"Oh my god! I can't believe I forgot that my sister is all alone in the hospital?!?" Shiro gasped as he hovered over a skyscraper. "I need to go home for some clothes. What is the time?!?"
"It's…" Grim reaper says, pulling up his sleeve to check his watch. "Oopies, I seem to have left my watch at home. Don't cha have your phone with you?"
"Oh- Yup- Its… Holy crap!!!! Only ten percent!?!" Shiro screamed as he switched on his phone.
The grim reaper face palmed himself before saying "Dude- You were supposed to check the time. Teens these days." He shook his head. "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk."
"It's… ALMOST MIDNIGHT!!??" Shiro screamed again. "I need to go 'Nee-San will be waiting for me."
"Yes, yes. Now which way to your house~"
The two men flew over the bustling city streets. They had flown quite far from where they'd expected to be and had to take the whole trip all around again.
"I have a question Mr. Grim reaper, sir, who told you about me?" Shiro asked as they flew around buildings.
The world below knew nothing of the amazing sights that Shiro and the grim reaper had seen. The colorful lights and busy streets. The crowds of people walked all over. Some of the shops were closed but many had customers walking in and out. In the alleys, men stopped for a cigarette break.
"I have been ordered not to reveal such information even to you Master Shirogane." Mr. Reaper said as they turned into the quiet streets with a shrine onto the right. His eyes widened at its sight. "Excuse me Master but could we go over there for a bit?"
"Oh? Of course, we could." Shiro noticed that the grim reaper was pointing to the shrine.
"Thank you, master." He gave out a lonely smile.
The Grim reaper quietly landed while Shiro met the ground with his face first. Standing up as if nothing happened, Kousaki walked closely to the reaper as they were faced with an endless flight of stairs that had a Torii gate at the top.
The trip to the top was exhausting for Shiro but the grim reaper seemed nervous more than tired. Shiro was drenched in sweat by the time they went through the Torii gates when they were greeted by a mysterious voice.
"Welcome back, Mit- Grim Reaper." The voice spoke.
Whoever it was, stood on top of the large shrine. It didn't seem like the caretakers of the shrine were there. The person or spirit wore a yukata that flowed with the wind. They had long hair and features that weren't visible in the darkness of the night. He stared at the grim reaper with piercing and deadly eyes, giving a white toothy smile that was clear in the mist and blackness, he shot up into the air and landed smoothly on both his feet right in front of the grim reaper's face.
"I see you aren't as cowardly as you were in the past" He spat. "Seeing that you had the audacity to bring your kid here, into my Shrine." He continued in anger.
As he leaned in, Shiro could clearly see the man's face. By his aura, he knew the man wasn't human. He had long, dark blue, silky hair, and the left side of his hair was braided. On a closer inspection, Shiro found out that the hair that was sticking out was not hair but horns that branched out of that man's head. He wore a white yukata and lotus flower on his right wrist.
"Yuma, it's been a while." The grim reaper smiled. "How have you been doing?"
"It has. I have been good, Grim reaper." The guy named Yuma replied looking as if he were about to cry.
"That's great. This master-" He was cut off by the other breaking down into tears.
"Y- you- me- meanyyyyy" He cried letting all the anger in his voice vanish without a trace.
The grim reaper's face softened as he opened his arms and engulfed the crying man.
"There, there. I'm here for you." He said as he caressed Yuma's hair. "Let all the tears out. I'll be here till your done."
Shiro felt as if he shouldn't be there to disrupt their privacy, so he slowly backed away so the grim reaper wouldn't sense the boy's presence. He failed to do so since the grim reaper turned to smile at the boy, Shiro pointed to the shrine and motioned his hands together to silently say that he was going to pray. Earning a nod from the older man, Shiro went.
The shrine smelled of cedar and incense sticks. It looked very much like the other shrines he had visited; many stoned statues on the sides of the path had a shimenawa connected to a golden bell on the top. A plethora of trees hid the enchanting shrine from the world and felt spiritually uplifting.
Shiro dug into his pockets to find a coin, feeling something like such he fished it out. Throwing in the 500 yen coin, Kousaki threw it into the saisen box in front of him. Using the large rope thingy, Shiro rung the bell then clapped three times before making a silent prayer which was for his sister's quick recovery.
Something floated next to him, observing what he was doing. Knowing that it was a Yokai from the shrine, Shiro forced himself to turn to it and greet it with a smile and bow. He got shocked when he saw the Yokai's face despite the fact that he never usually saw any of their faces.
He was tiny and had very wide eyes that were paired with an equally wide smile. With its small structure and curled-up legs, it examined the silver-haired boy who had frozen at the other's sight. It then carefully placed its forehead on Shiro but gasped and was taken aback when it
"You have a very powerful gift." The wide-eyed Yokai smiled and said as he continued to stare intensely at Shiro. "Use it wisely."
"I- uh- Thank you?" He replied, feeling a little freaked out by them.
The Yokai floated back into the shrine and before long any others came out but didn't converse with or try to make any physical contact with Shiro, instead watched from afar. Many of them were in different colors, physics, sizes, and features. Kousaki wasn't disgusted but probably made a face such that all of them dashed back in.
"Oops. Hey, I didn't mean to scare you guys or anything." He said somehow feeling guilty.
"Don't worry they left because I arrived." The same voice as the one that greeted them at the entrance but calmer and softer.
"I- Oh! Nice to meet you, Yuma-Sama." Shiro bowed.
"Oh my, it's fine. Please raise your head, my child."
As Shiro looked up he saw Yuma-Sama who smiled so brightly that the whole gloomy shrine was now more illuminated and all the mist had vanished. The grim reaper stood beside Yuma-sama with an arm wrapped around the other's waist.
'Oh sheets- they are together.' screamed in Shiro's head repeatedly in a loop. 'They are a freaking couple!'
"Master Shirogane, are you in a hurry to go?" The reaper questioned with hope in his eyes that Shiro would say no.
"You know Mr. Reaper as I said before I'm not a girl whom you are supposed to protect." Shiro scoffed. "You have your fun. I'll go home on my own."
"Are you sure- No I was given a mission to get master Shiro safe home, and I intend to complete it!" The reaper replied leaving Yuma-Sama's waist and grabbed his hand. "I'll be right back. Okay, my love?" He continued giving a peck on the other's cheek before grabbing Shiro's to go.
[New words; Torii gates are the huge large gates at the entrance of a Japanese shrine.
Shimenawa is the rope that is made of rice straw and is connected to a bell at the top.
Saisen is the box that is people who come to pray put money into before prayings.
Yokai are the spirits.]