Perceptions of Life
Chapter 1
Prolouge
Disclaimer:
I DO NOT own Yuyu Hakusho.:( Sorry folks.
A/n:
Another Yuyu Hakusho fic. I hope that you really like it.
Time Setting:
After the Dark Tournament, but before the Sensui episodes.
Third Person POV:
"Stupid school. Stupid classes. Stupid projects," the resident bad boy of Seryashi Jr. High muttered has he stomped through the halls.
To look at Yusuke Urameshi is to see a punk. Perhaps it was his green jumpsuit when everyone else was wearing navy blue. Or perhaps it was his gelled black hair, bad attitude, and mischevious brown way, he was still a clearly marked juvenile delinqunet.
"Yusuke!" his long time best friend Keiko called.
The two had a very close relationship. Though most people would wonder why. Why would a beautiful honor student ever consent to even talking to a delinquent? The answer was very clear. She didn't see him how everyone else saw him. She didn't see a punk or a bad boy. What she really saw was the real person, past the act to the man that he truly was.
Now, normally, Yusuke would have stopped for Keiko, but today he was too angry. He just...needed to get out now before he punched a wall... or someone's face.
"Yusuke, are you okay?" He just waved his hand to indicate that he would be. Eventually.
The other students scattered as the angry teen marched through. They were all sure that Yusuke had finally gone crazy and was going to kill them. So, they threw themselves agains the blue lockers and into the classrooms. Any other day he may have found it funny, but today he was not in the mood.
Finally Yusuke made it out tinto the glaring sunlight. He didn't hesitate as he left his least favorite place in the world. He had managed to not notice the frightened students. Or Principal Takenaka watching from his office and wonder what the teachers had done to make the boy so mad. He did not envy the next person that Yusuke Uramehsi came into contact with while he was in this mood.
Yusuke now had a choice to make. He was standing at an intersection. He could turn left and go home or go spar with one of his friends. He thought for a moment and realized that home was the last place that he wanted to be. Last night, his mother had come home completley wasted. She had dragged herself through the door on the arm of some strange guy. Yusuke knew very well what was going on at home and wasn't in any hurry to return there.
Besides, he knew that he would end up slugging the guy. Especially if the asshole hurt his mom in any way.
He huffed and continued straight. He wasn't really paying attention to where his feet were going. They were moving of their own accord to a familiar place.
When Yusuke realized where he was going, he actually smiled a bit to himself and threw the door open. He walked in like he owned the place and went straight back into the room that was the farthest back. That door was closed too, so he swung it open so hard that it crashed against the wall.
"Geeze!" screamed the red-headed boy, jumping up from the bed.
"S'up Kuwabara," Yusuke grinned at the one person that could really cheer him up. Or at least blow off some of the steam.
Kazuma Kuwabara. He was Yusuke's best friend and second worst punk of Seryiaski Jr. High. He was taller than his friend by far and wore his red hair in the pompadour style. Just his face seemed threatening. Unless you were Yusuke. "Urameshi? Did you just bust into my house?" he demanded.
"Yep. And I'm just warning you. Today is not the day to piss me off."
"Don't start with me, Urameshi. You just broke into my house," the red-head yelled. Needless to say, he was angry. But goodness knows that he should be used to it by now. Not a day goes by when the smaller teen didn't invade his personal space.
"Yeah. So what?" Urameshi shrugged. He did it so much that it didn't even matter to him anymore. It was just common now.
Kuwabara felt the vien in his forehead jump. "You don't respect anybody's property, do you?"
Urameshi pretended to think about it for a second. "Nope. Not even a little bit," he grinned, absolutely meaning what he was saying. As always.
"You little punk," Kuwabara growled. "I'm gonna kick your butt."
Yusuke chuckled. This was what he had been waiting for. "Yeah right. Give me a minute and I'll kick your ass."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." This was what Yusuke had been waiting for. Something to take his edge off. Now was the time. Unfortunately, he'd probably have to break a few of Kuwabara's teeth. Ah well, it was a small price to pay for the restoration of his usual calm.
"Why you little..." And Kuwabara lunged to punch the smirk off of the black-haired man's face. Yusuke had expected this. Kuwabara was pitifully predictable in all of his endeavors. Yusuke dodged the blow easily and landed a few of his own.
The two scuffled on with Urameshi having the upper hand. Yusuke finally got tired and threw Kuwabara down on the bed, holding him with his knees. And of course, at that moment, the door swung open. A tall woman with brown hair and a cigarette between two fingers stood in the doorway.
"Not surprised," Shizuru Kuwabara said, taking a long drag from her cigarette.
The two boys whipped around, both realizing what sort of position that they were in. "It isn't what you think," Yusuke spluttered.
"Yeah right. I'm going to leave now," she chuckled. "Hey bro, the bottle's in my dresser." And with that, she slammed the door behind her.
"Get offa me, Urameshi," Kuwabara shouted, blushing profusely.
"Oh sorry." And Yusuke hopped off of him. He settled on his back on the bed with his arms propped under his head. Kuwabara was so embarrassed that he moved over to sit in the chair.
"Bottle? I know that it's not what I think it is," Urameshi snickered. There was no way that he could be right, right? Surely the manly Kazuma wouldn't have that...
"Yeah. It was a Christmas gag gift from Shizuru. Ya' know cuz before Yukina I never dated anyone." Urameshi resisted the urge to remind him that he still hadn't dated anyone and probably wouldn't in the near future.
"So, your sister bought you a bottle of lu-," Urameshi began.
"Shhh, don't say it out loud." Kuwabara looked around like there were eyes and ears in the walls that were waiting to tell the world about this. "Yeah, she bought it for me."
"Ha, I bet the old pickle got a good shining that night." Somtimes Yusuke could be so... immature. This was one of those times. He had to get a good joke in.
Kuwabara got even redder if that was possible. "No way man," the red-head grumbled.
"Whatever," the smaller man shrugged. He was a teenage guy and knew what happened when he got bored. Kuwabara may be self-righteous, but no one was that.. selfless. Ha, who knew what went on on a Friday night at the Kuwabara home. Chances are you didn't want to.
The burlier guy decided to just let it pass while he could. "So, what were you so mad about, anyway?"
Yusuke had forgotten aobut how mad he had been, but it all came rushing back then. "Miss Takenaka, that new English teacher. Ya' know her?"
"We have that class together, Urameshi. Of course I know her."
"Well, while you were out with the sniffels today, she gave us a freakin' project to do."
"It wasn't the sniffles. It was a stomach bug. And I'm feelin' better thanks for asking," he whined. "What's the project anyway?"
"We have to write our perceptions of life and why we think that," Yusuke huffed like it was pure murder. And in a way it really was.
"Huh?" Kuwabara asked, scratching his head.
"You know that whole 'life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get' thing."
Kuwabara was seriously wondering if that was it. It seemed pretty easy compared to some of their other things. "Seems pretty easy to me," he shrugged. "How many words does it have to be?"
"No limit."
"It seems easy. How much is it worth?" The crux of the problem. How much would it affect him, and would he actually do it?
"Three-fourths of this year's grade. Meaning that with it, I'll definitely pass and without it I'll definitely fail."
"Yeah, but what about our other classes?" Kuwabara had a point. Their grades in all of their other classes were borderline. Somewhere between failing and normal idiocy.
"That's the beauty of it. Takenaka's making sure that it's weighted into all of our other classes."
"Whooo-hoo!" Kazuma cheered. He was very excited about it, and was pretty surprised to see that Urameshi wasn't either. Goodness knows that both of them needed it. "Why aren't you excited?"
"Why wouldn't I be happy? I'm jumpin' for freakin' joy. Can't you tell?" he cheered sarcastically.
"Seriously man. What's eating you?"
Yusuke sighed. He was not good at talkinga bout how he felt. But on one hand, that had almost cost him his best friend's life in the Tournament. He had learned his lesson. For the moment anyway. "Takenaka wanted to talk to me 'after class'. And she basically told me a bunch of crap. She won't accept anything but the best from me. She knows what I'm going through and went through the same thing. I'm going to pass or she's going to kick my ass. Basically, the same shit every teacher says until they get bored with me."
Yusuke was used to this kind of 'do-goody' behavior. Every new teacher started out like that. They thought that they were going to be his 'miracle cure'. To set him straight. That was until they found out the truth. That he wasn't going to change.
"C'mon man. We've all been there. And maybe she's the real thing," Kazuma suggested. He liked Takenaka and her no-nonsense attitude. There was something... legitimate about it. About her.
"Maybe, but I doubt it," Urameshi pouted. "I don't feel like talking about this shit anymore." And that's what Yusuke did. When he was upset and getting to the root of his emotions, he just checked out of the conversation. And everyone knew better than to try to get him out of his slump. It usually just ended in shouting and throwing someone against a wall.
"I'm comingin. You guys better not be doing anything," Shizuru called from outside fo the door. And then she just burst inside. "Good. I thought that I was going to have to bring in the cold water."
"Shut up Shizuru," Kuwabara blushed. One of Shizuru's brows raised. That's all that it took to shut him up.
"Hey. I just came in to see if you're staying for dinner, Yusuke."
"Of course. S'not like I'm going home to mom's cooking," Urameshi chuckled.. "I don't even know why you ask anymore."
"True," she puffed on her cigarette. "Well, I guess I'd better go cook or something." She waved half-heartedly and walked back into the kitchen thinking that she should probably make Kazuma do this. Ah well, she was in a pretty good mood today, but he was cooking for the next month.
"I have an idea," Kuwabara announced.
"I'm listening. For the moment." And the moment is all that he could spare.
"Let's start writin' the papers."
"Do I have to?" Yusuke groaned.
"Unless you want to stay in Jr. High forever." And that was what really scared him up. He didn't want to be held back and be left behind.
"Fine," the black-haired teen huffed. He sat up on the bed and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He started by writing ideas, and scribbled them all out. In some places, he wrote so hard that his pen sunk through the page.
Kuwabara did the same and found it somewhat easier. Ideas just... came to him. Meanwhile, Urameshi was ripping yet another sheet to shreds. This was even harder than he had thought that it would be.
"Dinner time," Shizuru called. The boys ate quickly. Yusuke, surprisingly ate slower than usual, not wanting to go back to writing. But dinner couldn't last forever. They had made a pact, so when dinner was over, they were going to work full-force. And that was a promise. For one of them at least.
A/n:
Whoo-hoo! My fourth Yu yu Hakusho fanfiction! I hope that it was good. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .
Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!
Yours truly, madly, and deeply,
Einstinette