Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: I can guess you've been waiting for some Undertaker/Sophie stuff. Well its short, but it's something. After all I'm trying to get to the next part of this story. It's a lot more fun to write then this part, or that's how I feel ;3 I hope you've enjoyed yourself and that you'll enjoy this next chapter!
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A young boy hummed to himself, skipping down the street and taking a right into one of the shops. He tasseled his short dirty blonde hair, yawning into his hand as he closed the door behind him and rubbed his eyes. Once he was inside, however, he quickly noticed a musky disturbance in the building and decided to explore, looking into the living room and noticing two strange creatures sleeping on the couch hand in hand and holding onto each other tightly. "Ummm… Дядька U-undertaker –"
"Huuush now~" came a voice from behind, grabbing the child by the mouth and pulling him away from the door. "Children are sleeping here," Undertaker explained, but couldn't help and giggle as the boy rolled his bright shinigami green eyes and followed the man into the main room where they started getting to work.
"… Дядька, who were those people –"
"Friends of little maiden I'm afraid," he answered, grabbing a few jars and setting them on a nearby table.
"Wait," the boy paused, "d-does that mean Тетушка is here –"
"Perhaps you should stay a bit quiet so they can rest," he whispered into the boy's ear, the child stumbling forwards once he realized the man was behind his back, "because they have all gone through hell and back, you understand little Alistair~?"
"Да-а – I mean Yes!" He yelped, Undertaker chuckling as he forcefully placed a jar in the boy's hands and patted him on the back. Without saying a word the man grabbed his tools with him as he flipped a cloth off of a table and giggled at the contents underneath, the boy sighing as he set the jar down and began to prepare himself for what the man was going to have him do.
But as time passed Alistair's mind wandered to Sophie, wondering how his Тетушка was and what she was up to these days. After all he's had his mind on learning everything he could from the Undertaker before he left with his family for… well he didn't really know, but he knew that he didn't have a lot of time to spend in London. His father was already preparing to move, but the boy knew he wouldn't be leaving for another few months, maybe even half a year. Yet, Sophie has been so busy he hadn't have time to spend with her and he was beginning to miss the moments they had back in the Americas. Now that he didn't need her Тетушка barely came around to talk anymore, but that was simply because she was busy with other problems… but soon those problems will pile up and she won't be able to function. Sophie told him about these symptoms before; she has physically showed him a brain of a real shinigami that was overloaded with stress. Their body deteriorates from the inside out and their brain slowly turns to mush. It was odd, but he could understand because in his world shinigamis overload themselves with too much paperwork all the time. Once the stress becomes too much for them they die, but that doesn't happen all the time. Usually by that time a shinigami changes their ways or had time to rest, that's why they have days off after all, but still it can happen. Alistair only hoped it won't happen to his Тетушка –
"Little Al can you finish this body for me? Pretty please~~?" The man asked beside him snapping the boy out of his thoughts, Alistair mumbling something under his breath as he wiped some glop from his hands and walked over to a table the Undertaker was currently lurking over.
"Okay Дядька," Alistair nodded and grabbed the scalpel from the man's hand. Undertaker giggled happily as he skipped away from the room, the boy looking over before shaking his head and sighing. "How that man is legendary I may never know," he shook his head, looking over at the opened urn the Undertaker left and stole a bone-shaped cookie before finishing the body.
Undertaker hummed quietly under his breath, peeking into the living room to see what the two love birds were doing. He smirked to find they were still asleep, obviously tired from the ordeal they just had. Even though he wanted information and have a little fun, he had more important matters on his mind at that moment. Taking his time he slowly walked into the bedroom, sighing as he saw a young, battered up woman lying on his bed within the covers. He closed the door behind him before walking over to the bed, lifting the covers to uncover the nakedness of the child he has cared for years now. Her body covered many bruises, fresh cuts and imperfections coating her body, and a horrible look of pain on Sophie's face as she subconsciously winced away from his touches. "What have you been up to little maiden?" he sighed under his breath, laying beside her and wrapping her body close to his chest. "Ohhh~ don't cry. Hush now, you're safe with me. Those horrible creatures can't get you here," Undertaker chuckled lightly, pulling the blankets over their bodies and hugging her tightly in his arms. He decided to close his eyes, since he barely had any sleep since he had sensed Sophie vanishing from this world, and let himself fall asleep by her side as her body tried to heal itself one step at a time.
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"Come to us~~~…"
"You know you want to…"
"Don't you wonder why you're alive… Why Death won't take you away~?..."
"What's so special about you? Your looks? Your soul? No~~… That can't be it, can it?..."
"Why defy us? Why stray away –"
"Because I don't want to be taken."
"Excuse me~~? Whatever do you mean –"
"I don't want to be taken! I don't want to lose my freedom! I don't want to be chained by you! Leave me alone –"
"Ah, but you see we can't do that."
"But why not?"
"… Because we want your soul~~"
"We need your soul~~~"
"You can't stay in this world without being chained~"
"Chained~~"
"Chained~~~"
"No!" Sophie yelped, gasping for air as sweat rolled down her brow. She shuddered and clutched her body, only to realize she was completely stripped of her clothing. Her eyes widened in fear and her body jolted upward, only to be forced back down by surprisingly strong, rough hands.
"It's alright little maiden," Undertaker smiled, running a comforting hand through Sophie's hair as he pinned her body to the bed, "you're here with me now. Don't cry."
She blinked in confusion, her frightened blue and green eyes adjusting to the darkness and trying to see his face. Sophie bit down her bottom lip once she realized who the man was, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around the Undertaker's neck and buried her head into the crook of his neck. "Daddy!" she yelped, sniffling and rubbing her face into his clothes. "Don't let them take me! No! No! –"
The Undertaker slammed his lips into hers, silencing her screams as he pressed himself on top of her. Sophie stared at him with shock in her eyes; a smirk coming to his face as he gently kissed her lips again before holding her body tight to his arms. "Silence child," he sighed, Sophie noticing the sound of worry in his voice as his bangs dangled casually in front of his bright, worried eyes. "Now tell me, why are you screaming?"
She blinked, the tears causing her vision to be blurry as she tried to collect herself, but she couldn't. Sophie didn't know why, but she was having problems calming herself down. It was like the time she had seen her father and mother die in front of her, unable to control her emotions as she let the tears fall down her face. "I-I… t-they… t-hey want… m-me… I-I…"
He frowned at her statement, running a gentle hand over her cheek before kissing her on the forehead. "Perhaps this is too soon. You need to rest –"
"I can't rest if the voices plague my dreams! I-it's like… with Dorren… and t-here's only so much I can take Undertaker," she pouted, blinking her eyes again since she couldn't rub the tears from her eyes.
Undertaker cracked a smile, brushing the tears from her eyes as she sniffled from his touch. "Now now~, I know those voices can be infuriating. How about you fall asleep against me and I'll make the bad monsters go away. Alright little maiden~?"
Nodding slightly Sophie snuggled her head into his chest, trying to keep her quiet sobs to a minimum so he wouldn't worry. "D-don't leave me…" she mumbled under her breath.
The man smirked and shifted back into the bed, pulling the covers back over their bodies and wrapping his arms around her waist. Sophie clung to the man as if her life depended on his presence, Undertaker running a comforting hand through her hair in an attempt to get her to sleep. "… Undertaker," came a rough voice from the door, the man looking up to see the boy with silver and green hair glaring at him through bright silver steel and emerald eyes. "… How do you know about the voices? What aren't you telling us?"
"None of your concern boy," he roughly answered back, Naum gulping at his sudden change of attitude. "Go back to comforting over your love. It may be the last chance you have before your world is flipped upside down."
Naum blinked in confusion before he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought to himself. "… What about that kid in the other room?"
"Let him be," Undertaker smirked, a giggle escaping his lips, "and if you have anything to say talk to him. Now if you excuse me it's time for a nap."
Then he turned his back on him, Naum shaking his head as he slowly closed the door and looked down at the boy staring up at him with interest. "I guess… the man said to go about your business."
"Thought so," Alistair smirked triumphantly as a chuckle escaped his lips, "and you shouldn't have thought differently. I'm different then the other demons you encounter here."
"… Tell me boy, what is your life here?" Naum asked, the boy shaking his head as he turned and made his way to the main room.
"None of your business angel. I don't particularly want to talk to someone who thinks highly of themselves." Naum snorted under his breath as the child huffed, disappearing behind the curtains to get back to the work the Undertaker hadn't finished yet.
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Letting out a tired sigh Sophie slowly opened her eyes, taking her time as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. Noticing the strong, broad arms around her Sophie gripped his arms tightly, causing the Undertaker to stir and waken from his napping. "D-dad…" she groaned, moving her body slowly and nudging his cheek with the side of her head.
"About time you wake up," he giggled happily, kissing her forehead before sitting up on his elbows and stretched till his bones began to crack.
"… Do you know what's going on to me?" she sighed, sitting up in the bed and rubbing her eyes.
"Not at all –"
"I heard what you said to Naum," Sophie huffed, wrapping one of the blankets around her body and began to shift out of the bed. "What do you mean by his world flipping upside down? Should I be concerned? Is it happening to me too? B-because I don't want Reha to die –"
"Hush now," he pressed his finger to her lips, Sophie looking down at his finger in annoyance as he snickered and poked her nose. "Everything that is happening is for a reason. It's up to you to find out what exactly this all means, if you wish to. After all the voices from the dagger will tell your deepest, darkest desire, even if it won't do you any good in the end. Of course you may lose yourself in their words. If that happens… well… you'll never come back," he frowned slightly, Sophie frowning back as she reached up to his face and felt the scar across his cheek. "But that's up to you," he giggled happily, rubbing Sophie's left cheek and causing her to growl in anger and pull her head away. "I'm no judge."
"Then does this mean you've experienced this before?" Sophie pouted, the Undertaker smirking and gently rubbing the other side of her face. "You… why can't you tell me what to do?"
"They've searched for you because they want you for a reason," he stated simply, grabbing her left hand and staring down at the skull and thorns marking glowing intently. "Perhaps it's a soul, fulfilling a prophecy… or simply wanting to have you under their control –"
"B-but I don't want to be controlled," Sophie frowned, wincing when he brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed the top of her hand.
She shuddered, pain surging up her arm as he kept his lips on her hands and continued to speak. "I know," he sighed and licked her hand, Sophie yelping and quickly silencing herself by placing her other hand over her mouth.
"I-I don't like being trapped –"
"I know –"
"S-so how can I…" She quickly closed her eyes, the power in her hand draining at an alarming rate till her hand stopped glowing.
Slowly opening her eyes she let out a sigh, looking down at her hand as the markings disappeared. "That… is something you and Naum will have to find out on your own," he answered, kissing her hand one more time before slipping out of bed and placing his hat back on his head. "You two have powers that surpass almost any being. You contrast each other: as a being of Death and him a being of Life. The only way to understand everything is to continue with your intentions from the beginning. Obtain two powerful daggers, correct?"
Sophie smirked, jumping off of the bed and keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her body. "… You know a lot about this. Have you ever had to encounter those beings before?"
He chuckled, walking over to her and kissing Sophie on the cheek before skipping over to the door and giving her a wide grin. "That's for me to know and you to find out~" Undertaker giggled and left the room, closing the door behind him to give Sophie some privacy.
She shook her head and sighed, walking over to her footlocker and grabbing one of her various suits that she was forced to wear. "… You must know somehow," Sophie thought to herself as she threw the blanket off to the side, avoiding the mirror as she slipped on her clothes and tied a red and white ribbon around her neck. "You do… I just wonder what they made you do and how you got back," she pouted, pulling her black gloves over her hands before grabbing a comb and brushing her hair. Once she saw herself in the mirror Sophie frowned, running a hand over her left cheek and wincing at the new scar. Sophie wondered if those markings will go away. It didn't seem like it would, but perhaps something will happen where her injury disappears.
She sighed as she left the bedroom, retrieving her discarded black, buckled boots from the door and walking towards the main room. Then she stopped, suddenly hearing a conversation that Sophie wondered if she was supposed to have heard. "So Eve and you –"
"That's right~" Undertaker giggled into his sleeve, Reha sitting beside Naum on a coffin and quietly sipping her tea. "Strange isn't it?"
"That is," Naum sighed, "but… then why would Time and Space come to you too –"
"In life there are situations people will often regret. I have had many, but at the time I only had one… perhaps two," he explained, grabbing a beaker beside his leg and slowly sipping his tea.
"And that would be –"
"Now do you think I would tell you without any payment~~?" he giggled, Naum sighing as he ran a hand through his hair and looked towards the wall.
"What exactly would you like –"
"You seem to know plenty about the daggers already," Undertaker began, Sophie widening her eyes once she realized he wasn't going to ask for the usual~ payment, "so what is your connection?"
"Well… you see sir –"
"Undertaker –"
"Right Undertaker," Naum nodded, coughing into his hand before setting the beaker in his hand beside his leg, "you see… When I was young I lost my parents to the controls of the Dagger of Death. My mother was betrayed by one of her own comrades… and he tricked my father into touching the dagger barehanded. After my mother tried to save my father and they both disappeared I regretted my entire existence ever since. I wanted to die, replace my life with theirs, but… I knew that's what those voices speaking through the dagger wanted. Even so, one day I couldn't take the pain anymore and wanted to end everything once and for all… so I touched the dagger." Reha gently rubbed his shoulder as Undertaker simply sat there, staring at the boy through his bangs with critical eyes as Naum sighed before chuckling lightly to himself. "I know what Sophie is going through… I've gone through the pain before. Just I now realized what I had done was selfish. I had Reha after all, but Sophie didn't have a friend to call her own. She only had you I suppose… but losing almost everyone you love can be rough… though… I think it was my fate to come across the dagger, as it is for Sophie. I was confronted by everything I feared, by my deepest desire to have my parents back, but once I saw what would happen if they stayed alive I realized my current life was what was best. Sure I will forever feel alone and miss having my family around me, but over time I was able to get over my loss and move on. That's why I think Sophie and I crossed paths. As it was with me she must confront her own pain and see why her life is how it is… but… I don't want her to go through everything alone as I did. She doesn't deserve having so many things taken away from her. The least that can be done is to ease her through the situation as smoothly as possible."
"And what exactly will this entail?" Undertaker asked simply, grabbing a bone-shaped cookie and biting the top of the head.
"… She must go with them –"
"Certainly not –"
"And confront her past… and give her soul up to them," Naum finished, looking over at the Undertaker as he finished the cookie in his mouth before his smile waned.
"Only –"
"Well I didn't," Naum chuckled lightly, "but I was a different case. Plus I was only able to leave once I promised my soul to another being –"
"Which is Eve, isn't it?" Undertaker smirked, Naum giving him a smile before grabbing the beaker and sipping on the cooling liquid in his hand.
"Naum –"
"Reha it's true," Naum sighed and set the beaker down, placing his head in his hands and grumbling under his breath. "Though at the time I didn't know it was her. I was forced to use a name that I thought could be hers… but I wasn't sure. I didn't know and for a while I never did, but I suppose something happened and the true Eve revealed herself… but… it was scary. I don't want to go through that fear again… never really knowing who you're being owned by –"
"But you see young Life," Undertaker snickered and began to munch on a cookie again, "Sophie doesn't like being bound by any form, even Death. She's accepted to help, but she doesn't call any of them master and let herself be called servant."
Naum blinked in confusion, "Why –"
"If little maiden wishes to disclose the information to you so be it," Undertaker explained, finishing his cookie and setting the urn down beside him on the coffin, "but if not do not press the subject. There are memories you wish to keep secret and the same goes for any life form. You should understand."
"… I guess," he shrugged, "but still… the voices won't leave till you bound yourself to a life form on the other side. If not you can never return… and once Sophie touched the dagger she's unable to leave her fate. It's in the hands of the All-knowing Ones now. There is nothing left to do but wait and see."
"… And if you find the Dagger of Life in this world, what do you plan on doing with it?" the man asked, slowly sipping his tea and eyeing the other man suspiciously.
"Then… then I don't know," Naum shrugged, "because I don't know what it does. All I know is that I'm bound to it, as Sophie is to the Dagger of Death, and I hate to be bound to a being. The only reason why I let myself be bound to Eve is because I wanted to see Reha and Eve again. That's really it –"
"Well my boy, if you are to move about this world you'll need to wear something more fashionable~" The Undertaker giggled, standing up and setting his beaker down as he skipped to the hallway. "Stay right there and I'll be back~~" Once he walked into the hallway the grin on his face instantly left, a tired sigh escaping the man's lips as he walked into the bedroom. Instantly he saw a note left on the end of the bed, reaching over for the paper and reading its contents.
'Dearest Undertaker,
I have decided it was best for me to leave for the shinigami realm. There is paperwork I figure will have to be done and I must find the dagger within our world as soon as possible. I am sorry I wasn't able to tell you in person, but I know you will be fine without me. Just remember that I will always love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life… but you know already what has happened. You know about the dagger from Naum's world. You just won't tell me what to do, so I will find out everything on my own… alone… as normal… I will begin search for the dagger, tell Naum this. Let him stay at the mortuary if he wishes, but I will make sure to find the dagger. And if I disappear… forever… don't ever forget about me.
Your loving little maiden,
Sophia'
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Sophie sighed, grumbling as she signed form after form trying to get rid of the three large stacks of papers she had cluttering her desk. Luckily, in only thirty five minutes, she had gotten rid of most of the stack since they were the standard deaths without any complications. Now all that was left were the complicated deaths, humans contracted to demons or forms with information left out. Work like this always befell onto Sophie and the Paranormal Operations. It was her job to assign the best shinigamis to the jobs assigned, and make sure all paperwork was turned in on time. Luckily Alex was taking some of the weight from her shoulders while she goes missing, but one day he'll be gone and she'll have to rely on herself. The job wasn't difficult, but sadly, if these voices have their way, she may never come back. Sophie wondered as she worked if the whole operations would fold without their leader, or maybe a stronger leader will evolve and take over the group. With William on her case he insisted that her paperwork would be given to him, but Sophie knew he was only being nosy and wanted to see what she was up to. He was probably speaking back to his supervisor or even directly to the council themselves about her movements, but she did not care. No, there was nothing wrong with what she did. Everything had to be taken care of and if she's the only being to do this so then so be it.
She sighed as she set down her pen, her hand beginning to shake as a shiver went straight through her body. Sophie didn't like what she overhead and didn't want to hear the rest of what Naum had to say. Give her soul, ridiculous! Just who could she give it to, she wondered, and even if she could why should she? She didn't want to be trapped, to be a servant and have to take orders. That's not who she is! She can't simply give up her entire existence to the goals of another! Sure, that's what that spirit living within her is doing, but that's a different problem. It was her mission to house that soul and the entire reason she was kept alive was for it. Sophie knew this, and that's why she's currently a God of Death instead of being with Death right now. Even so, she was her own master, the soul even says so. It calls her 'host' and 'other soul' and sometimes even 'master'. Well… if Naum didn't understand her then so be it. She won't let herself be chained like when Dorren kept her chained to the wall. Sophie didn't want to be chained… beaten… unable to do anything as her kidnapper could do whatever they wanted to her. No, it won't happen again, and as the universe as her witness she won't let herself be chained! –
"Boss are you okay?" came a voice from behind Sophie setting her head up from her desk before quickly regretting her movement and placing a hand on her head.
"H-huh? Ben? O-oh I'm fine," she chuckled lightly, wondering when she had placed her head down on her desk to sleep.
Trying to block the voices, stay in control of her body, sometimes she'd forget what exactly her body was currently doing. She sighed. Sometimes everything she had moving around in her mind was too overwhelming. "I was wondering where you've been, since you've been missing for a while Boss. Everyone was getting worried, especially Alex," Ben continued, grabbing a nearby chair and sitting down next to her. "… Is there something you wish to talk about –"
"Nope!" she laughed loudly, a little too loudly even for her, "I'm right as rain! You do not have to worry little Herman. I'm perfectly fine… but how are you, how have the pills been, and are they working?"
"Y-ep," he nodded slightly, "r-really well. Thank you…" Ben watched as Sophie reached into one of her drawers, pulling out a small bag thrown aside in the corner.
He knew instantly that if she was taking one of her own pills something was wrong, watching as she plopped one of the pills into her mouth before grabbing her water skin and quickly slurping down the water. "… Are you sure –"
"Ben, as I said I'm doing fine. I just need a bit of energy boost, that's all," she shrugged, looking back at her work and looking everything over. "Just give me a few more hours and I'll feel better. Nothing to worry about." Ben frowned, he knew she was lying. Even if her body tried to show him, even with her crooked smile, that she was well, it was her bright blue and green eyes, seeming to glow much more intensely then it should, which was giving away her true emotions. Sophie looked tired, dark circles already formed under her eyes, and dreadfully disturbed. Her mind seemed to be deep into her own thoughts, barely paying attention to their own conversation. What was disturbing was the eerie glow, a glow he had never seen before bright and apparent in her eyes. It was as if her eyes were drawing him near, trying to pull him into the light before he could even react.
He blinked, shaking his head and before chuckling and letting out a slight chuckle. "Well alright I suppose. Ummmm… I'll check back up on you in a few more hours, okay? There are a few souls I have to go reap today before I can call it a day."
"Alright," Sophie nodded, looking back to her work, "I'll be out reaping soon enough. Only have to assign these last bits of souls… then… yeah…" She let out a deep sigh and picked up her pen, Ben giving her a frown before turning his back and walking down the hallway to the stairs. He knew now that something was terribly wrong, and the first person he was going to ask was Alex. If his superior didn't know what was happening and Sophie was keeping her thoughts to herself again, he shuddered. He didn't want to know what could happen in the upcoming days, even hours. He simply wanted to be sure that his boss would be safe. Perhaps not sane, but safe is the best hope for the upcoming situation. Ben took his time walking down the stairs, avoiding eye contact, and made his way to the door. Throughout his whole mind, even as he reaped, he couldn't stop thinking about the strange glow, the eerie light radiating from Sophie's eyes trying to suck him into their tempting depths.
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A/N: And… end scene! XD I hope you've enjoyed this next chapter. Obviously Undertaker knows more than Naum and Sophie, but what about the other characters? It seems Fiona and Xaskesiel both know what's going on, or perhaps they're as confused as Naum and Sophie. Either way there's more to come. Will Sophie disappear? Who knows! It's something to be told later! XD SEE YOU LATER!