working class · resilient · resentful · class conflict · street smart · poor · gritty · survivalist · realistic · anti-hero
The sun beat down on the dusty street where Mika, with his strange hair of white, blue, and red, helped his mother sell their wares. His threadbare clothes stood in stark contrast to the arrival of Leo Valen, a cold and elegant prince with a cloud of soft blue hair. Both halted. The eyes of the intimidated farm boy and the contemptuous aristocrat met in the tense, heavy air, charged with an unexplained hatred and a long history of casual cruelty that was only just beginning.