Author's note: can't think of any other appropriate title...So there! Hope you enjoy reading my fanfic.. That's all!

Crimson Snow

It was supposed to be winter that time but in that part of the town, it was sunny. the plants were in bloom and emanated a certain beauty that could make one's troubled soul happy.

In a house among that rather unusual part of town, there lived a common family who still lives by traditions. they had a garden at the back of their small yet elegantly crafted house. Beautiful plants and flowers grew there. Surely it was well taken care of, judging from its orderly arrangement. Also near in the back of their house was a small body of water, a creek perhaps. Among the garden stood a girl, not more than nine or ten years of age. She sat at a rock, dipping her feet into the water. She took notice of a red flower near her. She looked at it and found it beautiful so she put it over her hair.

Suddenly, her mother approached her. She bent down to her and whispered something in her ear.

"You have a visitor." she whispered as she patted the girl's shoulder gently. The girl seemed uninterested.

"Who is it?" She asked nonchalantly.

"it's Kenji."

The girl stopped for a moment. Her eyes kept the same direction but her mind wandered around. It was uncertain if she liked the idea or not. Then, she let out a deep drawn sigh.

"Let him come here." The girl told her mother as she picked a red tie from her pocket and started tying her hair.

"Alright. Just wait here." The mother said with a smile as she patted the shoulder of her daughter once again. Then she left.

It wasn't long enough until her mother came back with her visitor. There came a boy about the same age as her. He had brown hair and blue eyes and had a sense of formality, wearing almost a tuxedo-like outfit.

"Now, I'll leave you two here." The mother whispered to him. After that she left the two. The boy fixed his tie and then went to the girl. The girl wasn't even looking at him. She kept her eyes to the water.

"How come it's not winter here yet? I really find it strange." Kenji said as he sat down next to the girl who merely said nothing at his question.

"I want it to be spring forever. That's why." She said in a cold voice.

"Then you shouldn't have put a poppy in your hair. It doesn't look good in spring. He looked around and found a daisy. He picked it up and replaced the poppy with the daisy. "You should put a daisy instead." He then smiled at her sincerely.

The girl then looked at the water to see her reflection. He was right. The white daisy looked more beautiful than the red poppy.

"Thank you." She said with a smile as she was holding the daisy in her hair.

Their conversation went longer than expected. It seems that Kenji's cheerful attitude broke her coldness. It continued on for many minutes. It wasn't her nature to smile but as she was taking to Kenji, she noticed that she had smiled the most in her life. Suddenly, their conversation was stopped when they heard a loud explosion from outside.

"What happened?" She asked nervously.

It wasn't long before they heard banging and clashing from inside the house. Her mother came running from the house. She hurriedly instructed them to leave.

"Leave now! You are in danger!" her mother instructed them imperatively. The girl was not deterred. She was not going to leave unless her mother explains all about this commotion. She refused to flee from his position.

"Mother, explain what this is all about?!" The girl asked. She looked frightened yet determined. She knew that her own curiosity could lead her to danger but she refused to abide by her mother's command.

"Just leave!" She yelled at them. ten she turned at Kenji, "Please leave." She looked at him, telling a mental note to force her daughter to leave.

Kenji nodded his head. He grabbed the girl roughly in the arm but she violently shook it off.

"I am not leaving!" She insisted. "Not without you!"

A group of men arrived from the house. They were armed with long katanas and scythes. The girl looked to them with fear while Kenji tried to look brave. He looked upon them with courage. The mother hurriedly ran to the children and covered them with herself.

"Please do not hurt them....They are just children...." She pleaded with tears falling down from her eyes. The men did not look moved at all. As a matter of fact they looked more vicious. They had a sinister grin on their faces.

One of the men pointed his katana on the direction of the mother. A man behind him quickly moved forward. The girl could hear her mother's heart beating. it was beating so fast indicating that she was afraid. Afraid of what? She asked herself. Afraid to die? Afraid for them to get killed? These thoughts ran through the girl's mind. Mixed emotions continued to flow mindlessly in her mind. She wanted to protect all of them but she can do nothing. She was just a helpless girl amidst vicious wolves.

"Do it now." the man ordered. The other henchman that was in front of the mother roughly grabbed her by the head and stabbed her through the neck. The girl stared in horror while Kenji's eyes blazed with fury.

The girl was stunned. She froze in fear and in surprise. Seeing her mother lie dead, covered in her own blood horrified her. Kenji desperately wanted to fight back but had no other option but to sit back and lay low.

"Kill that monstrosity." He ordered again. All of them went to their position slowly. Seeing that her mother was dead, the terrified girl could only hope to reunite with her mother in death. She did nothing to protect herself from the impending attack. She could only wait for her end to come.

"NOW DIE!"

The girl closed her eyes. She could feel the blade coming closer...And so was her end.

Wait...Something is not right....I am.....I am still alive?

She opened her eyes and touched her face. When she looked at her palm, it was covered with blood. But she felt no pain. No wounds or whatsoever. Whose blood is it then? She asked herself. When she looked up, she was horrified at what she saw.

"KENJI!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw the man pull the blade out of Kenji. Kenji had protected her from the attack. She caught him in her arms as he fell to the floor.

"I....forgot to...ask your name....stupid, isn't it?" The dying boy told her.

"Yukime... Yukime is my name." She answered, with tears falling down from her eyes.

"It was nice...meeting you."

"Yes...."

He let out one last smile at her then, his head rolled to one side. Yukime closed his eyes then looked at the murderers furiously. She stood up and looked at them in anger. Her eyes glowed a fiery blue and her blue hair stared to float in mid-air. Wings suddenly emerged from her back. The murderers froze in fear as they watched her. The moment she lifted her arm, a strong blizzard blew in the area. From the ground came out large crystals that swallowed the men. Soon, the place was filled with frozen people. But with a single snap from her hand, it broke down to small particles and vanished in thin air.

There she stood, in the middle of the icy grave. She could only weep for those who have gone.

Author's note: I purposely "abused" the use of pronouns for Yukime to keep her identity until the appropriate time. So please don't think that I did that for nothing....