Unbelievableshipping (Amane Bakura x Strings)

. . .

She noticed him in the crowd almost immediately. Floating around as she was, half there and half not, it was easy for her to see the glow of people's souls. It was how she had found Ryo so easily; because she knew what his soul looked like and so she could pick him out. He had a really, really bright soul that stood out, and so did many of his friends.

What attracted her about this one, however, was the fact that his soul was really, really dark.

She hovered close to him, cocking her head curiously.

He was kind of creepy. If Amane had been alive, she probably would have clung to her mother's hand and hid behind her until they had passed him. He had a really white face and really black lips and no hair and piercings and this blank stare that made him look like the possessed dolls that she had gotten scared of after Ryo had convinced her to watch scary movies with him. (of course, she wasn't really scared of those dolls now, especially since she knew how easy it would be for her to become one herself.)

Even though she knew he could see her, his blank stare and sort of slouching, limp stance made her shiver. He was just so...dark. Like all the souls around him were like a lot of little candles, and his wasn't even lit. Or if it was, it was nothing more than a little ember glowing at the very tip and smoke trailing off the top. Why was his soul so dark?

"Are you okay?" she asked, not that he could hear her. "Is something wrong?"

Of course, he didn't respond. He didn't respond to anything around him at all. It was like he wasn't even there—like a puppet hanging from invisible strings. She shuffled around the bench that he was standing on, circling him a few times and looking him over. Why was he just standing there? What was he waiting for? Was he okay?

"Sir?" she said again. For some reason, she thought that maybe her words could reach him somehow. "Are you okay?"

She reached out tentatively to touch him. Her fingers passed right through his shoulder, of course, but he didn't even shiver. She knew for a fact that her touch made people really, really cold, except for papa and Ryo, who seemed to feel her as a warmth, which was nice.

But he didn't even twitch. Didn't move, didn't blink.

It was like he was already dead.

Amane shivered and drew back.

"I'm sorry, mister, I don't know what to do," she said. "I hope you don't feel sad and lonely."

There was nothing else for her to do. She stood and stared at the anomaly for another moment, somehow still intrigued by a soul that was so dark and lifeless. But then she drew her eyes away, and floated off above the crowd. She wanted to find Ryo.

. . .

A/N: This one is absolutely ridiculous why. Getting back to your regularly schedule program next time with Twistedshipping (Pegasus x Shadi).