Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Chapter 20, woot! And another chapter out before Thanksgiving, woot! You should thank Thanksgiving that I'm getting this chapter out, because I wouldn't have it out this early otherwise. And guess what, I'm having two Thanksgivings! One at home, the day before, and one at my friend's house, the day during. My mom has to work Thanksgiving night, but at least we'll celebrate! I just hope we get mash potatoes… I love mash potatoes. But enough about this rant! I hope you enjoy this chapter! And if you have any questions feel free to ask! I'm always open for any questions/comments you may have for me ^^
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Sophie walked into the kitchen and handed her mother a tray full of small-bloody tools. "Here you go mommy," she said, watching as her mother grabbed the tools and set them in the sink.
"Is Thomas done with the bodies?" her mother asked, humming to herself as she cleaned the dishes.
"Well –"
"Yes he is," an old man with gray-brown hair and a fuzzy facial mustache said, walking into the confined kitchen and washing his hands in the sink. "I was going to have little Sophia run an errand for me if that is okay by her mommy," he smiled to the little girl, Sophie jumping up in excitement as her mother shrugged and went back to cleaning the dishes.
"W-what is it?" Sophie jumped, almost knocking over a few clean plates that were set on the counter.
He chuckled, ushering her out the door with his long black sleeve and into the hallway to give her mother some privacy. "I need you to go and get some flowers for the funeral tomorrow and perhaps some bread if the bakery is still open. Here's the list," he said, taking a list from a pocket that was on the inside of his suit and handed it to her, "and the money," he finished, handing her some cash and putting it into her hands. "You may just have enough to buy some goodies when you go by the bakery or the candy store," he said quietly so her mother couldn't hear, giving her a wink as she giggled.
"Okay Thomas," she smiled, slipping the money and the list one of her pockets in her coat. "I'll be back later mother!" she called into the kitchen, her mother giving her a wave.
"Να ασφαλή, υπέροχο κοπέλα," she called back, Sophie giggling as she nodded to Thomas and skipped away. Thomas watched as she skipped down the hallway and out the door, leaving the morgue and walking into the streets.
Then he let out a sigh and turned back around towards the kitchen, leaning against the doorway as he watched her mother clean the bloody dishes. "So what are you going to do now that Maurus is dead?" he decided to ask, causing her to set the dishes down in the sink and wipe her hands clean with the water. "Are you going to go back to your family?"
"I don't know," she sighed as she looked at the clean dishes, beginning to set them away in the cupboards. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Sophia that her father is dead… but also how am I going to move on?"
Thomas frowned, walking into the kitchen and slowly wrapping his arms around her. She bit down on her bottom lip as she let out a sad sigh. "It's okay Mrs. Ellen. If you need someone to stay with then you are welcome to stay here as much as you want. I don't mind the extra company."
She gave him a smile before walking out of the kitchen and into their living room. She sat down on the couch in the corner, setting her head down on the armrest and sprawling her body over the rest of the couch. Thomas followed her into the room and sat down in a chair that had skulls attached to the top of the chair, specially handcrafted from one of his customers years back. "I think I have to go back," she sighed to herself, looking out to the floor. "Just… how to break the news to Sophia. Will she be angry with me? Perhaps hate me for the rest of her life?"
"Don't say things like that," he said, drinking down some tea before proceeding to comfort her. "I have known you for about twelve years now and I know that you've been a good mother to Sophia. She's also like her father and she'll probably understand the situation." He let out a sigh, staring into his tea cup. "Plus I think she already knows."
"R-really?" she asked, lifting her head up to look over at him. "How do you know that?"
"Well she is asking me where grim reapers go when they die even though I can't give her a straight answer. Also," he continued, sipping his tea, "the day before that man came by with your husband's wedding ring Sophia came home running away from something. I noticed her run up to the tree before it started to rain. She just sat there and was crying to herself. I was going to go up there investigate until that same man came by before I could, but Sophie seeming to know him from somewhere. I think he is a reaper Ellen," he sighed. "I think she… may have seen her father die."
She looked at him wide-eyed, misery looming over her face. "I see…" she sighed, sitting back into the couch. "She spends too much time with the dead. I don't want my υπέροχο κοπέλα becoming ostracized… especially since my family already does that to her," she frowned. "I don't think she ever met her grandparents or my brother. I think it's about time that she does."
"I see…" he said, setting his tea cup down on a small table next to his arm. "Whatever you wish my dear. I wish the same for her too –" He looked up, hearing the main door open and the bell ring. "If you'll excuse me," he said, walking into the main room.
There stood a man in a long trench coat, his silver hair and thin black glasses hiding his eyes from the mortician's view. Thomas didn't practically like this man, but he seemed to be familiar with Maurus so he had come to accept his constant presence around the morgue and cemetery. He didn't say much, but seemed to rather sharp whenever he answered them. Thomas noticed that the man was wet even though outside it was only getting cloudy. He must have been gone somewhere else, perhaps up north where the storm clouds are coming from. "I didn't mean to disturb you," the man said, walking slightly into the door but staying outside.
"No it's quite alright," Thomas answered, "we weren't doing anything. Would you like some tea?"
"I'd rather not," the man said as Thomas let him into the morgue. He looked around, noticing how neat and organized the place always was. It was a rather old building, but Thomas was able to keep it in working order for years. Everything was spotless, everything was clean, a very inviting place to come to even though it's a place of death. "I only wanted to see how Maurus' family was doing. How was young Sophia?"
"She's quite alright," he said, sitting down in a chair. The reaper looked around for a place to sit, resorting to sitting down on top of a coffin. "Mrs. Serbus and little Sophia don't plan on sticking around here much longer. It's a good thing to. A kind little girl shouldn't be hanging around a mortuary anyways."
The other man laughed slightly, Thomas looking over at his curiously. "I'm sorry sir. I just don't see why seeing dead people on a daily business is a bad thing. It doesn't matter anyways," he sighed, looking down at his hands. Then he grabbed something out of his pocket, a silver ring with a big green gem on it. "However I think this will be the last time I come by. I only wanted to make sure that Mrs. Serbus really didn't want her husband's ring back. I know she said it would be better if I had it, but I'd rather not take something that belongs to her."
"Hold on then," Thomas said, standing back up, "I'll go and ask her. Ellen!" he called, walking into the living room. Ellen looked up, Thomas noticing she had been fiddling around with a smaller silver ring with a green gem that was on her ring finger. "It's that man that Maurus hangs out with."
"Oh you mean Undertaker?" she asked, sitting up and stretching. "Why is he back?"
"He wanted to know if you wanted your husband's ring back," Thomas said, walking over to her and helping her off of the couch.
She grumbled to herself, scratching the back of her head. "This is the seventh time now. I think I will have a word with him," she grumbled, walking out of the room and down the hallway. Thomas followed her, noticing she stopped at the end of the hallway and stood silent. He blinked in confusion, looking over her shoulder to see what was going on.
There was Sophie, back with several dozen flowers and some bread. He was a bit confused because he didn't recall hearing the door ring, but that wasn't really on his mind. What he was wondering about was that she had a happy smile on her face. She was setting the food down on a table before skipping over to the reaper. "I didn't know you would be back," she giggled, sitting down on the coffin the man was sitting on, "but you know there's a dead body in this one, right?"
"Oh…" he said, looking down slightly before shrugging, "I don't mind."
She giggled slightly, taking out a bar of chocolate from her pocket and breaking of a piece, "Do you want some?"
"No," he said as he put his hand up in protest.
She smiled to him, popping the chocolate in her mouth and saving the rest for later. "Since you're here I have a question for you."
"Okay," he said, setting his hands down on his lap. "What is it?"
"Do… do reapers go to a place like heaven?" she asked, causing the man to look at her surprised. "I mean," she chuckled, scratching the back of her head nervously, "I mean is papa in a better place? Mommy tells me he is, but I don't know if I can believe that. I just want to know if he's in a place that when we die then we can see him again," she giggled to herself in thought. "Mommy is awfully lonely without him… so I was wondering if she would be able to see him again."
"Why," he began, a chuckle escaping his lips, "why yes there is young Serbus. There is a place where a soul goes when a person dies."
"Oh really?" she gasped. "Where is it?"
"Well that is something I cannot disclose," he responded, causing Sophie to frown. "But you will only have to take my word that there is a real place someone can go once they die. If you really are Maurus' daughter then you will be able to go there all the time, without having to actually die."
"Really?" she gasped, interested in this new piece of information, "Oh boy! So papa must have been important… wow… and to think I only knew him as a grim reaper."
"Yes," the man chuckled, a smile staying on his face, "I assume your father told you a lot about his work."
She nodded, popping some chocolate into her mouth before slipping it back in her pocket. "I guess so… he also brought me there once, but I don't remember much of it," she shrugged.
"Oh yes I remember the day," he thought to himself, Sophie giving him a nod as she looked down at her hands. "I'm actually here to ask you a question," he said, Sophie turning so she could see him better. "I have been able to keep any information from the council that Maurus Serbus ever had a child. For us, young Sophia, a Death God having relations with a human is prohibited, but there have been a few reapers among us that have two separate breeds for parents. Since your father is a dear friend of mine, I was wondering if you would like to come back with me to our realm?" Sophie blinked in confusion and the man chuckled at her expression. Her mother, however, was close to jumping out from the hallway and into the room to swoop her daughter up and run away from that crazy man. Thomas had to quickly hold her back as he wanted to see what her response would be. "You would be given the upmost care and would be raised to be a Death God like your father was, you would be schooled at our training facility to ultimately become a reaper, and you wouldn't have to worry about any threats coming after you for our realm is very secure against demons, especially the one that killed your father. What do you say? Would you like to come back with me to become a Death God?"
Sophie blinked at him and looked down at her hands on her lap, before a chuckle escaped her lips. "That is a very nice offer, but I will have to decline," she sighed to herself. "I may only be six, but I understand that the demon that killed papa may be back to kill me soon enough. As anything, I don't want to die as papa did, but then there's mommy…" She chuckled to herself, looking off into space, "Mommy would probably let me go if I really wanted to, but I do not want to leave mommy by herself. I don't want to her to be lonely, you see what I'm saying?" she paused and waited for a response. The man gave her a nod and she smiled, soon continuing. "Mommy grew up in a noble family, but they aren't very nice people. They are always angry at me and always calling me a mistake, but mommy says I'm not a mistake. She left her family because of papa, I guess, to be here. I don't know much on details, but mommy seems to be a kind but very lonely person. I think papa helped her with that loneliness when he met her, and now I'm here too. Papa is gone, and then if I go… I don't think mommy can handle the loss. I don't know how to say this, but I don't want to leave mommy alone by herself. She needs me as much as I need her as my mother, even if she doesn't know that, you see?"
"I guess I do," he nodded. Then he chuckled, "You are like your father, you know that?"
Sophie giggled, "As I've been told," she smiled at him.
He looked at her face, brushing her cheek slightly. She looked at him with confusion as he could only respond by chuckling again. "Though you're also like my little maiden."
"I am?" she thought in confusion, "and why is that?"
"You look rather similar to her. Your hair, your eyes, even your attitude is similar to hers. Yes," he chuckled, "you are a rather curious young maiden like she also was around your age. If you had decided to come with me then…" he paused, looking away from her.
"You would have let me stay with you then?" she answered, the man looking over at her surprised. She giggled, noticing that his expression answered her question. "I guess Death Gods are lonely beings too."
"I guess," he sighed, looking down in confusion as Sophie scooted over to him and leaned her head against the side of his arm. She looked at him with a giggle escaping her lips, and he couldn't help but chuckle back at the joy and innocence on her face. Even after losing someone near and dear to her heart she was still a happy little soul, just like her father.
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Sophie had a skip in her step as she wandered through the forest in search for her mother. She saw her wander off an hour ago, and Thomas told her to go and fetch her for dinner. The sky had begun to get cloudy and it slowly began to rain, making Sophie rather nervous. She didn't venture into the forest as she used to, but the rain was making it eerier then it had to be. She stumbled slightly on a branch, quickly noticing her mother in the fields. She giggled, skipping the rest of the way and falling among the grass next to her mother. "Hi mommy!" she exclaimed, her mother looking over with a smile on her face as she rolled over to wrap her hands around her daughter.
"Hello my υπέροχο κοπέλα," she smiled, tickling her sides.
"Mommy!" she exclaimed, giggling as her sides were being tickled. Ellen set her daughter back down in the grass, sitting up and looming over her little body. Sophie giggled into her hands, hugging her mother's neck with her small hands and giggling with glee. Her mother smiled, hugging her tightly before letting go again. "Mommy, Thomas told me to fetch you. It's almost dinner time."
"Okay Sophia," she smiled, letting out a sigh and rolling back down in the grass. Her daughter followed her, imitating her motions as she let out a less stressful sigh and looked up to the sky. "Did you know Sophia that your papa was going to bring us away from this place?"
"Really?" she asked, rolling over to look her mother in the face.
"Yes he did," she sighed. "He told me he was resigning from his job and would be back to take us away in a few more weeks, but he hasn't come back yet."
Sophie looked over at her mother, a guilty look on her face. "Mommy," she began, her mother looking over at her with interest, "t-there's something I need to tell you about papa –"
"I know that your papa is dead Sophia," she said, rolling over and wrapping her hands around her small waist. Sophie's eyes went wide, noticing her mom let out another sad sigh as she hugged her tightly. "I know you saw him die and the reaper your papa called Undertaker wanted to take you to their realm, and…" she sighed, "I know you turned him down."
"Mommy…" she said quietly, holding her close. "It's okay mommy. You can cry if you want."
"No my υπέροχο κοπέλα," she smiled at her, wiping some of her auburn hair from her face. "I am quite alright now that I know that you want to stay with me."
Sophie smiled, hugging mother tightly. "Of course I do μάνα," she sighed as she leaned into her mother's protective arms. Then she let go of her and quickly stood up. "Well Thomas will be expecting us. We better not worry him."
"Yes," her mother chuckled, standing up and grabbing her hand, "let's head home." Sophie nodded, walking side by side with her mother.
Sophie looked up to the sky and quickly noticed how the sun had almost gone down behind the hills. It was making her nervous as they walked past the spot her father died. She frowned when she noticed it was as if he was never there, with only a flower lying where his body had been. Something was keeping her on edge, but she couldn't figure out what. Then as they passed by a shadow jumped out of nowhere and grabbed her mother, the force pushing Sophie into the bushes. It came out of nowhere, a knife suddenly being held at her mother's throat. "I've finally found you," it slurped, cutting into her mother's neck just slightly.
Sophie looked up, her eyes going wide in shock. "Just what are you?" her mother growled, suddenly whimpering when the blade cut deeper into her neck.
"A demon," he hissed into her ear, the blade leaving her neck. He chuckled, slowly sliding the knife down her neck and towards her chest. "The demon that killed your dear~ Maurus," he laughed sinisterly.
Her mother gasped, her eyes widening in fear. "What do you have against us?"
"Oh you must not know your husband that well Mrs. Serbus," he chuckled, "but in order to complete my vengeance, I'm going to have to kill you and your little daughter over there."
"M-mommy?" Sophie said as she stood up in fear and watching the demon pinned her mother down to the ground roughly.
"You monster!" she said, kicking him as hard as she could in a rather sensitive area. He didn't seem affected by it, starting to stab into her chest.
Sophie gasped and ran towards her mother. "Mommy no! Not you too!" Then the demon was kicked away, a surprised expression coming over his and her mother's face when they looked over at her. Sophie only stood where the demon had been, letting out hard huffs as she clutched something in her hand. It was a death scythe, a scythe about six times larger than her, if not more, and completely black. A black haze was beginning to form around her as she glared at the demon. Her eyes were completely yellow; anything of her normal blue and green eyes gone in a flash, but her eyes also looked dull and glossed over.
She slashed at the demon, the demon jumping back in fright as he fell back down on the ground. He growled, wiping the blood that began to flow from a cut on his face. "You bastard child," he hissed at her, standing back up. He grew claws and walked towards her, anger in his eyes.
"Don't!" her mother called out, "she's only a child!"
But the man didn't listen to the woman's cry as he attacked the girl. She jumped back, quickly lunging back at him and sending him flying into the trees. She gripped the scythe in her hand hard and slashed it at his body. He cried out, a deep gash causing blood to flow from his chest. He hissed at her, attempting to crawl away from her. "I'll be back to kill you and your little brat!" he yelled, quickly vanishing and leaving Sophie and her mother in the woods.
"Thank God that man is gone," she gasped, standing up and brushing herself off. "Come on Sophia… Sophia?" she looked over, noticing her daughter wasn't responding as she usually did. "Sophia put that scythe away… listen to me!" she yelled, grabbing her arms attempting to grab the sharp object away from her. The girl growled and slashed the scythe at her, jumping away from her mother. She gasped in fear, now noticing the vicious look in her eyes. "Sophia what's going on with you?" she said, attempting to run away from her. At a lightning speed she stood in front of her mother, her scythe aimed high above head. "Sophia… Sophia listen!" she yelled, the scythe coming down on her as she flinched and looked down.
She soon looked up in shock, the blade not cutting her in half. It was shielded by a man standing over her and she let out a sigh of relief. The man pushed the blade away, striking the scythe hard with his shamshir and sending it flying behind her. He grabbed the possessed girl, Sophie growling, kicking, and screaming at him. He held her close to his chest, enough so she was restrained from thrashing around and hurting herself. "Sophia…" he said quietly in her ear, "It is time for you to settle down now…" She continued to kick him, her yellow eyes angry at the man holding her tightly.
"Thomas –"
"It's okay Ellen," he said, "but there is something I'm going to have to do so Sophia will come back to her senses."
"What is that?" she asked with a worried look on her face as she watched her only child snarl at her.
"I will have…" he sighed, "I will have to perform some magic to seal off whatever powers she is controlling and causing her to be possessed by them. Maurus told me about the powers he may have passed onto Sophia, but he said that if she is unable to control it then it's better for her to have them sealed away then for her to be controlled and go on a senseless rampage."
Her mother nodded, completely accepting all that he said. "Then you have my permission to do what you must."
He nodded to her, turning his attention to the growling girl in his arms. "Sophia… Sophia Serbus… I know you're in there my child. Please come out." The girl just growled at him, yelling absolute nonsense at him that none of them could understand. "Mors, desinunt habere hac puella," he whispered in her ear, causing her to stop thrashing and just stare appalled at him. "Morte haec quisque puella. Relinquere ego praecipio Morte corporis." His hand began to glow, starting to seal the soul in her body back to where it had stayed dormant till now. "Sophia Serbus, vobis potentiae sum sigillum omnem hereditas tuum parentis, Maurus Serbus." Her body soon went limp, the black haze disappearing and the scythe vanishing along with it.
Her mother ran to her side, taking her daughter into her arms with a worried look on her face. "Sophia? Sophia are you there…" she gasped, tears beginning to stream down her face. "Oh god… not you too. I can't have you die too!"
As she finished her daughter coughed, opening her eyes and looking up at her mother confused. "M-mommy… w-where are we?"
"Oh Sophia!" she gasped, holding her tightly, "Thank god you're safe!"
She looked around confused, her eyes looking over at Thomas with as much confusion as she did to her mother. "W-who's he?"
Her mother's eyes went wide in dread while Thomas only frowned. Then he gave her a sweet smile, "My name is Thomas, Sophia. I'm taking care of you and your mother at a mortuary."
"Mortuary?" she asked, "What's that?"
"A place where the dead go to be prepared for burial," he finished, answering her question.
"Oh…" she thought, before cuddling up in her mother's arms. "Mommy I'm tired. Can I sleep?"
"Of course my υπέροχο κοπέλα," she whispered, letting her close her eyes and fall asleep against her chest. Her mother stood up, holding onto Sophia tightly as she walked back towards the cemetery. "What happened Thomas?" she growled with fury in her lips.
"I-I don't know," he shrugged, looking over at Sophia before towards the direction they were walking in. "Perhaps I sealed away more then I intended. I thought I used the right spell but… I'm soooo sorry Ellen –"
"It's alright," she sighed, accepting his answer, "but I hope she can at least remember her father. That is the main thing she needs to remember…" She looked at her daughter, brushing her hair away from her face as she slept contently against her chest, "her father."
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Grell sat next to a white bed in a white chair, gripping the hand of the patient who was fast asleep under the covers and dressed in a white medical gown. He frowned, brushing the tangled and dirty auburn hair from her closed eyes. She looked rather peaceful as if she had already passed onto the afterlife. "Oh Sophie…" he frowned, biting back tears, "This is my fault, isn't it?"
He flinched slightly, hearing the door open and slam behind him. "Grell Sutcliff," the shinigami said, walking over to the other side of her bed to look at the patient passed out on the bed.
"William," he snarled at him, anger starting to surface from the pit of his stomach. "So how's dear-young Alex?" Grell decided to ask, turning his attention back to Sophie.
"He is slowly recovering and will be out of bed in a few more days." Then he let out a sigh, looking at the books in his hand, "I had to go over the details of the demon attack from Alexander's and Sophia's cinematic record. They… well it is something the council will want to review later," he finished; looking over Sophie's sleeping body. "Could you care to tell me, Mr. Sutcliff, why you let Sophia stay with a retired man like the Undertaker? Why you didn't go to your higher supervisor or a director about this instead of keeping everything a secret?"
Grell glared at him, frustration visible in his wiry eyes. "You wouldn't understand," he huffed at him, looking back at Sophie's body.
William let out a sigh of defeat, deciding to sit down on a nearby chair so he could look squarely into his eyes. "Grell I'm serious. This is a grave offence, even though she's a new shinigami here. If I can't find a loophole for her then… who knows what will happen to her and Alex. So tell me, why did you make her stay at the Undertaker's house in the human realm instead of having her stay here where it's safer?" He glared at Grell, who only glared back at him. Then he sat back, a frustrated grunt escaping his lips, "You know they will be asking you this when you have to stand before the council once they find out you were involved in her recent disappearance. It's best to come up with your reasons now before –"
"Fine William!" he yelled, letting go of Sophie's hand and standing up in anger. "You want to know why? We'll I'll tell you! Because…" Grell paused, Will watching as his anger fused down and he sat back down in his chair in defeat. He frowned and brushed Sophie's hair again, causing William to frown merely out of sympathy. "This is the first time I ever had an apprentice Will. Even as a human no one wanted to hang around me because I was weird, but then… Sophie came here and wasn't scared about my sharp teeth or swiftly changing attitude. You know me Will, it was hard for you to warm up to me too." He glanced over at William before looking back at Sophie. "If you hadn't been my partner during our final exam, then you wouldn't want anything to do with me right now, would you?"
"I –"
"Well it doesn't matter now does it?" he huffed, a smirk coming to is face as William grumbled and moved his glasses on his face. "Either way, Sophie seemed different then the other newbies. When they made me choose an apprentice I was rather furious about having to, but then I saw Sophie's name and I know I had to request her. It was great, though her attitude changed a bit since I last met her, but she was as feisty as they come," he chuckled to himself. "But then… well I think you've already heard," he said, looking over at William expecting an answer. Noticing he wasn't going to say anything, Grell huffed again and sat back in his chair, crossing his legs as he stared William down. "I brought her along with me when we were investigating a demon wolf pack. I wasn't expecting much from it, just killing them and going home so I had Sophie come with me. She's a top A student, actually rivaling my own GPA that I had in place when I was at the academy, and from our training I knew she could handle the pressure. Then… well Sophie seemed to turn on all of us. She helped the demons and was yelling at our commanding officer for almost killing the alpha male. Even for me I wouldn't do that because I knew the consequences behind it and I taught Sophie them, but she didn't seem to care. So once we came back they threw her in jail and accused her of being a traitor. I seemed to be the only one defending her at the time, stating things like she was only a new shinigami and didn't know the consequences behind her actions. They didn't even let her meet with the council to discuss her case! It was very maddening… and that was when she started to get worse," he sighed, looking away from William's unnerving gaze. "She would yell and scream in her sleep, and actually she still slightly does from time to time when she passes out while I'm working on paperwork. They had to throw her in a tightly concealed room, which only made everything worse for her. I checked up on her from time to time and only saw her getting worse and worse as the hours went on… the days went on. I was there during one of her tantrums and she kept crying out for them to stop touching her and hurting her. They actually weren't, at the time, and had to strap her down and inject medicine into her arm to calm her down. It was a horrible sight… something I wouldn't want to see ever again," he shuttered to himself.
"I offered to have her stay in my small apartment room once I was told she almost killed herself one night. Once she was there she settled down and wasn't throwing as many tantrums as before. Sophie frowned though, never smiled at me. I let her be and I waited for her to say something to me. One night she was having a nightmare and started throwing a tantrum, kicking in her bed and whimpering from some unknown pain. I ran into the room and woke her up, only seeing the terror in her frightened blue and green eyes. That's when she told me, told me about her human life," he sighed. "She didn't like being locked up because of memories of being tortured in a murky confined area. That was the only reason she had acted the way she did, because she doesn't like being confined and locked up without a way of escaping. She needs freedom and she told me she was fine being in my apartment because she trusts me… trusts me…" he thought back before going back to the point of his pointless blabber. "That's when I realized Sophie is a creature different from our own… perhaps a whole different species then our own. Just her explanations to her memory, her telling me about her medical records and that she was a half-breed, then how her father's name causes people to look at her as if she's a bigger part of the world then she can accept. That's when I decided that I cannot continue to always be her mentor for she was completely different then what I can handle. Even so, when a man came by the apartment one night to have her train with him, she insisted that I kept training her even though she was training with him. I still don't know why, but I did what I could do for her. Over time she was back to smiling and went back to her dorm, but when I thought the worst was over," Grell said, staring William square in the eyes, "I soon realized it was only the beginning."
"I had to confront her a while ago because she was acting different again and that was never a good sign, from past experience. I confronted her at the Undertaker's morgue, having him do most of the work for me really. That's when I learned she's something more then what she lets on. Have you heard about this, a thing called the parting stage?" He looked over at William before a chuckle escaped his lips, "Of course you don't. It was the first time I heard about it too. Either way, I realized Sophie was in grave danger, since she was losing her shinigami powers and demons were after her to eat her. So what did I do? I decide to have her stay at the Undertaker's since he has a reputation of being a powerful reaper," he shrugged. "It wasn't as much of my decision as it was his. Sophie goes by the morgue all the time, but she wasn't sure about staying with him. I had to make him promise that he wouldn't harm Sophie and so far he kept his promise. I wasn't sure about the decision, but when I came back every day after work I saw that she was getting along with him. So I decided it was all for the best." Then he sighed, looking back over at Sophie as he listened to the monitors attached to her body beep at a steady rate. "It was one afternoon, when I came by the morgue, that frustrated me. The Undertaker wasn't there to keep Sophie in the morgue! She was rather bored as she sat at the window, watching the humans walk in the streets. She told me he would be back soon, for he said he was only spending the night in a village because it was too far away to get back by nightfall, but that was the last I heard from Sophie," he grumbled. "I remember my last words, 'Take care, you scamp!' and she seemed angry at me for even saying it when I left… I wish I hadn't." Then he sighed, looking over at William and glared at him, even though he could visibly see the worry in Grell's eyes.
William let out a sigh, looking at the books and papers in his hand and setting them down on a table. He grabbed a book and Grell quickly noticed it was a cinematic record, Sophie's cinematic record. "I was rather puzzled by everything and had to research everything more in depth. Since you are her mentor its best that you know everything about Sophia's past, for the sake of anymore screw-ups," he finished rather foully, causing Grell to narrow his eyes and snarl at him. "I had to reread her cinematic record and found that a lot more pages have been added then pervious. It shows everything, her father, her mother, everything," he said, looking up at Grell and making sure he wasn't going to say anything till he went on. "Around the age she was six a mortician named Thomas sealed the powers inherited by her father using magic. I asked a few shinigamis about the spell and they told me he said everything right, but yet the spell didn't work as it should have. It sealed off her memories along with her powers, memories of her father and anything to do with the shinigamis and the supernatural laid dormant in her mind. The only thing that remained was one memory, a memory of meeting her father at a young age." Then he sighed, flipping through the pages.
"At eight she became an orphan and the man Thomas had died soon after. She had nowhere to turn to and the Undertaker found her around the time he had retired and left to live in the human realm. Why he would take her in is still a mystery, but she spent the rest of her human life with him. Maybe that's why she likes hanging around him constantly," he looked over at Grell before continuing on with his investigation. "At the age of seventeen she met the demon that attacked her and Alexander. The demon's name is Dorren, Dorren Apbolos or The Apep as I've found in other sources," he sighed, looking over the book. "To answer your questions, he was the demon that held Sophie prisoner and tortured her. It was her relatives that ordered the attack, being contracted to this particular demon. I have looked over my notes and see that her relatives that are contracted are indeed alive, so the demon is still lurking around London somewhere," he coughed, adjusting his glasses. "His real intentions for Sophia are still unclear because from the beginning it was because she was Undertaker's daughter and the last statement was because she was a Serbus. He seems to want vengeance over her family, killing her father and mother and attempting to kill her several times." Then he closed the book, setting it down and standing up. "I do not know what is going on as much as the information I have told you, but whatever is going on the council wants to keep an eye on her. Since she was brought into your care already, they want me to tell you to look after her as you had done in the past."
That's when Grell chuckled at him, watching as William gathered his papers and books. "Me? Little old me? Oh you flatterer~" he giggled, William's eyebrow twitching slightly by his response. "But…" he said, calming down, "no I cannot accept this."
"And why Mr. Sutcliff?" he sighed, Grell glaring at him.
"It's rather simple," he grumbled, "I just can't keep her safe from danger; that's why I had her live with the Undertaker in the first place. Besides I've told you before, we should have told them before this all happened. If we had at least told the Undertaker that she was the human he had been taking care of then perhaps we could have prevented this." He soon sighed, looking over Sophie as she slept peacefully. "I have already accepted I can't take care of her. She surely respects me and sees me as a mentor, but I'm not the right person to take care of her in the danger she is in." He looked over at William, determination in his eyes. "I know for a fact that these demons coming after her because she tastes like food will not stop, not yet. I do not know if it is only short term or a long term affect, but it's true if you look over my conversation with the Undertaker in her recent recording. I don't know who the council will put her with, but it can't be me. I do expect someone more qualified for the job, but I do not know who that could be. For anyone that Sophie would even accept to stay with is the Undertaker," he finished, looking back at Sophie as she slept, "so go ask him. I'd rather not."
William grumbled to himself, walking around the bed and towards the door. "I will keep your request in mind, but if I cannot change their minds then her liability will fall on you, whether you are up to the responsibility or not," he finished, leaving the room. Grell grumbled to himself before moving some hair from her face again. The fading line that led from her neck and disappeared into her blouse made him frown and Grell looked up at the monitor as it stayed at a steady beat.
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Sophie shivered, gripping Undertaker's sleeves tightly as she could. "D-daddy?..." she called to him, the Undertaker looking over at Robin with determination.
"What is going on Miss Robin?"
She let out a sigh, feeling the water in the tub with the tips of her hand. "She's getting a high fever like Haden and several of the children already had. We were unable to treat it back at the orphanage, but there have been a few methods that have been done by other parents that got results. If you could put her in the hot water…"
He grumbled to himself, unwrapping Sophie from the towel he had her in and put his hands around her body, gently setting her in the water. She began to cry out to him, her hands gripping hold of his sash so he wouldn't go away. "Little maiden you have to let Robin treat you," he said calming, letting her calm down before he had her let go of him.
She kept crying, causing the Undertaker to pull his eyes from her and Robin. She took a bucket full of cold water and rinsed a rag from the bucket. Then she lightly dabbed it on Sophie's forehead, cooing to her to stop fussing. "It's okay Sophia. It's okay…" Robin looked over at the Undertaker, who had found more fascination with a spider on the wall then the whimpering young girl in the water. "To think she got this a year after Haden did…" she chuckled, frowning when she wasn't getting a response out of him. "I will do the best I can Undertaker," she sighed, "but I don't know what else I can do. A few of the children have been able to recover after sitting in hot water for a while, but you can't keep a small body in the water for too long. If she is kept warm the rest of the night and is able to pull through till morning, then I'll have a doctor here who can help you. I'm sorry."
He nodded to her as Robin got up and wiped her hands on a nearby towel. "Thank you for coming at such a short notice. I had no one else whom I could turn to."
"It's quite alright," she smiled to him, gently rubbing her thumb on Sophie's head before looking back over at him. "I can stay here for a few more minutes, but I need to get back to the orphanage as soon as possible."
"That's okay then," he sighed, looking over at Sophie's body in the water, "I'll take care of her till morning. Just make sure a doctor is here by then." She nodded to him, hustling out of the bathroom and down the hallway, quickly leaving the morgue to make it back to the orphanage before the sun went down.
The Undertaker looked back at the girl, a worried look quickly coming over his face. He knelt down next to her, dabbing the cold water on her head as she quietly whimpered to herself. "M-mommy?..." she said quietly, her eyes barely open.
"I'm the Undertaker my dear," he said softly, putting the rag back in the bucket and making it nice and cold again. "You have been living with me for a few years, remember?"
"U-undertaker?" she thought aloud, trying to recall the name. "Y-you mean the man that comes by the morgue w-ith papa?"
He looked at her confused as he began to dab the water on her forehead. "Yes my dear. Who is your papa?"
"M-maurus Se-erbus, of course," she said, his eyes suddenly going wide in shock. "I-I see you all the time, r-right? I talked to you when papa died… y-you were there at his office w-while I was asleep… he c-called you h-is best friend… but now I don't re-member…" she sighed, suddenly going speechless.
"Sophia?" he said, shaking her slightly. He brought his head next to her opened mouth, hearing her breaths getting softer by the second. He frowned, deciding it was time to take her out of the tub. He grabbed her unconscious body and wrapped the towel back around her, noticing she was shivering again. He decided it would be best to have her under the covers as quickly as possible; so he stood up, let the water begin to drain in the tub, and walked into the bedroom.
Then he set her down on the bed, debating if he should dress her or not. He decided to grab something, having to dress her himself in a woolly shirt he would wear when it got cold outside. He lifted up the covers and tucked her in, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing hold of his sleeve. "P-papa?" she asked, her eyes trying to stay open.
He chuckled, kneeling next to the bed and brushing her wet hair from her face. "No, I'm the Undertaker."
She frowned, a tear beginning to fall down her face. "No… you have to be papa, or else… is papa dead?"
He sighed, having her let go of his sleeve as he stood up. "You're obviously delirious little maiden. I'll be back in a second," he responded, about to leave the room.
"Papa!" she called to him, tears streaming down her face. That caused the Undertaker to stop, turning back to her with a fearful look on his face. She shivered, holding onto the blankets tightly. "D-daddy?... I… D-did you have a little maiden be-fore me?" He paused for a second, waiting for her to continue. "Papa d-on't leave me… not again," she kept crying softly, holding onto the covers tightly for warmth. "I-it's cold… why so cold?..."
He walked back over to the bed, setting his hat down on a nearby table and taking off his shoes. Then he slipped under the covers, holding onto her trembling form as tightly as he could without hurting her. "Is that better, little maiden?" The little girl nodded feverishly, turning over in the bed and clinging to his robes. Tears kept falling down her face as she trembled, trying to warm up as quickly as she could.
He held her close to his chest, opening up his robe slightly so she could be wrapped up tightly. Sophie snuggled into his chest, a happy smile showing up on her face as she felt her body slowly heat up. "U-undertaker?" she called to him as he let out a sigh.
"Yes little maiden?" he asked, his eyes closed as he tried to get some sleep.
"I-is it normal to have dream about people dying?" she asked, causing him to open up his eyes and look down at her slightly. "To s-ee people die for no reason… that isn't right, ri-ight? To have to do some-thing so horri-bble… always c-ast in a dark sh-hadow too… I don't think it is n-ormal," she frowned, hugging him tighter.
"You're father told me that once," he said, Sophie closing her eyes tightly and clinging to his chest as she grit her teeth in pain. "He has nightmares, seeing people die in front of his eyes whom he never seen before, but always in the dark. He says it's a different type of dreaming, one where you don't see figures running around, but can only sense they are there as they are screaming for the pain to stop." He chuckled to himself, shifting his head down in his embrace and kissed her on the top of her wet auburn hair. "You won't even remember what I tell you anyways. I don't see the point of explaining this to you," he sighed, rubbing her back as she trembled. "Maurus Serbus, huh?... If I had known sooner," he thought to himself, hugging her tighter to himself, "then I would have taken you back to the realm with me, but it's too late now. I will just have to stay by till you die in this world… hopefully later then sooner."
He looked down on her, noticing that her breathing became steady again, and he couldn't help but smile. "Y-you're my new pa-pa, right?" she asked him, a chuckle escaping his lips.
"That's right Sophia," he sighed, getting comfortable underneath the sheets. "Yes I am."
"Are you lo-onely still?" she asked him.
He smiled, "No, no I am not." He couldn't help but chuckle again, "Not anymore."
"S-so can I be y-yours?" she asked, clutching to his robe and looking up.
He looked down at her, seeing her crystal blue and shinigami green eyes looking up at him with such innocence that it made him smirk back. "Yes little maiden," he responded, Sophie giggling happily and curling herself up in Undertaker's chest again. He brushed her hair with his fingernails, kissing to top of her head as she quickly fell asleep. "You are mine and I won't let anyone take you or hurt you… not ever." He continued to brush her hair softly, closing his own eyes as sleep overtook him. "This time I will be there for you, my little maiden… this time…"
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Sophie opened up her eyes in a jolt, quickly scanning the room for any signs of danger. She slowly looked over, seeing Grell passed out in a chair next to her bed. She smiled to him, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes. So many questions she had now, which she had to unravel here and now. There was no time to waste sleeping because there was something more important for her to find out.
If her dreams were actually her memories.
She got out of bed, looking over at Grell as she did so. She smiled to him, giving him a peck on the cheek and a quick thank you before opening the door and closing it behind her. Sophie looked around, noticing the hallways were empty, and quickly made her way out of the infirmary and out of the shinigami realm, running as fast as she could through the forest and to her destination.
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A/N: Sorry for Grell's rant in the middle of this story! If I had cared much about making it shorter, I would have, but I'm tired and will just keep it as it is. If it wasn't so long, I would have added one more from the next chapter, but this still works fine ^^
Sorry if it got confusing. It's going back and forth from her dreaming/memories flooding back to the reality of the story. Yes, there are points to the dreaming that she's not even there, but who's to say that it's just her own memory? =3 Ehhhh once again I'm not trying to be perfect here. I know it seems unlikely that she would have that as a memory, but it's just so you can understand what is going on with her memories. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I took some time making sure it was perfect, even though I know it's not, so I hope you enjoy it. Some Undertaker and Sophie cuddling, yeah ^^ It's just to show why he'll be more clingy to her later… and even in past chapters too =D Well… goodbye and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
Να ασφαλή, υπέροχο κοπέλα– Greek – Be safe, lovely girl
Mors,desinunt habere hac puella– Latin – Death, stop possessing this girl
Morte haec quisque puella– Latin –Leave this girl Death
Relinquere ego praecipio Morte corporis– Latin –I command Death to leave her body
Vobis potentiae sum sigillum omnem hereditas tuum parentis– Latin –I seal off all powers you inherited from your father
μάνα – Greek – mother