Here, There, Some of Everywhere

"Rest in peace." The last blossom of the red tulips bloomed, the body beneath it unidentifiable at this point; the flowers completely encased the body. The last image from the young child's death faded into thin air as the effects of Obituary wore off. The evil spirit was finally laid to rest, unfortunately there was nothing she could do about the other souls that had already been devoured. Little children were the sneakiest, in her personal opinion. The girl wasn't any older than five, she lured souls by wandering around crying and calling out for her parents. Of course, older ones came to comfort her, and that's when she struck. After all, who wouldn't want to console a crying child who looked lost? She died with her parents in a house fire, they moved on but she wasn't able to. Li was able to figure that much out as she watched the girl's death play out for a second time. It was all over now, the girl moved on to the afterlife, and the reaper hoped she would be reunited with her family on the other side. Oh. She cursed under her breath and slapped a gloved hand to her forehead. That would have been the perfect case to show her apprentice. They just made their contract not even a full twenty-four hours ago and she was already forgetting she had someone to train.

His death was still fresh though, she thought it would be a good idea to give him a bit of alone time to let everything she told him to sink in. It was a lot to take in, but she also promised to come back for him soon. That was hours ago. "This might be harder than I thought." She exhaled a long breath and looked around the empty playground, everything was taken care of there, but she was sure there would be more work to do. It was a sad fact, but people were always dying and unruly spirits would always be out looking for their next meal. "I'll take him along this time." Li released Amaterasu and with it her uniform turned into an ordinary-looking outfit. The world around her also shifted. She was in the spirit world, but now she crossed back over to the world of the living. They didn't look that different, in fact, if it wasn't for the occasionally disfigured spirits you encountered, it'd be pretty hard to tell the difference. When she first started as an apprentice, Li walked around the spirit realm for days before realizing she was in the wrong place.

"Come out come out wherever you are." It wasn't hard to find out where Thomas was, the chain that connected them by the wrist would lead her right to him. She spun around on her heels and started following the link. No one else could see it of course and it wasn't a tangible object, thankfully. She couldn't imagine trying to fight and being thrown off by the weight on the other end. Just how far away had she gone? She crossed through a section of the city and was headed towards the outskirts towards the woods. The sun was setting and with it, she knew the spirits would be out lurking in greater numbers. For whatever reason, they always showed up in greater numbers at night, the hungry ones especially liked to hunt at night. The stage was being set for Thomas to experience his first job. Li wasn't planning on throwing him in front of some rampaging spirit, but she did want to see how he would be able to manage on his own. It was a test of sorts, she wanted to gauge his abilities. Apprentices didn't have scythes to use yet, but they could bring down spirits without them. Li only had to step in at the very end to help it cross over.

"There you are, I was wondering where you had gone off to." Li stood across Thomas nonchalantly. She looked calm and collected, but she was actually really excited to start working with him. She wasn't scheduled to return Home for a few more hours, she took on a very long shift. "Are you ready to get your hands dirty? I've got a job for you." Her eyes narrowed slightly, signaling she was getting serious. "This won't be too much trouble if you're confident. Your own ability depends on how comfortable you are, start doubting yourself and you could get hurt." She went silent, looking at Thomas expectantly. If he wasn't up for it, Li could always break the chain and send him on his merry way to the afterlife.

Shae perched on top of a metal fence, watching the spirits with disinterested eyes. Although there seriously wasn’t that much of a difference between the real world and the spirit world, she liked the spirit world much better. True, there was always the threat of stumbling upon one of the evil spirits, especially at night, and some of the inhabitants were disfigured, it was a lot better than dealing with the humans day in and day out.

Thinking of humans, she had a new one as a pet. He had died a little while ago, but she still couldn’t be bothered to learn his name - all that mattered was if he was able to do his task or not. She looked over at the silver chain that connected him to her, and with an irritated look on her face, tugged at it. If only it could bring him over to her, but no - she had to exit the spirit world and head over there to fetch him. Exactly who was the Reaper here, and who was the student apprentice pet?

There was always too much to do as a Reaper, with some of the more troublesome spirits always looking to prey on others. She hoped that the guy would be helpful, the human. Without his scythe though, and the pouting pitiful actions that she would no doubt encounter, there was little hope for him. Ah, what a shame.

She pushed herself upwards, before using her scythe to change the world from the spirit world into the human world. In a way, the human world seemed less real to her, without the constant threat of spirits that could actually kill her. Here, even if she got ran over by a car, there would be pain, yes, but there were some perks that came with being a Reaper. Her clothing didn’t change, as she preferred to stay in that outfit completely, unlike those of her coworkers.

Ah, she hated the human world. So much more… boring. It had none of the edge, and everything on this side of the world was easy. As soon as she could leave and head to the other side, it was better. Plus, this world - it showed her exactly what she had left behind. The hustle and bustle that didn’t matter, and of course, the humans. They were boring to her, as each of them seemed the same. Other than variations in size and color, she could easily think that it was the same person wandering around. So, where was that little pet of hers.

Tugging at the silver chain in her hand, which was without form and invisible to others, she followed a path to her apprentice. “Pet,” she said with a certain nonchalance, “it’s time to go. It’s night time in the Reaper World, and time for your first test.” A pause later, she turned her dark eyes in his direction. “Just don’t die. I would hate to have to go searching for another dead person - it’s far too bothersome.” The sooner that he either quit or became a Reaper, the happier that she would be. Making sure to keep at least a meter distance between them, she affixed the boy - he appeared older than herself, but she was, in reality, much older than him - with an appraising look. “If you survive, I’ll think about helping you along. If you end up in trouble - don’t think that I’ll do anything to help because I like you. You’re just my pet. And pets are replaceable.” If he had too much trouble with this, she would break the chain. It wouldn’t be any help if she had to carry around some sort of whelp for a couple of years. How would she do her tasks then?

“Doctor, I said that I’m fine, and the test results prove it. I’ve already made arrangements to get home.” However, no matter how many times Feine insisted, this doctor seemed set on keeping him in the hospital even if that meant wasting staff on guarding his room all day. Apparently it was impossible for someone to fall from as high up as Feine did and escape without a single injury…

Of course it was impossible.

This doctor just didn’t understand. Feine couldn’t help but be frustrated with the whole situation – he didn’t expect anyone else to understand when even he himself didn’t know just what had happened those few hours back. The only thing he was sure of was the pain. His memory was a little hazy, but he clearly remembered the pain. It was as if every single bone in his body had splintered, the fragments piercing through his flesh. He had felt his neck twist into an impossible angle… and he had to go through all that because of some idiot he’d considered his friend.

Apparently something in his expression seemed strained, because the doctor hastily issued some prescription for an obscure painkiller before resuming his poking and prodding of the poor boy. This stupid doctor – Feine couldn’t help but compare this man to his sister. Despite the difference in age, it was obvious his sister as far more competent, although he would never admit that to her… His sister couldn’t find out about all this. That was just a disaster in the making, knowing her personality. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he could face anyone he knew anymore, especially now that he was… was…

Was that even possible? He had never even believed in the existence of an afterlife, let alone the messenger of souls themselves! How was he supposed to believe that he was now apprenticed to one? How was he supposed to believe that he was dead… yet still alive?

… It all made his head hurt...

“Doctor, if I need anything, it’s rest. I’m not going to run away or anything, so just leave me alone.” Maybe it was his tone or just the distantly bitter expression, but something compelled the doctor to listen to him this time. Finally – took the man long enough to get a clue. Ever since he woke up on that concrete sidewalk, all Feine wanted was a quiet chance to think for himself. Instead, he got sirens, screaming, yelling, shattered glass, more sirens, a long trip in an ambulance, x-rays, CAT-scans and some nurse trying to jab needles in his arm. These service people always seemed to know exactly what he needed most.

“Why me?” he mumbled, gently massaging his wrist. The silver chain shackled to it was cold in his hands, so very real to him, yet it didn’t exist. How the heck was that even possible? The answer? It shouldn’t be. It wasn’t… or so he’d like to think, but nothing made sense anymore. “So I’m… a reaper’s apprentice.” The reality of the fact suddenly hit him when he first stated it aloud. He wasn’t human anymore. He’d planned to return to his life from before by taking this second chance, but… obviously that wasn’t possible. How had he overlooked that when he was given the choice?

“Pet, it’s time to go.”

Startled by the sudden unwelcome voice, Feine bolted to his feet, twisting around to face the intruder. Instead, he saw a younger girl… a rather familiar girl that he didn’t want to see. “It’s night time in the Reaper World, and time for your first test.” Yes, because he was just so excited to embark on this spirit-hunting quest, and it was so obvious that she was as well. And then she went on to spout nonsense about finding replacements, survival, infuriating things… were all reapers so… cold? So aggravating?

“You’re just my pet. And pets are replaceable.”

This girl was shorter than him stature-wise and even seemed younger than him by at least a few years. It only made those belittling words of hers all the more irritating. “Reaper or not, I’d watch your mouth, little brat,” he muttered under his breath. This time, to be heard, he stated, “I’m no pet either. Besides, if I disappear now into that… spirit… world now, at least eight of the doctors here are going to throw a fit.”

In truth, he was curious about that strange other world and his new job, but he was reluctant too. It meant finalizing this decision that he could not undo… and really, having to listen to this girl for the rest of his life just aggravated him to defiance.