Kurama gazed outside his open bedroom window. A calm breeze tousled through his long layered hair. The boy sighed as he closed the glass panes. Things just hadn't felt right for the past few days. Ever since he, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei had defeated Team Toguro and eliminated the Dark Tournament commitee, the city had been awfully quiet. Not even the smallest of demons had bothered to show up and make any sort of trouble.

"Shuichi! I've got breakfast ready for you!"

It was his human mother, Shiori.

"I'll be right down, mother. I'm just finishing getting dressed!" He called back. Quickly, the boy dressed himself in an off-red uniform, grabbed his book bag, and headed down the stairs. He hadn't the time to worry about the inactivity of the Makai. Right now he was Shuichi Minamino, a Japanese human male of only sixteen years. Not the notorious fox thief, Yoko Kurama!

Entering the dining area, he was met by a middle aged woman with dark hair and a warm smile. Kurama grinned back, his green eyes brightening. Although she was not his real mother, he felt eternally indebted to her kindness for raising him.

"Hurry up and eat before it gets cold!" Shiori said. "I've got to head into work early this morning so I can't join you today."

"Aren't you going to eat anything at all? I don't want you feeling ill before you even start your day."

His mother trailed to the front door and slipped on her shoes."I'll be all right. Besides, I only made enough for you, Shuichi."

"Will you be home late tonight as well?"

"Well, I'm not really sure yet. We are working on a very important project right now so it's very possible,"Glancing at her watch she gasped. "Oh no! Look at how late it is! I've got to get going! Have a good day at school, dear!"

"I will. Stay safe, mother."

After saying his goodbyes, he finished his meal quickly. Grabbing a hold of his school bag he tapped his feet into his black loafers and headed out. A little ways down the road and a train ride later, he arrived to the entrance of Meiou High School. Inside, he paused to hear a small commotion in the hallway.

"Really? Are you sure that girl is an American? I thought they were supposed to be glamorous blondes or something."

A nameless clique of female students were gossiping.

"Did you check out her dyed hair? What, does she think it makes her more attractive?"

"Yeah, well she definitely isn't from around here! I don't even think she's from this planet!"

The students unanimously snickered.

Normally, he was not interested in the idle chatter of his mean spirited peers. However, this time was quite intriguing and the 'someone' they were talking about had caught his attention. A few feet away, a thinly shaped girl with blackened frayed hair and a hopelessly lost look in her eyes stood. In her hand she clutched a piece of paper with stylized kanji written on it. He watched her as she seemed to try and study it with an intense focus. It was clear to them both that she could not understand the writing. Out of desperation, the girl approached the talkative group.

"Excuse me," she spoke politely, "Would you be able to tell me where I could find a teacher by this name?" Her index finger lightly tapped the symbol on the page.

"Oh?" One of the girls piped up, a scheme in her eyes. "I believe he's on the fourth floor. Go all the way down the hall and straight up the stairs. It's the first door you see, you can't miss him."

"Yeah, what she said! It's a real no-brainer!" The others chimed in, hiding a snicker.

"Wonderful! Thank you very much!" The oddball girl deeply bowed, oblivious to their prank. She happily sprung off while the other girls chuckled and dispersed.

Kurama slightly narrowed his emerald eyes. He had forgotten how harsh humans could be, especially with tricks like this. Feeling pity for the girl, he made his way through the sea of students and followed the clique's directions. When he opened the door to the mysterious 'classroom' it was, in reality, the exit to the roof. Sure enough there she was, the gullible girl, looking even more disheartened than before.

"So, I see you've found the roof." Kurama said as he approached her,

She looked up at him through her long messy bangs with a shocked face, "Oh! I guess I did! Silly me..." A fake smile appeared in the corners of her mouth.

"You must be new here. Try not to pay those girls any mind." He stared at the paper still scrunched tightly in her hands. "I'm Shuichi Minamino, by the way."

"My name is Serina Demir. It's great to meet you, Minamino-san!" She performed another deep bow causing him to chuckle slightly.

"No need to be so formal. Please, call me Shuichi."

"Oh, um, yes! Thank you very much."

Her Japanese was surprisingly fluid, but her accent was thick. Looks aside, her speech was a dead give away that she was foreign.

"Now, if you would like, I can help you find your home room teacher." he gestured towards the wrinkled paper. "And I promise I won't lead you to another roof top exit."

"Alright, I would appreciate that, Shuichi." She said handing it to him.

"What a coincidence," said the red-haired boy as he quickly read it. "It appears we are in the same class."

"Oh, we are? That's great!" Serina said with a sigh of relief.

The pair made their way back down the stairs and into the main building. They stopped in front of a classroom marked '3-B' (which was only a few feet away from where Serina had asked for help before). The two entered hurriedly and found their seats just as the bell rang. All things considered, it had been a pretty normal start to the week.

Meanwhile, the realms of the Spirit World were having a lousy Monday. Somewhere beyond the misty clouds, a grandiose palace stood heavy with piles of paperwork.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" a voice from inside screamed with agony.

"Koenma, sir!" a blue ogre cried. "Please calm down!"

"Calm down?! At this rate, I'll have a full head of gray hair by next week!" Koenma said, rubbing his noggin in frustration.

Koenma, the prince of the Underworld had been neglecting his duties as usual. Ever since his week long vacation on Hanging Neck Island, the documents for the dead had gone unstamped at his desk. The souls of demons, humans, and everything in between had all been waiting in line for his return. He crossed his arms and began sucking on his pacifier harshly as his servant, Jorge, tried desperately to calm him.

"LORD KOENMA!" A blue haired girl had burst through the office doors. "It's an emergency!"

Koenma and his ogre both fell back in a moment of surprise. The toddler quickly straightened himself out and sat upright in his chair.

"Botan, do you always have to interrupt me while I'm doing work?" he said.

"I'm sorry sir, but I've just received this report." she pulled out a manilla file from the opening fold of her pink kimono.

"Hm, what's this?" The prince opened it and read the first page, his expression hardened. "This is not good."

"What is it, my lord?" The balding one-horned demon inquired, "Did the lunch room run out of those little rice cakes you love so much?"

"This isn't the time to be joking, ogre! We've got a real problem on out hands." scolded Koenma as he flipped through the other pages.

"Should I track down Yusuke and the others?" Botan asked.

"Yes. Inform the psychic Genkai as well. I'm counting on you."

"Of course!"

And with that, the reaper pulled out her oar and set sail for the human world.

"I still don't get it..." said Jorge.