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13 years ago.
An innocent-looking child walked along the dirt path of her neighborhood, a place for the poorer side of commoners. Although it wasn't as extravagant as the noble's, it was much more cozy. She could smell the tasty wafts of cooked food in the air, and her steps slightly hastened.
"Hasegawa!" She excitedly waved to an older boy. This handsome boy was a noble who often visited her neighborhood. On one eventful day, she had met him, and they instantly became friends.
Hasegawa glanced over his shoulder, turning around when he recognized the girl. "Oh? So it's you, Mei."
Mei hurriedly nodded. "Aito and Xing-Xing are free today." She clasped her hands together, "We can all play together! It's been a long time since we've hung out." Mei said.
Hasegawa nodded in agreement. It was true, the four of them hadn't talked in over a month.
Together, they both walked further down the dirt path to find the two, with Mei Yonagi in the lead. She occasionally glanced back to see if Hasegawa was following her. When their eyes met, her face bloomed into a beaming smile.
"Mei, Hasegawa. It's great to see you guys here." Meng Shaoxing waved at them when they approached, with Aito standing right next to him. Meng Shaoxing did not seem like he was a poor commoner, since he had always dressed nicely and had a refined personality. However, when Mei first met the boy, he claimed to be a commoner, just like her.
Although it was hard to believe, Mei decided to trust him. After all, he hadn't done anything necessarily bad to her.
"Ah, let's play hide and seek!" Aito spoke up.
Meng Shaoxing lightly shook his head, disapproving. "Won't do. Last time we played, Mei cheated." He frowned. "...But she was let off so easily. How about we play 'throw rocks at the ugly peasant for revenge' instead?"
Mei didn't ask why Shaoxing had called her a peasant when he, too, was a commoner. She only gripped the hem of her skirt, her eyes tearing up. "You're so mean..."
Meng Shaoxing gave the girl a sinister smile. "I'm not joking." He bent down to reach for a small rock on the ground, and threw it, hard, at Mei's shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain.
Aito was hesitant, but he didn't disagree much with Meng Shaoxing. "People shouldn't cheat, but wouldn't it be going too far if we hit Mei?"
Meng Shaoxing hmphed, picking up another rock. "A peasant must learn their lesson. Discipline should be used before they repeat the same mistake."
Hasegawa suddenly stood in front of the girl, shielding her from Meng Shaoxing. "This isn't right, Xing. If you continue doing this, you will get in trouble. Mei does not deserve this, either."
Meng Shaoxing's frown deepened, but he stopped anyway. "...Hasegawa. You shouldn't place so much trust into her."
***
A week had passed.
Mei carried a heavy bucket of water she had fetched from the river. Her steps were slow and steady as she held it, careful not to let any of the water spill.
The sun was still shining brightly in the air, and she could smell a light floral scent. She was happy, humming as she walked.
As Mei walked down the street, she felt someone's eyes glaring holes into her back. She quickly scanned her surroundings, but frowned when she saw that nobody was around.
She silently continued on her way, but more cautiously now. Mei occasionally glanced back to see if someone was sneaking up on her, since that cold, chilling feeling of being watched still made her sweat with nervousness.
Before she could enter the neighborhood where her house resided, someone blocked her path.
Mei stopped in her tracks. "...Aito?" She blurted.
The boy with soft, fluffy amethyst hair, who usually had a kind smile and bright, watery eyes... was now much different. His eyes were cold, devoid of emotion. There was not a single hint of a smile on his lips.
Aito had in his hands a sphere of condensed, swirling darkness. The boy was still so young, so his power was chaotic and uncontrolled. "Hasegawa isn't here to protect you." His gaze darkened, "Shaoxing wanted me to-.... No, I want to get rid of you."
Aito's eyes had a hint of gold in them, a chaotic, deranged blankness swirled in them. Mei Yonagi was still too naïve to guess what evil it was.
It was clear that this was not Aito. Aito was caring, gentle, and sweet, but quiet and hesitant too. He was nowhere close to this boy, who looked borderline psychopathic.
...Still, Yonagi, a six year old girl carefully sheltered by her parents, did not realize it. When she saw that orb of darkness expand in size and aimed towards her, she knew she was done for.
That day, Mei didn't return home.
***
Mei hid behind a building, glaring at Shaoxing and Aito, who were talking in front of an old, abandoned house.
Her fists clenched. She had always been a very emotional person, so of course she couldn't handle it when she realized she was still alive after Aito's attack. She was felt sad, angry, and betrayed.
And, most of all, she felt vengeful.
She tried to forget her evil thoughts from pushing them to the back of her head, but she couldn't do it. After all, she was merely six years old.
Getting revenge once in a while isn't bad, right?
A sphere of light was lit up in her hand, ready to strike. She had learned how to control her powers for the past few days, disguising as a noble kid and sneaking into a small school to learn how to control her celestial powers.
Although she only studied for two months, it was more than enough to learn how to seriously injure someone.
She silently walked towards the two boys, her hands tightly clasped behind her back.
Meng Shaoxing quickly spotted her, and he tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms. "Mei, you've returned so soon?"
Aito was silent. His eyes were still just as blank and emotionless as it had been two months ago, but that deranged madness in his eyes was gone.
Mei clenched her fists. "You."
Meng Shaoxing raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"
Mei's fists relaxed, her hand returning to normal. Although she looked passive, the light magic condensed in her palm slowly got bigger...
...And she struck. A loud sound rang in her ears, and they ached right after, but she didn't care. She had achieved her goal. Meng Shaoxing had gotten away, but she had no regrets.
A boy laid, dead on the ground. Scarlet colored blood seeped from his face, and his amethyst hair was laced with blood too.
At least she had managed to kill Aito.
"Hasegawa?" A voice from behind her spoke. Mei instantly froze, her eyes looking down at the body on the ground. She was in disbelief because the body was still Aito's, yet... Why did she just hear Aito's voice?
She quickly turned around, nearly even getting whiplash, and saw the exact same face in front of her, identical to the person who she had just killed.
If this is Aito, then... who did I just kill?
Mei Yonagi turned back to the body, and suddenly, the once-dead Aito had become a dark haired boy with a blue pendant in his hair.
It was Hasegawa.
How... How did I get mixed up?
"You... You monster!" Aito trembled, accusingly pointing at Mei. "What did you do?!"
Mei couldn't have said that she had meant to kill Aito instead of Hasegawa. She glanced around, panicked, and blurted, "I didn't do anything! Aito, you have to believe me!"
"There's no one else here except for you and me!" Aito shouted, "How could you kill him? What did he even do to you!?"
Mei collapsed onto her knees. The only person who had protected her when Shaoxing and Aito bullied her was Hasegawa. Now, she had killed him.
She couldn't hear or see anything, her mind filled with regret and guilt. Mei knew that others had heard the commotion and the neighbors now came pouring out, but she didn't care.
The only thing that poured out were her tears...
***
An entire hour had passed. A teenage, white haired boy silently kneeled beside another younger boy. His hand was placed on top of the younger's forehead, a small array of magic formed at his fingertips.
"Meng Shaoxing is a cruel man. Although, right now, I am not strong enough to go against him, I will still save the ones he dares to harm." He quietly whispered.
Lord Matsuyama Kenata smiled. He was not the head of a family, but the head of his own separate group. No one in his group was blood-related to each other, yet they had the strength and power equal to a noble family. This is why they were able to become a high ranking family in this kingdom, even though they originally came from a foreign empire, Yevaria.
He was only a teenager, yet he could lead such a strong force. Kenata was a person admired by many of the children from noble households, but his reputation was still messy. Many did not like him because he was a foreigner that had gained control in their kingdom.
"...I will try my best to cut off Shaoxing's strings of control, even if it means I have to break the rules of this world by bringing the dead back to life."
The array faded, a signal that the spell had succeeded. Although it had succeeded, Matsuyama still coughed up a small amount of blood, the dark crimson dripping down his chin and staining his clothes.
Your life was the price to pay for breaking the rules of this world.
When Hasegawa finally woke up, Lord Kenata had left long ago. Only a small splatter of blood on the dirt path proved that he had once been there.
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