Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: UGH! I'm suddenly in a mood to write a Halloween thing again… should I just skip ahead?... I think it's going to happen guys. Idon'tknow~~! *cries in corner* Anyways, there's a bit of a time lapse from the competition. As I put in the story, it's around summer time now. After this chapter, it may have a time lapse again… but then again I'm unsure. The time before hand I just had you guys come up with your own theories on the day, but now it's definitely the summer. So… yeah! I think that's all I can say right now. Hope you enjoy the story!
!#$%^&*()
Sophie let out a groan, snapping her pencil in two in frustration. It had been about a month since the contest, but her left arm still hurt, causing her to write with her right hand instead of her left. 'This doesn't even look like words!' she grumbled under her breath as she looked at her notes.
The bell rang and she quickly got up, running into Chaz in the process. "Watch it!" he yelled at her.
"Sorry," she huffed, about the leave the room.
"Oh Sophie," he smirked slyly, "are intimidated by my breathtaking splendor?"
"The only thing I'm impressed about is how you can be defeated by, let me see… ten demons," she smirked to herself, scratching her left shoulder.
He growled under his breath, "Shut it."
"Nah," she smiled back, running off into the hall. Evading the shinigamis passing by, Sophie finally made it to Grell's office before she ran out of time. "Shit!" she yelped, sliding a bit too far from Grell's office. Then she ran in, almost out of breath. "Sorry for being late Grell," she breathed.
"Good thing you came by," Grell giggled, "I was going to have to start without you," he smiled, grabbing a few forms from the table.
"What are we doing today?" she sighed, scratching her left arm again.
"We are visiting the Undertaker again for information," he grumbled under his breath. "I don't see why I have to do this. He's so creepy~!" he complained.
"Perhaps you just have to give him a chance," Sophie shrugged. "Now what is this information we seek?"
"We've spotted a demon wolf pack right outside London. We're supposed to investigate if they had eaten any humans or not." Then Grell shrugged, "I don't see why that's a problem. I just don't want overtime!" he yelped.
"Don't worry about it," Sophie shrugged again, scratching her left arm. "Now can we get going? We can discuss everything there if we need to," she smiled sweetly, causing him to let out a sigh.
"If you say so," he frowned, noticing her scratching her arm again.
!#$%^&*()
"Undertaker?" Sophie called into the room, standing up tall and stiff when Undertaker popped right in front of her face. "What the heck!" she practically yelped, falling over into Grell out of shock.
He giggled happily, closing a coffin he had been working in before they came by, "The heck is that you're back! Been a while, but still~~" he giggled into his sleeve, ushering them into the room. "So why are my two favorite shinigamis here thistime?"
Grell coughed in his sleeve, getting sick from the smell of death that lingered in the room, "We're here to investigate –"
"The demon wolf pack?" he asked, a giggle escaping his lips when Grell's mouth dropped. "You're not here to visit little old me this time?" he whimpered.
"Sorry Undertaker," she let out a sigh, scratching her left arm. I've just been too busy that –"
"Say no more," he responded, holding his long black nails in front of her mouth, "I understand."
"So what do we have to say this time?" Sophie asked contently, sitting down on a coffin and scratching her arm.
Undertaker sat down across from her and looked at her suspiciously, causing her to stop scratching and stare at him with uneasiness in her eyes. "Why do you keep scratching your left arm, my dear~~? Is something bothering you?"
She looked over at Grell, who sat down next to her. She looked back at the Undertaker and slowly nodded, scratching her arm again. "I-It happened at the contest –"
"What contest?" Grell asked, causing Sophie to freeze up.
"Hummahh-huh…" she coughed, startled by Grell. "You know the weekend where Alex and I had disappeared from the academy for the weekend?"
"… yes," he frowned, "Why? I saw Alex coming back with a stitched up nose."
"Which I sewed up for him," she smiled in triumph. "He doesn't even know how to sew properly, how incompet – I mean stupid he is," she giggled meekly, letting out a sigh as she began fussing with her arm. "Over that week we were in a contest, we both came out with deep cuts. Alex got one on his nose and I…" she sighed, looking over at the Undertaker, "got one on my arm."
Suddenly Grell grabbed her shirt, causing Sophie to yelp and involuntarily push away from him. "Let me see it!" he fussed.
"N-no!" she yelled, pushing him away. Sophie fell off of the coffin, her head slamming into another coffin.
She rubbed her head in pain, the stinging in her arm coming back from landing on it. Sophie groaned in pain, letting a rough cough escaper her mouth. Then she felt hands wrap around her body, helping her up off of the ground. "You shouldn't be so rough with your students," the Undertaker said, setting her back down on the coffin she was sitting on.
"But she never tells me anything!" Grell grumbled under his breath, "You're always hiding something from me Sophie, and I… just hate it," he rubbed his arm, looking away from them.
Sophie frowned, rubbing her arm and looking away from the Undertaker's gaze with an outrage look. "If you show me the wound, then I'll consider it payment~~" he giggled into his sleeve. Noticing her emotions weren't weaning, his laughter gradually ceased, a black nail lifting her head up to stare up at his long bangs. "Please…" he said, with sincerity in his voice.
She blinked bewildered, noticing a faint light green glow coming from his eyes, but she quickly nodded in understanding. "You may not like what you see…" she sighed, untying her necktie and taking off her suit coat. Sophie set her glasses onto of her coat, unbuttoning her shirt, "It has gotten worse than it originally was… I think," she sighed, taking her left arm out of her shirt so they could have a better look at it, keeping her shirt wrapped tightly around her body.
The Undertaker lifted Sophie's arm closer to his face, examining the puss that was coming out of her arm. The cut and the skin around it were red, mostly because of Sophie constantly scratching and picking at it. "I've seen worse," he chuckled, poking the puss with his finger. Sophie cringed, ripping her arm from his hand in protest. He giggled into his sleeve, noticing the angry look in her double-iris blue/green eyes. "What was it that scratched you?"
"A demon," she shrugged, cringing in fear when Grell turned her and started shaking her.
"Please Mr. Sutcliff," the Undertaker said, putting Grell's hands down, "Let her continue."
Sophie looked at the Undertaker, a smile growing on her face, but then she looked down at the ground meekly. "It was Saturday night and around the time the sun was going down. Alex and I were on the lookout for the other groups, seeing as it was us against four other demon groups at the point. Two of them attacked us, separating us from each other. I got scratched by the demon, which I thought was a small scratch at the time. I got angry and scared them off… well by summoning a scythe," she shrugged. "Once we ran off and got away from the other groups, that's when I noticed how deep the wound actually was. Because I'm just a newbie or because I'm half-human, I wasn't healing as fast as I had hoped. Alex got some vodka and we cleaned it up when we got the chance that night, which I had to sew myself up with my weak hand because Alex didn't know how to sew up someone's flesh," she grumbled under her breath. Then she let out a sigh, "I-I don't know… Alex's nose healed up quickly and he was able to take the stitches off. He actually has a nice scar on his nose, but I haven't been as luckily. I don't know what's going on, but my arm still hurts after a week or whatever when it happened. I haven't been able to rest and heal up, so that's a reason why it's still there."
She avoided the Undertaker's gaze on her, looking up with curiosity as he stood up to grab a bottle from his shelf. He grabbed a rag, pouring whatever was in the bottle on the rag and soaking it. He felt her shift away from his touch, frightened of what was in the bottle. "Don't worry. I'm a professional~ at this," he giggled, his face turning serious as he pulled her arm closer to him so he could work on it. "You've done a lovely job sewing yourself up, but I'm going to have to take it out." Sophie looked over at Grell with a worried look on her face. He looked rather uneasy himself, but just looked on as the Undertaker patted the rag on her shoulder. She cringed slightly, biting down on her lip as he continued to clean up her arm. Then he took a pair of scissors and cut the stitches off, exposing her cut to the air.
He expertly cleaned up her wound, cleaning it enough that the puss was collected into the rag and her arm was cleaned thoroughly. Then he took out a needle and thread, sticking it into her arm and sewing her back up. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt and she just watched as he sewed her back together. "H-how does it not hurt?" she asked, as he finished stitching and cleaning up her wound.
"A lot of practice," he smiled devilishly at her, and she giggled back with a big smile growing happily on her face.
She put her arm back in her shirt, watching him put his stuff away as she buttoned up her shirt. "Thank you," she said, causing him to turn around and look at her curiosity. "Though I-I don't know how I'll pay you back," she sighed, crossing her legs, putting her hands in her lap, and looking over at Grell.
He still had a worried look on his face, till they noticed the Undertaker walking over. Grell's gaze followed him as he walked over to Sophie, brushing his long-black nails over her face. "No need," he smiled, staring into her crystal blue and green eyes, "It's a treat to pract~ice on a liv~e body~~" he giggled into his sleeve, walking away from her and over to the other side of the room. Sophie felt her face burning up, quickly putting her necktie on and suit coat on to hide the fact that she was blushing. "Now about your question…" he giggled, ushering them over. Grell instantly walked over, as Sophie sheepishly walked over and hid behind Grell, hiding the redness in her face. "There have been a few bodies coming in teared up. Would you like to see~~?" he giggled, Sophie nodding.
Then he opened the coffin, showing an elder man brutally ripped apart into many pieces. The fact that the Undertaker was able to sew him back together was a miracle in itself. "So it's like that guy from the last time we came by," Sophie responded.
The Undertaker smirked, "That's right. It's becoming frequent. At first it was just one every few days, but now it's two every day."
Grell and Sophie nodded, Grell wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Well thank you, but we have to get going," he chuckled nervously, ushering Sophie over to the door.
"Oh, but you didn't stay and havetea~" he whimpered, causing Sophie to giggle.
"Perhaps next time~!" Grell smiled at him, pushing Sophie out the door.
The Undertaker closed the coffin lid, lifting his head up when the door opened again. "And thank you again! I'll see if I come by later!" Sophie yelled into the room, violently being ripped away by Grell. The door slammed, the room getting eerily quiet again. Then laughter filled the room as the Undertaker fell to the ground, laughing his head off as the building began to rumble.
!#$%^&*()
Alex grumbled under his breath as he cleaned a guillotine. Sophie grumbling next to him as she was cleaning a wine press. "I don't see how this is training," he grumbled under his breath. "It's like what Mr. Tyrant tells me is training, when it's really a way for him to help him with his own work."
"Training is training," Sophie shrugged, "and why are you so grumpy all of the sudden?"
"Because," he said with an angry tone in his voice, "William the Tyrant made me clean the training arena from ceiling to floor today. What a hard ass. He's just angry that I'm not telling him were my scar came from and also for being only a few minutes late. Doesn't he get that I have other things to do!" he grumbled under his breath, scrubbing roughly at the blood that lingered on the blade of the guillotine.
Sophie rolled her eyes, letting her left arm rest by her side as she scrubbed the handles of the wine press. "Whatever Alex," she grumbled, feeling a sting go though her arm. "At least this is a Tuesday and I don't have to go to the infirmary."
"Yeah," he said rather gruffly, walking over to Sophie to help her with the wine press. "By the way, are you going to go out tonight?"
"No," she shook her head, "I'm too tired. You can go, but I just need a break."
Alex nodded, letting out a sigh. "I'm tired too… I think I'll just go and sleep after this."
Sophie nodded in understanding, scrubbing the last bits of blood before it dried on the wine press. Then they lifted their heads, noticing Mr. Shezmu walking into the room. "I see my two apprentices are in grumpy moods today."
"You can say that again," Alex murmured angrily.
"I have an assignment for you," he said, watching as they stood up and put their cleaning supplies in a bucket of dirty water. "I want each of you to find time out of your busy schedules to relax, on your own. Just find a serene place where you can meditate for an hour. After the week is up, I want you to report back on your place and tell me if it had worked for you to relax. Any questions?"
"Yes," Alex said, raising his hand. "What's the point?" he grumbled.
"You are both in crabby moods," he glared at them, causing them to flinch, "and I don't want to have to put up with it every day. Now be gone," he swatted them away, Alex and Sophie walking out of the room and up old, wooden stairs, Sophie holding the bucket of dirty water.
"I still don't see the point," Alex grumbled to himself.
Sophie rolled her eyes, "Well I'm going to go and do this thing now, so I don't have to put up with you."
"What does that mean?" he growled at her.
She rolled her eyes, "You already know what it means," she said simply, pushing the bucket in Alex's hands and walking out of the Shezmu residence, leaving Alex to stare at the bloody water in confusion.
!#$%^&*()
Sophie let out a sigh, having walked all around London for a place where she could find some peace and quiet. Everywhere she went was crowded with people and was too noisy. She had never found peace back in the shinigami realm, even though it was usually quiet by nightfall. She looked up, noticing her feet had dragged her to an old gate. She smiled to herself, walking through the gate and to the local cemetery. She followed the path up the hill, letting her feet do the walking for her. In the pit of her stomach she felt that this place had held some far off memories, but right now she couldn't quite recall what. The only thing she noticed is that it felt warm and safe, even though it was a place of coldness and undefended death.
Once she got to the top of the dirt road her eyes beamed in awe. The scenery was beautiful, her crystal eyes saw out over the colors of the summer fields and over rolling hills. A smile grew on her lips, feeling a warm memory coming back to her.
"Marcus," came the heavenly voice of a young woman. Tears began to stream down her face, the water hitting a baby's forehead as she carried it in her protective arms. "Y-you actually came back?"
"Of course I did Ellen," he smiled, grabbing her in a tight hug.
"Oh be careful," she gasped, pulling away from his embrace slightly, "You'll crush little Sophia."
"Sophia?" he asked, brushing the baby girl's soft red hair, a perfect combination of his short-curly maroon hair and her mother's long-straight brunette hair. "After your grandmother?"
"Of course," she said softly, a motherly smile planted on her face. "She's the woman who taught me all I know. About live… about death; about kindness, and virtue… she was a great woman… it was a shame the two of you didn't get to meet. She would have immediately included you in our family, instead of rejecting you." She sighed, sadness in her voice.
He nodded, giving the woman a kiss on the lips before taking the baby girl in his arms. "Such a beautiful baby girl… Sophia Maurus Ioreta Serbus, you are growing up in such a cruel and demanding world, but I know you'll be a great little light…" He rocked her back and forth, a fatherly smile growing on his face as the baby in his arms giggled with glee. Then he planted a kiss on her forehead, staring deeply into her crystal blue and green eyes, the perfect combination of her parents.
"Oh my ~" she heard from behind her, turning around to see the Undertaker.
She blinked in confusion, lifting off of the tree trunk she had been leaning on. "Oh, sorry," she said timidly, "I-I thought no one was here," she smiled meekly, planning on running off.
"What's a charming young lady like yourself~ doing out here in the cold?" he asked casually, walking up the last bit of road to the top.
"I… I'm not sure," she chuckled to herself. "I just needed a place to think, by myself. I figured a cemetery would be peaceful enough to do that."
"Indeed it is…" the Undertaker smiled, looking out to the landscape. "With a beautiful view too…" Sophie nodded, staring off into the distance. She closed her eyes, a smile coming to her face as she remembered her father's eyes. They were double-iris and a deep green. He held a hint of yellow swirling in his eyes, his eyes feeling warm and inviting. She hugged herself slightly, feeling the kindhearted sensation of her father's eyes coming back to her memory. "Should I leave you alone?" the Undertaker said, causing her to look over at him.
"There's no need," she smiled, "I was just feeling a warm memory come back to me… I usually don't feel a feeling of love in my memories." He smiled, watching as Sophie sat down and leaned against the tree. He followed in pursuit, sitting next to her as she thought. "Do you know the feeling of your heart fluttering away to quickly for you to react without a second's notice? That's what that memory felt like," she smiled to herself, rubbing her cold arms.
She stared up at him, her one-iris crystal blue eyes beaming with bliss. The Undertaker's eyes widened, for her eyes remembered her of a young lady. "You're eyes…" he said quietly, brushing her face softly with his black nail. "Just like…" he paused, before chuckling and leaning against the tree as he held his sides.
Sophie looked at him with confusion, "What?" she asked, perplexity in her eyes. "Who do I look like?"
He smiled, grabbing her head gently and giving her a peck on the forehead. Then he leaned back, leaning against the tree again. "My little maidens," he smiled to himself.
She looked over, noticing the authenticity his smile was. Then she chuckled, leaning against the tree and looking up at the sky. "I just saw a memory of my parents… they were so beautiful together. My mom's exquisite human blue eyes… my father's bewildering shinigami green eyes with a mystifying yellow haze in them," she smiled to herself, "It was like seeing the beautiful sunlight and the glamour of the dark… my mother wearing a white dress and my father wearing a black suit… oh they made a lovely pair," she sighed happily, wrapping her coat tighter around her body.
The Undertaker looked at her with curiosity as she dazed off into the distance. "And now your eyes are the perfect combination of the two."
Sophie looked over at him, a soft smile growing on her face. "Yeah…" she chuckled to herself, "That's what I thought…" Then she stood up, grabbing her messenger bag from where she had set it down. "It's about time to get going. It was nice talking to you," she smiled, giving him a wave as she walked down the path.
"Same here," he smiled, a chuckle escaping his lips. 'Oh little Inaya… Sophia… I shouldn't have let those evil things happen to your fragile little bodies… requcescat in pacem, my little maidens,' he chuckled to himself, looking back over the fields and feeling the summer breeze blow through his long silver hair.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
Sophie smiled, walking into a bar with Alex and Julia. They sat down at a random table, everyone getting their usual drinks and laughing happily at the table. "About time you lighten up!" Sophie laughed, causing Julia to giggle.
"Sorry that I have to spend every day with Mr. Tyrant," he grumbled, before laughing along with them. "So I'm guessing you found a place to be alone?"
"Yep," Sophie smiled, drinking down a quarter of her drink, "it's very nice, with a beautiful landscape. So Julia," she said, sipping more of the drink, "how are you?"
"Just fine," she giggled happily. "After I put up a fight, father let me go out on my own for once! It won't be an everyday thing, but at least it's something," she shrugged, drinking down her drink. "You guys have been working hard though. I didn't know you can summon different weapons. That's pretty cool!"
Sophie giggled, "Yep it's pretty cool, but it's hard to control," she shrugged, drinking down the rest of her drink, "I've had to give myself a lot of patience to control my strengths, but it's getting easier as time passes."
"And you can disappear!" Julia laughed happily, "in a black haze, right?"
"Yep," she giggled.
"Well that's pretty cool," Julia said, finishing her drink.
Then they heard commotion coming from the other side of the room, Sophie quickly noticed that they were demons. Then one of them looked over, a smile growing on his face, "Hey it's Sophie!" he laughed, walking over to them and giving her a pat on the back. "And… mister…"
"Alexander, but you can call me Alex," he coughed, drinking down the rest of his drink.
"Ahh yes! Hey guys, these are the half-breeds I was talking about," he laughed happily. "Oh I'm sorry miss… I don't seem to know you."
"The name is Julia, daughter of Shezmu," she smiled, "and you are?..."
"Adolf, from the pack of Liulfr," he smiled at her, his canine teeth showing off its white luster. "So you're Shezmu's kid? I remember seeing you at that contest too, though I didn't have the chance of fighting you."
"Oh I wasn't very strong," she giggled to herself. "Besides, I knew Alex and Sophie would win anyways."
"I see…" he thought, then gave them a smile. Suddenly someone jumped on Sophie's back, causing her to fall out of her seat and fall to the floor. "Fillin, you little rascal," he chuckled, grabbing him by the collar and picking him up. "Don't be disrespectful now."
"Yes Adolf," the boy smiled, helping Sophie off of the ground, "S-sorry…" he looked away sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"No problem," Sophie chuckled, rustling up his already messy light blonde/gray hair.
Fillin giggled back. His bright yellow eyes stared curiously up into her crystal blue eyes. "Why are your eyes blue and not the bluish-greenish… yellowish thing it was during the contest?"
"Oh," she chuckled, "that's because I'm disguising my aura as a humans and this is the color my eyes turn when I do. That way other creatures aren't freaking out over the presence of a reaper in their mists."
"Oh…" Fillin said, confusion still in his eyes.
"It's better if you don't ask," Adolf laughed, rustling up Fillin's hair. "This is little Fillin, a little cub who's being trained to be the alpha male in the Liulfr pack."
"Oh Adolf," he grumbled, "I'm not that important," he said under his breath. Then his face brighten up, coming up with an idea, "Hey would you like to see our pack? I promise as an alpha male that none of them will lay harm on you if you come by." He crossed his heart and lifted up his right hand in a pledge, squinting his eyes and waiting for an answer.
Alex, Sophie, and Julia looked at each other nervously and they whispered amongst themselves. Then Alex deciding to speak up, "We would love to," he smiled, the other two nodding in agreement.
"Oh that's great!" Fillin laughed, bouncing up and down with joy. Adolf smiled, holding the door for them as they walked out of the bar. The moon was high in the sky, its yellow glow shining down on group. Adolf smiled up to the sky, noticing the moon was a waning gibbous moon and that it would be a full moon in a few more days.
)(*&^%$#!
"Hey we're back!" Adolf announced, the group walking into a rocky cave and coming across a pack of wolves guarding the entrance.
"We don't allow outsiders, Adolf," one of them growled, "Especially reapers."
"We promise we're not here to hurt you," Sophie spoke up, standing forward, "Fillin just invited us to come over."
"Yes I did," he said with a huff.
"Don't you know that there's reapers coming after us because they suspect us of eating up humans?" one of them growled, nipping at Sophie's foot. "They even killed three from our pack! Now you invite two of them here… you ungrateful –"
"That's enough," said a man, walking out from the inside of the cave. He glared at the wolf, causing the guard dogs to whimper quietly to themselves as they backed away.
"Father!" Fillin giggled, running to his father and grabbing him in a hug. Sophie smiled, seeing the happiness the two of them had together. "I-I didn't mean to cause you harm…" he whimpered slightly, still being carried in his father's arms.
"It's okay Fillin," he chuckled, looking at the three young visitors, "their aura tells me that they're trustworthy. Come on in. it's almost supper time." The three nodded, walking deeper into the cave, with Adolf walking behind them. Sophie smiled, noticing the dinner they had prepared. The texture was that of a lamb of a sheep, not of a human. Perhaps the superiors were wrong about this pack being part of the attacks, but she knew deep down that those humans had been ripped apart by claws, claws as big as a wolf's. She had to get to the bottom of the investigation, before any more innocent lives are lost to the slaughter. "By the way, my name is Wulfric," Fillian's father said, sitting down on the ground, "alpha male of the Liulfr demon wolf pack."
They all gathered around in a circle and sat down, watching as the food was presented to them. Then the wolves gnawed at the meat and ripped into its raw flesh. Alex and Julia did the same without a second thought, but Sophie just stared at her bowl, unable to eat it. "Sophie, eat," Alex nudged her, Sophie frowning.
Wulfric looked up, noticing Sophie wasn't even thinking about eating the food. "You don't have to eat the food if you don't want to. We'll give it to the rest of the pack to eat after we're done."
"I'm sorry if I'm being disrespectful," Sophie said with a bow, "just… I'm not used to eating raw flesh."
"That's alright," he smiled, wiping the blood from his face. "Now let me ask you shinigami, why would you corrupt an innocent cub like my Fillin into having him invite you into our den?"
"I met Fillin and Adolf at the contest last month," Sophie said simply, watching as everyone else around her was ripping into their meat. "Then we ran into them at a bar tonight, and that is why we're here."
"I see…" he said, beginning to gnaw on a bone. "Please tell me, shinigami, why is your kind is trying to kill my pack?"
Sophie let out a sigh, "Well…" she thought, "I'm not part of the dispatch, but my mentor is. We have been gathering information on a string of murders leading up to a demon wolf pack. We aren't sure who, but they suspect the pack is the reason humans have been ripped apart. At first it wasn't enough to be noticeable, but now whoever is killing the humans is ripping them apart at least three times per day. I'm not one to come to conclusions that it's everyone in this pack, but it'd be nice to know so I can try to clear it up with the council, if they allow me."
Wulfric nodded, putting the bone on the ground and wiping his face with a napkin. "I like you," he smiled, showing off his sharp canine teeth, "you're an honest shinigami… though I can see how your kind likes to jump to conclusions. The Liulfr pack is the only pack in London, but we are a wolf pack that doesn't go after humans. We tend to go after livestock, usually sheep and lambs. I don't know who could be doing the killings though… either a rogue wolf or perhaps one of our new requites. We'll investigate on the matter, but thank you for coming by and clearing it up."
"Don't worry about it," Sophie chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "It's the least I can do… I don't see why we don't talk to you guys anyways. We should probably could get to the bottom of this situation without having to go through large extents of killing one another."
He smiled, "You and me both." Then he let out a sigh, his mind going deep in thought. "So tell me shinigami, why does my little Fillin like you so?"
"Well I can answer that!" Fillin said, throwing the bone he was gnawing on to the ground and wiping his face before carrying on. "She revived me. The miss almost killed me… but then she revived me. It was great! I felt so fantastic when I woke up, which is hard to believe I guess…" he giggled to himself.
"Is that so?" his father raised an eyebrow, looking back over at Sophie.
She chuckled, "Yeah…" She smiled happily, "It's just a power that I developed on the spot. He's actually the first being I have revived… but it takes a lot of strength out of me to do so."
"Then why did you do it if you were going to get weak?" Wulfric asked, drinking a cup of water to wash down the blood.
"Because," she shrugged, "I saw that his heart was a good quality soul. My impulse just made me revive him… I can't really describe why I did it. It just happened." Then Sophie cracked a smile, looking over at Fillin, "He's a good cub and I know he'll make your pack proud. His soul didn't deserve to move on, not yet."
Wulfric couldn't help but smile at her, "I have only seen one other reaper act quite like you do. I never believed there was any good in your species, but now I can clearly see it. What is your name?"
"Sophia Maurus Ioreta Serbus, but I go by Sophie Ioreta," she smiled.
"Ahh," he said, realization hitting him, "A Serbus... I can see you've been brought up with great values."
Sophie smiled, a chuckle escaping her lips, "So you knew my father?"
"Yes," Wulfric said, letting out a dream felt sigh. "Marcus was a strange reaper, becoming friends with anyone who seemed to walk by. He told me it was because he only judged a person on their soul and not their physical figure because everyone dies off since we are not immortal but mortal beings. Even if we live a long time, we are still mortal beings. It just takes some longer than others to die."
Sophie nodded in understanding, absorbing his words. "Wow…" she thought aloud, "I can't believe my father would say that…"
"Well he did," Wulfric smiled, "and he was one of my best friends too. It's a tragedy that he had to die. I never found out who the culprit was. No one would tell me."
Sophie frowned, "I'm coming across that same problem," she sighed, "but fear not. I plan on keeping his good name," she smiled happily.
He chuckled back, "Well it's been great meeting with you," he said, standing up. The rest of them stood up, Alex and Julia wiping their faces of the blood on their face. Wulfric stretched out his hand to Sophie, who generously accepted, "Do come back and visit. It's nice to talk to another supernatural being."
"Of course," she chuckled, "I'll see what I can do. Though," she sighed, letting go of his hand, "it's hard to find time anymore."
He nodded, "That's okay. We'll just see you whenever we meet up."
Sophie nodded, following Alex and Julia towards the front of the cave, "I'll see you later!" Fillin waved to the trio causing the three of them to wave back as they walked out of the cave.
"Well that was interesting," Julia giggled, "I've never eaten raw meat before."
"I just can't believe they invited shinigamis into their den, especially a fox!" he laughed. "To think they invited me in… that's so weird!"
Sophie smiled, not quite understanding why there seemed to be tension between other demon groups. "Well I'm just happy we were able to straighten something out. The attacks are still a wolf, or wolves, doing, but at least we straightened out the fact that this pack doesn't know who it is either. I guess we're going to have to catch the culprits before anyone else gets harmed," she sighed, scratching the back of her head. Alex and Julia smiled, showing off their bloody teeth. Sophie groaned in disgust, "I'm not going to be able to get that image out of my head," she frowned, causing all of them to burst out laughing as they walked Julia back home.
)(*&^%$#!
!#$%^&*()
Sophie sat on a couch in the lobby as she read a book. She munched on a box of chocolates, which she had bought the other day and couldn't resist on eating them now. Her mind had wandered into the book she was reading, which was one of the journals she was borrowing from Shezmu.
'May 7th 419 B.C.
'Again I find myself in awe at the complexity of the human mind. I walked amongst the city of Athens, taking in the structures that had been built for their patron goddess Athena. As I did, I came across a man and a young woman conversing in the streets, captivating my curiosity. The woman, even though she looked to be the age of seventeen, seemed to be confusing the elder man with her questions. "What is someone's meaning in life?" "How can they find it?" then even more baffling questions like: "Does a human deserve to be evil?" and "You say a man has virtue, but why does someone need virtue? I have been all over the world and have come across people who don't have virtue, but still have a form of goodness in them. Does this mean that the term of virtue is unnecessary?"
'I continued to listen into their conversation as it commenced, since I had finished my collection of souls for the day. I couldn't help but chuckle at a few of their comments, the conversation soon ending as it began to get dark. I decided to walk over to her, to ask her my own questions. I learned that her name was Athena and she was currently looking for a place to stay for the night. I decided to invite her to spend the night, but she had me promise to not rape her in the middle of the night. As I talked to her, her questions and answers to my own questions was very intriguing. She had noticed that I was a Death God and was listening in to their conversation. She also decided to tell me that she was a half-breed, half human and half Death God. At that she decided to show me her true eyes, which was a combination of the true Death God green and a crystal blue.
'Once we got home I showed her to a guest room. I had a servant give her an outfit that would fit her body because she was walking around is strange clothing that I had never seen before. At dinner we continued our conversation, at which I had noticed how beautiful the white stola looked on her body. She didn't seem enthusiastic about the solid white look, but I assured her that it looked fine on her. As we ate she continued to tell me a little about herself. Athena told me that she was looking for her purpose. She was very broad, but she told me that she had come from a different world and she was currently getting by on her knowledge of Latin and Greek. Now that I think about it, I'm unsure if her name is actually Athena, but that's what she called herself. I decided to let her bath by herself and sleep, seeing as she looked tired and had been on her own for quite some time. –'
Sophie felt a poke on her arm, looking up to see Grell looming over her. "What are you reading my dear~~?" he giggled, grabbing a piece of chocolate from her stash and sitting down next to her.
"Just a book," she shrugged, putting a random piece of paper in between the page she was on and handing it to Grell.
He frowned, "I don't understand this," he grumbled to himself, throwing the book back on Sophie's lap.
Sophie smirked, setting the book gently on her lap. "It's a journal written in ancient Greek, of course. The journal is dated CLXXVIII, meaning 178. A friend gave it to me, just to read during my free time." Grell blinked into confusion as she put the book in her messenger bag. "At the moment, I was reading about an entry from MCLXXII A.U.C., until someone interrupted me," she sighed, popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth, "So what's up?"
"Ummmah… oh yeah!" Grell giggled happily. "I was about to walk out with a group and kill the demon pack the dispatch had me looking for when I suddenly ran into you. Isn't this your luckily day or what!" he smirked, his sharp white teeth glistening in the light of the white room.
Sophie smirked, "Yeah I guess so…" Then she sat up and jumped off of the couch, slinging the messenger bag over her shoulder and slipping the chocolates into her bag, "So are we going to get going or what?"
Grell shrieked happily, jumping off of the couch and giving her a big hug. "This is going to be fun! Your first big kill~" he giggled, Sophie letting out a sigh as they walked out of the lobby and towards the entrance of the building.
!#$%^&*()
In the back of her mind, Sophie knew that this was wrong. She kept her standard scythe in her hand, obviously not telling Grell that she could summon different types of death weapons on a whim. She was with a group of shinigamis as they made their way towards the den on the outskirts of town. They stopped to rest in the woods, a scout or two venturing off ahead of them to investigate the scene. Grell seemed too giddy for the situation, swinging his red scythe around him as he walked. "I think I'll get a prettier death scythe. What do you think Sophie? I was thinking of a chainsaw."
"I chainsaw?" she asked, "What's that?"
"Oh of course you don't know," he giggled, "It hasn't been invented yet, but I'll show you it when I'm able to put it together."
Sophie stared at him, worry crossing her face. Then she got an idea, "Hey Grell," she said, standing up from the ground, "can I go and use the little ladies room?"
"Oh sure!" he giggled, "Go ahead towards town, but don't be late~. The festivities will be beginning in about an hour."
Sophie gave him a nod before quickly disappearing into the forest. She made her way towards the caves, being on the lookout for any scouts that could be noticing her. She faded into the trees and landed on the ground, her eyes turning from their double-iris blue/green to single-iris crystal blue and her clothing turning from a suit to a modern-style black and gray dress. She decided to walk the rest on foot, coming up from the other side of the cave. The sky had already gotten dark, a chill going down her spine. As she made it to the cave a wolf jumped out at her and sniffed her. Then another one joined him, circling around her. "Sophie?" one of them said, turning into his human form.
"Adolf," she sighed in relief, afraid that she was going to have to start the party early. "I was hoping I would run into you. Listen, the reapers are moving in and are going to infiltrate your cave in less than an hour."
"I know," Adolf sighed, looking at the other guard. "Go and tell Wulfric about when the reapers will be making their move. I'll go and look for Rudolf."
"Yes sir," the wolf said, running off towards the caves.
"Come with me and I'll tell you along the way," Adolf said, turning back into a wolf and taking off.
Sophie let out a sigh and chased after him, her eyes turning back into her shinigami eyes and her clothes fading back into a suit and tie. "So what's going on?" Sophie grumbled, seeing as they were moving farther out of London.
"We had founded out that Rudolf is the one behind the killings and we were going to bring him in for questioning, but he took off before we could grab him and now he's on the run. He took Fillin with him so he would not be followed." Then he grumbled under his breath, "I can't believe my own brother would do this."
"Brother?" Sophie asked, causing Adolf to stop.
"Yes…" he paused, "My younger brother. He's always been crooked, which is why we had to leave our den in Germany and come here, but this is taking it too far."
"So what should we do then?" Sophie sighed in frustration, "Because I've been ordered to kill the pack. I don't want it to come to this, but I may have to kill your brother –"
"No," Adolf glared his yellow eyes at her, before taking off again.
"No?" Sophie grumbled as she followed, "What do you mean no~?"
"He is my brother," he said simply, "and he is my responsibility. I don't think you'd understand," he growled under his breath.
"I'm sorry you think that way," Sophie grumbled back, jumping ahead of him. "I'll try to not kill him… but what if his soul is bad?"
"I don't care," Adolf huffed, "just promise that you won't kill him."
Sophie stayed silent, quickly locating two demons making their way towards the hills. "I've spotted them," she said, taking off as fast as she could. She took out her small scythe from her pocket, jumping out from the trees to strike the wolf on the nose with the butt of the handle.
The wolf whimpered, falling to the ground and letting go of the puppy he had clutched in his mouth. Before the puppy could run away, he quickly grabbed him and stepped on his body, ready to tear apart his neck. "You come any closer and the cub gets it," he growled, Fillin whimpering under his grip.
"Let Fillin go, Hrodwulf" Adolf said as a growl escaped him lips.
"Older brother," he chuckled, "good for you to join the party. Now we can escape toge—"
"No Rudolf," he said, "not this time."
"What are you saying Alf?" He whimpered, "I thought we were family."
"You need to be punished for what you had done Rudolf. You killed innocent humans that didn't need to be slain. You've brought disorder and death to this pack. You need to go before the shinigamis and tell them what you had done so they will stop the slaughter… please," he said, taking a step closer.
Rudolf growled at him, "You're just like mother and father!" Then he pressed harder on Fillin, causing him to whimper in pain. "You need to be punished, by being ripped apart? HAH! I'll have you know that I plan on leaving here, with or without you. I don't know why you've teamed up against me, but I won't let you bring me back there!"
He leaned over Fillin, about to rip his neck off, but suddenly Sophie jumped in and slashed at his side, causing him to let go and whimper to the ground. Then she kicked him off, grabbing the scared puppy from the ground and throwing him to the side. "Don't you dare take another life," she hissed at him.
A laugh escaped Rudolf's lips, "And what's a human going to do about that? This isn't your fight!" Then he let out a gasp, noticing the pain in his chest. "W-what was that…"
"A death scythe," she said, "with enough power to kill humans and demons alike."
"W-wha… a rr-eaper!" he gasped, "this feeling…"
Sophie frowned. Perhaps she had strike him too hard, but Fillin was in trouble and she wouldn't stand by and let him die. She walked over to the demon wolf's body, causing Adolf to look in alarm. "Sophie what did you do?"
She loomed over him, looking over to Adolf with a sympathetic look on her face, "I'm sorry Adolf," she said simply, before directing her attention back to the barely breathing demon. Her face becoming stern and solemn and she cut into his side, his memories reeling into a book that suddenly appeared in her hand.
Adolf gasped in horror, seeing his brother die before him, "You bitch," he growled under his breath.
"It had to be done," she said solemnly, closing the book.
Adolf glared at her, "I can never forgive you for this," he growled at her, quickly taking off into the woods. Then a light glow came from the wolf's chest, causing Sophie to look over at wonder. She grabbed it in her hand, a bottle appearing in her hand. She carefully put the glowing substance in the bottle, tucking it into her bag for safekeeping.
Sophie let out a sigh, walking over to small wolf and waking him up. "Little Fillin are you okay?"
"Yes…" he sighed, standing up on all fours and shaking the dirt out of his hair. "But Rudolf and… Adolf…"
"I'm sorry," she frowned as she answered him in a comforting voice, "but it had to be done. He was going to kill you."
"I know," he frowned, letting out a whimper, "but… Adolf was so kind to me. I-I can't believe he's gone."
"Hey," she said, kneeling next to Fillin and wiping his tears away, "its okay. We have more important things to worry about."
"Y-your right," he answered, looking over to where they began to hear growling and fighting. "We have to stop this… Come on Sophie," he said, taking off in a sprint. Then Sophie followed, looking behind her at the demon's remains before speeding up to catch up with Fillin.
As they got closer to the fighting they had to stop, unsure what to do. Several demons and shinigamis alike had been injured, a few of the demons already killed. Sophie searched around for Wulfric, seeing him being attacked by a shinigami. He was being cornered into the rocks, unable to escape the scythe that swung at him. "Papa!" Fillin yelped as Sophie quickly hushing him up with her hand.
"Stay here in the bushes Fillin. I'll be back in a second." He nodded, jumping into the bushes and shaking in fear. Sophie looked up, taking off as fast as she could towards the two.
Just as the scythe was brought down on Wulfric, two scythes clashed together with Sophie holding up her small death scythe in defense. "What are you doing?" the shinigami growled at her.
"They are innocent," Sophie said simply, "they are all innocent, so stop this attack."
"Don't you talk highly to me, newbie," he growled. "I am the superior here. What proof do you have?"
"This," she held up Rudolf's cinematic record, "It is the only demon responsible for all the murderers. I looked over his memories myself. If you don't believe me, then have a look for yourself," she said, throwing the book at him. He caught to book, still holding his scythe up in defense. "Now let them go."
"I don't think so," he smirked, "seeing as demons have been a crick in our backs since I've been around."
"Don't you get it!" She groaned, "The perpetrator is dead. The killing should stop. This pack of demons have done nothing wrong except for killing sheep every once in a while for a meal. They don't steal souls, so why are they a problem? If anything, we should be allies! They have been keeping out other demon packs that would eat human souls."
He glared at her, his green eyes staring deeply into Sophie's own blue/green eyes. She glared back, her eyes not weaning. Then she heard a yelp, noticing Fillin gasping in fear. At lightning speed she stood between the shinigami and Fillin, grabbing hold of the shinigami's blade by the blade and holding her scythe at his neck. "Knock it off," she hissed at him, the color yellow swirling around in her angry blue/green eyes. He whimpered slightly, lowering his scythe slowly.
"Fine!" he grumbled, "Call off the fighting! Let's go home."
The other shinigami lowered their scythes, quickly fleeing. Sophie turned back to Fillin, her hand beginning to bleed, "Are you okay kid?" He nodded, looking at her hand. She smiled, picking him up and giving him to his father. "Sorry to have bothered you," she bowed.
"I should be thanking you," Wulfric smiled, "for saving my son and my own life."
"Hey it's no problem," she chuckled to herself.
"If you don't want to be locked up for your violation of orders, I suggest you come with me now," the superior growled under his breath, having turned around and took off towards the group.
Sophie rolled her eyes, before directing her attention back to Fillin. She put her hand in his, a smile back on her face. "Take this," she said, a violet feather appearing in his paw.
"I-I –"
"Don't worry," she chuckled, jumping down from the rocks, "I have no need for it!"
Fillin couldn't help but smile, cuddling closer to his father. "Thank you!" he giggled, watching as Sophie took off towards the group of shinigamis, which were making their way back to the shinigami realm.
After finally catching up with the group, Sophie looked down at her hand, cringing slightly in pain. Grell jumped over to her, who was already in the back. "Hey are you okay?"
She looked over him with a smile on her face, but her blue/green eyes was telling him otherwise. "I-I'll be fine Grell… don't worry about it," she cracked a smile, taking out a piece of cloth and tying it around her hand.
"Grell," they heard from the head of the group, the superior speaking to him. "You and your apprentice will have a meeting with the council about this."
"Yes sir," Grell said quickly, grabbing Sophie's hand and retying it for her.
"And I want to talk to your apprentice once we get back," he said, Grell looking over at Sophie with a worried look on his face. Once they jumped down everyone went towards the buildings, except for Sophie and the shinigami. He stared her down, "I don't want to see that display from you again, is that clear?"
"No," she glared back, "I will do what I think is right. If you can't accept that, then that's your problem and not mine," she huffed, beginning to walk away from him.
He roughly grabbed her hand, his eyes obviously angry with her. "You're not in a position to make demands. You are not to disobey orders, is that clear?"
Sophie glared at him, before giving him a nod. "Yes sir," she said simply, roughly pushing his hand off of her arm and quickly walking away.
!#$%^&*()
)(*&^%$#!
Adolf tripped on a tree trunk and cursed up at the sky. How could Sophie do this to him? Rudolf had always been a bit difficult, but he always knew that he would do the right thing. Just this time… his emotions were confused on what he should do. Should he go back and apologize? He couldn't think straight, stumbling to a river to drink from the water. He let out a sigh, watching as the water trickled down the stream.
"Why are you so sad, demon?" said a person from behind.
Adolf turned around to see a demon walking towards him, his body masked in the shadows. "My brother had just died."
"Oh I see…" he smirked to himself, cuffing his hands and drinking from the water. "I don't see why you're so mad. Those things happen all the time."
"I guess," he sighed, "but I can't go back."
"So you're a rouge," he smirked, a pair of pointy teeth showing in his sly smile. "Well that's too bad. If you need some room and board you can come by my place and rest."
"Thank you," Adolf smiled, deciding to follow the man back to a cave. He wasn't quite sure about this man, but he didn't have anywhere to go and he wasn't up to being picky. "What's your name sir?"
"Oh," he chuckled, his amethyst and yellow eyes glowing from behind his bangs, "Just call me The Serpent."
)(*&^%$#!
A/N: Oh no! Well I know that was, again, a lot of information, but I hope you guys enjoyed it. Who is this mysterious being? You'll just have to find out later X3 Now Sophie is in a lot of trouble! I wonder how she'll get out of this one. By the way, when I meant modern-style I meant the style in that age. Just so you know! =D
Guillotine – devise used for carrying out executions by decapitation
Wine press – device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making – said that Shezmu would rip off the heads of the wicked, throw them into the wine press, and be crushed into red wine, which would be given to the righteous dead
Inaya – Arabic – kindness, solitude, or grace
Liulfr – Old Norse – shield, protection; wolf; shield wolf
Wulfric – Anglo-Saxon – wolf power
Athena – Greek – wise; goddess of wisdom and warfare
Stola – traditional Roman garment for woman
Rudolf – German – famous wolf
Hrodwulf – Old German – famous wolf