#this popped into my head in the middle of the night so i blearily jotted it down before i passed out lol

[cluepoke]

Seems like kind of a waste man

[yrpspiritsintheshadows]

The Sight

The Sight

The floor was cold. Ice cold, as he stared up at the grey sky before him.

It was snowing…

Snow was white right? Why was the snow around him red?

Ken looked around, sniffling.

"Mommy….? Daddy…?"

There was a shadow rushing by the trees before appearing before him… The same hyena creature from before, its form dripping as it opened its maw.

Ken whimpered, trying to back up, crying out at how bad his back hurt.

"GET AWAY!"

The creature lunged for him.

"NO!"

Ken was shaken awake as his screaming dyed off. He opened his eyes blearily, looking up at his father.

Eiji's eyes were wide with fear.

"Ken…? Ken, you up kiddo?"

Ken's eyes were unfocused as he looked around him, slumping against the pillow.

"I think so…" He sniffled a little. 'D-Did I wake you and Mommy up again?"

"O-Oh, oh, oh shhh… No, no it's okay."

Eiji lifted him up, cradling him close. Ken was shaking like a leaf, burying his face in his neck.

Eiji rubbed circles on his back, bouncing a bit in place, trying to calm him down. He was all too used to this.

That's the third night terror this week… Oh Ken…

He didn't hesitate to carry him back to the master bedroom. Carmen was up already, grabbing more pillows and an extra blanket. Okami chased after her master, wanting to be sure her "pup" was safe.

"It's okay, Ken. I'm right here. Mommy too." Eiji kissed his head.

The boy looked up, whimpering.

"Stay?"

"Right here." Carmen patted the middle of the bed, giving him a gentle look. "Right between us. Right, mi corazon?"

Eiji nodded, setting Ken down. The boy rubbed at his eyes, looking up at them with an exhausted look. His dark hair was sticking out in all directions as he yawned.

"Not sleepy…" He mumbled.

"Hey, no one said anything about sleep." Eiji shrugged, bringing the blanket up over him. He was exhausted, but in truth, trying to reason with Ken when he was like this was pointless.

Carmen nodded, kissing his head.

"You can just lay with us for awhile, keep nice and cozy."

Ken sat up, whistling.

"'Kami!"

Okami jumped up onto the bed as Carmen let out a groan of dismay.

"Mijo, no, no, no. She's not supposed to-"

Ken gave her a look that was full of sadness as he whimpered.

She silently cursed her inability to say no to that face as she buried her head in her pillow.

Okami curled up at their feet, resting her head against Ken's leg. The boy relaxed visibly, curling up on his side.

Eiji stroked his hair, humming softly, Carmen joining in.

Sometimes, all he needed was this. Other nights, it could be hours before he passed out finally.

Ken stirred, trying to stay awake.

Carmen brought an arm around him, touching her head to his.

"We got you… It's okay. No one can hurt you, mijo."

"We're right here." Eiji laid down fully, stretching his arm around his son, resting it against Carmen's. "Right here."

Ken closed his eyes, tucking his head under his mother's.

"But-" He yawned.

"We'll be right here… Right here."

Ken didn't answer, a small snore leaving him. Fast asleep, where he felt the safest.

Carmen and Eiji exchanged a worried look.

We have to look into this.

oooooo

Mm…?

Ken yawned, rubbing his eyes. He sat up slowly, looking around, relieved that he was still in his parents' bed.

Carmen was still beside him, dozing.

He smiled, nuzzling her, before sniffing the air. There was an aroma in the air, all kinds of scents coming from the open door.

That's right! IT'S SATURDAY!

Their tradition was, since Eiji was usually too busy during the week to cook breakfast, he took over Saturday and Sunday's meals for the most part since it was free time for him.

He looked to his mother, kissing her head.

"Mommy?"

"Mm…?" Carmen opened an eye, smiling as she turned over, pretending to still be asleep.

"Mommy!" Ken giggled, leaning over her, giving her a poke. "C'mon, it's morning!"

"Mm, let me sleep forever."

"Mooommmyy!"

Carmen laid still… before whirling around, scooping him up. The boy let out a squeal, hugging her as she fell backwards with him.

"Rawr!"

"Nuuuu!"

Carmen peppered his head with kisses.

"Eeek!" Ken squealed. "It's el beso monstruo!"

Carmen laughed maniacally, tickling him. Ken squealed, giggling up a storm.

"And she has you now, mi mijo!" She kissed his head one last time, hugging him close. "Oh, my baby…"

Ken cuddled up to her, tucking his head under hers.

"I feel better."

Carmen sighed in relief, hugging him a little tighter. She had been worried he hadn't slept at all the previous night.

I think while Eiji does his grocery run I'm gonna take a long nap later.

She wished she could say the same for herself. She had stayed up later than Eiji had, keeping an eye on her boy until she had gradually dozed off herself.

Ken huddled close to her before sniffing at the air again.

He really wanted to stay where he was. It was warm and he was with his mom… but his stomach was growling as well.

"Mommy? I'm hungry." He pouted.

She smiled ruffling his hair.

"Well, we can't have that can we? Go bug your dad."

Ken giggled, taking off down the hall.

"DAAADDDY!"

Carmen laid back down, deciding she'd stay there until Eiji called for her. She was out like a light within seconds.

In the kitchen, Eiji was busy preparing an array of different dishes. He stirred a pot on the stove before checking on something in the oven.

Ken tugged on his apron, giving him a puppy eyed look.

"Sample?"

"Not yet son. Sleep well?"

"Ahuh, ahuh! What's for breakfast?" Ken bounced in place.

Eiji chuckled, giving the pot another stir.

"We're having miso soup, with spinach, some tofu and some enoki mushrooms."

"Baby mushrooms!?" He gasped.

"That's right, your favorite. Go let Okami back in, okay? She's outside."

Ken nodded, scurrying off to do as asked.

"What else!?" He called from the back door.

"Baked fish, tamagoyaki and rice!"

"YES!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. He hadn't made Japanese breakfast in awhile so it was a nice treat for all of them.

Takes me back, to when me and sis were little. We'd be driving our poor mother crazy wanting tastes of all the food first.

"Okaa-san, Eiji took my fish!"

"NUH UH!"

Heh…

It wasn't long before they were setting the table as Carmen tiredly made her way into the room. She gave them a tired smile.

"Mornin."

Eiji chuckled, sliding her a cup of tea.

"Good morning to you too."

Ken bounced in his chair, giving them a pleading look.

"Food now?"

"Food now." Eiji nodded, placing both hands together. "Thank you for the food."

"Thank you for the food!"

As they ate, Eiji used his free hand to jot down a shopping list, giving his son a grin.

"You wanna go grocery shopping with me? We'll get lunch later."

Ken slurped some of his soup before nodding quickly, going back to his breakfast.

"Ah, the best kind of sound."

"Seriously, Eiji, I can't make it as good as you can." Carmen smiled.

"I can say the same to you about your food." He chuckled. "I'm just glad you guys like it."

"Love it."

"Shoppin, shoppin!"

oooooo

After the store trip, Eiji and Ken were off to one last location before heading home.

Eiji had his radio going as Ken bounced in his seat, listening to the music that was playing quietly.

He looked down, seeing a black duffel bag poking out from under the backseat. Part of P.A.C.K's logo was on it, hidden the rest of the way.

Ken looked up, noting Eiji was busy focusing on getting to where they were going next.

He reached down, pulling the bag further out until he saw the zipper.

What Daddy doesn't know won't hurt him.

It wasn't like Eiji's equipment was off limits. He frequently allowed Ken to mess with or look at certain things under his supervision.

It would be the same thing… right?

Ken unzipped the duffel bag as Eiji turned the music up on a certain song. He waited until it was clear Eiji wasn't going to look back anytime soon, reaching into the bag, rummaging around.

He grabbed onto something, pulling out one of the many spirit boxes the team had. While it didn't use the spirit's own voice like an EVP recorder, the words that would pop up on the screen were still accurate.

Just as Ken picked it up, Eiji drove past a memorial site. It had been placed up recently, following a fatal car accident that had occurred there.

Words started to pop up on the screen as a pre-programmed electronic voice read them out.

"Where are they?" The voice read off.

Eiji turned off the radio, glancing back at Ken in the rearview mirror.

"What are you doing?" He asked, focusing back on the road. "You know, you're not supposed to play with that without asking."

"It said something though! When we passed the memorial!"

Eiji had heard it. He just didn't like how it went off without any prompts.

Ken… It's because of him, of course.

He wasn't mad, far from it. He was more concerned about the way certain spirits seemed to be attracted to him due to the abilities he possessed.

"I know it did… but we can look into that later. I don't want you playing with that without our usual protection charms. Okay?"

"Okay…"

Ken put it back, trying to settle down at least a little. He went back to bouncing in his chair, watching the people they passed by.

Eiji glanced at the gas gage on his car, cursing a little seeing it was close to empty. He spotted a gas station near the pier they were driving past, pulling in.

"I'll be right back. Don't even think about touching that equipment again." He gave Ken a serious look. "Promise?"

Ken smiled, nodding.

"I promise Daddy!"

Eiji smiled before walking around to the opposite side of the car. Ken was quiet, humming to himself, trying to decide what he wanted to do when they got home.

Taking Okami out for a run around the property could be fun. She was so big, he had to sprint to keep up with her sometimes and taking naps together in the little meadow not too far from the house was always nice.

We could do lots of exploring, see what we can find! Like those big, big mushrooms we found that time… Mmm it was yummy...

He had just eaten lunch but already he was getting hungry again.

Tap tap tap.

The boy jumped, broken out of his thought train. He hadn't imagined that had he? Ken looked around, glancing through the other window, wondering if Eiji was kidding around with him.

He wasn't. The man was focused on putting fuel in the car.

Ken shrugged, laying back against his seat, closing his eyes.

It was quiet, just the sounds of Eiji humming to himself outside and the faint noises of other cars pulling in.

Then… the tapping resumed as the ghost box he had been playing with started to go off. Ken jumped, looking down at it, grabbing it.

"Help me." The pre-programmed voice, read off. "Find them."

"Find who?" He asked, his voice going higher.

He had played with ghosts, lots of times. He never had Eiji's equipment go off like this before.

The tapping intensified as the boy looked up slowly, his eyes widening in horror.

There was a couple, leaning against the window, their skin grey, their clothes damp… their eyes dead as they tapped on the window.

"Help us, find them."

Ken didn't know what to do. This was scary… They were right outside and Eiji couldn't see them. Ken closed his eyes tightly, curling up on himself, dropping the device.

"Find them." It kept reading off. "Help us, find them."

"Go away, go away, go away." He muttered, whimpering. "Please, go away…"

The EVP recorder in the duffle bag turned on by itself.

"Help us." A woman's voice came through. "Please, someone help us…"

"GO AWAY!" He screamed, causing Eiji to rush over to Ken's side of the car, throwing the door open.

"Ken!"

As soon as Eiji was by his side, the spirits disappeared from his view, the devices going silent. Ken was shaking like a leaf, reaching up for his father.

Eiji lifted him out, concerned of how bad it had gotten. He glanced out at the waterfront the gas station was near… wondering who had died there recently to cause Ken to be so scared.

"It's okay… Shh, shh…"

"Daddy…" Ken sniffled, burying his face in the crook of his father's neck. "I… I wasn't playing with it this time. It just went off…"

"I know… I know…" Eiji frowned, his heart breaking at seeing his son so afraid. He never wanted Ken to be scared because of his gifts… but he knew being a child with such a gift carried a different kind of burden. "It's okay… Daddy's right here."

Ken hugged him tightly, Eiji's own arms tightening around his son.

"I'm sorry…"

"Shh…" Eiji nuzzled him a little, "It's okay, I promise. Daddy's right here."

He locked up the car, still keeping Ken in one arm before going to a bench several feet away. He didn't want to put him back in there just yet.

Ken huddled close to him, clinging to his hoodie,. He looked up, glaring at the car. There were no spirits nearby now that he could see… but he knew spirits could make themselves vanish from view.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Eiji asked him, concern in his blue eyes. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Ken thought about it for a moment, his blue eyes narrowing in focus. He slowly looked up at him, giving a nod.

"They… They were wet… and grey. They were dead, Daddy. Really, really dead…" The boy frowned. "I don't think…"

"They knew they were dead?" Eiji asked, getting a little nod in return. "Yeah, sometimes freshly dead people don't know what happened."

"They kept asking me to help them find someone. Find… them." Ken shuddered. "And they were tapping on the window."

Eiji kept his son close. He definitely was going to be looking into recent obituaries now. Possibly coming back to this area with his team to cleanse it.

"You don't have to help them Ken. Your old man can take care of that."

"Promise?" Ken pouted a little, unsure. "And I'm not a bad boy?"

"No, never. Never a bad boy." Eiji smiled softly. "You're a very kind boy for wanting to help though. And a brave boy for holding out like you did. Next time you see something like that though, don't hesitate to call for me. I'll be right there for you, no matter what."

"Pinkie promise?" Ken asked, perking up.

Eiji chuckled, looping their fingers together.

"Pinkie promise." He kissed his head. "I love you so much, Ken. I'll always have your back."

"And I'll have yours!" Ken gave him a little nuzzle, giggling. The moment of terror was gone, now he just wanted to move past it and get back to his day out with his dad.

"Hm… Wanna see if the gas station has any good ice pops?"

"Papico? Or paletas?"

Eiji chuckled, ruffling his hair up.

"Maybe not papico. We'd have to go back to Mitsuwa for that. But, they probably have paletas. What flavor do you want?"

"Chocolate and coconut!"

Eiji got up, leading Ken inside, trying to keep him distracted.

"Well, I think I'm gonna get strawberry or maybe pure coconut."

Ken giggled, skipping a bit.

"Maybe mango?"

"Yeah…" Eiji looked back towards the car, eyes narrowing. "Maybe so…"

Whoever you are… Leave him alone. He's just a kid.

A very gifted kid, but a kid.

Ken bolted away from him, right to the cooler where the frozen treats were, waving his father over, a big smile on his face.

"C'mon, Daddy!"

Eiji smiled warmly, following after him.

He's my gifted kid.

I'll look into the happenings around here later.

For now... It's my day off and I'm spending it with my son.

Ghosts or not can't tear me away from that.