Why

A/N: Inspiration! Inspiration! XD Lol, yeah...... comments make me happy, hehehe. On another note.. BON ODORI IS COMING, AHHH!!!!! I'MA DO A TAKUMAxJADE FIC!!! KYAAAA!!! *o* *starry eyes*

PS: Btw, Jade/Hisui is 18 in this fic. Same case as Ryou-sama, I guess. XD


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Why
MazdaKitsune

It had been a year. Had it really been that long? No, it was almost a year... not quite a year yet. The long, black-haired girl sat tapping the edge of her pencil on top of her desk, her chin supported in her hand as she stared out the window that was next to her to the sunny, blue sky of summer. It was the last day of school before they were let out for a break, and she just couldn't wait to get free from the hot confines of the class. Emerald eyes surveyed the sky for a while more before turning back to her open textbook and attempting to concentrate on the lesson set before her, though her mind really wasn't absorbing anything much. Jade Castero was bored, that was for sure, but at least something always got stuck in her head at the end of the day.

It was a good thing.

But wait... what was Jade Castero, demon huntress, doing sitting in a class, wearing a uniform and studying?? She hated studying, for God's sake, so why??

Why....?

Her attention shifted to the outside world again, one hand gingerly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as her eyes took on that faraway look, which meant she had wandered off to her own little world again. It had been a while... since Jade had layed down her guns and katana, turning her back on hunting and opted to become a normal girl instead. Try as she might, the hunting world just proved too painful for her to live in, and she, in a desperate decision to move on, had decided to leave it once and for all, leaving all her past behind her and simply starting anew. Vergil had helped somewhat, in his odd, cold manner of his, first suggesting she move somewhere away from Devil City, then dropping hints about changing her name and identity, then finishing off by offhandedly mentioning about her education. She had been in love with him at that time, but it was a quiet love, she having already accepted the fact that the distant man only showed her care in a cold way. It was enough for her during her time of depression, and once she had coaxed herself out of it, she began to move.

It first started by chopping off a very good portion of her hair.

It then went on to leaving her katana Hizoku in Vergil's care. She could summon it anytime she wanted to, the heartbroken girl having sat and watched him practice his abilities for hours. She sometimes suspected the reason why Vergil had repeated over and over again in front of her was just to teach her how to summon stuff other than entertaining her as well.

The third step was leaving Vergil (finally) to move to the place of her dreams, Japan. In fact, the blue-clad devil had been rather irritable the past few days, but it was only to encourage her to step up back to life and chase her dreams, also to get her away from him most probably. She knew how irritating her moping presence could get. So here she was now, new name, new life, new-

Thwack!

"Hisui-chan, pay attention, please." The pretty English teacher tapped her head softly with a book and Jade/Hisui winced as the class giggled. The woman wasn't angry, though; she had a patient smile on her face. "I know that class is almost over and you have the holidays to look forwards to, but please give the lesson your attenttion for 20 more minutes, alright?"

"Hai, Fiona-sensei." A red blush spread across the young girl's face, but Hisui couldn't help giggling. Miss Fiona was her favorite teacher, because she never got angry or raised her voice with anyone. She respected them, and everyone respected her in return. Dipping her head back to her textbook, Hisui settled her thoughts before concentrating for the rest of the session.
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"Ja na!"

"Mata ne! See you at the festival!"

Finally, school was out. The students eagerly left the building grounds, waving and shouting goodbyes to each other, but Hisui lagged behind for a bit, her hands clasping her bag in front of her. In all honesty, the rough and tumble huntress had really changed; from sassy to a sweet-tempered little thing with hair that fell to her shoulders, though not as long as it was before. She retained that cheerfulness and mischief, though. That would always be a part of her, her cheerful smiles. Her body looked almost petite in the brown school uniform, rather than the lean, slightly muscular look she used to have. Anyone looking at her would probably not recognize her, and Vergil would be satisfied. Well, 'would' was the word. He wouldn't show her any expression, anyway... but he would give her a vauge compliment. She knew him well after her short stint staying with him.

"What do you think you're doing, baka?" A hand landed hard on her head and she gave a startled yelp of pain as the bored-sounding, deep voice continued on. "Hurry up and walk, you're slowing everyone down."

"Ouch! Don't call me idiot, Takuma-kun!" Hisui protested, holding her head as she looked up at the person responsible; a tall red-head with purple eyes that were currently looking down at her imperiously. But she immediately felt at ease with his presence by her side. Onizaki Takuma was one of the first friends she had made when she first decided to move to this village, and in a strange way, they grew fond of each other after getting involved in a fight.

"Yo, Hisui!" A shorter boy (but older than her by one year) with messy raven locks, emerald eyes and a perpetual grin on his face suddenly appeared from her right. Atori Mahiro grinned playfully at her. "Wandering off into your world again, aren't you?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. She's a dreamer." A tall silver-haired boy with yellow eyes approached sedately, bag tucked under his arm. Komura Youichi smiled before ruffling Hisui's hair. "Am I right?"

One by one, they appeared, and Hisui felt the heavy weight that was a part of her heart lift whenever she was with them, her beloved friends. In truth, making this decision had done her a lot of good. She got to experience the life she never had, and was enjoying it to the fullest, her new friends filling the gaping hole in her chest with laughter, companionship and fun. They filled in for the person she lost, and were always there to support her and have her back if she ever filled down. This was life... this was a normal life... and this normal life had brought her back to life. "Hey, guys. You're late."

"Late? That's a lie!" Mahiro sniffed. "We were here just on time, you were too busy staring off into space to hear us calling you!"

A pretty, long-haired brunette soon came up with a younger boy of 15, whose large brown eyes seemed to fill his entire face, gentle innocence shining clearly in them. Kasuga Tamaki and Inukai Shinji joined in the conversation before a muscular teen with untamed greyish-brown hair crept up behind Hisui and lifted her up into his arms, his russet-red eyes dancing with amusement when she squealed. "Ryou-kun! Put me down!"

"As my princess wishes," Kutani Ryou said in a bored but smooth tone before Tamaki clapped her hands. "I know! Why don't we all have dinner together tonight? We can have sukiyaki!"

"Really?" Hisui's eye lit up the moment her feet touched the ground. "That would be awesome!"

"Then we have to get moving to get home in time to set everything up," Youichi said, starting to turn. "We can discuss what to eat on the way."

"Meat! There has to be meat for Atori-Mahiro-senpai-sama!" Mahiro declared as the whole group walked out of the school gates, happily chatting together, laughter making the air light. Hisui's eyes shifted to the trees contentedly as they walked, and she silently thanked Vergil for encouraging her to go back to school to make up for the education she lacked. At least... she had a normal life and could have a normal job if she graduated. She did wonder though... where were the Sparda brothers now? Were they still watching over her from afar, secretly so she wouldn't notice, making sure she was safe and her life was smooth-sailing? She didn't know, but she had begun to watch the trees closely and the forest lining the road for a hint of someone hiding there, but she couldn't find anything.

"Hisui!" Takuma barked at her from the front. "Would you please hurry up??! Dammit... you're such a dreamer today..."

"I'm coming!" Hisui tore her gaze away and forced herself to focus on the red-head as she ran to catch up with all 6 of her friends, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, sorry... I was just looking in case something was hiding there."

"There's nothing there, so just stick with us." Takuma reached out and closed one hand over her wrist to make sure she didn't leg behind again, a grumble in his voice, though his expression said something else. "Really.... you're an idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot." Hisui replied automatically, but she looked back over her shoulder, giving the forest one last sweeping gaze before she was dragged away.
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Dinner had been a noisy, fun event, filled with laughter and the occasional shout, and Hisui had never felt so full in her life. Sighing, she now leaned on her balcony of the house that she lived in alone a few hours later, staring out at the street with a contented look, listening to music on her Mp3. It really felt good to have fun with everyone, to keep her mind from drifting back to the past every so often, with thoughts about the future shown by the actions of the present. Leaning her chin on her hand and her elbow on the balcony railing, she looked out at the trees and wondered again.... where was Vergil and Dante now? How were they faring? Were they watching over her? Were they protecting her from danger? How would she know? Ah... so many questions.... it was impossible to understand them all.

Two walking figures on the road caught her attention and she smiled when the shorter figure noticed her and waved.

"Oiiii, Hisui! You're not in bed yet?" Mahiro asked.

"Nah.. just enjoying the air." Hisui answered cheerfully.

"Anyway, you better get some sleep soon!" Mahiro called back with a grin. "Ja na, Hisui!"

"Hai! Good night, senpai!" Hisui chuckled and waved as they walked away. Takuma turned his head to look back at her and they locked gazes for a bit before the red-head blushed lightly and offered her a smile. She returned it with a smile of her own, and held gazes until he had to turn into another road to get back to his own house. There was no mistaking the expression between the two, although they both denied it vehemently for most of the time.

Hahhhh.... she had fun today, no doubt about that. Hisui now directed her smile at the moon. They were her life now, her friends. They were the ones to ease the sometimes throbbing ache inside of her, and she was grateful for that, very grateful. Closing her eyes, she began singing softly.

Why? Why are you so concerned with the way you look?
Why? Can you not open up your heart a little?
You’ve been taxed by this heavy burden for so long,
It’s time that you learn to accept yourself.
Have more faith in yourself...

Yes... she had to learn to accept herself and just have a bit more faith in herself. Jade was Hisui now, she had moved on into her new life, with new friends... and a new beginning. Smiling still, she turned with a swish of her hair to the breeze, and left to sleep in her room.