I couldn’t have killed the Knight, right? All he did was touch my hair… But I would never kill anybody! I picked myself up from the puddle of mud; I couldn’t stand being around them any longer. I wanted to run away, but one of my seniors, the biggest bully of the bunch had pinned me to the wall. I closed my eyes tightly, expecting the worse.

‘Leave him alone!’

I opened my eyes, startled when there was no impact. I found a curtain of beautiful, long white hair in front of me. The white haired girl being paled skin dressed in an apple green dress and was gripping the bully’s fist tightly. The bully pulled back his arm forcefully, staggering backwards.

‘It’s that sick white haired girl…’ he mumbled, apparently intimidated by the girl. She was standing with her arms akimbo, eyebrows furrowed and was glaring at the bullies with her bold red eyes.

‘Yes, I am. If you come any closer, you might die from my contagious disease and his horrible luck,’ she added sarcastically. The crowd started to disperse, afraid of the girl who seemed to be a few years older than I am. The girl then turned to me and gave me a smile. She had a more gentle look than I expected, judging from the way she had spoken to the bullies. She offered me her hand and a green speckled handkerchief.

‘Do you need some help?’ she asked kindly. My heart started racing as I side stepped away from the tree and away, not in the mood to speak to anyone right now. There were too many things running through my mind and I just needed to be alone. I dashed away from the girl, running as fast as my feet could bring me towards the northeast corner of the village. It was my secret spot, a bridge across a small lake, surrounded by sakura trees. The sounds of war was louder here because it was closer to the battlefield up north, and everyone was afraid to approach this area, which was better for my case. I sat on the bridge alone as I always do, hugging my legs and hiding my face between my knees. Thankfully, Mini Hirei was kind enough to know when I needed some quiet time.

Whatever the bullies said might have been true… those who were too close to me were struck with misfortune. Okasan and otosan had such a hard time with me, the Knight who simply touched me was killed at war, Mr. Yoshinobu broke his leg when walking me to school, the kid who lent me his eraser at school was bullied… If my white hair was supposed to be a symbol of peace, a gift from the Gods, why are they doing this to me and everyone close to me? I did not want that white haired girl to be in trouble, nice people should not be hurt because of me. Maybe… I was fated to live all by myself, without by my side.

‘Hello there, did you know that it was rude to run off from your savior like that?’

I raised my head to find that the white haired girl was crouching down by my side, my eyes and mouth widened on its own. ‘Aren’t you scared of being so near to the battlefield?’ I asked. ‘It’s dangerous out here, innocent people get hurt by the battle.’

The girl seemed amazed by my speech, her red eyes blinking slowly. Mini Hirei did a somersault onto my spiky white hair, striking a victorious pose that I have finally spoken.

‘Firstly, nope, I’m not scared, especially not of dying. Secondly, it doesn’t bother me, my house is just over there,’ said the girl, pointing at the houses nearby. ‘Lastly, you’re out here, near the town exit too, aren’t you? Why should you be allowed to sit here and yet, you’re questioning me for being here? And I had to help you out earlier too…’

I turned away from her and stared into the lake. ‘Wow, what a cute girl! She’s coming onto you, it’s your chance to go for the kill mate,’ Mini Rei babbled on as he slide down my hair and landed on my shoulders once more, getting excited over meeting someone as talkative as he was. Oh, wouldn’t you just keep quiet? I thought hard, attempting to send silent warnings to him.

‘You’re not talking to me already?’ asked the girl, frowning as she adjusted her dress and sat on the wooded floor. ‘You had such a sweet voice too, you should talk more often.’

I could not help but laugh at the compliment, a light feeling lifting my heart. I stopped and tried to remain my quiet demeanor, reminding myself that I should not get too close with anyone else before they get in trouble.

‘You don’t have to worry if you think you’ll bring me bad luck,’ said the girl suddenly while she brushed her white hair, as if able to read my mind. ‘I’m really ill, and I’m going to die soon anyway. That’s the meaning behind my white hair.’

I stared at her, confused at what she was trying to say, or if there was any hidden meanings behind it. Is what she said true? She had the same white hair as me, so she must have been through many hardships like I did. And she knew she was going to die too, how could she still stay so cheerful? I am not dying and yet I am…

‘I’m sorry to hear that…’ I said, not knowing how to respond. She simply smiled again and shook her head, not troubled by the topic.

‘I really don’t mind anymore. All that matters is that I live life to the fullest, right? No regrets!’ she said as she punched the air enthusiastically. ‘White haired people like us should stick together. We must be pretty alike. What’s your name anyway?’

‘Hirei Kusano,’ I replied hesitantly, still unwilling to converse.

‘I’m Midori Kyohana, nice to meet you Hirei!’ the girl introduced herself without being asked. ‘Hirei… is that what those feng shui people from Louyang named you?’

‘No… they didn’t get a chance to,’ I said as I recalled what my parents have told me. ‘My parents insisted that they’d give me a name they had chosen. It’s one of the reasons why they blame my family for all the bad things that was happening.’

‘Wow, your parents are so cool! It must be hard for you and your parents though, since you were born during a terrible time. I had it easy because it was peaceful back then, so they never really took noticed about my white hair. And then you came a few years after that and they shifted all the attention to you…’ said Midori sadly. ‘They did call the feng shui people over a few days after I was born though since I didn’t look too well. They said that I would have major health issues, which was true. And they named me Midori, because I lacked “earth” element in my name, and something about adding more “colours” to my name. They made sure I wore bright colours on myself like today. It’s supposed to reduce the effects of the white in my hair, and remedy my situation. But no matter how much we try to remedy it, it doesn’t change the fact that I will die anyway. I’m just doing this for my parents. I personally think that this feng shui thing is really funny… pretty weird philosophy.’

‘I could relate,’ I sighed. ‘I don’t know why, but it seems to make people feel better to make me miserable for having white hair. Humans are weird sometimes… like the Ninjas and Samurais. Aren’t there more peaceful ways to settle their indifferences?’

‘Wow mate! I’m amazed by how much you’re talking now!’ said Mini Hirei, beaming proudly. I paused for awhile, surprised by myself too. I reorganized my thoughts, looking nervously over at Midori and wondered what she thought of me as she had a suspicious looking smirk on her face.

‘I’m sorry if I sounded too serious… they always said that my thinking is too matured for my age,’ I added quickly.

‘Oh, don’t worry, that’s what I think too! It’s nice to see someone my age thinking like an adult, they say the same thing about me too,’ Midori giggled as she surprised me by patting my back like an old friend.

‘Aaaah, don’t you feel glad to have found someone that shared so many similarities with yourself?’ said Mini Hirei teasingly as he lie down on his stomach. ‘You’ve only spoken to her for a short while, and yet the both of you understand each other like you’ve met since you were babies.’

Sometimes, I cannot help but agree with what Mini Hirei says. He must have some sort of link to my thoughts to know what I was feeling. While I was still deep in my thoughts, Midori stood up suddenly and leaned against the railings of the bridge.

‘But I always like to think that I age fast and think like a child. That must be why I talk like an old woman and that I’m going to die so soon. And no matter how matured my thoughts might be, I always want to act like a child. Not being childish and innocent, but speaking my mind all the time and curious about everything I see,’ she said casually as she looked at her surroundings dreamily. ‘You know, I always liked it here. But I always wonder why the sakura trees never bloom anymore. They say it’s been like this for four years, right?’

‘It’s because of my birth…’ I said grimly, the sakura trees having lost their pink glow on my one year old birthday. The season for the sakura trees was supposed to be around my birthday, but they too, have left me. Suddenly, I had a stretching feeling on my cheeks.

‘Oh gosh, cheer up!’ said Midori who was pulling my cheeks sideway so my mouth would form a smile. ‘You’re being too pessimistic, that’s what people want you to be. What you should do is let everything inside you, out. You’re keeping it in too much! Talk more, laugh more, enjoy yourself more!’

‘She’s right, y’know. I’ve been trying to tell you that for years,’ Mini Hirei chipped in as I brushed him off my left shoulder (Mini Hirei still found my right shoulder to be spiky). I pursed my lips and looked up at Midori, whose red eyes were staring at me gently.

‘I’m scared…’ I whispered softly, the words coming out of me from a fear I never knew existed. ‘I’m scared to express myself. I don’t want people to think badly about me. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.’

‘Trouble is the meaning of life! If you stop being so careful, you’ll be happier, trust me!’ Midori laughed softly as she released my cheeks from her fingers, spinning on her feet cheerfully. ‘You’ll want to do everything without caring what happens next, and never looking back. You never know when you’ll be leaving, so do everything you ever want or think of doing so you’ll never regret. Live in the here and now without regrets, that’s my life’s philosophy!’

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Current Word Count: 33,706

Labels: NaNoMadness, The Eminent Guardians