A/N: Enjooooy
X
X
X
Well, what a nasty turn of events.
Grell Sutcliffe sauntered over, swaying her hips teasingly with every stiletto step. She paused in her dramatics to flick a few offending hairs from her face before continuing towards me, overdrawn lips puckering into a nauseating smile. As she drew closer, I discreetly checked over my shoulders, hoping that Kathryn was nowhere nearby to see the mortifying display that was sure to take place.
"Well, well, fancy meeting you here Sebastian"
Her seductive drawl grated on my ears and I inched away.
"I see you've left your station in London. Have your colleagues finally become too repulsed by your presence?"
Her smile instantly turned to a snarl. She straightened her glasses and sniffed disdainfully.
"Quite the opposite. I've been offered a sabbatical of sorts"
I concealed my snicker with a light cough.
"A sabbatical, you say? I've always believed your kind to be raving idiots, however I must give credit to your superiors. They've found a foolproof way to get rid of you"
In the blink of an eye, Grell had closed the distance between us and was now baring her pointed teeth not two centimetres from my face. Keeping my sober expression, I offhandedly brushed a speck of dirt from my sleeve.
"Pardon, but your breath is quite putrid"
She scoffed and swiveled around on her heels, effectively blinding me with her cherry-red mop. Once she was a proper conversational length away from me, she stopped.
"You're as snide as always darling, but I can see through your façade. You, the lonesome creature of hell, and I, the fair maiden borne from the pearly gates and wreathed in satins of the deepest red. Alas, our love can never be! For I have chosen another and-
Grell paused in her theatrics, spying something past me. Her smile returned and she pointed a single manicured finger to my right.
"Now now love, it's rude to eavesdrop"
My eyes followed the direction she was indicating and saw, crouched almost out of sight, the form of my master.
Damn
Clearly sensing the challenge in Grell's voice, Kathryn stepped away from her hiding spot and strode defiantly over to where we were standing, lifting her chin as she went. Once she'd reached us, she crossed her arms both protectively and assertively over her chest and assumed an air of disinterest.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was so devoid of emotion it was almost a statement.
Grell, clearly taken aback by the straightforwardness and generally callous nature of my master, gaped.
"Excuse me?"
"Do you not understand English? Who are you?"
Grell seemed to have gathered herself and spluttered incoherently before responding passionately.
"I am simply the most desired woman of the Shinigami Despatch Association, respected and sought after in equal parts, the drop-dead gorgeous-"
"Grell Sutcliffe"
My interruption was met with a glare.
"I love you, my darling Bassy, but don't interrupt a woman when she is speaking"
I heard a snicker from my master at the mention of the ridiculous pet name and made a show of pointedly ignoring her. Her expression sobered and she turned back to Grell.
"Narcissist, check. Deluded, check. Generally an oddity, absolutely"
There was another bout of incoherence from the offended reaper as Kathryn's sharp wit slashed another wound in her ego.
I couldn't help but smirk.
"Anyway, the real question here is why were you following us?"
"That's none of your business pipsqueak"
Grell's demeanor took on a sudden defensiveness and she backed up a few paces.
"It is if it's me you're following"
"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine"
"You're avoiding the question"
"Wha- No!"
Kathryn shot me a pointed look. Cracking my knuckles, I took a menacing step towards the now flustered reaper.
"Perhaps you've misunderstood. We can either have a civil conversation in which you comply with our questions, or we can take a less agreeable and notably more painful route. Whichever you prefer"
I cracked my knuckles once more to make a point.
"Ehrm, preferably the less painful route please…"
"Wonderful. Now let's try this again. Who are you and why are you following us?"
Grell cleared her throat and dusted off a protruding ruined column, gingerly sitting down after all dust and dirt had been wiped off. Brushing excess dirt off her hands, she placed them daintily in her lap.
"My name is Grell Sutcliffe, senior member of the Shinigami Despatch Association"
"And what is that, exactly?"
Grell shot me a bored look.
"Honestly Bassy, you take up with a new brat and you don't tell her about us? I bet that other kid what's his face, is turning in his grave"
The innuendo in her words went completely unnoticed at the mention of my previous master. Kathryn sensed my sudden stiffness and sent me a confused glance. Seeing she'd struck a chord, Grell smirked.
"What's the Shinigami Despatch Association Sebastian?"
Kathryn's query jolted me back to the present.
"Ah, yes. Grell is a reaper, a being who collects souls from their human shells once they have died. The despatch is simply an association that organizes their movements"
I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye, but my mind was still focused on the memory of icy blue eyes.
"Alright, you're a reaper. That doesn't explain why you were following us"
"Right. I get my orders from the higher-ups, and due to certain circumstances involving my fellow reapers, I was sent abroad to investigate some soul abnormalities. It just so happened that I was sent to the same places as you two"
Kathryn looked skeptical.
"So you're saying it's just a coincidence?"
"Don't you understand English?"
She glowered at the use of her own insult.
"What about these soul abnormalities you speak of?"
Grell turned her attention to me and shook her head.
"Can't say, that's top secret. If Will found out I was even talking to you-
In a moment, I had crossed the space and had her pinned to the ground with one arm bent painfully behind her back.
"Oh darling, not in front of- ah- ow! Alright I'll tell you!"
Letting go of her arm, I allowed her to seat herself on the column again. Once she'd fixed her appearance, she answered.
"There have been some strange things going on. Someone has been tampering with souls, as in they're taking certain parts and leaving the rest in the body. The end result is a mangled corpse with only part of its cinematic record. Without the full thing, us reapers can't collect it"
"What's a cinematic record?"
This time, Kathryn's question was directed at the reaper herself.
"It's all the memories the human has made in its life, and is inextricable from the human's soul"
"So this was happening in Prague and now in Rome?"
"That's right. Our initial thought was that it's the work of a demon, but since you're already contracted to the only demon in the area, that theory's been debunked"
Kathryn seemed to mull this over. It was a few moments before she spoke again.
"Grell, I'd like to help you in your investigation. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I think we could both benefit from working together"
Her tone of voice had completely changed from the usual surly undertones to an almost friendly lilt. She extended a hand to the reaper, an encouraging and almost optimistic look on her face.
Grell was having none of it.
"Certainly not! I won't be investigating anything with the likes of you I-
It was at this moment that my master rudely elbowed me in the ribs. With great reluctance, I cocked my head to the side and stared piteously in the reaper's direction.
"Grell…"
That was all it took. Without hesitation, Grell extended her own hand.
"Great. We'll meet up tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding your darling Bassy"
I glared, Kathryn snickered and Grell swooned.
"Oh, of course not. Well, tata!"
Blissfully unaware of the jibe, Grell hopped up onto the outer wall of the gardens and disappeared from sight with a final seductive wiggle of her fingertips and a kiss blown my way.
Once she'd gone, Kathryn turned to me.
"Well, that should facilitate our own inquiry. With a little motivation, I'm sure she'll be a great help"
"At my expense, no doubt"
It was muttered, but she caught what I'd said.
"Naturally"
X
X
X
A/N: Thank you for reading, hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to leave a review.
Wordsmith8