"KNOX!" William hollered from where he stood behind his desk. Several stacks of papers rested neatly side by side and William was reading over a document partially protruding from a folder.

The young reaper with bi colored hair stuck his head in the doorway, his body still remaining in the hallway. "You yelled boss?"

"Is Sutcliffe back yet?"

Ronald stood up straight and leaned in the doorway. This couldn't be good. "I haven't seen him since he went out earlier to investigate that discrepancy."

William's eyes narrowed and he pushed his glasses further up his nose. He turned green eyes on the younger reaper. "Having Grell Sutcliffe in this division is as good as being short handed."

Ronald shook his head but didn't say anything.

William looked back down at the paper and then slid the document back into the folder. He laid the folder back on his desk. "I had intended to hand him this little addition we need to take care of. You will do."

"No can do boss. I've got a collection in three minutes and I'm busy for the rest of the night. There's going to be an accident on the docks tonight." Ronald checked his watch and stood himself up. "I better get moving. Wouldn't want you to have to fill out the extra paper work because I was late." He tossed William a salute and flashed a lopsided grin before he hurried himself down the hallway.

William pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He slid his desk drawer open and pulled a thin notebook from inside. With a shake of his head, he slipped his To-Die-List into the pocket inside his jacket. As he walked into the hallway and closed the door behind himself, he silently hoped the new batch of recruits would be fruitful. He could use another reliable reaper, one who preferably didn't lust after anything in trousers, particularly if said trousers were filled by something as utterly vile as a Demon.

0000

Ever punctual, William appeared on a stone bridge that was spanning what looked like a manufactured pond and small stream. He tightened his grip on his death scythe and cast a look skywards. It was clear now, but he could see clouds slowly drifting in. With measured clipped steps, he headed towards the stone tower just a short distance from the bridge.

"Well this is inconvenient." The large double doors presented in front of him were sealed. It wasn't just a lock, and the door wasn't barred from the other side. Placed on the door was an actual seal of some kind that he was unfamiliar with. This would explain why he could not seem to appear any closer to his target. A sound, similar to the flapping of wings caught his attention. He cast a glance towards the sky, and a dark shape passed the moon and then landed gracefully on the bridge. William's eyes widened slightly and he slipped into the bushes growing around the base of the tower. Through the foliage he watched with interest as Ciel Phantomhive soundly slapped his demon across the face.

The spoiled noble was yelling at the demon Michaelis now, but Williams attention was drawn to the front of the tower where Grell Sutcliffe had appeared with a … man? He was dressed in a uniform but crouched in the dirt as a dog might. Sutcliffe was holding a leash and eying the door curiously.

William mentally made a note to reprimand his employee when they returned to headquarters. He had half a mind to step out of the bushes and deal with the situation now, but he had a schedule to keep, and finding a way into the sealed building took precedence. There was something very strange going on, it took an extremely powerful force to be able to keep supernatural beings at bay. His thoughts were interrupted by howling, and the very odd man transformed into a demon hound before his eyes. 'And here I thought my disgust for Phantomhive and his pets could grow no further', he thought to himself. The beast bounded through the doorway, followed by the boy, his leashed fiend, and Williams personified headache.

Wasting no time, now that there was not a barrier impeding him, he vanished from where he crouched and reappeared next to his target. He checked his watch, and the book. Precisely on time. This was exactly why he was always punctual. One could never be sure when an unforeseen event would require attention and he refused to be responsible for shoddy work.

Sat before him, on a stool against a cold stone wall, was a blonde girl. Her golden hair hung in ringlets and sad green eyes stared ahead unseeing. Suddenly, her head lolled to the side with an odd clicking sound. This was an odd way to die. He consulted the book. Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford – Dollification. "I am not certain what is going on here, but this new serial killer has invented a new way to die." He said to himself. The girl before him no longer looked to be living. He freed her cinematic record and it played just as it should. There was apparently a time period from when whatever happened to them took place to when the soul gave up and the body ceased to be human.

He watched the record play and suddenly understood why he had seen the Phantomhive boy with his hounds in tow. This girl was apparently related to him. The girls record was interesting. Oh she didn't lead an extraordinary life, but William suddenly found himself spying on a known demon, by proxy of course. 'Demons...' he thought 'Disgusting beasts.' He didn't like a demon on a good day. However, one of his reapers, was infatuated with this one. It gave William migraines and overtime and in general he cursed every time he let Grell leave the office.

What really made this record draw his attention was how the demon reacted to the bouncing blonde dervish whenever she was around. Oh he catered to her, and protected his master's image certainly, but in the shadows and corners of everyone's vision, the demon would glare. More than once, William caught the beasts eyes narrowed and glowing dangerously. This girl had an effect on the demon's meal it seemed. Perhaps... perhaps there was a way to use this to his advantage.

'No... No...' he thought to himself. That would be against regulations. Reapers could only save humans who were beneficial to all of mankind. Still... this demon... something about him gave William pause. Would it be to the benefit of mankind to cause him some grief? He wouldn't be taking the girl off the list entirely, just... pushing her time back a little. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and sighed as his mind turned over and he studied each frame of film.

What a foil for the beast she was. She gave all of herself expecting nothing in return. She loved the spoiled noble selflessly and unconditionally. Her family was noble and dedicated to upholding the human laws of the land. She was, in short, everything the demon was not. For as attached as the boy was to his fiend, a phenomenon William couldn't understand in the least, he also had some affection for this girl.

William heard footsteps right outside the door and it was a split second decision. He resealed the clean cut he had made as her record rewound. He pulled out the book and in his neat scrawl he noted her entry. 'Denied'. The girl opened her eyes for a moment and looked into the Reapers face. She blinked at him twice looking as though unconsciousness was about to overtake her.

William leaned close to her face. "Win." was all he whispered to her.

"Win..." she repeated and then her eyes fell closed.

A black shoe was just breaching the doorway as William vanished from the room. He had some paperwork to file and quickly. If he wasn't very careful about this, he would never hear the end of it. In his office he dug for the forms that he had never had to use before, that most reapers would never use. With a shake of his head he put ink to paper.

"Sutcliffe is having a negative effect on me..."