Sakagami Kenzo
Pain, there was pain and a faint wailing. A place that smelled of a cruel death and an unkind fate. Despite that, a single individual stood alone in this place. He did not leave. Instead, he sat in the middle of this desolate ground.
In his hand was a beautifully decorated platter topped with three rice cakes, each prepared with meticulous care and showered with syrup. Smiling kindly, he let the platter rest on the ground and closed his eyes. And he waited. He waited for hours and hours. Even so, his kind smile did not fade. Despite the cold, he did not shiver once. He waited for a sound, a sound that eventually came to be.
Holding his head up high, he gazed at the clouds and asked with a warm tone. "It’s tasty, isn’t it?"
There was no answer, only the silent sound of chewing. A few minutes later, he noticed the sound had stopped. Immediately, he felt something tug on his sleeve. "Want some more?" he asked.
A child, his body bloodied and burned, was standing beside the demon. Shaking his small head, the boy sniffled. Looking at the spirit with eyes full of compassion, he copped his head and reassured him.
"It’s alright. You can cry as much as you need to." he said. Then, he held the child in his arms and hugged him. He felt it’s small body trembling and shaking, it’s soft whimpers brimming with sadness. He’d accept it, those feelings and this pain.
The demon could feel his tiny face snuggling on his chest, wet tears rolling down his cheeks like marbles. Cradling him, he looked at the child kindly and smiled. There was no mistake, this child was full of sadness and pain. It would not pass over. A soul without peace would cling to it’s earthly attachments and be cursed to dwell for eternity as a lone spirit. Even so, wether the child was dead or alive mattered little to the demon.
What that child needed the most was comfort, and so he gave him that. The two stayed like this for what seemed to be an eternity. Then, he looked down and spoke softly, like a calm river surrounded by a storm.
"You can’t stay here forever."
A tinge of pain coursed trough the demon’s body. He felt the child squeezing him tightly, trembling more and more. Sadness, fear, pain, anger. It was all there. Still, he didn’t mind. He’d accept those feelings as well. But the boy had to accept them too if he was to meet the afterlife.
He felt the boy’s teeth clenching and biting. It was quite painful, really. After all, no one likes to be bitten by anyone. Despite that, the demon showed no discomfort. Instead, he held the child and reassured him. After all, he was the one hurting here.
"I know, I know. It must have hurt a lot, but the pain won’t go away if you-"
However, before he could finish, the demon felt something was missing. Looking down, he realized that the child was gone. And with him-
"W-WHA!? My sword!" the demon yelled. Frowning, he looked left and right. That boy couldn’t have gone too far. Then, he noticed the boy running with his sword, standing a good couple of feet from the demon. The kid was quite nimble, he had to admit.
Well, he wasn’t one to refuse a challenge.
So he kicked off the ground and began to run, leaving a trail of dust behind his quick steps. Then, he noticed the boy had already crossed the street, cars now circulating. If he stopped, he would lose the boy’s tracks, so he simply had to go forward. Leaping from car to car, he crossed the street without a worry and dashed to the thieving child.
The spirit yelped, incredulous at what just happened. How? How did that man catch up to him so fast? Before he could even think of an answer, he was grabbed and lifted way up. He was scared, afraid of what the man was going to do to him. Screaming, he bit the man’s hand in defiance. But instead of letting go, the demon grinned.
"Why you…" he chuckled before giving the kid a noogie.
Crying out, the kid struggled to set himself free, but it didn’t stop. One wouldn’t quell his anger easily. Grabbing his sword, be took the time to lightly tap the boy’s head with it’s scabbard. Then, he let the kid down and smiled. Both stood silent before the vacancy of word was broken by the boy.
"Are you mad, mister?" the child asked hesitantly. With those words, the demon’s eyes narrowed.
"Of course! It’s no good to steal, you should know better than that." he said bluntly. Looking down, the spirit sniffled before apologizing in shame.
"S-sorry."
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Just don’t do that again." he responded nonchalantly.
Sighing, the demon stretched before sitting on the edge of the sidewalk. The child sat next to him.
"Hehe, don’t worry. I’m not going to hold a grudge or anything. But you know, a sword can be very important for someone. It’s not something to handle carelessly, not unlike a child. A man’s sword is not unlike his soul, it is not something that can be taken."
The boy nodded and stood silent for a moment. Then, he turned to look at the man’s sword. It was plain and simple, without any decoration whatsoever. Even so, he felt that it was kinda beautiful in a way.
"See? You’re smiling." the demon chuckled with a toothy grin. WIth that, the ghost blushed and covered his face. Laughing, the demon smiled brightly.
"Oho, don’t be shy. I saw it, I definitely saw it. You can’t try to get out of this one, you definetely smiled."
The child didn’t respond. Instead, he looked at the sunset and to himself. But that man only looked forward, staring right at the sun. Without a care, without a worry, he looked forward.
So the boy looked forward, trying to see what was captivating that man’s attention so much. There wasn’t anything really interesting that stood out, but he looked anyway.
"You know, the sunset is really beautiful today." the demon said calmly.
There was a silence
"Mister, what’s your name?" the boy asked with a tint of curiosity. Hearing that, the demon’s gaze turned to the child. There was no mistake : he was beginning to fade. He’d be in peace soon enough.
"Sakagami Kenzo"
The kid nodded and looked up. It was a nice name, one he’d try to remember. That man was really strong! And he was nice too. Maybe he could become strong like him some day.
But today had really been an exhausting day. Honestly, he was getting really sleepy. Maybe he’d close his eyes a bit more. WIth that, the ghost dropped on the floor and laid atop Kenzo’s knees.
"Thank you, mister." the child muttered, his spirit scattered away like blooming petals. He could not stay here any longer.
With that, the boy vanished, and Sakagami was alone once more.
"Tch, don’t mention it," he grinned.
