Audit the Heart
Chapter 6
The sound of pounding on her hotel room door woke Shiki. The small reaper stood from her bed and padded over to her door in her slip.
"Yes?" She looked out the peephole to see William outside.
"It's urgent." He muttered, looking disheveled. Shiki quickly opened the door without hesitation. As soon as she was in his sight he took her by the arms and slammed his lips down on hers. She was pushed against the wall of her room as the door softly clicked close.
"Wi-William." She sputtered as he gripped her under her legs to lift her up. He pinned her to the wall with his lower body. His excitement pressed firmly to her inner thigh.
"I have dreamt of this almost every night since the day we first spoke" she heard his husky voice whisper into her neck. Before she could respond, his mouth crashed back down on hers, not giving her a chance to speak as his tongue danced with hers. She ran her hands through his silky locks as she felt his hand move up her thigh underneath her slip.
Shiki shot out of bed. She could feel the heat radiating off her body. Was that real? She looked around; William was nowhere to be found. She sat up to look at the clock, there was no way she was getting back to sleep now.
Hours passed, Shiki had made herself a light breakfast and some coffee to tide herself over. She even had time to make something for William. A knock on her door startled her from watching the sunrise from her living room window. "It's me." William's familiar voice called from the hall.
"Please come in." She called. She tried to hide her embarrassment about her dream by hiding her face. "I made breakfast." She stood and started to reheat it. William worked at making tea.
"You look exhausted. Did you sleep alright?" William leaned in and examined her face. Shiki launched back at the proximity.
"Ah! Ye-yeah, I mean no, no I didn't sleep well." She sputtered. Her mind was clouded with her unbuttoning his already half unbuttoned shirt to run her nails down his chiseled chest.
He stepped closer to her once again "Are you unwell?" He persisted. "illness could reduce mission productivity."
"I'm fine!" She proceeded to create more of a distance to prevent the distracting thoughts.
He gave her an unconvinced look but decided not to push the issue. "Perhaps you should take it easy today?"
"I don't want our insubordinate reaper to get another woman." Shiki sighed. William nodded somberly. The two prepared for the day and proceeded to the hospital once again. William opted to watch from the outside while Shiki searched the inside. After an hour of looking through rooms and offices, She came across the red haired woman she was searching for.
"Mrs. Morgan, I'm going to head out early today. I have some things to do with my nephew." The red haired woman smiled brightly at an elderly nurse next to her. Shiki observed the conversation until she no longer found it useful.
The sound of a steady tone caught the female reapers attention. She turned to see an unfamiliar woman looking at her from a hospital bed. Her eyes showed fear as the world seemed to slow. Shiki walked closer to the woman. She had eyes and hair like warm honey. In human years, she couldn't be too old by Shiki's observations. "Am I dying?" She whispered hoarsely as nurses and doctors frantically rushed around the two as if they were moving in molasses.
Shiki stared for a moment longer. "Everyone is dying." It was a fact. Shiki didn't get much opportunity to talk with the living. This was strange to her.
The woman panicked when Shiki was close enough that her unusual eyes could be seen. "Are you the grim reaper or a demon?"
Shiki could see the woman's desire to run and answered carefully as she sat at the foot of the bed. "I am a reaper, but you have nothing to fear. My job isn't to take souls." The woman looked around as people continued to move and get her pulse going again.
"A grim reaper that doesn't take souls." The woman mused to herself. "Are you sure I'm not dead? The monitor looks like it." Shiki could see the beginnings of tears forming in the woman's eyes.
Her gold and green eyes took on a softer look before she spoke. "Your day is not today, Sophie. You are currently experiencing the cusp of death. Hence, your ability to see me without my choosing. But when you go back to the living world, you won't see me anymore. Nor will you remember this conversation."
"How do you know my-" The world started to speed up again as the woman's eyes rolled back in her head. The monitor started to make beeping noises again, indicating a pulse. Shiki stood and moved away from the bed as the woman gained consciousness.
Shiki observed the woman coming back around to consciousness before turning around to see her subject of investigation was missing. With haste, she exited the building to regroup with William.
Outside, the small reaper observed that William was no longer at his post. He must be following her. Surely she wouldn't be dangerous during the day. With no way of knowing which way her nephew's house was, she returned to the hotel.