(10-12-04)
"Warnings": Can't really say that there's much to warn you about, except this is my very slight Hiei/Shadow romance kinda thing a lot of people have been saying I should do... It's not a major part of the fic, so don't get excited or worried, whichever you would get over that... There's probably cussing, discussion of sex, having children, stuff like that... But that's all kinda to be expected in my stories, isn't it? I'm a psycho! Yeeha and stuff! :groans tiredly and walks away shivering:

CHAPTER ONE
I Must Become One With The Rock

Shadow sighed. She looked up at the ceiling for a second, watching a miniscule gnat fly around, promptly get caught in the web of one of many spiders inhabiting her living room due to her sparse cleaning schedule, and get nothing more than a glare from the giant arachnid. The spider was more suited for eating horseflies than gnats... The girl made a mental note to make a mental note to put a note on the fridge telling Hiei to clean the house.

The only sound in the room, surprisingly, was that of Hiei flipping pages in the magazine he was looking at- some sports magazine Yusuke had left lying in the basement about half a year ago. It had recently been discovered by total fluke when Shadow walked into a cobweb big enough to catch a horse in and found the magazine hanging in the web. She'd caught the offending spider in a cat carrier and let it out in the forest behind the house. Of course, she'd had a nice conversation with it first, something about the price of gas rising at an unbelievable rate, or perhaps it was more on the topic of the spider's odd ability to speak Japanese...

Hiei sighed heavily, stared at the magazine he'd been flipping through, and flung it carelessly off to the side, flipping over to lie on his back on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. He made some noise, a mixture between disgust and annoyance, before closing his eyes and reminding himself to avoid looking at the ceiling.

Now that I've demonstrated my ability to write a paragraph consisting of stuff that had no point or importance but wasn't completely stupid, or perhaps it was, I'll get on with it.

"Hey Hiei," Shadow said, staring up at the spider.

"Eh?" Barely an acknowledgement.

"Know what today is?"

"Uhn..." Translation: Wednesday, but I assume that's not what you meant, and I don't particularly care for guessing games, so spit it out.

"It's very special."

"Hmm..." Hiei murmured, dozing off.

"I'M SIXTEEN, AND I'M GETTIN' A MOTORCYCLE!" Shadow screeched. Hiei's eyes snapped open, the spider shot back into the darkest corner of its web, and a flock of birds that had been resting on the roof exploded into the air.

"WHY DID YOU NOT INFORM ME OF THIS?"

"I did!"

"When?!"

"Not even ten seconds ago!"

Hiei just sighed heavily. "I knew it was soon, but 'soon' is about all the more specific it got..."

"How'd you know it was soon?"

Hiei mocked Shadow's tone. "'My birthday's soon! I'll be sixteen and I'm getting a motorcycle!'"

"Oh yeah!"

"Why didn't you tell me a little bit earlier? I'd have sent Kurama off to buy you a present and say it was from me."

"How thoughtful of you! I didn't tell you earlier because I just picked today at random. I'm not real sure my exact date of birth, cuz my parents never made a deal out of it when they were still alive, even my human mother. And when either of them did mention my birthday, I never knew the exact date cuz we didn't have calendars! I just kept track of the years, knew it was mentioned sometime in the late spring or early summer, so, I just... chose a day! Since today was boring, I decided it was as good a day as any other! Spice it up a bit, y'know?"

"My God..." Hiei muttered. "You just spontaneously decide 'Hey! I wanna be sixteen today!' and you are? You know when you tell Kurama that he'll flip out."

"My problem? No!"

"I'm sure you'll get this lecture from him, b--"

"Then you don't need to tell me!" Shadow said cheerfully. Then she danced away singing "I'm sixteee-eeen, I'm six-teee-eeen!!" Hiei just sighed. The baka girl froze next to the calendar hanging on the wall and looked at it.

"Well, better mark today! It's official now!" She put a big smiley face on April 14th. Hiei shuffled over and looked at it.

"You're one sad individual."

"When's your birthday, Hiei?"

"Does that matter?"

"YES! Maybe not in Makai, but it does in Ningenkai! People think it odd when you don't even know your own birthday! What date do you write on job applications when it asks the date of birth?"

"October somethingith or something," Hiei said, shrugging.

"Okee dokee!" Shadow went back into song, not particularly caring what Hiei'd had to say. She stopped and grinned.

"I can't wait until Kurama gets off school today! And Eclipse, too! Speaking of Eclipse... She hasn't been around for a couple days, has she?"

"No."

"Oh well!"

Shadow proceeded to dance out onto the porch and scream at the top of her lungs that she was sixteen and her wrath would soon be upon the highways and roads and sidewalks of Japan. However, the people in California also cringed away from the voice that had become somewhat familiar to them, the voice that caused tsunami's and typhoons and hurricanes and tricked highly religious bakas into believing it was the voice of God.

Okay, maybe not quite that bad...

So, later that day, Kurama showed up and was tackled before he'd even set foot inside the house.

"KURAMA! GUESS WHAT? I'M SIXTEEN TODAY!" Shadow squealed, pinning him on the porch.

"I heard," he said.

"You did?"

"Yeah, when you screamed it really loud this morning sometime... And also, Hiei contacted me in the middle of my English class while I was attempting to present a report on Japanese mythology in spoken English... And that threw me off track and I got a 99 on my presentation instead of a hundred," Kurama said, all the while digging in his uniform pockets. He pulled out a bit of pocket lint and set it on Shadow's head.

"Happy birthday, have a hat," he said dryly. Shadow grinned.

"Yay! Mooshie-poo!" She stood up and took off her 'hat' to admire it. "Wow..."

Kurama got up. "I figured you'd be pleased enough with that, but I got you a real gift," he said, opening his school bag and pulling out a small wrapped gift.

"You did! How very sweet of you!" Shadow said cheerfully, taking the small box and holding it against her chest, grinning. "My first birthday present..." Tearing it open like a psycho, with much more elaborate psychotic motion than was necessary to unwrap a small gift like that, she discovered a necklace with a wolf pendant and a charm bracelet sporting a single silver charm: a rose. A smile spread across her face.

"YOU'RE THE BESTEST FRIENDY-FRIEND EVER TO EXIST, KURAMA!" She hugged him.

"Yeah, well you're suffocating me," he said in a choked voice. She let go and grinned up at him. He caught his breath and pointed to the charm bracelet. "You'll be getting more charms for that soon."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, you'll see."

"Way cool," Shadow said, putting on the bracelet and necklace. "Shiny... You're still my bestest friendy-friend, Kurama! Now all I need is my driver's license and a motorcycle and this'll be the bestesty bestestest birthday anyone could ever have!"

Kurama stared. "That'll be harder than you make it sound, Shadow..."

"Why? I'm sixteen, I can get my license! You got yours when you were sixteen, didn't you?"

"Yes, Shadow, but that's different..."

"HOW SO?"

"I was born in Ningenkai, so I exist in all ningen legal files. I have a birth certificate, school records, all that. You, however, were born in Makai, came here and pretty much only exist in reality to the people who see you. You have no school records, no birth certificate, nothing. There's all sorts of procedures and requirements... Hey! Are you listening to me?!"

Shadow was asleep standing up. Kurama stared for a second. Hiei walked out the door, past Shadow, and into the yard, noticing and fully comprehending the situation but choosing to ignore it. With a sigh as Hiei strolled out of sight, Kurama nudged Shadow.

"Wake up."

"But I just want a motorcycle, mommy," she mumbled sleepily. Kurama groaned.

"Wake up, Shadow, and we'll see about getting you some credentials to officialize your existence," Kurama said dryly.

"Who ever said anything about getting a driver's license, anyway?" Shadow snapped, awake suddenly. "I won't need it."

"You said something about getting a driver's license, and you WILL need it!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"YOU NEED IT TO DRIVE!"

"I'VE DRIVEN BEFORE WITHOUT ONE!"

"BUT NOBODY SAW YOU!"

"YES THEY DID!!!"

"NOT COPS! BUT WITH YOUR DRIVING SKILLS, YOU'LL BARELY BE ABLE TO GET ON THE STUPID BIKE BEFORE THE SIRENS COME SCREAMING AFTER YOU!"

"I CAN DRIVE FINE, THANKS!"

"SURE YA CAN!"

"YOU'RE EVIL!"

"I KNOW!"

"I HATE YOU!!!"

Kurama blinked, startled. "Sor-RY!"

"Don't be," Shadow pouted, crossing her arms. "I hate you. You're just wasting your apology... Ya don't mean it, anyway."

There was silence for about two seconds and Shadow was about to open her eyes when she felt lips against hers. Her eyes snapped open and she saw silver hair. With a strangled yell, she flung herself back away from the fox, spitting and gagging and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM, FOX? WHAT ARE YOU DOING KISSING ME WITHOUT WARNING?"

"I couldn't help it... You're so cute when you pout."

"I wasn't pouting!" Shadow retorted angrily.

"You were so," Youko said gently, smiling lovingly.

"Was not."

"Were too."

"Was not."

"So adorable..." Youko said, grinning.

"I'm not adorable, either! I'm evil! I'm sixteen now! I'll get a motorcycle and run you over with it!" Shadow said, pointing her finger at his eye.

"So cold," the fox said sadly.

"I KNOW! THANK YOU!"

Youko was grinning again. "Hiei isn't here, you know."

"So what?"

"So I can harass you and nobody's here to stop me."

"I'LL BEAT YOU TILL YOU TRANSFORM!" Shadow threatened. Youko started to kiss her again. She pushed him away and slapped him. Hard. He looked dazed.

"Ow..."

"Psycho."

"But don't you want birthday kisses?"

"Not from you!"

"Would you rather have birthday spankings?"

Shadow slapped him again.

"Hey, Shadow! I'd say happy birthday, but you don't look very happy." Yusuke came up the porch steps with a small shiny gift bag in his hand, Kuwabara not far behind with a nearly identical bag.

"Yusuke! Hi!" Shadow said cheerfully.

"Hey," Yusuke said. Then he looked up at Youko. "Hey Youko."

"Yeah, it's Youko, the stupid smart old fox, come to harass me on my first birthday," Shadow said miserably, trying to make him feel guilty. It worked.

Youko sighed. "Fine, fine, jeez, I don't see why you always want Shuichi around anyway... I'm much better looking... Happy birthday..."

A few seconds later, the unwilling Youko had given up on making Shadow feel guilty, or feel anything at all, for that matter, and Shuichi Kurama was apologizing to Shadow for the fox's perverted behavior on her birthday and assuring her Youko wouldn't be around for the rest of the day.

"He better not be," Shadow warned, then, with a threatening glare at Kurama as she turned, she looked at Yusuke. "Hi!"

"Now it's a happy birthday," Yusuke said, handing Shadow his gift. She pulled out two things: A polished black stone and another charm for her bracelet. This one was a simple little circle painted blue and green to represent Earth.

"Nice!" Shadow said, grinning.

"What's with the charm?" Kuwabara asked. "How does a little blue and green circle represent you in any way?"

"It's Earth, baka, and it's symbolic of me because I'M THE ONE THAT'S ALWAYS SAVING THE STUPID THING!" Yusuke shouted, hitting Kuwabara in the head. "And what appreciation do I get for it? None!"

Shadow gave him a big hug. "Thank you for saving the world, Yusuke."

"Uh, sure... No problem..."

"We'd all be DEAD without you," she continued overdramatically and semi-sarcastically.

"I'm sure we would," Kurama taunted sarcastically.

"Anyway, uh, happy birthday," Kuwabara said, handing Shadow the gift bag he'd brought. "And hey Yusuke, what's with the rock you gave her?"

"It's a pretty black rock!" Shadow said cheerfully. "And if you stare at it long enough, it still looks like a pretty black rock!" She pulled out Kuwabara's gift. "Woohoo!"

Yes, another charm. Can you tell that when Kurama told them it was her birthday, he also told them exactly what to get her? A charm for the bracelet he'd bought her, one that they thought represented themselves, so Shadow could always remember them in case she happened to forget them for some odd reason... Well actually I guess it wouldn't be odd for her to forget them, because her memory is like, five minutes long, remember...

Kuwabara's charm was a roaring lion's head... Apparently he thinks very highly of himself...

"The 'pretty black rock' is for training your tiny little mind, Shadow," Yusuke said as the girl started to attach her new charms to the bracelet Kurama'd gotten her.

"Oh?" she said, barely paying attention as she fumbled with the bracelet.

"You meditate. Concentrate your energy into it, and try to get it to take another shape. It's not a normal 'pretty black rock.' I got it ages ago... Someplace... And I managed to make it into over fifty different shapes."

"Woohoo," Shadow said halfheartedly, sitting on the porch, still struggling with the charm. She growled and glared and bit the chain and cussed at it before Kurama finally knelt beside her and put his hand over hers to stop her from furthering the frustration she was feeling from the stupidity of it all. Then he easily did what Shadow had tried so hard to do: he attached the charms to the chain links of the bracelet. The girl's face lit up when he let go.

"Woohoo!" she cheered.

"So, how many shapes d'you think Shadow will make from that stone?" Kuwabara asked Yusuke skeptically after observing her incompetence.

"I think it'll be staying in its rock form for quite a while..." Yusuke sighed.

"So anyway, can I leave you three alone?" Kurama asked. "I need to run a couple errands."

"ON MY BIRTHDAY??!" Shadow screamed. "Some bestest friend you are, running errands on my birthday..."

"Yes, but you'll be happy when I get back, I promise."

"...Oh... Fine then..."

"Bye." He crossed the yard to his car, got in, and left in the same direction Hiei had gone earlier. Ooooh, coincidence or conspiracy?! Cue Twilight Zone music...

"So Yusuke, how're you?" Shadow asked.

"I'm fine."

"You know we're still standing on the porch."

"I noticed."

"You can go inside if you want. I'm gonna sit here and stare at the shiny pebble," Shadow said, holding up the rock he'd given her.

"Call me if it changes," Yusuke said, walking inside.

"Yes ma'am," Shadow said. He ignored her, as anybody with half a brain learns to do after a while...

- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

An unfamiliar car came to a halt outside Shadow's house. The car itself was an unfamiliar blue Mustang convertible, but the people in it were familiar friends of Shadow's.

Eclipse got out of the driver's seat, grinning. Hiei grabbed a gift bag out of the back seat before jumping out of the car.

"I'm never riding with you again," he said, horrified.

"What? I'm a fine driver!"

"You...?" Hiei snorted. "I bet I could drive better than that."

"NOT MY BABY!" Eclipse screeched, hugging her car. Hiei inched away. Kurama pulled up behind the convertible, careful to stay far enough away that when Eclipse pulled out, she wouldn't mash into his car and blame him for it, as he knew she would if something like that should happen.

After enduring severe abuse for telling Eclipse that talking to her car did it no good because it couldn't hear her and had no mind anyway, Hiei managed to pry the girl away from her shiny new vehicle and lead the way up to the porch, where Shadow had been sitting for the past two hours staring at a rock.

"Hey Shadow," Eclipse said. Shadow shushed her.

"I must become one with the rock," she said. They waited patiently while she stared for the next two minutes before Hiei got fed up with it and used his energy to trick Shadow into believing she'd been the one to turn the small black rock into a tiny bloodthirsty weasel figure.

"Woohoo! I-- Hey, what's in the bag?" Shadow said, instantly distracted. Hiei handed it to her.

"Happy birthday from me," he said. The bag contained multiple things, most of them being fire, dragon, or bloodthirsty rabid weasel related (a lot of it being jewelry as well). There was also a small lava lamp which instantly appealed to Shadow's senses as she stared at it with a retarded smile for several minutes.

"Perty..." she mumbled.

Yes, there was a charm as well. A dragon, of course! What else?

"Happy birthday from me," Eclipse said, handing Shadow a brain charm.

"A BRAIN!"

"Yep! It represents my unbelievable intelligence," Eclipse said cheerfully. "There's also this one." A raindrop, apparently to represent Eclipse's water demon side... Of course, we all know that a frog would better represent her, but she apparently didn't think so... (heh heh)

"Done yet?" Hiei asked under his breath.

"Yup!"

Hiei braced himself for some reason unapparent at the moment. Then he reached in his pocket and drew out a key chain holding one key.

"Happy birthday from Eclipse and me," he said, holding the key out to Shadow. She looked at it for a second, blinked in a confused sort of way, then noticed Kurama grinning. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear and pointed. She followed his finger and looked to the two parked cars. Then her eyes fell on the third vehicle, the one on the trailer behind Kurama's car. Her eyes widened and she smiled so big it threatened to fall off her face. Slowly, she turned back to look at Hiei, still braced and still holding out the key. She snatched it from his hand and hugged him tightly.

"I LOVE YOU!"

Barely half a split second later, Yusuke and Kuwabara had their faces plastered against the screen door, looking around frantically.

"What's going on?" they asked in unison.

Shadow was clinging to Hiei like she'd never let go.

"IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!" she said, over and over and over.

"We've established that, Shadow," Kurama said, grinning.

"Why does she love him all of a sudden?" Yusuke asked. Kurama pointed out the motorcycle. "What?! I didn't get a motorcycle on MY sixteenth birthday! You guys are such sexists!"

Meanwhile, Shadow was still clinging to Hiei.

"IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!!!"

"Wow. Quite an effect that had," Kurama said to no one in particular, staring at the fire demons. "Eclipse did pay for half of it..."

"Thank you Eclipse," Shadow said between her "I love you"s to Hiei.

"I think we're gonna be here for a while," Hiei sighed.

"Kiss her!" Yusuke suggested excitedly. "Youko did!"

Hiei's head snapped up and he glared slightly at Kurama.

"Sorry," the redhead said quickly, holding up his hands in surrender.

Shadow finally relaxed her death hug on poor Hiei and stepped back slightly.

"I'm so happy I could die! But I won't, cuz then I wouldn't get to enjoy having a motorcycle! And also, you'd be really miserable."

Then... Their eyes met...

... And Shadow and Hiei kissed (for real this time, not to freak out Kuwabara).

Insert background of pink and yellow bubbles and cheesy romantic music while Yusuke watches gleefully.

"Wow," Yusuke said when they finally broke apart. "Fire demon lung capacity must be something amazing..."

Hiei was slightly pink, but, uh, that could have been the way the sunlight was hitting him, yes, just a trick of sunlight tricking your easily tricked ningen eyes! ...Yeah, that's it... Of course... After all, Hiei would never blush.

"So can I go ride it now?!" Shadow asked excitedly.

"You still need your license. That's where Kurama comes in... but... Yeah, fine, go for it," Hiei said, grinning a little.

"But first you need your riding gear, which will be found in the back seat of my car," Kurama added before she took off.

Shadow looked at him curiously, then went across the yard and opened he back door of his car. She came back to the porch carrying a box and a helmet. After peeking into the box, she cast a mock-suspicious look at Kurama, looked back at the contents of the box, and set down her helmet.

"I'll be right back," she said, walking into the house.

"You'd best go get that thing off the trailer doohicky," Eclipse said to Kurama. "She'll tear it off when she gets back if you don't."

Yusuke was more interested in interrogating Hiei about the kiss.

"I saw tongues," he said, grinning mischievously. There was that pink again in Hiei's cheeks. "YOU'RE BLUSHING!"

"I am not!"

"Aw, it's so cute! Hiei's blushing! Did his little girlyfriend kiss him in front of all his friendies?" Yusuke taunted in a childlike mocking tone.

"I'm not blushing," Hiei snapped firmly.

"That was quite a kiss, though, Hiei! I'd never expect something like that when you're involved! Very passionate," Yusuke said knowledgeably, nodding.

"Shut up! You're nuts!"

"Hiei's in looooove!"

"No I'm not!"

"Denying it will only make him believe it further, Hiei," Kurama advised.

"Aw, wittle Hiei denying he's got a wittle girlyfriend... How cute..." Yusuke said. Hiei's eye twitched. The spirit detective continued in his normal tone. "It's really quite obvious, Hiei, you know? You say there's nothing going on, but you two are definitely more than friends..."

Hiei decided to use Kurama's advice. "So what if we are?"

"What?"

"I said 'so what if we are more than friends?' Is there something wrong with that?" Hiei asked dryly. Yusuke's mouth moved soundlessly.

"Man, you're no fun," he said finally, sulking. Shadow came bursting out the door a second later, hitting Yusuke in the back and sending him flying.

"It's a perfect fit!" she said cheerfully, modeling her new outfit. "How did you know?"

Kurama pointed silently at Hiei, trying so hard to control Youko that he couldn't speak words out loud for fear they'd be Youko's words and not his.

Shadow looked at Hiei. "And how did YOU know my exact size?"

"Um..."

"Never mind, I don't care right now," she said, grinning. "I'm just so HAPPY that I could probably be nice to YOUKO right now!"

Kurama screamed at Youko inside his head, really wishing Shadow hadn't said that, cuz now the spirit fox was getting ideas.

Yusuke and Kuwabara, meanwhile, were gawking wordlessly.

"Eee," Yusuke finally managed, still lying in the grass where he'd ended up after being hit with the door.

"Right! I wanna try out my new motorcycle!" Shadow said cheerfully, grabbing her helmet and leading Kurama out to his car. He got the motorcycle off the trailer and about two minutes later, Shadow flew down the road on it. Yusuke came scrambling up to the group.

"That is really freaking tight leather," he said in a high-pitched voice, looking up at Hiei (Yusuke hadn't managed to get up off the ground yet). "Whose idea was that?"

"Not mine," Eclipse said instantly.

"Well, it was semi partially a tiny bit Hiei's, a little teeny bit mine, and the majority of it was Youko," Kurama said guiltily. "He kinda... Convinced us."

"But I'm not complaining about his perversion for once," Hiei said, then promptly realized what he'd said and dissolved into nothingness at the look he got from Yusuke.

"You're more of a lecher than I thought! How the hell did you know her measurements, anyway?!" he asked.

"I live with her. Little details like that just... kinda... well... Okay!!! So maybe she didn't exactly give them willingly..." Hiei admitted, blushing (err, I mean, the sun was hitting his face just so!) again. "But Kurama, Eclipse, and I have kinda been planning this for a while, we just expected a little more notice, like an exact date, maybe... So, yeah, I guess I kinda maybe sort measured her when she was asleep the other day... But it wasn't all my idea! Youko made me! It was either I did it or he did!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!" Shadow cheered, flying back up the road.

"Well I'm not complaining... I'm just thinking even more so now than before that there is without a doubt something more than friendship between you two fire demony people..." Yusuke said, grinning.

"Like what do you have in mind?" Hiei snapped. Shadow flew back down the road cheering. Another motorcyclist went flying after her. Neither Hiei nor Yusuke noticed.

"Like maybe you have robbed the poor girl of her virginity," Yusuke said, faking sadness and shaking his bowed head.

"I have not!" Hiei retorted.

"What makes me so sure?"

"Ask her!"

"You could have just both opted to keep it secret," Yusuke said. "That is, until someday you go and get her pregnant, then you can't very well keep it a secret anymore."

"I'm not having any kids, and if I get her pregnant, she'll kill me and get an abortion or something."

"She wouldn't kill you! No more sex!"

"You're sick, Yusuke. You're really, really sick," Hiei said sadly, shaking his head. "Is that all you think about?"

"I'm a teenage boy. What do you expect?" Yusuke asked. Hiei sighed.

"Not much."

Shadow flew up the road and stopped just short of slamming into the blue convertible. Eclipse had a horrified look on her face, practically clawing her eyes out, but Shadow managed to stop before she hit it, with about an inch of leeway! Wow! What skill! (or not)

"Who's car is this?" Shadow asked, pulling off her helmet and pointing.

"MINE, DAMMIT! AND YOU ALMOST CRASHED INTO IT!" Eclipse screamed. She had big lines down her face from her practically-clawing-her-eyes-out fingernails. Shadow just stared.

"Since when could you drive legally?!"

"Since about the eighth, when I turned sixteen and went to the driver testing placey thing!" Eclipse snapped.

"Sweet! You never told me you were sixteen! It's the fourteenth! Why didn't you tell me? I love this car, by the way. Where'd you get the money to buy it?"

"I got the money from a random plot hole... Yeah, a plot hole, called 'my family,' who've saved money for this since they took me into their care. And also they're kinda semi-rich so they had no problem affording it... And I didn't tell you because My Uncle Or Someone was teaching me how to drive, and had me reading all these stupid road rule books and taking tests and stuff! Jeez! Isn't school enough? On the rare occasion that I go...?"

"You could've called."

"Well exCUSE me, but I was grounded off the phone, and also grounded to have an adult escort everywhere, so I couldn't leave my house except when My Uncle Or Someone was teaching me to drive! And also on my birthday when I got a whole crapload of video game stuff and didn't WANT to leave."

"Oh! Okay! Well, Kurama, Hiei, let's go! Driver's test time!" Shadow said cheerfully, pretty much having no clue what Eclipse had just said and not really caring a whole lot, either.

"You know you have to drive a car in that test, right?" Kurama said.

"I know. I'm driving yours!"

Kurama groaned. "No arguing, I suppose?"

"How much damage could I do? It's a closed course!"

"I did a lot of damage," Yusuke said. "Why do you think I don't have a license yet?!"

"Because you're a bakayarou!" Shadow snapped. "You're not supposed to tell them you blew up half the course when I'm trying to convince Kurama to let me use his nice car!"

"Do you even know how to operate a car?" Kurama asked.

"YES! I can drive, baka fox!"

Kurama unhitched the trailed. "Prove it."

"WOOHOO!" Shadow skipped over to the car, leaving her helmet on her motorcycle, and got in the driver's seat. Kurama got in next to her on the passenger side and watched her every move as she indeed proved she could drive just peachy keen.

"Well then... We've only got the small problem left of what the heck we're going to do about your birth certificate and stuff..."

"TO KOENMA!" Shadow said, pointing down the road. She stood there for a moment, looking dead serious, before grinning like a child and skipping over to her motorcycle, hopping on, and shooting down the road.

"SHADOW! YOU CAN'T DRIVE WITHOUT A LICENSE!" Kurama shouted after her. "AND PUT ON YOUR DAMN HELMET!"

"She can't hear you and she doesn't care," Hiei said dryly. "I shouldn't have given her the key until she'd got her license... This can only lead to trouble..."

"Let's go, then," Yusuke said. He got into the back seat of Kurama's car. They stared at him cluelessly. He opened the door. "FOX, GET IN HERE AND DRIVE BEFORE I DO!"

Kurama yelped and was instantly in the driver's seat. "Okay, well I suppose we'd better follow her. Everyone in the car."

Eclipse jumped into her car and started it. "Woohoo!"

Hiei stared in horror at the girl, then quickly kicked Kuwabara out of the passenger seat of Kurama's car.

"Hey! I wanna sit there! You're too small!"

"Shut up, baka, and get in the back seat or we'll leave you behind," Hiei snapped.

"She does know that she can't reach Reikai with a motorcycle, right?" Kurama said.

"She'll find a way," Yusuke sighed. "Step on it, fox."

- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Hmm... Okay, let's see, the 8th and 14th are the days of mine and Eclipse's birthdays, so those weren't random numbers... Neither of ours are in April, though.

Don't give me suggestions for this story. It's already done. I just didn't post it as I wrote it because I wanted to finish the Inuyasha crossover first...