Never written a proper Black Butler fic before, so I decided to start by doing a short thing with my crackship, Ronald Knox and Mey-Rin. This story does not take place in any particular point of the cannon timeline, so I wouldn't recommend reading through it and trying to fit it together in your head that way. At any rate, I hope you guys enjoy it, and please leave a comment before you go.

"A Reaper in Training and Assassin-Turned-Maid" 8/9-11/2015

Ronald Knox, one of the youngest existing shinigami, sighed in frustration as he landed on the roof of the Phantomhive manor. It seemed that the Earl had thrown a little party of his own fashion and invited the wrong people – a large group of gunmen were scattered about the estate grounds, hiding behind trees and clearly waiting for a signal of some sort to rain fire on the mansion and its inhabitants.

Ronald briefly looked over his To Die list, reading all the names of the gunmen. The Earl's name wasn't in the list, being a demon's master and all, and it didn't look like any servants would die today either.

Settling in, the young reaper leaned back against a chimney and decided to watch the fun.

It wasn't too long before a signal had clearly been given from inside the mansion, as the gunmen all suddenly rushed the house and started firing. Some of them fell to the ground dead before ever reaching the building, bullet holes in their heads leaking blood and brains onto the grass.

Ronald sat up with interest, craning his neck to see who was returning fire. From the looks of the uniforms, it looked as if the household staff had come out to greet their unwanted guests while, presumably, their young master and his demon butler dealt with whoever was inside.

And what a show the Phantomhive servants put on for him! An elderly butler with a large sword and a fierce right hook was skewering the gunmen like human shishkebab. A cook with a cigarette between his lips was attacking the enemy with explosive weaponry, laughing as he blew them all to kingdom come. A blonde boy was picking up large statues and logs, brandishing them over his head and terrifying the enemy, while his white-haired scaly friend beside him seemed to be leading an army of snakes.

But it was the maid who really caught his eye. While the male servants were all front and center, being loud and making a big scene about defending their own, she was hiding behind bushes and trees in a stealthy fashion. She didn't make a sound until the enemy came into range – then she came out guns blazing, shooting the gunmen square in the forehead. They were dead before they knew what hit them. And, after taking out a few, the maid leaped from her hiding spot, gliding through the landscape to the next hiding place, where she quickly vanished from sight.

She captivated him, as she spun – no! danced! – through the air, a gun in each hand firing off bullets. Round after round was fired off, the metallic balls burying themselves deep into her fleeing targets. Watching her in action, Ronald was no longer aware of the other servants. He wasn't even aware of his job.

But, then the maid moved around to another side of the manor and Ronald couldn't see her anymore. Acting on impulse, the reaper stood up to follow her, dragging his lawn mower behind him.

The young shinigami ended up working overtime, since he hadn't done his job in the time he'd been allowed. Spears oversaw him, ranting at him the entire time as they collected the souls of the damned. Sutcliff tagged along as well, not wishing to miss a chance to see "her Sebas-chan! ~3"

Ronald didn't mind so much. Before his teacher ran off, though, he grabbed onto Grell's elbow, asking what the name of the Phantomhive maid was.

"The maid?" Grell asked curiously. "She's Mey-Rin, dear. Why?"

Mey-Rin. It wasn't a beautiful name, but it wasn't a bad name either. It rather suited the red-haired maid that had captured his attention.

XXX

Despite Spears' complaints in his ear, Ronald didn't get much done that day.

"I'm not stalking her, exactly," Ronald insisted when Spears questioned him a few weeks later. He'd taken to watching the maid of the Phantomhive estate, checking in to see whatever she was up to as soon as he finished work for the day.

He followed her to market whenever she went shopping. He watched through the window as she went about her daily chores. He observed from a safe distance when she fought against her master's enemies, shooting them and creating convenient work for the reaper to use as an excuse.

Mey-Rin was not exactly domestic, if the way she did her chores was any indication. She was ditzy and clumsy and she couldn't see well, leading her to break things and ruin her master's property. But she was still beautiful, even with her glasses, and she could kill with the best/worst of them.

Watching her made Ronald's heart leap in his chest, and once he started he didn't want to stop.

"I'm just... watching over her."

Spears didn't even respond. Instead, he turned to glare accusingly as Sutcliff. "This is your doing, you know."

XXX

The city of London was burning, the inhabitants crying out in horror as they fell prey to the death trap that the angel had wrought. Even the Phantomhive servants were caught up in the peril. Specifically, they were trying to kill their own pet hellhoud, Pluto.

"Better to die at the hands of your loved ones than to be controlled by a fallen angel," Ronald thought to himself. He'd been brought down to the city in England, along with everyone else from the office, to tend to the deceased. They hadn't been able to do much until the Earl and his demon finished up with the angel – Undertaker had explained why they were struggling so much, but Ronald hadn't been listening too closely.

When they were finished, Sutcliff took Ronald with her to check on the Phantomhive servants. Their names weren't on the To Die list, but you could never be too certain.

The hellhound was dead, and the servants all lay unconscious around him. Only unconscious, thank goodness.

Ronald knelt on the ground beside Mey-Rin, noting the shattered pair of glasses beside her. Brushing the glass away from her so she wouldn't injure herself by mistake, he pulled out his own spare pair of glasses, sliding them onto her face in case she'd need them.

The maid stirred slightly, opening her eyes enough to stare at him in confusion.

"... Who are you?" She asked. He was momentarily surprised that she could see him. "Am I dead?"

"Not quite..."

She was dazed and dreaming, her mind moving in a haze between sleep and reality. Ronald took this chance to kiss her lightly, drawing a sharp gasp from her lips.

He could feel Sutcliff's hand on his shoulder, letting him know that it was time to go.

"I'm Ronald, Mey-Rin," he flashed her a smile that made her blush. "You'll see me again when it's your time."

Standing up carefully, he turned to walk away, jumping to the ground along with his teacher, knowing he would see the maid again someday. He hoped it would be a very long time before he came to collect her soul.