School Daze

Chapter 03:

"Drop-Off Point"

Tall iron gates bisected a tall brick wall, and a sign arching above the gates proclaimed: "OMOSHIROI ACADEMY, EST: 1922." Ivy clung to the wall in places, draping it in vines so dense one lost sight of the red stone lurking beneath, and the streets outside the walls were immaculately clean, austerely unadorned, and completely deserted. Despite being located on the outskirts of a major city, the school gates gave the impression that the institution within was one characterized by willing isolation and proud standoffishness; obviously, whoever had designed the place had thought it superior to the rest of the world and, therefore, a prime candidate for a private compound away from prying plebian eyes. Though Hiei could only barely make out a cluster of buildings looming in the distance behind the ivy-wrought gates, he could tell from their misty silhouettes that they were just as forebodingly secluded as the gates seemed to suggest.

Hiei's lip curled. He hated the place on sight.

But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? After all, Hiei did not just sprout in front of his new school like some sort of quick-growing mushroom—he was taken there after being given very specific instructions. And here, dear reader, are those instructions rendered in utmost detail:

Early that morning in the heart of the Spirit World, three ogres led by one green-haired ferrygirl marched down into the Spirit World's maze of cellblocks. The ferrygirl carried a cloth sack in one hand; two of the ogres bore a large leather trunk precariously between them, trading looks that said why-the-heck-did-we-have-to-get-this-job?; the last ogre carried a black backpack in his hands and twisted the straps like he could wring a get-away out of them.

The ferrygirl, however, was not nearly as nervous as her escorts. Even though many of the imprisoned demons hissed lewd comments her way, or threatened the weakling ogres' lives, or demanded to be released so they could suck the marrow from the pretty girl's sweet bones, the ferrygirl only looked at them through cool, unassuming grey eyes and smiled a small, bland smile in response. This icy politeness and utter lack of fear made many of the demons pull back in disquieted surprise, and soon enough the ferrygirl found herself in the section of the jail with heavily reinforced doors, quieter prisoners, and—blessedly—far less threats hissing on the air. She walked among the heavy doors for a while, searching for one in particular, and when she found it she took a key from the depths of her white kimono, fitted it to the lock, and pushed the door wide open.

Hiei, of course, sat leaning against the wall in full view of the door, and when the ferrygirl entered she showed him only the most cursory of interest before gesturing for the ogres to bring in their load. They did so without a word and dashed out as soon as they could, leaving the ferrygirl and Hiei very much alone.

The fire demon was the first to speak. "So now Koenma sends a little girl to do his bidding?" he mocked, looking her up and down. She wore a white kimono with a silver pattern of cranes and reeds on the hems, and her large grey eyes made her look guileless, if not a little cold given their dead expression. Her convincing green hair, however, made him think she was much more than a mere girl, no matter how human in shape she appeared to be. Naturally green hair wasn't something you saw on a human, after all.

The ferrygirl's lips—coral-pink and full—thinned a little, but she did not retaliate with words. Instead, she just reached into her kimono's sleeve and pulled out a small manila folder. Tossing it to the ground at Hiei's side took little more than a flick of her pale wrist.

The pair then proceeded to stare at one another, because neither wanted to talk first. To Hiei, it appeared as if the ferrygirl was little more than an emotionless robot of a doll, hardly worth his time considering that she worked for the enemy and looked weak in the bargain, and to the ferrygirl Hiei seemed little more than a broken demon with too much pride and not enough power to back it up. Thus, both thought themselves superior to the other, and neither wanted to be the first to speak.

Hiei was the first to break their stare, but only so he could grab the folder, open it up, and look at its contents. When he saw them, his brow furrowed.

"My name is 'Himura Hiei', now?" he asked. "What kind of idiotic name is that?"

The ferrygirl finally spoke. Her voice, when it came, was dry, lacking in inflection, and hoarse. "It's the name I picked for you," she told Hiei. "You'll learn it, or look a fool."

Hiei looked back up at her. The fact that this woman—she'd graduated from 'ferrygirl' to the marginally more respectful 'woman' in his head—had been the one to pick his human name probably meant she was important, but why her? Why not Koenma? Had the toddler prince lost interest so quickly after sentencing Hiei's fate?

"And who are you, exactly?" Hiei asked, deciding to be blunt about the matter.

"I'm your caretaker," she dead-panned, and she said nothing else.

Hiei (sensing that the woman probably wasn't going to open up any time soon) looked back down at the file. On it lay a list of things he supposed humans found important, but were things he looked at with utmost disdain. He had, apparently, been born on December 25th, was five feet tall, weighed a scant one hundred pounds, and had an O-negative blood type. Parents were deceased; legal guardian was…

"Who is Kitsuroya Karin?" he asked.

"Me," said the ferrygirl. When Hiei looked alarmed, she said: "I have been put in charge of your punishment."

"Reporting to Koenma?"

"Among other things," was her response. "I am one of the technicians who developed the… Demon's Bane 2000." Her lips tightened imperceptibly; Hiei began to view the expression as one of distaste on Karin's otherwise expressionless features. Did she not like the gadget's name? "If the device shows signs of malfunction, or if your cover as a human student slips, I will be available to repair or assist as needed."

"You'll be available," Hiei said slowly, and then he grinned. Well, bared his teeth. "Available how? Have you been sentenced to go to a damned human school, too?"

But Karin was not the type to humor such a viciously posed question. "I was also put in charge of arranging the details of your stay in Human World," she said. "I have kept your fabricated background simple so you may fill in the gaps as you see fit."

Hiei 'humph'ed.

Karin told him: "Remember it well. Humans put much stock in their pasts."

"Only because they're so short-lived that they are loathe to let go of any moment, no matter how inconsequential," Hiei spat. "Spirit World should put the entire race out of its misery and save me the troub—"

The Demon's Bane lit up, shocked him, and went dark. Hiei's hair smoldered faintly, and he was pretty sure he chipped one of his molars when he ground his teeth together in pain.

Karin gave no indication that she had noticed the incident. "You were born in Tokyo to a family of martial artists," she said, "hence your noticeable physique."

Noticeable what? Hiei thought. His prideful side was pleased, but he didn't want her compliments and said nothing.

"Your parents were killed in a car accident a month ago. I, Kitsuroya Karin, am your mother's baby sister, and I am your last remaining relative." She paused. "I'm your aunt."

Hiei snorted. "Yes, I think I got that."

She nodded in approval, refusing to acknowledge his sarcasm. "I took you in despite only being eighteen years old myself, barely of age and on my own as well, and I sent you to boarding school with your inheritance money." Her face did not show any emotion as she spun this story, a story Hiei grudgingly committed to memory. "I do not care if you pretend to grieve your parents. Say you weren't close to them if you choose not to; it matters little."

Hiei, for all his dislike of the situation, felt resentfully grateful for Karin's lack of insistence he act certain way. The simpler she left his 'life,' the better.

Unbeknownst to him, Karin felt much the same way about the whole affair, but we'll get to that later.

"Beyond that, memorize the information on that sheet," Karin said, gesturing at the folder. "You need not say anything about your education prior to attending the school I have selected; you were, as far as the humans are concerned, homeschooled by private tutors your entire life. Your grades were above average, though not exceptional. Feel free to improve or degrade them as you wish, so long as you don't get yourself expelled."

"Can we get going already?" Hiei snapped. He didn't like to wait around; the information on the sheet had been trivial and easy to remember, so he was ready to go ahead and get this over with.

Karin shook her head, plain pony tail of green hair flopping around her shoulders. "You must dress yourself, first." She held out the cloth sack in her left hand, making no move to come any closer with it. Hiei grumbled as he forced himself to stand up, move forward, and snatch it away.

When he saw what was inside of it, however, his face darkened.

"What in the world is this?" he asked, closing the bag's mouth abruptly.

"Omoshiroi Academy requires a school uniform," Karin said, and she turned her back on Hiei. Did she not know that turning your back on a demon meant you did not fear their power and that the slight could be interpreted as am insulting challenge, or was she mocking Hiei's weakness on purpose? It was hard to tell through Karin's perfect poker face. "Change, now."

Her brave—or foolhardy—gesture made Hiei and his boundless pride want to wring her neck, and he was promptly assaulted by a burst of electricity from the DB2000. Karin turned his way long enough to raise an eyebrow as he clutched at his agonized head, and then she said: "Please, do not resist. It's not worth the pain."

"Damn you," Hiei growled, and he jerked off his cloak and threw it to the ground.

The uniform, when he finally managed to button it properly and figure out the metal-toothed contraption on the pants (it was a zipper, for the record, which was something Hiei had never dealt with before), wasn't totally horrendous. Hiei just hated it because it was so human, with its suit-jacket-blazer over a white button-up shirt, its narrow black tie and shiny black shoes, and fitted black pants that made movement much more difficult than his loose cloak and shapeless trousers ever had.

"How am I supposed to walk in shoes this stiff?" he complained as he laced the leather creations up. The squeaked comically with every step he took.

Karin looked him up and down, not commenting on how the deep cranberry-mauve color of the jacket—a color that looked very much like Hiei's new, darker eyes—seemed to suit him. "They will break in with time," she said. She glanced pointedly at his discarded cloak, pants, and boots. "You may keep those items in your trunk, if you wish."

Hiei gathered his things, walked to the trunk, and popped open the latches. Inside was a neatly folded assortment of pants, shirts, and other clothes, but he just dumped his old clothes on top with no regard for organization.

"We have provided you with athletic shoes, sandals, summer clothes, and winter clothes," Karin said as Hiei shut the trunk. "It is autumn in the Human World, and over the course of the next six months—"

Hiei inwardly winced at the reminder.

"—you will experience the cold of winter as well as the warmth of spring. You have only one school jacket, but that is normal. Change out the shirt, pants, and tie daily for the sake of cleanliness."

"I know how to dress myself," Hiei snapped, wheeling on her with the intention of glaring her into submission, but intimidating Karin was like trying to intimidate a wall. Her expression never even faltered.

"The condition of your cloak suggests otherwise," she remarked dryly. Before Hiei could respond and tell her about the horrors of Demon World and how clothes were basically stupid, anyway, she said: "There are school supplies in the backpack. I also managed to talk Koenma into affording you a monthly allowance. This is most generous of him, as you are a felon and you do not deserve such kindness, but I argued that there would be no way for you to live in the Human World without money." She dipped her head. "I will deliver the money to you when applicable, and you are welcome."

The fire demon who had no intention of thanking her let out a low growl. Karin turned to the door, posture stiff and regal as she walked out.

"There are wheels on one end of the trunk and a strap on the other. Drag it behind you. Put on the backpack so your hands are free."

"I don't need you to tell me how to carry things, woman," he snapped, but he did as told because what the hell else was he supposed to do? He was practically helpless, with energy locked away in the DB2000 and sword locked away in a vault somewhere, so it wasn't like fighting was an option, and since he was in Spirit World, what was the point of running? There was nowhere to go!

And so, Hiei followed the ferrygirl, muttering darkly all the while.

The trunk was not heavy on Hiei's still-strong arms (sealing his youkai didn't affect his physical strength much, if at all) and the rest of their journey took all of ten minutes. They went out of the cellblock, past hooting and hollering prisoners, and into a large atrium. They did not head to Koenma's office, instead taking a different route through the maze of hallways until they came to a set of large doors. Karin knocked on them, and inside stood a large square platform with glowing gold tiles on the floor. Other than that, the room was bare and shadowy.

"The platform is a transportation device," Karin solemnly intoned as she ushered Hiei inside. "It will take you to the school's gates. Step on it when you're ready. They are waiting for you. And remember: do not run. It will be a futile effort." A pause. Then: "Oh, and do try to be inconspicuous. Though I will do it if need be, I do not want to have to cover up your mistakes more than once. "

Hiei bared his teeth. "Putting me in this position was mistake enough, stupid woman."

"Probably," she said from behind him, and Hiei's head whipped around when he heard the doors shut; Karin had vanished while he studied the platform through narrowed eyes.

After that, there was nothing for Hiei to do but step on the platform and, in a rush of wind that forced Hiei's eyes to close, find himself standing just outside the gates of Omoshiroi Academy.

Perhaps I should mention, however, that Hiei did not go inside just yet. Despite Karin's many warnings not to run, Hiei turned his back on the Academy's gates and walked smartly in the opposite direction.

NOTES:

You didn't REALLY think Hiei would do this willingly, did you? HECK NO! He's a fighter to the end!

Dunno why this turned into another info-dump chapter. I had a different plan for introducing Karin (who we'll be seeing a surprising lot of), but then I realized that a bunch of little things needed to get cleared up to avoid confusion, and… well, this is the result. It'll make future things go more smoothly.

ANYWAY. I'm really starting to like this fic. All of your ideas have been awesome so far! Here are some of them:

Hiei gets a fanclub/students start crushing on Hiei en masse (BY: j.d.y., chocolateluvr13, etowa-ru, Anonymous D)

Typical school stereotypes being stereotypical (BY: OhhTaylorJade, Kajihenge Yoko)

A Hiei-stalker/rapist person of TERROR (BY: Kajihenge Yoko)

An evil teacher out to get Hiei (BY: Kajihenge Yoko)

Hiei making messes and destroying classrooms because he doesn't know how to act/feels insecure with his new humanity (suggestions of this nature ranged from exploding cupcakes, wreaking havoc with a katana, to "conquering" paintbrushes in art class) (BY: Kaijin-san, chocolateluvr13, etowa-ru)

Interesting ice queen who sparks interest (BY: Anonymous D)

And guess what? I LOVE ALL OF THEM TO PIECES. Hopefully when, in the next couple of chapters, we see the school itself, I can work some of them in! YAY!

And, of course, you are all LOVELY: etowa-ru, Out-Of-Control-Authoress, Wings of Silver Rain, chocolateluvr13, Kaijin-san, Kajihenge Yoko, Memento Arcane, DevilAngelWolf27, Dreamehz, DaAmazingMeepers, OhhTaylorJade, and j.d.y.!