I apologize for the long-ish wait! I came down with the flu last week, and I've been sleeping off most of the daily hours. And this chapter isn't even long, anyways. I'm not finished with the next chapter, because I hit a bump while writing. I'm open to any suggestion for character interactions! Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I not a member of Roosterteeth nor am I awesome enough to own anything. Great thanks to my mom for helping me with writing the correct kanji/Chinese characters and not embarrassing myself with just inserting something that Google Translate spit out.

Chapter Five

No POV

Sometime in the past…

The woman cloaked in black walked swiftly down a dark with her double scythe at hand, oriental corridor to large doors carved elaborately with divine dragons soaring in clouds. The doors appeared to be made with smooth ebony, and it appeared rather new, though the woman could tell otherwise. The door was at least millennium old, based on how old the building was.

"Halt." Two identical twin guards stepped out from the shadows, two spears fashioned from black metal meeting in an 'x' to stop the woman from reaching the door. They spoke in unemotional, strong voices, in Japanese, "State your name, rank, and business with the emperor."

The woman looked coolly at the guard, pulling out an ID card. "Agent Kuro, rank Soul in the High Shinigami Black Bureau. I need to speak to the Empress on important matters."

"How important?" One of the guards retorted, while the other rolled his eyes at his brother. The woman's eye twitched, but it wasn't noticeable.

"Code Black." She said with no emotion, her voice stoic. The guard's eyes widened in shock.

"Shouldn't you be informing the Emperor of this as well?" The guard asked, his unemotional mask slipping. The woman sighed.

"You can inform him that I have news in the code black rank. Tell him that he can learn the details from the Empress." The woman said, almost an order.

"H-Hai. O-Of course, agent." The guard saluted before hurrying down the hall in the other direction, letting his brother continue guarding the doors. The woman watched the guard for a second before nodding respectfully to his brother before pushing the doors open to a large, dark room that was dimly lit with red lanterns. The floor was made of polished marble, in several shades of white, black, red, and blue. In the center of the expensive flooring, a design of a large star exploding outwards with a ring of pure energy lay. Just beyond that sat a large, ornate throne made of silk cushions and bamboo. Atop the throne sat a woman, who was dressed in a rather backwards fashion; a blood red kimono with black phoenixes embroidered in the silk fabric that hugged her hugs and showed of the deathly white skin of her leg crossed over her other. The woman's fringed bangs casted shadows over the top half of her face. The rest of her long black hair was styled ornately; twists and braids sitting atop her head, pinned up with gold pins ornately carved and silver pins with flowers and tiny chains dangling from the end while the rest of her hair hung down her back and pooled gracefully on the silk cushion she sat on. The woman was currently reading a book labeled, '武則天的生死簿記錄,' Wu Zetian no seishi bo, or The Life Record of Wu Zetian. When she heard the door open, she snapped the book shut. Her voice pierced through the air, speaking in Japanese, "Agent Kuro, I trust you have protected the Divine Sword?"

The woman bowed, avoiding eye contact with the Empress. "I apologize, Empress. The Divine Sword is in the Eternal Moon's possession. It was my mistake to let my guard down and fight for it when I wasn't in my strongest chi."

The Empress sighed. "I do not blame you, Kuro. Even we shinigami can be cheated by humans and faunus alike."

The woman looked unsure, but didn't say anything.

"If this is the case, I have a new mission for you, Kuro." The Empress spoke, tapping her claw like nails of her right hand against the wood of her throne. Strangely, her left hand was hidden in the shadows, as if it was something she wasn't proud of- Or even she was scared of.

The woman's head snapped up in surprise, her eyes widening. Her eyes met the Empress' glowing, blood red ones, nearly identical to hers. The Empress merely smirked, chuckling.

"Go undercover as a human and retrieve the sword. However, you must go the eighth level of Hell first." The Empress said, leaning her chin on the back of her hand as her unnerving eyes gazed at the woman in near boredom.

"The Ice Hell, Empress?" The woman raised an eyebrow. The Empress chuckled.

"To retrieve Shiro, of course. You couldn't have forgotten him already?" The Empress smirked. The woman's eyes widened at the name. "He is your brother, after all."

"But, if I remember correctly, you sentenced him to eternity there after…" The woman's voice trailed off.

"The incident? Well, this is an exception. The Divine Sword is too powerful and dangerous to be in mortal hands. I suspect that something terrible will happen in the future that will require the assistance of another shinigami. I trust you understand?" The woman nodded curtly, eyes still wide. The Empress looked down, chuckling darkly for a second, her bangs shielding her eyes from view.

"And I trust you know who the mortal Cinder Fall is, Agent Kuro?"

END

Suspense! Isn't it beautiful?

Hope you enjoyed this short chapter! If you caught onto the symbolism in this chapter, congratulations. I'm going to explain it anyways.

Agent Kuro, the woman who wiped everyone's ass on the floor and made Roman scream like a girl, is based on 'Black,' one of the two Black and White Guards of Impermanence, death gods in the Chinese mythology I grew up with. Of course, I wasn't all that creative, since I just used the Japanese word for 'black' for her name. *laughs in shame as I crawl into the corner*

Reviews are loved!

~Hemo