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1, [Unlucky (倒霉）]

My death caught me off guard.

One second I was nodding off to a Schubert concerto, my left hand idly tapping to the violin part, feeling like the happiest girl in the world. Then, without even the smallest of warnings, my trusty antique Toyota was spinning wildly out of control, an 18-wheeler embedded to its side. The collision was a mess of metal-on-metal screeching, blood, unbelievable pain, and screaming. I felt my car being catapulted off the road and onto the grass that flanked the highway. It was abruptly stopped by something- a tree, probably. By the time I heard the telltale wail of sirens, I was already halfway through the threshold of death.

"Oh, Jesus. I just...Jesus Christ, can you hear me, girl? Please, tell me you can hear me...your legs...oh God..." It was probably the other driver, the trucker. Even in my half-dead state I can smell beer on his breath.

Damn.

"I need you to stand aside, sir. The paramedics are coming through."

"No, I can't. I...you can't...oh God, paramedics?"

The sirens, the walkie-talkies, the conversations, the footsteps; they all garbled into a high-pitched whine that slowly drained away. Colorful spots danced chaotically in my vision. My head throbbed violently to the pulse of my heart, and the last thing I saw was the pulpy mash of blood and bone that used to be my legs.

My last living thought was realizing that this was how I was going to die; from the mistakes of another person.

Then, just like that, it was done.

My life. Over.

That morning, I had just received my admission letter to Juilliard. The Juilliard. I had just achieved my dream, my only dream since I first touched a violin, and it was snatched away, just like that.

I didn't even have time to think of my parents, my friends, my little brother, and all the cities I will never travel to, all the people I will never meet, the pieces I will never play, and all the shows I will never watch; before it all went away, fading to black like the ending of some cheesy video game.

Whichever god decided to do this to me, I have one thing to say.

Fuck. You.

After life (or so I thought) was boring.

Wet and warm, it cocooned me in a haze of tranquility.

My thoughts were jumbled, suspended in the dark space around me. A memory would occasional flit through, fuzzy like TV reception on a bad day. I vaguely wondered how my family was doing. How long has it been since my accident? Do they miss me? How many people would cry at my funeral?

I don't know how long I stayed in that state.

Then, unceremoniously, I was shoved out of my safe haven, into a bright, noisy environment, bursting with blurred colors.

Thinking back on it, I was an idiot to not notice that I was in a womb and that I was being born- a second time.

. . .

Seiryū Hyuumi woke up feeling happy and festive. Today was a big day for the Seiryū clan, and big days meant eating and laughing and fireworks!

Why? Because the matriarch's second baby was due!

The newest addition to the clan was even bigger of a deal considering the first child was...well, she didn't know what exactly was wrong with him, but he was different. He was only a year older than her, but his hair was a silver like an old man's. And his eyes...

Adults were politely distant from him, touching him only in extreme circumstances. Following their example, kids were at first hesitant around him, then outright terrified. It didn't help that he seemed to enjoy scaring them occasionally.

Kaa-chan whispered to her once that when the clan was formed, their ancestors fortold that a violet-eyed child would be the downfall of the Seiryū. And if it wasn't for his mother's political power, the elders would've strangled the clan heir with his own umbilical cord the moment he was born.

Hyuumi wasn't exactly sure what any of that meant, but downfall sounded like falling down so did that mean he would make them all trip or something? It didn't sound like such a great reason to strangle him with telephone cord, but Hyuumi just went with the flow.

However, Hyuumi was also told not to think about him too much, so she tried to think of other things. Like...like...oh yeah! The new baby! She loved babies! They were so pudgy and cute and always so happy! Well, not when they pooped and drooled and cried and stuff...but they were still so cute!

The little girl giggled as she skipped through the main courtyard to the dining hall. There was going to be a breakfast celebration in honor of the new kid. Hyuumi loved breakfast celebrations! She especially liked eating sponge cake and throwing icky foods at her bratty cousin, Hyuna!

Her braided pigtails bounced on her shoulder as the path took her around ponds filled with black koi, and small plots of dirt planted with blue orchids. Kaa-chan told her Seiryū meant azure dragon, so there were dragons everywhere! It was on the arches, all of the stones, and the walls, constantly watching over them. In fact, their clan symbol was a Chinese dragon curved into an S. Her friends at school were all jealous of her cool clan symbol! So Hyuumi loved her clan symbol, too!

"Hyuumi-chan?"

"Hai?" Hyuumi stopped violently, spinning around. But, she had been going too fast on her geta sandals and lost her balance. With a gasp she realized she was about to fall in a koi pond. NOOO!

A warm, firm hand grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her up with surprising strength at the last moment. Hyuumi gasped, tilting her head up towards her savior. "Ariga- Oh! Good morning, Hiroyo-sama!"

Flustered, she quickly bowed like all the children were taught to when they encountered the matriarch. 60 degrees at the waist, no more, no less. She couldn't believe Hiroyo-samaherself just came to her rescue!

The tall, elegantly curved woman made a soft sound of amusement. "Beautiful morning, isn't it? I'm sure you didn't want to spend it with the koi. You may stand up now."

"Hai, Hiroyo-sama!" Hyuumi straightened obediently, smiling at the swollen woman.

That was precisely when she saw him there, clutching to the folds of his mother's elaborate kimono.

Hyuumi froze, her breath catching in her throat. Her instincts told her to run, or at least look away from his curious, enormous, amethyst colored eyes. But she saw Hiroyo-sama's frown, and she couldn't insult her leader, who was also very, very, pregnant.

She didn't want to be mean to a pregnant lady, so she tried to remember her manners. Stiffly, she bowed to the silver-haired child. "G-good morning to you too, Hidan-sama."

"Ohaiyo," The clan heir responded gruffly, expression unreadable. "Ano...Hidan is fine."

Hyuumi nodded, gnawing at her nails, suddenly finding the paved ground very interesting.

. . .

Hiroyo watched their interaction intently. She was an extremely observant woman. That trait was useful most of the time, but then, she was always forced to watch other children treat her baby this way. Adults were at least better at hiding their disdain.

All because of that stupid, stupid prophecy. Hidan? Downfall of their clan? Hiroyo scoffed to herself. As if the elders would let him anywhere near a weapon.

Hyuumi probably didn't even know the reason behind Hidan's treatment. She was simply doing what children did best; copying the actions of the grown men and women around her.

Fucking idiots. And they dare call themselves parents, too?

Hiroyo sighed before putting on her best motherly face. "Hyuumi-chan. Would you like to accompany Hidan-kun and I to breakfast?"

Hyuumi looked reluctant, but she agreed anyways. After all, everyone knew better than to fuck with Hiroyo.

It was, relatively speaking, a quick birth compared to the last one. Hidan had been quite a stubborn little fucker.

Hiroyo's water broke in the middle of breakfast. The clan leader didn't even notice her contractions evening out until she felt something pop and oh Kami, was she going into labor?

Many of the children, including Hyuumi, started giggling, thinking that the matriarch couldn't hold her pee-pee in. Hiroyo would've laughed with them if she wasn't about to be shoving out a kid soon.

After being rushed to the nearest private room, Hiroyo spent the next two hours screaming her head off, surrounded by encouraging women, and pushing for all her worth. She emptied her mind, feeling tranquil despite the convulsions that wracked her body. She tried- she really tried- to not think about the two men who had been the cause for her birthing experiences.

Yes, there were two different men.

And yes, that was perfectly acceptable. The Seiryū clan's marriage traditions were rather...unique.

For centuries, the eldest daughter of the main family 'married' the closest male relative of her generation. According to said tradition, a stranger couldn't possibly preserve peace as well as one of the matriarchal clan's own. The marriage was chaste, of course, and there was no consummation involved. The matriarch and her husband didn't even have to sleep in the same room.

As an only child, Hiroyo was wedded to Hiroto, her cousin, but everyone and their mothers knew that he didn't go out every saturday for just a drink. If anything, her 'husband' was a locally famous womanizer. She wouldn't be surprised if you could start a small army with the number of children he's fathered.

Hiroyo didn't care. It was only fair. After all, it was also tradition for all of the matriarch's children to come from a different lover each time. Hiroyo smirked, despite the pain in her lower regions. What lovers they had been.

Her expression immediately soured, however. The reason why she resented them was that they would never see their children- she couldn't let them stay. They were both flings. Flings of a lifetime, yes, but they were just that. Flings. They had lives of their own, lives that were far away from Hiroyo.

Hidan's father committed suicide a few years ago. It happened long after she sent him home, which she felt obliged to do once he admitted that he had a young son waiting for him. Her suspicions said that he was a shinobi, resting on the way home from a mission when they met in Yugakure's famous hot springs. News of his death shocked her, and nowadays, she often found herself wondering about his other son.

As for the second's father...her brief association with him ended when he became homesick. "I'm from a big clan, too. I miss everyone. I love you, Hiroyo, but..." Those were his last words before setting off. He only gave her a first name, just like the Hidan's father, but she knew who he was. There were only three sizable clans in Konohagakure with that distinctive black hair, after all, and only two of them had members that could use the body flicker technique.

Hiroyo chuckled inwardly. If only her children wanted to (could) become shinobi...they had such amazing genes for that career choice.

Anyways, she was optimistic about this one.

The infamous omen had said, after all, that a violet-eyed child would be the downfall of the Seiryū. There couldn't possibly be a second. A 0.0001% eye color mutation could't possibly happen twice. Hiroyo was confident that her second child would lead a happy, normal life within the compound walls, unlike its unfortunate older brother.

Later, Hiroyo would blame herself for being overconfident.