It was the spring of 2006 when she first met the boy whose appearance changed the entire trajectory of her life.

Dusting off the Sakura petals that had covered her pleated red skirt, Sanvi took a bite out of the rainbow-colored cotton candy. It was the beautiful season of spring in Tokyo, and as she observed the dancing cherry blossoms it became painfully clear just how far away she was from home. Her cousin's house had a patio overlooking their gardens, with a beautiful cherry blossom tree smack-dab in the middle.

Back home in their gardens, instead of the pink cherry blossoms, there were plants of Mogra flowers, and trees of Harsinghar- both being a type of jasmine.

Just thinking about it makes her remember the elegant smell of the flowers and all those pleasant memories associated with it.

A homesick smile made it to her face as she remembered how every morning she would collect the Mogra flowers for her mother as she made her way to the temple in her neighborhood.

She would collect them during festivals or whenever there were any classical dance programs. Her grandmother would make beautiful gajras, garlands of jasmine that she would braid into her long hair. They would go beautifully with the elegant traditional outfits and jewelry and enhance her dance more.

Just thinking about those flowers triggered the memories of those beautiful mornings, scented gardens, and time spent with her family.

Japan is a beautiful country, no doubt about it. As a big anime fan, she was more than looking forward to creating some memorable moments here despite the circumstances.

Her grandmother had sent her prepared, teaching her how to cook and do daily mundane chores so she wouldn't be a problem to her sister, or her brother-in-law to be exact (not that he would think so, Shinji was a very considerate and helpful person- her family was just like that).

Tokyo is a city that none can compare to in the entire world, and she likes it here.

But it's very...lonely. And very homogenous. Completely opposite to India, which is a beautiful chaos full of colors and diversity. Coming from a country where languages, clothes, and traditions change every 10 miles, a beautiful mix of different religions and ethnicities, Japan did seem a bit...boring.

But she did have a huge bias here. After all, the people of her country cannot imagine life another way, while many other people would not be able to handle such a happening life. Not like there is anything wrong with it.

It's not her country, not her people. And the more you stay here, the more some people here make it clear to you.

She did find herself missing her actual home, her own country. It's funny, how she always dreamt of seeing the outside world, and now when this wish has come true, she finds herself severely homesick.

A gentle breeze made its way through the gardens, delivering even more sakura flowers on her skirt. The night was beautiful, with a full moon on display with stars twinkling around it. Her cousin was out for dinner with her boyfriend, and Sanvi took this brilliant opportunity to do nothing.

Right now, she was crashing at her cousin Anya's place, who was half Indian and half Japanese. Anya's mom was the sister of her mom and had met her husband at a foreign university in the UK. They got married there, and after Anya's birth settled back in Japan. Sanvi and her siblings have visited Japan before, and in one of those visits, Sachi, her sister met Shinji, her future husband.

The ladies of this family are way too fond of foreigners, her Grandmother had tutted in disapproval when Sachi first brought Shinji home to meet their parents.

'Don't turn out like them, there are plenty of good boys here!' She had said to a young Sanvi, who nodded to please her even though she had liked Shinji the moment she saw him (after all, he was very handsome). But soon, even her grandmother had gone soft on the gentle and soft Shinji, who just had that effect on people.

He was very kind, after all, who would tolerate his wife's sister for such a long time at his home?

Somewhere in Tokyo, she wondered as she chewed on her cotton candy, both Sachi and Shinji were running around looking for apartments.

As said before, she did not want to do anything tonight. Sometimes, it's best to sit idle and do nothing.

But the opportunity went down the drain as suddenly a feeling of dread filled her stomach. A horrendous groan resonated through the gardens, and she froze in her place.

It was another one of them.

She could see those things since she could remember.

They have always been there, latching onto people, probably sucking souls out of them (if that is how demon physiology works, that is). They were everywhere!

Schools, hospitals, parks, and the neighborhood's swimming pool even (she is not kidding about that). Her elder brother assured her that she wasn't crazy and that he saw them too. He wasn't uncomfortable around the topic like her parents were, who humored the two of them initially for some time.

With a sigh, she got up and stretched her body. Walking underneath the Sakura tree, she pulled a low-hanging branch to her face and let the flowery smell overwhelm her.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings, and she found her eyes drawn to a spot tucked deep away in the corner of the garden. The shadows rippled, and something in her stomach twisted as something made its way out of it.

And boy, was this one ugly.

And smelly.

She covered her nose in disgust as she watched the slimy thing look at her and made another high-pitched noise, a chittering sort of noise that resembled those of huge insects. It made her skin crawl, her heart beating loudly.

It had the body of a huge lizard, being fat and covered in some sort of disgusting grey slime. A huge tongue made its way out of its jaws that resembled that of an insect's, and it's only one eye was focused on her.

The creature's appearance was enough for that familiar scorching sensation to return in her veins, and she closed her hands in a tight fist before that weird energy thing could make its way out of her.

The last time it happened, she had almost burned her favorite Mogra plants down to ashes. Thankfully, her brother had saved them with his energy, which took the form of a shield of sorts.

And she was sure her cousin wouldn't appreciate it if the same fate befell her sakura tree. Plus, she still had her cotton candy in her hand, and she still hadn't tasted all the different colors yet (humor as a front for false bravado, how typical).

She wasn't panicking, she assured herself as she adjusted her glasses. But the heartbeat she could almost feel in her stomach said otherwise.

To maintain outward appearance. If the thing saw her scared, it would embolden it.

But inside she was screaming. She could feel herself hyperventilating as the creature clicked its jaws and made another jittering noise as it came towards her. She could use her brother now. After all, he was the one who would get rid of these things of her.

It was going to eat her, wasn't it?

Most of the things she saw every day stayed away from her, and she them. But they didn't overwhelm her with their presence like this thing was doing.

Its presence was just so negative. Everything bad you can imagine- sadness, frustration, despair, anxiousness, everything was suddenly suffocating her.

"Oh dear lord," she muttered, her voice trembling as she took a few steps back slowly. Her frustration made its way onto her face, as it was becoming harder and harder to control the fire that threatened to rise from her very own skin.

"Oya Oya?"

A rich voice (of course she would notice that first) reached her ears, and she squinted beyond the sakura tree to look at the huge man...no, a boy in high school uniform (unless it was a man cosplaying as a student, which was a reason enough to chuck rock sat him in self-defense), who had perched his arms on the concrete boundary around the house.

The first thing she noticed was that he was tall, like more than 6' 0" tall.

He was crouched lazily, his head resting on his palm, face settled into a smug expression that seemed as if it had been there since the beginning of time.

Pitch-black sunglasses were perched on his nose, and Sanvi felt the red flags dancing around him. After all, who wears such dark sunglasses at night and prances around peeping into other people's property?

Perverts, kidnappers, murderers, robbers, serial killers, cannibals...okay maybe scratch the last one out. What was the probability of her being surrounded by a flesh-eating monster as well as a cannibal together?

"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling flabbergasted at the entire situation. There was a demon in the backyard, her nerves were on fire and some random dude popped up on the boundary and was probably going to see her get eaten.

His lips curled into an 'o' formation, his eyes landing on the cotton candy she still had clenched between her fingers. He used a finger to pull his glasses down a little bit. Sanvi couldn't help but shuffle nervously as his electric blue eyes locked onto her own plain brown ones.

A gentle breeze flew by, and she watched transfixed as Sakura petals ended up on his fluffy moon-white hair, before his scoff made her look away.

Her mind raced at the current situation. This slimy monster in her backyard, a strange (beautiful) boy perched on the boundary (looking extremely suspicious while doing so), and the flaming energy in her veins that won't calm down.

"Ehhhh, it's a pain watching you think so hard. Try not to, will you? My head hurts just looking at you." The white-haired boy dared to complain, shaking his head.

"Your voice is a pain to listen to, but I am not complaining. Creep." Sanvi scowled, trying hard to form a proper sentence in Japanese that would express her feelings.

She still was relatively new to the language after all, so it was pretty hard to talk fluently to a native speaker. While trying to string a comprehensible sentence (in her mind obviously), her nerves were set on fire as this boy dared to tsk at her.

The audacity.

"Who the hell are you? And what are you doing!?" She said in a biting voice, continuing to back up from both him and the demon. The better situation was that he was a harmless passerby, and at worst a boy with some sort of bad ploy running through his mind.

She had no idea what the hell was going on, or what her next move should be in this situation. Should she run away from the demon first, or deal with this nosy (possibly a dangerous serial killer) boy?

"Oh, just your friendly neighborhood sorcerer! You don't seem to be having a great time, eh?" He said in an off-beat manner, checking his nails casually. Her lips turned down at the mention of a sorcerer.

Was this guy for real? Yeah, he was not right in the head.

Her eyes widened, letting out another yelp as the creature chittered and swung on its feet.

"Mummy!" She squealed loudly and cried out as the curse let out some sort of roar. She took steps back but her ankle stumbled upon a stray rock and she ended up on the ground, causing her skirt to ride up to her thighs. With an embarrassed scream, she quickly pulled it down.

Her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as the boy lets out loud guffaws, beating the boundary with his fist.

"Oh my god!" He continues cackling like Ursula the sea witch, taking his glasses off momentarily to wipe his tears away.

"Fuck! I wish Suguru was here!"

She didn't know who the hell was Suguru, and she was glad he wasn't here. Perhaps, this boy should have stayed with this Suguru and not show his face here. Her eyes watered in humiliation. Of course, it's not like he could see that demon. All he could see was a crazy girl crying for her mom while cowering away from him.

"Well, if those eyes of yours can't see, then let me tell you I am in the middle of something."

To be honest, she didn't know if she wanted him to go. When there is a monster in front of you, the presence of someone else is much better than being alone, even if it is selfish. But she knew he had to leave. Because even if he somehow survives the curse, he would not survive the fire that was threatening to burst out from her.

The white-haired boy tilted his head and looked down at her. The air around him was very condescending, as if she was a mere pebble under his shoes.

"My eyes see everything. And if I were you, I would stand still. Moving quickly will only make the curse come at you faster."

"The what? Can-you can see it!?"

Before her question could be answered, the creature suddenly came at her at top speed, and the only thing she knew next was that she was screaming as she tried to get up and make her way into the house.

And that's when things went down.

Her heart almost gave up on her when in the blink of an eye the boy sneaked up on her.

A scream got caught in her throat, and she turned and flew straight back into the house.

Or at least she tried to.

She had almost crossed the threshold of the house when she slipped on the floor. Screaming, she thrashed around as the boy wrapped an arm around her ankle and pulled her back. He heaved her up, clicking his tongue when he felt her struggle.

The next thing she knew she was whirled around, and another hand came under her knees before she was pulled up into his arms. Her hands came up to his chest, trying to push herself away from him.

"Don't bother, brat. You are way too weak to get away from me."

His face was lit up with mischief, and she tried to open her mouth to say something but only ended up screaming. She closed her eyes and started blindly slapping her hands in his direction.

A yelp escaped him as one connected with his face, skewing his glasses.

"Oi! I am trying to save your life, you know!"

She continued attacking him but winced when her hand connected with something sleek. Her eyes opened on reflex and watched as the (very expensive-looking) glasses on his eyes flew off and landed on the ground.

He grunted.

"That is enough outta you brat."

It was so quick, the way he adjusted her to hold her to him with one hand only, letting her legs go. His other hand came up and snatched both of her wrists in a tight, punishing grip. Finding her hands bound, she kicked him hard and he gave her an annoyed look.

"Remember, you are the one making it difficult." He said, kneeling slightly as his other hand got hold of the back of her thighs and again pulled her up.

She stuttered as she tried to shoo him away, but the glare he sent her way was accompanied by something else this time.

A choking, claustrophobic feeling that made her hackles rise. It was like the feeling she got around a particularly powerful monster that one time back home, but this one was infinitely time stronger. She forgot how to breathe as her entire body trembled in fear.

The boy raised his hand towards the monster, and without even blinking at the sight of the grotesque creature, flicked his hand.

Sanvi watched from the corner of her eyes, not daring to move even an inch.

The curse that was running towards them stumbled. Purple fluid spread around and she realized its legs (that looked like a centipede's) were sliced off.

Confusion was piling up in her brain as the claustrophobic feeling decreased a bit. Her Internet Explorer brain worked hard to take a grasp of the situation, but her control slipped.

Spectacularly. In almost a tenth of a second.

Flames erupted from the skin of her arms, spreading all around her, consuming whatever came their way. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling dread and confusion settling in. Her breath stuttered, trying to regain whatever control she could. The only way to save that boy would be to calm down, and watching him burn will just push her into hysteria.

In a panic, she looked up to meet his eyes and her breath almost hitched in her throat.

Her eyes met bright and shimmering, blue ones, and she noted how the light of the flames around her was reflected from his eyes, and how they made his snow-white hair shine.

It was breathtaking. But also, very unsettling.

In the future, she would sometimes remember this moment whenever she got too close to him. How he looked so beautiful, as entrancing as a fire was to a moth, but with a cursed energy that was enough to cause even the strongest curses and sorcerers to feel pure terror.

Surrounded by raging fire, but not even a single flame could touch him.

She took a deep, stuttering breath as the flames appeared blue in his eyes. Tilting her head cautiously, she continued to stare into his eyes. Eyes that were freaking her out because no normal person should have eyes like that.

A bellowing cry from the demon made her realize it was much nearer to her than before. She looked at him in urgency, wanting to get away from this mess of fire and demons. But he was looking at her with carefully veiled curiosity, a slight pout on his lips. He looked like he had everything under control, and perhaps, he did.

Everywhere around her, flames burned bright. But they could not even come near the boy with the snowy hair.

In the periphery of her vision, all she could see was the bright red flames, which were licking at the demon's skin, causing it great pain.

In the moment's confusion, she failed to notice that there was not even a peep from the strange boy.

"Heh, now what is this? That's why the cursed energy here was so strong. The elders would know about this sooner or later. Doesn't look good for you, honestly."

She was still trying to make sense of the nonsense he was spouting, when suddenly she found herself in the air, in the arms of the strange boy, her face resting against his black school jacket. The wind whistled around them, and her hands found themselves wounding around him tightly. The flames that once covered her skin were nowhere to be seen.

Her stomach dropped as she saw the situation on the ground. The entire backyard was on fire, along with the cherry tree.

"You know, attacking your knight in shining armor is rude. Anyways, what can you do about ungrateful people? Nobody is inside that house right?"

You talk a lot.

That was what she wanted to say, but ended up muttering a meek 'no'.

But her mind was now reeling from the fact that this creepy dude in the sunglasses was literally levitating in the air and that she had set her cousin's backyard on fire. Never mind the fact that somehow, her fire could not even touch his skin.

The demon below howled, and his pointy hands were speeding toward them as if lashing out as a last resort.

A scoff made its way out of his lips, and she felt his breath tickle her hair.

"For goodness' sake."

The sight below her made her stomach curl, as the demon was instantaneously crushed to smithereens by what seemed like an invisible force. It was a disgusting sight, with what seemed like purple blood spreading across the patio and the sakura tree.

Though slowly she noticed it disappearing, as it had never even been there in the first place. She winced, their faces lit with flames dancing below them.

"Whoops?" the boy spoke in a silly manner as if someone's home wasn't just destroying itself in front of them.

"Mmmphhh! Oh my god, look at your face!"

He was not very considerate.

She couldn't help the way her mouth fell open. Seeing her incredulous expression, whatever reservations he had about laughing at her face evaporated, and peals of laughter escaped him.

Sanvi took a deep breath, as she took her gaze away from this batshit crazy boy and focused on the flames below them.

She was attacked by a demon, then accidentally set the backyard on fire (and the cherry blossom tree too, she noted with disdain), and this boy was laughing.

"Are you a psychopath, socially inept, or just purely insane? Or all three of them for that matter? My house is on fucking fire, you sicko." she said, eyes wide and words trembling. She struggled but managed to free her wrists from his hand.

But looking down below, she almost felt sick and quickly gripped his jacket hard.

"Ahhh, I'd say crazy perhaps? Not socially inept. Some would say I'm very charming. You should be grateful though, since you aren't burning down there with the house."

As if anything can burn her.

A shaky breath left her, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw that the boy was looking at her.

"Now, let's go down, shall we?" He hummed, eyes focusing on somewhere ahead of her. Before she could follow his gaze in that direction, she felt the wind messing with her hair and burning her eyes. The air was almost knocked out of her as she felt a sudden pressure on her lungs and her entire body.

Lungs heaving, she opened her eyes and looked around her wildly. They were on the ground, two lanes away from her cousin's house. From there she could see a black shield of sorts above their house. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and her hand reached up to adjust her glasses.

Confused, she turned towards the boy to wrangle some answers out of him.

But again, she was caught up in his eyes.

Oh god, his eyes.

His gaze was inquisitive, and he hummed as he leaned down into her face to look at her. She pulled herself back on reflex, though there was no place left to turn. Instead, she found herself pressed against his shoulder.

This has to be another sort of torture. The silvery light of the full moon made his snowy hair shine a pearly white, his blue eyes positively glittering. The silver of the moonlight made his eyes a shining mix of blue and silver.

Even if she tried, she could not physically take her eyes away from his. So blue, so shiny and so, so beautiful.

And so dangerous.

Honestly, she could not understand whether the pit in her stomach was because his eyes were beautiful or because they felt inhumane as if belonging to one of the monsters she saw every day.

He frowned childishly, before just pulling his arms and, in turn, her, closer. She leaned her neck away, feeling the embers rising from her skin as he seemed to investigate her.

Her eyes fell on the Sakura petals still caught up in his messy hair and decided to end this staring contest with another distraction. Raising a hand slightly, she reached for the petal. She didn't miss how his eyes darted towards her hand, his grip tightening on her.

It felt like a warning, his guarded eyes observing her closely for any signs of malice.

He was hella intimidating, after all, he did just crush a monster without even touching it, and oh, let's not forget, he can fucking fly like he's Howl the Magician. With a trembling hand, she gently pulled the Sakura petals from his hair, being careful not to tangle it, just in case he dropped her.

"Just a cherry blossom." She says quietly, finally breaking eye contact. He is way too creepy and intimidating and beautiful.

"Yeah, yeah, now get down. You are way too heavy."

Sanvi scowled, all previous gentleness forgotten.

Gojo Satoru gave an impish grin, his daily quota of being a menace fulfilled.