Written in July 27, 2014

Those Who Live in Darkness

Time is an element which no one can control.

It is endless.

And most of the time, inevitable…

Crowds of people roamed the small village of Hinu. It was always busy from early morning till late afternoon.

Down by the crystal clear river in the borderline between Hinu and Mandra, a girl with brown hair stood. She wore a simple yellow kimono top with black trimmings, a black knee-length skirt and brown boots. Her gaze was kept locked on the field of lavender flowers growing near the blue waters.

She bent down to pick a few pieces of them and examined them more closely.

"Lavender flowers are very beneficial. They can be used as cooking ingredients, medication, or simply decoration," her older sister once said.

Lavender, it was her favorite kind of flower.

She decided to bring home a handful of the flowers to show to her mother and sister. They would be delighted, she thought. Just as she was finished picking, she happen to glance at the other side of the river. Her glance turned into a stare as she saw two boys (she thought are probably her age) talking in hushed tones.

Her brown eyes widened, not because of the fact that she knew they were ninjas and could possibly kill her at any time but because she exactly knew who they were.

The slightly taller one with long and dark, spiky hair is Indra. The other one with short, spiky hair is Asura.

"This is not real. Not real. Not real. Not real," she kept repeating on her mind.

For the past fifteen years of her life, she had never found an answer as to why had she undergo transmigration—a happening she once never believed to be possible.

Everything was now clear to her. She died in her 'first life' and was reincarnated here, in this world, in this time. The proof was right in front of her eyes. But she refused to believe it.

"This is all a lie—a big mistake. Coincidence! Why, why, why—"

The girl involuntarily dropped the flowers from her hand and it fell to the grassy ground. She did not notice when her body grew tense. She just stared at the two with wide eyes and jaw slightly dropped. They did not notice her as they were talking behind a couple of trees. Fortunate on her part, she wasn't in their line of sight.

She saw Asura having a defeated look after the conversation. When he glanced at her, she doesn't know what to do. She just closed her mouth to compose herself. She doesn't want her expression to give away anything. She doesn't want his being suspicious and would lead to her being questioned—much worse if Indra holds the motive.

Asura just casted her a brief, observing stare and then gave her a small smile before disappearing through the thick trees. Her eyes focused back to Indra who was now staring at her with the same observing stare as Asura.

She took in a sharp breath and turned around to walked back home when Indra unexpectedly called out, "Hey."

The girl faced him. Her heart was beating wildly in anticipation of what he was going to say. She raised her eyebrows, "Yes?"

"You're from the Hakugakuna Clan." It was more of a statement than a question, she thought.

Nonetheless, she nodded. She knew he would tell it by the black crescent moon etched at the back of her shirt.

"What is your name?" he asked.

She was quite surprised as to why he asked the question but it was expected as her small clan was reputable for their wide intelligence even though they do not join in battles. They weren't belligerents.

"Mayumi—Hakugakuna Mayumi," she introduced herself.

"Bless my most likely terrible fate for I am sealing it now. Darn it!"

She doesn't know if she was regretting about telling him. It wouldn't change a thing, would it?

Author's Note:

This one-shot is just an idea of what I'm going to publish any time sooner. Although this doesn't have a major connection to the soon to be actual story. Constructive criticisms are appreciated! Have a good day!