Hey guys! Here's the (real) first chapter ! And yes, I did include the two sections from earlier, since that last upload was more of a preview, and it looks better with all of it together. I am also looking for cover art still, so if you can draw and would like to make a cover of badass shinigami Lizzie, you're welcome to ;) That said, enjoy!
Ciel was gone. This was a fact that I could not face, and yet there it was: He is dead. I will never see him again. I could not live with this; what would I live for? How could I live without trying to make him smile everyday? Surely I would have had to marry someone else – the thought was inconceivable. We'd been engaged ever since we were children, how could I marry anyone else? How could I live as another man's wife?
So I decided: I wouldn't live. I would meet my fiancé in death.
The day I died, the sun was setting against a blood red sky as I sat in my bedroom, still adored in black, sword in hand. "You have to learn how to protect yourself and your husband," Mother always said. I laughed at the thought – how trite it seemed now! As I sat there, poised to strike, nothing left for me anymore, I saw Death. He looked at me with sympathetic eyes: Don't do it, they asked me, but I understand why you will.
I never thought death would be a man in a suit.
I stood on the stone rooftop, keeping an eye on my target. My custom death scythe in hand (it wasn't motorized, so I didn't have to file nearly as much paper work; rather it was a long, slightly curved blade), I checked the ledger again. Scott Wallace. Due to die any moment now. I closed the leader and it disappeared, leaving my hand free to adjust my glasses. I vaguely remember not having to wear them; that was a long time ago. At least they were cute – pink frames with plastic flowers on the side. I heard the clock strike, and checked my watch. It was time to move. Scott had tried to mug what looked like a child and his father on the side of the road, when suddenly the boy grabbed him by the throat and threw him several feet away without much effort. Demons, I realized. Demons aren't good. I immediately leapt from my perch, landing silently like a dove and harvesting the soul in one motion. He didn't give up much of a fight. How boring. I was more worried about the demons. I turned to face them, brandishing my death scythe:
"Don't even think about it! I'm deadly and cute~✩!" The adult was all in black, and the boy had dark blue hair and an eyepatch. The younger one's eye widened.
"...Lizzie?" he spoke, shocked. He sounded familiar...
"Ciel?!"
I felt the cold steel peirce my already dead heart, and I saw my life flash before my eyes, pleading me not to give it up. I saw Ciel and I playing as children, laughing and smiling, unaware of the storm to come. I saw myself crying with relief when Ciel returned after the fire. I saw myself crying with indescribable sorrow at his funeral. He was so young; he survived so much. How could he die so suddenly? I saw death's sad, understanding smile, and I died.
And I woke up.
I was standing someplace so white, I couldn't see anything at first. Everything began to adjust and I was in... an office? A waiting room? I found that everything more than a few feet away was blurred and out of focus. I could see the tile floor beneath me, and a row of... were they chairs? I couldn't tell; they were too far away. I also noticed the man in the suit that I saw earlier standing behind me, still wearing that sad, understanding smile.
"Elizabeth Cordelia Midford, correct?" he addressed me. I nodded and murmured in agreement. "I am William T. Spears, Supervisor of the Dispatch Management Division." He held out his hand to me, offering me a pair of rectangular glasses. "You'll be needing these."
"Huh?" I whimpered quietly, confused. "I've never needed glasses before..."
"You were never a shinigami before." He must've noticed my confused expression, because he continued: "It's a japanese word for 'death god,' but perhaps you're more familiar with the term 'grim reaper.' Souls who take their own lives become angels of death, tasked with safely collecting and delivering the souls of the dead to the afterlife."
"Afterlife..." I repeated, noticing I was wearing a suit as well. "Is Ciel here? Ciel Phantomhive? I need to find him do you know where he is?" I could've swore I saw a spark of recognition in the shinigami's eyes, but it faded in an instant.
"He didn't commit suicide, so no, he isn't here. We are not in charge of sorting souls, only collecting them. I don't know where he is now." I sighed, and put on the glasses he gave me. I was certainly in an office, and those were definitely chairs. There was also a secretary going about his business behind a desk, and a clock on the wall that read with strange numbers. "As you may have realised, you are the latest to join our ranks. Come with me. This is the academy where you will be trained in everything you will need to know to operate as a shinigami. When you're training is complete, you will be given a custom pair of glasses and set to work in your field of choice. Now, if you will allow me to show you around..."
"I... I don't understand!" I squeaked, unable to believe it. "How... you were... I thought you died!"
"Ah yes, that..." he answered. "I had to say something, and it was Yvon's idea to fake the carriage accident..."
"You lied to me! How could you?!" I cried, unable to stop the tears now rolling down my face. "I died because of you!"
"Lizzie..."
"How does a human even become a demon anyways?! Why wouldn't you tell me?! Of course, everyone knows how cruel and heartless demons are, but I thought..." I choked, unable to continue. All these years, being lied to all these years!
"Lizzie, I–"
"No! No, I refuse to hear it. Shinigami shouldn't fraternize with demons anyways." I turned away, unable to face him. "Besides, I'm going to be late for my next target. Go back to Hell!" I screamed at him, lying. I vanished back into the shinigami dimension, went back to my room, and buried myself in pillows, hiding my tears and muffling the wails I couldn't control.
"... And here is the combat-training room," Will told me, gesturing to a large window which showed two boys that looked about my age sparing with small scythes. "While every position requires basic combat training in case of an emergency, those who go into the Collection division are required to train all the way through the advanced course."
"Collection?" I asked.
"Shinigami in that division are specifically in charge of harvesting departed souls in Earth and recording their specifics. It requires extra training because most humans don't want to die, and they will fight back. And even if the soul is willing, the Earth is full of demons that may devour what you are tasked to protect. It's not an easy job, but someone has to do it."
"I could try that!" I piped up, suddenly eager. "I already know how to fight; my mother taught me how my whole life!" The idea of being useful appealed to me. Besides, if I could go back to the human world, I could see my family...
"Really?" he asked me, surprised. I nodded.
"I already know how to fight, and a quiet desk job would bore me." He smiled.
"Excellent. We're hideously understaffed, and demons have been popping up everywhere... I'll get you the necessary papers after the tour."
"Lizzie?" I heard Grell's voice as he knocked on my door. "Honey, are you ok?"
"GO AWAY!" I screamed, continuing to cry.
"Lizzie, I'm coming in," he told me. I had forgotten to lock the door in my haste. "You're so upset," he said sympathetically, putting a hand on my shoulder. "What happened?" I shrugged him off.
"Go away..." I sobbed. "I... I found Ciel, alright?!" I turned to look at him, and he seemed horrified. "Why... why didn't you tell me?!"
"I... I'm sorry Lizzie, I didn't mean to lie; I just..." he stuttered, trying to justify it. "I didn't want to upset you..."
"Well, it didn't work! I'm very upset!" I returned to crying into my pillow.
"Listen, I'm sorry, ok? I shouldn't have hid that from you."
"Why?" I wondered in despair. "Why am I even doing this? Why am I even here, if he's..." I couldn't continue, and broke down again. Grell offered me a hug, and I accepted. He was so gentle, like a mother to me always.
"Please don't cry, Lizzie, we'll figure this out. I bet he's still with Sebas-chan. We can chase them down together." I managed to giggle through my tears.
"Quit being a pervert!" I chastised lightly. "Besides, I don't want to talk to him. Not after he–" I choked.
"Look, why don't we at least go get some ice cream? I am perfectly willing to ruin my figure over this." I laughed, and accepting his offer.
After Will had shown me around the academy, he sat me down at a desk in an empty cubicle, told me that this would be my office, and gave me the paperwork for enrollment. I had no idea death was so... bureaucratic. As I slowly made my way through the forms, I heard a quiet knock on the wall of my cubicle.
"Hm?" I murmured, looking up. I saw someone with red hair and yellow-green shinigami eyes peeking around the wall of my cubicle. They quietly slipped in after seeing that I had noticed them.
"Sorry, am I bothering you?" They looked like a man, except the way he stood and his long red hair made him seem almost like a woman. He seemed familiar somehow...
"No, it's fine," I assured him. "I was just filling out the enrollment papers..."
"Oh, I hated those," he remarked. "I almost quit right there. Well, anyways... Will's always telling me I shouldn't snoop around when he's doing tours, but I didn't have anything better to do, and he's sooo~ handsome, I just couldn't stay away..." He paused a moment and sighed, and I giggled. He seemed so silly. "Well, I couldn't help but overhear that you wanted to go into Collection, and... I couldn't help but notice... you're a girl, aren't you?"
"Mm-hm," I answered with a nod. He squealed happily.
"Oh, I'm so excited~! I've never met another girl shinigami before! I can't wait to work with you~! We're gonna be best friends!" I giggled again. His (or, her?) excitement was just so cute.
"So... you're a woman then?"
"Well, I like to think I am, but alas, I am male. Oh well; I'm still the most beautiful reaper you'll ever see~!"
"Hehe. You sure are," I agreed with another giggle. "So should I call you 'she' then?"
"You can use 'he.' Everyone else does. I don't mind it." He shrugged. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Grell Sutcliff. At you are?"
"My name is Elizabeth Midford, but you can call me Lizzie." Suddenly I recognized his name. "Wait, I know you! You were Aunt Ann's butler!"
"Ah yes! I remember you now! Well, anyways, I'd better go befor Will yells at me again, and you need to worry about those papers. I'll see you around; shout if you need me for anything~!"
"Alright, I will!"