The day was warm and birds soared through the sky. The hustle and bustle of the northern mountain village of Ako was as per usual. It was a settlement located in the northeast of Azael. It was most notable for being nearby to both a gigantic forest as well as the ocean. The village was a busy little settlement with decent trade, The people who lived there felt comfort in their way of life and lived in relative peace compared to other villages. As for any settlement, Ako village had an underbelly- a place for transients and those who were not blessed with the easiest of lives.
-In the country of Azael, year 1642-
-Near the eastern edge of Ako village, in a dank alleyway-
Freak, creep, and many other harmful words became part of Mia's day-to-day life. Despite being only 13 years of age, she shouldered these mounds of burdens alone. Due to being born with half-black and half-white hair, she often became a social outcast as well as a prime target for those who needed to take their anger out on someone who wouldn't fight back.
In Ako, the villagers have a traditional point of view and so they have difficulty accepting anything different. Anyone who seemed out of the norm was shunned and cast away, even seen as less than human.
For all she could remember she was always in the middle of the slums, the entire area practically a maze given the seemingly random backstreets and alleyways found sporadically throughout. As in most slum-like or slum-adjacent parts of civilizations, these alleyways seemed as if they were designed to help increase the crime rates within the cities.
Today, like any other day, she was walking down the street, minding her own business, when she was suddenly forced into a dark alleyway, far from the eyes of anyone who’d be willing to help her.
"You're disgusting, you freak of nature!". The insults repeated as she sat on the ground crying, tears of anguish poured down her fair skin.
Is this the life I get? Is this the life I deserve?
--
Other than her hair, Mia seemed like an ordinary girl. She wore her kimono just as everyone else did, though now its dark green fabric was caked in mud and grime. She walked around the slums in hunger, just like everyone else, though due to her lack of money, she often walked with bare feet. Mia was truly one you'd find barely making it by at the bottom of the world.
--
It was late and the light was becoming scarce. The smell of smoke and filth filled her nose as she weighed her options. Mia's eyes darted around every which way as she tried to find anything or anyone who could help. Her hazel-brown eyes overflowing with tears, a sliver of despair accompanying each tear like a ship riding a wave. The weathered buildings of the slums had her surrounded.
In front of her stood three bullies. They constantly tormented her for as long as long as she could remember.
The trio found a necessity to harm Mia... Enjoyment? Most likely... They all acted in pure villainy. The three of them took it upon themselves to torment Mia daily, calling her names as well as occasionally assaulting her in multiple ways. Their sadistic motive for harming her was the same as it always was... Which didn't make today any more special than the ones before it.
Towering above her by a whole nine inches was Mobo. He was the tallest of the three, standing at a not-so-staggering five and a half feet or so. Most would look at him and think his parents are doing a piss-poor job keeping him fed as he hardly had any meat on his bones, but to Mia, he was a giant. He wore a tattered blue kimono and wooden sandals. His messy brown hair would often fall into his face, covering his dark brown sadistic eyes. When it came to bullying and bringing pain to other children who crossed his path, he was a savant.
Standing in the middle was Ebrin, in his shabby brown kimono and his blonde hair which kept all the girl’s eyes. He prided himself in his appearance and knew that no blame or repercussions would ever fall upon him. Ebrin wasn't brought up with a silver spoon nor with a generous amount of money, but his overarching pride always guided him.
Oozua, the last of the tyrannical trio, stood off to the right. His greasy black hair hung down to his ears and covered his left eye. Like Ebrin he also wore a shabby dark brown kimono, though unlike Mobo and Ebrin's, Oozua's kimono was practically falling apart.
--
"I still don't understand how the adults let a freak like you even live here in the first place!" Mobo yelled while laughing sadistically. He took a step closer and slapped her across the face, causing her to fall over.
The other two burst out laughing and, as was tradition, began to throw mud at her, dirtying her kimono further and continuing to damage her already hurt heart.
Dark thoughts entered her mind as her tears continued streaming down her cheeks. The whirling thoughts of darkness felt like an eternity. Why do I exist? This damn hair is nothing but a curse. She looked up and stared at the sky, there must be something- Someone out there. Someone who can show me that life is more than just... This...
Her mind drifted for a moment but soon returned to the problem at hand.
--
Now kneeling beside her, Ebrin flatly stated, “You know, you should honestly just kill yourself. I think it'd save everyone a lot happier."
The words made her shutter and she grasped her kimono tightly. Tears continued to pour down her face as she sobbed continuously. She looked down at her hands, noticing them shaking with stress. Her breathing grew rapid, her thoughts painful, her heart crushed again for the millionth time.
"Good one Ebrin!" Oozua shouted, clearly amused by the former's comment.
Mobo, arched his head to the side in a creepy manner, "Yeah, you should do it, no one would miss you", he cracked his knuckles and snickered as he spoke, "Maybe I can help you with it".
Mia looked up at him, eyes full of dark emotions. In her mind it made sense. She had no family, and no friends, and the entirety of the village more or less shunned her. She truly had nothing except for the clothes on her back and the ocean of sorrowful thoughts in her head.
Maybe he's right... Maybe it'd be better if I just disappeared...
The boys continued to berate her without an end in sight. The darkness of the alley they were in hid them from prying eyes and they knew that they could do whatever they wanted, not that any passerby would stop them regardless.
"Wait, stop", Mobo spoke up from abusing her.
The other two looked over at him with a confused look.
"I have a genius idea", he said; his malicious intent was rather apparent.
Both Ebrin and Oozua immediately knew what Mobo was thinking. They all licked their lips as they looked down at her.
Mobo looked back towards some trash sitting beside the wall. Broken glass and rotten food sat in a small box. He walked over to it and picked it up, “I heard that prisoners get last meals... I think this suits you nicely..." He slowly walked over to her as Oozua and Ebrin stood back, waiting in anticipation for what was to come.
Minutes passed and screams echoed from the dark alley. The boys, having the time of their lives, watching Mia suffer, raised their voices louder and louder as she was subjected to their torment.
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"Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!", they chanted.
Mia, feeling broken and useless, looked towards Oozua's outstretched hand holding the box of vile scraps. Shivering in fear and anticipation of what was to come, she shakily opened her mouth.
Oozua and Ebrin, who stood a few feet away, were almost bouncing in joy, clearly loving the show before them.
Mobo slowly crept closer, shaking in sadistic excitement.
--
Suddenly everything went silent.
Mia tentatively edged closer and closer to her meal, praying that this was just another nightmare...
--
Out of nowhere, the sound of footsteps grew louder.
Mobo jostled his head and looked back only to promptly receive a foot to the face.
WACK!
He fell to the ground writhing in pain. "GAAH! DAMMIT! WHAT THE HELL?!"
A shadowy figure slowly stepped forward, cautiously approaching Mia.
With great hesitation, Mia finally looked up to see what had happened. To her surprise, she was greeted with the face of a young girl, maybe a year older. As their eyes met Mia couldn’t help but feel a sense of comfort, instinctively knowing this stranger meant her no harm. Nevertheless, she still felt unsafe, Mobo may have been taken out but... His henchmen remained.
The unknown girl wore a pink kimono and had long beautiful black hair. The aura around her felt calming, homely, and nurturing.
--
Only a mere few feet away, and held in place with shock, Mobo and Ebrin stood silently, staring at their friend who was now sprawled on the ground.
"Are you okay?" The stranger asked Mia.
Unable to muster a word, Mia simply nodded.
The girl extended her arm and gestured to help Mia to her feet. "Hm... They're horrible for what they've done to you".
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing??" Oozua yelled, snapping out of his stupor. He balled his fists and his voice echoed throughout the alley. His eyes screamed both surprise and anger. What was going to be a fun evening of torturing Mia was now being rudely interrupted.
"What am I doing? How can you ask that?" Mia’s hero replied. She turned around to look both of them dead in the eyes. "How can you two pieces of garbage stand here and bully this poor girl? What has she ever done to you?".
They remained silent, still shocked by the sudden event.
Mia slowly rose to her feet and took an unsteady step forward. "It's fine", her words were shaky and she stuttered with each syllable. Through the constant torment she had received from the people around her she grew accustomed to the pain.
"IT'S NOT FINE", the young girl yelled back, stomping her foot in protest. "It's never okay to do something like this." Startled slightly at the outburst,
Mia glanced up and found a face twisted in rage glaring at her former attackers.
The girl turned back around toward Mia and held out her hand. Mia, not accustomed to physical contact that doesn’t result in tasting her blood, looked at the hand that was outstretched towards her and froze, closing her eyes. A feeling of warmth crept upon her face. After a brief moment she slowly opened her eyes. The girl’s hand gently pressed on her cheek, holding it.
"BAH!" scoffed Oozua, clearly having had enough of the nonsense that was going on in front of him. Fueled by an idiotic rage, he decided that this problem could only be solved with even more violence. Without saying another word, he began to charge at the two women in front of him. Being as close as they were, it wouldn’t take long for him to exact his so-called "justice" upon these two.
A few steps away Ebrin couldn’t help but stare down at the now-unconscious Mobo, shock still gripping him as tightly as ever before.
As Oozua closed in, the girl took her hand away from Mia's cheek and prepared herself, calming her mind, and steadying her stance.
He lunged forward, trying to tackle her to the ground, but was swiftly stopped by the mysterious girl as she ducked down and put all of her strength into a kick straight to his shin, forcing him to lose balance and tumble to the ground.
"AGGGHHHHHHHHH! AGHHHHHHHH! YOU BITCH!". Oozua screamed in pain, now lying on the ground and grasping his shin.
"This is what you deserve… Well- you honestly deserve much more, but this will do for now." Mia's hero said, as she proudly towered over her opponent.
Mia, who was in awe of what she had witnessed, was unable to comprehend the situation. Suddenly she found herself falling to her knees as she sobbed uncontrollably. The girl looked back at Mia and gave her a reassuring smile before locking her gaze on her final opponent.
Ebrin looked down at his incapacitated friends and back up to the girls, "Yo-you'll pay for this one day, I'll make sure you'll pay for this.” He looked toward the exit of the alley and started to escape. In a single moment, he looked back at the two girls, a gaze of pure revenge echoed from his eyes.
--
Mia, still shaking from the earlier events suddenly felt a sense of ease.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked with a concerned look on her face. She then caressed Mia's hair, gently twirling various strands between her fingers. "You must've gone through so much and experienced so much pain", the girl's concern shifted to worry.
Mia clenched her chest, her mind still in a whirl of thought... But whatever dwelled in her mind was irrelevant at this moment.
Moments passed and Mia remained silent, her thoughts couldn't focus and her mouth refused to open.
Her thoughts slowly began to clear, am I safe? Who- Who is this girl... I have to thank her right? Another thought entered her mind and her eyes widened. Mia turned her head back and forth and began looking around frantically, "Where is it? Where is it?" she fell to her knees and started to rummage through piles of trash. "There it is! It must've fallen off before", Mia exclaimed happily, a look of relief painted over her face. She held her hand up, a silver necklace with an oddly shaped pendant attached dangled between her fingers.
She then held it tightly to her chest and sighed in relief. She slowly clasped the necklace behind her neck, "Thank you, c-can I ask your name? If not it's okay, I'm used to people not wanting to associate with a freak like me". She looked down to the ground, already assuming the girl would view her the same way as everyone else did.
"Aira.”
Mia suddenly looked up with wide eyes, "Huh?"
"My name is Aira, Aira Salasca". Aira gave Mia a comforting smile.
"And my n-name is Mia, Mia Sanju.”
They both smiled.
--
For the first time in Mia's life, someone looked at her with something other than hate. She felt happy and wished to hold onto this moment for as long as she lived.
"Um... w-why did you h-help me?" Mia, still dwelling in self-deprecation, couldn't understand why someone would come to her assistance. "I mean, you can see why they attack me. I'm an abomination..." She stood there slightly shaking as she waited for Aira's response.
"You? A freak?" She paused, "what are you talking about?" Aira seemed baffled at the thought. She took a step closer and looked Mia straight in the eye. "Because of your hair?"
Mia's heart sank. "Yes, I hate it and so does everyone else, I wish I could just get rid of it so I could finally fit in... But no matter how much I try... I just can't". Mia quivered as she spoke.
"I don't think it's ugly at all... I think it's cute". Aira smiled again, trying to give a glimmer of hope to Mia.
Mia looked back at the two bullies lying on the ground, both motionless. "I don't know how to repay you for this. I have nothing to my name..."
"You don't have to do anything or give anything, I'm just glad I got here when I did."
The air seemed lighter as if a cooling breeze swept through the alley.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you", Mia continued to repeat these two words continuously as she began to cry. Her kimono, still covered in filth, began to dampen with her tears.
Aira took a step back and turned around, gesturing to leave. "Come on," she said softly.
Mia, after wiping away her tears, walked towards her. "Where are we going?" She asked hesitantly.
Aira looked back and, with a smile, "home. You don't have any family, do you? Well, from now on I'll be your family, and I'll protect you" Aira, with blue eyes glimmering with delight; "no matter what happens, you can depend on me. And in return, I'll depend on you". She smiled and turned around and began walking out of the alley and to the streets beyond.
Mia, standing still in shock and general confusion from everything that's just happened, had a million thoughts racing through her mind all at once.
Who is this Aira? Why does she want to be family with me of all people?
Regardless of the answers to those questions, she found herself full of something unfamiliar to her. She skipped joyfully after Aira, bliss painted on her face.
The joys of life were only beginning.