I hadn't planned to write this. I sat down intending to write a follow up to temporary suspension, perhaps with a happy(ish) ending in deference to Hisoka's birthday. Oops.
disclaimer: none of Yami no Matsuei is mine, no matter how much I wish it were.
The boy knelt by the pond studying his reflection. Ripples distorted the delicate features into something grotesque. He dragged his fingers through the water, further warping the image. It didn't do him any good. The waves would show the monster beneath the pretty face, but the horror always vanished as the water stilled. And the eyes, the eyes never went away. They glowed a terrifyingly vibrant purple. The boy pulled his hand from the water and watched his features reform. He leaned over his reflection, leaned closer to it, holding his breath so as not to disturb the near perfect mockery. It gazed back at him, invitingly. Closer, the eyes seemed to call and closer the boy came. It wouldn't be hard to fall. Not at all hard to sink down towards the bottom. To let the cool water fill his lungs as it had often filled his mouth. When he drank it it ended the pain of thirst; if he breathed it, would it end another pain?
A toad surfaced, sitting in the specter's left eye. It sat on some small rock that must have lain under it. It sat and stared, unaware of the hole it had made in the boys face. Stupid boy, the toad said with his bland look, it's too shallow to drown. You'd only get yourself wet and think how that would please your sister.
The boy laughed aloud, a high nervous giggle that betrayed its rarity through its awkwardness. All thoughts of drowning himself vanished in view of the toad's simple solution. His focus shifted from the violet eye to the toad and back to the hideous eye. It was only the eyes that were demonic in appearance. He couldn't unmake the monster, but he could destroy everything that marked it. They would have to move, but once they did, no one would know. He would still be wrong, different, but it would be easier. People would pity the orphan girl looking after her poor blind brother. Maybe, even, they'd smile at him. Look at him without fear in their eyes. Not that he'd be able to see it, of course.
Sitting back away from the pond, the boy laughed again, glancing around to be certain no one was there to see him. They were going to be happy now, he and his sister. He pulled up his left eyelid. His vision blurred, then focus slightly as his right eye squeezed shut as if in a futile attempt to guard against its own future. Holding the left open, he slid his nails between the eye and the socket. It hurt. It hurt so much he nearly pulled his hand back. But the boy couldn't stop now, he didn't want to stop. He pushed his fingers in deeper. The lines on his palm were very clear in front of his face. Black spots flickered into his vision. His eye stung. He felt tears, a hot liquid running down his face. Blood flooded his eyes.
It was the croaking of the toad that woke him. His eyes were slow to open and his head hurt. The world looked as it had before. Disappointment already grinding down the boy's shoulders, he tentatively closed his right eye. His vision was fine. He'd failed. The vile thing was still there. His shoulders sagged and he looked down. Shirt, arms, hands, all were stained with blood. It was sure to be fun explaining this to Ruka. Seeing the blood on his hands made him shake. It was only his blood, he reminded himself. He hadn't hurt anyone. Only his blood. He noticed it then, the odd white speck in his left hand. He opened his hand and bit back a scream. The purple eye stared lifelessly back at him. A deep hatred welled up within him.
"Monster." The boy growled and crushed they eye. He fixed a frighteningly happy looking smile on his face and began considering what he could tell his sister.