17Chapter 1
Beginnings Always End In Painful Goodbye's
Kana's first encounter with Mikoto came as a result of a snowy-haired princess's hunger for books. You might say that Kana and Mikoto crossing each other's paths was more than just a coincidence. You might say their meeting was called upon by fate. However, if Kana heard you call their meeting fate, she would merely belt out in pearly laughter. She would call you a fool, for it was simply chance that her life would become intertwined with his. It was because the young Anna chose to enter the first bookshop which caught her eye that Mikoto and she first met.
It was late in the evening as the sun, just barely peaking over the horizon, blanketed her tiny shop in a comforting orange light. Kana's azure eyes lifted from the well-read book she had been perusing. Although she had read the book a hundred times over, she could never resist the urge to reread it. She swore up and down, that she knew every word of the book like the back of her hand.
Her reading was interrupted when the old doorbell of the quaint bookshop chimed. She was surprised to have visitors at this time, since she would be closing up shop in less than half an hour or so. She was even more baffled when her eyes bore witness to the quite unusual pair.
One was a tall, intimidating man with bright red hair, whose face seemed to be stuck in an expressionless scowl. He walked in, hand in hand with a petite white-haired girl. The girl's skin was nearly as pale as Kana's, and her face seemed to be just as expressionless as the large man she walked beside. The little girl was quick to stride down the aisles of books with the grumpy, thug-like man in tow.
A month had passed since the couple's initial visit, and now they were regulars. The two would always begin and end their visit the same way, and every time they came. They would enter the bookstore silently. The young girl floated through the aisles, seemingly touching every book her hands could reach. The man would trail behind her, and stare off into space, appearing to be disinterested. Then the two would leave empty handed just as the clock struck eight.
The couple's stopovers was frequent enough for it to become a routine to Kana. She would occasionally sneak glances at them from behind the pages of her book, only to return to reading. Yet, although Kana was accustom to them, she still continued to be perplexed by such an odd pair.
A small smirk graced her pink lips, "Somehow they seem to fit. How strange," Kana thought.
Kana had now lost track on the number of times the man and girl had come inside the shop. She had now grown tired of watching the girl walk up and down the aisles, picking out books only to put them back, with a slight frown upon her pretty face. It was then that Kana decided she had had enough. Closing her book with a soft thud, Kana got up from where she sat behind the counter. Kana approached the pair silently, and startled them when she spoke.
The man and young girl seemed genuinely surprised that Kana had even acknowledged them. It was as if it had almost become an unspoken rule that Kana and the couple would simply not bother with each other.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Kana said, her voice soft, yet stern.
It was kind, the way Kana spoke, but when talking to the woman, one felt that Kana held knowledge beyond her years. She had been told on several occasions that she was a fearsome and intimidating woman, yet Kana never understood why. It wasn't as if she was ugly, for Kana was quite easy on the eyes with her wavy, long pink hair, and pale, blemish free skin. As a child her brother would tease her. Her brother would often say to her, 'Dear sister, a simple glance from you makes men piss their pants!'
The little girl looked up at Kana from beneath her long, snow white lashes. When the girl spoke, Kana had to lean in to hear her.
"No thank you," the girl said, her voice curt and quiet.
A small smile spread across Kana's face, "I see the way your eyes light up with certain books, and the way you roughly shove books that displease you back into a shelf. I'm guessing Poe to be one of your favorite authors?"
The girl blinked, staring back at Kana in astonishment. It was the first facial expression Kana had ever seen the girl make.
"How'd you know?", the girl said, and Kana chuckled
"The way a person carries themselves says a lot about the type of books they like. I've watched you a lot over the last month."
Kana paused and placed thoughtful, manicured index finger to her chin, "You are only a child, and yet—I can sense that you're not like other children your age. I can see a thirst for knowledge in your eyes. If I had to guess, I'd say Gothic literature fascinates you—correct?"
The girl merely furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "But how did you—."
Kana interrupted her with a curt smile, "I know a fellow 'Poe fanatic' when I see one. In fact," Kana turned to walk down a different aisle, "I have just the perfect book for you!"
Her fingers glided over the spines of her precious books before settling on the one she was searching for.
"Ah, here it is," She exclaimed.
Kana pulled the book out, handing the book to the girl, "The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. An amazingly complex piece of art I think you'll enjoy."
The girl stared at the book in wonderment and excitement.
"Come back when you're done reading it…uh," Kana trailed off, realizing that she had no clue what the girl's name was.
"Anna. Kushina Anna," the girl blurted.
"Well then, it's nice to meet you Anna-chan. My name is Kana. Oda Kana."
At the time, none of us knew—none of us knew that such a simple, harmless greeting would change all our lives forever. None of us knew of the suffering that was to follow. And for a good long while, we lived in ignorant bliss.
If only we could have lived in that ignorance forever.
I know this chapter was terribly short, but please bear with me! It's been about 3 years since I've written a fanfiction, and even though I enjoy reading them, I find it hard to motivate myself. I've had this story brewing in my head for literally months, but didn't think that the K fandom was a large enough fandom to get enough feedback from. But you never know until you try, alas this piece of work came about. I kept the chapter pretty short b/c I want to make sure enough people are interested in this before I continue, and I have BIG plans for this story. If my writing style seems decent enough to continue let me know! And criticism helps me greatly so don't be afraid to hold back.
As always R&R please! xoxo
~C0smic