Japan
Two weeks later
"Class, we have a new student in our class. Her name is Tinco Mitchiba." Mr. Jakara told the class. Tinco walked into the room with a fluid grace that made her look as if she was flowing instead of walking. She was wearing a school uniform and probably looked as uncomfortable as she felt. A lot of the boys let out catcalls and hooted as she came in. She looked around the room, ignoring them. The red head boy, the short black haired boy, and the blond from the sidewalk were in her class. "Miss Mitchiba, would you care to tell us something about yourself?"
"No," she said, still looking around.
"Excuses me?" Mr. Jakara asked.
"You asked me if I would care to tell something about myself. I said 'No'." Tinco said finally looking at him. A lot of boys and some girls laughed. Mr. Jakara smiled.
"Well, why don't you tell us where you're from?"
"Originally from Africa."
"Africa?" He asked, trying to get her to say more.
"Yeah, Africa." He sighed.
"What part of Africa?"
"Egypt."
"Really?" He sounded really fascinated.
"Yep." The whole class laughed then. Mr. Jakara hung his head, giving up on getting her to talk.
"Well, does anyone have any questions for Miss Mitchiba?" He asked the class. A girl raised her hand. "Yes?"
"How did you die your hair that way?" she asked, indicating Tinco's silver hair with black routs.
"I didn't. It's my natural hair color."
"Yeah, right," she said skeptically. "Give us proof."
"Why? I don't give a damn if you believe me or not." Everyone laughed at that. The girl pouted and rolled her eyes.
"Anyone else?" Mr. Jakara asked. Another girl raised her hand. "Yes?"
"Where did you get your contacts from?" she asked.
"Contacts?" Tinco asked.
"The color."
"What the hell are you talkin about?" she said.
"Please don't cuss in my class," Mr. Jakara said.
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks."
"I like her," the boy with crimson eyes whispered to the blond sitting next to him. She giggled.
"Your eyes. They're gold. You know like wolf eyes. Where did you get the contacts from?"
"Didn't," Tinco said looking straight into her eyes. "It's a normal thing for me. A birth defect. They change color every hour, and glow in the dark." Koji had told her to say that about her eyes. They where cat eyes and did change color by the hour, and they tend to glow. 'God, do humans have anything that they where born with?' she thought.
"So you can tell time by what color your eyes are?" a boy called out.
"Pretty much." Tinco started to go for the open seat by the red haired boy from the sidewalk. It was the only open seat in the class. Mr. Jakara seemed a little surprised with the way she had ended the conversation so abruptly without saying more than two words.
"Um… yes. Take the empty seat by Kurama." He said. Kurama had been clearing a space for her at his table. Everyone sat in pairs. Two to a table. Tinco sat down next to him. The girl who had asked about her hair was glaring at her. The class had gotten quiet.
"Can I help you?" Tinco asked her.
" I think that you must be a real bitch," she said. "You seem so full of yourself."
"Little girl, you're bout two seconds from gettin your ass beat. So I suggest you watch your mouth when talkin to me. I don't give a rats fat ass bout what you think or what your opinion of me is. If I want your opinion I'll ask. So turn around before you get hurt."
"Wow, Tinco," Moji had just come into the classroom. "Having a bad day?"
"Don't wanna be here. What do you want?"
"Do you have a math book that I can borrow? I left mine at home."
"I already memorized all my text books. I don't need them so I don't carry them with me. Sorry."
"Oh,"
"Ask Kiki."
"She's in my class."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Damn. Well…what about Koji?"
"She was my next stop."
"Ask her." Tinco said.
"Okay. Thanks anyway. I'll see you at lunch."
"Sure." Moji left, and Mr. Jakara stared at her.
"You memorized your text books?" He asked stunned.
"Photographic memory." Was all she said. Mr. Jakara, seeing that he wasn't going to be able to get her to elaborate stared his lesson for the day.
"You were being really nasty to that girl in your class today, Tinco," Moji said at lunch. Koji, Moji, and Kiki were sitting on the ground under a tree. Tinco was up in the tree. The three of them were eating; Tinco was looking at her food as if it some kind of disease and it probably did. She still preferred to catch her own food. The thrill of the hunt was the greatest feeling in the world. Tinco lived for it. There was a bird in the tree a little further up, and a squirrel next to her. She could feel its heart beating; taste the blood flowing through its little veins. She wanted that squirrel so bad that she could even feel warm flesh beneath her paws now. But she had to stay in character, and humans didn't turn into cats, or eat squirrels raw. Even though that was the best way to eat them, when the heart was still beating.
"So?" She asked, looking back at her food with disgust.
"So, why are you being so mean?"
"Like I said before. I don't wanna be here. This place smells like crap. And the food looks diseased."
"You can't have fresh kill," Kiki said. "I've seen the way you've been eyein that squirrel. Stop it."
"I'm hungry!"
"Then eat your food," Koji said.
"You call this food?"
"The food here isn't much to look at but I promise you that it tastes better than it looks… or smells." They all jumped at the sound of a boy's voice. It was the red head from class.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Tinco, right?"
"Who wants to know?"
He smiled, "Me."
"Why?"
"Mr. Jakara gave us all science projects to do with our partners about two weeks ago. He said your suppose to be my partner."
"What happened to your other partner?" Tinco asked, jumping down out the tree.
"I didn't have one."
"So I'm supposed to be your partner?"
"Yes."
"What's the project about?"
"The effect of microbes on a chicken egg."
"Okay."
"You have no clue what he's talkin bout do you?" Kiki asked her.
"Nope." He laughed.
"Well, give me your phone number and I'll call you."
"E-mail would be better. Kiki's on the phone so much that the phone company worships her."
"Not funny," Kiki said. She gave him her e-mail address and promised to be on as soon as she got home.
"So you and Kurama been talkin?" Kiki asked. They were eating breakfast a month later.
"Yeah. Our project's almost finished." Tinco had been out hunting early that morning. "It's goin pretty well."
"Forget the project. I meant you and him. Like dating."
"Yeah, right. Very funny." Tinco went up to her room and closed her door. 'Dating?' she thought. Tinco smiled at the thought. 'He's sweet, charming, fun to be with, cute…' She shook her head. 'He's a human!' She was disgusted with herself. 'Well a demon. So it's all right then. Right?'