You stood, panting, over the corpse. You were covered in wounds from the fight, but considering what you had been up against, you were surprised you hadn't died. Lightning flashed in the distance, as if making the scene more dramatic than it should be.

In your hand was the murder-weapon, a flat piece of metal attached to a rod. The thing was, this was a scythe of death used by Grim Reapers. And you'd stolen it to kill the Reaper at your feet.

"Hey, you there! You look like you need medical attention!" a voice shouted in the darkness, and you jolted out of your daze. This was no time to be standing still. Believing whoever it was could see the corpse below you, you ran away from the scene, taking the death scythe with you. "Oi!" You ignored him and kept running, turning a street corner to hopefully go home.

<><><>

"Dammiiiit..." you growled lowly, hissing as you hit the water. The cuts, scrapes and wide gashes stung like your grandmother on her bad days. At the very least though, you would heal quickly because of how cleanly you'd been cut; if it wasn't for the coagulating blood, your skin wouldn't look much different from before.

Sighing at the fact that the worst was yet to come, you gingerly took the bar of soap from its place and started to gently rub the cleansing agent near the areas you'd been cut, making you swear quite colorfully. This was just one of the reasons you hadn't told one of the maids to help you.

"Sis-sis! Where did you go?" You sunk lower into the bath, covering your eyes with the hand that hadn't been holding the soap. Great, now your little sister was looking for you. What was it with her and picking the wrong moments to ask where you were?

"I'm bathing, you little brat," you called, trying not to sound like you were dying. There was suddenly a loud thump against the door.

"Sis-siiiiis, open the doooor!" she whined, and you groaned. Now came the begging. "I wanna come iiiiin. Now now now now now!" Wonderful.

"Y/S/N, this is not a good time," you groused, trying not to swear a long string of curses as you started working on cleaning the largest wound.

"Whyyyyyyy?" You swore this was worse than when you had fought that Grim Reaper a few hours ago—trying not to scream while cleaning wounds just so that you didn't frighten your little sister. She owed you for this.

"Because sis-sis said so. Go talk to Father."

"But Father's boooooring!"

"Then go to Y/B/N."

"But he's always buuuusy." You exasperatedly sighed.

"Fine! Wait a few more minutes, and I'll be out, you little imp!"

"YAAAAY!" You slapped your brow and shook your head, warily stepping out of the bath and wincing when you saw yourself in the mirror.

"At least I stopped bleeding..." you muttered to yourself as you picked up the long strip of cloth you'd brought with you. The deepest cut was in your side, though thankfully, it seemed the Reaper hadn't hit anything important. You painstakingly wrapped your midsection and let out a breath of relief when you had stuck it together with a pin. Now, time to face the little nuisance on the other side of the door...

<><><>

"Are you alright, sis-sis?" Y/S/N asked as you winced, clutching your side. The stinging pains were more like hot knives in your skin, and you were extremely glad you were already sitting, otherwise you probably would have collapsed on your feet.

"Need to take a breather," you said, standing and walking over to the balcony, trying not to show any sign of pain to your sister. She was only ten years old; she didn't need blood, pain, and everything else that came along with entering the real world. She was sheltered, yes, but you had been too.

You sighed, looking out of the corner of your eye to make sure your sister couldn't see you. Then, you gently lifted up your dress enough that you could see your wound, and it turned out you'd opened it again.

"Goddammit," you softly snarled.

"Ho~ What strong language for a noblewoman," a voice said, and you furiously looked around, seeing nothing. "Up here." And slowly, you directed your gaze up to the roof to see a male with dark green, shaggy hair and chartreuse eyes looking down at you with a smile. "Yo."

You backed against the balustrade, your eyes narrowing.

"What do you want, Reaper?" The Reaper tapped a few fingers against his face.

"You knew what I am right away? You're the one alright. By the way, my name's Othello, not Reaper."

"I'm the one?" you growled, about to run into the next room and get the death scythe you'd stashed away.

"Yeah, you're the one that killed dear ol' Keith. That was quite mean, y'know?" Othello appeared disapproving. You blanched.

"I'm not afraid to kill you too," you threatened, grinding your teeth as your injuries burned. Othello laughed.

"Oh, scary~ I'm not here to kill you, F/N." You flinched. "I'm from Forensics; killing's not really my shtick. I just needed to find out who killed Keith, and it turned out to be a human!" Othello smiled, looking at you strangely. "You're an interesting case, F/N. I think we'll meet again soon~" And just like that, Othello was gone.

"Who were you talking to, sis-sis?" your little sister questioned, stepping into view, and you groaned. Yet something else you'd need to remember lies for.

<><><>

"What's the matter, F/N? Is C/N's cooking not good enough for you?" your father asked over his cup as you made another pained face. The wounds you'd received were persistent, and you suddenly realized you'd need to sleep sitting up.

"No," you replied, swallowing your pain again. "I am pleased with C/N's abilities." That was the truth; C/N was an expert in cooking. Silence descended in the dining room.

"F/N, why did you return with a destroyed attire?" Y/B/N asked, glancing at you, his eyes sharp as a sword. You closed your eyes as you savored the mouthful of food before you answered.

"I ran into the circus, and a newbie was put on too early," you stated calmly, leaving your plate for the servants to take.

"If you are injured, then why did you not seek medical attention?" Y/B/N countered.

"I was not injured severely enough for that, Y/B/N. Now if you will excuse me, I would like to retire. The events of the circus have made me quite exhausted." Your father gruffly nodded, and your younger brother stared after at you suspiciously as your younger sister happily kept eating, oblivious.

<><><>

After a night with no sleep, you were delighted to hear your friend would like to go on a stroll. So, gladly, you walked outside the manor and met her while she was hiding under a parasol.

Naturally, everything still hurt, but it was good to talk to Fr/N, as you hadn't seen her in over a month. And so you got into a conversation about her suitor.

"And you know what? He just said straight out, 'You're really special, Fr/N. I think I've been bewitched by your charms.' Kyaaa! I can't stop thinking about that man now!" You chuckled. "Ohhh, I almost forgot! Did you meet that special someone while I didn't see you?" You rolled your eyes.

"As if—all the good men are already taken." From the corner of your eye, you thought you caught Othello smiling at you deviously, and you quickly shook your head. It was your paranoid imagination.

However, when Fr/N stopped for a second, Othello was in front of you.

"Hi there, F/N! Fancy meeting you here! Licorice?" You were astonished, to say the least.

"Hm? Who's that, F/N?" Fr/N asked, a slight teasing smile on her face.

"What are you—" you began to growl at him before he pushed a piece of the licorice in your mouth. The sharp taste of anise assaulted your mouth, and you found yourself unable to continue your thought.

"Now, now," he whispered. "No need to be so hostile~ I simply came to deliver a warning." You swallowed the licorice, your mouth stinging slightly.

"What is it then?" Othello chuckled.

"Bad girls need to be punished," he murmured, and you could feel his breath touching your ear, making you blush.

"What's that supposed to mean?" you asked, pushing him away, and he laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Who knows? See you!" Othello walked off with a wave and a smile, leaving you with a grinning friend and several questions.

"Who was that~?" Your friend asked teasingly.

"No idea," you lied.

<><><>

That night however, you were confronted by two Reapers, neither of which was Othello.

"So this is the woman?" the wild redhead asked, his (her?) hand lazily resting on his (her?) cheek. The more stoic one consulted a book, though it wasn't a Cinematic Record.

"F/N M/N Mo/N L/N. That is you, correct?" the other Reaper asked, pushing up his spectacles with the blades of his death scythe. Your hand was curling around the handle of your stolen death scythe.

"And if I am?"

"Then you're in for a big surprise, my dear~" the redhead sung, and before you knew it, he (she? Screw it: they) they charged at you with a death scythe of whirring blades, and you only just managed to block with the blade of the other. "What?! It can't be cut?!" The other Reaper sighed.

"Sutcliff, you did know she killed a Grim Reaper, correct? There are only three materials she would be able to use to kill one of us. The only one a human could obtain in that situation is a death scythe." All of a sudden, the second Reaper's death scythe shot forward, and you leapt backward, only barely avoiding being skewered. But both Reaper's faces changed from slightly agitated to recognition.

"Othello!" Grell spoke in surprise, and you were suddenly being hugged from behind by arms covered in a white lab coat.

"I think that's enough scaring for now~" Othello sung.

"Othello, you realize that she must be punished for killing one of us? The workforce is becoming tighter." Othello chuckled and slapped your ass, making you look back at his grinning face.

"You didn't just do that," you said, and he did it again.

"No talking back to your savior~ Don't be such a stickler, Will. I'll be sure to give her a lesson she'll never forget." Will sighed as Sutcliff groaned.

"And I got so worked up..." Sutcliff brought up their death scythe to their shoulder. "If that geek's dealing with her, then I'm out."

"What specifically, Othello?" Will asked, making no move to stop Sutcliff from walking out. Othello snickered.

"Let's see~ Since she woke me up from my slumber..."

"OW!" you exclaimed as he pinched you, though miraculously not in the places you'd been injured.

"How about I make her my test dummy for a little while?"

"Your what?!" Will worryingly smiled.

"Good luck, F/N. You'll need it."

"What?!" Will started walking away as Othello turned you around to face him.

"Now, for test one, keeping you from yelling..." Othello smashed his lips against yours, leaving you speechless. He grinned. "Test one, successful."