Note: Hiei's not completely clueless in this one, only slightly XD

The reason for this new characters introduction is simple, the kid needs friends darnit! He's gonna turn into a hermit otherwise! No, she's not there for an intentional pairing or anything and she doesn't have weird powers. She's just a girl.

If anyone thinks she could make for a good HieixOc pairing tell me, because otherwise she'll just be a friend. -Does battle with her internal Mary Sues-

...Extreme OOC, but it's so cute XD

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Did the clock always go this slow, or had he entered some new area with a time warp? Hiei put his head down on his desk and sighed audibly. It was the second day of school, and he had gone mostly because there was no other choice.

Kurama walked him there this time, and he had no doubt what so ever that Botan was watching him from some remote location. He let out another sigh and rested his forehead on the desk. It was nice and cool, and felt good against the abused skin there. Very good.

His forehead had been aching since yesterday, when he had taxed the powers of whatever lay beneath the scar dearly. He had been searching most of the evening for that... thing he had felt in the park. He hadn't been able to locate it, and everytime he felt he was close his scar had opened wider and he had to stop. It was very painful.

"Hiei? Are you okay?" He felt a hand settle itself on his back. He looked up and saw his teacher, the very same one he had hypnotised the day before. He forced a smile and nodded, which must have satsified her because she smiled back and walked away to continue teaching. Hiei forced his eyes to the blackboard where there were a set of new words to learn.

He began copying them down half heartedly when he felt something bounce off the back of his head. He began writing again, trying to ignore it, when something else hit him. Someone behind him giggled faintly and Hiei put his pencil down.

Botan had, in a sense, been right about the other kids not disliking him. They hated him. For some unknown reason, they had decided the instant they saw him to avoid him, humiliate him, ridicule him, anything it seemed to keep him away or at the end of the pecking order. He couldn't understand it. What had he done to them?

"Hey, kid," a voice to his right whispered gently. He looked over and saw a girl with reddish hair and blue eyes looking at him sternly, like Botan had the day before when she found him skipping.

The girl had, earlier that day, nearly hit Hiei for bumping into her. He's avoided her best he could since then but had ended up stuck next to her in class. She wore scuffed mary janes and an already dirty school uniform. He could remember her playing in the dirt earlier.

"Pay attention why don't you? We're being tested on this tomorrow," she hissed at him, turning her head away and refocusing on her work. Hiei blinked and looked at the board again before it clicked. The teacher must have told them about it while he was dazing off. He mumbled a quiet thanks before copying the rest of words down.

More things hit the back of his head and he grit his teeth. Why wouldn't they leave him alone? Why did they hate him? The bell rang, and the children all jumped up and ran for recess without even pausing to hear the teacher release them.

Hiei began putting his notebook away, when a hand slammed down in the middle of it. He jumped backwards and looked up to see the girl standing right there, looking at him with something like disgust. 'Now what?'

"Why do you let them do it?" She asked, giving him that same glare she'd given him when she told him there was a test tomorrow. Hiei glared back, something he'd been getting better and better at doing.

"Do what?" He snapped, jerking the notebook out from under her hand and taking it with him and he headed outside. The girl followed, face still set in a look of deep disgust.

"Why do you let them make fun of you like that, kid? You some kind of martyr?" She said, making Hiei's face go red with anger. He hunched his shoulders slightly and focused his gaze on the ground, trying to will her away.

"No, but there's no point to getting mad and fighting back either. It's not like it'll change anything," He answered, trying to sound calm. Maybe if she thought it didn't bug him she'd go away. He was wrong.

"So? Fighting back would be better then sitting there like a wuss and taking it," the girl said, making Hiei turn around to face her. She was smirking slightly, glad to have finally gotten a reaction out of him. His face was still red and now he looked angry. Very angry.

"I am not a wuss... whatever that is!" He yelled at her, making several children turn and stare. The girl began to laugh derisvley at him.

"'Whatever that is'? What the heck, have you grown up under a rock kid?" She asked, now trying to provoke the boy. "It means that you're a coward! That you're too much of a scaredy-pants to defend yourself!"

"I am not!" He said, breathing much harder suddenly. His heart was thrumming with the mad rage inside him, and the stirring was there too. He felt like he was crackling with invisible energy. Maybe the other kids could feel it too, because they were backing away. Not the girl though, it was like she was immune to whatever the rest of them were feeling.

"Prove it then! Why don't you defend yourself!" She yelled, her own face red. Hiei felt his scar beginning to pull open again and this time ignored it. He ran forward and without thinking gave the girl a good shove, knocking her over and making several students gasp. One boy ran, saying he was telling on Hiei, but he didn't care.

"Stop being so mean to me!" He yelled, fighting back the urge to cry as he did so. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I do?"

The girl got up slowly, he backside bruised and her hands scrapped. She watched Hiei curiously, as if he were some odd new creature that had stumbled into their midst. Hiei took a deep breath.

"I didn't do anything to you. So why are you doing this?" He mumbled to himself, looking at the ground and then at the girl. He saw her expression change and the one that replaced it made him recoil. Pity? No, he didn't want pity. He didn't want pity, he wanted understanding, not pity. He began to back up and ran directly into the legs of a playground monitor.

She grabbed him, and the girl, and pulled them inside to be punished.


"I want you both to write an apology to each other," their teacher said, setting pieces of paper in front of both of them. "You'll be spending recess in here every day this week, so you'll have plenty of time to write. Get started."

Hiei shot a glare at the girl in the desk beside him and she sent one back. He hands had been washed and dressed, and now he could see the dirt on her skirt from when she fell. A part of him was sorry, but that part was overshadowed by the rightouse anger that seemed to be burning him from the inside out.

Both students began writing their apologies and the teacher stood to go get her lunch. She warned them to behave before walking out the door, and as soon as she was gone the girl stretched her arms mightily above her head. He heard several, pronounce cracks in her spine before she lowered her arms.

"Wow this is boring," he heard her mumble, staring at the sheet of paper in front of her. Hiei felt the strong urge to reach over and slap the girl.

"Well that's your fault, isn't it? I never asked for you to come over and start making fun of me," Hiei hissed, trying to keep himself from breaking his pencil. The girl looked over at him and then stood up and walked over. Turning a chair around she sat down and stared at him.

"...What?" Hiei said, feeling steadily more uncomfortable the longer the girl sat there. He looked up and noticed that her hair was a carrot shade of red, kind of like Kuwabara's. It was extremely messy as well, as though someone had fought through it with a comb but had failed miserably to comb it into any sort of real pattern.

"What makes you think I hate you?" She said, smirking slightly. "I don't hate you, I don't know you well enough for that yet. What I do hate is how you've been letting people walk all over you since you walked in the door."

Hiei looked away from her and began to will her away again. This girl was beyond weird and had a funny way of getting under his skin. She seemed to know it too, which made it all the worse.

"I think your scared you'll end up hurting someone," she said abruptly, watching for reactions. "That's why you didn't just start scufflin' like other kids do when I start buggin'em. You just pushed me around a little."

Hiei kept his eyes focused on the paper, pushing the pencil carefully along. The girl reached over and poked at his bandage, making him wince.

"Would you leave me alone?!" He finally yelled, setting his pencil down and looking up. The girl smiled at him, an odd sort of secret smile. Hiei backed away from her until he thought he might meld into his chair. What the heck was wrong with this girl.

"I like you, you're not intimidated," she said suddenly, smile still playing around her lips. Hiei just stared at her. What was going on now? "What's your name kid?"

"Hiei," he mumbled, squirming around a little in his chair. The girl tilted her head slightly to the side.

"What was that? Speak up, kid, I can't hear you," she said, cupping one hand around her ear as if to catch a faint sound across the room. Hiei's blush darkened with anger.

"I said I'm Hiei!" He said much louder, and the girl giggled. He stopped for a second. Giggled? Why was she giggling? Did he have something odd on his face? Did he offend?

"Hiei huh? That's a weird name," she said, standing back up and heading over to her seat. "Where do you live Hiei?"

"Where do I live?" Hiei repeated, feeling more and more confused the longer they spoke. "I live at Genkai's temple-"

"You mean that crazy psychic lady?" The girl said, scribbling some stuff down on a piece of paper. Hiei looked down at his paper and began to write too.

"She's not crazy, just kind of mean," Hiei said, trying to focus. "Why do you want to-"

"Hey, mind if I come over today? My parents won't be home for a while and I don't like being alone, so could I?" The girl asked in a rapid fire, police interrogation manner. Hiei stared at her.

"Come over today?" He repeated dumbly, trying to absorb what exactly was going on. The girl grinned.

"Great! Then I'll be coming over at about four, alright?" She asked, looking over at him. Hiei managed to nod slightly before the teacher came in and told them to get back to work. The girl began working again instantly while Hiei sat there trying to figure out what exactly he had agreed to.


"KURAMA!" Hiei squeaked, running in the kitsune's direction. Kurama turned around and was suddenly tackled around mid-body by the small child. He winced slightly as some of the air left his lungs, but smiled and gently pried Hiei off. The small demon had a look of stunned confusion around him that was leading Kurama to wonder just how his first day at school had been.

"Kurama! Kurama! Iwenttoschoolandthekidsweremeanandmyheadhurtand-" Kurama covered Hiei's mouth. He shook his head slightly.

"Slower Hiei, I can't understand anything your saying," he said before releasing his mouth. Hiei took a deep breath.

"Kurama, a really mean and creepy girl said that she's gonna come over to Genkai's temple at four and I don't know what to do!" Hiei said, staring at Kurama with wide eyes. Kurama stared at the boy.

"'Mean and creepy'? Mean and creepy how?" Kurama asked, taking Hiei hand and leading him down the sidewalk towards home. Hiei's little hand was slick with sweat.

"She made fun of me at recess and called me a wuss. Then in detention she started talking to me again and she asked me my name and where I lived and said that she's coming over," Hiei answered, feeling steadily more desperate. He didn't want the girl to come over, he was scared she'd start making fun of him again.

"Detention? What were you in detention for?" Kurama asked, looking down at the boy. Hiei huffed loudly. It figured he'd pick up on that first.

"I... kinda pushed her a little on the playground," Hiei mumbled quietly, keeping his gaze well away from Kurama's. Kurama found himself smiling a little.

"Ah, so she made fun of you on the playground and then you pushed her down. Sounds kind of like puppy love," he commented, his tone light and teasing.

"Puppy what?!" Hiei spluttered, pulling his hand out of Kurama's. "What are you talking about? She hates me, I know she does!" he said, remembering everything the girl had said about him being a coward.

"Hiei, puppy love is when children, or adults, are kind of mean and play tricks on each other to show their affections. It doesn't mean she's in love with you or anything, just that she might like you," Kurama explained, grabbing Hiei's hand again as they crossed the street. Hiei gave kurama a look that suggested he though the fox was losing his mind.

"But, but she-" Hiei started, only to be stopped when Kurama held a finger in front of his face.

"Just let her come over Hiei, it's not like you're going to be locked in a room by yourself with her. Yusuke and the other will be coming over to Genkai's today and so will I, so there's no need to worry," he said, checking to see if his words had put the boy to rest at all. They had not.

"You're crazy Kurama," he mumbled as they walked the rest of the way home.


"Hiei has a girlfriend?!" Kuwabara said, with a disbeliving look on his face. Hiei colored and clenched his fists tightly.

"She's not my girlfriend! She's evil and-"

"Oh Hiei, that's so cute! Your first playdate!" Botan said, hugging the small child. He pushed her away and then headed out of the room, fuming. Yusuke broke down into laughter while Yukina hurried after the small child.

"That's really not very nice Yusuke, Hiei doesn't seem to know that the girl just want to play," Kurama said, giving Yusuke a firm look. Yusuke slowly pulled himself together, still emitting small chuckled every once in a while.

"Come on Kurama, did you see him freak out? I just wish I had my camera..." Yusuke mused, still grinning. Kuwabara, who had recovered from his initial shock, reached over to smack the back of Yusuke's head.

"Hey shut up! It's not his fault he's so clueless!" Kuwabara snapped, apparently unaware that he had just insulted the child demon himself. "He's just... well..."

"He just doesn't understand," Kurama offered, smiling a little. "Neither this child form of Hiei nor the one we knew have had any kind of experience with other children, so it's only natural he'd get a little flustered by the whole thing."

Kuwabara nodded vigorously and Yusuke sighed slightly before snickering.

"I still wish I had had my camera- Yeowch!" He was knocked to the floor from Keiko's hit, one side of his face nearly shoved over into the other side.

"Yusuke! You jerk!"


Hiei sat on the steps leading up to the temple, staring miserably down at the street below. Yukina sat beside watching birds hop from branch to branch in the trees around them. Hiei sighed and snuggled himself into Yukina's side, something that surprised her a little. Everyone else kept saying that Hiei didn't like being touched much anymore.

"'Kina, I don't want her to come here," He said quietly, still staring down at the bottom of the stairs. Yukina gently placed her arm around him and squeezed lightly.

"Don't worry Hiei, if she's really that mean we can tell her to go home. This is our house, remember?" She said, gently kissing the top of his head. She felt him squirm a little then, but he didn't push her away. He sighed quietly and shut his eyes.

That funny feeling, that strange Thing wasn't here. That was good. After checking the surrounding area a little more carefully he felt the girl, less then twenty feet from the bottom of the stairs, walking steadily for the temple. Hiei frowned slightly.

"Hiei, what's this girl's name?" Yukina asked, trying to give him something to focus on. Hiei looked up at her, then back at the stairs.

"I don't care," he answered, recalling that he never did ask the girl for her name. He could feel the girl, now just out of sight, stopping to catch her breath. Maybe she'd see the stairs and give it up? Nope, apparently not.

"Is that her?" Yukina said, pointing to a red head who had just popped into sight and begun climbing the stairs. Hiei nodded fretfully, watching the girl's steady progress towards the temple. About halfway up she waved to Hiei, who waved back.

She had changed from her dirty school uniform into a white shirt and denim overalls, which made her look kind of like a boy. Hiei scooted back away from Yukina and stood up as the girl approached him.

"Hi Hiei," she said and then turning to Yukina, "Hello Miss." Yukina smiled and nodded in acknowledgement before standing up.

"Supper will be done by six Hiei, will your friend be staying?" She asked, looking over at the girl expectantly. The girl shrugged.

"Maybe, we'll see," she answered before reaching over and taking Hiei's hand. "Come on, let's go play!"

Hiei gasped faintly as the girl took off, still gripping his hand, and nearly pulled his arm out of his shoulder. He began to run to keep up. The girl began to talk and she led him to a clear area.

"I brought sidewalk chalk so we can draw, do you like sidewalk chalk?" She asked, letting him go and emptying her pockets of the color chalks. Hiei shrugged and picked one up curiously. He sniffed it and began to cough.

"What are you doing?" The girl scolded, taking the chalk from him. "You don't sniff it! You color with it! Like this!" She said, dropping to her knees and dragging the chalk acrossed the ground. Hiei kneeled down to look at the colorful line.

"Can I try?" He asked meekly, hoping the girl wouldn't suddenly turn into the cruel person she had been at recess. The girl pointed to the pile of chalks.

"Help yourself, I have more at home," she said, drawing another large line on the ground. Hiei reached over cautiously and took a purple piece of chalk. He looked at it doubtfully before placing the end of it on the ground drawing a circle.

The girl looked over at him, and the look of surprised delight that overcame his feature made her laugh. He looked at her and then back at his circle, biting his lip and summoning a look of discontent on his face. She giggled and blew some of the chalk dust into the air before she continued coloring.

They sat there like that, coloring and not speaking, for a few hours before Kuwabara poked his head out.

"Hey! Dinner's ready!" He yelled, drawing both of the children's attention at once. Hiei handed the chalk he'd been using to the girl who pocketed it. She knelt down and began picking up the rest.

"Can I come over tomorrow too?" She asked, pocketing the last of it. Hiei looked at her warily before nodding, which made the girl grin.

"Alright, bye bye then!" She said, turning and running for the stairs back to the street. Hiei stood there a moment before running after her.

"Hey wait! Tell me your name! I'll remember, promise!" He called to the girl, who was already partway down the stairs. She turned and grinned at him.

"It's Nana! See you tomorrow!" The girl took off down the stairs again and Hiei smiled. He started to head inside when he saw what they had been drawing. Nana had drawn a large and cartoony flower. He had drawn a large purple dragon with a red eye.