There are many alleyways in Kumogakure, some of which have seen life and death battles of which the victors are never celebrated. This was one such alleyway, however the battles fought here weren't simply not celebrated, they were typically not even noticed. The kinds of battles that took place between a drunk and the last drops of his bottle, between a penniless beggar and the addiction she waged war against, between desperation and hope... Kaiden was locked in just such a battle. However, rather than the typical fare that was all too common amongst the poor and destitute, the unknowing ghost walker battled with his own psyche. Seeing his daughter again that day had been one thing... He had thought it a simple memory made vivid by his pain-addled mind.
These days, his daughter's voice was always playing in the back of his mind, Runa spouting the cheerful and childlike jubilations she had when she was simply that bright-eyed youth that took after her feisty and upbeat mother. As he'd grieved, that voice was already there. But now... these days it felt loud. Like he could actually hear her. Like even if he thought of other things, took his mind away, she demanded to be heard. It wasn't just when he was thinking of her, which itself was a commonplace occurrence. And not only had his mad visions increased in their frequency, they had also become far more vivid. "Are you really gonna spend all night drinking yourself to death Daddy?" The dainty female voice called out. It had a sadness of its own that somewhat matched the dark-haired man's sullen demeanor. Kaiden pawed at his ears, his dirty fingers weaving through the hair at the sides of his vision-filled head, which he shook now before drunkenly mumbling to himself without a care for who overheard. "Just let me rest... I can't do this... It's too much to hear you every day..." The man said, his voice coming out in pained stoicism. The alcohol had been more effective than just trying to put things out of his mind. Instinctively, he covered up his daughter's "response" in his insane mind with another deep swig of the foul-tasting and burning liquid that might as well have been paint thinner.
However, Runa couldn't be ignored. At least not everything she said. "...rts me to see you like this Daddy. You used to be so strong-willed and positive! Why can't you do what Momma used to say? Remember? 'Happiness is a choice. You just gotta wake up and put a smile on like you do your clothes in the morning!' Remember Daddy?" Runa had mimicked her mother Akari's sayings often, even sharing their straightforward and no-nonsense tone, but with her own cheery and upbeat voice mixed in. Truth be told, they were words that Kaiden thought about more than he was willing to admit... especially considering how often he failed to heed them recently. But tonight, with his grief seething and bubbling after nearly a week of constant reminders of his pain, pain that the cheap swill he'd gotten each night after work barely masked, he simply couldn't take it anymore. "I CAN'T RUNA!" The man exclaimed into the bar, drawing the attention of many of its regulars as well as a sigh from the bartender himself. "Because you're gone! Because your mother's gone! Because... I'm gone too... So just get out of my head! Let me forget!" Runa looked at her father with ethereal tears forming in in her eyes, her lips downturned into a deep frown, the kind only a pure-hearted child could manage. Then the bartender approached, walking directly through her and dispersing her ghostly form into a blueish cyan mist, her crying eyes burned into Kaiden's memory again and causing his sweating brow to furrow at the barkeep.
The bartender was a portly man with a thick moustache. He was as rough around the edges as the alley his little establishment resided in, but that roughness belied the fact that he actually seemed to care about his regulars. "Yer done for the night. Get out of here and don't even start to argue or I'll tell those cop buddies of yours how much of a pathetic drunk you are." He'd said. It was clear that the man had little patience for the state this particular regular was in, and that perhaps Kaiden had been a bit too insistent in recent days that he be able to drink himself to true oblivion. "Yeah..." Was all the man could muster as he stumbled toward the door. "And get someone to take care of you or somethin'! You're starting to smell!" The barkeep added as Kaiden leaned into the door, swinging it open to the alleyway and stepping out into the rain. He barely got ten or fifteen feet down the corridor as he slumped against the wall, sliding down it as he gripped at his head with grasping fingers, like he was trying to pull the memory of his daughter's crying eyes from his mind with his bare hands.
However, much to his chagrin, that focus on her former visage only caused her to appear once more. Runa looked like she had wanted to say something, but her lip quivered and her voice was cut off by sobs as she stared down at the pitiful man who used to be her strong and loving father. Kaiden didn't realize it at the time, but the sight of him was at times just as painful for his daughter as her ghostly form was to him. But at least she could see the difference between real and fake, between illusion and something more real, if not more tangible. So instead of chide him more, she let him rest like he'd asked, crying softly as she watched the man sink his eyes into his palms as he sat against the wall of the puddle-covered alleyway... A pitiful man indeed...
[MFT .|. 989 Words]
These days, his daughter's voice was always playing in the back of his mind, Runa spouting the cheerful and childlike jubilations she had when she was simply that bright-eyed youth that took after her feisty and upbeat mother. As he'd grieved, that voice was already there. But now... these days it felt loud. Like he could actually hear her. Like even if he thought of other things, took his mind away, she demanded to be heard. It wasn't just when he was thinking of her, which itself was a commonplace occurrence. And not only had his mad visions increased in their frequency, they had also become far more vivid. "Are you really gonna spend all night drinking yourself to death Daddy?" The dainty female voice called out. It had a sadness of its own that somewhat matched the dark-haired man's sullen demeanor. Kaiden pawed at his ears, his dirty fingers weaving through the hair at the sides of his vision-filled head, which he shook now before drunkenly mumbling to himself without a care for who overheard. "Just let me rest... I can't do this... It's too much to hear you every day..." The man said, his voice coming out in pained stoicism. The alcohol had been more effective than just trying to put things out of his mind. Instinctively, he covered up his daughter's "response" in his insane mind with another deep swig of the foul-tasting and burning liquid that might as well have been paint thinner.
However, Runa couldn't be ignored. At least not everything she said. "...rts me to see you like this Daddy. You used to be so strong-willed and positive! Why can't you do what Momma used to say? Remember? 'Happiness is a choice. You just gotta wake up and put a smile on like you do your clothes in the morning!' Remember Daddy?" Runa had mimicked her mother Akari's sayings often, even sharing their straightforward and no-nonsense tone, but with her own cheery and upbeat voice mixed in. Truth be told, they were words that Kaiden thought about more than he was willing to admit... especially considering how often he failed to heed them recently. But tonight, with his grief seething and bubbling after nearly a week of constant reminders of his pain, pain that the cheap swill he'd gotten each night after work barely masked, he simply couldn't take it anymore. "I CAN'T RUNA!" The man exclaimed into the bar, drawing the attention of many of its regulars as well as a sigh from the bartender himself. "Because you're gone! Because your mother's gone! Because... I'm gone too... So just get out of my head! Let me forget!" Runa looked at her father with ethereal tears forming in in her eyes, her lips downturned into a deep frown, the kind only a pure-hearted child could manage. Then the bartender approached, walking directly through her and dispersing her ghostly form into a blueish cyan mist, her crying eyes burned into Kaiden's memory again and causing his sweating brow to furrow at the barkeep.
The bartender was a portly man with a thick moustache. He was as rough around the edges as the alley his little establishment resided in, but that roughness belied the fact that he actually seemed to care about his regulars. "Yer done for the night. Get out of here and don't even start to argue or I'll tell those cop buddies of yours how much of a pathetic drunk you are." He'd said. It was clear that the man had little patience for the state this particular regular was in, and that perhaps Kaiden had been a bit too insistent in recent days that he be able to drink himself to true oblivion. "Yeah..." Was all the man could muster as he stumbled toward the door. "And get someone to take care of you or somethin'! You're starting to smell!" The barkeep added as Kaiden leaned into the door, swinging it open to the alleyway and stepping out into the rain. He barely got ten or fifteen feet down the corridor as he slumped against the wall, sliding down it as he gripped at his head with grasping fingers, like he was trying to pull the memory of his daughter's crying eyes from his mind with his bare hands.
However, much to his chagrin, that focus on her former visage only caused her to appear once more. Runa looked like she had wanted to say something, but her lip quivered and her voice was cut off by sobs as she stared down at the pitiful man who used to be her strong and loving father. Kaiden didn't realize it at the time, but the sight of him was at times just as painful for his daughter as her ghostly form was to him. But at least she could see the difference between real and fake, between illusion and something more real, if not more tangible. So instead of chide him more, she let him rest like he'd asked, crying softly as she watched the man sink his eyes into his palms as he sat against the wall of the puddle-covered alleyway... A pitiful man indeed...
[MFT .|. 989 Words]
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