All of the Pieces

[ Episode One ]

Exit: Light. Enter: Night

Wherein Kuwabara is stressed out over much more than just graduating.


The kanji on the page blurred into nonsense yet again, and I pinched the bridge of my nose in exhaustion. With a sigh of defeat, I closed my textbook with more force than I had intended, the thud echoing loudly in my otherwise quiet bedroom. Eikichi uncurled from my lap and jumped down to the floor as I rolled my chair away from my desk, the loss of her warmth noticeable. When had it gotten so cold in here?

With a grunt, I pushed myself out of my seat, giving my legs a moment to remember how to stand. I flicked on my small space heater and trudged to bed. I refused to look at the clock, knowing full well that I wasn't going to get any decent amount of sleep before my alarm. Not seeing what time it was at least let me pretend that I was going to bed at a respectable hour.

My body fell into the softness of my futon, and I instinctively rolled myself into a blanket burrito. I felt the warmth of Eikichi return as she balled herself up behind the bend of my knees, as was our customary sleeping arrangement. My bleary eyes fell shut, and time flew away on the spring wind blowing outside my window.

What seemed like only a few seconds later, I jolted upright as electricity shot up my spine. My eyes opened and scanned my surroundings frantically. The familiarity of my bedroom was gone, replaced by an expanse of empty blackness. Only it was far from empty. There was energy in this nothingness, and I could feel distant eyes bearing down on me.

I stood, even though there was no floor. My bare feet felt nothing beneath me, no hard or soft, no hot or cold. The lack of any tactile response gave me a quick flashback to being inside of Itsuki's 'pet,' that ugly shadow creature that had swallowed me and my friends as Urameshi had battled with that nutbar Sensui. This was different, though. This didn't feel threatening, just... weird.

"You might as well show yourself, I know you're there," I called into the void, my calm voice not betraying the adrenaline coursing through me. This was not my first inter-dimensional rodeo, no sir.

No response came for what seemed like several minutes, and I blinked indignantly. If you didn't know that was possible; it is, because I did it. My hands curled into fists and I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"Damn it, I have a long day tomorrow, what the hell do you want?"

Nothing. Again.

"This isn't funny! Show yourself now or- SHIT!" I screeched, jumping back as a dark, hooded figure popped into existence mere inches from my face. My spirit sword flared to life in my hands, white-hot and painfully bright against the surrounding darkness.

A pale hand rose up from the cover of the cloak in a placating gesture. It looked almost disembodied against the shadowy backdrop. My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword as both of the figure's hands came up, grabbing the edge of the hood, and draping it back delicately. My breath hitched at the face revealed before me.

A woman, beautiful and glowing like the moon. She locked her silver eyes with mine and a soft, inviting smile curled her lips. Her black hair shimmered with the golden reflection of my sword, long curls pouring over her shoulders. She had the features of a young woman, possibly in her thirties, but her presence was vast and ancient, like a towering redwood.

My eyes stung as I felt tears building. The kind of tears that come when you are reminded of something dear that has been lost for a long time. The kind of tears that came to me as a child when I was visited by the spirit of my grandmother for the first time. "Who are you?" I whispered, almost too quietly to hear.

"My sweet Kazuma, I am you."

The voice washed over me, a vibration that I felt in my bones. All of the air escaped my lungs and gravity suddenly reversed, sending me falling upwards. My body filled with an intense heat that, by all rights, should have burned me alive. The surrounding darkness became a swirling hurricane of colors, bright and consuming. It was chaos, beauty, and pain all rolled into one. There was only one thing I could do.

I shut my eyes and I screamed.

My eyes opened to see Shizuru standing in my bedroom doorway holding two paper cups from the coffee house down the street. She tucked one in the crook of her arm and stepped over to my bedside table, clicking off the alarm that I had only just realized was buzzing obnoxiously. My senses slowly returned to me and I sat up, my head filled with the kind of fog you feel when you wake up from anesthesia. How was it daylight already?

"You usually look scary in the morning, but that's a special kind of fucked up you got going on today baby bro," my sister deadpanned and held out one of the cups for me.

Her morning gifts of coffee had become tradition since I had started at Mushiori University, as had her morning gifts of insults. I absently grabbed the offering, letting the warmth of the cup in my hand ground me back into reality. I was used to vivid dreams and nighttime visits from vagrant spirits, but that had been too visceral to brush off.

Shizuru sighed and took a swig from her cup, slapping her hand down on my shoulder. She brought her face level with mine, her serious expression boring a hole into my soul. "It wasn't a dream. I heard the voice in your room when I came up the stairs," she said simply and turned to leave.

I swallowed my heart back down from my throat, unsure if that input helped or hurt the situation... but I would have to figure all of that out later. My computer science professor's grating voice scratched at my mind, reminding me that 'if you're not early, you're late.' I'd have to get a move on to make it to my train in time.

"Oh," Shizuru paused at my doorway, her mouth skewed by a smirk, "by the way, Kazu, you scream like a girl."

My pillow whizzed towards her head like a tomahawk missile, but she sidestepped it with ease, disappearing into the hallway like the damned trickster god she was. From the corner of my room, Eikichi mewed, and I swear she looked disappointed in me.

I hadn't even started on my coffee and I was already done with the day.

Despite my rough start, the day went by pretty quick. On my way home, I decided to take a small detour into downtown. Spotting the familiar sign of Urameshi's ramen cart on the corner, my shoulders eased down from my ears. He may be an asshole, but the asshole makes a mean bowl of ramen. Food would help clear my head. Classes had gone on without incident, but the strange aura of the woman in my dream had taken over my thoughts for most of the day. I had been too distracted to take notes of any value, and I knew that would come back to bite me, but nothing except her eerie voice seemed to matter.

"I am you."

My legs froze mid-stride as I spotted a shadowy reflection in the window of the electronics store beside me. A fleeting image of black, curly hair, that faded into nothing as quickly as it came. My eyes fixed on the televisions on display, the familiar logo for Megallica flashing across the stacked screens. Scenes from a few of their music videos played, with scrolling text proclaiming their next concert date in Tokyo. Hell yeah! Despite the shenanigans of scary ghost lady, she had great timing. I busted out my small notebook and wrote down the date, the only useful note I had managed for the day.

"Oi!" Urameshi called out as I closed in on his rolling business. He turned up his nose at me and frowned, looking as serious as he could with that goofy sweatband of his. "Didn't think I'd see you until you graduated, Mr. I'm-Too-Good-To-Return-A-Phone-Call."

"You left six messages on my machine, drunk off your ass at the strip club with Chu."

His face broke into a toothy grin as he leaned into the cart, reminiscing. "Yeah, so?"

"Yukina was in the room," I replied coldly.

His eyes rolled so hard, I was sure they'd fall out. "Yeah, sooooo?"

"The two of you started to sing a duet about titties and I had to unplug the phone!" I bellowed, shouting 'titties' in public much louder than I really should have.

Urameshi belly laughed so hard that he snorted, which made him laugh even more. I just clenched my teeth, jaw ticking in annoyance. It had been hard enough in the past to convince Yukina that my nights out with Urameshi were innocent fun, but after that, it would prove impossible. She trusted me wholeheartedly, but she certainly didn't trust him not to drag me into something ridiculous somehow. Getting into ridiculous situations was the Mazoku's forte.

Before I had realized that his laughter had died off, Urameshi was pouring me a bowl of ramen. He placed a generous portion of sliced pork on top before handing it to me, which I accepted with a smile. He knew I couldn't stay mad if I had food. I was about to ask for chopsticks, but he already had them out, waving them at me in a circle. Asshole was a pro.

Small food carts like his were a dying breed here in Mushiori City. He had a corner on the market, with two other carts floating around town, manned by a friendly set of demon twin brothers he'd met in Makai. They were quite passable as human to the average Joe until you got a good look at their reptilian eyes, which they kept behind dark sunglasses.

"You know," I muttered between mouth-fulls, "You would make a killing if you opened up an actual restaurant."

"Ugh, you sound just like Keiko," Urameshi groaned.

"Great minds think alike."

"You know I hate being tied down to one spot," he huffed. I could tell he was talking about more than just business with that comment, but I let it slide. His wild streak had died down a lot after the first Makai Tournament, but a few years had passed since, and the demon heir was growing restless. He hid it well from Keiko, but he couldn't hide it from me. It was like watching a tiger pace in a cage, unnatural and depressing.

Noticing that Urameshi's dark eyes had narrowed in frustration, I decided to change the subject. I tossed my now empty paper bowl in the trash can behind me, pulled out my pocket notebook, and scribbled down a date. "Here," I said, tearing out the paper, "Megallica is coming back to Tokyo the week after I graduate. Make plans, I'll order your ticket."

He snatched the paper from my hand and grinned, looking very much like his mischievous teenaged counterpart from years ago. My internal 'oh shit' meter spiked. "I am SO getting in the mosh pit!"

"You'll kill some 40-year-old metal dad," I warned.

"Not if I get in there with you and ragdoll your ass," he taunted, sounding more and more like the old Sarayashiki punk with every word.

I could feel the heat rising in my gut, and my fists clenched. "As if you could, you Iron Chef lookin' little shit!"

The people in the office building beside us didn't even have to pay for tickets to see the best brawl in town.


[A/N] Okay, this is my first attempt at a fanfic in like, 8 years. I've been so embarrassed to start back up, but I've been egged on for a while now, so here we go! Please feel free to visit my Tumblr at deusvenenare -doot- tumblr -doot- com where I will be posting mood boards and updates for each chapter, various inspirations, song lists, and I will be answering your questions! This story will be formatted rather... strangely, with each chapter told from a different character's perspective. Please bear with me as I attempt this new (for me) adventure. Hope you enjoyed, loves. :)