To Grimmhausen: Sorry about the somewhat iffy grammar--I plan to fix that on Saturday. As for detail--hmm, you're right, I probably could've expanded a bit more. Some the weekend, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading and reviewing, though. I appreciate it. :)

Ghost

Being a ghost wasn't such a thing, he realized. He could float or walk, pass though walls and the like, and watch over his sister.

And he didn't have to worry about sleeping or eating.

He had to watch out for Hollows, though; big brutes that claimed he smelled good. After nearly being eaten twice, he learned to stay away by ducking and weaving.

Hollows were stupid things, he realized, and he wondered why they existed. Maybe they were Hell's spawns, or some other thing. He didn't care. But once he caught on, he was quick to avoid them.

Occasionally, he saw sword-wielding people dressed in kimonos take on the Hollows. Some tried to approach him, but he always managed to get away. He didn't know what they wanted, and he wasn't going to take a chance.

He was hoping his father would be jailed for murder, but then he found out that he went free because it was an "act of self-defense." Huh. Stupid authorities. Always believing the adults.

Two years passed. Had he been still alive, he would've been seventeen (Though he retained his fifteen-year-old appearance). His father was now in the same pit as he—drink wasn't enough and only those little pills could keep him happy.

His sister crept around the house, her bright smile gone. He wanted to reach out to her, but he knew it would only scare her. So he kept his distance.

Something was happening to him though. Often, he would see other ghosts, and he would feel hungry—not food-hungry, but soul-hungry. He ignored it, thinking it was nothing. It must the influence of Hollows—nothing more.

Until his father did the unthinkable.

Maybe it was some hallucination-induced thoughts, but it was wrong. All so wrong.

He heard the screams, and realized what was happening.

Rage was boiling in him, and he slipped through the walls to see the scene.

Nausea, anger, horror mixed together, bearing down on him—

—Pain in his head—

The voices…

…Despair…

I'm only a soul.

I can't to anything.

I'm such a failure.

No…no, no—

Kill him kill him eat him

Somewhere, somehow—

He was suddenly realized he was no longer a ghost; his body was large and unwieldy, and the chain in his chest was now a hole. A mask was on his face—

He was a Hollow, and he had a hunger to satiate.

Without further regard, he attacked his father.

Tasty…

Then he turned upon his sister, trembling on the ground.

I'm supposed to protect you…

Your soul calls out to me.

Protect you…

If I eat you, then we'll be together forever.

Wouldn't you like that, girl?

And before he realized it, his sister's soul was gone. He looked about the ransacked apartment, confused.

He was feeling empty, emptier than before.

Girl?

NO!

No!

Stumbling over furniture and breaking a window as he leapt out, he ran heedlessly, blindly. He stopped running when the sky was dark, and he realized that he was hungry.

So…hungry.

Girl? Are you there?

Yeah, you're with me.

He glanced down at his chest, seeing the gaping hole there. He saw his reflection in the river—the skull-like mask, his new form.

I don't feel anything.

Pain.

Joy.

Nothing.

I need...souls.

Thus, he began his life as a Hollow.