and you've got nothing I want but got something I need..

1

[possible tw for depiction of violence.]

"And here! This is my imaginary friend!" Said the young girl, pointing at the drawing she had put all her heart and soul into creating.

"He's super duper nice! He draws with me and has super cool blue hair! Sometimes he even gives me a cookie from the cookie jar after bedtime!" Rei stared at the drawing in disbelief but kept his happy masquerade.

"Ah, I remember having a friend like that. You would've loved to meet him, the two of you would have made wonderful friends. He even had blue hair like your friend here."

The petite and freckled face of the young child reared towards him, copper eyes sparkling in curiosity.

"Would've? What happened?! Did you two stop hanging out, or did you-"
The grimace on Rei's face made her stop in her tracks.

"Look, Yumi- he's... not exactly alive at the moment. I'll... tell you when you're older. Yeah, when you're much, much older."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Yumi, let's get you to bed. It's almost your bedtime anyways."

After laying her small figure to bed carefully, he closed the door to her bedroom. He almost wanted to cry.

Of course, the kid was curious, she was bound to be! Just like Yukito.

Now that he had the time to revel in his thoughts, he realized that the kid was almost too similar to the boy he once called his friend. Almost in an unsettling way.

He remembers the day just like yesterday. Yukito struggled to reach him with the very last morsel of energy the kid seemed to have left. His face was filled with emotions not even the most emotional of people could describe.

It was also unsettling to see his friend practically torn in half. He could view the path of his entrails sliding across the floor, fresh blood perfectly seeping into said floor.

It was like a front-seat ticket to the most depressing and horrific act of all mankind.
He sighed. No need to wallow in his past. It's far behind him for now and remembering only made him fall deeper.

He could probably stall until morning by scrolling on various social media apps or by waking his friends up at ridiculous times of the night to chat.

Opening his phone to annoy the first contact he had on his phone, the room felt chiller than he remembered Yumi's parents told him it would be at. Strange.

He felt a lick of cold air brush over his shoulders.
He chalked the sudden coldness up to him simply opening a window and forgetting to shut it.
The air didn't stay as a bothering presence, though.

It felt as if the force was suddenly getting stronger, strong enough that it could definitely knock him over if he acted carelessly.

A bright light began to obscure his vision, and he noticed a silhouette of a humanoid looking figure emerging from the sudden brightness.

Rei stared at the pale figure in front of him once the light had dissipated.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked no one in particular.
Fluffy, blue hair and soft copper eyes looked him up and down, amusement clear on its light features.

Only one person he knew would ever willingly chose to look like this.

His mind was racing at a million thoughts a second. (And if it was in a marathon, it would've surely crossed the finish line before the signaling whistle blew. Maybe even twice.)