Shinigami manual or how to become a shinigami step by step

Chapter 5 : Be aware of your ancestry

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.