IMPORTANT! READ THIS!

I haven't been updating my stories for a while now. I am so sorry, but it is the fourth marking period of my school year, and there are a lot of projects for me to do.

I am also going to revise this story. The main reason is that I'm doing it is because I have added artificial technology into the story. And as much as I tried to make this NOT sound like Bound, I made it sound like it. So I'm gonna change it around a look a bit more realistic.

THIS IS YOUNG SESSHOUMARU! HIS FATHER STILL EXISTED! HE'S DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!

I don't own InuYasha. Hell I don't even own an InuYasha D V D.

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Not Your Average Cinderella

You know, I think that I'm the weirdest girl in the world. I'm serious. You might be thinking that you're weirder, but I assure you, you are not. My mother would tell me and Kami rest her soul, that being weird is what life is all about. When I told her that I didn't understand that the hell she was talking about, she told me to read The Giver. Now I understand what she said. However, this goes beyond just different. It's not even close to different.

I live in two different places. This would be normal, if my parents didn't live together. Well first off, my parents do live together. They didn't even get divorced. And second, my parents are no longer here. Still, I live in two different places. One place is your average New York. A large over populated city, with hobos and pigeons and terrorists. I live there during a school year. Then I go to where my father lives/lived. That's in Japan. But not your average year 2007 Japan. No...it's your average Sengoku no Jidai, medieval Japan. A large manor with lords, wenches, slaves, and my favorite things, demons!

How did I end up like this? Well simple, my mom was from the future. She was Chinese, but had a father who traveled a lot. She came to Japan and met a really cool person. They became great friends. My mom stayed in Japan until she finished high school. Then she got a scholarship at Yale, which is in America. One day, my mom came back to visit her friend, but fell down a well in the shrine. She fell in love with my dad and married him. Little did she know; she was his second wife. And his first wife was still alive. My dad told her that he only married his first wife—my stepmother—because it was arranged. And let me tell you, over the years, it was really blatant to both my mom, and my stepmother. Still he still knocked both of them up. Scary thing is... I was born on the same day, at the exact same minute and in the same room as my twin-half sister. If there is such a thing...

In my childhood, I grew up with one mother, one step mother, my father and my step-twin-half sister. My mother and my father agreed that she would take me to America, where she would live with her own twin sister and get me an education. So far it's going great. Then I would come home for two months and learn with my dad. He's a marital arts master and a noble. He taught me how to write poems. Man I love poems. My mother would encourage me and my stepmother would throw me down. My sister would throw me down, just like her mom. My sister's name is Sakura. Her mom insisted on that name, so my father let her name Sakura. I have three names. My father gave me my Japanese name and my mom gave me my English and Chinese name. My Japanese name is Mayumi. It means true beauty, or true bow. I like true bow much more. My mom named me Mae in English in honor of my Japanese name. My Chinese name is Wong Xing Xing. Xing Xing means star.

When I was nine, my mother was stuck down with disease. She died soon after. My aunt in America knew, and wanted me back, but I assured her that I would be fine with my father. I still continued my education system. In America, I would learn academics like the digits of Pi (3.141592653589793... you get the point) and a second language. At home I would learn Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, martial arts and politics. My stepmother would complain. "It is improper for girls to know so much. How will we marry her off if no man would want her? Girls should be trained in housekeeping, and being a good wife and childbearing!" she said. I was drinking tea at that time, so I basically choked. "Childbearing?! How the hell can you train a girl in childbearing?!?! And besides, I'm not getting married to nobody if I don't like them! Marriage is love, not business! If I can't find somebody I love, then I won't marry!" I said regaining my breath. My father smiled at me. "She's good," he said. "Damn straight!" I said turning back to my poetry.

Over the next two years, I spent all my summers learning marital arts. I was able to sit into my father's meetings with the other nobles. Once in a while, a Lord of one of the four lands would come and talk to us. We lived in the Central Area, so it is common for them to come. I have seen every lord except the Western Lord. My father let me meet the Northern Lord, the Southern Lord and the Eastern Lord. The Western Lord never comes and only requests my father to go on long trips to get to his manor. I am not allowed to come. The Northern Lord is very nice. He is a wolf demon and has a son. I remember the son's name because I always spar with him. We are really good friends. The Southern Lord views me as a disgrace because of my Chinese blood. But he respects me, because I beat his son at a match one day. His daughter is just like Sakura, hence their "good friendship." The Eastern Lord is very chivalrous. He is nice to me, but his son always teases me and his daughter just downright hates me; another girl who has befriended Sakura.

My father took ill when I was 12. I stayed by his side the whole summer. While he was in bed, I sat with him. He would teach me, and I would tell him about my world. When I was thirteen, he died. The last thing he said to me was "Take care of the koi pond, it grants wishes." After my father's death, I literally became a slave in my own household. Well for the summer anyways. I told my aunt that I was fine and that I would continue my education system. I would bring an MP3 player filled with songs, my guitar (which I have learned to play in America) and my keyboard (which runs on batteries and doesn't suck). Of course, I would bring a whole suitcase full of batteries. I would bring five sketchbooks and my art supplies with me. I continued to practice calligraphy, poetry and martial arts. Of course I also did the slave labor, since everybody left after my father's death. Most of them wouldn't get paid, since my father is no longer part of the Central Government. I didn't care. I still found time for my own simple pleasures and the koi that my mother and father raised together.

"MAYUMI!" Stepmother called. I jumped at the sound of her voice. You'd think that after 15 years that I would be used to her voice by now.

"What is it?" I asked putting down a novel from my father's library.

"Come here!" she yelled.

Sighing, I made my way to my step mother. She stood there in a dark green kimono dressed like a geisha. Sakura was standing next to her wearing the same thing. "What do you want me for?" I asked. Stepmother handed me a letter. "Oh," I said taking the letter and reading it. "It says that the Central Government is going to hold a festival in the Central City in a matter of months. Everyone is invited, and preparations must be done. The Head of the Central Committee will have a meeting with the Central City and all its inhabitants. Plans will be made in that meeting, so all who has an idea to offer should go," I read.

Sakura squealed. I dropped the letter and covered my ears. "Mother that means that you can find me a suitor!" she said jumping up and down. Who knew that schoolgirl-ness existed in Sengoku no Jidai?

I got back up. "That's nice, but there's one last sentence in the message," I said, picking up the letter once more. "Our time is short, but we must do the best, for the Lords of the Four Corners are coming to enjoy this festival with us," I finished. Sakura squealed even louder. "Mother, that means that my suitor would be one of the noblemen's sons, right? I know that Izumi and Kokoro will help me!" she said. "Well then we must attend the meeting!" Stepmother said. "Hey, whatever makes you happy," I said giving the letter back to them, and leaving the door. 'The koi need to be tended to,' I thought as I felt around in my pocket for my disposable camera.

The koi pond is in a secret Zen garden that only my mother, father and I know of. It is deep in the forest, just under a large plateau. The plateau extends into a cliff. Come sunset or sunrise, it is the most beautiful sight that one could ever see. It is also majestic at night in the rain. My father was buried there. My mother was buried there. I don't go up there very often, but I love going there.

After feeding the koi, I decided to go to the cliff. I find it the most comforting place in the world; my place of solace and solitude. The place that I got to and make up poems about nature, philosophy versus nature, songs, how to play music... basically everything! Occasionally I would sketch the place and take pictures. Sometimes I would talk to my mother and father. That cliff and the small koi pond meant everything to me.

As I got the top off the cliff, I closed my eyes and breathed. The air was so pure here. It was clean, unlike the chaotic pollution of New York that could make me nauseous and vomit in a matter of seconds. Then I smelt something different—something that made me remember a gang fight in my freshman year in high school—blood. I quickly opened my eyes and scanned the area. There was a man there. Well not a man, a young man. He looked the age of a junior or a senior in high school. He looked about 17 or 18. The scary thing is... I can BET you that he is not even close to that.

I got closer to him. I could see the blood staining his white kimono. His eyes were closed. I couldn't tell is he was unconscious or just resting. He had a blue crescent moon in the middle of his forehead and magenta stripes on hi cheeks. His hair was grand majestic silver and was long. I looked at his right shoulder. There was blood gushing from an open wound which was huge.

I moved my hand to touch the wound. He didn't respond. That meant he was sleeping. I opened his shirt, carefully removing the right shoulder so I could see his wound more clearly. 'He must have gotten into one hell of a fight to have a wound like this,' I thought, finding the rag that I used to clean my camera with. His right sleeve was ripped off of him, which meant I didn't have to undress him in order to clean his wounds. I took out some bottled water and dampened the rag. I gently pressed against the guys wounds, and cleaned his wound. It took a while, but hey, at least it got clean. I put down my bag, and pulled out a first aid kit. (It was the woods, and I'm bound to get hurt...) I pulled out some Chinese ointment and rubbed it on his wounds so that it would close faster. Then I wrapped it up with the bandages. What I didn't notice was that the guy woke up when I opened the ointment and was watching me.

Just when I finished bandaging his wounds, his claw reached out and grabbed my right bicep. His claws dug pierced my skin. I felt blood slowly trickle down my arm. I also felt a burn. I noticed his hand was glowing bright green. It was some type of acid. I hissed in pain as I turned to look at him. I saw his eyes. They were amber. "Human I don't need your help," he growled. "Okay then, I'm sorry! You didn't have to stab me with your claws!" I said. I felt something come out of my eye: a tear. It hurt so much that it made me cry. Great...

He released me. As soon as he let go, I got up and grabbed me stuff. I was still crying. That acid BURNS! I wiped my tears away. I was lucky that I was wearing a tank top, because I really didn't feel like mending my clothes. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I see you hurt!" I said leaving the cliff and going home. 'Crap, now I have to find out how to wash the fucking acid from my wound and heal the fucking burn!' I thought.

!THE GUY'S P. O. V! (If you don't know who he is...umm...shame on you!)

A foul scent reached my nose. I woke up. I remember getting into a fight with the Southern prince after I called his sister ugly. She was ugly! I was merely speaking the truth! I won, but came out with a horrible wound on my arm. I ran to the cliffs so no one would notice. Apparently, someone did. I opened my eyes. There was a young human girl rubbing some medicine on my wound. She had black hair, tied up into a ponytail, much like my father's style. Her pony tail was a little lower. Her hair was shorter than that of most girls, demon or human, of her age. It should have reached the floor, even if it was tied up. It looked like it would reach the middle of her back. Her skin was pale, like many other girls of Japan, but she didn't smell completely Japanese. In fact she smells a little like Ryotarou. She must be related to him in some way. She had the scent of woman from the mainland (present day China) and something else I have never smelt. It was a little nauseating. She was wearing a very tight, white undershirt (tank top), which only men were to wear. Her hakama (pants, but baggy...he's referring to her black cargo pants) were much like my own, only they were black. She wore strange shoes (her sneakers). They weren't boots like mine, and they weren't slippers like those of the mainland. They weren't like the sandals that other girls wore in Japan.

She wore a strange necklace that hung on a black cord. The ornament hanging from her necklace was silver, shaped in the word 'ten' written in Chinese (a necklace of the cross, not her religion, her grandmother gave it to her before she passed away). It had red jewel fragments (NOT SHINKON) embedded on the four corners and in the middle. She didn't seem to notice me. Her dark brown eyes were focused on my wound.

My wound...

THAT BASTARD!

Out of anger towards the Southern prince I grabbed her arm. I was angry an ogre banished from the underworld. The girl hissed. She looked at me. Her eyes shocked me. They were in pain, with tears threatening to fall out. They were hard, with anger, but also soft with love. They were the strangest part of this girl. Not her clothes, her hair or her scent, but her eyes. I noticed that I was staring at her. 'Crap,' I thought thinking of an excuse. "Human I don't need your help," I said, with a bitter tone. Then I began to smell blood. Not my blood, the girl's blood. She looked down. I followed her gaze. I squeezed her arm a little too hard, and blood was seeping out. I also felt my poison being released and burning her arm. No wonder she was in pain. "Okay then, I'm sorry! You didn't have to stab me with your claws!" she said. Tears began to fall. I really put her in pain. I let go immediately. The girl got up and walked off. She was angry, I can tell. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I see you hurt!" she yelled, running off. Crap, way to go Sesshomaru...

Then I remembered something. There was going to be a meeting about the festival in the Central Area. I sighed getting up. 'That girl is going to need medicine,' I thought. I made a mental note to myself to get her medicine for my mistake. I won't apologize though. It was her fault for getting close to a demon. She should have known better...

I got up and left the cliff, hoping the girl would be there tomorrow so I can give her the medicine.

!Mayumi's PoV!

I washed off the blood, to find my skin burned. How the hell am I going to hide this?! I quickly bandaged my wound and looked around for sleeves. I changed into a black tank top and white and black striped sleeves. I put on fingerless gloves. I'm glad that I wear clothes like this all the time. Now no one would get suspicious. I sighed heavily as I sunk into my beanbag with a Coke in my hand. My arm still burned, as I closed my eyes. I saw golden ones staring at me. I opened my eyes. They were gone. Okay, I admit, his eyes were really cool. They were gold, and held no emotion at all. The only time they did hold emotion was when they were red and angry.

Then I became red and angry. Why couldn't I fight him off? It was because I was staring at his fucking eyes. Nice move Mae. I pulled over a pillow and screamed into it in frustration. I can't believe that I was rendered stupid all because of a guy's eyes. And that guy wasn't even human!

My arm started to burn again. I hissed once again. 'I'm going to have to get medicine tomorrow.' I thought to myself as I threw a handball (I finally found out where the hell it rolled to after the last time I threw it) to the wall.