Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Well here I begin reviewing chapters again! I don't know if I'll be able to continue posting 3 chapters, as I have been doing over the weekend in the past, but I'll at least post one up a week ^^ Perhaps two, and if I have time then three. It's just that I'd like to take a little break from writing this story because of school and another fanfic I'm currently writing. So there you go. Just so you're updated on my plan! =3 and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
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"wwWWWAAHHH!" Sasha yelled, hiding her eyes as she tightly clutched to Sophie's leg.
Sophie laughed as she shot her guns at the mob of demons, using her feet to maneuver down the snowcapped mountain atop a large circular sled. "Sasha!" she called to the frightened girl on her legs. "Grab out your gun for me while I summon a portal."
"Yes ma'am!" Sasha nodded, pulling out a Colt Single Action Army revolver from her pocket and firing at the group, grinning happily when she shot four out of six demons in the chest. Quickly reloading she continued again, hanging onto Sophie's leg to make sure she didn't fall off of the sled. Setting her guns back into their holsters and holding onto Sasha with one hand, Sophie summoned a portal with her other hand at the bottom of the hill, falling through the portal and rolling into a grassy landscape. Sasha tumbled behind her and landed next to Sophie's sled, which was actually an old aspis shield Sophie had summoned with her black haze.
Sophie levitated the shield into her hand and threw it into the portal, hitting several demons in the head in a boomerang affect. "Hah take that!" she laughed, taking out her guns again and firing at the advancing demons. "Sasha you alright?" she called behind her, keeping her gaze on the opened portal.
"I'm fine!" Sasha answered, quickly stumbling back to her feet and running back over to Sophie. Then she took out her gun again and fired into the portal, several demons falling flat to the ground before she reloaded. "This is fun!" she giggled, firing again as she stayed close to Sophie.
"I'm glad you're having fun," she chuckled, reloading both of her guns in three swift motions and firing again. "Sorry that the meeting didn't go as planned, but the secret assault took me by surprise. Those sneaky bastards," Sophie smirked at the five rows of demons that had fallen to the snow and disappeared in the harsh blizzard.
"Nah its fine," Sasha smiled. "It's still fun!"
Sophie nodded and narrowed her eyes, deciding to get this mission done as quickly as possible. "Are you learning something today?"
"Yep," Sasha nodded.
"What exactly?" she continued to ask in a monotone voice.
"To never let down your guard," Sasha began, "and always look for a way out of a tough situation – Oh! And demons always fall head first instead of backward on their bottom."
"That so?" Sophie chuckled. "How did you come across that?"
"Well look," Sasha pointed to the demons that fell as Sophie shot at their stomachs. "They all end up face first in the snow instead of falling backwards."
"Did you think that's because they are running down the hill and thus gravity is causing them to fall forward?" Sophie smirked.
"Oh…" Sasha thought before shrugging, "Well it was a simple observation – Hey aren't those director guys you were talking to supposed to be here?"
"Probably got lost in the snow," Sophie chuckled, squinting her eyes from the bright shine off of the snow and looking up the mountain. "Hey there they are!" she pointed, reloading before making a path of dead demons in the snow as they made their way hastily down the hill and flying into the portal. Then Sophie closed it up before anymore demons could get through, moving her bangs from her eyes as they lay on the ground panting. "Meeting someone in a pub wasn't the best place for a meeting," she chuckled, stepping over the tired shinigamis and tipping her hat up with one of her guns.
"Sorry," one of them groaned as they rolled over to their side and rubbed their head. "We weren't expecting an ambush."
"So where are we?" the other asked, looking around as Sophie shook her head.
"London of course. If you can't keep a tight security then we will have our discussion here." Sophie left them on the ground as they stumbled to their feet, Sasha giggling at Sophie's comment and following alongside her. They were only a few feet from a white building, so Sophie sat down on an outdoor table and waited for them, a smirk on her face when she noticed the tired look on their faces. "And you call yourselves directors?" She chuckled, "That wasn't even difficult."
"NOT DIFFICULT?" one of them complained with a groan in his voice. "There were millions of demons running after us for no reason –"
"About sixty two, not millions~" Sophie rolled her eyes, "and can it Charles. You weren't even trying."
Charles let out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down on the bench. "Now Tobias," Sophie began to say, "what were you saying about your academy?"
"We were thinking of setting up a Scandinavian academy," Tobias began as he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, "but we don't know where to begin or where we should set it up –"
"Sweden of course!" Charles laughed heartedly. "We're practically the middle –"
"No you're not," Tobais shook his head and glared. "We're –"
"Now hold on," Sophie held up her hands to them, causing the two directors to cease their bickering. "Before we continue, did you talk to the other directors about this? Primarily the Danish and Finish I would presume."
"We wanted to set up a solid idea before discussing the idea with them," Tobais told her, "but we're lost with ideas on the matter. Since there is a great academy here in the British Isles we figured we should ask you first."
"Good plan," Sophie nodded, taking out an apple and munching on it as she thought to herself. "Let's see… First off what would you be teaching? There is history you must gather from every country and various techniques too. The top teachers you need to find who are willing to teach students, and trust me that is never easy," she chuckled. "Discuss your plan with the other directors. This is a great idea by far, since we get many exchange students from Scandinavia coming to our academy, but if the other directors can have their own ideas on the subject then maybe you'll be able to bring your idea to life."
"Understandable," Tobais nodded. "See, I figured that's what she would say –"
"Yeah, yeah," Charles shook his head. "Thought I should ask –"
"I notice you are discussing a location?" Sophie grinned, throwing her finished apple core to the side and jumping off of the table with her arms crossed over her chest. "I think Oslo in Norway would be best –"
"Aw no fair –"
"But because," she held her hand up to Charles before he continued, "Oslo is a major capital in Norway. Plus Norway is in the middle of Sweden, across the sea from Denmark and the closest to Iceland. Shinigamis from Finland will have to go through Sweden, but that'll be easier than setting up the academy in Sweden. You see what I'm saying Charles?"
"… Yes Sophia," he grumbled under his breath, glaring at Tobais before looking over at Sophie with a grin. "Now I have one other request."
"What is that?" she raised an eyebrow.
"We have actually been training, unlike some people," he stuck his tongue out at Tobais before returning his gaze back at Sophie, "and we have our first class graduating from our small school in Stockholm this spring. Could you… if you have time, make sure our top student is ready?"
"Sure," she shrugged, "but it will have to be right now. I don't have time otherwise."
"Great!" Charles chuckled, holding up his finger to her as he rustled for something in his bag. "You won't regret this! I'll just be right back," he told her, creating a portal and walking through it.
"I have to see this," Tobais chuckled, sitting down on the bench and smirking over at Sophie.
"So they're already experimenting?" Sophie decided to ask, stepping up on the bench and sitting back down on the table next to Sasha.
"For about four years," Tobais shrugged, "but they're only taking the best and brightest they can find into their school. It's not at a grand scale to let other countries in, but it's a start."
"Hmmm…" Sophie thought to herself, "then maybe he's right with having the academy in Sweden –"
"Hey don't tell him that," Tobais shook his head. "He'll get cocky again."
"Alright," Sophie chuckled as she set an arm on her knee and her head atop her hand, mumbling to herself with boredom as they waited for Charles to come back.
"Тетушка," Sasha said meekly, breaking the silence.
"Yes love?" Sophie sighed to herself as she waited for the portal to appear again.
"Can I go and get Al?" Sasha smiled.
"Yeah sure," she chuckled. "Alistair and you will benefit from a live demonstration on your final exams."
"Great!" Sasha laughed, jumping off of the table and rushing into the building.
"Russian?" Tobais raised an eyebrow.
"Her mother is from Russia," Sophie chuckled, "but is married to a shinigami who came from the western portion of the Ottoman Empire."
"Oh wow," Tobais chuckled. "When did they marry?"
"A few years ago in America. They were working under me at the time… though the mother doesn't work as a shinigami anymore and spends her time taking care of the kids," Sophie shrugged. "While they're in town, I decided to teach their kids for a while like I normally did back in America. Only giving them a taste of what a shinigami is and excret –"
"I'm back!" Charles sang, pushing a taller and younger shinigami through the portal as he closed it up behind him. "Stand up straight and introduce yourself," Charles huffed, slamming the palm of his hand into the man's back and causing him to stumble forward.
"Garth Kirkja, twenty two years of age and from Umeå, Sweden. Top of my graduating class from the Stockholm University for Elite Shinigamis,"he bowed to her.
"Umeå?" Sophie asked. "So do you know Finnish, Swedish, and English then?"
"My human parents taught me Swedish and Finnish. I learn English from the university," he looked up.
"Alright," she nodded. "Make sure, Charles, that everyone is learning at least one other language for about… three years. That way the shinigamis will have be able to communicate with other shinigamis from other countries. Preferably the languages of the countries surrounding you, but also other countries as you begin to specialize."
"Yes Serbus!" Charles saluted, taking out a small notepad and writing down the information she was orally giving him.
"There are three different examinations and one follow up exam to make sure a shinigami is qualified to go out into the field," she continued. "There is – Ah Sasha you're back! Sit down over on the bench and pay attention." Sasha nodded as she kept a firm hold on her brother's hand, the two of them growing quiet as they listened to Sophie's speech. "The first is to test practical technique. This is usually the hardest and the exam that kicks out shinigamis for the upcoming year, since we pin peers together on a one-on-one fight. There are points involved in every basic examination, but for the practical technique you are looking for the various moves the shinigami should have been taught… Got that Charles?"
"Yep!" he held up a thumbs up, still writing vigorously on his notepad as Sophie continued.
"Then," she sighed, "there is the written exam followed by an ethical exam. The written exam is over all the material that should have been covered. There is the basic test, about one hundred questions, which each shinigami is required to know. There are other tests from different subjects, ranging from General Affairs to the Dispatch Management. Upon graduating a shinigami needs to have a division they will be going into, but they can always go back to school and take the test for a different division if they want to change career paths," she explained. "The ethical exam isn't hard nor is it truly a final exam. It is a calculation of the shinigami's performance over their years at the academy. Lastly is the final exam, which is having the graduating shinigamis go out by twos into the human world to evaluate a soul and then reap. The range of time has changed from months to days, but I find that having them spend half a month in the field is best… Okay?"
"Yes," Charles nodded as he looked up from his notepad before resuming his rushed writing.
"Good," she looked over at Garth with a devious smile on her face. "Now what do you want me to do with this gardener?" she smirked, Garth's eyes almost popping out of his head as she referred to him as a gardener.
"Train him a little," Charles shrugged. "Technique I guess –"
"Alright," she chuckled. "Hey Sasha do you want to help me?"
"Yes Тетушка!" Sasha giggled, jumping off of the table and rushing over to her. "What do you want me to do?"
"We're going to play a game~" Sophie smirked as she rushed in her messenger bag and pulled out a small black feather. "A… cat-and-mouse game if you'd like to be specific," she smirked at Garth who gulped. Then she huffed, ticking Sasha in the nose before walking out between them. "The goal of the game is to get this feather, a human soul, before time runs out. One of you is the reaper and the other is the demon… but who is the cat and who is the mouse depends on the outcome," she chuckled to herself before throwing the feather up into the air and letting it float away from them in the breeze. Sasha kept a tight watch on the feather, though Garth was confused and didn't even glance at it. "You see Mr. Kirkja," she began to explain and got his attention, "the human soul is nourishment for most demons. Not only will you need to take souls, but you'll also need to keep them from being devoured too. If kept alone, and depending on the type of demon, they will consume a soul in about five minutes time once it is in their grasp. It gives a shinigami enough time to retrieve the soul, or end up coming back empty and having to file a bunch of paperwork to make up for the absence… got that?"
"Y-yes," Garth nodded, trying to find the feather, but lost track of it.
"Alistair," Sophie called to the little boy. "Since you've played this game too how about you act as the dead body?"
"Okay," Alistair smiled happily, jumping off of the table and walking casually past Garth. He jumped up behind him and grabbed the black feather from his hair, causing Garth to look around in shock and the others to snicker.
Then Alistair sat down in the grass and sighed, crossing his hands over his heart and holding the feather in one hand. "I will give you five minutes," Sophie said as she popped open her pocket watch, "and the being who has it in the end is the winner. The boundary is to stay within the shinigami realm. Ready… set… go," she told them in a casual tone, stepping back as Sasha and Garth rushed for the black feather.
Alistair closed his eyes tightly as the two shinigamis rushed at him, Garth gaining the lead since he was a few feet away. Noticing this, Sasha suddenly turned into a light brown fox and quickly gained speed, jumping over Alistair's body and snatching the feather into her mouth. "HEY WHA –" Garth gasped in confusion, having to jump over Alistair's body to avoid tripping over him as Sasha jumped between Garth's legs and took off towards Sophie.
"A demon will use any trick in the book to win," Sophie explained, "so you have to be expected for anything~" Garth ran as fast as he could to Sasha, who snickered with the black feather clutched in her teeth and ran into the building. Sophie sighed and walked over to the bench, sitting down on the table with a grin showing on her face.
Noticing everyone had left, Alistair stood up and brushed off the grass on his clothes, walking over to where Sophie was and sat next to her. "A game?" Charles huffed.
"Games are a great learning tool," Sophie chuckled, "even if they're tedious to the untrained eye."
"Charles, the game is cat-and-mouse," Tobais sighed. "It's obvious the winner is the cat and the loser is the mouse. It's training that shows that if you retrieve the soul last then you're most likely to lose the soul all together. Plus, how did Sasha turn into a fox –"
"Her father is half demon," she explained with a tired sigh, "and if you do anything to kill them I'll destroy you."
"Right… sorry…" Tobais eyed her with a frown on his face. "How did you come across this game?"
"I made it up," Sophie chuckled happily as she let Alistair set his head lazily on her shoulder. "I have the game and all the rules written up in my book, but honestly the idea just came about in my head when I was reaping. It's a fun little game to train the younglings and piss off students," she smirked.
"Huh…" Tobais thought to himself. "I think I came across that game before… but perhaps it's a different version or it's under a different name."
"Perhaps," Sophie nodded, looking down at her watch and clicking it shut. "One minute!" she yelled, coughing to herself slightly as she let out a tired sigh.
"We heard about your scrimmage with a demon," Tobais said, "and we weren't expecting you to show up in the first place –"
"Yes… well when I make a promise and an appointment I make sure I go," she chuckled lightly as she sat back on her hands. "Its disrespect otherw –"
"Hah!" Sasha laughed, jumping out from a nearby window and running towards the group. Then she turned back into her human form, jumping onto the table and flying past them as Garth made his way out of the building and continued to pursue her.
Sophie opened her pocket watch again and looked at the time. "Three," she began, "Two… one, time's up! Miss Agon wins yet again," she chuckled.
"Of course I do," she giggled, running the tips of the feathers over her cheek as she swayed her hips discreetly. "I'm taught from the best."
"So tell me Sasha," Sophie sighed as she let Sasha sit down next to her, "How was Mr. Kirkja?"
"Needs to work on his footwork," Sasha giggled as she ran the feather under her neck and thought. "He's not thinking ahead. If I was going to eat the soul I would have disappeared long before he could have caught up to me. That's all," she shrugged.
"Hah!" Sophie chuckled, "You need to work on your training Charles."
"… Hmmm…" Charles frowned, "but –"
"Don't worry about this exercise though," Sophie shrugged. "I was only giving a demonstration on what could happen in the field. Now Garth, this was more to see the problems you need to work on: footwork and planning ahead. If you work on your weaknesses first then I bet you'll become a great shinigami," she chuckled. "Overall you did fine. Congrats."
"T-thank you D-dark Rider," he said with a slight bow.
"Please don't," Sophie held up her hand to stop him, "and call me Sophia alright?"
"O-okay," Garth responded startled, quickly straightening up his back and giving her a small smile.
"Well that's it!" Charles chuckled to himself as he set his notepad in his suit coat and looked over to Garth. "Sorry if we were an inconvenience to you Sophia."
"No convenience at all," Sophie smiled. "It's nice to get out every once in a while and have fun."
"Alright," Tobais chuckled. "We will be on our way then." After giving Sophie a handshake Tobais and Charles opened up a portal, Charles leading Garth through the portal first followed by Tobais at the end.
Sophie let out a tired sigh and slumped on the table, Alistair going down with her as Sasha giggled and jumped on Sophie's stomach. "Hey Тетушка," Sasha began to ask as she ran the feather under Sophie's nose, "what do you want me to do with this feather?"
"Keep it if you want," Sophie shrugged, "but that's one of my feathers."
"Y~eah~" Sasha shrugged, "but I already have one! Just take it back Тетушка."
"Alright," Sophie sighed, grabbing the feather and letting it disappear between her fingers. Sasha giggled as she felt the misty sensation between her fingertips, soon closing her eyes and coddling her body into Sophie's chest. "So how was the reading?" Sophie decided to ask.
"Fun," Alistair smiled. "I wasn't expecting such old books."
"Well~ old books have their charms," Sophie chuckled to herself. "I noticed there's more information in the older books. I think I'll have to go through the history book one of these days and change it myself… I never liked my textbooks anyways."
"I didn't know a shinigami library would have a book on anatomy," Alistair chuckled happily as he curled his body up next to Sophie's side and looked up at her face. "Who was the author? Renu Elektias? What a weird name," he shrugged to himself.
"Yeah that name is weird," Sophie smiled as she wrapped a protective arm around Alistair's waist and brought him closer to her body, "I never came across the last name before. I think the man nor is his family is alive anymore. That's why the name is awkward." She shrugged, "but I came across the name time and time again looking over really old books dating back centuries into the past. Even if they're old books I think the author knew what he was talking about in most of them."
"Тетушка," Alistair yawned before he continued, "W-what does his name mean? I was curious about it."
"Well…" Sophie thought, "I know Renu means born of dust in ancient Sanskrit. The last name, Elektias, is a mystery to me… I think it's Greek. The first part could mean Elektra, which means shining amber, and Aias, which means mourner of the earth. A strange name huh?" she smiled.
"Yep," he yawned, "Very~… very strange," Alistair yawned again and closed his eyes tightly as he curled up tighter to Sophie's warm body. Sophie smiled and stroked his back, staying awake as Alistair breathed quietly and Sasha snored loudly on her chest.
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"Thanks for taking care of the kids for the day," Rose said with a sigh as she grabbed Sasha off of Sophie's stomach and into her arms. "It was nice to relax for a day."
"Hey no problem," Sophie chuckled as she shifted her body off of the bench and looked up at the sky. "The sunset is always so beautiful," she mumbled to herself before looking over at Rose with a smile. "I better go home. Do you know when I should be working yet? I'm starting to get antsy about it."
"Oh," Rose chuckled lightly. "Why don't you just start working tomorrow? Or a few days from that? Sophie it's up to you."
"Yeah I know," she grinned, "but a lot of people around here are saying 'Oh you should rest' and I'm like 'Ugh. I don't want to'. I'm starting to get sloppy too."
"Take a few calm~ jobs then," Rose told her. "Oh! What about the mortuary? Does your father need help around the building?"
"… You know I didn't think about that," Sophie chuckled, "but if he does then I'll let Al tag along. He's been itching to dissect a body for weeks and if I don't let him he's just going to start cutting people up."
"I know," Rose grumbled under her breath. "Geeze," she chuckled, "sometimes I think your influence is turning my Дети into brutes."
"Awwww~ am I a bad~ influence?" Sophie pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's mean жена. It really hurts, right here," she pounded her hand on her chest.
"I'm sorry," Rose chuckled as she grabbed Sophie with her free arm and hugged her tightly. "I know жена is only trying to help." Sophie grumbled under her breath before giving Rose a pat on the back, letting go and eyeing her suspiciously. "It's a good thing you're helping Alistair. I don't think I could help him with the hobbies he likes. Alex and I wouldn't know what to do with him if you weren't around to help him," she sighed.
"Well he takes after my own heart, love," Sophie grinned before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm honestly not a being that likes to fight, but when I do then I do. Plus little Sasha looks up to me so much… I don't see why."
"They both look up to you," Rose chuckled, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Sophie looked at her with a smile on her face, taking a few steps away from the bench and fixing her cowboy hat on her head. "I better get going. Undertaker doesn't like it when I'm late."
"Гуднайт Sophia," Rose nodded to her.
"Гуднайт Veronica," Sophie smiled back, tipping her hat to her as she vanished into the forest and out of the shinigami realm.
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"Oh you're here on time?" Undertaker giggled to himself as Sophie set her stuff down and threw her coat and hat onto the coat hanger.
"Yep," Sophie shrugged. "Had no reason not to be… Hey Undertaker I have a question."
"What is it little maiden?" he hummed to himself as he finished his last guest for the day.
"Well I was thinking," she began, grabbing a biscuit from a nearby urn and sitting down on a coffin, "that… well… either I would go back to working slow jobs or stay here for a while. I was hoping I could help out here for a while like I used to do, u-until I'm back feeling better of course."
"I don't see why you can't," he told her as he placed a coat of blush on the body's face. "Speaking of help," the Undertaker giggled to himself as he set down his supplies on a nearby table and skipped over to her. "There are some interesting~ developments that you may find interesting. Though," he poked her nose, "I figured you didn't want to hear it since you're tired~~"
"Really?" Sophie grinned with enthusiasm. "Like wha –"
He placed a long finger on her lips, causing her to hush quickly as he grinned hysterically. "You know the terms," he giggled to himself.
Sophie pouted and thought to herself, looking around the room for an idea. "Well… I don't really have any good jokes. Ummm… how about this? A miserable old drunk in a bar shouted out 'Remember, if this world didn't suck so much, we would probably all fall off it'. Eh?" she smiled happily.
Undertaker shook his head, walking away from her and began to put away his supplies. "I would expect better from you."
She let out a tired sigh, rubbing her head in frustration as she tried to think. "But I don't have anything you haven't already heard –"
"Then come up with some other~ terms of payment, hmmm~?" he looked up and grinned deviously at her before he walked out of the main room to put his supplies away. Figuring the Undertaker wanted to close up the shop; Sophie turned around and flipped the sign from open to closed. Suddenly getting an idea she giggled to herself quietly, looking down the hall to make sure the Undertaker was in a different room before going about her plan.
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A/N: Meh. Those two directors that were written in at the beginning. I wasn't planning on talking about them again, but hey if you guys like them maybe I will… I don't care =O Anywho, that's right I'm ending it on a short little cliffhanger. You'll have to read more later… this weekend probably ^^ Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. BYE!
Aspis – Ancient Greek "shield"; carried by Greek infantry (hoplies); made from wood, some shields had a thin sheet of bronze on the outer face and often around the rum
Renu – Sanskrit – born of dust
Elektra – Greek – shining; amber
Aias – Greek – mourner; of the earth
Гуднайт – Russian – goodnight
