Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: You know I always love it when I post a new chapter and one to more people adds this story to their favorite and/or alerts. It makes my day! =D Hey guys! Finally got around to posting this new chapter ^^ I hope you enjoy! And if you have questions don't be afraid to ask… this chapter may get more confusing (if this story isn't already confusing enough XD)
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"Hey wait! Wait! –" he yelled, stopping once Alex put his hand up and glared at him.
"Why don't you just stop?" Alex growled.
The other shinigami narrowed his hazel eyes, standing up tall and intimidating in his face. "Because…" he paused, "because I sailed halfway around the world for her. Because I'm ready to quit my job over her… because I just want her to understand what happened," he huffed, pushing Alex is the shoulder and running after her.
Sophie ran as fast as she could, her eyes narrow and towards the ground as she franticly made an escape around a few corners and running up the stairs. Then she was stopped, her face looking back down the stairs at a tall shinigami with shaggy dark lavender gray hair with black streaks and a clean and probably expensive black suit. "Sophia…"
"What the hell do you want?" she growled, pulling her arm away from him and glaring at him.
He frowned and suddenly felt hurt. "I… look Sophie I'm sorry for what I did –"
"Is that why you're here? To apologize?" she growled. "I told you, I forgive you but I never want to see you agai –"
"Then you didn't apologize!" he growled back. "You say you forgive someone, but did you really? Sophie, I'm trying to get you to understand –"
"What? That you slept with someone? That everything we had together meant nothing to you!" Sophie looked down, her hands clutching as she choked back on her sobs. "I… you… how could you? Do you really think that I could forget that anything happened right away!"
"No!... I did not," he said calmly, "but why did you leave before I could sort everything out to you?"
"… Because I had no reason to stay," she huffed, turning her body from him to leave, "and your decision was the final straw. Especially with a whore no loss…"
Sophie looked towards the ground, slowly continuing her flight up the stairs. "Sophie… please…" he said quietly as he held out her hand to her.
"No Jericho," she spun her head around and glared at him, "it's over. I don't want to see you anymore." Then she ran up the stairs, leaving him to look down at the ground. He sighed to himself and turned around, going back for his things that he left in the lobby.
Sophie turned to level E and turned the corner, a shinigami watching as she dashed to the end of the hallway and into a vacant room. She locked the door behind her and looked around, noticing that the room was dark. Flipping the switch the room and noticing the room wouldn't light up; a whimper escaped her lips as she flipped the switch several times before giving up. Then she slammed her back against the wall, sliding down slowly as she held her hands to her face. She sobbed quietly to herself, hugging herself as she pushed herself into the corner and curled up into a tight ball.
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"Was that Mrs. Serbus?" Alan asked, Eric and Ronald turning around and looking over in the direction that Alan was pointing in.
"Was it?" Ronald shrugged
Eric blinked for a moment before standing up and walking over to Alan's desk. "You sure?" he huffed, "because I wouldn't see her acting like that."
"Mrs. Serbus wears a large black trench coat and a hat right?" Alan shrugged, "I-I think that was her."
Eric sighed, walking down the hallway and to the room the being ran into. He grabbed the door knob and turned it, grumbling to himself when it wouldn't open for him. "Hello? Anyone in there?" Eric knocked at the door, hearing nothing in reply. He pressed his ear up to the door, Ronald running over to him with Alan slowly walking right behind him. "Someone is in there," he said, hearing faint quiet sobs coming from the room.
"Hello~" came a giggly voice from behind them, the three of them turning around to see Grell standing there with a hand on his hips. "What's going on over here?"
"We think Mrs. Serbus is in there," Eric told him as he pointed to the door.
Grell frowned, knocking on the door and trying to turn the knob. "Hey Sophie are you in there?"
"… Go away," they heard a soft voice from behind the door.
Grell narrowed his eyes and knocked on the door again. "I'll go away when you open~ the door," he said in a bubbly way.
"I know that's a lie Grell," the voice answered, "now leave me alone."
"You open this door!" Grell yelled, pounding on the door and trying to turn the door knob. "I don't want you hurting yourself, missy!" Eric pulled Grell away from the door and they heard nothing else, Grell letting out a tired sigh and turning around. "Does anyone know where we can get a key for this?"
"William has one," Alan shrugged.
Grell nodded "You guys stay here and make sure she doesn't do anything. I'll talk to Will~iam," he giggled, his voice hushing quickly as he rushed back down the hall and to William's office. "Hello Will~" he grinned, throwing the door open and rushing to his desk.
"Hello Mr. Sutclif – What's with the forwardness this time?... What do you want?" William grumbled.
"I need to open a locked door and I need your key," Grell said as his smile faded, getting straight to the point.
William paused, "… why?"
Grell growled, his patience growing thin. "Because Sophie barricaded herself into a room and I need to leave in a few more minutes. Now come on! Hand them over," he huffed, holding out his hand and waiting for William to comply. "I will not leave Sophie in there."
"Not until you tell me why you're avoiding me," he narrowed his eyes and glared back at Grell.
Grell just rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for this!... Fine. You know what, it's because you're a pompous windbag! You can't let go of something that happened year~s ago and I told you it never happened! You may think I'm promiscuous and the office slut, but I assure you that I only sleep with those I like. Who you may ask? Well you for one… but now I'm not sure," he finished. "Now the keys," he said again as he held out his hand.
William paused and sighed, handing over the keys from his pocket and putting them in Grell's hand. "The key to open the door will have the door number on it. I'm sorry –"
"We can talk about it later," Grell huffed, slamming the door behind him and rushing back down the hallway. "Okay move aside," he sighed, fiddling around with the keys till he heard a click and opened the door. Grell slowly peeked inside, pushing back on Ronald as he tried to look into the dark room. "Stay outside sweetie~" he winked, the door closing behind him and only leaving a small crack open. He looked around the room till he spotted a blob in the corner, a heavy black coat and two small shoes poking out from under the coat. Grell sighed, walking over to the coat and crouching down. "Sophie… what's the matter?"
"… I don't want to talk about it," Sophie huffed, causing Grell to frown when he heard her voice was cracked from crying.
"Do you need a hug?" he asked, shifting away as Sophie turned her body and looked up at him. She nodded, tears streaming down her face as she coughed into her neckerchief. Grell sat down on his knees as Sophie grabbed him in a tight hug, burying her face into his chest. "Hey it's okay…" he said quietly, rubbing her back as Sophie kept sobbing quietly.
The door opened again, Grell glancing over and noticing William walk into the room. "Can someone tell me what's going on here?" he grumbled.
"Bugger off," Grell growled back, William narrowing his eyes as he watched the two of them on the floor. William didn't leave and only stood there and watched, his arms crossed over his chest as he moved his glasses on his face and looked towards the gray, though it would normally be white, wall.
"Gr-ell I'm a lost cause," Sophie said quietly, "L-let me go…"
"Not ever," he huffed, holding her tighter as she squirmed a little in his grasp. "Hey I have an idea," Grell realized as he pulled away from Sophie gently and held her head in a comforting way, "how about you come with me on my jobs? You may enjoy it~ and we haven't done some work together in a long time."
Sophie thought for a while before she looked up at him, giving him a slight nod. "Okay," she smiled, coughing again into the bloodstained neckerchief around her neck.
Grell smiled back and helped the both of them up, still having a firm hold around her body as she clung to his chest and coughed to herself. "See you later Will~iam~~" he winked, throwing William his keys as William caught them with ease. "I'll be back when I feel like it," Grell shrugged, helping Sophie out of the dark room and back into the white lights of the hallway.
Sophie cringed, keeping her face buried in Grell's chest while Grell watched as William locked the door behind them. "… What are you waiting for?" William grumbled, getting a grin from Grell.
"Now hold on," Grell grinned, "there's something else I need to say." Then he pulled Sophie away from his chest as she kept her hands to her face and wouldn't put her hands down. "Sophie you're going to have to be more responsive then that!" he joked as he grinned.
"J-just give me a minute," she sighed, slowly putting her hands down and rubbing her irritated eyes. Sophie let out a sigh and looked away from everyone and down at the floor, grabbing her flask out from her pocket and drinking it down heavily. "Okay I'm good. Sorry about that," she giggled, though she didn't seem convincing to William and Grell.
William sighed, "I don't have time for this," he huffed as he walked away from them and shooed Ronald away from behind a nearby cubical.
"Could you tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to force it out of you?" Grell huffed, a chuckle escaping Sophie's lips as she shook her head.
"N-no… I-t's nothing… I don't know," she sighed, "it's just crazy right now… could you wait? I'd rather do some field work before I say anything."
Grell grinned, "Great! Come on then." He grabbed her arm and pulled her along; all the while Sophie glanced around and then pulled her big, black cowboy hat closer to her face. She had to admit, the big hat is hard to see from sometimes but it comes in handy when she wants to hide her face.
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"I feel like I'm going to pass out," Sophie complained as she stood behind Grell as he slit a woman's throat and let her bleed out. She sighed, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes a few times, "… is she even supposed to die?"
"Yep~!" Grell giggled as he took his death scythe out of her and collected her cinematic records. "This little bitch~ needs to die," he laughed in an eerie way.
Sophie sighed and shook her head, looking over at the dirty wall across from them waiting for Grell to be done. "… His name is Jericho."
"Pardon?" Grell asked, not quite catching what Sophie began to say.
"I said his name is Jericho," she grumbled, "and… I was dating him."
"Hold on, what are you talking about?" he huffed as he swung his scythe over his shoulder and stared at her with confusion.
"The guy who made me cry is named Jericho!" she yelled at him, calming down slightly when she noticed his stunned expression. "I loved him… and he loved me, or so I thought," she snarled a little. Sophie looked at him and then chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry… this is ridiculous. It's almost nine and I should get home to the Undertaker... I can talk about it later." She turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Grell's blood stained black gloves.
"Don't go," he said compassionately, but in a stern voice as in a direct order, "I won't let you leave my sight till you explain, al~right?" Sophie paused but then nodded, taking out her flask again and drinking from it. When she closed it up her hands were shaking as she looked towards the ground and sighed. "… Come you're coming with me," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
"W-where are we going?" Sophie asked with a nervous tone in her voice.
"Oh, just a lad~y friend I know," he giggled. "I figure this may be a while and since the stores are closed at night it's best to be somewhere warm." Sophie nodded and walked a little faster, clinging to his arm as they walked through the alley and out into the open streets.
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"Madame Red I'm back!" Grell yelled into the mansion, throwing his bloody gloves into a bucket and grabbing a wet towel to clean off the blood on his face. Sophie trailed along behind him, standing behind his back as he hummed to himself as if everything he was doing was a simple routine. "… Are you coming or what?"
"Y-yeah," Sophie said, walking behind him and cling to his arm again.
Grell grinned, but suddenly paused as a decorative red pillow was thrown at his head. "Where have you been?" A woman huffed, walking up to Grell and snarling at him. "You were gone for too long Grell! I was worried you got caught or something –"
"I had other things to do, ye~esh!" Grell grumbled. "Now would you like your tea malady?"
"… No. You're a horrible butler," she huffed as she turned around and began to walk away. She suddenly paused, hearing snickering coming from behind his back. "Grell…"
"Yes, ma~lady?" he grinned.
She turned back towards him and tried to turn him to look at his back. "What was that noise behind your back?"
"Hmmm~?" he shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about Aaaanne~"
"Anne?" Sophie asked, the other two looking behind Grell's back. She left her hiding spot and sighed, "Angelina Durless right?" she smiled.
"H-how do you know my name – Grell who is this?" Anne narrowed her eyes at him.
Grell grumbled quietly to himself before responding, "She's just a colleague of mine. We wanted to talk after work, but as you can see I had to come back."
"Uhhh hmmm…" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Please miss, it's nothing long. Just a simple talk," Sophie told her, "but if you want me to leave I won't mind it."
"… You remind me of someone," Anne thought and neglecting Sophie's comment, "but I don't know from where… I am the former Baroness Barnett, whom I'm called Angelina Durless now." She smiled, offering her hand.
Sophie smiled and shook it, "Sophia Serbus, but you can call me Sophie."
"Sophie… alright," she chuckled lightly, "Call me Anne or Madame Red if you prefer." Then she sighed, "Now if the two of you will excuse me I'm going to go to bed. Grell, be good." Anne narrowed her red eyes at Grell before she yawned and tightened the red robe hanging loosely on her body. She gave them a slight wave, walked down the hall, and disappeared into a room Sophie assumed was her bedroom.
"Yes ma~lady," he bowed, looking over at Sophie and grinning. "You know her huh?"
"Well umm –"
"Tell me later," Grell huffed and shooed her with his hand. "Hmm… we can talk in the lounge I guess. Here follow me." Sophie nodded and carefully followed behind him, not wanting to get lost in this mansion even if it was smaller than other mansions she had been in. Once they got there Grell offered her a seat. "I'll be back in a moment!" he giggled, "I just want to grab some food for us. I haven't eaten in eons~! Would you like something?"
"Ummm…" Sophie paused and thought, "H-how about some sweets? Tea maybe? I don't care." Grell nodded and took off, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips when the request for tea had been mentioned.
Sophie sighed, kicking off her boots and throwing her coat off to the side. Then she flop her body on the couch and groaned, putting a hand over her eyes as she sprawled her body out on the couch. She stayed there until Grell came back with a tray full of food and tea, setting it down on the counter and pouring out the tea for them. "Sophie here," he nudged her, Sophie groaning as she lazily sat up and rubbed her tired eyes.
"O-okay…" she sighed, taking a sip of the tea he offered her as he poured out his own. Then she paused, unsure if she should spit it out or cough. She decided to cough, "G-grell why does this taste salty! This is an herbal tea isn't it?"
"I'm sorry!" Grell groaned, "I'm not good with making tea yet…"
Then he looked up in confusion as Sophie laughed her head off and set the tea down. "This reminds me of the Undertaker," she laughed. "He was horrible with every~thing and I had to teach him how to cook. You know he once made a cookie spicy? He added too many chili peppers… but why he did that I don't even know," she continued to laugh.
Grell snorted a little and set his tea down, laughing along with her as he wiped a napkin on his mouth. "At least I'm not the only one, huh?"
"I guess," she shrugged, grabbing a pastry and eating it. "So Grell, what business do you have here?"
"Just a side job… but don't tell Will," he winked as he grabbed a tiny sandwich and ate it in one gulp.
"Understandable," Sophie shrugged, "because I had a few in America… but you guys get paid fairly well here. Why do you need the extra money?"
"It's not the money but other things," he shrugged.
"… What do you do here Grell?" Sophie narrowed her eyes.
"I am a butler~" he grinned, "but I'm forced to wear this horrid disguise! It's so disgusting! Especially the hair, ick!"
Sophie laughed, "Once again understandable. It's better to keep your powers hidden… does your mistress know?"
"… I don't know," he shrugged, "but wouldn't mind. Anne is very nice about these types of things. Ever since her husband… well we're moving off topic!" He jumped up a little as he grabbed another piece of food on the tray. "Now, who is this Jericho person and why do you call him your lover~?"
Sophie just sighed, "He's not my lover… I don't know right now. I should just start at the beginning though." She finished the food in her hand and then sat back in the couch, looking up at the ceiling to keep her eyes away from Grell's gaze. "Well… I wasn't completely honest with you," she sighed, "I had a substance problem over the time I was in the Americas because of the stress… Everything just got overwhelming. I didn't work and did drugs and even to a point that it would have killed me… even if I'm a Death God. Just… I don't know. I wanted to go home." She bit down on her bottom lip, holding back tears as she thought back to her past. "I wanted to go home… I wanted to come back to the Undertaker. Everything stressed me out. We had no rules or regulations over there either. Just do what you feel like and not care about consequences. I got into drugs and Alex saved me when he came over… finding me against a house about to be raped or so he told me." She paused, looking over at Grell as he sat there looking over at her with concern. "Don't give me that look," she frowned. "I'm over it… but now I know I can get addicted to things easily. Just… stop looking at me like that."
"Sophie…" he sighed, standing up and sitting next to her on the couch. Grell wrapped a comforting hand around her and had her leaning against his arm, his other hand grabbing for some more food and eating it. "Thank you for telling me," he grinned, "but what does this have to do with this Jericho person?"
Sophie sighed, "When I got better my performance grew. I became somewhat famous around the Americas and eventually left my unit. Over time I became director, which was very short," she grumbled. "Anyways, it was around that time that I was thinking of coming back here to England. That is… until I met the other directors." She sighed and grabbed another pastry, plopping it into her mouth before she continued. "I first met the guy on a mission before then. I think I saved his ass," she chuckled, "and then I met him as the director for the East side of the North America Division. There are two other directors meaning there are four of us total, but I liked Jericho the most. He was as kind to his workers as I tried to be, eventually being my role model. It wasn't for a few more years till our relationship became serious. First it was just a friendship, but it grew over time into something else."
She chuckled to herself before sighing again, closing her eyes and tightly grabbing hold of Grell's arm. "His shinigami name is Jericho Serkan. I learned over time that he's also a God of Death. He's stuck in the parting stage because his father won't give him his rightful role as head of the family. He's the oldest, but he's still powerful even though he's at his weakest point," she sighed, "and good looking… and cute… and funny… nice… You see Grell; because of my status my parents want me to marry a God of Death. Honestly I could care less, but Jericho seems to fit the bill. Plus I love him, I really do… and I thought he loved me."
She buried her head into Grell's shoulder and sighed again, refusing to let go as she fought back tears. "What happened?" Grell asked.
"Well that's the thing. He… cheated on me." Sophie looked up at him and gave Grell a small smile, grabbing some more food before she went back to talking. "First everyone was trying to separate us. Different families wanted us apart, even my own family for that matter," she grumbled. "Luckily I could use our shinigami jobs as a reason to see him at least every week and him with me. We didn't have sex or anything, but we just liked each other's company. About a year ago I thought we were going to get serious and… but…" she sighed, "but he did something awful. I don't mind that he had sex with others before me, but during our relationship he slept with a woman. In less than a day word got out to everyone in the office and once it reached my ears… well I lost it. I yelled at him and broke off our relationship with the words 'I never want to see you again'. We made a promise to stay together and love only each other, but he broke that night he slept with some whore." Grell frowned, noticing as Sophie was close to tearing up again. "He tried to apologize, but it was the last straw for me. Being stressed off every day wasn't helping and problems abroad kept my mind elsewhere. I quickly transferred here to avoid him again, but then… he came back," she sighed, "and even if it's for business or just to find me I don't want to see him again. Jericho hurt me, he really did… and I don't know if things will be better between us again…"
She wiped the tears from her eyes that were beginning to spill from her eyes and she chuckled lightly to herself. "Whenever he would come by we would sit out and watch the stars. He would hold me so~ tightly, promising to keep me safe for the rest of our existences. When I came over to his place we would sit in his apartment building, drinking wine and enjoying each other's company. I was able to leave all the stress I had when I was with him… he kept me sane," she sighed. "Jericho is just breaking my heart. I see him and I feel my heart is rupturing… I don't want this feeling anymore. Grell… just… I…" she continued to wipe her tears away, eventually sobbing on her arm and into her hands. "I hate this. I hate it! This feeling… oh god I want it to stop."
"Shuu~sh," he said calmly, rubbing her back and grabbing her in a hug. "Cry it out Sophie. You'll feel better after you do." She continued to cry and poured out her heart for as long as he would let her, refusing to let go of Grell once he looked at his watch. "Oh geeze it's almost midnight! Would you like to stay here tonight?"
She let him go and rubbed her eyes, still holding onto his sleeve. "S-sure… it's rather late. Sorry," she chuckled meekly.
"It's alright," he smiled. "Let me put this stuff away and we'll go to bed. Oh! Would you like your own bed or sleep in my room? Madame gave me a room since I'm a butler, but I don't use it as much as I should," he chuckled.
"Yours," she said quietly, letting go of his arm as she looked to her hand.
Grell grabbed the tray and kept his eye on her, noticing that she wasn't moving an inch since she set her hands on her lap. "I'll be back in a sec. Don't wander off~!" he giggled, Sophie chuckling lightly as she noticed him disappear, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she clutched her hands into fists. She continued to look at her hands till Grell walked back into the room. "Same as always," he sighed. He walked over to her and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her off of the couch and directing her down the hallway.
Once they got to his room Grell let Sophie walk in first, flicking the switch and grinning as her eyes lit up. The room was painted red with red décor everywhere. It was completely a sea of red, "W-wow…"
"I designed it myself," he smiled happily. "You didn't think that I would let this room be boring old black and white, did you?"
"Of course not," she chuckled, watching as Grell walked into the room, closed the door behind him, and grabbed her things and set them down on a nearby chair.
"Go ahead and change! I have a nightgown –"
"I have my own clothes thank you," Sophie smiled, pulling out her silky red pajamas. "Thanks so much for the pajamas. I love to wear these when I actually have a decent bed!"
"I'm glad you like them," Grell grinned, a sigh escaping his face when he remembered how long ago he gave those to her. The fact that they weren't worn out yet meant she hadn't used them a lot, but perhaps that's because she never got to sleep anywhere de~cent. Then his eyes widened as she began to strip. "Hey let me leave first!" he growled as he shielded his eyes with his hands.
Sophie blinked in confusion, continuing to take off her clothes as if nothing was wrong. "I don't see why you're all hu~ffy. You're a woman right? Well women do this all the time Grell if there are only women in the room of course," she grinned.
Grell blinked and smiled, skipping over to his closet and pulling out his own nightgown. It was just an oversized collared shirt with a light red and white checkerboard pattern. "I'll keep it decent for you~" he winked as he slipped off his own suit and put on his pajamas. As he did so Grell walked into a bathroom and brushed his teeth and cleaned his hair, taking off his makeup and doing his nighttime beauty treatment. Sophie sighed and sat down on his bed, wrapping the sheets around her and yawning.
By the time Grell came back into the room Sophie had her eyes closed and cuddled her head into a fluffy red pillow, trying to keep her eyes awake as she waited for him. He still had a few things to do, so he walked around the room and rearranged things to their proper places. "This reminds me of when the council made me stay in your apartment instead of locking me up in a cell every night."
"Oh yeah," Grell giggled, jumping into the bed and setting his glasses down on the dresser next to him. "… So long ago…"
"Only fifteen years ago," she chuckled, "but I guess you're right. Hey I heard that Ronald was your apprentice. Why did you have another one?"
"I felt I needed it," Grell shrugged. "Plus you were taught by so many other beings that I felt that I needed an apprentice to myself… but you're still my favorite! I don't know Ronald as well I know you."
Sophie smiled at his comment, immediately wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling herself closer to him. "Same here," she giggled, "but not as well as the Undertaker, of course."
"Of course," he smiled back, letting her bury herself into his shirt. He really did miss this, cuddling with Sophie instead of having to have hot passionate sex every other night when he wanted someone's warmth. "You… you're a cuddlier aren't you?"
"… I guess…" she shrugged. "The Undertaker cuddles with me all the time and my mother used to until they made me sleep in a bed by myself. Plus I like it… it relaxes me," she chuckled to herself lightly. Then she let out a sigh, looking up at Grell and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Hey thanks for doing this. Don't go telling everyone that I love Jericho. If the Undertaker found out, oh all hell~ may break loose," she laughed.
"Okay," he chuckled with her. "I wasn't planning on it, but if that means I can blackmail you –"
"Grell~" she frowned.
"Kidding!" he laughed, giving her a peck on the cheek before wrapping his hands around her. Wow, compared to him she was still tiny. He was tall, but not as tall as shinigamis like William and Undertaker. He probably engulfed her unlike Grell can. No wonder the Undertaker liked to keep her all to himself, she felt very warm and soft against his skin. Even if she hadn't showered she smelled oddly heavenly and her hair was very soft. Sophie could be considered perfect to most beings, but Grell wasn't into that sort of thing. Sure he experimented with women, but he'd always~ prefer men over women. He was glad that Sophie has tried to keep herself innocent. Grell knew that almost every other girl at that office has at least slept with someone once in their careers. And they call him a slut! That's what he couldn't understand about the situation. Sure he wasn't a woman, but he knew he was one at heart. He was always happy that Sophie said he was a woman; it was very encouraging for him with all of this disappointment every day. Sometimes it was too hard and he couldn't come into work. Especially with William… how was he going to talk to him? He sighed and set his head on top of hers; letting her fall asleep first so he could make sure she wasn't having a nightmare before he fell right to sleep.
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Sophie and Grell laughed at a joke as they walked up the stairs, casually walking down the hallway to their desks. "He said that?" Grell laughed slamming his papers on his desk. "Oh god, what a pig!"
"Yep," Sophie smirked when she set her papers down in an organized fashion on her desk, "he was. Spat on my face once too, but I shoved his remains into a storm drain and never saw him again! Oh geeze… I'm going to have to come up with something new."
"You have anything in mind?" Grell asked as he hummed to himself and walked over to her desk.
"Perhaps… your wors~t feAr," she chuckled evilly. "Maybe shoved in coffins and suffocate them alive? I already recorded a few unintentionally in my journal," Sophie said as she took out a little black book with a silver imprint of a skull and cross bones on it, "from the minutes to hours a being can survive in a sealed up wooden box. Even shinigamis have a time limit as do other creepy crawly things." Once she found the page she handed the book to Grell, Grell looking over at it with sudden fascination. Alan and Eric looked over at them, a confused look on their faces as they tried to figure out what Sophie was talking about. "I should do a complete study on the life expectancy, but I have a broad idea. Right now I just want to study individual organs. Mainly the heart, but others as well like the lungs… kidneys… that sort of thing," she shrugged. "So… do you hate me?"
"Hah! No!" Grell laughed as he shut the book and handed it back to Sophie. "I may not approve of you ummm… feasting on organs or something like that, but then again how would I know what you like? You're one weird kid to begin with," he chuckled. "I do like those medical ideas. Who was the boy?"
"I'll say it was Ben," Sophie chuckled to herself as she flipped through her book. "He insisted that I try to heal him, but right now it's not working. He's my only guinea pig, but yet I don't have a lot of resources to create the medicine. I wouldn't mind trying it out on others… but I just don't have the strength to produce in a great amount, unless I cause myself to get bedridden over it," she sighed, "I don't know with that kid. Maybe I should try something else?"
"Talk to mi~lady about it," Grell smiled. "She may have and idea for you –"
"Grell Sutcliff and Sophia M. I. Serbus," they heard from behind them in a rough voice, coming into contact with William as he glared at them. "Sophia my office and Grell go back to your desk and work. This isn't your free time, this is work hours."
"Hot head," Sophie grumbled under her breath, William giving her a death glare as he walked back into his office. Then she giggled as she walked past Grell, refusing to stop talking just yet. "Are you telling me she doesn't mind my company?"
"I wouldn't say th~at," he chuckled, "but she doesn't hate you. I think it's more of intrigue~? Hey! I'll talk to you later. I have something to do." Then Grell gave her a wink and walked out of his cubical, Sophie chuckling under her breath as she walked into William's office.
"You wanted me?" she sighed, closing the door behind her as she sat down in a chair.
"Yes," he said in a stern voice, handing her a folder and having her read it over before he continued.
Sophie frowned, the name at the top the first thing she spotted. "Why are you investigating Grell?"
"Mr. Sutcliff has not been to work except for several minutes every day," William began, "and the council said that your expertise can lead us to a reason. Not only this, but he is a prime suspect in a case we are trying to solve."
"And this is…" Sophie sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"We are having trouble with our soul lists," William said as he handed her another folder. "Names that aren't on the list will suddenly appear without warning. We monitor the lists to make sure none of our staff end up on the list, but yet it keeps happening with women… in London."
"And what do you want me to do about this?" she sighed again.
"…" William grumbled to himself as he adjusted his glasses. "You are the director of the Special Operation Division. You have more authority then I do on this case. Go and ask your employees to work on it… The council wants a few shinigamis to investigate this case and have a detailed report on the results by the end of the week –"
"If I do this myself," Sophie said as she set the folders under her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him, "will you make me do my normal job of field work? If I assign anyone for this assignment, I want to make sure their superiors will let them off work so they don't have to do more work than necessary."
"That… yes I will," William nodded, "but everyone is different. You may have a hard time with someone else if –"
"Great. Thank you," she nodded to him, standing up and quickly walking out the door. Sophie sighed as she looked at the folders, setting them on her desk as she thought quietly to herself about her options. If Grell was part of this… she shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh. That can explain some things that have been happening around London. Perhaps he really didn't know the whole picture about the problems around the world and this was another antic of his, but this is something she was going to have to investigate alone. She grabbed her messenger bag and swung it over her shoulder, putting her black hat back on her head and rushing down the hallway.
)(*&^%$#!
"Boss!" Lewis yelled as he ran down the hallway.
Sophie turned around and he flinched, jumping back as he stared into fuming blue and green eyes. "What Lewis?" she leered at him, "and I told you to not call me Boss. Sophie. Sophie! Get it right, damn it!"
"Mad much?" he gulped, getting a swift punch in the face. "Ow! Hey! I have important information here!..." Lewis took another few steps back, trying to avoid Sophie's gaze. "Uuhmmm…"
"Hmmm~?" she vaguely looked at him. "If it's important then spill it. I don't have time."
"Here," he said timidly and handed her a folder.
Sophie grabbed it and sighed, looking at the folder and closing it. "What is this about?"
"EeerrrUummm…" Lewis chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "Army of angels sir. They are killing people from left and right in Redditc –"
"Give the assignment to Cedric Sandor and tell him this is a chance to prove himself," Sophie ordered Lewis as he gave a slight bow.
"Yes Bos – I mean… Sophie," he chuckled nervously, "and there's something else."
"What now?" she sighed.
"A demon in Wales ma'am," Lewis began to tell her as he pointed to another folder. "He has killed a whole village and turned the humans into zombies –"
"Give it to Jerold Yachter," Sophie told him, "and also tell him it's a chance to prove himself." Then she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "… Is there something else before I go about my business?"
"Nope," he smiled happily, turning right around and skipping away. Sophie rolled her eyes and looked at the soul list in her hands, a new name suddenly appearing for midnight, April 1st.
)(*&^%$#!
!#$%^&*()
She carefully watched as the woman about to die kissed an old man with longing, making Sophie feel sick to her stomach. How someone could sell their body for money wasn't in her line of morals at all, though if it was for a good reason she could see why. Obviously this wouldn't be considered a good reason as the human in question didn't have any children and looked very healthy and vibrant. Then… why? She didn't see the appeal. Just then Sophie noticed a dark shadow on the other side of the building, jumping down from the rafters and slashing the girl with… a chainsaw?
The cloaked madman laughed, watching as his victim let out a silent scream and fell to the ground with her eyes wide open in shock. Now Sophie saw at first glance that the man's weapon was a death scythe, but she also knew that chainsaws wasn't a scythe that was legal. In fact, anything that's loud wasn't considered a scythe. Sophie would know: she was one of the shinigamis that would have to sign off on a new style death scythes. Now that she was the Director of all of the British Isles she was in charge of signing off on nonstandard death scythes. Sophie never liked how loud some weapons could be now a days, she even had a hard time with the guns in America, but if someone could convince her that loud weapons were needed then perhaps she would consider regulating them. For now she had to watch this being carefully and watch their every movement.
She watched as he skillfully cut something out of the woman… her uterus? 'Huh… fascinating little killer~, but why?' she thought as he began to jump away. Snapping out of her thoughts and Sophie followed him, making sure to keep her presence off so he couldn't tell she was following him.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
Sophie blinked in confusion once a building came into view, soon landing in front of a standard size mansion. 'Madame Red?' she frowned, feeling something wrong in the pit of her stomach.
Staying in the shadows and in a tree, she watched from a small perch as she watched the man walk into the servant's door and take off his bloody black trench coat. "Ma~lady~~?" she heard the person giggle, a sudden gasp coming from Sophie's mouth unexpectedly.
"You didn't bring anyone Grell, did you?" she heard Anne say.
"Nope!" he laughed. "What do you want me to do with this?"
"Dispose of it as always. Then I need you to make me tea," she huffed, "and this time make it good! The last pot was disgusting!"
"Can't rush perfection malady~" he giggled, walking out of the door and jumping into the night.
Sophie frowned, letting out a tired sigh as she set her back against the bark of the tree and thought to herself. She couldn't run into this. Even if the being who is tampering with the records is her old flamboyant redheaded mentor Sophie knew from experience and training that he can be a powerful enemy. She would have to do this one step at a time… then a grin came to her face. She sat in the tree for the rest of the night as she watched Grell come back, disappear into the mansion, and turn off all of the lights and shrouding her in darkness.
)(*&^%$#!
A/N: BAM! What do you think of that? =3 Well more Grell and Sophie bonding. Yeah, I know Grell is being off of character, but because of what had happened earlier 15 years ago I just figured he would treat her like a daughter? X3 A child he never had? Meh, give me your opinions on how you think their relationship should be. I have NO clue. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Keep on commenting! =D
Serkan – Turkish – blood head