The little boy was crying. He sat in the middle of the street, sobbing loudly and staring at the boy next to him. That boy was older, with dark black hair that had been styled with hair gel. The older boy was lying face down on the pavement, motionless. The little boy feared for the older boy's life, knowing that he was the only reason that the older boy was hit by the car in the first place.

The driver got out of his car and ran to the two boys. More grownups were running toward them from the sidewalk. The little boy heard them talking, arguing about what to do and whose fault it was. He could hear sirens approaching. An ambulance was coming.

Sure enough, a group of doctors ran up to the scene. The other grownups started to walk away while the doctors talked to the driver. A friendly looking doctor took the little boy's hand and led him to the ambulance, promising to fix him up at the hospital. The little boy watched the other doctors life up the older boy and place him on a table with wheels. The little boy wished desperately for the older boy to wake up as the doctors pulled a blanket over his eyes.

And so it was. The older boy's name is Yusuke Urameshi. He's fourteen years old, and he's supposed to be the hero of this story. But oddly enough, he's dead.

The day that Yusuke died was quite unusual. He actually went to school. Not that he particularly enjoyed it. The other students shunned him. He wasn't sure if they hated him or feared him. Probably both. Either way, he hated them. He hated the staring, the muttering...Even the teachers hated him.

So, screw it, he decided. He wasn't going to put up with it anymore. He sneaked off to the roof of the building just before lunch for a break from it all. He was enjoying his nap before he heard the door slam. "I thought I'd find you up here, Yusuke," a girl's voice said. Yusuke opened his eyes to see a short girl with brown pigtails standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, hey Keiko," he said nonchalantly. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Keiko repeated angrily. "What's up is that you disappeared two periods ago! You need to attend classes!"

"What do you care?" Yusuke asked dismissively. "They're not your grades."

"I'm the class rep!" Keiko said indignantly. "It's my job to care about these things." She turned around angrily and added, "Honestly, between you and Kuwabara, I don't know why I bother.

"That's a nice uniform you're wearing," Yusuke said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "All the girls have to wear this. Speaking of which, your uniform is wrong. Boys are supposed to wear blue jumpsuits in the high school. You're still wearing the green middle school jumpsuit."

"A very nice uniform," Yusuke repeated. Keiko felt Yusuke lift up her skirt to look at her underwear. She whirled around and slapped him. Yusuke stumbled backward, grinning. "Yusuke, you jerk!" she screamed as Yusuke walked back into the building. Keiko screamed in frustration and stamped her foot.

"Keiko? You okay?" a voice asked. Keiko looked around and saw a girl with long red hair standing at the door that led back into the building.

"Orihime," Keiko said, embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

Orihime held up a lunch box. "I wanted a quiet place to eat my lunch. Since Tatsuki's away at the national championships and all."

"Oh," Keiko said. "Yeah. Right. Yeah, I'm fine. I was just talking to Yusuke, that's all."

"Yes, I saw him earlier," Orihime said brightly. "Does this mean he's coming back to school now? I sure hope so, things are boring are here without him."

"I don't think his brand of entertainment is worth the trouble," Keiko said, laughing. "So, do you want to eat lunch with me since Tatsuki's away?"

"Sure!" Oihime practically jumped for joy. "You wanna try my pineapple-nutmeg-green tea curry?"

"Er, that's okay," Keiko said nervously. She fought the urge to make a face at the sound of Orihime's revolting concoction. "I don't want to spoil my own lunch. So how was your weekend?"

Yusuke's unusual day continued after he left Keiko behind on the roof. He wandered through the school, looking for a new quiet place to finish his lunch period. Like always, the other kids shrank back with fear, and the teachers eyed him suspiciously. Yusuke frowned. He didn't mind people being afraid of him – better that than be seen as a wimp – but the way the teachers looked at him pissed him off. They were just expecting him to cause trouble. Then they had the nerve to act surprised and disappointed whenever something happened. Those damn adults are all the same, Yusuke thought. Just abusing their power. I hate them all.

Yusuke's wanderings eventually took him to an old toolshed near the school's baseball field. He leaned against the wall of the shed and sighed, mentally debating whether coming back to school was worth the trouble. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard voices on the other side of the shed.

"I cant believe the little pansy actually gave you his wallet."

"Yeah, it was easy! He tried to fight back, but all I had to say was that I was Yusuke Urameshi's cousin and the little punk couldn't get away fast enough."

Yusuke grunted angrily and started walking around the shed as the first voice asked, "But what are you going to do if Urameshi actually finds out what you did?"

"Who cares?" the thief asked glibly. He fanned himself with the stolen wallet as Yusuke turned the corner. "He'd probably find it funny." The thief laughed but his friend had noticed Yusuke standing behind him and froze in terror, his mouth hanging open stupidly. "What are you staring at?" the thief asked. He turned around slowly and then suddenly screamed and fell backward upon seeing Yusuke.

"Well, if it isn't my dear cousin!" Yusuke said sarcastically. He took a step forward and watched the two boys scramble backward frantically. Idiots. "It's been way too long! Come over here and give me a hug!"

"I'm so sorry," the thief babbled. Yusuke had barely walked three steps before the boy's back was up against the wall. He held up the stolen wallet, hands trembling, and said, "Here, take it. It's all yours. Just please let me go."

Yusuke slammed his hand against the wall, just inches away from the boy's face. The thief flinched as Yusuke leaned in and asked, "Do you really think this problem can be solved with money? You insulted my reputation!" The boy whimpered and dropped the money as Yusuke wound up for a punch.

"What's going on here?" a gravelly voice asked angrily. Yusuke turned and saw that the other boy had run off and came back with Mr. Iwamoto. Iwamoto was Yusuke's least favorite teacher, and he suspected that the feeling was mutual. Iwamoto noticed the walled on the ground and said, "I see. Urameshi's trying to steal your wallet. Not surprising, considering who we're dealing with. Now, Urameshi, put the poor boy down before I call the police."

Yusuke considered telling Iwamoto the truth, but decided against it. He knew that Iwamoto – and all the other teachers, for that matter – thought he was a violent criminal, and there was nothing he could do to convince them otherwise. He swore under his breath and stormed off, leaving Iwamoto to "console his victims."

Fed up with being treated like dirt, Yusuke strode right to the school's main gate. He was just about to leave the school grounds when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his homeroom teacher Mr. Takenaka, a sad look on his face.

"Are you leaving us now, Yusuke?" he asked. "It had been so long since the last time you came to school. I was hoping you would stay for the whole day."

"No way," Yusuke said angrily. "Why would I stay where I'm not wanted?"

"Whoever said you weren't wanted here?" Takenaka asked.

"Who actually would want me around?" Yusuke shouted. "The other kids are all afraid of me, and all the teachers keep looking at me like I'm a punk."

"And your plan is to prove them right?" Takenaka asked pointedly. "Because if you walk out that gate, you'll only be hurting yourself. Everyone else will just feel vindicated."

"What do I care what they think?" Yusuke scoffed.

"If you don't care, then why are you running away from their judgment?" Takenaka retorted.

Yusuke didn't answer right away. He thought about Takenaka's question. Was he running away? He shook his head angrily and snapped, "Don't try to act like you care about me! You just see me as some charity case! You want to change me into some goody two-shoes so you can show off how great you are!"

Yusuke turned and started to walk away. He didn't get far before Takenaka grabbed his arm. "Please don't go, Yusuke!" he said desperately. "You're only making things worse for yourself!" Yusuke ignored him, shook his hand off, and ran off.

With nowhere else to really go after leaving school early, Yusuke made his way home. The small apartment he shared with his mother was a dump. Trash – food wrappers and alcohol bottles mostly – was strewn about the floor of each and every room. His mother had even left empty bottles of whiskey on the bathroom floor. All the clutter made the already small apartment feel even more cramped. His mother was sitting on the couch when he opened the door, watching TV and smoking a cigarette.

"Well, it it isn't the mother of the year, hard at work to provide for her child," Yusuke said dramatically. He went over to the kitchen, hoping to find something to drink other than booze.

"And if it isn't my pride and joy, back home from another hard day of hitting the books," his mother deadpanned. "Why aren't you at school?"

Yusuke sighed and grabbed a can of cola. "I didn't feel like sticking around. They keep annoying me."

"If you're not going to go to school, then you might as well start looking for a job," his mother said. She still hadn't turned away from the TV. "God knows I could use some help paying the bills."

"Yeah, you're working really hard," Yusuke shot back. "Changing the channel must be so difficult."

"Cut the crap," his mother growled. She sounded irritated. "You know I work nights. And you need to keep going to school. It's the only way you're ever going to have anything close to a good life later."

Yusuke shouted back, "More like the only way you can think of to get me out of your hair. You don't care about my future! You just want to be able to drink and smoke and party without having to worry about me!"

"Oh, you have it all figured out, do you?" his mother shouted back. Finally, she turned to look at him. "Yes, Yusuke, I hate you. I hate you so much I gave you a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and advice to ignore!"

"Don't act so high and mighty!" Yusuke yelled. "You want a prize for doing your job as a parent? You're only doing the bare minimum, Mom."

"Any time I try to do more for you, you shut me out," his mother retorted. "You never even let me try to help you."

"Who'd want help from an alcoholic dropout like you?" Yusuke asked "I don't need your train wreck becoming my life, too."

"No, you don't," his mother agreed. "You're too busy building up your own train wreck!" She was on her feet now, screaming at the top of her lungs. At least she's finally looking at me, Yusuke thought. Now she can watch me leave. His mother didn't try to stop him as he slammed the door behind him.

Yusuke threw the soda can harder than he should have. He realized that when the trash can he threw it at fell over from the force of his throw. He stormed down the street, grumbling to himself. "Stupid Keiko," he muttered. "Stupid teachers. Stupid Mom. Today's turning out to be a real pain in the ass." He ranted like this for a while as he wandered the streets of Karakura Town. He passed a group of workers preparing a set for the evening's upcoming shoot of Spirit Hunter. When he reached the street corner, he saw a group of boys jump out from behind a poster of the show's star Don Kannonji and blocked his path. Three of the boys were so ordinary that Yusuke had trouble remembering their names. The other two boys were much more memorable to him.

The first boy was notable for being a seven-foot tall giant of a boy. His skin was incredibly dark, too dark to be fully Japanese. His curly brown hair covered his eyes. He wore a gold medallion around his neck, and sported a tattoo of a winged heart on his shoulder. Yusuke knew his name: Yasutora Sado, though because of a teacher misreading the kanji of his name on the first day of school, he was more commonly known as Chad.

The other boy was also from Yusuke's school. He was still wearing the school uniform, even though classes had ended for the day. He had red hair styled to look like a pompadour that he had first seen in a magazine. His smile was probably meant to look like a cocky smile, but Yusuke thought it looked a goofy grin. "Urameshi," the red-haired boy said confidently. "It's been a while."

"Hey, Kuwabara, you're conscious," Yusuke said. "That's a surprise."

Kuwabara flushed and ran up to Yusuke, grabbing his shirt by the collar. "That was a cheap shot last time and you know it," he shouted, his confident demeanor broken. "This time I'm going to pound you into the dirt for sure!"

"Here we go again," one of the other boys said.

"How many times has Kuwabara lost to Urameshi before?" another asked.

"Ninety-five," Chad grunted. "I don't understand why he keeps going."

"Shut up, you guys!" Kuwabara shouted over his shoulder, sounding even more flustered than before. Idiot. "I got this one!"

Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara's wrists. "I beg to differ," he said softly. He spun around and pulled, flipping Kuwabara over his shoulder. Kuwabara jumped back to his feet and threw a punch at Yusuke, loudly bellowing a battle cry. Yusuke yawned and took a step backward, easily avoiding his obviously telegraphed punch. He watched Kuwabara stumble forward and waited for him to turn around and face him before punching him in the stomach. He followed up the punch with a kick to Kuwabara's face. Kuwabara did not get up off the ground this time.

"Thanks for the workout, Kuwabara!" Yusuke said cheerfully. "It really cheered me up." He turned to Chad and the others and waved. "See you around, guys!" he said before continuing his walk.

"Thanks makes ninety-six losses," Chad said stoically. "And zero wins."

Kuwabara struggled back up to his feet and clenched his fists. "I almost had him that time," he said determinedly. "Next time I'll win for sure."

"You're an inspiration, boss!" the other boys said. Chad shrugged and started walking away. Kuwabara noticed Chad leaving them behind and shouted, "Wait, Chad, don't go! We were supposed to go get the new Megallica CD together!"

After his little meet up with Kuwabara – he refused to call that pathetic showing a fight – Yusuke found himself walking in the direction of the local arcade. The workout helped him relieve a lot of stress, and he was now feeling significantly more cheerful. He actually caught himself whistling a happy tune as he approached a young boy playing soccer on the sidewalk. When the boy's ball rolled into the street, Yusuke rushed forward and pushed him to the ground. Picking up the ball off the asphalt, he walked over to the little boy and yelled, "Don't be stupid, kid! Do you wanna be hit by a car?"

The boy whimpered and flinched. Yusuke softened. This was just a little kid after all, he realized. Yelling wasn't going to anything but scar him for life. The little boy stared at him, looking like he was about to cry. Thinking quickly, Yusuke held the ball up in front of his face. When he lowered it again, he was making a funny face. Once he was sure that the boy had noticed, he lifted up the ball again and lowered it, revealing a different funny face. He repeated this several times, making a different face each time until the boy began to laugh.

Satisfied, Yusuke held out the ball for the little boy. "Thanks, mister," the boy said, taking the ball from Yusuke's hands.

"Just remember not to play so close to the street, okay?" Yusuke said. The boy promised and Yusuke started walking toward the arcade again. He started whistling to himself again. No matter what else is screwed up with my life, at least I can make kids happy, he thought.

And then he felt a strange sensation. It was difficult to describe. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He felt a peculiar tingle up and down his spine. Even though it was a cheerful spring day, he was cold and started to shiver. It became significantly harder to breathe. Something was wrong. Yusuke whirled around. At first, nothing seemed unusual. The little boy was still playing with his soccer ball, though this time he was several feet away from the edge of the sidewalk. Nothing to worry about. But then, Yusuke saw...something. He wasn't sure what it was exactly. It was impossible to really make out anything distinctive. It was more of a shimmer than anything else. A really, really big shimmer.

Weirdly, nobody else seemed to notice the shimmer that was hanging around the little boy. People just walked by, completely oblivious to the unknown entity. Yusuke watched nervously as it started to move. The shimmer paused as the soccer ball rolled towards it. Then, without warning, the shimmer moved and the soccer ball flew flew through the air, landing in the middle of the street. Realizing what was going to happen next, Yusuke cried out and sprinted after the little boy.

Yusuke never saw the car coming, though he did hear it. He was aware of the pain caused by the impact, but he didn't really feel it. All he felt was relief when he saw the boy sitting on the ground, crying. There was a bright blue flash behind the little boy, and the shimmer seemed to dissolve. At least he'll be alright, he thought. He didn't have time to wonder what the shimmer or the flash that dissolved it was, though. Everything just went black.

The next thing he knew, Yusuke was standing next to his own dead body. He looked around the strange room he found himself in. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all white. His dead body lay on a long table in the middle of the room. Another table – this one smaller and square-shaped – sat next to the boy, with medical equipment sitting atop it.

"I'm in a morgue," Yusuke said to himself. "And that's me on the table? Then that means...I must be dead."

"That's right," a voice said behind him. Yusuke turned around and saw a strange girl looking at him. She seemed to be sizing him up. She had raven-black hair, with a few bangs hanging in front of her eyes, and she was wearing a traditional-looking robe. As if that weren't weird enough, a freaking sword was hanging from her belt. "I'm impressed," she said. "Most Wholes don't put it together so quickly. Usually there's a period of denial."

"Yeah, I'm real impressive," Yusuke replied. "Name's Yusuke Urameshi. Who are you?"

The girl tilted her hand and looked puzzled. "Your untimely death doesn't trouble you?" she asked.

Yusuke shrugged. "Everyone's gotta go sometime," he said. "It sucks, yeah, but moping about isn't gonna change anything. So, you gonna tell me your name or not?"

The girl gave a small smile. "My name is Rukia Kuchiki," she said. "I'm a Soul Reaper."

Yusuke nodded. "Okay, great!" he said. "That sounds like an important job."

"It is," Rukia agreed. "I am responsible for helping Whole spirits such as yourself cross over to the afterlife in the Soul Society, as well as purifying evil spirits called Hollows that try to devour Wholes and humans with high spiritual pressure."

"Wow," Yusuke said sarcastically. "That's amazing. And totally believable. Along with flying pigs and the tooth fairy!"

Before Yusuke knew what happened next, he was on the ground and his cheek hurt. Rukia had actually punched him. He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction at all from someone as seemingly professional as her. "What's so hard to believe about this?" she asked nonchalantly. She didn't even acknowledge that she had just punched him. "You already know that you're dead, yet you're still here. How can anything be far-fetched after that?"

"Just because I'm a ghost or whatever doesn't mean that your Soul Reaper story is anything but nonsense!" Yusuke yelled. "There's no proof!"

"Proof!?" Rukia shouted back indignantly. "The shihakusho and the zanpakuto aren't proof enough?"

"For all I know, you're the ghost of someone who died on Halloween," Yusuke retorted. Rukia glared at him as he added, "Besides, there's no way someone as young as you is in charge of reaping souls or whatever."

"I may look to be your age," Rukia explained, "but in actuality I am over one thousand years old. Being a creature of pure spirit means that I age at a slower rate than mortal humans."

"You have an explanation for everything don't you?" Yusuke asked dismissively. He sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. I'll play along. Does that mean you're here to help me cross over and junk?"

"Well, that acually depends on what you want," Rukia answered. "You're in a rather unique situation right now."

"Oh, yeah?" Yusuke asked. "How so?"

"To put it bluntly, your death was not supposed to happen," Rukia explained. "Someone with your demeanor and history was never expected to selflessly give their life like you did."

"Oh give me a break!" Yusuke shouted. "You mean you expected me to just let that kid die?"

"Actually..." Rukia hesitated, but then she sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but if you had chosen not to intervene, the driver would have swerved and the boy would have survived the encounter without sustaining any injuries."

Yusuke gaped at her. "In other words, my death was completely pointless," he said. Rukia watched him curiously as he thought that over. "Just my stupid luck, I guess," he finally said, a small smile forming on his face. "At least the kid is okay."

"Yes, he was recently released from the hospital," Rukia said. "Everything worked out well on that front. But that still leaves the question of what to do with you."

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked.

"As I said earlier, you weren't supposed to die today," Rukia answered. "And now the bureaucrats in the Soul Society are in a bit of a predicament; namely, your place. It simply hasn't been prepared yet."

"Does that mean I'm stuck wandering around as a ghost?" Yusuke asked.

Rukia shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. The Soul Society wouldn't do something so irresponsible as to leave you on your own unsupervised. There'd be the risk of you turning into a Hollow. As it happens, you have a choice: you can cross over now and wait at a government facility to receive your soul's judgment. Or you can face an ordeal to earn a second chance at life."

"I'll pass," Yusuke said immediately. "I'm not interested in getting my life back."

Rukia blinked. "Really? Why not?" she asked, clearly taken aback by Yusuke's response.

"I wouldn't be doing anyone any favors by coming back," Yusuke explained. "All the kids at school are afraid of me, and the teachers all hate me. Keiko would be glad that she has one less thing to do as class rep. Kuwabara would be glad that there's no one else to challenge his status as the toughest kid in school. And my mom would be glad that she can party all she wants without having to stop to take care of me."

Rukia looked at him with a strange mix of pity and revulsion on her face. "Do you really think so little of yourself?" she asked.

"What I think of myself doesn't matter," Yusuke said. "That's simply the way it is."

"If that's what you really think," Rukia said, "then why not go to your wake tonight. Prove your theory for me. I'll help you cross over afterward."

The first thing that Yusuke noticed was the sheer number of people attending his wake. It looked like the whole school was there. Did so many people really come for my wake? he thought to himself. It was a touching, bittersweet moment that lasted for about five seconds. That's how long it took for him to notice the laughter. He floated down from the sky for a closer look. Everyone was smiling. "Those jerks are actually celebrating my death!" he said angrily to Rukia. "Probably just here for extra credit."

"If that's all you see, then you aren't paying attention, Yusuke," Rukia replied. "There is a distinctive sense of grief in the air. You should be able to feel it, too."

"I don't feel a damn thing," Yusuke said stubbornly. "Nothing except vindication. Look around, Soul Reaper. Nobody misses me here."

"Not here," Rukia agreed. "Inside." She pointed to the entrance to the funeral home itself. Yusuke shrugged and walked through the wall and into the building. Rukia followed him through the halls into the room where his body bing held.

His body was sitting on a low table inside a closed casket. A framed photograph of him sat atop the casket. His mother sat on a cushion next to the casket, quietly ignoring the condolences that were offered her by the other "mourners." These mourners approached the casket in small groups to pay their respects. Most of them only stayed for a few seconds. Their respects mostly amounted to a quick nod and a suppressed chuckle.

Then Keiko and Orihime approached the casket and actually knelt. Keiko quietly listened while Orihime talked to the casket. "Hi, Yusuke," she said. Her usual cheeriness felt forced. "Everyone keeps talking about how surprised they were that you saved a little boy's life. I'm not, though. That's always been the kind of person you were. I mean, remember how we first met? That guy on the train that was trying to touch me? You didn't even hesitate. That creep was on the floor before I even knew what was happening. And then, you didn't even want me to thank you. You said something like 'I didn't like his face, so I broke it.' You were trying to sound touch, but I know that you really wanted to protect me. I've always appreciated it.

"Come to think of it, pretty much every fight you've ever been in was you standing up for somebody. That's probably why you and Chad got along, even though he's one of Kuwabara's friends. You both love to defend the helpless. Not that you would ever admit it, of course.

"I've never told you this, but I've always looked forward to the days that you would actually come to school. It was kind of fun watching you beat up the jerks there. That's not a good thing to admit, is it? Am I a bad person?" She giggled, but her eyes still looked sad. "I'm really going to miss you, Yusuke," she said, her voice cracking. She turned and bowed respectfully to Yusuke's mother before hurrying out of the room.

Keiko stayed behind. She finally lifted her head to look at the casket. She had been crying. She opened her mouth to try to say something, but all that came out was a sob. She swallowed and tried again, but she burst into tears instead. Still sobbing and wailing, she ran out of the room.

Yusuke watched the next group of mourners in silence. He was stunned. Everyone else was acting so fake. They claimed to mourn him while they secretly smiled at his death. But Keiko and Orihime...they were the only real ones there. Keiko made a little bit of sense. They had grown up together. They used to be close once upon a time. It was still surprising to him, but Yusuke could understand why Keiko's grief was genuine. But Orihime? He couldn't even remember the last time he had spoken more than two words to her. They barely knew each other. Did that one event on the train – something Yusuke couldn't even remember happening, he found it so insignificant – have that great an effect on her? Did he really matter that much to her?

A clatter in the hallway outside brought Yusuke out of his reverie. Someone was shouting, "I don't care! Get out of my way!" Some indistinct voices tried to plead with him, but he shouted, "I have to see him now!"

Yusuke's jaw dropped. Kuwabara was striding into the room. His friends struggled to hold him back, but they simply did not have enough strength between the three of them. "So, you decided to chicken out of our fight, eh, Urameshi?" he bellowed as he dragged the other boys with him. "I'm not surprised! But I am pissed!" He was halfway to the casket now, a mad look in his eyes. People were starting to back away.

"Kuwabara, this is a wake," one of his friends said helplessly.

"Darn you!" Kuwabara shouted. "You're no man. A real man doesn't run away from a fight, even when he knows he can't win. You strut around acting like some big shot, and then you have the nerve to up and die before I beat you up?" He had reached the casket at that point. He fell to his knees and slammed his fists on the wood. "You're supposed to be here!" he shouted. "Otherwise, what am I supposed to do with myself now!?"

He continued to punch the casket, ranting all the while. His friends tried to pull him away, but he threw them off his back every time. Finally Chad strode into the room, grabbed Kuwabara by his shirt collar, and picked him up off the floor. "That's enough," he said gently. "You've dishonored both Yusuke and yourself. We're leaving." He carried Kuwabara out of the room. The other three boys apologized for the chaos and offerred their condolences before hurrying after them.

Now Yusuke was really confused. Keiko and Orihime, but Kuwabara too? Why would anyone miss someone who beat the crap out of him every day?

"The nerve of that hooligan," a voice behind Yusuke said. He turned and saw two of the teachers kneeling in front of the casket. The speaker, a rat-faced man named Mr. Akashi, continued, "Who do you suppose he was, anyway?"

"Just another delinquent," Iwamoto answered. "I'm pretty sure he's in your class, actually. Not that he shows up for school often enough to remember."

"Ah, yes, that's right," Akashi whispered back. "I remember now. The moron thought that Cancun was the capital of Canada. It seems like he was a friend of Urameshi's."

"Of course he was," Iwamoto hissed. "They're both thugs. Probably terrorized the city together in their free time."

Akashi snickered. "Between you and me, Mr. Iwamoto, I don't believe that Yusuke meant to protect that child from the car at all," he said. "I think he was trying to steal the poor boy's lunch money."

"You know what, Mr. Akashi?" Iwamoto chuckled. "I think you're right."

Yusuke had heard enough. He reached out to grab Iwamoto's shoulder, ready to punch the teacher in the jaw. However, he had forgotten that he was a ghost. His hand went right through Iwamoto's shoulder. Yusuke swore angrily and was about to stubbornly try again, when someone else's hand grabbed Iwamoto's shoulder. Yusuke and the two teachers turned around to see Mr. Takenaka glaring at them. "Which do you think is more disgraceful?" he asked. "That boy's heartbroken outburst or your distateful words?"

Takenaka didn't give them a chance to answer as he shoved Iwamoto aside. The other two teachers hurried out of the room, looking suitably embarrassed. Takenaka knelt in front of the casket and said, "I must admit, Yusuke, I was surprised when I heard the news. I didn't know you were capable of being so selfless. I'm incredibly proud that you were ready to step up and do the right thing, without any thought about yourself." He swallowed, and tears started running down his face. "Is it wrong for me to wish that you hadn't, though? Why didn't you stay at school? You could have made something of yourself!"

"Takenaka..." Yusuke muttered. He was unable to say anything else. He wasn't sure if ghosts could cry, but he had a feeling he would find out soon at this rate.

"Yusuke," his mother whispered. It was the first time she had moved, let alone spoke. Yusuke rushed past the mourners and knelt at his mother's side. "Yusuke," she said again. She sounded so defeated. So lifeless. "I'm sorry, Yusuke," she whispered. "Don't leave me."

"Mom," Yusuke said. "Mom, I'm right here." He tried to put his arms around her, but his hug had no impact. He just went right through her.

"Yusuke, I'm so sorry," she said. "I know I wasn't a good mother to you. I knew I couldn't give you the life you deserved. And I know that the last thing I said to you was awful. But I love you, Yusuke. I love you so much. And I promise I'll do better. Just please don't leave me all alone."

"I love you, too, Mom," Yusuke whispered. Now he had his answer. Ghosts couldn't cry. No matter how badly he wanted to. "Don't blame yourself," he said. He knew his mother couldn't hear him, but he felt like he had to say this now. "You were right. I was ruining my life. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

Yusuke stood up. "Are you still there, Soul Reaper?" he asked. Rukia stepped out of the shadows and stood before him. "Good," he said determinedly. "I've made my decision. I want to earn my life back."

Rukia nodded and said. "Come with me. There's someone in the Soul Society you need to meet."

"Right," Yusuke said, following her out of the funeral home. "I've had enough of this place."

Author's Note: So, this is my first crossover fic, and I'm really excited about this. It was really fun to write, and I can't wait to write more scenes with Kuwabara and Chad, I think they'd have a real bromance.

Anyway, this is a bit longer than chapters I write for my other two fanfics. That's because I plan to update this sporadically. Well, more sporadically than I update my other fics. So, I'm gonna make the chapters longer to compensate. Feel free to leave your reviews, and I hope you like the adventures of Yusuke Urameshi: Soul Reaper.