Blue Spirit

Brother Ikki had once told him to never speak to strangers especially if they seemed to pertain to have unnatural habits that wasn't deem appropriate, but he had never heard him say not to speak to spirits that do not carry a physical form. The spirit did not seem to have a sense of evil surrounding it, but looks can be deceiving, or, in this case, spirits can be quite cruel to the living due to their envy. Yet, that did not seem to be the case, since the spirit chose to have a long separation between them. It was merely floating around in a distance where the darkness accommodated its lonely presence.

Shun, at first, found it odd to have seen the spirit around him during the day since usually it was when he was asleep that he would see it floating around in his dreams. The younger brother of Ikki did not think too much on the spirit, regarding it as something he dreamt about, and held no meaning to what his dream entail. It was when he began to see it when he awoke that he took the spirit's presence quite seriously and became frightened.

He questioned the other children if they saw it as well, but they laughed and began to make fun of him. Ikki, of course, took action, but his act of protecting his younger sibling did nothing to shake that spirit away.

Shun could no longer take the spirit's presence that he stayed up throughout the night and waited for the others to be deep asleep. The room had become deadly quiet. The shallow breaths of the children were the sounds that met his ears solely. Sitting up, he gathered the courage to speak to the blue flame near the corner of his shared bedroom. One foot was taken out from underneath his warm blankets to meet the cold floor followed by the other.

He held his blanket for security and strode toward the corner of where the flame resided. As close as he could get, he took a seat on the cold floor, and held the blanket near his chest. His green-eyes grew wide when the blue flame came closer, illuminating the dark corner of where the two huddled.

"Are you my guardian angel?"

The flame flickered. A glimpse of a man's face was caught briefly in the dancing blue spirit.

"Is that why you are following me?"

The flame swayed violently. The shadows on the wall grew and took shape of a man in armor.

"It is probably the reason why the other kids cannot see you." He held his tongue from saying anymore, keeping the last part of information of whether or not he was insane to himself.

The boy grew closer, aiming to touch the flame in front of him. The spirit did nothing, nor said anything, when his hand went through its body. It merely observed the five-year-old quickly change his expression into awe when his hand was not burnt.

Shun withdrew his hand, eyes downcast. A burning village flashed through his mind, shaking his little body from the fear that was forming.

The boy grasped his head when he saw glimpses of a person's life, not of his own, provide him with scenes filled of bloodbath. A king of great power, carrying an evil heart, was murdering thousands to repent for their disobedience against the gods. His lips curved into a wicked smile, staring at the people, he deemed as low-lives, begging for mercy at the heel of his silver boot. Blue-eyes looked up and stared at the little boy. Shun gaped and tried to move away, until the man approached and all became quiet.

The sounds of his heavy footsteps began to fill the room as all Shun could think about was how he should have listened to Ikki's words.

His heart began to flip in his chest at each step that drew near his hunched form. It became quiet after and drew the little boy's curiosity to look up from his knees meeting the blue-eyes of a pale face and black-haired king.

A deep chuckle was heard, vibrant and powerful, that shook him to the core.

"Innocent child, so pure, so naïve… Let me tell you one thing: the reason why others cannot see me is because I am within you." The sword he held in his right hand was used to lift up Shun's chin. "You are my vessel, born to do my every bidding to the last breath that you take." The king lowered his sword and walked around in him in a slow circle. "The time will soon come when the world shall repent for their disobedience, and all of Olympus will bow toward me, the King of the Underworld, for bringing back their servants."

"King of the Underworld?" repeated little Shun, looking toward the powerful man, who stopped and looked down to meet his wide green-eyes.

"Innocent child, unaware of his death that is approaching, you may never understand what I am saying to you now, until you have prospered into a grown man. However, by the time you realize the meaning of my words, it will already be too late for I have taken over you."

He got on his feet. A face of confusion was betrayed toward the evil king.

"What do you want from me?"

The man lowered himself on one knee, staring into the eyes of the little boy that showed fear.

"There is nothing that you could do for me." He turned his gaze away. A devious smile curved his lips. "But, perhaps, there is something you can do for me after all. Though you may be small, and have a weak body, you will surely complete the task. After all, who would expect you to do the deed?"

The hilt of his blade was thrust toward his hands. Shun was hesitant to take it.

"There is a beautiful white rabbit there." He followed his pointed gaze. A small patch of green grass emerged from behind, unknown to him where it came from, but he saw the white rabbit of what the man was speaking about staring at them.

"Kill it for me," whispered the king. His breath was felt near his ear, sending chills down his spine. He violently shook his head and began to cry.

"I don't want to kill it!" he cried. The tears ran down his cheeks, unfazed by the king. He cocked his head, black hair spilling over his pale face, as he stared at the child crying, while calling for his brother's name.

"How about you to take me to it?" he suggest.

The boy sniffed and shook his head.

"I won't kill it, for your sake, but merely examine it, carefully."

He sniffed and rubbed his snot-filled nose. "You are lying."

The man smirked and rose on his feet. "I don't have the time to lie at the moment. My time here is limited." A hand was felt on top of his green hair, tensing as the man tapped his head softly. "Would you, please, allow me to see the pure white rabbit?" His hand lowered to cup his chin, raising it so their eyes could meet.

The malice that dripped from his lips scared Shun deeply. He knew that his words held no truth, but he couldn't deny that the man seemed sincere enough to fool him. The blade was kept secure in the man's hand. He knew what he needed to do and rubbed his nose.

"I want to hold the blade."

The man narrowed his eyes. Shun coiled his fists to restrain his fear as the man flipped the blade and handed the hilt toward his face.

"Take it."

His sweaty palms aimed for the leather-bound hilt. He grasped it steadily, and let out a startled gasp at the heavy weight it portrayed when the man let go of his hold. Weightless, and easy to control, was what he labeled the sword at first, but now that he has the chance to wield it he was quite amazed at the wielder for possessing such strength. He wished he had that strength to protect his brother, like he did to him, from this ill controlled place.

"Lead me to the rabbit."

Shun looked up confused, but regained his composure and stared at the empty room toward the patch of grass that the rabbit laid. Both hands secured around the hilt, he dragged the weapon across. He stopped when he realized the king was not following.

"Are you not going to go through the door?"

A brow was raised at his suggestion. The man chuckled and cocked his head toward the direction where a mysterious door appeared with a faded red doorknob. They could merely walk across the room, but the man insisted that they should enter through the door since the realm consisted of things being done properly unless they wish to be stuck here forever. He didn't object to the idea, but took his suggestion quickly. Anything to get away from the evil king whom laughed as if he understood of what his mind was pondering about.

Shun opened the door quickly. The weapon was quite heavier with one hand holding it.

They walked past the door. He heard a sound and turned his head. What he saw was another door, this time, with a lightly, faded red doorknob. He gulped and followed behind the king. A dreadful feeling was pulling at his stomach that had his throat dry and his fear increasing. A little voice was telling him to flee, but he had nowhere else to go, only to follow the path of where the door lay.

He opened the door and quickly met with another. The doorknob was carrying a bit of a brighter red. Each door he opened, the color kept increasing. Door after door, he didn't know when his fear would stop, until he met the final door of where the rabbit laid. Its doorknob carried a heavier color of red that it dripped down the keyhole and met the floor. He watched the color taint the black floor that he stepped on, inching near his toes, until he felt the wet substance color his feet.

Hesitantly, he reached for the door and twisted the knob. The door creaked when it opened as a light slipped through and displayed the white rabbit on the patch of green dew tufts. The king entered and ambled toward the animal. The light surrounding the innocent creature was fading as darkness crept in.

Shun dragged the weapon and set it down near his feet.

"What are you doing?" The question made the king stop in his tracks and face the boy. His blue-eyes glossed the evil intent of what his smirk portrayed. He pulled his red cape and covered the white rabbit.

"Let me demonstrate you a trick."

Shun shook his head.

"I don't want to see a trick."

The king chuckled and turned his gaze toward the creature hidden underneath his cape.

"It will be quite exhilarating." His eyes were set on him, slightly closed, as he smiled and leaned his head to a side. "I assure you." His hand aimed for the cape, something that Shun did not want him to do. Behind his trick, he knew that it would consist of a horrible sight that would leave him breathless. Yet, he did not shield his eyes away the moment the king's hand pulled the cape to reveal his magic trick. Blame it on his innocent curiosity.

Shun was not wrong when he pictured a horrible sight underneath that cape. In fact, he couldn't stop screaming when the cape revealed a dismembered body with the man's sword stabbed in the middle of Saori Kido's head.

It took awhile for the boys to wake him up, and when they did, their first reaction was to take a step back when Shun keeled over and threw up. Ikki was by his side, comforting his little brother. He touched his sweaty back and rubbed it. His words did nothing to stop Shun from crying as he threw up some more.

Another scream was heard outside their door. The group of boys turned toward the butler when he entered, drenched in blood, yelling for them to stay in their room until otherwise informed. His rapid voice could not be understood, only grabbing a few words that explained the scream from before. Ms. Saori had been injured during horse riding. The cause: a dead rabbit had magically emerged in her path and caused a series of events to occur.

The door came to a close as Shun shivered in his brother's arms and passed out.