"Bluuueberry! Bluuueberry!"
"Hey, Freak! Blue is for BOYS! Why don't you shave your head? Maybe THEN you'll fit in!"
"Are you sick or something? Go away! We don't wanna catch anything YOU'VE got!"
The three little girls laughed and pointed as a smaller girl, of the same age, sat among them, crying. The loudest of the three ran and stood right above her, towering over the sad bully victim. The mean girl bent at her small waist and leaned into the sobbing girl's face.
"HA! You're so miserable, you're hair's even turned blue!"
The terrorized, seven-year-old blue haired girl sat defeated at the three girl's feet, looking through tear-filled eyes up at her bullies. Meeting the sobbing girl with a sneer, the leader of the pack reached out and tightly gripped a pile of the small girl's blue locks, before jutting her fist high into the air, pulling the shrieking girl off the ground.
"Look, everyone!," The bully began to parade around the small playground, flanked by her laughing partners in crime, and dragging the poor blue-haired girl. Other kids around the park began to stop and watch the show. "Look what I've got!" Once a good sized crowd of young, curious children had formed, the bully shoved the crying girl to the ground in the middle of them all. "The Number-One Japanese Freak of Nature!"
The other kids joined in, laughing and pointing as the small girl continued to cry. Her soft blue locks were now a knotted mess, and the girl's clothes were now covered in mud, thanks to the never ending rain. The village rained so often, the kids were immune to it, and barely noticed it at all.
After what seemed like forever, the mothers of the children could be heard, calling for their babies to come home with them. Pairs after pairs were leaving, and soon it was just the sobbing girl and her tormentor left. The bully once more bent down to speak to the girl, her long black hair sliding off her shoulder, and teasing the crying girl's wet cheek. "Had fun today, Blue. See ya around…" The bully then stood erect, and sloshed loudly away, proud of her evil acts of the day.
The pale, shaking little girl sat a bit longer in the mud, letting the rain fall onto her face, and wipe away her tears. She tilted her head back, staring up at the grey, stormy sky. Her scalp still pulsing, the seven year old rose shakily to her feet, and began the journey to her home. The little girl passed many buildings, before she came upon an unfinished construction site. The solemn girl turned her head to glance at the strange, half-standing building. She stopped and stared at it for a moment longer, wondering why it seemed to be so blurry. An amazingly loud crash followed by white light made the small girl jump, and rush into the safety of the unfinished home. It was storming. The girl walked further into the unfinished home, deciding it would be a while before the rain would slow up.
Her small feet made water-prints on the newly placed wooded floors. She could hear the rain very clearly, for just above her, the unfinished second floor was being down poured on. She slowly made her way throught the home, taking in every detail – the new-wood smell mixed with the smell of rain, the strange, undecided color pallets marked randomly on the walls, and the smell of opened paint cans.
The small girl circled around what was apparently going to be the living room, thinking sadly about the events at the playground. She reached her pale fingers up and slowly grasped a few strands of her short, uneven hair. She pinched them angrily between her fingers, before sighing and releasing the pieces. She lifted her gaze from the floor, and her eyes met with something odd.
There, sitting on the floor up against a bright yellow wall, sat an open can of pitch black paint. Leaning against it, a large paint-brush. The small girl's eye brows furrowed, curious as to why, amid all the lively color choices throughout the home, there was a large pail of plain, black paint. She approached the bucket, an idea swirling into reality inside her sad head. With a determined huff, her small hands lifted the paint and brush, and headed for the newly made bathroom.
Once inside, she set the pail down, and looked at herself in the dimly lit mirror. She watched as her face changed from angry, to sad, to determined. She slowly reached for the paint-brush, grasping it in her small palms.
"Why am I so different…? How come…why don't I have normal hair like the other girls…like momma and daddy…?" She muttered the words to her form in the mirror, but it had no answer. She sighed, glancing at the paint next to her. Her idea grew inside her mind, and she quickly glanced at her reflection once more. "I wonder…what It would be like…if…"
The small girl's heart began to pound as she dunked the brush into the pail, letting the bristles soak up all the thick darkness. She slowly lifted it out after a few seconds, watching the dark liquid drip off the ends of the brush. She swallowed hard – the black, slime-like substance quite intimidating, and even a bit scary. She took in a deep breath and brought the brush closer to her head, looking at it in the mirror, next to her blue hair. The rain was pounding and she could hear it loud in her ears. She grabbed a lock of her hair in a shaky grasp, moving the paint brush closer and closer.
"What are you doing…?"
The sudden voice made the girl jump, dropping the brush to the floor. She turned with quickness, fear in her wide, grey eyes. She backed up to lean against the sink-counter, her shaking hands grasping the cool surface behind her. Lightning then struck, causing her to flinch, and squint to see the figure in the doorway. When her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark once more, she made out what it was that had stopped her.
It was a small boy, clinging shyly to the doorway. He had short, choppy bright red hair. He looked to be the same age as her, maybe a bit younger, but not by much. He had long red bangs covering his eyes from the young girl's view. Her heart began to slow it's pace, and she let loose the breath of air she'd sucked in. The boy, feeling more comfortable, stepped into full view. He shuffled back a few steps from the doorway, and motioned for her to come out of the bathroom. She did just as he asked, strangely unafraid of the boy.
She stepped sheepishly out of the bathroom, her head faced down, having been caught in her hasty act. She glanced at the boy, and he smiled softly at her. She could feel a strange heat forming on her face, and continued to walk into the "living room". The red headed boy followed, still wanting his question to be answered. The small girl, having nowhere else to go, finally plopped down on the wooden floor. The boy slowly sat as well, taking a seat a few feet in front of her. For a while, there was an awkward silence, filled only by the storm raging on upstairs. Finally, the boy piped up.
"Hi. I'm Nagato. What's your name?"
The little girl shifted uncomfortably before quietly answering.
"My name's Konan." The boy sat a while longer before asking his previous question.
"If you don't mind me asking…Konan…what were you doing in there?"
Konan sighed, the memories of her bullies teasing her fresh in her mind once more. She lifted her head to look at the curious boy.
"I was…I was gonna try to change my hair…make it normal…"
Nagato's head tilted in confusion, his bangs moving to the side of his face, revealing a single ringed purple eye. Konan's eyes widened in shock – she'd never seen eyes like those before. Nagato's red brows furrowed.
"W-what is it, Konan…?" He turned to glance behind him, and then turned and stared at her face. Realization hit him like a brick. He could see clearly – his bangs had moved, and she was looking at his eyes. The boy scrambled out of his comfy sitting position and began fumbling with his bangs, repositioning them to cover his face. Konan, on the other hand, was intrigued. When she saw him messing with his bangs, she giggled at how comical he was about it. Nagato froze, hands still hovering above his bangs, with a giant blush on his face. Glancing away, he slowly lowered his hands, letting his bangs fall freely onto his face. Konan scooted closer to him, and cleared his bangs completely out of his face. She happily looked into his embarrassed and worried eyes.
"There. Much better."
Nagato blushed as she backed away. He glanced at her with sad eyes.
"How can this be better…? Everyone except my parents make fun of me because of them…"
Hearing his small, sad voice say those words reminded her of someone else who had felt that way about their hair. She smiled sweetly at him, like she had always daydreamed someone would do for her, and spoke.
"Nagato…I think your eyes are super cool. Also…" She felt a small blush rise on her face. "I don't think you should hide them away."
Nagato smiled, his chest puffing out in excitement. "Really? You really think so?"
Konan giggled, and hummed in reply. Nagato gave her a huge bright smile, and tackled her in a hug. He wrapped his small arms around her body, and one hand on her head. She got a bit nervous when she felt him pick up a small strand of hair from the top of her head, and inspect it. Konan wrapped her arms around him, to complete the hug. The two stayed like that for a moment, before Konan heard Nagato say something.
"Konan…I think your hair is very beautiful. It's soft, and a very pretty color. It reminds me of a sunny sky…" His small-child terminology filled Konan's welcoming ears. "Everyone else around here has boring black hair…it reminds me of the bad storms we get sometimes – you know, the really really scary ones? And…" He slowly released his hug, to look into his new best friend's eyes with a smile. "I don't think you should change it."
Konan hadn't realized that her small eyes had filled with tears. She smiled as they rolled down her cheeks, and she pulled Nagato into another friendly hug. Nagato smiled, and returned the hug. The two stayed in the house together until the rain stopped. When it did, and it was time for her to leave, Nagato decided he'd walk her home. The two happily passed the many various buildings of their village until they were about a block away from Konan's home. That's when Konan abruptly stopped her stroll, fear in her eyes.
Up ahead were Konan's bullies, talking together in the middle of the street. Nagato followed Konan's gaze, and quickly caught on. He plastered on his most protective and determined face he owned, grabbed Konan's hand, and started to lead her past. Konan thought all was well until about half-way through.
"Hey, guys! Look who it is!"
Konan tightly squeezed Nagato's small hand, as they tried to ignore the girls and continue on.
"EEWW, and she's got a BOY with her!"
"I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A SLOBBY BLUE-HEADED MAN!"
Konan closed her eyes shut, and Nagato could feel Konan tensing up as they walked. Nagato himself was getting a bit angry at the girls. Did they not see the beautiful angel they were criticizing…? Where they blind?
"Hey, FREAK! DON'T LAY EGGS ANYTIME SOON! WE DON'T WANT MORE OF YOUR FILTH AROUND HERE!"
"Have you asked your new FRIEND there to shave your ugly scalp yet?"
"LOOK AT HER! SHE'S A WALKING ICE-CUBE! HAHAHA!"
The three girls laughs grew louder and louder, only fueling Nagato's anger. Konan was slumping lower and lower into the ground, each comment hitting her like nails. Then, the main girl blew Nagato's last straw.
"HEY, BOY! LEAVE THE BLUE-HAIRED RAT TO DIE! HAHA!"
Nagato growled and stopped dead in his tracks. Konan ran right into his back, and didn't lift her head. He knew why – she was crying. Anger raged in his stomach as he told Konan to stay put. His special eyes were shining with hate for the three girls, the spirals looking almost like they were swirling themselves. He quickly walked over to the group of snickering girls, shoving the two closest ones into Konan's main bully. The two girls, once they saw his eyes, stopped laughing immediately, and took off running for home. The last girl remaining stared in horror at Nagato's purple eyes. The bully's young eyes filled with tears.
"DON'T YOU EVER SPEAK TO KONAN LIKE THAT AGAIN! SHE IS FAR MORE NICE AND PRETTY THAN YOU'LL EVER BE! YOU ARE A MEAN BULLY, AND IF I EVER SEE YOU HURT MY FRIEND LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Nagato's anger and hate was very mature for a seven year old, and caused the young bully to quiver and cry. Nagato stared angrily at the girl, until she ran home screaming "Mommy! I'm scared!"
Nagato huffed, and took a few breaths. He knew he had problems with his anger, but he couldn't help it. Konan ran over to her friend in shock. Nagato turned around and chuckled embarrassedly.
"Do you think she'll leave us alone now…?" Konan giggled and gave him a hug.
"Yup…wait…us?" The small girl looked into the eyes of her friend, and he smiled calmly back at her, his eyes soothing and calm now.
"Of course, us, Konan-chan! You're my friend now, and I won't let her bother you anymore!"
Konan's heart warmed at the sight of his face, smiling sheepishly at her. She was glad she finally had a friend who made her feel normal. Smiling just as childishly back, Konan took Nagato's hand, and continued on toward her home.