Chapter 1, Opalescent Lightning/Crash Landing

It was a dreary, stormy day in the Beika District. One of those rare days the Kudo family were together in their home; Yusaku was working on a story draft in the study, Yukiko was tidying up her make-up room, and the young, seven year old, Shinichi, well… He was reading Holmes, again. As time wore on, the storm outside only seemed to build in ferocity. The very air seem taught, almost as if holding its breath. The unusual atmosphere seemed to draw the young Shinichi to the window, the bright flashes of lightning and the echoing booms of thunder edging closer.

It was then that Yukiko found her son peering out the window, scolding him; "Shin-chan, you really shouldn't be so close to the window with the storm drawing closer."

Shinichi half-turned to her, one eye still observing the events outside, "But oka-san, something's about to happen, I can just feel it." He turned his full attention to the window facing the back yard.

As if to punctuate that statement, bright, multi-colored bolt of lightning struck the middle of the backyard, the peal of thunder a second later deafening. Once the bolt was no-longer burnt into his vision, Shinichi could not help but gasp at what he saw, bolting from his room, his mother calling after him.

"Shin-chan, what on earth?!"

He shouted back to her as he bound down the steps, "There's something in the yard where the lightning hit, it could be hurt!"

The commotion he was causing was enough to draw Yusaku's attention from his work,

"What in the world…?" He peered out of the study in time to see his son work the heavy back door open and run out into the rain.

"Shinichi," his parents called, "come back inside this instant!" nervous that their young son had just dashed out into the downpour towards an unknown entity, following after him.

Shinichi either hadn't heard them, or hadn't cared. He slowed as he approached the scorched ground the wounded figure laid on, and looked at what was curled up there. Its back was facing him, his best guess from its shape, size, and attire, it was that it was possibly a child, not much older than he was, if the size was anything to go by. Long dark hair trailed from the figure's head, matted and tangled in places, covering their face. They seemed to be wearing what was once a warm, feminine, dark grey coat, now littered with slashes and a few holes, wounds visible underneath the fabric. Yusaku and Yukiko now caught up, gasp at the young, badly hurt girl.

"Yusaku, we have to get her inside," she pleaded to her husband. He nodded as he bent down to pick her up. The moment he touched her, the girl's eyes flew open, as she twisted out from under his touch, turning to face them, a feral sounding hiss bubbling out of her throat.

The elder Kudos gasp and took a step back at the appearance of the child before them, but not because of the injuries spread across her face and hands, no. It was the thin coat of tan fur covering her face and hands, dull scales poking through here and there. The inhuman eyes, black sclera, almost glowing blue-green iris, pupils pulled to thin cat-like slits staring at them. The long, pointed, torn and bloody ears, pressed to the sides of her head.

Shinichi, if asked later, couldn't be sure how, but he saw past that, saw how she was shaking from her wounds, exhausted, and that those strange, alien eyes held fear. He held his hands up in front of him, trying to show her that he wasn't going to hurt her. Yukiko tried to grab for him, but he ducted away from her hand.

"Hey, you're going to be okay," as he inched closer to her, turning his hands palm up, to help her stand.

The now shivering figure looked at the boy, pupils dilating from the tight, razor thin slits, sclera fading from black, to grey, to white.

A few words slipping from her lips, in a mix of english and japanese, "(Help me), help me, (please). " She slumped forward then, as she passed out.

Shinichi caught the battered girl, and turned to his parents, "We're taking her inside and helping her." The look on his young face seemed to say that he wasn't going to be stopped in this, even by his mother or father.