Red Hair?

That day, the reek of blood spread throughout the land of golden grins. A group of playful children beside the river was no longer seen. Instead, half-rotten bodies of soldiers from another land were piled up. The golden land of rice turned into ash and it reeked of rotten flesh.

Beside the waterfall where my house was, I saw it burning red from afar in a daze. I couldn't move nor speak. All I could do was hold my talisman with a strong grip and stare at the children hanging on the cherry blossom tree in a row. My eyes were dry from staring so much that my vision started to become red. I didn't realise what was happening but when I noticed it, it didn't surprise me at all.

My tears had turned red.

I was the eldest disciple of my master, the greatest exorcist of the Hao empire. When my master took me in, I was barely 5 years old, trying to make a living by stealing goods from the local shops. The place I used to live was a dangerous place so I had to pretend to be a boy. 

But for some reason, the master figured that out and took me to his place to make me his first disciple. After a long time, he started to take more and more children under his care and eventually, our home became very crowded. He said that one day, the world will need so many exorcists to prevent the demon's great destruction. But the war soon took place and he was killed on the frontline.

I was left alone with all those children. 

After that, I was called by the imperial guards to join the war. Of course, that didn't end well. 

As soon as I left the house, my strongest talisman that I made to protect the house broke. I ran as fast as I could but what I found was something from my nightmare.

The children that my master left on me were all killed and hung on the tree my master's wife had planted. They were all killed by the soldiers from the other land.

I walked slowly towards my home barefoot to check if my eyes were deceiving me. I wanted to hold those small children's warm hands again, but what I felt were cold, small, wounded feet. They were all hanging on the tree with their eyes wide open. 

I wanted to cry and stab my nails deep inside my heart but I couldn't. One of my arms was missing and the other one was holding onto the pendant along with two powerful talismans given by my master. 

Then I started to lose some of my balance because I had lost too much blood after losing my left arm. Everything was becoming blurry.

I sat under the tree and gazed at the smallest child in the house, Leila. She was the sweetest girl and she could summon wind spirit at that young age. My master said she would become a great exorcist if she keeps practising. 

Heheh, who knew everything he did would go to waste? Old man, I'm sorry I couldn't protect what you loved so much. Your house, your children, your designation, your wife, children that had your blood in their body, you have lost everything.

The black-haired woman looked at the white pendant in her hand and then again, looked above.

I hope you find peace in your afterlife, my master. I hope I can see you soon.

Her eyes closed slowly as she lost all of her senses except for her hearing. She could hear the sound of the stream flowing beside her house, the sounds of the waterfall next to it, the rough wind chasing the blossom petals. 

And then, 

"Aori!!!! Wake up!!!"

A loud yet fearful voice entered my ears and it woke me from my slumber. The voice of the person wasn't coated with any murderous intention but it felt like I had crossed the line and gotten scolded.

I wasn't sure what was going on but I quickly stood up and said, "I'm up!!"

Wait, where…where am I? Is something wrong with my voice?

I touched my neck with both of my hands and then my eyes met the long, crystal-clear mirror in the corner of a small room. 

At first, I thought I was dreaming so I slapped my face a few times, but when I saw the pendant and two talismans in my hands, I knew something was wrong.

I ran closer to the mirror and looked at the reflection. It was a reflection of a boy with red hair and a small body. The body looked fragile and filled with wounds on his baby cute face.

It made me vexed.

Who on earth would hit his beautiful face? People can be so merciless and heartless. Wait until I see you on the street.

Then I took a seat on the expensive-looking chair and started to think about something. I examined the whole body and found no trace of another person's soul. It nearly felt like it was empty since its birth.

I'm an expert in spiritual subjects so I can tell this isn't some ordinary coincidence. I've researched human soul exchange and found out that one must sacrifice more than thousands of souls to exchange his body for another one. Also, it takes an excessive amount of time to complete the progress while keeping the empty body perfect as new.

Also, this isn't something a normal exorcist can perform. One must ask for protection from the 'Akai Maou' to complete the process. Or else, there is a 99.9% chance of the soul getting lost in the middle of the process.

But this body has no traces of any ritual nor any protection charm given by Akai Maou. What exactly is going on? 

Then I looked at the pendant in my hand and saw it had a crack on it. The glass pendant that my master gave me had a crack and the talismans had nothing written on it. 

I am sure there was a powerful seal drawn on it. But let's put that aside. How on earth did this boy have what my master gave me? 

I shook my head and again looked in the mirror to see the poor child's face. 

Did my soul just adjust itself with this empty body? I've seen so many things in my life that I'm not even surprised. Moreover, I'm not even a woman anymore. I am a man, no. I am a boy who's barely 10 years old.

Then I felt the thing inside my pants that made my blood pressure increase. I wasn't ready to accept my fate but that thing hanging between my legs made my head spin. I guess I've committed a sin by pretending to be a boy when I was running around.

Then I looked outside and saw the sun shining in the west. Wait, no. My senses are telling me the sun is setting. It's dawn at this moment.

I walked near the window and opened the strange glass window by following new sets of instincts and my eyes became fixed on the view.

I've been to the royal capital area nearly everyday with my master to aid people. I've seen tall buildings that light dazzling lanterns at night. But I've never seen anything like this before.

My eyes were fixed on the bright lights throughout the city and the tall glass buildings on the other side of the river. The roads were enlightened with light that doesn't run on oil. 

I had to say, I have no words to express how I  am feeling right now. It's mixed with sorrow, happiness and emptiness. I miss my master but after I woke up, it felt like I was asleep for a long time.

An excessive amount of time has passed since that time.

Then I started to recall some memories that I had never experienced. To be precise, those memories are all from this body. They all belong to the boy named Aori Ito, a victim of elementary school bullying, barely passing any test and famous for having a girly name. 

The main reason why he's being bullied by everyone is because of his name. His handsome cute face doesn't match with his name.

I looked at the mirror again and actually got the reason. If I knew this boy in my past life, I'd annoy him too because of his cute name despite having a manly cute baby face. 

But first things first. I need to understand this boy and those people he's associated with thoughtfully. Or else, I might not be able to act perfectly.

I looked at the broken pendant and saw it slowly turning into dust. I have carried the pendant around my neck since I was a child. I had never felt any demonic aura or holy aura from it. And the talismans that my master entrusted with me a few years ago also had nothing special about it. It was a normal talisman of sealing demons. 

But now that I've seen them change, I can assume that it has some connection with my soul change. Sadly, I will never know because it is now turning into dust.

The pendant and the two pieces of paper on the table finally turned into dust and vanished in thin air.