This is my first Kuroshitsuji Fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to my Beta xbluephantonx!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything involving Kuroshitsuji.
-Beep- -Beep- -Beep-
"No…" I groaned as I rolled over to look at my clock. "It's too early to be awake." The bright red numbers flashed repeatedly as the beeping continued.
5:30! Why do I need to get up so early? I'm not due for testing until 8:00. I can have five more minutes of sleep, right? I don't need two and a half hours to get ready.
I stuffed my head under my pillow in attempt to block out the rising volume of my alarm clock. My attempts only succeeded in muffling the noise, officially making it impossible to either sleep or breathe.
"Will…." I groaned as I slapped my pillow against the clock, sending it flying across the room and crashing into the wall, thus effectively ending the alarm. But like a good girl, I did what my brother wanted and got out of bed.
"Why did you set it so early, Will?" I continued complaining about my brother's idiotic belief that, "the early bird catches the worm" to myself in my bedroom as I slowly crawled out of bed and wrapped my blanket around myself like a cape. As I slipped on my slippers, I groaned like some zombie awoken from the dead and shuffled out of my room.
"Good morning Lottie." Will said pleasantly, sipping his morning tea at the table while reading the paper. He was already dressed and cleaned up for today, showing no signs of having just awoken like myself. His suit was fuzz free and clean, tucked and trimmed to show off his lean figure. The reaper regulated white shirt he wore was pressed and unstained, carefully rolled up at the sleeves and pinned with small cufflinks. A dark tie was strung around his neck in a gentlemen's fashion and his shoes were so shiny I could see my reflection. Not that I wanted to anyway. I looked like a mess with my red curls appearing more like a house for birds than hair, and my eyes crusted from sleep. I was slouched over with my blanket around my shoulders, shortening my already petite height of 5'2, in attempt to cover my ratty old nightgown that had become old and torn from wear.
"Morning," I replied as I continued to the table. I slowly seated myself at the table and set my chin on my palms to stare at my brother through half closed lids.
"I'm glad the alarm woke you. Another thirty two seconds and I would have had to get you myself." He stated while sipping his tea and flipping the page. "You know what I say, 'The early bird gets the worm.'"
"Mhmm," I mumbled as I contemplated his appearance. How does he always look so put together? And at this hour none the less! I can barely get up at this time, not to mention look as calm and collected as him.
I watched him continue to scan through the morning paper. Pages were swiftly flipped back and forth as Will looked for news regarding his targets. He only read for information in the human papers that corresponded to his subject's activity. Well, I wouldn't even call it reading. It's more like scanning; a robotic task done without pleasure or enjoyment. I personally loved reading the paper, with all the interesting news about royal scandals and monthly festivities. My favorite part was the comics. But he never red those. Ever.
Interestingly, Will seemed especially focused today. Recently he has been coming home later and later, muttering about overtime and demons delaying his collectionss. This seemed to only cause him to become more focused on his work in hopes of compensating for late assignments. It's exhausting to watch him work so hard, but I have always admired his dedication to his job; he put every ounce of energy into fulfilling his mission. He could stay calm and relaxed throughout the toughest of situations and handled every task as though it were nothing more than another part of his to-do list.
I closed my eyes as I remembered one time a new reaper let loose a truck-full of rats into to the Administration building as a prank. Most reapers either attacked the rats with nearby objects or screamed like little girls while dancing on their desks before Will stepped in and took charge. He directed everybody into herding the rats back into the truck and effectively caught the boy in just under four hours! Even the Department Head, Lawrence Anderson, complimented Will on his quick thinking and leadership skills. There were many other times my brother has shown his worth that doesn't involve rats, but I think that one was my favorite.
Anyway, I guess what I've been trying to say is that I really do look up to him. He is my role model reaper and I hope to be as confident and skilled at my job as he is, even though I plan on working in a completely different department. Collecting souls is not my cup of tea. I personally prefer spectacle design, but Will says it is one of the most difficult ranks to achieve in reaping. And for someone of my stature and gender, it will take every ounce of hard work, dedication and focus I have (and then some) to attain the position at all. Keeping and respecting it is another matter entirely he says, and that only through time and commitment to my work will I ever achieve it.
-Thwack-
"Ow," I moaned as I picked my head up from the table. I guess I started dozing off and smacked my face against the table top. I rubbed my forehead as a small scowl spread on my face and looked up to see Will watching me with a twinkle in his eyes. My face slowly started to turn red and I quickly shot my eyes to my lap, but soon returned to meet Will's gaze. The paper was folded up and placed on the table with the teacup next to it, while his eyes were watching my face. His hands were folded in front of his face to cover his mouth, but I knew him well enough to know his small smile was hidden behind his hands. Will rarely ever smiled, and when he did it was nothing more than a curve of the lip and a slight lightening of the eyes. The only time he really smiled outright, teeth and all showing, was when he was really angry and that was one time too many. This was completely different though; he was trying not to smile a genuine smile.
"That's what you get for daydreaming." He said matter-of-factly, and then left the table.
I sent him a frown as a response, retaining my own smile for when he left the room. A smile! Whoo! If I can make Mr. Serious smile then nothing can stand in my way today.
"Tea?" called a voice from the kitchen. Before I answered, Will returned bringing in a fresh cup and a plate filled with bread and butter. I could see the warm steam rising off the bread and the warm dough smell filled my nostrils. The butter was melting on top and dripped down the side. It looked as if it came right out of a cooking magazine, but it was expected of Will. He never did anything halfway. I picked up the first piece my hand toughed and broke off a corner before popping it into my mouth. The light crunch mixed with smooth butter sent a shiver of pleasure up my spine.
"You know I don't drink tea Will." I said politely, hoping he would drop the subject and move on.
"I know," he said "but all proper young ladies drink tea." I never really liked tea; all it tasted like was flavored water. But Will had insisted that it was important for respectable ladies to drink tea. Therefore, I quietly drank it and then disguised the flavor with a couple more large mouthfuls of toast. I usually followed Will's advice on issues like this. I figured, his actions have led him to success, so why not me too?
I munched quietly on my now soggy toast and contemplated my day ahead while Will picked up his paper again. Today I start the final exam to become an official reaper. My training has been difficult these past few months, but nothing I couldn't handle. And when I had trouble on regulations, Will was more than happy to educate me on reaper philosophy and rules. However, he was very careful in exacting the line between assistance and cheating. Will had always been like that; always a rule follower and never bending or breaking them. Even though I was his little sister he wouldn't tell me what to expect for our final exam or even discuss clientele with me. But I respected him even more for his restraint rather than hated him.
"Lottie," Will questioned suddenly, "don't you think it would be best to get dressed?" With a click of his pocket watch I knew he had already noticed the time. So cool! I cannot wait until I get one. Will says you can request one once you receive your spectacles. "It is already 6:15 and we both know how long you take to get ready, especially when you have a certain reaper in mind." He smirked like a cat who found its prey's weakness.
I stopped mid-chew and blushed a light pink. How did Will know about Henry?
"Y-yeah," I stammered as I quickly cleared my plate from the table. I rushed off to my room and quickly, but quietly, closed the door.
I searched through my clothes, searching for my uniform I knew I laid out last night, until I found it buried under my shoes. Girls wore different uniforms then the boys even though we did the same job. We both were required to wear a starched white button down blouse tucked in at the waist with a black suit jacket on top, cuffing the sleeves under, and black shoes shined to perfection. However, boys must wear neck ties while girls get a thin black ribbon, tied in a perfect bow around our neck. And since pants are out of the question for women-who would think of wearing such things?-our floor lengths skirts are allowed to have slits on the sides for movement. Thankfully there is another layer of fabric that covers just these slits to allow the wearer to not feel exposed when standing or walking.
But that is the easy part of my routine. The real time consumer is my hair. I sat down at my vanity and just stared at my poof of red hair framing my yellow and green eyes. Great. Just great. You would think such interesting hair would compliment my pale skin and light face, but it only more so created a weird contrast that was unnatural. It reached just below my shoulders and sprouted in all directions, leaving me looking like a dirty carrot instead of a flaming goddess like my mother. Her hair is like fire, leaping and swirling around her head in a beautiful symphony of curls. However, my father's black hair got mixed with mums, leaving me with an odd mix of color and body. Thanks genetics. However, Will said it would be fine because I was required to have my hair in high buns as part of the dress code and safety measures. No one would ever need to see my hair in all its bed-headed glory.
I set to work taming my hair, starting with one bun and fixing each unruly strand at a time until something somewhat acceptable was achieved. I made a small smile in the mirror and noticed my lips still looked thin and pale. Again, thanks to dad. But overall I looked presentable enough for today.
I reached into my right drawer and pulled out my large, circular recruitment glasses and plopped them onto my face. More than anything else they made me look nerdy, but everyone was required to wear them. If only I could have made my own glasses like Will! I even showed him my countless designs for spectacles and asked him to make a request for me. But sadly he returned with a denial. I bet he just forgot and told me "no" to cover up his mistake.
"Lottie, are you ready yet?" a knock startled me out of my fussing.
"Coming!" I replied as I dashed to pick up my purse before stumbling out the door into Will's arms.
"Running is very unlady-like. We're not that late. We still have time to walk." He pulled me back up and closed the door behind me, signaling our intent to leave. However, he paused before locking it and stood facing the door with his head down.
"You know you don't have to do this Lottie." His voice sounded pleading, and I knew where he was going with this. I would not talk about this again. It was settled, finished, done.
"Will, we talked about this already. I had decided that this was my life and I wanted to live it." I stood tall, like a tree gaining support from its roots. He would not guilt me into quitting again.
He gave a small sigh and clicked the lock on the door before facing me again.
"Now you have your keys, correct?" he asked to change the subject, peering at me over his thick rimmed glasses. He had the "scrutinizing teacher" look down pat. Even my palms sweated when he looked at me like that!
"Yes sir." I said quickly "I have money for lunch, keys to the apartment and my compilation of our notes in a binder in case of an emergency. Oh! And an extra pair of glasses. See?" I pulled them our and held them up for Will to inspect. I held my breath as he picked them up, held them to the light, and frowned. My breathing stopped as I noticed his disappointment. He rustled around his bag until he found his red cleaning cloth and started cleaning my glasses.
"Remember to keep them clean Lottie," he scolded. But his voice was empty, no conviction or force behind his meaning. "Spectacles are a very important component to a Reaper." He gently held them out for me and I took them back ashamed.
"Sorry Will." I said, embarrassed at my lack of excellence and confused over his tone. I couldn't even do the simplest of things right. My spirit started sinking and my optimism quickly depleted with each second.
"Come now, no time to dawdle." he turned around and continued down the hall without looking back. He passed the neighbors who were also leaving their apartments without so much as a wave and reached the elevator. He clicked the down button once before patiently waiting for the doors to open. A dinging could be heard as the elevator ascended to each level and finally creaked open on the forth floor. I broke out of my trance and raced to catch up to Will as he boarded the elevator. I arrived just in time and the cold metal doors locked shut as we descended.
Confused at all? Don't worry. It will all be explained :) Rate and Review please!
