"It's so nice to finally meet you Aly-Jay." The young man extended his hand but all I could do was stare at it. There was something off about this guy. It was something I wasn't comfortable with yet... I couldn't help but feel like I should know him. I looked over at my mother with a frown while she offered me a soft smile. The man lowered his hand while he faked an expression of hurt feelings. "Did your mother not tell you about me? I'll admit, I'm kind of hurt."

My mother simply shrugged. "There was no reason to talk about you. But because of your unexpected visit." I didn't miss the glare she sent his way. "Aly-Jay, this is Koenma. He's a... prince... I guess."

I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "A prince?" With a retarded tattoo on his forehead?

"Yes. A prince from... Spirit World."

Before I could stop myself, I snapped my head to look at my mother. Without even thinking, I touched one of my bracelets. That didn't go unnoticed to Koenma.

"Ah, now I see. I was wondering why I couldn't sense her powers." He turned to face my mother. "You did a good job with that, I must say."

All of a sudden my mother looked exhausted. "Look Koenma, I really don't think right now is the right time to talk about this. We just arrived from Canada. Let us get a chance to rest."

Koenma nodded and apologized. After he and my mother exchanged goodbyes he finally left. I frowned at the closed door, still confused by his visit. While I knew it was time for me to turn to Japan—I could only be bound for so long—I didn't expect to ever meet Koenma. Especially so soon. When I turned to my mother she gave me a soft smile and turned to some boxes.

"So, what do you say? Should we start to unpack?"

I moved to the nearest box. "Why was he here?"

"He knows about you. You're very special, Aly-Jay, he wanted to meet you. He wanted to know if the stories actually came true."

I opened the box and saw plates covered in newspapers. As I frowned at them I couldn't help but think about what my mother said. I took the box and moved it to the kitchen. Two hours later we had made quite a bit of progress. I could now see over all the piles, but those two hours had exhausted me. After saying goodnight to my mother I went to my room and got ready for bed. I searched through both luggage's to find a baggy shirt and short shorts to sleep in. Once I changed I quickly checked my closet for my school uniform. Ugh, uniform. I've always been curious about uniforms but now that I'm actually being forced to wear one, I'm not too excited.

On that delightful note, I crawled into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that there was something warm and furry under my neck. Confused and still very tired I sat up and saw Mizu laying as long as he could go. I gave him a slight poke to see if he was sleeping. All he did was give a small purr. Yup, out cold. As I did a very cat like stretch I looked at my phone with a frown. I could have sworn I set an alarm for this morning.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I rolled my eyes before turning off the alarm. As I jumped out of bed Mizu gave a small meow before getting up himself. While I put on my uniform Mizu went on exploring my room. If I didn't know better he was making sure he knew his complete surroundings like the back of his... paw. After I pulled on the green jacket I headed to the kitchen.

As I thought, there was mother cooking breakfast. When I took my seat at the breakfast table some pancakes were placed in front of me. I said a quick thank you before I started to dig in.

My mother chuckled but didn't comment on my eager eating. She knew my reasons. "Will you need help finding your school?"

I shook my head. We had talked about it yesterday while we were unpacking. "It's walking distance, I can handle it." As I finished my breakfast Mizu came running in at full force, but the moment he saw my mother he ran right out with the same force as when he came in.

My mother could only scare after him before she said, "He really doesn't like me, huh? Did he sleep with you at all?"

"Kind of. He was still exploring by the time I went to bed, but when I woke up he was sleeping under my neck."

After a small laugh my mother added, "He must really trust you. And like the warmth you probably gave him."

"Probably." I placed my plate in the sink and ran off to the bathroom to quickly brush my hair and pull it up into a messy bun using my goody's spin pins. I went to grab my messenger bag from my room and headed out the door after saying goodbye to my mother.

Since I was still pretty early I took my time walking to school. This whole part of town was so homey. The streets weren't busy and the yards were neat. It was kind of weird. While Vancouver isn't big compared to other cities, whenever I walked around town there were cars everywhere. This place was so quiet. Kind of peaceful. Yeah, totally weird... But I think I could get used to this...

The closer I got to the school the more students I came across. I took a look at the small watch on my wrist and saw that I was still early. I knew people took school really seriously close to the end of the school year but I thought this was a bit extreme. I needed to be early to get all my classes organized but I didn't see any reason for these guys to be. It got a little worse when I entered the school gates. There was quite a bit of students in groups with books in their laps going over notes while I saw others heading into the building. While I made my observations, I also noticed that the other students did to. I didn't miss the looks I got as I walked towards the school. Awesome, "New Girl" here I come...

After making my way into the school I headed towards the office. I tried my best at making my accent sound "normal" while I introduced myself but judging the look on the receptionists face it was clear that I'm not from Japan... Great. Thankfully she didn't comment on it and just went straight into finding my paper work. I was given my class schedule, locker number, and some paper work about entry exams for university. I had to refrain myself from giving a "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" at the last one. I didn't really plan on staying here long enough to attend university. The plan was to train and go back home... I hope...

"Will you require a pupil to show you around?" I started to lift my hand to offer a polite "no". "Ah, Ms. Yukimura, will you come here a second."

I turned to the direction of where the receptionist was looking. There stood a beautiful student with long dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. Upon hearing her name she placed some papers on the desk in front of her and came to stand beside me. She did a double take at my height but quickly covered it with a smile.

"Yes?"

"Would you be willing to show Ms. Brooks where her classes will be."

"Of course," she said with a gentle smile. As we both walked out of the office she asked for my class schedule. "Are you just joining the school now, Ms. Brooks?"

I nodded. "Please call me Aly-Jay, and yeah, it was my mom's crazy idea to transfer me with only one month of school left."

She gave me another surprised look. "Oh, are you not from around here?"

"Nope, I'm from Canada actually. My stronger language is English so if I mess something up, please correct me."

She giggled slightly. "Well, you're doing a good job so far. My name is Keiko by the way."

"Hey, Keiko! Who's the shorty?"

We both turned to see two other girls running towards us. I refrained from making a rude comment. It's been so long since someone has actually commented on my height.

"Guys-"

"No, it's okay," I interrupted. "I was actually born prematurely." While it was slightly true, it wasn't the whole story. But they seemed to accept that.

After Keiko exchanged greetings and promises to meet up later the other girls left while Keiko returned to showing me my classes. She took a quick look over them. "Hey, we happen to have last period together. Have you been here long?"

I shook my head. "I actually arrived yesterday morning."

"Oh, maybe after school I can show you around the area. If you want, that is."

"Sure." And with that she showed me where my classes were, the last classroom being my first period. Good thing too, because by the time we made it the first bell rang. We exchanged goodbyes then I went into the classroom. I sat in the back corner hoping to avoid any awkward "Let's welcome the new girl" moments.

Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky, but the good side was that it didn't happen for every single one of my classes. However, on other negative note, by the time I had reached my last class my bag was filled with text books and another one in my hands. Oh, and this language transition was seriously kicking my ass. While I could understand everything there were times when people would talk so fast that I had no choice but to actually focus on what everyone was saying. So much for my daydreaming days...

When I finally got to my last class I swear my brain was starting to melt. Mother seriously should have planned flights so I arrived on a Saturday... There were two empty seats left in my last class, right smack in the middle of the classroom. I sat down and rested my head on my hand so I could rest my eyes for a second.

"Aly-Jay!" I opened my eyes to see Keiko taking the seat next to me. "I hope your day is going well so far."

I gave her a soft smile. "As well as I could given that I'm here so late in the year."

"Yeah, I can understand that."

Before I could add to the conversation the professor had entered to begin class. Oh, thank god, she's not a fast talker. While history isn't my strongest subject, I was at least able to follow along and not look like a total fool in front of Keiko. With that being said, I still couldn't help take a deep breath when class ended.

I gathered my notes and text books and pulled my bag over my shoulder. Keiko's offer to hang out after school wasn't forgotten but I definitely didn't want to sound desperate for friends by asking if it was still on.

"I hope your day hasn't been too hard for you, Aly-Jay," Keiko said, as we both walked out of class. "I'm sure jumping into all this must be difficult."

With a shrug I shifted my books in my hands. "It wasn't as bad as I thought, to be honest. The hardest part is getting used to the language. I've never been around it for such a long period of time."

"You're still doing a good job if it makes you feel any better. I also know a little bit of English from a couple classes. So if you like I can give it a short."

I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "No, you don't have to do that. I really need to work on my Japanese since I officially live here and all."

She nodded in agreement. We walked in silence until we reached the main doors. "Are you still up to me showing you around town? That is, unless you have something planned already."

I shifted the books in my hands and the heavy bag on my shoulder. Fighting a grunt, I said, "Sure. But if you don't mind, I'd like to stop at my place to get rid of this load."

"Of course. I can only image how heavy that bag is." Keiko smiled as we finally walked out off the school grounds.

"Hey, Keiko! Took you long enough!"

For the second time today we both turned to see who was yelling at Keiko.

"Yusuke!" Keiko seemed surprised for a second before looking down a me with a guilty expression.

There were two boys, around our age, leaning against the walls blocking our school. One looked kind of bulky with a square face and an old shade of orange hair. The other looked more lean and had greased back black hair. Ewe, shower much?

"Don't tell me you forgot about our plans today," the guy with black hair said as both boys walked towards us. "You've been bugging me about it all weekend."

"Oh, I know, Yusuke, I guess I forgot this morning. I got distracted when I showed Aly-Jay, here, around school."

When Yusuke and I made eye contact I got a sudden chill down my spine. He looked me up and down trying to measure my height but didn't comment. The other guy, however, was a little more obvious. He actually leaned forward and basically got right in my face as he looked me up and down.

"Whoa! You've got to be the same height as-"He didn't get to finish his sentence before Yusuke whacked him over the head.

I raised my eyebrow at their behaviour but didn't think much of it. Typical boy behaviour if you ask me. That and I figured he might have a doll somewhere in his room and didn't understand that something like that shouldn't be shared so openly. Keiko offered me an apologetic smile while Yusuke and the orange haired guy punched it out.

When they finally finished, Yusuke straightened himself and turned to Keiko as if nothing happened. "So, Keiko, are we going to hang out or what?"

Keiko turned to me. "Well..."

I knew where this was heading. It's obvious that these two have something going on and I didn't want to get in the middle of their plans. I lifted my hand and shook my head. "Don't worry about me. You go hang out with your friends. Besides, I still have some unpacking to do."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. It was nice meeting you." Before I left I turned to the boys. "Bye, Yusuke. Ginger." I still didn't know the orange haired guy's name but it seemed rude to simply ignore him.

As I was walking away the guy yelled, "My name is Kuwabara!" I kept walking without turning around as I gave a small wave to show that I heard.

The walk home was longer than the walk to school. I wasn't in any hurry to get home and I still couldn't get over how peaceful this walk was. Oh, that and my bag was seriously weighing me down. When I finally did get home I was greeted with a tiny "meow" as Mizu came running to the front door. The moment he saw it was me he stopped, made a tiny sound that had my heart melt, and ran off again. I chuckled as I took off my shoes and went to drop my bag in my room.

Well... fuck. I could have sworn I got farther into my unpacking yesterday. I looked around the room to see plenty of unopened boxes and clothes hanging out of luggage bags. After dropping my school bag on my bed I sighed. To do all my homework or to finish my room. Homework. Room. Through the corner of my eye I spotted my laptop sitting on the desk I set up yesterday. Room it is! At least that way I can listen to music and dance around the boxes.

It took me almost two hours to finish my room but when I finally finished and changed out of my uniform I moved onto my homework. I spread my books in a semicircle and sat in front of them with my legs crossed. Before I got started I looked over at the little cat bed I set up and saw Mizu staring at me. When he noticed I had gotten comfortable he got up and jumped onto the bed. I watched him for a second, wondering what he was doing. He stared right back at me, then to my complete shock, he climbed onto my lap and curled into a ball between my legs. I could only stare as he purred until he fell asleep.

He loves me... He actually loves me... I chuckled at myself for a second then got started on my homework. It wasn't until I finished my last question when my mother got home. I looked at the clock beside my bed and saw that it was almost 6:30. Where had she been all day? It's not like she has a job yet... I don't think. I jumped out of bed and went to the living room. I found my mother taking off her coat and opening her mouth.

Before she could say anything she spotted me in the corner of her eye. "Oh! I was just about to call you to see if you were home. I'm surprised. Not out partying with your new friends?" I rolled my eyes, which made my mom chuckle. "How was your first day?"

I shrugged. "Overwhelming, but good. Where did you go today? I didn't think you had a job or anything..."

It was my mothers turn to shrug. "Well... I kind of do. I guess." I raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember the guy that came by yesterday?"

"Koenma. Yes."

"Well... uh... hmm..." As my mother looked around the room I could tell that she struggled to find her words. "Come sit with me." She moved to the floor in front of our tea table then I moved to sit in front of her. "Let me start at the very beginning. Why I moved to Canada."

"Should we make some tea for this?" I meant it as a joke but my mother actually agreed and got up to prepare some tea I had to stop myself from hitting my forehead with the palm of my hand. As she was making the tea I started to get really restless. I toyed with my bracelets and kept rotating my ankles.

When she finally placed the cups and pot on the table I took a deep breath. I poured us both a cup as she got comfortable.

"So, where was I?"

"Your reason for moving to Canada?"

"Right, well." She took a small sip of her tea and I wanted to throw something because of that. Patience isn't always my strongest trait. "I told you before I had left Japan because I wanted a normal life, right? I wanted to get away from all the... attention I was getting." I nodded. "And you know that your grand-mother is a water demon and your grand-father is a fire demon." I nodded again slowly. Where was she going with this? While my mother always tried to avoid this topic it was pretty obvious that my grand-parents are elemental demons and that both my mother and I had inherited the control of water. "Well, there's more to it than that, Aly-Jay. And it's gotten to a point in your life where you need to know the complete story."

I frowned at my mother. "What are you talking about? It's pretty obvious isn't it? We're both water demons but I couldn't control my power. It got too much for me so you gave me these bracelets to bind them." I looked down at the bracelets as I remembered the event that lead to me wearing them.

When I looked back at my mother I could tell she was still struggling for words. "Yes, you're right... But there's more." Whoa, she's really struggling with this. I have her time to gather her words by taking a sip of my tea. "It was said, a long time ago, if a water demon and a fire demon created a child then that child would be very powerful. However, water demons and fire demons are natural enemies. It's almost impossible for them to even be in the same room for a long period of time. So when this prophecy was made no one really believed it. Plus, it's completely unheard of having a child with mixed demonology, the child would inherit the strongest element. But when your grand-parents met—your grand-father was hunting while your grand-mother went of wondering too far—it was basically love at first sight. And that's when people started to remember the prophecy." My mother took a second to rub her face. "When I was born, your grand-parents went into hiding. It became obvious that I was being hunted; either to kill me before I had a chance to ruin something, or to use my gifts for evil. That's how I met Koenma. He helped keep me safe and offered training. But something was wrong. As I grew up I realized that I master water really easily but I couldn't handle fire. A simple candle would burn me when it shouldn't have. I didn't have any of my fathers gifts, but no one would believe me. Strangers thought it was just lies to try and stop the hunts, while Koenma thought it was something that would just develop over time. What ever the reason was, I began to grow tired of all of it. I didn't like how I had to stay in hiding all the time. I couldn't stand the way Koenma would watch me as if my fire half would just pop out. So I left. One morning I just woke up and realized that I had to leave. So I did. I grabbed everything I could and headed to the airport. A flight to Canada was the first one I could get so I took it." My mother paused again...

I could only stare at her for a second. She had told me that she left Japan to try and have a normal life but she had never given me all the details... But there was more. I could feel it. "What has this got to do with me?"

My mother ran her fingers through her hair before she continued. "When I landed in Vancouver I had no intention of finding romance or any kind of relationship. I just needed to leave Japan and do something else. But when I met your father I couldn't help but be drawn to him. He was so handsome, and both he and I knew that he was charming. He used that talent on me and I fell, hard. I tried to resist him, I didn't think any harm would be done if I finally allowed myself to fall for his charm. Besides, I was suppose to be the gifted child and when that didn't happen I figured the prophecy was fake. I had no idea that the mixed demonology would carry onto you instead. From the moment you were born you had shown control over water so I wasn't completely worried. I figured you were like me, just inherited your grand-mother's gifts. But when you were five... I knew the prophecy had come true, but they were wrong, it didn't have anything to do with the first born; it was completely random... But there was nothing I could do to help you. You were so young, there was no way I could help you and keep you hidden at the same time. Hell, I couldn't keep you hidden at all. I didn't want you to go through what I had. The only choice I had for you was to bind your powers. But even with that... You can't be bound forever. You've already shown some side effects. You're height is an obvious one. Your body couldn't grow as it should have because it was too busy focusing on the energy inside of you. Plus, there's the reasons why I put you through dance, and why you have to eat so damn much."

I could tell she tried to make a joke at the end but all I could do was stare at her. There was no way I could be all that... I mean... she only bound my powers because my father couldn't know. If he found out he would either leave us or go around spreading the word.

"Aly-Jay? Is there anything you want to say?"

"I... I should go to bed." I was surprised by how that wasn't a complete lie. I found that I was actually pretty exhausted, like all that information added an extra 10 hours of me being awake... and having to listen to people speaking too fast... I slowly got up and headed towards my room.

"Goodnight."

"Night."