IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MY OFF SHOOT OF THIS, ALTERNATE UNIVERSE VOL. 2. YOU MAY FIND THIS AMONG MY LIST OF STORIES ON MY PROFILE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING SO LONG, I WILL CONTINUE THIS STORY AS SOON AS I CAN, IN THE MEAN TIME... PLEASE ENJOY ALTERNATE UNIVERSE VOL. 2, ALL YOUR FAVORITE ALTERNATE CHARACTERS... JUST... FROM THE BEGINNING. SO THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME, YOU MAY REVIEW HERE, E-MAIL ME, OR REVIEW ON ALTERNATE UNIVERSE VOL. 2, JUST LET ME KNOW.

THANK YOU.

-Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle- Plato.

Life started for four people with a crash. It didn't matter what year it happened, but each of their lives were changed, for better or for worse is subject to opinion. Spring was coming to a close, leading steadily to summer and a long vacation from school that had each student counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds too eagerly. The bell had rung and Yusuke was leaving the school's heavy iron gates, stepping out onto the sidewalk casually. Dressed in her spring uniform, she wore a stiff cotton skirt that fell to her mid calf in thin box pleats and a tight white blouse, the peter pan collar enough to make her scream. A thick silk ribbon was tied in a loose bow around her neck instead of a tie and on the breast pocket was the emblem of her school. Her feet were in disgusting penny loafers and ankle socks. The skirt, ribbon and shoes were all the bright green of freshly mowed grass, though the uniform's color should have been a deep navy like the rest of her classmates.

Muttering darkly to herself she stormed off, pulling her jet black hair away from her face with a rubber band filched out of the science closet. Her large chocolate eyes stared eagerly ahead of her, as she dreaded heading back to her home.

Though she knew that summer was coming, it sure didn't feel like it. The sky was perpetually a perfect sapphire blue, splattered only occasionally by clouds. No sun shone in the sky, but then again, it never had. It was perfectly warm, just enough to allow people only need a light sweater or jacket occasionally, and people hurried by at the same hasty speed as always.

Stepping into the thick grove of cherry trees, she became painfully aware of how fake her life was. There was no wind where she lived, but it didn't stop the petals of the holographic trees to slowly drift down and disappear on the sidewalk. Standing in the middle was a young couple that she had seen often snogging at her school. They were once again locked at the lips, the expression meaningless as they stimulated each other's feelings instead by gently rubbing their fingers at the base of each other's neck, caressing the thin layers of skin above the thick, metal chip embedded in their necks, the small wires attached directly to the nerves, fused from the second it was placed in birth.

Disgusted, Yusuke walked off, flipping her long black hair over one shoulder as she tried her hardest to ignore her own thoughts, making her way to the familiar bus stop. Her mother was never home, but then again, nothing else was new. Always at work, the rather stick-in-the-mud woman she called mom stayed at work, toiling away as hard ever. Even when she was home, it didn't matter, she rarely saw her anyway. Instead, Yusuke had taken to using the public transportation to get from her school to her apartment, which was located, painfully, on the other side of the dome.

The same people as always, except for a mother and her rather sullen kid. The mother seemed oblivious, her thoughts busy with the conversation with the man next to her, while her son leaned against the pole, glaring off as he bobbed his head along to the rock music blaring out of the tiny, wireless ear buds nestled snugly, though hardly containing the angry lyrics. Sighing, Yusuke decided to take a cue from the kid, pulling out her own large, DJ style headphones, one of the very few left with a thick wire cord she might add, and turned her iPod to the first random song in its seemingly limitless selection of music. The voice that fates gave her, Tetris Remix.

Grinning, she began to drum out the beat on the information pole, ignoring the thin cylinders of hologram news that threaded down through her hands. Ignorant of the child, she didn't know that, slowly, he was becoming far more frustrated until, as the large steel tube of a bus drew closer, he waited until Yusuke began to get ready, anticipating for when it would stop and they would all load. In an instant, before Yusuke could tell what happened, she felt her body being pushed out into the street as the bus loomed ever closer. Squeezing her eyes shut she waited for the impact.

It arrived quick, a sudden jerk to her body and then darkness. When she opened her eyes, a crowd had begun to gather as she there, on the outskirts. Trying to figure out just what happened to her she realized with a jolt that she wasn't in pain. It wasn't as though she was an expert on getting hit by buses but she was pretty sure that somewhere in all that, she should be in pain. Turning her attention to the growing crowd, she could see that they were clustered in a crescent shape around the bus and something else. Did someone else get hit?

"Oh my God! Did someone see what happened!?" one of the bystanders cried out, covering her mouth in horror as she stared at what lay in front of her.

"I don't know, she just seemed to fall forward… maybe she passed out? Bad luck for that bus to be coming," one business man reasoned, shaking his head calmly as he walked off, looking for another mode of transportation so he could get to that stock meeting in time.

"Shouldn't someone call 911?" the mother of the child reasoned, though not attempting to do so herself as she was still in a conversation on her own phone.

"Yeah! Someone should!!" Cried out the girl who was horrified.

"What happened?" Yusuke asked, not exactly sure if she wanted to know.

"Does anybody have a phone?!?" one young student exclaimed, digging around his own book bag for his own to no avail.

"What's going on here?" a voice asked, rather close to Yusuke, surprising her. Turning around she saw a girl, only a few years older than herself, walking to the bus stop. "Normally buses tend to work better when people don't crowd around the front, you know."

"A girl got hit!!" the student exclaimed.

Shocked raced across the new girl's face, her bright green eyes growing as wide as saucers. In an instant, she raced through the small group of onlookers, pushing various ones aside with surprising strength. In an instant she was over the rather wrecked body of a young girl, taking a pulse and checking for air.

"Why hasn't anyone called 911?!" she nearly screamed, desperately checking for a sign on life.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?!" Yusuke screamed, noticing with some dismay that nobody noticed her and were now watching the girl with the green eyes.

"Doesn't anybody have a cell phone!?" the girl looked desperately at all the people, settling last of all on the woman with the son, who still hadn't ceased her own conversation. The expression of concern and anxiety changed in an instant to disgust. Sighing, she checked the pulse once more to notice that it had indeed ceased and there was no way to revive her considering the large amount of blood loss and the fact that the body was already growing cold. She was too late. Bowing her head she stood up slowly.

"Is the girl alright?" Yusuke asked, debating on whether or not to run over and check herself.

Shaking her head, that disgusted expression still evident on her face, the girl wiped off her bloody hands and walked off quietly, not wanting to deal with the matter or those people who realized what the girl was getting to.

"Found my cell! I'll call the authorities!" the student finally cried out triumphantly.

"No need for that," a man replied quickly, passing by the green eyed girl before stopping at the crowd. "I would suggest that you all move along."

"And just WHO are you?" The cell phone wielding mother snapped, finally giving up on her conversation after being interrupted to many times.

"Kazuma Kuwabara of the Spirit Detectives, so you might want to listen to my suggestion," he replied in a no-nonsense voice, motioning to the small silver strip clipped onto the lapel of his soft black jacket, standard to all people working for Koenma.

Immediately, everybody parted in their own direction, vaguely wondering how such a man could be Spirit Detective as such a young age.

"Let's see what your name is," he muttered to the body as Yusuke suddenly became aware that the uniform the mangled corpse was wearing… was her own. Suddenly, like a brick wall to a speeding car, it hit her. She was dead.

"Hm…" the man, Kazuma, finally pulled out the school ID tucked into the hidden pockets of her skirt. "Well, looks like I was right, this IS Yusuke Urameshi," he mused, placing the card back in its original place.

"THAT CAN'T BE ME!! I'M NOT DEAD!! I'M NOT EVEN SIXTEEN YET!!" Yusuke cried out, rushing quickly over to the man and getting a good look at him for the first time. He was tall, she could tell that, with a skinny, lanky form that wasn't entirely impressive but probably could be rather intimidating, especially if you were shorter. His hair was a bright copper that was shoulder length and pulled away from his face by a rubber band, though it couldn't contain his rather unruly and curly bangs. Small, bright blue eyes were slanted slightly and in a state of almost constant squinting, though that could have been because of the large, aviator style glasses that were perched on his slightly upturned nose. He was otherwise attractive, though a bit haughty, dressed in a pair of pressed khaki slacks, white oxford shirt, standard black jacket and brown leather loafers.

"Hm… she hasn't been dead long," he muttered quietly to himself before there was a soft ringing coming from behind his right ear, making Yusuke look closer at it. It was a crescent of some kind of bright metal, around the size of a silver dollar, fused into the pale skin. Two small buttons stood out and a small red light was flashing. Tapping quickly on the upper button a small microphone slid out and snaked under his earlobe to stop at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes?" he asked it, waiting for the person on the other line to talk, "Yes, I found her…. Bring her in??... hmmm…. Alright, just give me a moment…. Yes…. Alright!! Goodbye!!" not waiting for the other person to end the call he pressed the lower button on the crescent and the microphone receded.

"Dammit, this is the worst part of my job. I can't be doing this much longer," he sighed, pained.

"HELLO!!! CAN'T ANYBODY HEAR ME!?!" Yusuke had been screaming this for a while now, hoping that somehow, someway, people might hear her spiritual voice. Giving up on only her voice, she was now waving her hands frantically through the air.

"Would you shut up. You're giving me a headache," the man muttered, glaring at her over the steel rims of his glasses.

"Huh? You can hear me…?"

"Yes, and I am already in a foul mood," he said briskly, lifting her body onto the shoulders. "Besides, you are making such a racket that even the dead could hear you."

"… Wow… You don't joke much… do you?" Yusuke asked, now rather depressed by the man's obvious lack of humor and horrible pun.

"I don't entirely get a chance to, in my line of work," he quipped, walking off with her body, now thrown over his shoulder like a bag of grain.

"Um…. I'm already injured… why are you doing that?!" Yusuke cried out, worried for her, if vacated, body.

"You're already dead. I can't kill you any farther. Besides, he didn't say to be careful," Kazuma reasoned coldly, now entirely wishing he could ignore her.

"Still, no respect for the dead, man…. C'mon!"

"Why should I if all die as dumb as you just did?" he asked, looking over at her over his shoulder before, once again, he got ready to walk off.

"But it wasn't my fault! I didn't pass out or anything!! Somebody shoved me!!"

"I blame the butler," Kazuma left it at that, taking the quick break of silence (mainly from her being shocked and disgusted by his humor) to make off with her body, back down to the station.

"But I don't have a butler…" Yusuke muttered off to no one in particular, floating off down after the man who currently was "stealing" her body. She just might want that back! Though she tried desperately to hold on a conversation with Kazuma, he wasn't entirely perceptive towards it, choosing to ignore it before dropping it off at the station and heading back to his own dreary cubicle, followed still by the ever persistent spiritual presence of Yusuke.

"Wow… this place has no personality… Kinda like you… Hey! It fits!!" Yusuke cried out, as though it made perfect sense. "I know you can hear me, buster, so don't even try to ignore me. I can get worse than this!!"

Still doing his best to act oblivious to her, he sat down at his desk, giving a groan to the paperwork before picking up the slender, stainless steel phone attached to his desk (of the same boring material, Yusuke noted) and dialed in a number into the glowing pad.

"Hello there, Koenma, Sir. This is Kazuma. I have managed to bring Yusuke Urameshi's body back to the office and would like to know what you need me to do now… Alright… I'll make sure to call them… Um… Sir??" Kazuma shot a glance to the office where his boss resided before giving a frustrated sigh. "Why haven't you told anybody what is going on?" though he was given an answer, Yusuke guessed, he didn't looked pleased. Slamming the phone back to it's grooved receiver he got up quickly. Brushing his pants off before heading out, he tried to find new ways to ignore the increasingly frustrating comments from the undead "peanut box".

Though she didn't know how, he lost her only five minutes after he left the building while pulling on a somber black scarf to ward of the rather chilly night air of the dome, as the heating was shut off as usual for the later hours. Though she tried her hardest, she lost him. To be honest, Yusuke didn't know how. Giving up she finally headed off back to her dinky apartment, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this could be dream… but weren't you supposed to wake up BEFORE the car hits you?? Or was that before you hit the ground?

Imagine Yusuke's surprise when she found that man, Kazuma Kuwabara, standing outside of the door to her apartment, tugging on the scarf that he had wrapped a bit too tight and shuffling his feet rather nervously. Knocking of the door, Yusuke rolled her eyes.

"Don't bother, my mom's never home, it's a work day and she's at the office," though she refrained from saying 'what else is new' it was implied by the tone of voice. Yusuke would have added more but, despite what she had just said, the door opened.

"Ms Urameshi?"

The woman standing at the door looked exhausted and bothered. Dressed in a sharp grey power suit, her stockings had runs around the toes and ankles and the cream blouse was unbuttoned just low enough to see the glimpse of a bra. Looking up at Kazuma in a bored expression she nodded.

"My name is Kazuma Kuwabara," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge, flicking it open and close like a federal agent before nodding his head to her, "I am quite sorry to bother you this late into the night-"

"And the curfew," the woman shot in, giving him a wary glance.

"Yes, that too… but I have some news to tell you, do you mind if I come in?" Kazuma glance over his shoulder at the failing light of the sunset, surprised that night had come so quickly or curfew so fast.

"Yes, I mind. I'm not a fan of you detectives," she shot this in scathingly, "So you might as well tell me what you have to say now."

"Hmmm… well… alright, ma'am. If you insist," Kazuma sighed, hanging his head and giving it a slow shake while once more shuffling his feet. "I have news about your daughter, Yusuke."

"She's in jail again, right? Let me get my purse," she disappeared into the house and a few lights flicked on "How much is bail THIS time?"

"That's not it ma'am… Yusuke was hit by a car, and I'm terribly sorry to have to deliver the bad news… but she passed away earlier today. I am here to… ma'am?" There was a thud and Kazuma started, rushing into the house, forgetting that he was uninvited.

"What happened!?!' Yusuke nearly screamed out. It seemed to have slipped her mind that Kazuma was ignoring her, though the situation hadn't affected him in the slightest.

Rushing into the main entry way, the woman was sprawled out over the floor, sheer shock on her face as she was beginning to cry, he body quivering from tears held back. Gulping she looked up at the man she had berated only moments ago, her eye seeking solace. Bending down onto his knees, he pulled her into an embrace, letting her cry as much as she wanted onto his shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you, Ms Urameshi… I am dreadfully sorry to have been the one to bring you this news… If you want I shall leave you to grieve…" she only grasped tighter onto him, her sobs now audible until, what felt like hours later, she fell into a deep sleep. Slowly sliding her off of him, Kazuma carried her to the couch, letting her down gently before getting up and walking to the door, closing it carefully behind him.

"Great, you orange haired moron, you made her cry. Feel good about yourself or something?? Can't believe she was so upset she cried… and here I am… the one who's really DEAD, and I haven't shed a tear. How pathetic," she noted as she followed him down the street and back to the office. Walking quickly to the morgue doors he looked sharply at the young man guarding the door.

"Move, now." There was no compassion in his voice, only an icy anger but the guard didn't sway.

"Sorry, I can't let anybody in."

There was that quick flip of the badge that Yusuke was vaguely in awe of, and the young man started.

"I want in now."

"Why, sir?"

Not really happy with the response, Kazuma gave the man an odd look before replying.

"I'm a necrophiliac. Do you mind?"

A disgusted expression crossed the guards face before he ran off, nearly tripping over his own feet to get away from what he expected to be, gross, messy, stiff and cold.

"Oh. Dear. God. I hope your kidding," Yusuke stared, horrified as the guard before following him, rather reluctantly, into the chilled morgue. Walking over to the small steel doors, Kazuma pulled one open, releasing the latch before sliding the gurney out to reveal Yusuke, healed back to perfection, covered only in a pale white sheet.

"Whoa… my skin looks like crap," Yusuke noted when suddenly, Kazuma turned around and leveled his eyes with her. "Finally acknowledging my existence, are we?"

"Shut. Up. How self centered can one person BE!? You are dead. You have been for a while now. Doesn't that MEAN anything to you!? All you've done is complain.

Your mother was crying BECAUSE she lost you. If it hasn't hit you yet that she loves you… I don't know if there's any hope for you. I can't stand people like you. You disgust me. You've seen your mother cry over your death, but don't give a crap. What makes it worse is that you get a second chance at this."

There was silence, which became so prolonged that Kazuma became worried, looking over at the girl's spirit, to find that she was simply floating there, tears welling up in her chocolate brown eyes. Perhaps she would have broken out in sobs if it wasn't for the fact that a voice came over the intercom, simply stating that Kazuma must leave the room, and if the soul of Yusuke Urameshi was there, don't move.

Trying his best to ignore the water works, he made his way out the room to his corner office to find someone sitting in one of the chairs.

Small and rather delicate looking, the girl's face was rather pinched and ruddy, her clever green eyes blood shot from what he could only assume was crying. Just his luck, he escaped a spirit's tears to find the real thing waiting for him. Still dressed in the bright magenta uniform to her school, he noticed with a wry smile that it was the boy's uniform on her thin figure and she just looked up at him. Bleached blonde bangs fell around her face and shoulders in a tangled mess and he could tell she hadn't slept in a while.

"Shuichi, what is it?" he asked quietly, closing the door behind him and letting the lock click into place. He'd known this girl for as long as he'd been in the force, and though she was a year older than him, he was the one who had graduated college first. When he asked her why she hadn't opted for the same, her response was a simple smile and a quick exit from the conversation.

"Oh Kazuma…" she sniffled, reaching a hand out to him, looking just as miserable as she had the day her mother had been diagnosed with an incurable disease.

"Yes…?" he smiled softly at her and took her hand, letting her cry into his chest.

"It's my mother… they've stopped treating her!!"

He didn't need this. He was already swamped, what with bringing a soul back to life, but he couldn't leave her alone. Shuichi had seen him through a lot worse and even wrangled a date with his current girlfriend for him, running a hand down her hair, slightly coarse from the extreme damage caused by the chemicals, he tried to calm her down in the only way he knew.

"I'm sure if you just talk to Koenma, we'll get people on it," he rationalized, trying to reason with her but she just shook her head and gave a horrible sob.

"It won't work. Oh god, Kazuma, they've stopped talking about how long she's got to live!! They're already preparing for… for… for…"

The thin body gave a terrible shake as she gasped for air, her entire face a mess as she bowed her head in defeat.

"I… I know this is a hard… time for you…"

How could he be delicate with this situation? He was going to be needed soon enough to help the Urameshi kid out and though he wanted to stay with her until she felt better, he knew it was impossible.

"…" Shuichi's silence was terrible before she nodded her head. "I… I'm sorry for bothering you at… work…" looking sheepish now, she brushed her clothes off and gave him a wavering smile, ruined by the tears that still escaped her tightly closed eyes.

"Shuichi…" he sighed, he knew she was going to be upset with him later and her temper was legendary.

"Don't… don't say anything else… I… I have to do something Kazuma," there was resolve in her voice that he hardly recognized.

"There's nothing that you can do, Shuichi. You're only one person."

"…. I suppose…"

"I never like it when you take that tone of voice, Shuichi…"

"You're right, you're right… I need to head home, I have… homework… and the living room is still a mess…" Muttering off chores to herself, she excused herself from the office and headed down the small paths of the office, through the various cubicles, thinking off to herself as Kazuma watched her leave, eyebrows knitted together in worry. Slipping out through the sliding door, Shuichi sighed, stepping into the cool night air, the sky a mess of stars and though it wasn't her home, she at least felt at peace. She knew what she was going to do.

As she stalked down the streets, she made her way to the old park, ambling amidst the skeletons of trees until she found a foot hanging down from a branch. Sighing, she tapped the boot's sole and said in a firm voice, far more sure than what she had been using to speak to Kazuma with.

"Hey there, you awake or just pretending to be asleep?"

"If I say 'go to hell', will you leave me alone?" the deep smooth voice made her smile, she'd never admit it, but she missed his company, even if it was insulting.

"And see if I ever help you again."

"Mmm… so I take it your answer is yes?" There was rustling as the man sat up, a few of the long dead leaves finally losing their grip with the branches and she could begin to make out his form, the snappy black clothes clinging to his toned body.

"I'll do whatever it takes, you can have whatever you want; I just need that mirror."

"Anything else I should be worried about, your kind has notorious tempers," he leaned down so she could just see his face, his garnet eyes hidden by dark sunglasses despite the night around them, smooth black hair falling around his face, occasionally standing up in an odd place or so, a white cloth tied around his forehead.

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know."

Turning on her heel, she left to his soft laughter…