This is actually a traditional song... (do you have any idea how
hard it is to find the lyrics to this song on the net? do you?! geez.) I
want to sometime write a (long) fic from this character's p.o.v., so
I figure that this is also a type of practice... ::shrugs::

Mwa-hahahahahahah! Disclaimers for all!

Auld Lang Syne
By: M.E. (Magnificent Entity) 

    Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
    Tho' they return with scars?
    These are a noble hero's lot,
    Obtain'd in glorious wars;
    Welcome, my Varo, to my breast,
    Thy arms about me twine,
    And make me once again as blest,
    As I was lang syne.

As I thread my way around the people occupying the crowded
room, I smile dimly, remembering how we all came to know each
other so many years ago. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday
that the Urameshi Team was the best known group of Reikai tantei
around- but in truth it's been almost ten years since the peak of our
reputation, six since our last "official" mission.

Sometimes I miss it- the fighting and all- but then I remember the
danger that had once been the driving force of my life, and I know
that it is better this way. After all, what would our women folk
think if we continued to risk our lives on a day to day basis?

If we didn't die completely from our risk-taking, they would have
finished the job. And I've noticed the tendency for the females that
we hang out with to have less mercy than any enemy we've face.
It's a scary, but true, thought.

    O'er moor and dale with your gay friend
    You may pursue the chase,
    And after a blythe bottle end
    All cares in my embrace.

Slouched in the soft cushions of the couch, Kurama tries to coax a
reluctant (and intoxicated) Hiei to sit next to him. The others tried
to hide their growing relationship from me at first, thinking I
wouldn't be understanding. I guess that shows how little they really
know about me. Strange, that.

Hiei has finally given in, and now crawls up to sit next to Kurama.
The fox immediately takes advantage of the situation, pulling at
him gently. His sense of balance severely muddled by the rum he's
been steadily consuming all evening, Hiei is unable to resist
Kurama's tugging, and ends up falling onto his side, his head
resting on his lover's lap. Delighted, Kurama laughs quietly, and
begins to play with Hiei's hair.

I hide a smile behind my hand, and continue on my way across the
room.

    And in a vacant rainy day
    You shall be wholly mine:
    We'll make the hours run smooth away
    And laugh at lang syne.

Emerging from a door to my right, Keiko returns from putting the
oldest of the Urameshi herd to bed. They're up to five, and Keiko's
gentle prodding is starting to hint that she wouldn't mind having a
baby around again, now that their littlest one has turned two.
Knowing Keiko, she might not even stop until she has
grandchildren to spoil. I guess we've always known that she's a
natural mother.

Sneaking up behind his wife, Urameshi slips his arms around her
slender waist, burying his face in her mahogany colored hair and
kissing her gently. It's obvious from the flush in his cheeks that he's
been drinking, but probably not as much as Hiei, since it's been
established that the fire demon is the best at holding his liquor.
Still, that doesn't keep Urameshi from acting like an idiot when he's
drunk.

    Shall Monarchy be quite forgot,
    And of it no more heard?
    Antiquity be razed about
    And slav'ry put in stead?

Cuddled together in an armchair, Koenma and Botan are quietly
whispering things to each other, stopping every once in a while to
giggle- or, in Koenma's case, sputter indignantly. After working
with each other for several centuries, Koenma finally gave in this
Christmas, and proposed to Botan. When he gave her the ring, she
hadn't been quite sure what was going on, since he was to shy to
say anything other than a quiet murmur- the whole time blushing
furiously.

When she finally made out what he was trying to say, she
effectively put an end to his mutterings- with one helluva kiss. It
took nearly three hours before Koenma finally woke up- he had
been out cold the whole time.

Since then I've had reports from the onis around the Reikai that he's
started to loosen up, abandoning the baby form that he used to
cling to, and moving on to his adult one. George even told me last
week that he gave bonuses to all the Reikai employees- and even
dispensed some vacation time here and there. Love can really
change a man.

And the whole time Botan has been perkier then usually, all smiles.
It has gotten so that you can't even stay upset around her, her
happiness radiates like a mystical aura, affecting everyone it
touches. She'll make a wonderful Queen of the Dead someday.

    Is Scotsman's blood now grown so cold,
    The valor of their mind,
    That they can never once reflect
    On old lang syne?

Pausing in front of the door to the kitchen, I've finally reached my
destination. Glancing inside I see Shizuru, scurrying around and
helping Yukina by retrieving the things she needs from the cabinets
that are to high for her to reach. Standing on a footstool, the petite
ice maiden is busily stirring something in a pot, pausing now and
then to check on the frying pan sizzling away at her elbow. As I
enter, she turns around a smile on her face.

In the past few months she's grown- not up, but out. Coming up to
her, I grin down at her, stooping to kiss her on the cheek. Placing
my hand on her swollen stomach, I rub her back slightly. "The
baby hasn't been kicking again, has it," I ask her.

"Oh no," she reassures me, "she has been behaving perfectly."

I frown at her, moving my hand from her belly to her back, joining
the first in its ministrations, "'She'? Don't you mean 'he',
Yukina-chan?"

Musical laughter escapes from her lips, and she hits me playfully
on the head with her wooden spoon, "You're so determined to have
a son, Kazuma. You shouldn't push so hard."

I nuzzle her neck, and she swats me again. This time I draw back,
rubbing my head, "Itai," I moan, "what was that for?"

"Get out of here so that I can finish this," she scolds me, looking
like a queen, her spoon is a fearsome scepter.

"Okay, but you'd better come out for the count-down," I tell her,
and, after stealing one last kiss, I leave the kitchen.

The end of the new year and the beginning of the next is supposed
to be a time to reflect on the past, and look forward to the future.
Scanning the noisy room that I just stumbled into, I realized that
we're doing just that, whether we know it or not- as the two
love-birds in the armchair represent the future, our friendship and
ties are things forged in the past. And, somehow, I know that
bonds forged as solidly as these will never break.


©01/03/2000: M.E. also known as Manda Hunter can be reached at
manda_hunter@yahoo.com. Comments, criticisms, death threats, etc. are 
encouraged and welcomed. Flames *will* be accepted, but if you send me a
flame, I might send one back at you. All tessen wielding bandits from Konan
will be forwarded to Blue Jeans after being liberally doused with sake. Don't 
say I didn't warn you!