Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Well I figured I'd post one more chapter before my finals (wish me luck! DX) Anyways I hope you like this. Some more crazy stuff, but whatever. ENJOY!
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"You know what it's better to not ask," Sophie chuckled lightly, "so I don't know Margaret. Call it magic, voodoo, whatever. We'll probably be back to our normal heights in a couple of days."
"Yeah," Marius sighed, "but I'm like this because of you. So it's up to you… and why are you hanging upside down? You could break your neck!"
"But I'm booooooored~" Sophie huffed as she hung by one leg upside down from a light fixture. "This is all so weird, you know? Just because of one little spell and then next you're turning into something you're not. It's just… wrong right?"
"… Sophie is there something you want to say?" Margaret asked, watching as the little girl stopped swinging on the lighting and sighed.
"Everything just blows," Sophie pouted.
"Blows?" Marius tilted his head.
"Sorry," Sophie chuckled, "just… I feel different and… just not me. Heck, I haven't felt like this for a few years! Knowing completely who I am and saying what I want to say. Not having a voice in the back of my head telling me what to do and… yeah…" She sighed. "I can't even think straight anymore… it's weird. I miss that other soul. So I heard Jericho left. Where did he go?"
"America," Margaret shrugged, "had to do some paperwork or something along those lines."
"Something tells me that if that boy won't take the time to transfer then he must not want to keep you," Marius said as he lounged back in a chair and looked up at the ceiling.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sophie huffed. Marius just grinned. "Look, that guy~ loves me alright and it's true. I want to settle down alright –"
"That may be true," Marius interrupted her, "but if he can't even tell you he's leaving then he just wants you for something else… and I don't want you to get hurt."
"Like what –"
"For one your powers," Marius continued as he counted on his hands, "second your fame, third your affection towards him, and fourth your looks. And come on you're a big tease –"
"Hey I am not!" Sophie huffed again. "You don't know Marius! You think it's easy living here? You become someone's friend and next they stab you in the back. I honestly just want to settle down and have a family. Heck, as long as it's not a snot nose snob who thinks he's better than everyone else then great. I give beings favors, save them and show them mercy, but what do they do next? Hurt you –"
"And that's my point," Marius sighed. "You don't get it do you."
"N-no… not really," she looked away and began to swing again, sighing as she switched her foot from one to the other on the fixture and pouted.
"… Look I know it's been hard," Marius smiled, "but I'll help you through this alright? I know I haven't helped you in the past, but now I'm here. If you want to talk about this life and make sense of it I'll help. Just don't leave me out in the dark."
"Alright, alright," Sophie chuckled, "only if you do something for me first."
"Yes… what?" He tilted his head as Sophie jumped down and began to fix her black cloak.
"Work on your own personal problems first Marius," Sophie answered. "I know~ you haven't been doing as much as you could because of me. Death didn't have to explain in detail for me to know that you'd like to live here instead of be dead. So get your affairs in order and perhaps I'll tell you my own… cool?"
"R-really?" Marius chuckled as he sat up and scratched the back of his head. "H-he really told you –"
"No," Sophie shook her head as she flopped her hood over her face, "I figured it out. Then he told me," she giggled as she went for the door and opened it. "Bye Margaret. Thanks again."
"Hey no problem," she smiled, waving as the little girl walked out the door and walked towards the doors, "Bye." Margaret looked over at the little boy slumping in a chair, picking through his cloths before sighing. "So, what's the plan. You staying?"
"It looks like it," he said with a sigh, before looking up at her with a grin. "This… this isn't weird? I mean that I'm dead?"
"Nah," Margaret chuckled as she walked by and pinched his cheeks, "the weird thing is that you're a kid right now." Marius pouted as she grinned and walked away, laughing heartedly as he rubbed his face and chuckle lightly to himself.
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Sophie held the black cloak around her neck close to her mouth, the chilling wind blowing through her hair as she ran into the woods. She sighed, a shiver going down her spine as she made her way into a clearing. Noticing a familiar face she smiled, casually walking up to the being and giggling as she sat down. "Hey me," she grinned as she placed her hands under her head, "what's up?"
"Nothing," her body responded back, bright yellow eyes staring up to the sky.
Sophie smiled, laying her head down on the grass and joining the other soul by gazing up at the sky. "… So I always wondered why you try to get up there… to the heavens I mean. Don't you think it's difficult?"
"It's all part of the challenge," her body chuckled back, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. "S-since that day, when I got to see the light… I don't know what happened. Something stirred inside of me… a-and I knew that I was being hidden from the truth. The truth of the world, universe, all of creation… hidden by an unknown force. That force being the light... and once I pass by and see into the light will I find my true nature… why I'm here…" She chuckled again, pointing up to the sky as she did. "The sky, how vast it is. Just by one glance you see billions of fire and trillions of rock floating around above us. No one knows how it happened, but that hasn't bothered anyone. I know that if I reach that sky above I will achieve that goal, and find everything out. That is, I'd rather stay here and watch the sky all day, all night… You are a curious little soul Miss Sophia Serbus," it grinned. "You are very troubled. I can see it in your eyes. Is it me? Your life? Your soul? You know that you will never have all your questions answered and it seems to me you're going to give up."
"Oh that's far from the truth," Sophie snickered back before sighing heavily. "Yes, there are problems and questions that I know won't be answered. My life, sure. My soul, sure. You, of course. Just… yes I know nothing will be answered, but either way I will try. In all honestly I want to live my life and I felt I already have… but yet something feels empty, like I'm meant to do something else. When I stay here I feel secure, but there is something missing, and when I leave that security is gone, but still something is dreadfully missing from my life. I know the only way of filling that empty void is finding a particular part of myself that is missing as it is with you and going towards the sky. Have I really fallen from grace? Am I an angel? Perhaps, but that's still not what I'm missing. It's something else and I know I won't truly be happy till I find it… for myself."
"So is that why you fill your life with rubbish?" Sophie looked over at her body, the soul inside grinning as it continued. "The friends, family, you don't need it. You've been able to live on your own even before you were born. Why do you? Do you know?" Sophie stared back, a frown on her face as her body grinned back before sighing. "Love. You seek an emptiness in your heart called love. Every life in linked to another, from young to old or demon to angel. Some call it the string of fate, others destiny, but your string leads to another over leagues of time and memories beyond. That's why you can't find the piece that's missing. You haven't even come to discover it yet." The soul chuckled, watching as Sophie clutched her hands under her head and rolled over to her side. "If you're wondering, no I don't know who this is. Only you can. I can see the contents of your heart and can tell that's what you're missing, another soul. Perhaps it's your old soul and it was separated from another, or not even that. The life you have now is what connects you… who really knows. It's probably my fault, what I have done… even if I don't remember it –"
"Hey now," Sophie huffed, "Don't start blaming yourself with anything. You have your goals and I have mine. If anything I should be thanking you. I wouldn't know that until you told me."
"Of course not," it chuckled, "you're only a true naive child. So is your brother. That is why you were brought into this body… forced to be connected with me. Whether you like it or not the darkness will be here to stay –"
"Then… how will you ever obtain this light you speak of?" Sophie frowned. "Why do you need me… my family for this?"
"It is through you that I can come into the light. Perhaps it will be becoming an angel or becoming a human. It doesn't matter. It's the soul you see. I know that you will not be the last, but your actions will change the thoughts for the future. You will fall, rise, fall, rise, but the point is you. It gets me closer… but it's hard to explain. I'd rather not. I don't even understand the world myself," it grinned as her body turned its head to stare into her eyes. Sophie's eyes went wide, staring into the bright hazy yellow glow coming from her eyes. How it pierced into her, causing chills to go down her spine, but yet she felt safe there. As if nothing could hurt her. "The point is keeping yourself safe. Keep myself safe. That is your main mission for being here. Anything else we accomplish is by our own efforts, but mostly your own. Continue to do the things you love. Continue to look around for love. It is my goal, not yours, to find the light. For it seemed to have fallen… or perhaps it was I who had fallen or maybe I had never really fallen at all. I don't recall, but others do and that's why I'm here to find this out, through you. Plus I recall a bet with Death, but it's something I won't find out about… probably."
"Ah…" Sophie nodded, yawning as she tucked herself into the hood of her cloak and closed her eyes. "That is all really fascinating, but if it's alright with you I'd like to sleep. Please don't overuse that body of mine. I'll need some sleep soon… or food… or water for that matter."
"Don't worry," her body chuckled back, "I'll keep everything in order. Just fall asleep. You'll feel better after you do." Sophie smiled as she curled up into a tight fall, her body looking back up to the sky with a dream filled look in those dark yellow eyes.
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Little Sophie yawned, stretching her arms and looking back up to the sky. Looking to her side she noticed that her body had wandered away, but she knew in the back of her mind that it didn't go very far. Standing up she grabbed the cloak that had untangled around her body and put it back on her shoulders, having a strange feeling to head back to the shinigami realm. She did so only by her own will, casually strolling over the hills until she came upon the white buildings. She smiled. Looking through a window it seemed that the only beings around were those on the nightshift. Everyone else was either asleep in their rooms or weren't there, having homes off of the realm and in the human world. Following a pull in the back of her mind she wind her way to the doors, creeping into one of the white buildings and beginning her wandering around the building. Sophie had to admit, she never really took the time to look around the building… except maybe once. She had forgotten the visits she had with her papa to the shinigami realm, but for some reason one moment still lingered in the back of her mind. She didn't remember it, but she had a feeling, a feeling of both bliss and distress. Such a weird feeling to have about a place she couldn't remember, but either way the feeling was coming back and it took all of Sophie's will power to keep going. She remembered being dreadfully afraid, but there was something she had to find out. If the conversation with the other soul was true, then she should be working on her own pitiful existence than working on the other soul's. Sophie sighed. If that was true then it would take years, even centuries till everything in her life was in order. So many things must have slipped her mind, even forgotten about her life. Was it true? Was the friends she gathered necessary? Sophie didn't want to think about it. It was a silly idea to think about anyways.
She walked down the hallway making sure no one noticed her, hiding behind the corner as a shinigami passed by. Sophie chuckled. There was no reason for her to hide, right? Oh except for the fact that she's a soul hovering around. That's probably it. She came to the end of a long corridor, hidden way in the back where no one ventured. Coming to a door she took out a set of keys from her side and opening the latch with a click, looking inside to find a set of stairs winding down into the depths below. It wouldn't surprise her if there were secret passages in this building. It had been here for at least a thousand years. She closed the door and locked it behind her, the place going completely dark and black and she began her decent. The only light she saw was coming from herself, her body still glowing a pure white for some unknown reason. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she looked around, noticing how old and stony the place was with dirt covered floor and stones as a ceiling. The walls seemed to be made with an older type of stone then the ceiling, indicating the walls were made a few centuries before the ceiling. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt she had been there before, but she couldn't recall when and how she assumed that. Still she felt a pull on her body, the same pull that she had been feeling in America except this time is was stronger and forcer as she crept closer. Then she noticed something, an old small jar hidden in the corner of the room. It started to glow, as if it was reacting to her own glow and started to glow white. Sophie gulped, creeping over to the corner and reached out her hand, yelping as she was suddenly stopped by another hand.
"What are you doing here – … oh I see," the being smiled, letting go of her hand and letting Sophie stumble backward. "You're back?"
"Who? What? I don't even know where I am sir," Sophie huffed, crossing her hands over her chest and glaring at the stranger.
"I see~…" it sighed, running a hand through messy black hair. Sophie gulped, noticing long black ears sticking out of its head, similar to a dog or wolf ears. "You don't remember your last visit?"
"Visit?" Sophie shook her head and stopped staring at his ears. "N-no I doubt I have –"
"You were a young pup, about this high," he described as he held out his hand to indicate a height quite smaller than herself, "but I suppose this doesn't matter if you've never been here… I would assume your father would have told you about this place –"
"Then what is this place?" Sophie asked as she turned to look at the place she had wandered into.
"This is the old ruins of the shinigami realm before they reconstructed the tall, white buildings many years ago," the being explained. "I stay here because… because of a promise –"
"What promise?" she asked curiously.
The being chuckled, "Well all in due time. Come this way little Sophia, daughter of the Centurion late Maurus Serbus. I can see you have a lot on your mind, so if you won't mind coming along."
Sophie blinked at her name being used. How did this being know her? She was used to beings to knowing who she was and where she came from, but even him? "Excuse me," she stopped him as he picked up the jar and held it securely in his hand, "W-what's your name?"
"I'll tell you in a second," the being instructed as he ushered her along, "but for now I would like you to come with me. There is something we must discuss." Sophie nodded as she followed after him, noticing a hidden tunnel off to the side of the vast room.
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Sophie yelped, hearing a roar coming from a room as they left a various set of tunnels and finally emerged on the other side. Then she heard the stomping of large feet pattering on the ground, the little soul hiding behind the taller man as she heard it stop and sniff at them. "You must know who your master is, don't you?" the man chuckled as Sophie turned her head, looking up at the creature that had ran up to them.
She blinked, quickly recognizing the monster. "A-apep?" Sophie tilted her head, leaving the safety of the older man's back to walk up to the creature with her hand out. The large black dragon snorted as she grabbed his nose, gently rubbing it as she stared into its eyes. "W-why are you here?"
"He guards a great secret here," the man explained, "and wards off intruders, even yourself it seems, but come. You have nothing to be afraid of as long as I'm around." Sophie nodded as she followed behind the man, the large dragon watching them and soon following obediently down the grand room.
She noticed this room was different than the others, for the floor had old tiles that had been broken up and stepped on for centuries on end. Now that she thought about it this hidden establishment was more than just a settlement, but a large place where beings must have gathered long ago. Remains of the past… She watched as the man walked up steps to the top, setting the jar down in a holster as if it was meant to be there among a bunch of other items that were left behind. "E-excuse me," she gulped as the being dusted off the stone slab the jar was resting on, "b-but what is that?"
"I guess I can tell you," he chuckled as he ushered her up the stairs, but stopped her with his hand as the jar began to glow yet again by her presence. "There is an organ inside."
"A-an organ?" Sophie looked at him with a questionable look in her eyes, the being smiling as the dragon curled up at the foot of the stairs and stared its bright red eyes at them.
"I was called upon to watch this specific organ till its owner arrives back to this world," the being continued to explain, "for it is my job, as a god associated with mummification and the afterlife. Since my people have grown tired of me I made this my life job… for the time being of course." The man paused waiting for Sophie to chuckle, but all he got was a blank stare as she continued to stare at the jar. "If you are wondering who I am, I am –"
"Anubis," Sophie finished him as she looked at the jar. "I can tell. The jackal like ears, your slender body, and the outfit you wear. Plus that jar has Egyptian hieroglyphics, all spelling out enchantments of protection for the organ inside."
"Very good," he chuckled, "you said that very same thing the last time you were here."
"L-last time?" Sophie stared at him, Anubis grinning as he wandered over to a step to sit down.
"Many years ago you had wandered away from the upper world and came across this lower world. You asked me the same questions about this place and I answered them for you, but you do not remember?" he asked.
"No," Sophie sighed sadly. "I suppose the memories of my childhood is still hidden in the dark… oh well," she shrugged, "I'm here now! So why are you keeping a watchful eye on an organ?"
"… It was a promise," he continued to tell her, "between myself and a goddess. Whenever she is to return I will grant her organ back to her… a significant organ for the body I believe."
"That's odd," Sophie shrugged, "but whatever. At least you have something to do I suppose…"
"… Is there a reason you are here?" he asked.
"W-well sort of," she continued. "I have a feeling I am supposed to be here, but right now I can't figure it out… Is it okay if I explore?"
"Be my guest," Anubis smiled as the little girl jumped down from the steps and gave Apep a quick pat on the nose before wandering away. "Be careful little one," he said as she vanished into a corridor, "keep your soul safe."
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Sophie sighed, sitting down on a stone fall and looked around. She had been looking around for who knows how long looking at all the fascinating things that were hidden below. There were so many little buildings that were previously made that had been torn down, but the remnants of the old were still visible if you look close enough. Still, throughout all her searching the only source of light came from the room she was sitting in, shining from a crack above to shine onto the slab she was seated upon. She did remember stories of this place from her papa. That must have been why she had gone wandering down here long ago, but she just never realized those memories till she recalled coming across walls, buildings, old pots and cookware. If she could she would stay here for a long time smelling the old air that still lingered in the air. There wasn't a lot recorded for this time, but as she slowly noticed that whoever lived here must have been hostile to one another, since she saw items lying around as if they were being used and left to tend to later. She even came across some bones from time to time, which hurt her further. To think shinigamis were fighting among each other, or perhaps there was something else they were fighting over?
Suddenly she heard movement, looking over to see a woman walking into the room and coming across the girl sitting contently on the slab. "O-oh! Sophia… Why are you here?" the shinigami chuckled nervously as she walked further into the room and came close to her.
"No reason Fiona," Sophie answered as she looked around, "just had my soul separated from my body and I'm using that time to think. Why? Is there something I should be doing?"
"Oh no!" she chuckled back, "I was just wondering… just the first time you were here Maurus lost you and we found you here of all places. It was hilarious!"
"I see…" Sophie nodded as Fiona walked up the steps and sat beside her. "H-how do you know of this place?"
"I helped build it," Fiona grinned, "or I was here to see to its construction. It was an establishment for the shingimais in this region to congregate, but over the centuries… well… things happened I suppose."
"Things," Sophie asked, "like what?"
"Nothing that really needs to be talked about," Fiona chuckled before she let out a tired sigh. "So long ago for me that I can barely remember the details…"
"… Have you ever wondered if you're supposed to marry and who they should be?" Sophie asked.
Fiona grinned, "You must know that a young maiden used to be given, but more like sold to her husband. That's what happened to myself and to Chloe… but they both died years ago and we've been free ever since."
"So you felt trapped?" Sophie continued to ask.
"You could say that," Fiona shrugged. "Chloe did, not me. It was an obligation to be married to another, so I found no wrong in the practice. It was Chloe that did… because… well I'll come out and say it. She had a very abusive husband who wouldn't let us correspond. It was because of… well because of a dear old friend of mine that she left him and he eventually died. My husband died during a battle, but I was handed over all of the responsibility of his estates and I can't complain."
"Oh…" Sophie nodded as she looked to the ground. "So this place has significance to you?"
"Indeed," Fiona chuckled, "but not many beings come down here anymore and you need a key to access its contents… or be a Serbus. It was your father who built the doors and secured them with his powers. If anything I should be thanking you for that… I'm not bothered down here."
"I'm sorry if I was intruding –"
"It's not a problem," Fiona lightly punched the girl in the arm, "I figured you would be one of the ones who came across this place… from the younger generations I should say… Is there something you want to talk about?"
"No," Sophie sighed, "not really… just… there is so much I don't recall and references that I don't know, or remember… like I have a feeling I know them, but yet I don't. You know? Like you have a feeling you've heard and seen places but never have… have you had that problem before?"
"Nope," Fiona shook her head, "but I know a few that have. Usually time travelers, but even if they are not connected to the travel aspect there are those who have had past lives. Perhaps that's why you find this place familiar, a past life perhaps?"
"… I don't know about that," Sophie shrugged as she jumped down, "but I'm just going to keep wandering for a while. That's alright with you, right?"
"I don't care," Fiona shrugged back, "This is just the ruins of the old. Feel free to explore if you like, but I expect you to come back before nightfall."
"Alright," Sophie grinned as she turned around and began to walk away. "Bye!"
"Bye…" Fiona slowly waved before frowning as she ran her hands over the stone slab and the fading color of crimson red seeped into the stone.
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Sophie hummed a tune to herself as she walked through several corridors before walking into another old building. It was like the place that Anubis had brought her to, but this time there wasn't some creature hiding inside waiting to pounce. She walked along the colored tiles and noticed something this place that looked to be frequently used. Sophie looked up and wondered what was above her, perhaps a large room like the glasses department or a small room like a closet. She looked down at the floor and noticed that everything was still being maintained, so perhaps someone is currently using it?
She took her time to read the engravings on the tiles, unable to fully read them since it was in languages she had never seen before. Sophie quickly noticed that there was a circular symbol in the middle of the room, making six points in the form of a Star of David. Once again she couldn't read what it said, but there were depiction of animals in the spaces between the six points: a butterfly, dolphin, deer, lamb, turtle and swan. Sophie gulped, backing around it without noticing she was stepping into the middle of the circle and in the middle of the star. Then a bright shine of light consumed her hand as she shielded her eyes, disappearing in a hazy glow before the room went completely dark again.
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A/N: And now Sophie has stumbled into trouble yet again XD Well I hope you've enjoyed this. I'm going to go work on my homework now. SEE YOU LATER!
Anubis – Ancient Egyptian jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife. According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized in Egyptian as Anapa. The oldest known mention of Anubis is in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts, where he is associated with the burial of the pharaoh. At this time, Anubis was the most important god of the dead but he was replaced during the Middle Kingdom by Osiris. He takes names in connection with his funerary role, such as He who is upon his mountain, which underscores his importance as a protector of the deceased and their tombs, and the title He who is in the place of embalming, associating him with the process of mummification. Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumes different roles in various contexts. Anubis' wife is a goddess called Anput. His daughter is the goddess Kebechet