First Impressions Can Be Changed

Disclaimer. I do not, and never will, own Yu Yu Hakusho or any person from any other show/comic/story that appears in here. (Yes, I will put some cameos in this possibly. The disclaimer to the individual owners of said characters will be given credit at the beginning of the chapters.)

Edited for content and some plot holes as of October 28, 2005. Enjoy.

Ch. 1

Tsukiko woke up abruptly to the harsh beeping of an alarm clock. She came to the ningenkai whenever the king, her stepfather, was in a particularly foul mood. She had been in the ningenkai for the past two days and now was the time to put her ningen disguise to the test. She has heard that the Reikai Tantei resided in the city as well so she had to be careful that they did not discover her identity or she would be handed back over to her stepfather. She had used Tokyo as her refuge, her sanctuary, for the past thousand years. She had grown incredibly comfortable in the ever-changing city. When she first came here, she was surrounded by a small city and few large buildings. Since then, she watched as Tokyo developed into the thriving metropolis it now is. In the past fifty years or so, she had been coming more and more often and found that, in order to stay inconspicuous, she needed to attend a ningen school.

This was the predicament that she found herself in today. She was required to go to school to ease any suspicions anyone would have of her and to keep her from insane boredom in her apartment. She stood, wishing she was still back in her blankets as it was a frigid autumn morning, and made her way to her closet. She grabbed the Sayashiki uniform that hung limply over her chair and headed into the small bathroom.

Looking up at the mirror, she saw a pale face surrounded by light, lilac-purple hair with dark, almost blackish, purple eyes. She turned the tap on in the shower and slowly stripped herself of her night garments. As she stepped into the shower, the heat enveloped her and she drifted off in thought.

Why is it that every time things are going well, he gets pissed at me? It's not like he can blame me for hating him for what he's done to me. It's as if the entire Makai is at his disposal. If he really wanted me in his court, as a simple plaything for his sick amusement, he would have sent his armies after me already. I'm rather lucky that he despises my company or I would have hell to pay to Koenma if he sent his goons to this world. I'm being silly, I should just calm down before I totally lose it, I don't want to appear too paranoid at school, it is the first time I've gone in about ten years.

She stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and quickly dried off. Pulling the uniform roughly over her head, she headed out of the bathroom to find something to ease the pains in her stomach. A bagel sounded good. As she went about eating said bagel, she searched desperately for anything she might need during the day. Eventually she gave up her search and resigned herself to putting on her shoes and heading out to find her own way to the school.

"Aww, but Keiko, I don't want to go to school damn it!" A childish male voice called from down the hall.

"No buts Yusuke! You're going to school and that's final! You haven't gone for the past two days!" Said a commanding, feminine voice from about where the other voice was. Tsukiko assumed that this was Keiko's voice and the boy complaining was Yusuke. The name 'Yusuke' sounded familiar but Tsukiko couldn't quite place where she had heard it.

"Why though? Why can't I just stay at home?" Yusuke whined.

"Your mother pays for your tuition, thus you must go. Enough said." Keiko barked.

"Ow ow ow ow! Stop it, you're hurting me!"

"Serves you right. Come on, let's go."

With that final comment, the argument was over and Tsukiko assumed that the boy named Yusuke was being dragged down the hall. Pity, but it did serve him right. She didn't even have to go to a school but still she went. "Some people apparently never learn," she murmured to herself wondering where she had heard the ningen boy's name before. Damn, that's going to bug me all day now . . . she thought to herself.

She followed the pair to school. She assumed that they went to the same school she was enrolled in because Keiko was wearing the exact same thing she was. A safe distance away, she watched the pair as they entered the school grounds. The boys already on the grounds parted for Yusuke and the girls all clustered around Keiko, who had left Yusuke's side just a few moments earlier. A quick scan of the grounds gave her a general idea of where the registration office would be, but she decided to ask someone instead. She might get some useful information on the school's social hierarchy and who to look out for.

Almost three seconds later, a tall, dim-looking, orange-haired boy walked up to her and said, "I guess you are new here. I'll show you to the office. I'm Kuwabara Kazuma."

"Hm, not as dim as you look or am I just going seriously delusional?" came Tsukiko's sarcastic reply.

"Good eye, most people don't figure out how dim he is until they actually have spent five minutes around him." Came a voice from behind her. It was Yusuke.

"How could I miss it? He radiates stupidity," said Tsukiko dryly as she inched away.

"What are you doing?" Kuwabara asked, noticing her move.

"Getting away from you, I don't want to find out if your stupidity is contagious." She snapped.

Yusuke laughed, "If it was contagious, I would have caught it by now. Come on, I'll show you the office so you can get your schedule."

"How do I know you didn't catch it, dumbass?" She retorted as she shrugged and followed Yusuke to the office where she met a secretary. The woman gave her a slip of paper with some printing on it. She looked at it and was unable to figure out what the chart meant. Yusuke saw her frustrated and confused face and held his hand out for the slip of paper. He looked at it briefly and said, "It seems that you will be following me around the entire day, you're in all of my classes," he paused and realized something. "You know what, I never got your name and I didn't even bother to look."

She sighed, "Tsukiko."

"Gotcha. Now, we have . . . hmm; let me see that paper again."

"Don't tell me that you forgot your own schedule," Tsukiko groaned, rolling her eyes and handing over the paper.

"Heh, would you believe me if I said I didn't?"

"No."

"Thought so . . . Hmm, we have math first, then science, then PE, then art? I don't take art. You must have art while I have tech but don't worry, the classrooms are right next to each other. Anyways, back to business, after art you get a break with lunch, and then go have social studies, then you've got literature."

"Right then. Let's go," Tsukiko made to head off but was stopped by Yusuke standing in her way.

"Whoa, we don't have to go anywhere until the bell rings," Yusuke exclaimed, his eyes going wide at the thought of getting to class early.

"I don't want to have a huge fuss made when I get into the damned classroom, thus I feel that I need to get to the class early as to bring to the teacher's attention that I am new. I would go without you as your company is wearing on my nerves, but I don't know where anything is here. If you would be so kind as to show the classroom to me, you could be on your way as soon as I step inside the door." Tsukiko explained harshly, looking up at Yusuke, who she had just discovered was a good foot taller than her.

She remembered her earlier eavesdropping and the feeling that the name 'Yusuke' brought to her mind, it was as though a church bell was clanging inside her head but the echoes were so loud, she couldn't find the source. She stepped back and concentrated on seeing if he had any spirit energy visible to her. Naturally, as we all know, she found quite a bit and had to put on quite an act to keep from reacting.

"You coming or not?" Yusuke asked from the doorway to the halls.

"I'll be right there. Don't fret too much about it." said Tsukiko wryly. Yusuke nodded and began walking towards the classroom as soon as Tsukiko appeared next to him in the hallway.

About four hours later, and about twenty-five slaps by Yusuke's count as Tsukiko had been asked out at least that many times during the day. Art was just finishing up and the minutes seemed to crawl by. The class was good enough, but the teacher. . . She was a nightmare. It was as though she didn't seem to accept the fact that her students were teenagers for the most part and were not quite used to being quiet for an entire hour. These ningens were beginning to grate on Tsukiko's nerves, their absolute ignorance of anything, especially art. It had always been an outlet for Tsukiko so only naturally, she had been annoyed at the ningens.

Kuwabara had been in her art class and was surprisingly apt at the subject. I guess I underestimated his abilities. I'll have to remember never to do that again, it's not wise. She thought to herself. The bell finally rang and the class filed out.

"So, how do ya like school so far?" A voice said from behind Tsukiko.

"They aren't that bad, it would be better though if people actually paid attention during class. It would keep the teachers from bitching too much," she replied.

"I dunno if that would work. Most people are content with goofing off." Kuwabara said.

"I saw your painting, it was actually pretty good. I actually underestimated you when I met you, that doesn't happen much." Tsukiko said.

"Eh, most people underestimate me. I guess I'm used to it. I dunno. . ." he said.

Tsukiko nodded in agreement then realized something. "If we don't hurry up, we'll be late to lunch. The lunch lines are always a bitch to go through when half the school's in it."

"Yeah!" With that comment, he runs off towards the cafeteria, leaving Tsukiko shaking her head.

"So sad, so very sad. . ." she mumbled to herself as she trudged to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Tsukiko! Over here!" A voice called, it's owner waving his arms around so Tsukiko could see him.

"Ah, hi Urameshi." Tsukiko said, grinning and taking a seat across the table from him.

"What took you so long? Kuwabara came running out here about a minute ago and he's in your class."

"Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about things." She said, trailing off. Like how pissed Koenma will get if he gets wind of my being here. That kid seriously needs to take a vacation; he takes his job way too seriously. She thought, finishing her sentence.

"Okay, the line's over there if you want food." Yusuke said, waving to a girl who just entered the cafeteria. The girl came over, sat next to him, and then noticed Tsukiko.

"Hi, you must be Tsukiko. I'm Keiko. It's nice to meet you." Keiko said.

"Hey." She said as she grabbed a sketchbook, a pencil and began to draw. She looked up at Keiko every so often, but other than that, her eyes were fixed on her drawing. A noise from behind her signified Kuwabara's appearance.

"Huh, that's pretty good." He said.

"It's just a sketch." Tsukiko defended modestly.

"What is it?" Yusuke said, grabbing the book from Tsukiko's hands. "Woah, he's right you know. It is pretty good." He put the book down on the table for all to see. It was a picture of Keiko sitting on a rooftop looking at the stars overhead. There is an overall morose feel to it, but for some reason she is smiling. Near her, a shadow is standing in the doorway to the roof; the shadow is male and has slicked back hair.

When she sees this, Keiko's eyes widen and her jaw drops. She tries to say something, but is left speechless. When her voice returns, she says "I didn't know you could draw like that," she squints at the shadow in the picture, "Is that Yusuke?"

"Yeah, it is. Why?" Tsukiko asks

"No reason, just wanted to know if it was."

Across the cafeteria, the door opens and in rushes a red-haired boy in a uniform from a different school. He comes over to the four and says something to Yusuke and Kuwabara. The three run off through the door and Keiko sighs, "There they go again. I swear this happens every week."

"Where do they go?"

"Who knows, for all I know, they don't leave the city but. . ." Keiko's voice trails off and leaves the two in awkward silence. After about a minute of the silence, the bell rings for classes to begin. The two trudge off to their classes and spend the rest of the day in boredom.

Koenma began to reach for the communicator that he required Yusuke to wear at all times when the teen in question and the two accompanying him came through the door and took their seats before the toddler's desk.

"Spit it out, why are we here and why didn't you just send Botan to tell us?" Yusuke shouted.

"If you would calm down, I could tell you," he paused to see if they were listening and then continued, "Your mission is to find a demon and bring her to me. She is incredibly old and thus, is incredibly powerful no matter how little she uses her power. She is older than both Youko and I. She is part shape shifter and part shadow demon. Be careful, all of you. We don't want any of you getting too hurt by her. I didn't send Botan because she is busy ferrying souls and there wasn't enough time to make a video for you to watch."

"What's her name? Demons that old can't be without name." Kurama said.

"Tsukiko Kurosawa." The toddler said.

"WHAT?" Yusuke and Kuwabara said together.

A/N: Dun Dun Dun . . . the suspense, the pure suspense that comes from stuff you already know! Also, just if you're wondering, I haven't seen much of the anime, don't really like the job they've done. I like the manga better, it has better translations.

Next time on First Impressions Can Be Changed, Tsukiko is a demon wanted by the small ruler of the Reikai but who is she? Really?