Chapter 1

The small 5 year old girl watched the other children race home after an evening of games and laughter. She always watched these children, wishing she was part of their small group of friends and that she could be part of their activities. Ume watched the last one disappear until she began her own trek home. After a few moments of walking, the nice looking middle class homes drooped down into the slums. People sat on the dirty streets begging for money while others, like the little girl, just passed them by.

When Ume reached the apartment building she lived in, she began to rush up the stairs. She ignored the annoying creaks from the old floorboards and the cheap paint peeling off the walls. Her mother was home for the first time in three weeks.

Ume's mother was a woman who never meant to be a mother. She didn't know who the girl's father was, and frankly she didn't care. She saw the young girl as a burden, but kept food and shelter for her. Although her mother was cold towards her, Ume loved her with all of her heart. Since she rarely saw the woman, days like these were incredibly special to her.

Upon reaching the apartment, she heard sobs from inside and quickly pressed her ear to the keyhole. She only heard her mother sobbing, and another person slowly walking to the door. When it began to open, Ume sprang back and looked at the man in front of her. "Welcome back home," he smiled, but Ume looked at his eyes in a startled way. They were exactly the same as a snake's.

"P-please don't hurt me," The brown haired girl heard her mother cry behind the man. "Take my money, my house, my daughter, anything!"

"Shut up." The man said sternly, and then looked Ume over. "She will do."

"Take her. I-I don't need the brat." The woman said harshly.

"Mama!"

"Shut up and go with him you little brat." He mother screamed. Ume looked at her with horror in her young green eyes. Her mother couldn't be just giving her away to a complete stranger.

Horror turned at loathing and she suddenly wished her mother would die. From inside something fanned out, and it seemed to take over the control of her body. Pain shot through her, but it was a comfortable pain, like it was meant to be there. She let it go, and suddenly the world went black.

Somebody was carrying her body. That's al she could feel. Ume was too tired to even try to open her eyes, and the windy rush against her face was soothing, so she didn't mind her that her small body was being carried.

Slowly, she regained her strength plus the will to open her eyes. The landscape was a blur, but she could tell it was early afternoon. When she began thinking straight, everything came back to her. She was a monster, she killed her mother. Now she was being taken by a man she didn't even know.

When she began to squirm, the man with the strange eyes looked down at her, only to find a pair of startling light blue eyes looking back. He didn't flinch or look away. When she spoke, her voice was strong with real courage behind it.

"Where are you taking me?" Ume asked boldly.

"To train with me. You have great powers, but they need to be controlled."

"My mother is dead, isn't she?"

"You made sure of that yourself."

"Good," Ume's coldness surprised herself, but she wasn't guilty the least bit. Her mother was willing to give her away to a total strange to weasel her own body out alive. She couldn't call a woman like that her mother with pride. She sat quietly in his arms for half an hour before he stopped. "Where are we?

"My village; the Sound Village."

"Oh, okay." She said as he set her down. He motioned for her to follow, and she did so.

Upon entering those gates, she began the change that would be with her the rest of her life.