What have I done. I haven't watched Kuroshitsuji in ages. Undertaker is probably horribly out of character. :( Sorry for any...grammar issues. I might've missed some. This one-shot is unbeta-d
Luna and Undertaker meeting just seems...right. Even if Luna is just nine years old in this fic and the Undertaker...is however old he is.
Enjoy. And please, please review. :) Please~? I'll give you a cookie? With sprinkles?
There is one thing that Luna Lovegood learned at a young age. Never wander off. Of course her father told her it was very educational to wander off, but only when she was at home and if so, to come back before sunset.
It was no where near sunset. The sun was still glaring brightly in the blue sky and the birds were whistling cheerfully off into the distance.
And she wasn't at her house.
Luna hadn't meant to wander off, she had been staring at some rather shiny pendants hanging in a shop, and was so distracted by their glitterness that when she had turned around, her father had vanished.
So, she had taken to walking forward into the mass of people in the street, in hopes that she could spot her father looking for her or maybe someone would be kind enough to help a lost little girl.
After getting shoved around quite a bit by several people, called a thief by one old lady, and ignored by pretty much everyone else, Luna decides that everyone who lived around here was quite unpleasant and she was very thirsty.
Which is how the young girl found herself in front of a shop. It was grey, rather strange looking shop. Her father had told her never to judge by appearances and she was thirsty so Luna pushed aside any misgivings and entered.
It was just as spooky as the outside. Grey walls, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, dark and musty, with an eerie light flickering from the sides. Briefly she wondered if a wizard lived here. Wizards were so fond of flickering lights in their shops.
There were also strange rectangle boxes scattered all around and Luna, being as curious as she was, leaned forward to examine one of the wooden boxes with elaborate designs on the sides.
"One of my best, no?"
Luna jumped slightly before turning to face the voice and studied, what she assumed, was the shopkeeper.
Black robes, grey hair that went down to his waist, bangs covering his eyes, black fingernails, and an odd hat.
Yes, he had to be a wizard. No muggle would dare to dress like that.
Luna blinked, "Yes, it's very nice. What is it?"
The man chuckled, "You tell me."
"Hmm." Luna scrutinized the box more closely, "a boat?"
"Close. It's a coffin."
"Oh. So...yes, a boat. It carries the dead to the underworld?"
The man tilted his head and smiled softly at her, "You are a strange one."
"People often tell me that."
He waved a hand at her, "Not that it's a bad thing."
Luna shifted and wondered if maybe she should leave. Her mother warned her about getting to close to strangers. Especially odd ones. She looked over the shopkeeper, his black robe clothes, a smirk that didn't seem to leave his face, and the black fingernails that looked really sharp.
He counted as being odd.
But...she shouldn't judge by appearances, right?
Luna was quite puzzled by what she should do in a situation like this. Half of her wanted to speak with this man and the other half wanted to use her mother's advice and leave the shop.
Luckily, she was saved from having to making a decision when the shopkeeper spoke to her again.
"What's your name?"
Luna stood up straighter, "Luna Lovegood. And yours?"
The man walked closer and sat on one of the wooden boxes near her, with knowing smile. "You can call me...Undertaker. "
Luna stared at the Undertaker, " You make coffins? Why?"
"Why not? It was either that or open a chain of pastry shops." He smirked at her, tapping his fingers against the wood.
Luna stared at him, or to be more correct, she stared at the long scar across his face that disappeared into his bangs and muttered absently, "Pastries would've been a lovely career choice."
The Undertaker, either didn't notice her staring or he didn't think it important enough to mention it, instead choosing to reply, "You think? Never liked them, really. I prefer, creating something that people will remember."
Luna frowned, "How will these be remembered? They are just going to get buried underneath dirt. Why put designs and carvings on something no one will ever see?"
The Undertaker leaned forward and giggled. "What makes you so sure that no one will see them? Coffins are very important, like, as you say, they are like boats. They will be shipped off to the unknown. But will they return? Who knows~ As for the carvings, I just like adding some flair to my work."
For a moment, Luna wondered if perhaps she should've just left while she could, instead of talked to this man. He looked rather... mad, or no... insane would be a proper word for him. Her thirst for water had faded quite a bit ago as well. "They can't return. Once they lay in the coffin, they can't come out again."
The Undertaker was still tapping his fingernails along the wood, in an odd rythm that made Luna feel rather uneasy.
"I don't know about that." He smirked at her. "After all, I know a boy who went to hell and back."
Luna believed in many things. Her father had always taught her to stay open-minded to the strange world, because close-minded people always stayed on the narrow path. She, however, believed in fairytales, unlike others.
For once, Luna was silent, because she really didn't know what to say, but after some pondering in her mind, she spoke again, "Did he survive?"
The Undertaker drawled out, "Did he? I don't know if what he is now would be considered 'survived'."
"Is he alive?"
"Oh, yes. Quite healthy too."
"But did he survive?"
"If you go to hell, you can't survive."
Luna smiled at the shopkeeper, "Have you been to hell?"
"Maybe..."
If his bangs hadn't covered his face, Luna would've sworn that he winked at her. That was just her imagining things again.
"Are you a wizard?"
Silence.
"Oh~? I've been called many things, but never a wizard. What a strange question."
Tap. Tap.
Luna shrugged, "You said I was strange."
"Hmm. You are a witch? A bit young, I would think."
"I'm nine. You can never be too young to use magic."
Tap. Tap.
"Someone so young, entering my shop. Children usually fear this place."
Luna shifted uncomfortably, wondering if it would be rude to tell him to stop tapping his fingers, "I was thirsty. And I don't fear this place. It doesn't look like a scary place."
He hummed, "Really? I think the decor puts some costumers off."
"Maybe you could add some color."
"Hehe. Color would take away from the meaning."
Luna spoke up, before she could stop herself, "I didn't know death could have meaning."
"Maybe not to you, not yet. Once you have grown, I think you will understand what meaning death has upon the world."
She didn't like death. It was saying goodbye and never coming back. Which was wrong, because when one says goodbye, you have to come back, it means you'll back soon. When death takes you, you can't come back.
"Hmm. I think it's time you left."
Luna looked up, startled because the Undertaker had crossed the room silently and was kneeling down at her eye level with a odd smile, "Your father will probably be worried about you."
"How did yo-"
"Now, now, I can sense these things."
Luna tilted her head and looked over him, searching for something that would tell her how he knew about her father. He wasn't a wizard, but could he use magic? For a second, she once again stared at the scar running down his face and wondered how he got it.
"Can you use magic?"
He tilted his head, still smiling, and for one second, she saw a glimpse of dark green eyes staring at her, from underneath his hair. "Maybe."
Luna nodded and slowly walked towards the door, glancing behind her, but the shopkeeper still hadn't moved. " Goodbye, Luna Lovegood."
She blinked, "How did you-"
He smirked at her, "Magic"
The last thing she heard before the door closed behind her was the shopkeeper's giggling, as if laughing at a personal joke.
Luna glanced once more at the crooked sign at the front of the building and then left to search the streets for her father
What a strange shop.
Luna smiled to herself as she began to skip cheerfully, ignoring the glares from other people walking by.
What an odd man.
Whatever was odd about that man...
...she sincerely suspected the Nargles were behind it.
