Illusions of the Sunlight

❶・Story

The man rose an eyebrow at the image shown to him. Bodies strewn across the bloody fields, swords and other types of weapons laying on the ground, the soil crumbled, soaked with water, or burnt; signs of war, and quite a nasty one, too.

His confusion only rose as he spotted, amidst the destruction, a boy whose eyes were smoldered by cold fire. Beside him, another boy stood, his gaze unwavering as a small smile adorned his lips. Slowly but surely, the other held out his arm and they both shook hands, a sign of newly found trust.

The man let out a sigh, stroking a raven which took solace in his lap. A chuckle emitted from his throat, both dark and cruel. The animal peered up to him, it's beady eyes staring hard at his own.

"Oh, I wonder. . ." his voice was hoarse and raw, possibly due to the lack of use. "What will happen this time?" he mused out loud, his hand brushing against a dusty box. Blowing off the dirt, he took out the cards inside and spread it out on the wooden table.

Picking out nine, he pushed away the rest and arranged the cards three by three. He hummed a small tune before flipping out the first card; The Star. His eyebrows creased even more as he flipped the other two; Justice and The Wheel of Fortune.

"Ah, I see. . . So the boy has a bad past, huh, based by the first three cards. Depression, unfairness, and things out of his control respectively, hm. . ." His eyes wandered downwards to the second set of cards, representing the present.

"The Tenth Sword, the Eight Cup, and the Fifth Wand. A new start, fully learning from the past, and success. How interesting. . ." the man murmured, before turning the last cards up, revealing blanks.

"What?!" Standing up from his seat, he yelled out, shocked. "This is supposed to be impossible. How—" His attention, however, was diverted to the knock on his door. It creaked open as he said a weary, "Come in,".

"I heard you yell, father," a timid voice resounded within the room. "I was, um, wondering what was wrong. Uh, only if you wouldn't mind,"

"There's nothing to worry about, Shinrai. I'll come down for dinner, and tell your mother not to overwork herself," he replied in the same tired tone. The boy behind the door nodded subtly before slipping into the confinement of the darkness.

The man pondered over his tarot readings. I wonder what will happen to your story, he thought curiously. Your future was never determined, as the others were before. You are the only one who knows what the future will be. Saying that, I wish you. . .

"Good luck," he spoke out loud, the same cruel smirk imprinted on his face.

...:::*:::...

    It was autumn.

Amidst the mesmerizing, red and orange leaves that covered the solid ground and the trees that adorned the sidewalks, was a beautiful, black-haired girl. A sad smile settled on her face as she knelt down in front of a grave. In her hands lay a pristine, white lily, which she chose to leave on the stone in front of her.

A figure stood before her, his shadowing looming over her small, dainty form. "Ah, Aki-chan, you're still here?" he asked, his voice laced with a hint of amusement and worry. "You've been spending a lot of time in front of ojīsan's grave. I do wonder why,"

"Oh, hi F-Fuyu-nii-san. . ." Aki's reply was soft, almost embarrassed. The stutter in her sentence only made her seem more adorable. "I w-was just wondering. . .what kind of p-person is ojīsan?"

Fuyu smiled at her, its gentleness coaxing her into calming down. Her bright green eyes twinkled, sparkling with delight as her older brother offered a hand for her to get up.