#saigo!sans

-Saigo... Saigo ! Wake up !!

Rising suddenly, with his senses alert and his body trembling, a young skeleton woke up at the foot of a tree. His two pupils, green and red, looked around with the sensation of being lost. Next to him, a still smoking campfire reminded him that he had set up camp for the night here, at the top of a small hill, protected by several trees.

Massaging his face, Saigo made sure that his crown was still in place and his pendant was still around his neck. He readjusted his blue scarf before rising to look up at the sky. The sun was high in the sky and he had had another nightmare... That voice calling out to him again, every night, every time he closed his eyes. That voice that had haunted him for a long time...

Tapping his clothes to remove any soil that may have accumulated overnight, he checked his left arm for the presence of his armband and his vials of poisons, all filled and ready to use. Grabbing his sword that he had placed beside him, he tightened the strap around his pelvis, hanging it on the ties of his shorts.

Crushing the embers of his old campfire for safety, he headed towards the plain that lay in front of him. The blue, cloudless sky seemed to disappear in the distance, behind huge mountains. A river meandered its way through the woods of a vast forest, and in the sky the cry of the flying dragons echoed as they performed their aerial ballet. Still observing a little more of this queen nature, Saigo finally turned his heels, ready to continue on his way...

-I have a feeling it's going to be a beautiful day. Mumbled the skeleton. Today I'll find someone.

Coming down from his hill, while listening to the birds singing and the wind bringing him the cries of the animals, Saigo headed towards the forest, aiming to cross it hoping to find what he was looking for.

No sooner had he arrived in this one, his footsteps became more discreet, remaining on the lookout for the slightest noise and smell. Suddenly, a creak caused him to hide behind a tree, letting a lupine-shaped creature almost two meters high at the withers pass by. The creature's long, bushy tail stroked the vegetation in its path, while Saigo could hear its breath passing between its fangs as it opened its mouth, indicating that the creature seemed to be on the hunt. He had to keep a low profile if he didn't want to become its prey...

The creature eventually passes his way, allowing Saigo to continue on his way, sighing with relief. Whenever he came across such a creature, he always had his soul beating a hundred miles an hour, preferring to keep a low profile so he wouldn't have to fight them. Oh, he had fought them before... But he avoided as much as possible... For he was nothing in this immense nature that was queen of this world.

A few metres further on, the skeleton saw a giant bird's nest with the eggs left unattended. A hearty breakfast with a luxury dish if he could manage to sting them. Except that as soon as the egg was taken, a giant yellow bird came running towards him, waving its wings. Saigo ran away hoping to save his breakfast, but it was a lost cause... The bird ran much faster and was forced to give him back his egg after being pecked on the head several times. It will be berries again for breakfast...

Saigo continued to walk until his sweet berries were swallowed up, before he saw the shape of a village in front of him. Finally he found one...

A new village, in ruins... Just like all the ones he'd found so far. Rushing down his alleys, he observed everything around him, deploring any presence... This village too was empty, the houses were destroyed and vegetation had begun to grow on the walls, slowly taking back its rightful place on this land.

Sad to find no survivors this time, Saigo headed to what he thought was the village bar. Maybe he could find some food and drink still preserved there. As he entered, he wasn't surprised to see that the place seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry. The furniture was still in place, old ketchup or mayonnaise containers were still lying on the tables, and glasses were lying on the counter, barely cracked.

Heading immediately to the reserve, Saigo had fun opening any cupboards or chests of drawers he could find, hoping to discover a small treasure. And his pupils lit up when he came across an old bottle of wine, which still seemed to be in very good condition. Besides, good wine could be kept for years! It was a very good discovery!

Happy, he uncorked the bottle before drinking it, immediately spitting out his sip. The taste was horrible... Probably expired because it was badly converted, having undergone too many changes in temperature during its many years of abandonment... Saigo whined about his false hope, not having drunk a drink worthy of the name for so long, and put the bottle back on the bar counter.

-Okay, well... He said as he looked at the place. I'm not going to linger here either... There's no one here either...

Coming out of the bar, he began to wander through the devastated streets again, imagining what kind of human or monster might have lived here, imagining what life must have been like here before. He imagined the children running between the alleys, watched over by their parents, going to play in the forest. But was this forest there, surrounding this village? Or had nature ended up hiding this village, like many others, while taking back its rights?

Saigo sighed softly as he made his way to the opposite exit of this village, in order to continue his journey and continue hoping to find what he was looking for.

Suddenly, a noise under his feet startled him as he looked down to notice that he had stepped on an old doll. Probably the former companion of a child, his former confidant, perhaps his friend... Saigo imagined the many games the owner had to play with his little doll, the number of adventures they had to live together.

A faint smile appeared on his face as he stared at the doll, which was covered in dirt, faded and damaged. The child to whom it was supposed to belong was surely dead... ...as were many others... Laying the doll against a wall, Saigo stared at it, feeling his soul clenching it.

-Damn war... How many more lifeless scenes will I find? Murmured the skeleton. You really didn't leave any survivors... ? Except me...?

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Sorry if there are spelling mistakes, english isn’t my language 

This was the case of this young skeleton child with green pupils, who carried a sword at his belt at all times, too young to have his powers fully developed but strong enough to defend himself with this weapon that never left him.

As he arrived in front of the town bar, the youngster seemed to be looking for someone when a figure, smaller than him, jumped on him when he came up behind him.

- Saigo ! Call the smaller one. You're finally here!

The one called Saigo turned around to get the younger one down before caressing his skull.

- P*p*r*s !! Softly growled the older of the two. Stop calling me that. You know I don't especially like that nickname.

- But it suits you big brother! replied the younger one.

Saigo sighed before taking his little brother in his arms, coming to look at him... Before he froze. Why couldn't he see his face anymore? Why did his face seem so blurry... He couldn't see his pupils... He could see his skeletal body as a seven-year-old child. He saw his outfit, with a long red cape that the child used to think he was a super hero. But as soon as he looked at his face, he saw a black spot that masked his brother's skull... Why would he do that? - Saigo? Called the younger one, bringing his brother back. I have a present for you!

Saigo shook his head, looking at his brother as if everything was normal, already forgetting that strange fact that he couldn't see his face anymore. Then the child took a small crown out of his back and proudly gave it to his brother.

- Tadam!!! I found a luminous stone! And I made you a crown! Luminous stones were very rare in their underground refuge and they were seen as lucky charms. Grabbing the crown, Saigo put one knee on the ground before giving it back to his brother, inviting him to put it on his head himself. - Yippee! Said the younger one. It suits you perfectly! Are you testing if it works??? Faced with the impatience of his little brother, Saigo stood up before coming to tap the stone, activating it and creating in front of them, a soft light that could illuminate the darkest places. - It works!! It works !!! The youngest congratulated himself. Proud of his brother, the older one grabbed him before having fun spinning him in the air before putting him down and giving him a huge hug. He was expecting to feel his soul purring at this contact but as his little brother gave him back his embrace, he felt nothing... As if he was hugging a complete stranger... And that feeling made him sick...

Unable to define what was happening to him, Saigo suddenly felt his brother pull away and an awful pain twisted his skull. When he reopened his pupils, his brother was no longer there. Straightening up suddenly, he put his hand on the pommel of his sword by reflex, coming to observe all around him.

He wanted to shout his name but his voice blocked, unable to call out his name. He couldn't remember his name... He couldn't remember his little brother's first name???? But he had called him earlier...

No ?

Suddenly, a chuckle reaches his ear canals, causing him to turn his head to observe a path that leads to a cave filled with bluish crystals. He remembered this cave, he often came to play there with his brother... But it was on the other side of town, how did he get here so quickly? He had walked without realizing it?

- Big brother! Suddenly called a voice that gripped his soul. Come and see!

Tapping like an old reflex on the stone on his crown, Saigo diffused the light around him, allowing him to move forward in this cave, knowing the way by heart. He didn't need the sound of that voice to guide him, he knew where he had to go.

The path to the cave was soon strewn with rocks that had to be climbed, but Saigo passed them with his hands in his pockets, using only his legs to jump from one rock to another until he reached the top of the stone that blocked the path. Then he went down the other side sliding on it, having a balance that amazed him, as if he always had this strength and agility... As if he had been training for years...

Finally arriving at the side of an underground lake, illuminated by hundreds of multicolored crystals at the bottom of the water, the skeleton with green pupils finally found the one he was looking for. His brother was lying by the water, playing with his hand in the water, trying to stroke the fish.

- There you are. Saigo snickered gently as he approached. We should go home. Daddy doesn't like us to venture that far into the caves.

Suddenly, a new pain twisted his skull, forcing him to get down on one knee, placing his hands around his skull as he painfully closed his eye sockets. A scream made him stand up straight, suddenly observing humans who had just grabbed his brother and pushed him into the water.

- Stop!! Saigo shouted as he drew his sword, coming to stand between the humans and his brother.

The humans seemed older than them, probably young adults and war obliges, they too were solidly armed.

- Hey, do you think the colonel will be proud of us if we kill our first monsters? Hazard a first human.

- Surely! Answered the second. After all, monsters should all die!

This statement chilled Saigo, who warned, coming to ward off a first attack, causing the steel blades to clash in a squeal that echoed throughout the cave. While holding his opponent, Saigo watched as his brother managed to get out of the water, hiding behind a rock. Standing between his brother's hiding place and his opponents, the young skeleton blocked their path to prevent them from attacking his brother as a traitor.

The fight quickly raged on, with the humans using their larger numbers to try to hit their opponent, but his agility quickly caught them by surprise. They were being slaughtered by a small skeleton ... The rage and hatred won them and their movements became more hazardous, easier to counter for Saigo who saw his victory looming without the slightest concern.

At least that's what he would have liked to hope... As he stuck his sword into the soul of the last human still one life ahead of him, a noise caught his attention, making him turn sharply towards his brother. He looked a little higher and saw an archer bending his bow towards the little skeleton who was cowering over himself, not seeing the danger coming.

Saigo shouted his name without even hearing it as he rushed towards him. His magic was then activated for the first time, making him materialize a bone that he sent to be planted in the archer's soul. Unfortunately, this action made him shoot his arrow...

A new scream escaped Saigo as he was teleported for the first time, and he found himself in front of his little brother, the arrow coming to crash into his own soul....

He had a hiccup of pain as he felt himself falling backwards. The cold was reaching his bones, his brother's calls were becoming distant, his soul was slowly turning to dust, and then the black man won him over, feeling nothing...

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Sorry if there are spelling mistakes, english isn’t my language