So, this story is one I wrote for JessicaMarieLynnRussell, according to her wishes. The characters of Jenie, and techinically Tong and Lian, belong to her.

DISCLAIMER: All the other characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

My foster father, Tong Mei (yes, he and his wife, my foster mother, Lian were Chinese, even though we lived in Japan) threw a half-empty bottle of alcohol at me as I walked out the door. It missed and smashed against the doorframe instead. "Go!" He slurred drunkenly. "Get your useless carcass out of here!"

Ignoring him, I trotted out the door, brushing the drops of alcohol off me. Great. Now I was going to smell like a drunk rebel on my first day of school. Lovely…

I kept my eyes down the whole walk to Sarayashiki High. I saw the shoes of people as they passed me, but I didn't dare look up. I was too shy to do so. Besides, no doubt they were staring at my dark blonde hair. Not many people in Japan had hair colors like mine.

Making sure I was still walking the right way, I cautiously flicked my eyes up. Instantly, one guy caught my attention. He was short, only an inch or so taller than me, and I could almost be considered a legal midget. He was dressed strangely, in a long black cloak with a white collar, even though the weather outside was sunny and hot. His facial features were sharp and angular, yet quite attractive. His hair was quite peculiar, too (and remember, the blonde American girl who lives in Japan was saying his hair was odd). It was pitch black and spiky, except for a little white spot in front shaped like a starburst. He was leaning against a brick wall, like he'd rather be anywhere but where he was. His eyes were closed, but almost as if he felt me staring at him, he glanced up at me. In embarrassed shock, I snapped my eyes back to the ground. His eyes…His eyes were the color of blood.

I couldn't get that strange guy out of my mind all the rest of the way to school. When I actually got to school, however, one thought wiped that guy completely from my mind.

How am I supposed to find my way around?! From the outside, Sarayashiki looked huge!

"You look lost."

I turned in surprise to see a cute brown haired girl staring at me. She certainly seemed pleasant. Shyly, I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, and lowered my eyes.

"Ummm…Yes. I'm new here. Jennifer Leigh. Jenie for short." I introduced myself as quickly as possible. The girl smiled.

"I'm Keiko Yukimura. It's nice to meet you. Here, I can help you find your way around." Keiko took my schedule from me, and looked it over. "Your first class isn't too far. I'll take you."

I walked behind Keiko as she led me to a classroom. I didn't like the looks of it, but then, I didn't like school in general.

Ugh. Classes were awful! It was pure torture to sit through them. After school, I walked as slowly as possible, trying to delay getting back home where my father would be just waiting to abuse me. I passed a cork board full of papers, and one caught my attentions. It read: "Starting an after-school choir club. In need of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Please contact Mizuki Akane if interested."

Oh, I was interested. How I loved to sing…But how could I possibly sing in a choir? Although it's not like anyone would hear just me, still…

Chills suddenly began to run down my spine. It felt like someone was watching me. I turned, and indeed, this guy was staring at me. He was quite tall, at least compared to me. His black hair was slicked back, and his brown eyes were studying me like I was something to eat. He wasn't exactly wearing the required Sarayashiki High uniform. The uniform he was wearing was the same style, but a pretty green instead of blue. I averted my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. I got the same kind of feeling off this guy as I did off the one with red eyes I had seen this morning. Like I was a housecat at the mercy of lions. I wanted to get away…

"Yusuke!" A familiar voice cried. I snapped my eyes over to the speaker, surprised to see Keiko Yukimura hurrying up to the guy. She glanced over and saw me.

"Jenie!" She said in surprise. "How was your first day?"

I made sure to keep my eyes lowered as I walked over to Keiko. "It was…okay," I replied, barely raising my voice above a whisper. I saw Keiko smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh!" Keiko said. "This is Yusuke Urameshi, by the way. Our resident delinquent."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Urameshi commented. He looked down at me, and I briefly flicked my eyes up to meet his. Wow, he was frightening. Even more so than boys normally were. What was he hiding…?

"So you're new here?" He asked me. I didn't trust myself to speak, so I nodded. My heart was beating so fast that it hurt. I felt like I needed to get out of here…

Urameshi suddenly stepped closer to me, and I froze in terror. "Is something wrong?" He asked curiously. I said nothing, and kept my eyes glued to the ground.

"Maybe she's just shy," Keiko said. She elbowed Urameshi playfully. "Or maybe she's heard all the rumors flying around about you."

"There's not that many!" Urameshi protested. He turned his full attention on Keiko, and I took the opportunity to slip away. I walked quickly, looking back to see if they had even noticed me leaving. They were too busy squabbling with each other that they hadn't. I scurried out of the school, walking back in the direction of home (if it can be called that). It had been quite a day.

**************

I tried to sneak to my room as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, Tong spotted me before I had gone two steps.

"Jenie! Get over here!" He shouted, slurring his words into one another.

I grumbled, but nevertheless, obeyed him. "What?" I snapped. He held out an empty bottle of vodka to me.

"Go get me 'nother." He hissed. I glared at him, but still took the bottle from him and tossed it in the garbage. I grabbed another bottle of the same alcohol from the special fridge that housed only his drinks, and walked back to the chair my father was in. I held it out to him, and tried to walk back to my room.

"You wait." He ordered me. I tried to stay out of his reach. Which didn't work, because he ended up getting to his feet and sticking his ugly mug in my face.

"What?" I asked again, trying to keep the scorn out of my tone.

"You seem happy. It's annoying." He replied. I rolled my eyes in disgust.

What was he, a child? Seriously, nobody but immature kids had any right to say stuff like that. But, I kept my mouth shut. Not that that did me any good.

WHACK! I received a smack across the face with the full bottle of vodka. I fell to my knees, spitting out blood and praying that no teeth would come out as well.

"Oh, did you offend him again?" My foster mother, Lian, chuckled from the kitchen. "For shame. You should know better by now. Oh well. Looks like it will be another dinnerless night for you, huh?"

I spat out the last of the blood, hoping I could get the taste out of my mouth soon. I hated the metallic taste. Besides, it wasn't good for the vocal chords.

I danced away from my father as he reached out to hit me again. Before either one of my foster parents could inflict more damage, I bolted to my room and slammed the door. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.