Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Well I felt like reviewing another chapter, so here's another one! I don't know what's up with me. It's either writer's block or just an unwilling annoyance to refuse writing the stories I already have and coming up with new ones. Oh well. I did start this 100 theme challenge. Have two written completely so far, but I haven't reviewed them yet. Well you don't really need to know about that. Just know that I'm sorry for not posting chapters more often. ENJOY! =D
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Sophie sat up at the top of the hill, staring off at the forest with a look of misery on her face. She was beginning to worry. It's been a few weeks since she last saw the Undertaker, only seeing her father two days ago. The girl wondered what her father had said to the man earlier that month. Was he angry? Why? Did she do something wrong? Closing her eyes she felt the cool breeze on her face, causing her body to shudder. For some reason she felt withdrawn from something, but mainly Sophie wanted to see her uncle again. It seemed that after that day her father wasn't going to allow her to go to the shinigami realm… but maybe she could do so herself. "Yeah…" she chuckled lightly, sighing as she opened her eyes and ran a hand through her hair, "t-then I wouldn't have to worry about angering anyone. Then… maybe I can see Uncle Taker again." Smirking at her plan she looked back to the mortuary, sighing as she stood up and rustled up her hair. If she was as incredible as the adults claimed then she shouldn't have a problem sneaking past any barriers she faced to get to the other side. After all she was an advocate for both worlds: the world of humans and the world of the supernatural. She shouldn't have problems… she hoped. Uncle did discuss creatures that would be lured to her, but she was a girl and not a boy. If she was taken then someone was bound to find her, or that's what Sophie assumed.
She began down the road, back to the work she was given that day to do. Thomas was busy and her mother went into the market. All she had to do was dig up some lots, help Thomas bring the coffins to the site, and bury the bodies into the ground. Usually there are grave diggers that would do this type of work, but to save up on money Thomas did the work himself. It gave the living relatives a way to afford the costs of a simple funeral, though if the relatives insisted the man did pay for other expenses. Honestly he liked to keep himself busy and make Sophie do the work too. After all he could tell she had a passion for the job. Not only was she this… grim reaper child, but she loved to look over his shoulder while he worked and cut into the bodies. It was an odd concept for Thomas to bear, a child so young to be interested in the dead, but she wasn't ordinary for sure. When she was much younger the child would bring home injured animals to take care of. Eventually Thomas had to order them away, with the help of Ellen, but Sophie wanted to help others. She brought home a child once who had gotten hurt in the middle of the night exploring the cemetery. Thomas hadn't even known till the girl made a sound, rushing into the living room to find little Sophia finishing her work on the girl's ankle. He always thinks she will eventually grow out of this idea of the dead, perhaps becoming a doctor or nurse of some kind.
Sophie giggled after thinking of the memories she had gained, even if they are false or not. So many things had happened to her while she was young, long before her parents passed away. She was so happy, so naive, and the spirit dwelling inside of the girl realized just how much she depended on those memories. She constantly wanted approval and wanted to understand what was going on around her, but the soul dwelling inside knew perfectly well that no one could understand everything. Sophie learned that well over the years, still trying to find pieces of her memories and understand everything that happened to her family. The soul that helped her, dark presence that dwelled deep in her head, continued to say on a daily basis that it didn't know everything, and the voices wanted that creature to know everything. Why? Another thing she didn't understand. Only thing Sophie understood was that she'll have to leave soon. She felt in her bones that something big was going to happen soon and if she didn't find a way out she would be stuck in this world forever… and ever… till those voices let her out of her newly created prison, which Sophie assumed would be never.
Sophie frowned as she finished her hole in the ground, set the shovel by the side of the plot, and began walking into the forest. She smiled as she slumped into the grass in the middle of a field, looking up to the sky and sighing as she recalled how thoughtless her mind was at this point. Sophie quickly realized she will soon hear fighting… and her father dying. As if on cue little Sophia's head popped up, looking towards the trees and to the sound of fighting. When she came to the chaos Sophie did something she didn't think she would, the girl let out a startled cry as she saw her father fall to the ground, the creature looming over him. "Oh what's this~?" the demon chuckled, rushing off of Maurus with lightning speed and grabbing the girl. Sophie gasped as she was thrown against the body, crying out startled while she could actually feel the man's hands around her neck as he held a death scythe up to her skin.
"Dorren," Maurus put his hands up calmly, a look of worry on his face, "please, I beg of you, put the child down –"
"Oh she has sentimental value to you?" he chuckled darkly, Sophie yelping as she was thrown to the ground and slammed her head against the trunk of a tree.
"Papa!" Sophie cried, tears coming down her cheeks as the blade touched her neck.
"Papa?" Dorren chuckled darkly, causing Maurus to sneer under his breath, "you… father a human now? Oh the council will be furious with you –"
"Get your hands off of her, you sniveling demon," Maurus growled, pointing his scythe at him, "or so help me I'll kill you with every fiber in my body –"
He let out a startled gasp, looking down to see a dagger embedded into his chest. "Pap! –" Sophie cried, her voice suddenly cracking as she let out staggered words, looking down to see blood forming out of her chest as another blade was embedded deep into her and striking her chest.
"Sophia!" Maurus cried, gripping his scythe and charging at the creature. Dorren dropped the girl to avoid his blade, but with the large swing it embedded into his shoulder. Dorren screamed and ran off, Maurus glaring at the creature till he was out of sight. Gasping for air he knew he didn't have enough time, crawling over to the child left of the ground and gently holding her small frame. Sophie looked up, blinking in confusion as she coughed up blood and spat on the man's clothes. "N-no…" he gasped, tears falling onto the girl's face as Sophie tired to stay awake.
"P-pa… p-a…" Sophie gasped softly, reaching up for his face, "D-don't… c-cry… fo-r me…" Then all at once her world went dark, Maurus' eyes widening as her hand fell to the ground. He saw as a glowing substance began to leave her chest, Sophie hovering over the body staring down at herself in horror. Did she… just die?
"Centurion!" came a voice from the tree tops, the shinigami jumping down to the ground as his long silver hair blew behind him in the breeze. "The demon… did you kill him –"
"U-undertaker," Maurus snarled, gripping the girl's body tightly as he set his head upon her chest and began to coat his face in her blood, "she… m-my daughter… aaaAAAAAHHHH HE KILLED HER! CURSE HIM! CURSE HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY!"
"Maurus calm down –"
"You don't get it!" he cried out, standing up suddenly with the girl's body dripping in his arms. "I was close! I almost had a family Undertaker! But… now…" he began to laugh darkly, Undertaker's eyes widening as the man coughed up blood onto the girl's body, "I… have lost… this game… o-of lif –"
The shinigami watched as the man slumped to the ground, Maurus coughing up blood as he cradled the child tightly in his arms. Undertaker dropped the scythe in his hands and knelt by his friend's side, trying to pry the child from him, but the man wouldn't let the girl go. "Maurus, my dear friend, if you don't let go you'll end up dead –"
"U-ndert-t-aker," he coughed up blood, some of the crimson spewing on his face, "d-on't m-make me li-ve a-any longer… T-tell my wife… p-plee-ase…"
"I will," Undertaker nodded, gripping his hand tightly with a sympathetic smile, "I-I'll tell her everything."
"… W-hat's your name?" Maurus asked with a simple smile, which made Undertaker feel appalled with himself.
"Ren –"
"N-o you're real nam –" Maurus coughed, chuckling lightly till he sighed and stared up to the sky, running his hand through the girl's hair. "I-I know that's n-not y-our name… I-I've wanted to kn-nnow… W-ho you r-r-really… a-re… w-HY," he coughed on the ground, spitting blood before looking back to the other man, "y-you… want h-h-er…"
"… Seth," the man told him simply, a smile coming to Maurus' features as he snickered.
"S-seth… g-od of d-ark-kness… f-fits y-ou per-fectl –"
The man paused, Undertaker's eyes widening as the man let out a sigh, his breath trailing out of his mouth and hovering up into the air. "Maurus Serbus," he frowned, placing his black glove upon his face and close his eyes. "… Requiescat in pace. I will avenge your death and find your true murderer, if it's the last thing I do." Undertaker sneered and stood up, Sophie watching in horror as he glared to the sky with angry green and yellow eyes. "The only being that I could truly call friend," he chuckled darkly, running a hand through his hair before sighing, "… that man… I will kill him for what he has done to me. How dare he take them from me?!" Undertaker snarled, a shiver going down Sophie's spine, "He will never –"
"D-dad?" Sophie called to him, Undertaker pausing as he looked around searching for the voice lingering in the air around him. "D-addy?"
He stared at her darkly, causing Sophie to gulp and step backward in the air. "You have no right to call me dad, you lost soul," Undertaker replied, holding a scythe up to her as Sophie began to squirm away. "You may be my little maiden, but I can't have you wandering this earth and becoming some deranged creature. Now come. You must move on –"
"No Dad!" Sophie cried out, her shriek causing the leaves to fall from the branches and blow off into the wind. "I am your daughter! I am your Sophie, your little maiden. Don't you remember?! Don't you remember everything we've done!? –" Then she paused, realizing what had happened. Because of her death she won't go back to her mother, and without going to her mother she never re-met the Undertaker in the cemetery. He will never adopt her… he doesn't truly know her except as Maurus' daughter. All because… she died?
"Don't toy with me," he snarled, aiming his blade at her, "and so help me I'll help you move on to where your father will be waiting for you… so you can rest like everyone else I have lost."
"No, I need to stay with you!" Sophie yelled, backing away and disappearing through the trees. Even though she vanished Undertaker seemed to know exactly where she went, chasing after her through the forest and jumping in the trees looking for the wandering soul.
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Naum sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked through the papers in Sophie's office. So far there were no signs that Sophie had any knowledge of where the dagger was, which made everything that much harder for the man. Then he looked over at the cinematic record Fiona had given him to look over, glancing at the end of the pages and only seeing the last snippets of Sophie's existence before she vanished into the dagger. "That doesn't help me," he sneered in annoyance, placing the papers back where they had been before sitting down on her desk and staring at the writing. "How can it? She'll only see… wait that's it." Naum shuffled to the front of the record, but all he found was the first moments of life Sophie when she became a shinigami. "Damn all to Ga! So close!" he snarled, slamming the book close before standing up and walking out of the office. If he had knowledge of her birth to her death as a human then he could figure out when the voices would have cut Sophie's life short. It was the only explanation he had, but it was all he had. Either way there was no way he would know what was going to happen to her. All he could do now was find the dagger… which he wasn't given any leads on as of late –
"Woh! Come on Noco!" Alex snarled, trying to grab the bird as it hopped around the room, "Let me see the letter –"
"May I?" Naum offered, Alex narrowing his eyes in a deadly stare as the other ignored him and gently reached out his hand. "Noco right?" he chuckled lightly, the hawk tilting his head staring at him funny. "Look, I'll give you everything straight," Naum sighed, taking a step away from the man hovering over him before continuing. "Your master… she… is gone –"
"Gone?!" Alex growled, pulling Naum up by the end of his shirt and glaring burning red daggers into his eyes, "What's going on here!? –"
"Please put me down so I can continue," Naum huffed, narrowing his silver steel eyes at the man, which caused Alex to pause, but continue to snarl at the man as he put him down. "Now," he sighed, turning back to the hawk, "I'm guessing you have some important information for your master. I need that information. If you want her back I need to know what Sophie has been gaining through these air calls."
The hawk cooed before lifting up its leg, Naum giving the bird a nod as he untied the string and grabbed the small scroll attached to its leg. "Sophie introduced you to the bird," Alex frowned.
"Yes," Naum sighed, "for good reasons I assume –"
"I don't trust you," he huffed, his eyes still glowing in a reddened anger behind shinigami green eyes, "but I suppose if Sophie can trust you then I'll try to do so also."
"Thank you," Naum answered him, wondering who this man was to Sophie as he opened the scroll and looked at his contents:
Dearest Sophia,
I have indeed found the information you are seeking, but the Dagger of Life is not its name. In layman terms that dagger is called Thanatos after the skull on the hilt and the sharpness of the blade. I will be honest; the name you asked for is false. I've come across this dagger before. I've talked to those voices before. It's not called the Dagger of Life, but the Dagger of Death. It holds a great truth to its blade, I know that much. I have never touched the dagger before, but there is a few who have and for good reason. Only one has been able to escape, legend has it, and if you wish to escape you will need to have this dagger in your possession. I do not understand why you have asked for this dagger, but that is my knowledge.
It took me several men to find out the secrets, and there are still many more. If you wish to know more you'll have to find the dagger yourself. Conveniently I hear it's been excavated recently in the sands of the Nubian Desert and has traveled for several months prior to London. It should currently be in London in the British Museum being examined thoroughly by the archeologists. If you want to find the contents of the dagger go to the museum first. If the dagger isn't there go find the ship called the St. George. I bid you good will and keep your soul safe from harm.
Shezmu
"Ahhhh~" a voice chuckled from behind, Naum narrowing his eyes as Alex tried to grab hold of the scroll to read its contents, "Have we found a lead?"
"Indeed," Naum nodded, ripping up the paper before Alex could see the words. "Can I guarantee your help with this Xaskesiel or will I have to go about this work alone?"
"I will, if you do all this work Fiona is trying to make me do," Xaskesiel let out a snort, shoving the large scroll in Naum's hands before gently patting Noco on the head. "Besides I want her back too. What's the plan Kaoboros?"
"Find this British Museum this… Shezmu speaks of," Naum told Xaskesiel, the daemon simply giving him a nod, "then track down any other daemons that weren't destroyed the first time we made contact to this world. I have a feeling there's more, and if there's more they're plotting to take over this world like they've done in ours."
"Fine," Xaskesiel sighed, "and what else?"
"After that meet me back here and I'll come up with some sort of a plan," Naum said simply. "I don't know what we're up against. We'll have to be prepared if something appears –"
"Are you saying the White Shark~ doesn't have a concrete plan~~?" Xaskesiel smirked, Naum narrowing his eyes and snarling under his breath.
"Don't test me –"
"Perhaps if you didn't give Sophie a test I wouldn't have to give you one," he snorted, pushing Naum aside before pulling on his gloves and summoning a weapon to his hand.
"Okay what's going on here!? –"
"I'll explain in a second," Naum instructed, looking over the names as a look of confusion came to his face, "but first… please tell me what I'm supposed to do with this list of names."
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Sophie ran as fast as she could, hot tears streaming down her face. No, no! This couldn't be happening! What was going on?! It seemed wherever she ran Undertaker was several steps ahead of her, appearing in front of her to block her path as she had to turn and chose a different path. She knew he was quickly confining her movements, but the shock of seeing herself die so early was making her head spin. Was… was this real? No… it couldn't be. It shouldn't be. Undertaker shouldn't have become cold so soon and so quickly. Did something change in the past that is causing this? Because she died is she the reason the Undertaker is acting this way? That had to be it, it just had to. The voices made her die early for a reason, to see what would happen if she had gotten her wish and retired early. Sophie knew that was her wish. Naum spoke of something like this. She had always wanted to die earlier so she wouldn't cause anymore pain, but did more pain come because of her disappearance from the timeline of the universe? That must be going on and if it is she had to find a way out and fast!
But she had no idea to accomplish this and right now she was running for her life. Tiqvah has spoken that she would only survive two deaths: her death as a human and her death as a divine being. This was her second life, as a ghost wandering the earth trapped for a reason. Sophie knew of this. Human souls that lingered on earth could go two different directions: they were gobbled up by demons or they changed into a new creature. A God of Death's job was to take up those souls before they could become one or the other. Only the powerful demons or those that have lived for eons knew of the difference between the cinematic record and the human's actual essence. That's what Sophie was right now, a spirit trying to escape the clutches of Death. Even if she wasn't the one giving commands to her spirit, her heart was guiding her away from the Undertaker as if knowing of the dangers of staying close to the man. Yet Sophie knew she had to go back to him, she had to. She just felt there was more she had to see first and that her time truly hadn't come. Then Sophie realized one more important detail when she had died in the real world. She recalls losing her memory, waking up as a shinigami in the shinigami realm. Yet she wasn't reaped properly by the shinigamis, no… Undertaker had left her soul within her body as a way for herself to appear with a physical form. If it was his intention or not Sophie didn't know, but what she did know was that he certainly knew much more then what he was letting on. She had always known this, but it was critical now that he reveal his secrets to her so she could piece everything together… so she could escape.
She huffed and puffed, looking behind her and seeing that the being had disappeared again. Sophie's eyes darted around, wondering when he'd show up. Then she let out a yelp of fright, being shoved to the ground by a completely different creature. Its eyes glowed red and it aimed to eat her, but before it could rip her soul apart the blade of a large silver scythe came out of nowhere to cut the being in half, the demon letting out a shriek as its physical form disappeared around her. Sophie let out a gasp as she looked up, shuffling till her back slammed into the trunk of a tree and her eyes showed fear and worry deep in their blue and green features. Slowly Undertaker knelt down in front of her, his scythe tightly in his grip, but he made no moves of using it further. "See there?" he said, pointing to the remains of the demon, "That's what happens to souls if they stay in this world for too long, their souls decay to the point that they are eaten by demons… or become demons themselves, tainted by the world. I would hope that simple demonstration to a child of Maurus would be enough to show you what is going to happen if you stay in this world a second longer –"
"NO, you're wrong," Sophie snarled, knowing full well she was unable to defend herself from whatever he could do to her, but she was going to try to get through to him anyways, "y-ou have to be. Just… why? Why reap my soul so soon?! Aren't I supposed to take my father's place here –"
"The game is complete and you lost," Undertaker said simply, causing Sophie to shudder. "You may be too young to understand, but there's another soul living inside of you feeding off of all your emotions and slowly draining your life energy. Your soul can't simply go and find another body, no… the body you had been given was powerful enough to house your complex soul. Now it is no more, you can't go back… you have to come with me –"
"B-but no!" Sophie shook her head, shivering as she fought back tears. "I can't yet! There's more that has to be done! D-on't you see, Uncle Taker, how it is supposed to be? I know a powerful shinigami can change human souls so they become shinigamis, that's how it's supposed to be –"
"How do you know this information?" he stared at her confused, noticing that the soul speaking to him wasn't the young soul he had always conversed with, but a much older soul, even if it was only less than a century older. A soul who held great wisdom and now he wondered where this other part of herself had been hiding all this time.
Sophie paused, staring at the man in shock. She had said too much again. She'll have to make sure she's careful with her words. "… I… I just can't leave. I thought you of all beings could understand this," she bit her bottom lip, hoping he was getting the message. "My father… h-he had a mission in life right? Didn't you just say I lost some sort of game? W-ell I haven't…. not yet… unless you reap my soul right here and now," she snarled at him, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to intimidate the man.
Yet the Undertaker's demeanor remained stoic, which reminded her of William for a few moments. Because he didn't have to raise her he remained cold? That didn't make sense. There had to be a deeper reason to why he wasn't showing emotion, for she remembered listening to him when she was older that you need to give every soul a chance to speak their reasons for staying in their humanly form before reaping them. If not there will be some stigma against you and they will continue to run away, till they are eaten or transformed into other beings. The job of a God of Death is to always guide the soul into the next life where they can rest or be regenerated for another life on earth. Of course Sophie didn't do the job of choosing where the soul went, her only concern was obtaining that soul. Perhaps… perhaps this Undertaker doesn't realize just how fearful souls are of dying and moving on, especially when they have a mission that hasn't been accomplished yet. Still, even if this man didn't understand, she will place in all her effort to make the man understand her, even if it ends up killing her.
Sophie sighed, noticing the cold stare he gave her from behind his glasses and shook her head. "You… y-ou don't understand," she whimpered, trying to hold back tears. "I need to stay here –"
"I insist that you don't," Undertaker snorted, a reaction she certainly wasn't hoping for.
"Give me a reason –"
"Your father has lived many years on this… mission~ he has set for himself, which no creature has certainly understood except for himself," he paused, "… and it seems you do too. I do not understand, but I do know one thing: your father drove himself crazy over this obsession. If I let you stay here I cannot anticipate what you'll become. Perhaps you'll continue this internal mission that seems to be hardwired into your family's blood or you'll stray away from your intended path. Either way I do not want to see another being that I care for destroy themselves over other's intentions… I'd rather see to it that you've moved on, little Sophia, instead of staying here in this world full of pain and destruction –"
"So… you're afraid of seeing me hurt or rather… you don't want to be hurt again," Sophie thought aloud, noticing the twinge the shinigami made as he stared at the ground in front of her feet, "is that it?"
"Indeed," Undertaker answered simply, slowly taking off his glasses and placing them into his coat. He let out a sigh, knowing what he had to do. He'll have to use force, which was something he didn't want to do with a soul he cared so much for. "… I have lived for many years Sophia, much longer then you could even dream of. I have seen the best of creatures and the worst of creatures appear and disappear as of the changing of the sands of time. I can only watch emotionlessly as my loved ones dissolve into history, to be forgotten by the world as their goals and dreams are wasted by the simple fact that Death must come to everyone… and one day to myself. Your time had come my little maiden… it had come… and if I don't take your soul someone else will. It is that simple –"
"But that's not," Sophie frowned, shuffling to her feet as she tried to stare back at the being. "Y-you're wrong. That's not simple, it's complex. I know one day I have to die. I know. It's a known truth. Everyone must move on, I know that too… but… I can't do that yet. There's still more I must do here, alive or not. If Death wishes me to disappear he can take me himself… a-after all that's who the soul that lives within me had made the pact with. You can't vouch for that being. You're only a messenger at best," she huffed, trying to plant her feet firmly on the ground as she glared at where she knew the man's eyes were. "I… I love you, Uncle Taker. Always have and always will, but that doesn't mean I have to obey what you say. I want to live on… I have to… even in this state. My mommy still needs me. I want to keep her company before her own death," Sophie offered as compensation, hoping her statements were getting through to the man, "and that was a promise I never want to back out of. And… there's the one to my heart. The one that I made when I saw you and I felt drawn to you. Not because you seemed powerful, not because you were with my father, but… because you are lonely… Undertaker."
The man paused, a snort coming out of his mouth before he lightly chuckled. "Lonely you say~?" he laughed darkly, Sophie knowing that she just struck an internal cord. "Well… you're right in many aspects I suppose, but you must understand: I can't have you around me –"
"Why?" Sophie frowned, "Why not? Why can't I stay with you?"
"… We can never be little Sophia. We can never be…" Undertaker thought, gripping his scythe tightly as he straightened his back to stare the child down. "Your father made that very clear. I am only supposed to be your uncle, your mentor, and you're supposed to find your own path, a path that will lead away from me. You… you're supposed to be mine though. That's what the oracle had said before," he chuckled lightly, Sophie staring at him confused, "that my years of waiting will pay off… and I could finally rest if I found the other piece of myself that will be trapped within another being… but now I see how flawed the prophecy was. I should have never kept my hopes up. If I let your soul stay here in this world it may lead to your own demise, and that is something I do not wish to see… as all the others…" Sophie pressed her back to the tree, biting down her lip as she saw the pain on his face. His eyes began to flicker from behind his bangs and she could see his bright gaze, quickly drawing her into his embrace. "If I had known I would find you so quickly I wouldn't have tried to bring you closer to me. If I had known… I would have avoided Maurus and his family all together, but those wishes cannot be undone now. What has been done has been done… there is no turning back on Death." He rose up his scythe, the wind blowing his bangs away as his eyes trapped the soul in place. "Goodbye little Sophia, my little niece… my maiden." With one swift swipe his blade descended upon the soul staring in fright in front of him, but then a strange accordance happened. Sophie's soul began to glow, a bright heavenly glow that stopped the blade right before it stroke her chest, but then the glow turned dark, a gust of energy pushing the shinigami away and throwing his death scythe onto the ground.
"Run~~" Sophie heard in the back of her mind, "run you fool~! Run~!"
The soul of the human girl jolted into a sprint, trying to create as much distance as she could from the shinigami. Sophie looked back and tears streamed down her face, watching as the man lay on the ground in shock as he stared at his kill quickly getting away from him. Yet he did not stir, for he certainly had the abilities to catch up with her. No, Undertaker stared as the soul disappeared into the forest, a look of sorrow crossing his features as his little maiden vanished from his sight and he had realized what he had done.
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A/N: Oh wow. Another twist! And slowly but surely Naum is coming up with a way to get her back XD Oh I'm twisting my poor characters up, but whatever. It's what I love to do ;3 Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story. SEE YOU LATER!