My name is Rebecca Sutcliff. Yes, the sister to the infamous Grell Sutcliff, the red-head nuisance of a shinigami. When we were younger, Grell was less…Grell and more my big brother. We are impossible; he is male, I am female, and we're twins. Monozygotic twins. But, Grell and I were never apart. We faced difficulties and problems together. Our lives changed, our lives which had been build upon lies. We were no humans. We were Death Gods, Reapers, Shinigami. And we started to part. In the end, I was send to India. I returned to London once, where I saw my brother again and attacked the demon who attacked him. To be send back.
India could be very rainy, especially in the autumn and winter. I hated the mud which soaked my heels, I hated the rain that soaked my hair. I hated the days I had to stay in our small house because it was raining too much, to be forced out by my occupation. And currently, oh joy, was the rain season. Every change was a good one, and the letter brought by the mail was definitely interesting. Unless your house-mate grabs it and you need to chase him.
"Rashid, cut it out!" I said, angered. I was leaning against the doorpost, my arms folded in front of my chest. I had stopped chasing him and waited for him to give my letter back.
"Vis is getting my head, so give it back" Vis was the supervisor around these regions, and considering his impossible name and 'Supervisor' being very formal for somebody who was constantly teasing us, and we teasing Vis back, Vis was his name.
"Don't be so silly. You're his top worker, Becca" Rashid said, a smile adorning his handsome face. I sighed and lunged for the letter, only to have it pulled away in front of my nose again. "Can't the lady get her letter back?" he said, teasing me. I sighed and grabbed the letter.
"Don't be a sexist, Rashid. I'm capable of more than you" I said as I opened the letter with my nails. I scanned the letter. It was one page long. I sighed and rubbed my temples. Again, I was called back again.
"I hate your boyfriend" Rashid hissed. He had been reading over my shoulder.
"Will's not my boyfriend anymore. Since six years. So if you could stop that nonsense" I said, offended that he was talking about Will again. He was my best friend, not my boyfriend, for godsake!
"But I still hate him" he retorted. I sighed.
"He hasn't even written the letter" I protested. I leaned backwards so that I could look at him. He was upside down. It was a habit of me, and people consider it freaky.
"I should, however, go and pack my stuff" I said as I walked towards my room. I moved around in unnatural speed as I started to throw various stuff in my suitcase.
"Could I help in some way?" he asked, calling from the kitchen. I knew what he wanted, and normally I would've forbidden him to even touch a thing like a knife, but tonight was special.
"Aye, you could make some dinner" I said. Don't get me wrong; Rashid and I are just good friends, as far as I know. But we live in the same apartment, not far away from the Indian Headquarters, with both separated room. That is clear, aye?
"Right" he said, content. "So, what's on the menu?" he asked. This stupid answer made me sigh. Rashid often convinced me of things, but he mostly ended up having no clue of things.
"Do something, but try not to burn it" I called back. I really hoped he was fine on his own, for I didn't know how long I would stay in London. I didn't even know why. Just as I finished packing, Rashid was dancing around the kitchen, trying to find something cool to soothe the burn in his hands. I sighed and finished the dinner. Just as I sat down, Rashid came in.
"Does it hurt much?" I asked, worried that he might have hurt himself badly.
"No, it's fine" he said as he sat down next to me. We ate our dinner in silence. I felt back for leaving my best friend for the second time.
"I'll come back as quickly as possible" I promised. He smiled at me. "And you'll visit me, right? I can show you whole London" I said, turning my head to the side and eyeing his reaction. He laughed.
"Don't worry, Becca, I'll be fine. I think it's good for you to see your twin again" he said, smiling. Those words raised the worry in me. Oh Grell, have you done something again? I stood up and wanted to pick up the plates when he laid his fingers around my wrist.
"I'll do it" he said. I smiled. "I know you need to go as quickly as you can" he said.
"Screw that, Rashid. I may be there for years, who knows?" I said, turning my head to the side and eyeing him.
"But I've got to work, otherwise Vis will get my head" he said, unsure of this. He had never skipped a day before.
"Screw that" I said again. "I'll tell Vis you were with me" I smiled mischievously.
"Rebecca Sutcliff" I said, replying the question of the woman behind the desk. She looked through papers, her manicured fingers following the lines.
"Ah, yes. Office D10, right on time. The office of William T. Spears" she said at last, frowning slightly as she looked up, wanting to say something. But I was already gone, practically skipping through the hallways as I made my way to the office I have been before so many times. People didn't look up; they were accustomed to Grell flying by I suppose. And many old people remembered me. It was as if I had never left.
"Will~" I squealed as I threw the door open. I had wanted to leap at him, only to fail and trip over the figure laying on the floor.
"God damn it" I cried out. Of course, full on my face. I quickly rose to my feet, dusting of my clothes, before being thrown at the ground again. This time, I landed on my back. Or rather, on the back of the guy who'd been the reason I tripped.
"Grell, get up, will you? You're both crushing Rebecca and Ronald" a monotone voice came from behind the desk. As my brother pulled me up, I glanced at Will. He didn't look amused. Or something else, actually.
"Since when do you have people laying in your office? Doesn't seem like you" I said, placing my hands on his desk and leaning forward, our noses almost touching.
"No minute inside my office, and already flirting, miss Sutcliff" he reprimanded.
"Since I was leaning against the door your decided to send crashing into the wall" a voice complained. I turned my head sharply, my hair moving along. Will brushed it out of his face.
"Oh, sorry, what an idiot am I to think nobody would be leaning against a door?" I spat. Then, I finally got a good look on the messy reaper. He brushed through his hair, which was blond on the front and black behind it, his eyes a nice tone of green, common by reapers. Complete with glasses and suit. And he got his first glance on me.
"Grell?" he asked. I narrowed my eyes. People always mistook us.
"Rebecca. Rebecca Sutcliff" I said, my tone nasty. I didn't look this arrogant youngster.
"A girl"
"How clever"
"You are a girl"
"Is the level of all the students, Will?" I asked, raising my eyebrow as I turned back to my superior, not realising we were still so close. I tumbled back.
"God, Will" I muttered shaking my head.
"Oh, there are quite good students, actually" Will said, as if we hadn't almost kissed.
"Ronald isn't just the bright kid from the class" Grell joked. I turned around before giving him a hug. My fight with the youngster had distracted me from hugging my brother.
"Grell~" I said, pulling him tighter in my embrace. I had missed my counterpart. After a minute or so, I released him from my grip.
"So, what brings me here?" I asked, cautiously eyeing Grell. "Have you caused trouble again?" He quickly raised his hands in defeat. That coat looked good on him.
"No, I swear!"
"What, then, was the cause to abandon my housemate who can't care for himself?" I asked. I put my hands on my hips and leaned towards Will. "Hmm?"
Yes, Will had been my boyfriend. But I wasn't done yet teasing him, at least not for a few years. Especially for sending me away.
"It is a special project, called Reapers Ally Project" Will explained, unfazed by my flirtations.
"R.A.P for short" Ronald said. I shot him a glare.
"Various reapers are placed in a team to work together"
"So why am I called?" I asked. This didn't make sense at all.
"Because this team scored the worst, and I requested another member" Will said.
"So this is where I come in?" I said, slightly disappointed.
"As the good example"
"And that makes me.." Grell said, pondering, "the bad example?"
"Indeed"
"Will~" whined Grell, "that's not fair. I've tried my best!"
"You haven't. I know you've been sneaking up to that demon again" Will said coolly. I turned around, my hands on my hips.
"Grell" I hissed. He'd promised me to stay away from Sebastian.
"He's gone now" Grell proclaimed. I blinked in confusion.
"He's...gone?"
"Indeed, Sebas-chan is gone now" Grell said, more quietly.
"Has he taken Ciel's soul, then?" I asked. Ciel Phantomhive had become quite a good friend of my in the time I spend on holiday here. I couldn't believe the demon had taken his soul already. Not him, not Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel Phantomhive, the matured boy. The one I had been discussing with, because his dog Sebastian had beaten up Grell. The one who had made me realize the mistakes of Grell, the monstrosity of the whole situation, and my mistake for attacking without thinking. Ciel Phantomhive, the boy with the eye which colour was the same as the sky he'd been named after.
"We don't know" Ronald said softly. I turned around, narrowing my eyes.
"How come? Will, you've checked body, right?" I asked. "There is no way his quest has ended already!"
"There was no body, Rebecca" Will replied. I raised my eyebrow, wondering what that could mean. I sat down on his desk again, my finger just on my lip.
"But to continue our previous subject, you are to join our team of shinigami" Will said, as if nothing had happened, as if the crushing news one of my most interesting friends hadn't been gone missing, or worse, had been consumed just hadn't been there.
"For how long?" I asked, unsure. With that horrible news, I was afraid I might lose Rashid as well.
"We don't know how long this projects lasts. Probably for years, however" I sighed in response. Time to write a letter to him.
"Still the same house?" I asked my twin brother. I wanted to bring my sparse luggage home.
"Well, I still have the key. But we're supposed to sleep in a special group-house" he said, grinning mischievous. My eyes widened. So I had to put up with both Ronald and Will? Not only I was going to break the house down, but if Rashid found out...
Hmm, nice. A bath certainly did good for me. My body smelled like honey, my hair like cherry. I wrapped a towel around my body and put my glasses on. When I passed the mirror, I couldn't resist meeting my own gaze by the jade eyes I possessed. I huffed and shook my head, my wet red locks cascading down my shoulders. I walked out of the bathroom.
"Holy" I cried out as I retreated back into the bathroom. Ronald and Will had been sitting at the living room, discussing some sort of case, when I had come out. My room would be the attic, and didn't include a bathroom, so I had to use the shared bathroom. I shivered in disgust. "Grell" I called out, more desperate than I'd wanted.
"Yes, Becca~" he sung, cheerily as ever.
"Could you get my clothes?" I asked. Moments later, the door opened and he handed me my clothes, neatly piled as I'd left it.
"Not used to this house yet, Becca?" he teased my. I lashed out to him.
"Go away, you nuisance" I spat at him. He quickly moved out of the way.
"Oh, they're impatient, so you better hurry Becca~" he teased. I managed to throw my one of my high heels to his head but he was gone already. I quickly dressed myself and brushed my hair, so that it cascaded down. I glanced one last time at the mirror. Perfect. When I finally got out, they were already to go.
"Finally done, lady?" Ronald asked with a hint of impatience. I narrowed my eyes. It was my second day here, and he kept treating me like I was worthless.
"Oh, yes I am done, kid" I spat back at him. I grabbed my high heels and swished them on. The only thing that kept other people from confusing me and Grell was our attire; mine was like his but with black and red. Normally, I would put my suit on. But since Rashid and some of my other friends decided to give me a present, they'd brighten up my suit. A lot. I followed the three of them on the streets, pulling my coat closer. God, London was cold in comparison to India.
"So, who's first on our list?" Ronald asked Grell.
"A lady called Elizabeth Irena" Will said without looking back. I sighed as we paced through the night. I began to hum softly, Grell joining me in my tune.
"Could you stop that?" Will asked, not amused. I sighed and stopped and glanced at Grell.
"We have arrived" Will commented. I stared at the woman, who sat against the walls. If she hadn't been that skinny, she might've been beautiful. She was fast asleep, her chest slightly heaving. I huffed. So beautiful, to die peacefully in your sleep. I opened my own notebook with the names.
"So, how much are you planning to do, Becca?" Ronald asked. Grell send him a glare but I silenced my twin with a smile.
"Oh, how about twenty? Wouldn't leave you without something to do" I said. He huffed, not amused.
"Oh, but I can do more, I suppose" Ronald said. I cocked my head and smiled at him.
"Is that so?" I asked. I liked my lips slightly, and he shivered. I turned around, leaned backwards and looked at him.
"One hour"
"Rebecca, cut that nonsense out, will you?" my superior called from his place next to the girl. But both Ronald and I were already on my way.
"Morons"
"Sorry, excuse me" I said as I dropped in front of Ronald, finishing up the last human of the night. He tried to shove me aside but I was already done.
"Twenty-five" he said, proud of himself.
"Twenty-seven" I said, a smile spreading on my face. "A lady has beaten you, kid" I teased.
"Are you done yet?" Will asked as he and Grell waited for me.
"Yeah, I believe so" I said, glancing at Ronald. I cleaned my glasses first, before cleaning the claws which were my death scythe. I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes to the glass which had been stained.
"Damn the eyes" I muttered. We all were practically blind without our glasses. Especially Will. I'd stolen Will's glasses once. He'd scolded me but my whole day, and that one of Grell, had been made. I glanced at Ronald who silently walked next to me as we returned home.
"I never knew there were ladies in the field" Ronald said at last. I smiled at him.
"I'm the one and only one" I declared. His jaw dropped and I chuckled lightly. He reached his hand to me, which I took.
"Rebecca Sutcliff, the only female in the field. Nice to meet you" I said, before bowing slightly like a male would do.
"Ronald Knox, nice to meet yah" he replied, and we shook our hands. Our friendship was born.
"Hmm, night's still early yet" I said as I slumped down in the couch.
"What about the paperwork?" Will inquired. I looked up and tossed various files to him.
"Do them yourself"
"Why do you think we've got you?" I asked, a playful smile on my lips. I stood up and passed him.
"But you can always take a break" I whispered in his ear. He sharply turned his head and grabbed my wrist. He was strong, much stronger than I had imagined.
"Rebecca, stop this flirting. Your brother flirting with me is enough already" he said. I just smiled, my lips pulled back to reveal a few of my teeth.
"Oh, but Will~, I don't want to stop it at all. Especially when people call me Rebecca" I said before passing by.
"Do your own paperwork, then" he said. I grabbed the files from the air as he threw them back to my. I glanced at them and sat down at the desk in the living room.
"Rebecca, that's my desk" Will said. His tries to hunt me away from the desk were practically useless. I looked up.
"Do you want me to do my own paperwork or not?" I said before going back to work. It was two hours later I was finished, and I leaned back, laying my bare feet at the desk.
"Finished already?" Grell asked. I looked up and rose to my feet, clinging to his neck.
"I'm done. How about you?" I asked. He gave me his mischievous grin. "I understand what Will meant with the bad example" I said to him.
"Becca, that's no way to speak to a lady" Grell proclaimed.
"You don't act like one, Grell. Ladies don't walk around to bring death with a gardening tool" I said. Laughter rose from the room as I looked at Ronald, who'd joined us. I slumped in the couch, pulling my brother with me so I could lean my head on his shoulder.
"Is Will done or not?" I asked. I had been planning on drinking something to celebrate this first night of work.
"I don't think he'll be done for this night until it's dawn" Ronald said to me. I sighed and rose to my feet again, to burst into his room. The jacket of his suit had been thrown over another chair and his eyes met mine as he looked up from his paperwork.
"Oh, this is the first time in years I see your incomplete suit~" I sang.
"What do you need, Rebecca?" he asked. Why couldn't he act like a normal being and call me just Becca? Rebecca was so tiring, so long...so formal. I didn't want any formalities between any of us. Especially not Will. He had been my boyfriend!
"I just wanted to have some fun tonight, Will~" I sang.
"I am busy, and I'll probably won't finish tonight" Will said coldly before turning his glance back at the paperwork. I looked at the neat desk. One side, paperwork what was done. The other, paperwork that had been needed to be done. I grabbed some of the table and sat down on the ground, looking through it.
"Why's Ronald's name all over it?" I asked. He looked up, him not having noticed that I'd grabbed some of his work.
"Rebecca, give it back" he said.
"But if I give it back~" I sang again, "how can I help you then?"
"If you are intent to help me, than do it" he said coolly. I sighed. No emotion once more. I narrowed my eyes and leaned back against the wall, turning my attention on the papers.
"Rebecca, what're you doing?" Will asked. I had finished my part, he had done his. There were a couple of hours left, and I pulled him along to the living room where Grell and Ronald had been telling stories or something. They looked up from their lively conversation as I dropped Will on the couch, next to my brother. I turned on my heels and almost danced around the room the retrieve the glasses and a bottle of wine. I put the bottles on the table between the couches and poured wine for everybody. I grabbed a glass for myself, slightly twisting it between my fingers, urging the others on to grab a glass. Then, I gulped the glass down before setting it down, easing myself in the couch.
"Wine soothes ones nerves" I sighed, laying my head back and closing my eyes. I opened my eyes again and looked at the others.
"Don't you drink wine, Will?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. I remembered him, drinking from the bottle. I shook my head. We were both students at that time.
"How was India, Becca?" Grell asked.
"You came all way here from India?" Ronald wondered.
"India was great, to be honest. But it doesn't matches my tastes entirely. I like London more, even if it is damn cold" I told them.
"How do they work in India?" Will asked. I huffed. He was asking something. That was fine. But he was asking something about work.
"They are much less strict there" I said. I put my index finger under my lips, pondering. "We were there with seventeen people, including myself and Vis"
"Vis?" Ronald asked. "Who is Vis?"
"Vis is short for Supervisor. Vis has got an unutterable name, so we call him Vis. To continue my story, when I came down to India, it was a mess. They piled all the paperwork up to the end of the month, when everybody turned cranky. They laughed at me when I actually did the paperwork every day. But when they noticed I didn't had to do huge piles of it at the end of the month, they tried. And when I was finished, I helped the others. We have now a fine working system with unwritten rules; when you are done, you help the others. When the others are done, they help you" I said. I was rather proud of our system. It had taken a lot of time to set it up, but the result was more than satisfying.
"Did you have much friends there?" Grell asked me.
"We were one big family. Most days, we ate together. We had shifts at cooking, but some people did more cooking then the others. And we were all grateful for that"
"Why?"
"Because some people, such as my housemate, can't cook"
"You had housemates?" Will suddenly asked.
"One" I replied. "His name was Rashid, and he was my best friend there"
"Oh" Grell said.
"Was he handsome?"
"Rather. He was quite tanned, very slender, and his hair" I said, smiling.
"Did it go deeper than friendship?" Will asked.
"Not really. Alas, not for me" I said. Why was he asking all those questions about Rashid? He was just a friend. I shook my head. "No, not at all" I said. "Fact is, that I hope he's alright. I'm sure the others will care for him when I'm gone, but he just can't cook" I said. My heart fluttered by the thought he had to eat what he'd cooked. It was more dangerous than venom, in my eyes.
"Haven't you learned him to cook then?" Ronald asked.
"I have tried, but it wasn't quite more than that. He has the talent to mess everything up" I explained. "But I could send him some recipes for Christmas" I said, smiling. I leaned back.
"I'm off to bed" Ronald said with a yawn. I smiled.
"Goodnight, kiddo" I teased him.
"Goodnight, lady" he teased back to me. I shook my head.
"I'm off too" said Will. "You better get some rest too, it's late" he said. I chuckled.
"Yes, mother" I said. I rose to my feet. "Goodnight" I said before he retreated back to his room. I chuckled again when Grell started asking me about Rashid.
"Grell, c'mon. Don't try to seduce my best friend. And I don't think he's interested in ladies like you" I said. He pouted.
"No~?" he whined. I smiled at him and he wrapped his arms around me. "Goodnight, lil' sis" he whispered against my ear.
"Goodnight, big bro" I replied. He silently left the room and I stared out of the window. I had gotten the huge room at the attic, which I had to share with nobody, but I didn't want to sleep yet. I swished my heels back on and left the house.
"Hey, girl" a voice called out to me. I turned around, unfazed by the men hanging around the bar. They approached me, but I still didn't move.
"Not wise to roam 'round the streets on nights like this, lass" one of them said as he reached out to me.
"Oh, why not?" I asked. I didn't smile. No emotion.
"'Cause bad men will do bad things to you" he whispered as he grabbed my wrist. My lips curled up slightly.
"Oh. But who said I'd let that happen?" I asked. The grip of the man lessened as he saw my teeth.
"You..you are a girl, lass, and girls are weak" he said as he wanted to grope me. Filthy rat. I moved out of the way on unnatural speed, and maintained a calm position, leaning against the wall. All of them, five, where startled.
"Are you...a demoness?" one of them asked, unsure, even afraid to say so. It amused me.
"Oh, I'm not that worse" I said, pretending to be hurt. One of them made a move, trying to hit me. I moved out of the way and I lunged for his head. I hit him and he slumped together. The others approached me, but I quickly stepped to the left, ducked, hit one just above his spine with my feet, punched the other in the face. But the last one was tough. I spinned around like a ballerina, smiling all the way along.
"Is the lady too quick for you?" I sang out to him. This only angered him and he lunged for me, trying to hit me. He head my full in the face. I groaned. Not the face. .face. I wiped blood from my face before punching him back and then cracking his skull. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea. A bruise would been seen. And even worse...the blue bruise wouldn't match my usual red.
A/N~ God, this turned out much bigger than I expected. This chapter is more to explain her life and her relations to the ones she works with. If you liked Rashid, he'll be in some later chapters and play a major role. R&R, everyone gets cookies :DDD