Disclaimers: I do not own Zombie-Loan

A/N OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo! I'm excited.. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Just a heads up, I have pics of Michiru-chan and Zarame-sama!! Michiru-chan from this chapter and Zarame-sama from the last chapter! Okay? Thank you so much for waiting so patiently and for your reviews! Enjoy!!


Death Offer

Chapter 2. Reaper's Eyes

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Though they had searched and searched for Michiru, they could not locate her. She had completely disappeared from the city leaving no trace as to where she was going. Shito had managed to convince Chika to call it a night, saying that they would head over to the ferryman's office in the morning for questioning.

The walk back to the dorms was silent, though it was only because Chika did not want to break down then and there in front of his partner. He was far too stubborn to show his weak side, not to mention it would be beyond embarrassing if he accidentally let out a tear or two. 'She could be dead somewhere, or even alive and being tortured. Damn her, why did the Gopher leave with him? Why couldn't she just stay?' Chika thought as they walked down the path to the dorms.

'It's my fault. I should have been awake.' He mentally blamed.

"Akatsuki," Shito began in his surprisingly usual tone of voice, "If you keep blaming yourself for what happened, I will take my hand from you and shoot you in the head," He growled threateningly. "You're annoying me with your misery."

"Shut up shit-Shito."

"Trash."

"Cheh, well we're here. So you don't have to put up with my misery anymore ya jerk." Chika muttered, trudging ahead to the dorm main doors.

"We will find her, baka. It's just a matter of time." Shito announced, barely convincing himself of the matter. He was as worried as Chika, though he hid it much better than his silver haired partner. With years of experience, he could hide any emotion under his mask of stone.

Chika had entered his room, slamming the door shut behind himself. 'Damn it all! Michiru..' He mentally cursed, burying himself in his dusty old bed. 'Where the hell did you go? How are we going to make more money without you around to point out the zombies? Heh, who cares about money right now anyways…' He hugged his pillow, his eyes drooping. It was late after all, and school would be starting in six hours.

"..Michiru.."

-X-

The school was crowded with noisy teens making their way to their first class. The two zombie hunters were silent during their walk, actually making it on time just to see if Michiru would be attending class. Just as the ferryman had said, she was not there. They had visited Bekko-san's office before school, questioning the gloomy man as much as they could.

Chika narrowed his eyes in boredom at the teacher, shooting Shito a side glance. They had briefly nodded to each other, mutely deciding that they would leave the school after first period to continue searching for Michiru. Though they were told that they would never find her, that answer never seemed good enough to them.

-FlashBack-

"Oh, some early bird visitors I see." Bekko muttered dully, pushing his glasses up to better see his employees. He leaned forward on his desk, placing his elbows down on the surface and leaning his chin against his hands. "Judging by the looks on your faces, it seems like we might have to have another heart to heart." He sighed, dreading the thought of explaining such complicating matters to them.

Shito grunted and walked straight up to Bekko-san's desk, slamming his hands on the surface angrily. He never did show this side of him very often in front of Bekko, but today was very different. "Where. Is. Kita-san."

Bekko didn't even flinch as he stared up into Shito's flaming eyes. Chika merely sat on the couch, his misery getting the better of him. "Oh my, it seems we're very angry today." Bekko coughed, leaning back into his chair. "Well then, I have no choice but to explain everything, don't I? But I'm warning you now, I'm not telling you everything. This is a confidential matter that concerns only the Grim Reaper and Michiru-chan."

Shito stood straight and stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for the blond man to continue.

"You already know how Michiru-chan possess some of the Reaper abilities and as such, successfully grabbing the Reapers attention. Well I can tell you now, you will not find her in her first period class or in this city for that matter." Bekko began, his lip twitching in slight amusement.

"She has gone to a far away place that not even creatures like you can reach. Not to worry, I don't believe she will be harmed in any way. She is safe and may even return. I can't say I know when, but she will. Though I wouldn't count on it being anytime soon, so don't wait up for her. You should continue hunting zombie's since your time limit is drawing nearer and nearer every day."

"What a waste." Chika blurted suddenly.

"Hn?" Bekko shifted his gaze to the silver haired boy, "Did you say something?"

Chika glared up at Bekko-san, his amber eye's as lively as ever, "What a damn waste! We took on an additional debt just to keep her alive and this is how it all ends up, a waste! We should have just let her die! This investment was the biggest mistake ever!" He snarled, standing up and briskly exiting the room.

Shito said nothing for a moment then nodded to Bekko-san, "We will be back to see if any illegal Zombies come up. Until then, we will be searching for Kita-san."

"It's no use, you should just continue on as if you never met her." The ferryman tried to convince, but his words were ignored. He watched the blue haired boy leave, and smirked. 'Those two have no idea what will hit them. Zarame-san never ceases to amaze me..'

-End of FlashBack-

Chika had his hands firmly in his pockets as he and Shito walked down the hall to exit the school. He barely managed to hold back a flinch as one of Michiru's friends gossiped, telling the girls that Michiru was absent. 'They don't even deserve to be her friend. They hardly even know the Gopher.' He thought bitterly.

"Akatsuki, you know there's no point in this search. Bekko-san said Kita-san is not in the city." Shito reminded as they rounded the corner outside of the school.

"Cheh, and you think I honestly care what he says?"

He grinned to himself, "We shouldn't separate in case we find a zombie."

"That's fine with me."

-X-

Two days had passed since Michiru's disappearance with the Reaper. Shito was starting to feel the depression that seemed to cling to Chika, and sighed. 'Kita-san is gone for an unknown time range. A trivial thing such as this should not be affecting me so much.' He turned his head from the ceiling to the side to glance at his night table. The red eyed boy had grabbed the black and red comb from his night table to stare at it.

'Tragedy never ceases to follow me.' He snorted, turning the comb in his hands. He could hear someone turning his doorknob, so he placed his comb back down.

"Shito.." She whispered.

He glared at the door, "What do you want Koyomi?" He all but growled.

Her dreary eyes turned to glare at him, the dark purple orbs practically burning holes in his face, "Chiru Chiru Michiru is gone."

Shito raised a brow, "Yomi?" He sat up in his bed, not caring that he was shirtless.

"Why isn't she here? I can't sense her at all. What has happened to her?" She asked dully.

"The Reaper took her away."

"She's not dead. So why take away Chiru Chiru," Yomi began to growl.

"Humph, you shouldn't be asking me. The ferryman knows more then me." Shito said bitterly.

She closed her eyes to keep from snapping at him, and then reopened them, "I dreamed last night."

Shito's eyes widened in shock and he turned to her, about to question the girl about her dream. Sure, Koyomi dreamed all the time just like any other human would, but Yomi? Not so much. Whenever she dreamed it would be much different. She would not dream of fictional things of the subconscious. Instead, she would dream of the future. This ability would work very rarely. In all the time that Shito has known her, she had only dreamt once.

Now she has dreamt twice.

"There's a white figure that will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Chiru Chiru Michiru—" Her words drifted off as her eyes closed and she fell onto Shito's floor, unconscious.

Shito gaped at her, his body frozen in place. Then he slightly shook his head and got out of bed, trudging to the girl to see if she was alright. As he thought, he smiled to himself finding a drooling and snoring Koyomi. 'Of course she'd be like this.' He thought as he lifted her up with ease and brought her back to her room.

Chika had strolled out of his room by then and walked by the two, stopping and turning around to do a double take, "Wh-what the hell did you do to her Shito? Tire her out too much last night?" It was the first joke Shito heard ever since Michiru's disappearance, though that didn't stop him from glaring back.

"Shut up, trash."

"Ooooh, not denying it are we? Well then I wonder what Sotetsu will think of this when he hears it? I'm thinking a death match!" Chika howled with stars in his eyes.

Shito rolled his eyes and continued to walk away. After he had dropped the girl into her bed he had walked out and headed back to his dorm, walking by a waiting Chika. "What do you want…?"

"Ya know, I was thinking all last night. And I guess I figured that I would just keep doing what I'm doing to pay off my debt. I know now that someday the Gopher will be back, but I won't wait around for that to happen. She would want us to work hard and keep hunting zombies." Chika stated, smiling lightly, "Right?"

Shito turned into his room, and sat on his bed, "Feh, I know." He ran a hand through his hair, "We should stop by the ferryman's office today. There might be a new zombie on the loose."

"I'm betting there is. Though it'll be harder to search for it, we're bound to find it sooner or later." Chika yipped, then blinked down at Shito, "Why aren't you getting dressed?"

Shito shot him a glare, "I would rather dress myself in private if it's all the same to you." He hissed.

Chika laughed sheepishly, "Right, I'll just wait out here.."

-X-

"…Several humans have gone missing from this area. I also received confirmed information that there's a new illegal zombie, apparently since Friday, that's been out on the streets and its pay is rather high…" Bekko-san finished just as Chika howled with glee. He sighed and scratched his cheek before turning his dull eyes to Shito, "Something the matter Shito-kun?"

"No." Shito turned to leave with his overly excited partner. Things seemed to be as if they had never met Kita-san.

"If you find anything, then I'll be there in a heart beat to heal you up!" Yuuta beamed as they left.

"So we're heading near the outskirts of the city, right?" Chika asked.

"Correct," Shito replied.

"Sugoi! While we're at it, maybe we should stop by some of the stores. I hear one place sells these—"

Shito had learned to tune Chika out a long time ago. Something he really didn't have to do until Michiru came into the picture. Usually she would keep him relatively calm. 'I shouldn't be thinking of Kita-san right now..'

"There's a white figure that will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Chiru Chiru Michiru—"

"Oi, Akatsuki."

"—More money then—Hn? What?" Chika responded.

"Yomi was in my room today." Shito finally answered earning him a punch in the shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. You brought her back remember? Cheh, dumbass.." Chika muttered under his breath, though Shito merely ignored his comment and continued.

"She told me she dreamed last night."

Chika froze, stopping mid step. "Sh-she what? But that doesn't happen—"

"I know. But listen to what she said.. A white figure will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Kita-san." Shito repeated, having edited some of the material. He hates the nickname Yomi and Yuuta seem to like to use for her. 'Kita-san or Michiru-chan is better.. Much better.'

"A white figure? The hell is that suppose to mean?" Chika grunted, scratching his head, "Yomi just keeps getting weirder and weirder.. Damn woman.." He glanced around the area mentally noting that they were nearing the outskirts of town. "Hey look shit-Shito, there's some police tape over there.. Looks like the damn authorities have got parts of this place blocked off.."

"That's never stopped us before." Shito replied sharply.

"Got that right."

They hadn't found a shred of evidence leading to the whereabouts of the zombie. Only blood and all the severed parts of various bodies were taken away. Nothing to go off of really but a theory.

"They are all women disappearing, perhaps this is like the case of the school nurse." Shito said while they walked home together.

"Or it could be some psychotic guy that's hungry for young girls. I think its and old man," He shivered at the thought. "Think about it, they're all girls age 17."

"Much like the disappearing victims at our school." Shito countered, smirking slightly at the growling Chika.

"Cheh."

-X-

"Have you heard? People are talking about some green eyed girl that disappeared three nights ago," One girl whispered to her group of friends.

Chika glanced over in their direction, listening in.

"I hear her name was Kita Michiru, and she hung out a lot with boys A and B." The other whispered back.

"Oh no! Do you think it has to do with the disappearing girls in the city?" Another questioned.

"You know that transfer student also disappeared! You think he has anything to do with it? I bet he does."

Chika growled and turned to his partner, "Mou, now people are spreading rumours about our Gopher missing and the Reaper. The hell are we supposed to do about that Shito-kuuuuun?"

"Ignore it." Shito simply replied, taking his usual seat at their cafeteria table.

"Cheh, easy for you to say." Chika sat down as well, "So I was watching the news and found something interesting.."

The blue haired boy had narrowed his eyes then glanced away as if not caring. Chika was used to this and continued on with his story.

"All the girls missing are 17 year old brunettes." The silver haired boy smirked triumphantly, "Meaning we can use—"

"Bait." Shito finished, "Except there is a flaw in that plan.."

"Hn?"

"Who will it be?"

"It's obvious who's it's gunna be." Chika nodded to himself, "Clearly you're the girliest out of the two of us, so we'll buy a brown wig—"

"You baka! Do you honestly think I will—"

"Only if ya want to get him. Yeah, I do think your gunna do it, Shito-kuuun." Chika taunted with a wink.

Shito picture himself ripping his hand away from Chika and using his pistol on him, 'I will not be humiliated by this fool just to kill a high priced zombie..'

-X-

"This isn't fair! It was my idea, so why do I have to be the girl?" Chika whined, then felt the pistol to his head, hearing the click of Shito pushing down the safety lock. "Right, that's why.."

The now chestnut haired boy stood clad in an orange and yellow summer dress in the outskirts of town. He also wore some wonderfully uncomfortable flip flops and hugged a matching purse tightly to himself. 'At least I'm not wearing heals.. Still, I hope I don't get these clothes messed up or Koyomi might mess me up.' He shivered at the thought and finally began his walk down the dark alleyways.

Shito was of course following him at a distance to not arouse suspicion. Unfortunately after one hour and a half of walking aimlessly in the dark, nothing happened. They had decided to return home and call it a night. While Chika was muttering under his breath about the new blisters he got from the flip flops, Shito began to review all that they knew.

"The last women to have disappeared were last night."

"Tuesday."

"Then the one's before that were—"

"Sunday."

"Maybe the zombie kills every other day?" Shito questioned aloud. "Because the first two disappeared Friday. Sunday two went missing, and Tuesday two more.."

"You don't think…"

"That the baka is incredibly stupid and would kill two girls tomorrow night?" Shito interrupted.

Chika nodded, crossing his arms, "It makes sense. So tomorrow we'll try this again and maybe bag us a zombie."

"We might have to bring Sotetsu with us since it's also likely that there is more than one zombie, which would explain why two girls disappear." Shito pointed out.

"Hmm… sounds to me like we need a second brunette." Chika risked a glance at the now fuming Shito, earning a pistol aimed at his head again.

"Never…"

-X-

The next night they had decided to forget the costumes and to just go to the outskirts of the city. One way or another, the zombie would be coming out and attacking someone. It didn't surprise them to see many policemen patrol the area, though it made their job that much more difficult.

"Damn, I bet they figured out the pattern too. 'Cause there weren't that many cops here last night," Chika complained.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Shito agreed turning a corner swiftly and heading down an alley followed by Chika.

It was very dark out since it was terribly late. The two had to hide several times to avoid risking being caught by the authorities for trespassing in this part of town so late at night. They were going to try and have Sotetsu come along with them but he had a different hunt assigned to him. Otsu-san as well was occupied doing a follow up in his own work, leaving Chika and Shito to find the illegal zombie on their own.

"Akatsuki," Shito whispered, catching his partners attention. "Look over there, I know I saw a figure behind that window move," He pointed to an abandoned home.

Chika nodded, "I smell zombie." He grinned excitedly knowing that the pay would be juicy. "Let's go."

Shito led the way to the abandoned home, opening the door with ease since the thing was unlocked. There were no lights on, but they didn't need light to be able to find their prey. Instead, there was a nice trail of blood that did that just for them, leading them upstairs to the second floor of the home.

Everything from that point on happened so fast, it was almost like a blur. One moment the hunters have switched their hands forming their weapons, the next their both tied up messily in chairs next to one brunette. By the time Chika had regained consciousness, he was next to some gagged babe grinning like a mad man.

'Striiiiiiiiiike! She hot!' Chika had stars in his eyes for a moment before he finally let his upstairs brain kick in. 'So we're tied up to chairs with rope? Dumbass's..' He glanced around noting how his partner was still out of it and that their foe wasn't here at the moment. 'Okay..' He materialized his weapon in his hand and easily cut the rope. Then he cut Shito's binds and began to slap him around.

"Oi! Wake up shit-Shito! Snap out of it baka!"

Shito groggily opened his eyes and shook his head lightly, "Ngh? Be quiet Akatsuki.. Your voice is extremely irritating.."

"Mnnghff!! Nifghh!" The gagged girl struggled.

Chika swung his katana over his shoulder and smirked, "Hey there, my name's Chika, and I'll be saving you tonight." He announced as he got to cutting her binds.

"There's only one brunette here which leads me to believe he's out for the second." Shito said as he materialized his pistol. "Come on, we'll have to—"

"Th-the-the be-behind you!" Screeched the girl.

Shito turned briskly, managing one shot before getting shoved against a wall. Since the home was fairly old and not to mention abandoned, there wasn't any kind of furniture in the room, safe for the wooden chairs they were tied to. There was also one window, which was the window Shito had spotted the zombie in the first place.

This thing was the size of a monster, a six-foot-seven bucket of muscles. It also seemed like he didn't have much brains upstairs and that he was more of the bodyguard type. He wasn't so easy to kill since he was so big and the fact that there was a screaming girl didn't help their matters. They had somehow managed to guide the creature to the next world without causing too much damage to the frightened girl. She would have nightmares for the next few months, but that was it since she fainted half way during their battle.

Chika had checked his little booklet and growled, "That wasn't the illegal zombie.. just a zombie made by the illegal zombie.."

Shito nodded, "That means he must still be around.."

"So you finally agree it a he huh?" Chika joked.

The two had heard crashing noises in the next room and both exchanged looks before going to check it out. They had bursted through the doors and found themselves frozen in place. Two people were fighting, a white cloaked figure and a woman with long red hair. The two carried materialized weapons though Shito and Chika had barely a moment to decide whom to help until the white figure had used his weapon to easily slice the red haired girl.

"Shito we gotta help—"

"Wait, I don't think that's necessary.." Shito interrupted, holding his partner back.

There was a passed out brunette tied to a wooden chair off to the side of the room. She seemed to be unharmed whereas the red haired woman laid in a bloody heap in the centre of the room with the white figure standing above it.

"Look, he's raising his weapon," Shito whispered, "Odd, I've never seen something shaped like that before." He said, referring to the two rounded blades that the figure possessed.

The person was doing a guidance, leading the broken soul to the next world. Once it was over, the person had slightly turned his head, his furry white hood covered his face and hid it from them. With one quick glance the person had run towards the window from which they assumed he came from and leapt out.

"Crap! Shito, remember what Yomi said?" Chika reminded, and soon, they too were leaping out the window to follow after the white figure.

He was easy enough to follow since he was white and not black. Though it was as though he was purposely running at a slow pace for them to follow. When they had almost caught up to him, he had decided to run faster and began to leap ahead. It was amazing, this person could leap up fairly high and land just as softly on the ground without injuring himself.

"Quick! We're going to loose him!" Shito shouted, forcing his legs to move faster.

"H-he's like a demon or somethin'! There's no human able to leap like that! Hell this dude is practically flying!" Chika informed, forcing his legs to move faster as well. However the figure was too difficult to keep up with and they had eventually lost it in the haze of tiredness. The fact that they were trying to run through crowds of late night workers and traffic didn't help any either.

"Shit," Chika cursed, placing his hand on his knees to settle down a bit and breathe. "We've lost him. The only way to getting the Gopher back and he's gone!"

Shito gasped for air as well and stared down the path the person had taken, before screwing his eyes shut. He thought for a moment and re-opened his eyes, now facing Akatsuki, "I think I know where he went. Or more specifically where he was leading us.."

Chika blinked at him, his golden pools filled with confusion due to his lack of thinking power. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued to stare at his partner, "Yeah? Where to?"

He shook his head and stared at Chika, "He's heading towards the school. The place where she had left us, baka."

"Heh heh.." Chika chuckled nervously.

-X-

As always, Shito seemed to be right on the ball of things. They were just at the gates when the two noticed two figures standing tall on top of the school. It seemed to be a casual thing for them to do even though there weren't any doors that led to that roof. What frightened them out most was the fact that both figures took a step off the roof before plummeting to the ground.

To their amazement, they had landed softly on the ground with a few black and a couple white feather's falling gently behind them. The zombie hunters had approached them with caution, immediately recognizing the first figure as Zarame-sama. The red haired male wore a long black cloak with pitch black feathers around his shoulders. His right hand held his scythe while his left hand possessively held the white figure closer to him. He glared menacingly at the approaching boys with his dark purple orbs.

Next to him stood the one they were chasing, the one who had the strange weapons and was being held by Zarame-sama.

"Michiru.." Chika whispered in awe.

Indeed, it was said girl. She had pulled away the furry white hood, her entire white cloak shrinking in size until it reached just above her knees, the material tearing into long wisps. The fur from the hood wrapped around her shoulders attaching to the front, keeping her seemingly bare shoulders covered and warm.

Her right upper arm was bandaged as well as her entire lower arm down to her fingers, while her left arm was entirely bandaged down to her fingertips. She wore what was left of her old school uniform half torn up. Her school shirt was much shorter and above her waist revealing more bandages all around her torso. Her left leg had a black legging that was also torn due to age and it ended just below the knee, revealing some skin before her long boots.

Her face frightened the boys. It held no emotions for the first few moments that they observed her. Her eyes looked exactly like the killer ones the Reaper held, stone cold. Her hair hadn't changed one bit, the same shortness and pinkish colour still adorned that same pale face. However along her face there was a lone bandage from her lower right jaw trailing up across her cheek and a small bandage just sitting on the other side of her face on her jaw. Wherever she had been, it looked like she had gotten herself beaten to a pulp, and yet she didn't look remotely in pain. In fact, she looked rather heroic with the wind blowing her tattered white cloak behind her.

She had turned her head away from the boys and smiled kindly at Zarame, "Don't look so mean, they're my friends Zara-kun."

"Zara-kun?!" Shito and Chika sputtered together, earning them a glare from the all powerful Reaper. Michiru had turned back to them, now greeting them with her usual bright olive eyes and her large smile.

"Of course, he is m-my boyfriend and all.." She blushed slightly then laid her head on his shoulder.

"H-how—wh-why?" Chika stuttered, not understanding Michiru very well at all.

The Grim Reaper held Michiru a little more tightly and huffed, "I told you they would act this way, Michiru-chan. I don't understand how these fools can be your friends.."

Shito frowned, "How is it I am able to understand him? Could you understand him as well Akatsuki?"

"Y-yeah! What's up with that?!"

Michiru giggled, "I taught him how to speak normally since I didn't think it was fair for him to teach me all these things without getting anything in return. It took a while, but he learned! I mean, the first year he could only get a couple words out, but by the second year—"

"Nani? First year? Second year? Are you a baka? You've been gone for four days Gopher. You must have bumped your head pretty hard—"

"No, baka." Zarame interceded, "We've been gone for four years in our world. In your world, four days merely passed."

"Your world..?" Shito asked out loud, clearly bewildered by this. "Just where had Kita-san and you gone to?"

The red haired male sighed, "We left this dimension to travel to mine. The time in my world is much different than here. So though we've been gone from here for four days, in my world it has been four years. My world is far too complicating to further explain."

"Whatever the case, we should return to the dorms. We can further talk over there, I'm sure." Shito told them.

"Wait!" Chika shouted dramatically, "Just out of curiosity… How long have you two been dating?"

Michiru blinked and looked up at Zarame, trying to remember, "Ano.. Was it two years ago or three?" She questioned.

Chika paled, 'She's been dating the fucking reaper for two years?? Possibly three??' He thought to himself, feeling a slight pain in his chest. His original idea to run and hug the Gopher until she turned blue had flown out of his head as soon as he heard this. Not to mention the non stop death glare he kept getting from her 'boy toy'. If looks could kill.. Chika would be ten feet under by now.

"Two and a half I believe," Zarame replied, smiling kindly at Michiru.

"Right, it has been two and a half.." Michiru said having finally now remembered, "You asked me out in the middle of a battlefield of blood. You were so sweet." She giggled.

Both Shito and Chika sweat dropped, 'That isn't romantic at all… Creep..'

-X-

"—And another thing! What in the world were you thinking?! Leaving this entire world to go with the shinigami! Did someone drop you as a child?! Are you insane?!—" Chika continued to ramble loudly, completely ignoring the now sleeping Koyomi.

They were all back at the dorms huddled inside their very small living room. Koyomi took up a portion of the couch, Michiru and Zarame both seated together in a chair, while Chika and Shito both stood.

Shito glared at his loud partner, a vein slowly emerging from his forehead. He swiftly snatched Chika's ear and tugged on it, hard.

"Aiiiiiiiiie!! Itaaaiii!" Chika cried, his ear throbbing in pain. "What the hell Shito!"

He merely glared, turning to Michiru and completely ignoring Chika. "I couldn't help but notice the weapons you carry. Can we see them again? They are.. Unique.."

"Ah--! Yes, m-my weapons are mostly based on Zara-kun's scythe.. Since there can only be one reaper, there is one scythe. But my weapons are a b-bit different!" She stated proudly, blushing a bit in embarrassment as well. She had held out her right hand, and in a glow of red light, two almost mini versions of scythes materialized. Each blade was held separately on what looked like some form of circular hilt with a bar connected in the centre. She held both of her weapons in a battle position and Shito noted how they glowed excessively and how they held no chain unlike his and Chika's weapon.

"Sugoooi! That looks like an upgraded version of my katana!" Chika hooted, "Those are amazing!"

"Why isn't there a chain connecting the weapons to you?"

"O-oh! That's because I can form these without a contract! I have the natural slaying powers of a reaper." Michiru replied.

Zarame subconsciously ran his right hand along Michiru's side as they all spoke, his bandaged hands coming into contact with her bandaged waist. Michiru's friends soon learned the reasoning behind so many bandages. The two had some wounds caused by moments during training in the other world and these very special bandages provided a sort of second skin to help prevent severe wounds from happening. They served as a form of protection, much like armour.

The Grim Reaper soon sighed, now recalling just how much the two contracted zombies bickered on a daily basis. He whispered in his girlfriends ear very delicately, "While they're arguing.. I never did ask you about my sleeping arrangements.. I only have one night to spare before I need to leave."

Michiru blushed extensively, "G-gomen! I forgot all about that. How long will you be gone?"

He thought for a moment, "I don't wish to be gone for very long.. But I do have my own duties.. I need to hunt for at least a week. I fear the number of undead walking this earth have grown substantially and there are many living souls that are reaching their limits and need to be reaped.." He spoke casually as if it were a normal work discussion held between associates in a business.

Michiru grew worried, "You shouldn't rush just to come back and see me. You're needed around the world Zara-kun."

"Don't worry Michiru-chan, I won't do anything your baka friends would do." He grinned slightly, twirling a part of her hair in his finger.

She blushed heavily, her concentration fading and thus her weapons dematerializing, "H-hai, well I suppose you can stay in my room—"

"Hell—!" Chika began.

"—No!" Shito finished, both of them finally tuning back with the rest of the group. "Zarame-san can stay in a spare room." He continued, in a very deadly cold voice, flames burning within his already fiery orbs.

"Feh," Zarame glared away, fairly angry. Though, that anger had dissipated when Michiru had boldly grabbed his chin and dragged him down for a searing kiss.

Both Chika and Shito were choking on their voices and their spit watching the two. 'Michi-Michiru just—' Chika mentally sputtered feeling yet again another tug at his heart. Of course he was more than shocked to see the shy little Gopher actually do such a thing. This was no longer the timid Gopher he and his partner had come to love, though as bad as this might sound, he kinda liked the new Michiru. She seemed to have a lot of surprises up her sleeve.. Though he really didn't like the idea of her dating the Reaper. Honestly, he needed to get rid of him.. Just like he would off the illegal zombies, he would soon get rid of the Reaper somehow— "Oi!" Chika suddenly remembered.

Michiru had broken away from her heated kiss to glance at Chika, her lips slightly swollen, "E-eh?"

"You took our kill earlier! That means that we didn't get our pay! Damnit! It was a huge one too!" Chika howled angrily, the whole room sighing as he fumed loudly.

"Ac-actually Chika-kun, You should have received the pay. I think it was split three ways like it usually would be. You should check." Michiru told him.

As ordered, he had pulled out his little booklet to check. She was right, the money was there, split into three ways as if she had never left, "Holly shit! It really is there! Alright!" Chika howled in excitement, thrusting his fists in the air.

"Ano.. I'm going to bed now, I really don't want to be too tired for school tomorrow. So if you don't mind—" Michiru began to explain.

"I'll walk you to your room Michiru-chan," Zarame purred innocently in his velvety deep voice, never growing tired of watching her face flush in embarrassment.

The girl had eventually nodded and waved goodbye to the boys before being led out of the room by Zarame-san. Chika, though he was still thrilled about the pay, was not exactly ecstatic when it came to Zarame-san being with Michiru. It damn right pissed him off even. But he knew.. He knew he was helpless against the shinigami.

"You do realize you should give up since she is obviously taken, don't you Akatsuki?"

"So?" Chika found himself sputtering before he could stop it, "W-wait! I—I don't know what you're talking about!" He glared at his partner whom had steadily moved towards Koyomi to pick her up and bring her to her dorm room.

"Hmph, suit yourself." He muttered, leaving the silver haired boy to his thoughts. 'Though I am no better.. At least my thoughts about her have stopped now. Knowing she's with another male seems to have me seeing her only as a friend.'

'Uh crud, if shit-Shito knows that I like her, then who else does? Damn, I bet that damn Reaper is just loving this.. Seeing me suffer…' Chika thought gloomily, then his blood suddenly began to bubble with anger, 'That motherf(beeeep) dick(beep) is the worlds biggest asswipe(beep) bastard(beeep)!! And he's going to pay for taking her away from me!' Chika mentally howled, blushing a tinge when he realized his own thoughts.

"Ch-Cheh! I'll figure things out in the morning.." He told himself, crossing his arms behind his head and walking out of the room.

-X-

Zarame pecked Michiru one last time, holding her delicate hands in his and giving them a little bit of a squeeze. It was morning, and the sun was just beginning to shine brightly outside. No one else was awake yet, to Michiru's knowledge, and Zarame had to leave. She knew she could handle being alone for a while, so she wasn't too worried. Besides that, she had a mission! She needed to help remove Chika and Shito's black rings!

"I will see you soon Michiru-chan, just promise me you will be careful." Zarame whispered softly.

Michiru nodded, her eye's never leaving his dark violet orbs. "Don't worry, I know my limits and I won't let anything happen. You just be careful too, I don't want you to comeback looking like a stuffed animal. Or maybe I do.. You were so adorable Zara-kun!" She giggled at his scowl and hugged him one last time never noticing the amber eyes watching curiously from a distance in the hall.

Zarame grunted, "I wish your friends the best of luck.. For now.."

Michiru pulled away and pouted, "Don't be so cruel."

He grinned sexily, "I'm the Grim Reaper, I can be as cruel as I want."

The pink haired girl flushed and finally glanced away, making him grin even more. "Y-you can leave now, you know.. I-I have to get ready for school." She stuttered nervously.

"Of course," Zarame stepped back, his cloak and scythe materializing around him. "Goodbye for now, Michiru-chan." With that said, his form had shadowed over and dematerialized, leaving a few black feathers behind in its wake.

Michiru sighed sadly and re-entered her dorm room, closing the door quietly behind herself. She had gotten ready for school and packed her bag, hearing a knock on her door. It had been four years since she heard anyone knock on her door for school. She knew only one person did it and smiled to herself, snatching her glasses from her nightstand to place them on the bridge of her nose, "Coming!" She called back.

She was at the door, and greeted Chika warmly. Instead of his usual glare, she received a warm smile.

He now knew that the Reaper was gone, and as such, he couldn't stop himself from hugging her tightly for a moment. He could hear her sputter in surprise but ignored it and whispered, "Welcome back, Michiru." He knew he shocked her by saying her name, but then to cover up his showing emotions, he had yanked the girl into a headlock and given her a noogie.

"K-Kyaaaa!! S-Stop Chika-kuuuun!" Michiru screeched in laughter.

"There's your punishment for leavin' us Gopher! And I'll be damned if I let that happen again!" He shouted half serious, before letting her go.

She was beyond dizzy and had to re-brush her hair, but she didn't argue. She had deserved it after all. Once they had eaten breakfast all four of them were off to school. It really was unfortunate that Koyomi held no classes with her, but at least she had some courses with the boys, and that made her cheerful.

Upon arriving at the school, all her friends had greeted her and surprised her with all the notes she had missed during the four days. She half wondered if she'd ever be able to get back into study mode since she's been gone for so long. During her training, there was never any studying, just fighting and a lot of concentration.. And Zarame-kun..

She shook her head, and tried to focus on her current class. Though, she's rather blow of school and go zombie hunting with Shito and Chika. She now understood how her silver haired zombie friend felt, wanting to leave so much to go on a hunt. 'Focus!' Michiru mentally reminded, copying down notes into her book. She received a few worried glances from Chika but ignored them.

"Michiru-chan!!" Yumi called shortly after class.

Michiru turned briskly in the hall, blinking in confusion, "Y-Yumi-chan?"

"Why are you giving me that look?" Yumi pouted, walking with Michiru. "Can't I walk with you to your next class?"

"O-oh, of course! I-I didn't mean—"

"It's okay! Sheesh.. You're always so nervous!" Yumi scolded playfully, winking. "Anyways, I'm curious, why were you out of school so much? There's so many rumours going around! Were you really sick? Or did you run away with that new kid? Or—"

"E-eh? N-no! You're so silly, of course I was sick. I had a really bag stomach bug! Didn't Chika-kun or Shito-kun tell you?" Michiru asked innocently.

"No.."

"Oh well! Then again, you know how they are! They like to keep everything to themselves!" Michiru laughed sheepishly, rounding the corner to enter her next class.

"Right," Yumi agreed, entering the room as well.

Of course Chika had ditched the rest of his classes that day, finding school to be a waste of his time when he could be spending that valuable effort just sitting on the lower school roof. He was no goody goody when it came to the damn school system, and half wondered why Shito would never join him. It's not like he needed to be in school right now either..

"Damn pansy," Muttered the amber eyed male half-heartedly.

-X-

Chika was of course around for lunch, having worked up an appetite from searching for shapes hidden in what little clouds that would pass by. He was at his usual table with Michiru and Shito, inhaling his food instantly before the others could get in a bite of theirs.

Shito glared at Chika, "Do you mind? Your savage way of eating is causing me to loose my appetite, Akatsuki."

Chika mirrored the glare, "Oh is it now? How about we take this outside.. Jackass.."

Michiru nervously glanced between the two and sweat dropped, 'Of course they're the same as before. It's only been four days here…' She thought quietly. 'And Chika-kun seems to be acting like his normal self now. I wonder why he hugged me earlier? Was he really that worried?'

Then it happened.

With a small gasp, her entire body froze up.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Her eye's dulled and turned stony cold.

"Kita-san?" Shito immediately asked, sensing the change in the atmosphere around her.

"Heh? Gopher? What's goin' on? Oi! Go-pher!" Chika growled, waving a hand in front of her olive green eyes.

Her dull gaze move up in seconds, her eye's connecting with fiery amber orbs. The gaze sent shivers of nervousness down Chika's spine, making him want to inch away from the girl and crawl under a rock. Something this girl had never made him feel before. "New.. ille-illegal zombie.. created.." She muttered so softly that Shito was barely able to catch it.

"No way." Chika voiced in disbelief.

Shito shook his head and glanced at his partner, "We're leaving now."

"Don't hafta tell me twice!" Chika snatched Michiru up from her chair causing her to snap out of her daze and look at the two boys in question.

"N-nani?! W-What's going on?" She asked in alarm.

"We're going to the ferryman's." Shito replied.

-X-

"Ah, so you can sense zombies now? How interesting, you're just like him now aren't you?" Bekko-san said in pure delight, though the enthusiasm did not touch his face.

"W-well, I can tell when a new one is created and determine the general location, but nothing exact. I can sense the minor ones much more clearly.. It's like comparing gold fish to a grizzly bear! Zara-kun never hunts the small fry because they aren't even worth the time, he only goes after the larger problems." Michiru explained.

"So, you mean we could be going on a zombie hunting fest, and fit in several guidance's right now if we wanted to?" Chika questioned slowly.

"Hai." Michiru answered.

"Very interesting! I only wish I could keep questioning you, but I know I would bore you and Chika-kun seems far too fired up to stay in here." Benko-san sighed, leaning his cheek against his hand as he leaned forward in his chair.

Yuuta hummed to himself as he clicked away on his computer, nodding to himself a few times before piping, "Chiru-Chiru is right, there is a new illegal zombie! And the price is a hefty one!"

"After one dies, a new one gets created." The ferryman mumbled gloomily.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

Shito uncrossed his arms and glared at his partner, "We should begin by clearing out the weak zombies, this way Kita-san may be able to locate the new zombie much better without any interference from the others."

"Theoretically speaking, that should help quite a bit." Yuuta agreed.

"Then let's go." Michiru announced, for once leading the group out with pride.

'I'm doing this for them, because I care. I want them to live freely. Is that so much to ask?'

Bekko-san's eye's followed them as they exited the office and slammed the door. He turned his chair and looked down from his window, watching the teens leave the Z-Loan building. "Yuuta-kun," He finally spoke, earning the boy's attention. "I have a meeting with the upper ups tonight. So keep watch over the office."

"Hai."

'Things are getting serious now.' Bekko-san thought as he loosened his tie slightly.

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A/N Ahem, so as you can tell, there will be a third chapter. Woo! You should be happy! And another thing to be happy about is the fact that I have pics of Zarame in teenage form and Michiru in her new battle outfit including her weapons! Though, Michiru is in sketch.. You should still be happy! So just e-mail me directly from your e-mail accounts so I can send the pictures to ya, okay? My e-mail is on my profile page at the very bottom, so feel free to message via hotmail or gmail or whatever, okay? Remember to review or else the third chapter will never ever come out! Bawhahahahahahaha!!

P.S I swear.. This so called one shot idea of mine seems to be turning into a full blown fanfict.. Or maybe it'll just be three chapters.. Who knows!

R&R!!