I finally finished chapter three and I'm going to say this before you read it: I wanted to wrap up the loan shark storyline before starting the main chunk of Yusuke trying to come back to life and I also wanted to incorporate the stretched-out timeline that is in the manga versus the shorter timeline that's in the anime. So, the next chapter which will be about the bet that Kuwabara makes will be spread out over a week and involve more of Yuki's personality slowly changing and more about the Elites and such. So, rant over for the moment, remember I own nothing other than the characters that you don't recognize and the plot that doesn't follow the anime and manga.

Chapter 3: Alchemize the Dark Within Me

Yuki sat at the edge of the bed, looking at her younger brothers as they slept wrapped in Yusuke's blanket. Her cheek was red and throbbing while she rested one hand against her ribs, a hiss leaving her mouth as they throbbed painfully. With a heavy sigh, she stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Turning the light on, she looked at her hair for the first time in the mirror. Her right side hung down near her shoulder and the rest was a jagged, uneven mess.

"That damn butcher…" Yuki growled as she rifled through the drawers looking for scissors and a comb.

Once she found them, she started trying to fix her hair from the jagged mess that she was left with. She ran the comb through her hair and then used the scissors to trim and shape her hair. Once she was done, the left side and half of the back of her hair curled around her neck delicately while the right side hung down by her shoulder before it moved up towards the base of her ear.

"I never realized just how curly my hair was until now. Interesting." Yuki mumbled as she moved to clean up the bathroom.

The girl moved slowly, making sure that she cleaned up any trace of hair from the floor before she threw it away and put the scissors and comb away. Turning the light off, Yuki walked down the stairs and towards her godmother, who was struggling to open another bottle. Walking towards her, Yuki took the bottle and opened it, pouring the older woman a drink before sitting next to her.

"Auntie, you shouldn't be drinking so much. It's not good for you," Yuki mumbled to her as the older woman looked at her.

Atsuko's cheeks were dusted over with a gentle pink, showing that she was well on her way to becoming drunk. In her drunken haze, Yuki's face morphed into her dearly departed friend and tears welled into her eyes.

"Chiyo?" Atsuko whimpered as she threw her arms around Yuki's neck, pulling the girl into a hug. "Chiyo, you've seen Yusuke right? He's with you?"

Yuki only hugged the woman as Atsuko cried into her shoulder. The younger girl's golden eyes looked towards Yusuke's picture and she sighed heavily as Atsuko pulled away from her.

"I'll look after Yuki and the boys as long as you look after Yusuke. He's hopeless Chi…The little bastard. Sometimes, I wish you hadn't left so early. If anyone could keep that boy in check, it was you." Atsuko slurred before she grabbed the bottle.

Setting the mouth of the bottle against her lips, Atsuko began to rapidly chug the liquor as Yuki felt her eyes burn from unshed tears. She knew that she wouldn't get to talk to the woman at the moment and she stood up, walking back upstairs to her brothers. Closing the door behind her, she walked towards her pallet and slowly lowered herself to the floor. Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip to keep herself from whimpering in pain, she laid down and covered herself up. Her eyes were fastened on the ceiling before she closed her eyes, falling into a deep but fitful sleep.

Meanwhile, Yusuke and Botan were flying towards the apartment complex, the boy's mind focused on keeping his body from being cremated, when the sound of shattering glass caught his attention.

"You fool!" Atsuko yelled out before more glass shattered. "Why? What were you thinking Yusuke? No one gave you permission to die! You got hit by a car-Strong people live through that! Were you mad at me Yusuke?! Were you mad, didn't I raise you good enough?!"

As Atsuko cried out, she beat the table with the two alcohol bottles that she had in her hand as Yusuke and Botan watched her from the door.

"It's so very sad," Botan said.

"The only thing sad now is she's got one more excuse to act that way. She won't listen." Yusuke sighed. "Let's move on. I think I know two people who will."

Botan followed as Yuksue moved to the second floor of the apartment, going to his room. The two let their eyes scan over the twins before they rested on Yuki, Botan's eyes widening in confusion as she looked at the girl who just a few hours prior had long hair. Floating towards the girl, Yusuke sat beside her and looked at her, a frown crossing his lips as he saw her furrowed brow.

"Hey, Bugs. Can you hear me?" Yusuke asked.

In her dream, Yuki looked around in confusion as her brow furrowed. That voice…where had it come from?

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Yuki demanded as her head swung side to side.

"It's me, Yu. Who else would it be?"

Yuki's heart swelled with the thought of it being him before the cold water of reality ran over her. She must have been losing her mind if she was hearing Yusuke's voice in her dream. Despite this, she couldn't help but call out for him.

"Yusuke? Is it you?"

"Of course Bugs. It's me."

"You know, I've heard grief can make a person crazy. That has to be what this is. I've finally snapped." Yuki mumbled to herself.

"No, you haven't bought a ticket to a rubber room Bugsy. I'm here… kind of. I'm a ghost for right now."

Yusuke appeared in front of his godsister, still wearing his trademark green school uniform. Though the male was looking far more serious than Yuki had ever seen him.

"A ghost?" Yuki gasped, resting a hand against her forehead. "Yep, I'm crazy. Definitely and utterly crazy, if I'm communicating with ghosts in my dream."

"Yeah, that's the point. Turns out, when humans sleep, they're more spiritually aware. Plus, Mom is having a total meltdown downstairs. You should see her, smashing bottles everywhere. I am not about to even touch that." Yusuke said as Yuki nodded her head.

"Good point. She thought I was my mom earlier and I can only imagine how much more drunk she has gotten. So, why are you here? Are you planning on haunting me?" Yuki asked, raising her eyebrow.

"No, I'm here because I met up with Botan. She's the grim reaper in the Spirit World and long story short, after I go through an ordeal, I'm coming back." Yusuke explained as Yuki stared at him in shock.

"I'm gonna need you to break this down to me as if I'm a toddler," Yuki spoke.

"I don't have time to explain it right now, but you've got to keep my body from being cremated, okay? Tell mom not to worry, because I'll be back soon." Yusuke ordered.

"Okay, I'll look after you. But I am demanding a more detailed explanation when you come back." Yuki said, before hugging her god brother.

Yusuke hugged her back before the pair pulled away from each other and Yuki pinched his cheeks. "Go and talk to Keiko. She's just as upset as we are."

"Alright! Alright! Alright, I'll go talk to her! Let go of my face!" Yusuke yelled before throwing himself backward to free his face.

"See you soon Yusuke." Yuki grinned as Yusuke rubbed his cheeks.

With one final side-eye towards the grinning girl, Yusuke faded from view.

Yuki sat up with a gasp, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath as she looked around the room with wide, confused eyes. Sunlight was streaming into the room from the window and the twins were still sleeping in the bed as Yuki tried to understand what she had seen the night before. She wasn't fully sure if it had actually happened or was it just her wishful thinking. Exhaling, Yuki kicked the blanket off her legs and got to her feet, before walking towards the door. She slowly padded downstairs and sighed at the sight of her god mother. The woman was laying with her head on the casket and broken bottles tossed around the room as she snored. Shaking her head, Yuki could easily guess what had gone down over night.

"I guess that I should clean this…"

As Yuki moved to start cleaning, her body froze as she remembered that Yusuke had mentioned his mother was having a fit downstairs and was breaking bottles.

"Auntie Atsuko! Auntie!" Yuki yelled, rushing towards the woman as a knock came at the door.

"Atsuko, Yuki?" Keiko called out as she opened the door, the girl already dressed for school. "Hey, are you in there?"

"Yuki? Oh, hi Keiko." Atsuko answered as she opened her eyes.

"Hello, did I wake you?"

"No, it's fine." Yuki reassured her.

"I just had the strangest dream about Yusuke." Atsuko spoke, her tone more thoughtful that Yuki had ever heard it.

Though her words caught the two teen girls attention as Keiko gasped and Yuki stared at the woman, waiting with baited breath. "Yusuke was living in a some other world full of ogres and he kept knocking them down until he became their leader. Sounds like him, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it really does." Yuki sighed, smiling at the woman.

"I dreamed of Yusuke too." Keiko said softly.

"Oh? Was it like mine?"

"Umm.." Keiko trailed off.

"Then maybe it was true."

"Yes, maybe it was." Keiko said, before she closed the door behind her. "Yuki, I guess you won't be going to school today?"

Yuki looked down at the black kimono that she was wearing and shook her head towards Keiko. "Not today. I have…a few things that I need to square away today."

The brown haired girl nodded her head before she walked out of the house, waving to the pair before she closed the door. Atsuko laid her head down and Yuki walked upstairs. Once she got upstairs, she found the duffle bag with her clothes inside of it and took it with her to the bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind her, Yuki quickly shed the kimono and turned the water on before her eyes locked onto her ribcage. Turning to the side, she looked at the purple and black bruises that covered the left side of her body and she sighed before shedding her underwear and climbing into the shower. She quickly washed off her body and once she was done, she washed her hair. Once she was done, Yuki shut the water off and climbed out of the shower before wrapping her body and hair in a towel. She dug into her bag and pulled out new underwear, bra and her toothbrush. While she brushed her teeth, Yuki pulled on her underwear and bra before she dug around for an outfit. Yuki pulled out a pair of ripped high waisted jeans, a black, red and grey wave pattered crop top, a black leather jacket, fuzzy black socks and a red baseball cap.

"This should do." Yuki mumbled, spitting into the sink before she got dressed.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Yuki could see the red mark from where her father had slapped her the night before and she dug around in the bathroom drawers, searching for a face mask to cover the mark. Once she found one, she pulled it on her face and then threw the baseball cap on her head before she walked into Yusuke's room. The twins were still sleeping and Yuki tiptoed towards the closet, opening the door and pulling out the Doc Martens that her mother had given her. Walking out of the room and down the stairs, Yuki noticed Atsuko was gone and she reached into the right boot and pulled out a large roll of cash.

"You drove me to this daddy dearest." Yuki scoffed, pulling the boots on and tying them.

She shoved the money into the jacket pocket and walked out of the apartment, before heading towards her family's apartment. Unlocking the door, Yuki poked her head into the door and she saw that her father wasn't in the living room and she slid into the door fully. Looking around the place as she walked towards the kitchen, and she bent down opening a cabinet. Sitting in the cabinet was an old, army green large canvas backpack and she pulled it out before closing the cabinet. Opening the bag, rolls and rolls of cash stared back at her and she felt her heart hit her stomach.

"This is six years of work…babysitting, tutoring, dog walking, weed pulling, mowing lawns, pet sitting, selling my cakes on the side of the street and then working with Ms. Kikyo." Yuki whimpered as she closed it up. "All of my hard work, my scrimping and saving to provide a better life for my brothers. Gone in the blink of an eye."

Rushing to her room, Yuki walked towards her desk and opened the top drawer. The contents of the drawer were scattered along the floor and she reached underneath the top of the drawer and clicked a hidden button, before she pulled out a secret compartment. Staring back at her was a heart shaped diamond pendant that was sitting in a white gold setting and hanging on a thin silver chain. Pulling the necklace out, Yuki felt tears well in her eyes before she slipped the necklace around her neck.

Yuki's POV

I walked down the street with my head down as the bag seemed to grow heavier as I moved through the crowd. My first goal was to go and see Ms. Kikyo because I had a feeling that they would be watching the bakery to see if I would show up again. So, I knew that I had to keep myself calm and make sure that I ended this soon. Because worse case scenario, would be that I would have to offer my mother's necklace to the men and that was the last thing that I wanted to do.

"Yuki! What happened to your hair?!" Kikyo's voice called out as I looked at her.

Kikyo was wearing a red blazer with a white button up shirt tucked into a pair of high waisted jeans with a black belt and a pair of chunky heeled boots. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail as she jogged towards me, worry clear in her eyes. Gripping the face mask, she tugged it down and her eyes narrowed as she saw the mark on my cheek. She reached out to touch it and I pulled back from her, quickly pulling the mask back over my face. A frown crossed her lips as I cleared my throat and before fixing my hat.

"Father dearest left me with a few parting gifts last night." I spoke as her eyes flew to the bag on my back.

"Yuki…what is in the bag?" She asked, as I slid the bag off of my back and I held it out to her.

Grabbing the bag from me, she opened the top and I watched as her face paled and her eyes widened. Quickly flipping the top back, she grabbed my arm gently and proceed to drag me into the bakery. As we walked in, my eyes looked around the room in confusion as I saw that it looked like the bakery hadn't been damaged at all.

"Yuki Yamamoto. Have you lost you damn mind?!" Kikyo yelled, throwing the bag to the floor. "Your savings?! You have no reason to give up the money that you've been slaving for!"

"What other choice do I have?!" I screamed, causing the older woman to jump in surprise. "It's either I pay them off with money or…I would rather give up everything I have than to become some toy for them."

"Yuki…"

"So, either you help me or get out of my way."

Kikyo flexed her hands open and closed around the steering wheel as she drove, the atmosphere between the two of us thick with tension. I could feel my heart thudding against my ribcage harshly as she slowed down the car and stopped in front of a large building. My eyes flew towards the top floor, where the words 'private loans' mocked me as I unbuckled myself.

"Yuki, just let me handle this. You should be in school right now, not dealing with this. There's no shame in backing away from a dangerous situation." Kikyo pleaded with me as I looked at her.

"I can't back down from this situation and I am not going to ask you to handle it for me. Now, I'm basically all my brothers have and I don't want them to run from a challenge." I sighed, opening the door and climbing out. "I can handle this."

Pulling down the mask, I smiled at her before I closed the door and pulled the mask back over my face. Walking towards the building, I threw one of the straps onto my shoulder and I felt my nails dig into the fabric. Rolling my shoulders back, I stepped into the building and I walked up the stairs. With every step that I took, I could feel my nerves mounting ever higher but I forced them back. A sliding door was the sight that met me once I reached the top floor and I could hear loud yelling coming from the room beyond it.

"Let's go to.."

"Hawaii!"

I threw the door open and I saw the four men that ransacked Kikyo's bakery sitting around the room as a group of men, who couldn't have been older than twenty, were standing around in a circle. Walking through the men, I kept my eyes focused on the stocky man as a voice rang in my ear.

"You must be crazy. You're the first customer today." He said, walking around me and cutting me off. "How much do you need? 200,000 yen? 400,000 yen?"

My eyes noticed the name on the desk behind the man wearing the sunglasses and I rose my eyebrow. "Crimson Serpents. Interesting name, but my business isn't with you. It's with him."

"What business do you have with Big Brother Fukushima?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as I looked back at him.

"I don't think that's any of your business. Fukushima, let's talk." I spoke, my voice holding more confidence than I thought I possessed.

"Well, it's our little mouse come to pay the piper. Daddy sent you to us instead of the money?" Fukushima chuckled as the blonde haired one stood up. "Nakai, get our mouse a chair so that she's…comfortable."

The blonde male pulled over a chair and gestured for me to sit down in it before he backed away. "I take it you remember Nakai, Oka and Tezuka?"

"How could I forget? You hurt someone precious to me, kinda hard to forget." I sneered, leaning back in the chair.

"So, you decided to pay off your father's debt?" Fukushima asked a smirk on his lips as I looked at him.

"Yes, I have. My father shouldn't mess up my life and I'd like it if you would remember that if he ever shows up in front of you again." I said, unshouldering the bag and tossing it towards the man.

Oka caught the bag and he handed it to Fukushima, the man grabbing the bag and opening it. I could tell his eyes widened in shock as he pulled his sunglasses off revealing a pair of beady eyes. Turning the bag over, he dumped out the money and looked at me in shock.

"That should be enough, right?" I smirked, leaning back in the seat. "There's no love lost between me and my father. That money is all that that bastard owes you, no reason for you to come looking for me again. Though, I do have one request to make of you."

Fukushima looked at me in confusion as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the last roll of cash that my mother had stuffed into the boots I wore. The frayed roll of cash caught their attention as I smiled.

"What's this request?" Oka asked, his voice sounding like gravel.

Reaching up, I pulled the baseball cap off first before I pulled the mask down, letting them see the bruise on my face and my shorter hair. A smirk crossed Fukushima's lip as he leaned backwards as I leaned forward.

"Make him suffer. The world has no use for bastards like him."

Third Person's POV

Botan, having left Yusuke to his own devices after he possessed Kuwabara, went searching for his god sister. The blue haired girl wasn't sure what it was about the brown skinned girl, but after following Yusuke to the girl's bedside there was something different about her. Her oar flew her faster towards where she sensed the girl and she floated over Kikyo, the older woman pacing outside of her car as she inhaled smoke from her cigarette. She floated up towards the window and she looked in, seeing the girl's aura dominating the men that were in the room with her.

"Don't forget: After you handle my request, our business is done. Don't come looking for me or it will end badly for you." Yuki smirked, standing to her feet.

Grabbing the empty bag, she shouldered it again before she walked out of the room. Something about the girl rubbed her in a familiar, yet wrong way as she walked down the stairs. As Yuki walked out of the building, Kikyo threw the cigarette to the ground as the teenaged girl skipped towards her.

"It's all over, they won't be bothering me again." Yuki said as Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's get you home and I am begging you, please no more dangerous stunts." Kikyo begged.

"I can't make that promise, but I can promise not to give you grey hairs. Well, any more at least." Yuki smirked.

"WHAT?!"

Kikyo leaned down to look into the sideview mirror and check her hair as Yuki laughed, climbing into the car. "It's not funny!"

Botan watched as the pair drove away before she flew into the office space and her eyes flew towards the men.

"Big Brother, I don't know why…but that girl made me feel unsettled." Oka spoke, his face pale as he looked at the beady eyed male.

"That wasn't the same girl we met a few days ago, something was different about her." Nakai said.

"She would have made an excellent member of the group. So, sad that after this we have no other business with her." Fukushima sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Botan left the office with her brow furrowed as she flew towards Yusuke. She quickly found the boy in Kuwabara's body hugging Keiko on the street.

"Okay, Botan. I'm ready." Yusuke said.

Botan and Yusuke were now floating over Kuwabara and Keiko as the orange haired boy came to, confused as to why he was hugging Keiko and why he was covered in bruises.

'Uh that's funny, I thought I was with the guys.' Kuwabara thought before he looked down to see Keiko still resting against his chest with tears falling down her face. 'Apparently not! Wow! This girl must really have the hots for me!'

Laughing, Kuwabara hugged Keiko and that caught the girl's attention, the smaller girl quickly slapping the taller boy. "Sorry about that."

Keiko left Kuwabara standing there in shock as she ran towards the Urameshi apartment.

"Nah, it's okay. I prob'ly deserved it." Kuwabara said.

Keiko arrived at the house at the same time that Yuki arrived with Kikyo. The brown haired girl rushed to the door and started banging on it, trying to get the woman's attention.

"Atsuko! Please open the door! Atsuko!" Keiko screamed.

"Keiko? What's going on?" Yuki asked as she jogged towards her.

"I have to talk to Atsuko." Keiko panted, still banging on the door.

Atsuko threw the door open, now standing in a black kimono with her hair pulled into a low ponytail. "I have to tell you! About Yusuke! He might be coming back!"

"He already has!" Atsuko said, pointing inside the house.

Yuki, Keiko and Kikyo looked inside the house in confusion as Kisuke and Renji were rattling off to Yusuke's body, large smiles on their faces. A faint memory from last night buzzed in Yuki's head as her eyes widened and she rushed into the house.

"I opened up his coffin again because well, I was going to smack him one more time for leaving me, but then I saw." Atsuko spoke, her eyes welling with tears. "Yusuke's cheeks have some color! His skin is slightly warm."

Yuki knelt down by the body, her hand wrapping around his wrist and feeling his pulse beating slowly against her fingertips. "His heart is beating. It's slow, but. My boy's alive!"

Atsuko and Keiko pulled each other into a hug as they both started crying and Yuki rested a hand against her forehead.

"It's a miracle." Kikyo said, her voice soft as she watched Yuki.

"All things considered, I think I'd call this quite a successful day, Yusuke." Botan said.

"Yeah." Yusuke said, digging into his pocket and pulling out the golden egg.

There was a faint glowing light in the egg as he stared at it. "Hey, I think it's feeding now. I only did good-natured things today, don't you think so?"

"I don't know Yusuke, you did beat up a lot of kids as I recall." Botan spoke.