Hitoshi Shinsou is a grim reaper. From the time of his death, the boy had been in service for the Gods. His purpose in his sacred job seemed to have been simple. But the boy soon found it hard as time progresses. The first year that he served as a grim reaper, he had encountered sorrow and had to be the one to fetch lost souls that were either killed or dying from their mortal wounds in the battlefield. He hated his job.
Hitoshi looked around his garden. A field full of white lilies as far as the eye could see. He had planted the flowers on the site more than half a century ago. He offered the white lilies to those who died and could not pass on into the afterlife.
"Shinigami, you've got another job waiting for you." A messenger of destiny approached Shinsou and gave him the name of the person he was to fetch into the afterlife. Shinsou nodded at the messenger before he left. The deity of death crouched down and picked a small bouquet of white lilies in his hand.
"Izuku Midoriya… 15… Cause of death: caught in explosion after attempting to save a friend…" Shinsou read the message and tucked it in back into its envelope. He grimaced and prepared to be on the sight of the young boy whom he was supposed to fetch.
When Shinsou arrived at the sight, he saw a green-haired woman who was crying as she saw her son's charred body being retrieved from the sight. Shinsou wanted to get it over with, scanning the crowds for the boy's soul. In a nearby windowsill he saw a green-haired young boy staring at the glass pane, trying to look for his reflection.
Shinsou made his way towards Izuku and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I'm sorry… Izuku Midoriya, you're officially deceased as of today." Shinsou handed Izuku the white lilies from his hand before leading the boy towards a sacred room. The boy followed Shinsou without a word. It was unusual compared to those souls that he encounters. Most souls that he encountered would throw a fit or be in denial that they are already dead. In Izuku's case however, the boy seemed to have accepted his fate.
"Where are we going?" Izuku asked as they passed by numerous streets. Shinsou looked back at the boy before inserting key onto a random wall on the side of the road. A door sprouted from the wall, seemingly unseen by the outside world.
"Towards purgatory of course…" Shinsou replied, taking a seat in front of a wooden table. He offered another seat from across the table to Izuku. The two of them sat in silence. Izuku was admiring the flowers that Shinsou had given him. The room that they were in looked like a tea house, it smelled of tea leaves as well as having plenty of racks for tea cups. Shinsou went and prepared some tea for Izuku, working on crushing the leaves and boiling some water.
"I didn't think that there was a real Shinigami…" uttered Izuku as the young boy chuckled sheepishly. Shinsou looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Well we are real. It's a tough job to do." He replied, getting the tea ready. Shinsou set the pot of tea down onto the table, pouring the lone cup that was in front of Izuku with the tea of oblivion.
"What's this?" Izuku curiously looked at the cup and saw the golden liquid that had a sweet smell. Shinsou scratched the back of his head and tried his best to explain.
"Drink. It will help you forget all of your memories that you've experienced in this life. It's time to let go now and move on into the afterlife." Shinsou looked across the table and saw the small frown that Izuku had on his face.
"Do you still have any lingering regrets left?" Izuku looked at Shinsou and nodded at the deity's question. He nursed the warm cup of tea in his hands before savoring the smell of it.
"I… Didn't get to accomplish my dreams of being a hero…" Izuku replied.
"I hope you find peace… Izuku Midoriya…" Shinsou silently nodded and waited for Izuku to finish the tea of oblivion.
After finishing the tea, Izuku put the cup down and bowed towards Shinsou. He thanked the deity for his kindness before proceeding towards the staircase to heaven. Shinsou inhaled before uttering a small prayer of Izuku. The boy had been a kind soul as he had seen from the message earlier.
A faint knock was heard from the other side of the room. Shinsou stood up and opened it to see his senior deity adviser, Shota Aizawa.
"I see you're almost done with your service." Shinsou smiled at the older man. Aizawa chuckled and nodded back.
"Just one more job left. Will you see me off?" Shinsou smiled and nodded, patting his senior deity on the shoulder.
He joined in Aizawa to his final job. The two of them saw the site of death of the woman who was involved in a car accident.
"Emi Fukukado… 28… cause of death – vehicular accident…" Aizawa put a hand on the shoulder of the woman in front of the accident. She was sobbing in her hands, afraid of what's to come. Aizawa crouched down and revealed his face to the woman underneath his black hat.
"Shota… It's you…" she uttered before hugging tackling Aizawa into a hug. The two fell on the ground as Aizawa gently soothe away the worries of the woman. They talked on their way towards the tea house of purgatory. The two seemed to have had a past together from what Shinsou had heard in their conversations.
Shinsou inhaled in deeply the scent of purgatory as they got back. The aromatic smell of the tea house helped him calm his nerves as he was preparing to send off his lone friend ever since he became a shinigami. Aizawa was still catching up with Emi as Shinsou was busy preparing the tea of oblivion.
"Hitoshi… Thank you for doing this for me…" Aizawa smiled and hugged his junior deity friend in gratitude. Shinsou sighed and patted his Aizawa's back, nodding at Emi with a smile before leaving the two to their privacy.
"Are you ready?" Aizawa looked deep into Emi's eyes and held her hand tight. Emi gulped and nodded, gently passing the cup onto her mouth before drinking all of the tea.
"You'll always love me, right Shota?" Emi asked with a bright smile as she and Aizawa walked hand-in-hand towards the staircase to heaven. Shinsou tried to hide his tears, passing a quick glance at Aizawa who waved him a short goodbye as they were leaving.
Aizawa's black hat was left on the table, presumably giving it to Shinsou as a parting gift to the young shinigami. Shinsou gently picked up the black hat and wore it as a remembrance from his senior.
"One day… I will find peace…" he uttered before leaving purgatory to resume his work tending to the white lilies in his garden.
The white lilies swayed in the soft breeze that passed by. The moonlight from above Shinsou was his guidance through the darkness. Picking up a lone white lily that was withered away, Shinsou thanked the white flower before letting it float into the wind.
~ End
