Heartbreak Chapter One

A shinigami must obey the rules. Most of the rules were rather simple and much like any other job’s. A shinigami had to be punctual, had to work quickly and coldly, without a smile. He had to reap the souls on the list assigned to him. But sometimes, it was difficult to determine who suffered more; the victim, or the shinigami.

William T. Spears sighed almost inaudibly as he gazed at the stack of papers on his desk. It was late and he was tired. He wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, and read a good book before bed. However, this particular assignment was not one that he looked forward to. He stood and paced around his silent office, trying to decide which of his subordinates would have to commit this ghastly deed.

The soul in question had to be reaped by morning, for a sickness had claimed the body. She would die and her soul collected and sorted, just like all the others. The problem was in that she was only a child, of five years old. Had she been older, there would have been no question. The assignment would have been given to whichever shinigami was not already working on another. For even though it was their jobs, not one of his employees ever liked taking a child’s soul.

As he paced, listening to to quiet steady tapping of his shoes on the hard floor, he thought about his dilemma. Alan Humphries was entirely out of the question, for the Thorns of Death had weakened him again and he was at home, recovering. Eric Slingby had taken a few personal days off, to help take care of his sick friend. Even though William was irritated by Eric’s lack of work ethic, he respected their friendship and the constant love and patience that went into it.

He felt a shudder rising from deep within him, and suppressed it. He was a supervisor, dammit. This was part of his job. His employees had to learn to get over their weaknesses. All humans die eventually and it was their job to collect the souls. But still, even William, with his cold demeanor, couldn’t help but feel guilty when he saw the look in their eyes when they returned from an assignment like this. Each one of them, even the normally loud and obnoxious Grell Sutcliff, would come in, plop their report on his desk silently and walk out, without a word.