Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

I was going to wait until I had more chapters of this story written (currently, there's 4) before I decided to do the first posting, but at this point I figured I should just get this story rolling and get feedback. Happy New Year to everyone, and hopefully I'll get more stories updated soon. Enjoy!

In a small town, a girl rode her bike with no destination in particular. She had just graduated from high school the month before, and soon she would be leaving town and going off to a new school. In just that one day, she had rode to all of the places that held memories for her, both good and bad. The first place she had gone was the movie theater she frequented with her friends in middle school, but hadn't been to since all the drama between the group had started. She even went to the playground where she had met her best friend. Now, she was sitting on the river bank, a place where she'd go to be alone unless Yusuke decided to join her.

Her cellphone rang an obnoxious tone that one of her older sisters had set for herself. The girl scoffed as she answered. "What is it, Ruka?" she snapped.

"Botan, where the hell are you?" her sister, one year her senior, yelled. "You were supposed to be here with the food an hour ago."

"It's my going away party," Botan reminded the girl. "You can all wait. Shizuru told me to take my time, and that's what I'm doing."

"I bet it's because you don't want to go into the restaurant the family of the friend you screwed over owns."

Botan was used to the taunts. Ruka and Juri both tormented her for her past mistake. It hadn't even been her fault, but they would never let her forget it. "That's not it. I'll get there when I get there."

She hung up on her sister. Her words had irritated her to no end. Looking in the clear water, Botan could see her refection. The blue-haired girl looked so sad and stressed, and even the river couldn't hide that. Botan released a sigh before she grabbed her bike and set of for the Yukimura Diner, the place her ex-best friend's parents' owned.

"Ah, Botan, it's been a while." Mr. Yukimura greeted Botan warmly, but even she could tell his smile was forced. She had no doubt that the man held her responsible for the end of hers and his daughter's, Keiko, friendship. "I have your order all ready. Having a party?"

Botan smiled sheepishly as the man gathered her order. "Sort of. I'm leaving for school tonight, so my brother and sisters wanted to have a little get together."

"Oh, congratulations," Mr. Yukimura replied. "Where will you be heading?"

She had not been expecting him to ask her that, and her heart stopped when he did. There was no way she could tell him or it would cause many unnecessary problems. Just then, her phone rang again. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's my sister. I need to take this."

Mr. Yukimura just grinned in response as Botan put the money down and then answered her phone. She grabbed the food and rushed out of the establishment, leaving her change behind and dealing with Ruka's attitude. Thankfully, in a few hours, all this wouldn't even matter.

Botan returned to her family home and found all of her sisters lounging around. The music was blaring and not something Botan would have picked to play in front of the youngest child. "Can someone turn that down?" Used to being ignored, the girl went into the kitchen and found the oldest of her five siblings, Shizuru, smoking a cigarette while reading the paper.

Botan, age seventeen, was one of six children. Shizuru was the oldest at twenty-eight, and she was their legal guardian. She had taken over the role of their mother when Botan was seven years old, ten years prior. Their parents had been in a fatal car crash, but they had left their children the house and enough money to sustain themselves until Shizuru could find work. Thankfully, Shizuru had turned eighteen months before or the family would have been separated.

Next in the sequence was Botan's older brother, Kazuma. The redhead was only two years younger than Shizuru and became a father figure to at least Botan and Hinageshi, the youngest who was ten years old. He, Shizuru, and Hinageshi were the only siblings Botan could tolerate, though Shizuru had stopped getting involved whenever Ruka or Juri attacked her.

Ruka, well, she was a bitch, plain and simple. Her redheaded sibling made sure Botan knew her place in the family. Botan was the outcast with the obscure looks, and she was also not as pretty or sexy as Ruka. Her sister would rub her sex life in her face, and that always bothered Botan. The girl was only two years older than Botan, and she refused to go to college, mooching off Shizuru's and Kuwabara's earnings.

Juri was Ruka's little "yes" girl. Whatever Ruka said, Juri believed. She would also ridicule Botan every chance she got despite not knowing the details of anything being discussed. Juri was younger than Botan by three years. The girl would be fresh into high school in the next couple of weeks. Botan was sure she would turn into a little Ruka, and the thought disgusted her.

She was thankful she at least had a decent relationship with her ten-year-old sibling. Hinageshi was a newborn when their parents had passed. All she had known growing up was her siblings. She was oblivious to all the pain and ridicule of Botan's other sisters and never made Botan feel worse. Instead, Hinageshi stuck to her like glue.

"Botan!" Well, speaking of the little one.

"Hi, Hina," Botan greeted loudly, trying to overpower the music. She heard Shizuru scoff and looked to her. "What?"

"Do you have to be so loud?" her oldest sister asked.

Botan's face fell. "Me?" she retorted, flabbergasted. "I asked them to turn down their music! You can't hold me responsible for-"

"Ugh, quiet," Shizuru mumbled while grabbing her head. "Just get the food out. I'm gonna lie down. My heads been killing me. Just get them to shut that shit off."

Shizuru left Botan and Hinageshi alone in the kitchen, and the child seemed to notice Botan's sadness. The little girl never liked to see Botan sad, so she would normally do something silly to make her sister laugh. With that thought, she was about to try something, but Botan had already left the room to shut off the stereo. The house became silent, but Hinageshi could hear the irritated caws of her other sisters and grimaced. Quickly, she went to her room just in case the yelling started. She could not handle when her sisters yelled at each other.

Kazuma came home to find the place completely silent and sighed. There were food containers in the kitchen, untouched, which was rare for his sisters. He also found Botan sitting on one side of the living room with Juri and Ruka on the other, all looking insanely angry. "What happened now?" he asked.

"Nothing, Kazuma," Botan replied curtly. She then forced on a smile and looked to him. "How did it go?"

"My boss took it well," he remarked. "He was impressed that I was going to finish my graduate work. He gave me a rush on my last check. I'm giving half to you so you can get settled in your new apartment."

"Why does Botan get money?" Ruka snipped. "Are the rest of us chopped liver?"

Kazuma tried not to glare at Ruka, but he couldn't stand how ungrateful she could be. "Last week I used most of my paycheck to buy you the latest phone. Don't start. You know Shizuru and I treat you all fairly."

"Whatever," the nineteen-year-old muttered.

"Hey, where's the party at?"

Everyone's attention turned to the front door to see Botan's long-time friend, Yusuke, and surprisingly Keiko was with him. The brunette did not look happy. "Keiko," Kazuma greeted with a nod before he looked to his sister's friend. "Urameshi."

"Hey, come on, Kuwabara," Yusuke chuckled hesitantly while rubbing the back of his neck. "Aren't we on a first name basis by now?"

"No."

"Botan," Keiko forced a greeting before heading out of the room.

Botan could hear Juri and Ruka snickering, but they were immediately silenced when Kazuma's attention was on them. The decided to leave the room and head to the kitchen. They were ready to eat. "I'll leave you two alone," Kazuma offered. "Do you want to eat anything specific?"

"The chicken and noodles, please," Botan answered with a small grin. "Thank you."

Botan and Yusuke were left alone, and Yusuke finally let his amused and contented façade fall. "Sorry, Botan," he offered. "She wanted to go out tonight and I told her I was busy. If I lied…"

"No, it's okay," Botan assured him. "I'm just surprised she wanted to come, all things considered."

"Yeah, well…she doesn't trust us being alone together," Yusuke nearly growled. "I figured she'd get over it once we started dating, but she's just…I don't know."

Botan grinned at him. "Sometimes I wonder how she managed to ensnare you," she teased.

Yusuke smiled slightly and shook his head. "Beats me. Anyway, how was it picking food up at her parents?"

"Her dad asked me about college," Botan responded. "I had never been happier about Ruka calling to bitch at me in my entire lifetime. I didn't want to tell him."

"Yeah, it doesn't need to get back to Keiko that we're going to the same school," Yusuke commented. "It's cool that your brother's working on his doctorate. He took a year off, right?"

Botan nodded. It had always bothered her that Kazuma had had to drop out of his Ph.D. program in order to take care of the family. It was around the time Shizuru had been dating some playboy, Sakyo. When he broke up with her, the eldest of them all had suffered from severe depression. She kept calling in sick and nearly lost her job when Ruka finally called Kazuma to complain that there was never any money for new clothes because Shizuru was wasting the money they did have on cigarettes and alcohol. He had chosen to leave school and take care of the family until Shizuru got through the depression phase. He had kept the family together. "I don't care if Keiko knows he's going there, but she would go ballistic if she knew I was there, too."

"Don't worry about it," Yusuke responded. "I'm the one who has to deal with her jealous crap, not you, and I can handle it. Trust me."

Botan hated it when Yusuke told her to trust him. She did trust him, but every time he said those words nothing worked out. "I'm gonna head to the school."

"What, now?" Yusuke asked, surprised.

Botan nodded. "I'm not all that hungry and I just want to leave. Tell Kazuma I'll see him at the quad party tonight. I'm gonna go say goodbye to Hina and then get out of here. Ruka, Juri, and Keiko all in the same room doesn't really appeal to me."

Yusuke's expression became grim. He knew he couldn't talk his friend out of this, but he really hated that Botan didn't feel like she could be in the same room as Keiko. Their fallout was entirely his fault. He wished he could take it all back. He had tried to explain to Keiko numerous times, but she never wanted to hear it. Unfortunately, they all needed to live with his mistake. "See you later tonight, Botan. Drive safe."

That was all Botan needed to get on the move. She gathered her last few bags and said goodbye to Hina. She left without saying anything to anyone else. Yusuke could relay her message, and he would do it in private so that Keiko didn't know Botan was going to the same school. What Botan really needed was to get some distance and get away from her old life.

This new town would be an open page.

"That's the fifth page you've crumpled up."

"Shut up, Kurama."

The first speaker, Kurama, looked to his roommate and chuckled. "Hiei, you need to lighten up. You can't write a masterpiece overnight."

"I said, 'shut up,'" Hiei growled.

Hiei looked to his redheaded friend and scowled. He had been working on his biggest project for hours and still had gotten nowhere. Everything he seemed to write on paper was pure garbage. This was not what he was used to.

Hiei Jaganshi was a dark-haired, bad boy that had made a name for himself in the thespian world. At a young age he had been separated from his twin sister after his mother died from illness. A kid with a bad attitude, he could never get adopted, but he didn't let that deter him. Acting was the biggest deal in the city he lived, so he studied anything he could regarding dance, vocals, instrumentals, and theatrics. He had become famous by age fourteen.

At that time, he found his sister. He had been enrolled into a good private school that had a great acting program. His sister happened to be there. It had been strange to him, but Yukina had accepted him easily. That was around the time that he was adopted by their mother's friend who had been forced to give him up by her own mother. Hiei remembered that and held no ill will towards the woman. He was thankful she was willing to provide a roof over his head and some stability.

Now, he was of legal age and off to college. He and his sister decided to attend the same school. His sister was attending to be a writer. He, of course, was going for theater, and the school gave him the right to write a play, hold auditions, and perform it during the spring semester. He accepted the offer. However, writing a play and acting were two completely different things. If he accomplished this challenge, he would be able to graduate a semester early and give himself more exposure. That was appealing to him.

The words were not coming to him, though.

Kurama, his long-time friend, sighed. "Hiei, you can't force these things. You have a month to come up with a full script, but you'll never get inspiration by holding yourself away in this room. Come to the quad tonight. I'm sure you'll get plenty of inspiration there."

"Feh," Hiei scoffed. "There won't be anyone there besides drunken fools. Even you have to admit that."

"Not everyone in college drinks," his friend reminded him. "Me, for example, and yourself. Our two other roommates are scheduled to arrive soon. I bet they will be fine, too."

"You're too optimistic," Hiei bit out. He then thought about what Kurama was saying. His friend was usually right about these things. Maybe going to the party for a few hours to get inspiration wasn't a bad idea. "I'll go to the stupid party once our other two roommates get here. What do you know about them?"

Intel was Kurama's specialty, and he would always deliver. "One is around our age. Yusuke Urameshi, age eighteen from Sparrowfield. Kazuma Kuwabara is also from Sparrowfield, but he's a graduate student completing his doctoral work. He's a bit older."

Hiei nodded, thankful that they didn't sound too horrible. Of course, he'd have to meet them to form an impression. Sparrowfield, though, was a small, desolate town. He had never met people from there, but he heard plenty of stories about the girls at the schools throwing themselves at anything. The men were rumored to all be after females, as well. Hopefully, those rumors were just rumors.

"Now," Kurama said, "how about I make some tea before the others get here?"

Hiei looked down to the half-filled sheet of paper and scowled before crumpling it again. "Fine."

Their roommates hadn't been too terrible, though Hiei could tell right away that Kuwabara didn't really like Yusuke all that much. It was clear they knew each other. At first, they acted like simple rivals, but Kuwabara's attitude was colder than Yusuke's jocular countenance. Something did not add up between the two.

"This place is the shit!" Yusuke exclaimed excitedly as he took in the crowd. It truly was crowded, many students from all around campus mingling under the light of the paper lanterns and torches. "I can't wait for Botan to get here."

Hiei saw Kuwabara's expression sour, but did not say anything. "Speaking of, she left before us," he stated. "Did she tell you she got here?"

Yusuke paled when the redhead asked him that. "I thought she was going to call you."

Both boys seemed to grow very concerned as they both took out their phones, ready to call this Botan person. "Now, now, no need for that," a chipper vice cut through the masses. "I'm here."

"You didn't call," Kuwabara growled at his sister. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, Kazuma," Botan offered weakly. "I kind of fell asleep after I unloaded the car. Um, thanks for suggesting the apartments instead of the dorms, Kazuma. I feel a lot better being able to keep my stuff separate from my other roommate. She's really great, by the way."

Her brother sighed, but nodded. "Fine. You're off the hook."

"Now that we know she's safe," Yusuke stated before motioning to his other roommates, "Botan, this is Kurama and this is Hiei. They're mine and Kuwabara's roommates. They're first years, too."

Botan looked over to the smiling redhead and deadpanned, spiky-haired teen. "It's nice to meet you both."

Hiei eyed the woman warily. For some reason, her appearance bothered him, but then he realized she looked a lot like his sister and his mother. The site of her blue hair was probably bringing back memories he'd rather keep buried. He couldn't fault her for that. "I take it you're from Sparrowfield as well," he stated, attempting to make conversation. His sister did say she wanted him to try to be more open and friendly.

Botan's face fell. The easy answer was, "Yes, I'm from Sparrowfield." The more complex answer would be, "Sparrowfield? You mean hell? Yeah, there…"

"She is," Yusuke butted in, answering for her. Nice save, she thought.

"So…"

"So…"

"Why is this so awkward?" Yusuke grumbled. "It's supposed to be a party. We should all hit the dancefloor."

"Fine by me," Hiei remarked.

"You know I don't dance," Botan reminded her friend, glaring at him.

"Eh, try new things, would you?" the dark-haired teen said while pushing her towards the dancefloor. "I'll catch up."

Hiei rolled his eyes at the scene and pushed through the horde. He was about to find some random woman to dance with when he decided to look back towards Botan. The girl looked very timid, standing in the middle of the crowded dancefloor while trying not to get shoved aside. He decided to go for her. After all, she did kind of remind him of his sister. This was exactly the reason he suggested Yukina stay at her apartment that day. He didn't need her getting into trouble.

"Care to dance," he growled slightly.

Botan was so taken aback by the offer, but she figured if she went with Hiei, stranger or not, he'd pull her away from the people who were knocking into her and occasionally crushing her. "Sure."

From a distance, Kuwabara was watching his little sister dancing with his roommate. He had to watch as his sister's friend flirted with some women and scoffed in derision. "That kid," he grumbled. "He'll never change."

His eyes returned to the dancefloor and narrowed his eyes. He had only met his roommates the hour prior, but he did not get a good vibe from Hiei. Watching the guy dance with his sister was not very appealing, but he figured it wasn't as bad as Botan being left to the wolves.

Sighing, he went to go grab a drink from the bar. So far, Kuwabara really wasn't really liking this school.

A/N: So, I know the first chapter seemed kind of rushed, but I will be honest, there is definitely no fast romance in this story. I'm going to do my best to keep the characters in character despite the major differences from there anime counterparts. It will take a while to work on the following chapters, but I am hoping to update it again before the end of the month. Leave a review to tell me what you think. Thanks!