Warnings: temper, temper!

The Welder of BlackFire:

The Legend Lives Part II-Rose's Renaissance

Chapter Three: The New Kids: Shuichi Minamino and Blade Tatsu

"Good morning, class!" A cheery voice sprang from the plump red lips of an exuberant woman, who stepped into the cozy classroom, books in hand, and looking over the ragged students before her. She received a bubbly laugh from a dark girl in front of her, who was twisted in her seat to talk to her friends behind her.

"Ahem," the teacher said loudly, giving the class an expectant look from over her thin glasses. With a final giggle, the girl turned around to face the front of the room while the teacher proceeded to do attendance.

A girl in the corner of the room watched scornfully as she sat by herself, in a cloud of superiority and abandonment. Her hair was long, falling past her waist in a rich, chocolate curtain. The girl was dressed simply in a snug black tee-shirt with blue-rimmed writing set off with dark azure flames licking toward the collar, where a black and silver necklace lay, silver claw-like metal pieces hanging from between thick black beads, reminding one of a prize an Indian warrior might take from a bear and burnish proudly, as well as plain blue flare jeans, which were long enough to nearly obscure her shinny black, leather boots. Her arms lay crossed on her desk, her feet beneath her chair, ankles crossed lazily as she sat on the edge of her chair. The five girls in the center of the room continued to whisper to one another. She ignored them heartily, although she heard bits and pieces of their loud and rambunctious conversation.

"...Two new guys...."

"...I saw them in the office..."

"...Heard they were cute..."

"...From Japan..."

"...Wonder if I have classes with them..."

The whispers continued, even as the teacher began the lesson. The boys in the room watched lazily on the right side of the room, closer to the windows so they would have something to stare at while the teacher droned.

"Now, who can decipher this line from Shakespeare?" the teacher asked, turning around from the chalk board and looking around the room. No answer. A boy in the second row began to fall asleep on his desk, his eyes drooping wearily.

"Anyone?" she questioned. Nothing. She sighed and turned back to the board. Hey, if the kids didn't want to hear what she was saying, let them fail the final, then she'll hear them coming to weep at her feet during summer school. "Well, he's trying to give us the image of-"

She was interrupted by a soft, yet firm knock on the classroom door. The girls in the center of the room continued to gossip as she put down her book and moved to answer it, taking only a second to glance toward the closed door before continuing their conversation, louder than before. The teacher opened the door, revealing two figures to the class, making the girls fall suddenly silent, looking over half-heartedly, pausing in their conversation out of sheer curiosity, although one girl still whispered softly.

"Oh!" the teacher exclaimed as a soft-spoken boy conversed with her. His hair was long, passing his shoulders by a good length and falling down his back. His eyes were a deep and startling emerald against the dark red of his silky mane. The figure beside the first stood back a bit, away from the prying eyes of the students.

The teacher turned back to the rest of the class.

"Class!" she said happily, clapping her hands to get their attention. They boy who had fallen asleep woke up groggily, startled from his dreams, blinking against the blare of the classroom lights. "It seems we have two new students!" she continued. She turned back to the two in the doorway.

"Please come in. My name is Mrs. Writeman and welcome to tenth grade English!" the teacher said happily, ushering them into the room. The second figure walked into the room behind his companion, acute eyes scanning the room, his expression blank. His tall black hair was spiked over his dark red eyes and white bandana. He was short, barely reaching the red-head's shoulder and was dressed all in black, with his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Class, this is Shuichi Minamino," Mrs. Writeman began, gesturing to the green-eyed boy, who nodded to the class, making the girls in front of him giggle. "And Blade Tatsu," she continued. The black-clad boy nodded in turn, a stern, honest movement. "Now. Let's see. Oh! Perfect! You boys can take the two seats in the back row, next to Rose." The two looked slightly to their right in the back of the room, toward a familiar-looking girl who brow was furrowed in confusion as she looked at them. As soon as they turned toward her, she snorted, raising her chin defiantly and loosing her former expression to twist her face into that of a blank glare. It looked to be her usual greeting the way she preformed it so fluidly. Shuichi glanced down at 'Blade', who glanced at him as well before moving to take a seat in the desk next to the girl.

Its her, Kurama, Hiei said through his telepathy, giving the girl an inspection from the corner of his eyes.

I know, Kurama thought, taking the seat beside the youkai. The teacher had proceeded to continue with the lesson while the girls who sat in front of the two new boys began to whisper more feverishly than before. The guys, who sat in a cluster to Kurama's right, returned to their ritual of staring out the windows and taking naps, unfazed by the two. The girl that sat next to Hiei, on his left, glanced at them as they sat down, but otherwise ignored them, pretending instead to focus on the lesson.

Suddenly, a girl with a short, curly blonde pony-tail turned around in her seat, beaming them two a brilliant, tooth-paste commercial grin.

"Hello, Shuichi, Blade," she said, her falsely bright blue eyes shinning as she nodded to each. "Do you need someone to show you around the school? I'd be happy to help you find your classes." Her voice was high and flirtatious, a psuedo voice used directly for the purpose of entrancing young men. She batted her long, eye lashes that too much mascara clung to in a seductive motion and leaned forward, exposing a gracious view down her low-cut, cheerleading shirt. Hiei looked away, disgusted.

"No, thank you. We'll find our way," Kurama said. Her expression faltered. Apparently, her act had always been bought and her offer excepted before.

"Are you sure, because I-"

"No," Hiei said, his tone sharper than he had wanted, although it was neutral compared to his normal snap. Already he was hating her, and she had hardly said more than thirty words. The girl looked taken back, hurt even. "We'll manage fine." The girl opened her mouth to say more, only to have her attention ripped away by the teacher.

"Ms. Cassidy. Please turn around and face the front," Mrs. Writeman said politely, in a gentle reprimand. The girl turned around, growling something along the lines of 'old hag' under her breath. The instructor continued her lecture on Shakespeare, losing herself in the subject entirely.

Cassidy turned back around a moment later.

"If you need any help-" she began. Hiei thought he would snap. Did these human girls ever shut up? Baka Ningen onnas! He opened his mouth to growl and threaten her, but was beaten to the punch by a familiar, soft and deadly voice from his left. A voice that held the traces of the tone Thorn had frequently used. It pained him to hear it used so differently, yet so much the same as well.

"Can it, Cassidy. I'm tired of hearing your disgusting voice," Rose said, glaring at the girl with dark green eyes, making the blonde turn and look at her. The cheerleader put up a tough front, but both Kurama and Hiei could see the fear that sparkled in the depths of her falsely-colored eyes. She snorted.

"Don't tell me what to do, Rose," she spat graciously, trying to both impress the boys as well as hide her immense fear. The other girl smirked, a familiar sight to the two who sat beside her, a leer trimming the edges of her expression.

"Really? And what will you do about it? Ruin what's left of my life?" Rose gave a dark and hallow laugh. "Go ahead. Make my day, I'd find it amusing just to see you try. After all, not even you can make the fire's of hell burn any brighter." Cassidy seemed to be at a loss for words and so jerked back around after glaring at her classmate, fuming visibly.

"Bitch," they heard the blonde mutter.

"Watch your mouth, slut. My tolerance for your kind is at zero today," Rose said, her tone dark and forbidding, louder than it was before, creeping from its placid, gentle melody. Her words, Hiei noticed, although quiet, had gained the attention of the entire class. Even the teacher had paused to listen, although did nothing, her back to her students as she pretended to flip through a thick English book. All was silent as everyone watched, as if waiting tensely for a slave to defy its god.

Cassidy remained silent, although Kurama could smell her fear. The teacher turned, as if finally deciding she should intervene.

"Rose, are you feeling well today? Perhaps you should go to the nurse's office?" she asked politely. All eyes turned toward the girl, as if waiting for an answer to the question that the youkai did not understand. Sick? She looked and, to Kurama's nose, smelled fine. Yet, it seemed, the question was a tender one, as if hinting some unknown subject. Rose turned her gaze toward the older woman. Her expression softened in pity, as one does when explaining an obvious subject to a child.

"No, Mrs. Writeman. I am actually feeling quite well today," was the girl's all too sweet reply. Mrs. Writeman nodded, but looked at her wearily.

"Okay, but if you don't feel quite... yourself," she said, pausing in search of the right word. "Feel free to tell me and we'll send you right home." The girl nodded as the woman sighed and turned back to the board. The bell rang a few moments later, a dull, blaring noise that was sure to get on Hiei's nerves quickly. Rose gathered up her backpack and walked slowly over toward the door, the others hastily making room for her to pass easily. The two demons exchanged confused glances as they walked out of the room. Rose was already lost in a sea of students who yelled and laughed loudly to each other in the halls before their next class.

"We have Study Hall for the next two blocks," Kurama said, observing their schedule. Hiei grunted.

"Its going to be a long day," he said simply as he pushed his way behind Kurama, who easily snaked his way through the crowds with an expert's ease, toward the room where their Study Halls were to be held. He pushed passed a tall boy with a growl, making sure to keep Kurama in sight. "A very long day."

One hour and forty seven minutes later, Hiei and Kurama made their way toward the cafeteria, a class, being lunch, in which they shared with Rose. Neither had brought lunch, and neither bought any. Hopefully they'd be able to corner the girl at a table with her friends and speak with her, if just innocently. They walked into the large room, which was slowly becoming flooded with students. They looked, but did not see Rose.

"Shuichi! Blade! Over here!" called out a happy voice. They turned to see a girl from their English class, surrounded by a few other girls. The two boys glanced at each other. Kurama sighed and walked toward their large, round, table. Two girls moved apart to make room for the boys, pulling up chairs for them to sit it.

"Hi," a dream-struck girl, sitting next Kurama said, her brown eyes large and fantasy-filled. "My name's Jo."

"I'm Lizzy," said a blonde next to Hiei.

"I'm Suzy," said the cheerleader that had been in their English class.

"Hello," Kurama said. "My name's Shuichi Minamino and this," he said, gesturing to a very uncomfortable looking Hiei. "Is Blade Tatsu." The fire youkai grunted in greeting.

"So you're really from Japan?" Lizzy asked. Kurama nodded. "What's it like there?"

"Much like it is here. Toyko is a lot like your large cities," the kitsune explained politely, although he made it clear that he didn't want to answer questions.

"Oh!" they screeched. "Toyko! Ekk!" They giggled among themselves a moment before Kurama decided to ask them a question he had been meaning to ask when he had come over. He looked around pointingly and, sure enough, the girls took the bait.

"Are you looking for someone, Shuichi?" Suzy asked.

"Oh, no, I was just wondering where Rose was. I would have thought she would sit with you," he said innocently. Hiei glanced at him, trying to avoid the drooling Lizzy who was still squealing over them.

"Rose?" they all gapped, then looked at each other and chuckling slightly, nervously. "Oh, Shuichi, you have it all wrong. Didn't you see her in English? Even Cassidy's afraid of her, although she wont admit it. Rose is... well... sick," Suzy explained sadly. Kurama gave the sweetest, most confused puppy-dog look he could muster. The girls melted into his lap.

"What do you mean?" he asked. They looked around timidly, then began to talk a little more quietly.

"Rose has... issues, to put it nicely. About two years ago she went insane." Hiei glanced at Kurama, who saw it, yet did not return it, making sure his full attention was on the girl so as to prompt her into speaking further. "She started wearing black and threatening people after she went into a foreign exchange program to Japan to visit a pen pal. There were some murders outside the town after she came back. Everyone knows she killed those people, but there was no proof to convict her, although the police never suspected her, this entire school knows it was her. She started threatening people and if they didn't heed to her, they ended up disappearing 'mysteriously' and coming back the next day, terrified of her. They never said a word, only that they experienced something evil and knew it was linked to her." The girl shuddered but continued as Kurama's green eyes begged her to go on. "After the first month or so of her going insane, everything stopped, no more murders, no more terrified kids. She became really quiet and didn't talk to anyone, but when she glared at you, you could swear she was stealing your soul."

"Suzy," Jo said quietly, turning away from Kurama for but a moment. "Don't-" The other girl shook her head.

"No, if they're going to stay here, they need to know to stay away from her and why," the cheerleader said. "But when school started last year, she was really strange. Apparently, her dad had died, of 'natural causes' after she came back Japan, and everyone said it was just depression. I mean, her dad had left her, her brother, and her mother right after she left. She went to Japan before that, and had a hard hit on the head by a falling beam of steel. That's when she seemed to start going crazy. She seemed to slack off in everything then, like she was depressed. She didn't come to school some days, and when she did she became… well, weird to be around. Some people said she talked to herself. The doctors said she had a bad concussion, but that was it, and it was from the falling beam. Her mom and brother got her counseling, thinking that she was depressed because of her dad, but they never got anything out of her and told her mom that there was nothing wrong with her, that she was just grieving, or perhaps in shock because of the accident. But some said she was feeling guilty, if someone as heartless as her can feel that, because her father hadn't died naturally, no matter what the doctors said. Then her brother died. A brutal death. But some say that even the grieving over her brother was false. They said she killed him." The table fell silent for a moment, no one making much eye contact with anything other than the chilling food on their plastic trays. Hiei struggled to suppress a snarl at the comment of heartlessness by the girl. He knew otherwise. "But that's not everything. She started to talk to the strangest people, who called her Thorn and her eyes... they changed. It must have been contacts, like yours, Blade," Suzy said, nodding to him. HA! They thought his eyes were fake, like Cassidy's. How wrong they were. "But it was still creepy. Just to be around her gave everyone the willies, so we just left her alone. Even her best friends left her alone. Everyone was kinda scared that she had snapped or something. But about a year ago, in like November, she came to school and acted like she used to. Her mom took her to a bunch of doctors. There was nothing physically wrong with her, so they thought that she had gotten a case of some kind of amnesia that slowly works its way into someone's head, instead of being instant. So it was some kind of latent amnesia, and she just broke out of it last year. But everyone's still scared of her. The doctors said that they'd never seen anything like it before and that there was a chance it could come back, but they really don't know. Just stay away from her, it'll be for the best," Suzy concluded, taking a sip from her carton of milk. The other girls were silent.

"How did you acquire such information on this girl?" Kurama asked. Lizzy snorted.

"Its a small town, Shuichi, everyone knows everything about everyone here," she said. "But let's not talk about her anymore, it makes me shudder just thinking about it. I want to know what shampoo you use on your hair!" she said cheerily, and the mood lightened instantly, sending the girls into a fit of giggles.

"And where did you get those cool contacts, Blade?" Suzy asked. Hiei glanced at Kurama. They really expected them to answer such questions? The kitsune shrugged.

"And how do you get your hair to stick up so straight like that, Blade?" Lizzy asked, moving her hand to reach up and touch it. Hiei stood up suddenly.

"I'll be back later," he growled, and stalked off, the girls looking at him in confusion. Kurama was seemingly forced by the girls to stay with them when he tried to move to follow. He knew that humans were not Hiei's favorite species.

Hiei walked along the halls, shoving his hands in his pockets and growling under his breath. He could almost laugh at their stupidity. They had no idea how close they were to death itself. Thorn, she had been in that body. Yet these girls said that she had murdered those people. Thorn wouldn't have, she wasn't the kind to kill without purpose. But BlackFire could have... He shook his head. That must have been it. She hadn't been able to control him at first, and so was forced to let him feed as often as he wanted. That would account for the murders. Her threats could have been BlackFire as well, his influence pouring into her blood and controlling her into striking fear into those around her as he had done so many, many years before in the demon world. The death of her father and brother… training, he thought bitterly. Well, it was all in the past now. Nothing anyone could do about it now.

Hiei looked up toward a clock in an empty classroom. It was nearly twelve, when the fourth block ended. The next class they had, with Rose as well, was biology, which continued for a short block, which was used as another lunch period, and a shorter, forty-five minute block, making the class the longest of the day at an hour and twenty minutes. He sighed and turned back toward the cafeteria. He waited outside the room until the bell rang, observing the halls keenly. There were a few kids skipping class, walking down the hall in a slumping swagger, while others laughed and gossiped among themselves. There was a door, he noticed, to the right of the cafeteria, down a short hall and out into a parking lot. He stood at the end of it to wait for Kurama.

The annoying and sour droning of the bell sounded a few moments later. Students began to pour out of the room in a thick swarm of buzzing voices like a hive of gossip-hungry hornets. Hiei waited patiently for Kurama to appear. Yet, something else caught his attention before the boy exited the room. The door to his right opened carefully, as if the wind had blow it open, with hardly any sound. Apparently, the student who had went outside was not suppose to exit the building.

Hiei turned to see Rose walking toward him. Her step was long and confident, yet she seemed to hesitate as she saw him in front of her. But she continued on. It was clear that not even the teachers of the school stopped her from doing right or wrong, just as long as she remained 'sane'. She walked past him, tilting her head in greeting, her dark green eyes looking toward him. Anyone else would have thought that she was glaring at them threateningly, yet Hiei saw the expression that Thorn gave as a greeting toward those she hardly knew, a greeting she had given to he, Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara that day at the Dark Tournament. He returned it with an accompanying nod as she walked past him. He turned back to look for Kurama, who stepped toward him hastily, a large group of girls behind him giggling foolishly, a moment later.

"Let's go," the kitsune said, eyeing the girls wearily as they hastily made their way to the far end of the school, where their class was.

"Hn, getting attacked already? I would expect you to be able to hold them off longer," Hiei said with a grunt. He was pleased actually. For just a moment, he could see a flicker of Thorn in the girl's eyes. It gave him hope.

"Yes, well I was trying to acquire more knowledge," he said, leaving Hiei to fill in the blank. 'About Rose,' was the unsaid ending.

"Did you succeed?" he asked skeptically, glancing up at the taller boy.

"I learned only where they lived," he said. "I suggest we visit them."

"Hm," Hiei said, nodding as they again swam through the thick mist of kids. They fled to the far corner of the school, receiving giggles and curious glances from the girls they passed as well as gruff glares from the guys. They made it into the classroom just as the second bell rang. The teacher looked up. He was a tall man in his mid-thirties with softly graying hair.

"You must be Shuichi and Blade, I presume?" he asked in a rumbling voice. The two nodded. The man gestured jerkily toward two empty seats in the back.

"You can take those seats," he said as they moved toward the two-seated table. "This is Biology class and I'm Mr. Dennis. Welcome." The two boys took their seats as the man took attendance. Damn the school administrators, bringing in foreign exchange students so late in the year. Can't teach 'em nothing before the finals, were the teacher's thoughts. He sighed and took the sheet to the door, where it would be collected later during class.

Hiei and Kurama took their seats in the back of the classroom, scanning the room in search of the one they stalked. Rose sat to Hiei's right, sitting next to a blonde boy who talked to her one desk in front of the one beside his own.

"C'mon, Rose. Don't be so uptight, live a little," he said with a grin. Hiei narrowed his eyes, wondering how she would react to such taunting.

"Back off, Brent," she said placidly, not looking at him. But her voice lacked the darkness that she had put into it when she had growled at Cassidy earlier that day, as if she found it amusing that someone did not fear her.

"Brent's asking for it. If he isn't careful she's going to freak out on him or worse, she'll go insane again," a boy with short brown hair said to his companion, sitting in front of Hiei, a boy with dark blonde hair, who nodded in agreement.

"He's new, but that's no excuse for not listening to us when we told him she was crazy," the dark blonde whispered back. Brent gave an obnoxious laugh at some unknown joke, known only in his mind as funny.

"I'm serious now, Brent, quiet," Rose said, lifting her chin, which had been dipped and caused her long, shoulder-length bangs to obscure her face and eyes, and exposing her hard expression. The boy nodded and turned back to face the front, taking the hint not to bother her anymore.

"He has sense," Hiei said quietly to no one but himself.

"Hm," Kurama agreed as the class began. Brent, Hiei noticed, continued to look at Rose, throwing glances at her between taking notes. It ruffled Hiei's feathers. But he wouldn't let it get to him.

'She's a different person, with different tastes. I must respect that,' he thought, shaking his head and trying to turn away, only to realize he couldn't. It hurt.

"Something wrong?" Kurama asked quietly. Hiei forced himself to turn away, out of his daze.

"No. Let's just get this day over with," he said.

Authoress' Note: first of all, I just wanted to let everyone that the explanation of Rose's past by Suzy is supposed to be blotchy. They don't really understand, and I wanted to give it that feeling. It didn't turn out exactly as I wanted it, but it's a spoiler for like, most of my side story. -cringe- sorry! But I had written this long before I thought of it! I added some stuff in that weren't there before so that it compliments and is compatible with my side-story. Some things might be different in my side-story, so you'll have to forgive me.

Reviews:

Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha:

School for the youkai! Don't worry, they wont get into any trouble. I'm too nice. :P should give them problems with a teacher or get Hiei in a fight or something… but I wont. Well, you'll find out what Rose believes later. She's very stubborn and very set in her beliefs. Thanks!

Reallydizzy:

-sheepish- well thanks! I don't know what happens after the DT, and my old fic started over a year ago, when they had just got to DT. The end was kinda predictable, so I just started from there. thanks for all the support though! Hehe. Thanks again!

baka-chibi-puffs:

Hehe! :P Kurama-kun you big spoil-sport. LMAO! Kurama-kun you'd better get it right! Cheese to the Cake, yo! :P and I'm going to try my damnest to get in touch with my friend about beta reading for you. She's got nearly as many jobs as I [that must be hard, considering I have four… . ] and we don't have hours to kill like we did when we were younger. But I'll try!

miyako14- too lazy for signing in:
:P sorry, had to keep yer name like that, because it makes me laugh! Hehe. Anyway, yes, poor Hiei. Torturing the little youkai is a favorite past-time of mine.. You'll learn this soon enough in later chapters when the difficult becomes impossible for him. VV poor boy. Hehe. Update for ya'll!

Hiei's1girl:
here ya go! Thanks for the revvy!

J: alright, ya'll. Gotcher chapta up. be happeh! Anyway, my updates have been slacking. I just found my muse again, and bribing him to stay with me by feeding him cookies. [and don't ask me why little blue Japanese dragons like cookies, because I have no clue!] but he doesn't seem interested in staying for longer than it takes to write two gruesome short stories about creepy crap. -shrug-

FEED MY MUSE, AND GIVE HIM COOKIES!