A/N:There is no train in the Shinigami Realm originally but I thought I'd put it in as a thinly-veiled Spirited Away reference. That and I am convinced that the shinigami realm is inhabited by numerous species of dead-like, morbid creatures.


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(Her mother is the goddess of the night…)

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Anna tapped her fingers on the table between her and Ryuzaki impatiently, her head resting in her palm. "What are we doing here?"

Ryuzaki shushed her, a finger to his lips, before continuing to lap up the sweet coffee he made, his eyes focused on a lone man at the back of the café, typing away at his laptop. Anna frowned, just watching him consume what she was sure contained two hundred grams of pure sugar left a sickly feeling at the back of her mouth. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her orange flavoured milkshake.

Soft jazz music played silently around them. Ryuzaki had chosen that particular café because there were very few people inside and the cameras in the corner above the bar were toys, merely for show. Once he sat down opposite the man in the corner he never turned his head away from him.

Anna leaned towards him, her chin resting on the edge of her glass, a straw obscuring her vision. "Don't you think he might have noticed you staring at him? The reason for which is still unknown to me, by the way."

Ryuzaki put his mug down and brought his thumb to his lips, nibbling on the nail. "I have been trailing his moves for five days now and not once has he looked at me twice. He's not suspicious in the least."

Anna gaped, shaking her head in disbelief. "What- What do you mean, you have been following him?"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes at the girl. "That is what I just said."

"Why exactly are you following him?"

Ryuzaki lowered one of his legs from the chair simply to kick Anna's knees below the table. Anna yelped, bowing her head in embarrassment when people turned to her at the sound. But soon they went back to what they were doing and Anna looked up, glaring at him through her eyelashes.

"I will kill him."

Anna blinked, not sure whether she heard him right. "Did you just say that you're going to kill him?"

The black haired man smirked, his eyes on the middle_aged man. "Please don't talk so loudly, I would be extremely disappointed if my plan was foiled before I had the opportunity to carry it out. But the answer to your unnecessary question is 'yes'.

Anna sneered, struggling to keep her voice down. "And what makes you think I will let that happen?"

Ryuzaki laughed, like a schoolboy and took one of Anna's hands before she had the chance to pull it away. An elderly woman sitting a few tables down smiled at the endearing sight, her eyes shining. Ryuzaki stroked Anna's wrist with his thumb and she swallowed uncomfortably.

"Not only will you let that happen," he began with a sinister smile, putting Anna's hand gently on the table before bringing his palms to rest on his knees, bringing both of his legs to his chest, "you will also help me."

Anna shook her head, horrified. "I will not help you kill another human being!"

Ryuzaki pulled at his lip, his teeth grinding, his voice annoyed. "Miss Nixon, don't act like you have never done anything similarly immoral in your life because we both know that it is not the case."

Anna froze, the breath stuck in her throat. She swallowed, sitting back in her chair. Her whole body felt stiff and it took her three deep breaths before she was able to talk again, now a small shy smile on her face.

Ryuzaki's eyes left the middle aged man in the corner and cocked his head to the side, surprised at the calm and inviting look on her face.

She folded her arms, tapping the fingers on her forearm and crossed her legs one over the other. "I am not sure I recall the event to which you are referring."

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. "I am not your therapist, drop the act."

Anna sulked, pouting. She kicked Ryuzaki's chair, annoyed when all it did was startle him a little. "It still doesn't mean you have the right to kill him!"

He glared at her. "Did you also think that way when you killed him?"

She glared back, tripping over her own words, waving a dark memory away. "T-That was different!"

Ryuzaki leaned towards her, his voice barely above a whisper. "That worthless man, sitting in the corner will die tomorrow whether I kill him or not. They will most likely not find his body for days. I will transform his measly existence and give him a purpose."

The medical student scoffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder, having stopped listening by the time he finished the first sentence. "Oh god, are you still on about that?"

Ryuzaki turned, fully facing her. He rested both of his arms on the table, lacing his fingers together. "Would you believe me if I told you that whenever I look at a man's face I see not only his true name, but the exact date and time he will die above his head?"

Anna pretended to think. "No. I would call the men in the white coats and have you committed to a specialised institution." She smiled mockingly, that same smile dropping when she realised he hadn't been affected by her remark. A slow, tense minute passed before she frowned, dropping her head low. "You're serious?"

"Why would I lie to you?" He cocked his head to the side.

Anna slumped in her seat. "I'll just treat that as a rhetorical question." She took in a deep breath, her eyes travelling to the man on his laptop, oblivious to the fact that he has been the topic of a rather gruesome conversation the entire time.

She frowned as realisation dawned upon her. The dream she had last night… It was real? It couldn't be! Anna's head swam with confusion, trying to sort through all the strange and otherworldly occurrences she had experienced recently. First a bony monster in the middle of a sandy wasteland claiming to be a god of death, then Ryuzaki saying he can see the date of death everywhere around him. Not even to mention her only point of stability, Dr. Ellen Foveaux was officially out of her life thanks to her parents who after ruining her day drove off with a wave of a hand.

She huffed, puffing out a breath of air, feeling exhausted.

Then suddenly she grinned, jumping in her seat like an excited child, her eyes shining. "Tell me when I am supposed to die!"

Ryuzaki's eyes widened, a little shocked before he recovered, shaking his head. "I won't do that."

The girl in front of him crossed her arms like a disappointed child. "Aw, fine." The black haired man bowed his head, resting his chin on his knees. "I feel sorry for you a little though."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Anna crossed her arms on the desk in front of her and rested her head on top. She looked up at him. "Well, if what you're saying is true then your whole life you have been surrounded by death. Everywhere you looked there loomed a reminder of our mortality. You would know the day your grandparent would die, or a parent, or a best friend-"

"He's leaving." Ryuzaki interrupted, and jumped to his feet, already a few tables down on the way to leave out through the door, the man he was following looking both directions as he crossed the street.

Anna pouted, downing the last of her milkshake and scrambling to follow him, muttering under her breath the entire time. "Oh yes, just brush it off. I go out of my way to be sympathetic to a homicidal maniac and all it does is go into one ear and come out through another."

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Anna stopped at a red light, her gloved hands resting on the steering wheel of a stolen vehicle. Ryuzaki sat next to her with his knees to his chest, sulking like a child as a result of ten minutes prior, when Anna crossed her arms and refused to drive them anywhere until he put on his seat-belt.

If Beyond wasn't tired from injecting a man twice his size with an animal tranquilizer and dragging him to the boot of the car he stole, he would have killed her then and there.

She tapped her fingers. "Did you ever wonder that they 'would have died anyways' is because you are the sole reason they have died in the first place?"

Ryuzaki ignored her, his eyes focused on the road ahead of them. Three teenagers walked past, whistling at the car. "Nice ride, dude."

As Anna gave them a tight smile, the man in the passenger's seat beside her simply stuck out his tongue at the younger boys. They scattered away, footballs tucked under their armpits and their faces contorted in frowns.

Anna gave Ryuzaki a sideways glance, releasing a sigh of relief when the light turned green.

"What's the address again?"

Ryuzaki didn't even take a second to answer. "221 Insist St., Hollywood."

Anna nodded, turning a sharp left and when her companion's shoulder hit the door painfully he almost felt grateful she made him wear the safety belt.

The brunette hummed as she scanned the street carefully, her hair up in a tight bun so none would come loose. Ryuzaki thought she looked older that way, dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black, long sleeved shirt, a pair of combat boots on her feet.

She frowned. "What is his name again? Benjamin Breadwinner?"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. "Did you even try?.." He shook his head when she didn't answer and instead simply smirked. "Believe Bridesmaid. He's a freelance writer and has written articles for dozens of magazines under many different names-"

Anna waved him off. "Yes, yes he's relatively known in the industry. His name sounded familiar when you first said it." She turned another sharp corner and Ryuzaki started to doubt her driving skills.

"You need to drive carefully; I don't want any bruises on the corpse."

Anna raised an eyebrow. Corpse? The guy wasn't even dead yet!

In response she scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. "Oh yes, of course. Why, it would be a disaster! Here's a suggestion: next time why don't you pick a victim who isn't six feet tall and over two hundred pounds!"

Ryuzaki groaned, face palming. "It can't be just anyone! He has to die today, and his name has to fit!"

Anna waved him off, Ryuzaki yelling at her to keep her hands on the steering wheel; a command she pointedly ignored. "Yes, we've been through all this before. First murder: 31st of July. Why didn't you give me the dates for other murders? Do you not trust me?"

No response.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Right, stupid question… Believe Bridesmaid. Are all your victims going to have initials B.B. and be drugged? Oh, and did you really mean what you said about wiping the entire house off of fingerprints? It sounds exhausting."

Ryuzaki nibbled on his thumbnail. "The details are essential."

Anna glanced at him in the rear view window. "'The devil is in the details'. Are those details part of your M.O. then?"

"M.O?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you know: Modus Operandi – your mode of operation."

"I know what M.O. stands for!" He objected, offended.

Anna laughed, grinning. "You know that makes you a serial killer, right?"

"I'm not a serial killer." He growled the words as if the very term burned at his tongue.

"Well evidently you are. And you're about to become one officially too." Anna wondered how long it would take for the police to figure out it was a serial killing. After the second, third murder?

Ryuzaki glared. "I don't kill because I enjoy it."

Anna scoffed. "Could have fooled me… Look, I am being an accessory to murder. If I get arrested after all this is over it would most likely help my case to plead that I was being made to do so. Well, I kind of am but…" her voice trailed off and she chanced a look at his face, frowning at the anger it emitted. "I guess what I'm saying is: it would make it easier, for me, if I know why."

"I will create the biggest case he has ever faced."

For a moment Anna wanted to ask who he meant by 'he' but she let the thought fade. "So revenge, then?"

Ryuzaki cocked his head to the side, smirking. "Miss Nixon, are you trying to justify my actions?"

She violently shook her head, her expression grave. "No, I am not. You can't justify an act of killing, Ryuzaki. It's wrong and it is immoral and if there's such a place as Hell, you will burn there for the rest of eternity."

"When you put it that way, it's hardly a wonder why you need a therapist, Anna."

Anna stomped on the breaks, Believe Bridesmaid's house directly to their left. "What is that supposed to mean?" If Ryuzaki wasn't wearing a seatbelt, he would have flown through the front windshield.

He shrugged. "If killers burn in hell, you already have a reserved cauldron with your name on it." He pulled his own pair of gloves on and opened the door, reaching over to undo the seat-belt. He met her eyes, offering her a smile before exiting the car, reaching for the syringe in the back pocket of his jeans.

Anna sighed, letting her head hit the back of her seat. Through the rear view mirror she observed Ryuzaki open the boot and reach in, most likely to inject Believe Bridesmaid again. Enough to keep him unconscious until the early morning.

The sun has set and the sky was turning a dark blue, soon to be enveloped in complete darkness. Anna pulled at her bottom lip, frowning. "I suppose were are not much different then."