coffee. Since she had most likely been up for hours, she shouldn't be too venomous, or so he'd reasoned.

"Put a shirt on, Shuichi," Umi snarked, "nobody wants to see that." She grinned as he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance while putting his bread in the toaster.

"How was your night?"

"Exhausting."

Kurama had to admit that he was intrigued; usually she would go silent or swear at him for acknowledging that she left at night. "Oh?" he inquired, purposefully not asking any specific question.

"It's true," Umi answered, finishing her coffee. "You don't even know."

"Clearly."

She nodded, putting down her mug. "I'd love to chat, but I have to get dressed so we can go out later."

"You're tagging along?"

His cousin stopped, turned toward him, raised her eyebrow, and held up his credit card. "I'm the one with all the money, so yeah."

Kurama laughed. "Alright, if you wish."

Umi nodded, disappearing behind the wall. Kurama was about to pull out a plate for his toast when he was smacked in the face by some cloth. Moments later, he realized that it was a shirt. "I was serious about the shirt thing," she called as she darted upstairs.

Laughing, he put on his shirt and prepared his now-toasted bread. He sat down at the table and began eating when he fancied that he heard the window open.

"Good morning Hiei," he greeted between bites of toast.

"Hn."

Kurama glanced back at the window, wherein the little demon was comfortably sitting. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

"Would you like to?"

"Would you like to go?"

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm not dressed yet."

Hiei sighed. "Fine."

"Man, how did we get stuck doing this?"

"Because Koenma thinks we need to bond in order to be a better team."

"We work together fine; we got through the Makai Tournament, didn't we?"

"How about you stop complaining about it? This is the easiest mission you'll get as the Spirit Detective, Urameshi."

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. I just don't know how I'll be able to spend a week with you all in the middle of nowhere."

Kuwabara sighed. "You act like you hate us all or something."

"Oh, like you get along with everybody," Yusuke sarcastically commented.

The question caused Kuwabara puff out his chest in pride. "As a matter of fact, I do."

In a light tone, Yusuke innocently inquired, "So now you and Hiei are BFFs?"

Kuwabara glared. "Shut up, wiseguy."

The two finally arrived at a small home on the end of a street near the train station. It was a back road, so hardly anybody was there. Yusuke knocked on the door once, then once again, then a third time. After a few moments, he knocked again.

"Yeesh, how late does this guy sleep?" Yusuke grumbled.

"Maybe he didn't hear you," Kuwabara suggested; Yusuke wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but he didn't have time to find out. The door opened, and neither saw who was there for a few seconds.

"Oh, it's you, Hiei," Yusuke laughed. "I was expecting Kurama; I didn't see you for a minute."

The little fire demon nearly slammed the door in his face, but Kurama intervened by calling from the kitchen. "Come on in; we'll have to wait a little while, though, before we can gather our supplies."

The two came in and sat at the kitchen table with Kurama; Hiei took his place on the windowsill.

"Did you just get up or something?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, idiot," Yusuke snarked, "he just likes to hang out in his jammies." Kuwabara glared, but the Spirit Detective didn't care and directed his next comment to Kurama. "Come on, get dressed and let's get going already; I've got to meet Keiko later and she'll be pissed if I'm late again."

"What is this, a party?"

The four boys in the kitchen snapped their attention toward the nearby stairwell, where the voice had originated. The demonic half of the group recognized her, but the humans had no idea who the black-haired, green-eyed girl was. She, in response, raised her eyebrow, which was decorated by a bright green bar. "You all act like I just sprouted a third arm or something."

"Um, Shuichi, you didn't tell us someone was here," Yusuke murmured, a slight suggestion left in his tone, and rather untactfully managing to remember to change the name by which he called Kurama, just in case.

"Is she coming with us?" Kuwabara asked, torn between dismay and joviality.

"Yes," Umi informed, keeping the skeptical glance on her countenance. "I've got Shuichi's credit card, so I'm going."

There was a pause in the room, broken only by Kurama coughing to hide his amused grin as he got up and left the room. "I'll be down momentarily," he called as he ascended the stairs.

"So what's your issue with me going?" Umi inquired, turning to Yusuke (who she didn't know). "You guys are just picking up camping supplies..."

"So he told you about our trip?" Kuwabara began, then distracted himself. "Wait, who are you, anyway?"

"Shuichi's paternal cousin," she answered mindlessly, ignoring the first question and looking over her outfit. It seemed that her favorite black shirt (the one with the Joker, as portrayed by Heath Ledger, on it) had shrunken in the wash, again, and held tightly to her thin form, and her black skinny jeans rode low on her hips while hugging them tightly. Sighing, she figured that the best way to keep herself from looking completely trampy would be to put her hair up in a messy bun, which she promptly did. At that point, she felt that the outfit was "artsy" instead of "hooker-like."

"So you have his credit card?" Yusuke inquired, now slightly disturbed at the comment he had made earlier.

"Don't worry about it," Umi answered immediately, glancing around the kitchen. "Has anybody seen my Chucks?"

"You mean the shoes by the back door?" Hiei murmured, gesturing to where Umi had come in a little while ago.

"Right, thanks."

Just as Umi finished tying her shoes, Kurama descended the stairs and entered the kitchen, wearing what the others recognized as the outfit in which he had fought in the Makai Tournament. "Let's go," he announced.

Hiei didn't say much outside of a few well-timed insults as the quintet walked around the outdoors store. To be honest, he didn't see why they needed any of these provisions; he slept just fine every night in a tree--there was no need for a tent or sleepingbags or flashlights. It seemed like a waste of time.

The height-challenged demon sighed. The next week was going to be a royal pain in his ass. How had he gotten roped into the stupid "bonding exercise," anyway?

"If you don't," Koenma warned, "your probation may be revoked and we can send you to Spirit Jail."

Oh, yeah. That. Another sigh escaped his lips. Damn probation; how long could they hold that over his head, anyway? Skulking in the shadowy corner of the building, he happened to overhear Yusuke whining to Kurama.

"What is she doing here, anyway?" he complained. "Now we have to watch what we say and do..."

"Yusuke, she's here to visit me, and I haven't gotten to see her at all," Kurama answered. "Between the Makai Tournament, my training, her training, and her late-night excursions to lord only knows where...we just don't get to see each other much."

Yusuke scoffed. "Seems to me lie she'd rather do anything but see you."

"She's like Hiei, Yusuke; she doesn't open up around people she doesn't know well, that's all."

Yusuke was spared answering by Kuwabara's shouts from the register. "Guys, if you want to get going, I suggest you get your asses up here now."

"Come on Hiei," Kurama prompted. "If we leave now, we can head out tonight."

Hiei almost laughed, and the expression on his face showed it.

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back."

Hiei shook his head as he followed the others out of the store. Since Umi had to finish paying the cashier, she wound up being the last one out of the store in front of him. He noted that she was walking at a particularly slow place, even for a human, probably because she seemed preoccupied with her hands. Or rather, the burns on her hands. The fire demon had to think for a moment. Burns? Those hadn't been there earlier, right? A quick mental reading confirmed this. Curious, Hiei continued glancing at her hands. The burn pattern resembled the one that still existed on his right arm--the burn pattern of a demon flame. How did she get in contact with a demon flame?

And yeah, I know, not particularly exciting, but we haven't gotten to that part yet. Just wait for another couple of chapters and it'll just be riveting.

~LOIT