Chapter 29: Let's Play

"Master will love you more if you kill her," Hachi explained to the little girl in front of her. "He will give you back your sight."

The child looked up at Hachi, her small face perfect like a little doll, even her eyes so wide were perfect black glass orbs. She tilted her head and smiled, her tiny lips parting to reveal perfect teeth.

"You shouldn't lie Hachi, master already told me to stay away from Griffin, he told me not to disobey him if I wanted to keep living. You are a bad girl Hachi, master won't like you being a bad girl." The little girl chittered.

Hachi's spine tingled, the hair on her neck stood up as fear gripped her.

"I'm a good girl you see, that's why master made me his perfect little doll." She reached out towards Hachi who stepped back quickly, her eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Now Shi, you know you are not allowed to touch the others." Rok sat down a few feet away, his head bowed resting.

"No one will play with me Rok." Shi pouted.

"Griffin will play with you, she likes to play with children."

"Really?" Shi asked hopefully.

"Yes, Griffin loves children, she will surely grant you your desires," Rok told her.

Shi brought her hand to her lips, thinking deeply. "Then, I will go play with her."

"Great, the best way to get her attention is to go after someone near her, if you kill her bring her body back with you," Hachi explained to her. "Then we can-"

"Hachi, if you want to kill her so bad you should just go after her, you are a bad girl. Rok, Griffin is the one who killed Nana isn't she? And she fought with Shark?" Shi asked him.

Hachi stood with her hands fisted in anger, how dare this little snot call her a bad girl and ignore her for Rok? That old fool couldn't even keep his head up.

"That's right." He lifted his head up and looked at the doll child who gave him her full attention.

"She will do what I ask right? Cause she likes children?"

"Yes." He told her, his eyes steady.

"Alright, I will go play with her." Shi smiled and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, what about her body?" Hachi asked, confused.

"You really are a bad girl. Do you know why master won't let me touch you or the others? Do you know why master took my sight?" Shi turned to look at Hachi now.

Hachi frowned, what the hell did that matter?

"I know what made you, I can see what you are and who you were before master changed you. He took my eyes because when I touched one of the others he could see all of the things he did in my eyes, and he hated it."

"I thought...I thought you make fortresses that cannot be escaped."

"It's a dollhouse. Goodbye Rok, thank you." Shi left the room.

Hachi looked at Rok who stared out the door, his wrinkled face scrunched up in a deep frown. "Goodbye Shi."

"I don't understand."

"You are the newest, nearly perfect. The rest of us know...master made Shi with the intention of being able to control the others, but he made a mistake."

"What was the mistake?" Hachi asked.

"He chose the wrong host."

XxX

Sophie jolted awake at the sound of laughter filling her head.

"What?" She sat up, her head hurt, there was a dull throbbing at the back of her head, something banging at it.

"Sophie?" Fumikage's voice called out.

"Yeah, Kage I'm right here." She looked around, her hand pressing to the spot on her head that hurt.

It was dark, but nothing she wasn't used to. The biggest problem was the thing looking at her as if it was hungry and about to devour a delicious meal.

"Hey there Dark Shadow, it's too dark, isn't it? You love the dark." She reached a hand out to the creature that was part of Tokoyami.

"Sophie...run." Fumikage was trying to hold it back.

"It's alright Kage, I can handle this." She reached for the light, curious to find it was much easier than it had been before, so much easier. "Relax, rest."

The light bled over the both of them and washed the room in a warm golden glow. Tokoyami looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you hated your light."

"I did, but then someone told me, it only does what I want it to. I realized that this light is mine, and only I can control it."

Dark Shadow shrank back to normal and then cuddled up to Sophie in apology as soon as he was in control again.

"Sorry." It said in a sad voice.

"That's alright, it's part of you." She patted its head and looked around. "This is a bedroom." She noted.

"Pretty empty for a bedroom." Kage nodded and stood up.

"That little girl...she must be one of his creations."

"He? Oh, right you met him recently."

"Does Peryton tell you everything immediately or does she wait a day?" Sophie sighed annoyed.

"Immediately." He chuckled. "She also told me you and Todoroki are head over heels in love and can't stand being apart."

"That damn mythical deer, I swear I'll shove a lemon down her throat." She mumbled angrily.

"She's worried about you, always has been." Tokoyami followed her to the door and they both peeked out of it carefully.

"They all worry for me needlessly." She sighed.

"Doesn't seem like anyone else is here."

"No, but that little girl is dangerous, we need to find out way out of here, where ever here is." Sophie winced and rubbed the back of her head again.

"You alright?" He asked her, eyeing her.

"Just...I can't seem to feel the Darkling and something keeps pounding on the back of my head. Did she hit me?" Sophie shook her head.

"I didn't see what happened, everything went dark as soon as I grabbed your arm." He stepped out of the room and looked around more. "This place is covered in total darkness, everything is black." He smiled. "It's like the perfect house for me."

"Ugh, goth." She accused.

"Hmph, darkness is my only solace." He informed her.

"Why don't you marry the darkness if you love it so much." She teased him.

He looked at her, his eyes twinkling and a smile curved his beak. "I would, but I know you like Shoto."

Her jaw dropped and she sputtered as he took the lead down the hall. The glowing light followed them even as she tried to think of a retort but nothing came to her. She finally settled for keeping silent. The laughter of the little girl started up again as they reached the end of the hall, they looked around, trying to see if she was about.

"You said you would play with me, you didn't lie did you?" The girl asked close and yet far.

Sophie frowned. "I wouldn't lie. But then, I didn't realize you were one of his creations."

"Heehee. Then you will play with me?" She asked.

"That depends I guess."

"You said you would." The girl asked, her tone harsh now.

"Let Fumikage go, and I will play with you to your heart's content." Kage looked at her sharply, annoyed by her. She chose to ignore this.

"Hm...but three is better than two." The girl reasoned.

"I cannot play with anyone who wants to hurt my friends," Sophie explained. This was a little girl, she could talk her into letting him go.

"I won't hurt him, or you." The girl informed her, so close it was almost as if she stood beside Sophie.

"You won't?" This surprised her, but not nearly as much as the girl herself did when Sophie absently looked down and found her there at her side, fathomless eyes looking up at her. "Gah!" Sophie clutched her heart and jumped back into Tokoyami who caught her as Dark Shadow sprang out to protect them both.

"I want to play. You just need to play with me till morning, and I will let you go."

Sophie was worried that Fumikage would be hurt, she would be devastated if he was because she would not be able to face the Tokoyami family if he was hurt or killed. They had been kind to her and she swore she would never let him get hurt. Kage looked at her now and she couldn't read what he was thinking, she could never tell what he was thinking. Sophie must have been wearing her feelings on her face; the mixture of fear and uncertainty that she normally kept in check because Tokoyami shook his head and reached out to gently chop her on the head.

"We will play with you till dawn and then you will let us go free. You cannot go back on your word." He informed the little girl.

"Kage!" Sophie frowned.

"I promise you will be released at dawn safe and sound." The girl nodded. "Of course, that is if you win."

"Win?" Sophie looked at the child sharply, this was not good.

"We will play the games I want to play, each room here has a game and if you win one the next will unlock until the front door is the last door. If you lose even once, I will devour you both."

"No, I will play and you will release Kage!" Sophie threw her arm out protectively over Tokoyami.

"He has already agreed to play, you cannot take it back now. I want to play, you will play with me or you will die, no one can escape my dollhouse, you need my permission to leave."

Sophie frowned, she still could not reach the Darkling, something was stopping her. Only her light side was available to her. Was this house the child's power? She said no one could leave without her permission, did that mean no one could enter without her permission? Including sentient powers? Why had she allowed Dark Shadow and not the Darkling?

"What is your name?" Sophie asked her.

"The doctor called me Shi, I cannot remember my real name. But I used to be someone else, I know because I saw everything he did to us numbers."

Sophie frowned. "What? You...you must tell me everything." Sophie reached for the girl but the child disappeared.

"Open all the doors, and I will tell you everything I know. And everything you didn't know was important."

"Let's do this."

Tokoyami watched her, her whole manner changed. Faced with information on the man who caused all of her pain, she would do anything. He understood this about her and didn't try to stop her in her single-minded hunt for revenge. He wanted to be a hero to protect people, to help, but there was nothing he could do for Sophie to heal her pain. They headed to the first room that was open and Tokoyami thought about the day he first met Sophie.

XxxxTHENxxxX

"Fumikage, this is Sophie Griffin, she will be living with her uncle Migizi a few houses down."

The girl in front of him had long black and gold hair that nearly touched the ground, her eyes were downcast and her hands fisted at her side. When she looked up at him to greet him at her uncle's encouragement he was surprised to see two different colors filled with all sorts of knowledge and darkness. She nodded to him but said nothing.

"Fumi, how about you and Sophie go play while I have a talk with her uncle, play nicely with her."

"Okay." He sighed. What a bother. "Follow me." He led the way.

She shuffled after him, her steps matched his but stayed behind him and to the side. Did she not realize she could stand beside him? Was she shy? How troublesome, he just wanted to enjoy his solitude in peace. He led her to the little park near their house, easily within earshot of their guardians.

"This is the park, most of the kids play here. You can make friends with them if you come here and play." So don't make friends with me. He thought to himself.

She didn't react, so he turned to see what she was doing. She was just standing there, looking at the mother playing on the slide with her tiny child, their laughter drifted over the playground.

"You wanna use the slide?" He asked her.

She shook her head.

"What then? You keep staring at them." He was getting more annoyed.

She shook her head again and looked away, her hands still fisted at her sides and her hair nearly enveloped her head.

"So why did you move here?" He asked.

Nothing.

"Do you like games?"

Nothing again.

"How old are you?" He was getting mad now.

She just looked at the ground, not answering.

"Hey, Tokoyami!" A few boys and girls rushed over, excited to see him. "Who is this?"

"This is Griffin, she just moved in near here. I'm just showing her around while her uncle talks to my parents."

"Cool. Hey, wanna play hide and seek?" One asked.

"Sure. Come on, play too." Tokoyami informed her. He would find a good spot and then sneak off back home, he preferred the darkness of his room.

"Okay! I'm it! On the count of twenty!"

Everyone ran giggling to find hiding places. Tokoyami noticed Sophie was headed for the benches, was she not hiding? He watched her sit down and watch the others hiding. He sighed.

"You have to hide too." He grasped her wrist and tugged her after him. He found her a spot to hide. "Stay here until they find you." He sighed.

She looked up at him, her eyes empty of interest, or child-like glee to be playing with kids her own age. Strange. He shook it off and found a place to hide that he could sneak home from. No one would find him. After a few minutes, he snuck out of his place and went home.

"Fumi, where is Sophie?" Mother asked him.

"She is playing with the other kids, I didn't want to play." He walked past his mother and into the house.

"Oh, I will check on her later then." Her uncle laughed pleased. "I was worried she wouldn't get along with anyone."

"Oh the children are lovely around here, I wish Fumikage would play more though, he prefers to sit in his room or hide in the shadows when we go out." His mother laughed.

"Haha, must be quite the handful. I better finish unpacking the house, thank you again for everything."

"Of course! Let us know if you need any help, you are both welcome any time."

They parted. Fumikage thought that was strange, what everything? All his mom did was talk to her uncle. Whatever, she was not his problem now, the other kids were pretty nice so they would include her, and she would make a lot of friends. Not him though, no thanks.

It was dark as the void when he heard adults talking loudly in front of the house. He peeked out to see Sophie's uncle terrified and frantic talking to several adults. Sophie was missing. He was shocked to hear she had never come home from the park and the children that were at the park were saying they never saw her. Tokoyami quickly rushed out as one was saying no one knows who that is.

"Why are you lying? I introduced her to you." Fumikage frowned, his little eyes slashed down in anger.

"I'm not lying! I don't know who she is." The boy shouted.

Fumikage let out an annoyed sound and stormed off in the dark.

"Fumi! Fumi come back here young man!"

"They left her there alone in the dark. Kenta, you have no right to pretend to be All Might, he would never leave a girl alone in a new place."

Sophie's uncle followed him, he said nothing to Fumikage while they rushed to the park and began to look for Sophie. They called for her several times but no one answered and Kage finally went looking where he hid her. She was there, her eyes reflecting the moonlight like still pools. He let out a relieved sigh and held his hand out to her. She put her cold hand in his and let him pull her up, her uncle shouted in relief when he saw them appear in the lamplight together. His parents showed up, they were glad Sophie was safe.

"Thank you Tokoyami-kun. You did a good job." Her uncle Migizi patted his head.

"I'm sorry, I should have stayed with her, I didn't know they were going to leave her behind." He looked down ashamed.

"Fumikage?" His mother asked confused.

"I didn't want to play, I didn't want to be outside so I left even though you told me to play with her. It was my fault Sophie got left behind."

They were all unsure of what to say, he was deeply hurt by his actions. Her hand reached out to tug a feather from his head, he winced and looked at her. She held the light black feather aloft and smiled at him.

"I asked to be here, I never played with the kids back home, I'm seven." She twisted the feather in her fingers, it spun up into the air carried by strands of darkness that swirled around them both. "You found me last, I win."

Tears gathered in his eyes, for a long moment he held them in but they finally broke free and he broke down crying. Sophie reached out and patted his head.

XxxxNOWxxxX

"The first room says Hide and Seek." Sophie raised a brow.

He laughed. "Well, let's hope you are it, don't want to be looking for you for days."

She narrowed her eyes on him. "That was one time." She pushed the door open. "Besides, it wasn't days. It was just till the moon was in the sky. And you cried."

"I did not." He declared, his face heating up.

"For a good five minutes." She chuckled. "Your dad had to carry you sobbing home."

"I don't remember that happening." He cleared his throat.

"I still have the feather." She pulled her hair back and revealed to him, tight securely to the ponytail on her head was the feather she pulled from him that night, still a young thing but perfectly preserved as if by magic.

He was touched. She had held onto that small piece of him so caringly.

"You know...you can always upgrade to my more adult feathers." He rubbed his head and looked away.

"The feather of a young raven is good luck." She let her hair back down.

"Suit yourself."

Laughter filled the room as they stepped all the way in, the door swung shut.

"Time to play Hide and Seek, can you find which one is the real me?" The room was filled with dolls, all looking like the little girl, in every size imaginable.

Sophie looked around the room slowly. "Well shit."