"Um, excuse me, Hane-san" I said. Hane-san and Tenshi-san flinched at my voice as they looked round.

"Akumu-san!" they said togather, sounding shocked and scared.

"This fell out of your bag," I told Hane-san, holding out the pencil that had fallen to the floor.

"Um... No, it's okay, you keep it!" she said hurriedly, and the two of them disappeared faster than you could say chizu.

I sighed. Why did everyone hate me so much? Even my foster parents hated me.

Okay, so I was a British girl in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan.

Most Japanese people tend to have light brown skin, dark brown or black hair and dark brown eyes. Most. Some don't.

So as English people tend to have lighter skin, hair in various shades of blonde, brown, red and black, and blue, green, brown or grey eyes, it was natural that I would stand out a little. But this much?

I'm not your average British girl appearance. I'm albino.

With white hair, red pupilled pink eyes and snow pale skin, I was a source of terror for my classmates and the public in general. I often overheard people commenting that I was a kyuuketsuki, kichiku or akuryou. My name was Akane, but I hadn't been called that for years. With my surname, Yume, it had resulted in the nickname often thought to be an unfortunate given name - Akumu.

I couldn't take this much longer. I was going to get out, out of Tokyo, maybe even off Honshu.

I was going to run away.

_______________________________________________________

Right.

Chizu can translate as either map or, in this case, cheese. I couldn't think what else to put.

Kyuuketsuki, kichiku and akuryou translate as 'vampire', 'demon' and 'evil spirit' respectively.

Akane is Japanese for 'dark red', whilst Yume means 'dream'. Akane-san's nickname, Akumu, means 'nightmare.

Honshu is the biggest of the four main islands that make up Japan.

The Japanese write their surname before their first name.

I am not Japanese. I just like Japan.

I am not albino either.

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Author guidance for This exercise

This story is about a group of runaways that are approached by this young man called Daniel, who takes them to a secret island where they learn to fight, and gain powers, and knowledge of spells.
If you're about to post, comment on the last post, saying 'posting' or something. Also, check if anyone else has said that they are posting!

DaneTrotter
Alex Martin
Age: 17
Background: Bad parents; bullied at school.
Looks: Black straight hair that falls half and inch down his forehead. Pale, athletic, tall. Dresses in usually dark skinny jeans and dark tops and shirts.
Personality: Brooding, quiet and shy.
Other Info?: One sister called Rose. He took her when he ran away. She can just about speak.

Tianna
Daffodil
Age: roughly 14
Background: An orphan. She was left on the steps leading up to an orphanage as a baby. She was given her name because there was a daffodil lying on top of her.
She wants to run away because she feels alone, even around the other kids. They laugh at her for being a 'bookworm' and for writing poetry.
Personality: Timid, Kind, Gentle. She is easy to make cry. sometimes, she just cries at beauty or tragedy (even if it has nothing to do with her).
Other: She was inspired by Lyra and Will from His Dark Materials and wants to find love.

nyxrhymer
Dilip
Age:18
Background: A normal guy.
Looks: He is brown and has black hair. He is average in everything: height, intelligence etc.. But he has awesome thinking capabilities.

SapphireSoul
Yume Akane
Age: 14, nearly 15
Background: Orphan. Albino. Generally disliked/feared.
Looks: Albino. White hair, white skin, pink eyes with red pupils. Short and thin.
Personality: Shy introvert. Not very good at making friends, tends to avoid people when she can. Doesn't talk very much.
Other: Nicknamed Akumu (nightmare) by just about everyone, but has also been called Yuuki (snow). Barely anyone knows her real name.

CrystalRose
Elliarno (El) Heks
Age:17
Background: He hated his rich and popular life. No one understood his refusal of getting everything he wanted when he wanted it. Ran away to actually find true fulfillment in earning and working for what he got.
Looks: Down to below jaw midnight black hair with hints of oak brown. His eyes are an icey blue but have flecks of black and grey in them. He's about 5"10 and has a strong atheletic build, apart from the fact he's slightly thin than he should be. A height of 6"1
Personality: A bit cocky, enjoys joking around. He is very kind and considerate though. Makes 'friends' easily but he never trusts anyone with his true secrets. He's a bit of a charmer.
Other: He always has his guitar. Heks is Afrikaans for Witch.

LuneXian
Raiyin Rosehall
Age: 16
Background: despised at school, blaming her for the death of her boyfriend (who is a popular jock at her school)
Looks: Shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes, has a pale scar running across her forehead (due to the car accident).
Personality: shy, quiet, trust nobody, negative at times, and has give up on love.

xkatiesheperd
Lucie O'Connor
Age: 16
Background: Lives with step dad and mother. Step dad constantly beat her and put her down. Her mother was always at work and never had time for Lucie.
Appearance: Small and slender, pixie cut style white-blonde hair, large blue eyes. Considered very pretty. always seems frightened.
Personality: extremely shy and quiet, very introvert. Jumpy, wary and very un-trusting. When she lets her walls down and trusts someone, she has a great deal of respect for them, extremely loyal. Good friend to have.

Kodak
Sky Gregory
Age:16
Background: Sky doesn't really remember where she came from before she was with Daniel, because she's been on the island since she was a toddler.
Looks: A little on the short side at 5 foot 3 inches. She has strawberry blond hair with bangs hitting just below her eyebrows and falls to her mid-back in natural waves. Her complexion is a soft olive tone. She has startling green eyes that capture attention.
Personality: Sky is a bit of a mischief maker. She likes to play with her magic abilities when she goes away from the island, though Daniel has told her numerous times to be cautious. Sky has an overall bubbly personality which is infectious to those around her.

HannaKingdom
Hayley Watkins
Age: 17
Background: Largely ignored at school, though clever. Lost her little sister and mother in an accident and her father beat her. Skilled in martial arts.
Looks:Light brown, longish hair with a sweep fringe. Bright blue eyes, pale skin. About 5"7 and pretty, though she doesn't know it.
Personality:Very shy, quiet, though gentle and very kind. Will stand up for people and very loyal and loving once she knows you.

updated Jan 3 '11 by DaneTrotter