Based on Markus Zusak's book, 'The Book Thief'.

Chapter 01
The Color of Snow

"Please, please don't leave me!"

The girl screamed, pressing herself up to the cold man's body. Her body shook, tears leaking uncontrollably from her eyes. She touched his shoulder, his hair, his lips. No breath escaped, and not a sound was heard. She grabbed his body and pulled hard at his shirt.

"Come back. God, no!"

A warm hand touch her shoulder and she jerked at the sound of a soft, familiar voice.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing you can do."

She shook her head, burying it in her beloved's dusty black clothes. She could still smell him… so close, so real… he couldn't… he can't be…

"He's gone. He's not coming back."

The train thudded soundlessly across the grey land, darkness apparent across the once blue sky. Heavy clouds hung low, fat, and just waiting to fall. The light emitting from the carriages gave off a warm yet unsettling glow as they bounced along the rusty rails. Inside sat three figures, alone from the rest. A mother and her two young daughters sat curled up on the cold hard seats, the smaller girl breathing heavily. Her hair was brown, a lovely chocolate colour, unlike her sister's who had bright bubblegum hair. The woman's face watched the younger girls in concern, tense.

A sniff. A cough. A groan.

Anxiously the mother reached across, gently shaking her daughter from her slumber.

"Ami, Ami, get up, dear."

The small girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes unsuccessfully, blue-black marks hanging low beneath them. In a small raspy voice she called to her sister, ignoring her mother's worried gaze.

"What time is it, Amu-chan?"

The older girl turned her gaze from the window towards her sick sister, eyes softening slightly as gold met gold. Sighing she looked at her watch before giving her sister a weak smile.

"It's eight-thirty. Go back to sleep, we won't be arriving for a while."

Nodding soundlessly Ami closed her eyes, comforted by her mother's stroking hand. Once again the carriage was silent. Mama's stroking hand had stopped, and only the quiet snores of her youngest daughter could be heard. Amu watched the darkness, her expression unfathomable. Her mother's words sent her eyes flying back into the light.

"She might not make it, Amu-chan."

The young teen's eyes went impossibly wide. What was her mother saying?

"What do you mean, Mama?"

Her mother's weary eyes looked away, towards her daughters pale face. She stroked her soft brown hair, tears threatening to leak out from the corners of her eyes.

"She's sick, darling. The doctor's said that the pneumonia might… it might…"

She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"My Ami, my poor darling baby… why? IF only I hadn't spent the money… if, if I didn't go that night…"

"Mama, no, you can't blame yourself."

The pink haired girl felt her heart freeze in her chest, suddenly feeling more fragile, as if it were about to break. She couldn't bear to see her mother like this, losing hope in her sick child. Ever since her Papa passed away, Mama was always sad and tired. At first everything had been normal, Amu and her sister laughing and playing without a care in the world. But then Mama lost her job, lost the house, lost their money. The cold nights they spent on the street bit into Ami's small bones, causing her to cough and wheeze.

Ami was diagnosed with pneumonia.

"You did the best you could, Mama. You got the money, you paid the doctor's bill –"

Amu fought back tears of her own. No, she couldn't cry. She was the eldest daughter. She couldn't show weakness. She had to be strong, for Ami, for Mama, even for Papa. She couldn't let them down.

"-you got the tickets, you held his hand, you –"

Mama shook her head, subconsciously petting Ami's short auburn hair, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"No, Amu, I wasn't good enough. And now your sister –"

There was a sharp clank as the train came to a sudden halt, sending Amu flying onto the floor. Yells and shouts of other angry passengers echoed down the corridor, and the warm of the light above flickered and died, leaving nothing but darkness. Shaking Amu clambered back onto the seat in silence, heart pounding. Across from her, Mama was sitting with her sister's head on her lap, rocking back and forth muttering a long prayer under her breath. There was a shuffle of shoes as man in a white shirt came by, telling them there was a slight malfunction with the train but that it would be up and running in no time.

"…please Lord, in the name of the Holy Spirit, save this girl from the illness…"

Amu helplessly watched her mother through the black, watched as she held Ami close. The small girl's body was shaking violently, and soft gurgling sounds emitted from her mouth.

"Please don't die, Ami. Please come back to your onee-chan. For your onee-chan, Ami."

Amu had begun muttering a prayer of her own, and together the two droned on for what seemed hours, praying for the safety and health of the sickly girl who was one the happiest child in the world. On and on they went; a wordless chant that sent the whole train silent. The deafening sound thudded down the corridor, hushing the panic of the other passengers.

Amu's heart leapt in her chest as the light flickered to life, brightening up the carriage at once.

"Just a bit longer," the man in white told them, continuing down the hall. "Just a while yet."

There was a sudden cry from the chair across from the pink-haired girl, and she instinctively snapped her head in her mother's direction. A tear, just one, was making its slow descent down her dusty cheek, hanging onto the end of her chin. Amu's eyes flickered to her motionless sister's face. Dull, yellow orbs watched hers, her expression unreadable. Her lips were blue, her eyes unseeing. And so it was known.

The small child was dead.

But nothing could be done, for the not a breath escaped her, and no chest rose. The carriage was silent. Not a sound could be heard.

There was one train.

There were two seats.

There was a mother and her daughter.

And there was a corpse.

Snow fell that night, as the train drifted into the station. Trees stood eerily still, as if knowing a soul had passed. The moon's illuminating glow sent shadows of silver seeping through their hand-like branches. With a loud creak, the doors of the mottled brown train opened, passengers large and small drifted through their narrow passages, stepping onto the cold frosty deck. Their breaths were fast and ragged as they greeted loved ones, hands burrowed deep into their warm leather jackets.

A young girl could be seen in the crowd, her arm wrapped around her mother, begging her not to go. The over-worked woman smiled at her, her eyes wrinkling in the corners, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Whispered goodbye. The girl's bright fuchsia hair was spotted white, and from her bright golden eyes flowed unspoken words and tears. But she held them back, because she had to stay strong.

With one final wave, her mother boarded the train. The crowd around her dispersed. The train's doors closed.

She was alone.

The girl stood there, staring at the empty railway tracks. Waiting and watching.

A sound behind her caught her attention, and she turned her unblinking gaze towards the grey steps. A tall man strode towards her, a small blonde girl following in his wake. His face was stern, brows furrowed together as he came closer. The girls honey coloured eyes watched hers with a steady gaze, unflinching. The pink-haired girl glared back, the snow around her beginning to fall heavier.

The tall man stopped, and gave her a scrutinizing look.

"Hinamori Amu?" His voice was soft, rough around the edges. Unpolished. Different.

The girl nodded.

Nodding back, he ushered to the blonde girl, who, without breaking her gaze on the newcomer, quickly grabbed the other girl's small black bag and followed after her father. And without another word Hinamori Amu followed.

Because they would never know.

Never know she had a sister.

Never know her suffering.

Never know what her mother had done.

And for the first time since her Papa had left her in the world, Amu felt her heart break in two.

The snow fell.

She brushed her fingers lightly across the foggy glass. She ran her hand through her cherry-coloured hair. She crossed her legs. She closed her eyes. She sighed. Nothing she did would ease the pain. She opened her eyes. Where was Mama? Where was Papa? Where was Ami? They had all left her, left her with a family that she did not know, with a girl that hated her very soul. Why?

She did not know.

Without a sound she pressed her face closer to the glass that withheld her from the rest of the world. It was morning now; last night was all a blur. She remembered climbing up the Mashiro's ornamented staircase, marvelling at their lavish walls and carpet. They had everything she would have wanted. Would have. Maybe if she hadn't been deserted, maybe if Papa was still alive.

Maybe if Ami hadn't died.

She could still see her face, her eyes staring at nothing. Seeing nothing. Just nothing. She could feel the snow, as real as it was outside, drifting through the air. Covering her sister's small body. Sticking to her hair. She could taste the cold, felt it bite through her torn jacket. Watched as the body was laid to rest. Under the snow. They had buried her in the cold, where it had all began.

"What time is it, Amu-chan?"

She had to be strong. For her family. For Ami. As if trying to blink away the memories, Amu peered into the soft white, squinting hard. Looking for something, anything that would take her mind off the Mashiro's, from her sister. A flashed of purple caught her eye. Suddenly all her senses came to life, and she edged closer – if it were possible – to the window sill. She heard laughter – children's laughter as they played in the middle of the snow-covered road, scuttling about in furry coats. Rima, the blonde girl that seemed to despise her so, stood firmly, watching. She seemed bored, unamused. Afraid. The other children were laughing. A girl with two brown pig-tails and glowing chocolate eyes was running back and forth, arms outstretched as if to catch the soft flakes that were falling from above.

Another girl, or a boy, came rushing forward, their long purple hair flashing in the dim sunlight. Eagerly they swept forward, kicking a ball that seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere. They passed it to another boy, one with short brown hair and shining green eyes. Yelling out a foreign word he sent it flying into a white bush. A short blond boy broke into a run.

Smiling, laughing.

Having fun.

Leaning back, she knew her wishes were futile. She could never join them, never be a part of their game. She was an outsider. She was different. She could only watch and observe. A sudden flash of blue caught the young girl's eye, and she immediately jolted upright, eyes feeling wide awake. They flickered through the snow, searching for the blue, searching for the colour...

And that's when she saw him.

Hidden away from the rest, as if observing the others play, stood a tall boy. His clothes looked thin and ragged, his black arms folded neatly across the chest. His dark blue hair looked ruffled and unkempt, and he kept shaking it, irritated by the ever-falling white around him. Amu suddenly felt a great urge to know everything about him – his name, his voice, his personality, his star sign…

She squinted, trying to see fast the fog that was gathering and onto his face. She had to see his face – his face, yes. That should be enough to fulfil her longing, her desire. She leaned closer and closer to the window, pressing herself up to it, seeing more, hearing more… was that boredom upon his face? No emotion that he felt -?

A loud snap told her the chair of which she was sitting upon had broken.

Landing with a crash the pink-head heaved herself up, lifting her head over the window sill to see if the boy was still there. He was.

And he was looking at her.

Her heart fluttered. Creeping back up onto her feet she felt her own golden orbs being dragged into his. Those eyes, so mesmerizing, like pools of water… like… like sapphire…

Her eyes widened as she read the expression on his face. He didn't seem bored anymore, and he was looking at her in a peculiar way, as if he had just heard her fall. But he couldn't have – right? In his eyes flashed something that seemed unfamiliar, unusual. Amusement? Curiosity? She didn't know – but she was certain of one thing. One thing that could be shown to the world if only they were looking at him right then and there.

That little smirk of his said it all.

He was a seriously messed up, however mysterious, perverted cat boy.

The A/N that followed this chapter was removed due to brains, or lack thereof.