Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters, that right belongs to Hiro Mashima. Nor do I own Black Butler or it's characters, that right belongs to Yana Toboso.
She was still adjusting. Of course, the afterlife was not what she had thought it was. Pursing her lips as she glanced around the classroom where the other trainees for becoming a Shinigami were milling around, talking in hushed whispers. Most of the stuff being talked about was stuff she had already heard and learned about. Even in Death, she liked to be prepared.
Then again, how she died... it was exceptionally fuzzy. But something told her that it wasn't a mission gone wrong. Frowning as she leaned back in the small desk that was provided for the class, she kept her gaze on the front of the room. Today they were going to have one of the senior Shinigami, or Grim Reapers, lecturing them. It had her just wanting to bash her head against the desktop.
So, when the door to the classroom opened up and in walked a tall, well dressed, brown-haired man with vivid green eyes, that were partially hidden behind rectangular glasses. She sat up and looked at him, narrowing her eyes in speculation. Already in the weeks that she been there, she noted that everyone who was a Reaper potential and was a Reaper all had those vivid green eyes. And there were no exceptions. Meaning her brown-eyes she had while alive was gone, permanently.
As those brilliant Chartreuse eyes cut across the classroom, silence fell. The air was becoming tense. Lucy just continued to stare at the man at the front of the room. She was watching and waiting. And refused to flinch when his eyes briefly met hers. Yes, he was intimidating, but she was not going to show it.
"I am William T. Spears, and I will be your instructor for this course. You are the next generation of Grim Reapers. And so you are not under any illusions about why you are here, it is because you committed suicide in your previous life," he stated.
The collective intake of air stated the shock those words gave. Quickly Lucy tried to recall her Death and mentally growled at it being hazy. She was pretty damn sure that she was not the type who would go down that road. Not when it left those Lucy knew loved her, cherished her to be in pain. She was wondering why she would do something like that. Narrowing her own eyes at the Teacher, she just stayed silent, refusing to react, which had him honing in on her.
And being under that heavy, cold, detached gaze caused her stomach to drop and as her blood seemed to go cold in her veins. Oh, this was going to be rather interesting or troublesome.
It had been a long few months of learning, testing, and building themselves up on a physical level. Being a Grim Reaper shared a lot of similarities to being alive, in Lucy's mind. But today was the day that they received their glasses and their Death Scythes. And she would have to admit she was rather excited about getting her tool of the trade. Lucy was one of the top students in her class but had taken precautions so that she was not at the top.
It made her skin crawl at putting herself at a lower level. She tended to be an overachiever. But the fact that she was always under the scrutiny of their primary Teacher, William, she didn't put herself out there like she would have loved. Researching, testing, tactical strategy was her forte. This she knew from her previous life.
"Miss Heartfilia, if you will step forward," the technician said.
Not hesitating, she took the two steps forward and stood still waiting for him to come over. The small black glasses case he held up before opening had her darting a quick look down, then back up to his face. Seeing the smile on the man's lips told her he had not missed it. She was catching a brief glimpse of pink, rectangular frames with little gold stars along with the earpieces. It had nostalgia welling up from deep in her. Then they were put on her face, fitting perfectly.
With a smile, she gave a polite bow and moved back to her spot in the line. She waited until everyone else was called forward for their spectacles. Amused at how the glasses fit each person's personality and quirks to a T. But what had her amazed the most was the clarity in which she was able to see everything in the headquarters now. The souls that followed the field agents to where they'd be sent to the afterlife, heaven or hell.
"Alright, let's get you your Death Scythe," William snapped, silencing the excitement they were all filling.
Lucy snorted softly as they filed from the room. She was keeping her eyes forward and pointedly not looking at or even acknowledging the man. Lucy had started to associate his pompous attitude with her father before Lucy had run away. Though, she knew not to mention that she still recall parts of her life when she was alive. Images, faces, some smells, they triggered things deeply in her. And it made her feel as if something was wrong, a part of her was missing.
When they reached the R&D department, there was a loud buzz going through the technicians there. It had her class stopping and being told to wait as Lucy watched William walked over to the gathered group. The way his body stiffened, Lucy wondered what had gone wrong? What could be causing them to act like hyperactive little kids? Sighing, she started to slip into her inner monologue, cataloging all she was seeing around her — practicing her memorization function when her eyes met with William's for but a second before he looked away.
Suddenly her nerves were on edge as she straightened herself. Throwing her shoulders back and putting on a blank mask that would show nothing. Another thing she recalled from when she was alive. So, the moment William returned to their side, snapping at them to behave like respectable Grim Reapers, Lucy suddenly had the urge to run. His cold, detached gaze that made you feel so small and insignificant was leveled on her; only this time, she saw something else in there — annoyance mixed with interest.
"You will all be getting your death scythes here soon," he said.
His words were acting like a calming balm and quieting everyone. Lucy stood there waiting as each person's name was called, then they were dismissed for the afternoon and reminded that in the evening that they were to be paired with an active Field Reaper to go about and observe. So, when she was called last in the class to get her, Lucy just marched stiff-backed, looking to the world like she didn't give two fucks. Inside she was a literal mess.
"Miss Heartfilia?"
At the question, she gave a small, brief nod of her head, leaving her mask in place. Feeling her Teacher standing behind her, practically breathing down on the top of her head, Lucy just waited as the Tech turned and handed her a small oblong-shaped object. Which, the moment it was in her hand, burst to life. From the end with a hole sprouted a blue inky substance that seemed to have some type of glitter mixed in as it fell to the floor and coiled.
As she looked at it, her mind pulled images of fights that were brief and quick, to the forefront of her mind. Her body instinctively reacting as she lifted her arm and dropped it just as quickly. She was causing that odd-looking inky rope to snap and crack loudly. With a flick of her wrist and a small twist of her body, she flicked it out, wrapped it around a bottle of water, and pulled it towards her with another flick of her wrist — body relaxed and fluid in its motion.
Then it happened. As if a floodgate was blasted open, all those faded, half there, foggy memories and how Lucy had died washed over her. Turning to look at William, Lucy felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as she blacked out. This was not right. They were taught that their memories were taken from them so that they could efficiently work off their debt due to suicide. So, how and why was this happening to her?
She had no clue how much time had passed after she blacked out, but when Lucy came too, Lucy didn't like where she was at. Every new Reaper Recruit was taken to this room and introduced to the Boss and the Elite of the Grim Reapers. Tested, assessed, and then sent out to learn and then do their job. It made her body lock up as she let her eyes look at the desk, where she was several of the Elite standings and talking with each other, while the head Reaper sat with fingers steepled, hiding the bottom half of their face. But it was meeting those burning green eyes.
"Ah, you are awake, Miss Heartfilia."
The deep rumble of that voice had Lucy feeling as if her head was being compressed in a headlock by Erza. At the name flickering through her mind, Lucy felt herself pale. Swallowing, she just nodded her head, not trusting either her voice or sitting up. Her stomach was churning. All of a sudden, her destiny was not for certain. Her afterlife could be ended... that her soul could be destroyed at the whim of this person. It scared her shitless if she was going, being honest with herself, something she was not in the habit of doing.
"Do not worry, Miss Heartfilia. I am not going to shatter your soul, keeping you from reincarnating."
This had her eyes going as wide as possible in her face. Something told Lucy that she could put up all the mental barriers she wanted. That this person would be able to shred them, plundering her mind as they will, further causing her stomach to roll as she was reflectively swallowing the bile that was trying its damndest to crawl up her throat.
"You have a rather vivid imagination. But I am not going to hurt you. Or...do as you are thinking, though, I think I will keep those ideas in mind for the future."
A soft, slightly insane sounding chuckle made Lucy remember that she was not alone with this powerful being in the room. Causing heat to flush her face as she closed her eyes and willed her body to relax, mind to calm as she took in deep, slow breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, just like she had been taught for meditation by her spirits.
"Ah, that is a good topic to start with, is it not, Miss Heartfilia. The fact you have all your memories from your past life. That you did not commit suicide."
This had her cracking her eyes and look not just at the person who was still her boss as far as she knew. She noted that the others were looking at her. Their faces were showing shock, interest, or disgust. Well, all but one person. William T. Spears. He didn't look like he was shocked at all. He was causing her to imagine herself mentally slapping the ever-loving shit out of the stoic man. He drove her to distraction with his aloof, I-am-better-than-thou, and The-rules-are-absolute, man. Then her mind shifted to him being bent over by an alien and shoving a massive metal rod up his ass.
A deep booming laugh startled her, as a heavy hand hit the desk. There before her was that powerful being, laughing at her imagery and reminding her again as her mind started to shift to a calm, serene state.
"You are a rather creative woman."
This just had her smiling a small smile and tilting her head in acknowledgment of the compliment she was only paid. This person was not the first being that could be considered a God that she had met. Nope, 'Stache face was the first then ancient dragons.
"Ah! Yes, I have contacted him. He is ecstatic that you are okay. Your family and friends have been informed you are fine here in the afterlife."
Feeling a bit put off, Lucy blinked owlishly at the person at the desk, wondering if they'd ever settle on a gender. Their glowing green eyes were a bit disconcerting already. But the fact that they seemed to shift between male and female was just not real. This was supposed to be an incarnation of Death, right? Didn't women represent life as they carried a child and popped out an overly large watermelon through a hole the size of a lemon or orange? Men usually were the aspect of Death? With the whole balance of Yin and Yang?
Again that begin to burst out laughing still, though there was no desk slapping. The amused look on their face as they settled on being male, with a very young, slightly attractive look. But it was not appealing to Lucy. Nope, she had taste and standards.
"Sir, what is so funny? And what do you mean by her family and friends are happy she is okay? She is dead, right? How does she have her memories? Where the hell did she come from?"
At this, Lucy raised an eyebrow at the eccentric, long red-haired Reaper she had come to know over the months was named Grell Sutcliff and the bane of William's existence. The other one, with long white hair, who had half his face covered was just smiling. The gleam in his singular, visible eye made her instantly think of the Poison Dragon Slayer.
"Well, as for what is amusing Grell, that is none of your damned business. Lucy Heartfilia was a keeper of the Celestial Realm in her world, had close ties to none other than Seirei-oo, the Celestial King. Of course, those spirits under his control, that she could summon would be worried about their princess, or keeper and mage. And yes, she is dead; otherwise, she wouldn't be here, do not be an idiot."
At the explanation, Lucy sat up slowly, noting that three sets of chartreuse eyes tracked each movement and breath. It had her stiffening and putting on her mask, shutting down her face and eyes.
"As for her memories, that is due to the nature of how she died. It was not suicide. She was murdered, and it was made to look like suicide at the hands of her friends and teammates. And a whole other world of existence. A world parallel to ours."
This had Lucy flushing slightly, unable to help the reaction. This had the three boring holes into her person, making her want to squirm on the couch.
"So, what do we do with the little miss? She excels at what she does as a Reaper, though she holds herself back," William stated, his voice bored.
This had Lucy picturing how he would react if she gave him her signature, Lucy kick and flying into the bookshelf behind him. Again this had Death (himself) chuckling.
"Well, since she is dead and has more unique abilities that have yet to emerge fully. She has a choice. She can stay here and work for as long as she wants, teamed up with one of you three, or she can go to the Celestial Realm and become a part of the stars that she loves," Death said.
This had Lucy cocked her head to the side. Already her mind was making a quick list of pros and cons. She knew who the redhead and Mister Spears were. But the other, who fit whispered descriptions in passing, was unknown to her. Who knew that her Death would give her a choice of a New Life.
And as she let her mind grasped on to the concept of having abilities that were not even active just yet intrigued her. The fact she'd have to be paired with one of the three men before her. She looked at them with a deliberate carefulness. She was looking for something specific. Finding it, Lucy closed her eyes and smiled.
"I have one question, would I be able to at least talk to 'Stace face and my former spirits?" she asked mentally.
There were a few seconds of silence before she was told yes. Darting her eyes to Death, who she saw was smiling knowingly. Yeah, he already knew the route she would take. Damn invasion of privacy in her mind, even if he wasn't abusing it.
"I will stay here. I know that the road is not easy. But I have put in a few months of learning, adapting, training. And I can keep my mouth shut about having all my memories. So, if you had to choose one of these gentlemen... Lord Death... who would you pick for me?" she asked.
The way the God smiled and subtly pointed had Lucy nodding her head. The smile on her face was getting larger, more predatory.
"I agree. I will accept this place, my new life, and my mission. And be partnered to that person. It should be fun, as you already know, my base nature, personality, and what I won't tolerate," she said.
"Good! William T. Spears, she is now going to be your partner and under your care. She is very well-loved by the Celestial King. Take care of her, or I will let the Celestial King have you. Also, fear her temper. You all are dismissed," Death said, his voice ringing like a gong in the room.
At the stunned and slightly horrified look on the man's face, she couldn't stop herself. Lucy threw her head back and started to laugh. She was relishing in the fact that the stoic man was going to have two people that would be the bane of his existence. Of course, she knew when to stop and back off — but to get that man's facade to crack. To show some actual emotion that said he was once a human. Lucy was going to enjoy her afterlife, judging, and reaping souls.
THE END!