Taro woke up to the soft light filtering through the paper-thin walls of his room. He stretched, feeling the familiar stiffness in his joints, a reminder of the long hours spent standing guard. The weight of his sword was comforting, as it always was. No matter where he went, it stayed close to him, a constant companion in the life he led.
The soft sound of footsteps outside his door signaled the arrival of the servant. She slid the door open without a word and set down a tray of food on the floor before quietly leaving. It was a daily routine now.
Taro glanced at the food, noting that it wasn't much—just some rice, vegetables, and a piece of fish. Not that it mattered. He didn't eat for enjoyment; he ate out of necessity. Still, there was something about the quiet, simple meals that gave him comfort in the stillness of his days.
He grabbed a small bowl and began eating, the rice cold but filling. His mind was preoccupied with the task ahead, the guard duty. But there was always something else on his mind—the boy.
Sayaka appeared as if she had been waiting for the moment. With a soft shimmer, the small spirit floated down from the ceiling, her translucent form catching the light. Her sharp eyes gleamed with mischief.
"You're eating too slowly again," Sayaka remarked, her voice light and teasing as she hovered beside the food. "You know I can't help myself when it comes to food."
Taro didn't look up. "You're impossible."
Sayaka grinned, her form flickering as she reached for the fish, picking off a piece. "Impossible? No. Efficient. You should learn from me."
Taro sighed and continued eating, ignoring her antics. He had learned long ago not to fight her over the food. After a few moments, he set his bowl aside, and Sayaka, having already consumed most of the meal, hovered above him with a satisfied look on her face.
"I swear, you eat half of my meals," Taro muttered, standing up from the mat and preparing to leave.
"Well, it's not my fault you're so slow. Next time, try to eat faster," she said, floating beside him as he moved to the door.
Taro didn't respond. Instead, he simply nodded and stepped out into the hallway, his footsteps echoing on the stone floor. The castle felt cold and distant, and yet, there was something about it that made him feel at ease. Perhaps it was the solitude—it had always been that way for him.
He made his way to the boy's room. The door was silent as he approached, and he could see the sprawling garden beyond it—a vast clearing with ponds, grass, and trees of every variety. It was a beautiful sight, a place that any child would dream of playing in. And yet, the boy had never stepped foot in it.
Taro had heard the rumors. The boy, Takumi, was his name, had been sick since birth. His condition kept him locked inside, away from the world. It was tragic, yes, but there was something more unsettling about it. Something that made Taro's instincts twitch.
Takumi, the boy, had only ever spoken one word in his entire life. Blood.
It was the first word he'd spoken when he was just a child, barely old enough to walk. His parents had been beside him, expecting his first utterance to be something innocent, something hopeful. But the word that escaped his lips had been chilling. Blood. That was it. No one knew what it meant, but it was a word that had followed the boy ever since. No one could forget it.
Taro stood in front of the room, his hand resting on the door. The silence was oppressive. It felt like something was watching, waiting.
As the day wore on, Taro did what he was assigned to do: he stood guard by the door, never straying from his post. Sayaka, for the most part, stayed silent, her mischievous chatter replaced by a quiet unease that seemed to echo in the air.
"You are unusually quiet.." Taro said as he sat on of the rocks beside the pond overlooking the boys room.
Usually,a guard wouldn't be able to do that. But Taro was given permission to be a specific distance away from the room.
"You know I don't like to talk to you in public too much,makes you seem like a weirdo in other peoples eyes" Sayaka replied as she floated over the pond.
"That's good I suppose.." he says as he pulls his sword from it's sheath.
"If I could just find the man who made this sword,I could maybe find something out,right?" Taro asked, more to himself than Sayaka.
"I guess so,but we have to go through the entire country to find it out..."
"Yeah...yeah..."
Later that night, as darkness settled over the castle, Taro returned to the boy's room. The castle was quiet, but there was a certain tension that hung in the air, a sense that something wasn't right. The moonlight cast a soft glow through the paper walls, but inside, the room felt cold. Too cold.
Sayaka floated beside him, her form flickering in the dim light. "Something feels off tonight," she murmured.
Taro didn't answer, instead focusing on the task at hand. He moved quietly across the room, his boots making almost no sound on the wooden floor. Takumi was asleep, his small body curled up in bed, his face serene in the pale light. But even in his sleep, there was an unsettling tension about him.
The creeping spirit was there again—lurking in the corner of the room. It was hunched, trembling, as if it were afraid of something. The spirit was barely visible in the shadows, but Taro could feel its presence, thick and oppressive.
"Still here," Sayaka whispered, her eyes narrowing. "It's a lingering spirit,of course it's still there,probably has been there for as long as he was alive" Taro said his gaze fixed on the spirit. The talisman he carried was small but powerful. It was meant to protect, to dispel the spirits that caused harm.
"You don't have to be rude,you know?" Sayaka said.
"Yeah,whatever.." He said as he picked up the tatami mat and placed the talisman there.
As soon as the talisman touched the surface, the spirit let out a low, strangled hiss. It began to shake, its form flickering violently. Sayaka gasped, her face twisting and the creepiness.
"That's so weird.
As the spirit convulsed so did the boy, Takumi, who had begun began to stir. His body twitched, his small frame jerking in the bed. It was as if the spirit's panic had transferred to him, and now he was trapped in its grip. His breathing became rapid, erratic.
Taro's heart raced. "Shit. Sayaka, calm him down!"
Sayaka nodded quickly, her form shimmering as she hovered over the boy. She reached out, her hands glowing faintly, and gently touched his forehead. A soft, soothing energy washed over Takumi, and the violent shaking slowly started to subside.
The spirit, too, seemed to relax, its form dissipating into the shadows of the room.
Taro exhaled, his muscles relaxing slightly. He glanced over at the boy, who was now breathing evenly, his body still again.
"What the hell was that?" Sayaka whispered, her voice filled with both concern and confusion.
"I don't know," Taro replied, his gaze lingering on the boy's sleeping form. "Those two must be deeply connected.."
They both stood in silence for a long moment, the air thick with unanswered questions.
Finally, Taro turned toward the door. "We need to leave."
Sayaka didn't argue, following him as he exited the room. As the door closed softly behind them, Taro's eyes lingered on the dark hallway.