As dawn began to light up the dark sky, Lucinda walked into the parlor, finally home from the Phantomhive Manor. Though there was a tired gleam in her gaze, an excited, bright glow was still in them.
"Undertaker, I'm back!" Lucinda exclaimed, her voice full of happiness. "And it was a success! I have reaped my first set of souls!"
Lifting up the lid to one of the coffins, Undertaker sat up and smiled at her.
"Well done, Lucy dear! I knew you could do it."
He got up from the coffin and approached her.
"How many souls were you able to collect? I want to hear all the details."
Lucinda smiled.
"I was able to capture five souls, all members from the circus," she explained. "They were fairly strong souls, but I could sense their fragile breaking point, and I used it to my advantage. They were not too difficult to control, but it did took a lot of energy and focus to capture."
Undertaker nodded.
"I see. Very good. I'm very proud of you."
He studied her for a moment.
"You have come far since I first found you barely fleeing the shinigami realm. You would have made a great member to the soul reaping community, if they had let you join them."
He chuckled.
"Oh well, it's their loss!"
"Yeah..."
There was a small silence.
"...Though my soul reaping was a success, it didn't go all that smoothly at first," Lucinda said, her voice now turning serious. "While I was out, I was caught by one of the grim reapers."
Undertaker frowned.
"Oh really? What happened?"
Taking a deep breath of air, Lucinda fully explained Grell confronting her and the deal he made with her. From what she had seen of him, she also mentioned that Grell was the same red wearing shinigami that Undertaker had met before.
"Though I was able to convince him to leave me alone, I won't be so lucky next time," Lucinda concluded. "Even if I am careful, the moment I go looking for souls, I will run into another grim reaper. And even if I don't, they could tract me down and put you in danger."
She sighed.
"The longer I'm in London, or even in Europe, the more likely you and I could be found out. Perhaps..."
She paused.
"...I should be thinking about continuing my training somewhere else, somewhere the grim reapers here won't ever find me."
Undertaker was silent for a long moment.
"...I do see your point," he finally replied. "But where would you go? I cannot train you anywhere else but here, because of my job, and I do not know of any other grim reapers outside our realm who could train you."
"I know this is a lot to ask," Lucinda mentioned, "but why not try getting me in touch with Adrian Crevan? You said you know him well and he hasn't been seen by the shinigami community in centuries. I could get all the training I need, and also be safe from the grim reapers, while not endangering you."
Undertaker's mouth twitched as he tried to form a smile.
"Eh he...contacting Adrian Crevan won't be necessary, m'dear. I..."
He struggled to find his words. There was a long, uneasy silence, Lucinda waiting patiently for Undertaker to continued.
"...Tell me, m'dear, do you really want to leave London?" Undertaker finally asked. "Without thinking about everything else, do you really wish to continue your training elsewhere?"
Lucinda blinked, as if surprised by the question.
"I..."
Her heart skipped a beat, as many complicated thoughts went through her mind, including questions that she had over past events between her and Undertaker.
Did she want to leave, could she leave? Even with her fears, she could not deny that she felt a strong bond with Undertaker, her mentor and friend. She had already lost Ronald, did she want to lose Undertaker as well? The more she thought about it, the more painful it felt.
It's for his own good if I leave, he would be safe and would not have to worry about anything. And yet I...
There was a long silence.
"...No, not really."
She met Undertaker's hidden gaze.
"I've come to really like it here, and leaving London would be extremely difficult to do. London, this parlor, has become my home and I would hate to have it go away."
And...I can't afford lose you.
While Undertaker used all his self-control to hide his emotions, a large smile made its way across his face.
"He he... I'm glad you think that way, for you are welcome to stay here as long as you like..."
He laughed softly.
"Though it won't be easy, I will find a way to make this work. I have lived in London for centuries without being caught and I can make sure you do the same. Nothing will come between us."
He paused, realizing what he just implied. He laughed nervously.
"...Along with you realizing your dream. Maybe if you tracked down this Grell Sutcliff fellow, you could use him as a way to hide yourself from the higher ups. He seems like an easy...person to persuade."
Lucinda laughed slightly.
"From what I've seen. Maybe you're right. There might be a way for me to stay..."
There was a long, awkward silence, the two of them refusing to look away from the other.
"He he... But for now, why don't you get yourself some rest," Undertaker finally said. "You've earned it."
"Sutcliff, you disgrace for a shinigami!"
With rage, William hit Grell's head violently with the end of his death scythe, leaving a big bruise on the top of his head. Grell whined, rubbing his head as William glared down at him.
"Do you have any pride for the grim reapers?" he demanded, a cold glare coming from his shinigami gaze. "Many strong souls were to be collected at that manor, and you ruined it!"
Grell whimpered as he looked up at William.
"I know, but, you have to understand Will darling-"
"Don't call me that."
He hit Grell again with his scythe. Ronald, watching the abuse take place, let out a heavy sigh.
"If I may say, Mr. Spears, I don't think causing him brain damage is going to help the issue," he said calmly. "What's done is done, and getting mad about it isn't going to change it."
William glared at him.
"And yet you're not the one paying for it. If you were higher in rank, Knox, you would understand."
Shifting his glasses up, he let out a tired sighed.
"But at least we got most of the souls for tonight. Over a hundred children's souls in one human's mansion, plus two adult souls."
"Quite the work, wasn't it?" Ronald commented.
William nodded.
"And I need to make sure their cinematic records get properly recorded in the Shinigami Library."
He paused.
"You did good, Knox, despite being late. Keep it up."
He turned to Grell.
"And as for you, Sutcliff, be prepared for your punishment tomorrow."
Grell smiled weakly.
"As long as it is by you, Will, I'll be fine with anything."
William sighed in disgust. Using his shinigami powers, he created a portal and went into the shinigami realm, the portal closing behind him.
"You know, that was very idiotic of you, Mr. Sutcliff," Ronald said when William was gone. "It is like you have a death wish."
"What can I say? I have a thing for not following the rules," Grell replied with a simple shrug. "And I also get closer to Will when I do get in trouble, so it is worthwhile."
Ronald raised an eyebrow.
"You do realize the guy despises you, right? You have no hope with him, and even if you did, it would be abusive."
Grell laughed.
"I like my men rough. Though...a little kindness would be welcomed every once and awhile..."
His voice trailed off. Ronald studied him for a moment, trying to get an idea what was going through Grell's mind.
"Well, I'm just telling you. It is up to you whether you listen or not."
He was about to create another portal to the shinigami realm, when Grell suddenly said, "Wait, before you go, you might want to hear this. It is about your friend, Lucinda."
Ronald's eyes widened.
He quickly turned his attention towards Grell, whose face was emotionless.
"I met her at the manor," he explained. "She was hunting for the souls I was assigned to collect, and from the looks of it, in perfect health."
Ronald blinked.
Lucinda...she was alive?! A part of him felt relieved that she was alright, but another part questioned how she survived this long.
"Was she alone?" he asked. "Is she staying at the manor?"
"No, she isn't staying at the manor," Grell answered truthfully. "But I can assume she is staying in London, but I don't know where."
He walked closer to Ronald.
"From experience, she is more than likely staying with a desperate human. That's what happened when I ran away to the human world. And somehow, she has trained herself how to hunt souls and fight with her death scythe, for she seemed to have had practice."
"But you can't just teach yourself to use a death scythe," Ronald countered. "She must have been taught how to."
Like from a rogue grim reaper. A deserter.
"It could be possible, but I doubt it," Grell replied. "I think we would have known if a deserter was training a fugitive."
"And yet it has taken this long to find Lucinda."
There was a short silence.
"Believe what you want," Grell finally said. "But I thought you would like to know that she was safe. And that I won't report her."
Ronald raised an eyebrow.
"Not that I want harm to come to my friend, but why let her go?"
"She did not seem like a threat and it would put more work on myself to turn her in, since it looked like she would fight to the death for her freedom. Besides..."
Grell smiled slightly.
"Living with humans means you can free from our society's mad rules and overwhelming expectations. I can relate to her wanting to leave. And since she is not doing anything wrong, why not draw out her little adventure before she is ultimately captured by someone like Will?"
Using his shinigami powers, Grell created a portal to the shinigami realm.
"I will see you later, Ronald Knox."
Winking at him, he then left through the portal.