"What? How does it help...shinigami?" the young high-school student stammers, looking at me with frightened eyes.
I close my hand and bring it close to my body, realising that he wasn't going to shake it. Then I watch him for a moment. This is the first time I've had an apprentice, so I don't really know how to proceed. Especially as, to sign a contract with an apprentice, you take a wandering soul and assign it a body that has just lost its soul and whose death has not yet been registered in the human world. In this way, apprentices can live in the human world and assist the shinigami in his task under cover of an already existing identity, which makes things much easier.
But I never wanted to take on an apprentice. The idea of being responsible for someone, even someone who's already dead, has always been very unpleasant for me. But you have to accept things as they are. This boy is now my apprentice because of me, I can't just look away. Especially as they'll be keeping a close eye on his actions up there...
I sigh before cutting him off in his incoherent monologue that he's been holding for a few seconds, visibly upset by the events that have just taken place.
-An assistant is someone who helps shinigamis...
-Haha, you're talking about shinigami again, you watch too much anime," he said with a horrified laugh.
I frown. That boy annoys me. Why doesn't he want to understand the situation? It's quite clear.
-I'm a shinigami," I repeat, hoping to finally make myself understood.
-That's right, and I'm Father Christmas," he replies with the same jerky, frightening laugh as a second ago.
I don't reply. This human is an idiot.
-Well, that's not all, but I've got a cat to feed," he said, struggling to sit up.
He stumbles a bit but manages to take a few steps before I jump up to block his path.
-Where are you going?
-Home?" he says, looking up as if wondering where I'd come from.
I don't mind, after all humans are so slow and clumsy. It's impossible for them to imagine the agility of shinigamis and their speed, which is beyond their comprehension.
-I've just told you that you're now my assistant and you're telling me you're going home?
-Look, I'm not sure what you want from me, but if you keep this up I'll call the police," he said, taking a few steps back.
-The pol...? I put my hand to my face in despair. I wouldn't do that, you'll look like a madman.
-I think you're the one who's going to look like a fool," he says, looking around with a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
He must feel trapped, I tell myself. It's no good, I can't argue with this idiot until he calms down and thinks straight. But I can't stay here too long either, I need to intercept the anomaly quickly before it reaches Naout's office.
-Listen carefully, I understand that this is difficult for you to understand, but you are what we call an Arcanian, a human who can see the invisible, everything that belongs to the other world. You died in an accident and I brought you back to life by binding you to me with a contract, so now you're my apprentice. I'm a shinigami and only you can see me. The other humans can't see me, so don't call the police, they'll think you're crazy.
I stop for a moment to see his reaction. I immediately regret it. His legs are wobbly and his eyes are screaming in panic. If I push him any further, he'll faint. I've got better things to do than deal with a human who's lost consciousness.
-We'll talk about it again next time, I've got to get off to the next world, I say. For the time being, act as if nothing had happened, but above all stay away from the shadows and don't talk to anyone about this! Your integrity as an assistant depends on it. Now go home and keep a low profile."
Without taking the time to wait for his reply, I jump to the roof of the building on my right. I've no time to lose, I've got to get out of here. I leapt from roof to roof until I reached an isolated village. The poorly lit streets and empty buildings occupied only by squatters make the place ideal for all sorts of paranormal phenomena. The kind that involve shinigamis and are the subject of the strange sections of dubious websites.
This is where one of the doors to the otherworld used by the shinigamis is located. I jump to the ground and walk towards it. Then, in a split second, I disappear inside. On the other side, I land behind a red wooden door overlooking a series of temples of varying sizes. In the middle flows a river with black, tumultuous waters that several bridges span. The lack of natural light in the place means that the lanterns and other magical light sources give it a macabre air.
I don't linger any longer. I had to be quick and discreet. First thing to do: intercept Nakamura Akira's anomaly before it reaches Naout's pile of paperwork. I jump to the ground and run towards a temple a little further away, blending into the crowd to avoid being spotted. I wrap myself in a common black cloak to hide. Someone might recognise me if I run through the streets like that.
A few streets further on, the crowds have dispersed. The temples have become rarer and the streets are now lined with houses and shops. I soon reach a small, squalid garden with no trees growing in it. I cross it quickly and enter the building that closes it off at the other end.
Inside, furniture mingles with files scattered in all directions. Paintings have been put up on the walls to hide the cracks that are beginning to split the building. The temple of Naout is one of the least well off in the otherworldly pantheon, even though its role is absolutely essential. Naout is the official registrar, overseeing all interactions between the living and otherworldly inhabitants. Each interaction gives rise to an anomaly that forms automatically and travels up to him through the pipes linking the living world to the otherworld.
I absolutely must recover the anomaly that was created by my encounter with Akira before Naout sees it. Otherwise I can be sure of ending up in eternal prison. And that's out of the question. I refuse to disappear like that.
I lean against the wall next to an opening and take a timid look around. There's no-one there. Furiously, I emerge from my hiding place and step into the corridor, my senses on the alert. I look ahead. Naout's office is at the end. The door is open and the office looks empty. Without waiting, I start towards my goal when I hear voices behind me. I quickly hide behind a closed door. Fortunately, there's no-one in the room.
I hear Naout's voice talking to his scribe. They don't stay and head for the stairs. I seize my chance and check that they've left by peeking through the doorway. There's no-one there. I get out and run silently towards the office. Once I'd checked that it was empty, I pounced on the pile of papers resting just below an opening in the wall through which a sheet of paper flew from time to time to land religiously on the top of the unstable pile.
I walk over and start searching as quickly as I can. I inspect every sheet, looking for a name: Nakamura. But nothing. All the leaves have different names. I look at a leaf coming through the chute and put it back on the pile. Still no name. Tense, I continue my search, starting to despair. There's no way it's further down the pile, it should have arrived five minutes ago at the most. Has he already found it? Or hasn't it arrived yet?
I inspect three more sheets coming down the chute, then look at Naout's desk. Still nothing. Nothing, still nothing. I'm starting to panic. I've got to find a solution. A new sheet of paper came through the vent and I caught it on the fly. As I read it, I instinctively sit up straight. That's it! This is it!
"Nakamura Akira met the purple-eyed shinigami Shiki and touched his sleeve. Following a death experience, the individual's soul was extracted and reimplanted into his body by the aforementioned Shinigami."
Those few words could have earned me the death penalty, if not worse. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to read this document. I folded it and put it in my pocket when I heard voices coming from the corridor. Naout was back.
I glanced around and saw a window that wasn't shut properly. Without hesitation, I open it and jump out. No sooner had my feet hit the ground than I dived into a bush thick enough to cover me. It was a close call. Naout was leaning out of his window trying to catch the anomaly leaves that had scattered across the room and nearly blown away.
"-Gini, how many times have I told you to shut the windows tight! They open at the first gust of wind! Just to make up for it, you're going to sort all the leaves in this room until your mess is sorted!"
I heard the poor assistant whimpering behind Naout. I felt for him and inwardly apologised. After all, if he ends up with all this extra work, it's my fault.
Once the registrar closes the door, I leap out of the bush and run towards the street. Quick, I've got to get to the Temple of Souls. And that's going to be a lot harder than I thought. I have to steal a name and make its traces disappear, then register Akira under that soul's name as my apprentice. But the pantheon of souls is right in the middle of the otherworld. Infiltrating it is a different kettle of fish.
I leap across the rooftops as stealthily as possible, then descend to the ground to mingle with the mass of otherworldly inhabitants. They're not really living, nor are they really dead. The otherworld has its own population that has developed in parallel with the existence of the living world. Its inhabitants are like the otherworld itself: between life and death. Unlike the Shinigamis, who have an existence of their own, normalised by their creation and possible destruction, these beings have a life cycle of their own, with no one from the pantheon intervening.
They serve both to give rhythm to life in the otherworld and to carry out the work necessary for the members of the pantheon. Services, building maintenance, and the organisation of life were all delegated to them, and while the members of the pantheon were initially bothered by their existence, they now find it satisfying to let them proliferate and cohabit with them without violence.
I cut across a main avenue and then took a small side street. Even the small streets are crowded at this hour. Finally, I catch sight of the Temple of Souls. Comprising three buildings enclosed by a wall, the only entrance to the place is heavily guarded. A pass is required to enter, and shinigamis in particular are forbidden to enter without good reason. After all, I wasn't the only one who wanted to use the souls of the dead for purposes strictly forbidden by the rules.
I glanced left and right, then jumped over the fence. In this place, I know there are never any guards. I know because that's where I always enter to see Anami. The staff here are not allowed to leave the temple without the permission of Xenia, the mistress of the premises. So to see Anami, I had no choice but to enter discreetly. And thanks to this, I know the guard towers perfectly well.
Once I'm in the little garden, I go around the back of the first temple and then head for the second, the one for unregistered souls. Luckily, this is where Anami works. I duck under a window and then walk along the outside of the wall. Finally, I come to a stop in front of some sliding doors, which I open ruthlessly. I pull myself up onto the floor of the outside walkway, and then close it behind me. In a bit of a hurry, I get up and head for the recording room without hiding too much. The staff are used to seeing me here. It has to be said that Xenia has always turned a blind eye to my secret introductions into her temple. For once, I thank her status in otherworldly society for allowing me to enjoy this kind of treatment from members of the pantheon.
I look around and finally spot Anami. I approach her.
"Shiki! You've always got a knack for turning up when I've got the least time for you!" says the plump young woman I could barely see behind a pile of files she was carrying at arm's length.
Without asking her opinion, I grabbed the top of the pile and followed her.
-It's been a while since I've seen you, you rarely come to the pantheon these days," said the little woman, resuming her walk after thanking me for my help.
-Yes, I've got a lot of work to do at the moment," I answer as usual, without changing my intonation.
I'm very concentrated. I mustn't let on that I'm doing something totally forbidden. Even though my naturally impassive face gives me a lot of carte blanche, I'm nervous. I've never done this before.
-Ah, I know what you mean! With the preparations for Terneth, the shadows are proliferating and the shinigamis are busy," said her friend in a sympathetic tone. We don't have time to keep an eye on the barriers here, so they're taking advantage, and what's more, they're attracted by the increased vital energy of the living beings on the other side.
I nodded without saying anything to confirm his words. A little ashamed, I had to admit I was glad she was too busy to give me her attention. Stealing the name of an unregistered soul would be even easier.
As I handed her the line of papers I'd taken from her pile a few moments earlier, I grabbed the last sheet from the pile and crumpled it in my hand without her noticing. Inwardly I took it to be a male soul.
-Ah, I'd love to take a break to chat with you, but you see how busy we are... complains Anami, sincerely sorry. If Xénia finds out that I've taken even one minute off work, even if it's to see you, I'm finished!
She's banging her head as she says this. I smile at the sight. Unlike me, Anami is very expressive, which makes her very endearing.
-It's all right, I'll be back soon," I say, as if to redeem myself. I don't have much time either.
Anami sighs and suddenly puts her arms around me. Surprised, I let myself go. I should be used to it by now, we've known each other since we arrived in the otherworld. But his tenderness always surprises me and I blush uncontrollably.
-Good luck with the shadow hunt and see you soon, Shiki! she says, winking at me before heading back down the corridor.
I let out a sigh before coming to my senses. Without waiting, I leave the temple and slip outside. Just before I pass the wall again, I glance at the stolen page. "Ishida Osamu" is written in large letters. Underneath it is the cause of his death.
I also put it in my pocket. I was lucky, it's a man. As I leave the temple, I place a talisman on the page to seal it. It became embedded in the paper and covered the writing. Satisfied, I put it away again, then set off for my final destination: the shinigami pavilion. More than just a pavilion, it's a city within a city.
The shinigami pavilion contains all the facilities shinigamis might need in the otherworld, including a building reserved for the registration of shinigami assistants. Still with my cloak draped over my shoulders, I made my way to the entrance and entered the building. As usual, the atmosphere changes when I arrive. That's why I hate coming here. It's the same thing every time.
Without further ado, I head straight for the building in question. As I passed, people's eyes fell on me and the conversations turned into low masses. I hate these hypocrites who don't even have the courage to say what they think out loud, in front of me. But as usual I hold back my anger and move on, trying to blend in but failing.
Finally, I enter the building in question and breathe. At last, the walls cut me off from those stares I can't stand any more. I quickly made my way upstairs to the assistants' registration office. There I come face to face with someone I like even less. Riel.
-Oh, look who it is," he said when he saw me coming. If it isn't Shiki, our favourite star!
I glare at him, ignore him and approach the cleric.
-I'd like to register an assistant," I said simply. His name is Ishida Osamu.
-Time and date of death," says the clerk, paying no attention to Riel's comments.
I give him the information that was on the sheet of paper I had just stolen. He records it and hands me a sheet, which I sign with my thumbprint.
-An assistant? You? Now that's unheard of! says Riel, sitting up on his feet. What's got into you? You didn't want an apprentice in the first place, but you've changed your mind?
As the clerk confirms that the recording is finished, I'm about to leave when Riel blocks my path.
-Mind your own business, Riel," I say curtly.
But I know that won't be enough to get him to drop the case. I frown and glare at him to let him know I mean business.
-Don't get angry, sorry for being nosy!" he defended himself by raising his hands to look like a victim. But you can't blame the whole pantheon for being curious about why you decided to take on an apprentice when you've always refused until now, and especially about who your apprentice is.
I stop just outside the door and turn to face him. This time I put all my determination into my words, hoping that it will cool him off from doing anything.
-I told you to mind your own business, Riel," I say in a voice growling with threats. If you come near my assistant, you'll have to deal with me, and this time I won't hold back. Remember that the last time you challenged me to a duel, you lost.
I don't give him time to answer and I leave the room. Behind me, I can see him with a toothy grin on his lips. This fellow shinigami is a real pain! The more I threaten him, the more he'll try to provoke me. But this time I can't let him do what he wants. I have to protect Akira.
But for now, I must first find Ishida Osamu's soul and exorcise him before he becomes a shadow.