The True Story of Grell The Red Reaper
Preface:
This is a fan fiction inspired by the manga/anime Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler by Yana Toboso.
WARNING SPOILERS!
I had a thought one day: Reapers are former humans who have committed suicide, as it is states in the story. This would mean that one of our favorite characters, Grell Sutcliff, had to have killed herself in her former life. This caused me to think, what would have caused her to do such a thing because she is always portrayed as an over the top and flamboyant character who loves herself for the way she is?
I understand that there are some consistency/timeline issues to this, as well as times where I do not follow the story exactly (i.e. character's birth and death dates, ages, age gaps, etc). I also modified a few quotes and altered the Jack the Ripper arc and "The Tale of Will the Reaper" OVA, but I did try to follow the original storyline as closely as possible so that it made some sort of sense.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 1: Mistaken
"Vincent!? Could that really be you!? B-b-b-but it can't be you, y-y-y-you're dead!?" I felt my heart pound violently in my chest as a flurry of old memories began to surface. There he stood, just as I remembered him, tall and lean, with beautiful ivory skin, pale and perfect, like a porcelain doll. His broad shoulders and strong features were undeniable, and yet somehow I knew it was too good to be true. He had been killed, just as Madam Red had told me before, he and his wife had been murdered, they were not coming back.
Soaked in the blood of the dead prostitute that I had just slaughtered, I stood frozen in shock at this ghost from the past. Then, I lowered my gaze to look at the young boy that he seemed to be guarding. I knew in that instant that this boy was indeed his son, Ciel. I had only met him in passing a few times before during his investigations on the "Jack the Ripper" case, but I could still see Vincent in him. He had the same glossy, raven-black hair as Vincent. One of his eyes was covered by an eye patch while the other, though a deep blue just like his mother's, still reminded me of those of his father that had seduced me so long ago.
As I slowly began to get a grip of myself and snap back to reality, I looked back at the man once more and began to realize that it wasn't him after all, however much he resembled him, this man was different. His hair was jet black and messy and his eyes glowed an evil, devilish red. He was wearing a black tailcoat and matching trousers with a satin pinstripe going down the sides, black polished leather shoes, and stark white gloves. I recognized him immediately to be a butler of the Phantomhive Manor; I even spotted the silver crest pinned to his lapel, just like the one Tanaka had worn.
"Who are you really?" Ciel demanded, as he glared at me with his visible eye. He was only a mere boy, and yet he exuded a mature air, possessing the same cool swagger and composed demeanor as any other man. "It's quite obvious that you are no butler!" Even the tone of his voice resembled his fathers. It was almost too much.
"Oh, Madam Red has been keeping a naughty little secret!" I mused; I finally got myself back to the task at hand. I was still wearing my plain butler's wardrobe: brown tailcoat and trousers, white shirt and gloves. My long brown hair was pulled back and secured with a large red ribbon. My plain silver glasses, which were on a thin, silver chain, had slid to the very tip of my nose. "Well, I guess you wouldn't know anything about me, seeing as how you were still in your mother's womb back then." Ciel shot a quizzical look in my direction. "My, my, my, you certainly took after your father! I am curious to know who this new addition is though. I should really like to get to know him better, if you know what I mean." I giggled at the sour face Ciel made at me after this remark.
"He's my butler, Sebastian." Ciel replied. At this, the butler in black started to walk towards me. Even his posture and the way his hips swayed slightly as he walked reminded me of Vincent. I could hardly contain my excitement. I felt the long dead embers of my lost love reignite once more, bursting into hot, red flames with this new found passion.
"Well aren't you a hottie, Sebby, my pet!" I squealed. "I am sure going to have some fun with you! But first, this little lady needs to make a quick wardrobe change." Sebastian stopped moving and made a puzzled face. I did a few twirls before I stopped to look at the two of them once more, but this time I had taken my true form. "Here I am, gentlemen, the leading lady to stop the show, Grell Sutcliff, the Red Reaper!"
Where once stood a plain butler clad in a boring brown suit now stood a gorgeous woman with long, red hair, wearing a red suit and matching heeled boots. My plain silver glasses had been replaced with red, horn-rimmed ones on a long beaded chain accented with skull charms. My long, false lashes framed my chartreuse eyes and my sharp teeth gleamed in my mouth, as I smiled widely from ear to ear.
"Ah, It's so nice to see you in my true form! I admit, I was very surprised when I first saw you. I've never seen a demon playing a butler. And now, for the finishing touch, let me show you my prized possession: my Death Scythe!" With these words, I reached behind myself and pulled out a crimson chainsaw, whose blades shimmered in the moonlight, and made the hand sign for 'I love you' with my free hand. "DEATH!" I shouted with pride, winking one eye and puckering my lips in a mock kiss.
"What would you like me to do, my lord?" Sebastian asked his master.
"Our orders were to get rid of Jack the Ripper, so that is what we shall do." Ciel said in a voice that was far too cool and collected for one in the presence of someone like me, but it didn't surprise me for him to be this way, he was Vincent's son after all. "Kill him at once. That is an order Sebastian!"
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian said with a bow.
"And what on earth are you going to do to stop me, Bassy? Surely this could all be settled with a kiss!" I taunted, completely unaware of the forks and knives that had been hurled at my face. The black butler had lunged forward, throwing cutlery as he drew closer. I deflected them and charged at him with my scythe at full speed. "Hey, watch the face! Manners, manners! I am a lady, you know!" I cried, narrowly escaping another fork as it whizzed past my ear. Our fight continued for a long while, bobbing and weaving to avoid the others' strikes. Over and over, I swung at him with my scythe, and again and again, he dodged my blows with superhuman agility and stamina.
As I made another pass at him, he ducked under my swing and took hold of my scythe, managing to take it from my grip. My eyes widened in horror, as I saw him holding my own weapon, swinging it madly at me. I tried in desperation to avoid it, but I was not fast enough for him, for I got caught by one of his upswings. I felt my flesh rip open as the rotating steel blades broke through, causing my blood to spurt uncontrollably from my open wound. My body grew cold and stiff as the world around me went black. Just like the many people that I had used my scythe on before, a film strip began to fly out of my body as my life's cinematic record began to flash before my eyes.