You breathed out heavily at the sight of your long lost best friend showing up all of a sudden, knees feeling weaker, you clench your jaw and balled your hands into fists. Looking down on your boots as you try to muster up the courage to utter even a single word. But nothing came out.
You could only stare at him in a state of shock and anxiety as he sets his hand down to his side.
"Undertaker!" Ciel breathed out in alarm with Sebastian crouched down to the boy's level, "You've been hiding yourself well." He stated "Since you kept your eyes hidden, I never noticed either." He continued, narrowing his eyes at the grey-haired man.
"Me too. I fell for it." Grell stated as Ronald made his way down alongside Grell, with you hesitantly joining them with shaky arms as you held your scythe in a vice-like grip.
You flinch as his glowing eyes darted towards you, his coquettish smile then widening, "Oh (Y/n), I never thought we would reunite with each other like this." He cooed out, making Ronald look towards you questionably.
"(L/n)-Sempai, do you know this guy?" He asked.
You swallowed the lump in your throat hard, "I do, actually. We were close..." You bluntly trailed off looking away, not wanting to make eye contact with the grey-haired reaper.
"How close?" The blonde reaper asked further, you began to open your mouth to speak but then he beat you to it.
"Very." He then added in a low voice.
"Sempai, those eyes!" Ronald pointed out those chartreuse phosphorescent eyes that seemed to glow radiantly.
"Yes. There's no mistaking that yellowish-green glimmer." Grell began as their eyes narrowed, you gulped and gripped your scythe even tighter.
"A shinigami." You blandly stated with dark eyes, becoming more confident even though his presence was basically towering over you possessively.
Grell and Ronald whipped their heads towards you as you said those words.
You were taken aback as he lets out that melodic laugh he used to laugh before.
"How nostalgic." He began "It's been half a century since someone last called me that." He continued.
"Undertaker is a...shinigami?" Ciel slowly asks in a state of shock.
"What is the meaning of this, Undertaker?" Stoker began as he ran down the steps, "Didn't you tell me that we could control the corpses as long as we have this device?" He continues as Undertaker tilts his head ever-so-slightly towards the naive man.
"Is that so?" He asks innocently as he brings a finger to his chin as if in question. Stoker chokes out as he asked the reaper in alarm, "Did you fool me?"
"But you see, I thought it was funny, since you were trying to bring the dead back to life in all seriousness." He calmly explained with his arm outstretched in a casual manner.
Stoker looked taken aback as he said this, "Then - So our goal of making the entire world healthy was...!?" He began as his hands balled into fists.
Undertaker then fully faces him with a smile on his face, "But the moment you relied on my skills, that can't be called medicine anymore." Your eyes widened at this, your theory was proven to be true! There was someone like the Undertaker behind the scenes to all this 'world-saving medicine' Stoker has been bantering on about!
Stoker flinched in realization as Undertaker said those words, he continued, "The kind of guy who would use a treatment he doesn't even understand on his patients," You furrowed your eyebrows as you stated loud enough for everyone to hear, "Is no longer a doctor."
Undertaker hears this and glances at you with a pleased look on his face, before facing the doctor once again. Stoker's eyes widened further as he took a step back, "No way." He muttered as he dropped to his knees and bent down to palm the floor with his hands, as he looked down onto the glass covered floor in shame.
Undertaker merely stares down at him with an amused look, before walking over to his hunched figure, "You were a good boy who honestly believed in my story." He said as he laid his hand on the back of the mans head.
Ciel stood up with a firm look, "In other words, you're the mastermind behind the human resurrection experiments...Undertaker!"
You lightly gasped as you suddenly realized something, is that why he deserted? To focus on these illegal experiments?! To focus on his own selfish research!? You grit your teeth as you gripped your scythe even tighter, starting to get into a fighting stance.
"That's a secret. Is what I'd like to say," He coyly replied with a small flick of his index finger as he brought it near his mouth.
"But by doing that Phoenix pose, you've paid me for an awful amount of information." He continued as he took a few steps forward, he then faced them as he added, "So I'll tell you."
"It's true, that I was the one who made these moving corpses."
"Why?" The young earl called out with an angry expression, Undertaker's fringe covered his eyes once again as he began, "Let's see...at first it was probably just my curiosity towards humans."
"Humans are 'a flesh body' and a 'soul' if you bring those two together, one can exist amongst the living and keep on documenting their life's memories in the 'cinematic record'."
Your eyes narrowed at this as you listened intently to your long lost friend. Grell and Ronald doing the same.
"And when the flesh body withers and the shinigami collect their souls, the record ends there and the living becomes the dead." He explained further as his smile widens a little, my eyebrows furrow a little as to what he's getting at here.
"Shinigami take the soul from the body according to a list, causing an end to the record. Day by day. Indifferently. Peacefully."
"When I lived that shinigami life for a long time," He continued, glancing at you as he said those words, "One day I thought...what would happen if the ending had a continuation?"
You then recall a moment where he just randomly blurted that question out while you two were chatting, you asked him about it and he just said that he was merely curious. He seemed serious about it so you told him that, that kind of stuff is strictly forbidden. He just shrugged it off and laughed.
Why didn't you see this sooner?
"What would happen to the flesh body without a soul, if you were to connect a continuation to the memories that had come to an end?" He asked further.
Grell and Ronald flinched, clearly taken aback at the absurd thought of tampering with the cinematic records.
"No way. You edited the records?" Grell asked in alarm. Undertaker laughed, "Well then, how about you take a look at their records with your own abilities?" He asked, his shinigami eyes directed towards your cautious figure as he added, "You might just find something."
Grell complied and jumped up to the side as they slashed off two of the walking corpses. I look at Undertaker with concerned eyes as I join Grell's side and look intently at their cinematic records.
The 'End' screen rolls as we wait patiently, Grell then yelps in surprise as Undertaker, dressed as Charlie Chaplin then popped into view.
It then cuts to him doing a silly little dance with the costume still on, the cinematic records flow everywhere as Grell grips their hair in perplexity and yell out, "Wha- What is this!?"
Ronald and I could only stare at the sight of Undertaker dancing with uneasy eyes.
I turn to Undertaker as he continued, "The end mark of the cinematic record that comes along with every death. By connecting these fake records to them, I made it so that end would never come."
"And if you do that ... Somehow the body mistakenly thinks that life is still continuing, and starts moving again without a soul!" He exclaimed Ciel and Sebastian gasped at the statement.
"And they who have awakened instinctively seek what they lack ... in order to find a 'soul', They will try to open up the bodies of the living." He stated as he made a heart sign with his hands, "To settle the balance of the never-ending cinematic record."
"So they moved by sensing our souls!" Ciel exclaimed in realization. Undertaker stays silent for a short while before speaking up again, "It's impossible to make another's soul theirs though..." He trailed off as he walked over to a female corpse just barely lying down on the stairs.
"A flesh dolls without a self. Not living and not dead, 'Bizarre Dolls'." He said as the corpse lunged at him, to which he dodged and caught the corpse by her abdomen with his arm.
"This beautifully stitched skin as white as wax, just like they were alive." He stated as he positioned the doll in front of him, holding them by the waist as he held her arm up with his own.
He then begins sway as he holds the doll in his arms, as they do a little dance. "Their mouths that cannot clamor noisily or tell lies any longer." He continued, secretly imagining the corpse to be you.
"Aren't they far more beautiful than when they were alive?" He asked as he glanced sideways towards you as if to check for any reaction, his smile falters a little as he was that your expression was completely blank; unlike before when you would pout and frown like a cute little grump.
"It makes me sick!" Ciel remarked as he grit he teeth at that disturbing sight before him. Undertaker merely laughs at this, "That fact that you can't understand this beauty just means you're still too young earl. There are humans who want these bizarre dolls too, you know?" He said as he let the corpse go, who did a second attempt as she lurched towards him as he walked away, "They don't feel pain or fear. They eat the living, craving their souls." They stated as the corpse fell down through the stair's railings and landed with a loud thud.
"What do you think? It's the best animal weapon there is, right?" He asked madly with a wide grin on his face, we all flinched at what he said as he walked down the steps.
"The eccentric bunch said they wanted to see till what extent they could use them." He stated, you then began to think, to who did he refer to? Why would they want these 'things' here? Why did they choose the Campania?
"By throwing the same amount of humans and bizarre dolls on a luxury cruise ship, it was a decided experiment. Let them kill each and see how many survive on each end?" He continued as he looked up slightly with a grin on his face.
He has really gone mad...
Sebastian's eyebrows furrowed, "Quite deranged." He bluntly remarked, to which Undertaker replied to with a laugh, "But I never thought we'd crash into an iceberg. Having quit as a shinigami, I don't own the list anymore. Well. Considering that it saved me the trouble of making it sink, it's like catching two birds with one stone."
Your eyes widened at this, was it his intent to crash the ship in the first place? How long have they've been planning this? An array of questions flood through your head as you stare intensely at the reaper with disbelief.
The corpse made a loud groaning noise, to which Grell silenced by cutting her head off. They hummed as they placed a hand on their hip, "It sounds like something that cannot be overlooked."
"Agreed." Ronald added as he took one step forward, "Shinigami distorting the way of 'death' is totally impossible."
"It is merely impossible if you believe it is Ronald. Ad—I mean, Undertaker is a very ambitious man." You bluntly stated as the two reapers towards you in shock, "Christ (Y/n)! Whose side are you on?" Grell exclaimed.
"I..!" You began to retort, but then you realize something as you looked away, "I'm not even sure anymore..." You trailed off.
Undertaker gazed at you with a pleased smile, obviously, he was amused by how you're acting.
"Though he doesn't wear glasses. Is he one of those 'deserters' you see sometimes?" Ronald asks with furrowed eyebrows, "He can be anything for all I care. It's against the rules for shinigami to come to the human world and meddle with life and death matters." Grell growled out, you let out a small snicker as you remarked, "You're one to talk Grell."
"Also," They began, before yelling out to Undertaker as if personally violated, "The crime of hurting a maiden's face! No matter how hot you might be, I can't forgive you for that!" They yelled out as they angrily pointed at the reaper.
They then jumped up yelling as they swung their scythe, ready to attack Undertaker with full force, to which he easily blocks with his sotoba. Ronald slides behind Undertaker with a coy smile, "I'll take your ba - " He was cut off as he was roughly kicked on the head by Sebastian as he also tries to attack him from behind.
Undertaker swiftly dodges the attack as Ronald is slid to the wall, his back roughly slamming against it. You grit your teeth at this as you run to the scene with your scythe ready, you lurched towards your old friend with full force as you swung your scythe, aiming for his lower torso; he dodges it once again as he stares at you with a devious glint in his eyes. Your breathing hitches as you leaped backwards, with you being on the last few steps of the center stairs.
Grell and Sebastian did the same, positioning themselves on either side of the Undertaker. To summarize the picture for you, Undertaker is surrounded.
"Sebas-chan! What are you planning?!" Grell growled out at the butler's sudden intrusion as Ronald gets up with a grunt, "I'd be in trouble if I let you guys haul him off." He stated as he tugged lightly on the hem of his glove, Grell's eyes widened in perplexity, "Huh?!"
"We also have a duty to present the truth to the Queen. We can't let him get away!" Ciel added, Grell's eyes darkened at this.
"This is a problem between shinigami! Stay away outsiders!" They demanded with scrunched eyebrows, Sebastian kept his monotone expression on as he said to the redheaded reaper, "I also have my job as a butler. So please stay away, outsiders." He mockingly stated as his eyebrows furrowed ever-so-slightly.
"My my." Undertaker calmly began, observing them all with clear intent. Especially you, you looked so afraid; yet so strong. You confuse him greatly.
"As fascinatingly stoic as always, Sebas-chan." Grell gushed as their grin widened, "Fine. If you're going to be like that, we won't hold back either."
"The fact that something like 'hold back' exists in your dictionary, surprises me more than anything today." The butler remarked, his face darkening threateningly. "Okay, we'll keep it simple and have the fastest be the winner. But I don't intend to lose to against some old geezer!" Ronald began as he stood up.
You furrowed your eyebrows as you got into an offensive stance, "As Grell said earlier, we won't be holding back. So I hope you understand - Undertaker." You stated as you said his alias with emphasis, he hummed in amusement as a reply before he chuckled.
"It's almost like a rabbit hunt. Well then..." Undertaker began as his eyes darted towards you menacingly, as if silently targeting you, "I wonder which rabbit is being hunted?" And at that, you all came straight for him; scythe's ready, gloves tight; and faces determined.
Undertaker snickered at this attempt, as he leaped up making you all run into each other at the center. You turn back to see Undertaker flinging his sotoba's towards you, you jump out of the way. Grell was swiftly dodging the sotoba's, until one got caught on their red coat, making them fall flat on their face with a yelp.
They lifted up their face from the ground with a red nose and an angry growl, Ronald lunged towards him as he swung his lawnmower as Undertaker countered his attacks. You then came at him from behind, he smirked at your feeble attempt as he blocked you with sotoba as he swiftly dodges Ronald.
His sotoba then hooks itself through the lawnmowers handle, pulling it roughly as Ronald gets pulled back along with it, sending him flying towards the floor. You kept your ground as you attacked him further with a straight face as you tried to keep your mind clear.
His smile widens at this as he hooks his other sotoba with your scythe, he pulls you to his chest, your back against it. He then quickly entraps your hands with the scythe as you struggle to get out of his grip. You were strong, but he however, was stronger.
"I really don't want to hurt you my dear, but if I must..." He trails off as he kicks you from behind, "...then I will." He finally said before aggressively forcing you to the floor and not being able to retaliate because of your trapped hands, you grit your teeth as you try to free yourself; irritated as the butler then begins to attack the Undertaker with his silverware.
Ronald rushes to you and frees you from your own scythe, "Thanks." You mutter at him as he gives a subtle nod.
You then see Undertaker and Sebastian flying into each other, with Grell behind Sebastian as you and Ronald keep your eyes set on attacking Undertaker. You five then meet at the center and brush past each other, with you and Ronald ending up with Sebastian as Grell then comes at Undertaker at the sides.
You then rush with Ronald to where the two reapers were fighting, "Oops, I have made a mistake." Ronald teased as he jumped over the butler's head, merely an inch away from hitting it completely. An irk mark was visible on Sebastian's face as he growls out, "Your eyesight seems to be very poor." He remarked as he threw some silverware towards Ronald, he dodges it as he joins you and Grell as you three fight the Undertaker.
"Shinigami are all heavily near-sighted, you see." Undertaker calmly states as he dodges and counters all of your attacks with little to no effort. You clench your jaw at this, what else was there to expect? He's a legendary grim reaper after all.
You three attacked him from all directions, Undertaker then turns his back towards Grell as the redheaded reaper saw this as an opportunity to strike, "Then you're at a disadvantage, aren't you!" They exclaimed.
But to Grell's dismay Undertaker still blocks it with his sotoba, the chainsaw cuts through the sotoba as Grell falls forward with wide eyes. You then ran towards him, he see me then kicks the fallen sotoba piece towards my direction, temporarily covering my view as I dodge it only to find out that he has disappeared, your eyes widen as you felt a powerful presence behind you.
You felt a foot on your left shoulder as he uses his sotoba to separate you from your glasses, you then outstretched your free hand helplessly as you tried to reach out for them, "M-My glasses!" You stuttered out.
Then he delicately holds your chin with his long nails as he made you look up at him with wide eyes, "You seem to be relying on your eyes my dear, however you look just as ravishing without those things." Paralyzed, he grabs your hand and holds you by the waist. Just like what he did with the corpse a short while ago.
You tremble underneath his delicate touch, still faced up at him with wide eyes, he chuckles at your expression, "Still green and glowing as always, my love." He cooed out as he gently traced your cheekbones with his long fingernail.
Looks like you weren't the only one with a silver tongue.
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