Meeting a Fallen Star

It has always been a hobby of his to lay down underneath the moving clouds that decorated that the azure sky both in the morning when his chores are done and in the afternoon when he is asked by his mother to go out and play but end up spending time on his own.

"Hajime, you should really make more friends" he remembers what his mother would always tell him while they eat dinner. It was when they'd exchange stories about their day. He went to school but unlike other kids he'd always head straight home after class.

At night before going to bed, his mother would tell him stories from the olden days. Like stories about how humans casted the strange beings that used to live alongside them and tagged them as demons. In the stories it was said that men were stronger with the beings around and for some time the two kinds benefited from each other. The true reason for the conflict between the two kinds is still under debate, making it harder to solve the problem which has already taken many lives. His father's life is one of those taken by the demons. His father was a demon hunter and he too dreamt of becoming one. Not for revenge, at first, but because he admired his father's courage and warrior spirit.

He spotted an air ship passing by. The lights decorating the bottom of the airship shone like stars on the dimming afternoon sky. He got up and gazed at it with amusement. He promised himself in the future when he have enough money he'd ride in it with his mother. A gust of wind passed and tousled the deep violet hair that grew long enough to cover one of his eyes. He placed a hand over his white scarf which hanged loosely around his neck to keep it from fluttering. Closing his eyes a small smile formed on his lips. It had always made him happy to watch airships as they pass.

He reached for the sword on the ground next to him. He knew that what he'd gain from practicing on his own is nothing compared to learning from someone directly but he has to start somewhere. With his sword in hand, he started his trek down the hill to return to their town. It was then that he felt the urge to glance back. When he did, he spotted something glow in a flash then it was gone. It was far from where he was, on the other side of the hill in the forest, but he was sure that he saw it.

Curiosity pulled his feet to start going the other way. He knew his mother would scold him and worry sick every time he comes home late but he itched to know what was that he saw. His strides turn into a run as he reached the other side of the hill. Shadow has already taken over that part of land but it wasn't impossible to see. Luckily, the probable cause for the light came from an area not too far from the entrance of the forest. The proudly standing grass which spreads on the floor bowed, forming a path leading to something that crashed in the area.

The earth beneath him was soft, making it harder to walk faster, and his boots almost got stuck at one point when he stepped over a murky patch of ground. He can feel the hair rise at the back of his neck, excited for the possible discovery that he might make and worried that he might not be able to fend for himself if it turns out to be a demon. He was expecting to see something scary, odd, magical or even grand but his expectations failed him.

A couple of feet from him was a girl, curled and unconscious on the ground. He wondered what a girl, probably just a couple of years younger than him, is doing in the forest floor at this time of day. He took another step forward and shook her by the shoulder. Her eyes lazily fluttered open and her lips were mumbling but no sound came out.

"Are you alright?" he inquired as he squatted down to see if she was injured in any way.

"Ahhh!" the girl screamed but stopped abruptly and looked around with both confusion and fear in her eyes. "Where am I?" she locked gazes with the boy before him as she sat up. A groan escaped her lips as she felt a sharp pain on her left arm.

"Don't move" he noticed that her arm was a bit swollen, it sure was injured. Removing his scarf, he reached for her arm but she pulled it away with a face twitching in pain. "You'd hurt yourself more if you leave it that way" he reached for her arm again and this time she allowed him to create a makeshift arm support with his scarf.

She looked down at her arm. "Where am I?" she looked around once more.

"In the forest but it's near my town" he got up and noticed that tears started rolling down her face. "Can you stand up?" he offered her a hand and she took it then wiped the tears that stained her cheeks. "What are you doing here on the first place? You don't look like someone who lives in our town" he noted that she was wearing a light pink robe, falling to her ankles. The sleeve on her left arm was in tatters and her outfit is covered with mud and bits of grass.

"I don't know" she frowned. "I'm scared" she muttered and bit her lip to keep the tears from falling.

"My mother would probably know what to do with you. Why don't you come with me?" he offered.

"Eh?" her chocolate brown eyes widened. "b..but I don't know you" she removed the stray strands of dark hair that stuck on her damp face with the back of her hand. "My father always told me not to go with strangers"

"Would you rather stay here then?" he looked up and realized that night has already fallen.

"Ah…No…I don't want to...It's scary" the small trembling voice came out of her lips. "Please don't leave me" she reached for his sleeve and held on to it.

"Then follow me" without another word he lead the girl out the forest, over the hill and into the village to the warm small house near the river which he calls home.

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

"Saitou Hajime!" it was never good when his mother calls him by his full name. He stood in attention and watched as his mother bathes the young girl on their wooden tub. Of course he wasn't looking but he listened to his mother's chastising.

"How many times should I tell you not to stray out far from town? And you even went home late" she continued with a sigh. "I was really worried you know." She poured water over the little girl's head, washing away the bubbled and foam from the soap.

"I'm sorry" usually his scarf would help hide the frown on his face but it was dirty and he has nowhere to hide his frown in.

"You always say that but do you really mean it" she grabbed a towel and dried the little girl. "And why did you go out with that sword again? Your father told you to use it only when you are old and strong enough to wield it"

"But by that time I won't be able to gather enough skill to make me a good hunter" he looked at his mother who lifted the little girl, now wrapped in a towel, out of the tub.

"I want you to follow your own path but I hope that you forget about being a demon hunter" his mother's voice was marred with sorrow and he didn't liked it one bit. She turned to the little girl and smiled at her. "We'd get you dressed and we'll have dinner alright?" she beamed at the girl who nodded in delight. She led her out the bathroom. "Go get cleaned. We'll talk about this some other time" she said before walking out the door.

The boy stood looking at the floor for a while. He knew and understood his mother's sentiments about him being a demon hunter but he felt like it was path he should pursue, no matter how treacherous and difficult it may be.

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

"I forgot to ask you earlier but what's your name?" the boy's mother asked with a smile. The boy watched as his mother dotted on the girl like she was her own.

The girl dropped her fork on the plate and returned the smile. "Chizuru…Yu-ki-mu-ra Chi-zu-ru" she said in syllables as if to spell them out to the woman.

"Chizuru… that fits you just fine" she beamed. "I'm Ena but you can call me mother" she turned to the boy beside her. "And this here is Hajime"

The girl tilted her head to side confused. "Mo-ther" she muttered.

Ena nodded. "I'll go and check the town hall tomorrow for missing children reports. Anyway, do you have any family members we can contact? Or do you know which town or city you lived? The nearest city to our town in a five day travel from here and the nearest town is half a day away, we can send them a notice for a lost girl"

Chizuru stares blankly at her plate then bit her lip. "I… can't remember"

"Huh?" Ena wondered if she is suffering from memory loss. The poor thing.

"I can't remember anything" the little girl started to sniff and hot tears welled on her eyes. "I…can't…remember…" she started sobbing and looked pained from not being able to remember.

"Mother you made her cry" Hajime stated as he stopped eating.

Ena got up and patted the girl's back. "Please don't cry. I'm not really good at making kid's stop crying. Lucky for me Hajime barely cries" she chuckled.

"I'm sorry" Chizuru rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "I'm scared"

Ena ran her fingers on her soft dark brown hair. "Why?"

"I don't know" she sniffed.

"You don't have to be scared, Chizuru" Ena beamed and made the little girl look at her. "You can stay with us till you find your family alright?"

"Really?" Chizuru went from sad to glad in a snap.

Ena nodded. "Of course. From now on you'll be my daughter" she embraced the girl who was beaming in delight. "and Hajime can be your brother"

"Huh?" Hajime almost choked on his food.

"You don't have any problems with that right?" Ena then placed both her hands on Chizuru's cheeks and squeezed it till her lips were in a pout. "I mean look at her. She really cute!"

Hajime sighed, if his mother wants to adopt the girl then who is he to say no. "It's alright"

"Yay! I can't wait to dress you up and style your hair and oh…dear…I'm so excited" Ena returned to her seat to resume eating.

Chizuru looked across the table. Her eyes feel on the silent boy who is almost finished eating. "Brother" she called him. When he looked up she gave him a warm smile.

Hajime looked away from the girl and felt embarrassed to be called brother for the first time.

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

A week passed and no one came looking or posted an announcement for the missing girl. Hajime haven't told his mother about the light he saw in the area where he found Chizuru but he concluded that he just imagined it. Looking behind him, he saw that Chizuru was trying to catch up with his longer strides. She was panting and red in the cheeks.

"Wait" she grabbed into Hajime's scarf. He held on to it before it got completely pulled away from his neck. "Brother, I thought mother told us to play with the other kids" she looked around. "But there is no one here"

They were just half way across the small hill but Hajime thinks that Chizuru could use some rest so he sat down on the patch of grass, placing his sword next to him. "I don't have friends to play with"

"Huh?" Chizuru sat next to her new brother. It's been a short while but she found herself really fond of him. "Why doesn't brother have any friends? You're really cool" she smoothed her dark blue dress then tucked her knees to herself.

"What made you say that?" he stared up the sky hoping that an airship would pass again.

"Well…" Chizuru tapped a finger on her lip as she think. "Oh! I saw you practicing with your sword the other day! That's really cool!" she beamed.

"I'm not yet good enough in handling the sword" he paused. "and other kids find me scary"

Chizuru leaned closer to him and inspected his face. "Eh? But you don't look scary"

He couldn't help but smile. "Thanks"

She giggled and tugged his sleeve. "Hey hey!" she pointed at the sky. "It's a rabbit!"

He looked at where she was pointing. "That's a bear not a rabbit"

"Ohhh…" she frowned. "But I like rabbits"

He sighed as he saw the frown. "Alright then. It's a rabbit"

He never thought that she would be quite talkative but he didn't mind. He even thinks that maybe having a sister isn't that bad after all.

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

Hajime stepped a foot forward and sent a series of strong blows at the pillar of wood wrapped with a fair amount of hay. Tightening his left hand's hold on the hilt of his sword, he jumped forward and sliced the wood in half. The hay attached to it, now sliced in different measures, scattered as the wind blew by. He took a breath, maintaining the final stance in which he finished in before going into a passive stance then returned his sword to its sheath. The silence around him was shattered by a clap. He turned around and saw that it was Chizuru.

"That was greet!" the girl hopped to him with a smile. "Mother says it's time for lunch. I helped her cook today"

Hajime picked up the wood which he cut with his sword, they would make good firewood. "Sure. I'll follow" with that he watched as she ran back to their home. It's been a year and a half since Chizuru started living with them. She changed the atmosphere of their home and more importantly she became a good companion for his mother. His thoughts were interrupted when the girl tripped forward. Dropping the wood under his arm, he rushed to her side.

"Are you alright? You know that you always stumble and fall. You should avoid running like that again" Hajime helped her up.

Tears welled in her eyes as she dusted the dirt in her hands. She moved her leg and cringed in pain. "Ouch…" she whispered as she lifted her skirt up to see a wounded knee.

"Don't worry that's just a scratch" he dusted her leg with his hand. "Does your ankle hurt?" he lifted her feet up, making her stumble forward to him. He helped her keep her balance by placing her hand on his shoulder. He moved the foot and when she stiffed, he knew that she sprained her ankle.

"I'm sorry" she muttered as she sniffed back a cry.

"Don't worry about it. We'll fix you when we get home" he got up. "Can you walk?"

"I think so" she took a couple of limping steps before almost falling forward but Hajime caught her. "Thanks"

"I guess I'd have to carry you back" he looked back at the wood he was supposed to bring home. It was a waste but she comes first before anything. He squatted down and looked at her over his shoulder. "Come on"

She took another step forward and rode on his back. She was lifted up without any effort. She was quite small after all. She wrapped her arms around his neck, locking them on his chest, and then rested her face next to his.

"Mother won't be happy with this" he muttered.

"I'm sorry" she pouted. There was a long while of silence as they walked back home until she sneezed because his hair tickled her nose. "Excuse me" she giggled.

"Don't tell me you're going to catch a cold too" Hajime glanced at her.

"No. It's your hair. We should really trim it." She playfully pulled the tip of his bangs. "Can you still see with this brother?"

"Of course."

"Mother thinks that you'd look better with a clean cut but I think this suits you just fine" she tugged the tip of his bangs again.

"Thank you but please stop that" he said in his usual almost emotionless manner.

"Sorry" she smiled and looked up. "Look it's an airship!"

Hajime stopped and looked up as well. "It is"

"I want to ride that one someday"

"Me too"

"Yey! Then let's all ride the airship alright" she beamed.

He adjusted her to keep her from falling from his hold. "Of course"

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

The rest of the day was uneventful but he felt really tired and wanted nothing but to get a shut eye. Hajime paused on his way to his bedroom though when he spotted Chizuru sitting on the bench outside the window. He wondered what she was doing at that time of night and so he went out to check on her.

"Couldn't sleep?" he sat next to her.

She almost fell on the ground in surprise. "Brother…"

"You shouldn't stay out. There have been demon attacks on neighboring towns this past few days and everyone is advised to stay inside their homes ones the sun falls and refrain from going out at night" he leaned back and looked up the sky sprinkled with glittery stars.

She can't help but chuckle with the way he spoke. He's always serious and he has the air of a twenty year old man. He would smile and play with her but compared to other kids his age his thoughts on things were always deeper than them.

There was a while of silence which was slightly eased by the singing of the crickets and the leaves rustling to the passing wind. "Are you afraid of demons?" Chizuru glanced at him.

"I haven't seen one. So I can't answer that" he glanced at her before redirecting his eyes at the sky ones more.

"If you met one what would you do?" she moved closer to him.

He looked at her and their eyes met. "I'd kill it"

"Even if it's not a bad demon?" there was worry on her voice.

"If I met one I'd decide what to do but now based on what I know about them I won't have second thoughts on killing them if they try to harm us in anyway" he replied, wondering what cause her to ask her those questions.

"So if the demon is good you won't hurt her?" she held unto the edge of his scarf. "or him…"

"Yes but there aren't any reports on good demons" he was about to look away from her when she lifted her skirt to her thigh and removed the gauze from her knee then the cloth that wrapped her sprained ankle.

"Brother" she said in almost a whisper. "What if I told you that I am a demon?"

Note: Hey there! Thanks for reading and reviews or comments or questions would be really appreciated. They really help fuel the authors mind :3

-So the setting if you noticed is a clash between the future and the past, reason why they use swords while airships exists already as well.

-This chapter and the next one would be both flashbacks, I italicized them to differentiate the present to a memory.