Sitting back in my chair, I look at the young schoolboy. He looks panicked. I can't put myself in his shoes, I'm not used to dealing with humans at all. And as I've never had an apprentice before, I have no idea how to go about it.
But I can see that he's having trouble grasping the situation and that he's terrified by what's happening to him. Some Arcanians know what their powers mean because this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, but others find themselves completely lost in a world that is totally unknown to them. That seems to be the case with Akira. If that's the case, I need to make sure he understands what's happening for his own safety. Now that he's in my care, his survival is my responsibility or I risk being sued for putting my assistant in a dangerous situation.
As someone who wants to stay under the radar, I might as well avoid it... I give him time to formulate his questions without rushing him. From what I know, humans are very sensitive to pressure and panic easily. The best way to calm them down is to show them compassion and put them in a stable environment.
Ah, first of all, you said you were Shiki, the purple-eyed shinigami, didn't you? he asked tiredly.
I nod. At least he's learned something. He turns to his little table and picks up a notebook with a cover that's been damaged by use. He certainly wasn't young. He flips through it, then hands it to me, with one page open. Intrigued, I grabbed the scribbled book.
-Are you the one mentioned here? the boy asks me.
My eyes widen. I read the page with my name on it, then turned it to read the next page. Stunned, I turn the book to look at its cover in more detail, then return to the page he had opened. This wasn't just a notebook, it was a Shinigami manual! These books are very old and were passed down between shinigami assistant masters. But these half-human, half-shinigami beings had almost disappeared because of the hunt that the rulers of the other world had given them.
It was totally unlikely that this kid would own one!
-Where did you find that book? I ask him with a hint of anxiety in my voice.
I'm afraid of his answer.
-It was in the rest of my grandfather's things that I got back after he died," he says sheepishly.
I cast a complex glance at the book. My fears had just been confirmed.
-Was there anything else in it? I ask him.
-Mmmh, he thinks for a moment. Not much of interest, I just salvaged what I thought I could use. Oh!
As if suddenly remembering something, he turns round and picks up a small piece of worn cloth and hands it to me.
-There was this too, I just took it because it's pretty...
I take the talisman and look at him, my eyebrows furrowed.
-Tell me, is it really that bad? No, because in all the time I've known you, I've never seen you look like that," he says. You're pretty placid in any situation, but your raised eyebrows worry me...
I look up. I'd missed out on a stable, comforting environment. On the other hand, I absolutely had to bring this boy up to date or he was going to end up like his grandfather in no time.
-What did your grandfather die of? How old was he?" I say, ignoring her remark.
-He was seventy-three and apparently died of old age? The doctor told me he was very weak and that his body had probably given out because he worked with his hands all his life, he explains.
I frown a little more. Dying of old age at seventy-three was unlikely for this human era. Even I knew that. He'd been killed by otherworldly cleaners, there was no doubt about that! And this boy was surely on their list. They were probably going to clean up his descendants to eliminate any trace of his powers.
-Say, why are you staring at that thing with those eyes? It's just a faded piece of cloth... he pulls me out of my reflection, tugging on the talisman to inspect it curiously.
-This faded piece of cloth is a shinigami assistant master's talisman," I finally explained. It belonged to your grandfather, who must surely have been one, and is imbued with his power. In other words, it's like an imprint, a beacon. If you keep it with you, it's like claiming your grandfather's identity. You become a target with a red cross on it.
The boy swallowed. He finally dropped the talisman and stepped back a little.
-When you talk about power, what exactly are you referring to?
-The power to see what belongs to the other world, the power of the Arcanians, I reply. Your grandfather was very powerful and his power must have been colossal because he was an assistant master.
-So if I can see you, it's thanks to this... power?
He looks at me uncertainly. He seems to be starting to believe what I'm telling him. Strange as it may seem, he who had been so rebellious just a few minutes earlier was integrating the information I was giving him quite well. As if he wasn't so surprised after all.
-That's right," I say with an affirmative shake of my head. Although you don't seem to have woken them up long ago... When did you say your grandfather had died?
-Just under a week ago," replies Akira, rubbing his chin.
-So you've had this talisman for a week or so?
He nods.
-And you've never seen a shadow or a shinigami before, have you?
-no...
I sigh. No matter how much I hope I'm wrong, everything pushes me mercilessly towards the inescapable conclusion I wanted to avoid at all costs. But you can't prevent things from happening just because you don't like them. At most, you can delay them by pretending they're not happening, but that's all there is to it. In the end, we couldn't stop them from happening, or prevent their impact.
-Ah, I think everything is the cause of this talisman," I murmur.
I feel the weight of the boy's gaze on me. I close my eyes. I have no choice but to explain everything to him. What bad luck to have bumped into him that day! All my plans had fallen through because of him, and it was particularly depressing. But now I don't have much choice. Now that it's come to this, I can't go back. And I might as well protect him, his life is now linked to mine. I can't act with the same impunity as before.
-Well, listen to me carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself, I'm being authoritative. I think your grandfather sealed your powers when you were born, and this talisman broke the seal. That's why you can suddenly see shadows, and see me most of all.
-Sealed my powers? he makes, surprised. But why would he do that?
-Surely to spare you the same life he led," I say, lowering my eyes.
Suddenly, shame seizes me. I think of this human as a nuisance who stumbled upon me by accident, but in reality he's just as miserable as I am. His fate is surely just as tragic, as he is destined to die young and live a life of misery. He's not supposed to exist, just like me. Who am I to treat him this way when I'm the same species as him?
Master shinigamis are beings who once served very high-ranking shinigamis," I explain in a softer voice. They were the bridges between the other world and the world of the living and their existence made the work of the shinigami much easier. The shadows didn't roam your world because of their work. They drew their immense power from the shinigami themselves because they shared their blood.
-Did they? What do you mean they shared their blood?
-Either they drank what constitutes the blood of shinigami, or they're a mixture of a shinigami and a human," I continued. In other words, the conception of a shinigami and a human being, a mixed child.
Akira looks at me in horror.
-Is that possible? To have a child born of a shinigami and a human?
The pupil seemed shocked. I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand his reaction.
-It's possible, even if it seems unnatural... I say with a touch of disgust. This technique was forbidden centuries ago, but some shinigamis have broken it. Not least because the children born of these alliances are extremely powerful, but some shinigami simply no longer respected the boundaries between the other world and the human world, despite the prohibitions. They wanted to mingle with humans, even though it was deeply taboo.
-Woah...
Akira looks at me in amazement.
-It was finally banned because a shinigami assistant master once refused to obey the rules imposed by the rulers of the other world. He absolutely wanted to live with his father in the other world, despite the fact that creatures of human blood, even mixed blood, are forbidden to enter the other world. His obstinacy jeopardised the existence of the other world, which led to the ban as it stands today. But unfortunately, many did not respect it. Later, even the method of making you drink our 'blood' was banned, and the master assistants gradually disappeared. Those who remained lived in hiding and were pursued by the cleaners from the other world because they must have come from that method.
I pause to check that my pupil is following. He drinks in my words, sitting on his bed, his eyes wide. I continue.
-We then introduced the technique of contracts so that we could attach assistants to ourselves. Shinigami cannot act without assistants in the mortal world. The disappearance of the master assistants caused a lot of problems and the shadows were free to move in the human world for several decades, causing all kinds of trouble.
I'll stop for a moment. All this information must have been difficult to swallow, but he was looking at me calmly. I tilted my head to one side, intrigued.
-Ah... It's all written in my grandfather's notebook, so it doesn't surprise me that much," he scratches his head. It's just that hearing you explain it makes me realise that it's very real and...I'm having trouble getting used to it. I thought this notebook was a fantasy straight out of my grandfather's imagination.
I get up from the chair and hand him back the notebook and the talisman.
-Your grandfather must have been an assistant master descended directly from a shinigami, that's why he had this guide," I say. "So that means you've got some shinigami blood in you.
Akira picked up the book again and stared at it for a moment.
-Does that mean the cleaners are after me? he finally asks.
I hesitate before answering.
-Yes, it's true. But as you've officially become my assistant, I doubt they'll come after you. At least as long as they can't link you to your grandfather. They'll think your powers come from the contract we signed.
The boy looks at the talisman wistfully. Then he hands it to me. I nod my head gravely, then say a formula as I pass my hand over the piece of cloth, which disappears in red flames. I'd just made the last traces of this boy's grandfather's power disappear. Normally, if all goes well, the cleaners will leave him in peace.
-Our talk lasted longer than I expected, I've got to go, I say as I head for the door. I've got work to do...
The boy catches me by the sleeve.
-Wait, the shadows! Tell me what they are and how I can protect myself from them! I see them everywhere and frankly... it's scary.
I can feel his hand trembling on the sleeve of my uniform. He's biting his nails with his other hand. I feel guilty. When I think that I left that poor boy, who didn't know anything, on his own for more than a day, I call myself an idiot. He must have gone through hell.
-Shadows are reminders of the wishes of the deceased," I explain, taking her hand that holds my garment. They are normally neutral, but can behave aggressively when they have the opportunity to take over a human body to achieve their purpose. The longer they remain on earth, the stronger they become. My role is to exorcise them so that they disappear from the human world.
-And why do you need an assistant? he asks me with uncertain eyes.
-Because humans are very good decoys for shadows," I answer frankly. They attract them easily, which means I can find them more quickly and apprehend them more easily too.
I had to tell him the truth, because this was likely to become his daily routine, even though I intended to do without his services as much as possible. From now on, he was going to have to live with the shadows for the rest of his life.
-Am I going to have to attract them too?
He started shaking again. I closed my eyes for a moment before answering him.
-I don't need assistants, I've always worked alone, and you didn't become my assistant because I need you. So as far as possible, I won't ask you to help me. But the shadows will be attracted to you in spite of that, so you'll still see them, even if I'm not around.
He looks down in disappointment. Without waiting, I reach into the inside pocket of my jacket and pull out a piece of paper. I see a teddy bear-shaped key ring lying on the floor. A red flame consumes the paper and lights up the teddy bear. Once I've finished, I hand the keyring to Akira, who grabs it, a little puzzled.
-This will protect you from the shadows," I explain. They won't be able to get close to you as long as you've got it on you. I can't stop you seeing them, your power is far too strong, but at least with this you'll be able to live as you did before without fearing them.
I go to leave the little room, but he stops me again.
-Are you coming back?
His eyes implore me. My guilt gets the better of me and I nod, breaking free of his grip again.
-I've got to go and exorcise some shadows, then go and do some paperwork, I do, my hand on the door handle. I'll come round when I've finished all that.
I open the door, ready to leave, and stop on the threshold before turning round.
-Eat properly and don't let me bully you while I'm gone.
I take a wad of notes and place them on his bed before leaving.
-It's your pay for your first day as a shinigami assistant, put it to good use.
The door closes behind me as I slowly make my way down the stairs to the first window.