March 3rd 18XX
It's snowing today. It shouldn't be. It's Spring. My coat didn't keep out the chills. I trudged through the street, on the verge of passing out. I made it to the front door of the local inn before tripping over and landing face first into the cold snow. I turned to see a figure to my left with a small golden bird flying beside him. I gave in to the dark and slipped out of consciousness, only to wake up on the man's lap. The golden bird had pirched itself on my knees. It was odd. It had no beak or eyes. It was too spherical to be a bird. I looked to the mans face and saw he had snow white hair, but he was young. He had a red scar on his face and spoke with such a tender voice. "It's okay. You're safe now." He said to me. I nodded, drawing myself closer to him for warmth. I fell asleep in his arms. They were strong and safe. When I woke up once more, I finally asked him his name. "My name is General Allen Walker. I work for the black order." He told me. 'Funny' I thought, 'that's where grandpa worked.' I touched my pocket unconsciously to find my deck still there. My grandfather had given them to me. He said "these belong to you. They work better for you than me." I smiled at the passing memory. I thanked Allen for looking after me and returned to the street. Passing the shops and pubs, I made my way to the church. I stopped and looked up at the building. Soft candlelight bled through the stained glass windows as the flames burned down the wicks. The smell of the polished wooden pews was all too familiar for me. I entered the grounds and circled to the back, towards the graveyard. The graveyard was never a scary place to me. I went there a lot to see my grandfather. I pulled out my deck of cards and sat in front of the headstone. "Hey 'papa. I'm back. Wondered if you fancied another game, you know, before work?" I said. I dealt two hands. I turned over my cards and his. "You beat me again! You're too good." I chuckled before taking the cards back. I sighed and looked down at the cards in my hands. "I... I ran into one of your work friends. Allen Walker, his name was." I told him as I shuffled the deck before replacing it back into my pocket. I placed my hand onto the cold granite stone as I stood up. "I have to go. I love you 'papa." I said as I turned to walk away. I walked out of the grounds of the church and was about to head home when I felt a strong arm grab me and pull me back. "Lookie here fellas. We got ourselves a nice one." A gruff voice said. A group of men had hold of me and were not letting go. I could smell alcohol and something else in the air around them. I kicked and screamed, begging them to let me go. I thrashed in the mans grip. I closed my eyes, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. The next thing I saw was a blinding white light. I fell to the floor with a hard thud. After laying still for a while, I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see who had helped me. It was Allen. Allen had found me. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Yes. Thank you." I told him.
He took me to the local inn again to talk to me. He explained to the in keeper that he had found me frozen half to death in the snow and asked them for a blanket to warm me up. He draped it over my shoulders as I sat by the fireplace in the big communal room. I pulled out my deck and shuffled it over and over in my hands. "Those people who grabbed you were akuma. They are demons in the forms of humans. You must be careful. They have a special interest in you." He explained to me. I nodded, not really knowing what else to do. "Does your family have any ties with the black order?" He asked. "My grandfather. He was an exorcist. He spoke of you. I thought he was kidding but I wouldn't have believed it all until I saw you make those men dissappear. Heh. I guess luck is on my side today." I told him. He glanced at my hands and grabbed my cards. I rose to grab them and he lifted a single finger. "They, sir, are mine and I kindly ask that you return them." I ask impatiently. He tried to shuffle them. He dropped them all and I recovered each one. "I told you. They're mine. They only shuffle for me. I always win with these." I said to him. His eyebrow lifted as a small smirk etched its way onto his face. "Oh really? Well, I'll have to see about that." He said. I smiled and dealt him and myself a hand of cards.
We played a few games and I won each one. He asked to look at each card. "Here's the deck. Please be careful with them. They belonged to my grandfather. I won't see them damaged." I say, in a firm voice. He went through each card intently. He gave them back to me and saw how I shuffled them with ease, as if they flew to my other hand from the first.
He asked me to come with him to his home. I was bewildered at first until he explained why. "More akuma will appear and keep harassing you if you stay here. You have to leave here, for the sake of everyone else and for your own." I took a deep breath in and weighed my options. I sighed. "Okay. I'll have to say goodbye to my grandfather first. He always worries when I leave him for too long." I told him. He smiled and said he'd come with me to meet grandfather. When I took him to the cemetery, he was shocked. I found grandfather and knelt down in front of him. "Hello again 'papa. I brought Allen with me. I thought you would like to say hello again." I said to him. Allen looked down at me with confusion. "Anyway, he's going to take me somewhere new, so I won't be able to visit you anymore. I'm sorry, but I'll have one last game." I told him. I pulled out my deck and shuffled it. I dealt the hands. He won again. "Bye, 'papa." I said as I kissed the headstone. Allen brushed the snow off of the name and saw his name. 'Here lies Kevin Yegaar. Beloved husband, wonderful father and loving grandfather.' I followed Allen as he lead the way to his home.
