Annual{open}

[Rubedo Kikelatami]

As the was rising sun was a young boy was in bed. His crimson red hair was down as his crystal blue eyes stared at the celling. Today was the day that he ran away from home. That's right it was a Saturday just like today. He packed up the night before to leave the house since he did it for them. They were afraid of him so he ran away so that they won't have to live in fear anymore. Slowly he put his arm over his forehead and crossed his legs. It was a weekend so he didn't have to get up as early which was good since he didn't want to right now. Not until someone try to fetch him which there is most likely none. Why would anyone fetch the ghost of death?

Slowly he turned around to look at something else than the ceiling. That was when he looked at his desk that was right across from him. In front of it was a chair that was holding his jacket. Still that wasn't what he cared about. It was what was on the desk that he cared about it. It was a photo of him when he was four. He was with his family all happy that they cared for him. Looking at the photo hurt him on the inside. He had always kept that photo but usually hides it so that people won't see it and tease him about it. He didn't want to get too mad and he didn't want to be made fun of by the head.

With a sigh he got out of bed and quickly grabbed his jacket to put it on. Slowly opening the door looking at his surrounding to see who was around. He noticed that no one was around at all. Strange did they all went somewhere? He went back into his room for a moment to see that it was six in the morning. No wonder why no one was out, it was early. He wasn't sure if it was good or not that no one was around the corridor since he wanted to talk to someone but then again a part of him didn't. Was it the ghost, the fake him or was it the real him? He didn't know, he didn't know which one wanted it. He isn't even sure if there was a real him. He might just be a shadow of the kid he used to be. With a sigh he rubbed his head.

'I must be reading to many books lately'He reassured himself in his head.

Quietly he walked to the garden and looked around. The flowers made him somewhat calmer. It made it more relaxing to him. It was like if he close his eyes he would fall asleep again but he didn't want to do that. Right now he wanted to finish this book. ' Through the Looking Glass Alice Saw '. He was almost done with it already. Even though he knew the ending because he watched the movie when he was little he still wanted to finish the book to feel accomplish. Maybe that would make him feel better.

Once he found a bench he sat on it. Soon he started reading the book and got lost in its world. After about ten minutes though he closed the book and his eyes. He wanted to reflect on the ending and soon there was a smile on his face. Alice had a happy ending something that might be the opposite of his ending. He wasn't so sure what his ending is because his book was still being written by fate,god or destiny. He wasn't sure but to him everyone was a character and that everyday there is a new chapter. With a sigh he reopened his blue eyes and for a moment thought he saw his parents.

Quickly the boy stood up only for their image to fade. It was his imagination again like it always is. He then sat back down his head down. Why does it always get to him? If only he could just get rid of the illusion that will always be somewhere in the back of his mind.

[haruhi]

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"I'm... going outside." Ju stared over at the women, whom shook her head meekly, moving back to whatever she was doing. The day had just dawned, but both Ju and the women had been up all night, or so it felt to Ju... but she didn't even feel sleepy. More sore then anything. Last night had been a wreck, but nothing knew in her life... eversince Ling, Ju's mother, had died - her father had been the way he was. And he did it with all knowledge of it; he wasn't even drunk.

Ju stepped out from the porch of the building she had been staying at that night. It was one of the more smaller buildings to the estate, a loose side mart... it had always reminded Ju of a Servants corridors, though she didn't really know it exactly what it was. Just a large closet, aye? She looked around, a hand shielding her eye from the son - just one eye, right now. Her hair was a mess, which it often became when one had hair like hers, even though most of it was up in a pigtail. But parts of it hung in front of her left eye, underneith was quit a few band-aids, all around her eye, which was swallon and slightly purple.

She was wearing a pair of shorts, just above her knees, and slightly too big for her, along with a short-sleeved logo shirt, that was also rather big for her, and long. She didn't wear any shoes, because it didn't really seem necessary, and much of her feet were covered with band-aids. Her right shin was bandaged completely, and a thin, dulled line of red could be seen on the white. Much of her arms were in the same shape, and there was a band-aid on her chin and on her right eyebrow. Other then the swallon eye and bandaged shin, and a few of the larger bandages on her arm, most of the wounds seemed small and more of them were bruises then anything.

"Brother left without me..." Ju muttered to herself, before rubbing her sleeve below her one unswallon eye - a tear, but that was just because Ju had an emotional problem... to darn emotoinal, "I guess I can walk home... its not too far away..."[/b] She looked around and spotted the garden not too far away... Since its very early in the morning... not many people will be around, right? she thought, peeking over at the buildings, before she made her way toward the pretty flowers... as she got to the edge, her eyes stopped on a purple lilac-like flower.

Slowly, she reached her hand out toward it, and brushed her finger across it... and felt an unfamiliar contortion to her face. At once, she reached out and smashed the flower in her fist - the contortion was gone. She looked at her hand - the broken flower limp and dead in her hand... it matched the perfect purple of the bracelet on the same hand. She dropped the dead flower limply, and followed it to the ground, sitting with her face in her hands. When will brother come get me? I want to go home... she thought, shaking her head to herself. She hated this place. She barely knew anyone, even if they all were her family.

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[Rubedo Kikelatami]

The sound of footsteps reached towards the boy's ears as he perked his head up to find the source of the sound. That was when he noticed a girl with innocent eyes. He didn't know what she was doing here at all but still he watched her for a bit. Slowly as the dead flower gently landed onto the ground he walked up to her staring at the purple bracelet for a bit.

She was also cursed with the ghost of...darkness. Their ghost were a like, his was death which brings a dark end to one's life while hers is simply darkness. He haven't met her before but had heard rumors about her. He had heard that her mother died and her father abused her. That was all that he knew about the girl though. Looking at the girl one more time trying to see if there were any emotion in her at all. He couldn't find it anywhere it was as if she was souless. Still the inocense in her eyes gave her some life appearance in it to him.

" Hey. " the boy said putting up a smile. " I'm Rubedo what's your name? " He couldn't help but be curioused about her. There are rumors that she are the rare ones that don't live in the main estate. The rumor is most liekly true because he had never seen her anywhere before in the estate. Still it might be because he forgot about her when they pass each other somewhere...maybe.

Slowly his hands picked a flower and smiled still. The flower was crimson red with yellow pollen. It was just like his bracelet but he was okay with that since his favorte color is red. It was just another irony of his life.

[haruhi]

[/i] Ju's head turned around, as she looked straight up at the person... she had heard them approaching, but had taken no mind to it at first, as if she was hidden, sitting there on the grass. But the steps had stopped, and she had supposed they had stopped close - she was very right about that. She stared at him for a few moments... her eyes barely blinking.

"Hey."

That note of sound brought her back into reality and reminded her to blink.

"I'm Rubedo, what's your name?"

Ah... the Ghost of... Death? If I'm correct on the colours - I don't know much, though, she thought, almost forgetting to answer what he had said. She was quiet for a moment, before; "Ju... I'm called Ju." She said, but after a moment, looked down at the dead flower beside where she sat on the ground, before she looked back up; watching him pick the flower.

Brother... please come get me now... "I wanna go home..." Ju suddenly muttered to herself.. but she seemed to have said it louder then she wanted, as she pressed her face into her knees, as she pulled them up to her chest. Only in this short timed, it was if she was homesick - but it was the truth... she hated it everytime she had to come here. Usually that was only when her brother, Hallow, brought her here after her father had hurt her. She would get the band-aids and such here, then return home... but he had left without her this time. Sadly.[/color]

[wah... I didn't know what else to put. *a little stumped for a while there*]
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[Rubedo Kikelatami]

{ It's okay}

"Ju... I'm called Ju."

[/i] 'Ju huh? That sounds like a nice name.'[/i] He silently thought to himself as he blinked at her for a moment. He nodded showing her that he had heard her and remembered that her name was Ju.

"I wanna go home..."

Rubedo nodded and said " Okay I'll take you home. Where is it? " He looked around to see if anyone was here to pick her up like her dad but saw no one around. It was just them...so then did she walked here? It looked like it since no one was around but the two of them right now.

" Is there anyone to pick you up? " he asked as if he was talking to a young girl. He couldn't help but use that tone of voice because she looked like a little girl, lost right now. He mentally slapped himself for that since she was not a little girl. She wasn't even close to looking like a little girl.

He sat down on the ground with the flower still in his hand. It was alive because he had made sure to pick a living one. That way it would cheer him up a little bit. Also maybe he can use the flower as a bookmark for another book that he might read later on. On the other hand was the book that he had just finished not so long before the girl came.

[haruhi]

[/b][/center]

Ju peeked out from over her knees for a moment, looking over at him with a dead stare... like hollowed out rings, were her eyes. Their look told a dead existance, but the substance of them was that of such a young child - as if she had refused to grow older in spirit since a certain time. She looked back down, and stuffed her face back into her knees, shaing her head vigerously for a moment, as if she didn't want to.

"Is there anyone to pick you up?"

"He'll..." she started, but fell silent for a moment, looking out again, before raising her head from her knees, looking at the ground just ahead of her, before she began again; "He'll come. Surely. Surely, he'll come to get me... my brother, Hallow. Unless... he really hates me now..."[/b] She muttered the last bit more to herself, as she raised her eyes a little more, then looked directly at him - more or less for the first time - "Your name... is Rubedo, right? Thats... an interesting name. Unique."[/b]
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[Rubedo Kikelatami]

"Your name... is Rubedo, right? Thats... an interesting name. Unique."

" Wow really? Thanks. " he said scratching the back of his head a little smiling like a little kid. He had been doing that a lot since he plays too much video games and read to much classic a child part of himself started developing a little bit. Still he had never really cared about it is it is just a small thing to him.

He didn't know much about the girl since she was quiet like Mirany. Still he was okay with her being queit. He was getting used to it now after all so it wasn't bad at all. It was actually pretty good that not everyone is talkative or else he'll be mad all the time.

HIs face started looking sad and serious at the thought. Anger, that was his emotion that he hated the most. It had always hurt the people around him even if he try his best no to. It is just there he can't control his emotion. He can't become emotionless nor can he hide it because he isn't perfect or anything like that at all.

" So tell me do you come here a lot? " he asked trying to change the subject that was in his thought right now.

[haruhi]

[/b][/center]

Ju nodded, before turning her eyes back ahead of her, staring at the ground for a moment, before she began to blink again. Funny, he lives here, right? Wonder how he stands it... must be just me that hates it... she thought, tilting her head a little to the side to ponder on that. So, it was just her that hated it here? Well, she probably could have guessed that herself... kind of a stupid thing to wonder, aye?

" So tell me do you come here a lot? "

"Not... not really..." she replied, lifting a bandaged hand and tapping it on her chin for a moment, as if thinking, "Brother brings me here when Father gets too angry. Brother is trying to get me to live here... but... I don't really want to..." she replied, not knowing if the father plus angry part made any sense, but she didn't seem to mind very much.
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[Rubedo Kikelatami]

"Brother brings me here when Father gets too angry. Brother is trying to get me to live here... but... I don't really want to..."

That was when he knew that her father treated her badly because of the curse just like how his parents live in fear. The curse cause many people surfer but at least it helps...sometimes. Still how come she didn't want to live here? A lot of curse live here since after all not many parents love their cursed children and act like real parents toward them. Unless they used to be cursed themselves anyway.

" Really? How come? I mean it might be bad here and there at least there are people that would take care of you. Maybe some would even accept you. " he said trying to persuade her. He could tell by looking at the bandaid that her father had just hit her with something sharp. Knowing most of the cursed parents this wasn't the first time.

[haruhi]

[/center][/b]

"No... I don't think..." she said, but cut herself off for a moment, trying to go over in her mind how to explain it as. Why really did she not want to be here? She loved her Father, yes, no matter how troublesome it got... but she wouldn't mind living away from dear old Dad.. And of her brother, she loved him, too... yes, her brother was the best person near her. The only kind one, really... even if he did fall into her Father a little too off-the-bat, using name calling to keep his father's trust and give a slight illusion that he hated her. Which he did hate her, too. What was it then?

"I don't want to, because..." Ju began again, before she lowered her head and bit her lip again, before finally looking up at him with a misted eye, only one to show forth now, "I don't want to feel like an orphan living around people I don't know. If I didn't live with Father and Brother, then they'd never come to see me either. It would be like they weren't there anymore at all... Brother graduates soon, and he will be leaving for College... so even if I have to live with Father alone, as long as I'm there - they can't forget that I exist."[/b] She seemed satisfied with her answer, as she made her mouth form to a thin frown, a very serious expression on her face... although her eyes staid exactly the same. They'll forget I exist. I don't want to dissapear. Not yet. Not ever... she thought, feeling the sinking feeling in her heart. Like there was a heavy peice of metal in her chest.
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[Rubedo Kikelatami]

"I don't want to feel like an orphan living around people I don't know. If I didn't live with Father and Brother, then they'd never come to see me either. It would be like they weren't there anymore at all... Brother graduates soon, and he will be leaving for College... so even if I have to live with Father alone, as long as I'm there - they can't forget that I exist."

At Ju's word Rubedo nodded. So she wanted to stay so that they won't forget her and make her feel like an orphan. Still is being with someone who abuse you is a good price to pay? Sure there are things you must endure in order to see something great. It was like facing a rainstorm in order to see the rainbow that would come. That is a price that many would pay because it is something small to give up for something big.

" Okay. " He said as he strecthed out his arms. He didn't want to force her to live here if she didn't want to. Still her words did make him wonder if he should have left. Was it really the right choice since he had never tried to talk to them about it at all. Still it was too late now so he have to part with that thought. Beside it wasn't so bad since because he left he was able to have a better life somewhat. Beside just because they might forget each other that doesn't erase the fact that they were a family.