Debts To Be Paid

Title: Debts To Be Paid
Author: mehnema (swedish_furniture)

Pairing: None
Rating: PG

Hahahahahha. This is utter, utter crack, except it's amazing. Yu* Yu* Hakusho and Harry Potter may become one of my favorite crossovers, because it's just so interesting to see these two world interact. Voldemort cheated death... so Koenma sends his Tantei after him (oh man now I want to see Voldemort with Death from the Sandman - can you imagine that conversation!?!?). Tee hee!

Summoning the Dragon

Title: Summoning the Dragon
Author: Water Lilies and Fangs
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG-13

Ooohhhh wow... remember in the tournament where Hiei summoned the Kokuryouha for the first time? And he lost the use of his right arm after that? Well, what if the Kokuryouha was actually a sentient being Hiei had to bargain with before unleashing? I like this fic because it really shows how much Hiei has changed from the demon looking to just rule the world with zombie minions and doesn't care about anyone else but himself, while still staying in character, and it just makes me love him all the more ^_^ I just really like this portrayal of him.

Plot Holes

Title: Plot Holes
Author: nightwalker3
Pairing: Gen (emphasis on Kuwabara love)
Rating: PG

So I kept seeing this fic popping up on all the ff.net people's favorite stories, and yet I kept resisting reading it (I forget why, I think it was due to some sort of misconception that this fic would be targeting all plot holes in the Yu*Yu*Hakusho timeline or something along those lines), but I finally caved... and I'm so glad I did. This is a hilarious yet true response to all the bad YYH fanfic out there, with emphasis on all the Kuwabara-bashing, and it is amazing. Kuwabara was never my favorite YYH character in terms of looks (I mean c'mon the other three are... prettier :P), but I've always had mad respect for him because dude, he's the only one of the Tantei that is 100% human. Think about it, he may have stronger than normal Rei powers, but Kurama and Hiei are both demons, and Yuusuke's a frickin' descendent of one of the most powerful demon kings out there, but Kuwabara manages to fight all his enemies on his own and never relies on any of the others to save him/help him out/etc (unless it's extenuating circumstances, and everyone has those, yeah?) My point is, he pulls his own weight even when dealing with demons and monsters while everyone else has supernatural powers to help out, and I respect him for that, I really really do.

Body Language

Title: Body Language
Author: GRINtelligencer
Pairing: Gen (Kurama/Hiei friendship)
Rating: PG

YES THIS FIC I'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU HELLLOOOOOOO :D Hiei and Kurama have a conversation as they sail away from Hanging Neck Island after the Ankoku Bujutsukai. Except it's so much cooler than that, especially once you realize what's actually going on. GRINtelligencer amazes me.

Note Passing

Title: Note Passing
Author: GRINtelligencer
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG

... I'm pretty sure I read a Bleach fanfic in almost exactly this format, down to the final notes at the ending, but that doesn't make this any less funny XD The Tantei (and related people) pass notes during one of Koenma's lectures

Gravestones

Title: Gravestones
Author: GRINtelligencer
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG

To quote the author's summary: "What's carved on a gravestone can tell you a lot about a person, but what's been written on it by someone else can tell you more." This is funny in that wistful "awww do you remember way back when" kind of way, and even though technically the ending was a happy one, it left me nostalgic and a little sad.

Five Things That

Title: Five Things That
Author: GRINtelligencer
Pairing: Gen (with the cannon pairings)
Rating: PG

Oh wow.. I started just skimming through this fic and then halfway through I was like wait a minute, there's actually a storyline here, and promptly went back to the top and reread it. It's not... a very happy story, even though all the actual events are only hinted at, but somehow it still grabbed me and would not let go.

Infamous

Title: Infamous
Author: GRINtelligencer
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG-13

Snarky, hilarious, quietly stunning, made me smile and go "awww.... yeah" so many times... 20 myths, rumors, and legends surrounding Urameshi Yuusuke.

The Best Defense & A Good Offense

Title: The Best Defense & A Good Offense
Author: JoIsBishMyoga
Pairing: (but this is really gen) Kuwama/Hiei, Yuusuke/Keiko, Kuwabara/Yukina
Rating: PG-13

I totally started rereading this fic to remind myself what to rec about it... and I almost didn't remember to go to sleep last night XD Yeah, it's that good.

A Best Defense is an amazing YYH/HP crossover that integrates all the demon culture and "magic" into the wizarding world at Hogwarts. In a nutshell, the Tantei (along with Genkai, Keiko, and Yukina) to go Hogwarts to protect the student body as a whole, and if they "happen" to run across Voldemort... well, to quote Yuusuke, they will "kick his ass" XD You can imagine what sort of shenanigans they group gets up, especially after meeting the HP crowd. Genka is the new DADA teacher (OMG can you imagine taking classes from her!?), the twins are irrepressible, The Golden Trio do their thing, and Draco is The Malfoy Git (there actually isn't much HP slash in here that I can tell, now that I think of it, but you barely even notice it because you're just caught up in the story - although there were many times I just wanted to scream at Draco for being such a brat).

A Best Defense sidefics - don't read these until you've finished reading A Best Defense - you'll need the background and don't want to be spoiled. Little slices of insight regarding the various characters impacted by the merging of the two cultures.

A Good Offense (WIP as of this rec) - I haven't actually read this fic (ducks and runs), because I'm going through a period where I don't read a story until it's done (yes I hate suspense, I'm still living through that whenever I buy a new volume of manga and then go noooooooo that's IT!?!?), but considering the quality of The Best Defense, I'm highly certain this will be as good, if not better... especially with some of the plot points in The Best Defense ^_~ Another year at Hogwarts for the Tantei.

Waiting

Title: Waiting
Author: nightwalker3
Pairing: Yuusuke + Kuwabara (I'm not counting the tongue as slash :P)
Rating: PG-13

Kuwabara gets captured and waits for his teammates to save him. The story is much funnier than this rec. Case in point: "So, Urameshi," he said conversationally, throwing his arm over the other boy's shoulders. "Tongue? I didn't know you cared." And also, "I didn't ravage anyone! There was no ravaging! Jeez, a guy tries to show some concern-" "With tongue, Urameshi. Concern with tongue."

Yuusuke and the Yakuza

Title: Yuusuke and the Yakuza
Author: nightwalker3
Pairing: Yuusuke + Kuwabara
Rating: PG

Yuusuke and Kuwabara get captured by the yakuza, who try to rough them up to get information... yeah obviously that works really well with our boys. What I love is that the boys are such... boys, in that they snark at each other and basically act like idiots in the face of danger, but the way they act with the yakuza kinda implies how much they've grown as fighters and being in dangerous situations. Plus, Atsuko FTW!

Reading Between the Lines

Title: Reading Between the Lines
Author: nightwalker3
Pairing: Yuusuke + Genkai
Rating: PG

Yuusuke learns to listen to what Genkai's not saying.

Yukina and the Yakuza

Title: Yukina and the Yakuza
Author: nightwalker3
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG

Atsuko. And Yukina. In a car chase with police cars. Atsuko driving. Do I really need to say more?

Yuujyou Hakusho

Title: Yuujyou Hakusho
Author: Mistress 259
Pairing: Gen
Rating: M for language

Sequel to Yuugou Hakusho - Shiori insists that Kurama invite Yuusuke to dinner (since Kurama's finally made a friend, yay!), and Kurama and Yuusuke hang out. Oh the story's much better than this rec, but if you read Yuugou Hakusho you'd know that already :P

Yuugou Hakusho

Title: Yuugou Hakusho
Author: Mistress 259
Pairing: Gen
Rating: M for language

Ever wonder how much Youko Kurama must've resented going from being such a powerful demon to a helpless human, especially before he regained his full powers? I'd never thought about it until I read this story - by the time Youko Kurama showed up in the manga, Minamino Shuichi's personality as a boy fully devoted to his mother had already been so firmly established I didn't even question it - but it makes sense that he would've at least started out just impatiently biding his time until he could leave the Ningenkai and go back to the Makai. So how was he as a child? What caused his devotion to Shiori? This is the story of how a fox spirit came to love his human mother.