4 The Lions Would Get Fat

I heart Engelbird, just thought everybody should know
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all the beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Await alike th' inevitable hour;
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

He hurried up the stairs as he heard his brother gathering up his school things in his room. Kurama could only hope the boy was still tired enough that he wouldn't take undue notice of the two boys waiting in the living room. Hana meanwhile had reentered his room and as he stepped in after her she turned sharply. "I'm afraid I'm in a hurry to get back downstairs," he said as he picked up the roll of bandages still sitting on his desk. "I don't trust them alone down there for more than five minutes."

She made no comment but sat down on the bed and held out her arms. He had wrapped bandages quickly before, but probably never as fast as he did in those few minutes where he sat straining his hearing to keep track of the three humans moving around the house. He finished the special patch for her ear and let out a sigh, there had been no screams, no sounds of breaking furniture or shattering glassware. He stood and handed the girl a fresh set of clothes. "My mother left these out, they don't fit her anymore, but they might fit you. After you get dressed you can come downstairs and have breakfast while I introduce Yusuke and Kuwabara." She frowned at the clothes, but nodded anyway and he hurried from the room.

"Jeeze Ku-Shuichi, could you take any longer?" Yusuke grumbled at the redhead reappeared. "Hey, is anyone else home?" he added in a whisper as he glanced around quickly.

"My step-brother is still getting ready for school," Kurama responded. "He will be down any second."

"Oh. Well, about your, lady friend, what are you planning on doing?"

"He could keep her, couldn't he?" Kuwabara said.

"She's not like a kitten dumbass."

"I'm afraid my mother and step-father would find it highly suspect. Which is why I wanted to talk to you two."

There was the thunder of feet pounding down the stairs and the younger Shuichi breezed through the room to the kitchen. A few clunks were heard as cabinet doors were thrown open and some rustling of boxes. The boy reappeared an instant later, cereal box in hand as he headed for the front door. He paused only long enough to slip into his shoes as he called, "I'm meeting some people before school, see ya later!" And he was gone.

"Quite an energetic youngling," Hana said from the doorway, causing them all to jump slightly. "Where is the food?" Kurama pointed towards the kitchen and she skipped towards it while the boys watched her.

"She's pretty cute, not as cute as Yukina of course. Where'd you get the clothes though?" Kuwabara asked, watching the swishing skirt disappear through the doorway.

"They were my mother's," Kurama answered as he followed the girl into the kitchen. "Yusuke I wanted to know if Hana could stay at your house. I reasoned that since you—"

"No, I understand why you'd ask me," Yusuke said, waving his hands in the air. "It's just me and my drunk mother, and she's not there half the time. But at least she knows about demons. She could sleep in the living room, or maybe Ma's room since the old drunk normally passes out in front of the TV. But aren't you worried about me behaving?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"I'm sure Hana would put you in your place," Kurama replied with an enigmatic smile before he turned to the girl. "Hana, I'm sorry to say that you can't live here with me. But Yusuke has said that you are welcome to stay with him. He lives with his mother, who knows about demons and is frequently absent." Catching the look she was giving him he paused and tried to smile. "It is completely up to you where you go; I am merely suggesting that this would be most convenient for you. I am not trying to get rid of you or give you to him."

"Would I still see you?"

"Yes of course, anytime you want. And I was hoping to arrange things so that you could attend school with me."

She turned to Yusuke suddenly and bowed. "Thank you. I be good, I no walk around naked or sleep in your bed. Kurama tell me these things bad."

Yusuke's eyes widened before he glared at his friend. "He lied! It was all lies!"

"Yusuke hush."

"Why'd you go and tell her stuff like that? Why did you ruin her poor demon mind?"

"You know, I bet Shizuru's old clothes would fit her. I'll ask her after school if she's got anything laying around she doesn't want."

"That would by greatly appreciated Kuwabara," Kurama said with a small smile as he steered the girl away from Yusuke and towards the table where breakfast was waiting. When she saw the food the boys were completely forgotten and she attacked it almost as voraciously as a carnivore. "So I'll meet you two after school then?"

"Yeah, since I'm actually going today," Yusuke grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, cuz Keiko threatened him," Kuwabara prodded his friend in the side and was rewarded with a punch.

"Well we'll see ya guys later," Yusuke said as the pair headed for the front door. "Nice meeting you Hana-chan!" The girl waved a hand through the air, not bothering to turn and watch them go.

"They're nice people, I assure you," Kurama said as he sat down opposite the girl.

"I am willing to trust these humans because of you, but their species is a predatory one and I cannot trust those I do not know well."

"A wise course of action. Yes, there are many dangerous humans out there. When you have finished eating we can leave for school." She nodded and stuffed her mouth in double time. "Don't choke!" he exclaimed as he saw her puffed out cheeks as she tried to cram even more into her mouth. She shot him a dirty look that plainly said 'I don't choke.'

As they walked he explained the schooling process to the best of his ability. Hana nodded the whole time with a thoughtful look calming her normally more expressive features. He couldn't be sure that she really understood though. They approached the school building at a leisurely pace, it was still early and Kurama was working through his explanation once more in his head. As they walked to the office he was more than a little thankful for the early hour and scarcity of students in the halls.

"Hello Mr. Minamino," one of his teachers said as he entered.

"Hello Sensei, how are you today?"

"Very well. Oh who's that with you?"

"This is my cousin Minamino Hana," he said, drawing the girl forward by the arm. She smiled nervously and bowed to the teacher who bowed back.

"It's nice to meet you Miss Minamino."

"And you sir," she responded quickly.

"I'll see you in class later Minamino," the teacher called as he left the office.

The vice principal came out of his office and stopped to greet the school's top student. "Sir, I was wondering if I could talk to you about my cousin," Kurama said in his politest, most ass-kissing Japanese. The vice principle smiled benignly and nodded for him to continue. "Hana has just arrived in the country after finishing her year of school abroad, so she won't start her next grade until New Year's. But her Japanese is not very good and her parents would like her to attend a Japanese school, not an international student's school, so they thought perhaps she could sit in on some of my classes. It would be good for her Japanese and prepare her for our school system."

"That's something of an unusual request," the vice principal said slowly.

"Yes sir. I'm very sorry. Her parents would have come themselves but they had to work and they didn't wish her to spend the whole day alone in the house."

"Oh of course not, that's no place for a young girl, cooped up when she could be learning. I quite understand her parents. I think I remember something allowing guest students. Let me check my files Minamino, I'll be back in a moment."

"Of course sir." The vice principal stepped back into his office while the two young people stood staring after him. The secretary watched them with some interest, since her desk was out in the main area of the office she caught most of the passing gossip of teachers and students alike and wanted to see as much as she could of this Minamino in one of his rare visits into her domain. The vice principal reappeared with a smile on his face and a few papers in his hands.

"It seems we can work that out fine, especially for our top student," he said happily. "I just need you to fill out a few papers, won't take a second. And while you do that I'll write a note explaining to your teachers. It's not like any of your classes are overcrowded, they won't mind an extra desk being filled." Kurama filled out the paperwork as quickly as possible, making up the Kanji for Hana's given name and making her fifteen, born April 15, while giving her his own human family name.

"Here you go sir," he said, handing the paperwork back.

"Ah very good, and here you go Mr. Minamino," he handed him the note for his teachers. "I'm glad to have you with us Miss Minamino."

"Thank you very much!" Hana chirped as her 'cousin' led her from the room.

They walked quickly through the halls, Kurama pulling Hana by the hand. There were far more people out now as there were only a few minutes until the bell. He wanted to get to class and get her seated as quickly as possible, with the least amount of fuss. Fate did not intend it to be an easy day for our hero. There was a traffic jam in the hall leading to his class which he had to push and shove to get through, nearly loosing Hana twice. They got inside with a minute to spare, but the room was half-full already and everybody turned to stare as they came in. For the three people in the back who were not aware of his entrance the teacher's shrill voice calling "Mr. Minamino who is that!" quickly caught their attention.

He handed the teacher the vice principal's note, and the man proceeded to read every fifth word aloud: "This…cousin…Minamino…foreign…sit in…several weeks?" The last part was in an impatient tone as he turned his attention to the red-haired boy. "Is this true Mr. Minamino, your cousin might be with us for quite some time?"

"I'm afraid so sir," he responded quietly, still polite but lacking the respect and approbation he had shown the administrator.

"Well go on and take your seat, seats. I just hope she won't be a distraction."

"Hana-chan is very well behaved sir," he said as he pulled her quickly towards the back of the room. 'It is the other students you need to watch,' he couldn't help thinking as he saw some of the girls watching them.

"Just one second Mr. Minamino, where do you think you are going? Just because you are the top student does not mean you can sit in the back and slack off." Kurama sighed and turned around. He pushed Hana into a seat next to the window and took one next to her. It was going to be a long class period.

Finally the remaining students filed in and the bell rang just as the last of them were sinking into their seats. He could hear them whispering about the new girl, the one in street clothes who was sitting next to him. He had expected there to be talk, in fact that was part of the reason he had called Hana his cousin, but he was still unsettled by it. Sometimes he wished he could turn off his sensitive hearing, at least for school hours. Class dragged on, as boring as ever but he still wrote down the notes he didn't need and the examples he could do in his head.

"Chi-chan." He thought he heard something besides the teacher's dull lecture and straightened up. "Chi-chan." A hand brushed his left arm and he glanced over at the girl next to him. "You told me the point of this place was to learn but it seems more like inane torture. When do you learn? If I take a nap will you wake me up when something important happens?" He tried not to laugh as he watched her puff out her cheeks and make faces at him.

"I thought you wanted to improve your understanding of the language?"

"I do, but you won't translate for me. Can I at least have something to eat?" He had expected this and packed accordingly. He slid a bag of celery out of his school bag and handed it to her. She smiled at him and began eating immediately.

"Just don't let the teacher see you," he said as he went back to his notes.

In the next class she asked him for paper and a pencil, he handed them over without thinking. A half hour later he looked up from the paper he was writing and turned to the side. Hana was bent forward over her desk, her nose inches from the sheet of paper. She was holding the pencil in her left hand, holding it in the middle and making a series of short, quick strokes. He looked around quickly, the teacher had left the room and everyone else was working on their own papers. "Hana, can I see what you're working on?"

She sat up and rubbed her nose with her right hand before sneezing twice. "Ah, it's bad luck to interrupt the artist," she said and handed him the paper. He looked at it carefully, turning the page slowly. A dark line spiraled out from the center of the paper, it was composed of little pencil strokes going in all directions. As the line curved it got wider and the ticks composing it got longer but no thicker. At set intervals, though he could not yet determine those intervals, little lines spiraled off the main one, but instead of getting larger they diminished. It was a pattern he recognized, but like all others of its design it was completely unique. "You recognize it?"

"It's a powerful warding charm."

"Only if that's what your story is about," she laughed, taking the paper back from him. "This is my story of yesterday." She spun the paper around on the desk, smacked her hand down on it and went back to writing. "I learned this from traders from the forest, but it cost me my horns. They were beautiful horns, but they did not help me run so I do not miss them." The teacher returned and collected the assignments as the bell rang.

"Come on, I have gym," Kurama said.

Hana stood quickly and followed him from the room. He led her outside and turned her over to his gym teacher. The poor man looked perplexed as he read the note Minamino had handed him and looked between it and the girl. He was the boys' gym teacher and she was supposed to be observing, did that mean she would sit with him, or that he should send her over to have gym with the girls? The boy had walked off to change and the girl didn't seem to understand anything he asked her. She just fixed him with a friendly smile before staring at the boys streaming out of the locker room. He decided that things would be easiest for him if she sat out and watched, maybe she could even carry his clipboard.

The boys assembled around their teacher, but most of them were paying more attention to the girl standing next to him. "This is Minamino Hana, Shuichi's cousin," the teacher said by way of refocusing their attention. "She's going to be my little assistant," he handed her the clipboard and she took it with a quick "Hai, sensei!" He ruffled her hair, pleased that things were working out well and pointed out towards the field. "We're going to be doing sprints today boys. So stretch and be in position in three minutes." With more than a few grumbles they headed out to the track. Kurama glanced back at his 'cousin' standing by the teacher. She was watching him intently and he had a sneaking suspicion she would be critiquing everyone's running later.

"I forgot my stop watch," the teacher said suddenly. He patted his pockets and cursed quietly under his breath. "Minamino, could you run back and get it, it's sitting on my desk?" She nodded quickly and ran off.

He walked over to the boys and put them through some warm up exercises. Just as he was about to wonder aloud where the girl had gotten to she appeared at his elbow, the stop watch in one hand, his bottle of water in the other. "Good thinking Minamino!" he exclaimed as he took the stop watch, I will need that water later. You can hold it for me for now. Alright you lazy bums!" he shouted, turning on the boys. "Line up, when I give the signal I want to see you give it all you got!"

"Sir, how far are we running?"

"Just to the first marker there."

"Um, which marker sir?"

Their gym teacher groaned, long and loud. "Hana-chan, see the pole? Go stand next to it and wave, wave your hand," he moved her arm around and she nodded.

"Yes, wave. Hi Sensei! I run?"

"No, the boys run, you stand. Now go down there and wave." She nodded and skipped off. "I'm assuming you can all see Hana-chan. Where she stops is where I expect you to be running to as fast as your legs can take you!" He blew his whistle and the boys took off running.

"Run Chi-chan, run!" Hana yelled, jumping up and down. But she stopped jumping when she saw how long it was taking them. "You call that running? You would never last on the grasses! My grandma ran faster than that and she got eaten by lions!" Kurama had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as he pulled ahead of the other boys. "The lions would grow fat off your flabby carcasses, and the hyenas would never go hungry again!" Kurama kept his times within human range, but nevertheless he always came in first. Meiou was known for its high test scores, not its athletics. He came to a stop beside the girl and she glared at him. "Pathetic! You run like old people."

"I heard you before," he laughed. He was still trying to hold it in as the others began crossing the finish line.

"You heard? But you didn't run faster!" she snapped, stepping back and kicking him in the behind. "No wonder you have no offspring!"

"Hana!" he exclaimed, the laughter gone. "Don't kick!" She snorted and crossed her arms, refusing to look at him. "Hana, I can run faster, but not in front of the humans." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and inclined her head, but kept glaring.

"Nice time Minamino, like always," the teacher said as he came up behind the slowest students. "The rest of you better shape up, follow Minamino's example here! Now let's play some basketball." He herded the boys off to the basketball court, next to where the girls were playing volleyball and more than a few of them got hit in the face while their eyes were elsewhere. Hana stood on the sides with the coach, while he was shouting at them to dribble and keep moving she kept up a commentary in her own guttural and fluttering language.

"What's she saying Minamino?" one of the guys asked as they ran past her.

"You don't want to know."

"Why, is she flirting with you?" he teased.

"No, she's calling us all pathetically uncoordinated giraffes." 'And other, more gruesome things,' he thought as he listened to the girl's description of what happened to such lazy weak creatures where she was from and tried very hard not to laugh.