Release

Standard Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are property of Yana Toboso and Square Enix Co., Ltd. Used without permission but with a lot of respect.

Chapter 1

Eric sat uncomfortably in the small room as he waited rather impatiently. His long legs were cramped beneath a desk that was too short, and the back of his chair pressed tightly against the wall, but he still did his best to at least look professional. After all, that was the image he had been told that he needed to portray.

Moving his blue tinted glasses down slightly, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had already graduated the academy, but upper management still expressed concern about him being a field agent. He had all the scores, but the concern was his temper. Eric honestly didn't understood their hesitation because, if everyone stayed out of his way, there wouldn't be any issues. Unfortunately, the decision was not his to make, and the higher-ups had decided to force him to play counselor to a current student who was also noted as having anger issues. Their idea was that the two might learn something from each other, but Eric thought that putting two hotheads in the same room was just a recipe for trouble, and he dreaded meeting this student known as Grell Sutcliff.

There was a loud rap on the door. It wasn't precisely a knock because it sounded more like someone slamming his fist into the door much harder than necessary, and Eric assumed this would be his anger management problem arriving for his appointment. "Come in," he said as the dread rose up in his throat.

The door was flung open, and Eric could his first look at Grell as he stomped inside, slammed the door, and threw himself into the small seat. For the first few moments, Eric had trouble finding his voice as he simply stared at the newcomer slumped in the chair.

Reapers came in all sizes, shapes, and colors, but it was no exaggeration to say that this academy student was unlike anyone that Eric had ever seen before. It was his hair that really caught your attention first – red as fresh blood and sticking about wildly like a crimson halo. His two-toned eyes were the same color as everyone else's, but his seemed more intense somehow, and the teeth revealed by the slight parting of his lips looked more fitting for a predatory animal. Eric had heard that their appearances upon being reborn as reapers were affected slightly by their personalities, and Grell looked like a chaos defined – a walking contradiction. His fiery, untamed hair, the oddly delicate features around a mouth full of shark-like teeth, and the small, lithe frame that he carried as if he had great statue were all indicators that he was a dangerous as he was beautiful.

"Welcome," he greeted, finally finding his voice, "I'm Mr. Slingby." It felt so odd not to introduce himself as Eric, but he had to act like he was the authority figure in this situation. "I understand you have an anger problem, Mr. Sutcliff."

"Grell," came the growled reply, "If you're going to try and poke around in my head, you might as well use my first name. Of course, you're wasting your time. There's nothing wrong with me. The problem is all these stupid rules and the fact I'm stuck working with these inferior classmates." He smiled dangerously as he tilted his head back. Again, Eric was struck with the contradiction of those jagged teeth and porcelain, slender neck that was revealed when he had moved his head. "I have no problem demonstrating my abilities if you have any doubt," added the volatile redhead as his sharp eyes seemed to drill into Eric.

"I have no doubts," Eric quickly replied. He had seen his grades, and saw that Grell was the only student in history to get triple A's in practical. It had been Eric's best class, and he had to work diligently just to get an A. He was in no hurry to cross scythes with anyone who could get such grades.

Grell frowned slightly and he leaned back and put his arms behind his head. "If you have no doubt, then why am I here?"

"Because management thinks that anger is a problem," Eric answered honestly, "It's why I'm here too."

"Oh?" For the first time since he had walked into the room, Grell actually seemed interested as he leaned forward, "What do you mean?"

"I graduated last semester," Eric explained, "I've already gotten my glasses, but I haven't been sent on my first retrieval assignment yet. Management thinks I have anger issues."

"So, what's this supposed to do for you then?" Grell asked, "Won't talking to me just make you more angry?"

"I think that we're both supposed to learn something," returned Eric.

"Perhaps we can. We might just be a little bit alike." Grell smiled brightly. "After all, a single A is nothing like triple A's, but it's nothing to sneeze at. Right, Eric?"

Apparently Grell had taken the time to learn a little something about him, but Eric didn't really take to focus on that. When Grell had smiled, Eric had noticed another contradiction. The expression on the bottom half of his face appeared content, but his eyebrows were turned up slightly in the center giving him an almost mournful expression. He couldn't help but wonder why even the redhead's face didn't seem to be in agreement with itself, but he thought that might be a matter for another time.

"We could just say we talked even if we don't," offered Eric, "I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with anger as long as you keep it under control."

Grell shook his head. "Let upper management think we agreed like good little puppets," he said, "Besides, I don't really mind talking to you all that much."

Eric was relieved because he actually had wanted to talk more but had felt it was important to make the offer. "Okay then," he said, "but let's get out of this room. It's too cramped in here, and we can always talk outside."

"Cramped spaces don't really bother me," Grell said mysteriously, but he stood up and opened the door without complaint.

As they exited the room, Eric couldn't help but wonder just what he had gotten himself into.

((X))

They walked across the grounds of the academy together, and a part of Eric couldn't help but admire what looked like a lovely day. The sky that stretched above was a soft, faultless blue, and the sun seemed to practically smiling down from its appointed place. The grass under their feet were soft, and the emerald green expanse was dotted generously with wildflowers. It was the only place in the reaper realm that looked so natural and touched for most of their world were buildings and streets.

And it was all a lie.

This realm was caught between Heaven and Earth so that it was part of both but didn't completely belong to either. Most of them had been human in the past, so this part of the realm was designed specifically to look like Earth to ease the transition into existence as a reaper, but it was nothing more than an illusion created by holy magic. There was no grass, flowers, or beautiful sky. Without these false images, it would only look misty and vague – like a world suspended in a cloud. Eric had been given permission to see the truth once, but he wished he had declined. Knowing the truth made it so much harder to accept the lie.

As they walked, Eric immediately saw how everyone stopped and stepped out of Grell's way. Some of them looked mildly frightened as he passed by, but most looked at him with cold, mistrusting eyes as they stood back to watch his progress. Grell barely seemed to notice as he walked on, but Eric saw that his posture had stiffened slightly. One younger student actually gave a quick yelp in surprise as he stumbled out of the way.

"You seem to have a reputation," Eric commented.

Grell shrugged as he stretched and put his hands behind his head as he done in the tiny office with Eric. "That happens when you nearly kill a classmate during scythe practice," he answered back almost calmly.

"But I didn't see that in any of your records," countered Eric.

"That's because it didn't happen." Grell looked in Eric's direction and smiled, but still the expression didn't seem to make it all the way up his face. "There was a student who was determined to do better than me in practical. Said a freak like me didn't deserve top spot. Just before we were to start the last sparring session, he cut my right arm and made a deep gash. Claimed it was accident, but I knew that it wasn't. But he made two mistakes. One was making me mad." He paused briefly as he wiggled the fingers on his left hand in Eric's direction in a mock wave. "The other was that I'm actually left-handed." He chuckled at the situation.

"What happened after that?" Eric asked.

"I accidentally cut his arm," replied Grell, the cold smile never leaving his mouth, "Of course, I waited until we were actually sparring, and my cut was far deeper than what he had managed. He was rushed to the infirmary, and I received a verbal reprimand. For two weeks, I was confined to my room except for classes. When I was finally able to go out again, I found out that I had supposedly tried to cut his arm off and attempted to kill him." Grell laughed again, but time Eric noticed just a touch of bitterness intertwined with the laughter. "Trust me, if I had been trying to kill him, he'd be dead."

"But others saw what really happened if it was during practice. Why didn't anyone say anything?"

Grell shrugged again as he leaned his back against a nearby tree and looked up towards the image of the sky. The faux sunlight filtered past the leaves creating a lace-like pattern on his fair face so that he appeared to be wearing a mask, and for the first time Eric saw a new expression flicker briefly in his eyes. Behind the anger and air of overconfidence, there was a certain uncertain and insecurity that dared to peek out briefly. "Everyone believes what they want to believe," he answered, his voice slightly lower than it had been before. Suddenly, he smiled again and ever hint of insecurity had vanished as quickly as if it had only been imagined.

Except for those eyebrows.

"So I have the reputation for being a dangerous bully," he stated, "which suits me fine. Everyone avoids me and leaves me alone. If they get too close, I only have to whisper a threat, and they're gone."

"It sounds more like you have a people problem than an anger problem," Eric said.

"Oh, I am angry," Grell admitted, "There's just so many things that aren't fair. Like all of these stupid classes and rules. I'm not going to fail ethics, but I'm not doing great in it either. Our job is just to collect the souls, so why should we worry about the ethics of the job. Seems like you're just asking for trouble by getting too sentimental about the whole thing. Then there are the other students. They want to run their mouths but, if you stand up for yourself, you're the bully. Plus…" His voice trailed off as he closed his mouth suddenly as if he was about to reveal too much. His sharp teeth chewed on his bottom lip until a tiny spot of blood came to the surface, but then the emotion was swept aside. "You say you have anger problems too. What makes you so angry?"

Eric considered the matter for a few minutes. "I don't know," he finally admitted, "I just angry…restless on the inside. I get so tired of all the drama, and I just want everyone to leave me alone. Sometimes I almost wish I was invisible. Do you feel that way?"

"No," Grell said. He opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly a loud clanging sound echoed through the grounds. It was the signal that evening classes were beginning, and Grell immediately pushed away from the tree. "I supposed to talk to you twice a week," he announced.

Eric nodded. "But you don't have to," he said, but he hated the moment the words had popped out of his mouth. Truthfully, he wanted to continue this conversation Grell because he actually found him interesting and different.

Grell gave the same smile that only affected the bottom half of his face. "It's okay," he replied, "I prefer talking to you than one of those stiff-necked weasels they have in the counseling department. Besides, we'll both play nice and upper management will both let us out into the field eventually." He started to walk away. "How about Friday at the same time?"

"Sounds good," Eric agreed as he felt a smile curve his own lips. As he watched the redhead crossing the grounds, other students stepping out the way to give him a wide berth, he realized that this was the first time he had actually smiled in a long time.

A/N: I know I have a lot of incomplete stories, lovely readers, but I am going to go back and finish each one. I just have to write these first chapters while the ideas are still fresh.