A/N: Just a quick apology in advanced to say I'm sorry but I did switch the character's ages and races in this story.

...Prologue...

Kiku sighed as he held the scissors in his hand. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Yes. They're coming today so do it." Kiku nodded and took the long, silky black hair into his hands, feeling it slip through his fingers before he took the scissors and began to cut it all off.

...

"Aniki, do you have to go?" Im Song asked as he watched his eldest brother leave. "Yes. Be brave, all of you," he said patting each of their heads. "Take care of each other and remember to always keep your head up," he said. He gave a final smile and received only two back, all of his siblings crying.

"You will come back right?" Li asked. Yao froze and frowned, before walking away without a second glance back. Li lowered his head, a young boy of ten who knew too much of the world's cruelty.

"Yao isn't coming back, is he?" Mae asked. Kiku sighed and looked at his sister, not knowing how to reply. "It's going to be okay. We will wait for Yao-san as long as we have to," he said.

...

Kiku and Im song searched the area, looking for anything useful in the abandoned homes. "Kiku, I'm hungry," he whined as Kiku searched the empty place. "We all are, Im Song," he replied with a sigh. He moved about the bloodied sheets in hopes to find anything to get them through another day.

He hated living the way he did. Living like a pack of stray dogs, searching for remains that the dead had left behind but there was no other way to live. The war was really taking it out of them. They were thin now, their clothes were tattered and stained. There was no more food and their neighbors were always killed or taken away. They were sure to be next but they couldn't leave, not when their brother may come back from war.

Kiku sighed as he found no remaining food in the kitchen. "Let's go Im Song. There's nothing here," he said standing straight. He turned to find his brother gone from sight. "Im Song?" He looked around and into the living room, in search for his younger brother. "Im Song!" Fear set in when he didn't hear his brother reply. "Im So-"

"Boo!" Kiku jumped as his brother jumped out of the room and scared him. He sighed in relief as his brother laughed. "Im Song, you shouldn't do that!" Kiku scolded in his soft tone. "Do you've any idea how worried I was?" He asked. Im Song brushed him off as usual with a smile.

"Yeah whatever. Look what I found," he said pulling his elder brother into the room. He opened the drawer and pulled out the floral printed outfit. He pulled out first a pink one, then a green one.

"They're beautiful," Kiku said taking one of the kimonos. "And silk!" Im Song said. "Imagine how much we can get for these!" Kiku said. I'm Song remained thinking. "Or how pretty Mae and Lien would look," he said. The two brothers looked at each other. "It's almost Mae's birthday, I think she would like it," Kiku said. "And Lien would look amazing in this green one," Im Song said.

The two brothers put the silk kimonos into Kiku's pouch while Im Song took the make-up and hair pins he found in the dresser. "Let's hurry before the soldiers come," Kiku said and the two brothers ran out and headed back to their younger siblings.

...

List of characters by age:

Yao: eldest sibling at 18

Kiku: second eldest at 15

Lien: one of the twins at 14

Im Song: other twin also 14

Mae: youngest girl at 13

Li: youngest at 11

Will release more characters as they are introduced.