Smooth jazz music wafted through the dilapidated, abandoned bar. Soft piano mixed with saxophones created a sort of nostalgic feeling in the hearts of those who rested at the filthy place. It created the feelings of longing for a lost loved one, even a simple child might suppose.

Outside of the bar, two snow covered, rusted lanterns swayed a little in the wind. Their light bulbs flickered on and off from time to time, struggling to stay alive in such frigid conditions.

Within the bar, a filthy scarlet rug lay in the far corner of the room. On top of its unattractive surface rested two equally nasty sofas. Their once dark red fabrics were now stained from alcohol and other substances, leaving dark, brownish, yellowish spots in many places.

Behind the stained sofas, a dust covered, antique pool table remained unnoticed in the darkness. It must have rested there for years, pushed up against the wall with absolutely no purpose. Its once dark, smooth wood had scratches and marks all over it.

On top of the rejected pool table lay two forgotten shot glasses, barely visible in the bar's dimly lit room.

Atsushi, a man with neatly cut, shiny dark brown hair, leaned over the counter, passing a woman her drink. Being a bartender, he was used to hearing stories from the ladies, even men, and attempting to help them. Sometimes, at three o'clock in the morning, just as it was now.

The door to the entrance jingled a little as a man with messy hair shuffled on in, hugging himself as if he were cold.

Shoes echoing on the floor, it seemed as if the eerie jazz music got much quieter.

"Todomatsu?" Atsushi muttered under his breath, shaking his head in disappointment. "I thought he had promised to be a better person. He knows drinking doesn't help his condition..."

Todomatsu slid in one of the torn stools at the bar, for once, as far away from the ladies as possible. Human interaction didn't appeal to him at the moment.

Atsushi wiped his hands on a white rag that he had been using to clean the bar earlier and approached Todomatsu.

Exhaling nervously, Todomatsu glanced up at the man, his eyes barely open. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, giving off obvious signs of his insomnia.

"What can I help you with?" Atsushi asked, treating Todomatsu as if he were a stranger.

The two men were anything but strangers. Having gone to school together, being best friends on their soccer team, Atsushi felt as if he knew everything about Todomatsu. But he was mistaken. He might have known the cute, fragile boy in the past, but as of now, they were merely acquaintances who dropped a word here and there every few nights.

"The usual..." Todomatsu mumbled, keeping his head down. He had the continuous feeling in his stomach as if someone were punching him.

"Are you sure? That might be a bit strong. You don't look so well tonight, my friend," Atsushi replied, leaning over the counter to get a closer look at Todomatsu's face. "Your lips are pale..."

"Alcohol probably isn't a good idea right now..." Todomatsu thought so himself, almost giving in to his old friend. Yet somewhere deep down, he knew he still wanted the numbing, carefree feeling the drink would give him.

Atsushi blinked his eyes, waiting for a reply.

"I'm fine!" Todomatsu spat, shocked by his own anger. "It's not like you care anyways...you're just here to get ladies and money. You player..."

Atsushi looked taken aback, yet he pulled out the specified drink Todomatsu always asked for. It was one of the strongest ones he had, which usually sold at a very high price, even for a single shot.

Moments later, Atsushi pushed the drink towards Todomatsu, disappointment all over his face.

"So tell me..." Atsushi began, raising his eyebrows a little, trying to ignore the guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach. The drink he was giving Todomatsu could put his life in danger, considering his current mental and physical condition. "what have you been up to? I don't usually get customers like you this early in the morning."

Todomatsu took a sip of his drink and grimaced a little. He felt as if his tongue was going to burn right off. It felt like acid was eating away and every corner of his mouth.

Tears formed in his eyes as he gently placed the drink back on the counter. There was still a little bit of alcohol left in the drink, surprisingly.

"I'm fine," Todomatsu mumbled, refusing to look up at his old friend. "So don't worry about me."

"It's that time of year, isn't it?" Atsushi asked, looking Todomatsu in the eye. "Have you gone to the hospital yet?"

"Don't talk about that..." Todomatsu shuddered, shaking his head back and forth as memories came to mind. "I don't want to remember..."

"It's okay to remember things though," Atsushi answered to his friend. "That's what makes the human race special. We have he ability to recall things, happy moments in our lives. Don't think about the negative things that have happened. Think of how much you enjoyed...her while she was around."

"But my heart..." Todomatsu fretted as he grabbed his pink hoodie where his heart was at.

"Is it that bad?" Atsushi laughed a little as he walked away to speak with the ladies again.

"Oh, well I don't know..." Todomatsu cringed slightly, feeling as if someone were tugging on his heart.

Slamming his fists down on the table, Todomatsu quickly sat up, beginning to tremble. All of the sudden, it was like he had no control over his body.

The entire world went pitch black.

His hands knocked his shot glass to the floor, the expensive alcohol spilling on a small carpet that surrounded the bar. Glass shattering everywhere, Todomatsu completely ignored it, his mind in a completely different place now.

"What was that?" one of the ladies asked in her posh, foreign accent.

"I have to go," Todomatsu choked, pulling money out of his pocket, throwing it onto the counter. "I have to go..."

Todomatsu broke into a run, nearly slamming his body into the entrance door.

A brutally cold winter wind met his cheeks as his breathe became visible in the air.

Staggering down the empty streets, Todomatsu finally collapsed. Then, his old "friend" exited his body.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the figure spat, pulling Todomatsu to his feet. Striking him across the cheek, the figure attempt to get the man's attention.

"What..." Todomatsu mumbled, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Get over yourself!" the figure hissed. "It's not like this isn't the first time it's happened to someone. So what if what's keeping you alive isn't your own? So what?"

"B-But she..." Todomatsu whimpered, sinking back down to the ground. "I can't keep living like this...I have no right to..."

"Live like what? Like you're depressed? Oh, if you didn't want to live, money could have been spared as well as an organ. It could have been given to someone who deserved it," the figure spat, quickly adsorbing itself back into Todomatsu. "Now, let's think of a happy place..."

"What kind of place could you even make at this point..." Todomatsu whined "What even is pleasure? I can't even drink without getting memories of h-"

"Hush," the figure silenced Todomatsu, his voice echoing through the man's core. "Think of a time when you were happy...a place where..."

"Todomatsu!" Atsushi called out, running around the corner, sweat dripping down his forehead. "What happened?"

Todomatsu looked at his old friend weakly and forced a smile on his face.

Atsushi stopped dead in his tracks, squinting his eyes at the man. He could tell that Todomatsu wasn't the Todomatsu who had walked in his bar just moments ago.

"I'm fine. Absolutely fine..." Todomatsu murmured, yet his hands were a completely different story.

Reaching towards the bartenders neck, Todomatsu wrapped his hands around his exposed flesh tightly, slowly suffocating him.

"YES...YES..." the shadowy figure screamed from inside of Todomatsu's head. "THAT'S IT. GET RID OF YOUR MISERY."

Todomatsu grinned in pleasure as sudden strength washed upon him, allowing him to lift Atsushi off of the ground, still keeping a firm grip on his neck.

"T-T-T-T-Totty!" Atsushi wheezed out, his face turning a pale blue.

Todomatsu laughed deeply, digging his ragged nails into the man's exposed skin.

It was only in a matter of seconds before Atsushi was dead. His entire body went limp, still in the air.

His brown hair blew a little in the wind, snow landing, and sticking to his cold scalp.

Todomatsu threw the man to the ground then fell down as well.

During those seconds, he had gone completely blind. He had no idea what he had just done.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Todomatsu let out a distressed choke when he saw his old friend on the ground, dead.

"ATSUSHI!" Todomatsu cried out, throwing his weak body on top of the corpse. "A-Atsushi...?"

Todomatsu grabbed the bartender's hand and squeezed it, praying for a sign of life.

"He's dead, Todomatsu," the figure laughed, resting his transparent hand on the depressed man's shoulder. "You killed him."

"I-I...k-k-killed..." Todomatsu stuttered, unable to believe what had just happened. "I would never..."

"You'll go to prison for murder. You'll probably be executed if someone finds this body with your 'fingerprints' left all over it," the figure scoffed. "But I am a merciful friend of yours, and I will dispose of this body without a soul knowing. I have the ability to erase him from everyone's memory. I have the ability to make it so only you can remember who he was..."

"Please..." Todomatsu sighed, staring down at the man. "I don't know this man anymore. Just...get ride of him, please..."

"As you wish, my friend," the figure hissed, enveloping Atsushi's dead body, somehow absorbing it all so only his rag from the bar remained. "But never forget who's in control."

And just like that, Todomatsu went blind once again to the world around him.

"I am your master, Todomatsu," the demonic figure hissed, giving the man's heart a gentle squeeze.