Chapter 5:

I sat on a toilet (thank God this school had lids on theirs!) and planted my face in my hands and cried after locking the door. My purple hair was in its normal position now, not tucked behind my ears with a side part, but with some of it partially shielding my eye. I stared at the floor as I ran my hand over the piercing in my eyebrow. This was me, purple hair, piercings and angry at the world. I hadn't always been like this. I remembered when I first wore my hair up. I had worn it like that for my first real date with Hiei.

Flashback

I pulled on the black tank top over my head and fixed the black skirt I was wearing. I looked at myself in the mirror. Something didn't quite look right…

My black tank looked fine with the skirt which was around lower-thigh length, even the fishnets I was wearing underneath the skirt seemed right; then I realized: it was my hair!

I pulled out my brush from the top drawer of my dresser and searched diligently for a scrunchie. Any one that I found the elastic had snapped in, so I had to venture into my older sister's room. She was on the bed reading a teen magazine.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I need a favor." I said, realizing that I didn't even know how to put my hair up, "Can you do my hair?"

"Can I WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"Do my hair." I muttered.

"Oh my God! It's a miracle!" she cried, and slammed me into a chair and took out her scissors.

"What the-! What are you doing with that?" I asked panicking.

"We need to cut your hair."

"NO! I asked for you to give me a hairstyle, not shear it off."

"I wasn't going to shear it off." She said, "Just a trim, that's all."

"A trim? The way you were holding them, I think it was little along the lines of a cut." I pointed out.

"Whatever." She shrugged and moved the scissors, "…Oops."

"Oops? What did you do?" I asked.

"Nothing, just you might want me to make it even."

"Make what even?"

"Your hair."

"What?" I turned and looked at the mirror, a whole lock of hair was missing! It was obvious, and then there came the honk from outside: Hiei was here.

"Oh boy."

"Look," I said, "Just put my hair up and then we'll fix this later."

"You are a blessed little sister."

"Shut-up, I have to go in five seconds." I said. She worked her magic faster than I'd ever seen her use it on herself. I was out of there with a French-twist and a few pieces in the front, just for sanity reasons on my part.

"Wow." Hiei managed to say as I walked out with my purse and slid into the passenger-side.

"My sister screwed up my hair." I said putting on my seatbelt.

"Really? I think that it looks gorgeous on you." He told me smiling, pushing a strand away from my face and kissing me.

End flashback

Thinking of this only made me cry a fresh set of tears.

"Yuriko?" a voice asked. It was Kitana; "I brought your stuff for you."

"Thanks." I said as I saw her feet stop in front of my stall.

"What did they say to you that made you explode on them like that?" she asked.

"They wouldn't leave me alone."

"Oh?"

"They threatened me."

"No!"
"Yup."

"Those jerks!"

"Yeah…" I said feeling depressed.

After a few moments of silence, "Yuriko? Are you going to come out?"

"I might."

"When?"

"When I stop crying." I said.

A hand put a pen on the knob that was on the lock and slid it away. I sat on the toilet and watched as Kitana entered the stall and wrapped her arms around me. I sobbed into her shoulder as she patted my back and told me that everything was going to be all right.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Only fools are." She replied smiling.

This time I smiled and started crying because I had such a good friend.

"C'mon," she said getting a wet paper towel for me, "I'll buy you a cookie and a pretzel."

"Nah, just a cookie would be good." I said sniffing, remembering the craving I'd had for cookie dough earlier.

"Be right back!" she said smiling and going into the lunchroom. I leaned on the wall and stared at the ceiling.

"Hun?" a voice asked as the woman walked in.

"Yes?" I said uncertainly.

"I couldn't help but hear what was going on… do you want to talk to someone about it?" she asked.

"Sure." I said, and for once I told someone the whole story, from start to finish.

"Wow." She said leaning on the wall next to me, "The best advice that I can give you is to just not nag the boy. It sounded like he really loved you…"

"Yeah, and I didn't even have sex with him."

She turned a shade, "That's wonderful."

"Lady, I'm still a virgin, don't worry."

She didn't sound too sure as I continued telling her about how I had felt all day.