In fact Hiei was not standing on top of some tree.

He stood on top of a flag-pole, thank you very much.

His eyes weren't that wide. Not really. But they were fixed on Kurama.

For a moment, Hiei had thought he had been seen, but then it seemed Kurama's attention wavered and he let a little of the control he had taken of his youki to lessen.

Kurama just stood for a long time. He barely moved. A real human could not have stayed so utterly still. If not for his hair, moving with the wind, Kurama would have been a statue. It was only when a bell chimed from within the school that Kurama started and turned and began to run.

Hiei considered flitting across this space and appearing before Kurama.

At the last minute he stopped himself.

He knew, hadn't he, that youko blood was intoxicating. He had known the instant he tasted it for the first time. But he wasn't thinking of blood now, was he?

Shaking his head, Hiei turned away.

He was about to disapear when his jagan turned on his forehead and focused on a particular window in the school.

Particularly on a human boy there with red hair.

"Kurama." Hiei whispered and frowned at the sound of his own voice.

There was a tree closer to that window. Hiei stared at it without moving, then lowered his head, closed his eyes. "Hn." he said and ran the distance from the pole to the tree in half the time it took to close an eye.

He didn't need a reason to be doing this.

He wanted to be here so he was here.

Kurama didn't even notice him. He was reading a book with "Biology" on the cover and a human body overlayed with bones and organs. He didn't seem to be reading it. Even from the distance Hiei stood from him he could tell that his eyes were unfocused, his expression turned inward.

Hiei took a step closer.

Kurama, this body he looked at now, this 'Shuiichi Minamino' was human. It smelled human, but it wasn't. It looked human, but it wasn't. Hiei had not seen the real form of Youko Kurama, but he had heard enough about him. Every apparition and more than a handful of humans had heard of Youko Kurama. Heartless, cruel, Youko Kurama, the master thief. He knew that before him was that one, but that look in those green eyes when he had thought that Hiei would reveal his little secret-that wasn't Youko at all.

"What a fool." Hiei said and started.

Through the window, Kurama was looking right at him.

Hiei scowled, but something was wrong.

Kurama was standing, coming towards the window.

His classmates watched him, faces various degrees of curiosity, confusion.

The teacher was approaching him.

Kurama had put a hand to his mouth and was shouting something. Only slowly did Hiei finally hear him.

Ironic. Hadn't it been the reason Hiei had been watching over Kurama all this time?

"Watch out!" Kurama shouted.

Hiei laughed and drew his sword.

"Hiei!"

Attack.

...to be continued....