Solemn Lives- Part 1: Tidal Motions
-A Yu Yu Hakusho Fanfic.
By painin uranus
Default Chapter 2/ Chapter 1: Dream Of Thy Revolution
.:AN:.
This is my first Yu Yu Hakusho fic. Please, do not flame, though constructive criticism is welcome. My story is solely based on the show- at least, as much as it can be with new stories, new characters, and whatever new things I haven't added yet. So think about it:
What if four new teens with special powers joined the Detectives? What if Kurama fell in love? What if Hiei was the guardian of a ½ water demon, ½ human? What if an organization similar to the Black Black Club was created? What if it was a lot harder to destroy? What if they saved a ½ wolf demon? What if there was a strange DNA demon that was so rare that if they were common, the whole world would be ruled by one?
What if the story went like this?
.:Dream:.
Water. Cold water. Surrounded by cold water. Thrashing about in waves against numerous bodies. In open mouths. In exposed eyes. Up unsuspecting noses. Inescapably in ears. Smothering them in wetness.
Rise hated it.
Swimming at the back of the pack, Rise sighed out a mouthful of water, wishing that she were anywhere else but there. Even so, she continued to struggle around in the water. She saw the team swim farther away every stroke they took and sighed again. It wasn't fair; no matter how hard she worked, she never got any better and it was slowly eating away at her enthusiasm. She kept telling herself, it's okay. I'll swim an extra lap, work hard during practice, stay a little while longer after practice to swim some more, then I'll jog home, do leg exercises, eat a healthy dinner, …
Rise went around the large pool that they kept under their school once again while the others on the team climbed out and started their stretching routine.
When Rise finally completed the extra lap, she saw the coach standing in the middle of the large group with his usual clipboard, assigning the team to their training groups:
Group 1 consisted of the fastest and, basically, most enduring swimmers on the team. They were the most respected out of the whole school along with top athletes from other sports.
Group 2 made up the second-fastest swimmers. They were also admired by the other kids- at least, the top swimmers of the group were. Those were the kids that came in the top ten along with the first group.
Group 3—Well, she didn't want to think about Group 3.
Those were the kids that only had the eagerness to swim… not the ability.
Rise always dreamed of being in the top group. She was close to being there, but- well, it didn't matter. But, she really wanted to be in Group 1- maybe even being the… group leader. She shivered in excitement. Maybe today was her day…
"Gojyo, you'll be in Group 2,"
That's to be expected. Gojyo is ALWAYS in Group 2.
"Hakkai, you're in Group 1,"
Big surprise. It's like he's been swimming since he was practically a toddler.
"Sanzo, you're going to be in Group 1,"
Wow, she moved up. I'm surprised that Amaya was actually able to move up a group.
"And…"
Now it's my turn… say it… c'mon…
"Urata will be in Group 3,"
Wha?
"WHAT!"
Rise was standing up, in front of the coach, with an open mouth and eyes the size of dinner plates. Her arms were slightly held away from her sides, held toward the ground, her fingers seemingly stuck in a waving position and her legs were spread apart.
Everyone was staring at her, probably because she never yelled out at a teacher, no matter what subject he or she taught or how they taught it- or if they were considered a teacher at all.
Also- Rise looked quite funny.
The coach looked down at her with an amused look on his face.
"Rise…" he started off quietly. "Why don't we step into my office for a moment?"
She just stared after him as he walked away before she realized that she was supposed to follow.
He stood outside of the door, and when she stepped inside, he yelled to the others, "Okay, group leaders are Hakkai, Dunn, and Cho. Let's start our training, we've got a competition in three days!" Then, he turned back to Rise, closing the door in the process.
"Look, Rise…" he started again, the humor still evident in his voice. "Don't get mad at me, it's just… I know that you've been 'working hard', but I just don't see it. You're not getting worse, but you're not improving either. And the others in your original group are. So, we just had to put you lower to-."
"NO!" Rise yelled. It wasn't true! It wasn't fair! She worked so hard, spent all her free time trying to get better at swimming, eating nutritious food… She subconsciously started to ball her hands into tight fists. Her eyes were squeezed closed.
"I WILL NOT! GO! LOWER! You- YOU PATHETIC HUMAN!" She yelled loudly.
That sounds familiar… she thought with wonder, though quickly dismissed it.
Her eyes snapped open quickly. She yanked the door of the office open with fury. Most of the swim team looked almost frozen, some were halfway into the pool, staring at her oddly- she guessed that they heard her yell at the coach.
Rise glared at them, then ran out and grabbed her clothes bag when she passed, sprinted up the stairs leading to the exit of the school, ran through the door after run into it without opening the hatch, sped through the parking lot that was filled with cars like a day at the mall, and dashed down the shaded sidewalk leading to her home, all the while thinking curses for her coach.
Pathetically worthless coaches, Rise thought acidly to herself, ignoring the fact that thinking like that was just not like her.
Denying her some-what tired body rest, she continued her strained run until she reached an alleyway. Jumping quickly into its comforting darkness, she dropped her luggage, and ripped it open. Rise hurriedly dressed herself in her somewhat- loose white T-shirt, jean capre pants, and slip-on pink shoes, too distracted to care about her body's wetness.
'Should've grabbed my towel while I was at it,' she beraded offhandedly.
Calming herself the best that she could, she put her soggy brown hair up in her pink hair scrunchie, slipped on her dark-brimmed glasses, zipped up her bag, and started off towards her home. She really needed one of her mother's brownies to make her feel better.
At least as good as a chocolate and sugar-filled square can make you feel, she thought sarcastically.
Then Rise stopped walking, eyes, and glasses, the size of dinner plates.
Being sardonic was just not like her! She was considerate. She was caring. She was kind. She was a polite, well brought up adolescent. She was 'a bright child with a creative mind, a kind heart, and a pure soul'. At least, that's what her teachers said.
Was this what they called, 'puberty'?
Rise's mind skipped over this thought after pondering it for a couple minutes, going back to what had happened not too long ago as she started walking home again.
Okay, let's think over positive questions. Constructive criticism. Let's work this out. Okay… Now, what is wrong with being in the 3rd Group? Sure, it's the lowest and the slowest and…
The most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to your reputation as being the 'Perfectionist', something in her mind argued angrily.
And that.
Need I remind you that Sandy Foxet is in Group 3? It asked her seriously, spitting it out like acid.
Oh, I forgot all about her! She almost got the nickname 'Perfectionist' instead of me, except she was sick the day we had that test and she was 'afraid' to challenge me for-
Rise stopped walking once more. She was talking to herself!
She looked around, checking to see if anyone was staring at her strangely or anything. Seeing no one, she hesitantly headed on. She was almost home and 'talking' to herself helped her go over what she did back at swim practice.
Um. Yeah, so… I got mad at being in Group 3. Big deal! All I need to do is go back tomorrow, tell the coach I'm sorry, that I didn't mean to overreact, tell him that I'll work even harder and do my best at the back of the pack-.
Say what! Say you're sorry! And be the worst swimmer on the team? No way. You're going to be top dog, y'hear? TOP DOG!
Ahhh! Yes, sir! Ma'am! Conscience! Whatever! Uh… okay… so… how am I gonna be top dog?
Just let me take care of everything… just let go… and release me… you'll be fine… Don't worry…
Um…Y'know, that sounds great, but can I get home before I… uh…'let go'…?
Oh, brother… fine…
Thank you… I think. Now, going back to what 'we' were talking about before…
Being top dog?
No! About what I did or- said- to the coach. I called him a 'human'… is that a normal thing to call a teacher?
Who cares? It doesn't really matter, so let's just get home, eat one of your chocolate sugar-squares, and let me- I mean, your soul- free.
Uh… yeah… sure…
As if her 'inner personality's' wish came true, she quickly found herself right at her front porch step. Sighing quietly, she realized that her family wasn't back from work, school, the mall, wherever, so she would be the only one in the house. She was slightly relieved- she wouldn't have to explain why she was home early.
She went up to the door, looked underneath the plaid seat cushions of the porch chairs, grabbed the key, which was in a plastic bag, and opened up the door after unlocking it. She couldn't help but feel that her parents were a little paranoid as she stepped into her house.
Dropping her bag and kicking off her shoes in the hall, she grabbed a chocolate brownie from the refrigerator, then climbed the stairs to her room to change into something more comfortable around the house.
Pushing the door open, she lazily peeled off her wet clothes and grabbed a towel, slowly drying herself off. Pulling on a large pink T-shirt with a wave symbol on it and baggy white sweat pants, she slipped into her pink bunny slippers and collapsed on her fluffy white bed and turned on the TV to a comedy channel.
Before she relaxed against her pillows, she jumped down from her bed to a floorboard underneath it. She pulled the loose board out and shoved her hand below, later pulling out a bag of sodium-free crackers to snack on. Rise usually didn't take food from her mother, but she bought these only for her and no one else ate them.
She sprung back on the bed happily, once again letting her body sink into the softness of the cushions.
"Ah…" she sighed quietly.
Ready to let go? The voice asked her.
She almost shot up, but then relaxed faintly against her pillows.
Sure, whatever… is this gonna be some kind of meditation thingy?
I guess you could call it that… Now. Sit up straight, legs crossed, hands on your thighs and make sure that you are in a comfortable position- this will take a while.
But this is a good show! I want to watch!
You can watch a TV show without… uh… being totally relaxed?
…………………
That's what I thought. Now, do as I say.
She complied with the voice's instructions, thinking that this was her 'conscience' trying to relieve her worries.
Good. Now, close your eyes… take a couple of deep breaths… clear your mind of all your worries
She did.
Perfect. Now… look inside of you… look for that hidden self of yours that you can feel inside of you… that person that seems to be caged up… imagine that cage disappearing… imagine letting yourself free… imagine letting go of all your worries and releasing your true self…
Her eyes started to squint in concentration, her nose wrinkling. Suddenly, she saw herself surrounded by darkness, in a cage, with cold metal bars and a lock and chain wrapping around it like wrapping paper… through cracks she could see her hands gripping the bars tightly, her face pressed against the bars, trying to capture as much freedom possible. But- She was also outside the cage.
Rise saw her hand in front of her, with a key- a blue key. She saw her hand grip it tightly, her other fumbling, looking for the lock that confined her other self inside that small cage. She found it. She shoved the blue key into the slot. She turned it. The lock popped off.
That's it…
Everything was going in slow motion. The lock slowly fell to the dark and seemingly invisible floor. Then, like a box being unfolded, the cage fell apart, starting from the top, revealing…
A girl, similar to what Rise looked like, that was hunched inside.
She had dark hair, thought there was a hint of dark blue. And her eyes- they were hers. But, they also had hints of blue in them. The young girl stood, shakily. She was wearing a dark T-shirt, and torn jeans. On her hands, she wore black biker gloves. She held herself tall and bravely. She gave off that aurora saying that she only depended on herself. No one else. Then she took off the glove on her left hand, slowly. When it was completely off, it fell to the floor. Gradually, her hand rose from her side to her front, showing her a symbol engraved on the inside of her wrist…
Perfect…
Suddenly Rise was jerked sharply back to reality by a wave of pain. She gasped, and collapsed off the bed onto the ground. Her family wasn't home so they wouldn't be able to hear her, help her. She tried to scream, but her voice wasn't working. Her glasses had toppled off her face, so now she could barely see… great…
Just relax, darling…
She would've laughed if she weren't in so much pain. Relax- huh, yeah right. Being in so much pain, on the hard wooden floor, unable to scream for help let alone see anything more than blotted blurs… yeah, relax, that's easy… telling me to thrash around and silently scream in ache would be much more difficult…
She struggled to stand up, but when she came close, another flow of agony coursed through her body. She continued to gasp, biting her tongue in order to stand the pain. Oh, she should've never listened to that voice inside her head… (Lol)
I'm only 10 years old! I'm too young to die…no… I-I'm not… I'm not going to die! No, I'm not! Not now! I-I… I WON'T! NO!
She started to try harder, using her newfound strength, pushing herself off the ground so that she could get to the phone, and call 9-1-1. Gritting her teeth, she practically jumped off the floor. Catching herself, she stood straight and was about to pick up the phone-
The pain vanished.
She froze, then, hesitantly, slowly, started checking herself over, starting from her head and traveling to her toes. She bent her knee. No pain. She bent her arm. No pain. She turned her head. No pain. She bent over and touched her toes. No pain. She sat on her bed and got back into her previous position. No pain.
Rise got up again, and walked to her body length mirror. She gasped.
Standing in the mirror, was not Rise Urata a.k.a. Perfectionist. No- it was someone else. Sure it was the same clothes, the same face, the same general body parts- but it was different.
Her hair, it was still dark, dark brown, but it had a hint of blue in it when the light hit it just right- just like that girl. Her eyes, they were still so dark that you could barely see the pupil, but it also had that hint of blue when the light caught it just right- like that girl. Plus, she didn't have her glasses on, but everything was as clear as having a fog disappear on a highway. Her facial expression, it wasn't bubbly and happy, it was independent, and, more or less, shocked. Her body posture, it wasn't stand-on-your-tippy-toes tall, it was don't-mess-with-me tall. All of it was just… different- yet the same.
Hesitantly, Rise brought her right wrist up to her face—
And gasped.
There was a tattoo, just like the one that her 'inner self' had showed her just before the waves of pain had broke her concentration. It was a circular blue wave, almost like a ball of water… Rise had to force her eyes to return to the mirror, as if unsure if it was all real or a crazy dream…
Then, it started to… change. It swiveled… and swirled, like on of those chocolate candy bar commercials… and then…
"Mom…" Rise whispered. After that, the world went dark.
.:End Dream:.
.:AN:.
Well, how was it? I'll be working really hard on this story so don't be surprised that updates are rarely quick.
What did Rise see in the mirror? What was that voice in her head? Find out! Read and Review!