Letter to the Readers:

To new readers, welcome. To any of my regular readers, which it seems that somehow I've got, welcome back (dunno why you guys ended up here though, assuming you don't read Inuyasha fics since you're from very different fandoms, if you do read them then it makes sense). This story is one that I'm a bit nervous about putting up, so if you read it, read with an open mind. And please forgive me for science fiction jokes. I just put them in where appropriate because this does partly take place in the modern era (which all of you should know already, seeing as it's Inuyasha).

Other than that, all I can say is that if you don't like it, don't read it. I don't want any flames just because you might not like a detail or plot point. Plus, it's fanfiction, we get some creative license, which means that at first, some of what gets written might seem contradictory, or not make a lot of sense (most stories seem like that at first anyway, the plot fleshes out details later). So please be respectful to writers (not just me, but please be nice to me anyway), some of us really do try our best (like spending two hours going over a couple thousand words, thinking "Is this good enough to post for the entire world to see yet? Oh no, I see a typo! Now...what was my point again? Ah, right, I remember!").

Anyway, I'll try to update this story as often as possible, between classes and homework, which I'm pretty backed up on right now. I'm also in the process of editing a novel, which is going to suck up a couple of weekends. And of course I've got other fics on the go, and I'm still transferring files and getting things organized on my new laptop. So basically, complete and utter chaos.

And for anyone wondering ahead of time about Ayame. I don't like her much. Just putting that out there. She may show up, she may not, I'm still debating, seeing as I'll be mostly following the anime, using the manga for reference in case there's something that isn't clear (and yes, I've read the manga cover to cover, some of it is sitting on my bookshelf at home).

If you've stuck it out and haven't gotten bored yet, then please...enjoy...

Am I a troubled kid? Yeah, I guess you could say that. But in my defense, all those fights I get into are totally justified. And now I sound like you could argue that they aren't. Well, I hate bullies, and I don't pull any punches when I let them know that. And I let them know that whenever I catch them torturing their victims. But, I'm not very good at reining it in once I'm on a roll, and when I roll, it's down a very steep emotional hill. Though, I'm fairly certain that the people I stick up for appreciate my help. Too bad I scare them off so quickly that I've never received any gratitude.

For almost thirteen years, I've lived as a foster child. My birth parents are a mystery to me, and my various foster parents all eventually get tired of me, claiming that I'm just not a good fit for their family. I've bounced around from foster home to foster home, but no one felt like adopting me. You would think that a cute little baby or toddler would get adopted quickly, but there's been no luck for me even though I've been in the foster system since I was a baby. Something just keeps anyone from wanting to keep me, and it's not my liking for fighting, because it's been happening since before I learned how to fight. It seems more like a curse than any single unpleasant personality trait.

Besides, considering the kinds of grades that I get, you'd think that some parents would want to keep me just for the bragging rights. Bad attitude aside, I do pretty well on tests and homework. They're the only things that my teachers don't complain about. And no one can seem to believe that I'm the one getting some of the best grades in the school. Go figure, the one who looks like a delinquent, and gets bounced from one house to the next is the genius. Who knew?

I carry around some of the clothes and toys that the foster parents have bought for me over the years, along with an heirloom that is supposedly from my birth parents. A necklace with two fangs and a pretty silver pearl. I wear it all the time, even though we're technically not supposed to wear that kind of jewelry in school. But I break so many rules anyway that one more isn't going to make a difference. It's not like my grades suffer for it, so frankly, no one should care.

I'm fourteen years old and in the ninth grade. I was allowed to skip a grade when I was younger because my grades were through the roof. And since then, I've always been younger than my classmates. I go to school in Tokyo, Japan. My name is Akari, but my last name is always a pain, since it varies according to whichever foster family has me. It's one of the drawbacks of having been found abandoned as a baby. And because I get bounced around so much, attention is pretty hard to come by.

One of the only classmates who ever pays me any real attention is Kagome Higurashi, the daughter of one of the city's shrine keepers. She's super nice to me, unlike most other people, who only see me as a troublesome kid who can't seem to find a family to take me in. They all assume that I'm the problem. Obviously they haven't seen the state of the foster care system, or that wouldn't be their first assumption. And because of that, they assume that I'm a delinquent.

Since everyone already thinks that I'm a delinquent, I decide that I should just do whatever the hell I want. And I go and dye my hair with gold streaks to match my unnatural golden eyes, eyes that are just another reason for people to think that I'm strange. The gold stands out well against my brown hair, which is so dark that at night it looks pitch black. That doesn't win me any friends either, not that it was meant to and not that I care, but at least Kagome thinks that my hair looks cool. And having just one person tell me that makes me feel a whole lot better.

Unfortunately, the teachers don't agree, and they give me a hard time about it, what with a couple of weeks worth of detention. But since I ace all of my homework and tests anyway, everything they hand me, I hand back quickly, finished to perfection. Although, it's not like they didn't give me a hard time before. They seem to equate my liking for learning martial arts with being a bad kid. And with my attitude, people usually keep a pretty safe distance away from me. Kagome is the only one who continues to hang out with me once in a while. Though she probably does it just to keep my spirits up. That's the kind of person she is. She's got a pretty big heart.

Right around her birthday, Kagome misses school for a few days. Disappointing, considering that I'd wanted to hang out with her that day. But then she comes back, claiming that she was just sick. But something doesn't seem right, she's nervous and trying a little too hard to be happy around her friends.

I get the feeling that she isn't being completely honest. And while I don't like suspecting the only real friend I've got, my instincts are usually right. Plus, she seems different, like she's drifting off into a daydream. I guess that distracted would be the best way to describe the change, or maybe just very unfocused.

In any case, I want to find out what's really going on. And if at all possible, I want to help.