Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Hey guys! I'm glad to see you guys again! Now we move more into the Jack the Ripper arc, but remember that the date at this time is early April and Ciel doesn't come to London till late April… about the 31. The part with Ciel coming to the Undertaker was late March, early April. So he's probably back at his mansion now ^^ I still have some time to write before Kuroshitsuji officially begins. Just so you're aware! As always I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Also, I'm still looking for the person who I was corresponding with about the Shinigami IDs. I think I deleted our conversation by mistake so I don't know who I was talking to… it's making me feel VERY depressed. (I want to give your credit! X3) Well enough about me! Enjoy!
!#$%^&*()
"Get the door Grell!" Anne growled, Grell letting out an annoyed huff as he set her tea down.
"Hey I'm doing the best I can here!" he grumbled as he ran a finger through his brown hair. "Geeze… having to do all this work. I didn't sign up for these grueling tasks!"
"… I know," Anne sighed, "but I need the help. After my husband died I –"
"I understand," Grell chuckled, "and I'm glad to help. Let me get the door." He had a slight skip in his step as he ran to the door, letting out a quick cough and composing himself before opening the door. "H-hello," he said in a meek voice, "Welcome to the Barnett mansion. My name is Grell Sutcliff. Is there something I could do for you miss?"
"Umm… yes thank you," she chuckled to herself. "I was hoping to meet with your master."
"Of course!" he smiled, inviting her into the mansion and closing the door behind her. Grell guided the strange new lady through the halls, holding up his disguise but wondering who this woman was. They weren't expecting a visitor today, so this visit is highly ill-regular. She seemed human, but Grell couldn't be too sure. The woman's hair was black, but he noticed it had hints of red as the sun strike the top of her hair. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue, but too bad it wasn't a vibrant red like Anne's eyes.
He chuckled to himself a little, causing the woman to look over at him with curiosity. "What is so funny Mr. Sutcliff?" she asked, Grell coughing suddenly and quickly putting his mind set back into being a clumsy butler.
"Nothing miss. Was only thinking of a little joke," he smiled. "Madame we have a visitor," Grell announced, ushering the woman into the room and letting her sit down.
"Who are you?" Anne asked, letting the lady sit down before she offered her tea. "I have never seen you before."
"That's because I just moved here," she chuckled lightly. "Hello Madame Red. My name is Athena Ernest and I have just moved from America. My family lives here in town and I have moved back to help with financial issues. I was hoping to get a job here, since I heard you are in need of a few more servants to run the mansion. I don't care what I do here, but as long as I can earn a stable income and go to my other two part time jobs I can do whatever you request."
"Well…" Anne thought to herself as she eyed Grell in suspicion, "I guess you're right. The only servant I have around here is Grell, but I guess it would be nice to have some more help around here. How are you with cooking?"
"Give me a fire and I can cook anything you fancy," Athena smiled, "though I will have to grow accustom to the various foods you have here in England. The place I came from only served gruel and bread if we could find it. I can also make tea and coffee –"
"Great! I need someone who can make a decent pot of tea around here," Anne glared at Grell, the butler coughing into his glove and looking away from her gaze. "Can you be here during the meal times? Early morning at 6am, noon on weekends, and 5pm for dinner. Grell can handle everything else, right?" she looked over at him.
"Yes madam," he said with a bow.
"Oh thank you so much ma'am!" Athena almost jumped out of her seat before settling down and letting out a slight cough. "Sorry. Those times are fine and I will try to be here on time. Thank you –"
"No thanks is necessary," Anne grinned, "and where did you learn that I needed help?"
"Ahhh… Mrs. Frances… Frances Midford I believe?" she thought to herself. "One of her servants referenced to Madame Red so I decided to make my way here."
Anne chuckled, "My sister's dear old sister-in-law? Understandable. Grell go show her to the room two rooms down from your own and the maid outfit in the back closet at the end of the hall. It may be a bit large for you Mrs. Ernest, but I hope our accommodations will suit you."
"I don't think it will be a problem ma'am," she smiled standing up. "Your home is lovely."
"Thank you," Anne chuckled, "Now shoo! I have to get going for work."
Athena nodded and followed Grell, looking down the hallways and eyeing him suspiciously. He was strangely quiet, the woman only shrugging it off as she followed behind him. 'That was easier than I thought,' Sophie sighed, 'usually they would be questioning me more… oh well. I'll use this time to evaluate Grell. Hopefully he won't see through my disguise.' Grell turned around and she gave him a little smile, letting out another sigh once he turned around as they walked through the hallways and to the room that would be her bedroom.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
"You crazy monster!" Sophie and Alex turned around startled, looking over and noticing a shinigami running towards them with his hand pointing at Sophie. "Give me back my heart!"
"Huh?" she answered back. "I didn't give it back yet? Mister…"
"Edward Rein," he huffed, "and no you didn't. I go out on a mission and come back to see that you moved to the London Division. What the heck! You said that if I finish my missions and get all my paperwork turned in you'll give me back my organs. Well news flash, it's been four months now! Now where –"
"Hah!" Sophie laughed lightly to herself. "Seriously? My young boy, you seem… exha~usted~. How is Tristan Niles by the way?"
"… Worse than you think," Edward frowned. "I… look I'm sorry about being an inconsiderate jerk, but I've come all the way from British Columbia to get my most important self back. If you –"
"You've been listening to me now, Edd~ie dear~?" Sophie chuckled softly to herself, and then let out a sigh while looking at her pocket watch. "How about this, you go to the cafeteria and get some food. You look famished~. Mr. Agon can direct you, right?"
"Right," Alex nodded back.
"Good," Sophie smirked. "After I come back I'll go look for it. Sound like a plan?"
"S-sure…" Edward coughed as he scratched his arm nervously. "D-do you think they have any salmon?"
"They will if you ask," she smiled to him as she snapped her pocket watch shut and she bid them a good day, leaving Alex with Edward.
Alex let out a sigh, "Geeze… Go down this hallway and you'll see a sign called 'Cafeteria'. It'll direct you to the room. Keep walking till you make it to the end of the hallway. Now I have to get going myself. Good day Mr. Rein," he finished and left Edward there.
Edward waited till Alex was gone from his sights before running as fast as he could to the cafeteria sign and taking a left towards the grand room.
)(*&^%$#!
!#$%^&*()
"Mr. Sutcliff could you give Madame Red her tea? Here you go," Sophie said as she set the tea pot down on a tray and handed it to Grell. "… and don't drop it," she glared.
"Y-es ma'am," Grell shuddered, slowly taking the tray with him and leaving the room.
Sophie let out a sigh and looked at her watch. Great, only fifteen minutes had passed and Anne didn't want anything else for her lunch. She would have to come back for dinner, but by that time her work should be done. She hustled out of the kitchen and up the stairs, walking past the room that Anne and Grell were in. "This is delicious!" Anne gasped. "Athena!"
"Yes madam?" Sophie asked as she took a few steps back and peaked into the room.
"Keep up the good work!" Anne lifted her tea cup and sipped some more. "Perhaps you can teach something to Grell, hmmm?"
"Of course madam," Sophie chuckled, giving her a slight bow. "Am I excused now?"
"Yes you can go. Be back by five for dinner," Anne shooed her away. Sophie paused, noticing that she was whispering something quietly to Grell. "… and watch her…" Sophie sighed as she hustled out the door and into town. If Grell was going to be following her this may be a problem.
Just then a great 'cawww' came from the sky, a few of the pedestrians running for cover as a giant hawk swooped down and landed on a windowsill. "Oh Noco," she chuckled as she pulled out a leather glove from her messenger bag and put it on her right hand. The red-tailed hawk swooped down and landed on the glove, cooing as Sophie scratched its head gently and continued walking down the street with him in her hand. "Let me see that message on your foot and we'll get you some food, alright?" The hawk squawked in reply, lifting his talon up so Sophie could undo the scroll on his foot.
Subconsciously she opened a gate to the London cemetery, walking up the trail and towards the top of the hill. Noco looked around confused, watching as Sophie stopped at a gravestone and nudged him to jump off of her hand. "Noco…" she laughed, noticing as he tilted his head in confusion and cooed. "Such a good bird," she chuckled as she scratched the bottom of his neck, "but it's okay. Look at the name, see?" Sophie set her hand down slightly so the hawk could see the name on the stone. Then Noco cawed once he noticed Sophie's name and flew off of her hand, settling down on the top of the stone as Sophie chuckled. "Okay let's see this…" she sighed, opening the small scroll and looking over the writing. After a long glance she put it into her messenger bag, taking out a pen and paper and writing on the paper before attaching it back to Noco's foot. "I'm a horrible master to request this, but could you send this to Alex?" Noco paused for a second before he cawed again, setting back off into flight. Sophie chuckled, glancing over at where Grell was hiding before wandering off again.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
Grell grumbled to himself as he wandered back to the shinigami realm. He lost sight of Athena after she wandered back into town! Oh Madame Red will surely be crossed once he told her. The only lead would be that hawk that landed on her arm… Noco he thinks was its name. He took the stairs and made it back to the E level, pausing once he saw the sight before him. There was that same bird on Sophie's desk! Oh no, was Sophie following him? "What is that?" he huffed as Grell walked over to Ronald.
"That's Mr. Agon's bird," Ronald shrugged as he went back to his work. "Alex went to fetch it some food and Sophie is talking to Mr. Spears… why?"
"… No reason~" Grell giggled as he inched his hand towards the bird's head.
"I wouldn't do that," Sophie sang as she shooed Grell's hand away from her bird, "he can be very~ hostile with beings he doesn't know, isn't that right Nocona?" The hawk cooed as Sophie scratched the bottom of its neck, glaring over at Grell once she stopped and sat down at her chair. "Oh let me introduce you. Nocona this is Grell Sutcliff, my old mentor. Grell this is Noco, Alex's carrier bird that had arrived from the Americas."
"Oh…" he paused. "Ummm… Hello Noco."
The bird bobbed its head and then turned, looking away from Grell and instead looking over at the various papers on Sophie's desk. "He's not very friendly," Sophie chuckled lightly to herself. "Did you need something?"
"… No~" Grell giggled playfully, "I only wanted to find out why that bird was on your desk."
"Oh… alright. Carry on then," Sophie chuckled as she turned around in her chair and scooted closer to her desk, a sly smirk on her face as Grell narrowed his eyes at the bird and went back to his desk.
)(*&^%$#!
!#$%^&*()
"Jericho open up," Sophie knocked on an office door, the door slowly opening to reveal the tall and menacing shinigami. "I would like to avoid this, but I have to talk to you about business."
"Of course," he said gently, letting the woman in as she set her hat down on a coat hanger and sat at a chair. She pulled out a letter from her pocket and handed it to Jericho, who carefully looked it over.
Dearest Sophia,
I would like to congratulate you on your success on transferring to Europe. I know how long you have been longing to return and I send you many good graces on your journey. I have heard your roles have been overwhelming and stressful. For this I would advise some opium, since I heard it is easy to come by in England, but alas I know you are trying to quit so I would advise you to send me some if you ever find yourself back in the New Mexico Territory.
The boy you put in charge, Tristan Niles, seems to be having a hard time with his new roles as director, but I have faith that he will be able to be another great shinigami as you had been here. How is my trusty black hat? You have been taking care for it correct? Of course you are. I wouldn't expect anything less from the young Dark Rider. As you had requested, I have been looking over the Hopi tribe you had lived with. Everyone is doing fine, even though sickness is currently plaguing their land. Everyone who you told me of is doing fine, but their elderly, especially their chief, is looking pale. I wonder if his name will show up on the soul list soon enough.
Back to business. You were correct in your last letter. The demons, even around these desolate parts of the world, are quickly leaving and traveling to either Asia or Europe. I do not understand why, but perhaps you could tell me? Or is this something you can't tell me because of security reasons? Whatever you decide, be it tell me or not, is up to you. Not only are the demons leaving, but the angels as well. Is there something that will be happening in Europe soon? I feel I should recruit more graduates over to Europe. I never plan on returning there myself, but maybe another youngster can help you.
Send me another letter as soon as you can. Keep your soul and yourself safe Sophia. I know it is not my place to say this, but if a thug of a god comes after you and violates you I will be the first to kill them. Do not tell anyone of my identity. I would prefer to not return to my homeland.
Wholeheartedly Yours,
Ro- -an
"Both demons and angels are coming here to this island," Sophie said once Jericho handed her back the letter, "and many other super naturals as well. The shinigamis here may not have noticed, but the Gods of Death have. They are coming closer to London for some reason, but with the efforts I have been providing and with other beings' help we are stopping their advances. We are all unsure why they are trying to get here, but I believe it is better to keep them away until we know the reason why. That's all," she shrugged as she stood back up and put the letter back in her pocket. "I don't care what the shinigamis will do, but I felt that as a trusted God of Death and because your father obviously isn't telling you the situation then you should know what is going on –"
"Sophie…" he began with a sigh, "If my father does not want to trouble me with his business then it is not my place to ask, but –"
"And that attitude Jericho is why no one wanted us to be together in the first place," she huffed as she turned around and grabbed her hat. "Perhaps… perhaps it would have been better that we never met, huh?" Before he could say anything else Sophie left the room, rushing back down the hallway to where Alex's office was. "Hey Alex," Sophie sighed as she opened his door and closed it behind her, setting her hat and coat down and flopping down on a nearby couch.
"Trouble?" Alex asked.
Sophie nodded and smiled as Noco flew off of his perch and landed on the armrest next to her. "Thanks for letting my little bird live here for a few days," she sighed as she scratched the bottom of its neck. "A person from my undercover job noticed him… I can't have any links back to this hawk for a while."
"Understandable," he shrugged as he began to sign more forms. "The poor guy is exhausted though. I don't think he'll be flying out for another week or so."
"Oh you may never know," Sophie chuckled. "He's always been a little curious. Right Noco?" she scratched his neck. The hawk cooed and brushed his feathers through Sophie's fingers, letting her scratch itchy parts of his body that he could not reach.
"So you talked to Jericho?" Alex decided to ask. "What did he say about the increase in supernatural beings around here?"
"Nothing," she sighed, "but I'll probably get an answer before I leave. A few days from now I have to meet with a few big heads of the Gods of Death… ugh! I don't see why I have to go to those things. They don't talk to me and try to pin me down with their sons… so disgusting."
Alex chuckled, "So who is it this time?"
"Ari, Bedřich, and Raimondas," Sophie grumbled, "all equally hot heads in their own special ways… and why the hell me? Out of all those women born as a God of Death why are they after me? There's nothing special about me… well except –"
"For your father? Yeah that's probably it," Alex chuckled. "Hey if you want to sleep here I'm fine by –"
"No I need to get back," Sophie sighed. "Take care of Noco. I know he likes you so just get along."
"Yes Boss!" he chuckled, Sophie rolling her eyes as she walked out the door. Then Alex turned to Noco, who flew off of the armrest and back on a perch close to the windowsill. "I guess it's just you and me, huh?" The hawk squawked and he chuckled back, looking back down and continuing to fill out forms.
!#$%^&*()
"Hey Boss hold it!"
Sophie turned around and pulled out her gun, munching down on an apple and glaring at the shivering shinigami. "I thought I said – Oh dear~ Edd~ie" she chuckled, "almost forgot."
"It's Edward," he grumbled under his breath, panting as he stopped right in front of her and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Now can I –"
"Do you even know why~ you were at the top of my list in the first place?" Sophie said as continued to munch on her apple, slipping the gun back in her holster and looking at him slyly.
"Because you hate me?" Edward sighed.
He looked at her with confusion as she chuckled to herself and discarded the apple core into a trash bin. "You could say that," she continued to chuckle, "but that's not the main reason. For one, you told me to train you, remember~? Haven't you been paying attention to a word I've been telling you?"
"… Ummm… I thought I was –"
"I'm glad that you haven't been treating me like some goddess that needs to be set on a pedestal Young Rein, but you also haven't been treating me as your superior. I may be younger then you by several decades, but I deserve respect, got that?" she glared at him.
"Y-yes I got that…" Edward grumbled, "but how does this work with my training? I am the sixteenth born in my family and I only joined this organization so I can do something better then mope around and work as a servant for my older brother –"
"You see you haven't been paying attention," Sophie sighed as she shook her head. "You have a choice to serve your family and a choice to pave your own path. You haven't come into terms with your decision it seems. If you can't do that then how can you expect yourself to learn anything?" Looking at the confusion in his eyes she smirked slightly. "Okay, let me say it like this: I chose to be the head of my family. I could have said no and stayed at a human state and die of old age in a few more years, but I chose to live. In all honestly, I would have rather died then live on."
"Huh?" Edward questioned her, "Then why chose to live if you want to be dead?"
"Because… my father had been alive for over two thousand years and wished his eternal sleep. My older brother was dead and wouldn't be equipped to head the family as I am. I guess… it's not as much a decision on obligation, but I felt, in my heart, that deciding to live on would be better for me in the long run. That's why," she softly chuckled to herself and poked him in the nose, "I am here standing before you today. Even after taking a vow I still wasn't sure of my decision. It took me a few more years to stand firmly by my decision, but it's not something I regret accepting. In other words, do you still regret your decision to leave your family?"
"I ummm…" Edward stuttered.
Sophie nodded and turned around, Edward looking over at her as she began to walk out the door. "You still have a lot to learn, but some things you need to find out on your own. The first step is to understand why your heart feels conflicted to move in one direction, and the next step is taking action. Now if you can follow me…" Edward nodded and followed her out the door and past the shinigami realm, stopping in front of an old tall tree. He took a large step back as the black haze formed around Sophie's hands, swirling around the tree till a large cabinet appeared in front of them. Then she took out a ring of keys and opened it, Edward's eyes opening wide with confusion as Sophie began to hum to herself. "Heart right?" she asked as she threw jars and bottles behind her as she searched for the specific jar.
"Y-yes…" Edward said, looking up at the tall cabinet that was full of different colors of bottles and jars filled with various miscellaneous organs. He shudder a little, getting a chuckle from Sophie that made him flinch back.
She continued to hum to herself as she searched, a little unsure of which heart was his. "How long ago was this?"
"A-about two years ago," Edward chuckled nervously as he scratched his arm.
"Oh that long? I would have thought you would have died by then," Sophie shrugged to herself as she took out her black book with the silver imprint of a skull and cross bones, and quickly wrote something in the contents of its pages before continuing to search. "Good. The fact that I'm working under people that want paperwork this and paperwork that I would have a mountain of work just to explain why I did it in the first place," she laughed to herself. "Oh here we go!" Sophie levitated the rest of the jars and bottles she threw out of the cabinet with her black haze and set them back in an organized fashion before handing him the jar. "Is this it?"
"I-I… I think so?" Edward questioned her as he quickly took the heart in a jar from her.
Sophie just chuckled, "You're welcome, but don't forget what I said." She gave him a wink before setting everything back away, locking the doors and letting the cabinet vanish back into the black haze. "If that's it then I'll be on my way. Fill out forms with why you were gone and I can take care of everything else –"
"W-wait," Edward said quietly. "C-could you… ummm… put this back in me?"
"Oh right," she scratched the back of her head as she looked around in thought. "I guess… well either we go to a morgue or to the infirmary. As long as they have morphine for you… unless you want to be kept awake that is," she giggled to herself before coughing slightly. "Well?"
"T-the infirmary sounds nice," Edward said meekly, "because I don't think I want to be set into the ground today."
"Just making sure," she winked at him before proceeding up the hill and to the shinigami realm. Edward stood there until he realized he had to follow her, holding the jar tightly in his hand as he ran back to the white buildings.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
"I think I deserve a little treat," Sophie chuckled to herself as she popped a lemon drop into her mouth, watching as Edward slowly woke up and looked down at his stomach. There was a large line down the center of his chest and two smaller lines above and below his chest, all sewn up in a professional fashion. She giggled at his reaction as she walked over to him and leered over at his face with a wide grin on her face. "Took you a bit longer then I thought for you to wake up. Oh well~, all part of the learning experience correct?" Then she stood back and gave him some room as he tried to get up. "Give yourself a few days to rest. As your surgeon I will say… three days? Maybe five if you still don't feel well. I don't want that heart of yours falling out of your chest," she chuckled to her own joke. "In the meantime do whatever you'd like. I have to get going now." Then she walked out of the room and out of the infirmary before Edward could ask her another question. Sophie hummed to herself with a bounce in her step, popping another lemon drop in her mouth as she made her way back to the main hallway.
"Did you cross someone off of your list again?" Alex huffed as he noticed her walking past him down the hallway.
"Nope," she grinned, "but how can you tell~??"
"You still have blood on your face," he shook her head, cringing in disgust as Sophie pulled off her black glove and wiped it off of her face with her bare finger, licking it on her lips.
Sophie chuckling at the face Alex was making. "Little Eddie Rein needed his heart back in his body so I did the simple courtesy of putting it back in there for him. I wonder how the rumors will be thi~s time?" she laughed. Alex just shook his head all too knowingly. "Well I need to get going. My next appointment is soon," Sophie said as she looked down at her watch and waved him goodbye.
"Boss wait!" Sophie rolled her eyes as she turned around, noticing Ben running down the hallway and panting as he stopped. "T-thank god I stopped you –"
"What did I say about calling me Boss~?" Sophie growled before grinning again. "Yes Benjamin?"
"Oh umm…" he thought to himself before proceeding with his question. "Could I have another –"
"You used up your pills up already?" Sophie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ben, explain."
"J-just I had to use them a bit more than usual, that's all," he huffed sheepishly.
Alex looked over at Sophie who only shrugged. "Fine, but don't make a habit of it," she sighed as she searched in her bag for a small bag of pills. "Tell me though, why is that? Are they not working as potently as they used to or are you getting used to them?"
"I-I don't know," he sighed, "but I just need some more."
Then Sophie stopped, "If you can't give me a reason then I won't give you them. Benjamin… are you addicted to these pills?"
"No Boss I'm not!" Ben yelped. "I mean… No Sophia, no… I just had trouble breathing the other day a –"
"Here," she said throwing him the bag. Ben caught it before it hit the ground and stuffed it in his pocket. "If you ask for more this month I want a two page report as to why you are using the pills and a detailed synopsis on any problems and concerns I should know about. Now I really have to go." After having finished Sophie vanished down the hallway and soon out the building.
Ben let out an exhausted sigh and was about to leave till Alex stood in his way. "What are these pills?"
"N-nothing Mr. Agon," Ben said quickly. "I-I was sworn to secrecy by Mrs. Serbus to not tell a soul –"
"I see… carry on Ben." Alex grumbled to himself as Ben walked away, scratching his nose and pushing his glasses higher on his face. "Great… another thing Sophie is keeping from me." Then he walked away, looking at his own watch and running out the doors.
)(*&^%$#!
A/N: Yes she collects organs and has fun digesting people out of boredom. Sound like anyone we know~? XD I got the idea from this recent ship arc with Undertaker experimenting on dead bodies and etcetera (plus from other fanfics I guess *shrug*). So why wouldn't Sophie develop her own little creepy tastes? =3 Well anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry for not posting them as must as I should, but homework gets in the way sometimes… and also my own mind since I'm backed up by 7 chapters now ^^' Sorry! Maybe I'll be able to post a chapter or more this weekend or something? I don't know… we'll see. COMMENT IF YOU LIKE IT! It's always nice to hear from you guys
Edward – English – happy guard
Rein – German – advice, council
Tristan – Welsh – noise of arms; clanking sword
Niles – English – champion; cloud
Ari – Scandinavian – eagle
Bedřich – Czech – peaceful ruler
Raimondas – Lithuanian – advice; protector