Chapter 1

Kaname Kururugi was strong. It took her seven years but she was finally able to move on with her life. She was finally moving towards happiness. It took leaving the country to move on but whatever worked. She had graduated high school 4 years ago and had just gotten her bachelor's degree in business. She wasn't really too sad to leave Japan. Of course she would miss her family but she was going to work in her Uncle's flower shop in Seattle so she would have some connection to home and after her feudal era adventure most of her friendships seemed incredibly shallow. She was still friends with them of course, but there's something about fighting megalomaniacal hanyous that brought true friends together and she missed them dearly. Being able to talk to Kagome and being kept in the loop about what was going on the past kept the pain away but two years ago Kagome found a way back into the past permanently. A rustle of movement caught her attention and she breathed out a sigh of relief. It was only her dad.

"Dad is there something you need? I'm almost done packing the things I'm going to take on the plane." Most of her things were already in Seattle waiting for her. She had a nine and half hour flight ahead of her and she was already looking forward to getting off the plane.

"Kaname are you sure you have to go so far away?" So that's what this was about. She could understand her father's hesitance about letting her fly out to Seattle by herself. But she was 22 years old more then old enough and with her shikigami powers more then capable of protecting herself. However her father never knew about her shikigami, no one did and that's how it would stay.

"Dad I'm a big girl and Uncle really needs all the help he can get, he's not getting any younger." It was a clear dismissal and they both knew it but her father wasn't having it.

"Kaname, Seattle is a large city. Something horrible could happen to you and you'd be to far away for us to help."

"Dad I know you don't believe me but I have lived in a large city my whole life I know the rules. And if anything does happen you'll be the first to know, I promise."

"Kaname be serious for a moment. I don't understand why you have to go so far away." Of course her father wouldn't understand, in a lot of ways Kaname herself didn't understand but that wasn't what she wanted in the first place.

"Dad I don't want you to understand. I hope you never do. What I want is for you to trust me and my decisions. I'm finished packing so I'm going to head for the train." She got up and hugged her father goodbye.

"Call me when you get into Seattle."

"Dad it will be almost midnight here when I land."

"I don't care. Call me when you land." Kaname chuckled so that's where she got her stubborness from.

"Sure thing Dad." After grabbing her backpack and suitcase and avquick hug and goodbye from her mother she was on the bus that would take her to the train station that would take her to the airport. Both the bus ride and the train ride were quiet with only her thoughts for company. Once she got on the plane it was 2 in the afternoon. She would arrive in Seattle at 6:30 in the morning so she figured it would be best to sleep the entire flight and so she did.

She awoke to someone gently shaking her shoulder. She looked over to see the flight attendant smiling at her. She always thought it was more creepy to see someone smiling all the time then relaxing. She briefly wondered if flight attendants even smiled while a plane was crashing but then quickly pushed that morbid thought away before her mouth could voice it.

"The plane will be landing in thirty minutes. Please fasten your seatbelt and return your seat to an upright position." Her seatbelt was already fastened and her chair was upright. Kaname sends the attendant an are-you-blind look but quickly changed it to a smile.

"Thank you for the warning." Not. She glanced out the window happy to see all the bright lights of Seattle. They were beautiful and so very different from the sight of Tokyo. 30 minutes later she was walking out of the gate only to nearly double over laughing. She ran up to a medium tall middle-aged man with black hair and brown eyes.

"Oji-san! Could you have been anymore obvious?" She asked pointing to the large sign with her name on it.

"Really? I thought it was very subtle." He grinned at her before grabbing her backpack before she could protest.

"I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own backpack." She said reaching for it again only for him to hold it up out of her reach.

"Kaname you haven't grown an inch since I last saw you and that was eight years ago." Kaname froze a blush erupting on her face. Unfortunately that was kind of true. She turned around grumbling, heading for baggage claim intending on ignoring her uncle for the time being. Her uncle followed after her smiling cheerfully.

"So Kaname how was your flight?"

"It was fine. I slept most of the way. You know you didn't have to come pick me up." She found the carousel where her suitcase was supposed to arrive at. She had given up on ignoring her uncle. He would only get more annoying the longer she ignored him.

"Of course I did. You don't know your way around Seattle and your in a new country. I couldn't very well leave my niece to figure things out by herself." Her luggage came soon enough and they were in her uncle's car heading for her new apartment when he mentioned something that made her want to scream.

"Kaname you know your father is comfortable with the idea of you being in another country." That much was obvious.

"And what?"

"He wants you to take some self-defense classes and I agree with him." Kaname could only gape at her Uncle. She just loved it when people made decisions for her without asking her. Her uncle sensed the impending temper.

"Kaname you don't have to do it, but at least check out one class and make your opinion then." He compromised.

"When is the class?" It wouldn't kill her to see one class and she couldn't always rely on her shikigami anyway.

"Its tonight at 7:00. I know it seems pretty late but that's the earliest class." Kaname blinked. That was the earliest class. At least with the classes being that late it wouldn't interfere with her schedule to much. Wait a minute she hadn't agreed to go yet. She was just going to observe the class and make her decision after that. The car pulling to a stop surprised her.

"This is your new home."