Second chapter…coming right up…and our faithful reviewer returns…

AmnarJoey-sorry about the wait. I actually had the chapter earlier than I updated but there were problems with and it wouldn't let me on to the page to update…it sucks huh. Well we are updating more huh…this chapter's all mine. I had help last chapter cuz my idea vault was bare…so Kelsey finished up the last chappie.

Chapter 2

There was a small temple with several people in front, looking as if they were waiting for someone. As Niete followed Nija through the gate, all four of them stood up. They seemed to have been waiting for them. This made Niete curious. Who were these people?

A teenager with long red hair came up to her and smiled, holding out his hand to shake. "Hello," he said in a pleasant voice, "My name is Suicchi, but you can call me Kurama. You are Niete?"

Niete nodded and shook his hand. She was still slightly confused as the others each said hi in their own ways. There was Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara as well as the charming Kurama.

A weird silence ensued all of the greetings. No one seemed to know what to talk about. It was especially uncomfortable for Niete because everyone was staring at her. She put her hands in her pockets, looked at her feet, and fidgeted, unsure of what to say or do. She was never really good at socializing and she had never started a conversation in her life. "Er…" she said looking up and breaking the silence.

Niete was startled to see that they had also taken a sudden interest in their own mud scuffed shoes. But as soon as she had spoken they had also looked up. "umm…" This time it was Nija.

It seemed odd to Niete that Nija wasn't socially adept, but then again Niete's assessment of her couldn't be complete until she had known her for more that 24 hours. After all, today Nija had surprised her more than once, though Niete wasn't sure whether that was the real Nija or if she just had a split personality. Those were the choices that Niete had come up with, but she wasn't entirely sure it could be that simple. She sighed. Nothing was ever simple.

"What's that?" Bo asked as Hiei entered their bedroom.

He was, of course, pointing at the wooden katana hanging at his side. "It's a katana made of wood." Hiei answered.

"What's a katana?" Bo asked Hiei.

"A katana is a type of sword." Hiei answered. He was starting to get impatient with Bo.

"I thought swords were made of metal."

Hiei mentally slapped himself. Why hadn't he taken the quiet, 'I won't be seen with a wooden katana so Byakko won't ask so many questions' route?

Attempting to keep his calm, he started to explain the concept of a practice sword to Bo. After half an hour of extensive explaining and feeling like he needed to cut off Bo's head, Hiei finally got some peace. Bo evidently had a play date with a boy down the street.

Unfortunately his peace didn't last long. Although all the siblings were gone, neighborhood children kept coming to investigate him. Why were kids nowadays so damn curious?

Most of the kids were like his temporary family. They were clean cut and wore dress shirts and pants. He was used to this. Many people wore these clothes in his town. In fact, Nija had to wear a skirt to school and deal with her mother trying to get her into very girly clothes. In this town, though, the children didn't seem to be very rebellious. He saw two kids, both 17, one with blue tipped hair and the other yellow. However this was the most rebellious either of them got. One was a girl wearing a blue knee-length skirt with a white dress shirt and cardigan. The other was a boy wearing kaki shorts and a green dress shirt. At least they were colorful.

There was no way he would touch those clothes. He would stick to his own style and no one was going to stop him.

"So," Yusuke started, but he didn't seem to know how to start this conversation either.

Suddenly a girl with BLUE hair FLEW out of the sky on an OAR. Niete stared. This place just got weirder. The girl walked straight up to Genkai and they started to talk in a hushed tone. Genkai jerked her head over in the direction of Niete every once in awhile which gave Niete the impression that they were talking about her. "That's Botan." a soft voice said.

Niete almost jumped. It was just Kurama, but she hadn't expected him to speak. To cover up her surprise she asked. "How does she fly?"

Kurama shrugged, but Niete saw a knowing look in his eye. So he knew but was keeping it secret? That made no sense to Niete but she shrugged and looked back over at Botan and Genkai. They were rejoining them, obviously done talking. Genkai seemed slightly amused and Botan just looked…happy.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully, waving at Niete. "I'm Botan."

Botan was so cheerful it almost scared Niete. "er…hi." Niete answered awkwardly. "My name's Niete."

Botan's smile widened. "I know."

Niete nodded. Genkai must have told her. Niete looked over and saw that now Genkai was speaking to everyone else. She guessed that, again, it was about her because every once in awhile one of them looked over at her. Botan noticed her noticing and asked her "SO, I heard that you like to read."

"Yeah," Niete answered tearing her eyes away from the others, "But Nija seems to have a problem with it."

Botan shrugged. "Keep in mind that you two come from different backgrounds. Nija has always been pushed into academic things. She's stubborn though and doesn't want to be like other people. She wants to be her own person and wants everyone to think she doesn't care about anything…even if it means not doing as well in school."

Niete gave her a questioning look. "If she keeps this quiet, then how do you know?"

Botan gave a secretive look, but revealed nothing. "Let's just say I know a lot of things that others don't."

Niete sighed. These people were so weird. They had so many secrets and it was very confusing. Her head was spinning, but she now had a new perspective on Nija. It might just help her make friends with Nija.

I thought that this was a good time to stop. It's not as much as last chapter, but I think I gave you enough to think about. Well, until next time! REVIEW!