Chapter Two
Recklessly Chasing Death
Abel, Valerie, and Gabe ran quickly after Mark as he ran excitedly from his apartment, looking around frantically for the Shinigami.
"Abel, tell me more about Shinigami while we look for him!" Mark called over his shoulder, jumping down the stairs with his friends close on his heels.
"We should leave him alone, he might be looking for a soul! Shinigami reap and collect the souls of the dead, and judge them for Heaven or Hell. We don't want to piss one off!" Abel yelled back, looking nervous.
"I've already pissed him off, might as well follow through."
The others sighed and followed him nervously, the football game forgotten in the supernatural excitement. Mark ran to the edge of the road and stopped, looking around carefully. The others stopped behind him, watching anxiously.
"I think we should go back. We don't want to mess with a grim reaper. Isn't that a bit much for us?" Gabe asked.
"Maybe for you, but I think we'll be okay. They can't reap us if we're not meant to die, can they?" Mark turned to look at Abel.
"Well, this is just legend. Shinigami are capable of killing souls not meant to die with their Death Scythes. They just usually don't, because it's against their work ethics. They are neither good nor evil. They are completely neutral, they just collect souls." the Japanese student said carefully.
"Hey, is that him?" Valerie whispered, pointing somewhere down the road.
They could faintly make out the shape of a man walking down the road, carrying some sort of rod over his shoulder. Mark grinned widely.
"Has to be! Come on, let's go talk to him! We've already gone this far, there's no stopping now!" he shouted before running after the mysterious man.
The man seemed to have slowed his pace since Mark's earlier encounter with them, and made no attempt to outrun the curious teenagers. He could hear them coming from a mile away, but did nothing to stop them. He didn't even turn to look at them. The nervous group stopped running once they were about ten feet behind him, and followed him silently while keeping that distance. He sighed as he felt their gaze on the back of his head.
"If you lot are going to follow me, you might as well come up here so I don't have to yell!" he called back at them, smirking a bit to himself when he heard their gasps.
The teens were quick to fall into step next to the man, keeping a safe
distance and watching him warily out of the corners of their eyes.
"You're a Shinigami?" Mark finally asked after a minute of awkward silence.
"Yes, as I told you earlier, I am a Shinigami. Who are you lot and why are you following me?" the man answered quietly.
"My name is Mark, and these are my friends Abel, Valerie, and Gabe. We're amateur paranormal investigators." Mark answered seriously, trying to contain his curiosity and be respectful.
"You're following me because I fall into the category of paranormal." the Shinigami chuckled at them.
"Pretty much. Uhm, by the way...I'm sorry I bumped into you earlier. I didn't mean to piss you off." Mark apologized quickly.
The Shinigami chuckled and shook his head, looking over all of the teenagers in turn. They all gasped and cowered a bit when his green eyes fell on them, and he sighed.
"Don't freak out, I'm not here to collect a soul. I like to walk out here after work. And it's okay. I wouldn't have been angry had you not aggravated my condition." he said.
"Your condition? I thought Shinigami were immortal?" Abel asked curiously.
"We can only be killed with a Death Scythe, or through the condition I have. It's a curse laid on a Shinigami by a vengeful soul called the Thorns of Death. Normally we are resistant to it, but I got it when I was completely open. The thorns start in the hands and work their way to the heart. Mine are in my ribcage, have been for years. If they pierce my heart, I will die."
"Is there not a cure?" Valerie asked, looking concerned.
"No. There is medicine that I take to slow their progression, which is why I am still alive. The Thorns only stick when a Shinigami is sentimental and feels for the dead. I was, and got the curse. Now that I know that, I have closed my heart to such emotion. This slows the Thorns as well."
"So when I bumped into you-" Mark began, only to be interrupted.
"When you bumped into me, one of the Thorns grazed my lung and caused a coughing fit. I'm fine." the Shinigami said quickly.
"Why are you telling us all of this?" Abel asked.
"Because people will think you're insane if you tell them, so I see no reason not to." the Shinigami shrugged.
The teenagers thought this over for a moment and sighed, knowing full well that the Shinigami was right. Mark smiled and looked back at him.
"What's your name?" he asked hopefully.
"Alan Humphries." the man answered.
"Okay. So, when we met earlier, you scolded me in Japanese. Why?"
Alan sighed; humans could be so curious.
"When I became a full-blooded Shinigami, I worked in London. That was from 1800 to 1900. Then my department was moved to Tokyo, Japan, from 1900-2010. In 2010 we were moved to this part of the United States. Me move every hundred or so years so that people who do see us don't get too suspicious. I spoke in Japanese because I like how some of the words roll off the tongue." Alan answered matter-of-factually.
"Can you tell us more about the other Shinigami?" Gabe asked.
"No. This is where I leave you. We may meet again, but for now I am going home. Goodbye."
Alan said abruptly, and the teens looked confused.
"Would you consider us friends, Alan?" Valerie asked hopefully; she was always eager to make friends with anyone she could.
Alan sighed and glanced back at them.
"As I said, I closed my heart to such things to protect my life. I have a few friends, it could be hazardous to make more. We are...acquaintances. Goodbye, humans." Alan waved his Death Scythe at them and continued down the road on his own.
The four teens watched Alan in stunned silence as he walked. Once he had vanished from sight, they looked at each other and grinned.
"Anyone else think that was awesome?" Mark asked.
"Yeah. I hope we see him again! He was cute!" Valerie giggled.
"Don't get your hopes up, you heard him. No more friends, it could kill him. Anyway, what do we do now?" Abel asked.
Gabe grinned and gestured back toward Mark's apartment.
"Let's go watch the rest of the game for now! I wanna see the Ravens kick some tail!"
Yay yay chapter two! I adore Alan Humphries! I wants a plushie of him! Allons-y!
~Silver