Morning light slipped through the cracked windows of an abandoned building.
Dust drifted lazily in the air as a thin ray of sunlight fell across Keita's face.
"Uhm… where am I…?" he murmured.
He lay on an old futon placed over cold concrete flooring.
For a long moment, he simply stared at the gray cement ceiling.
"…."
Then it came back.
The door.
The slap.
The blood.
Her voice.
Keita slowly looked down and forced a small smile, "…I see."
Sadness filled his eyes.
"So I really did… die…"
He looked around at the empty, hollow building, "I guess this is where people go when they die…"
He sat up.
His injuries were gone. Not even a scar remained.
Fiddling with his fingers, tears began forming at the corners of his eyes.
He blinked rapidly, refusing to let them fall.
He crawled into a corner and hugged his knees.
"I…"
"…I hate this…"
"…Why am I alone again…?"
"…N-No one... really wants me…"
Then, he remembered Pengi.
Guilt stabbed his chest.
"I even left Pengi alone… I'm sorry…"
Squeak~
Squeak~
Keita froze.
Slowly, he turned his head.
A small penguin plush was waddling toward him… dragging a plastic bag.
"Ah, Keita, you're aw—"
Thud!
Keita launched forward and hugged Pengi with all his strength.
"PENGI YOU'RE ALSO DEAD THANKFU—!!"
BANG!
"WHAT DEAD?!" Pengi snapped, smacking Keita on the head.
"Why would you say something so ominous?!"
Keita grabbed his head, eyes wide, "I-It hurt…?"
"Exactly! If we were dead, do you think that would hurt?!"
Keita blinked in confusion, "But how…?"
And so Pengi explained.
He told Keita how he had carried him away from that place.
How they were safe now.
How he had taken care of everything.
Of course, he did not mention the ice, freezing the adults solid.
As Pengi finished, Keita lowered his gaze, "…So I'm still alive…"
Relief washed over him, yet the sadness remained.
Pengi flicked his nose lightly, "Yeah, you're still alive. So stop talking about dying. I hate it."
His voice softened at the end.
Then, as if remembering something, Pengi grabbed the plastic bag dramatically, lifting the mood.
"Tch tch tch… Keita," he said, grinning.
"Wanna take a guess what's inside this?
Keita tilted his head and stared at the bag.
His pale gray-blue eyes subtly shifted—a faint red glimmer formed as he instinctively tried to sense its contents.
Pengi quickly hid the bag behind his back, "That's cheating! Don't use your powers!"
Keita puffed his cheeks.
"But how am I supposed to know what's inside if I don't use them? It's not like I—"
"Well," Pengi interrupted smugly, "if you want to know that badly…"
He leapt onto a broken crate.
"CHACHAN~!"
With dramatic flair, he pulled something from the bag, conjuring cold mist that spilled theatrically around it.
When the mist cleared.
Keita's eyes sparkled like stars.
His smile stretched so wide it looked like it might split his face.
"PENGI~!!!"
"Is that… a real popsicle?!!"
"Heh!" Pengi puffed his chest proudly. "That's right! A real popsicle, the one we saw on television!"
It was just a simple chocolate twin popsicle, yet Keita received it with both hands as if it were a sacred treasure.
"T-THANK YOU, CAPTAIN PENGI~! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH~!!"
Pengi simply watched the boy beam with pure gratitude… over something so small.
If I had known you liked it this much, Pengi thought quietly.
I would've gone outside much sooner.
Keita took a bite, eyes widened, "…It's sweet!"
Not bland ice.
Not flavorless cold.
Sweet.
This was the first time in Keita's eight years of life that he had eaten a real flavored popsicle.
And the first time he had ever been outside the confines of that apartment.
...
Keita savored every last bite of the popsicle.
He even asked where Pengi had gotten it since they didn't have any money.
However, Pengi didn't reply and simply told him to focus on eating.
Between each bite, he didn't forget to keep thanking Pengi.
This made Pengi flustered, placing his soft flippers on his waist.
"Yeah, yeah, you've said that already," he muttered.
"But it's my first time, you know…" Keita murmured shyly, fiddling with his fingers.
"So I'm just really thankful…"
When he finished, he carefully folded the futon, dusted it off, and stood up.
"Thank you again, Pengi hehe~"
"Gosh, how many times are you going to thank me?!" Pengi grumbled, though the faint flush on his plush face betrayed him.
Keita stepped closer to the broken window, barefoot against the cold concrete.
Sunrays warmed his pale skin.
He paused, remembering something, "…Pengi."
His voice was softer now.
"Thank you for always protecting me…"
This time he didn't look at Pengi as he continued.
"…But I think we should go home."
Silence fell instantly as the air turned heavy.
Pengi stared at him, stunned.
Then something inside him snapped.
"K-Keita!" Pengi shouted.
"Why... why do you still want to go back?! We finally escaped! I... really don't understand you!"
"I've had enough... watching you get dragged around and hurt by that monster mothe—"
"PENGI—!" Keita's voice cracked as he shouted back.
"I-I know I'm stupid... dumb... and an idiot for w-wanting to go b-back!"
Tears welled in his eyes, "B-But she's… s-she's my only family…!"
His fists trembled.
"That place… is my only home..."
Pengi's expression hardened at seeing Keita.
Slowly, he pulled something from his belly pouch.
The old picture frame.
Keita froze as he lifted his head.
"You're wrong," Pengi said firmly. "That woman isn't your only family."
He held the frame up.
"Your father."
"Didn't you wish to find and meet him before?" Pengi pressed gently.
Keita's breath caught.
"…Meet him?"
Keita's voice shrank, "B-But what if… what if he also doesn't want me?"
The words trembled.
"If I just go home… maybe Mama will forgive me… maybe I can stay…"
"Then what?" Pengi demanded.
"What happens after that, Keita?"
His flippers clenched.
"Can you live like that forever? Even when she finds someone she loves? Even if she builds a new family?"
Each word hit harder than the last.
"When that happens… do you think she won't abandon you?"
Abandon.
The word echoed.
Keita's pupils shrank, "N-No…!!!"
The ground beneath his feet began to crack. Thin veins of red light seeped through the concrete.
Wind started to spiral around him.
His pale gray-blue eyes slowly tinted red.
"N-No… Mama wouldn't…"
His breathing grew uneven, energy leaked from his small body in unstable pulses.
"She wouldn't abandon me…"
The red light intensified.
Dust lifted from the floor, and even the building slightly trembled.
No… not like this…
Keita clutched his chest as something twisted violently inside him.
"I… I can be better…"
The air warped.
The cracks spread outward in jagged lines, glowing crimson.
"She won't… abandon me…"
But his voice no longer sounded convinced.
It sounded afraid.
And his energy was beginning to rampage.
A shadow fell over Keita's trembling body.
It was Pengi.
He had transformed again—larger, sturdier, a mascot-sized guardian looming protectively over the fragile boy.
Without hesitation, Pengi knelt and pulled Keita into his soft body.
"I... I-I'm sorry," Pengi said, voice low and steady despite the emotion behind it.
"I'm sorry for speaking harshly, Keita…"
He tightened his embrace, "But I promise you something."
The red glow flickering in Keita's eyes trembled.
"I... won't be like the others."
The wind slowly began to die down.
"I won't abandon you."
The cracks in the concrete stopped spreading.
"I'll stay with you. I'll protect you."
The red light dimmed further.
"Until I see you grow up."
Silence followed.
Keita's energy softened completely.
The wind vanished. The building stilled.
The violent aura dissolved like mist in sunlight.
Tears streamed freely down Keita's face as he buried himself into Pengi's soft body.
He clung tightly, fingers twisting into fabric as if afraid Pengi might disappear too.
Portion of all the sadness he had swallowed for years spilled out silently.
Pengi held him and remembered the moment he came to Keita's embrace.
...
Almost three years ago.
Keita was five.
The nightmare of being left alone in the apartment continued, strictly forbidden from stepping outside.
His only entertainment was standing on the small porch, peeking between the railings at the world below.
He watched other children walk hand in hand with their parents.
Laughing. Talking. Being carried when they were tired.
Keita looked at his own small hand, he pouted, "Must be good for them…"
"I wish Mama would take me outside too…" his voice was soft and wistful.
He watched people express emotions freely.
Happiness.
Sadness.
Angry.
Being allowed to feel and freely exist stirred jealousy inside him.
But even then, he clung to hope.
Maybe someday…
Maybe Mama will love me too…
Not as a "cursed" child.
But as a "normal" son.
...
Hours passed.
Then, he saw it.
A little girl threw something away carelessly.
A penguin stuffed toy.
Keita's eyes sparkled.
"Woahh~!!" he whispered excitedly, "It's a stuffy~!"
He gasped softly, "I can now get my own stuffy now?! Yay~!"
He bounced slightly in place, barely containing his excitement.
Most of the things he owned were taken from the trash below their porch.
After all, he could never bring himself to ask his mother to buy something for him.
He already knew the answer.
She wouldn't buy it.
For him.
"Don't worry, Mr. Penguin~" he said softly, brushing it off with his sleeve.
"I, Mage Keita, will save you~!"
Keita now knew how to wield his powers, even if his control was far from perfect.
Yet, day by day, he grew more precise, his abilities sharpening with every attempt.
He practiced in secret.
Started with small things at first—moving dust, pulling light objects closer, and lifting fallen utensils.
Though he had firmly promised his mother he wouldn't use his powers.
But boredom and loneliness were louder than promises.
And instead of hating his ability and loathing himself for being born as "cursed", he slowly began to accept it.
Just a little.
That day, he stood on the porch again, scanning the area below carefully.
Left.
Right.
Across the street.
It was now almost empty, and no one was looking.
He waited and waited for the perfect moment.
The second it came.
He curled his tiny fingers, focusing on the discarded penguin plush below.
Spread his small arms outward, his face scrunched in intense concentration while letting out a small grunt.
His cheeks puffed adorably, his brows nearly knitting together as if trying to fuse into one.
His tiny nose scrunched adorably, and the sheer effort made his whole face tremble with determination.
"Come on…" he grunted softly.
A faint shimmer wrapped around the plush.
Energy coated it gently—not violent, not sinister.
Soft.
The toy trembled and was lifted slightly.
Keita gasped but didn't lose focus.
"Just a little more…!"
With one final push, the plush shot upward and within seconds, it landed directly into his waiting hands.
For a moment, he stared at it in disbelief.
Then he raised it high above his head, "I... I-I finally got you~!!!"
It was dirty and had a few holes, even one of its button eyes was scratched.
But Keita didn't hesitate.
He hugged it tightly and smiled with all his heart.
That was the moment.
A child who believed he was unwanted saved something that had been thrown away.
This was it.
A story of how what was once someone else's trash became someone's treasure.
The plush was not sentient back then.
It did not think. It did not feel.
But the warmth of that hug, the loneliness, and the wish not to be alone.
All of it seeped into it.
Keita's energy wasn't filled with hatred.
It wasn't born from fear of others.
It was born from a desperate, fragile desire:
Please stay with me forever.
It was the beginning of the birth of a positive cursed spirit.
Captain Pengi.