A/N: I HAVE RETURNED. Hah.

Warnings, Pairings, Disclaimer in previous chapters/summary.

~oOo~

Kurama likes how the children's faces turn pale with fright when he smiles. "So. Today, we will start with demon mating rituals!" he singsongs and then the rest of the Reikai Tantei gape at him openly in shock, with Hiei's face turning a brilliant shade of crimson.

"Oh god, no Kurama. Kids learn growth and development later than this, right?" Yusuke complains, his face pale.

"Nope," Kurama replies, perhaps too cheerfully. "The youngest here are in about fifth grade. That is when we learn about…that, am I correct?"

"Kurama, are you trying to humiliate demons right now?" Hiei growls, trying to look intimidating but the effect is completely ruined by his scarlet face.

Kurama can feel the shock radiating off of the students they're supposed to be teaching, and another smirk makes its way onto his face. The tension from before wears off.

"I-I…I think we should teach them that at a later date," Kuwabara says dazedly, looking as if Kurama has gone crazy.

Nodding, Kurama replies, "Actually, Kuwabara, that is what I was planning. I was just looking to see your reactions."

At this, Hiei nearly falls off of his ledge in shock. "Goddammit, Kurama!"

Ignoring the rest of the Tantei, Kurama turns to the class who are silently watching the bickering with mixed reactions; amusement, fear, and most of all, shock.

"Welcome to Demon Studies! Today, we will be learning about what a demon is, not their mating rituals, so those of you who are still innocent and pure there is no need to fear." Hiei bristles slightly.

"Before class starts, are there any questions?" Immediately, a sea of hands raise. Kurama is slightly startled at the amount but he picks on one randomly.

"Yes, miss…?"

"Luna Lovegood, sir," she says dreamily. "I was just wondering, are you demons, or at least part demon? I have seen some oni and imps around before, and they looked a bit humanoid."

Kurama tilts his head. "Interesting theory. Perhaps we can expand upon that at a later date."

Several students scoff at Lovegood for asking such a ridiculous theory. Kurama picks another hand. "Yes, mister Malfoy?"

The boy scowls when he realizes Kurama knows his name but asks his question anyway. "How can the four of you act so friendly amongst yourselves if you're from different houses?"

Kurama Smiles. With the capital S. "Why would we not be friends? Think about it. If you had grown up with somebody all your life, and they've saved your life many times, and you've done the same for them, would you really betray them for only a house rivalry? There are many kinds of bonds in this world, and friendship is one of those that is not easily broken."

Malfoy continues to glare at the ground at his feet as he picks the next.

"Yes, misters…"

"Fred and George Weasley," says the one on the left, and Kurama remembers his energy signature as Fred. "What are demons, exactly? And how do we know if they're real? I mean, Luna Lovegood isn't exactly the best source of information, no offense to you, Luna."

"None taken."

The Youko nods in response, smiling slightly. (without the capital.) "Alright. Then will anybody care to explain what they know of demons?"

Unsurprisingly, Granger and a few Ravenclaws raise their hands, and he picks on an Asian black-haired one, in fourth year. "Yes, miss…?"

"Cho Chang, sir! What I've learned of demons is actually not all that reliable, but what I've heard is that demons come in many varieties and are living in a separate world known as the Demon World, or Makai in Japanese."

"That's correct. Any others? Yes, miss Granger?"

Granger huffs haughtily before replying. "Demons are mythical creatures that differ from region to region. However, I assume you are talking about Japanese demons, so I will expand on that. The demons you are talking about happen to be ogres and tend to have three eyes. Some of the more famous legends happen to be Jaganshi and Youko Kurama, which you seem to share a name with the latter."

Hiei, unexpectedly, bursts out into laughter, leaning back against the wall, and they all turn to stare at him. Yusuke and Kuwabara follow, cackling like madmen. Kurama's straight face, which has taken a lot of self-control to keep, finally breaks and he joins them, doubling over.

"May I ask, sir, what is so funny?" Granger asks, looking embarrassed.

Kurama regains his control and wipes a stray tear aside. "I'm sorry. It's just we happen to be friends with those two demons and know them very, very well. Have you perhaps heard of Raizen?"

Granger's eyes narrow. "Yes, I have. But how can you be friends with legends?"

"They aren't legends, miss Granger. I'm afraid to say that Raizen is dead, but his ancestor still lives. We're friends with him." Kurama smiles a mysterious smile.

"That's enough questions for now. I think we'll begin class." Kurama walks to the board, picking up a piece of chalk. Normally, he would use a whiteboard but this place is old school.

"As miss Chang has stated, demons live in an alternate world known as the Makai, or demon world." He draws a circle, writing "demon world" within it. "Demons of varying strengths and abilities live here."

Kurama makes another round circle, writing "human world" and "Ningenkai" in it. "Then we have the human world, which is where we happen to live in. Humans live here, and demons are able to cross the barrier between the two worlds after Koenma took it down."

Another circle marks the Reikai. "This is the Spirit World, where departed souls go after death. Shinigami, or ferry-girls, much like Charon from Greek mythology, collect souls and bring them to this place after death. Koenma rules over this place, and thus he, in a sense, rules over all three worlds."

A hand is raised, and Kurama picks on it. "Yes, mister Potter?"

"This is all a bit sketchy, if you don't mind me saying," Potter says sheepishly. "I mean, some people don't believe in the afterlife, so how do we know it's real?"

"Yusuke, why don't you tell them?"

Yusuke grins widely. "With pleasure." Kurama cedes the spotlight to Yusuke, and the delinquent waves at the class.

"Believe it or not, I've died twice." He raises his fingers in a peace sign, or rather just showing two fingers. "The first time I died, Koenma was not expecting my death, so he gave me a second chance, along with a golden egg."

"Wow, detective. I'm shocked you remembered," Hiei drawls from his perch on the ledge.

"Shut it, Hiei! Like I'd ever forget about anything as humiliating as Pu was, and still is!" Yusuke shoots back, glaring. "So anyway, before Hiei interrupted, I died, got a golden egg, and became Koenma's Spirit Detective. I did missions involving souls and stuff and I ended up dying again but shit happened and I was revived."

"'Shit happened' is a very good way of expressing what happened," Kuwabara adds dryly. "Obviously."

"I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not," Hiei comments.

"Shut up, shrimp."

"It is, after all, the way you express most things."

"I told you to shut up!"

"I never said I would."

"Hiei, Kuwabara, please stop," Kurama says in a pleasantly dangerous tone. Hiei is unaffected. Kuwabara…not so much.

"Yes, Potter?" Kurama asks, pointing to him again.

"Uh…still kind of weird. And not very plausible," he says, looking embarrassed.

"I would give you more information but Koenma doesn't like us giving out too much information," Kurama responds. "Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but I'd say that you believe it if you want to survive the class."

He turns to the blackboard again. "As I was saying, Koenma, in a sense, rules over all three worlds. However, the Makai is split into three different areas ruled by Mukuro, Raizen's descendant, and Yomi. Above those three is Enki, a demon who won the Makai Tournament. You should actually be thankful to him; if it weren't for him, there would be no limit to the slaughter of humans in our world."

A few shudders make their way through the crowd of students. "Actually, you should be thankful to us that we're hunting down demons who stray away and killing them. It's not very well paying, dangerous, and unpleasant but it's necessary."

Kurama shrugs nonchalantly and continues to write on the board, next to the circles. "Once, the Reikai was governed by King Enma, but we discovered a plot that he was brainwashing lower class demons and sending them into the Human World to attack humans. Thus we threw him into jail where he is today. Koenma is taking over now…I must say, I dislike his habit of sending us on missions despite the fact that we are not part of the Reikai Tantei anymore."

Beneath that, he writes the classes of the demons from weakest to strongest. "Our lowest class is E-class. They are easily killed, perhaps just stepping on them a couple times would work. Basically the Makai's version of cockroaches. Then we have D-class. They aren't weak, per se, but they are not very strong either; this is when demons start looking slightly humanoid. No D-class demons made it alive to the Dark Tournament.

"Then we enter C-class, which is the average level of who made it alive to the Dark Tournament. They are strong, but cannot even touch B-class. C-class demons start looking like your average human with strangely colored hair or perhaps strange body parts. B-class is powerful, even if they look the same as C-class, just more and more like a human.

"A-class is perhaps on the level of a god, in human terms. They are immensely powerful and quite clever and wise. And then, you have the near omnipotent S-class. An S-class could crush an army of A-classes with their hands tied behind their backs and with a blindfold on. They look nearly completely human.

"It seems the higher the class of a demon, the more human they appear to be, and they are actually more friendly than lower classes. However, most demons do not use this scale, since it is a Spirit World one. Any questions?"

Kurama picks on a random girl. "Yes, miss…?"

"Susan Bones, sir! What are you four ranked?"

"All four of us are S-class, miss Bones," Kurama replies mildly, inwardly grinning foxily at the looks of shock this proclamation earned.

"H-how…?" she stutters, choking on her words.

"Breathe, miss Bones. It's true." Kurama checks the time. "Ah. I suppose it's time for you to leave, am I correct? Mister Malfoy, I believe you have an appointment with Hiei."

Malfoy scowls and glares at the ground and as Potter and his two friends pass by, they seem to have looks of glee on their faces. Inwardly, Kurama frowns. What is wrong with this house system? A lot.

~oOo~

Hiei stands outside the Forbidden Forest, leaning casually against a tree as the Malfoy human trudges towards him glumly, his eyes glued to the ground in front of him.

"You're going to walk into a tree if you keep doing that, dumbass. Also, you always look around your surroundings for enemies unless you're trying to bait them, which you aren't." Immediately Malfoy snaps his head up to glare at Hiei. Hiei glares back, his look far more intense and Malfoy flinches away. "Do you understand?"

Jerkily, the kid nods and Hiei lessens the intensity of his gaze. "Let's go. You didn't bring your wand, am I correct?" Another sharp nod. "Alright."

They enter the Forbidden Forest in silence, Hiei liking it, but Malfoy clearly doesn't, fidgeting with his clothing. He jumps at the slightest rustle while Hiei merely dismisses it if he senses no killing intent.

An arrow flies right in front of Hiei's face, failing to nick him even though he doesn't dodge. It misses Malfoy by a centimeter and he quivers like a mouse while Hiei doesn't even flinch.

"Either you have horrible aim or that was a warning shot," Hiei drawls lazily, red eyes flickering all around him. "Centaurs."

"Leave this forest right now," growls a voice, and Hiei turns in the direction, his eyes latching onto the centaur's, and the unfortunate soul is forced to look away.

"I don't feel like it," Hiei replies nonchalantly. "If you kill me, you will have the wrath of Mukuro and Koenma and—gods forbid, Kurama—upon you. That is, if you can kill me. If you kill this person here, you'll have Dumbledore and me to deal with because I cannot have the blood of one of my charges upon my hands, as much as I may wish it sometimes."

An arrow whizzes towards him, and Hiei catches it with ease, snapping it in half with his fingers. "As I said. That arrow was aimed for my neck. A fatal blow."

At this point, Malfoy's knees are trembling so hard they bump into each other. He occasionally lets out a low whimper, his eyes staring widely at the ground. Hiei can't help but think he looks pathetic—none of that earlier prideful arrogance when he had fought the hippogriff.

A shower of arrows greets him this time and Hiei unsheathes his sword and slashes them all in halves and sheathes the blade again in one fluidly graceful move and all within a blink of an eye.

"That is twice you have attempted to kill me," Hiei comments calmly. "And we mean no harm. Any unfortunate being that tries to attack us will be dealt with accordingly. That includes you, but I sense that you are willing to talk…if you would stop sending arrows."

"Alright. Bane, stand down." A centaur steps forward. "I am Firenze."

"Hiei."

"May I ask what you are doing out here at this time of night?"

"This idiot," Hiei gestures to the trembling Malfoy, "provoked a hippogriff. I was there in time to prevent an injury but I decided he would be punished."

Firenze nods. "Alright. You may go, providing you stay out of our territory. You leave it if you head about thirty meters north."

Hiei immediately turns in the direction and marches off, Malfoy stumbling after him while babbling incoherently.

Once they leave the centaurs' territory—Hiei can tell because the ferocity of the gazes watching him lessen—Hiei slows his brisk pace to a more leisurely walk for humans. For him, it's going at a snail's pace.

Malfoy lets out a shuddering gasp, whimpering and Hiei rolls his eyes. "Man up," he snaps to the person, immediately disliking his choice of human words. Damn, Yusuke and Kuwabara are getting to him!

Obviously by sheer habit, Malfoy whips his head up to glare at Hiei but instantly wilts like a dying flower. Hiei snorts in amusement and continues to walk, purposefully stepping on a brittle twig suddenly. Immediately, Malfoy shrieks like a human baby and jumps a foot off the ground, landing on his butt and looking around wildly, his eyes wide with fright.

"Oops," Hiei remarks dully, "I stepped on a twig. My bad."

Malfoy's high pitched growl of frustration and with fear mixed in is highly amusing to Hiei and he doesn't fail to show it, a faint smirk pulling on his lips. Perhaps he's being a little too sadistic, but it's in his nature.

Attempting—and failing—to regain his dignity, Malfoy stands up and brushes dust off the front of his robes.

"You fell on your butt," Hiei tells him dryly. "The twigs would be on your backside, dumbass."

Blood rushes to Malfoy's cheeks and Hiei wonders if it's embarrassment or anger—perhaps, and more likely so, both—as he hastily knocks the twigs and leaves from his bottom.

Hiei has already left the area, causing Malfoy to squeak in fright and chase after him, throwing leaves and twigs up behind him as he tries desperately to catch up with Hiei.

Of course, Hiei is merely sitting in a tree above Malfoy, waiting for the poor boy to look up and find him. Malfoy continues to race around, his eyes as wide as a yen piece.

After ten minutes of hopping from tree to tree—of course, making rustling noises to make Malfoy jump—Hiei gets bored and jumps right behind Malfoy, causing Malfoy to scream again in fright.

"Look up," he advises, crossing his arms and leaning back on the balls of his feet. He sees Malfoy's fingers clench into a pair of trembling balls, and Hiei knows he's pissed…and fails to care.

The boy's punch is completely expected and Hiei sidesteps easily, letting Malfoy trip over his outstretched leg. Malfoy lands on his elbows, grunting painfully and Hiei watches him fall.

"Don't attack those who are obviously stronger than you, both verbally and physically," Hiei drawls, looking down upon the noble.

"…I-I…I will tell my f-father about this!" Malfoy shouts, standing up and looking royally pissed.

"I don't give a rat's ass about your father," Hiei replies smoothly. "I never knew mine, so why should I care about yours?"

Clearly startled by Hiei's admission of part of his past, Malfoy stumbles back a step, the anger dying momentarily before his eyes flare again. "Y-yes, so? My father is very influential! He could get you killed!"

"I won't tell Kurama you threatened me," Hiei responds calmly. "And I honestly don't care if he tries to get me killed—note, I said tried. Also, would your father really punish somebody who is attempting to give his son a life lesson?"

"Y-you…you…you…you call this a life lesson?" Malfoy screeches, beyond pissed by now, and Hiei's cool demeanor is doing nothing to help.

"Yes." Hiei smirks slightly. "I suggest you lower your voice before you draw the attention of every hostile and hungry creature in the forest and I'd rather not kill an innocent animal or demon."

"I'm not falling for that again!" Malfoy yells, his hands balled into fists. His hair is disheveled, with twigs and leaves in it, his robes are covered in dirt and foliage, and there's mud smeared on his face and hands.

"Really. I didn't think there was a trick here." Hiei points to a giant spider crawling behind him and Malfoy turns, shrieking for the nth time that night. Sighing, Hiei shoves Malfoy away to deal with the spider, crossing his arms and glaring at the eight-legged creature.

His red eyes are fierce, boring deeply into the spider's, and it meets his gaze for a few moments—much longer than Malfoy had survived—before turning around and scuttling away.

He turns to Malfoy with a smirk on his face. "I suggest you listen to what I have to say if you want to survive the night."

~oOo~

At three o'clock in the morning, Hiei can tell Malfoy's nerves are beyond frayed at his point and he takes him back to the Slytherin dorms. As soon as Malfoy's head hits his pillow, he's asleep and Hiei turns.

All in a day—rather, night's—'s work.

He flits away to find Kurama, who he undoubtedly waking up, and in the third years' dorms. Of course, he's correct, as the Youko is already in his normal clothes, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, tilting his head quizzically.

"It went alright," Hiei says, answering the unspoken question. "I—sorry, we—were threatened by a few centaurs but nothing I couldn't handle."

Kurama nods before sitting down next to Hiei on the couch. Nobody is up at this ungodly hour and Hiei likes that, leaning against Kurama's shoulder and relaxing. The other smiles and laughs slightly. "Being a little touchy-feely now, are we, Hiei?"

"Mm. I'm tired." Hiei yawns silently like a cat as Kurama's fingers run through his thick black hair smoothly.

"You can sleep then. We still have at least three hours, so I'll wake you then."

"Mmmkay. What 'bout you?"

"I'll be fine. Watching you sleep is always a hobby of mine…if need be, I can get a book. There's an endless supply of them here in the Ravenclaw dormitories…you aren't even listening, are you?"

"Yes I am. Just shut up and let me sleep."

"Alright."

Within moments, Hiei is asleep.

~oOo~

At six, Hiei is awoken by Kurama gently shaking his shoulders, and he opens his red eyes blearily to see Kurama's green ones glittering amusedly above his face.

"Good morning, Hiei," the Youko says, smiling slightly. "You slept pretty well. Three hours straight, and you didn't even wake up or stir."

Hiei sits up and yawns, feeling sheets pool beneath him. Wait, sheets?

Kurama reads the confusion in his eyes. "I carried you to the infirmary to get you some Dreamless Draught; I thought you might not want to deal with anything in your sleep. And I also changed your bandages."

He blinks before replying. "Thank you."

"Aww, that's so cute. Hiei said thank you!" Kurama teases and Hiei wrinkles his nose and turns away in annoyance.

"Shut up. You sound like a fangirl. And you know how I deal with fangirls."

Kurama's mouth twitches into a smirk. "Unfortunately, I do know. You happen to enjoy making a sport out of them by killing them."

Hiei sighs and leans against the back of the bed. "Do you have any idea why my injuries haven't healed yet?"

The Youko's expression turns serious. "No. I inspected it, but they don't seem to be infected, and I can sense no youki that could potentially be the reason why they aren't healing. They aren't getting worse, but they aren't getting any better either."

Hiei's fingers twitch and he absentmindedly picks at the white sheets. "That's unfortunate. I don't like this."

"Do you think I like it?" Kurama retorts.

"No. I don't. I just don't like being helpless."

"Good morning!" Hiei and Kurama turn to the door, seeing Yusuke and Kuwabara in the doorframe, with the former grinning like a fool. "No long faces this early in the morning. I don't want to and I can't deal with that!"

Kurama suppresses a smile. "Alright. So, what's the game plan for today?"

~oOo~

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. ^^ Reviews are appreciated!

Alright, I already know what's going down in this story's future, but I'd like to warn you: it will be darker and will have angst, even though everybody knows angst isn't cool. Still, it'll be there, and this is just a heads up for those who dislike it. I really hope I don't lose any readers because of it.

In this chapter, Yusuke tells the students that he's basically a dead person. Why? It's implausible and hard to believe. However, the students will still learn about it. They are here to learn, not just to be protected. And also, they will learn about Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke's demon heritage…just later on. Because what HP x YYH x-over isn't complete without that? XD Also, Koenma never did give them instructions against telling the students, and the reason for informing the readers about the teaching positions so late is because they were informed later on.

I hate Malfoy, okay? But I'm not trying to bash him. I suppose it is a fitting punishment that Hiei would inflict. Honestly though, Rowling needs some more creative reason for Malfoy hating poor Harry.

That's it…any questions? Drop a review or PM me and I'll try my best to answer the question!