How They Died (Black Butler Backstories)

He Enjoyed Games

People are faulty. Some people speak their mind without any factual basis. Others are all facts with no common sense. Then, there are those that have a happy medium of the two. In other words, we shouldn't respect all opinions. We should only accept the "good" or relevant ones. If a person asks for the opinion of his/her family or friend and only half have valid advice, then he/she should reject the "bad" advice and follow the "good." Otherwise, the person would end up making the wrong decision. The one downside to this is that each individual has an independent view of what "good" or "bad" is. Each individual has an independent life with independent events that no one knows of. Asking people that do not understand would ultimately lead to the downfall of the individual doing the asking. That's why listening to the right people is so crucial.

He had no idea who the right people were.

He was horrendously bad at finding the "right" people. He hung out with those kids in class that knew nothing of "good" or "bad." They just knew who they were, and that they fit into neither one of the categories. He dyed his hair. He got piercings in unusual places. He tried his best to fit in. He drank on demand. He went to parties and did tricks. He would accept each and every dare asked of him.

That's just who he was. It's how he'd always been, for some reason or another.

At one such party he had drunk too much, like usual, and was standing on the roof of a building. He laughed at his "friends" or so they called themselves. None of them cared about him. None of them knew the meaning of the word "care." They laughed at his jokes, his tricks, his games, just like usual with no attention to his pain. He stood on the edge of the building, devoid of emotion, lacking a purpose, tired of the game that he thought he loved so much.

"Dare me to jump," he asked. "I'll do it," he said with that smile of his. They laughed it off and smiled just the same. No one caring one way or the other. There were plenty of fish in the sea. Plenty of people to choose from to be their next "friend."

"Do a flip," one of them laughed it off.

"I'll dare you, you won't," another snickered and held up a cup.

He hated heights but he hated this life much more. He stood on the edge looking down, quickly becoming sober. He smiled at how far up he was. There was no surviving this. No coming back. He raised up his arms and threw his cup behind him. He smiled and, well, he jumped. He fell to the ground with a great speed, still managing to do that flip. The "friends" he'd had looked over the edge. They laughed at him. Laughed at each other, unsure of what it would mean on their behalf. They didn't bother to worry about it, or stick around long enough to find out. They ran. Without looking back.

The woman shrouded in black stood by the corpse. "Welcome to your new home, you shall leave your life behind you and take another step forward as a reaper. Welcome, Ronald Knox," she said before leading him into the light. It burned, this light. He despised it but felt comfort in it. Had all these people gotten here the same way as him? His piercings were gone but his hair still remained. Perhaps Death had a sense of humor.

"My, my, looks like we have a cutie here. My name is Grell," the individual draped an arm over his shoulder.

"Ronald, I suppose," he replied.

"Well, Ronald, let me show you around," Grell offered. A bespectacled fellow slapped Grell on the side of the head with a long stick. Actually, they were all bespectacled...

"You most certainly will not. I will, you have work to do, follow me, Ronald," he said these words with force, no hint of refusal allowed. No funny business either.

"Well, by Senpai," Ronald waved as he followed.

"Bye!~ I'll see you around though," Grell blew him a kiss. He laughed.

"Ignore that one," the male with a permanent frown stated.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Grell seems kind of nice."

The man didn't agree nor disagree, his frown there ever still. "You'll get into quite a bit of trouble if you fall into the wrong crowd here," he adjusted his glasses. A reflection of the light blinded Ronald's eyes. "Be careful," he warned, but the warning wasn't ominous, there was a comfort behind it. A feeling that Ronald had always longed for.

Ronald smiled, "Thank you," he said. He meant it. For the first time someone had cared enough to at least warn him. Whether it had anything to do with Grell or not, someone had cared enough. He was now truly able to move on in this life; he was free.