Rin smiled as she passed her peers on her way to math, though she wasn't sure why she bothered. No one liked her, and they never will. She will always be the girl who went mute over her schizophrenic dad murdering her family before shooting himself in the face. She couldn't blame them in any way as she too would have avoided a girl from that dark of a background. The only friend she had growing up was that of her cousin, Kagome, but she's living life five hundred years in the past with her dog husband now.

She was lucky that night her dad decided life was meaningless not only for him but for the family as well. The girl was only five at the time, and Kagome invited her to stay for the week. It was Kagome who saved her, and Rin made sure to never let her cousin forget it. The incident was hard on Rin, and she went mute for three years over the trauma. It took patience and a lot of therapy to help her feel emotions again. During that time, her aunt happily adopted her, making Kagome her sister by technicality.

"I'll never leave you alone, Sis! Just remember that while I'm away helping InuYasha, you can always count on seeing me again!" She once told her, and now that promise is a load of pig shit.

The only good thing that came from her sister's adventures were the fascinating stories that she would tell her. Sure, InuYasha and the gang were pretty cool. She even met the guy a few times when he came to visit. Naraku was a creepy bastard, and she was so glad when Kagome came back and announced that he had finally been defeated. Rin took first aid classes specifically for the mild injuries that her sister would come home with, and that day was devastating. Their mom almost took her to the hospital, but she recovered over time. Yes, all of her stories were great, but one particular guy…well, demon…stood out to her. His story seemed so misunderstood, and no matter how many times she tried to beat that into InuYasha and Kagome's heads, they refused.

Sesshomaru, according to them, was a cold-blooded killer who just wanted his brother dead for the fun of it. Rin could see the cold-blooded killer, sure, but she felt deep down that his hatred towards InuYasha was more complex than that. As they told her stories of their parents and the…affair, it made since to Rin. This demon was carrying centuries of hurt from his father. He had to witness a drastic split between his parents over a mere human. If she were a demon with a mindset that humans were no better than insects, she would have been hurt as well. In her opinion, humans were no better than demons. Her entire life, humans have done nothing but cause her harm. What makes demons any better?

She cleared her thoughts as she entered her classroom. As per usual, any desk she chose would result in her neighbors moving. The last students in class would throw a fuss over having to sit next to her, but Rin smiled nonetheless. Her aunt-mom always told her to kill them with kindness, and so she did. It never worked, but the girl was not one to start brawls.

As the bell rung, the last girl made it in, only to realize with disgust that she would be sitting next to a killer's daughter.

"Sensei, please don't make me sit next to that demon!"

The teacher rolled his eyes, pointing at Rin, "Higurashi, just sit up here next to me. I'm tired of hearing complaints about you."

The class laughed at Rin as she calmly packed her belongings and sat at the chair next to the teacher.

"All of our teachers need to do that from now on. None of us want to be near a future serial killer!"

Tears brimmed her eyes, but instead of getting upset, she chose to wipe them away and keep a small smile plastered on her face.

"See? She's already smiling like one!"

"Class, that's enough! It's time for our lesson!"

The students hushed as they all opened their notebooks.

~~

As the final bell rang for the day, the students rushed out of the building, Rin trailing far behind. She preferred to avoid any confrontations at all costs, but today was not her day. A group of girls were ahead of her, blocking the street that she always used to walk home. This wasn't the first time, and she could always walk the long way. Keeping her glance downward, she attempted to walk pass the girls, but one held an arm out to stop her.

"You aren't going anywhere, Higurashi. I don't get why everyone's so afraid of you. You're the size of a ten year old with an ugly face to match! What are you going to do, climb on me?!" the girl snapped, her friends laughing with her.

Rin bowed her head even lower, "I apologize for interrupting. I will be on my way now."

Suddenly, the other girls grabbed her arms, pinning her against the wall of a house while their leader smirked at Rin's failed struggles, "You see? You're just a weak little shit that deserves to be dead with the rest of your family!"

Tears fell from her eyes, "Please…let me go."

They all laughed at her, "I'll let you go…but not until this!"

Her fist collided with Rin's face repeatedly, her right eye already bruising as well as her cheeks. The girls held her down tightly while the main girl continued her assault. Once Rin was blistered up, she grabbed her cellphone and snapped multiple photos of her. "Welcome to the school year of 2002, bitch!"

Finally, the girls dropped her and ran off, talking about how they were going to send the pictures to everyone at school.

With a sigh, Rin stood up, wiping the blood away from her nose. "This is going to be hard to explain to Aunt Mom."

She grabbed her bag and continued her trek to the house, sighing in relief when no one was at the house yet. She chose to place her bag down and sit against the sacred tree, a tree that once pinned her brother-in-law five hundred years ago. Rin glanced upwards at the cloudy sky, a droplet of rain splashing on her nose. Tears leaked from her brown orbs and a soft sob escaped.

"You promised that you would always be there for me. Kagome, you promised!" She yelled out, sobbing, "But you left me for a dog man. I hope you're having fun because I'm not! I don't want to do this anymore! I want to be dead with my mom and brother!"

Suddenly, she noticed a glowing blue from behind her. With a gasp, she grabbed her bag and stood up. Behind her, the tree was now translucent, and a beautiful woman in robes stood at its center, a sparkle evident in her eyes. She held her hand out towards Rin, ushering her to take it. Rin stared at this woman in disbelief, "Who are you?"

"I am the spirit of this sacred tree, and I have heard your cries, Rin. You seek Kagome, do you not?"

The sixteen year old nodded slightly.

She slightly smiled, "I can give you that and more. If you come with me, your life will be filled with love and happiness. She misses you too, you know, and I hear her wishes to see you as well. They saved my era, so I shall bring to them a gift from hers. Will you come with me?"

Rin immediately held her hand out for her. Naïve, yes, but there was nothing for her anymore. If this spirit led her to death…so be it.

Before the girl knew it, waves of blue and silver flowed all around them as they walked through what felt like a tunnel. Suddenly, her vision went black…