Dated back to the Showa era, where Alice was killed as a sacrifice. Being chosen as a candidate for the sacrifice was not her wish, adding to the fact that she was blind. Was it unjust to wish for a future in such a hopeless and dark time?

Day One

I woke up when I heard the rooster crowed. I could only guessed that it was morning by the scent.

Morning had always been my favorite time of the day. The air that I inhaled felt the cleanest in the morning and I could smell the fresh oxygen from the plant surrounding the area in the air. I especially loved morning because it wasn't dark, as opposed to night time.

Though I guessed there was no point in hating night time now.

I sat up from the futon and waited for a few seconds before I decided to move.

I touched the rough bamboo floor and moved my hand slowly until I felt the door. Sliding the door opened, the cold morning air wafted up and filled the room. I could feel the room that was once humid instantly became fresher.

I sat next to the sliding door while listening to the voices around me. Ever since I had became blind, this had been my morning routine. Woke up, opened the door and leaned on it while listening to voices. To others, it sounded like a boring routine. To me, it was a routine that reminded me to appreciate my life as my other senses were still intact.

As I remained on my position, I heard footsteps getting closer to me. Being blind had made me able to differentiate the sound of people footsteps. If you listen long enough, you would understand that each footsteps held a character behind it. The footstep that I heard was even, a little rough yet fast.

This was Ruka, my best friend. He was a half blood. Half Japanese, and half French. Unfortunately for him, he received more of his French genes. He had short blonde hair and a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes. Luckily for him, he wasn't shun away by the villagers despite his facial features.

"Mikan!"

His voice, as usual, was a higher octave than most boy his age should sound. Whether it was because he looked like a girl or because he simply had not reached puberty yet was unknown to me.

I smiled when I heard a soft tud beside me. He was sitting next to me.

"The decision was made last night."

I shifted when I heard his word. His usual cheerful tone was replaced with a more serious tone. Whatever he had to tell me, I was not comfortable with it. Not at all.

"What is it?"

My voice rang in the air as I waited for my best friend to answer my question.

"I am sorry, Mikan. I tried my best. I really did."

I could feel the whole world came crashing down at me when I heard his answer. My head was spinning and my throat felt dry. My stomach felt like it was flipping around and I could not process his next word.

I was going to die. They were going to use me as the sacrifice.

This village I reside in held a sacrificing ceremony once every 5 years to the God that guarded this village. Occasionally, there would be people with inhuman power and they would be used as a sacrifice. At times there wasn't anyone with inhuman power, they would use a criminal as a sacrifice.

It was just my luck that I was the one chosen to be the sacrifice for this year sacrificing ceremony.

Slowly yet surely, I felt tears crawling down from my face.

"Don't cry Mikan, smile. On the bright side, you are not officially the sacrifice yet. You are just a candidate. There is another person who was chosen as a candidate for the sacrifice."

This perked up my interest. My mouth widened a bit before I closed it again.

"Who is it?"

"A boy. He is 16, the same age as us."

"Why was he chosen as a sacrifice?" I asked, curious.

"I heard he was able to make fire appear out of nowhere. He burned his house."

My face went pale. Fire. The thing that made me lost everything.

My hand tried to find Ruka desperately. The search did not last long, because I found what I wanted in a few seconds.

I held his hand for a while before I asked another question.

"So if he is chosen to be the sacrifice, I will not have to die at all?"

"Yes. If he was chosen, of course."

I could feel my face brightened up.

"Really? So all I have to do is pray hard enough so that I would not be chosen as the sacrifice?"

"Actually, you two have to spend five days in the castle before the council chose who will be a better sacrifice."

I was shocked when I heard this.

"Why did I not hear of this?"

"That is because it was decided at the last minute. It is not every day you found two people with inhuman powers, is it?"

"That is true. So when do we have to go to the castle?"

"Now."

I swore, I could hear fear in his voice.

The trip to the castle was vivid to me. I held Ruka's hand the whole time I was inside the horse cart as I listened to him describing the scenery outside.

I rubbed the soft material of my kimono as I listened to his soothing voice. Just listening to it made me felt relaxed.

"The cart is going uphill now. We are leaving the field filled with rice sunlight is strong, but because of the shelter in the chariot, we're covered from it. There are some bird chirping around. Can you hear it, Mikan?"

I smiled at his question. He had always been good in describing things.

"I can hear it."

After a few moment of silence, the chariot halt into a stop. I could only guess that we had reached our destination or there were some distraction on the road that forced us to stop.

Ruka sighed. "We are here. Are you ready, Mikan?"

I did not know how I felt when I heard him saying that we've reached our destination. Nervous, perhaps. But mostly scared.

"No, I am not. How does the castle look like?"

Ruka did not answer my question. So I asked him again.

"How does the castle look like?"

I heard a short gasp from him before he answered me.

"The gate is big. Once the big gate opened, cherry blossoms would be the first thing you will notice. There are a lot of cherry blossoms and the petals are falling to the ground. It create a very beautiful road for us to walk on. The castle itself is really huge and made of strong and sturdy materials. There are several floors and there are guard here and there. There is also a lake and a garden around it. It is just your typical castle." He said.

I was a little surprised that Ruka, who was always on guard, would drift a little. The sight of the castle must be breathtaking. It made me curious as of how the castle actually looked.

My thought was interrupted when I felt a touch on my hand. I recognized the feeling. Ruka.

"Shall we go now?"

I nodded with a smile plastered on my face.

The next thing that happened was a blur. All I remembered was being dragged around by Ruka whose hand was around mine. Sometimes his steps became slower, somehow cautious. Sometimes it became faster, as if scared.

All this while, I tried to catch up with him whenever he changed his pace. After what felt like eternity, we sat down on a what felt like a soft material. It was soft when I rub on it, yet hard when I stepped on it.

"Its a good tatami, huh?"

That was not Ruka. The voice was much more feminine than his.

"It is a tatami?" I asked, surprised. The tatami that I grew up knowing was rough no matter whether I was stepping on it or rubbing it.

"Yes, it is. I take it you're the candidate for the sacrifice? Mikan Sakura?"

Her words made me felt somehow unsecured.

"Yes, I am."

"My name is Hotaru Imai. I'm the daughter of one of the official."

I let go of Ruka's hand and turned to bow to where I heard her voice from.

"Nice to meet you, Imai san. Please take care of me for the following few days."

From behind me, I could feel Ruka bowing to Imai san too.

"Likewise. By the way, this is your room. If you need anything, please call for our maid. You are not to leave this room unless we allowed you too. Is that clear?"

I nodded and muttered a yes to prove to her that I understood. She seemed to take it well.

"I shall take my leave, then."

After hearing the sliding of doors, I felt someone touching my hand. Immediately, I knew who the person was.

"Your hand feels tense."

"It's just that... Hotaru Imai.."

I chuckled.

"Look pretty?"

"N-no! T-th-that is not what I was about to say!"

I laughed to lighten up the mood. "Relax! It is not like I said you love her or something."

I took the silence as a yes.

"I will support you." I patted his shoulder. Or at least, I hoped it was his shoulder.

"It is not her that I love, Mikan." He took my hand off his body.

"Then who?"

He did not answer me.

The food served during dinner was really delicious.

I had never eaten such foods that had such a rich, luxurious flavor. Ruka told me that all the food served on the table was really expensive and there was no way a commoner like us could afford it.

After dinner was finished, a pressuring silence covered the entire room. For once, I felt extremely lucky I could not see. For if I could not see and yet felt extremely pressured, how would I feel if I could see?

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard. I squeezed Ruka hand, which was already around mine by instinct. He squeezed it back. There was some laughter coming from around me. I suspected it was the member of the councils.

One of the man spoke, "Here comes our prisoner."

More laughter was heard. There was another bang and it caused my side of the table to feel the friction caused by the bang.

"Shut up!"

It was a new voice. The voice was deep. Deeper than anyone in the room, but for some reason, it felt light and pleasing to the ear.

"I think this person manner should be a deciding factor of the sacrifice. How could a person raise his voice against a member of the council?" The person who said this ended it with a chuckle, trying to make us thought that what he said was a joke.

"Mikan Sakura, meet the other candidate, Natsume Hyuuga."

Revised.

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