Author's Note: So this story came as inspiration when I got fed up with a lot of authors on here copying and pasting their OCs into the Yu Yu Hakusho plot. In a sense, this was a challenge as me for a writer and as a perfectionist with how to properly include an OC into the universe of Yu Yu Hakusho without it being a literal copy and paste. So instead of having you guys being like, "UGH. I KNOW HOW THIS GOES." We'll just see if you can find any references to the series that are mentioned during the chapters! At any rate, I hope you all enjoy the fresh spin I've put onto the "OC joins the YYH crew" topic.

Extra Note: One of my reviewers has pointed out about my choice of words and I totally apologize about them. It may seem harsh but there's stuff about the Yu Yu Hakusho fandom I've seen that makes me wonder why great authors have to do the copy/paste their OC into the story. It was like every single fanfic I've read had an OC meet one of the main protagonists (mostly Yusuke) and then become a background character who gets involved in say the Dark Tournament. (Mostly as a background character.) For me, it was a frustration that I couldn't help but address as an observer and writer myself because there was so much going on during the series that I was thinking, "How else can you input an OC without directly plopping them in during the events of the Dark Tournament?"

I've seen my fair share of good writers, but it almost sucks when most tend to go for the easy route and insert their OC into the plot line without really thinking deeper about the universe. Sure, the series may focus on Yusuke, but it's the actual universe that has so much potential even early on that I can't help but face palm at how the writers are. Again. I apologize about the choice of words I used. However, I will not deny that this was what actually inspired me to write this story. So without further ado, enjoy.

Feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of it's characters.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Ugh. Shut up already." A hand pressed on the alarm clock's snooze button, turning it off. With a groan, a black haired female climbed out of bed, albeit grudgingly. Yawning, she dragged her feet, getting ready for another typical day at school. After brushing her teeth, the teenager put on the familiar blue and white uniform belonging to Sarayashiki Junior High. The girl went up to her vanity mirror, getting out her brush to get rid of her bed hair. She was sure her alarm had woken her up early until a familiar voice called from downstairs.

"Erina, are you ready yet?" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Almost done."

Sighing the girl finished brushing her long hair, putting down her brush and placed her signature, matching blue bow on her hair. One last double check on her vanity, made the teenager feel relieved. The teen wasn't exactly all that pretty but she wasn't ugly either; average so to speak. Her round face and pronounced cheekbones gave her the outward appearance of a trustworthy person; a perfect candidate for being Sarayashiki Junior High's treasurer – a position that came with lots of responsibilities.

To finish up, Erina tied the yellow ribbon of her uniform neatly, and grabbed her bag.

After getting her bento box and waving goodbye to her mother and father, Erina Fukui went down her usual walking route to Sarayashiki Junior High, preferably taking the route that wouldn't let her bump into any of the delinquents from Kazanegafuchi Junior High that liked to hang around Sarayashiki for some morning brawls. It was an annoyance to most of the student body, but it was a normal morning routine to see some fights happening. After all, even Erina's route wasn't always perfect.

This happened to be one of those days. When she arrived at the school gates, Erina was almost knocked off balance by one of the guys wearing the Kazanegafuchi Junior High uniform. She was lucky that she had a quick reaction for the guy fell to the floor, flat on his face. In the distance, Erina noticed a person with a green jumpsuit, nonchalantly beating up a group of four other guys.

Figured. She thought, not paying any attention to the fight. Erina knew who the heck it was without needing to see his face.

On her way to class, she bumped into Keiko Yukimura, the class representative that she worked with. A simple wave was given to her. When Erina got closer, Keiko simply reminded her of a meeting that would take place after school and to not miss it. However, it reminded her to tell Keiko of what she saw this morning.

"I'm just letting you know in case he skips class again, since he's a childhood friend of yours. At any rate. Have a good day, Keiko." That would be a complete lie for Keiko if Yusuke Urameshi was once again skipping class. Erina headed over to her morning class, opening her bento box and eating a couple of bites. Even though her alarm went off, it didn't wake her up completely early. Once the class started, it was just another typical day.

Erina Fukui attended Sarayashiki Junior High not because of choice, but more like it was closer to her home than any of the other schools around the city. She had an indifferent attitude, not really caring too much about the delinquents or the school's terrible reputation because of them. A school was a school and gave education; it was good enough for her and her family. Her grades were above average, but nothing too special compared to Keiko's outstanding academics. After all, there was a reason why that girl was the class representative. Many of the students and staff considered Erina as a well-rounded person, able to juggle her classes with her extracurricular activities. If it wasn't for her joining the tennis club or being the student council's treasurer, she would have just blended in with the rest of the students.

Honestly, she got along with most people, but found a friend in Keiko Yukimura due to their respective positions. So when Erina heard a particular intercom go off, announcing Yusuke Urameshi's name, Erina inwardly rolled her eyes. She would be hearing another one of Keiko's rants about him before the meeting started. The day went by normally with her school day finishing up with the meeting between the student council or anyone related to student activities.

She went back home and the morning repeated itself again. However, when she got to the school gates again, Erina noticed the students were pretty much cleared away, making a path in fear from someone. That was pretty odd. When the person got closer, she already knew it was Yusuke.

"Wow. I didn't know we suddenly had a freakin' god in this school." Erina grumbled, pushing her way through the students that were blocking her path from the school entrance, following behind Yusuke. It wasn't as if he was going to beat her up without any reason. From what she understood from Keiko's stories or her observations from seeing him throughout the day – if he was in school - Yusuke didn't seem like the type to start a fight for the sake of starting one.

Her behavior made the students start chattering amongst themselves, loud enough to hear someone mentioning something like, "Wow. She's pretty brave for following behind him."

"Or she's probably stupid. For all we know, she probably won't come back to school tomorrow. He probably has ties with the criminal underworld." A girl whispered.

Oh please, save me with your stupid rumors. Erina wanted to scold them; this morning wasn't exactly her typical one. She had been annoyed with the fact her little afternoon nap the day before ended up turning into a thirteen hour sleep fest. Erina was only lucky that she had gotten up barely on time without her alarm going off.

However, the students weren't worth the trouble.

She would have been going to class if she hadn't heard a certain brown haired female's footsteps stomping up the stairs. Oh god, Keiko…

Erina followed Keiko and her stupid little friends, who she disliked very much because of how gullible they were. Honestly, she would have spent more time with the girl if it weren't for her judgmental friends. When she got to the steps leading up to the school's rooftops, Erina heard a loud thud followed by Keiko's yelling.

Erina could only get an idea that maybe Keiko hit Yusuke or something. Despite Keiko being a sweet girl, she knew the kind of temper she had when it came to him. Yusuke had gone down the stairs with a bright red handprint adorning his cheek. Yep. She clearly hit him. However, Erina grew annoyed with Keiko's friends who were hiding behind the wall when he was climbing down the stairs.

"Oh, would you two just quit it already! You're not any better than the rest of the student body." She scolded, making Natsuko and her blonde haired companion jump. They were already startled from Yusuke's appearance, but Erina's scolding made them even more nervous. Keiko heard the small commotion, climbing down the stairs herself, her arms crossed, evidently still annoyed by Yusuke's behavior – whatever it was he had done to her this time.

"Oh. Erina, what seems to be the problem here?" She greeted.

"These two idiots were cowering in fear. I find it pathetic that you let them hang around you." Erina's brown eyes rolled when Natsuko turned to her, mentioning the various rumors that were spread about Yusuke, most of them absolutely ridiculous and laughable.

Yep. Just gonna walk away and go help the bookkeeper with her stuff. Erina walked off, tuning out Natsuko's stupidity, leaving Keiko behind to attempt to debunk the rumors with her friends. When Erina got to the bookkeeper's office, she was greeted by an older woman named Ms. Sakurada. There were piles upon piles of paper stacked up, mostly consisting of the financial transactions that the school had made in regards to extracurricular activities or tax related things. Even though she was in her early thirties, it seemed the financial state of the school kept Ms. Sakurada quite busy that her office was always neglected and left in a complete mess. Bending down to pick up one of the papers that had fallen, Erina handed it to her.

"Oh good. You're here. Sorry about the mess."

"It's fine, Ms. Sakurada. What can I do for you?"

"Well… why don't you help me balance the school's total balance? You're the student council's treasurer, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I don't think that's within my duties as-"

"What?! I even left five thousand yen in the office by accident and you didn't even take it. Of course, I'd trust you with the book. Besides, you're the student council's treasurer. This is a part of your duties in case you've forgotten, Fukui-san." Ms. Sakurada's blue eyes narrowed at Erina, making the teen sweat drop. It seemed from her slamming the book on the desk, the older blonde woman wasn't going to take no for an answer from Erina. "Besides, I need to take a break for lunch. Make sure you lock the office once you're done."

"Right." The keys were handed to Erina. Taking a seat at the desk, she was balancing the checkbook, making sure the numbers matched the same amount of the yen that was hidden away in a safety box. After writing down the exact amount she counted, which took quite a while, Erina finished, neatly placing the checkbook back inside the drawer where it was left in and locked the office. It just meant that she would have to track her down before school ended to give her back the keys.

Everything was perfectly normal, alright. Until the announcement of Yusuke's death circulated within the student body. Things changed almost immediately in light of it. Most of the student body was quite glad that he was gone, and even though Erina had been quite indifferent to them before, the mere idea sickened her. Even though she didn't know him well enough, it was quite dishonorable to talk down about a dead person. The only reason she bothered caring even a little was simply because of Keiko.

After all, she was one of the ones who took the news the hardest.

A funeral was also announced, but the student body's own attitude towards his death was enough of a reason for Erina to skip the whole thing if they were attending. However, when she passed by the apartment where his mother lived, knowing this information because of Keiko, there were certain thoughts that maybe she should pay her respects.

But you don't even know him at all. Her logic kicked in.

Right. That was true.

The days after were normal, but it simply wasn't the same at all. It was really weird not hearing that damn intercom blasting during random intervals when the principal was looking for Yusuke or the many fights that happened on school property. After all, the delinquents didn't just attack the rival school; they picked fights with Yusuke as well, wanting to take on the main "bad guy" of the campus. With his departure, well, there wasn't too much of that going on. Heck, she even noticed that one guy in the bright blue jumpsuit wasn't himself either, used to him mentioning stuff about how he was going to beat Urameshi up or bragging about something else.

Now, he was just quiet. That was it.

Erina went back to her treasurer duties, attending the student council meetings that took place during lunch instead of after school. When she wasn't attending them, she was busy balancing the checkbook or training for a tennis game.

However, it was on this particular day when she passed by a classroom, overhearing what she thought was that one guy's voice. She couldn't help but eavesdrop. All she could understand was something about not fighting for a week or else something would happen, but the voices were a bit muffled. Erina pretended she hadn't heard anything when the door opened, seeing the same reddish-orange haired guy and his friends walk out to the front of the school.

It was when he finished talking with them that she couldn't help but approach his three friends.

"Hey, so what happened in there? I was passing by and couldn't help but kind of hear a bit of the conversation."

"Ah. Mr. Akashi made Kuwabara promise that he wouldn't fight for a week or else Okubo over here would lose his job." The light brown, almost blonde, haired one of the trio explained, motioning to his much heavier companion. Huh. Well, now she had a name to that particular face. The name almost rang a bell.

"Say… isn't he the one constantly in fights with Urameshi?"

"Yep. They're rivals, pretty much."

"Right. Makes a lot of sense since I have the same class as Kuwabara. He always kept blabbing a lot about him." Erina whistled, now remembering him. He was similar to Yusuke in the sense that they both loved fighting. The fact Kuwabara was willing to quit for a week was quite a promise he was willing to make. "That sure sucks."

"Tell me about it." The blonde one shook his head.

"We should get going before some punks from the Kazanegafuchi decide to jump us." Okubo commented, his friends nodding. The trio walked down the same path as Kuwabara, heading home, leaving Erina alone. She went down her usual path home.

The next morning, Erina was in for quite a rude awakening. Quite literally. She had been going down the usual path, but this time Kuwabara was walking in the opposite direction, reading a book. Erina turned back, wondering if she was seeing things.

"Wow. I never thought I'd see the day that he'd be carrying a book." She commented to herself. It was almost like seeing a person with three heads; not that she found Kuwabara stupid, but he wasn't exactly the academic type from what she remembered correctly in class. Erina continued walking down her usual route until a random guy pushed her out of the way. Everything else that happened was a blur. Losing her balance, the back of her head slammed against the hard pavement of the cement wall with a loud thud, knocking her out.

All she remembered was just complete darkness as she lost consciousness.

When her brown eyes opened up, though, she could feel more than a couple of pairs of eyes staring at her. Glancing around, Erina noticed that her classmates around her were gaping at her. Alright. When did she actually stand up?

"What the hell are you guys gawking at-" Erina's brown eyes shifted downwards, noticing that there were three guys completely knocked out cold on the floor. Her eyes blinked quickly, wondering if it was a fucked up dream or something.

"Wow. Who the hell knew the school's treasurer could land a punch like that?" A guy commented. This made her actually dumbfounded for once. She didn't remember doing anything, whatever the hell this was.

"WHOSE FUCKED UP IDEA OF A PRANK IS THIS?!" Erina yelled, making her classmates disperse. They didn't exactly want to mess with her with the kind of beat down they witnessed that she had put on the guys. What she didn't realize was her comment greatly amused a certain deceased spirit by the name of Yusuke Urameshi.

It seemed that the news of whatever she had done suddenly spread across the school by the time Erina got there. Everyone was just clearing a pathway whenever she made her way down a hall for class or went to find a place to eat her lunch quietly. It was when she was alone with Keiko that she was suddenly asked.

"So why did you beat up those guys earlier today?"

"Excuse me?"

"The word's getting around that some of the students caught you beating up some punks. As class representative, I must know if you did this. After all, I can't have the student body having a bad reputation if you really did do it." Keiko crossed her arms. When it came to her class president duties, the brown haired girl made sure that things were handled accordingly despite her nice demeanor.

"Honestly, the school's just being weird." Erina forced a laugh. "I mean when have I ever been into a fight, Keiko? Remember. We're talking about the same people who spread rumors about Yusuke being the leader of some Yakuza, remember?"

This made Keiko scrunch her face in contemplation. "Well, you do have a point. The idea of you beating up someone sounds ridiculous. However…" She narrowed her eyes at Erina, making the black haired teen almost want to cower. Now she had an idea of why the hell Keiko could put up with Yusuke; her no nonsense attitude was quite scary when dealt with the right way. "If I do catch you doing something irresponsible like that myself, I will have the student council vote to veto you out of your position. Do you understand how serious this is, Erina?"

"Right."

If only Erina could've eaten her words right then and there with what would occur later in the week.

Erina went into Ms. Sakurada's office, checking the numbers like usual. However, when she opened up the safety box, her brown eyes widened to the size of saucers when she counted the money. "Oh god, no." She checked again. "No, no. This can't be right." Thrice, even a fourth time. Her hand brushed through her bangs. This couldn't happen right now when Keiko practically gave her a warning with what would happen.

More than fifty-six thousand yen was missing from the safety box; and the only one who had been taking care of it… was her and Ms. Sakurada.

Erina would be the one automatically suspected of stealing the money. Placing her hands over her head, she was quite frantic about the situation. Well, there went Erina's luck with trying to prove to Keiko that she didn't have a bad image. Her brown eyes glanced up at the ceiling.

Her last name was practically a joke at this point, considering the circumstances.

What a way to begin her downward spiral.

…

The day after her discovery of the missing money, though, she had noticed something odd about one of her teachers. A certain Mr. Iwamoto. He had a certain pattern regarding his office hours, but it seemed that he was making more trips to his classroom than what was needed, even during lunch. Normally, he wouldn't even bother going inside his classroom unless there was an actual class. She had her suspicions it was him, especially since he had talked with Ms. Sakurada, leading her to remove Erina's privileges of taking care of the safety box even though that was technically her duty as the school's treasurer.

At least she didn't exactly make a huge scene about the thing. Ms. Sakurada didn't want to do it herself, but she would be also accused in some way if it was discovered that she was covering up Erina's tracks. Her motives were understandable. Erina became even more suspicious, though, when Mr. Iwamoto taunted her after the students had left his classroom about her revoked privileges. She would have liked to actually punch the guy, but it would only look worse on her.

It was on the day that Yusuke came back when things got really weird; and considering this was coming from the girl who apparently walked in her sleep and beat the crap out of some punks was saying something. Erina knew this because she had actually witnessed Keiko accompanying Yusuke back to class. In a funny way, she was glad that now Keiko wouldn't be sad all the time. However, it was when someone had suddenly screamed, "He's a ghost! Run!" that broke her out of her train of thought.

"Maybe he was in a coma. Besides, ever heard of a dead ringer, you dumb shit?" She yelled, quite annoyed. The back of her head was lightly tapped by a book bag, making Erina turn around to come face to face with Principal Takenaka's stern expression.

"That's quite a mouth you have on you, Ms. Fukui. I would hope that's not how you normally talk." She felt her face heat up at the comment. How embarrassing.

"Alright. C'mon, potty mouth. Let's get going." Yusuke's nickname for her made Erina glare daggers at him. Even though it was his first day back, she had to admit he was a bit of a smart ass now that he actually acknowledged her existence, snickering. Keiko simply mouthed for her to lay off him, making sure Yusuke didn't see. Grumbling, Erina followed behind Kuwabara and his friends into the school.

Right. Whatever you say, Keiko.

She was quiet for some time, the gears in her head turning. Maybe getting hit with the book bag made her brain work better. Opening her bag briefly, she noticed her Spectra Pro Polaroid camera was still inside. How the hell was she going to make sure that Mr. Iwamoto was the culprit?

Ugh. Think, Erina, think! Who would be a common enemy of Mr. Iwamoto? Erina swore she had seen Mr. Iwamoto getting on Yusuke's case the other day; their little exchange definitely wasn't friendly. Ah ha! Maybe… well, damn. How the hell would he cooperate? She would have to figure something out.

It was during her lunch period when Erina climbed up the stairs to the rooftop. The loud creaking of the door made Yusuke start to mumble, "If you're here to scold me about skipping class again, Keiko, I swear-"

"I'm not Keiko." Erina's protest made Yusuke open one eye.

"Ah. So it's Ms. Potty Mouth."

"Shut up! I don't have a potty mouth. And the name's Erina Fukui."

"Right. Says the one who has quite a colorful vocabulary for a girl."

"Whatever. Look. I'm here because I need… help." Erina crossed her arms. At the mention of the word help, Yusuke propped himself up from his napping position.

"Oh. Well, if you need help with the human body, I'd be more than gladly to demonstra-"

"Not that kind of help, you idiot!"

"Wow. Couldn't even get my hopes up?"

"I'm not-" Erina shook her head, pretending the exchanged didn't happen. "Well, look. I need help into getting into Mr. Iwamoto's office. Some money is missing from the treasury and he's been acting very odd lately. I figured you could help me."

"Ah. So you're one of Keiko's friends. Why would I help you? I don't even care about the student council."

"Ew. Don't associate me with them. I'm not the one who's stupid enough to believe those crap rumors."

"What a surprise. Looks like we finally have some intelligent people in this school." Yusuke whistled, clearly amused.

Erina inwardly smirked. Her next statement would probably reel him in. There was a reason she was treasurer. After all, she did pretty well when it came to negotiations. "Anyways, if you do help. I can give you a reward."

"I'm listening."

"And no. It's not the kind you're thinking of."

"Damn it."

"Look. I'll buy you lunch for a week if we manage to catch Mr. Iwamoto on the act or any proof that he's been taking the money."

"Nah." Yusuke yawned, stretching. "You're going to have to strike up a better deal, Ms. Moneybags."

"Moneybags?! First, it was Ms. Potty Mouth and now moneybags?!" Erina shrieked. She clearly had enough with his little nicknames for her.

"What?! You work with money, don't you? I mean I honestly could've called you sugar tits."

"Why on earth would you-"

"Well…" Yusuke made a motion with his arms, making a bust. "You pretty much have a bit of a bigger bust than the other girls here."

"Who said for you to look at them?!" His comment made Erina lose her composure, covering her chest even though there was nothing he could see underneath. Now she really wondered how the hell Keiko could deal with Yusuke's remarks.

"Hey. Is that such a bad thing? You should be glad they're paid attention to by my eyes. Sheesh. Don't you girls appreciate comments like that?"

Erina huffed. "Back to our negotiation... I'll even throw in dinner."

"Not good enough. Make it worth my trouble."

This made her even more annoyed. "Okay. I'll pay for two weeks."

"Too short."

What the fuck is going to make him work with me, damn it?! Erina cursed in her head.

She quickly spoke, "Fine, fine. What about if I buy you lunch and dinner for a month. A whole. Freakin' Month."

Yusuke got up from his seat, a little bit too eagerly. "Now that is what I'm talking about." He pointed his index finger at her. "You've got yourself a deal, Ms. Moneybags. So where are we headed to?"

Oh god. He needs to stop with the nicknames. She inwardly groaned. Motioning for him to follow her, they went down the stairs.

"So… you're telling me that you need a distraction to get in?"

"That's correct."

"Which means I can kick anyone's ass and try to get him to notice?"

"Yusuke, just do whatever the fuck you do that makes the staff come over."

"Alright! Permission to kick ass granted. Now, lemme find someone…" He was about to cup his hands over his mouth and call Kuwabara when Erina and Yusuke heard his name being called abruptly from across the hall. Well, speak of the devil. It was Mr. Iwamoto himself walking towards them; and he didn't exactly look very pleased at all.

"I am seriously considering he would make such a nice serial killer." Erina whispered.

"You… wouldn't be too far off from that theory." His eyes shifted over to Erina's face then back to Mr. Iwamoto's figure. "Well, there's your distraction. You better make this worthwhile." He walked over to Mr. Iwamoto, placing his hands in his pocket. When Yusuke was taken forcefully than usual, acting out his part, Erina quickly moved, heading into Mr. Iwamoto's classroom that was located in this hall with her camera in hand.

If I were a stealing son-of-a-bitch, where would I hide my money…? Erina's brown eyes took in the room. It definitely wouldn't have been the desks or the various drawers in the room. Erina made her way over to Mr. Iwamoto's desk. Making sure that Mr. Iwamoto wasn't coming back, she went back over. Pulling out the side drawers led to nothing. However, when she opened the main drawer, her jaw dropped.

Inside was whatever was left of the fifty-six thousand yen and the checkbook. She was right.

Mr. Iwamoto was embezzling money all along.

Ending Notes: Alright. So that was chapter one. So hope everyone liked the effort I put into this. In case if anyone's wondering, I don't think there will be any pairings for now except for the canon ones. Also, here's a notice about the update rate. I'll be updating whenever my actual planning and story chapters are ahead by two chapters. Example: I posted chapter one with chapter two done and chapter three in the process of being done. I will post chapter two when chapter four is done and so on and so fourth. :3