54Summary: A popular teen girl one day finds herself being followed by Kuronue. She tries desperately to find out who he is. But what she finds out is that she is the only person that can see him. When she transfers from Yusuke and Kuwabara's school to Kurama's she thinks she finally got rid of him. Come to find out she has more problems than she realizes.
muie5: This is my brand new story that has been revised. I have been working hard on this. It's a great idea that I have been thinking of for a while. Hope you enjoy it.
Hiei: This isn't another story where you torture us all, is it?
muie5: I don't torture you people that much. Anyways!
I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho just Kelly, Sarah, and any other various characters like some teachers.
Chapter 1: Student 101
So this is my story. A tale I hate to tell if I am being truly honest. I am hoping if I tell you, it will help. It may not help those who were involved. It may not even help me now. But this is an account I need to tell, even if it is just for myself. How did it start? Well…Let us start with what I believe is the beginning.
The day was not an exceptionally beautiful day. Nothing stood out. The clouds covered the sun's bright, warm rays as a young girl made her way down a street as may other young people were doing. It was summer, so the breeze that blew through was a warm one. Yet, the shadows of the imposing clouds shadowed the individual social groups on their journeys.
"Wait!" called a young girl through the chatter that filled the pathway.
A solo girl twirled around on her heels at the request. As she did, her shoulder length brown hair flew into her face. The blue, knee length skirt she adorned – no different from the other young ladies on the street – twisted around her as well before floating back in place. She held a brown messenger bag in both of her hands. This was in contrast to her matching blue shirt but matched her hair perfectly. A yellow scarf circled her neckline as a pop of color.
A smile appeared on her lips as she waved at the caller. She completely stopped, so the other girl could catch up to her. This other young lady wore the same clothing as our previous girl did. Her frizzy, firry red hair was a complete juxtapose to her friend's though. They continued on their way with the thinning crowd of other teens.
"Good morning, Sarah," greeted the shorter girl with brown hair and pure blue eyes.
"Hey, Kelly. So are you ready for classes?" replied the taller red head.
Kelly hooked her arm around her friend's with a warm smile, "Not even a little."
As she said this, Kelly swung her friend a little towards the homes that lined the sidewalk. A few seconds later a teen boy riding a navy blue mountain bike rode passed them. Sarah stopped in her tracks as her eyes locked onto him. She watched as he continued on his way passed them and others without so much as a glance.
Kelly snapped her fingers a few inches from Sarah's face, "Hello?" She moved to block the object that held her complete concentration, "Earth to Sarah? Can you hear me?"
Sarah now looked at her companion with glossed over eyes, "What were you saying?"
The two continued their pace down the street, "Just that aliens must have taken your logical brain and replaced it with an old outdated, broken one. You actually like Taka Yamada?"
This brazen statement immediately made Sarah blush a rose red, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
Before Kelly could promise anything, the two reached the campus of the junior high school. The bell rang out loud and clear, tearing their attention away from the conversation. Quickly, the pair parted ways with a promise to meet up later at the entrance gate.
The room Kelly entered was still unruly. Some students were sitting on their desks talking to their neighbors, while others were throwing paper across the room to their friends. Kelly quickly took her seat as the teacher walked into the room close behind her. The other students calmed down as she placed her note pads on the podium in front of the chalkboard.
Time ticked by with only the teacher's talking to ward off the silence. As the lesson started to creep to its end, Kelly glanced over to the wall of glass windows to her right. Her cheek rested on her right hand as she tried to see the sun through the clouds. Suddenly she realized she could not even see the sky. What she actually stared at was the back of a young man with long raven black/blue hair, as he sat on the small window seal. The wind playfully blew his ponytail to one side, which showed off the black ribbon that wrapped itself about three-fourths of the way up both of his arms.
Almost knocking over her desk, Kelly sprang to her feet. This got the attention of the teacher and all of the other students.
"Miss Smort, what is wrong?" the teacher inquired, almost with an edge of anger to her tone.
"There is a guy on the window seal!" Kelly professed as she pointed at the window nearest her.
As she took another closer look, she realized that the man was gone. This caused everyone to burst out in a fit of laughter. The teacher tried to calm the students down while Kelly started out the window with a genuinely puzzled expression.
Amongst a large amount of commotion, Kelly sat at her desk with her head down. She stared at the lunch in front of her with an almost vacant expression. A teen boy grabbed a chair, swung it to face Kelly, and sat in it backwards. He placed his arms on the back of the chair and laid his head on his arms. He stared at Kelly for a few more moment. His blue school uniform was no different from the others in the room, but his hair was. The red streaks in his almost black, dark brown hair fell into his face as he leaned even closer to Kelly.
"Are you okay? Surely nothing is that wrong with your lunch," chuckled the young boy.
Kelly's eyes snapped up to meet his. Her vision cleared up and a small smile crept onto her face, "I am sorry, Ken. I was just thinking about something."
After a short story, Ken just looked at her with a really concerned expression, "Are you sure you weren't just imagining it? I mean, it sounds like some poorly written horror story."
"What?! Do you think I am insane or something? I saw him!"
She turned her attention from Ken with a huff of frustration. As her eye focused on the front of the classroom, she noticed the same long raven black/blue ponytail and black ribbons from earlier. The man sat on the podium with his back facing her once more. Her anger fell as she gathered her thoughts. Ken continued to talk, even if Kelly was not going to look at him.
"Ken!" Kelly put one of her hands over his mouth the best she could without looking at him, "that is him!"
Kelly pointed to the podium as Ken's eyes followed her direction to the front of the classroom. He looked around the room, yet he did not find anyone fitting the bazar description given to him during the story. So Ken gave up and turned back to Kelly with a perplexed look.
"Kelly, I don't see anyone fitting the description you gave me. Are you…" Ken was cut off.
"Ken, he's pretty hard to miss!" her expression grew more frustrated, "Fine! I'll take care of it myself."
Without a chance for any more discussion, Kelly flew to her feet. She crossed the room with a confident yet prompt stride. The boy finished a shiny red apple as Kelly reached him. Kelly tapped on his shoulder with a bit more force then politely acceptable. He turned to her with the apple core still clenched in his right hand.
This is when Kelly got a good look at what he was truly wearing. A white piece of rectangular fabric was wrapped around his waist like a skirt and was supposedly held on with a crooked belt that almost looked like it was there for decoration. Black skintight pants were worn under the 'skirt'. His top was a tight, tattered black vest that appeared to have the sleeves were ripped off so that it could show off his muscular arms. The front part of a tattered black hat held on with some kind of strap adorned his head. The hat had a golden platelet on the front of it. His long ponytail came out of the top of the hat. Hanging around his slender neck was a red pendent on a silver chain.
Kelly looked straight into curious violet eyes, which infuriated her even more, "What do you think you are doing?"
"Are you talking to me?"
"Whom else would I be talking to?"
"You can see me?"
Frustration started to grow into pure anger as the guy slide off the desk and started to circle around her. Kelly twirled around to keep an eye on him as he continued to circle her like a predator.
"Of course I can see you! Why would I be talking to you, if I could not see you?"
All the students were gawking at her at this point, but she did not care. She was in a blind rage that only allowed her to focus on the young man in front of her.
"Hmm…So you must be the one I'm here for," stated the new guy, almost under his breath.
"What are you talking about? Who are you?"
The guy stopped his encirclement, "Name's Kuronue."
"Kur-a-wan?"
"Kuronue."
With a headshake, Kelly grabbed Kuronue's left wrist and started to drag him along behind her. She continued to drag him all the way back to Ken, who sat there patiently. Ken looked at Kelly with her left arm stretched out behind her with her left hand gripped around thin air.
"This is the guy I was talking about. He says his name is Korawany."
"It's Kuronue! Say it properly!" Kuronue ordered in a growl.
Kelly turned her head slightly to Kuronue as Ken looked around at the many people that watched them. There were even people in the hallway that stopped to look in to see what was going on.
"So what? Why do you have to have such a hard name anyways?" Kelly barked.
"It's not hard. What's yours?"
"Mine's Kelly. Kelly Anna Smort."
"Stupid," Kuronue snuffed under his breath.
"Shut up! I'm not the one wearing a skirt!"
"Ummm…Kelly, who are you talking to?" Ken asked a bit cautiously.
Slowly Kelly turned her head back to Ken with pure rage in her eyes. Some laughter was heard from the crowd, but Kelly did not even notice.
"Don't you see him?" Kelly snarled as she pointed to Kuronue with her right hand.
Ken shook his head, "But I do see you making a scene."
That statement brought the fact that everyone in the classroom, plus some in the hall, stared at her with confusion and laughter. Kelly started to blush as Ken laughed softly. She turned back to Kuronue to find he had vanished once again.
"But…where did he go?" Kelly asked as she dropped her arm to her side.
The final bell rang seconds before a hoard of junior high school kids ran out of the creamy white school building. Kelly stood next to the huge white wall that went around the school building with her mind someplace far away. Several school kids passed her with either a wave or a hello. Any other day, Kelly would have loved the attention. At that moment, all she wanted was her best friend.
"Hey, Kelly. Sorry I took so long. I needed to ask Mr. Sato something," apologized Sarah as she stopped by her friend's side.
"Hey, Kelly. Hello, Sarah," Taka Yamada greeted before he passed the two girls on his bike.
Sarah once more stared after him with that dreamy stare she had this morning. With a heavy, irritated sigh, Kelly started to snap her fingers in her friend's face a few times. Luckily, it only took a moment for Sarah to bring her attention back to Kelly.
The two started down the street and away from the school, "So, Sarah, did we get a new student?"
"Recently?"
"Yes. Like in the past few days."
"Are you not the popular one? Don't you know what goes on in the school? Or are you too busy acting like your queen of the world?"
"You know I don't act like a self-centered brat?"
"It was just a joke. Relax, will ya?"
"Sorry. So did we?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
"'Cause I saw some weird guy. Never saw him around before, so I figured he was new."
"I don't think we have a new student, but I'll check tomorrow, okay?"
"No, it's fine."
They continued to walk in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. It did not take long before both of them stopped in front of a tan and brick two story house. The yard was small, yet there was a set of flower gardens that ran up the full length of the cement walkway. Each blade of grass and every flower looked like it was neatly in its place.
A smile appeared to take over Sarah's once lost in thought face. She gave the home a quick once over with approval. Kelly also gave the house a look before she took a step closer.
"I just love your house, Kelly! Everything looks like a beautiful painting," Sarah complimented as she did almost every day.
"Yeah. Mother says I have a green thumb. See you tomorrow?"
"See ya!" Sarah waved as she continued down the white sidewalk.
With one last glace at the yard, Kelly noticed that one of her few roses was wilting. With a few purposeful strides, she reached the sickly looking flower. She went to work mending the rose the best she could.
As she kneeled next to her flower garden, a pair of teen boys made their way down the street. The duo were complete opposites. They looked like they would have nothing in common, yet they walked and talked as if they knew each other forever. A set of best friends.
The tall, lanky boy had an interesting hair style. His orange hair was cut short and curled on top. It was styled to a point in front. His face was long and narrow. It appeared as if he was still growing into his looks. The blue uniform he adorned was pristine and fit well for his height.
The companion, on the other hand, was a good deal shorter. His black hair was slicked back to reveal an almost heart shaped face. If his friend was tall and lanky, then this one would be considered brawnier. Maybe more of an athletic build to him. He wore the exact same uniform except the color was green. He stood out among the wave of blue worn by the other students.
"Kuwabara, I am going to hit the arcade," announced the shorter of the two.
"Nothing better to do. I'll join ya, Urameshi," his comrade agreed with a sigh.
Yusuke continued to walk with his attention towards the cloudy sky, and his arms comfortably at rest behind his head. Kuwabara had his hands deep in his pockets with his eyes focused in front of himself. Slowly, Kuwabara's attention fell upon Kelly still on her knees. He kept his attention on her for a little longer so as to see if she was hurt. The closer they got, the better he could tell that she was fiddling with something on the ground. Right before they were on top of her walkway, Kuwabara realized that he knew this girl.
"Hey, Urameshi, is that Smort?"
Yusuke lowered his eyes to where his friend was looking at. He narrowed his eyes slightly before a light of recognition went off. "Yeah. I heard she had a breakdown today."
"I heard the same thing. Something about talking to nothing and acting strangely."
Kelly perked her ears up at the mention of her name. She raised her eye to look around. The voices did not sound familiar to her, but she was positive she heard her name. As she looked to the street, the two reached her walkway. They averted their gaze rather suddenly, which caused Kelly to glare slightly.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, you know," Kelly warned.
Kuwabara and Yusuke stopped in their tracks a bit stiffly. Kelly gave a slight huff as the two looked down at her. Upon noticing the annoyed look on Kelly's features, Kuwabara decided to put on his famous goofy smile. Yusuke, on the other hand, did not care for pleasantries and kept his frown.
"Sorry," Kuwabara apologized as he placed his hand behind his head, "We did not mean to offend."
"You didn't. It was just a polite warning. Rumors are nasty little things. Not all true," Kelly retorted from where she knelt on the ground.
Kuwabara continued his well-mannered banter as Yusuke scanned the house and grounds. Kelly was on her feet at this time. Yusuke looked down to see what she was tending to when he noticed a single rose with a small makeshift stake that held it up right at her feet.
"You have a lot of flowers around your house," Yusuke interjected into the ongoing conversation he had ignored up to this point.
Kelly and Kuwabara turned their gazes to him, each with their own expressions. Yusuke focused his attention on her completely now, even if he had a bored expression on his face.
With a smile, Kelly answered, "Yes. I love gardening. It is kind of a hobby of mine."
"You must be good at it since none of them are dead," Kuwabara stated as he scanned the many flowers as if seeing them for the first time.
"Yes," she glanced around quickly at her beloved garden, "but my favorite flowers - with each passing day - seem to become increasingly ill."
"Which ones are those?" Kuwabara inquired.
"My roses," Kelly answered as she turned her gaze to the rose she was previously attending to.
"Kelly, supper is almost ready! Come in and set the table, please," summoned an older female voice from inside the cozy house.
Quickly, Kelly turned her eyes back up to the two boys in front of her, "I am sorry, but I have to go," she gave a slight bow, "It was nice talking to you, Kazume and Yusuke. I hope to talk to you two again soon."
"Ditto," Kuwabara agreed.
So with that farewell, Yusuke and Kuwabara started their way back towards the arcade once more. When Kelly turned towards her home to start to head inside, she immediately noticed an unwanted visitor sitting on the second step of the front stoop. This sudden surprise stopped Kelly in her place.
"What are you doing here? Are you some sort of stalker?" Kelly gasped with a slight hiss.
Kuronue sat there for another half second, with his elbows at rest on his legs and his face on his palms. His expression was one of pure boredom and un-amusement. Kelly about opened her mouth to say something else when he finally spoke.
"Sorry I disappeared on you before, but I needed to make sure you were the one," Kuronue explained with no emotion or caring behind his words.
"Whatever. Just leave. I don't feel like putting up with this. You ruined my day, reputation, and I will not stand for any more of it."
"Can't."
"If you don't leave right now, I'll be forced to call the police."
"Who are you talking to?" asked an all too familiar male voice.
Kelly quickly turned around to find Taka Yamada propped up on his bike with his left foot on the ground. He looked like he was in mid-peddle when he stopped. The expression on his face was one full of curiosity at the strange sight before him.
"Don't you…I mean, you don't see anyone else here?"
Taka shook his head a bit before he answered, "No, I can't say I can."
"Kelly, come set the table," ordered Kelly's mother once more.
"Sorry, I have to go."
Taka put his foot back on the peddle, "I'll see you tomorrow."
For another moment, Kelly watched Taka make his way down the street. She turned back to her house and made her way to the steps without even a glace directed at Kuronue. Kelly continued to ignore him as she took the first step and then the second. When she placed her right hand on the doorknob, Kuronue started to speak again.
"I'm your imaginary friend," he stated as if it was the most natural thing in the word.
This one sentence threw Kelly over the edge. She looked down at him completely exasperated. All she could do was clutch her left hand into a fist as she glared into his violet eyes. Kuronue sat there, completely still, as he stared at her with complete seriousness. As she searched his expression for any sign of joking, her blood started to boil.
"That's it! Kurawan, I am in Junior High! I do not have an imaginary friend! I never have!"
Without another word, Kelly swung open the door and disappeared into the house.
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Dinner was uncomfortably silent for the small family of three. A heaviness hovered over the room with an unspoken conversation that the young teen did not seem to want to initiate. Kelly placed a spoonful of rice into her mouth just as her mother started to speak.
"Kelly, sweetheart, your father and I have decided on something," spoke the middle age women softly and cautiously.
The older gentlemen glance over to his wife before he turned back to his daughter, "Yes. We have decided that you would be better off in a private school."
Kelly almost chocked on her food, which allowed her father to continue on, "Some place you can really grow."
Quickly, she tried to swallow her food but her mother started up again, "Your college application would look great with this well renowned private school."
"Mother, you can't do this! What about my friends? What about my studies?" Kelly argued as she dropped her spoon onto the table.
"We will do the transfer over the weekend. Tomorrow will be your last day at Sarayashiki Junior High."
"It is what's best for you," Kelly's father insisted.
With a slow breath to calm herself down, Kelly picked up her spoon once more, "Yes, Father…Yes, Mother."
That night Kelly lay in her bed with her gaze fixed on the ceiling. Her eyes were empty voids that stared into nothing. Even the unwanted voice of Kuronue late in the night had no effect on her. Darkness engulfed her as she fixed her whole attention onto the ceiling until the first rays of light shined through the window to the right of her bed.
Unlike the previous day, the sun shined in the cloudless sky. Sarah waited for her friend as Kelly made her way to the end of the walkway. With each step, it appeared to anyone that she was truly unwilling to move forward. Sarah followed beside her friend for a few moments before she opened her mouth.
"What is wrong with you?"
A heavy sigh escaped before the answer formed, "So, I'm transferring schools."
"Like, next year you…"
"No, I am transferring schools Monday."
"WHAT?!"
Just as Kelly finished explaining the situation to her best friend, they reached the school gates where Ken was waiting for them. The bell began to ring as Kelly and Ken said their parting words to Sarah. The two made their way into the main doors while Sarah ran around the building.
"So what is wrong with you? Last night all you did was stare at the ceiling like you had no soul. Today you look no better," came Kuronue's less than tactful observation from behind the duo.
Kelly stopped at a sliding door before she waved good-bye to Ken. Without a word to her unwanted guest, she walked into the classroom as everyone started to get settled in.
Kuronue gave a small, almost inaudible, sigh, "Well this is going to be a boring day."
"Then just go away," Kelly ordered under her breath as she slid into her chair.
Kuronue just stood there.
"Just don't talk to me during class."
The day passed with no real excitement, to Kelly's liking. Kuronue made himself at home on the cooling system for the entire class, so that he could be close to Kelly. For the first time since Kelly met Kuronue, he listened to her request and did not speak to her.
Lunch came rather fast that day. Ken and Kelly sat next to the farthest window so to get a little bit of privacy. Kuronue decided to stay to hear them out, so he sat on the desk Kelly was at.
"I can't believe you're leaving during the school year," Ken finally spoke up.
Kelly shrugged. No amount of talk would change the fact. So the three just sat in silence for another few moments. Yusuke and Kuwabara walked up behind her after another long silence. Ken looked at them a bit curiously. He knew them by reputation and knew they had no reason to be near them.
"Hey, Smort," Kuwabara greeted with a smile.
Kelly turned around to two now familiar faces and one that was unfamiliar. This girl that stood with the two boys had short brown hair and wore the girl's school uniform. She was shorter than either of the two boys but carried herself with stunning confidence.
"Hello, Yusuke and Kazuma," Kelly greeted with an empty smile
"This is Keiko Yukimura," Kuwabara introduced the new girl with a gesture.
"Hello, Keiko," Kelly greeted, "Would you like to join us?"
"Sure," Kuwabara answered delightedly as he pulled a chair up to the desk Kelly was at.
Yusuke and Keiko took two of the three chairs left in the corner they were at. The rest of lunch was interesting with Yusuke and Kuwabara getting into several little fights.
"So you really are popular. I thought you were just saying that since you're egotistical," Kuronue spoke up from where he was perched beside her.
"Be quiet, Kuronue. I'm not in the mood. Besides you don't even know me," Kelly insisted was she took another bite of food.
The group looked at her as she took another bite. Kelly was thrown off by their looks before she realized that it appears that she is talking to herself in their eyes.
"Who's Kuronue?" Yusuke asked.
"No one!" Kelly smiled, "Sorry. I am just out of it today."
Lunch passed in a blink of an eye, as did the rest of the day. Kelly tried to enjoy what would be her last day with her classmates. Before she knew it, the last bell rang signaling the hoard of students to start to file out of the school. Yusuke and Kuwabara met up with Kelly in the halls as they made their way down to the school gates. Even though it was great to have made new friends, she pretty much-ignored everything they said as they walked. Ken was already at the gate when the three got there. Sarah was not far behind them. Soon Keiko showed up as well.
"Well…I guess, I'll see you all when I see you," Kelly lamented.
"Come on, Kelly, Let's get going," Sarah advised as she walked away from the group.
With that everyone, except Ken, went left from the school. This did not bother Kelly for she enjoyed the extra company. The only problem that came with this was the constant bickering and Kuronue chattering away.
Soon the group came upon Kelly's house. With almost no energy left in her voice, Kelly said her short good-bye as she headed into the house. Quickly, Kelly made her way up the stairs and into her room. She shut her door and quietly sat on her bed as her bag fell to the ground.
Kuronue looked around the sunlit room. The decent size space had soft yellow –almost white- walls with sky blue carpet. As you walked in there was a black computer to the left of the door. The bed was directly across from the computer with a white dresser to its right. Many photos were organized on top of the dresser.
"Your room is…different from what I expected."
"Kuronue, please shut up."
The weekend passed by quickly, and Monday was upon Kelly before she was prepared.
"Kelly, come down! I have your new uniform!" called Kelly's mother from the bottom of the stairs.
As Kelly got out of bed and made her way to the door she realized something. With a hasty glance around the room, confirmed that Kuronue was nowhere to be found. Kelly shrugged it off as she made her way out of the room. A yawn escaped her mouth as she hit the bottom of the stairs.
"Isn't it adorable?" her mother asked as she held up the uniform.
The magenta shirt had a yellow trim down the center of it. The pants were a matching magenta color. Kelly's mother smiled as if she approved whole heartily of this uniform. On the other hand, Kelly's eyebrows furrowed.
"So no skirt?"
"It's the male's outfit. I talked the school into letting you wear it. I know you don't like skirts."
"They make guys wear that? What a weird school," Kelly voiced her opinion as she walked back up the stairs with the outfit in hand.
"We're leaving in five minutes so hurry up, sweetheart!"
"Yes, Mother."
Kelly quietly closed her door so not to wake her father that slept next door. After she threw the new uniform onto the bed, Kelly began her morning routine. Exactly five minutes, Kelly came down the stairs with her book bag slumped over her right shoulder. Kelly and her mother walked out the door to start the walk to the new school.
"You'll love this school."
"Of course, Mother," Kelly responded as respectfully as she could.
"Hey, Kelly," came a punkish voice.
The two turned around to find Kuwabara and Yusuke. For the first time that morning, a smile came to Kelly's face. Her mother, on the other hand, looked at them quizzically. She hoped these two were not her daughter's friends since they looked like the wrong type of people.
"Hello, Kazuma. Hi, Yusuke."
"So your new school is still in walking distance?" Kuwabara asked.
"Yes…Oh! Sorry. Mother, this is Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara. They are some friends from school…My old school."
"Nice to meet you," Kelly's mother politely said, "I'm Helen Smort. Kelly's mother."
"Sorry, guys, but we have to head off."
"See ya. Oh, nice outfit, by the way," Kuwabara stated with a wave.
With that, the two groups went their separate ways.
"Come on. Don't want to be too late," Helen reiterated as she walked up to the main entrance.
Kelly followed her all the way to the office as if she was a lost lamb. After a few moments of pleasantries with the secretary, the two met the principle. Helen and the principle talked as Kelly sat there, wishing she could be back at Sarayashiki.
As Kelly exited the office, she almost ran right into a young man. Helen was still in a discussion with the principle.
"I'm sorry," Kelly apologized as she picked her bag back up.
"No, I'm sorry," came a sweet male voice.
Kelly looked up and immediately focused on a head of long, beautiful red hair. A smile swam across her features as she thought of Sarah. It was not normal to find such color in a sea of black and brown. He looked back at her with a polite smile.
"Are you new?" the guy asked.
"Oh," Kelly brought her gaze down to meet his eyes, "yes. Today is my first day, actually."
Helen came out with the principle at this time.
"Ahh, Mr. Minamio," the principal turned to Helen, "This is one of our brightest students."
Helen smile, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. This is my daughter Kelly Smort. I'm Helen Smort."
"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shuichi Minamio. I am sure your daughter will like it here. If you will excuse me," Kurama bowed before he continued down the hall.
Some more time passed before Kelly was led to her class. As she slid the door open and walked in, she noticed a familiar red head. Kurama was quietly sitting in his seat as she slid the door closed.
"Miss Smort, we are about to start. Please take the seat behind Mr. Tokanoko. Mr. Tokanoko, raise your hand," ordered the teacher pleasantly.
A boy with short blond hair, wearing the same outfit as her, raised his hand. Kelly bowed to the teacher before she took the seat. She was pleased that to her right was Kurama. It was a constant reminder of Sarah when she looked at him.
The dismissal bell rang. Kelly made sure to be one of the first out of the building as she flew down the halls. She started to run as soon as she hit the outside world. Finally free, she only had one place she wanted to be. Few people paid mind to her as she weaved in and out of the forming crowd.
Kelly did not slow down till she reached her home. Quickly, she looked at her flowers to notice the rose she tended to was on the road to recovery.
This was when she heard a familiar voice call out to her. Her heart leaped with joy as she turned to see Sarah and Ken. A toothy grin matched her internal happiness.
"How was your first day of school?" Sarah asked as she hugged her friend.
Kelly flung her arm around Sarah, and then around Ken, "It was okay. I missed you guys, though. But guess what? Sarah isn't the only red head in my life anymore."
"So you already met new friends?" Ken asked as his grin faded to a frown.
"Well…I'm not sure. I sort of ran into him, but he is in the same classroom. Has the same color hair as Sarah. Maybe even smarter than you, Ken."
"Everyone was asking where you went off to. Some rumors went around that you got hitched or got knocked up," Sarah segue away from the topic.
"Hello, Miss Smort."
Kelly gave a shallow sigh before she turned around. There, at the end of her walkway, was Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara. With a smile and a wave from Kelly, the three walked over to join the chatty friends.
"You know her, Kurama?" Kuwabara addressed his companion with surprise.
"Kurama? I thought your same was Shuichi Minamino."
"It's a nickname they gave me," Kurama remarked a bit sharply to his companions.
"So, Kelly, I'm guessing by the school uniform that you're going to Shuichi's school now," Yusuke pointed out as he glanced at the outfit Kelly had on.
"Yes. Though I did not know you three knew each other."
As the others continued to talk, Kurama suddenly sensed a strange aura. He took a few seconds to glimpse around for the source. After the swift scan, he knew something was watching them.
"Sorry, Kelly, but we're in a hurry. See ya later," Yusuke chimed in as a reminder to the others.
Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama made their way down the sidewalk once more. The other three waved them off before Ken and Sarah said their good-byes.
"We better head off as well. How about we hit up the arcade tomorrow? Catch up a bit more," Ken suggested.
"Sounds great!" Sarah blurted out.
"Yeah. Sounds like fun," Kelly agreed with a smile.
Soon Kelly was left alone once more. She turned around to start her way into the house when she noticed something.
