Seed of Hope
Prologue: Shrouded in Mystery

(A/N: Hey peeps! I'm back! Yes, I know I haven't been updating my fanfics for a VERY LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG while, but it's coz I'm currently suffering from writer's block and don't know how to continue them, but if you have any suggestions as to how the story should go then you can email me or you can add it in the review. Thank you! On with the story!)

The sun shone down brightly on the busy streets of Kyoto. Everywhere you looked, the street seemed to hustle and bustle with life and the air was filled with the joyous laughter of children playing and the chattering of ladies as they walked around, baskets filled with groceries hanging from their arms.

The picture looked like it came out of a picture postcard, however just when you thought things couldn't have looked any happier, the sound of screams pierced the air and the beautiful picture was shattered into a thousand pieces. A group of children had been playing in the street when the carriage had gone out of control and the driver was unable to tame the frightened beast. The carriage was headed straight for the children. The two older brothers seeing the carriage had sensed the danger and ran away panicking leaving their little sister behind. The poor girl could only watch in fear as the carriage loomed closer and closer.

At that moment, just as the carriage was about to collide straight into the girl, a figure clad in white seemed to appear from nowhere and rush to the aid of the little girl, pushing her out of harm's way. The little girl looked up at the figure, but she could not make out a face. The figure walked up to the girl's mother and silently placed the girl in front of her mother.

"Okaa-san!" The girl said happily to her mother, whose face now matched the colour of snow.

"Sakura-chan!" The girl's mother, seeing that her only daughter was safe and sound seemed to awake from her reverie, picked up the five-year-old and lovingly embraced her as tears of happiness and relief streamed down her face.

"Arigatou! Arigatou! How can I ever thank you?" The lady said profusely as she made the inclination to bow to the figure in white. The figure seemed to panic and made to help the lady stand. The figure just waved its hands in a gesture that said 'no'.

Just as the figure made to walk away, the little girl tugged at the figure's white cloak.

"My name is Sakura, arigatou for saving me. Erm… ano…is it alright if you lifted up your hood so that I can see you?"

The figure seemed to tense up momentarily. With shaking hands, it slowly lifted its hands to its head and made to remove its hood. Gently, inch by inch, the white cloth was painstakingly removed and the lady's eyes widened in horror. A large crowd had gathered around the group to the spectacle. They looked on in anticipation as the mysterious figure finally revealed its identity. As the sun shone on the figure's hood, the crowd held its breath…

The hood was now almost off, pale white skin could now be seen underneath it, however before anything could be said, the figure replaced the hood back on its head and walked away.

The crowd watched with mixed feelings of shock and curiousity as the figure walked away from the large group.

"Wait"

Stopping, the figure turned to look at the one named Sakura as the little girl cling onto the white fabric. Sakura motioned for the figure to come closer as she whispered into its ear.

"I hope you find it soon." Giving the figure a big hug, the little girl smiled as the retreating back of the figure.

"Good luck…" The encouraging words of little Sakura's hang in the air as the figure smiled at the little girl's innocence and naiveté, she didn't do anything to deserve such a fate and neither did the people…

(A/N: Yes, this is an edited and updated version of the prologue. If you guys have been wondering what happened to me, I'll tell you that I had caught pneumonia and had to be sent to the intensive care unit, after which I had to stay in the hospital for a period of 13 days. Hopefully you guys can understand that in my weakened state I couldn't update this fic. So, now that I have been released, I'm going to edit this fic and hopefully will be able to type out a new chapter soon. Hope that you guys will understand and still continue to support this fic. Thanks!)