Disclaimer: Me no own. Feel free to sue. It won't do you any good anyway.

Prologue

Toshiro looked at Momo sadly. She was playing with the other kids. He wanted to play with them as well, but they kept giving him that look. He knew they didn't want him here, but Momo, the sweet Momo, wanted him to play with her. She was so naïve. She didn't, couldn't see the way they looked at him, didn't know the way they treated him.

They treated him like a freak.

Toshiro sighed and stood up. He wanted to be alone for a moment, away from them.

"Toshiro," Momo looked at him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going for a walk," he said quietly, "Don't worry Momo, I'll be back soon."

Momo frowned, "Toshiro…"

Toshiro just walked away with his eyes glued to the ground. Momo attempted to go with him, but Toshiro spoke back.

"I want to be alone, Momo."

x

Toshiro sat down near the river, looking at the clear water. His reflection looked back at him with the same sad eyes.

Why didn't they want to play with him? He didn't do anything to them. He was a child like them, why did they treat him so different?

Was it because of his snow white hair? Or his teal eyes?

Or because of his cold personality?

It was not his fault that he had an appearance like this. And it was their faults his personality was cold. He was alone… He had no friend…

Momo, he didn't see her as his friend. She was his older sister. She was family.

He didn't have any friend. He wanted to have friends. Just one, and that was enough.

"Hey," someone called from behind him.

Toshiro turned around, looking at the owner of the voice. It was a young girl, around the same age as him with a doll-like face and pale skin. She had waist-length magenta hair with two long bangs at the front, tied with golden cylindrical clips. Her eyes were big and sharp, with ice blue color. She wore a silver white kimono and a crimson obi sash. On her feet were white tabi and a pair of thick-soled okobo. She was… smiling at him?!

"Uh… hey?!" Toshiro didn't know anything else to say.

The girl giggled, "Do you mind if I sit here? I promise I will be quiet."

"S-sure," Toshiro stammered.

The girl happily sat down next to him. Toshiro watched the girl took off her okobo, then her tabi, and put her feet in the water.

"This is relaxing," she smiled.

The two kids sat there in silence. Toshiro was looking at the girl in curious, while the said girl was playing with the water.

"So…," the girl started to speak, "What are you doing here?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes, "I thought you said you would be quiet…"

The girl just shrugged and looked at him, waiting for the answer. Toshiro sighed.

"I just want to be alone," he mumbled.

"Why? You don't want to play with the other kids?"

Toshiro sighed once again.

"I want to," he said, "But they don't like me. They just let me being around them because they like Momo."

"Who is Momo?" she asked.

"My sister," he replied, "But she is too naïve to realize that the others don't like me."

The girl chuckled, "I like you."

Toshiro blushed, "Wh-what?!"

The girl laughed slightly and hit him on the arm, "Not like that. I like you as a friend."

Toshiro's heart skipped a beat. Did she just say… "friend"?!

"Friend?!" he asked hesitantly.

"Yep," she nodded, "I don't get why the other kids don't like you though. You are cute!"

Toshiro blushed again.

"I'm not cute," he mumbled.

"Yes, yes you are," the girl nodded, "By the way, my name is Haruka."

"I'm Toshiro."

"I know."

Toshiro looked confused, "You know me?! How?!"

Haruka laughed, "It's a secret, you don't need to know. Not yet anyway."

Toshiro frowned. Haruka put her feet out of the water and hugged her knees to her chest. She put her cheek on her knee and looked at him in the eyes.

"Don't worry," she said, "I promise that one day I will tell you. When the time comes. But for now, just remember that I'm your friend."

Toshiro liked that sound of that word. Friend. That word was nice. He let out a faint smile. But then, he frowned once again. What if… what if Haruka was just his imagination that he himself had created because of his loneliness?!

It was Haruka's turn to frown.

"What's wrong, Toshiro?" she asked.

Toshiro bit his bottom lip slightly. It was stupid, he knew it. But he had to ask. He needed to make sure that Haruka was real.

"You are… you are not…," he stuttered.

"Yes?!" Haruka asked patiently, "What is it that you want to know?"

Toshiro took a deep breath. He needed to ask the question.

"You are not… my imagination, are you?" there, he finally asked the question.

Haruka blinked once, then twice. Then she rolled on the ground, laughing.

"Hahahaha," she gasped for air, "That was so funny!"

Toshiro blushed, "Stop laughing at me," he said, "I had every right to question whether or not you are real."

Haruka whipped her tears away and looked at him, still laying on the ground of the forest.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, still smiling though, "But that was a really stupid question."

"I know," Toshiro looked at the ground, "But…"

He trailed off, and they both went silence. After awhile, Haruka let out a small sigh and sat up.

"Toshiro," she called.

The said boy looked at her in confusion.

"Here, this will prove to you that I'm not your imagination," she said and took off the ring on her right little finger. It was a silver white ring and it was beautiful. (Haruka's ring looks like Yasuko Azuma Leaf Band-High Palladium ring. Check it out on Google, it's beautiful, really)

Toshiro didn't know what she was trying to do. But his silent question was answered when Haruka put the ring on his little finger.

"Wha…?!" Toshiro was shocked. Why did she give him this?

Haruka did not look at him. She was putting her tabi on.

"To show you that I'm real, just like everything around us at the moment," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I-I can't keep this," Toshiro protested.

"And why not?" she said, now putting on her okobo.

"It's yours!" he cried, "It looks like it's very expensive! I can't keep it!"

"Well, the ring was mine, alright," Haruka said, stood up, "And I gave it to you. So, it's yours now."

Toshiro wanted to protest more, but someone's voice distracted him.

"Shiro-chan?! Are you there?" it was Momo.

Toshiro turned around just in time to see Momo showed up. She looked relief to see him.

"Here you are," she smiled, "I was so worry that I couldn't find you. What are you doing here anyway, Shiro-chan?"

Toshiro scowled, "Don't call me Shiro-chan, Bed Wetter Momo."

Momo ignored him, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm talking to Haruka," Toshiro replied.

Momo was confused, "Who is Haruka?!"

"She is right here…," Toshiro turned around just to find out that Haruka had disappeared.

How did she disappear so fast? Where did she go? He didn't even here her footstep!

"Shiro-chan?!"

Was Haruka his imagination?! She had to be. There was just no way she could disappeared that fast, unless she wasn't exist in the first place.

Toshiro suddenly felt sad. And here he thought he finally had a friend.

"Shiro-chan?" Momo asked in concern, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It.. it's nothing, Momo-nee," Toshiro whispered, "Let's just go home."

Momo wanted to know what made him so sad, but then she dropped the subject. She knew he didn't want to say it now.

"Ok," she said, "Let's go home. Obaachan is worry about you."

Toshiro nodded and followed Momo out of the forest with his eyes glued to the ground. But then, his eyes caught the sight of something. On his right little finger was Haruka's ring!

He let out a small gasp of surprise. The ring was real! He knew it! Did that mean Haruka was real as well?

"Shiro-chan?!" Momo called.

"Coming!" he said, running after his "sister" with a smile on his face.

"Why so happy so sudden?" Momo asked.

Toshiro didn't say anything. He just grinned. Haruka was real. That meant he really had a friend. His first friend!

Toshiro was so happy that he didn't even question where Haruka had gone to.

Ah, this is the prologue of my new story. It won't be nonsense and random like my other stories. I'm trying something new.

Hope you like this one. Review will be nice.

See you all next week then.