A blond shinigami jumped from the rooftop he had been standing on, trying to collect the souls he had been assigned as quietly as possible. The humans were all being killed by a demon, and he wasn't looking for a fight. Will is gonna have my ass already for being late, he thought, and I don't work overtime. Thankfully, the demon didn't seem to have any interest in the souls he was collecting; even the ones who were dead before he arrived were untouched. She was pretty cute too – as far as demons went, anyways. He finished his job and continued to observe silently from the rooftop as the demoness collected her master and walked away. The reaper checked his watch and decided to leave the demon be. A demon with a master wasn't usually much of a threat, and besides, the Secretary Pool was having a party soon, and that was one thing Ronald Knox was not going to be late for.

March 7th, 2010

I was sitting at my desk, holding a newspaper and waiting for Raven to answer my call. She walked in a few moments later:

"You needed something, Master?" she asked me, in her bored, flat tone. I slapped the newspaper down on the desk and pointed to an article.

"'Pizza Place Disappearances Leave Detectives Clueless,'" I read out loud. "You know that pizza-arcade place down the road a few blocks that is clearly just a futuristic Chuck E. Cheese rip-off? Over the last month, about 40 people have disappeared, all between the ages of ten and 30, but mostly children and young adults. They lost a security guard three nights ago."

"And?"

"And no bodies have been found anywhere. And if there's not bodies, there's a chance that the victims were just kidnapped, not murdered."

"And you think this has something to do with human trafficking?"

"Exactly. It's a slim chance, but I think we might actually have a lead here. And, if you'll look here..." I said, flipping to the classifieds and pointing out an ad, "they're hiring for the security guard that went missing. I think I'm going to pick up an application."

"You're going to use yourself as bait?" She seemed irritated.

"Well I mean, it's the easiest thing to do. If I get kidnapped again, I can just call for you, and then we've got 'em."

"Honestly," Raven sighed, "it's almost as though you enjoy it."

"Shut up, I didn't ask you," I rebuked her. "I've decided. We're going to pick up an application. Want to hurry before they hire someone else." I smiled ironically. Something told me I wouldn't have much competition for the job. I put on jeans and a t-shirt, and tried to look more like an ordinary teenager rather than a businessman. We left for the restaurant.

When we got there I went in by myself. The place was done up in a sort of retro-future style, with the chrome, and the blue-purple color scheme. First thing I noticed: it was full of screaming kids. I hate kids. At least I was going to be working at night, when there weren't gonna be any around. Second thing I noticed: creepy robot singers. They all looked identical, and it's obvious that they were animatronic, but damn, their faces: giant unblinking eyes, and hinged mouths with teeth. And no matter where I was, they always seemed to be looking straight at me. Ugh. I hurried to the cash register, wanting to get it over with. The guy behind the desk looked only a little older than me, and he had blonde hair and rectangular glasses. I also noticed his eyes were a weird color, like an electric yellow-green color. Oh well. He was also apparently the staffing manager, as his name tag proudly proclaimed underneath his name, which was apparently Ron.

"Hey there," he greeted me, "How can I help you?"

"Hey, I heard you guys were hiring a night guard?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, I'm just surprised we got an applicant. They haven't exactly been beating down the door."

"Well, I mean, I need the job so..."

"You know what? I hate paperwork. I think I'll just hire you now, and we can worry about it later, since nobody else has asked, and we really shouldn't leave the place alone at night."

"Alright, sweet!" I agreed. "When do I start?"

"Well, I think I can get you a uniform now, and show you around, and then you can start at midnight tonight. How's that sound?"

"Perfect!" I stopped myself, noticing that Ron was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and remembering most employers have a stigma against tattoos. "Just one thing... I have a small tattoo on my forearm, is it possible that I could have a long-sleeved uniform shirt?"

"Don't see why not," Ron answered, carefree. "No one'll see you anyways; you'll be the only one here."

"Sweet." I followed him around the restaurant, taking note of the small security booth where I'd be working. The orientation was simple: If anyone breaks into the building, turn on the cam and call the police. Easy. But damn, those robots were creepy. I was seriously grateful to finally be out of there. Raven was waiting for me outside the restaurant. "I got the job," I told her. She didn't seem to notice; rather, she was staring through the window into the restaurant, intrigued by something. "Is something wrong?"

"Something here is... off," she answered cryptically. "It smells funny." She didn't seem too keen on elaborating, so I left her to it, promising her we'd have a better chance to investigate tonight when the place was empty.

That night I met Ron in the security station. Apparently he was just there to brief me and then he'd leave me to it. Which was good, because I'd rather be alone if Raven and I were going to snoop around. It seemed fairly simple: Keep the doors locked, here are the keys, don't let anyone in, watch the cameras, you get off at six. (That's six am, by the way, so I knew I was gonna need a nap in the morning). He was about to leave when he said something strange:

"Also, if something happens inside the restaurant, write it down. The phone doesn't work and you probably won't get reception in here, so if anything goes wrong just pray to God that you won't die!" He laughed it off, like he was joking, but the way he brushed off death so lightly made me a little uneasy.

"Right, yeah," I answered him with a hesitant smile, not wanting to seem rude.

"Alright, well, see ya later," he said, nonchalantly wandering out the door and leaving me alone. The security booth was cramped and messy, with papers everywhere. I found the monitor for the cameras they were all black and white for some reason. Saving money, I guess? Or maybe it was the night vision lens. The animatronics were still staring at me through the camera. This place was creepy and I really didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Raven," I called calmly. I heard her knock on the door and I unlocked it for her. Wouldn't want to have to explain a busted down door in the morning. That would just be asking for trouble. She quickly slipped inside and shut the door, locking it back. She seemed alarmed. Unusual for her. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"That guy, that just left here..."

"What about him?"

"He's a reaper. I knew I smelled something earlier."

"Ok you've mentioned 'reapers' before but what does that mean?"

"Reapers. Are divine beings. That are tasked with collecting the souls of the deceased," she explained, impatient. "Demons. Eat. Souls. And a reaper's weapon is one of the few things that can kill us. We've been natural enemies for millenia." It almost seemed like Raven was afraid of him. I didn't think she could be afraid. "But more importantly: they don't just hang around dumbass pizza joints. If he's here, something's up. I have a feeling he isn't the only reason this place stinks."

Holy shit it's been so long? And honestly most of this chapter was already written I just needed to cap it off... anyways, I hope you enjoy it XD