Note: Ha! none of this makes sense! HAHAHAHA! I'm done.

It had taken nearly a week for Hiei to warm up to Nana, but the resulting friendship had been a great relief to him. Sitting in the classroom, surrounded by whispering children who kept looking at him like he was some zoo animal, the only thing he was really looking forward to was recess and then going home; and if he were honest the only reason he looked forward to recess was because he was able to play with Nana then.

He marked the last answer on his test and cast his senses around, feeling through the other children for the Thing. It wasn't nearby, thank goodness. It'd been two days since he'd last felt felt it, but just remembering it made him scared.

He could still recall the feeling of its energy, how cold and dark it was, and then what it had felt. The thing had just felt so... hungry. It was like looking into a bottomless pit that demanded filling and was never satisfied. That was why he had made Botan leave with him, because he thought the thing might see her and go after her.

He was afraid that it might-

'-wake me up.'

-have gone after him too if they stayed. He itched quietly at the bandage on his head and felt sparks of pain shoot through his forehead. He stopped instantly and set his hand down on the paper on his desk. Something bounced off his hand and made him jump slightly before he realized what it was. A piece of paper, carefully folded into a small square. It had fallen to the ground, but even from his seat he could see his name written on it.

After carefully angling his leg around his chair and desk he got the note and, using his school workbook for cover, opened it up and read it carefully.

'Hey Hiei, wanna go to the park after school? Check yes or no.' Beside the yes and no were boxes.

Hiei thought for a second before checking the 'yes' box and refolding the note. He quickly passed the note to Nana the instant he saw the teacher turn her back. Nana quickly unfolded the note, read it, and flashed Hiei a quick thumbs up before slipping the note beneath her workbook.

Hiei smiled faintly and began writing answers in the book again. The two of them had been going to the park or to each others houses almost everyday that week. At first Yusuke, and every once in a while Botan or Kuwabara, had teased him about it. Now though, they were being nearly as supportive as Kurama, Yukina, and Genkai who kept telling him that they were proud of him getting out of the house and playing with other kids.

Hiei finished that page he'd been working on, and then turned to the next one. He began to write again and then stopped. He started to lower the pencil again and stopped. Something was wrong, something was -horribly- wrong. He struggled to focus, to locate the source of the feeling, when he realized it was coming from inside him. He began to shiver and tried to force the feeling away.

It persisted, like a bad cough does even after you've taken ten cough drops. He put his hands over his head, feeling sick to his stomach and dizzy. He shut his eyes tight for a few moments. He felt strange, like he was burning up from the inside. Thinking it wasn't going to go away. He almost cried with relief when it did. He looked up and from the corner of his eyes saw Nana give him a quizzical look.

He shrugged lightly and refocused on his book. He had felt a similar feeling that had woken him last night. It hadn't been that bad then, at least not as bad as this time, and he had ignored it. Now though, he was beginning to think he may be getting sick or something. He bit his lip quietly, thinking. Maybe if he was careful no one would notice, and he'd be able to keep going to school and playing with Nana and-

'What am I thinking?' He wondered, shaking his head slightly. 'I need to get better if I'm getting sick, whether that means playing or not. Besides, it's not as if she's going to stay my friend. She'll probably get up and leave as quick as she decided to be my friend.' He looked over at Nana and the workbook where she had hidden the note.

'...But, maybe I'll tell them after we play at the park.'

"Hiei, are you okay?" Kurama asked, looking down at the little fire demon. He had been quiet the whole way home from the park, and looked pale. Hiei nodded quietly, feeling oddly cold but otherwise fine. Kurama reached down and gently touched Hiei's forehead, frowning.

"Hiei, I think you'd better go to bed when we get home. You have a pretty bad fever," Kurama said, placing his hand on top of the boy's head.

"Fever?" Hiei repeated, looking up at Kurama. "You mean I'm sick?"

Kurama nodded, saying "Yes, probably a bug you caught at school or something." Hiei stopped, confused.

"I thought you said I'm sick, so why is a bug involved?" He asked, still looking thoroughly confused. Kurama stifled a laugh and shook his head.

"It's a figure of speech, Hiei," Kurama said, reaching down and picking up the small child. He felt warm to the touch, as though he'd been sitting in front of a fire for a long time. Hiei lowered his head onto Kurama's shoulder and continued to shiver. Kurama frowned slightly.

"Hiei, are you cold?" He asked quietly, shifting him slightly in his arms as he continued walking. He felt a nod from Hiei, and then felt him sigh. Kurama continued walking.

'His body is beginning to change,' He thought, crossing the street with the sleepy, sick child in his arms. 'Soon he'll begin showing even more signs of his demon powers, we'll have to have someone begin teaching him to control himself soon.'

"Hey Kurama?" Hiei murmured, sitting up slightly in his arms. Kurama quickly put an arm around Hiei back to keep him from tumbling down and hitting the ground.

"What?" He asked, studying the boys face. He looked tired and pale, with his eyes half closed he also had a slightly vacant look.

"I think it's gonna rain today," Hiei answered quietly, staring up at the sky. Kurama smiled and made Hiei resettled himself on his shoulder.

"Yes Hiei, it'll probably rain soon. We'll be inside before then," Kurama said, finally heading up the steps to Genkai's temple. Hiei sighed again, a soft whispery sound. He just felt so cold, and so tired. He wanted to lay down and sleep for a long, long time and before they reached the top of the stairs he had begun to do just that.

'He was running again, but from what he didn't know. He turned a corner and continued running, eyes scanning from one side to the other. Trees, why were there so many trees? He couldn't remember there ever being so many trees around here. Where did they all come from?'

'He turned again, running deeper and deeper into the forest. Was it the Dark Forest? Maybe, he'd never been inside that place. He'd tried once and Genkai had beaten him nearly senseless for it. He didn't know why though. The woods felt... good. Familiar. He liked it.'

'Turn again, and now he was somewhere else. The forest had melted away and he was standing at Genkai's temple even though he'd been running away from it moments before. He jumped now and landed on the roof. He headed to the other side, to the building just outside the temple. It was the place where he went before to play with Nana, the place with a statue inside.'

'He pushed the doors open and looked around inside. It was dark, but somehow he could still see. Sitting in front of the statue were some clothes and a sword in its sheath. He began to walk forward again, and stopped.'

'What was that smell? It was like copper, but different. He looked up and saw nothing, he looked behind him and saw nothing. He looked back at the statue and nearly screamed. Blood dripped slowly down its head, its back, its arms, legs, and pooled on the ground.'

'He saw the sword and clothes were covered in it too, soaked in it. He wanted to scream but it was like something had stolen his voice. The room began to pulse and the floor changed. It became hands reaching up to grab him, and the hands were the hands of his friends and family and then they were -his- hands and he finally began screaming and screaming until his lungs were going to burst and his head split open, just screaming and screaming and-'

"Hiei, wake up!" Hiei gasped and opened his eyes. He was back in his room. He was safe. Turning his head slightly he saw Yukina, her face full of concern. Hiei sat up slightly, shivering in a cold sweat.

"Hiei are you okay?" Yukina asked, using her sleeve to wipe the sweat off the child's head before it could slide down and sting his eyes. She looked at his face and saw something odd. His eyes looked... different. Sharper, a little harder. Less child-like. "Hiei?"

Hiei snapped his head in her direction and felt the dreams hold over him break. The phantom smell of blood was gone and the feeling of those hands grabbing him, scratching him, pulling him vanished. He gave a small sound of relief and latched onto Yukina's arm, seeking comfort and warmth.

Yukina smiled, relieved the look in his eyes had passed, and gently pulled the child onto her lap where he squirmed and wiggled until he was comfortable. She began to rock him gently from side to side, humming gently. Hiei snuggled in gently, and began to drift.

He hadn't wet the bed this time, that made him feel somewhat proud of himself, but the dream hadn't really been like the ones before it. It was like a string of broken memories that sometime make their way into your head while you sleep and then became a big mess. The problem was, he couldn't remember anything like that ever happening. Nothing even remotely similar.

"Hiei? Do you want something to eat?" Yukina asked, breaking the child from his thoughts. "I can get you some soup if you want."

Hiei shook his head and shivered again. Yukina gently resettled the little demon in his bed and covered him with a blanket. Outside rain was falling in steady sheets. Yukina gently began stroking his hair, trying to put the boy back to sleep.

"Hey 'Kina?" Hiei whispered, staring at the ceiling. He could already feel his eyes growing heavy, and he wanted to sleep again despite the nightmare. Still, there was just a feeling, like a foreboding weighing on his mind.

"Yes?" Yukina said, still stroking the boy's hair. She saw his eyes open, and was struck by how similar they were to her own. They were exactly the same shade of red as her own.

"Please don't go outside today, okay?" Hiei asked, feeling sleep pull at his mind. Yukina gave him a confused look but nodded her agreement to the odd request. He smiled a little bit. He was glad she wasn't asking questions, and glad he didn't need to explain. He drifted back off to sleep, and this time it was dreamless.

Yukina walked away from Hiei's room, frowning slightly. Hiei had that feeling too then, that feeling that something bad was going to happen. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit her lip.

'Nothing bad is going to happen,' she scolded herself silently. 'You're just being paranoid.'

'But Hiei feels it too,' she answered herself silently. 'He feels it too, so it's not just me-'

"Hi Miss Yukina."

Yukina turned and saw Nana standing at the top of the stairs with a large yellow umbrella. She smiled and waved.

"Hello Nana, I'm sorry, but Hiei can't play today," she called to the small child. Nana ran to where Yukina was, hanging onto a small bag which she held out to Yukina.

"I know that, so I brought these. They're the same cookies Mommy makes me when I'm sick. Mommy wasn't home, so I tried to make them. I hope they're good..." Nana said as Yukina took the package. Inside were around twenty slightly crumbled, burned, and abused cookies. Yukina smiled.

"I'm sure he'll like them very much Nana. I'll give them to him next time he wakes up, okay?" Yukina said, folding the top of the bag over so the rain wouldn't get in. Nana nodded with a grin.

"Tell him that if he feels better tomorrow he can come to my house, I got some new coloring books and... stuff," Nana turned her head and looked in the direction of the Dark Forest. The forest had never really bothered her before, and the only reason she had ever avoided it was because of Genkai. But now, now it felt dangerous. It something was in there watching them.

Yukina looked at the forest too, then reached out and grabbed Nana's hand. "Come on, we have to get inside, now!"

Back in Hiei's room, the boy began to stir, and then opened his eyes. He could feel it, that Thing, that hunger he had felt before. "It's finally here."

Note: I'm sorry if this is getting weird. I'm experiencing burn out.