How They Died (Black Butler Backstories)

He Sought Bravery

Qualities don't make a person brave, his/her actions do. Anybody can make a brave decision, just most people choose not to. Qualities are unrelated to a person. They help describe said person but they are rarely permanent. People change, but at the same time they remain constant. It's hard to explain exactly what is meant by this. For the most part, who decides what makes a person brave? The "qualities" of a brave person would be perseverance, ignorance, cockiness, and fear. Yes, fear. Cowards choose to follow the ways of "fear" but the brave will use their "fear" for fuel against the enemy. The "hero" in a fairytale is often considered brave. However, to the cynical eye, one might find the "hero" foolish instead.

The male standing here, before his love interest, might be considered brave. He had called her out here tonight to confess his feelings. He had practiced the line over and over again in his head, "I like you, will you go out with me?" he asked.

She smiled, alebiet sadly, and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, I already have a girlfriend," and just like that he was rejected. His heart was torn in two.

"I see," he responded, "I'm sorry to bother you," he said. The male turned around and left the girl. He'd been crushed. There was no hope for him now. Just like that. The brave man would've been better served to remain the coward. No. He had just been pretending to be a brave man. In truth, he had always been a coward. He knew, somewhere in his heart, that the woman was already taken. He had subconsciously fallen for someone that he would never be able to have. Because he feared the idea of truly loving someone.

He kicked a rock as he walked and sighed. He'd always been like this. He was a coward. Too afraid to become attached. His mother had become attached to his father and then years down the road they separated. What was the point in staying with someone? If you knew that person would leave you in the end? His mind of minds began to think that way. Before he knew it, he had been avoiding romance altogether.

"Why am I like this?" he asked himself. He'd asked himself this question over and over and over again. "Why am I like this?" he shed a few tears. He wished with all of his heart that he could be the hero. He wanted to save someone. He wanted to be anything but the coward that he was.

He leaned over the protective railing on the bridge and stared at the water running underneath him. He looked at his reflection and scoffed. What kind of person was he? What kind of human? Everything he saw just seemed like a poor imitation of something else. Who did he want to become? What did he want to do? There were no answers. The reflection staring back at him didn't say a word.

"Careful there," a voice called. It startled him and he lost his grip on the railing. He fell towards the water. A hand caught him. He looked at his savior to see a beautiful woman standing there. She had luscious red hair. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Could this be what falling in love at first sight was like?

She helped him regain his footing. She smiled. She introduced herself, "My name is Gou. You should be more careful next time," she said. He could barely pay attention to a word that was spoken. He was too distracted by her beauty. Silly him, it didn't take him long to get over his broken heart.

"Cat got your tongue? Or am I just that gorgeous," she laughed. "Hey, do you know how to play shogi?" she asked. He still couldn't find it in him to speak. This was his chance. He should say something. However, he wasn't brave. He couldn't say a word.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" she grabbed his hand and led him to a nearby park. There was a game going on. It must've been 'shogi.' That's what he assumed. He didn't know the first thing about how to play. However, that didn't stop him from wanting to impress her. That is, if she wanted him to play.