Thieving Hearts
By TimeAndLife21
Chapter 2
It was one of those days that she hated being a human. Well, if you want to get technical about it, a Demon in Human skin. Most of her senses (sight, smell, hearing, and the like) and powers were dulled. Luckily, sensing spiritual and demonic energies never faded. Go figure that part of her old self was never sealed away.
This was one of those days... She had to wear a freaking pink school uniform that made her look like a freaking china doll. Why couldn't it be blue or green? The pink just made her pale skin and white hair stand out way too much. She muttered obscenities as she dragged herself to the dining area where Genkai made some food for her first day of school.
It was just rice and fish; it was a simple meal. Then again, Genkai would only make a full out meal when it suited her.
She took a blank look at Hikari's state of dress and smirked. Knowing that she would rather burn in hell then wear such a color. Red probably would have been a bit more tolerable.
"Well, don't you look like a damsel in distress." Genkai spoke bluntly.
Hikari growled and bared her teeth at her friend.
She wasn't wrong. Her white hair was pulled up in a high bun and tendrils of loosely curled hair framed her face. She wore little to no make-up (though she has a soft spot for dark shades of red on lips) and her pink-red cat eye glasses were perched precariously on her nose. Though, a rather pretty duo of silver bells the size of half the size of her index finger was tied into her bun, letting out a rather pretty tinkling sound.
She had gotten the bell from a monk a few years ago for a decent price. Seemed quite glad to be rid of it too. The Monk had claimed that it would keep demons and demon scrolls (She hasn't seen demon scrolls in the longest times) away from you. She wondered where the old practicing monks where? She had yet to see a priest or monk that didn't rely on money.
Back on track, She hated being a 'damsel'. Ever since she was a small cub, she had to rely on herself and no one else. But she would use such looks to her advantage. If someone underestimated her, it wouldn't end well for them.
"Yeah, well what do you expect. Hell, I miss my old form." She said as she lifted a dainty hand to examine it, as if she was trying to will the red markings to appear on her skin when the Spirit King locked her demon powers away.
It was maddening that she had been without them for so long. That part of herself was what kept her alive. Granted, she could only access very recently only 25 percent of her powers, courtesy of Koenma, with only a warning that if she tried to go over that, the red markings would appear and restrain her powers tightly. She had tested it once when she was in Hokkaido, and it wasn't a pretty sight and damn near painful. At least she knew where her pain tolerance lies.
"If you weren't in the human world, you wouldn't be in this situation." Genkai pointed out.
"Hey, I wanted to see the sights. But it wasn't a pleasure cruise." She frowned.
It was true. Most demons that had managed to escape to the human world to either hunt humans down to eat them, steal from them, or scare them. Sometimes all three. Hikari was of the second category. Especially when she pretended to be a Goddess and took advantage of a local village and stole about a year's worth of gold from the richest of nobles, then disappearing without a trace. Then on a whim, she gave many gold coins, gems, and jewels away to the poor mortals who have literally nothing to go on.
Most stories about demons and deities (Yes they do exist) vary depending on the stories. Many would be benevolent, others would be wrathful, and some will just kill you on the spot if you so much as look at them wrong.
She had once seen a wolf deity (Though this was when she was just barely became a cabin girl) her mentor, Captain Cervantes (Know as Captain Ages to the public) had brought her to the human world when she met a wolf deity by the name of Genjitsumi. She took an anthropomorphic form and would wear peasant clothing. Granted, Genjitsumi wasn't all that impressive of a deity but she took care of the crops and kept wild animals away from the area where she was worshiped. Hikari thought that her red and silver fur was rather beautiful and that her overall form was pretty. She once commented that she wouldn't mind trying for such a form, but the deity told her that she would have to have years and years of practice.
She was right. While most animal spirits or demons would sport tails and ears of their base counterparts, it was tricky to even sport more than just an animal form. For animal demons, you either sport the ears and tail (the simple forms that still show that you are an animal demon or spirit), or become the animal that you are. Those who are more in between are more grotesque and it was a wonder why they were killed by humans often.
The only difference between demons and deities is energy. There is Demonic energy and there is Holy energy. Very rarely would demons manage to wield both. Hikari was one of them. That was why she was able to enter into temples and other places of holy grounds because of this anomaly.
If that wasn't enough, she could access Holy Energy in her human form pretty well, depending on the circumstances. It took a lot of trial and error, but she could use it to her advantage. So if she had the chance to switch back and for if her demon and human form, that would be an advantage that she would take.
Captain Cervantes would comment that she must've had a deity or even a God ancestor of a sort. It wasn't common that Deities/Gods and Demons would have some sort of union, either mating or just having a one night stand, but it happens. She never really dwelt on that aspect of her life because she was kicked out of her clan at such a young age. Life on the Seas was better than dwelling on the past that she once had.
She was brought out of her mind when she felt a briefcase hit her in the back of her head.
"OW!" she turned around baring her teeth at the old woman that dare threw it at her.
"You'll be late for school. Now get going. It's bad enough that you are considered my 'granddaughter' thanks to the Spirit World's intervention, I have no reason to be acting like a grandmother." Genkai said sternly, but her eyes held humor.
"Alright, alright! I'm going! Geez, I'm centuries older than you by far...at least I look younger than I am." She gave a shit eating grin to her friend before she noticed a plate being thrown at her.
"Get the hell off of my property and get your tail to school, Mutt!" Genkai shouted with a glint of humor in her eyes.
Hikari took off before Genkai could even kick her ass off the temple grounds, as she ran down the step to run to the train station, she wondered how much human school had changed since she was last at one.
"You have GOT to be kidding me, Yoko. A Pirate? As an Accountant? Are you getting crazy or something?" Kuronue shouted as he followed his brother-in-arms and dear friend, Yoko Kurama near the Akushi port on the coast of Makai.
"The last accountant we had decided to run off with half of our gold and loot. What do you think?" Kurama spoke coldly, his eyes still alight with murderous fire that someone would dare steal from him.
Kuronue knew that the accountant they had hired to assist them in making sure that their loots and gold would be monitored, was a sketchy little lizard. But adding in the fact that the little bastard had done so under their noses really ticked them off.
So their only option was to find a pirate.
Kurama had a brief stint in his youth being a pirate on the seas. There are some pirates that would sell their own mother for a bag of gold, and others who were a bit more honorable. But those were far and few in between. He liked it for a while before turning back onto land and prefers the challenges of getting past traps and the like.
But he had heard rumors. One of his contacts who was from his younger days had told him in the past 300 years there was a female captain on the seas who would bring home more treasure and relics from their travels than anywhere else. And she was once the protege of the fabled Captain Ages.
He remembered the ancient demon when he was younger, surprised that the old one took up such a young protege. Captain Ages was ruthless, cutthroat, and had a rather great lust for treasure, relics, and the open seas. But he choose people to become his Red Moon crew wisely.
"I think you have gone nuts, but hey, I'm surprised that we have come to this." Kuronue spoke up.
The two thieves walked through the coastal town that was filled to the brim with low cut thieves, beggars, tavern wrenches, and of course travelers and pirates. A perfect place for thieving, contacts, and the Black Market.
The two of them came to a two headed demon and a ramshackle desk, one side was a puke green and was seen writing in a log, and the other side a sickly yellow, who was taking gold coins for those who wanted a voyage on a travel ship or onto a pirate ship to test their skills.
"Next!" One of the heads spoke while the other head was writing something down.
Kurama and Kuronue walked up to the demon and Kurama threw a bag of gold by the hand that was writing. Both heads looked up and saw the Fox and the bat there.
"What'll be your pleasure? A voyage? A Hunt?" The two of them spoke.
"We are looking for the Captain of the Red Moon Pirates. Would you kindly guide us to the ship?" Kurama spoke with a smirk.
"Hmph. Very well. Let's hope that you actually come back alive. The previous passengers haven't returned. "One head spoke wickedly before turning an almost unnatural 180 degrees.
"Croft! Two passengers for the Red Moon!"
A Demon who looked human in every aspect save for the eyes which was a hellfire red color, wearing brown trousers, a dark blue ruffled shirt and black boots, came up to the two. The demons hair was a deep brown color pulled back in a low ponytail. He had a rather condenscending smirk on his face.
"Ulysses Croft at your service my lords. Member of the Red Moon Pirates. Please follow me." He spoke before turning around and going through the crowd.
Kurama and Kuronue followed shortly after.
"So tell me, friends, what brings you to the coast of Makai?" The demon spoke.
"We are merely wanting to meet with the captain. If she would permit us to." Kurama spoke.
"That can be arranged." Croft spoke with a smile.
The three demons approached a rather large ship. The wood of the ship was black, the stern and accents were a deep blood red. On the stern was a rough carving of an open mouthed fish with razor sharp teeth. The Sails were a murky grey and a flag flapped in the wind on the main mast, showing a picture of a Red circle.
The ship was swarming with crewmates that are scrambling to get things ready for launch.
"Luckily for you, you made it in time. We'll be setting sail here very soon." He spoke as they walked up the gangplank.
Just as Kurama and Kuronue set foot onto the ship, a booming voice called out.
"COME ON YOU BILGE RATS! GET THIS SHIP READY! THE CAPTAIN WILL HAVE YOUR HIDE NAILED TO THE HULL OF THIS SHIP IF IT'S NOT TO HER LIKING!" A giant ram demon was bellowing.
The ram demon had large protruding horns, and his face was scarred from most likely some fight on the seas. Like most of the crew, he wore trousers and a loose fitting shirt. But he didn't have to wear boots, as the lower half of his body was of a ram.
"First Mate Asura! How goes running the ship in captain's stead?" Croft spoke cheekily.
"What in the seven hells did you bring onto this ship, Croft!?" The ram demon snarled before he jumped off of where the helm was and landing harshly onto the deck.
Kurama was impressed by the ram demon's size. He was at least hitting 9 feet tall if you don't include the horns.
"We have travelers and they would also like to speak with the Captain." Croft smirked.
Asura huffed a stream of air through his nose before turning his eyes to the bat and fox demon.
"Hmph, you don't look like you are built for the seas." He rumbled as he came to eye level.
"It's been awhile since i have last been on a magnificent ship like this. I might be a bit rusty." Kurama chuckled.
"Well then, I hope you would follow the rules of this ship that the captain will be laying down for you. The last… 'guests'" Asura grinned menacingly before continuing, "didn't listen."
Kurama had a feeling that the First mate was an Enforcer.
"The captain's coming!" "She's here!" "Get in line!"
The frenzy of crewmates stood to attention forming two lines where the gangplank was. Croft and Asura stood at the end of the lines. Kurama considered himself impressed. Anyone who manages a tight crew like this has a little of his respect. He knew that Asura was first mate, Croft must be her second mate as well, by the way they were acting.
The first steps onto the gangplank the entire crew was silenced.
He wondered who the Captain was who took over for Captain Ages. Was this female old? Was she strict? Was she seductive? Was she a proficient fighter? He knew not these things but from the way the crew was silenced, she must hold a lot of power.
A figure was making its way off the gangplank. Kurama could see the black boots in which black trousers were tucked neatly into them. The shirt that the figure wore was a loose black ruffled shirt. It wore a deep blue and silver captain's coat and a black tri-horned hat with a long blood red feather in it. He could see that it had a long black furred tail wagging slowly behind it.
The crew was silent as the figure made it's way down the two lines that the crew made. A little more than halfway, the figure stopped and turned towards a young demoness. She looked like she barely entered adulthood, but still have a look of a bit of fear on her face as the figure walked up to her. The young demoness had pointed ears and teal hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her eyes the same color. She wore a knee length brown skirt and black shoes with a white long sleeved top. She straightened up and looked at the figures shadowed face.
Kurama was curious as he ears could pick up some sort of conversation, but the roar of the sea was too loud for him to discern what the conversation entailed. But the young demoness heaved a sigh of relief and give the figure a smile. Then it happened.
The figure's hand, he noted that it was clearly female, raised up and grasped that hat and took it off with a flourish.
Long charcoal black hair came loose, and perking black wolf ears were perched atop her head. Showing a shade of light toasted skin and a heart shaped face, a sly smile and wide blue-violet eyes and looked down at the young demoness and spoke aloud for the crew to hear.
"Welcome aboard, Kitari, and welcome to the Red Moon Pirates." her voice carried for all to hear before she placed her hat onto the young girl's head before turning to continue walking down the lane. She walked with confidence and power.
"Holy Hell, she looks young." Kuronue said as his mouth dropped open.
Kurama gave a huff. But his friend was right. She couldn't be more that at least 500 perhaps 600 years old if she was even that age. Ages in the demon world is always a bit sketchy, but Yoko Kurama himself is at least 3000 years old. This wolf Demoness hasn't even seemed to be into adulthood that long.
"Are you sure she might be able to help us?" He asked.
"Possibly. I have my ways." Kurama smirked.
The captain stopped in front of her first and second mates and nodded at them.
"Asura, Croft, I see that the ship has been managed in your care." She spoke smiling.
"Of course Captain." Asura grunted.
"Good. Then we should be ready to set sail." she turned around and stood before her crew.
Kurama could see the authority that radiated from her. She looked as she was no nonsense and wouldn't take crap from anyone. Her stance radiated power and authority. Her back ramrod straight and her chin was up with a small sense of superiority. Her eyes sparked with a fire and heat that Kurama could see as pride and a thirst for adventure. He just might be able to persuade her.
She then gave a smile that showed some of her teeth, as if she was planning something that would make even the hardiest of demons shudder.
"Well then Lads…" She said before lifting her left foot and slammed it onto the deck, emitting from her, blue demonic energy that flowed outward from her. "We set sail to Paralix Isle!"
At that command, the crew burst into a flurry of action. The gangplank had been raised as well as the anchor. The sails were set and immediately the ship was setting out to sea.
Kuronue grabbed hold of Kurama's arm and hissed.
"I thought we were just going to asked her to come with us! Not us going with them!" He said with a look of promised pain.
"If we are going to get her to join us, we have to get to know her first." Kurama murmured back.
"So what have we here?" The voice of the aforementioned female spoke up.
Kurama and Kuronue turned to see the captain. She was just a bit shorter than they were, and her ears twitched forward in curiosity. Her tail was rigid though. Hinting that she probably wasn't too pleased to have some travelers on the ship.
Kurama took a step forward.
"Yoko Kurama is my name, Captain. And this is my friend, Kuronue. We wanted to see what voyages you can take us on." He smirked.
Her eyebrows rose in curiosity.
"Yoko Kurama, King of Thieves. I must've done something to garner your attention." She spoke tilting her head and crossing her arms.
"We were hoping to speak with you in private, if you will." He asked.
"Hmph. You'll have to wait a while. The first few days of this voyage will require for me to be at the helm. You may wait below deck or you can enjoy the sea from here." She spoke fleetingly as if Kurama and Kuronue were not worth her time.
"I also have rules for those who come onto my ship. They are fairly basic rules. One: If there is a problem, you come to me. Two: If the weather is ill, then you take shelter below deck, unless you want to be tossed over board then that is your prerogative. Three: You are responsible for yourselves on my ship. We are not a pleasure cruise or a trade ship. So whatever comes your way, handle it yourselves." She spoke with authority.
She went over a few other rules as well. Such as stealing from her crew is not permitted, if there was to be a fight amongst her crew and then, she will toss both them and the member of her crew in the middle of the deck to duke it out, and quite a few other rules that demanded obedience.
"Oh, one other thing…" She said before she turned fully away from them.
She had a rather sinister smile on her face.
"Only the strong survive on my ship." She smiled wickedly. "And I hope you have enough survival skills to live here for the next three months."
Emerald eyes opened up as sunlight shone through the window of a two story house.
"Shuichi, It's time to wake up." He heard the voice of his human mother.
Why was he waking up in the morning? Couldn't he just lay about for the day? Of course, Shiori Minamino noticed that even her son was a male teenager and was just a prone to bouts of laziness like any other teenage boy. But what Shiori Minamino didn't realize was that her son wasn't exactly a normal teenage boy.
Emerald eyes blinked rapidly for a moment before the 16 year old sat up in bed. His long red hair was a bit messed up from sleep. He gave a quiet yawn before he felt a hand on the top of his head. He looked up and saw his mother was looking down at him with a small smile.
Shiori Minamino was a rather pretty woman. Her black blue hair pulled up in a bun and kind brown eyes. She wore a modest skirt and a light pink short sleeved shirt that showed her scars on her forearm from an unfortunate accident with a stool and a few broken plates. He noticed that she had slight bags under her eyes, him concluding that she didn't sleep much during the night.
"Mother, are you alright?" He asked shaking away his sleep addled brain.
Shiori looked surprised before she smiled and placed a hand on her son's cheek.
"I'm fine, Shuichi. I'm just a little worried about your first day at school. I know that this is your second year, but I'm just worried about you." She smiled sadly.
He didn't like that fact that his mother was being like this.
"I'll be fine mother. I'll be studying a lot this year." He replied back.
Even for an Ex-Demon thief, he did pride himself on learning many new things.
Yes, Shuichi Minamino is a demon. But not in a way you think he is. You see, he is a demon soul in a human body. A result of him being foolish and reckless 16 years ago and nearly gotten himself killed. He was lucky that he found her. Though one could say that when the process of placing himself into an unborn infant's body, although successful, had a bit of a side effect.
There was a beginnings of a soul of the unborn child, weak and frail, but still a beginning of one. Though it didn't reach to maturity, once Yoko Kurama managed to take in the human soul for himself, he had inadvertently gained something that most, if not all, demons lack. Empathy, for one, Compassion was another. Humanity has softened him somewhat.
His plans were to leave once he had regained his powers, but after the human who he called mother protected him from shattering glass plates and cups, shielding him from danger, he was reminded from when he was a young fox kit being protected by his mother from a few demons who had wanted to eat him.
Granted the situation wasn't really life or death with Shiori, but she shielded him because he was her son, her only son. And she had unconditional love for him, very much similar to what his Vixen mother had. He had almost forgotten what motherly love was. Almost.
Such sentimentality would have been a weakness and distraction for him. But he was loyal to his family, close friends, and comrades. Though his littermates have separated from him very long ago and his mother passed from old age (the Vixen was 13,000 years old when she had Yoko and his siblings which was a feat in of itself, not very many demonesses at that age could even bear children) and well known through the Makai as the Kitsune No Tsuki for the pure white fur that she donned in her animal form, And Yoko Kurama was the only one of his littermates to have gained such a trait from her. Not very many would make the connection between him and his mother.
However, his human mother, Shiori, was far from the fierce and wild demoness that Risa, his demon mother, was. But Shiori was strong in a quiet way. He had seen her in her weakest moments when he was a child, being so independent from her and only relying on her for nourishment and changing his diapers, being a quiet child. But from these weakest moments she was stronger coming out of them. Humans were funny like that he surmised.
But right now, his mother had a look on her face that signified that something was bothering her. Her eyes took on a glazed look and she scrunched her nose just a little, as if she was concentrating too hard.
"Mother? Is something wrong?" He asked concerned.
Shiori looked up and smiled sadly.
"Oh, I'm just worried about you. You don't seem to have many friends Shuichi. You talk about school, but you never bring anyone here other than for certain projects. Do you have any friends?" She asked him.
His mind immediately thought to Hiei, the short fire demon who had become his somewhat forced partner in crime (though to be fair, when Hiei found him, he was a bit rusty in his skill), then he thought back to previous memories before his human life. He vaguely remembered them. Though to be fair, being human has it's drawback. Forgetting certain memories has a tendency to make him angry that he forgot so much.
"I thought so." His mother brought him out of his mind.
He looked at her sheepishly.
"I'm sorry mother, I don't really don't see the need to have friends, really." He spoke honestly.
Well Human friends at least.
His mother gave him a frown. He recognized that frown and felt a slight pit in his stomach. He hated disappointing her. It made him feel like a bad son. If his demon mother Risa were here, she would tsk at him for being antisocial, before dragging him to the nearest neighbors den to socialize with other kitsunes.
"Shuichi...Won't you try to make friends this year?' His mother asked him.
He figured that this would come up. It wasn't that his human peers weren't necessarily 'friend' material. He had always been keeping to himself, generally opening up to family and close friends (If he had any). Anyone on the outside would have to gain his respect and attention, and if he found them interesting, he would allow it.
"I'll do my best." he said with an uncertain smile.
"I'm not forcing you to make friends, Shuichi. But I don't want you to be alone. You never did have that many friends when you were young too." Shiori spoke in a whimsical tone.
He was briefly reminded of one friend he once had, but dismissed it. He had to erase her memory due to a confrontation with a demon. Somethings are just too traumatizing for children at that age.
"Now get up. It's time for you to get ready for school." She said running her hand through his hair affectionately, before getting up and leaving the room.
He felt like today was going to be a long day.
Walking down the street to his school, he had quite the time thinking as he did so. As Shuichi Minamino, he was a doting and hard working son. Though he would never tell Shiori that he was once a demon thief that once went by the name Yoko Kurama.
Even back in the Makai, he never fully trusted even his comrades. There was only two that he had trusted. Though their faces were familiar to his mind's eyes, their names were far from him. Such is having a slight bit of amnesia. He was passing a couple of shop windows before stopping at one to take a look at his reflection. He was very much different from his demon form. The blood red hair that reached his back with two forelocks over the front of his shoulders, eyes that seemed to shine like stolen emeralds. His body frame was slender and toned. Of course, he had heard the rumors in his school that even though he was a bit feminine in his looks (even enhanced only slightly by the dark pink male uniform he wore), he was a handsome boy. He smirked lightly.
Even in this world, looks seem to be his positive point. Though he feigned innocence when his male peers would bring it up to him. Shiori would tell him that he must've gotten his red hair color from his Grandfather's side of the family. But he wouldn't put it past the fact that human genetics might be at play.
Continuing walking down the street to get to his school, he paused at a stop light and waited for the light to turn.
"Hey! Minamino-san!" He heard a voice.
He turned around and saw a couple of his classmates coming up to him.
"Well, if it isn't the prodigy of Meioh High. We would have thought you skipped a few years by now." One of the boys smirked at him.
"Well, sadly I decided to stick around." He joked lightly back.
He may not recognize the boys by name, but it was pleasant to have some sort polite banter.
The light turned and the boys walked across the street to head to the school area.
"I heard that we are getting a new student." One boy spoke up.
"Really? How would you know?" the other replied.
"My sister is on the student council. They always know if we get a new student or not. Turns out she's a transfer from Hokkaido." The first boy smirked.
"No way! Think she's hot? I hear that even though Hokkaido is cold up there, the girls are beautiful." The other replied.
Kurama had decided to tune out the conversation as they had reached the school. A multitude of other students had managed to go through the gate to the high school. He felt himself going on automatic as he entered the school. It was as if his routine had never stopped.
But his routine will be changed soon enough.
Hikari had to internally groan at the last name that the spirit would gave her.
Kiyomizu.
She wasn't sure if the irony was intentional or not, but in anycase, she shouldn't be too surprised that they pulled this name out. It was the same surname that she had used when she came to the human world after she had come here in the late 1800s. Back when deities were still being worshiped to a degree.
She had managed to find the school in one piece.
It wasn't a huge school to her, she had seen bigger learning facilities in other places. With her briefcase in hand, she crossed the school grounds with the other students. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that some people stared. Probably because of her white hair.
She scoffed a little. She really hoped she wouldn't run into any punks here. Perhaps she should have dyed her hair, but it's too late now. She walked up the stairs, went through the doors, and followed the general population to where the locker rooms would be.
She looked down and the piece of paper in her hands and saw the numbers 217. She found the locker room and entered. She could hear snippets and snatches of conversations of how one's summer went, certain family vacations, or when the next arcade game would be coming out. She tuned them out to try and find her locker. After scanning a couple of aisles, she found it. She looked at her paper and again and noticed that there was no combination on it.
"Joy." She thought sarcastically. "What sort of school forgets to give a new student a combination?"
She rolled her eyes and turned her head to lay her ear against the cold lock. It's been awhile since she had done this, and she didn't have her stethoscope with her to help. So she would just have to figure out the lock combination by trial and error.
She started to turn the dial, focusing only on the clicks and stops. She had managed to tune out the background noise and was able to hear only the lock.
Left turn. Click...Click...Click... 27.
Right turn. Click...Click...Click...Click...Click… 11.
Left turn. Click...Click...Click...Click...32.
CLICK!
"There we go." She smirked as she popped open the locker.
In the locker, there were the school shoes that students had to wear; she took off her loafers and switched them out. She made sure that they fit well enough and nodded in satisfaction. She grabbed her briefcase and looked at the paper that she had gotten from administration and noticed that her homeroom was 2-A. Miss Kawashiko's class. So it was up on the second floor.
She decided to take a bit of time as she was observing the hallways that was filled with teenagers as she was making her way to the homeroom. The chatter of summer fun when through one ear and out the other for her. Her time in Hokkaido wasn't really an exciting one, but it was something to do nethertheless. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be in a human school, but a job is a job, no matter what it is. She just hoped that she didn't get stuck with boring subjects.
She weaved through the crowd like water, never bumping into people, and always politely saying excuse me before scooting aside. She kept a close eye on the signs of certain doors that would show her class. She wasn't really paying attention before she turned a corner and absolutely biffed it when she walked into another student, and pretty much fell to the floor and laid there for a moment, feeling the dizziness of something happening that quickly.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." She heard a voice above her.
She slowly managed to get up onto her knees and sat up a bit, rubbing her temples to ward away the dizziness. Well at least, she didn't hurt herself.
"Are you okay?" The voice was closer to her.
She looked up only to look into eyes that she was reminded briefly of stolen emeralds that stared back into her eyes. She stared for a moment before shaking her head lightly, making the bells in her hair jingle a little, and opened them again.
"Miss?" The owner of the emerald eyes spoke up.
It was a moment before she realized that it was a boy talking to her. She felt her world come back into focus as she took in the boy's feature. He had a feminine quality about him, but you can tell that he was definitely male. His complexion was a bit tanned. Probably from being out in the sun, she supposed, and he had long hair redder than fresh blood spilled. For someone that is a teenager, he was rather handsome.
Finally she spoke up.
"Sorry, I got a little dizzy." She shook her head a bit. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
The boy gave a smile and reached out a hand.
"I think we both were not watching where we were going, but I'm glad you were not hurt." He spoke kindly.
She reached out and took his hand, she could feel some roughness to it, and he pulled her up to her feet. She was only just a few inches shorter than him.
"Well, I'm not usually that clumsy, but I'm fine. Just a bit disoriented. I guess being in a new school does that to you." She smirked.
She noticed a glint in his eyes and he chuckled.
"So you are the new transfer student…" He surmised.
"Yup, and I'm trying to find Miss Kawashiko's class. Unfortunately, I'm just a little lost." She chuckled nervously.
"Well that's a coincidence, That is my class as well." He said smiling slightly.
"Ah-ha! Someone who might show me the way." She thought excitedly.
She can give up her pride a bit for someone to help her.
"Think you can help me? I honestly don't want to lose my way around here." She asked embarrassed.
"I don't mind, it's this way." He turned to the side, before he started to walk, and she walked beside him.
Maybe being at this school won't be so bad after all.
As the day went one it turned out that the boy, Shuichi Minamino, and her have the same classes. Seemed like she lucked out knowing someone who had the same classes at her, she wouldn't have been able to get to them if she didn't know.
Of course, introducing herself was a bit of a pain. Some of the teachers looked at her with suspicion, seeing her white hair and believing that it was something gang related. Many of the male students looked on her in interest, the females sizing her up if she was a threat to them or not.
She didn't really care much for that. She didn't mind being a loner in school. And it wouldn't be the first time either.
She and Minamino didn't talk much for the first few classes. Not that she didn't mind, he did help her get to the classes that she and him shared. She did appreciate that. It wasn't until gym class that she seemed to gain an acquaintance with Minamino Suichi.
"Dodgeball?" She spoke to herself as she was in the girl's locker room getting changed. "Why dodgeball?"
She didn't notice a few girls looking her way as she took off her uniform being jealous of her figure, her mind only on the fact that they were playing such a mundane sport. She would rather have played volleyball or even Running track. Maybe she should get involved in a club as well.
"Might as well...I'm keeping an eye around this area and the surrounding area for any suspicious activities for any demons that might have slipped under Spirit world's radar. Not much has happened lately." She thought as she put on a sports bra and the sports uniform.
When she came out she made a beeline to Minamino, him being the only familiar person in the group, and sat next to him on the bleachers.
The gym teacher, who was tall and in a lot of ways, Manly and muscular was in front of the class. Hikari mostly tuned him out because he was explaining how they were going to focus on their physical health this year and blah, blah, blah. She gets sent on enough mission to get her blood pumping, it's not like dodgeball will be the same.
She was wrong.
She and Minamino were on the same team surprisingly and she wasn't really impressed with the sport. Minamino had to chuckle at her and warn her.
"You'll be surprised, Kiyomizu-San, some of the students enjoy throwing the balls fairly hard." He mentioned.
Oh and she noticed. Turned out both sides of the court, people were throwing balls left and right. She couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised by some of the force that the students have to throw them to get someone out of the game.
She had a few close calls, but she managed to get at least a couple people out of the game. She didn't want to overpower them. Overall it was a pretty fun game. At least until…
"Watch out!"
It was too late for her to dodge. The red ball that was thrown at her hit the side of her face and she went down hard. She landed onto the wooden floor, felt her glasses fly off somewhere and she was staring up at the ceiling in a daze.
She had to blink once before she saw a blurred figure with red hair come into view.
"Kiyomizu-san, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asked as he held up a few fingers.
"Six?" she asked confused.
"Minamino, Take her to the nurse." The Gym teacher spoke.
And that was how they bonded. Call it fate, destiny or the like, but the bonds of friendship were already starting to grow. And It started in that nurse's office.
"You had seemed distracted, Kiyomizu-san. What happened?" He asked as the nurse was examining her for a concussion.
"I was more or less focused on trying to dodge the next ball that I didn't see that one coming…" She frowned.
Minamino was kind enough to grab her glasses on their way out. Miraculously, the glasses survived.
"Well, I don't see anything wrong. But I want you to take it easy. I'll be letting your guardian know what happened." The nurse spoke kindly.
Oh, Genkai would never let her live it down. Being bested in a game of dodgeball by children no less.
"Ugh, Grandma would not like this…" She frowned.
"Your grandmother?" Minamino asked.
"Yeah, My grandmother." She had a feel of the words in her mouth as it was strange to call Genkai her grandmother. "She doesn't really worry about me much. But she doesn't mind me calling in every so often…"
She smiled sadly. She really didn't call that much as she was in Hokkaido for three years. Given that fact that there was a bit of demonic activity, she had to make sure that it was eradicated.
"Seems like you are close with her." He smiled at her.
"She's like my best friend...I did miss her a lot when I was in Hokkaido, she was ecstatic when I came back here to go to school here." She spoke to him.
She didn't know why she was talking a false made story to him, but it was to keep a pretense of having Genkai her grandmother, but she was still a dear friend to her still.
It wasn't until after school that Shuichi Minamino decided to walk her to the bus station so that she could go home.
"You live rather far from here." He mentioned.
"My grandmother is actually planning on having me have my own apartment closer to school." she shook her head making the bells in her hair jingle.
"Living on your own? That does sound a bit dangerous." He warned.
"Worried about me?" She raised a white eyebrow.
"Well, one would think that a young woman like you would be vulnerable to muggers." He looked at her with a calculated look.
She smiled back with a hint of malice in her eyes.
"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about me, I can handle myself against a mugger. I took fighting lessons, so I should be okay." she said as she bounced against the balls of her feet.
"You are a character, Kiyomizu-san." He chuckled.
"I know I am. So…" She paused as the bus rolled up to the stop. "See you tomorrow, Minamino-san?"
Minamino had a look in his eye that Hikari thought was calculating, but it was a fleeting moment before he chuckled.
"I will see you tomorrow, Kiyomizu-san." He nodded.
"See you then, Minamino-san." She spoke back before she hopped onto the bus and it closed its doors.
She had a feeling that this was going to be an interesting Friendship.
TAL21: Okay...its been a while, but I've been having a lot of inspiration for a few of my stories. This being One of them. Granted When Hikari was going to School, it is a bit rushed, but I just wanted it to be done and over with this chapter. There's going to be a time skip Because technically, this chapter is one year before The Yu Yu Hakusho Series started. So it will be one year later When Kurama turns 16 and Hikari 15. The Age differences will be explained because of Hikari's sealing of her demonic powers, but she has her holy powers to back her up too. This story will also have very much Okami references. Because I love that game very much. :) So, no shout outs due to little reviews, but I'm hoping that Alongside Black As The Blood In Our Names, this will also be a really good story. Also, If you Love YU YU Hakusho give Lucky Child by Star Charter a try. This gal definitely gave a self-insert a whole new flavor of the genre and I approve very much. So give her fic a read. You won't be disappointed and that story is the primary reason why I'm starting up this fic again. PLEASE LEAVE AWESOME AND DETAILED REVIEWS! I love hearing from you guys and reviews actually helps me get stuff done. I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
Question Time!: How did you get into the Yu Yu Hakusho fandom, and who is your favorite character of the bunch?
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