Expendable

Chapter One

Alone. Oh, what an aberrant feeling Todomatsu had grown accustomed to. Aware that his emotions would never add up to those of the fourth son, Todomatsu tended to remain silent. Yet doing such brought him a great deal of loneliness.

It was only reasonable that his brothers would regard to their cryptic brother, who failed at masking his innermost feelings.

Todomatsu learned strenuously from the abhorrent brothers he had, that being cast to the side of things in life was absolutely normal. Constantly being viewed as the trickster of the family didn't benefit him either.

Often, the pink hooded man felt considerable amounts of bitterness in his heart towards his past mistakes (manipulating humans to get what he wanted.)

Because of the type of person he had become over time, gradually, the frail, sickly man was given a cold-shoulder every time he tried to speak out years later.

Amazingly, Todomatsu was still alive and well, his heart beating at a steady pace. Though it was no longer his own.

Surrounded by blackness in an antigravity environment, he was all alone. Todomatsu didn't mind though. Like his imagination, this world was nothing but ordinary. Torture.

Numbing winds enveloped the man's body like an icy blanket, gently carrying him about through the dark abyss.

Chills running down Todomatsu's spine, feelings of loneliness began gnaw on his already fragile soul. Shivering, he inhaled slowly, yet his efforts to remain serene were a complete waste.

Taking in short, shaky breaths, Todomatsu drew his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly as he rested his head on top of them.

"Open your eyes," a voice spoke out softly. It was Todomatsu's demon. "You're perfectly safe here."

Not sure what to even believe anymore, Todomatsu blinked open his eyes, unsure of what was going on.

Small orbs of light, no larger than specks of dust were drifting about in the thin, chilly atmosphere. They surrounded Todomatsu as if the greet him, welcoming him to his new home.

"You don't have to keep floating about like that," the figure spoke, it's cold, icy hand trailing down Todomatsu's neck. "There's a ground."

"Why am I still alive..." Todomatsu lamented, letting go of his knees, floating right down to something that represented some sort of floor. Yet, this 'floor' felt very thin. Todomatsu knew he would have to remain alert. "I thought I..."

"You are dead," the figure chuckled. "But I'm keeping your soul alive. Therefore, by me remaining in your heart, it will continue to beat. That was our deal, remember? I healed you, so now I get to inhabit your body for as long as I wish."

"But..." Todomatsu whimpered, holding out his hands, several of the orbs landing on his palms. They gave off such a gentle glow, and were also slightly worm. This comforted the man's weary soul, even if it was only a tiny bit. Comfort was all he had ever asked for, yet such a simple gift was never bestowed upon him. "This isn't..."

"Because we have so so so much in common, my friend. Only I failed. You're letting me live the life I was never given. Plus, your head is pretty screwed up in the way you see things. It humors me. Laughter is a good thing, even for demons."

"Oh..." Todomatsu mumbled as more orbs surrounded him.

"Look down," the demon spoke, grabbing Todomatsu's head, pushing it so he would look down in order to stare at his current platform.

Letting out a quiet scream, Todomatsu saw the illuminated city of Tokyo just beneath his feet.

"Why?!" Todomatsu wailed.

"I'm giving you a second chance, Todomatsu," a new voice boomed. "I'm sending you back in time exactly a year. You'll lose all your future memories, but you'll remember all that's happened before, just like a normal human being. If you fail again, you're going to be stuck in this place forever. This isn't a heaven or a hell. This is the place where naughty children go. A place where you can ponder all your terrible life mistakes. Yet you're never given the chance to fix them. It's just you, all alone, here with the orbs of light."

"Only a year...?" Todomatsu muttered. "That's not enough time to fix the mess I've made...I won't even know how to fix it now..."

"Is that not the point?" the demon spoke icily.

The sound of someone snapping their fingers echoed through empty space just as the ground dropped out from beneath Todomatsu.

Screaming, Todomatsu flailed his arms around, expecting to hit the ground below any second.

Yet all of the sudden, it was like someone had flipped a switch. All of Tokyo went dark. Todomatsu's eyes involuntarily closed shut.

He could tell his feet were on something now, but he wasn't sure what. In fact, Todomatsu wasn't moving at all, yet inside of him, he felt like someone was jerking his soul up and down, up and down.