Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Invisible ❯ Misery ( Chapter 2 )

Here's Chapter two!! Please tell me what you think!!

 

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. All I own is Kasumi.

 

Suichi soon found he was correct, when his friends questioned him the moment he walked into the room, and he found himself explaining the situation he'd found himself in this past noon hour. From running from the mob of rabid women, to his subsequent introduction to Kasumi.

Yusuke blinked. "Who?"

He smiled, not really surprised that they didn't know who she was. It wasn't as if she had any reputation for them to have heard of her. "Do you see that really quiet girl that alway sits in the back of the classes, usually in the far corner? The one with the light brown hair that's always hanging in her face?"

The two boys blinked and looked back. They saw the girl he was talking about, her head hanging down as she quietly read a book in the back of the class, patiently waiting for the teacher to come in and start the daily lessons.

Kuwabara blinked. "Oh, the quiet girl, huh? I've never even talked to her once before. So her name's Kasumi?"

Yusuke grinned evilly. "Uh, oh... you were alone in a closet with a girl? Anything interesting happen?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You know me better than that, Yusuke. We just... talked. Or at least I tried to talk to her. She's a rather quiet and self conscious girl, from what I can tell. She's rather nice, actually. Although... there is something about her that does have me a little concerned..."

Yusuke's grin was gone in an instant. "A little concerned? What is it?"

"Well, you can't see it because her hair is concealing it at the moment, but she has a rather large bruise on her cheek. She told me she fell out of bed this morning and that is how she got it. For some reason... I think she is lying."

His friends eyes narrowed dangerously hearing this as they cast a glance back at the girl. She hadn't moved so much as an inch, except to turn a page in the book she was reading. Then they looked back at the kitsune. "What do you think? You think someone hit her or something? Like her mom or dad? Maybe a boyfriend?" Kuwabara looked like he was ready to wage war. None of them liked the thought of any woman being harmed by a man.

"I don't know. I know for sure it's not her mother. She told me she never met her. And I don't believe she has a boyfriend. She doesn't talk with others, so I don't think she'd take the time to meet one. I suppose it is possible she got it the way she said, considering the size and coloring of the bruise, but... something just tells me that her story was a lie."

Yusuke blinked. "And... she spends all noon hour in that one room... by herself?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's right. I believe she likes the quiet solitude."

Kuwabara grinned. "I know! Why don't we invite her to join us for lunch tomorrow at noon? If Suichi can make it, that is..." he added, his grin turning sly.

The red haired boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I honestly tried, but when those girls start... there's not much you can do to stop them..."

At that moment, the teacher entered the room and all conversation stopped immediately. The class passed quickly enough, Yusuke and Kuwabara not really paying any attention, and Suichi just bored as he listened to the teacher prattle on and hand out homework assignments and the results of tests.

When the bell rang, the boys blinked, noticing for the first time that the quiet Kasumi was the first out the door, never lifting her head up once, and seemingly ignoring everyone around her.

They went to their final class, history, and saw her already sitting in the back of the class, a book open in front of her once more, as if she'd been there for hours instead of only a moment. Aside from her and the detectives, the classroom was empty.

The three of them exchanged a look and nodded as one. Taking the lead, Suichi approached her desk, his friends close on his heels.

"Kasumi?"

The girl blinked and looked up from her book, and blinked again, seeing Suichi and his two companions. "Yes, Suichi?" He smiled at her gently. "I was talking to my friends, Yusuke and Kuwabara, and we would like to invite you to join us for lunch time tomorrow. Are you interested?"

She blinked again, this time in surprise, and she considered for a moment. "Um... sure. You guys eat out in behind the school, right? Under the Sakura tree?"

Yusuke blinked in surprise. "Hey, that's right! How'd you know that?"

A trace of a smile came to her lips. "As I told Suichi earlier, when you're as quiet as I am, you hear a lot. By the way, look out for Nashuma-sensei. He's planning on planting a baggie of drugs in your locker next week to try and get you expelled."

The boys eyes went wide and his hands balled into fists. "That fucking asshole! He just doesn't know when to give it up, does he?! When did you hear that?"

She shrugged. "He was talking about it with Rikuto-sensei yesterday in the parking lot. I don't think they even noticed I was in hearing range. If you want to catch them in the act, Rikuto said that his brother deals and is going to get it from him the day after tomorrow. He plans to plant it in your locker on Monday. I suggest getting a camera, going to the alley behind Francisco's on 124th Street and snapping a photo of him getting it. Then inform Principal Yamamoto and both be waiting out of sight by your locker fifteen minutes before the students arrive."

The three of them stared at her with lacked jaws.

Ooohhh.... I like her! She's devious and sly! Hey, Red! She's not drooling all over you or asking you out or anything like that! You shouldn't have any objections to going out with a girl like her!

Youko... Suichi warned silently.

Then the students started arriving and the boys quickly left the side of her desk, having a feeling she didn't want any attention drawn to her.

They went through their history class with the same boredom as usual before the dismissal bell rang, telling them they could all finally go home or do whatever it is that they wanted.

As they left the school, they saw Kasumi again, getting ready to head for home, already strolling down the street.

Suichi raced to catch up with her. "Kasumi-san?" he called out, his friends right on his heels.

Blinking, the girl turned around and saw the boys approaching her again. She seemed to stiffen somewhat before relaxing. "Yes?"

He smiled at her pleasantly. "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't have a great deal to eat at lunch. Would you like to join me and my friends in the restaurant today? I would be more than happy to treat you."

The girl blinked, and then immediately shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a tonne of chores to do at home today. I'm the only one who can do them since my father is usually out from nine in the morning to ten at night. Sometimes he's out as late as one in the morning. I have to have something ready for him to eat when he gets home and make sure he has clean clothes for work in the morning. As I said... life at home is rather busy. But I'll still eat with you guys tomorrow at lunch, if you really want me to."

Yusuke blinked. "Yowza! Your dad's gone all day! What does he do for a living?"

"Shipper receiver. It's pretty busy at his work this time of year and he can get as many as forty trailers a day. There aren't many people working there right now either, so he usually double's up on his shifts." She looked at her watch. "Well, I've gotta get going. Bye."

Without another word to them, she turned on her heels and quickly walked away.

Kuwabara sighed. "Poor thing. She seems more like a wife than a daughter. She should be out having fun, not busting her ass to keep their house looking nice."

"Who was that girl?" asked a familiar voice off to the side. Blinking, they turned and, sure enough, Hiei stood there, his arms across his chest as his eyes followed her retreating form.

Suichi smiled. "It's a bit of a story. Why don't I treat you to some food and we'll tell you about it."

Shrugging, Hiei fell in step with them as they made their way to their favorite hangout.

 

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Kasumi sighed, entering the house twenty minutes after having left the school and thought back on her day. When Suichi had walked into the closer, she had thought she was going to have a heart attack. But then again, he looked just as nervous as she felt. She hadn't really wanted him to stay with her, but she knew he had wanted to, and experience taught her that contradicting a man equaled a swift and sure beating.

She had been even moreso startled when he noticed the bruise on her face. She was used to questions like that, though, and had lied as always. It was practically second nature to her by now. The occassional teacher noticed injuries on her on more than one occassion, and she was pretty sure she had convinced the majority of them that she was just a total klutz.

She didn't really want to go to lunch with them tomorrow, much preferring the quiet solitude of the janitor's closet, but with Yusuke and Kuwabara's reputations... she didn't want to risk angering them in the slightest.

But she had had little choice but to refuse their invitation to the lunch after school. She had far too much to do and if her father found even the slightest flaw in her cooking or cleaning... she shivered and shoved the thought from her mind.

Time to worry about all that later, she thought. Right now she had to get her things put away and get to work.

She ran up to her room, quickly changing out of her school uniform and getting into a pair of faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Then she quickly ran back down stairs, throwing the dirty laundry into the washer, starting it, folding the clean laundry that had been in the dryer and putting it away. She was a little behind on the laundry, but she figured she should be able to catch up.

After putting away the dried load, she set about doing the dishes and cleaning off the tables and counters, making sure everything was nice and clean. Once she had the dishes finished, she quickly returned to the washer and dryer, folding what was in the dryer and reloading it before grabbing more dirty laundry and throwing it in. She decided while that was working, she was going to sweep and mop the floors on the bottom floor, and then vaccuum the carpeted floors on the second level.

That job was complete in about an hour's time, and she took a few seconds to glance at her watch, wincing when she saw it was seven o'clock. She had to get a move on and get dinner started soon. If it wasn't sitting on the table nice and warm when her father got home, it was going to be hell for her.

She started cooking, relieved to find another package of hamburger sitting in the freezer. It looked like there would be enough for the both of them to eat tonight. She was going to have to go into her father's wallet after he went to sleep tonight and steal a few dollars so she could get more food for them for tomorrow's dinner.

She had the table set and the food ready by ten o'clock, eating her portion and carefully keeping her father's nice and hot for when he got home. She quickly washed her plate and utensils, and continued on with the housework until midnight, when she heard the door open and close, and the all to familiar sound of slurred curses.

"Kasumi! Get yer ass in here!"

She took in a deep breath and quickly entered the room, putting a welcoming smile on her face, despite the smell of vodka that now filled the kitchen. "Hello, Dad. I have hamburger, nice and hot on the stove. Would you like some?"

He simply grunted and sat down at the table. She suppressed a sigh of relief as she quickly scooped up the meal for him and set it in front of him.

He ate in silence for a few minutes, and when he seemed to be satisfied with the meal, Kasumi was about to return to her earlier chore.

"Didjya wash the couch covers?" he slurred, and the question made Kasumi stop in her tracks and her stomach drop. Her father's bed upstairs was filled with broken springs and the headboard's wood was rotten. For those reasons, her father had taken to sleeping on the couch for the last four years, not bothering to save money to simply get a new bed, or at the very least, a new mattress. Kasumi had completely forgotten that he had asked her to wash it for him.

She turned, her face going a little white. "Not yet, but I will..."

His fist slammed down on the table with a loud bang, making her jump and hamburger to go flying off of his plat and onto the floor and tabletop. "I thaw I told ya to wash it before I came HOME, you dumb bitch! What the fuck's the matter with ya? Ya can' even do one little simple fucking chore?! Don' ya listen to me anymore?! I wanna sit and watch some TV before I go ta bed tonight!!"

Her face was now drained of all color. "I... I'm sorry... If you like, I could get a clean blanket to cover it for you. I just did the laundry and..."

Her father got to his feet and took several quick steps before her, his expression angry. Kasumi cringed, knowing what was coming next.

"If ya were doin' the fuckin' laundry, then why didn' ya wash the fuckin' couch covers with them, you worthless whore?!" he roared, backhanding his daughter. Kasumi stumbled and fell against the wall. She didn't have time to move before he had her by the arm and threw her to the floor. Then, before she could even think to run, she felt a crushing pain in her side as her father kicked her. She just felt relief that he had taken his steel toed boots off before sitting at the table. She was out of breath for a few seconds and tears brimmed in her eyes. Then she felt her father grab her by a handful of her hair and drag her to her feet.

"Get me a fuckin' blanket and set up a spot on the couch for me to sleep. I want those couch covers washed and dried by the time I get home from work tomorrow, or I'll give you a beatin' you'll never forget!"

She nodded wordlessly and rushed off the second he had let her hair go, one hand holding her aching ribs.

She got the blanket and quickly and neatly put it on the couch just as her father entered the room.

She wordlessly handed him the remote, and once he was comfortably settle down, she scurried out of the room, trying to ignore the horrible aching pain in her ribs as she made her way into the kitchen to clean up the spilt hamburger.

She still had to start on her homework yet, and she was only thankful that she didn't have that much to do.

After doing her homework, she saw it was two thirty in the morning. She went back into the living room to see that her father had passed out on the couch, leaving his wallet on the living room table. She quickly snatched four thousand yen from it, sticking it deep into her packet to put in her own wallet later. She wordlessly grabbed another blanket, draped it over him, and then finally went on up to bed.

 

There's Chapter two for you! Please let me know what you think!!