One life and one lie

"I'm sorry, but you are to die in one month." said Honda Kiku, shinigami. He looked at his next job, a blonde Brit, and for a second felt a pang of jealousy. Shinigami never lived, they just existed to guide spirits after thier time was done. Kiku would give anything to live, even if it meant to die. He then looked at a window and saw his black hair and emotionless brown eyes. The blonde groaned.

"Bloody fantastic! I have a wedding to go to in over a months time and I'm going to die before then!" he complained. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I guess it's not your fault... What's your name anyway?" he asked, looking up at Kiku.

"Honda Kiku... Or, in your country Kiku Honda." Kiku said. He looked at the man strangely, no one had asked his name before.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Arthur Kirkland." said the soon to be dead male. He shook his head a little and Kiku could see his eyebrows... They. Where. HUGE!

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kirkland." Kiku said, bowing his head. Arthur nodded, looking at the black scythe Kiku was carrying.

"Say, want to grab a bite? I make a excellent beef stew, oh and call me Arthur." Arthur asked, his voice cheerful. Kiku looked at him strangely.

"You want to eat with me? And have you not noticed you're the only one who can see me?" Kiku replied, looking pointedly at a ginger girl looking at Arthur strangely, which was saying something since the man beside her was wearing a bowtie and kept talking about... Daleks?

"Ah... And yes, come." Arthur said, walking forward. Kiku sighed and followed the strange male.

"Who's wedding are you going to miss?" Kiku asked to be polite.

"My bother Alfred's. He's marrying a lad named Matthew... I haven't seen him since our father took him to America when he was one... And Matthew is from Canada... Gods, this is going to break his heart... We're only two years apart and he's getting married before me!" Arthur exclaimed, laughing. Kiku looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Arthur was strange indeed. The blonde stopped in front of a nice house and held open the blue door. Kiku went in and waited for his host to say something.

"Say Kiku... Am I really going to die in one month?" Arthur asked, preparing the stew. Kiku nodded.

"Mr. Kirkland... I'm sorry..."he said lamely, this was the first time he ever had a conversation with his target before. Arthur sighed, setting down the stew and they started to eat.

"Well... I have some stuff to do then... Hey, come with me to a orphanage tomorrow? I want to donate some money..." Arthur said, looking at Kiku hopefully. The shinigami turned away and nodded. "And didn't I say call me Arthur?" he taunted, looking at Kiku mockingly. The Shinigami blushed.

"That sounds... Fun..." said Kiku, looking down.

"Hey I said say my name!" Arthur commanded, looking Kiku straight in the eye.

"A-Asa..." Kiku tried, feeling the name on his tounge. Arthur laughed.

"You say it weird... It's cute!" Arthur said, kissing Kiku on the cheek. The raven haired grim reaper blushed as Arthur walked away, whistling.

The next day...

"Ah, Mr. Kirkland! What a pleasure!" said a girl with waist length brown hair. Kiku felt a stab of pain, recognizing this girl as the girlfriend of a boy from Hong Kong that was on his list from a year before. She looked better, the grief gone.

"Good to see you as well! Is Mr. Braginski in?" Arthur asked, nodding slightly.

"Yes, please go sit in his office! I'll send him right up!" said the girl, hurrying away. Kiku watched her go and saw the scar from the knife... Her boyfriend had gotten stabbed saving her from a serial killer. She still got cut, it was the shape of a torn heart, and it was still visible on her ankle.

"Well, let's go Kiku!" said Arthur, leading the way up a flight of stairs. He opened a handsome door into a office. Soon later, man with silver hair walked in.

"Arthur, a pleasure as always,da?" said the man with a Russian accent. He wore a plaid scarf and sat down.

"Ivan." Arthur said, smiling walt at the man. Kiku took in the Russian, his silver hair and purple eyes. His scarf was also purple and he had a pipe in a frame behind his head. Kiku shivered at the though of what the man could do.

"What can I help you with today? You can't be adopting, da?" asked Mr. Braginski. Arthur shook his head, his eyes moving slightly to the side to find Kiku looking at pictures on the wall. There where quite a bit with him in it, hovering over some of the children who where looking at the blonde man happily.

"No, just to donate some money, I have alot to do this month." Arthur replied, smiling.

"Ah, and how much this time?" Mr. Braginski asked, leaning back as Arthur took out his checkbook.

"One million pounds." said the blonde male, causing both shinigami and Russian to gasp in disbelief.

The Russian looked up and burst out laughing. "Ah, Arthur I can always count on you for a good joke! Now, how much?"

"I wasn't joking Ivan. One million pounds." Arthur said, handing the check over to the Russian who took it with shaking hands.

"Is everything ok Arthur? You're not in any trouble, da?" Ivan asked, looking at the blonde worriedly.

"No, I just want to give the children more... And I really must be going now. Goodbye Ivan... And... And don't ever change." Arthur walked out, Ivan watching him go, a tear escaping his eye. Arthur nodded as Ivan's partner, a girlish Chinese male, walked past to go into the office.

"One million pounds? Why?" asked Kiku, looking at Arthur in amazement.

"I have no children and I have more than that in my wallet... Besides, I'm going to die." Arthur said smoothly, walking across the street to his car. Kiku felt a stab of pain, thinking about a world without Arthur...

"MR. KIRKLAND!" yelled a young voice. Kiku turned around and saw a young girl with blonde hair running towards him, holding a pillow that said 'Hero'. Suddenly there was a truck.

"AMELIA!" screamed Arthur, running towards the girl. He pushed her away just in time, think about the time he is going loose with Kiku. He closed his eyes, ready for the hit.

It never came.

"I'm sorry... I lied about the month." said Kiku, after pushing Arthur out of the way. He looked down and saw, without surprise, his body getting transparent.

"K-Kiku?" Arthur exclaimed. Kiku smiled sadly.

"It was actually one day... I wanted you to feel happier!" Kiku laughed, tears running down his face. Arthur looked at him, looking at how he was almost gone.

"Why!" he shouted, looking at the shinigami through tears. Kiku smiled.

"You are going to have a lovely wife, a son and daughter,alot of grandchildren and great grandchildren. You will be rich and live long. Please, you are the only person I have ever loved... I-I love you Asa." Kiku said, almost gone. Arthur acted quick and kissed him. Kiku's eyes widened with emotion and for the first time... he smiled. Then... He was gone.

Five years later...

"Ne, daddy tell me a story!" said a young male with brown eyes and black hair.

"Ok, I'll tell you about your name... And about an angel disguised as a shinigami that lied and saved my life." said Arthur, rubbing the young boys hair fondly. "Then it's bedtime, ok Kiku?"