Before that fateful day in which I lost almost everything and everyone I loved in a single go, there was hardly a day I didn't spend with Seiren and Soo-Won. They called us the inseparable trio, attached to hips, and where one was the other two usually followed.
And even though my clan threw me into strenuous training, sent Seiren to dangerous missions from which they didn't expect him to return alive, and lastly, there was a care-free Soo-Won, whose habit of disappearing to god knows where caused more than a few headaches: we still managed to make time for each other.
To us, Soo-Won and I, that Seiren wasn't part of a Noble clan, who ruled our Third Nation. We didn't care that he wasn't protected by his birthright or that he basically came from nothing.
He was just Haruse Seiren, our friend.
However, in the clans' eyes, Seiren was an eyesore from the start.
No one knew where exactly he came from or how he acquired his strength and power. His past was unknown and he wouldn't even talk about it, the uncertainty surrounding him was enough to put the clan heads at unease.
They refused to acknowledge an irrefutable fact that a random kid with unknown roots could simply show up one day, claiming to be the strongest sorcerer in the world and proving it by beating up several experienced fighters with just a finger.
Apparently, according to my honorable older brother, it had been a sight to witness. He'd been, rather uncharacteristically, grinning as he quietly recounted how our father was surprisingly easily beaten up by a kid close to my age. Back then, I was but a five-year-old child, who was just starting to learn about the world surrounding her.
"-And then our father went poof down, crashing against the wall behind him! All it took for the kid was just one finger, Aya! Our father didn't even realize what happened until the match was called! You should have seen his face!"
Up until that day, I had never seen my brother's eyes sparkling so brightly that it briefly blinded me. It was enough to make me curious. However, I didn't actually get to meet him until almost two years later.
By then, I had kind of forgotten the incident with the boy, whom my brother claimed to have defeated our father. But my brother didn't, he remembered it like it was yesterday. My brother, Kyoyasu, started to worship the boy as if he was a god. And to my brother? He probably was.
When Soo-Won barged into my home in the middle of snowy Winter, it had been a while since I saw him. He'd been off somewhere, once again, gone without a word to anyone and his clan members had been searching for him like headless chickens strutting around the backyard. Soo-Won never told me where he went, mostly because I told him not to since the first place they looked for was my home.
It wasn't a secret that he'd sometimes hide in my room, not wanting to bother with annoying clan dealings. Luckily for Soo-Won, he wasn't an heir so he got off with a lot of things I could only imagine doing.
On that day, the lands were covered with snow and ice, and the weather was so cold that it kept me inside the house. My younger siblings, however, could be heard playing outside in the snow pretty loudly. I listened to them, half-annoyed and half-envious.
I'd celebrated my seventh birthday nearly a month ago, the excitement was still bubbling in my chest. Mostly because I'd finally be allowed to learn how to play Koto, something I'd been anxiously waiting for since I first saw my mother playing it. And in my clan, seven was the age when I could finally join the big gatherings and events that children weren't normally allowed to attend.
It meant meeting new people, and more strict lessons but I didn't mind it. As long as I got out of the house more often and see Soo-Won more often. Our parents were close friends with his parents. It also meant that I could finally join Soo-Won on his adventures, provided that we didn't go anywhere dangerous and remained within clan territory.
But it was still a step up from my previous restrictions.
"Our parents are sworn allies," my brother whispered to me, one day when he noticed me watching our parents interact with a curious look. "That's the reason why they're letting Soo-Won drag you around, and do as he pleases in our house."
"Because they expect the same from us?" I asked, frowning.
"Yeah."
"Just me?"
My brother nodded, ruffling my hair causing me to cross my arms and pout in annoyance. I never liked it when he did it. It made me feel like I was younger than I really was, and left my hair looking like a damn bird's nest.
That was the reason why the Hyuga clan allowed Soo-Won to simply come and leave, however, he wished. But let's go back to the day when I met Seiren for the first time.
"No, Aya-sama," my governess, Kikuchi Oto, scolded me, re-positioning the way I held my fingers on the Koto with her cold and wrinkled hands. Oto-san was strict and a rather nasty, bitter old woman. I didn't like her. "That is not the way you hold it, nor treat the instrument."
"But it's how Mama -," I tried to defend myself, recalling the last time I'd watched my mother playing Koto. She'd looked so serene and beautiful that I found myself in a trance. Unable to take my eyes off of her.
My mother used to be a respected and highly popular Geisha before she met my father and ended up marrying him out of all her suitors. Her foreign-like appearance enchanted men, it called them to her like a moth to fire.
And whenever my mother chose to entertain our guests through music and dance, it felt like I was watching a play. Naturally, I did it all behind the slightly ajar doors since I wasn't allowed to join.
"Lady Hyuga is a former Geisha, which is why she knows exactly what she's doing, but as a beginner such as yourself, one has to follow the proper instructions. Until the day you're qualified to do whatever you desire with your knowledge," Oto-san said, shaking her head in disapproval.
Her black hair was pulled up into a tight and neat bun, her green-colored Kimono looked cheaper than what I was wearing but in my eyes, it looked so much more comfortable. It wasn't as extravagant nor as heavy as mine, something I envied her for. Slightly.
I pouted at Oto-san's words.
However, whatever it was that I wanted to say was cut short by the door being suddenly slammed open, startling both of us. Our heads snapped in the direction, finding it to be just a grinning Soo-Won. He tried to look as tall and intimidating as he could for an eight-year-old kid. It was something he'd learned from his father, at least it's what I suspected. Since the only person, who Soo-Won respected was his father.
But it didn't quite work, not even as he'd left his ridiculously long black hair on the loose, it now reached a bit past his waist. It danced on his back, locks moving in a flawless manner that almost made me jealous. Almost. It wasn't fair that his hair was prettier than mine, I found myself thinking.
There was a single white headpiece he wore that indicated his Nobility, a gift I'd gotten him two years ago. It was shaped in simple binding vines and was made from a white-colored long-lasting material.
He never took it off.
"Aya!" He said, grinning like a mad man while dragging someone behind him into the room.
"Soo-Won!"
Instantly, in my haste to get to my best-friend - Koto toppled over, forgotten - as I excitedly ran to him and pulled Soo-Won into a hug that earned a disapproving tongue click from Oto-san.
Soo-Won returned the hug, patting me on my head before he released me. I, however, refused to let go of him, turning to glare at the unknown boy behind him. My hold on Soo-Won became a bit more possessive, protective even as I tried to see how much of a threat the nameless kid was.
But any remark I had on my tongue disappeared the moment I noticed his unusual ocean-blue-colored eyes. They were so bright and so shiny, I'd never seen anything like it. I blinked, my grip loosening on Soo-Won's yukata.
"Who's this?" I asked, sourly and not bothering to hide my dislike. I never liked the idea that someone else may be spending more time with Soo-Won than I did.
It was largely due to him being the only friend I liked. At least, the only one who wasn't using me for my status as a Hyuga.
"Oh, he's my friend, Haruse Seiren!"
I tilted my head, I knew I'd heard the name from somewhere but couldn't recall where, when Soo-Won continued.
"He's the kid that beat up your father, Aya-chan!" Soo-Won snickered at his words, eyes gleaming with mischief.
Behind us, Oto-san started coughing, as if she was trying to hold back laughter or something went down the wrong pipe. I didn't know which it was nor was I interested to find out. Because if I was honest, I'd been thinking my brother mad to proclaim that our father was beaten by a kid my age.
I'd seen him taking down a man, who was nothing but muscles. So I knew my father was acting arrogantly for a reason and that's because he was strong.
"Now that's a lie," I say, shaking my head in both disbelief and denial.
My father was simply too strong for this petite-looking kid. Sure, Haruse Seiren towered over me, and he looked like he had some muscles but in the end, the kid was just a stick. Scrawny stick.
"Eh, Soo-Won, your friend's meaner than you said she was," I blinked at Haruse's cheerful words. He pointed his hand at me, which I found rather rude while shaking his head.
Soo-Won merely laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I did forget to say she's a bit possessive."
My grip on Soo-Won's sleeve tightened as I glared at them, biting my lips in displeasure. Not enjoying the fact that they were both acting as if I wasn't there.
"Hey!" I punched Soo-Won, not enough for it to hurt but it was enough to get my point across.
My best-friend groaned, holding his stomach and I could faintly hear Oto-san scolding me in an admonished manner. However, Haruse's laughter drowned it all.
"And she doesn't like being talked like she's not even here!"
That was the beginning of my most treasured friendship with the two and our downfall. It had been hard to tell Seiren what happened to Soo-Won - that the fool had followed me to Hell and lost his life in there. I can still remember the way his cheek muscles had twitched upon hearing my confession, and the way how his Mana spiked in dangerous levels.
And so, as I laid partially in Seiren's lap, I couldn't help but wonder just how would he react if he knew what exactly transpired in Hell. Or if Soo-Won had survived, would I still be allowed to stay this close to him?
Because Shin Soo-Won wasn't just my best-friend, but someone my parents wanted me to, one day, marry. And before meeting Seiren, that's what I wanted too.