The young boy trembled fiercely as the harsh evening winter winds sent uncontrollable chills throughout his body, literally slapping any exposed bare skin. And with the thin piece of fabric he was using in vain to cover his body, which was only clad in a shirt and rags for pants, there was a lot of exposed skin to the furious winds.
The boy shuddered and only wrapped the fabric tighter around him.
Perhaps he would die here, sitting in this abandoned alleyway. He almost welcomed the idea of death, of fading into a world of nothing. That's what he was, right? Nothing.
'A worthless brat. Ungrateful. You're nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing…'
The boy felt a small shred of temporary warmth on his face that the falling tears provided before they froze, still on his cheeks. He wanted more of that warmth so badly, and he also wanted to get rid of the aching pain in his chest. He wanted relief.
So he cried harder, his sobs lost in the howling wind. Or maybe that was him howling. He couldn't tell. All he knew was that he was stuck here, without a home and without a chance of survival.
'Kami-sama, please just kill me now. I don't want to be here any longer. I want to die. Please just let me die,' he thought as his misery took complete control over him.
Finally, after his tears ran out and were all frozen on his cheeks, Ryoma felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. The coldness left his body and left him numb. He couldn't feel, and he couldn't hear the howling winds anymore.
Is this death? he thought as he slumped forward, crumbling onto the snowy, frozen ground. He blinked slowly, seeing the swirls and patterns the snow was making as it was blown around by the wind. It was beautiful, but one glimpse was all he saw before his eyes finally closed for good.
Finally.