The Undertaker's Apprentice, a kuroshitsuji fanfic

I'm so excited to be writing this, as this is my first of many Black series to which I have planned! Please enjoy, and also if you would like to volunteer to be my beta for this series that would be great appreciated! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of the characters, simply my own OCS and this story's plot/elements

Full Summary: [AU] Seventeen-year-old boys and their twin sisters normally don't accept contracts with kooky dog-bone munching morticians, but apparently these two did not get the memo…Now Isamu and Jessica are bound to a silver-haired man shrouded in mystery and over the top chuckles. Their first task: filling The Book of Yokai with the souls of the wicked creatures by the end of year, or remain as the Undertaker's apprentices for eternity.

How would I, Isamu Yuki describe my senpai, the one and only, Undertaker?

I would probably tell you that the bone-munching kook was absurd, cunning, and not the type of guy you should trust or turn your back on for even a second. That he's the Shinigami with the never-changing silver colored fringes, whose age remains unknown and forgotten.

That he's the man who suddenly pops out of nowhere and everywhere, enjoying the shocked look on everyone he surprises. He's the bastard who forces me to attend an academy for Shinigami during the day, drain's me of my magical energy when I disobey his orders, and then has me to assist him in applying cosmetic products to the dead in the evenings…

I probably wouldn't tell you that Undertaker saved me and my sister from death on the first night that we met…I also probably wouldn't tell you that the old kook was secretly my Rock Idol who mysteriously disappeared during his last concert to retire. I also wouldn't mention that Undertaker helped reunite my family…

There are so many things about this eccentric man to which I preferred to keep as a secret. It's probably because they are too embarrassing to tell to anyone, or they wouldn't believe a damn word I said.

Either way, some things are best left unspoken…

…

Rock music was a guilty pleasure of Isamu's.

It didn't matter if it was a legendary classic by Guns N' Roses or Pearl Jam, or a new aged rift by Slipknot or Black Veil Brides. Rock music was the one thing that would lift the boy's spirits after a hard day of studying to the point that he himself would literally float in the air.

It didn't happen very often, but every now and again, if by means of strange luck you were able to sneak into the Yuki household, you would find Isamu lounging mid-air while his IPod plays Breaking Benjamin's entrancing piece "Angel Falls".

It was a family secret, but it was also one of those little secrets to which Isamu indulges in: the fact that he could use supernatural abilities. Then again, the lad was partly supernatural on his mother's side, so it only made sense that he would inherit some sort of magical abilities.

The day Isamu discovered his powers was still in the dark. The earliest memory he had was when he was a child still in grade school. He remembered being so curious at that age, always asking questions and picking up everything in sight with his chubby little hands.

He remembered playing in the back yard with his sister and new puppy Rex, a gift given to him by his aunt Janelle. He remembered playing fetch with the little Golden Retriever, throwing the toy, and the little ball of fur chasing after it no matter how far it went.

He remembered the incident of throwing the toy too far, the piece of plastic landing in the street on the other side. Rex of course wanted to chase after the toy, whimpering loudly when he realized that he couldn't jump the fence. That's when he discovered the hole in the fence that was supposed to be covered, and dug his way through to the other side. Isamu remembered calling after his little K-9 companion, and his sister rushing into the house to retrieve their parents. He called out to Rex a few more times through the hole only to be answered by the loud sound of screeching tires, and then the saddening sight of his furry friend lying lifeless in the middle of the road.

Isamu remembered rushing towards Rex with tears streaming down his face, and the driver of the truck climbed from his vehicle as the young boy approached. The truck driver took off his hat and held it to his chest as he looked at Isamu with a saddening expression.

"I...I didn't mean to..." he remembered the man saying. "He came out of nowhere and I was going too fast to stop right away...I'm sorry..."

Isamu bent down so that he was almost at Rex's level, and scooped the little fur ball into his arms sobbing silently as he hugged his best friend for one last time. He remembered his glistening tears falling to Rex's fur not caring that his actions were holding up traffic for the busy street. And then, almost as if by a miracle, Rex began moving again. It started out in short slow breaths, but then Rex began to wiggle and whimper.

"Rex…?" Isamu asked, peering down at his puppy that had wiggled from his grasp. He couldn't believe it. Just moments ago, Rex was lying lifeless in his arms, and now he was alive, running in circles and tugging at his clothing just like before.

He may have over looked the situation back then considering his puppy was alive once more, but Isamu had discovered of using his powers at such a tender age, and slowly he did his best to increase his knowledge of the arcane all on his own.

There many things that he understood about the effects of his powers. For an example, the caster's mood effects their magic personally: a positive an optimistic demeanor would all most always yield good magic, as vice versa, a negative and moody temper creates bad magic. Isamu also knew a thing or two about element spells and made good use out of them in his everyday life when he could.

Even with his extensive knowledge, there were still so many possibilities and things that he had yet to discover. Isamu knew that he could do more, but he wasn't too keen or had the interest in becoming a magician or side show freak. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in his magical abilities or why he had inherited them, he simply figured that it did not matter. Not now, anyway.

It was his holiday away from the university and his older classmates, and he was going to relax to the fullest. So, Isamu simply rested on his back midair, a TinTin comic in hand, while a wrapper of an already consumed candy bar floated beside him.

"Isamu," Isamu's father shouted from downstairs. "Could you come down stairs for a minute?"

The volume of his speakers was on max volume, but despite this, Isamu was able to hear him. With a slight roll of his eyes, Isamu shouted back an unenthusiastic "coming," before dropping gracefully to his feet.

He got in a quick stretch before walking down the stairs slowly and entering the kitchen, which faced the dining area and the television. A commercial was airing the newest doll play set with a princess theme.

Isamu found his father standing in front of the counter chopping vegetables and completely dressed down from work, wearing simply a red sweater, black trousers, his house shoes, and an apron. Isamu stifled a small chuckle—his father was in full-blown "dad" mode during his days off from the factory.

Clung to his father's leg was Isamu's little sister, Sacoria. She resembled their mother in many ways, her silver pig tails; honey colored eyes, and caramel colored skin. Sacoria was the little three-year-old "princess" of the house, and seemed to be on schedule for daily tantrum.

"But, daddy…it's the newest Barbie…" she whined, giving her signature puffy pouty face, and clinging to their father's leg tighter. "Pwease can I get it…?" She was trying to "cute" her way into getting another new toy.

Jaden gave a small sigh and put down the knife after chopping up another chicken breast. "I already told you, princess, not until Christmas."

Sacoria gave another pout and then released her father's pants leg. She looked as if she was going to cry, but Isamu knew that she get over it in an another hour or so, especially since it was almost time for her favorite cartoon, Paddington Bear to come on.

"What's up?" Isamu decided to ask after Sacoria was back in the other room looking at the television.

After taking a look at his impassive face, his father chuckled sheepishly and turned to him. "Do you mind going to the store tonight? I forgot to pick up some ginger for our curry."

Hearing this, Isamu gave his father a look that said, 'how can fathers forget to buy ginger for curry, but of course, he obeyed his silly father. "I guess I could," he shrugged. He was in the sudden mood to take a little leisure stroll around the cobblestone streets of Cotswold.

Of course, Isamu could have tried conjuring up some ginger, but then again, doing things the simple way had its perks. After receiving a "thank you" pat on the back from his father, Isamu grabbed his jacket and headphones, heading out the door on a cool evening while turning into his favorite station.

…

"It's already winter, isn't it? Where o' where in the world does the time go, my dear Martha?"

Undertaker had nothing against the changing of the seasons, but for the sake of wonder, he said it out loud. To be honest, he wasn't that surprised as for someone who lived for hundreds of years you see seasons come and go like strangers on a subway. Despite this, Cotswold was a charming area, civilized and still in touch with its 18th century roots; the places which retain the stills of the history attract more spirits and supernatural beings, after all.

And thus, he lazily stood leaning on a shovel, staring at the streets beyond the old iron gates of the cemetery with half-lidded eyes that were hidden by his long silver fringes. His leaning pose made him appear lazy, but only because he was alone, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't care what others would think. Humans were interesting, but he had to admit they were very silly and nosy when they weren't supposed to be. He was out on his daily chore of keep the cemetery neat, tidy, and free from graffiti-artist hooligans, particularly the same hooligans that painted over Cotswold's welcoming sign, changing the charming little town from a community of "friends" to "fiends".

It was unfortunate that the aging mortician was out on his own, because he was beginning to talk to the stray skull he'd found one morning and dubbed as "Martha". It had become a habit since heaven knows when; most likely one of the effects of being an ageless supernatural. He was downright bored prayed that a stranger would happen to pass by and provide him with some entertainment: if it's a pretty lady, he would lift her skirt with a flick of his finger; if it's a young man, he would get his best dirty joke out of him.

Lucky for him, at that very moment, an interesting person happened to pass by…

Undertaker quickly straightened up upon noticing the young man walking by the cemetery gates. He was young lad of average height and structure with chestnut brown hair highlighted in certain areas. The boy wore a pair of red skinny jeans, a checkered belt, black sneakers, and a navy blue t-shirt with the logo of a band called "Breaking Benjamin".

But it wasn't just his physical appearance which got Undertaker's attention, but rather the enormous amount of anima, an energy force in which Shinigami use to power their weapons and cast spells, emitting from the boy. The magical aura clung to the boy in very large amounts, bright and bluish in color. Though, only a supernatural could see it clearly.

Interesting…Undertaker thought with a mischievous grin to which he could not suppress. Having the whim of a man who has lived through many decades of events that rarely happened to ordinary people, he silently stalked behind the young lad with Martha in hand.

Isamu tried to appear oblivious about it, but he knew he was being stalked. There was no indication of who the stalker was, but Isamu had the unsightly feeling that this person was capable of doing unnatural things just like him.

That feeling in the pit of his stomach could have meant a lot of things. Number one, either he has gone completely insane, or two, he was going to be killed that night. There could have been other possibilities, but of course those were the two that occurred in his mind first, and he didn't like either of them.

At this point, Isamu was wishing he had tried conjuring up some ginger instead or better yet, his father had sent his sister Jessica to the store instead…

…

The Undertaker's Apprentice

…

Chapter 1: Of Hell hounds and Undertakers.

…

"Isamu, Isamu!"

Isamu sighed hearing the sound of her voice. Jessica was sneaking out again after being grounded for sneaking out. Had his twin not learned her lesson? Their father was going to lecture the both of them for this one…

Isamu turned ready to give the girl a stern talking to of his own, but she wasn't there. He groaned, knowing exactly where this was going. So, Isamu turn one last time to find Jessica giving her best 'monster' face shouting "Boo!"

Isamu stared at the girl with a blank expression replying, "Did you want to say something?" in response to his sisters attempt to scare him.

Jessica pouted in a similar manner to Sacoria's crossing her arms. "You're no fun, you know that?"

Isamu shook his head, chuckling lightly. It was so hard to believe that she was the older twin one of the two sometimes.

Hearing her brother's laugh caused Jessica to perk up and then she smiled slyly at her twin, leaning in closely. "But, I guess it's not a complete loss. I mean I did make you smile after all." She remarked poking his cheek playfully.

Isamu's smile quickly turned into a scowl as he swatted her hand away. "Whatever," he huffed turning his music back to its original volume in an attempt to ignore his nuisance of a sister, and then began walking again.

Jessica followed behind slowly before catching up. She hated and feared the dark and what lurks within its shadows, so she wasn't sticking in the same spot for long without Isamu or a brightly lit street lamp anyway.

What happened next came as a complete shock to the two of them. It began with a loud howling sound.

Isamu, being the quick thinker, knew what was happening. However, he had no idea about what to do about it. He suddenly felt a very painful blow to his backside, as if being slammed by a sledgehammer. This was immediately followed by a sharp pain to his right side and felt as though he'd been stabbed a thousand times over by the same dagger.

The young lad suddenly felt numb, and before he knew it, he had collapsed to the ground, Jessica mirroring him, only she was unconscious. With his head turned to the side, Isamu was facing a man dressed from head to toe in black and holding a skull. The fringes of his hair covered his face, so his emotions where unreadable.

What…what's happening? Isamu wanted to ask the stranger, but he couldn't speak let alone move his lips.

At this very moment in time, Isamu's eyes and ears were the only parts of his body functioning properly. He knew, because he could clearly spot the stranger adorned in black checking his sister's pulse. He knew, because he could hear this man chanting some sort of spell in an unknown or forgotten ancient language.

Isamu also heard something else, something familiar and horrifying at the same time; a loud demonic growl to which he had heard recently. Was that an Orthrus? No…they didn't exist... But then again, that was like saying magic didn't exist…

That's when he saw the demonic creature itself. It gave a loud roar from both of its twin heads and jumped over Isamu's paralyzed body to attack the stranger.

Isamu suddenly felt dead on the inside. To make matters worse, there was nothing he could do about this dangerous situation. He was an amateur spell caster, there was no possible way he could help this stranger in black and save himself and his sister from this creature. This stranger appeared to know the situation, but could he actually kill this beast?

Are we going die…? Isamu thought grimly. In this moment, he remembered his family, and couldn't help but wonder what would happen to them if they found out that he and Jessica were dead. Big brother Katori, little Sacoria, their father, and their mother…what will happen once they were gone? Such dreadful thoughts had never occurred to Isamu, but suddenly, it washed down on him like a dreadfully freezing rain.

For the first time in all of his seventeen years of living, Isamu truly feared for his life.

The stranger dodged the dog-like creature's attack with ease holding up the skull he held close to his face.

"Such a rude little doggie, eh Martha?" he said with genuine disappointment in his voice. "What do you suppose I do about this, dearie?"

The skull dubbed as "Martha" was then inched closer to the stranger's ear. After a few seconds, the stranger's frown was replaced by a cunning grin, "So naughty, Martha!" he purred petting the skull. "However…I was just thinking the same thing, my dear." He laughed darkly, his grin increasing just a bit.

As the demonic creature prepared to pounce once more, the stranger approached Isamu and sat Martha down beside his face. "Lad, would you mind watching my Martha for me? She scares easily at the sight of blood."

Isamu couldn't place a finger on it, but there was just something about this eccentric man's tone that made him forget his fears. Instead, his fear was replaced with something else, alertness and slight irritation. But then again, feeling annoyed was better than feeling fear by a long shot, so Isamu decided to let it slide, for now anyway. He was still in his paralysis state, so for now, he could do nothing by lay there and stare at the horrific scene that plays before him with a skull named Martha.

What rotten luck this was…

Undertaker on the other hand was rather confused. Had the others not taken care of any stray beasts tonight? There was no mentioning of any hellhounds lurking around Cotswold. Now, it was up to the aging Shinigami to take care of the monster himself and save that boy and his sister.

The situation called for anything but wasting time. No matter how badly Undertaker wanted to tend to the boy and his sister's wounds, he just couldn't. The poor soul was slumped over glassy eyed and nearly dead on the ground. His golden eyes stared blankly into Undertaker's barely showing signs of life, while his twin was lying motionless just inches away. Despite the large amount of blood he had lost, the boy was silent. Undertaker even took note of the rib barely, but still poking out of Isamu's side along with his broken glasses. He needed to help these children quick.

Forced to veer away from the twins, he dodged the blood covered talons of the Orthrus. He knew the beast would chase after him, so he led it as far away as he could from the twins and to make easier on himself to cast as many spells as he wanted, without causing too many casualties. He tried casting an ice-based spell, conjuring a spear of frozen water and tossing it at the creature that was quick to dodge.

Undertaker frowned. He knew that time was precious, and at this point, he could care less about the creature attacking him. He was far too worried about the children and what could happen if he didn't cure the boy of the beast's venom.

He could only wish for a brief moment of salvation.

And luckily for him, he got one...

…

Isamu awoke with a jolt. He could not remember much of what happened earlier, so he was surprised to awake up realizing that he was alive. He let out another breath and then blinked a couple times as back up. He was indeed alive, but still, his body was numb. He tried moving, but his body wouldn't allow it, no matter how hard he tried. His head could barely move, so he had no choice but to peer at the unfamiliar ceiling as a means of entertainment.

He began to wonder where he was and if Jessica was alright. He tried getting a clearer picture of the room, but it was hard without his glasses. He tried moving his head sideways, but that didn't work out so well.

Where am I really…? He pondered closing his eyes. Judging from the light from the window, he figured it must have been morning by now.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from his left. Hearing this, Isamu knew that there must have been a door that way. He truly had no idea of where he was. It most definitely wasn't a hospital, the room wasn't lit brightly and the familiar scent of disinfectant was replaced by an aging dusty smell.

And then he remembered something; where was that man in black from earlier?

…where was Martha…?

The footsteps began to get louder. Isamu figured that someone was entering his room, as the door creaked behind them. Listening further, he could tell that more than one person entered from their different footstep patterns. Strangers were paying him a visit. Since he hadn't the strength to move, he couldn't defend himself if needed. So, Isamu braced himself for whomever or whatever was coming.

"Oh," a voice spoke in a calm, passive tone. "The boy's awake."

"Really, now?" another person said, their voice a bit on the shrill side. Both sounded like they were males.

At this point, Isamu was sure they were strangers. He found the voices unfamiliar to his ears.

"Mr. Sutcliff, don't disturb him, he's still recovering." The first voice spoke once more sounding a bit annoyed.

"Come on, Willy, I'm just going to take a look at his cute little face!"

An unfamiliar face suddenly hovered over Isamu's line of sight. It had strangely styled, long, and messy crimson hair. His teeth resembled a shark's, albeit a shark was able to grin in such a flirty manner.

"Hi~" the shark-man said with a playful wiggle of his fingers. "My name's Grell. You're the supernatural stray, eh?"

Then, another face appeared, this time a calm looking man with dark hair and glasses approached Grell and reprimanded him. "I said not to disturb him. Why don't you go and alert Undertaker instead?"

"But why...?" Grell pouted puffing out his cheeks. "He'll probably want me to tell him a joke again, and I've run out of my best material..."

The dark-haired man appeared unfazed by Grell's childish whining. "Is that so? Well, you better go and tell him that the boy is awake."

"Me? But Willyyyy..." Grell whined. "Can't I stay here with you instead...?"

"Then buy a joke book instead of wasting your earnings on hair products and useless trinkets."

Hair products? Undertaker? Isamu hadn't the slightest clue of what was happening right now.

"Willy" pushed his slipping glasses from his nose, and back to their original place. "Besides, I can't leave a patient. The others are out on missions or holiday, and I'm the only one that has the proper healing techniques to cure this boy."

So, this really was a clinic? Isamu gave a small sigh upon hearing this. And then it donned on him; Willy said that he was the only one with the ability to "cure" the boy...to be cured, one must be poisoned. Isamu began to feel tense again. Was he really poisoned?

"But William, I need my shampoos and conditioners or-" Grell was cut off by the sudden arrival of another person.

"Ah, there you are," William said pushing up his glasses once more. "I was just about to send Mr. Sutcliff to your shop."

"Thanks to the assistance of this lovely young lady, I was able to close the shop earlier than usual, and get some errands done." Isamu knew that voice. It was no one but that strange man from yesterday, the kook who changed his life in just a single night. Isamu's hunch was proven correct when Undertaker himself stepped into the room, with his sister Jessica, who appeared to have all life voided from her widen brown eyes.

"Deary, it's rude to stare like that you know." Undertaker frowned, waving one of his sleeve covered hands in front of Jessica's face, but she seemed unfazed and in a world of her own.

After a few seconds, Jessica spoke. Her voice was shaky and full of genuine fear. "He...I...so many dead bodies..."

Isamu was slightly taken back by what his twin had said. And then, he realized what "Undertaker" really meant. He was a mortician of course! That would explain his dark attire as well...why didn't Jessica know this? The Yuki's had been living in Cotswold for a little over a six months now, which was long enough to realize that England referred to its morticians as "undertakers".

Isamu gave an awkward expression, as Undertaker conjured up a cup of mint tea for her and placing it into her shaky hands.

"So, how is the boy?" Undertaker asked, sounding serious.

Grell's face hovered closely beside Undertaker's happily. "Willy and I cured his wounds, and we replenished the blood he has lost using a spell. We still have to cure the paralysis, though."

"Ah~ perfect!" Undertaker grinned. "I brought just enough ingredients for the antidote. They're in the other room."

"Perfect. I'll start preparing the potion then." William walked out of the room.

"I'll help you out, Willy!" Grell quickly ran after the dark-haired man, he obviously didn't want to tell Undertaker any jokes.

After a few moments of silent, Undertaker moved closer to Isamu and asked, "Can you talk, boy?"

Boy? Oh, that's right, he didn't know his name…despite his paralysis, Isamu managed to scowl.

Undertaker cackled a bit. "I'll take that as a yes, hm?"

Isamu's scowl deepened. It was the only thing he could do right now.

Undertaker's chuckle slowly turned into a serious look, to which Isamu appreciated. "You must be still confused about the events that took place last night, yes?"

Isamu glared at the mortician. Damn straight he was confused, and Undertaker seemed to understand what his facial expression meant.

"However...I want to apologize about that. I didn't expect any of that to happen, honest. We didn't even know there was another stray pair of supernatural lurking around Cotswold."

Even though the mortician sounded genuinely apologetic, Isamu continued to glare. If only he could move, then he would give the old kook a knuckle-sandwich.

"But, I want to make it up to you and your sister. Once you become well, you will become my apprentices, and I'll teach you the basics of using your anima and assigned death scythes. Once you learn to control your powers, you can keep your anima from being released so freely and fewer demons will attack you without notice."

Isamu glanced at Jessica. She was beginning to calm down after drinking some of the tea. And then he glanced back at Undertaker. Learning to use magic from this kook with strange hair...Isamu had to admit, the offer sounded very strange. But, life would better if hellhounds and demons weren't going to attack him and his family.

"Finished,"

Isamu peered over his shoulder, William and Grell had returned. William held a vial filled with a pink liquid. It looked like a molten gem stone when hit by a ray of light.

Undertaker grinned, chuckling softly. "That was fast Mr. Spears."

William gently shook the vial, its contents sloshing from side to side inside it's container as he did so. "It's part of my expertise." He then handed the vial to Undertaker, who tentatively took it and eyed William with a puzzled expression from beneath his silver fringes.

"Why are you giving this to me?" he asked.

William's answer came in a leveled tone. "The boy's been poisoned, and you did bring us the ingredients after all..."

There was something about the expression of the two which bothered Isamu.

"This particular concoction is a mix of chimera blood and herbs," William explained. "But the most important ingredient would be the spell caster's erm…drool."

D-drool?! Isamu began to panic. Why did he have to be paralyzed? If it hadn't been for this ailment, he would have jumped from this bed and made a run for the door. No, no way! There's no way I'm going to-

"You know, it's much convenient if you just bird feed him," William told Undertaker. "He can't move a single muscle. You need to force the fluid into his mouth."

Undertaker sighed, but Isamu knew it wasn't genuine. "Well, since there isn't another way…"

William adjusted his glasses, the lenses catching the glare from the morning sun. "He has to drink it. Any other method would break the natural laws of sorcery…"

"I'll volunteer if he doesn't want to do it..." Grell sent Isamu a flirty wink.

Where are they going with this…? Isamu wondered, alarmed. He had a bad feeling about this.

Undertaker sighed again looking bored. "That's the natural laws of sorcery for you…" And then he chuckled darkly. "You know I'm averse to forcing my tongue inside another supernatural's mouth without their consent."

"Yes, but there's no way I'm doing that, either," William replied dryly, a tint of pink in cheeks. "You're the one who saved him, so I guess it's better if you do it…"

W-what the hell?! Isamu thought defiantly, not that he was able to say it out loud.

Undertaker heaved another sigh holding up the vial. "Well…I said I was gonna make it up to him, anyway." he spoke in a defeated tone. He returned his gaze to Isamu, who by now was completely freaked out.

"I uh think it's best if you close your eyes for this…" he told Isamu with a small apologetic laugh.

You bastard! Don't you dare step any closer to me…! Isamu tried as much as he could to move, but Undertaker ignored his protests.

Whether he liked it or not, Isamu was about to get receive his very first kiss…

So that the first chapter of this newest series! I'm so excited to be writing this as I am currently obsessed with the Black Butler series, but mainly Undertaker. I apologize if any of the characters were OOC, as I am new to this series (I'm still on season 1), but I think I've grasp most of their personalities.

Anyway, tell me what you think a review, add to your alerts/favorites, any of these are a great way to show this story some love, so please do so and I'll get to working on the second chapter soon! ~ Rain