Disclaimer: This is a fanficion site. I am a fan. Therefore I do not own. Therefore you do not sue.

A/N - I apologize if this is poorly written and makes no sense. This is not only my first YYH fanfic, but I'm writing it at 2 in the morning. No excuse, I know, but, I tried. O.o

Just Another Day

Chapter 1- Rush

Kurama walked leisurely past the park, his favorite route to his house. The air was crisp and cool, a perfect autumn day. It was longer than other paths from school, so he rarely saw his classmates. He was just enjoying the wind whipping through his hair, when the sound of voices and laughter reached his ears. Looking around, Kurama could see no one but elderly people strolling together in a nostalgic daze and small children bouncing in piles of leaves. Then his gaze fell upon a group of teens in red uniforms. The lion pride has arrived, Kurama thought, I suppose if I don't bother them, they won't bother me. Kurama kept walking, slightly quickening his pace and keeping his eyes on the group. He noticed that they were grouped around Hiei, laughing and joking, but he seemed to be deep in thought, his stare locked on the pavement below him. Then, one of them looked up. To Kurama's dismay, he got the attention of his friends, and then pointed at him. One by one they jogged over, effectively blocking Kurama's path. Kurama sighed. After that grueling math test, a confrontation with anyone was the last thing he desired.

"Excuse me. Could you please move?" Kurama asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Sorry punk, you want to get past us, you're going to have to make us. And I don't think you can," a gruff voice challenged. Kurama looked up to meet the gaze of Kuwabara once more. Kurama sighed again. What did this guy want?

Taking Kurama's silence as that of submission, Kuwabara smugly added, "Not so tough now without your books to make you feel smart, ne?" poking a finger into Kurama's sternum. Kurama shook his head. It was just too easy.

"I still have my books, if you haven't noticed," said Kurama, pointing to the messenger bag at his side.

"Oh…" Kuwabara looked to the sky, appearing to search for a retort. Kurama took this opportunity to look for an escape, but his eyes locked on a figure in the distance. Hiei. Kurama glanced back to the group, for the first time noticing his absence. For some reason, Kurama felt compelled to walk over to him. He took a step to the side, then another, and another, a sick feeling of anger welling up inside him. He wanted to know why. Why each day his buffoons tried to corner him in the hall…at lunch…now on his way home. What was next? Were they going to turn up on his doorstep? While he…he just did nothing, standing there like what they did didn't matter. Kurama had just started to run when something was jammed into his stomach, nearly flipping him over. Kurama glared at the ginger-haired teen standing in front of him.

"Where were you going, Youko? Trying to run away? Are you scared?" taunted Kuwabara.

"Look at him…are you running to your kaasan?" A new voice joined in, one that Kurama recognized as Urameshi Yuusuke. Kurama's eyes narrowed.

"Hey Kuwabara, I thought fighting girls was against your code!" Another voice, and another, "Yeah! But it's so much fun!" The taunts filled his head, blocking all coherent thought but one. Make it stop. Kurama struck out, blinded by a rage built by years of dealing, every moment telling himself it didn't matter. But it did. This was the drop of water that broke the dam, releasing the flood to drown the emotions. Kurama's fist connected with bone with a sickening crack. His hand came away with a slight coating of red. The boys looked at him for a second, stunned. The shock wore off soon enough, and each dove towards him, only to be pushed away by a knee or elbow. The adrenaline was coursing though Kurama's body, feeding the rage that had been starved for so long. It wasn't enough to play defense anymore. Kurama rushed towards the nearest body, swinging his elbow up towards his opponent's nose. More red. Another person. A swift drop kick knocked him to the ground. A knee in the small of the back. A quick succession of punches.

One of them had cut his cheek, but he couldn't feel pain, he could only feel the fire of his blood coursing through his veins, pulsing in his ears. His vision was swimming in a sea of crimson. The uniforms, the blood, the heated anger, the red-hot feeling that he couldn't shake. Then suddenly, his knees met the pavement with a sound of tearing fabric. Kurama moved to get up, but it felt as though both his kneecaps had been shattered into a thousand fragments that were now stabbing him like needles.

His head pounded with the onslaught of pain that had been dulled by his raging fury. Vaguely, Kurama could sense another presence behind him. He could feel the rush of air behind him and instinctively ducked his head. The punch had caused the other to overbalance. Seeing an opening in the other's lack of stability, Kurama twisted around and dealt a blow to the solar plexus that was inches from his face. Kurama could see his expression reflected in the other's pain-widened eyes a moment before he hit the ground. Pure blood lust.

Kurama turned away, more than a trace nauseous. He pushed himself up, ignoring the needles that were sewing themselves in his flesh. One last glance sealed his fate as vertigo overtook him. He fell into a coughing fit, fighting the bile that was rising in his throat. He dropped to his already mangled knees and retched in the grass, purging himself with the acidic substance. After what seemed like an eternity, Kurama rose, still slightly dizzy, wincing. He brushed his fingers cross his cheek. More blood. Kurama fought the urge to vomit again and wiped the offending liquid on his jacket.

Kurama began to walk away from the unconscious teens, remorse and guilt absorbing any residual anger. How was he supposed to explain this to his mother? A few scratches, one bruise, perhaps, but scraped knees, a black eye and numerous cuts and contusions? Never in his life had Kurama ever done something like this. He thought back, why did he do this? It couldn't the taunts that he had endured since junior high. Kurama racked his brain. What had caused him to snap? Then the answer came to him as he stood there, much like a certain someone. Hiei. Why was he just standing there? Staring into space as though nothing but himself mattered. Did he know that his goons were just doing this to impress him? That they wouldn't stop until he got their approval? But the approval wouldn't come, and they wouldn't stop. That's why he had tried to go after him. That's when Kuwabara had stopped him. That's when he snapped. Kurama stopped; he had nearly passed his house. As he was searching in his bag for his keys, the door opened.

"Ku-chan? I thought I heard something out here. Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Kurama's mother began. He looked up; she gasped. "What happened?"

"Nothing mother," Kurama replied, ducking his head, "I - I just got into a little fight…that's all."

"A fight? Kurama-chan! Why? Did they come after you? Where are they? Who are their parents? I'll be sure they'll never pick on you again!" Youko Shiori swore.

"Kaasan. You don't have to -"

"Yes, I do! No one comes after my baby and gets away with it. Just you wait…"

"Kaasan…please…I'm the one who went after them…" Kurama half-lied.

"Kurama let me…you…you went after them?" she repeated, looked incredulous.

"Gomen nasaii. I - I don't know what came over me." Shiori sighed, looking at her son, only imaging what he must be going through.

"Well, there's no use beating yourself up about it…looks like whoever you fought did a pretty good job of that." Kurama smiled weakly.

"Actually, they're in a lot worse shape than I am." Kurama's mother smiled sadly at her son, then hugged him.

"A-arigatou kaasan."

"You're welcome, Kurama."

*****

Hiei walked from the park, somewhat dazed. He had never actually watched a street fight. It wasn't easy to see from the great vantage point of pinning someone to the ground and knocking them out. The whole thing was sort of gruesome. Hiei shuddered at the memories. He thought he saw a tooth go flying off somewhere. He had no idea that Kurama was going to fight back. Hell, Kurama had started the fight. Sure, Kuwabara has baited him, but no one had actually expected him to do anything. He was too calm for that. Seeing him in that brawl had made Hiei extremely glad that he had stayed to the side and minded his own business. He didn't need to make any awkward explanations on the first day of his new job.

He stopped in front of the building. Where was he supposed to go? Hiei racked his brain. Ah, fifth floor. He walked up to the door, getting pushed out of the way by a tall man in an expensive suit. Hiei had half a mind to go after him, but quickly changed his mind after noticing the heavy security. Hiei pushed the door, quickly stepping into one of the compartments before the door started moving again. It was about 5 very dizzying minutes later when Hiei finally stepped into the lobby, cursing revolving doors under his breath. He looked around. Expensive oriental carpets were placed over a deep cherry colored hardwood floor. Paintings depicting landscapes of some faraway country were hung on the wall. He glanced up at the ceiling. It was covered by a mural of a sunset over a snow-covered mountain range; crystal chandeliers dropping delicately like icicles from the heights. Hiei dropped his gaze, searching. This place was bigger than he expected. Then he spotted what he was looking for, the elevators. He managed to slip into a car just as the doors were closing. A few moments later they opened again onto the 5th floor, which was just as richly decorated as the lobby. Hiei looked around. He needed to find a Mr. Yamada's office. As he started to walk around, Hiei began to think it was hopeless. Not only could he not find the office, it seemed as though he were the only person on the floor. As he was debating leaving, he saw someone rounding the corner. He jogged over. "Sumimasen," he said, bowing slightly. As he rose, he had to blink to make sure his eyes were still working properly. In front of him stood the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld. Her shoulder-length auburn hair framed a heart-shaped face. But the most stunning feature was definitely her eyes. There was something so familiar about the emerald colored orbs that Hiei nearly forgot why he was there in his pursuit of the answer. But the woman's silken voice quickly jerked him from his hunt.

"May I help you with something?" she asked. Hiei faltered. Even those words sounded familiar!

"H-hai. I was looking for the office of Yamada-san. Could you please tell me where I could find it?" Hiei stuttered.

"Of course. It's down the hall, first door on the right," she replied, flashing a dazzling smile.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Hiei bowed again before taking off in the direction indicated. He was amazed. He had been down this hall at least ten times and never even saw this door. He took a moment to straighten his uniform before knocking on the door. Almost immediately it opened. A deep voice, soft in volume beckoned him. Something about it made him decidedly uncomfortable, but he shook off the feeling as he walked in, closing the door silently behind him.

A/N- Wow, this took me some time to write. I know, it's weird, and I absolutely suck at writing fight scenes. I'm sorry for any mistakes too, and there are bound to be a ton. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed…I love you guys! Super chocolate fudge brownies for all of you. Seriously, seeing those reviews made my day. I know there was something else I wanted to say, but I kind of forgot. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Remember, reviews definitely make me write faster, so if you want to read more, just drop a line or two!

-Jen

Quick Japanese lesson-

kaasan- mother

sumimasen- excuse me/ sorry

arigatou gozaimasu- thank you very much