Have you heard of a thing called a Shikabane? Its said, that if a human dies with regret in their heart, they come back as a Shikabane, a monster hell bent on destruction and death. However, there are good Shikabane, their called Shikabane Hime, Shikabane that have made a contract with a monk so that they may become pure and earn their way into heaven, or so they told us.
Now this story is old. It happened long before you were born and will continue to be told long after you are gone. Are you sure that you wanna hear it? Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you.
Me and my Shikabane Hime had received a message that there was a Shikabane near our post. We were excited. Rei, my Shikabane Hime, had been fighting for a long time, and she was just about to achieve her ticket into heaven, and I couldn't be happier for her.
We arrived on scene and Rei, with her superior Bushido skills, was able to easily dispatch of it. Then she told me that she began to feel strange.
"Takashi, I feel odd. I think that was my 108th!" She told me with a happy expression on her face.
"Rei, that's great! I guess this is goodbye then. Maybe I'll see you on the other side." I smiled at her. I didn't want to see her go, but she deserved it. You see, she had been killed by a group of bandits that had raped and killed her. After she came back as a Shikabane, she was tied down, and as they were about to kill her, I stepped up to make a contract, knowing that god had brought her back so that she could earn her way into heaven, and who was I to deny her that chance.
"Takashi, I feel strange, I-I don't like it." She told me, clutching her stomach.
"Rei, what's wrong?" I asked, grabbing her shoulder, holding her up. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I went flying across the clearing into a tree. "R-ei. Why?"
You see, she had changed. Her eyes began to glow a demonic red, her smooth, pale skin had become scaly, and her arms had become spikes. She had transformed into a Shikabane.
"Rei, stop. What's happening to you!" But my pleas fell on silent ears. She charged me, stabbing me through the chest before tossing me off to the side. I guess seeing me in such sad shape must have helped her regain control for a moment, because the only thing I remember is her weeping, holding me in her human arms, pleading.
"Takashi! Takashi, I'm so sorry, I don't know what's going on!" She wept, bring a tear to my eye.
"Its ok, Rei. It's not your fault. My only regret is that I was unable to keep my promise to get you into heaven." I told her as everything went blurry and dim.
"Takashi, no! If you have a regret, you'll come back as a Shikabane!" Rei pleaded, but it was too late.
I don't know how long I had been out for, but when I came too, Rei had transformed back into.. Into that thing.
"Rei?" I asked, standing back up. I must have thought that I had become a Shikabane, if I had only knew.
She began to charge me, but this time, her actions seemed slower. Easier to read. I jumped out of the way. Boy did I jump. I cleared the tree line and landed behind her on my feet.
"Rei, stop this!" But that only worked to get her attention. She ran at me again, but this time a voice rang out that made me stand my ground.
'Why do you run? Don't you know that Shinigami rule death?'
'Shinigami? Like death gods? Like the grim reaper?'
'Yes, your only regret was that you couldn't help your Shikabane Hime get into heaven wasn't it? Well, we gave you the power you needed to fulfill your wish.'
I did as I was told and stood my ground against the giant creature that I had made that promise to.
As she attacked, I was able to catch her spiked arms, digging my feet in as they skidded across the ground.
'Now pull me out! Use me to keep your promise!'
"I WILL KEEP MY PROMISE TO YOU REI! EVEN IF I HAVE TO RIP A HOLE IN THE SKY MYSELF!" I proclaimed as I rose my hand to the sky, feeling the power coursing through my body as my cloths changed. My robes turned back and became one piece as a scythe form in my hand.
I don't know how, but some how I was able to use the scythe. Almost like I had trained with it for years. I took many slashes with is at my former partner, twirling it around in a furry of cuts. Finally I jumped in the air, planting the blade right between her shoulder blades as a tear fell on her head.
Something amazing happened. That whole day was full of miracles, so I'm not surprised why another one happened, but it was the most pleasant of them all. The creature below me shattered, leaving Rei lying there. She was glowing, and it was an angelic glow. As I held her in my arms, she came to.
"Takashi. Thank you." She smiled at me weakly, "You kept your promise, and now I really am going to heaven."
She began to glow brighter as she broke down into what I can only describe as a holy energy, and I watched as those particles slowly rose into the heavens. I don't know how long I sat their, crying my eyes out. I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't know it would go quite like that. After I was able to compose myself, I walked over and picked up Rei's sword. It was a beautiful sword. It was gold and white, and it almost glowed in the sun. The sword that had tasted the blood of 108 Shikabane. When I picked it up though, it changed. The glow the blade had became dark and ominous. The hilt changed from the beautiful white, to a disgusting black, and the gold became tarnished. It called out to me as well. It told me it's name was now Higa, a disgusting name for a disgusting sword. Evil, what a suiting name.
I still cry for her some days. I wonder if we'll ever meet, and if we do, will she remember me. It's been 250 years now since that happened. I haven't aged one day since the day I died, but unlike other Shikabane or Shikabane Hime I have a pulse, my body is warm, and I have killed a countless number of Shikabane, with no results. The monks, after learning that I had died, and that I knew the truth about the Shikabane Hime, shunned me and hunted me, but after all this time, we're at somewhat of an unspoken stand off. The styles have change, I don't wear the black robes anymore, and seldom draw my scythe in battle. I have come to except Higa as mine. He symbolizes the cross that I carry for my sacrifice. He reminds me everyday that my soul was damned to walk the face of this world for all of eternity so that countless lost souls can move on. However I do not regret what I have done. I cherish that I was chosen to save those who can't save themselves, and if my soul must stay so that others my continue on, then that is my gift to this world. And I know that someday, I will be freed from my duties as a shinigami, and that on that day, I will finally be able to see Rei again, and I just know that she'll remember me; that she's been waiting for me, and I can't let her down.