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// Blind to the cost of power 
// Story: Eyes of the Mind 
// by Storm Shine 
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Another day, just another boring day. Every day is the same in this messed up world of ours. Day in, day out, working the same job, making the same wage. I can't help but sigh at the monotony of it all, the absolute grey of boredom that has settled over my life. working hard just to make enough to live off of, while someone up there barely does anything and makes enough for several generations to live off of. A world descending into chaos as leaders pull the strings for their own selfish purposes, regardless of where they're from. What's the point of it all? Why does everyone seem to think I should care? None of it really matters anyways, it's all meaningless. Nothing that happens now will matter, eventually.

I was startled out of my thoughts as a hand clapped down on my shoulder, causing me to tense up slightly "So what has you looking so down Shimazaki? You never seemed the type to really care about much, but you look like you're thinking hard about something."

I relaxed slightly, realizing it was just a fellow cosplayer. "I'm just bored, that's all." I replied, slipping into character. Not that it was hard, Shimazaki and I had quite a bit in common besides our looks. Who cares about the world? I just want to have fun. Unlike him, however, I don't have the power to just go out and do whatever I want. "Know anything fun to do around here?"

I turned to look at the cosplayer as they chuckled, my eyes widening slightly in shock. "Mogami, huh? Never thought I'd see you in person." I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. It was a really good cosplay, this guy looked almost exactly like the anime character right down to the face and expression.

"Well I'd imagine you don't expect to 'see' much of anything Shimazaki." The Mogami cosplayer chuckled, "So, out of curiosity, why pick Shimazaki?" He asked, breaking character. "Most people want to emulate the truly powerful, like Shigeo, Toichiro, or perhaps even myself." Well, maybe not fully breaking character.

"Well, I'm pretty strong myself." I replied with a smirk. "But I don't want to be the absolute strongest, just strong enough to have fun." I shrugged, "Yeah, more power is fun and all, but what's the point in being just outright more powerful than everyone else? It would get pretty boring eventually if there was never anything to challenge you."

Mogami laughed, "I see. So, what would you do if you had power?"

"Have fun of course." I replied, sounding as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And what would you do for it?" He asked. "What would you be willing to give up to have fun, whatever fun you wanted?"

"Everything." I replied, without a second thought. I don't know what Shimazaki would say to that, but I really have nothing I care about in this world. Nothing I wouldn't give up. My family is gone, in one way or another, I have no friends, I don't even have any pets. I have a job, a house, a car, a computer.. But none of that really matters to me either. "Nothing else really matters in the end, right?"

"Well, how about a deal then? I'll take something from you and you can have your fun. After all, nothing else matters to you." Mogami held out his hand to shake.

I chuckled, amused by his theatrics, and decided to go along with it. "Yeah, sure." I said, shaking his hand a couple times before letting go. This seems really out of character for Mogami, I think, but whatever. It's a convention, not a historic theater, might as well let people have their fun.

"Perfect, then you won't really be needing these anymore." He said, confusing me.

I felt a stinging sensation in my head as my vision went dark. "W-What the hell!?" I turned my head this way and that, blinking and rubbing at my eyes. Tears of panic began trailing down my face. "Why can't I see?!" Slowly, things started coming back into focus. No... No, I still couldn't see. So why could I tell what was around me? I could tell Mogami was smiling at me, holding two small balls in an outstretched hand, but I couldn't truly see it.

"W-what did you do?" I stammered, thoroughly shaken, wiping at my face to clear the tears... No, not tears. I felt the liquid with my fingers, it was too viscous to be tears. "Why can't I see anything? Why can I see everything?"

"You wanted the power to have fun and you claim to care about nothing, so obviously you must not care too much about your eyes." He laughed, bouncing the hand with the orbs slightly. A cold feeling crept down my spine as I realized the horrible truth. 

"You took my eyes." I realized, wiping the blood trails from my face. I was surprised at how little blood I felt, though I guess I should be in far more pain as well.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you can tell, but you won't be needing them that much anyways." Mogami replied, still smiling that sick grin at me. "Just try to enjoy my gift to you. After all, I'm giving you something worth far more to you than what I've taken. Far more than what I'm taking" He laughed, "This is your freedom. Enjoy it, take it and do whatever you want with it."

Everything began to fall away, a sensation of weightlessness overtaking me. I watched, through that odd not-vision, as Mogami and everything else around me slowly faded away and vanished. Was that the real Mogami? Was that weird sight just some kind of hallucination, and I really am blind now?  Maybe it was just a psycho dressed up like the character and this weightless void is what death feels like. I closed my eyes, despite knowing the futility of the action, as I waited to disappear.

No, wait... I started to feel something.

Everything exploded into focus as I felt my shoes make contact with ground, the familiar sound of crunching grass and wildlife reaching my ears. "I'm outside?" I took a deep breath, reveling in the clean air.. Too clean, even for the countryside. "Where am I?" I wondered 'looking' around. I was in a forest, a clearing, and there were trees on all sides of me. Birds in a tree behind me, chicks in the nest clamoring for their returning mother to feed them. A fox was crawling around the underbrush a ways to my left, hunting a rabbit that seemed completely unaware of the danger stalking it.

"I can see... Everything."

An excited grin crawled across my face as I considered what this could mean