----------------------------------------------------------------- 'i despise color. take away light, and there is only darkness. black. i despise color. color is a lie. and i don't like being lied to.' -- chapter one -- the demons crept forwards, of course. at night, always, they would slide their tendrils deeper into the woman's brain, bringing her closer and closer to her past. the girl had awoken it in her. and there was nothing the child could do to stop it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- deep violet with a velvety texture, the morning glory flowers bloomed graciously in a small basket that sat, nestled in a corner, in front of the woman's house. the child with a shared name sat by them and solemnly kneeled, her hands clasped. the elder one slid aside the front door quietly, which was unusual for him. when he saw his younger sister, sitting silently by the blossoms, he immediately painted a smile on his face. asagao was too smart for that. she knew, just knew, that something was very wrong. but she kept quiet, staring at her fingers. tao sat down next to her, the false grin on his face almost unbearable to look at. 'hey, asa. . .' he began. he seemed to be working up the courage to tell her some sort of bad news, but the words got stuck in his throat and he choked on them. 'er, you know - ' asagao had had enough. she stood up quickly, and began to go through some sort of martial arts form, punching and kicking swiftly, her appendages whizzing through the air. tao averted his eyes. 'well, you know how, uh, mum -' 'mum's dying,' asagao finished, keeping her eyes forwards while she punched. 'what? no, she -' tao scrambled to find an explanation for their mother's recent weakness. 'well, dad says - dad says that we - we have to go away for a little while while mum's g-getting better.' asagao nodded, her eyes narrowed. 'he means we have to go away while she dies without us.' 'no!' tao snapped. 'we - we -' something broke. he was cut off as wind whipped past them. the two were forced back as a golden-orange fireball erupted from the very centre of their house. consuming everything they had ever known. the last thing to be devoured by the unforgiving explosion that tore forth from their old home were the petals of the blooming, deep velvet flowers. and with the flowers that bore her name, asagao was lost somewhere as well. -----------------------------------------------------------------
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