This is my own work, and I do not own any of the characters and fully respect the author, Yana Toboso.
Thanks for reading ^^
The story of how Alan got his 'thorns of death' 『shi no toge』
Alan had just been enrolled in the despatch. After vigorous training and testing, he had finally made it, much to the delight of his mentor, Eric Slingby. The two had become great friends due to the experience; Eric always looked out for the younger reaper, no matter what situation he be placed in, Eric was there to be his shining light, to guide him through the darkness that came through as you entered the realm of the reapers.
Alan had been sent out on a mission to reap a fresh soul, one that belonged to a . Now, at first glance, the man looked normal, Alan was shown all Phelps' details before heading out; nothing seemed that strange, however, at first glance you couldn't tell that had a 'bad aura' surrounding him. He was a wanted killer. Unfortunately, Alan had not been informed of this, and rushed off before William could utter a word. "Honestly, he's going to get himself killed." William sighed as he pushed up his custom-made glasses. "Slingby, you are not to escort Humphries on this mission, I want to see how he handles things on his own. " "Ya must be joking!" He exclaimed. "He won't last ten seconds witho' me there. It's too dangerous fa' him!" Eric pleaded, but the supervisors mind was made up. Eric tried to follow his subordinate, but found himself held back by William. "If you follow Humphries, you will be demoted. Got it, Slingby?" He ordered. Eric stopped and nodded his head reluctantly, then made his way back to his office.
Alan had made it to his destination. It was a street in the centre of London, a myriad of people surrounding the un-seen reaper. He looked out for his target. Phelps was keeping himself hidden behind one of the flower stalls that had come in to town lately. It was bursting will all sorts of flowers; roses, lilies, tulips, ericas. They reminded him of his first mission with Eric, that day was one of the most special memories that Alan had, and he made sure never to forget it. Phelps was just above average hight. He wore a black cap, presumably to mask his face, brown trousers with a cross-hatched design on them, and a matching waistcoat. Rather well dressed for a criminal. But of course Alan was unaware of this fact. Alan checked the time on his pocket watch; the man was going to die in ten minutes; Alan had to just sit back and observe, pondering how this seemingly innocent man was going to reach the after life.
Not long after, Alan saw the police arrive. 'I wonder why there're here' Alan thought to himself, watching as they moved closer to Phelps. It was time. The officers surrounded Phelps and held him at gunpoint. "Move an inch and we'll kill you!" The leader exclaimed. His hands were shaking as he held the gun at point blank range, pointing straight at Phelps' head. Phelps took no notice of the barrel staring him in the eyes. He wanted freedom. That's all he ever wanted. "Try me." Phelps whispered, a smirk spread across his face and his eyes darkened. At that very moment, he swept the gun aside, and ran for it. However, he did not get very far before he felt a bullet penetrate the back of his scull. He collapsed instantaneously. That was it.
Alan rushed down to the corpse, deathscythe in hand. He looked over the body, Phelps' hand still squirming, trying to move, trying to grab that last bit of freedom that he so wanted. "F...free...I...want...to...be...F..." He trailed off at the end. His hand stopped. "You'll soon be free, rest peacefully." Alan whispered as he swung his deathscythe round, then stabbed Phelps in the chest; his heart to be precise. The cinematic records flew out of the now still body, glistening in the light as they rose above both Phelps and Alan. He jumped up, collecting the records gracefully with his scythe. He looked though the record, seeing every aspect of Phelps' life fly before him, he became mesmerised. Then went into shock as he saw the man now laying before him decapitate his family and anyone surrounding him. It struck fear into Alan's heart. He turned away, not wanting to witness any more. That's when it hit. One of the records flew out, just as berserk as the man that it came from, struck Alan right in the chest.
... His scythe fell from his hand. The searing pain that came from it was unbearable. Alan stumbled back, slumping against the wall. He wanted to scream in pain, but he was going faint. Everything went blurry. Every sound went fuzzy. Every sense went numb.
When Alan had regained consciousness, he could hear a faint sound coming from beside him. He thought he could recognise the voice as he stirred. "Alan...Alan...Alan!" Eric exclaimed as he saw his partner come to. Alan sat up and observed the surroundings. White walls, white floors, white bed frame and white sheets. He was in hospital. He looked over to see his partners worried face, tears had started to form in his eyes. "I...I thought you'd be gone forever..." He whispered, hugging his friend. Alan embraced the hug that he was given. It was warm, and felt like he had been wrapped up in a blanket by a fire. "This is all my fault, if I went wi' you...I could've..." The reaper welled up, unable to force his tears back anymore. "You're here now, that's all that matters." Alan whispered, having still not regained his strength, he felt pretty weak and useless right now, all he could do is sit there, being embraced by his partner.
There was a knock at the door. "Come in" said Eric, just about shouting, hoping whoever it was would hear him. The door opened. It was a doctor, you could tell by the way they were dressed. White cloak, just as white as the walls surrounding them, black trousers and black shoes. They grasped on to a clipboard, and held it to there chest. "Hello." They said calmly, although Alan could sense a tone of worry in the doctors voice, which made him feel uneasy. "I've got some bad news." They sighed, looking at the clipboard. 'I knew it.' Alan thought as he sat up straight in his bed. "You've got the thorns of death, Shi no Toge as they're also known." The doctor whispered, as if they were in a room full of people and wanted to keep it a secret. "Now, there is no known cure, all we can do is prolong your life span. I'm sorry.". Alan looked over at Eric. A single tear fell from the reapers eyes as he looked on into the white distance. Alan couldn't speak, it felt as if he was being gagged, and couldn't force the words out. All he could do was wipe the shining tear from his friends' face. Eric looked over. "Don't worry." He said "I'll find a way, I'll make sure you get cured.".