According to her scythe clock, which could apparently also tell dates and let her know it without having her look at it, it had been a week since she became a Shinigami, and she was exhausted. Undertaker worked both her body and her mind as hard as they've ever been worked even considering that she now had enhanced abilities that exceeded any human in speed, reflexes, power and endurance. Undertaker made sure that she knew her limits, knew the rules, knew the ins and outs of all of the forms of paperwork she had to or eventually would have to fill out, and even some she would never have to. He made sure that she knew where everything was, how the library was arranged, where she would have to go for certain forms or tasks. Everything a Shinigami would have to know he said, and Lisa wondered how she remembered all of it in a week.
Lisa was currently in her room, which was just a room with a desk and a bed in it. Apparently, Shinigami still needed to sleep, but they only needed to do so at least once a week, but they wouldn't breathe when they slept and really didn't need to when awake either. One thing that they did need was to bathe after returning from the human world due to the filth that the human world contained; so for a Dispatch Unit member, that was quite frequently. Though if they never went to the human world, a Shinigami would never have to bathe even if they trained as vigorously as Lisa had been trained. Though since it was a luxury, some would take it to relax muscles or to cool down after training, which Lisa was about to do.
She slipped out of her clothes and into the lukewarm waters and slipped under the bubbles, which smelled faintly of roses, to get her hair wet. However, when she emerged back from under the water she noticed that she wasn't alone in the tub and instantly covered herself as best she could and heard the familiar laughter of Undertaker.
She glared at her teacher and said, "Don't you know what you're doing is indecent?" noticing for the first time the other door that led to his room.
He laughed again and said, "Indecent? Ehehe, what a human emotion. Lisa what we're doing is what the Japanese have done for centuries."
"Really?" Lisa asked unbelieving and unmoving.
"Yes really. Well over the years they separated the majority of their bath houses according to gender, but there are still unisex bath houses and people go there and have no notion of indecency as long as the occupants leave the experience platonic." Undertaker stated calmly and as if, he was telling a young child that when they touch fire it would burn them.
Lisa still felt embarrassed but slowly lowered her arms from her chest and relaxed in the tub as long as she blocked out the man in front of her. Eventually, when she was done, she grabbed the towel and quickly wrapped it around her and was thankful that Undertaker noticed her actions and closed his eyes. She then quietly slipped out with all her belongings and locked the door behind her. She then redressed into her clothes, dried her hair before brushing out its dark length, and made sure that all was prim and proper. When she was satisfied in her appearance, she nodded and headed off to bed and instantly fell asleep after not sleeping for a week.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
When she woke in the morning, she knew that it wasn't yet time to wake up, but she thought she might as well go to the cafeteria to eat. Yes, Shinigami had to eat, but only at least once a month, and then any other time it was just a luxury that most partook in, Did she really want to get her fix of crepes, which she just discovered her second day of being a Shinigami, and risk of STILL being stared at her fellow Shinigami.
Yes, she was.
She quickly stood in front of her full-length mirror and made sure her suit and hair were in order and nothing straying. Lisa could've sworn that when someone became a Shinigami they developed a case of obsession when it came to keeping their weapons and appearance immaculate. She shook her head and made sure her scythe was secured in her ear before she walked out the door and noticed that no one was in the halls… had she really woken up that early?
She shook her head, left her room before locking it, and headed to the cafeteria. When she got there, no one was there except the staff who worked on serving and she thought she would at least see Undertaker sitting at their table as usual. She shrugged it off, adjusted her glasses, and went to get her crepes. She decided that she would try the chocolate crepes today, since she was going in order on the menu of which kinds they had. Once she received her order, she sat down at the usual table and began to eat just as more Shinigami started to walk in.
She was nearly half way done when she noticed Undertaker sat down and he had a couple of… were those bone shaped cookies? It was as if he was eating dog treats. She shook her head and continued to eat until she heard him laugh quietly and she gave him a raised brow in question. He responded by looking over to the table, William was seated and she smiled a bit more when she realized what that meant. Undertaker told her on one of their first cafeteria visits that William, like many other Shinigami, was a fan of his and that every chance he could William would make it so they would be in the same place at the same time. Undertaker found that fact funny, but at most times, annoying and frustrating.
Lisa just found it funny how she noticed that most Shinigami would want to sit near the table, but they would never get too close in case they were to get caught staring and not eating their food, which was very well cooked and delicious. When Lisa had finished her crepe and wiped off any remains of her breakfast and got up to throw away her trash, but when she realized that Undertaker was behind her she shook her head and wondered just how he always finished at the same time as she. She eventually wrote it off to another of his secret abilities.
She was about to leave when Undertaker caught her arm and wiped off a bit of chocolate she missed with a napkin and said, "Can't have that now can we?"
Lisa smiled, nodded, and wondered if her secret plan worked, she peeked over at William and saw his aura seemed to be a bit angrier… or was it jealous? She couldn't tell, but she let out a little laugh, and Undertaker, following her gaze, did the same as he locked elbows with her and led her to the training grounds.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
"Come on Lisa! You can do better than this!" Undertaker said as he jumped at the new Shinigami with his scythe. Lisa blocked it just in time and looked at her clock before she jumped back and just barely missed being slashed.
Lisa looked at her surroundings and noticed that today they were just in a plain empty room and there would be no hiding or surprise attacks. She quickly turned around and ran and Undertaker took the bait. She then quickly jumped backwards and behind him and slashed but he moved his scythe back so he blocked. "Ehehe good, but you have to be better than that to beat me."
He then moved his scythe so that she was pushed back out of the block and she was shocked, and that shock led to an opening that she didn't have time to block. Undertaker saw this and he went for it and before she felt the sting from his weapon again for the third time in thirty minutes she closed her eyes and when she opened them she was surprised to see that Undertaker had stopped mid swing, an inch from cutting her. She quickly jumped back and then he clock part of her scythe lit up and time resumed and Undertaker was swinging at empty air and he stopped with a smile, "Ehehe so that's your power. More useful than most."
Lisa looked at him confused and asked, "Power?"
Undertaker nodded and said, "Every Shinigami had a power of their own that they need to find out for themselves. Mine is actually similar to yours in the way that it deals with time." he moved his glasses down a bit so that she could get a better look at his eyes and she noticed that his eyes were a bit more golden than most Shinigami she's seen. "My power is to see a human's life span, how much time they have left, and if I have to find them, I can also get a small glimpse into the future to see if they'll change the world in any way. My power was also the reason for the rule change about judging the Cinematic Records."
Lisa looked at him in awe and said, "That's amazing!"
Undertaker laughed and said, "It came in quite useful when I was assigned King Arthur when he was a child."
"You judged King Arthur?" Lisa stated causing the elder Shinigami to laugh at her.
"Yes, but don't tell anyone. I want to keep people guessing. Ehehe." Undertaker stated and then shrunk his scythe and placed it in his ear. Lisa did the same and then he continued, "And now that we know your power," he walked towards the door, "We are going out of an assignment to reap your first soul."
Lisa's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Undertaker nodded and said, "Let's go." Lisa nodded and ran up to him and locked her arm in his as they headed to the Dispatch Office.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
As they entered the Human realm, Lisa looked at it for her first time as a Shinigami and she had to say that she disgusted due to that are they were brought to reap in, the slums of London. She brought a hand up to her nose and Undertaker laughed and said, "Ah my old hunting grounds. It's changed."
"What do you mean by 'old' Undertaker?" Lisa asked.
"I've been transferring around a bit to find the right office, and it's been many years since I've been in the London Dispatch unit." Undertaker stated with a tone of nostalgia.
Lisa nodded and looked over the city, "How long has it been?"
"Last time I was here was about … I don't know. I always lose count." Undertaker stated like that time was nothing.
Nevertheless, Lisa, knowing about that long life span of a Shinigami, nodded and asked, "So where do we find our soul?"
Undertaker laughed and said, "People have been searching for their souls a long time Lisa."
Lisa shook her head with a smile and stated, "I wasn't trying to make a joke, so let me reword that. Where's our target?"
Undertaker smiled, "We're right above the alleyway where they are supposed to die in about a minute or so."
Lisa nodded and looked at the alley, "Isn't her killer supposed to die too?" she peeked up through her bangs at him.
"That soul, my dear is mine. You deal with his victim." Undertaker stated with an almost ever-present smile.
Lisa nodded and said, "Well here is goes."
In the alley way a woman with tied back, auburn hair was walking by with a grocery basket that held fresh bread and some kind of ground meat; once could never tell what the butcher put in the cheap meat these days. She then seemed to come out of a daze and looked around, realizing she took a wrong turn and started to double back, but she was grabbed by the mouth and a knife was held to her throat. He whispered something in her ear and she stopped struggling and started to cry. The man smirked and then started to reach under her dress and then woman seemed to increase her tears when the man went further to sexually violate the woman.
Lisa watched this scene without so much as a single emotion, only facts presented themselves to her. She learned that a Shinigami didn't feel any emotion when on a job, and most when off a job kept that same mindset; even if they show emotion, they aren't supposed to in front of a target. Lisa shook her head at the greed of humans and saw that when the man was done he smirked and spit at the naked woman laying, crying on the ground. He then went down on one knee and killed the woman by slitting her throat.
Though, unluckily for the man, a cop came around the corner and saw that man slit the woman's throat and pulled out a gun and yelled, "Hold it right there sir. Drop your weapon."
The criminal looked shocked at being caught, and ran away, but not before, he was shot in the shoulder by a bullet from the gun. The cop ran after the man, only glancing once at the dying woman, and turned the corner. Lisa then landed next to the dying woman and said woman started to gurgle words. Lisa shook her head at the woman as she pulled out her scythe and enlarged it. The woman started to crawl away but Lisa knelt down next to the woman and said, "I'm going to make your pain go away and let your soul rest."
The woman looked at Lisa and nodded as much as she could and smiled as best she could. Lisa smiled and placed the blade on the woman's cut and slices just a bit more so not to hurt her, but the woman's life was shown before the two of them in the form of the Cinematic Record and Lisa smiled at the woman's happy life. She shook her head at how this woman who was so innocent and happy could be violated and left to die. Humans definitely had strange fates. Just as the last bit of the woman's life came around Lisa shut the woman's eyes, logged the Cinematic Record into a book form, then cut the woman's soul from its body, and let it free. Lisa then stood up and wondered just how her own life was and how it ended. Lisa looked down at her first target and was glad she could give just a bit of peace at the end of the woman's single life.
Lisa then jumped onto the roof and noticed that Undertaker wasn't there yet… his target must've either been running still or hid and died of blood loss. The sun was beginning to rise and her teacher was still not there so she took out her scythe earring and took out a cloth and cleaned it while it was still small. When she was done and it was back, secured in her ear, Undertaker landed next to her and said with a smile, "That was an interesting chase, the man just wouldn't give up, and neither would that cop. If only all the cops in this city were as diligent as that one and this city would be so much better than what it is now. I wonder what Vitoria is going to do now."
Lisa nodded and said, "Well let's go Undertaker. Don't want to give William an excuse to see you."
Undertaker laughed and pulled her tie to him saying, "Keep this up and I may need to box your ears."
Lisa laughed and said, "I'm just looking out for your well being."
Undertaker smiled and let her tie go and then left with her back to the Shinigami Realm.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
"Is this going to become a regular thing Undertaker?" Lisa asked when Undertaker got in the tub with her… again.
He smirked, "Ehehe I think so Lisa." Undertaker than took some soap and started to wash himself.
Lisa sighed and said, "Then I'm going to have to get my own cleaning products… and you know how much I hate that stupid paperwork."
"Ehehe, don't I know it. Though once you've been in the system for so long you don't pay much mind to it." Undertaker stated and handed her another soap bar.
She nodded to him in thanks and began to wash herself. Since her first time back in the human world, she was glad to be back in the Shinigami world. She didn't even mind that Undertaker was in the bath with her due to that fact, and didn't even care if Undertaker was looking when she stepped out; which he wasn't out of courtesy of Lisa.
When she stepped into her room, she went into her desk drawer and pulled out a form she never thought she'd have to use so soon and filled it out while drying herself, not getting a single drop of water on the paper or ink. Once the paper was filled out, she left it safe so she could dress.
Once she was sure everything was in order she looked at her form and checked off a box for a cleaner for her Death Scythe; She noticed she was running low when she was cleaner hers more properly after dressing. Once that was done, she checked to make sure all was in order one more time before she headed with her paperwork for new supplies to the Filing Room. It was immediately approved and she left back to her room to drop off the bathing supplies back in the now empty bathroom.
She then left back to her room and wondered what she could do… she didn't feel like sleeping, and didn't feel like reading… she then got an idea and went to an open training room and signed her name up for an hour. She was glad she got the spot in the simulator room because she felt like she wanted to practice her power in a setting that was more like her new hunting grounds.
She turned on the switch and then London appeared before her and she looked for who she was to be targeting and was off.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
Lisa was seemed she was dancing with the Undertaker through empty small alleyway and onto crowded streets. Their scythes were shrinking and enlarging due to their confines in space and most people watching would think that it was a show, but it was not. It was, in fact, a training session in which Undertaker was showing Lisa how to fight a more difficult opponent in all kinds of environments. At first it was an empty space, then it was a forest, then is was a very congested rainforest, then it was by the docks, then it was in a desert, then in the cold, and then an open city, and now their own hunting grounds. Lisa thought she was doing quite well, except for a few cuts and bruises, she received from Undertaker… but she had yet to lay a single scratch on his after a year of training and she was getting frustrated.
She couple reap many souls in a second, and put those souls to peace in that same amount of time; endure the hot desert sun to the cold artic winds; go one for hours without resting; maneuver like on the trickiest of grounds as if she were a long time ballerina on a solid, familiar stage; but she couldn't lay a single hair on her teacher, and he was laughing at her frustration at herself. They say Shinigami don't have emotions, but the fact is that she learned, it just takes a lot to get them to show, and right now, due to his laughter at her frustration, she was showing anger.
She was moving her scythe and herself faster than she had ever could've dreamed a year ago, but she refused to use her power; it felt like cheating. She wanted the satisfaction of saying she used her own physical power to defeat her teacher. They finally reached and empty courtyard and Undertaker smiled, "Determined now aren't we. Ehehe."
That was the last straw. She ran at him even faster than his eyes could keep up; later she would find out that she had unintentionally used her power to speed her own time up. She then slashed him across his face, brought her scythe around, and sliced his throat in on swipe, and as she brought her scythe down she sliced his left pinky, but that was unintended.
She then realized what she had done and all her anger vanished and she caught Undertaker as he fell down. He let out a laugh before coughing up some blood and saying, "Good job Lisa."
He then stood up and put a hand to his throat and the other bleeding hand to his face, and said with a smile and a cheerful, yet cracked voice, "Let's get to my room. I have some stitching supplies we can use."
Lisa nodded and was glad that she remembered how to sew from her human life. She quickly led him the fastest way to his room and asked, feeling guilt of what she had done, "Where is it?"
"In my desk. Third drawer." Undertaker stated as he sat on his bed, letting his blood fall on his over coat and not the bed.
Lisa nodded and went into his desk and noticed, besides a few books and a bigger bed and desk, his room was the same as hers. She shook that thought off though and pulled out the stitching thread and needle and then went to the bathroom and got a bucket, water, and a cloth and went out to her teacher and worked on his pinky first. Once that was done, she cleaned off his neck wound and quickly closed that up before she went to work on his face.
Forty-five minutes later, He was sewn up, and she led him to the bathroom, when he stripped and handed him her clothes to either be washed, or to be thrown away and to be replaced by new ones. She quickly went to it and went to the Wardrobe Department and got his clothes as soon as she asked, and got rid of his old clothes… was he expecting this? Lisa ordered herself a new suit, which was soon ready, and guessed that they always had a suit on ready for every Shinigami which made her shake that thought away of him expecting this.
She was soon back into her room, placed her suit down and took off the bloody parts of her own suit and threw them in the trash, the blood was too dried for it to be saved. She then stepped into the bathroom, and noticed that Undertaker had his glasses off, miraculously safe from her swipe, and his head leaning back. She noticed his eyes were closed so she placed his clothes in a dry spot near by and slipped inside the bath herself to clean off his blood. She wasn't embarrassed to share a bath with the man anymore because after all that year they had a lot of assignments and they shared a lot of baths; after the tenth time she got used to it, and after the twentieth she was used to seeing his completely naked form.
When she was done she stepped out and put on a towel, which, she secured around her body, and then went over to Undertaker and shook his shoulder. He opened his eyes, apparently form sleep, and smiled at her. She smiled guiltily back and said, "Let's get you dressed."
"Ehehe, usually people want me out of my clothes." he said in a scratchy voice that made Lisa feel even guiltier. Nonetheless, he stood up and she held dry off his neck and face while he got to the rest. Once he was dry, she helped the man into his clothes, but he would stumble every now and then from blood loss.
Once she put him on his bed, which was surprisingly free of blood, she said, "Now rest here while I get you something to eat," and to try to add a bit of humor, "and to try and clean up your bloody mess."
He let out a little laugh and closed his eyes once she put his glasses back on. She then went to her room and dresses and slipped on her glasses that she had taken off for the bath and headed back out to the hall and traced their way back to the training room, where there was only a speck of his blood left, which she cleaned up. She wondered how all that blood hadn't been anywhere else except on their clothes; she was amazed.
She then headed to the cafeteria and ordered some items that looked as if they were sugary or looked like they would give Undertaker some blood back faster. In the end, she had two plates nearly full of food and one arm that held a platter with tea, water, and some red fruit drink on it. She then exited the cafeteria with Shinigami wondering where she was taking the food. When she reached Undertaker's room, she somehow got the door open, placed his food on his desk, pulled the chair from the desk next to his bed, and just looked at his sleeping face. She felt guilty for what she did. He was just teasing like he always does and she let it get to her too much, and she got so angry she used her power and didn't let him defend himself. She shook her head, put her head in her hands, and let tears fall out.
He's been so helpful to her and she goes and cuts him, most likely giving him scars. She kept at her crying for about ten minutes before she felt a hand on her head and when she looked up Undertaker was smiling at her and said, "Now don't cry Lisa. This is nothing. I'm already healing, see?" he pointed to his throat and the skin was in fact starting to heal, and his voice didn't seem very scratchy.
She nodded and hugged him and said, "I'm sorry Undertaker."
He returned the hug, "Ehehe It's fine. Now" he let her go and she looked up at his face, "What did you get me?"
She smiled and wiped away her tears before handing him tea, the way her usually got it and gave him some of the food she got. After he was done, eating Lisa looked at the stitching and realized he was healed enough for the strings to come out. She went to the desk drawer she found the stitching and grabbed out a small pair of scissors. She then waited for him to finish his water and let her have access to the stitching. First went the pinky stitches, then the neck and then the face, and she was right, he now had scars where she had sliced him, but at least the skin was healed.
She cried in relief and he ruffled her hair and said, "It's fine now. Now I looked like I've lived as long as I have. Ehehe. Long awaited battle scars." Lisa nodded and smiled before getting up to clean up his dishes. Before she left the room Undertaker said, "I'm going to get some sleep but I want to discuss something when I wake up." Lisa nodded and then left the room.
~!$%^&*()_-+=
The whole night Lisa was in the library looking at whatever spine of a book caught her eye, whatever title seemed interesting, whatever author seemed to have an unusual sounding name, anything that kept her mind off of Undertaker and his new scars and whatever it was that he wanted to discuss. This plan seemed to work until she knew it was the time that Undertaker always woke up at. She quietly shut the book of poetry she was ready. She had just finished a poem by an author by the name of Edgar Allan Poe, from America, and she felt a bit depressed.
She stepped out into the hallway and nodded to a couple of Shinigami she passed on the way and wondered just what Undertaker wanted to talk to her about. When she knocked on the door, she stepped in and noticed that he wasn't there. She guessed then he was at the cafeteria, and she headed there and discovered him sitting as usual at the table with his bone cookies and tea. Shinigami were looking over at him and whispering and then a couple looked over at Lisa but she got her food and sat down next to him with her Belgium waffles.
"How are you feeling?" Lisa asked.
He chuckled and said, "Better than I have been in years." he looked around and smirked, "This is the liveliest I've seen this place since you became a Shinigami. "
Lisa smiled and they chatted like usual, but Lisa asked a question before she was done, "What are you going to tell them about your scars?"
He smiled, "We're going to tell them the truth. It was a training accident."
She looked at him with a raised brow and asked, "I thought you were going to make some elaborate story."
"Ehehe. You know me too well Lisa, but for a situation like this, it's better just to let the truth come out." Undertaker said as we finished our meals, and that was when Lisa decided on a thought she had been thinking about all night, she was going to transfer to another Dispatch Branch; no need to have Undertaker constantly of where his scars came from. Undertaker then stated, "We're going to have to go to the Filing Department and get some forms. I'm running low."
Lisa nodded and they exited the cafeteria as if it was any other day. When they were in the hallway though Lisa said, "I'm planning on transferring to another Branch. Would you recommend any?" Undertaker was quiet but when she looked up at him he was trying to keep from laughing, causing her to raise a brow, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I'll tell you later. Ehehe." Undertaker then got some forms and handed her a transfer form to the American branch saying, "This Branch needs the most work help they can get."
Lisa nodded and was worried that Undertaker was mad at her and was more than happy to shoe her off away from him. When they returned to his room, he sat at his desk and she sat on the bed, waiting like a child for a scolding after breaking the family treasure. However, it never came. Undertaker smiled and said, "Now that I know I can trust in your abilities as a Shinigami, I'm going to retire."
Lisa stared at him with wide eyes and gaping mouth and that just cause undertaker to laugh. She shook her head and said, worried, "If this is about what I did I'm sorry-"
He cut her off by holding up his hand and smiling, "I've been at it for so long as long as I give them a Shinigami that is above the average level then I should be able to. Plus," he said with a wider smile, "I finally have the looks to become an actual Undertaker."
Lisa stared at him as if he was crazy and asked, "What?"
"Ehehe. Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. I've been planning to retire for a while now, but no students I've taken on have been anything but average. Now that you are at such a level I feel as if I can finally retire in peace, and I've always wanted to go back to being an Undertaker." Undertaker stated with a laugh.
Lisa smiled and shook her head saying, "I should've guessed. So when do you plan to retire?"
Undertaker smiled and said, "As soon as I see you off to America."
Lisa smiled and said, "Then I guess you're going to be leaving soon because my files filled out." She said holding up a completely filled out paper.
He chuckled and said, "Then should we turn our forms in?"
"'Our' forms Undertaker? What are you talking about?" Lisa asked.
"I need a new outfit for my new job, and I also need to fill out the form to grow out my hair so it covers my eyes, so no one gets suspicious about my eyes." Undertaker stated, "I also have to hand in the form about my scars."
Lisa smiled and then stood up and said, "Then let's be off."
Undertaker smiled and nodded, locking arms with her, and headed off to the Filing Department.
~`!$%^&*()_-+=
Lisa hugged Undertaker and then stepped into a portal that led into the American Dispatch Unit and she smiled back at him and was gone. Undertaker smiled once more and then slipped off his glasses and headed to his room to pack up and leave to an Undertaker shop where he would officially be called 'Undertaker'. Though he was given access to the Library anytime he wanted and was able to take out as many books as he wanted. He laughed and stepped into his own portal and was gone.
A/N:The next chapter is going to have a time skip to the Jack the Ripper case so be aware of that. And please review! Also the time that looks like ~`!#$%^&*()_-+= indicates a time skip whether it be a minute or more
