Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

He smiled, or maybe grimaced, and said, "Well, not exactly, but yeah, kinda. Actually, the cape and the scythe are just my toys, but I keep them around because I think it's fun to appear to the dead as what they'd expect to see, not as just a little teenager floating around with a sword and saying he's something like the Grim Reaper. Nah, this gets the idea across a lot faster, but then I take out my Ketsuko and they get all confused. It's actually kind of annoying to have to explain what I am to so many ghosts and stuff, but I guess I have to, so it's okay. But anyway--"
"Um, Isuke?" I interrupted hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"What's a Ketsuko?"
"Oh. Um, it's a sword that Higanmisi's souls are able to generate, after a varying amount of spiritual training."
"And what's a Higanmisi? It sounds like a fancy sushi thingy or something."
"Ew, sushi. I hate sushi... The whole seafood thing really makes me wanna hurl, but that's not the point. The point is, Higanmisi are not sushi. They're like Grim Reapers, or Shinigami. You know what Shinigami are, right? From Bleach and Death Note and stuff like that, right? Well, anime and manga aren't real, so you might think that Shinigami aren't real. In this world, they're not, but in others, they are.
"But what about this world's death gods? Heh, that'd be the Higanmisi. They guide souls to Cōtsuyosei, which is this world's heaven. Not all souls can go there, as with almost all worlds of the dead. If in life, you were good overall, and didn't commit serious crimes without guilt, then you're able to go. But if you committed serious sins without guilt, then once a Higanmisi finds you to help you move on, the Gates of hell will open instead of the Door of Light, and you are sucked into your own personal hell. It's impossible to get out, because it's a one-way entrance. The only one who can freely come and go is its ruler, whose true name is unknown. He's usually called the Devil, though. I'm sure you've heard of him.
"And i guess that's all the explaining I need to do. Unless you have any more questions, then we need to go to Cōtsuyosei soon. I've committed somewhat of a crime, you see, because I got involved with you in such a way that it caused you to die too early."
I raised my hand, like I was in class.
"Okay, Mr. Higanmisi, question. I died too early? What the hell does that mean? We all die in the end, so why should it matter when we do?"
"You should ask Renkū-sama about that. He's the ruler of Cōtsuyosei. And when you refer to his name, always add "-sama" to the end, okay? I think it's like a respect thingy. You don't want to make that guy mad, and you really don't want to know what happens if you do. But right now, we really need to go to Cōtsuyosei to meet him, so no more questions. Let's go!"
I hesitated. There seemed to be something I'd forgotten about...
"Oh yeah! My body! What about my body? We can't just leave it here! What if wild animals come and eat me or someone finds me? What should we do with it? We have to hide it somewhere, but I don't know where it's safe. I know I'm dead, but still, I want to protect my body! It's still mine!"
He contemplated, then snapped his fingers.
"Here, we can put it in my closet world. Time doesn't exist in my closet's little world, so your body won't decay or be found by anyone else, because only Renkū-sama and I have the ability to open it."
"Wait, your closet? Where is it?"
"Right there," Isuke said, pointing at the murky hole still floating in midair.
"That?! That's your closet?! Cool... even if it is pretty dark. Hey wait, how can you find my body again? It's too dark to see anything in there."
He seemed surprised.
"You can't see in there?"
"No! Can you?"
"Yeah! I guess it's a privacy thing; only those who can open the closet can see in it. I never knew that before, because no one's ever around whenever mine's open."
"Okay, well, at least I know my body can be found after it's hidden. But something else was bothering me. What was it? Umm... Oh! What about my family?! They don't know I'm dead yet! Oh s**t, oh s**t, oh s**t! I promised my sister I'd help her with her science project today after school, but then I get hit by a freakin' bus! Damn it! And my parents! They'll be so freaked! They heard me promise Lireina that I'd help her, so when I don't come home soon they'll know something's wrong! Crap! Being dead sucks like hell!"
"Uh, Senna? Will you quiet down for a sec?"
"WHAT?!" I screamed, hysterical.
"We really do need to go. As in, now. I just got a text message while you were freaking out that said to report to Renkū-sama immediately. Seems like he finally found out I was the cause of your premature death, and if I'm much later than I already am, I'll get even more severely punished. So let's go! Absolutely no more questions!"
With that, even though I tried to ask what would happen, he ignored me and threw his scythe into his unorthodox closet, then in his rush had to frantically struggle to undo the clasp on his cape, then threw it in. I continued to try to get his attention, but then he grabbed a roll of duct tape from his closet, ripped off a piece, and taped my mouth shut, then ripped off an even longer piece ,to my muffled protests, and tied my hands securely behind my back.
"I was serious, no more questions!" Isuke said, adding another layer of tape over my mouth. "And now, we're finally leaving. I can't believe I had to do that to you, but you ask too many questions! And don't struggle when I pick you up!"
He yanked the craggy edges of his closet closed, leaving no trace of its existance. He paused, concentrating on something, and in a second I saw it: a sword was forming in midair in front of Isuke, glowing faintly green and solidifying within seconds after its appearance.