Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Realistic Fiction ❯ Any Questions? ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Any Questions?
The first week of school in Japan was uneventful, if you don't count the death glares I received, courtesy of a certain Kitsune's fan club. I actually considered joining it one day, simply to freak him out, but I knew the company would drive me crazy. Unlike his fans back home, these girls were preps, and though I got along with preps just as well as I got along with everyone else, I wasn't exactly overly fond of them. To put it bluntly, most of them made a habit of grating my nerves.
The boy I had mentally dubbed Gorgeous was mysterious as always. His brother, mentally dubbed Preteen, remained as I had first met him, too. Shiori and Ted, as I knew they would be from the start, were two of the nicest people I had ever met, though a little dull. Don't get me wrong- I still liked them. They were practically like an aunt and uncle to me.
Saturday afternoon (I had arrived the previous Sunday), I decided to do something different with my spare time. Until then, I had spent it as I normally would- I read the manga I had packed, surfed the net, wrote short stories, drew, played on my Gamecube from back home, watched anime with Preteen... You know, the works. But today would be different. Today, I would actually venture out of the house... to the arcade.
Of course, I had to get there first, and my directional skills were somewhat... lacking, to say the least. I could have asked one of the Shuichi boys, but... I wanted to have an adventure! ...Of sorts. So, I set off on a journey that would, with any luck, end at the arcade. Needless to say, there was a lot of wandering around involved.
Eventually, by sheer luck, also known as “skill” if anyone asked, I found it. It was a lot bigger than I had expected, but hey. Who's to complain? Anyway, I walked in, a triumphant grin on my face. Heck, I didn't even walk; I sashayed through the double doors, as if I owned the place.
I was completely ignored.
That didn't faze me, though. I strolled through the rows of video games, looking for something I liked. Oh, hell no, not Dance Dance Revolution. I got enough of that from a friend of mine in America, and no matter how much she forced me to play, I still sucked. Miserably. I walked on. Hm, that one looked promising... I fished around in my pocket for the money I had brought with me. I hadn't spent much money for four and a half months, and my allowance, along with money earned from odd jobs, had been adding up, so that when I got it exchanged for yen... I had a fair amount of spending money. ¥100? No problemo, Mister Memo. (Huh? I don't know, either.)
About fifteen minutes later, a small crowd had congregated around me. Oh, yeah. Who's the master? I'm the master. Oh yeah...
A loud, obnoxious voice distracted me, but I managed to recover long enough to KO my opponent. “Oi! Watch out, comin' through! Oi! I said move it!” The crowd parted and I turned around to see what was causing the commotion, leaning against the machine. It didn't take long to find it, considering it walked right up to me and glared at me indignantly. “Okay, you, a little bird came and told me you were trying to take my place at the top of the High Scores list!”
I let my face nor my voice betray no emotion. “Birds these days. Such gossips.”
The jell-haired punk had apparently noticed my accent. “A foreigner, eh? Thought you could just waltz in from wherever-you're-from and steal my title?”
I shrugged. “It appears so.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Oh, no. Of course not. I have much more to say.
“Then spill!”
“I am afraid I cannot. They don't teach many of the words I would use in school.” At this, the crowd collectively gasped, kind of like sheep, except they were people, and sheep don't gasp, anyway.
“Okay, that's it! You're going down!”
I smiled. It was not a nervous grin, nor a cocky smirk at all- it was just a smile, not at all dissimilar to the one I had seen Gorgeous use so many times. It was a smile that had freaked out whoever I used it on for years. It was a smile with no meaning; and that blankness, that emptiness, was what successfully sent shivers down the spines of nearly anyone to be on the receiving end of it.
“Are you challenging me, then?”
The boy was only half affected, at most. “No shit, Sherlock!”
I stepped aside, gesturing to the second controller. “Go ahead. But you pay.”
“What? Why me?”
“I am nearly out of money,” I lied smoothly. “Besides, I do not know about Japan, but in America, it is custom for the challenger to pay.”
“But you're the one challenging my title!”
“But it is you that came to me.”
He grumbled. “Fine, I'll pay. But I get the first controller!”
I shrugged and moved to the other side. “Whatever happened to `ladies first'?”
“I see no `ladies' here,” he grumbled.
The surprise was evident on his face when I laughed outright.
 
Thirty-two minutes and nine rounds later, my opponent was on the verge of banging his head against the machine. “One more game!”
I sighed. My initial amusement was beginning to give way to annoyance. “No. That is all I am willing to play for today.” I picked up my backpack and started to walk away... rather quickly, might I add.
“Oh, no you don't!” growled Punk, as I so affectionately called him, following me. “We're gonna finish what we started!”
I rolled my eyes and stopped a bit outside the . “It was finished in the fifth round. Besides, have you even got any money left?”
The boy blinked, then glared at me as we came out the front doors. “No.”
“Well, there you have it, then.” I was about to start down the sidewalk when I realized I had no idea where I was. “Kuso.”
He raised an eyebrow, his voice suddenly calm. “Okay, I'm pretty sure they don't teach cuss words in school.”
“You are correct. I picked that up off the Internet.”
He shrugged. “Well, what's so `kuso', anyway?”
“The route home seems to have escaped me.”
“Lost, huh?”
I scowled. “Lost? I am not lost. I am never lost. It is the rest of the world that is hopelessly confused.”
Punk laughed. “Oh, did you think that one up yourself, or did you get it out of a book?”
“A book, actually.”
He nodded. We stood there for a moment.
“Um... Punk?”
“What? That's not my name, you know.”
“Well, you have not told me your name.”
“You mean you don't know me?” Punk looked incredulous. “Everybody around here knows me. How long have you been in Japan, anyway?”
“Week.”
“Oh. That explains it, I guess.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Come to think of it, it's kinda nice to meet someone that isn't afraid of me. Change of pace, y'know? I'm Urameshi Yusuke, toughest punk around.”
Had I been walking, I would have stopped in my tracks. “Do you, by any chance, know a boy called Kuwabara Kazuma?”
“Yeah, second toughest punk around. Why? You heard of us?”
“...You could say that...” I frowned for a moment, then grinned. This could actually work to my advantage. I could always check out the other stuff later. “Hey, do you know this other boy, Minamino Shuichi?”
He gave me an odd look. “Yeah, actually. I can understand the Kuwabara thing, but how'd you know about K- Shuichi? Most people around here don't associate me with him.”
“Ano, magic?”
“Oh, sure,” came his sarcastic reply.
“But that is not the the point! I am staying at his house for the student exchange program!”
Yusuke looked thoughtful for a moment, then smirked. “So, he's got an unrelated girl living in his house, now, does he?”
I cocked my head to one side like a puppy. “Yes...” I pretended I had no idea what he was thinking... but I did. Darn him.
He laughed and shook his head. “So I'm guessing you're wondering if I know where he lives.”
“Yes!”
“Well, you're in luck. I can take you there, but it'll be a walk. How long did it take you to get here?”
“An hour or so.”
“I can probably get you there in about fifteen minutes.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“Yatta!” I then preformed the patented Pose of the Giddy Female, which consists of standing on one foot, on your toes, with the other foot in the air behind you, with your arms together up against your chest, and your hands either clapping baby claps or in fists. This Pose is usually accompanied by an overly girlish giggle.
“Okay, okay. Sheesh, you're embarrassing me here.”
“Sorry.” I giggled again.
“Come on, then. Let's go.”
 
We actually ran into Gorgeous about two-thirds of the way there. I giggled, yet again, and waved when I saw him. “Oi! Kitsune-san!”
Yusuke's eyebrows shot up when he heard the `kitsune,' and Gorgeous came over to where we were standing. “There you are! I was beginning to wonder where you had gotten off to.”
“I am sorry.” I bowed my head in shame, but the effect was kind of ruined when I giggled for the millionth time that day.
“So, Kitsune, how did you get this nickname?”
Shuichi seemed to notice Yusuke for the first time. “Ah, Yusuke. I see you've met Aya.”
“Answer me, Kitsune.”
“I don't know, actually. She sporadically decided to call me that the day she arrived.”
They both looked at me suspiciously. I beamed innocently back at them.
“Well, whatever,” was Punk's ingenious conclusion. “Now that you're here, I can get this directionally challenged nut case off my hands.”
“Now, Yusuke, I wouldn't call her a nut case...”
“I would!” I said. The boys sweatdropped. “Oh, now that you are both here together, I must ask you something that I have been wondering about since I learned Yusuke's name.”
The aforementioned Yusuke gave me an odd look as Kitsune politely replied, “Yes?”
“Do you two know a Hiei? Jaganshi Hiei, I think his name is?” I tried and failed to suppress an evil smirk at their expressions.
“What!”
“Ah...”
“Come to think of it, I do not suppose he would have any records... in this world, anyway,” I added pointedly, my smirk growing. “Because, you know, the Hiei I am thinking of has never technically been born.”
Yusuke was clearly getting extremely suspicious. “How do you-”
“Yes, we do, actually,” interrupted `Shuichi,' “and at the moment, I do believe he's in that tree over there. Come here, Hiei.”
The tree remained stubbornly silent.
“Hiei, get over here!” Yusuke gently persuaded.
“Hiei, this girl seems to know things she shouldn't. She may know more, and that could get all of us into trouble.”
A dark figure jumped out of the tree and landed in front of the the boy that I was now having a hard time not calling `Kurama'.
“Hn,” was all he said. I really don't have to describe what he looked like, do I? If I do, that's just sad.
“Right,” said Shuichi. “Now perhaps we should go to a more secluded area to discuss this.”
“Conveniently placed alley sound good to you?” suggested Yusuke.
Hiei didn't respond, Kitsune nodded, and I shrugged.
We walked in silence as the Punk led us to a conveniently placed ally. I leaned against a brick wall as the other three stood across from me. Hiei was glaring, no big surprise there; Yusuke was somewhere in between a glare and a confused stare, and Gorgeous was giving me a hard, level, business-like stare. If I was the type to ever feel uncomfortable for reasons other than missing articles of clothing, I would have been nervously shifting my weight from foot to foot. My smile was fading into a slight grimace.
“So,” I said finally, looking at Shuichi, “May I just call you Kurama now?”
The three exchanged a glance, and Kurama nodded.
“Girl,” said Hiei, addressing me ever so politely, “Who exactly are you, and how do you know of us?”
“One question at a time, please. As for the first, I am exactly who I appear to be. I am Aya, human, as far as I know. I am completely harmless; the only fighting I know how to do is in video games, and I know how to hold my tongue, so I am no threat to you. As for the second... well... that might be a little harder to answer.”
“Perhaps you should just tell us how much you know, to begin with,” said Kurama.
“Quite a bit, if I am not mistaken. From the time Yusuke died up through the dark tournament, some of the dealings with Sensui, and bits and pieces of information after that, such as Yusuke's heritage. And I am aware of Hiei's family situation, but don't worry; as I said before, I know how to hold my tongue.”
I half expected them to suddenly crack up, and explain that it was all an elaborate prank, but their expressions remained serious. Even though the other half of me had been expecting that from the beginning, I was still unprepared for the full gravity of the situation.
I groaned. “Please tell me that this is all a joke.” They shook their heads.
“And how do you know all this?” asked Hiei slowly.
I put a hand to my forehead. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“Anime.”
“What?” yelled Yusuke.
“And manga. Called Yu Yu Hakusho. One of my favorites, actually.”
“You're right. I don't believe you.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I could feel a migraine coming on. “Look, I have got a couple of the novels back at Shuichi's house, okay? I can show them to you, but they are in English.”
“Perhaps that would be a good idea,” agreed Kurama.
 
“Mother,” called the Kitsune as he opened the door, “I have some friends with me. Is that alright?”
“That's fine, Shuichi, dear,” came Shiori's voice from the kitchen. Kurama nodded and beckoned for Hiei and Yusuke to come in to the living room. Even more conveniently than the placement of the ally, Preteen Shuichi had chosen this evening to go out with his friends.
I ran my fingers through my hair almost nervously. “Stay here. I will go up and get them.” Kurama nodded and sat down, Yusuke shrugged and made himself comfortable on the couch, and Hiei showed no sign that he had heard me.
I went upstairs to my room and pulled a duffel bag out from under the bed. After a couple seconds of trying to decide which one to show, I growled and carried the whole thing back down to where the boys were.
I gently set the bag on the floor with a loud thump. “Meet my manga collection. I figured it would be easier to bring the whole thing down than to try to carry only the Yu Yu Hakusho books.”
Kitsune sweatdropped. “So, 25 percent of that luggage was manga?”
“Yeah. I could only bring about half of it, though. My mother said it would be impractical to try to bring them all to Japan, so I just brought my favorites.”
“I see...”
“Here,” I said, pulling out volume one. I flipped through it slowly, stopping at various pages to point things out. “Okay. Here, Yusuke is introduced. Here he is being dead. Here he is being a punk. Here he is being a ghost. Here is Botan's first appearance. Here, Yusuke finds out that his death was pointless. Here is Koenma's first appearance. Here, Yusuke is talking to Keiko through a dream. Yusuke... ano, word... um, goes into Kuwabara? Stuff happens. Yusuke comes back for a day.” I put the book down and picked up number two. “Yusuke has some more adventures while being dead. Keiko saves Yusuke from the fire, and the favor is returned, courtesy of his egg thing. Yusuke `goes into' someone else. Koenma arrives at the shocking conclusion that he acts entirely without thinking. Here, he... comes back. And on to book three... Here he catches his first criminal. Here he learns to use the Spirit Gun. Here, we meet Kurama, Hiei, and Gouki.” I giggled. “Hiei talks about perpetuating some delicious nastiness in the human world, which never ceases to amuse me. Here, Gouki is being an asshole. Yusuke beats him up. Here, the whole deal with Kurama is explained. Here is Yusuke's fight with Hiei, and here is Hiei looking far, far too happy. I think you get the idea. Here is the rest that have been translated,” I concluded, placing several volumes on the table. “Any questions?”
Yusuke's eye twitched. He was wearing the ultimate expression of confusion.
Hiei was glaring at the stack of books on the table as if they would bite him. Yes, Hiei. Better keep a sharp eye on them. The manga might attack at any moment.
Kurama looked vaguely overwhelmed. “No, no... I think that about covers it...”
“The question is,” Hiei turned his glare back to me, “how does this... Yoshihiro Togashi person... know about us, and how has he managed to keep it from us?”
“I honestly have no idea,” I said. “Well, actually, I have a vague theory, but it is very hard to explain, especially in Japanese.”
“Try anyway.”
“Well... It involves, ano, different... levels of being? Ah...”
“Dimension?” offered Kurama.
“...Yeah... I guess... Okay, my theory is that for everything imaginable, there is its own dimension. For example, to start small,” I held up my arm, “I could move my arm either to the left or the right. Correct? Here, I move it to the left. Somewhere, on a different level of reality, however, I move it right. I just created a new dimension. I could have moved my other arm as well, but I did not. So, even by not doing anything, I have created yet another dimension. And when I didn't move my arm, someone else might have, creating another dimension. Therefore, the dimensions are, ano, without end.”
“Infinite?”
“...I will assume that is the correct word. Thank you. They are infinite. For everything that can be imagined and every combination of everything, there is a new dimension, and because imagination is infinite, so are dimensions. If, somehow, they were all placed in a circle, and someone set out in one direction to pass through them all, he would never arrive back home again unless he turned around. I do not think that the human mind can fully imagine what is infinite, therefore there are also dimensions for what we do not, or cannot, think of. Understand?”
“No,” said Yusuke.
Hiei said nothing.
“To some extent,” said Kurama. “I think I get the general concept.”
“Yeah. Yusuke, if you do not understand, please do not try to, because it might make your head hurt.”
“Hey!”
“No, I mean it. It gave me a mild headache, and I was thinking about it for hours over many nights when I could not sleep.”
“...That's what you think about at night?”
“Yes. In relation to this... situation?... it could be that somehow, one of the worlds in which you all live somehow overlapped with one of the worlds in which you all are not real.” I shrugged. “Or, maybe Koenma was just being very strange one day.” If we had been in an anime, the boys would have facefaulted. Oh, wait! We ARE in an anime! The boys facefaulted.