This is the second time that I've posted this story on ff. The reasoning for the word Revamped in the title means that the story literally has been revamped. When I first wrote this, I couldn't have been more proud of it, but each time I read it, I became less and less proud. I went in and added details, trying to make my writing seem a little more mature. I also got rid of unnecessary swearing. When I wrote this the first time, I was rather angry.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho...
INFO: italics a thought & "Italics in quotations" writing
Kaori quietly yawned in the back of history class, running her hands through her strawberry-blonde hair. She was finding it rather hard to stay awake. The clock on the wall ticked slowly away, seeming to slow itself even further just to annoy her. The teacher, Mr. Howell, was droning on about something to do with some long forgotten American war. She didn't even bother to pay attention. After all, it was about America. She'd long ago decided on moving to Japan, to get away from the American government and corrupted society. Nothing that she would learn in this class could possibly be put to use in Japan anyways. There aren't many Japanese people who would even care, let alone know about the history of the United States, despite World War II.
She sighed softly. Japan, a place where all of her problems could never find her. She had decided to move there shortly after seeing the very first episode of Yu Yu Hakusho. Eventually, she'd try to get a job at the Pierrot studio and maybe even create some episodes of her own. An image of her favorite character, Hiei flashed in her mind. She closed her blue eyes, hoping to get a better picture in her mind of him.
"Rachel!" Mr. Howell's voice interrupted her thoughts. She had told him a million times that she didn't like being called by the name her parents had given her. It never seemed to suit her. Where she got the name Kaori, she didn't know. She quickly glanced up, startled, but made an effort to hide her surprise with a dead stare straight at him. "Where is your Lewis and Clark project? It's due today."
Of course she hadn't done the project. She had decided not to waste her time with the meaningless busywork. Besides, she never learned about them, seeing as she'd never paid attention. She kept her calm stare and stated "It bored me. So I didn't do it." He gave her an exhausted look and dropped a small note on her desk, almost as if he'd expected the answer from her. Good for him. "See me after class." She crushed the note and lazily flicked it off her desk. Stupid teachers. Can't they see I have better things to do than to deal with them?
The bell rang at the end of the period and everyone filed out. Kaori grabbed her backpack and gave a loud, aggravated groan as she stepped up to Mr. Howell's desk. She hoped that he got the obvious point that she was angry. After all, what right did he have to tell her what to do after class. When school was out, he had no authority whatsoever over her.
He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, probably trying to give off the image of superiority. She wasn't buying it. "Rachel, this project was your last shot. It's already the fourth quarter and you just blew your last chance to save your grade. I'm afraid that you'll be unable to pass to the next grade. I'll have to hold you back." The expression on her face remained unchanged. She leaned forward over his desk, making sure to knock over a less than cute apple pencil holder. Its contents spilled onto the floor, the apple shattering as it followed.
"You have no control over me." she stated. "See if I ever come back to this hellhole." With that, she turned casually on her heel and stepped out the door, making sure to give him the finger before she was out of his sight.
She sat on the bus, completely relieved that she would finally never return to school. Her life was too screwed already to let someone like Mr. Howell get to her. The bus brakes screamed to a stop and she trudged to her house, cursing Mr. Howell under her breath.
Kaori stepped into her house through the garage door. Making sure to stay extra quiet, she raced up the stairs to her room. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob, about to go inside, when she noticed cat vomit on the carpet by her door. Let Michael clean it up. I'm in no mood for this. From the start, she had hated her stepfather, Michael. He had so suddenly jumped into her life and stolen her mom. He had proposed over the phone, and apparently, her mom had found that attractive. He treated Kaori like dirt while her mom just stood and watched.
Stepping into her room, she grabbed the TV remote. It was two hours until Yu Yu Hakusho came on. Maybe it would lighten her less-than-perfect mood. For the time being, she watched the Sci Fi channel. When it was finally time, she flipped the channel to Cartoon Network, hoping that she hadn't missed a second of it. She waited through the commercials and her hopes blew straight out the window. They had cancelled Yu Yu Hakusho, right in the middle of the Semi-finals of the Dark Tournament. She was completely furious. Those idiots! Is the whole world against me!
Ever since Michael had married her mom, she had been given the chore of making dinner for everyone. She was too angry to do it, so she just sat in her room. Besides, she wasn't hungry. Why should she have to slave over a hot stove to make food she would even eat.
About an hour later, she heard her 'parents' room door open and footsteps headed her way. Michael, a balding man of fifty, burst into the room without knocking. The strong smell of alcohol hit her head on.
"Where's my dinner, Bitch!" he yelled at her. His voice was slurred, obviously drunk. What ever her mom saw in him, she couldn't.
"I'm not hungry. If you want to eat, make it yourself." Kaori snapped at him. He didn't say anything, but he lifted his had and slapped her across the face. The slap didn't hurt very much, seeing as he was at a loss of motor skills, but she got the point. Michael then wobbled out the door, cursing profoundly. Kaori brought her hand to her face. Her nose was bleeding. She looked at her fingers. They were covered with bright, red blood. That was the final straw. She had to get away from it all.
She wrenched everything out of her backpack. None of it mattered now. As quickly and silently as she could, she stuffed tons of clothes and other necessities into the bag. She checked under her bed for anything that she could have missed. Her eyes rested upon a single item. A scalpel she had stolen from the school during a dissection lay on the floor, well within her reach. She clasped the scalpel tightly in her hand, staring at it. It's blade was perfectly sharp and clean. No matter how bad her day had been, she had just thought of the perfect ending.
Kaori lay in her bed, not moving, planning what her next move would be. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. Besides that, the house was silent. The alarm clock beside her bed flashed 1:00 AM and everyone else was asleep. She put the backpack over her shoulders and slowly took the scalpel out. Silently, she opened her door and tiptoed out. The door to their room was open.
The timing was perfect. Both of them were drunk and asleep on the bed. They wouldn't easily wake up. She stood poised over Michael, the scalpel raised over her head, ready to come down. Something inside her was fully awake, yearning. Kaori stared down at him, completely disgusted, and without another thought, she brought the scalpel down hard, hearing a sickening pop as it made contact. She looked down at where she had struck him. Her hand, still tightly gripping the scalpel, was covered in his now freely flowing blood. The scalpel, had gone through his left eye, giving it unblocked access to his brain. The blood was moving fast enough that she could actually hear it flow. Somewhere she had heard this was called audible bleeding. There was no way that he would live if he had survived the initial blow.
She turned around, leaving the scalpel wedged in its place, and walked out the door without looking back. Quietly, though there was no purpose for silence, she hurried down the stairs. Stepping into the cold, night air, she gave a small grin. Finally, she was free. She strode up to Michael's car and removed the license plates. Inside the house, she had taken his keys. Kaori had just gotten her drivers license and she was used to driving his car. She stepped into the driver's seat and started the engine.
After driving for about 30 minutes, she turned off of the highway. She left the car in the middle of a field and walked away with her bag. If the police found it, they could never find her. She had tried her best to remove all traces of forensic evidence as well as information as to who owned the car. A few miles later, she reached the top of a hill. She smiled as the bright lights of the international airport sparkled in her view.
Well? How did you like it? I really want everyone that reads this to review or I might not have the confidence to continue. I do have some pretty good ideas for the future chapters and don't worry this will have YYH characters in it I just have to introduce the storyline. Make sure to R&R!