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By the time Raven and Undertaker got outside, Grell had already disappeared. "How does he move so fast?" Raven wondered out loud.
Undertaker chuckled as he swept Raven into a princess hold. "Dearie, he's a Shinigami. We can move very fast if needed."
"What are you doing?" Raven struggled to keep her composure, even as her heart thundered in her chest.
"Seeing as you have yet to be trained in the ways of the reaper, I'm carrying you while I head in Grell's general direction."
Raven looked up at the silver haired mortician in confusion. "How do you know where he went? How are you going to follow him?
Undertaker grinned down at her and jumped up onto a nearby rooftop, causing Raven to gasp in surprise as she clung to him. This isn't too bad. I might have to do this more often, if it means that she'll cling to me. Undertaker thought, his grin widening. "Both he and that red woman have the aura of death about them. Granted, it's not that out of place on Grell since he is a reaper; however, I found it quite odd that he was acting as a butler to the little earl's aunt. If my hunch is correct, our run away butler should be in the White Chapel district."
"So he is Jack the Ripper." Raven murmured as her suspicions were confirmed. She narrowed her eyes at the mortician. "And you knew all along, didn't you?!"
"No, I didn't know for sure. But I've had my suspicions. Shinigami aren't supposed to kill those who aren't on the to-die list, so I'm quite surprised no one has come after him yet." Undertaker said.
Raven thought about this for a moment. "So, how are Shinigami able to jump like this?"
"It's just one of the powers we have. Once you start your training, you should be able to do this too."
"Will I have to go to Dispatch to train?" Raven bit her lip at the thought of having to leave Undertaker.
Undertaker shook his head and shot her a grin that made Raven's heart speed up. "I may be retired, but I think that I can handle training a newbie like you."
Suddenly the two heard a shrill scream that stopped just as soon as it started. Undertaker's head whipped in the direction of the scream and he frowned, leaping down into an alley way before carefully setting Raven down. "Wait here."
"No way! I want to go too. Besides, you can't just leave me here!" Raven crossed her arms as she glared at the silver haired man in front of her.
"Sorry m'dear, but it wasn't a request. Now don't move!" Without waiting for Raven to reply, Undertaker jumped back up to the roof and disappeared.
Raven immediately lifted her skirts and ran out of the alley way as she tried to follow him from the ground. "Adrian, wa- oomf!"
Strong arms kept Raven from losing her balance as she ran smack dab into a very firm and very muscular chest.
"I know I'm a chick magnet, but I guess I underestimated just how much I attract the ladies," a voice said flirtatiously.
Raven looked up at the blonde and black haired young man with a blush, stuttering, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you, I was in a hurry and wasn't watching where I was going!"
One of the green-yellow eyes closed in a wink behind the thick corrective lenses set in black frames. "I forgive you, but only if ya go on a date with me!"
"W-what?"
"Yo, Ronnie! We don't have time for you to flirt with every girl you see, we gotta get going to our next assignment!" A new voice said from their right.
The one addressed as "Ronnie" scowled and let go of Raven as he turned to a man with braided blonde hair. "Don't call me that, Eric-Senpai! It's Ronald, not Ronnie."
Eric rolled his yellow-green eyes. "Fine. Hurry up, Ronald. We only have ten minutes to get over to Fleet Street!"
Wait. . . Green-yellow. . . Yellow-green. . . They're Shinigami! Raven felt panic swirling through her at the realization and couldn't help the gasp that flew past her lips, causing the two males to look over at her curiously. Eric's eyes narrowed slightly as he took note of the the color of the girl's eyes.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Don't tell me that you wanna go out with her too, Senpai?!" Ron cried, but quickly shut up when Eric glared at him.
Raven swallowed as she slowly backed away, wishing that Undertaker was there. "U-um, I r-really should be g-going. . ."
It looked like Eric was about to take a step forward, but then Ron glanced at his watch and cursed. "Shit! We gotta get going, Senpai! We're gonna be late!"
Eric gave Raven one last, suspicious look before the two Shinigami ran off into the night. As soon as they were out of sight, Raven ran in the direction Undertaker was heading before she bumped into Ronald. She was tempted to go back to the alley and wait there like Undertaker had told her to, but she wanted to prove that she wasn't a helpless little girl anymore. Raven just wasn't sure who she was trying to prove it to; Undertaker or herself.
Undertaker jumped from roof top to roof top with ease as he quickly headed in the direction of the scream. He felt bad about leaving Raven on her own like that, but he didn't want her to get hurt if Grell happened to see them. But what if someone else hurts her? You left her all alone, 'Taker, and she hasn't had proper training yet! She won't be able to defend herself.
Shut up, Mortis! He scolded the voice of his Scythe. He didn't need to be thinking about that right now; he needed to be looking for Grell. If Grell really was Jack the Ripper, then Undertaker would need to contact Dispatch and give them probable cause for investigation. Not that he actually had any interest in turning the troublesome butler in, but he certainly didn't want to run the risk of Grell going after Raven for some unfathomable reason.
The thought of Raven being in danger brought those pesky, worrisome thoughts back and made Undertaker run a bit faster. He had started to care deeply for the girl during the time she had been living with him. Raven brought out the gentler side of him. . . and the jealous side. . . and the protective side. . . Hell, she brought out a lot of sides that he usually kept hidden. He hadn't even known he had those sides to him!
He was pulled from his thoughts when he missed a step and nearly fell off the roof. As he regained his footing, Undertaker heard singing. His eyes widened as he looked over the edge of the roof at the scene below.
Grell was cutting into the body of a young prostitute happily, blood getting all over his face, hair, and clothing as he sang.
Empty eyes, stare up at the sky
Not to shed a tear
Cold pale lips, open with terror
In an eternal scream
My mistress wants you good and dead
I'm happy to oblige
Beautiful red I get to see
But I'm running out of time
The ball, the ball
It's almost over
Soon the clock will chime
The hand strikes twelve
And the bell begins to toll
Ding dong, Ding dong
Ding dong, Ding dong
You're time is up
Ding dong, Ding dong
Ding dong, Ding dong
Goodbye
Undertaker watched with a morbid fascination. He'd seen many Shinigami snap under the pressure of being a reaper, and he certainly wasn't the most stable of the death gods, but this took the cake! Grinning insanely, Undertaker straightened up. This scene was most amusing to him. He was glad that Raven. . . His eyes widened and he spun around, running back the way he had come. Raven! In his preoccupation with the sight of Grell, Undertaker had forgotten all about her!
Guilt began to build up inside of him as he headed back to where he told her to wait. However, the guilt disappeared when he noticed a black haired figure heading towards him.
He landed in front of her, causing Raven to come to a screeching halt. "And what, exactly, do you think you're doing?"
Raven smiled sheepishly at him, not noticing that she was shivering from cold until she felt the warmth that rolled off of him. She pressed against him in an attempt to steal some of his body heat. "Um. . . Following you. Did you find Grell?"
Undertaker swallowed when she pressed against him. Keep control, 'Taker, she doesn't need you making a pass at her. Ahhh, it feels so good to have her against m- what did she ask again? Oh, right. "I'll tell you about it once I get you home and warmed up."
With out another word, Undertaker scooped Raven into his arms and made his way home across the roof tops. Little did they know that three sets of yellow-green eyes watched them.
"So what do you think?" The owner of one pair of eyes asked, resting his saw like scythe on his shoulder.
The black haired reaper adjusted his glasses thoughtfully as he watched Undertaker and Raven leave. "I must say that it is unusual for Undertaker to keep the company of a young woman."
The first speaker scowled. "That's not what I meant! What do you think about her? She's an unauthorized Shinigami. The higher-ups aren't going to like that."
"It's strange that she never showed up on the List. Dispatch always has someone watching to notify officers when a new Shinigami is supposed to be made" the third, a short brunette, spoke up softly. He looked between the taller two. "There should be some sort of record created in the archives, and there isn't. There's obviously something special about her if she was created without having killed herself."
So how was she made? Was the unspoken question as the stoic, black haired Shinigami opened a portal to take them back to their headquarters. Letting the other two go first, he looked heavenwards and sighed. "More overtime. "
