An Eye for an Eye

Hikaru gingerly bundled up all her laundry into the spare white cloth that was usually used as a substitute for dirty bed sheets or a double layer of covering on chilly nights. Most girls from the orphanage usually refused to neighbor their dirty clothes with the sheets they so royally sprawled on, not. They would rather carry all their kimonos –soiled from cookery lessons, sewing classes and kami knows what other shticks– over their weak little shoulders through the whole of the town. The kimonos, obviously weighing quite some for those airheaded flimsy women, were dropped to the ground way too often for what would classify as an error and way too uncannily in front of the young men of the village.

Hikaru shook her head, shoeing away all the horrible thoughts lest they take her back to last night's conversation. The said event was nothing more than a syrupy mess of love confessions and boys; more confessions and more boys; even more confessions and even more of those damned boys, the dorm girls had decided to indulge in.

That was one night Hikaru learnt the utter importance of her stone-stiff pillow. It was truly a blessing from the holy Neko Kami-Sama.

A shudder ran up her spine as she ambled towards the public laundry of Nekmura, her big bundle of grubby clothes hauled up in her arms in a clean, manageable ball. She could have had her clothes been taken by the dorm maid, but it would have gone against her principles. The sickly old maid was already so mentally brutalized by the other sassy girls of the dorm that Hikaru could not find it in herself to bother her with something as petty as her laundry. Especially so when she was seventeen years old and was expected to carry out all her personal tasks on her own.

"Hey blueberry~!" Hikaru winced inwardly at the oh-so-familiar voice. She curled in on her standing self, attempting so desperately to hide behind the big ball of unclean garments.

"Don't hide, my darling~!" The tall girl strutted towards the shorter one, her chest sticking out in a way that could easily be classed as lewd or desperate. Her shiny red locks bounced behind her, lapping against her swaying hips.

"Hey, Mimiko." Hikaru sighed in defeat, letting the laundry ball descend low enough for her face to be visible, and also the forced smile plastered on it.

"Guess what! Guess what!" the redhead buzzed in her high-pitched voice, making a dull migraine climb up Hikaru's forehead. 'What a bother'- she found herself subconsciously repeating the words of someone she held in great esteem. But soon feeling the guilt of thinking ill of someone crawled over her, making her delve into a moment of self-evaluation and correction.

"Oi, halfwit." Mimiko frowned at the lack of attention, her made-up face contorting into a grotesque mess of powder and lip-stain as she bopped the younger woman on the head, successfully attracting her interest towards her.

And that was exactly why Hikaru so passionately disliked the redhead's overbearing presence.

"What?" Hikaru muttered begrudgingly, refusing to lose her calm at the expense of a stupid bimbo (the shame threatened to return at the description.) as she frowned. Her niceness was now careening dangerously close to the borders of impoliteness. But no matter how much she wanted to leave, she was compelled to stay; stay put; stay nice and stay kind.

"I talked to Gingka-kun and Kyouya-kun today! And they, like, totally flirted with! Like totally! I'm so sure that they, like, like me. Totally!" Mimiko giggled, her hand pressed against her mouth in the most artificial way physically possible.

Kyouya? Flirt? What?

A soft pang of jealousy stung her soul, making it ripple painfully under the not-so foreign feeling. It nipped at her judgment, making her susceptible to all what the redhead may spew. Usually her ruling was not so clouded, but the more she had started spending time with the now-famous Lion Summoner, the more she had started feeling all of those despicably vain emotions.

Spending time usually was watching him train or picking berries for Leone in the Inner Forest. She frequented the forest almost every day, with fruits and food – which she made at those godforsaken cookery classes- for the lion summon and his master. They did not reject her company either, instead agreed quietly to eat together in silence.

That was until the Kyouya entered the regional contest…and won.

Thence on, his visits lessened in number, leaving the solitary girl to spend most of her time eating alone in the forest. She did not mind much, she was fairly used to being alone but the lack of their presence did bug her soul, making it ache so faintly. She had no idea why, but every waking moment spent away from the green haired Summoner only left her twitchy and tense.

He did, still, visit a few times; even stopping a few minutes more to accept the supper Hikaru offered.

However, that did not last long.

With each duel he won; each opponent he conquered; each admirer he earned; each tuft of Arcane Potential he gained; his visits grew scarce. At first, linearly and later exponentially.

Hikaru did try getting in contact with him but all she got was a rude snort and a curt "I'm busy."

"I totally think they'll, like, totally marry me!" the redhead had not even taken a pause to breath, "like totally~!" she gushed, snapping Hikaru out of her little reminiscence.

"Good for you." She muttered, too busy coping with the tempest of emotions that raged within her to pour any sort of sentiment into her words. Her heart clenched as she looked at the ground, her digits digging deep into the plushy ball of clothes. She could not bear hearing his name anymore; could not stand even in the immediate environs of someone talking about him.

"Oh! My Kyouya-sama! I'm sure he loves me too."

And then she felt so sick.

Bile rose up her throat and her hands trembled violently as she held onto the heavy load that threatened to crash to the ground. Her soul collapsed deep into the depth of a darkness even Hikari-sama's magic could not illuminate. Her breathing, riddled with wheezes as heavy as the moisture that hung in the air reverberated through her mind, making her cough and fall to her knees.

It pained and hurt so much.

Her soul thrummed weakly as it was dragged across the negativity of the void, the hard tug on it only grew more vicious with every movement she made for stabilization. She could feel her magic leek around her in small streams, rising into the amber afternoon sky, leaving a trail of glitter behind. She closed her eyes, the pain overcoming her good sense and consuming all of her dwindling mana. Her eyes burned as she crumbled down to her calves, her hands, now freed of the freight, barely held her shivering frame up.

Her mind did not register any of the whispers that burst around her with such excitement; it was too busy commanding her to speak.

Commanding her to Summon.

By the divine Arcane Charter

And heaven's prestigious favor

Her eyes hurt, they burned as if on a fire too wild to tame; her blue magic shot through the skies, wavering ever so slightly. The feeling was indescribable and immensely appalling; it suckled on her mana like a leech, retrieving even the last drop of magic her body could offer. It was vile, and it was ghastly; she was never meant to be a Summoner; never someone with such great power. All what had been written in her fate was a life full of normality, peace and just…sobriety. This sort of exhilaration was something Hikaru had rarely ever thought of, let alone aspire for; excitement scared her, it brewed the waves of insecurity in her that actively fueled her aversion from being brave; being courageous.

Nobody, not even her body had indicated that she would one day howl in agony for her everlasting companion. She was not even cut out for that kind of work. All she was meant to be was a healer even if she failed at it. It was her only providence.

She was aware of her non-existent competency in healing magic. She had been told, too many times, that she would never cut it big; that she would not even qualify as an apprentice for a child healer. It had hurt then, it had made her brawl her eyes out at nights, but she never complained. Not even once did she stand up for her abilities or defy the others by arguing or complaining - for she knew she was miserable at healing and no amount of slogging would help her up her aptitude in medical sorcery- but she still did try, she still practiced night and day to get better, but she never complained. She did not even complain when she was the only girl left in the orphanage; it was unfair, but she never spoke of it to anyone.

Even when people ridiculed the deepness of her colour, she listened, passive and quiet she listened. Even when they called her 'dirty mud', she listened. She listened when they teased her, she understood when they boycotted her, she left when they asked her, but she never complained. She never fell at the patio of the shrine, begging and wailing about the injustices of life, persuading the gods to alter her destiny. She accepted her fate with open arms and a tired smile, thinking that one day…one fine day things would get better. All she had to do was endure, and she would surely be rewarded with good outcomes.

She would have laughed at her own predicament now that it seemed such a fry cry from what she had expected the 'good outcomes' to be; all the 'rewards' she looked forward to.

After all those years of always being inferior, always being substandard, this was the 'reward' she was bestowed with.

And she laughed. She cried and she laughed as her companion ripped away her shivering soul to form one of its own. Her heart welled with sentiments too complex for her to comprehend. Was it pride? Happiness? Fear? Anger? Love? Apprehension? She was confused by the victimizing emotions that threatened her mental integrity.

Why did it have to be…

She dared not to utter that verse.

So…

That one word.

So…

She was no one to question, no one to decide.

Unfair.

But she did.

Her eyes, soaked and stinging, curtained themselves from the bright fringes of her own magic.

Unfair.

Unfair.

All of it.

But nothing happened. Her pains did not lessen; her aches were not extinguished, only resignation and guilt floated around in her head.

Unfair.

It was unfair.

This was unfair.

No matter how petulant she felt; how unfair it all seemed, she could do nothing but suffer with her lips sewn and her conscience stiffened. These lofty feelings; these 'endearing' emotions; they were not for her, yet here she was, being blessed with them in loads.

And her magic was so weak; too weak to sustain any other life than hers. Her fragility showed as her magic, heavy and gross from the absolute immaturity, descended down upon her at a threatening velocity. The stream of magic crackled as it rapidly lost altitude, joined by the other ribbons of blue dazzle, it tore through the clouds like a bolt of lightning heading straight towards its unsuspecting victim.

The impact came like a dagger tearing through thick bone. Her jaw connected to the dusty ground as her own magic hit her with a force so hard that it made her eyes bulge out. Pain, like nothing she had felt before, consumed her whole form.

It was unfair.

So unfair.

She looked at the blue form of her premature summon stagger towards her. Its beautiful blue locks, unfinished and tattered, trailed on the dusty ground as it pushed the blue gown it adorned out of its way.

It was struggling to help her.

But before she could inch her fleshy hands towards her companion's watery ones; before she could smile at her friend, before she could feel their souls connect, her vision distorted; a surfeit of pains of different intensities assaulted her optical nerves, making her shriek out loud.

And everything went black…

Only to never turn 'colour' again.

And it was so unfair.

No celebrations, only mourning followed the summoning.

Hikaru looked down at the ground as she walked through the village with stiff steps, her ears were burning with shame and her hands were interlaced with that of her water summon. Her vision, as white as fresh bleach, only did so little to distinguish the different auras of the things around her. It was a blur of colors, swirling around in beautiful patterns and darting across her mind, only aiding with the buzzing ache in her head.

"We should rest…" Hikaru mumbled wearily, her other hands desperately searching for her Summon's.

"O-Okay." Came the broken, yet so melodious, voice of her water Summon as she felt a pair of cool hands grasp hers. Even though Hikaru had never the chance to know how her summon looked, she positively believed that she would have been as beautiful as she sounded and as gentle as she was kind.

And it was a shame that so many people looked down upon her; looked down upon them. Their condescending glares were always laden with disgust and judgment; their voices were always harsh and cruel and their disposition was always vile towards the duo.

What had they ever done to receive that kind of a treatment?

Why was everything…so unfair?

People -Villagers and Elders alike- had regarded her summoning to be a premature one.

Premature summonings were more of a curse, more of a thing to mourn than to rejoice for. They were a blessing of the devils, something to be held in fear, in terror. It was not something pleasant, something the elders or even your parents would be proud of; it was a malediction- an ominous foreboding of the future. They were not meant to be a cause of happiness.

With all the other social perquisites, they also usually entailed a poorly formed Summon, a weaker soul bond and prominent physical loss in the Summoner; in Hikaru's case, it were her eyes that she lost to the summoning.

The lavender of her iris had seeped away into her sclera and pupils, making her orbs seem like a garden smothered with purple poppies in different shades and hues. With the newfound colors came substitute abilities. Her eyes –devoid of normal vision- could only sense magical auras the souls let out now, but it was not useful, for all of it only seemed a harassing mess of paint on a bright canvas, which only left the blue haired girl more confused and frustrated. You will learn to distinguish them soon, my child. Stay patient, give it some time- is what her Orphan Elder had soothingly consoled her with, later even offering her some coins she could manage her overhead expenses with.

Her summon, which could barely let out a few comprehendible sentences, advised her to join something that would help with the acquired money. And Hikaru did exactly as she was asked, or advised to; she joined the classes that excelled in imparting sign language and magical decoding for the inherently blind.

And even the hype of her ominous summoning had died down sooner than she had expected.

People went along with their daily chores, getting back to their normal lives. A few whispers of ill-words still laced the air, but that was not new to Hikaru. That was when the Orphanage Elder (along with a few others) approached her with the idea of joining the Summoner's Training Guild.

The aforementioned was nothing but the culmination of all the novice Summoners of a district. It was mandatory for every District to have one such guild where young Summoners were taught the ways of duel-sorcery, self-protection and bonding with their Summon. It was where most parents of Young Summoners would send their children to, in hopes of watching them become the Head of District Guard (the highest post of a District's military.) one day.

There were healing Guilds as well, somewhere only extraordinaire healers were sent. There were other guilds too, but Hikaru was not well versed with them. She had even briefly wondered if there was a Guild for Necromancers. After hours of searching and snooping around in old books, she was disappointed to find that no such Guild existed.

The Guilds majorly comprised of Instructors and Healers. It was like a school in one or more ways-a school for the blessed. It was typically housed in a lavish building, accompanied with small gardens that were easily a paragon of beauty. She had heard all about the glamour of the Guilds and, for the first time in a long while, she was actually, genuinely…excited.

Therefore, she had naturally accepted the offer when it came to her. An Invitation to the Summoner's Training Guild.

Therefore, here they were, travelling to the Guild (situated a few ways out of the village.) all on their own.

Hikaru looked at the sky; it was truly beautiful, blue and serene. She liked that. Maybe these days would not be too harsh on her. Maybe these days would be better.

The soft breeze that rifted through the jungles caressed her lids to a gentle close. She let her limp hands fall to her side and her head loll against the rough bark of the tree she lay against. A soft glimmer of hope nipped at the depression that had settled in the young lady's heart from the events that had transpired in the past.

She knew it would have been better if she had a supple mattress to stretch on, silky kimonos to wrap her form in, fresh flowers to decorate her wispy hair with, and carriage with which she could continue her journey. It would have been wonderful if she had all the luxuries that life had to offer; all the happiness it had to circulate. Nevertheless, she was content with what she had at the instant; with all the moments she spent fighting, all the times she spent trying; they were all like a treacherous path to something bigger; something better.

She smiled faintly at the feeling.

Everything would be all right.

"Blue? What are you doing here?"

That voice…

Or not.

…Tategami-san…

To Fidget, Face or Façade?

First poll! The voting discriptions will be provided below. You can go to my page to poll, and also, don't be shy if have any questions!

Face: Hikaru faces Kyouya head on. Even after all what happened was indirectly elicited by him.

Façade: Hikaru pretends being asleep, not wanting to face him after all what happened and due to the surge of conflicting emotions inside.

Fidget: Hikaru does what naturally comes over. (That is, either of the above options, like a surprise sort of a thing, haha)

A/n: Gosh! finally done with the premises of the story! All ya all, get ready for some real story in the next chappie! We'll be inaugurating the first arc from the next chapter! And sorry if this was not up to the mark either, I write fragments of it on different days, so the story might seem a little detached. I'll try harder next time! till then, vote and leave a review if ya like!