I don't own Inuyasha, but Rita and Takato are mine!
"Rita! I'm going to the mall with some friends!" Eri yells, her short black hair flipping around her ears.
"Great," Rita rolls her luminous tiger-eyes. As she hears the door shut behind the overzealous teenager walking out the door. "Well, I guess it's time for me to get out of this place and look around." Rita grabs her backpack, the keys to the house, and her wallet. Locking the door she sighs and heads out of the apartment.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" a boy, with black slicked-back hair, glares at Rita rubbing his chest irritably.
"Gomen," Rita blushes, pushes a bit of red-brown hair behind her ear, and tries to continue.
The boy blocks her path, and Rita notices that he's an entire head taller than her 5'5", "Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from people that I will walk into," Rita steps past him and picks up her pace. "Shit! Why is that jerk following me?" Rita begins to run, and soon spies a bunch of steps. "He'll leave me alone if he's exhausted!" She runs up the steps, and finds herself at a shrine. She jumps toward the gift shop, which thankfully is indoors, and closes the door behind her. "Phew! I thought that guy was going to catch me."
"Konnonichiwa!" a boy slightly older than Rita smiles from behind the counter. His black hair contains blue highlights and his eyes are sky-blue. He is approximately 5'8" and well built or at least he appears to be, wearing his monk robes.
"Um, can you help me?" Rita swallows hard, "Some guy is chasing me… I bumped into him and apologized, but he started to chase me!"
"How far was he behind you?" the boy frowns.
"Half a block, but I think the stairs may have slowed him down a bit," Rita nervously looks over her shoulder at the door.
"Follow me," the boy frowns as he opens a door and walks into a fairly nice house. "He won't bother you here. I'll be back as soon as he's gone."
"Thank you," Rita sighs in relief.
"No problem," the boy smiles.
"I'm Rita Katana."
"Takato Haruka," the boy waves to her as he closes the door behind him.
"Help!" an elderly voice croaks.
Rita immediately runs towards the voice to find an old man that has fallen from his wheelchair, "Are you alright, sir?"
"Hai, but could you help me get back into my chair, miss…?"
"Rita Katana," Rita supplies her name for him and with quite a bit of effort, she has him seated in his wheelchair. The old man is grey headed, wears spectacles over his grayish-blue eyes, and he is rather short.
"Thank you Katana-san, you have a very kind heart," the old man smiles. "I am Youko Haruka, head priest of this shrine."
"You're a priest?" Rita smiles, "I've never met a priest before! It's a pleasure to meet you, Haruka-sama!"
"Please have a seat. Now, why are you here, Katana-san?"
"I'm a foreign exchange student, and as I was leaving my host family's apartment, I accidentally bumped into this boy. He got really angry, and when I apologized he wouldn't let me leave the building. I got past him and the next thing I know he's chasing me. He followed me here and I met Takato-kun, and asked him for help. Takato heard the main problem of my story and let me in here."
"Ah, you are truly a wise girl to come to a shrine. For your help and truthfulness," the old man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a necklace. "Take this necklace as a reward."
"I couldn't accept this, Haruka-sama," Rita gazes kindly at the old man. "It looks to be an antique."
"It is. It is called the Shikon no Tama and I give it to you. Please, always wear it around your neck."
"Doesn't that mean the jewel of four souls?"
"Yes, it does." Takato walks back into the house, "Ojii-chan, why are you giving her the jewel?"
"She has a kind soul and heart. She is also very strong," Youko Haruka chuckles. "There is more to this girl than meets the eye."
"I came to inform Rita-san that the boy that was following you is searching the shrine. He will not be permitted to enter the house," Takato frowns.
"I wonder why he's being so persistent," Rita sighs. "All I did was bump into him and apologize!"
"Some people are strange, Katana-san," Youko frowns.
"Please, Haruka-sama, call me Rita."
"Then you call me Ojii-chan and we'll get along nicely," Ojii-chan chuckles. "You are welcome to stay here until your pursuer leaves."
"He told me he was going to search the grounds, all night," Takato grumbles.
"If it's not too much trouble… I feel safer with you two than I did back at the apartment with my host family," Rita sighs.
"That's a bit different," Takato frowns. "Usually people are more comfortable with their host families."
"This one has a teenage shopping mall addict in it," Rita sighs.
"You're a girl…" Takato began.
"And not all girls like to shop!" Rita rolls her eyes at Takato.
"News to me," Takato shrugs.
"Well, she likes to hang out with her friends, and her mother is always at work. The teen thinks I'm an embarrassment or something because I'm not into the 'cheerleader' thing."
"She's a cheerleader?" Takato winced.
"Yeah, although I bet a few of her cheerleader friends aren't that bad."
"You've met them?" Ojii-chan asks.
"No. I'm not invited to go with her unless her mother orders it. I think she wanted a boy instead of a girl, I also think she wanted a jock," Rita watches as Takato snorts.
"Well, maybe you can call up the exchange agency and get them to change your family to us," Ojii-chan smiles.
"Mom's always wanted a daughter," Takato laughs nervously.
"I'd love to!" Rita grins happily. "Plus, I found out that they were going to be taking a mother-daughter vacation to Hawaii, and planned to have me go home or stay somewhere else!"
"Then it's settled," Ojii-chan smiles happily.
"If I'm to stay here, I want to help out in some way," Rita's expression is deadly serious.
"That would be fine, Rita-san," Ojii-chan smiles and looks at Takato purposefully.
"You don't mind that I'm an American?" Rita looks at both males anxiously.
"Not at all, Rita-san," Ojii-chan chuckles.