Naruzaka Natsumi was concerned.

Her son, Akira, had always been very mature for his age. Initially, she seized every opportunity to show him off to her neighbors, friends, and family. Who said that a single mother couldn't raise a child?

But then strange things started happening to the kids in their neighborhood.

It seemed like just a series of unfortunate but innocent things, nothing sinister about it. A child in her son's class fell off the slide and broke his arm; the kid across the street was nearly drowned by a riptide while on vacation.

However, things quickly took a turn for the worse.

A little girl got hit by a car after she made fun of Akira for his violet eyes. Another of Akira's classmates was attacked by a half-feral dog when he stole her son's lunch. A teacher was mugged and beaten after giving Akira bad marks on a test.

Natsumi didn't notice, or rather, refused to notice. Her husband had been a drunk and abusive; she wanted to believe that Akira was perfect, a little angel that made everything easier and loved her unconditionally. In her eyes, he was what had given her the courage to free herself from her spouse, so that she could protect, cherish, and love him.

Unfortunately, she could not stay oblivious forever. Parents repeatedly put a stop to her efforts to set up a play date; children were frightened to approach Akira on the playground. Her son didn't seem perturbed. On the contrary, he looked pleased with their fear.

"Doesn't it bother you that all your friends act so mean to you?" she had once asked.

Akira looked up at her confusedly, all big eyes peeking out from under messy black bangs. "Whatcha mean, kaa-chan?"

"Well, you never play with anyone, and nobody ever comes over anymore," Natsumi said, distressed. How could they shun her little one like that?

Akira's lip curled dismissively. "Oh, them. They're not my friends, 'cause they're dumb. I make them stay away." He beamed up at her. "So don't worry, 'kay?"

Natsumi, against her better judgement, only nodded with a hesitant smile.

))0((

"Akira!"

Akira grimaced. He didn't wanna get up, he was really, really tired, and-

"Akira, sweetie! Breakfast's on the table!"

He buried his head under the pillow. Perhaps if he wished for his mother to just be quiet...

Akira grinned. Yes, he'd wish for her to be quiet, because he knew what would happen if he wished hard enough-

"I fried your egg just the way you like it!"

Violet eyes popped open. Akira threw off his covers with an eager grin, all thoughts of wishes forgotten...

For the moment.

Natsumi smiled indulgently as she watched her little boy eagerly apply himself to the breakfast that she'd made for him. He was so adorable, especially with that little ponytail that he'd insisted on wearing ever since she had let him grow his hair long enough to hold one.

"Akira, sweetheart," Natsumi said. "How do you feel about visiting the shrine today?"

Akira glanced up from his toaster waffles. "That one down the street?" He wrinkled his nose. "Eugh, I don't wanna go there. That creepy old man is always slapping papers on me and telling me that they'll purr-ify the darkness in my soul."

"Well, he's got a couple of grandkids that have moved in with him. Wouldn't you like to meet them?"

Akira perked up. "Has he got any kids my age?"

"He has a sweet little girl that's five years old, just like you. Maybe you can be friends!"

"Mom, she's a girl," Akira pointed out. "I don't wanna know any icky girls!"

"All the same, you have to be nice to her," Natsumi ordered.

"Why?"

"She recently lost her father, so this is a big change for her."

"Did she get rid of him like we got rid of tou-san?"

Natsumi's eyes dimmed. "No, her tou-san was very different from yours. He passed away in a car accident."

Akira's eyes were like disks set into his face. His mother abruptly realized her mistake, and quickly said, "Don't ask her or her family about it. She'll become very upset, and we don't want that."

Her son shook his head. "Uh-uh!"

Natsumi smiled at him. "You're such a nice little boy, Akira."

"Big boy," Akira reminded her.

"Of course," Natsumi corrected herself, chuckling. She bustled off to retrieve the housewarming gift that she had recently purchased, a nice bottle of sake. "We'll leave when you're done eating, okay?"

Akira didn't acknowledge her departure. His eyes were bright and curious as he continued to eat. Her dad died when she didn't even want him to! She's gotta tell me all about it!

))0((

Kagome sat on the top of the shrine steps, her chin cradled in one palm. She stared at the street below, pondering over what he mother had said.

Her tou-san wasn't coming back. Never, ever. He wanted to, of course, but he couldn't.

When she'd asked why, her mother had started to cry. That had made baby Souta, only two months old, start to bawl.

Her mother's tears were frightening. Adults didn't cry; they never cried. So Kagome had retreated outside, where the world made sense and kaa-san didn't cry and she could pretend that she was only visiting her crazy old gramps instead of moving in.

"Hi!"

Kagome jerked upright, her startled blue eyes widening. She looked down the long flight of steps (she'd once fallen down the whole way when she was four, which, in her mind, meant that she was sort of an expert on them), and her gaze locked on violet.

Kagome recoiled. Something felt very bad about that boy; something was wrong with him. It felt gross, and icky, and mean, too.

She also immediately knew that it was her job to fix him.