A/N: So I guess I lied, updates will be as sporadic as usual. I guess that just goes to show how much effort I actually put into studying.
People seemed to be avoiding me like the plague, making me have second thoughts about ever letting Erika make up excuses for my absences again. Emma and Mary honestly seemed like the only people in the entire school who were glad I was back. I felt like I had missed something though, because they kept having whispered conversations and sending secretive glances my way when they thought I wasn't paying attention. Eventually I got rather fed up with their behaviour and confronted them.
"Is there something you ought to be telling me?" I asked cheerfully, voice holding barely a hint of a threat. Emma shuddered slightly, having known me long enough to know that when I put on my fake happy act something was seriously wrong. Mary giggled, completely unaware of the frighteningly dark vibes I was radiating.
"Don't get mad at us, but we signed you up for the talent show." She grinned as though all was well in the world while Emma made a motion as though she were shooting herself. Mary wasn't nearly skilled enough at reading my moods to be able to tell what things shouldn't be said.
"Is that so… Normally one would ask the person being nominated before nominating them, no?" I was smiling but my voice was laced with venom, making Emma shrink back into her seat.
"But we were certain you would say no!" I rolled my eyes while Emma mimed the universal sign for don't do it or shut up right now.
"What if I say no anyway?" I had absolutely no intention of participating in any school events that I could avoid. My time was no longer my own, and I didn't even know how much longer I'd be around for. Even now, I had a new attachment, another drain on the unknown amount of time left in my life. Being an exorcist, I still wasn't sure how well that was going to work out. I didn't even know when I would be called out on my first mission. Surely I didn't have any time to waste on a stupid talent show.
"Don't be like that Jas. What's so wrong with doing this one thing?" Mary had still been talking when I spiralled off into my thoughts and I glared at her angrily. She didn't know anything. Emma could tell I was getting mad and she tried to intervene.
"Look, you don't have to do it. It's fine if you refuse." She gave Mary a pointed look but she obviously wasn't ready to give up.
"Don't be nice Emma, she needs to do this." The book dropped from my hands and I shot to my feet, eyes glazed over with anger. I needed to have a breather; I needed to get away from them, away from the source of my roiling emotions. Kilt flying I spun and stormed out of the gate, slumping against the fence once I was out there. The teachers had gotten used to my outbursts and knew I wasn't going to actually leave school so they didn't bother checking on me.
"Mortals can be so tactless sometimes." I muttered as I sat on the pavement, hugging my knees to my chest. A shadow fell over my face and I glared up, only to find I was seeing red, literally.
"Mortals can indeed be tactless, but they can also be extremely interesting." The shinigami pulled back and turned, leaning against the fence beside me as the sun blinded me. I shielded my eyes with one arm and tugged on his red cloak with my other hand.
"Grell, people can see you, right?" The shinigami nodded, looking at me curiously to see where I was going with it. "One of these days Miss Henderson is going to call the police on you." He stiffened.
"Why would anyone want to do that?" I smirked, oddly glad to have the reapers company, to be around something supernatural that I could rant and rave to.
"A strange man hanging around an all-girls school? Face it Grell. As far as she's concerned you're either a rapist or a paedophile." I laughed as he made a disgusted grimace, glaring at me. "I take it that girl still hasn't died yet, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Judging by his grim expression I had hit the nail on the head, so to speak.
"I don't know why he won't tell me! This really isn't the nicest place to be hanging around every day anyway." He was pouting again and had his arms folded across his chest.
"I know what you mean, I hate it here too. I would offer to talk to Will for you, but I'm afraid he likes me even less than he likes you, so it wouldn't do much good." Grell glanced at me curiously.
"You've met Will before?"
"Oh hell no. I just know instinctively that he won't like me. He didn't like Ciel very much after all, and not only am I connected to the same demon, but I'm related to Ciel as well. You're the only person I know who isn't judgemental about me for some reason or another." I heard voices calling my name and I turned my head towards the gate. Emma and Mary were standing there with the teacher on duty, who refused to let them go over to me.
"Are those your friends?" Grell asked, following my gaze.
"Something like that." I mumbled, climbing to my feet. I turned my back on them for a moment, just to make them mad, and smiled up at Grell. "Good luck with your assignment." I would've said mission, but for some reason that word just didn't seem right anymore. He nodded and I turned around and walked painstakingly slowly back to the school entrance.
"For god's sake Jasmine! I know you can walk faster than that!" Emma cried as my imitation of slow motion started driving her insane. I smirked and she let out a sigh of relief which went unnoticed by Mary.
"I've made up my mind." I announced when I reached them. "I will go along with your little farce for now. I assume there are auditions? I shall go to them, but I am not in any way guaranteeing that I will be successful." I winked at Emma and she smiled weakly, sometimes Mary just didn't know when to leave well enough alone. Together we walked back over to the bench and gathered up our stuff, ready for our next class.
After School…
Once classes were over I felt an odd urge to go to the playground on the way home. I was walking by myself and when I passed by the entrance my feet turned and starting walking across the grass instead of up the street. When I reached the swings I sat down in one of them and waited. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, but my question was soon answered when Ciel came into view on my right.
"Going for a walk are we?" I asked him. He started slightly, not having noticed I was there.
"This town is pretty boring. There's nothing to do." He commented, sitting on the swing next to me. I grinned, bag left abandoned on the field off to my left.
"It's funny really. You haven't been here very long yet you already hate it. Grell hates it here too. He told me so this morning." The young boy frowned, his toes brushing the grass.
"Why do you even talk to that perverted shinigami? You do know that he's obsessed with Sebastian, don't you?" I watched the clouds race by in the sky.
"I know he's weird and all, but he's interesting. And it's really none of my business if he likes Sebastian. I couldn't care less. Sooner or later I'll be gone anyway, so there's no point in worrying about silly things like that." Ciel stared at me, an expression of confusion mixed with disgust plain on his face.
"I really don't understand how your mind works." I smirked at his confession.
"I'd be worried if you did. I'm from the 21st century and you're from Victorian England. Plus, guys are never supposed to know how a girls mind works. That would take all the fun out of life." I honestly never thought I'd be saying something like that to my uncle, and never in a million years had I imagined even talking to my great great uncle. Especially since he was supposed to have died when he was thirteen.
"You're just as confusing as Elizabeth. Every time you open your mouth all I hear is nonsense." I paled slightly at his mention of his fiancée Elizabeth, but he didn't seem to notice.
Something tugged at the edge of my vision and I looked up to see a young man wandering across the field towards us. My right eye twitched and I could tell that something was wrong about the man. To an untrained eye he might seem like a normal person, but there was something about him, something that set me on edge. I could almost see death floating around him like a veil, although when I closed my right eye it disappeared. Ciel saw my panicked expression and followed my gaze across the grass.
"What's wrong?" I couldn't tell if he actually cared or not, but now wasn't the time to be pondering such things.
"We need to move." I stood up and walked around so that I was behind the swings, never once taking my eyes off the man. He gave me an odd look but followed my lead, excepting the fact that I knew something he didn't. The man continued his advance and I backed away, trying to keep the same distance between us. Ciel's pupils narrowed to slits and his eyes glowed a demonic red.
"His soul is warped." He whispered, astonished and horrified. I spared a glance at him, not entirely surprised that the demon could tell something was wrong.
The man was a metre away from the swings when he stopped, shuddering. The air rippled and I saw the one thing I was dreading. His head split open and the Akuma quickly ditched its human container.
"What the hell is that?" My eyes widened in fear and I grabbed Ciel's arm, making sure he didn't try to approach it. I dropped to my knees, the sight of the hideous creature still getting the better of me the second time around. The Akuma began a slow, almost mocking, approach. The closer it got the more I felt the urge to scream, but I was in shock and could barely move my mouth, let alone make any noise. A large shadow eclipsed the Akuma and the swing set as something massive came ever closer to the ground. I closed my eyes as something smashed into the ground, causing a shockwave to ripple through the grass and knock me over. When I sat back up I opened my eyes and saw an enormous black hammer sticking out of the ground. As my gaze travelled up I saw a familiar red head standing on top of it, holding on to the handle.
"Lavi?" I called quietly, almost not wanting to believe it. He turned when he heard my voice and grinned.
"What are you doing sitting around like that?"
"I can't fight it, my katana's at home." His smile faltered slightly and he jumped to the ground, his hammer shrinking as he did. There was a large crater in the field, but the Akuma had managed to avoid the attack. Lavi frowned and started swinging his hammer over his head, chanting. A symbol appeared under the Akuma and it burst into flames, screaming in agony. I clutched my head as the creatures dying shrieks embedded themselves in my mind. My face was damp and I realised I was crying. Standing up I scrubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand.
"Your katana really isn't of any use to you if you're not going to bring it with you." He commented, trying to help Ciel to his feet. The young demon refused his help and moved to stand next to me. "Who's the kid?" I froze, thinking of something to tell him. When Ciel was about to say something I took the initiative. I had no idea what he was going to say.
"He's my cousin. I'm babysitting him today, so that's why I don't have my katana." Lavi nodded thoughtfully.
"You have a pretty good point there." He put his hammer, which had shrunk to a fraction of the size it had been earlier, into his pocket and turned towards the entrance to the park. "I'll walk you home."
A/N: I'm not really sure where the talent show came from... I guess it's going to end up kinda side storyish, but it will lead into their next mission, so it's not too off topic, I hope...