Deep in the Forest of Jura, an ogre village with a population of a little over 250 individuals was celebrating the birth of a new ogre. Not only did the leading family of their village just give birth to an adorable pink-haired ogre, but now the healers of the village were to give birth. The existence of the healers in the village was essentially for the ogres since their warlike race was prone to injuries.

The mother, an ogre with light blue hair, bright blue eyes and two horns protruding from her forehead, was in their wooden hut with the midwife and the female leader. Outside, the father, an ogre with dark blue hair, darker blue eyes and a single horn, paced nervously. From beside him, his elder brother, another ogre that looked almost identical to the father-to-be, patted his back to reassure the nervous, first time parent.

"Don't worry, little brother," the older ogre said, laughing slightly at the sight of his normally composed younger brother tearing his hair out figuratively. "You know that my wife just gave birth not too long ago either. Our lovely counterparts are strong enough to get through birth. Have faith."

The younger ogre couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh in agreement. Truly the ogre he had married was a force to be reckoned with. With a sharp tongue and her intellect, she easily won all the arguments they had found themselves in. In addition, in her early ages, the light blue haired ogre had been quite the boyish one, preferring to roughhouse with her younger siblings.

"How is your son doing?" the soon-to-be-father asked his older brother, trying to calm himself down. His nephew was a quiet, dark blue haired child that was born just a couple of years ago. The young ogre had a darker blue hue in his skin than his father, inherited from his mother, and had bright blue eyes, inherited from his father.

"He's doing well, though that sharp gaze of his still scares off the other children. The only ogre that plays with him is the young master," the older brother said with a small laugh. The young master of the village was a bright, red haired ogre that was born a little under two years ago. His horns had just started growing in since ogres were born hornless. His two little stubs of horns were pitch black. His eyes were a beautiful red and often regarded the young, sharp eyed, blue-haired ogre with curiosity and amusement.

"I hope the young master will get along with my daughter as well," the younger brother said happily.

As the two dark haired ogres chatted quietly between the two of them, the light haired female had successfully birthed a small baby girl. Taking after her mother, the newborn had light blue hair. Surprisingly, as the infant opened her eyes to stare up at her mother, the little female had heterochromia. Her right eye was a bright blue that both her parents had, but her left eye was a mirage of colors, from orange to red to purple. It reminded the mother ogre of a sunset. She said nothing as she smiled down at the small child and snuggled her in, but dread filled her as she had to acknowledge that her child had a skill that had been passed down from the maternal side

The mother of the new infant had a dormant gene that she had hoped wouldn't appear. It had been a long time since anyone in the family had been born with what was called 'sunset eyes', but it always signified of an ogre that could manipulate blood. A long time ago in the past, a family of ogres, the ancestors of the mother, had saved the village. However, they saved it by making a deal with a majin. He granted them names and the power to manipulate blood. The ability itself was known to only the village leaders and the family, but it was also extremely dangerous.

The infants born with sunset eyes, a sign of this ability, couldn't control their powers and would end up killing their own parents within the first year of being born, if not upon birth.

The ability of blood manipulation, called [Haemokinetics], was an unstable ability in a sense and seemed to have a mind of it's own. The counterpart, [Haemokinetic Constructs] was the ability to solidify blood. The skill [Haemokinetics] would stop at nothing to be able to develop this ability. Unfortunately, the cost to develop the solidifying ability was through absorbing the blood of the user's relatives with the strongest similarities in blood. So essentially, the user's immediate family was the target of [Haemokinetics]. Once [Haemokinetics] was satisfied, the skill would stabilize and no one else would be at risk, but by that time, the immediate family would already be dead. These ogres therefore usually grew up without parents or siblings.

Never before had there been an ogre with only one sunset eye, but the mother ogre knew that it wouldn't be long before the [Haemokinetics] sought out her and her husband's blood. She snuggled in the small baby, vowing to protect the infant until she could no longer.

~~~

"Baby?" A small red-haired ogre popped his head into the room that the mother and infant were resting in. It was the young master of the village.

"Do you want to come in, young master?" the female blue haired ogre asked gently. She and her husband had just been discussing what they would do once [Haemokinetics] began to develop, but stopped when the young master arrived.

The young master nodded and quieted made his way to the side of the crib the infant was sleeping in. The blue-haired father picked up the young master, holding him above the crib. Putting his hands on the side of the bed the small infant was resting in, the red-haired ogre child peered down at the blue-haired infant. As the crib rocked gently from the child pressing on one side, the infant opened her dual-colored eyes, staring straight into the young master's red orbs. After a few seconds, the infant giggled happily, reaching a small hand towards the young master. He complied and reached a finger towards the baby so that she could grasp his finger.

"She's small, like little sister," the young master whispered as the infant began to fall asleep again with his finger gripped tightly in her small hands.

"They're both babies after all," the blue-haired father ogre answered with a light laugh.

After a few more minutes of the young master observing the small newborn, the lady of the village came in to collect the red-haired child. Scolding him for bothering the family so soon after the mother had given birth. Ogres may recover quickly, but birthing a child still took a toll on the mother. With a promise to return to play with the newborn infant, the young master of the village was pulled out of the room.

~~~

A full year had passed since the heterochromia baby had been born. Her parents were thankful that [Haemokinetics] never developed during this year and they began thinking - hoping - that it never would develop. The infant was a cheerful ball of energy, even at one year old, and her parents hated the idea of having to leave her.

Much to her parent's amusement and despite not being able to talk properly, the baby was a mess of happy babbling. During her waking hours, she would babble on like she was having a conversation with herself. Instead of crying, she'd just start talking as best as a one year old could. The rest of the ogres in the village often asked how they managed to teach their child to stop crying, but even the healers of the village couldn't provide an answer. Their child simply didn't like crying.

The young master and his best friend, who also happened to be the infant's older cousin, often stopped by to play with the baby. By now, the young master was a little over 3 years old. His black horns were growing in nicely and seemed to be the most interesting toy that the blue-haired infant had come across. Her cousin, now 2 years old, sported a singular, small white horn in the middle of his forehead and had learned to avoid letting his horn near the small infant. Benimaru, being the friendly child he was, loved the small happy infant and graciously allowed her to play with his horns all she wanted.

"Young master, are you sure this is alright?" the father of the infant ogre asked worriedly as he stared at his small child sitting in her crib that they had lowered specifically so that the two young ogres could play with her more easily. The said baby had her hand gripped over the young master's black horn. The young master was leaning towards the crib, his head being moved back and forth as the infant flailed her hands with his horn in her grip. On the other side of the crib, the baby's cousin, the blue-haired child ogre, was gently trying to turn her attention from the young master's horn to his finger.

"It's okay!" the young master exclaimed with a smile as he used a finger to tickle the small infant. She giggled, releasing his horn as she latched a hand onto both of the boys' fingers. The two children smiled lightly, the infant's joyful energy contagious. They'd surprisingly never seen her cry despite the fact that they had spent many hours with her. Her parents said that she rarely cries, but wasn't this too little for a baby especially?

"Why won't you cry?" the young master asked the small infant curiously.

"You want her cry?" The blue-haired ogre from the other side of the crib glared at the red-haired ogre. How could even the young master want a young ogre baby such as his little cousin to cry?

"No, no." the young master quickly denied with a shake of his head. "But babies should cry."

The blue-haired ogre looked down at his cousin who's dual-colored eyes met his and smiled up happily at him. He couldn't deny that he too was curious as to why the little baby seemed to never cry.

"She's not sad?" the small blue-haired ogre quietly questioned. With her little hand still wrapped around his finger, the small baby babbled nonsensically and smiled happily at them, as if agreeing with her cousin's statement.

"But babies cry. Little sister cries." The two children watched as the small baby let go of their fingers and proceeded to stand up, a bit unstable. The young master reached a hand out, as if ready to catch her if she fell. Thankfully, she didn't and instead waddled her way over to the edge of the crib where the young master was, and reached out her arms.

"Da!" she cried happily while reaching out. The young master looked at her a bit confused.

"Hm?" he asked her, as if she could reply properly.

"Da!" she said again while still reaching her arms out.

"You want out?" the young master asked. She giggled in response. Despite being only 3 years old, the young master had taken care of his younger sister a lot, so he easily reached in and pulled the small baby from the crib.

"Ah, help please?" he said to his blue-haired friend as the small baby latched onto his growing horns. His small arms were shaking a little as he held the baby over his head. Even for being an ogre, he was just a child and didn't have the strength to hold the baby up for a long time. The blue-haired ogre child quickly made his way over to his friend and cousin, gently prying her fingers off of his horns for long enough to allow the red-haired ogre to put her down on the ground. Immediately, the dual-colored-eyed baby was off, walking fast, but a bit unsteadily. The two children followed behind her.

~~~

Another 4 years passed easily and the small infant was now 5. She now had a singular white horn from the middle of her forehead, much like her older blue-haired cousin. She had also begun to develop her abilities, which wasn't a surprise to her parents. Ogres fell usually under two categories: those who relied on their brute strength and learned swordsmanship and those who learned magical skills on top of their inherent strength. The family of healers relied on their water-related abilities to heal their fellow villagers. As water-users, they were fit to work as healers because of their lower body temperature and their increased immune system. With physical wounds, any normal ogre who knew basic first aid would work, but the healer family could help wash out any diseases and infections with ease. Their lower body temperature and increase immune system simply made it harder for them to get sick.

However, there was a case that even the healer family couldn't take care of. It was the young master who had begun developing his abilities over fire.

The flames that the young master fought to control took a toll on his body, and the child was often bedridden with a high fever. More than once, a few pieces of wooden furniture had been set on fire and burned into ash. The healer family tried their best to soothe the fire within the young master, but it was too much for even their water ability. It wasn't until the dual-colored-eyed child's abilities came in that the young master was offered a solution.

The small child was intelligent for her age and had learned early on to read people. She seemed to have some wisdom past her age and always sought to keep people happy and smiling. She was well known throughout the village as Little Blue, a nickname that referred to her hair color. She was the ball of sunshine that wandered though the village. She was also the only one who could go near the young master in one of his fits of flame.

For some reason, the young master and the dual-colored-eyed child had a connection that no one could explain. When the flames of the young master raged forward, all those who tried to come close to the young master would get burned. All except for the small blue-haired girl. She quickly grasped the situation and as soon as she managed to gain control over her abilities over water, she set out to help her best friend. Even at the young age of five, she had learned quickly how to control the young master's flames within him. She told her parents how she was able to sent him her water-energy and absorb his fire-energy. To him, it would feel like a cold cloth was placed over him, cooling him down and dampening the heat. However, to her, the stronger his flames raged, the harder it was for her own water to absorb the pain of the flames.

Naturally, water and fire were opposing elements, so it made sense that the two would cancel each other out. But in the case of the two children, the young master's fire powers were stronger than the dual-colored-eyed child's water powers. This discrepancy in their powers meant that the small healer's water ability was just enough to contain the flames without hurting her at their age. If his powers continued to grow, even she would start feeling the pain.

"Are you okay, young master?" The young master had gone through one of his fits again and was currently bedridden. Beside him, the small five year old, blue-haired child sat, holding his hand to send her energy while absorbing his. She had luckily been beside him when he collapsed and so he had started to recover after only a few hours.

"Little Blue?" he mumbled a bit, trying to focus on the familiar feeling of her cold energy. After a couple minutes, the flames died down enough for him to sit up, though his hand was still grasped in between hers. The small female was sweating a bit from taking in the heat of his power, but she smiled happily at the older male as he recovered with each second they sat together.

"Are you okay?" she repeated gently. He nodded, glancing down at the younger ogre's hands that were resting over his. He didn't remember passing out, but judging by the fact that she was here alone, his powers must've acted out again. The last thing he remembered was playing with her and her cousin. His little sister, a pink-haired ogre, had been off to the side in the shade watching them.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, a bit worried about the girl next to him. He didn't know how long he was out for, but the dual-colored-eyed girl next to him would've been next to him the whole time, no matter how long he was passed out.

"It's okay," she reassured him with a smile as she let go of his hand. Immediately, the heat within him began to fight again, but he was able to control it and suppress the flame.

"I was right there, so I was able to help you right away." The young master said nothing in reply as he stared at his hands. He felt guilty that she was forced to help him, not that she would ever say it was forced upon her. Regardless, the red-haired young master couldn't push the guilt away.

"I'll go get your parents," she said after a few moments of silence. Standing up, she gripped his hand, channeling a bit more of her power to him so that he could recover faster. Then, with a smile, she disappeared out the door of his room. It didn't take long before the young master's worried family appeared in his doorway, rushing in with relieved expressions.

Meanwhile, the young five year old female had made her way back to her own home, where her parents and cousin were waiting. Her cousin, the older blue-haired boy, was here more often than not. He regarded his cousin like his own little sister and enjoyed staying with her, so he often made his way from his own house to hers. Often times, his parents complained that they didn't see him enough.

When she came in through the door, her cousin immediately jumped out of his seat and gripped her shoulder, spinning her around and around as if checking to make sure she was okay. Once he was satisfied, he let her go without another word and settled back in his chair where he had been eating.

"Are you and the young master okay?" her mother asked. The light blue hair of the older female was identical to the light blue hair of the dual-colored-eyed child. Her hair was now just past her shoulder, which frustrated her as her hair would fan outwards annoyingly.

"I'm okay. But I'm tired." Her father came over and picked up his daughter easily.

"Let's get you to bed then," he said despite the fact that it was still bright out. "Good work today, Little Blue."

She nodded, allowing her father to carry her to bed. As he set her down, he gave her a kiss on the forehead before retreating and closing the door. Once she was alone, she laid down, but didn't sleep. Instead, she was having a battle within against the young master's energy that she absorbed. Naturally, fire and water didn't mix, so she was trying to overpower the young master's flames with her own water. As his powers got stronger, the harder is was for her to absorb it, not that she would tell anyone. As long as her best friend was able to feel better, she would quietly endure.

~~~

Outside her room, her parents had sent their blue-haired nephew home after he finished eating. Now, they sat at the table solemnly.

"You felt it too, right?" the father asked as he ruffled his dark blue hair. The mother nodded. The dormant skill [Haemokinetics] was making itself known now.

"If she had developed it sooner, she wouldn't understand if we died. However, now she surely would blame herself," the mother said as she held her head between her hands, her elbows resting on the table in front of her. She didn't know what was best for her only daughter. Either they would have to abandon her so that she didn't blame herself or they could stay with her until [Haemokinetics] killed them.

"I'd rather have her blame us than herself," the father sighed sadly. Slowly, his wife nodded, agreeing. "How much longer do we have before it surfaces completely?"

"Not more than a few days."

"Should we leave her with my brother?" His wife shook her head.

"She doesn't hang around your brother enough for [Haemokinetics] to consider him her family, thankfully. Once we leave however, it might seek out the next closest thing to us, which would be your brother."

"Is our nephew safe from [Haemokinetics]?"

"He should be fine. Half of his genetics are completely unrelated to us, so [Haemokinetics] shouldn't target anyone else but us and possibly your brother." The female ogre stared sadly at her daughter's closed door. "We'll have to watch her grow up from afar. If she sees us, [Haemokinetics] will kill us right away in front of her."

~~~

The next night, as the young ogre was sleeping, her parents had packed up the last of their stuff. Their movements were slow and tears wells up in their eyes as they zipped up the last suitcase.

"I don't want to leave her alone," the female cried quietly. Her husband pulled her into a hug, his own tears running down his cheeks as he rested his head against hers.

"It's for the best," he said quietly, although he couldn't believe his own words. What really was the best for their daughter, he couldn't tell. Would it be better that they told her about [Haemokinetics] and stayed with her until they died? Or would it be better that they stayed away from her and never allow her to think for a second that she was the cause of their demise?

As the couple finished grabbing their stuff, which consisted of only a few bags as they didn't have time to move completely, the two of them made their way to their daughters room. Immediately, they felt the pull of [Haemokinetics] trying to claim their blood. Fighting back against it as best they could, they gently shook awake their daughter. Sleepily, she woke up, her sunset eye gleaming in the moonlight.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she mumbled, still half asleep. "Why are you crying?" At their daughter's innocent question, the two adults couldn't help but force themselves to stifle their sobs.

"Mommy and Daddy are leaving," her father said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Where are we going?" she asked faintly as she remained buried under her sheets.

"Not you, Little Blue. Just Mommy and I." A silence hung in the air before the young girl shuffled in her bed and sat up.

"What about me?" she asked.

"You will stay in this village," her mother said as she wrapped her daughter in her arms. The older female sobbed quietly into her daughter as the younger female gently patted her mother's back, still a bit confused. What was going on?

"We love you with all our hearts and more, but we can't stay with you," her father explained through his own tears.

"I don't get it," she said, tearing up a bit as she watched her parents cry. Why couldn't they stay? What was going on?

"Hopefully you never have to know. Just remember that we love you and that you should never look for us." Her mother's voice was muffled in her hair. Gently, her mother let her go, brushing her light blue hair back as she kissed her daughter on her cheek.

"When you wake up, you won't see us again." Her father couldn't look her in the eyes as he stood there, his heart clenching in pain as his one and only daughter cried.

"I want to go with you!" She yelled at them through her own tears, her hands gripping tightly on her mother's shirt before the older ogre could pull away completely. "Don't leave me alone. I want to go with you!"

Her mother pried her hands off, although clearly the action hurt both of them equally. Shakily, the older female squeezed her daughters hands between her own before forcefully chilling her daughter's body enough that the young girl lost all the energy within her and slumped over.

"I'm so sorry," the mother sobbed as she tucked her daughter back in bed. "I'm so sorry."

Gently placing a hand on her shoulder, the blue-haired male guided his wife out the door, though each step felt heavier than the next. They had told the village leader that they would be leaving and their reason. The village leader was sad, but understood and promised to take care of the young child.

With each step away from their one and only child, they told themselves this was for the best.

~~~

The next morning, the young female ogre awoke alone, her eyes slightly swollen from crying.

What a scary nightmare, she thought as she rubbed her eyes slightly. Pulling the covers off of her body, she swung her legs to the side and climbed off the bed.

For some reason, something in the house felt off, but the young girl couldn't put a name to the feeling.

Exiting her room, she was met with silence. Confusion and fear began to spread through her. Normally, by now, her parents would be up and about, making breakfast for the day or getting ready to help some injured villagers. Had they left early? She thought back to her nightmare.

No way. They wouldn't just leave me.

She quickly ran over as fast as her small legs could carry her over to her parents room.

"Mommy, Daddy!" she called as she knocked on their closed door. The only reply she got was silence.

"Mommy, Daddy! Wake up!" she called again, knocking as hard as she could. Once again, there was no reply. Her head swarmed with the nightmare from last night, but she didn't want to believe it. Reaching up, she turned the handle, the door to her parents' room swinging open. At first, nothing seemed out of place, but as the five year old made her way further into the room, everything seemed wrong.

The room was cold and the drawers in the room were partially opened, most of them having been emptied out. The drawings she had made them the past few years had been taken from the walls, making it look cold and bare. The bed was in disarray, but it was cold to the touch. The five year old fell to her knees not too far from the door as the reality set in. Last night hadn't been a nightmare. It was reality. Her parents had left her here.

Faintly, she heard the door to her house swing open, but she couldn't find it in her to move from her spot. Chatter filled the living room as the young master and his parents entered the house.

"Why are we here so early in the morning?" the red-haired child asked his parents.

"We're here to wake up Little Blue," his mother replied.

"Why? Can't her parents wake her up?" the child asked. His parents went silent. They knew he didn't mean anything by the question, but they didn't know how to explain to him that his best friend had been abandoned. With good reason, but abandoned nonetheless.

The young master thought nothing of his parents' silence and happily made his way through the healers' house towards his friend's room, only to find it empty of the said girl. He popped back into the living room where his parents had been waiting.

"She's not in her room," he reported. His parents looked at each other worriedly.

"Oh, dear," the mother said. If she already woke up, she must've already realized.

Quickly, the parents made their way to the the room of the healer couple, only to stop short as they saw the figure of the blue-haired child kneeling on the floor. The red-haired child squeezed his way between his parents' legs.

"Ah! Little Blue!" he greeted happily, running forwards towards the girl. When she didn't respond, he slowed his approach to her, a bit confused. Normally, she'd greet him with a wide smile.

"Little Blue?" he quietly and carefully made his way towards her. Once he was within arm's length, he gently turned her around before quickly wrapping her in a hug burying her face into his chest while trying to figure out what happened.

For the first time in the five years that the young master had know little blue, she was crying in front of him and he had no idea what to do.