Chapter 1: Adolescence

 

Yajuu could never forget the first time she laid eyes upon him, under the serene glow of a full moon. His features were child-like, baby fat still present in his cheeks and wide eyes that gleamed of wonder and dreams. He was a mischievous child then; one who had wandered out at midnight just to witness the snow fall upon the driveway.

 

She had been attracted to the garden merely because of the sweet-smelling scent of roses. They were in full bloom in the small glass greenhouse, that sat beside the small house he lived in. She thought that perhaps a florist resided in the small house and acknowledged the person’s talent. The roses glowed with nothing but health and their colour a bright, youthful red.

 

Yajuu was gazing at the red roses, captivated by their beauty when the front door creeped open. The dark-haired woman had turned to flee and made it to the top of a tree undetected. That was when he stepped out; arms wrapped around his body to keep himself warm but with a wide smile adorned on his face.

 

At first, it was confusion that hit her in that moment. The young boy came out without mittens or a scarf, despite the chilly weather. She decided it was mere ignorance but when the young boy walked out of the front porch, looked up at the dark sky and cupped his hands in the air, she finally understood.

 

She gathered a fistfull of snow from the leaves above her and softly blew them into the air. A gentle smile formed on her cold, pale lips as the boy rejoiced and cheered gleefully. He cupped his bare hands and began counting the tiny snowflakes that fell in. But the small supply of snowflakes only lasted for so long.

 

His lips suddenly turned into a sad frown when they all melted and in response, the raven-haired woman felt a pinch at her chest. She quickly gathered as much as the white snow she could manage into her small hands and repeated her actions again, hoping to lighten the boy’s mood.

 

His cheer and laughter in turn, grew louder and even more joyful. The snowflakes were more intricately designed and a tad bit bigger than the former ones. And to the boy’s happiness, they did not melt as fast as the ones from before.

 

He was interrupted however when the door swung open and a young teenage girl stepped out.

 

“Jimin! What are you doing?!”The older girl reprimanded the young boy, “Get inside! You’re going to catch a cold!”

 

“No I won’t,” the young boy whined. “I won’t get a cold.”

 

His sister stomped forwards and yanked him by the wrist. “Yes you will! Mom is going to kill me if she knows you’re out here.”

 

“Can I just catch one more?” Jimin pleaded in return. “I promise I’ll go back in after that.”

 

His older sister whom Yajuu had noticed had heavy crescents under her eyes, sighed in response. She finally let go of Jimin and the younger boy immediately ran out. He pursed his lips together in anticipation and stared at the night sky.

 

“Please. Please come out.” Jimin breathed softly. Yajuu’s eyes widened in fear and she pressed herself back onto the tree, praying the shadows would hide her.

 

“Please, come out snowflake.”

 

Her eyebrows furrowed together at the words Jimin mumbled under his breath. The young boy still looked hopeful, even though there was no longer snow falling from the sky.

 

Yajuu swallowed thickly, but she gathered her wits just enough to blow off the snow collecting in one of the leaves near her. She watched as the snowflake formed itself and sparkled under the moonlight. It fell gently into Jimin’s hands and Yajuu watched as the boy smiled and laughed, throwing his head back to gaze at the sky again.

 

That was when their eyes met. Yajuu was instantly captivated by the dark chocolate orbs that looked at her in wonder. A frightened sound escaped before she fled, turning his back to the young boy and leaving without a moment’s hesitance.

 

She ran as the wind whipped her hair backwards and tears began to form in her eyes. She ran till she reached the rice fields and came to a halt only when the sobs were powerful enough to rack her body uncontrollably.

 

Yajuu did not know why she feared Jimin; a young boy half her age. She could run at the speed of light and summon snow blizzards and destroy a whole village. But yet, there was nothing more vivid than the fear that striked through her heart at that moment, like a sharp blade burrowing itself into her chest.

 

She only knew later, much much later that it was due to the fact Jimin smiled at her. Jimin smiled at her, as if he knew she was there from the beginning of it all  and in his eyes, there was no trace of fear or hate.

 

Yajuu learnt that that was the feeling of being accepted and not being cast out of society for what she was; a monster.

 

~.~.~

 

It was spring when the westerners came and wrecked havoc to the village, setting the houses ablaze and spilling blood on the once peaceful soil. Yajuu had come running to the town, alarmed by the huge fire and black smoke spiralling into the sky that she had seen from her cave.

 

The villagers did not pay heed to her sudden appearance. The women fled with their children, screaming for their missing husbands and pleading for mercy.. Nothing but the screams of the innocent and the echoes of gunshots filled the village. Suddenly, Yajuu heard a sharp cry to her right and turned to see a toddler cowering away in fear at the soldier pointing a gun at her head.

 

Yajuu did not think twice when she bolted towards them and swiftly knocked the gun out of his hand. She slammed a fist at his skull twice, before hearing the bone cracking and the soldier slumping downwards to the floor. The toddler was still wailing as Yajuu picked her up in her arms and ran to find her mother.

 

Yajuu recognized the young girl in her arms as Aiko, the daughter of the shoemaker who worked in the town square. The man had scowled at Yajuu and cursed at her for her existence, yet Yajuu did not retort back. She did not blame them for their hatred, but now there was nothing but fear in this village.

 

Finally, Yajuu spotted Yuri’s mother taking shelter in a cottage some distance away, dressed in a dirtied kimono. The young mother was in tears as Yajuu handed Yuki to her and thanked her gratefully.

 

“T-there was an old man, stuck under a house.”The woman told her, eyes looking at her full of hope. “I couldn’t help him.”

 

Yajuu briskly nodded and ran in the direction the woman pointed in, not wasting a second.

 

When Yajuu finally spotted the old man, there was blood seeping out of the wound in his left leg. He was pinned down by the debris of what used to be one of the walls of a cottage. Yajuu held in her tears as the old man continued to scream out his wife’s name; reaching his arms out desperately to the unmoving body of an old woman.

 

Yajuu sunk her long razor sharp nails into the wooden boards and yanked them apart, before pulling them off of the injured man. A flash of confusion passed over her features when he starts shaking his head furiously.

 

“No!”He screamed, “Help my family!”

 

Yajuu turned her head towards his wife; the cold body that laid on the ground. The old man suddenly tugged her down by her wrist and Yajuu stared at him, wide-eyed.

 

“I have a son. His name is Jimin,”He said, voice laced with pain. He paused and squeezed his eyes shut at the burn in his leg. “And an older daughter, Ayaka. Save them.”

Yajuu hesitated. She knew she couldn’t leave the man to die. He was Jimin’s father.

 

“Save them!”The man suddenly screamed, shoving Yajuu away with as much strength as he could muster. “You are no longer the monster we know.”

 

At those words, Yajuu turned and sped off just in time to hear another gunshot echoing behind her. She didn’t glance back behind her, even though the guilt weighed heavily against her heart.

 

She knocked out the guns of the soldiers and drove her claws into the metal, splitting them into two. The men started targeting her in response and in turn, she dodged their attacks swiftly. She twisted the guns they held backwards and drove the bayonets deep into their hearts. She tried to save as many people as she could before racing her way to the cottage she’d visited before.

 

Yajuu slammed open the door and scanned her eyes across the living room. Her actions were frantic and panicky as she searched for the two children. Or more precisely, Jimin.

 

Yajuu finally comes face to face with the girl she’d seen in the winter, pointing a pistol at her. Her hands shaking furiously and tears slipping down from her bloodshot eyes..

“Leave!”The young girl screams at her and Yajuu stops moving immediately.

 

Jimin was hiding behind his older sister, fearful eyes peering at Yajuu. However, a smile breaks out on Jimin’s face and he stepped out.

 

“It’s the snow angel!”He squeals and Yajuu stiffens completely. “She came back!”

 

A boom resounds from behind them and the three of them fall to the ground. The impact of the explosion caused all of the furniture to tumble down from the shelves above them  and Yajuu scrambles towards the children, in a bid to protect them from the glassware threatening to crash down.

 

Yajuu makes it in time to block the porcelain plates and vases crashing down. They shatter into a million pieces when they make contact with her back but Yajuu flinches when a pointed shard digs into her skin. When it ends, Yajuu picks the children up and pushes them towards the kitchen where she knew there was a back door. The children start to run but they’re a second too late.

 

A gunshot splits through the air and Yajuu spins around, the bullet flying past her by a hairline. She lunges at the bloodthirsty soldier in seconds, a ferocious growl ripping from . Her claws grab the gun and split them into two before she starts pummelling the human to the ground.

 

The soldier however, manages to flip them over and Yajuu howls in pain when a sharp blade drives itself into her stomach. Yajuu can feel her blood spilling out of the wound and she shuts her eyes, twists the blade slightly and yanks it out. The wound heals itself in seconds and Yajuu can feel her skin patching itself together.

 

The soldier is standing on his feet now and Yajuu is frightened by the dark look in his eyes. His words form her name, Yajuu, and Yajuu nearly cowers away in fear.  A part of her wants to flee but she stands her ground, with the knowledge that Jimin and Ayaka need her. Yajuu squeezes her eyes shut and sprints forwards at full speed, clawing wildly at the human as her shrill voice pierces through the air.

 

Yajuu can feel the crimson blood dripping down her sharp razor claws, the scent of it all over her. She only stops when the body in her hands falls limp and unmoving and Yajuu opens her eyes. Cold, lifeless eyes stare back at her and Yajuu disposes the body to the side.

 

She tries to wipe the blood against the couch as she jogs outside, still trying to gain control of her weak legs. In seconds, she picks up Jimin’s scent amidst the blood staining her thin clothes and sprints in the direction towards it. The children have taken refuge in the woods and Yajuu smiles, realizing how smart Ayaka was.

 

When Yajuu finds the children, they’re crouched under an acorn tree. The two young ones gasp simultaneously when Yajuu catches them off guard. Yajuu immediately pushes Ayaka’s gun before she can pick it up. Ayaka immediately starts crawling away from her, tugging her younger brother along and fear evident in her eyes. Yajuu shifts her eyes towards Jimin who is not in the same state as Ayaka, but still frightened. She hesitates to do what she’s about to, but she remembers the promise she’d made with the children’s father.

 

“S-safe.”Yajuu says quietly. Her tongue feels stiff when she tries hard to form the word.

 

Jimin grips onto his older sister’s arm and finally breaks away from her hold. Ayaka yells in protest, voice laced with nothing but utter fear. Jimin doesn’t pay heed to her pleas however and he starts crawling towards Yajuu.

 

The young 8 year-old reaches his hands up and Yajuu picks him up carefully. He stared at her and Yajuu found herself staring back, sinking even further into his chocolate orbs.

 

Thinking back, Yajuu realizes now that it was adolescence and child-like innocence that she’d seen in Jimin. The boy was young and untainted, full of dreams and wonder about the world. In comparison, Yajuu had accepted the world for what it had shoved ruthlessly towards her; the bitter truth that she could never age and she’d be forever scorned by those around her.

 

“She saved us big sis,”Jimin had whispered then, hands reaching out to curl around Yajuu’s cold cheeks. Yajuu could feel the human boy’s heat spreading throughout her. She fell in love with the feeling instantaneously.

 

Afterwards, Yajuu picked both children up and carried them on her back. She sprinted northwards, knowing most of the villagers had taken refuge with the Japanese army located there.

Yajuu remembered Jimin’s face back then. The way he seemed so reluctant to let her go. Ayaka had forcibly tugged on his arm to get them both to the army barracks, pleading with the younger that their parents might be waiting for them and they should find them as soon as possible.

 

Yajuu didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth. Not when Jimin called after her, by the new and completely unsuitable name he’d given her. But, it still made her smile.

Snow Angel.