Tamaki walked into the classroom silently. All eyes fell on her not that it wasn't obvious why. Not many people have snow white hair and pale skin like she did. She smiled shyly, wishing that they wouldn't pay much attention to her. Not like it bothered her, she just felt it was better that way. If they weren't involved with her, they cant be targeted thats what she wanted. Two lives were sacrificed already, she didn't want anymore. She quickly took her seat near the back, still wondering why Koenma forced her to attend this new school. She didn't find anything wrong about the school her parents had placed her in. A sharp sense of Demon energy suddenly emerged. A demon?! Here?! Impossible how did she miss this? A strong sense of energy like that she should have detected instantly. Tamaki turned her head slightly and saw him.

His long red hair draped over his shoulders as he was looking into his textbook, while his emerald green eyes seemed so gentle. Despite the enormous energy wave? ..No, it was an act she decided. She could never trust a demon never trust her own kind ever again. Not after what they've done to her, to her human parents, to her late brother.

The bell rang for the end of class, she must have zoned out the whole class. The red hair demon stood up to leave, gathering his books. He looked over to Tamaki he sensed her Demon energy the moment she walked in. But she really could have killed every human in the classroom by now if she really wanted to, so he assumed she meant no harm. Still he kept a close eye on her the whole class period she seemed to innocent to hold any wickedness. He headed for the door. Tamaki hurried to follow him, figuring out why Koenma put her here. He was using her to keep an eye on this demon that must have been it. The boy seemed to slow a bit, stepping beside her now.

"Please listen closely to me", he said to her, the way they were angled made it look like he was saying nothing. "Stay at the school yard when school lets out I have things I must tell you."

Tamaki, knowing what he meant, just nodded in response. He sped back up and went to his next class. Tamaki stared after him a bit before leaving herself. She knew what he wanted and she figured there wouldn't be any avoiding it no matter what. He knew she was a demon and he knew she found out he was one too. Now he wants to fight to keep her from stopping whatever she thought he was planning.

Little did she knew the boy actually was thinking the same thing. He had challenged her thinking she was planning something. Was she sent as one of Hiei's followers from his Jagan eye? Or was she just out for human blood? Either way he would stop her.

Tamaki sat on the bench next to the school building, waiting for every student there to leave for the day. She would have used this time to think of a plan to fight the demon if she knew anything about how he fought. But she knew nothing she was fighting blind. All she could do was hope she was stronger. Luckily that meant her opponent knew nothing of how she fought, it'd seemed that he wasn't the kind of guy to only rely on brute force. He then arrived as promised, Tamaki stood up instantly. He looked at her.

"Thank you for staying", he said, his voice not harsh in tone, but brimming with confidence. Tamaki was a bit taken back by that.

"Well it didn't seem I had much of a choice in it.", she said, trying to mimic the confidence in his voice.
"He nodded, Yes, well even if you hadn't stayed, this would be unavoidable." he said.

"Agreed", Tamaki said. "No matter what the circumstances, I cannot allow you to do as you please. I shall stop you."

The boy seemed to be confused. Stop him? What did he do? But Tamaki had already rushed in to the attack before hand. She tried using her martial arts skills mainly, so he couldn't get a good grip at what her Demon energy was. She threw a punch, but the boy easily dodged and counter. He gripped her arm.
"What are you planning?" he asked. " And are you working alone? Are there others assisting you?"

Tamaki blinked, "What?" she asked. "Thats what I should be asking you! You're up to something! Thats why Koenma sent me here when he found me!" The boy looked at her a minute then he laughed mainly in relief and his own stupidity. He let her arm go. Tamaki sweat dropped he lost his mind was her conclusion in this.

"What are you laughing for?" she asked, fairly confused at this point. Kurama just smiled at her.

"I am terribly sorry", he said. "But I do believe we've mistaken each other."

Tamaki blinked, "Mistake?" she asked. "She glared at him a bit, remembering he was a demon. If this is some kind of trick-"

"I swear to you its not", he said, his voice still friendly. "My name is Kurama, but my name in the Human World is Shuichi Minamino."

Tamaki stared at him a but something in her gut really wanted to trust him. He seemed so nice to be dishonest. Still she couldn't be sure this could be part of an act.

"How are you so trusting?" she asked him, confused on how quickly he believed she was not an enemy. Kurama smiled at her.

"You said Koenma sent you", he said. "Not many demons know of Koenma, only the few he trusts. You must be on the humans side."

"..But how can I be sure you are too?" Tamaki asked. "Please forgive me as I say this but I cant trust you."

Despite what she said, Kurama smiled at her. "I understand", he said. "The fact that you can't trust me just because I trust you proves you're not one to be taken likely, but if you'd come with me, Id' be more than happy to offer you proof of my innocence."

Tamaki lowered her eyes a bit, standing her ground, "You do realize if this is a trap, I wont hesitate to kill you", she bluffed. Truthfully she hadn't really killed anyone before. She had killed lower-class demon who desired nothing but human flesh, but it kind of felt like killing a bug or something. ..If this was a trap, was she prepared to bloody her hands with this boys blood?

Kurama smiled at her, "Understandable", he said, not reacting to her threat negatively. He predicted shed say something like that. He found her to be really intelligent to be so careful against a demon she had no proof of being friendly. "Please follow me, and I promise it will all make sense."

Tamaki was so lost, she couldn't read him at all! One second hes ready to fight, next hes treating her like a close friend. And the confusion kind of frustrated her but at the same time, want to know more about him. He was a mystery that was hard to solve, the kind that always made people keep reading until the end.

Before she had even realized they had already started walking, her feet automatically following Kurama. She blinked a bit, "So where are we going?" she asked innocently.

Kurama smiled, "It'll be confusing to explain it now. It'll make sense when we get there", he said. Tamaki nodded a bit, not pressing it further.

They walked in silence for a while, both lacking conversation topics to discuss. Kurama broke the silence, "Ah, here we are", he said.

Tamaki looked up and just felt more confused then ever. He took her to a local hospital. She looked at him, "Why are we here?" she asked, her natural cautiousness making her suspect a trick again.

Kurama smiled at her, "I need you to meet someone", he said, opening the door for her. Tamaki blinked a bit.

"Here?" she asked, confused on that. Kurama smiled and nodded. This went against all her better judgments, but she walked in. She didn't understand it completely but she trusted him. And just when she thought all her trust was gone, she thought with a silent smile. Kurama seemed to notice her sudden spurge of happiness and smiled a bit too.

Kurama opened a hospital room, motioning her to go in. Tamaki walked in, seeing a woman with black hair tied back lying in the bed. She seemed so pale and frail. Yet when Kurama walked in, her eyes lit up a bit and she struggled to sit up. Kurama ran over and set her back down.

"It's alright Mother, you don't need to sit up", Kurama said, his voice showing concern. Tamaki eyes widen. His mother? But she was human. How could a human give birth to a demon child? The woman smiled at him.

"Shuichi dear, its been so long since you've brought a friend with you", she said, her voice weak. She smiled at Tamaki. "Hello, I am Shiori Minamino, its nice to meet you."

Tamaki smiled happily at her she was such a nice lady, "Its very nice to meet you too. My name is Tamaki Tomashina." she said, bowing her head in respect as it was custom in Japan.

Shiori beamed, "Shuichi, where did you find such a sweet girl? she asked happily, really fond of her already." She looked up at him with a smile. "You told me you weren't interested in dating." Tamaki blushed a bit at that.

"Oh no Mother, shes just a friend from school", Kurama said, a bit embarrassed by that as well.

Shiori giggled a bit, "Oh okay, my mistake", she said, not buying it. She was ill but not blind, she thought with a giggle.

The doctors made Kurama and Tamaki leave a few minutes later to let Shiori rest. Kurama took her on the hospital roof top where he normally went to clear his head. Tamaki smiled at him.

'"Your mother is such a nice person, she said happily, glad to have met her."

Kurama smiled, "I thought you would like her. he said. She really grew fond of you."

Tamaki felt happy by that, "You really think so?" she asked.

Kurama nodded, "Yes", he said. "Though I'm not all that surprised by it. You really are a friendly person when you act like yourself."

Tamaki's face felt a bit hot, but tried to cover that up with a smile, "Thank you", she said. "You're really friendly too, now. I feel kind of silly thinking you were bad." she added with a giggle.

Kurama chuckled, "Ah, the feeling is mutual. Perhaps were just silly people?"

Tamaki giggled, "Seems like it", she said. "But theres one thing I don't get still. How can you be a demon if your mother is human? Are you a half-demon? And why does she call you Shuichi if your real name is Kurama?"

He smiled a bit, "Technically I am human but at the same time I'm not. My truest form is actually Yoko Kurama the spirit fox."

Tamaki's eyes widened," The Legendary Thieve King Yoko?!" she asked surprised. That had been her favorite bedtime story since she was little. ..But in the story, Yoko was killed by a strong pursuer.

"In truth I escaped from him just in time", Kurama explained. "But I was weak, and needed to hide out so my strength could return. So I hid within Shiori Minamino, my mother, and became the child of a proud human family known as Shuichi. I knew if I could withstand humanity for ten years, I could recover and escape without a trace."

Tamaki blinked, "..Why did you stay then?" she asked.

"..My mother became deathly ill. It may sound foolish but I couldn't leave her. Considering everything she had done for me." His eyes grew kind of sad as he said that.

Tamaki blinked, "Whats wrong?" she asked.

"..My mother is on the brink of death", he said sadly. "It bothers me not knowing how much longer shell be in this world."

Tamaki's eyes looked down a bit, feeling a bit guilty, "..I'm sorry", she said.

"Don't be, it isn't your fault.", Kurama said.

Tamaki shook her head, "No, not about that I meant for everything. The way I treated you earlier. I shouldn't had been so quick to judge. I'm sorry."

Kurama smiled a bit, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I jumped to the same conclusion as you did, there's no need to apologize."

Tamaki smiled a bit, "Thanks", she said. "But why did you tell me all this?"

Kurama chuckled a bit, "I'm not sure maybe I just wanted someone to know", he said. "Besides, I can honestly feel like I can trust you."

Tamaki smiled at that. They continued talking for what seemed to be a few minutes about the past, but when the looked it was already dark out.

Kurama blinked, "..Is it that late already?" he asked. "I guess I should walk you home now."
Tamaki blinked, "It's alright, I can walk by myself", she said.

Kurama smiled, "I insist", he said, being a gentlemen.

Tamaki was a bit hesitate. She didn't want him to know she was living alone because he'd ask why. She didn't really want to be reminded again. But it'd also be bad if she said no for no good reason. "Okay, thank you.", she said with a smile.

They started walking from the hospital, but didn't get too far from it before something stood in their path. A demon, Tamaki could make out from the darkness. He was small, dressed in black with spiked black hair. He was carrying a katana with him, and from what his demon energy read he was about a high D-Class.

Kurama recognized him immediately, "Hiei!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

Tamaki blinked, "A friend of yours?" she asked.

"..Kind of.", Kurama said. "Were not enemies if thats what you mean."

Hiei stared at Tamaki a bit, hiding his disbelief so well no one could ever detect it. Why was she here? They told him she lived three towns over! He drew his katana and began attacking Tamaki, who kept dodging his swings.

Kurama's eyes widened a bit, "What are you doing?!" he asked in shock. Why was Hiei attacking her?

Hiei finally ceased his attacks and smirked a bit. Not a scratch on her, "..Impressive", he said to her. "You should be useful as well."

Tamaki blinked a bit, "What do you mean?" she asked, realizing he was testing her skills with his attacks.

Hiei looked to both Tamaki and Kurama, "Think of this as a proposal that shall benefit all of us. Gouki!" he called behind him. Another demon, who seemed to pose like some big street thug appeared out behind him. Tamaki sensed a different kind of demon energy he was an ogre demon.

"..What proposal?" Tamaki asked.

"Tell me Kurama, you do remember the power of the Demon Artifacts?" Hiei asked.

Kurama's eyes widen a bit, "What do you want with the Artifacts?" he asked. Tamaki blinked in confusion.

"Demon Artifacts?" she asked. She lived in the Human world most of her life, so she never heard of them.

Hiei looked over at her, "The three Demon Artifacts are the three most powerful artifacts in Spirit World. The Orb of Destruction, the Forlorn Hope and the Sword of Shadows. If anyone processed these items, they would be invincible."

Gouki smirked, "The Orb of Destruction should come in quite handy for me. Human souls are so hard to get but with that it takes all the guest work out of cooking them."

Tamaki's eyes widened. He ate the souls of humans?! Hiei smirked, "Yes, and the Swords of Shadows combined with the Jagan eye will prove most useful to me. And if what I heard was true Fox, the Forlorn Hope sounds like something you would desire."

Tamaki looked at Kurama, "The Forlorn Hope? What does this do?" she asked.

"During the full moon, it grants the users greatest desires", Kurama said. "But you must give something in return." He knew what that something was, but he didn't say.

Hiei stepped closer towards him, "We plan to steal these artifacts the four of us will reign supreme in both Worlds. We need all the help we can at this point especially with an expert thief like Kurama. And the girl can move swiftly without much sound, she seems qualified for this. Will you join us or not?"

Kurama paused, "I will join your alliance for now", he said. He had to do what he must to save his mothers life.

Hiei smirked, "Good", he said. He turned to Tamaki. "What about you?"

Kurama glared a bit, "She stays out of this", he said coldly. He didn't want her involved in this. It was so dangerous.

Tamaki looked at Kurama, "Its alright", she said. She looked at Hiei, "Count me in", she said.

Kurama looked at her, "Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

Tamaki nodded, "I am. I want to help you save Shiori.", she said.

Hiei smirked. His plan was already going great. "Then its set we head out tonight to Spirit World." Tamaki nodded in agreement she hadn't known then, and would probably never know if she made the right decision that night. All she knew was it was time for a trip.