Anime Short Stories Collection I

Haunting [Shuhei Hisagi Ficlet]

Shuhei frowned as he sat on his couch, a bottle of sake in his hands. It was just another night that he had decided to stay in and drink his sorrows away instead of going out with Izuru and Rangiku. Sighing, he ran a hand through his black hair as he leaned back on the couch, reaching over and grabbing a picture off of the end table. He looked at it with sorrow filled eyes, wishing that he could smile today like he used to.

In the picture, he had his arms wrapped around [Name], a young [color] haired girl that wasn’t even a Soul Reaper. Shuhei had met her one day when he had gone out in the Rukon District to patrol for Hollows. And every day after that, Shuhei found himself drawn to her until he could no longer stand it. He had asked her out on a date, then another and another until eventually, they officially became a ‘thing’ as Rangiku called it.

But it didn’t last long. On their one year anniversary, Shuhei had been more excited than ever, carrying gifts and flowers to give to her. When he arrived at her home, however, he was greeted with the terrible news that she hadn’t been seen for a week. Her family was worried about her and now, Shuhei was worried about her.

When he found out about her death, Shuhei would feel even more devastated by Kaname’s betrayal. The man had tortured her for no reason except to hurt Shuhei even more before he killed her. Ever since, Shuhei had not been himself.

Now, he was looking down at the bottle of sake in his hands. Why was he doing this? What would drinking sake do for him, aside from help him forget his pain for a little while?

“Help me.”

Shuhei blinked, looking up when he heard the voice that had been so much like oxygen to him before and was now only harmful carbon monoxide to him now. The lights in his living room were off, but he still saw the shadow in the corner by the front door.

“Help me.”

“How can I help you?” Shuhei asked, standing up from the couch.

“Where are you? Why didn’t you help me?”

The softness of her voice had turned into a moan of pain and Shuhei shook his head. “Please don’t cry,” he mumbled, wishing he could reach out and grab her right now.

“Shuhei, help me!”

The shout scared Shuhei and he shouted in return.

“I can’t help you!” he screamed, throwing his bottle at the wall and making it shatter before he fell down onto his knees. The front of his body sunk down and he rested his head against his hands. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry [Name]. I couldn’t help you. I was weak,” he muttered, squeezing his hands into fists.

This had become an almost every night occurrence. [Name] always asked for Shuhei’s help, help that he couldn’t give then or now. He felt so useless; why was she haunting him this way? Did she blame him for her death? Shuhei wouldn’t hold her at fault if she had; he could have looked harder for her, done more.

Now all that Shuhei was left with was the heavy blanket of guilt that constantly covered his mind and the mournful ghost of his lost lover.