Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

A/N: Hey guys! Another chapter! I would have posted this sooner, but I had work yesterday. However I got some free time today so I decided to review the next chapter! There's not much to say except I hope you enjoy this story! And I'll try to post the story as often as I can. Yet there will come a time when I run out of chapters. Just to keep in mind. I'm still writing this story and I don't know how long I'll get through this story in my head before I go on vacation. Anyways, enjoy!

! #$%^&*()

"Lilliana, this is your chance. You know~ what you can do."

"Child, go. You can feel it in your bones, can't~ you?"

"You can hear us, can't you? You have clearance now. No more excuses."

"You must come to us."

"Why?" you managed to mumble in your sleep, your head starting to sweat while you shivered a cold wrenching fever throughout your entire body. "W-what?... What do you mean? Why?"

"The library."

"Come to the library."

"You must~, if you want answers, come to the library."

You gasped as you sat up in your bed, shivering and panting while you held your sore head. You blinked, confused, your eyes glancing around the room and realizing you had woken up in your bed. At least you weren't on the floor, you supposed. "… Was that real?" you thought aloud, letting out a breath and realizing the room was freezing cold. You frowned. You read about this in Alex's textbook. Spirits and ghosts tend to make rooms cold and the stronger the soul the colder the room will become. Your room was freezing, chilling you to the bone, but… if there had been at least three different spirits there perhaps that was normal. You think?

You sighed, rubbing your head, glancing at the clock, and noticing it was about time to wake up. However you flopped your head back onto your pillow, feeling the warmth coming back to your body while you stared back up at the ceiling, trying to get your head in order. Just… what was that? What did you hear?

"Go… to the library," you mumbled in thought, though you had no reason to be so quiet anyways.

Yes… you supposed you had the awful excuse that you didn't have clearance. It truly was an excuse, but then again… not exactly. Unless you're a student at the academy, any student, or higher in rank, a mere grim reaper doesn't have permission to walk into the library freely. Your brother could use his student ID to waltz inside and say he was there to study. You, on the other hand, needed a long winded explanation while filling out some guest signup sheet, having eyes always upon you while you roamed through the bookshelves. You only did it once and you regretted it ever since. You got in trouble for going too far into the library, but… you were following a ghost. It was leading you somewhere, deep inside of the vast library.

Within the British Isles Sect was their Grand Library. There are a limited amount of large Grand Libraries in the world and not every sect had a Grand Library. Since there's now a vast amount of humans flocking to London and other parts of the isles this sect has one. They've had it for a while, apparently, but it's recently been remodeled and expanded into a Grand Library. Even the academy and the campus additions are recent. Those from this sect had to go to the main continent of Europe for their schooling, but now they can stay here and some sects even send their own students to this isle for the schooling they need. Students had access to going freely into the library for studying purposes, but while they only had free range over certain parts of the library you could still sneak about easier, now.

You sighed, running a hand through you sweaty hair, realizing it was quite short, now. You pouted, but decided you'll just have to get used to this, and you slowly scurried out of your bed, sitting lazily until your alarm began to beep, glaring at the devise and slamming your hand on the top to silence the alarm.

)(*&^%$# !

You spent most of your day at the academy. You learned quickly that you were expected to do as you were told, and if you weren't smart enough to answer a question correctly your own personal points would be deducted from you. Everyone, or rather every male, seemed tired, working hard and diligently to get good grades, their noses always in books while they studied for this exam or the next. You realized that Alex didn't seem to have any friends at all. His score was an average B score, not a B- or a B+, but simply a B. You decided you will spend your time studying, getting Alexander's grade up to at least a B+, if not an A-, by the end of the semester.

Perhaps that way no one would think the death of his beloved sister affected him. You were deeply affected by Alex's death, but not in the way most would suspect. They don't know how he died… you do. You were going to seek revenge and from what you've learned, get your brother's soul back so it can move on into the afterlife and find peace. First you had to train and strengthen your skills, gather a death scythe of your own, and gain a schedule where you can sneak away from the realm from time to time. You wanted to stay an officer; however the vengeance for your brother's death comes first. You can't move on until you do all these things, thus you must end up in Dispatch one way or another with a weapon in your hand. It'll be the tool you can use for snatching your brother back… and you will apologize. Maybe even trade places, but you will apologize that he had to die instead of you.

You sighed. This was going to be a long road. If you managed to get your grades up to an A you still had at least five years to go, if not more, before taking the final examinations. You wondered if you'd get a mentor when you are a senior. Since mentors are sometimes given a student to train, but only if the graduating class has a promising group of A students, most of them A students. You wanted to learn all you could about this new supernatural world of yours… and you supposed, after all the research you've made on your own, it'll be best to make your way into the library… even if the idea of coming across the spirits in your dreams frightened you to the core. You still had to do it and move on. Just… push forward and move on.

"Hey Alex," you heard a voice speak to you and you turned, seeing a boy with brown hair, yellow streaks in his hair that was obviously dyed in, and he wore the same glasses as yourself. Was he a friend or something your brother knew? "Are classes are over. Want to hang out?"

You blinked a few times before giving him a meek smile. "I… actually don't."

"It's alright," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I heard you lost your sister this week. I didn't even realize you had one."

"I do – did," you quickly stated, looking as solemn as possible. "… We died at the same time."

"Seriously?" he gasped, looking at you wide eyed. "Why? Did you two commit suicide at the same time? –"

"Yes we did," you bluntly answered him; about the leave the question at just that while you stared down the white hallway, too white in your opinion. You hated how everything seemed so… white. As if there is anything pure~ about this place, this place of death. "… We committed suicide together to… escape a problem."

"What sort of problem? –"

"I don't remember. It's something I can't recall. Now," you spoke roughly, "I'm going to the library to study, if you don't mind." He blinked his eyes, confused as you walked past him in a swift and rough manner, but didn't run after you and just let you go. You hoped that acting was enough to get him off of your back. You wanted to be left alone… You were never good in 'groups' of people, let alone reapers.

As you walked across the bridge that led to the Grand Library, settled on its own little island cliff, away from the rest of the buildings with two bridges leading to this island, one from the main center where the official departments lay and the campus so students can make their way to the library easily, you glanced over the edge in a bit of a trance. You wondered if this realm was actually in the heavens, but you doubted it. It seemed that the waters trickled down a soft current before plunging over the side, falling into a vast unknown. Your mind began to think about the purpose of this river and why it felt so… familiar and comforting, but you quickly shook your head, snorting and moving away from the railing, quickly making your way to the library.

Your senses have slowly heightened the longer you've lingered in this realm. As a grim reaper it takes time for new supernatural abilities to take hold, after all you used to become exhausted walking into town and back and now you can walk with ease, but you learned with your brother that your abilities aren't exactly… normal. You have been developing powers that you haven't heard any other reaper learning. While your memories of the human past have been traumatizing you ever since you woke up to this new life, you've also had memories of different pasts, you have come to think about it, about humans, reapers… whatever along with voices. The voices… their whispers are beginning to intensify for your lack of listening. You've been brushing them off and now you sense something is watching you from afar… and you don't like it one bit.

You may have not had good clearance before, but truly you were afraid. You wondered if any reaper had this problem before and you hoped you weren't breaking any rules by hearing the spirits, at least. You wondered what these spirits are. Are they friend… or foe? You had no idea. Eventually you've grown accustomed to accepting things that aren't in your control, to let these voices talk and you ignoring it, but now that you had no more excuses you had to make your way to the library. You did say you were going to study… though honestly you've spent countless hours reading through Alexander's textbooks and notes. You could probably take an exam and ace it if you tried without studying, right now, but now that you spent your entire day at the academy you'll have to study after classes as well. How tedious…

Oddly enough a lot of what was being said made sense to you. You completely understood why things have to be so while other students seem to be struggling with the same material. Did your brother struggle in the same way or did he understand death the way you seem to? Mental triggers in your brain were telling you to truth. Some things you are being taught are inaccurate and false, other subjects make complete sense… and you can't figure out why that is.

You had a horrible sinking feeling that coming to the library will indeed solve some of these questions you hold, but then again you were afraid of what was to come once you stepped inside. You had a dread that if you do go inside you will never be the same again. You will change somehow… and you weren't looking forward to that. You must have looked strange standing in front of the double doors, looking up at the vast white old building as if you were awe. You were actually frightened to your core for a reason you didn't quite understand, but… you had to move forward. So you took a step inside, never looking back as you moved deeper into the large Grand Library.

)(*&^%$# !

"Thank you ma'am," you spoke with a polite smile, something that's been trained into you since birth. You learned to be quite compliant with others, but now as your brother you also had to hold some authority, hold your head up high as if you had every right to be in the library.

With permission from the receptionist you walked down to the second floor, restricted for any average grim reaper and permissible for students, and you found a nice desk in a far off corner to sit at. Now it was time to wait… Hmm… You slowly pulled out a notebook you had used to write down all the classes and notes of the day, glad you had taken the free time your brother had to get over his sister's death to go through his personal belongings, finding his notes and other items. Alex didn't gather much over the span the two of you had been here, but he did have some trinkets you were reluctant in throwing away. Also there was your own stuff. Should you keep a few things just in case you need to dress up like a woman again? You weren't quite sure… but you certainly planned on being your brother as much as you can and over time slowly reverting back to your normal self… if you were a guy.

You smiled to yourself as you thought about the past. You recalled the times you would impersonate your brother and he you. You would both wear hats to disguise the difference in hare lengths and waltz around the town you lived in, personating him and playing tricks on others. It was the most fun you could ever have with the life you led as a human. Back then it was even worse to be a girl. Your father despised you since his wife died giving birth to the two of you, and honestly you had no idea if Alex was the first born or not. He just said that he was. You had to obediently obey, without questions, and you knew quite well he would let you die if you were lost or forgotten somewhere. In fact… the whole point of your death was to escape that reality of selling you off. Your brother took his life as well to escape it, but in essence the one that your father wanted to die was you. You were frightened back then and you would have never committed suicide if your brother hadn't been there to drink the poison with you. You honestly thought he just wanted you dead as well, that your brother was always hiding the fact that he hated you like your father, that he wanted you to die so he could be the only one alive, but… after everything that happened… and waking up as a reaper beside him, you realized that he actually loved you. He sacrificed his life, even though you were the one who sinned, to be by your side even in death. If that wasn't signs of a loving brother you don't know what is.

However you would have never thought about taking your life if it hadn't been for that… incident. That's why you were afraid of sleeping and waking up due to nightmares. You were afraid one of those nightmares will become your reality, by sleep walking and committing murder without your mind realizing it… until you wake up and notice your bloody hands. You killed at least seven people in their sleep and you knew if you didn't get out of this you'll keep killing. You didn't want to, you felt compelled to, and you knew your father would never go to a priest for an exorcism. He is the reason a demon from hell was controlling you in the first place. Perhaps deep down, you worried, you wanted those people dead… which are why you feared your own actions. You couldn't be sure if this was all in your head or this was really real.

You suddenly looked up, feeling a familiar chill in the air. You glanced around, quickly putting your notes back into your bag, and you noticed the visible tables with reapers sitting at them was becoming hazy… as if they were merely a shadow or perhaps on the other side of a glass window. You quickly stood up, readying yourself both physically and mentally for a confrontation, and you wanted your questions answered. That's the only reason why you came here.

What you saw caused you to put down your guard, but only slightly.

It was out of a fairytale, what you used to think a grim reaper looked like when you were a child listening to what other children said. A hooded figure stood before you, cloaked in darkness, nothing that could be seen except for dark leering green bright eyes. Green? Wait, you thought it was supposed to be red, but if it was red you would have every reason to worry about this figure before you. What was this thing?

"… Aren't you a clueless child," the spirit seemed to say in amusement and you swore it was grinning at you, causing your eyes to narrow and a snarl to leave your breath. "H-hey now. No need to get snippy! I'm here to help. You seek questions?"

You blinked, confused, taking a couple cautious steps forward, but you still kept one hand on the desk and another hand cautiously behind you, reaching for a hidden blade you knew wouldn't do damage, but you felt a tad of protection and safeness if you had it on you. "… Yes, but more importantly, what are you and why do I keep hearing strange voices? Is it you? –"

"No," the spirit chuckled as if it was amused. You were getting rather angry for being laughed at, but then again what exactly can you do? You know nothing of what this creature is and if it's going to harm you or not. "It is not I~ that was contacting you, but my superiors."

"Superiors? –"

"It shall be explained momentarily. I'm just a messenger here," the spirit snorted, thinking to itself before glancing at you, and you honestly felt your entire being growing cold as it studied you with leering eyes you could not see. "… You… know nothing of what is going on? Has the living honestly stopped teaching the great important mysteries of our existence?"

"I-I… I don't know… I just… started taking classes," you stated, honestly. Why were you being so honest to a ghost?

The spirit seemed to be smirking once again and you backed away as it outstretched a hand, a bony hand… a skeletal hand. "You seek answers. We shall give it to you, but you must take the step forward. If not there is nothing we can do for you."

"Child."

"W-who was that?! –"

"You must be going mad," the spirit snickered at your dismay and worried expression. Wait. Did it hear that voice too?! "You'll lose your head if you don't come with me… Though I won't force you. It has to be your decision, your free will."

"Fine," you huffed, hesitantly reaching out your hand. "… I came here for answers and… I will get it somehow," you continued, forcing yourself to take the outstretched hand.

Your eyes widened in shock as you felt a pain shoot up your arm, a cry leaving your breath that you assumed echoed eerily through the library, and you felt a horrible terror coursing through your veins, your blood turning cold, your humanly death flashing before your eyes before your eyes closed and your mind went blank.

)(*&^%$# !

Slowly you regained your sight, a tired groan leaving your breath as you felt your brain going through hell. It took you a few moments of blinking to realize the reason you couldn't see was because you were in a pitch black room. Oddly enough the more you blinked the better your eyesight became. You noticed shadows upon the wall and you slowly sat up, holding your head while you looked around, freezing in place at what you sensed.

Spirits. They were watching you.

Clothed in darkness ghosts loomed around you in a circle, trapping you in a confined room. You didn't notice a door or a way out. It's as if you were placed in some completely new dimension without any sort of escape. You slowly stood up, reaching up to realize your glasses weren't on your face, but how could you see so clearly? This doesn't make sense –

"We have heard your questions, child," you heard a voice and snapped your head to the sound, only noticing it was a spirit clothed in the same manner as that 'messenger', a black cloak with only a piercing glow, though you couldn't tell what sort of color this spirit had.

"We sense your pain," you heard a new voice, but all the voices seemed… ominous and deep, eerie and creepy that sent a chill down your spine.

"We have come to clarify this confusion –"

"How could you know my questions? And what are you? Are you the council? Don't tell me you're the council and I'm in trouble," you gulped, but you heard an amused laughter coming from one of the voices, but it still felt too eerie to give any sort of angry rise from you.

"No child," you heard a spirit respond.

"At least… not the 'council' you are thinking of," you heard from another, but that didn't stop you from feeling suspicious.

"We are the dead," an authoritative voice spoke, though all the voices seemed authoritative, now that you think about it. "We are dead death bringers, resting within this Grand Library for its own protection."

"It matters not if you've learned or believe in us. Father Death is the one who entrusted us with the task of protecting this sect of living grim reapers."

"You will learn with time what we are."

"You already know what we are, deep in your soul. You just haven't discovered what to think yet."

"It comes with time and age, but for now you can think of us as… The Council, if you wish."

"We aren't necessarily Fates or The Oracle, a gathering of the dead. Whatever you wish to call us, it's up to you."

"… I-I'm… I'd get confused if I called you a council," you spoke simply, though the name oddly made some sense to you.

"Your current council of this sect, within what you call the Grim Reaper Association, is based off of us."

"Thirteen members reside in the council."

"Though it seems in this sect fifteen members reside in that council… Which is strange."

"Regardless, it's best for mundane children to not know we exist."

"We exist for living death bringers like yourself, to help guide you along the right path."

"Your choices in life are all your own, but we'll certainly help if the situation calls for advice."

"… Okay," you responded, reluctantly. You were utterly confused, but you'll just listen to what these spirits are saying. After all you are getting some questions answered, you supposed. "But… most importantly, I want to know –"

"What you are?"

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you different?"

"Yes," you answered with a snort and you noticed one of the voices was smirking at you, you thought to yourself. Are they going to actually let you name them however you want? How odd…

"… Your kind used to populate the earth, in a sense."

"You're a strain of death bringers that are both great and powerful."

"However you are still in a weak state. It would be unfortunate if you were to die by the clutches of devils or angels, or even your own kind."

"Or you think of them as your kind."

"… Child of Death. That is the best way to describe what you are, with a title."

"Death bringers used to simply be chosen by the great Creator that lets us linger, Death, but over time mortals began to appear among this strong group of individuals."

"You know that death bringers are mortals that committed suicide and given a new chance to live."

"As the undead."

"However, particular mortals are given powers to help with the job of harvesting the dead."

"It is done to combat the growing threats to souls."

"Those devils, angels… twisted souls of the demons. Those 'ike."

"Your reasons for existing will become clear with time. You will start to undergo great changes to the ones you've already begun to experience."

"To make this simple, Father Death chose you for greater things. Our Creator, or rather Father, gave you extraordinary powers for a reason."

"That reason will become clear, to you. We do not know what you may become."

"But Father knows. He knows your fate in a way we cannot predict."

"However we have been charged with the task of keeping you out of harm's way."

"Like any reaper, you were once a human soul. While warped to become the bringer of death you are now, you are still a human soul at its core."

"Demons are thirsty for such spiritual flesh, which is why Father has created a place for his children to linger, out of danger."

"That doesn't stop these soul eaters to make their way into the living realm. It doesn't keep them out in the same way the afterlife with Death provides, since this is still a living space."

"Thus demons will realize that you are a powerful soul compared to others, but weak in your own knowledge and personal intuitions."

"These eaters will start to seek you out and try to devour you, since you smell so tasty to them."

"So while you are gaining your strength and growing into your own, you must trust us and we shall help guide you."

"When necessary."

"As time grows on you will realize just how different you are."

"Hopefully your 'council' will never found out they have a hatchling in their mist."

"But they may, which is why we must be cautious."

"They are unpredictable and could do anything from giving you praise to throwing you into their prison to attempting to destroy you."

"… Since you do not have a living mentor around to teach you the ways."

"You must learn on your own and hope you'll eventually come across your own sort of kind."

"It may happen, it may not."

"But we are solitary creatures, at our essence. Being together in communities is a humanly function, not a harvester of the dying function."

"Thus we will bestow upon you what would normally be created for you by your mentor."

"If one chooses you perhaps your training style may change."

"But for now you can only rely on us and your own wits."

"Every other day, perhaps every week, you shall be given reading material, since we cannot physically mentor you."

"With that material you will become accustomed to the true ways of being Death's children."

"With those skills you will be able to take on many complicated matters that your mundane kind wouldn't be able to imagine."

"But this takes time, much time. There is a reason why you are called 'fletching' as a student until you become 'full fledge shinigami'."

"We will guide you, but that is all we can do in this state."

"Now child… hold out your hand."

"With this item your powers will be unseen by all."

"Until you are able to hide your own powers from view yourself."

You gave them all a confused stare, glancing around you while you felt dizzy at trying to keep up with the voices, but… to have an actual mentor. That sounded like a dream, a nice dream. If everything they say is true you could end up dying in the same manner your brother did, if not worse. You already know you're different, but… this different? You don't want to accept it, but… this could all be a dream. Even if it isn't a dream you didn't want to believe it.

However… you wanted to live long enough to save your brother's soul and will stop at nothing to get there. You can't have your life cut short. Plus… to have more power… and to become stronger in a way you could never imagine… sounds oddly great. You may end up apart from others, more than you already are, but… you felt content with that. Maybe you can actually do something with your life and never have to rely on others again.

A fond smile appeared on your face. This could confuse anyone and you should certainly be cautious about this, but… then again you felt a will inside of you to do this, the same feeling you've always felt when you thought about being an officer, reaping souls. It was in your very bloodstream and you couldn't stop the feeling. You'll regret it if you don't take this chance.

So… you held out a hand, closing your eyes since you had a feeling you should. You felt the world spinning around you, a strange surge of power seeping through you, but instead of pain you felt comfort… joy… satisfaction. You weren't scared anymore. Everything was replaced with a joy you have never experienced before, and as you fell deeper into the darkness of your mind you enjoyed the strange abyss you embraced with open arms.