After Undertaker left you behind in the basement of the mortuary, and you set the basin of clean water upon a table, you swiftly made your way to the five corpses the man had pointed to, all sitting in a row in an examination room. You sighed, rolling up your sleeves as high as they'd go, wondering to yourself how that man could work with such long sleeves, without cleaning his hands all the time. Maybe it's because he's a reaper, but you'd assume that his sleeves would always be dirty with gunk.
The thought made you feel disgusted, but you decided to get to work. You couldn't have an earl waiting too long… you assume. Not like you care, but you'd really like to owe up on that payment you were promised.
However, as you began to examine each corpse, you noticed that they died in different ways. One, from lead poisoning. The other, arsenic. The lungs of one corpse was filled with water, meaning he had been drowned, and one was stabbed a multitude of times. The last corpse looked to have died of old age, but… the longer you looked, the more you realized that there was something similar:
The scummy scent of a demonic force.
Ah. That was it.
Each person died at the hands of a demon, but why? And were they the same demon?
Upon further inspection, you realized that the two violent deaths had one scent, while the three, much calmer, though still terrible deaths had another. The violet deaths were male… the calmer death female… Huh.
You examined every body a bit closer, just in case. You looked at their hearts, searching for a trace of a faint demonic mark. The eyes, tongue, and even the hands. Nothing.
So none of them had a contract, but they got in a demon's way…
You wonder if this earl even knows about demons, angels, and the like. You'd be pleasantly surprised if he does.
Without anything else to note, considering each victim was of a different age, different death, and may have died at different times, though within the past few days, you're guessing, you washed your hands in the clean basin water, wiping your hands as well as you can with a rag, and cleaning your hands again, at least attempting to get the blood off your hands, before you walked back up the stairs, dirty rag in hand, and you tossed it into a basket meant for dirty clothes covered in gross guts, and you calmly made your way back into the parlor room.
But you paused.
You noticed… a fairly older butler standing by the door, his gaze instantly catching your own the moment you walked into the room. You bet Undertaker knew you showed up, but didn't acknowledge you, but it was the earl who lifted his head from whatever conversation the two men had, to give you a gleeful, charming smile. "So, have you uncovered the truth?" Vincent asked in a curious tone, and you gave Undertaker a curious look of your own before leaning down and whispering into his ear, which startled him by how suddenly you did so, but he easily relaxed.
"Does this boy know about the supernatural?" you asked, as quietly as you could, before stepping away and eying the man curiously, who gave you a snarky smirk in return.
"Not telling~" he giggled, putting a finger to his lips as you as you rolled your eyes.
"Fine. You're no help," you scoffed, but then turned your attention to the earl. "I'll ask you directly. Sir, do you believe in supernatural entities?" you began, your bluntness a tad off putting, but he answered with a smile of his own.
"Why~?"
"From what I observed, each victim died in different ways. Some more violent then others, but what was the same was the nature of their deaths: demonic," you told him, giving Undertaker a harsh glare before turning back to the earl and letting a tired sigh leave your breath. "I have a particular set of skills, you see, and while most humans would just see five different deaths, I could tell they were pushed along by two distinctive entities."
"Two?" you heard Undertaker asked, but you elaborated with a harsh glare in his direction.
"Yes. Two. What, you couldn't see it?" you scoffed, sounding as if he was stupid, but then continued with a tired sigh. "The two violent deaths, the drowning and the stabbing victims, were killed from a male demon, and the poisoning and old age deaths were from a female. None of them seemed contracted to said demon, and there is no faint trace or markings that can help me identify who, but I can tell you this: there are two threats to deal with, and probably a third or a fourth human to deal with, as well."
"Huh…" was all you heard the earl say in response, causing your eyes to glaze over in slight irritation. What? Did they not hear you? But before you could start cursing under your breath about how no one listens to you, he continued with a grin, "That was very useful information, Lady Clara."
"Ms. Lara to you. I don't need the word lady tacked on to everything," you huffed, but your snort was shortened as he grasped your hand and gave it a gentle kiss, and this time you couldn't stop the slight pink tint that appeared on your cheeks… no matter how irritated you were over the fact you were blushing.
"Thank you for the useful information, Ms. Lara," he corrected, giving you a smile before turning his attention to the Undertaker. "I'll have someone come by with my end of the deal tomorrow. I shall speak with you soon."
"As you wish, Earl Phantomhive," the Undertaker smiled, the two of you watching the two men leave the parlor room, and then you turned your attention back to the reaper.
"What? You didn't notice that the scents were different? I thought you were some almighty powerful~ eternal entity~. I must be mistaken," you grinned rather crudely, only to let out a curse as he suddenly grabbed you, pulling you to his chest. "Hey! –"
"Bah ahahahaha! You certainly are an interesting human! I was right to keep you around," he snickered, his mouth rather close to your ear, and you groaned as you tried to move away from his grasp, especially his head. But then you paused as he heard you whisper, "but sometimes, keeping such interesting~ information to yourself is a good thing."
"… Says you," you huffed, managing to shrug the man off of you as you stepped away and turned to face him. "It'd be best for a human to know he's up against two demons. I don't even know the extent of their powers, but I'm sure that male one will be a problem."
"Aren't you worried~?" he smirked, causing you to give him a curious look. "After all, as you say, it's a human up against two demons. Do you think he'll survive~?"
"If he can't handle two street demons, then he shouldn't call himself a Phantomhive," you scoffed in disgust, surprising the man as you reached for the dirty scarf you had tucked into the folds of your skirt, and you took it out of its hiding spot to wrap the cloth around your face. "Now, if you excuse me, there's still work to be done."
"Yes, yes," he slightly groaned, waving you off as you went back to climbing the ladder to reach the top of the bookshelf. You smirked. He really doesn't like the word 'work', does he? No wonder he's some retired reaper. You wonder why, though, but decided to keep it to yourself.
Instead, you went about your cleaning plans for the day, hoping you'll finish before it gets too dark to work productively, anymore.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
You woke up relatively early this morning, which meant you need to do… something. Deciding it was too late to go back to sleep, and to early to start breakfast, you slipped on some decently warm, yet clean clothes, socks and a pair of shoes you weren't planning on keeping on your feet for very long, and lastly a long, warm coat. With your items, and a key back into the building just in case, you slipped your way into the decently sized hallway, giving Undertaker's room a quick glance before making your way, as quiet as you could, down the stairs, to the ground floor, and towards the back door. You put on your working shoes, for digging through the mud and grime, before gently opening the door and closing it behind you with a light 'click'.
You sighed, taking a few steps backward, making sure he hadn't woken up to see what you were doing, before you began to walk along the dirt and cobblestone walkways. You let out a deep, cleansing breath, sighing to yourself as you aimlessly wandered the graveyard, every so often glancing over at a tombstone or a gravesite before continuing onward.
You know you must look rather odd, but you needed some fresh air, and the morning chill and dew was enough to wake you right up. Normally, on a morning like today, when you cannot go to sleep and you don't plan on making breakfast, you'll do some training, but you bet training in the middle of the cemetery wouldn't be a good idea. So, you simply wandered until you started to feel a slight chill in your bones, before making your way up to the top of the tallest hill, with the lone tree, and calmly sat down against the trunk of the tree.
You watched, as the sun slowly began to rise on the horizon, first changing the nighttime sky of dark blue and violet to a slighter, brighter tone of blues and purples, eventually those colors changing into pinks and blues, swirling together as reds, oranges, and yellows began to build up in the sky. You let your body relax as you watched, probably looking like a propped up corpse from a distance that wasn't even breathing, but you simply gazed, mesmerized by the sunset…
Only to have your tranquility suddenly snapped as you heard a noise, your head jolting to see what was behind you. "Aaaaih~… didn't assume I'd see you here, my dear," you heard the Undertaker say, but you slowly turned your head to lean back comfortably against the trunk of the tree, only for his slight snickering to snap you out of your thoughts.
"… May I help you?" you decided to ask, giving him a weary look as he finally managed to stand at the top of the hill, his silhouette rather dark and menacing while you eyed him suspiciously.
He simply smiled in reply. "I noticed your presence was missing from the building. I wondered where you had gone, but the moment I stepped outside I noticed you were up here," he grinned, though you could tell he wasn't exactly happy.
And you sighed. "I needed some fresh air, and wanted to watch the sunrise," you decided to tell him, pointing to the brightening sky before looking back at him, "and I woke up early. Is that a problem?"
"No problem~" he smirked, but you watched as he began to lean against the tree trunk, his body off to the side of yours as he leaned and watched the horizon, as well. "… However, since we had been talking about recent murders by demons, I didn't want my pretty little human~ assistant running around, on her own."
"Aaaaah~. You care," you looked up, giving him a mischievous smirk, but then you let your head look back outward to the horizon, and you let a tired sigh leave your breath. "I may be human, but I can take care of myself."
"So you say," he responded in a simple, yet strangely direct tone, and you glanced back up at him before growing quiet and continuing to look off into the distance. Towards the horizon.
You let a faint smile appear upon your face, one that was content and at relative peace, as you slowly watched the sun finally rising, peeking through the rolling hills before its radiance began to warm up the land. Eventually, when the sunlight did reach the spot you were sitting upon, and the side of the hill facing the sun, you began to stand to your feet, brushing some dirt off of your clothes, before giving Undertaker a content, yet curious look. "… Have you never watched a sunrise before?" you decided to ask, smirking as you waited for an answer, but he gave you his own smile before chuckling lightly to himself.
"Of course… but it's been a while."
"How long?" You asked in a curious tone, but he gave you a sly smirk, patting your head while you snarled, taking a step away to get his hands away from your head.
He laughed in response. "A few years, probably… Maybe ten years ago, perhaps," he told you, causing you to give him a curious look before smiling lightly.
"I think, no matter how long your lifespan is, taking some time to enjoy your surroundings and the life you've been given is a good thing," you decided to say, gesturing to the sunrise before you began to make your way down the hill, stopping when you noticed he wasn't following you. "Ah… Undertaker?"
"Hmmm~?" he asked, causing you to take a few steps back up the hill, before you held out your hand to his. He cast you a rather confused stare, hidden behind long bangs, but you simply smiled lightly.
"Come on back to the mortuary with me," you said, smiling as you waited for the man to approach you, giving you a curious look before he smiled in return, placing his long, uncovered bony hand on top of your own, and you gripped it tightly, tugging him along as you made your way back down the hill. "So~, what's the plan today? Do we have any appointments?"
"We do have that seamstress the earl is supposed to send," Undertaker told you, and you stopped for a brief second to look back at him.
"I completely forgot," you chuckled, before continuing towards the back door of the mortuary. When you reached the tool shed, you let go of the man's hand, but you could tell he wasn't exactly ecstatic about that as you reached for the door knob, turning it, and stepping back into the building. "How is that even going to work? I'm not fond over the idea of having to wear corsets," you groaned, easily slipping out of your boots since you didn't really tie them onto your feet to begin with, before turning to give Undertaker a curious look. "How is that even like?"
"Not sure~" he snickered, outright laughing at the irritated look on your face, but then he continued through a snickering giggle, "there are many ways to wear a corset, my dear."
"Oh?" you responded, unsure about what he meant as you both made your way through the hallways, up the stairs, and you made your way to the kitchen, slipping off your coat and throwing it over onto a chair as you passed it. "But let me guess, it's painful."
"Probably will be, considering you've never worn one, but women in this day and age find it fashionable."
"Fashionable my ass. What's fashion is your style. Not how constricting your outfits are," you scoffed, grabbing a pan and placing it onto the stove, before reaching for a box of nearby matches and turning the knob, tinkering with the knob before you could hear the gas hissing through, and you lit a match and placed it into the stove, watching the gas light up into flames before you put the pan on top of the burner, using some oil to grease up the bottom of the pan.
"And what sort of styles~ do you wear, my dear?" he grinned, suddenly handing you some eggs, which you accepted as you cracked them with ease, letting the eggs fall into the pan before you reached for a nearby wooden spatula, also adding some pepper to the eggs before they get further cooked.
"Well, I doubt what I say would be 'acceptable'," you scoffed, giving him air quotes with your fingers before you continued, "but my favorite color is purple. Next to blue and black. Violet is my absolute favorite, since it's a combination of purple and blue… I'll wear whatever someone gives me, but I prefer pants… or at least skirts. Sleeveless shirts or tee shirts with a fun design on the front… I doubt I can just wear shirts, but I enjoy violet," you decided to say, before turning your attention back to the man. "What about you? What is your favorite color?"
"Ooh~… I suppose I prefer pink," he smirked, waiting for your reaction as you blinked, staring at him as if he was crazy, before a light snort left your breath. "It's not funny, my dear –"
"It's not that. I'm just surprised! I assumed black because the place is so dreary… Good to know," you decided to say, but he continued with a slight huff.
"I enjoy my mortuary, child. It doesn't need to be colorful and flashy. This is a place for the dead –"
"Now you're sounding like a field officer," you responded bluntly, but you cast him a playful smirk at the glare you could feel behind your back. Yet, you continued, "places for the dead don't have to be scary and gloomy. A little bit of color never hurts anyone… I won't be painting the walls, if that's what you're afraid of, though I'm sure the walls need a new paint job," you stated, but continued with a slight hum leaving your breath as you began to flip the eggs upside down in the pan. "No. Maybe there's some interesting art we can put up, that'll be more inviting then a blank wall… or flowers. Fake? But I don't think this time period even has plastic flowers," you decided to say before turning to give him a smile. "It won't hurt. I assure~ you."
"If you say so," he sighed, grabbing a plate so you can place the eggs on top, and you easily did before grabbing pieces of bread, adding a tad more oil to the pan before placing them onto the pan, flipping them rather quickly.
"For the record, I'm sensitive to dust, dandruff, and especially pollen. That's why I wanted to clean up around here. I don't think I can stand living here if I was sneezing every other second," you stated, before putting the bread beside the eggs, and turning off the stove. "Okay! Soo~, am I good or what?" you smirked, but when he gave you an unsure glance you pouted, picking up the plate and grabbing another empty plate before making your way to the small dining table.
"I'm sure the eggs are delicious," Undertaker stated with a grin, sitting across the table from you as you both served yourselves, the man, of course, getting the extra egg, and you sighed contently at the tasty eggs.
Sure, they weren't special or anything, but they were 'all natural'. Perfect eggs, for a perfect breakfast.
Even if the toast you tried to make was rather hard, but then again the loaf of bread was bought a couple of days ago.
! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !
A/N: HEY, HEY! I had some time, so I finally reviewed another chapter and posted it. Whoop!
Just a continuation of the last chapter… and a bit of 'romance'? Just a peaceful scene, if I'm going to be honest. And if you any of you guys are wondering, yes, that butler with Vincent is Tanaka.
Well, I don't know if I'll post another chapter within a few days or not, so I hope you guys ENJOY this story! And have a good weekend! I know some guys are out on spring break, so ENJOY your break!
When you're working, you don't get fun lengthy breaks. So enjoy it while it lasts.