The sun hung up high in the sky, illuminating the world. The temperature was at an all-time high, clearly showing that summer was upon this part of the world.

On the street, people were walking while minding their own business. It was the way of the world.

This city was just a little city of japan with nothing particularly special about it. At least it was so on the surface.

----

“Ahhh ya!!”

*RUMBLE*

Somewhere in an abandoned factory, continued explosions could be heard. After a while, all sound ceased and peace came back.

Finally, a little girl walked out of the building with a smile on her face and sweat covering it. At first glance,one wouldn't think she was older than 10 or 11 Despite her young age, it was easy to see that she would become a true beauty in the future.

The little girl had very long black hair that reached to her back, tied in a ponytail, and violet eyes. She was garbed into traditional Miko clothes, consisting of a white haori with a red accent and a red hakama.

Any normal person seeing her like that would think that she was just cosplaying and playing around, but the truth was that this wasn’t the case. She was truly a Miko, an exorcist, or more commonly called in Japan, an Onmyoji.

A man, standing a little far from the factory, was waiting for her. Once she reached him, she smiled and said,

“Mister, the job is finished. I have exterminated all the evil spirits in this building.”

The man, hearing this began to weep as he kneeled down.

“Thank you! Thank you! This factory is the life-line of a few families. I didn’t know what to do with all those accidents..”

The little girl patted her chest with pride as she said,

“Do not worry. My skills are high enough. Those spirits will never be able to bother you.”

The man continued to weep as he thanked her. Finally, after calming down, he took out a stack of money from his pocket before passing it to the little girl.

The girl, upon taking this money had her expressions suddenly change.

“Mister. I cannot accept this. This sum is higher than what we had previously set.”

The man gave a large but tired smile,

“Your action saved me and my friend, as well as our families. What I am giving you isn’t even enough to explain how thankful we are. Even more so since we were quite doubtful of your skills at first.”

She nodded without insisting anymore. Overall speaking, what she got was still little. But It could help. Finally she bowed and began to walk away,

The man, seeing her like that felt a slight pain in his heart and asked,

“Why don’t you come with me? Even though you can deal with evil spirits, it’s not safe for a little girl like you to wander by yourself.”

The girl stopped before saying,

“I thank you for your consideration, but this isn’t a problem. I can do things myself.”

He wanted to insist but remembering the situation in his home, he relented before sighing and said,

“At least give me your name.”

She turned to face him and let out a large smile as she said,

“My name is Akeno. Himejima Akeno.”

After that, she departed without turning back.

----

After walking away from the line of sight of the man, Akeno’s smile completely vanished. What replaced it was an almost emotionless face and dead eyes.

*Growl* *Growl*

She patted her rumbling belly with an apathetic expression,

“I didn’t eat anything those two days. But now I should have enough to buy a little feast.”

Just thinking about some pasta with a little bit of meat brought water to her mouth,

*Growl* *Growl*

She kneeled down,

“I am so tired. So hungry.”

She decided to sit down in order to gather some force. Once her butt touched the ground she raised her head and looked at the sky as she thought about her current life.

‘How long has it been?’

She might not have a calendar, but she never forgot the day. She would never forgive herself if she forgot that day because of a lack of attention,

“One year and a half.”

It has now been more than one year since she began to travel through Japan while living as an exorcist.

She began to daydream as she thought about her past, and about how long it has been since she really felt happiness.

‘Mama’

Tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes as she thought about her mother. But,

*Slap*

She slapped herself awake with her two hands,

“No!! I've sworn that I wouldn’t cry anymore. I am grown up now. I am a big girl. You can do it Akeno. You can do it.”

She wanted to get up, but it seemed like the emotional strain and the hunger added to her previous fight and the heat made her body more tired than she had thought.

When she tried to get up, her body began to sway, while her mind became somewhat burly. She could feel herself fall down, but,

"*Sigh*...What is a little girl like you doing here alone?"

Her fall was stopped and she was hoisted up by strong arms. The last thought that filled her head as her mind shut down was how handsome this onii-san was, and how she hoped he wasn’t a lolicon.