Title: How To Play The Game
Chapter: Chapter 1 - The Cost of Life
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho nor any of its characters. I can't even claim the characters I've created as they tend to wrestle themselves away to be their own person.
Characters: The story focuses on two people's lives. Ayame (the black haired ferry girl) and Kuronue.
AN: While I hope everything flows smoothly and there are no mistakes, life is not always perfect that way. I check and recheck the chapters myself but I have no Beta, so if there are mistakes or confusion, please send some constructive crits and I'll do my best to adjust. xoxo
~Nameless Girl~
The stars still shimmered in the far off sky as a young child stepped onto the balcony. Moonlight illuminated her purple eyes, though it wasn't enough to lift the ebony of her cropped hair. Even standing on her tiptoes, the girl had to make a great effort to clamber on to the railing. Her bare feet scraped along the rough surface before dropping down on the other side. There the girl let her legs sway as she looked towards Reikai's horizon for the upcoming sun rise. She deeply enjoyed the peaceful view her family's modest house gave of the surrounding land. Being of little importance to King Yama, they lived on the edge of the town surrounding his palace. Her parents lamented this fact on a daily basis; always wishing to secure a place inside of the palace's outer walls. Of course, only the most important spirits serving King Yama were graced with that opportunity. The girl's father came from a long line of carpenters with skill that only generations of honing could provide. The girl's mother could best be described as a socialite, not having any skill the girl could deem useful enough otherwise. Even if either of them had the potential to serve King Yama, he had long since stopped recruiting workers. It was with the small girl that the parents' hopes and dreams for success laid. King Yama had announced the birth of his son, the prince Koenma, almost a century ago. The parents had quickly decided that it was well worth the loss of spirit energy and a portion of their souls that went into creating a child in Reikai if that child could secure a place working for Koenma. They even went so far as to not bother giving her a name, since those accepted into the royal workforce were renamed during their entrance ceremony. Further incentive, they called it. The girl called it a cruel and unusual punishment, but she forced acceptance of their view of her as an object, a path to greatness, rather than a daughter of their own essence, if it meant that they would look at her at all.
A content sigh escaped the young girl's lips as the first glimmer of the sun arrived. This sacred time where she didn't have to cook or clean the house; didn't have to study or train both her mind and spirit for the trials set out to applicants at the royal palace; didn't have to worry about what her parents would do if their nameless child failed the exams. Those thoughts always filled her head but the sunrise was her balm. Her sanctuary to strengthen herself for the day ahead. An escape, even for just a little while, to the harsh reality she lived in. The exam would be a turning point in her life and there was nothing she could do. As this specific exam could only ever be taken once, she would either pass it and ensure a job working for Koenma, or fail it and set off on her own. She would not be coming back to her parents' house in either situation.
"I will not miss it," she declared, if only to hear the conviction aloud. "I can see the sunrise from anywhere in the world, so why should I miss seeing it here?"
Deep down the girl knew the answer, even if she could not admit it to herself. For just shy of a century this had been her home. It was comfortable and familiar. She could sneak peeks at her father working so diligently on the carvings she yearned to help with. The girl had long since out passed her mother's skill in the kitchen but those days where her mother had struggled to teach the young girl what she knew were very precious memories. The time when she could think, "This is my family." She didn't want to leave this place yet. The girl ached to cry out that she wasn't ready. She was still three energy spurts away from becoming her ideal age and was very much a child, inside and out. But time was a treacherous beast and only moved steadily onward. The sun had finished rising and there were chores to be completed.
"Papa! Mama! It is time to wake up," she called as she flung herself back on the balcony and into the hallway beyond. Her feet padded softly toward the kitchen. She was still too short to reach much above the counter so she slid the heavy wooden stool across the tiled floors. Even with the care she took, there were still a few scraping sounds as she maneuvered the stool to the counter she needed to work on. She flinched and paused, expecting to hear a torrent of scolds. Grace this, elegance that, and flower everything else. A lady should be quietly unobtrusive. An ornament Koenma would be proud to have. A hard worker he would need. The young girl could recite it all verbatim. Her parents must not have heard any noise though for all the girl caught was the start of rushing water. With the coast clear she started preparing a breakfast of omelets and fresh fruit.
Breakfast was generally a quiet affair with Papa reading the newspaper and Mama going over her calendar for the day. As such, the girl was rather surprised when the silence was broken by her mother's silvery voice. "I need you to accompany me to the market after breakfast, child. There is so very much to buy for Friday's party." The confusion on the girl's face was clear as daylight since the mother followed with, "Your acceptance party. We know you shall not fail tomorrow's exam." She continued after a slight pause but her honeyed voice turned mocking. "You couldn't possibly forget that the exam is tomorrow, correct?"
"Oh yes, Mama. Of course, Mama. I just was not expecting a party." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. The music, the dancing, the laughter! Pretty dresses, delicious food, and of course time to talk with other children her age. While her mother didn't take her to all of the parties, she knew from the ones she had been to that she absolutely loved them. A thought suddenly pushed its way to the front of her mind and wiped the smile away. Training would start right after the exam results were posted. They were having a party, not her.
A rich, throaty laugh caught the girl's attention. Her father's excitement was contagious and almost brought a smile back to the girl's face. "Not expecting a party? How else could we end these years of training you, little one? We must celebrate, for you'll be the key to our acceptance on the other side of those walls. High class for the rest of eternity."
Encouragement was what the girl really wanted to take away from all of this but every word was woven tightly to something darker. There was no room for failure. No acceptance of defeat. Pass or else, was all she could hear. It was much easier to clear her mind with the mechanical motions of washing dishes, so that's what she did. Finishing that, she got ready to leave the house.
The market was only a couple blocks away and the girl would have been there in half the time if not for her mother's slow and delicate footsteps. The girl also displayed a 'ladylike walk' her mother could find no reproach for, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. Especially as two children ran passed, bringing up clouds of dirt with every step. She heard her mother release a deep sigh with a click of the tongue. The mother was about to comment when she stopped short. A few houses up there was a quickly forming crowd that just gained two little additions. This was odd since they were still well enough away from the market. As a shrill cry filled the air, Mother and daughter made their way over to the gathering at a much quicker pace, though the elder would surely deny it. Spying ladies familiar to her, the mother lost all attention for her daughter. This gave the girl a chance to wiggle up towards the front of the house to get a better view. It took time but she finally got through the crowd. Glancing to her right she saw a strange looking boy standing next to her. With surprise she noted that the ears peeking out from a mass of dusky held a slight point to them, and it looked as though something was stuffed down the back of his disheveled top. Catching her stare, the boy turned his head to stare back. He was pale, far paler than anyone she'd ever seen and his violet eyes were wide in a look that could be called nothing but petrified. The urge to comfort him bubbled up from somewhere deep in her soul.
She finally stammered out, "Are you alright?"
At first she didn't believe he even heard her. The minutes stretch by locked in each other's gaze before the boy swallowed. He open his mouth to speak but all he got out was a squeak. Swallowing again he managed to whisper, "Mom is in there."
More cries and a guttural scream startled the children as their attention whipped back to the source. The house doors were shut tight, but not enough to dim the painful wails. Wails seemingly made worse by the sheer fact that they were most likely coming from the young boy's mother. All too suddenly the noise was cut off. The crowd fell silent as well until a new cry, an altogether different cry, drifted out. While the previous cries were full of life and power, these were soft , almost empty cries. The lungs creating them were much smaller, and so very frail. It wasn't long before everything went back to silence, at least inside the house. Outside the crowd was whipped into a frenzy with voices overlapping and cutting through everyone else's. The girl felt a snag on her arm as she was pulled away from the crowd. Her mother stood over her with a disapproving glare.
"We have business to take care of and have wasted enough time on these demons." The last word was spat with such venom that the girl flinched.
"Demons? But," The girl paused in thought before continuing, " but demons aren't allowed in Reikai. At least not here in Reikai. Did they... did they escape?" The idea filled her with dread, for demons were notoriously cutthroat and would kill and eat any spirit they could get their claws on.
"Of course not, child." Her mother said with a shake of her head as they resumed their trek to the market. "The woman used to be a respectable spirit, until she was ensnared by a filthy demon. That little slut bore him one child already and it seems as though she managed to conceive another before the Elite Soldiers caught up to him. She could have saved her reputation by getting rid of the half-breed brat. They say she actually wanted the demon. Loved him even. How vulgar. Children are dangerous business regardless and a second child is almost unheard of! It is only fitting that the second hell spawn used up too much of her soul. No chance of crossing over. Wiped clean from all the worlds." The satisfaction in her mother's voice repulsed her.
Remembering the young boy standing next to her in the crowd she shuttered, though not from disgust. Him being a demon certainly explained a few points but he hadn't seemed scary at all. Only frightened. "What will happen to the first child?" The girl regretted her question the moment the words escaped.
"Oh I am sure they will do the only proper thing. Catch and kill him," the mother said with a laugh. The girl shuttered and it dawned on her that she would get no sleep that night.
"Great," the girl sighed. The mother, mistaking it as agreement to her own response, smiled even broader and vowed that, perhaps this child, where all of their hopes lay, might even deserve a treat, albeit a small one, once they got to the market.