~The First Stanza~

Verse 01: Winter Eternally

Winter. It is a vast, expansive time of depression and despair. At least, that's how I heard many other people describe it. As it is, I don't agree with them. Winter, like life, is what you make of it. Even in this permawinter, I can still see the happy faces of children and others. So it isn't really a question of how the world can change for the individual, but rather, for the individual to change to the world. And yet... something has been bothering me for quite sometime.

And that something was something called a flower. I have only heard stories and seen pictures of them and I'm insanely curious about them. In my life, I hope to at least see a real flower. If I could do that... I would be ever so happy. But unfortunately, the flowers were killed by the Frost, an empire of the most foulest creatures in the world. It is their fault that the hearts of the people had been frozen and closed. But I believe... I I could make a difference somehow... a flower might bloom again.

***

Crash.

The skidding of of a car across the icy plane of the lonely streets furthered the chilliness of the night. The veichle in question was flipped onto it's side, with screams filling the void night sky. A body rolled out of the passenger seat, apparently still breathing. It was a younger girl. Upon closer inspection of the car, it would appear that a woman in her later twenties was behind the wheel. Her head was rested on the steering wheel, a fine crimson line flowing from an open cut on her head.

A shuffle in the bushes near them caused the young girl to fidget. She opened her eyes, letting her gaze rest on the accident. She gasped in horror, letting a mixture of fear and despair dance into her mind. She ran to the car, which was now spewing gasoline in the back. Crying hysterically she yelled,

"OKA-SAN! PLEASE WAKE UP! OKA-SAN!" Tears poured out of her swamped eyes and traveled down into the snow. Behind her, a figure stepped out of the bushes. He was slender and had terrifying blue eyes. His skin was almost as pale as the snow he trodded on and he was wearing a black cloak. He held out his hand, which made several bits of air condense and turn themselves into ice. They shaped themselves into a short sword and he grasped it tightly. Moving forward, he was right over the sobbing child as he raised his weapon high. He whispered as she turned around to scream,

"Hayashi Ayaka. You will die here and now." He brought the blade down, fully intending to kill her. A voice called out to him, shoting with authority,

"Matte (Wait)!" The pale figure stopped in mid-swing as the girl fainted from the trauma. As he turned around, he faced a man. Although his features weren't defined in the blackness of the night, the figure could tell the man was no older than fifteen, possibly younger than that. He analyzed him and said stiffly in a hoarse voice,

"And who are you?" The young man walked forward as he answered,

"I am here to break the chains of opression you have put on this nation." He took out a pin-like object from his pocket and continued in a steady voice, full of conviction,

"I am here to weigh your crimes and punish you." He threw the pin into the air, to which dozens of blossoms rained down between them. The younger man had acquired a belt of sorts as he finally said,

"I am your judge... and your executioner." The pale figure smirked and laughed hard, so hard he had to hold his face.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You? Execute me?! You jest boy." But the young man placed the pin he caught from the air into the belt and responded,

"It's your funeral Frost... Henshin!" The two raced towards eachother as a strange blackness enveloped them both, their fight becoming more and more distant. It wasn't until they were fully gone from visible sight that a familiar ringing sound brought the occupant to reality.

***

"OKA-SAN!" cried a younger woman as she reached out of bed, pushing the covers away as she breathed heavily. Placing a hand over her heart, she tried to calm down. It wasn't until several minutes later that her heart rate went down. Sighing, she wiped her forehead, which was dripping with sweat. It was becoming even more vivid with everynight.

"That nightmare. I wanted to forget it... why can't I?" She hugged her legs in as she sat in solitary, away from everything. Good was good, evil was evil. She knew that and she lived by the philosophy taught to her by the rest of her company. With a heavy deep breath, she told herself,

"Cheery thoughts! Can't forget about that concert tonight... don't want to disappoint any of my fans!" She wiped her tears and washed up, treading to the bathroom to get ready. She could already feel it in her bones, it was going to be a long day. She was going to have to make the most of it. So, she took a long soak in her expansive tub. It was big enough to actually be classified as a small swimming pool really. The steam rose as she looked up and stared into the lights.

"I wonder what you're doing right now... Oka-san?" She smiled at the memory of her mother, her mind trying its best not to slip back to that gruesome night. Funny thing was, the more she thought about her mother, the warmer she felt, eventually until all of the pain she had sort of... melted away. It was hard to explain. But she enjoyed it as she laughed due to her happiness.

Glad that she managed to let go of those horrid feelings, she did her hair gently and danced around, anxious for her first concert of the month. She was out of practice due to some... work-related injuries. But she was just about ready to go again. She started humming as she grabbed a pin from her dresser. It was shimmering pink and was the shape of a cherry blossom. She slipped it onto her scarf and picked out an outfit of black bottoms, a white short sleeve, and a pink long sleeve under the first. She let her hair loose, making it slide gently down her shoulders.

Checking her appearence twice, she finally deemed herself preety enough to got out and stepped out of the door. What awaited her was something a bit odd... and strangely wonderful.

***

Surprisingly, as Ayaka walked out of the door, her eyes darted over to a young girl. She was doing something that Ayaka herself hadn't done in years. She hasn't really seen anyone do it either. The little girl was making what seemed to be a snowman. She dropped her bag in shock and stood there for a few minutes. The little girl's head popped over to her and she waved. Ayaka, regaining her composure, grinned widely and waved. She ran over to the little girl, carefully treading through the ice and making sure not to slip. Once she got there, the little girl smiled and said proudly,

"Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you for the first time) Onee-san!" Ayaka chuckled at how cute this little girl was. She asked softly,

"What's your name?" The little girl put a finger to her chin and stopped for a minute. She stood there for a few moments while Ayaka glanced at the snowman she was building. It had the signature top hat and a carrot nose, with buttons for the eyes instead of coal. A simple plain red scarf hung over its arms, which were sticks. She couldn't help but feel proper nostalgia. Finally, the little girl tapped her palm lightly and replied,

"Chiharu." Ayaka didn't notice a surname, so she asked again, highly curious.

"What about your family name Chiharu-chan?" Chiharu looked down and mumbled almost inaudibly,

"I... don't remember..." Ayaka was shocked. Was she dealing with an orphan? She really had no way of knowing. Until an idea popped into her head. She wasn't sure if this would classify as an emergency, but she couldn't just leave this poor little girl out on the street. She unfastened the pin from her scarf and held it out. She spoke softly to the girl,

"Chiharu-chan... I can help you remember." Chiharu's eyes widened and it seemed like she was analyzing her. After a minute she shrieked excitedly.

"You can do that Onee-san?!" Ayaka nodded, with a look of comfort, knowing she might be able to help Chiharu at least. The little girl smiled widely and asked in an ecstatic voice,

"What do I have to do?!" Laughing at her enthusiasm, Ayaka focused on the pin and it glowed pink. it surronded them both in a swirling light as Chiharu said in wonder,

"Ahhh.... pretty!" Ayaka replied to Chiharu's earlier question by saying,

"Chiharu-chan, just focus on the clearest memory you have." She nodded and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to remember something. It must have worked, considering that the swirling background behind them shaped itself up to be a playground of sorts, covered in snow. In the middle of it was a Chiharu in miniature, as she was only possibly four at the time. She was playing with an older woman, most likely her mother. Ayaka was beginning to feel deja vu. And she had good reason to be feeling that too. At that moment, a figure, dressed in the same cloak as her attacker, came upon the two. He undid his hood, revealing silver hair and golden eyes. He threw a seed of crystal blue into the ground and whispered,

"Arise from the Frosted Land..." As the words were spoken, a monster, with crystals all over his body and limbs made of ice dug out of the ground. The mother hid Chiharu from view, hoping to protect her. The monster rounded on them as the cloaked figure left them, expression remaining emotionless. Ayaka felt Chiharu tremble besides her and knew that they should leave. What could would her memories be if they caused her pain? So, she undid the memory dive, and they were right back were they started. Chiharu fainted on the spot as Ayaka held her head, wondering what to do next.

But before she could think of anything else, a familiar figure bursted from the nearby ice. It was the same monster from Chiharu's memory. He was surprisingly fast for such a large monster. He snatched Chiharu's unconcious body and drove is claws into it. Screaming out,

"CHIHARU-CHAN!" She ran to the monster, jumping up and giving it a drop kick to the head. It stumbled back a few inches, but pulled its claws out, revealing a spiritual version of Chiharu, causing the original to become pale. The monster slid back to the ice as Ayaka banged against the surface and cried out, holding Chiharu in her arms,

"CHIHARU-CHAN!" She couldn't stand it. All of the loss. All of the pain. So, she hardened her resolve, with tears still fresh on her face. She ran through the city, chasing the monster's shadow which was reflected in the ice.

***

Once she cornered the shadow into an alleywy, the monster broke out of it and stared at her. She pointed to it and took out her pin.

"Frost. I am here to break the chains of oppression you have put on this nation." She walked forward, as the monster grumbled.

"I am here to weigh your crimes and punish you." The monster ran towards her as she stared at it with enraged eyes.

"I am your judge... and your executioner!" She threw the pin into the air, where several blossoms swirled around her, creating a belt of some kind. The monster was close to her now, but she placed the pin into the center of the belt as she cried out,

"Henshin!" A sonic blast pushed the monster back several feet away from herself. In the next moment, she was covered in a strange set of armor. Her color scheme was white and pink, with the eyes of her helmet being black. Her helmet resembled the typical sign of the Sakura, with six petals as the visor. She walked forward and said coldly,

"Time to die foul Frost!" She ran towards the beast at full speeds and jumped up, preparing to strike him down.

Chiharu's life and memories have been stolen by the Frost Hyoujin! Can Ayaka save her and restore what is rightfully hers? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!