Nanashi
Part I - All Roads Lead
By Keo Siph
Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.
Fruits Basket is owned by Natsuki Takaya, Hakusensha-TV TOKYO-NAS-Furuba Project, and FUNimation
Name meanings:
Yuki : snow
Kurama : a mountain in Japan
Hiei : a mountain in Japan
Suffixes:
-chan : someone younger or smaller; either lovingly or teasingly
-kun : equal; someone you know but are still rather curteous to
-san : very proper; Mr. or Ms.
-teme : I think this can be used on it's own… a harch curse (wash-out-mouth bad)
Two Days Earlier
"Shuuichi!" Kurama's head shot up, surprised, as his mother called from the other room. "Could you spare a moment, Shuuichi?" Kurama smiled slightly. Mother is always so polite… Where does she get the patience for it? He stood, walking into the small dining room, adjacent to the kitchen. His gaze fell downward, landing on Mrs. Minamino, who was sitting across from his stepfather and his son, Shuiichi. This was an odd arrangement. "They have invited me to move in with them! They have such a nice, medium-sized house, away from the traffic, Shuuichi! Isn't this wonderful?" Kurama stood perfectly still, barely breathing. Invited you… to live with them… away from here… He gulped aloud before answering.
"Yes, of course! That's wonderful, mother!" His smile paraded across his unwilling face, making Mrs. Minamino answer with glee.
"I was sure you would approve, son! However… they are in the middle of remodeling for the moment. Since we only have one guest room, Shuuichi, Shuiichi will have it. Could you stay at a friend's house for the next two weeks? That would free up your room for our other guest. I'm not trying to run you out at all, dear, but that would be convenient." Kurama nodded instantly, without a second thought. Now, wait, slow down. Yusuke's house is a wreck. Kuwabara already has Yukina living with him. I can't stay in the Reikai, or with anyone else I know… Hiei doesn't have a house… You don't have the cash to rent… Kurama's thoughts rolled onward as he head upstairs to pack. Living on your own… but where?… Hiei lived in the forest for years, so there's a thought. The park nearby is pretty deep. If you slept in a tree for two weeks, would anyone notice?… /You're a demon, Kurama, no one would notice. I doubt even I would./ Kurama nodded with his decision, finalizing it, and finished packing a small bag of clothes.
"That should do it!" He chimed aloud, heading downstairs and out the door. Now, off to the woods!
Shizuru's eyes wandered from the soap opera that had intrigued her interest for two nanoseconds, instead of the usual one point two per show. Yukina had come in bearing drinks, and, after fixing her eyes on the screen, had kept Shizuru from changing the channel with adoration and emotion each passing second, directed entirely by the show, making her cry and laugh simultaneously. A small smile crept up her cheeks as Yukina relaxed in her seat when the ads appeared.
"Good show, kid?"
"Yes, it's wonderful, Shizuru! I'm so happy you're letting me watch it. However… do people really say such wonderful and nasty things as quickly as they do there?"
"Not usually, unless you get Keiko, Yusuke, and Kuwabara together. Add that in and school…"
"What is school like, Shizuru? I've never even seen the building."
"Oh, no worries, you're not missing too much. But, if you want to go see…" She fazed off out the window. "Would you like to enroll in school, Yukina?"
"Enroll?"
"Participate. I think you'd enjoy the challenge."
"Why would it be a challenge? Would there be fighting?"
"…Not really. The teachers tell you things, you learn a bit, prove it by taking a test, talk to friends, eat, go home, and do it all over again."
"… I've never heard of such a thing."
"It'll be a good experience. I'll go tell Kuwabara we're going tomorrow, first thing. Oh, and on the entrance exam? Leave out your age. We'll deal with that later."
"Of course!"
"BRO'!" Shizuru blasted down the hallway. A squeak of a reply returned. "I'M TAKING YUKINA FOR AN ENTRANCE EXAM TOMMOROW!" There wasn't even a millisecond of silence before the glass-shattering answer shot forth.
"WHAT?!?"
"So… Yukina will be in school, now?" Hiei's words from under his breath were barely understandable through the rain and wind. By the way the storms of late had been popping up, it shouldn't take long for this one to blow through, as well. "As usual…" A deep sigh escaped him. "Stupid human thing, this school. I hate having to bother with it…" He turned and dashed off.
"Kei~ko…" Yusuke's voice trailed off as a yawn interrupted him. And the original speaker.
"You haven't been to school in a year! We'd be in our third year of middle school now!" Keiko shrilly replied.
"So?"
"We're going to drill you until you're good enough to skip a grade! Like me! Got it? Yusuke!" Yusuke had pulled his hat over his face. "The entrance exam is tomorrow! You're going, whether you like it or not! Now, sit up straight, chin up, and quit YAWNING!"
The Next Day…
Kurama's eyes opened, and he sat up, surprised, when he found a pair of blood-red eyes glaring down at him. He was on his feet in an instant, which was a problem since the small tent wasn't nearly as tall as he was, so he settled for crouching down and putting everything in neat piles.
"H-Hiei?"
"…I'm going to the human high school." Kurama paused in his motions of getting his things together at Hiei's words. He turned from the tent to face him.
"School?"
"…"
"Um… You'll need to register, and take an entrance exam, but that shouldn't be a problem. I get all the details worked out, they'll just need you to take the test, alright?"
"…"
"You'll be a happy partner today, right?"
"…" His eyes narrowed at the taller demon.
"Fine. Let's go," Kurama sighed out, turning with his backpack towards the administration office.
"Why are you sleeping in a tent, Kurama?"
"… That's… a long story. I'll tell you on the way."
"Shizuru, do you know what you're doing?" Kuwabara cried with dismay, for the third time that morning, thirteenth altogether if you count the night before. "I don't want Yukina exposed to the evils of-"
"Shizuru said it would be a learning experience, Kazuma-kun! Isn't that why we're already here?" Shizuru sighed for the tenth time as Yukina did her best to reassure Kuwabara with her words. Shizuru's eyes wandered up the administration building, a slight smile on her face.
"Well, we might as well get this over with, you know?"
"Shizuru~!"
"Come on, Yukina. Let's ignore him for now."
"SHIZU-"
"SHUT UP! Now, do you have a last name, Yukina?"
"Not really, no." Kuwabara watched the two of them disappear into the shadow of the school building, every ounce of him wanting this to not happen. What if the other kids… what if he makes a fool of himself in front of her…Worse, what if she sees his grades?!
"I, Kazuma Kuwabara, will not allow my grades to be lower than a seventy percent this year! I will pass! I will show you all!" He turned on his heel, dashing off for some last minute cramming for the new year.
"Keiko, are you sure I have to do this?"
"Yes, Yusuke, you have to take an entrance exam. Now, I've already skipped a grade, so make sure you do well! I don't want to be alone in my second year, got it?"
"Aww… I can't just bomb it?"
"NO!" With her last outcry, Keiko shoved him in through the glass doors, and didn't move until they closed entirely, at such time when she walked over to a bench and sat down, reading Pride and Prejudice. Yusuke glared over his shoulder, but walked up to the counter anyways.
"Alright, Mr. Hatsuharu Sohma, Mr. Momiji Sohma, Mr. Urameshi, take a seat in back, behind Hiei, the one with black hair and his back to us." Hiei's pencil scribbled across paper as the last name rang a bell. His head shot up as a laugh burst from the said person.
"H-H-Hiei?!?" Yusuke sputtered around laughs. Hiei turned his head slowly, until small, dark red eyes met wide brown ones. That is, if the brown eyes had been opened, as they were currently shut in an effort to keep from laughing.
"If you do not shut up, I will tear out your precious voice box, Yusuke."
"H-H-HIEI?!? In SCHOOL?!?"
"… I have my reasons."
"You're kidding."
"Is this anything to joke about?"
"Why didn't you forge a diploma or something?"
"I'm not here for education, you know."
"Well, you are here. Whatever…"
"Mr. Urameshi, please sit down. Now, Mr.…." The teacher's voice faded as she searched his papers for a family name.
"Hiei."
"What's you're family name?"
"I don't have a family." By this time everyone was paying attention, and there wasn't a single moving pencil.
"Um… alright. Hatsuharu, you sit here, and Momiji, next to him. Yusuke, over here. Now, there shall be no more threats or violence, is this understood? Yusuke Urameshi? Hiei?"
"…I shall not comment."
"Duh, it's understood." Yusuke's voice followed Hiei's. With a final sigh, the teacher left the room, holding her head. Hiei shot one more look at Yusuke, the sort of look that wouldn't send you six feet under, but all the way to America, the direct way through rock and lava. His pencil was the first to continue, and as he noticed he was alone, he shot a look around the room, daring anyone to verbally object. They hurriedly continued. His eyes settled on Yukina, who had slowed, but not completely stopped, during the argument. His eyes softened for a millisecond, before he returned to the math problem he had been on.
"Hiei! Yusuke! I was so busy taking the test, I didn't see you come in!" Yukina's sweat voice wafted over. Yusuke looked up in surprise, then burst laughing. There was a slight pause. "I'm glad you're happy, Yusuke, but what was the joke?" Yusuke only laughed harder, and Yukina smiled sweetly. "Are you still in the same class as Kazuma?" She proceeded to make small talk as Hiei sank in his chair, doing the problems while level with them.
"Momiji? I have you down here as a male? By your outfit, that seems incorrect-"
"Nope! I'm a boy!" Momiji, the girl-like blond in the seat next to Hiei piped happily. Hiei winced at the high-pitched sound, breaking the point of his pencil.
"Then why…?"
"Oh, it fits him!" A girl called from across the room, and soon, all the other students had taken up that cry. The teacher considered, before sighing and leaving the room so the kids had a chance of finishing the entrance exam. Hiei's eyes fell on the boy beside him.
"Why wear something so foolish? You only waste time by wearing what you should not," said Hiei, his voice cold and cutting. Momiji whimpered. Hatsuharu stuck a pinky in his ear, slowly cleaning it out.
"Awww, but everyone says I look good in it!"
"Does that matter? The authority will only make you change." Haru's finger dug deeper.
"Bu-but, the guy's uniform looks funny on me!"
"Like it won't look funny on other people-" Hatsuharu's finger stopped, and his head snapped up to look at Hiei.
"Now, you listen to me," growled Hatsuharu, the kind glint gone from eyes. "If Momiji wishes to wear the girl's-"
"And who brought you into this?" Hiei's voice cut in.
"Black Haru…" Momiji's voice groaned aloud. Yusuke and Yukina shot him funny looks.
"Black Haru…?"
"He's my cousin, and if he wishes to wear what suits him, then so be it. And he will continue to wear that outfit until he has grown enough to wear the men's uniform. As such, he will wear a suiting girl's outfit."
"Yes, human, continue wasting your feeble breath."
*CRASH**BANG*
"Black Haru is what our family calls Hatsuharu when he starts acting like this," piped Momiji in a glee-filled voice to the slightly nullified Yukina and Yusuke. The desk Hiei had been sitting at was now in more than two pieces, and he stood before the destroyer, Haru, as Haru continued to rattle off cursing and mutterings.
"Come on, Hiei always over-does his fights. By the time we finish the test, they'll have burned themselves out… however… Remember, death equals expulsion!" Yusuke caroled happily from the side. Hatsuharu face faulted, as well as most of the room.
"BE QUIET IN THERE!" The teacher yelled through the door.
"That was excruciatingly painful," Hiei noted in dry tones as he walked up to Kurama, who just smiled in return.
"Oh? How s-"
"GOOD-BYE, HIEI-CHAN!" Momiji's voice wafted from the other side of the grounds as though it was right next to them, and White Haru waved unemotionally.
"As I said. However, painful is a true understatement."
"I must concur. I hope she's not in our class," said Kurama one eyebrow raised as the two students walked off.
"Kurama! I didn't know you came here! I thought you went to-" Yusuke was cut off as a loud bellow of greeting was issued from behind him.
"URAMESHI!"
"Oh no. He's already found me. Keiko, can't I just leave already?"
"NO! You just got here, Mister! You're not going anywhere until you have a degree! Is that understood?"
"I suppose…"
"Urameshi! You're going to high school, too?"
"I'm only surprised you weren't held back, Kuwabara."
"Oh, no!" Yukina piped up happily. "He's been studying very hard! Shizuru and I have helped him, and he's managed a C average, and even a few B's!"
"Now I'm impressed," admitted the spirit detective as Hiei snorted.
"Even with help, I'm surprised he took any of it in."
"Oh, shut up, shrimp! I bet you haven't even been in school!"
"I just registered for a year ahead of you."
"…Ku-" Kuwabara was cut off as Shizuru suck a bread roll in his wide mouth.
"Do you have no manners, Bro'?"
"So, we'll be seeing you in two weeks, right?" Yusuke's voice cut through the constant chatter of the school ground.
"Yes, of course," Kurama replied, looking around. "This could be… interesting."
"We~ll, it'll be better if we eat to our enrollment, right?" Botan's unexpected and booming voice doused out the rest of the noise.
"We're right here, you know," grumbled Yusuke, cleaning out an ear. "And what are you…?"
"I'm enrolled in your year, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and as another note Koenma's enrolled a whole year ahead of us!" She brightly smiled at her own statement and presented the teenager-Koenma behind her.
"Not you, too!" Kuwabara groaned, to another whacking from his incessant sister.
"Of course. I only took the basic classes in order to take immediate rule of the Reikai desk in place of my father. It would be nice to continue my courses."
"Sooo…" Botan followed Koenma's statement, counting off people on her fingers.
"Myself, Hiei, Koenma, Yukina and Keiko in the second year," said Kurama thoughtfully, "Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hatsuharu, Botan, and Momiji, in their first year." A smile crossed his face. "This will be an interesting year, don't you agree?"
"Yet again, interesting is not the word…" Hiei stated softly through the sudden uprising of approval from the small crowd.
"To the coffee shop!" And with this last cry of devotion to food, Botan led the way to an after-school snack, on the house. Koenma and Kurama held back a moment.
"No need to tell me what, just where," said Kurama softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"South of here, in a forest owned by the Sohma family. It's slightly large, and not hard to miss," replied Koenma, before catching up with the others, passing Hiei, half way in between the two groups.
"Go ahead, Hiei. I'll take care." Kurama turned after his statement and walked calmly into the nearest path into the grounds where the demons would appear.
"Be safe, Kurama," said Koenma, his words following the fox, and the demon near him concurred with a nod.
Kurama's footfalls slowed, and paused, his gaze falling to the indention in the roots of a tree. I had slept there a night ago…His footsteps began, and grew stronger. Memories would do nothing to aid him now.