A/N: Alright here is the prologue to All Grown Up to help you get a little idea about the past between Naraku and my OC Naima
"Naima! Naima wait up a minute!" The young spider demon panted hard as he tried to catch up with his best friend. The slightly younger panther demon turned around, about to board the big yellow school bus to take the demonic children home after a long, fall day at school. The year was 1996.
"What took you so long?! I was about to get on without you!" the little girl hissed.
"Sorry. I had to get something out of my cubby," the young boy said, red eyes shying away from Naima's piercing hazel ones.
"That's okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Naraku." She put her arms around the boy, lightly kissing his cheek as an apology. His face immediatley twisted into an expression of disgust as his face became as red as his eyes.
"Ewww Naima," he squealed, wiping away the innocent kiss. The little girl just chuckled. Girls always did mature faster than boys.
"Hurry up you two," the bus driver sternly said at the two young demons. The two children obeyed as they boarded the bus. They found their usual seat in the back where they sat every weekday afternoon. Naraku allowed Naima to be closest to the window, for she liked to watch the sights of the city as the bus rolled down the busy Brooklyn streets.
Naima and Naraku were now in their second year of demon elementary school. They first met during their first year and their was immediate chemistry between them. Naraku was a half demon, so he really wasn't accepted by the full demon children. He was pretty much an outcast and was picked on constantly for being a half breed. He had just transferred from the human school just a few blocks away. At the human school, he was an outcast as well, for the other children were afraid of him. He was a lonely boy with no parents. He was a ward of the state and bounced around from home to home as a foster child. No real family. No friends. Naraku lived in a world of loneliness and sorrow. That is, untill he met Naima. It is pretty certain that both children can remember that day that they first met.
"Look at that half demon over there in the sandbox! Better stay away from him or he'll infect you with human!"
"Half breed nerd!"
"You have cooties because you're a half breed!"
"Jingle bells, half breeds smell, robin laid an egg!"
Little Naima watched from the sidelines as the ruthless demon children teased the poor spider demon who was cursed with the stigma of only being half of what he should be. Why were they being so mean to him? He hadn't done anything wrong. Unlike most of the other kids, she didn't understand why humans and demons weren't supposed to be mixed. To her innocent eyes, they were all the same. She even had one or two human friends herself. She never saw the boy as something to be cast aside or ridiculed. No, all she saw was a poor boy who was wrongly picked on. Her heart swelled with compassion as she watched the lonely half demon, crimson eyes near tears. She had to stop this. She couldn't let this go on even further.
"Ha ha ha! Are you going to cry half demon?!" the ring leader of the children, a big bear demon mockingly laughed at the boy, who was still all alone in the sandbox.
"Leave him alone!" Naima snapped as she made her way over to the menacing kids. This took all of them by suprise as they all turned to see the young panther demon charging at them. Fists in a ball and hazel eyes flaring. The bear demon seemed unphased by the girl who was beginning to lose her temper.
"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?" he said in a mocking tone of voice. Naima let out a small, immature, panther growl as a warning. When the boy didn't take the hint, she let her right fist do the talking for her. Like most bullies, the boy was startled to see that the girl had stood up to him. He now stared up at her submissively, his back against the hard ground. He bit his lip as he ran away, trying to fight back tears, the other children following close behind. Naima smirked to herself, feeling that she had done a good deed. Her eyes then turned to the red eyed boy who had watched the scene before him in complete awe. Naima smiled as she got into the sandbox with him.
"Hi," she said with a toothy grin.
"Hi," he softly replied.
"What's your name?"
"Naraku."
"Naraku? Cool. My name is Naima. I like sand too. Wanna be friends?"
"I guess so."
"Wanna make a sand castle?"
"Sure." And just like that, a friendship was born. The days of youth are very priceless. Its only at that age when you can form a bond over sand.
"So what did you have to get out of your cubby?" Naima asked her best friend, eyeing his bookbag with great curiosity. Naraku hugged the red bag close to his chest, his face matching both the bag and his eyes.
"N...nothing," he lied, turning to face the other way.
"C'mon lemme see!" Naima demanded as she started to pull at the red bag.
"No!" Naraku cried as he tried to pull the girl's prying hands away.
"Please Naraku or I won't be your friend anymore!" Naraku gasped as his red eyes widened with fear. If he had been a little more mature, he would have realized that her threat was only an empty promise that many a child used in order to get what they wanted. But Naraku couldn't afford to lose the panther demon as a friend. He let out a deep sigh as he reached in his bag and pulled out a small white box. Naima stared at the box with great intensity as he opened it. When the top lifted, two necklaces of cheap metal both shaped in a semi circle laid in it. One said "Best Friends" and the other said "Forever". Naraku turned his head from the girl as she studied the two pieces of faux silver. He didn't know what her reaction would be and had become shy to show her what he had bought with his allowance. "Is one of those mine?" Naima asked with a huge smile on her lips. Blushing, Naraku replied with a slight nod. The girl let out a pleased squeal, happy to add another piece of jewelry to her collection. She picked up the one that said "Best Friends" in her small hand as her smile widened. "Put it on me." Naraku obliged as he tossed her curly black hair to the side and clapsed the necklace around her neck. He then put the other one around his own neck. Both children smiled as they united the jagged edges of the semi circles to form one complete circle.
"This is all that!" Naraku said.
"Yeah! It is all that!" Naima agreed, "are we really gonna be bestfriends forever?"
"I think so. The necklace says that we will. So we mustn't lose them, okay?" Typical kid logic. Naima nodded her head wildly, curly locks bouncing all over. And it was that day, that the spider demon and the panther demon pledged their loyalty to one another from that point forward.