My name is Shuhei Hisagi. I'm 17 years old.
My parents died in a car accident when I was very young. Although I was one of the victims, I was fortunate enough to survive. However, all the memories of my childhood, even those with my parents, had almost completely vanished as if they had never existed. The only thing I could remember was the car crashing into the guardrail and flipping multiple times through the air.
To this day, that traumatic scene remains vivid in my mind.
Even now, when I close my eyes, sometimes I hear the car skidding and the piercing sound of metal scraping against the ground.
The sound that marked the life and death of many people.
That car accident completely changed my life from that moment on.
Not only did I lose my beloved parents, but I also began to see monsters.
The moment I opened my eyes in the hospital, I was surrounded by terrifying things I had never seen before. A group of those deformed beings floated near the ceiling, watching me closely, as if waiting for me to react.
At that moment, I was destined to live a life different from everyone else, without the possibility of being understood.
I could have survived by simply getting used to the presence of those monsters, but as I grew older, the monsters around me gradually became more violent.
There was an old murder case where I currently live. A mistress was pushed off the balcony by the man's legal wife. Although the wife confessed to this heinous crime, the spirit of the mistress—or rather, her resentment—never dissipated.
So... every day since I returned from the hospital, that creature, born of resentment, would hang upside down outside my window, staring at me with her big, bloodshot eyes! This was the 26th floor! Wasn't she tired of hanging upside down every day? Wasn't she afraid? Didn't she have a fear of heights? I guess that thing wasn't willing to leave this apartment, huh...
The solution to that problem was simple: I just closed the curtains.
But I couldn't always keep the curtains closed, right?
That's why I started experimenting, trying every religion. Maybe back then, with my immature mind, I thought it was a possible solution to my tormenting problems.
As the weeks passed, I became weirder, to the point where I caught the attention of my guardian, the only relative I had in this dark world.
Under the watchful eye of my grandfather Shuhei Ota, his grandson had become a reserved boy who didn't want to go outside, fearing he'd see monsters. He thought things would improve with time, so he patiently allowed me to do as I pleased while he was away.
Many children might try to convince adults of what they see, but I was always sharper than most. I knew that if I caused a scene, they'd pump me full of meds and keep me sedated most of the day.
I didn't want that. What I wanted at that moment was a solution to my problems.
But nothing worked—until my grandfather gave me a sacred staff he boasted had killed countless evil spirits.
I suppose that's what you could call "adult lies to soothe childhood traumas."
Either way, I started using that staff as my guardian weapon, and to my surprise, most of the monsters that had always haunted me disappeared from my sight. It was as if the staff was an ancient weapon that had slain millions of monsters in ancient times.
But everything changed that day...
After I had begun to reintegrate into society, there was a moment when I encountered a fierce monster, and I got hurt. Somehow, I felt an overwhelming attraction to it. So, like a stalker, I followed it wherever it went. It led me to a cemetery, and when I realized what had happened, the monster and I locked eyes.
I didn't feel fear; I believed that if I hit it with the staff my grandfather had given me, it would disappear from my sight.
But the problem came when that monster, acting more like a ghost than anything else, grabbed the staff and threw me into a pile of rubble, where long metal rods pierced my stomach.
I thought I was going to die, but as if it were a scene from a movie, when my blood touched the staff, a connection was made.
From that moment on, a standard katana with a slightly curved blade and a black cloth-wrapped hilt appeared in my hand.
I remember using that sword and killing the monster, but I guess I also died in the process—at least, part of me did.
Everything changed from that day on. Since that moment, I never felt weak again.
...
Currently, a seventeen-year-old Shuhei Hisagi stared at a translucent screen that only he could see, deep within his subconscious.
His calm gaze reviewed his stats to know where he stood.
[…
Name: Shuhei Hisagi
General Attributes:
Strength: 6 [956/1100]
Speed: 7 [1150/1300]
Endurance: 5 [808/900]
Spirit: 8 [1360/1700]
Combat Skills:
Zanjutsu (Sword): 2 [0/300]
Hakuda (Hand-to-Hand): 2 [250/500]
Hoho (Speed): 4 [790/900]
Kidou (Magic): 0 [0/100]
Zanpakuto:
Name: Ryujin Jakka
Type: Fire
Shikai Ability: Ennetsu Jigoku (Flame Hell)
Shikai Skills:
Jokaku Enjo: 2 [0/300] – Captive Fire Wall
Taimatsu: 3 [0/500] – Devastating Inferno
Ennetsu Jigoku: 3 [0/700] – Massive Fire Columns
Shikai Level: 4 [0/900]
Bankai:
Name: Zanka no Tachi
Description: Intense flames with a burning aura
Bankai Level: 0 (Sealed)
Cursed Level:
Level: 2 [300/500]
General Status:
Souls Sent to Eternal Rest: 1900
Cursed Spirits Eliminated: 76
Soul Points: [0]
…]
"Hisagi, we've got another request, seems to be a special order."
"Is the pay good?"
"Yes, they're offering half a million…"