I don't own YYH. I have never owned YYH.

-galaxy-

The lean shinobi sneered at me, and I twisted into a fighting stance. This was something that I could do. Combat was something familiar to me. It was like fiddling with an engine.
Instinct.
I found comfort on the battlefield, in the rush of adrenaline that would hit my body. It was a home.
He lunged and I ducked, using a simple shoulder throw to knock him to the ground. I pulled my energy toward my hands, coated my bones, covered my organs. I didn't bother to enhance my strength.
The problem with armor was that you got used to it, your body got used to muted hits. He would overshoot attacks because he was used to having more weight.
It was why I had to drop my weights every two months.
He was back on his feet, and I rushed forward, basic punches aimed at him. He tried to get off of the arena, to get to the dirt, but I blocked him. My feet weaved a dance as I corralled him near the center of the stone stage.
My arms moved faster, and I caught a glimpse of fear from him. One good hit to drop him. Snap his neck to end the ordeal.
My breath came out in measured exhales as I ducked a kick. He overreached, used too much power, his balance wobbled, and I struck.
My cloth covered fist snapped into his throat, and I moved, circling around him as he fell. I reached out, and cleanly broke his neck.
He dropped.
That had been...
Way too easy. Way, way too easy.
I frowned. Had he truly become so dependent on his armor? Stupid move. I pulled myself away, and walked back to my team. Yusuke was staring at me with shock on his face, and Kurama was snickering softly. The nurse had backed off, and Hiei appeared in front of me.

"We should spar." He said musingly, assessing me with his red eyes. I huffed.

"Perhaps. After the tournament, of course." I agreed softly. I was done with the writing pad. I couldn't do it anymore. I'd just need to be careful around Kazuma.
The brat.

"The fuck was that?! How did her fight go so much better than ours?!" Yusuke yelled. Kurama laughed.

"Because Nova is the type to think on the fly. She boxes in her opponents, and beats them down. She overwhelms. It's quite an effective strategy."

"Wait... you know her, don't you? You know who she is behind the mask!" Yusuke looked entirely offended. I huffed at him, then turned toward Kurama, who was still nursing his injuries. I checked him over with narrowed eyes, then pulled him up into my arms. He was light compared to what I could bench press.
He shot me a glare that contained all of his wounded pride. I laughed at him; low, muffled chuckles shaking my chest.
What a baby.

-galaxy-

I leaned back in my chair, pulling a glass of whiskey toward my lips, and gulping it down. I reveled in the burn. A feeling like ice down my back made me sit up. I plopped my glass back on the bar, and turned my head.
Pulse.
A vile, disgusting energy drew closer to me. It was twisted, warped into something unrecognizable. A decomposing corpse, stuck in its filthiest stage.

"Hello." A high-pitched voice greeted. It grated against my eardrums. I wanted to kill him. The elder Toguro brother eyed me, eyes wild with madness.
I inclined my head politely, mind racing with escape routes. He laughed, head thrown back.

"You're handling yourself much better than the rest of your team did." He said, sickeningly friendly.

"You know better than to snack before dinner." I managed to say, reaching toward my drink.

"Ha! Smart girl. I look forward to your fight, Nova. We picked someone special for you." He cackled as he walked away. My mind swam. Someone special? Did they call in a fighter that I didn't know?
Shit.

-galaxy-

"What is she doing?" Yusuke asked.

"Meditation. Master Reina taught me how to do it. She's really smart!" Kazuma boasted. I scoffed internally. Had he been doing his exercises, he would have realized that I was, well, me.
Brat.

"Why is she doing it?" Yusuke asked after a brief squabble.

"It clears the mind, and balances the soul. Let us leave, we are disturbing her." Kurama cut in.

'Thank you, wifey.' I thought, sincerely appreciative.
I had things to think about.
I had changed the tournament. Simply by joining them, the tournament had been shifted. My Master's battles belonged to me. Because of that, I would have to fight someone new. Someone I didn't know.
Not too hard, all things considered.
And Genkai...
I clenched my jaw.
Well.
I didn't have an obvious role to play. I wasn't a love interest, or a damsel. I wasn't related to Yusuke or Genkai in any way.
I was supposed to be a normal girl. Reina probably would have been, if I hadn't remembered.
I was a teacher to Kazuma. A student to Genkai. An acquaintance to Hiei. I was a friend to Kurama. I had changed things.
My role?
I took my position on the team to spare Genkai the stress; to keep an eye on Kazuma, and to support Kurama.
I was a student, a teacher, and a friend.
It wasn't a story.
The brothers wanted to hurt the people who had become mine.
They could kiss my half-dead ass.

-galaxy-

I slammed my fists into the car, screamed and raged at it. I yelled at the woman on top of it too.

"Is this what you wanted?!" I asked her, watching as my world went dark. I had done my trials, had reincorporated the parts of me that were dead, or separated. She stared down at me blankly, lips set in a line.

"Partially." She answered me, dropped off of the car.

"Partially? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I snarled.

"It means that I wanted this to start, but that I want you to end it." She opened the hood of the car, and waved at the light that gleaned from its depths.

"In you go." Before I could refuse, or scream at her some more, she shoved me into the light, and I fell.

"I won't be able to spend much time with you for awhile, take care of yourself, Husband." Shuichi joked, running a hand through his red hair. He shot me a smile that would be believable on anyone else.
His eyes were hard, determined, they begged me not to ask questions.
I didn't. I hugged him and punched him playfully and wanted to beg him to be safe, because I couldn't take another heartbreak.
Two hours later, Genkai called me, asked for a meeting. The Toguro mission had gone by without my notice.

My mother hummed happily, sliding her knife through a pumpkin with skill. I sat at the kitchen table, jeans and a dirty flannel covering my body. My father marched in with a loud greeting. He ruffled my hair on his way to my mom.

I stared at the test with wide eyes.
Pregnant?
I was pregnant?

I watched the bastard dig through the house to collect his things, and stopped him when he reached for the Xbox.

"I paid for that, not you." I told him. He sneered at me.

"I paid for everything in this apartment. You have your photos and clothes, so leave." I didn't even have the energy to yell. I wanted to, I truly did. I wanted to scream and cry and rage at him. I wanted to punch my fist through the wall by his head.
I didn't.

The small dog yipped at me as I made my way into the house. Her fur was grey, and her left eye was milky. She was old, but she still loved me, still loved my family.

"Hi, Lady! I laughed, leaning down to lift her small form into my arms. She bathed my neck in kisses as I laughed. I curled up on the couch with her, and waited for my parents to come home.

College was boring. It was also hard. I sighed and gazed down at my homework sheet. All I wanted to do was sleep.

Uncle Agito had moved. I stared at his door for a long moment, and wondered what I was supposed to do without him. He had been my lifeline for a long time.
I'd muddle through.
I always did.

Shuichi collapsed on top of me, and I let out a laugh.

"What happened to your poise, Foxy?" I asked, mirth dancing under my skin. He made a useless grumble into my stomach as he arranged himself to be more comfortable. I laughed at him.
I felt at peace around him. The same sort of peace that I'd once had sitting next to my mother and watching my father fiddle with a car. Shuichi felt like home, like family.
He was my brother and my best friend, all in one, convenient redheaded package.

Genkai worked silently at the stove as I chopped vegetables. It was a content silence, and I thanked her for it.

Shiori tapped my shoulder and I turned to look at her.

"Yeah?" I asked, grabbing a rag to wipe at the grease that covered my hands.

"Shuichi and I made food. Clean up and come eat, my car will be waiting for you." She smiled a mother's smile. It was doting and exasperated.

"Thanks, Shiori-sama." She shot me a frown.

"Shiori, or mom, Reina."

My life seared through my mind, both of them. Things that I had forgotten over time.

"Hold your head high, Kiddo." My dad ordered, tears in his eyes as I climbed into a beat up pickup truck.

"It's college, dad. I'll be fine." I laughed.

Things that I didn't want to remember.

She screamed at me, raved and yelled. I stood in horror as I watched her. She was deteriorating, losing herself. It was painful to see.

"Where's my daughter, you witch?!" She spat, eyes wide, and lips downturned.

"I'm your daughter. Please, you're sick-"

"Get out!" She howled.

"These things make you who you are." My old voice floated through the air, ringing loudly.
"Don't repress them."

-galaxy-

End!
So, thoughts?
-Tigressa.