Oof, I made it! My week didn't get any worse, and it improved slightly, so I wanna thank you all for the good vibes~

I think some expectations are gonna be subverted a little bit here. I hope you enjoy!

Reapers did not kill. It was not their job to tamper with lifespans.

But Tenshi was no stranger to the feeling of murderous intent.

He didn't really want to kill Jack, of course, but that obnoxious, reckless idiot made his blood boil. What was he thinking, playing in the portal? He should consider himself lucky that Tenshi had spotted him. He'd tried to push him back through at first, but had frantically pulled him out when the monstrous spirit saw them. That quick action, which was definitely out of necessity and not care or worry, had saved both of their heads from those sharp nails. Really, it was like Jack had no foresight at all.

"Look alive, Tenshi!" the other reaper, and his friend, Akuma, shouted.

Oh, right. The spirit.

Akuma and Tenshi shared look, red eyes gleaming at amber ones. Tenshi nodded at him, holding his scythe tightly.

There was a harrowing screech from the giant spirit. Akuma rushed around it first, slicing at its legs. Tenshi moved just as swiftly to the other side. He hooked his blade around the wrist, where a shackle rattled the chain leading to the ground.

More ghostly wails rose from the beast. As Tenshi and Akuma hacked away at the shackles and chains, the bonds visibly started to weaken. The reapers jumped back one last time, landing on either side of the base of the chains.

"Well, this is your job, Akuma!" Tenshi called. "Finish it." Akuma flashed a toothy grin at him.

"On it!"

He held his sickles high and brought them down against the chains. They burst with small flashes of light, and steam encompassed the spirit. Tenshi heard a yell from the rooftops. At least Jack wasn't hurt.

"There we go."

Tenshi looked back toward Akuma. The other reaper was storing away his sickles and pulling out his tablet. He flicked his finger across the screen, and Tenshi couldn't help but step over to peek.

"You caused a lot of trouble. But you couldn't help it, poor thing." Akuma sighed. He looked up from the tablet screen's file. Tenshi followed suit, and they were able to see the real form of that angry, monstrous ghost.

"Jack!"

"Shhh…" that probably wasn't the best reaction to give the panicking spirits rushing toward him on the rooftop. Jack waved his arms and stood up. "I'm fine. But look down there." He smiled gratefully as Clover pushed his staff into his hands. He gripped it as hard as he could.

"Ah, it's Akuma." Clover peered down at the street below. "Is that the spirit they're reaping?"

"Yeah. It was a huge monster before! It was crazy-"

"Guys, hush, I wanna hear this." Julius said.

The Guardians behind them looked completely nonplussed. Bunny seemed about to explode once again, but Jack did nothing but beckon them over with a finger to his lips.

The steam had finally cleared, and a normal-sized human stood looking around at everything. He looked scared. Frightened eyes, angry scowl. His shirt was stained red on the bottom front half, with a visible rip in the fabric over his midriff. Where there had once been chains was now a single, bright string between the man's wrist and the concrete of the alley. Akuma slowly walked toward him.

"Nakamura Daiki. Is that your name?" his voice carried through the quiet street.

"Who are you?" the spirit barked. Akuma's calm expression didn't waver.

"I am Hitsugaya Akuma. Are you Nakamura Daiki?"

"Y-yes…"

Akuma stopped just an arm's length away from him. He held his tablet down at his side.

"On August 5, 2014, you met someone in the alley here. Do you remember that?"

"What? How do you know about that?!" Daiki backed away slightly, his brow furrowing. The watchers on the rooftop tensed, but neither Akuma nor Tenshi so much as flinched.

"You met someone and tried to do dealings with them. Do you remember that?"

"Who are you…?"

"Do you remember it, Nakamura Daiki?"

"I…"

His stance was less defensive. Akuma asked no more questions, and Daiki's hand moved to the rip in his shirt. He gasped quietly, the sound just barely reaching everyone's ears.

"At 1:00 a.m., you fought that person, and at 1:04 you breathed your last."

"I'm…"

Akuma began walking again, slowly and steadily. He stopped just in front of the man, pulling out one of his sickles.

"It's time to rest, okay? You can't stay in this world any longer."

"WAI-" A cut-off shout from the roof.

Akuma swung. The bright string split clean, and it disintegrated like dust. Its light traveled up to Daiki's arm, spreading to his entire body until he was covered in a white glow. Akuma put his tablet away in his robe and held out his hand. The form of Daiki began to morph, fluidly spinning into a ball. It landed in Akuma's palm, and he placed it into the fold of his robe.

"Okay, finally done. You guys are safe! You can come down now!" Akuma called to the roof.

"What just happened?" Jack called back. Akuma gave a soft laugh.

"I reaped his soul! Was that your first time seeing?" he cleaved the air in front of him with his sickle. Tenshi hurried over, and Tooth gasped as a portal opened up on the roof next to her. Akuma and Tenshi stepped through the one on the ground and popped out by the rest of the group.

"Wow, such a big audience! You're lucky you're not human, or we'd have to wipe some memories~" Akuma chirped.

"What happened to him?" Bunny sounded just as shaken as he looked. "He turned into light-"

"Oh, his soul is right here." Akuma reached into his robe and pulled out a simple black pouch. "I've got to release him at the Station so he can go on to the afterlife."

"Why'd you call me for that? Normally you can handle an aggressive ghost." Tenshi said. "But more importantly…" once again, his mouth dropped into a deep frown.

"What were you thinking?!" he shouted at Jack. "You're over 300 years old and you don't know better than to mess around with someone else's magic? You're more foolish than I thought!"

"I saw a chance and I took it," Jack snapped back. His expression had darkened, and he looked up at Tenshi with a similar scowl. "I wanted to show these guys what reapers actually did so they wouldn't think you guys were murderers!"

"Of course we're not murderers!" Tenshi's face was turning red. Everyone looked on nervously. "But what they think isn't our problem! Our job isn't your business, and meddling like you did is more of a burden than false assumptions have ever been!"

"Uh, okay, can we not scream about this?" Clover winced. Tenshi spun around, fixing his glare on the Guardians.

"I want you all to listen, because I'm only explaining this once." His eyes narrowed at Bunny, who glared right back. "No matter how wrong your idea of reapers is, it doesn't matter to us."

"It mattered a lot back at your place, didn't it?" Bunny said coolly, raising an eyebrow. Tenshi paused, breathing out slowly.

"If you would let me finish, Rabbit." he snarled. "It doesn't matter - as long as you don't go making trouble for us. Keep your prejudice to yourselves if you have to have it. Don't go spreading rumors, don't go making accusations, and don't interrupt our work, because souls who don't get reaped turn into what you almost lost your immortality to." he pointed at Jack.

"WELL, I think that's enough of that!" Akuma laughed far too loudly. "No real harm was done, so it's okay! You're Jack, right? Tenshi and Clover have talked about you. Nice to see you again! I never really got to talk with you. You probably heard, but my name is Akuma…"

Everyone took a moment to examine the white-haired reaper. His bun had gotten messier during his work, and strands of hair were hanging around his face. He was around the same height as Tenshi, though his face was much softer.

"...get this poor guy to the Station, and then we can go to the bar, if you'd like!" Akuma gently swung the pouch around. "Honestly, Tenshi, I called you out here because I slacked off a bit and left my good gear in my room. So I'll repay you with a drink!"

"I told you that I wasn't ever drinking with you again!" Tenshi huffed, still red and angry.

"And yet you keep coming, huh? Aww…" Akuma laughed, more genuinely this time.

"Huh, I just realized." Julius spoke up, gaining the attention of the others except Jack, who had put his hood up and was watching frost spread beneath the butt of his staff.

"Tenshi and Akuma…"

Everyone looked between the cheerful, laughing Akuma and the incensed, scowling Tenshi.

"...Do those names really fit?"

Notes: This is taking place in 2014, though I think I mentioned that before.

Tenshi in Japanese = Angel

Akuma in Japanese = Demon

Both these guys have reasons for their names, but you'll get those later, haha~

I don't often write actions like these. I hope I get better at it, as well as writing conflict. Please leave your comments, and I really hope you enjoyed!