For as long as she could remember, the man with golden always watched over her. Even before she could chew or poop on her own accord, even when she puked her guts out from food poisoning, even as streams of bile exploded out of her buttocks, the man with golden eyes always stayed by her side—taking care of and pampering her along the way.
He always kept her company, never left her side, and never made her feel like a burden.
Growing up she had gotten used to the man's eccentric collections. Be it floating eyeballs in test tubes or disembodied tongues pinned on platters, she had gotten used to them all. The horrors that would deter a normal person didn't faze her as none of it mattered.
She knew the man's true character. Like she had been given a peek underneath a very tightly weld, highly maintained mask. Or let into a magician's secrets. And it made her feel special. It was a tiny secret just between them.
Like the unconditional love he gave her, she gave them right back. Even though he never asked for such a thing.
All she had to do was to sit in the chair once in a while and allow him to put her to sleep. Just a tiny favor that she gladly fulfilled.
It was all worth it as when she woke up, the man with golden eyes would praise her. He would stare at her with those golden eyes, his pale violet lips smiling affectionately.
"You're special."
She liked to be special. She liked to have meaning towards someone else.
At that moment, it felt like 'pain' was the only thing that existed in this world.
Under the dim glow of the candle lights, her limbs chained to the vertices of a blood-drawn star, she writhed in agonizing pain.
She screamed, thrashed, begged, and sweated. In return, she got the endlessly rattling of metals as her restraints tightened and slacked pointlessly.
In her agony, she looked towards the man with golden eyes for comfort. When she finally spotted him, shadowed by the darkest corner of the room, the man was without a doubt smiling. Not a comforting one or one of encouragement. But one of twisted satisfaction.
As her vision blurred into darkness, she couldn't help but wonder where the kind person disappeared to.
She stared blankly at her mutated hand, unsure of how to feel or what to say.
"You look beautiful, Sakura-chan."
She turned to the sight of the man with golden eyes approaching her, the warm, soothing smile she had known him for present on his face once again.
With hesitance, she turned to set her gaze back to her hand. Back to the grotesque wrinkles. To the elongated, branch like fingers that pierced the ceiling. To the unnatural brownness of her skin.
What was in front of her hardly seemed human at all.
This was the ugliest form of "beauty" she had ever seen.
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes."
That was all the reassurance she needed.
She quickly picked herself off the cold cement floor and went to the bathroom to clean off the filth of her sweat. At least, that was her plan until she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Then her knees promptly dropped to the floor and her hands covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming at the monstrosity that stared back at her.
Amongst her heavy breaths, she tried to comfort herself. The pink hair she prided herself in had faded away into complete whiteness. The skin she carefully took care of was now unnaturally green and rough like the barks of a tree.
She told herself that it was going to be okay.
That she was beautiful.
That she was only only going to be more useful towards the man with golden eyes.
Everyday seemed to have blended together after a while. Without knowing, she had lost track of time as her days became more routine. Her appetite kept decreasing and the amount of time she spent cooking in the kitchen lessened until it disappeared altogether. She just wasn't comfortable standing in front of a open flame anymore.
Meanwhile, the man with golden eyes seemed perpetually excited. Often smiling to himself that he forgot to smile at her.
On the night of her birthday, the man invited her to his room. She was pleasantly surprised, and her innocent mind couldn't help but hope for a special present even though it was selfish.
"Sakura." The man with golden eyes called from his work desk. The dim lights of his candles danced playfully on his face and gave him a strange surreal beauty.
"We are finally going to destroy it…"
"...The village that abandoned you."