Title: Anniversary

Author: Digimon Empress Yaten (de yaten)

Notes: Oh, wow, this took a way different direction than I originally intended it to.It ended up being it's own standalone piece, which is why I posted it separate from the other Mitarai stuff I'm working on.

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters.

Kiyoshi Mitarai ran a hand through his sandy-blonde hair, watching the sun set beyond the water before him. It had been precisely one year since Sensui had been killed, and life, though by no means perfect, had begun to turn for the better.

He was accepted into a good high school, which was a surprise to everyone – his Junior High teachers included. Being a part of a master plan to unleash demons on the world had a tendency to bring your grades down.

He hadn't expected his high school to be full of thugs, though to his surprise most of the students would rather discuss the probability of Kiyoshi inheriting his Western features than discuss why those Western features made him worthless as they pummeled him into the ground.

He had even made a few friends. It was an awkward sort of friendship, and he never knew exactly what to do when they were all together, but his friends seemed to understand. They had been picked on at their old schools for various reasons, and sometimes they shared stories of torment with soft, monotone voices. The stories always ended with I Didn't Really Care, It Was Just Annoying. Which was a lie, they knew, but it was a lie they shared together.

Breaking from his thoughts, Kiyoshi glanced at his watch. He needed to be home an hour ago, but had gotten distracted when he rested on the beach. A passing prayer for Sensui had turned into a swirl of thoughts about the entire ordeal. Were humans truly evil, or did they have a good side to them? He could never forget the images he saw on Chapter Black. Neither could he forget the way that Yusuke and his friends had helped him, trusted him, even after he had attacked Kuwabara. Had he changed since then, or was he still the same boy who had stabbed one of Kuwabara's friends out of rage?

A drop of rain hit him on the bridge of his nose. Looking up, he saw that the sky had become dark and gray. He stood up and dusted the sand from his school uniform. I'd better take the subway home. His mother hadn't made it a secret that she loathed paying for the uniform, and he didn't want to take any chances.

He entered the station, bracing himself against an onslaught of businessmen making their way to the local bars and hostess clubs. He quickly swiped his card and boarded the next available train. It wasn't packed, thankfully, but by the time he got on the train all the seats were taken. Sighing, he braced himself against a pole and hoped that time would pass quickly.

His eyes scanned down the train, unconsciously searching for someone he knew. Sometimes he thought he saw Sensui among the many faces in a crowd, an imposing figure among students and hurrying businessmen. Impossible, he knew. Sensui was dead. But Sensui and the other Seven had become like a family to him – a messed up, murderous family, but people he grew close to nonetheless.

It had shocked him when Sensui and Sniper had showed up, not a day after he had been taken by Kuwabara to Yusuke – it had shocked him even more when Sensui ordered Sniper to kill him. Hadn't they been a family? Hadn't Sensui jokingly put his arm around Kiyoshi, laughing off some stupid thing he had said about school? There had been countless times that Kiyoshi had snuck out of his house to talk to the other seven – mostly Sensui - about his problems. A fight at school, a fight with his mother, some witnessed indecency, all of the stories were "just more proof" of humanity's evil.

Kiyoshi couldn't help but think that the boy sitting three seats away looked a lot like Sniper. He supposed that he and Sniper were somewhat close, although it became clear that Sniper wouldn't hesitate to get rid of Kiyoshi if Sensui ordered it. It was probably their age that held them together, and although never friendly, Sniper had seemed to understand the dilemma of bullying. None of the others did.

Gourmet was just a mindless glutton, and until the elder Toguro sprung out of Gourmet's body, Kiyoshi had often wondered just why Sensui recruited him.

The Game Master was a kid who had no idea what he was doing. Kiyoshi smirked a little. He didn't either, really, but at least he realized that unleashing demons on the world meant countless deaths. Life wasn't a video game.

Itsuki rarely spoke to anyone but Sensui, and when he did, it was just to ask calmly if they were ready to watch Chapter Black. All had nodded, some more eagerly than others.

The Doctor watched the video with a bit of sadistic glee that unnerved Kiyoshi. Doctor Kamiya hadn't always been like that – Kiyoshi had gone to him as a little boy, once, when he had a fever. The Doctor smiled and laughed and even gave him a free candy when he didn't cry after his shots. But as a doctor, he had been privy to plenty of the evil secrets his patients held. Affairs, abuse, even murder –all too common among the patients in Kamiya's hospital.

The train pulled into a station. A rush of people left the train, and Kiyoshi used the opportunity to grab a nearby seat. Might as well be comfortable for the ride home.

He stared out the window, his reflection glancing back at him before looking at the blurry lights of the business district.

If Gourmet was a mindless idiot, and Game Master a stupid kid, then what exactly was he? Chapter Black had shocked him completely. Every night he heard the screams of the video, felt the fire pressed against innocent flesh, saw the children slumping against the floor of a gas chamber. Humanity had done horrible things, unspeakable things that could never be forgiven. Humanity needed to be destroyed.

It was Chapter Black that drove him to almost drown Kuwabara and his friends, he reasoned. Even if he had learned to harness his power without Sensui, he wouldn't have attacked them like that. He wouldn't be that violent… would he?

"Kid, you drop this?"

Kiyoshi jerked his head towards the voice. An older man stood, holding a small wallet. It took a moment before he accepted the small leather object.

"Yeah… thanks."

The man smiled slightly. "You taking care of yourself?"

The question startled Kiyoshi. Did he know this man? He didn't recognize him from anywhere, and it wasn't like he knew that many older people anyway. Unsure of what to do, he nodded.

"Yeah… I've been pretty good lately."

"Glad to hear it, Mitarai."

The blonde boy stared, wide-eyed, as the man sat further down the train. He watched as a little girl tripped, cutting her arm on an bent, unchecked seat corner. The man leaned down, and offered his hand to the girl. In moments, her cut was gone and she skipped towards her mother.

Kiyoshi couldn't help but smile.

He ran a hand through his sandy-blonde hair, watching neon buildings blur by. It had been precisely one year since Sensui had been killed, and life, though by no means perfect, had begun to turn for the better.