Into the ‘Reaper’s’ den

Date: September 11

Place: Kyoto Headquarters

[Rei]

I walked straight to where Cedrick and Noel were being busy; the Reaper's lounge.

As I opened the door, the gloomy atmosphere that was left yesterday didn't leave at all.

I found Cedrick on my desk, sipping coffee while reading some files that we've discussed from this midnight's abrupt summon.

It was the hellish 3hours of my entire life. People kept arguing, blaming, and pointing fingers because of the recent events.

I took a sit on the couch and leaned back, spreading my arms on its shoulder rest as I also lay my head. I'm now looking at the ceiling as a silent sigh escapes my lips

"We'll have a temporary member that'll be coming any moment now" I just blurted out.

Noel who was reading the files that his friends have recovered, looked at me, amused and wanting to ask questions but managed to hold back his curiosity.

"Why are you telling us just now?" Cedrick turned his head in my direction dramatically and gave me a non-approving look.

He was the one who took all my work and did all the paperwork that we discussed in the urgent meeting earlier and other minor stuff too.

That was why I had all the time this morning to myself. And thanks to that, I was able to focus on getting that skinny boy.

***flashbacks ***

I knocked on the door as a sleepy muscular man towering over me opened it, rubbing his eyes with messy hair and a stinky breath.

I took a step back when he slowly walked out of his room. "I need you to sign here" I shoved the papers that would allow me to transfer one man into another division, legally.

"Look here little missy" he touched my left shoulder and squeezed it slightly, an attempt to intimidate me perhaps. "You don't go knocking on some dude's door at fucking four in the morning" he started glaring at me as he kept squeezing me tightly.

"Now go along and sleep in your cute pajamas" As he was about to shove me away from his sight, I held his big hand that was resting on my shoulder with two of mine, turned around to my left, tripped his legs up while he was still drowsy and used the momentum to slam him down to the ground.

It was a shocking loud thud.

"What the hell!" He was certainly fully awake now as he quickly got up and grabbed my uniform's collar with both his massive hands. I was almost floating, on my tip toes when he pulled my face closer to his to glare at me menacingly.

"Sign" I showed him the papers again while holding the pen in my other hand.

He dropped the hold and smacked my hands away from him.

It was already an eventful day and I'm already tired as is.

I aggressively grabbed the hands he used to shoo my hands away, gripping it so hard that he wasn't able to retrieve it from my hold.

"Read it" I glared at him that didn't quite take an effect when he did the same as his reply. "Sign it" I added, not breaking eye contact.

This time, he was trying so hard to break free from my hold as black specks of dust started to appear out of nowhere.

"Black dust" he started mumbling to himself. "Small girl with an attitude" he added. "Black cloak with a tiny scythe embroidery on the left" It sounds like he was trying to process the bits of pieces to build the puzzle.

"The 'Reaper'!" he gasped and stood a few steps away from me, his hands now on his back, changing his expression and demeanor to a friendlier one. "What brings you here?" He said with a smile.

"Sign" I shoved the paper and pen into his hands while I waited for him to read everything.

But he instantly just signed it rather than reading until the last page. So I was forced to explain my main business to him. "I will be taking one of your people," I say, examining his sign when he handed me the documents with a more calm and composed posture. "Someone will probably fetch him for me later," he just nodded to everything I said and didn't reply a single word.

Satisfied with our little conversation, I started to walk away while my peripheral vision saw him slightly bowing in my direction.

***end***

"It was a rushed decision" I shrugged and sat straight to get some of the papers that Noel finished reading. "They'll send someone random person anyway so I took my pick beforehand," I added.

"You picked someone?" Cedrick sounded confused. "Where did you even find someone suitable for the job?" he questioned, stopping what he was doing as he sipped his already cold coffee.

"I didn't say he was suitable for it," I stood up and walked to my desk where he was sitting. "He'll just be an extra...a plus one" I retracted my words.

"Is it someone who also knows my condition?" Noel was trying to fit into our conversation, worried for our secrets to be leaked.

"Not at all" which led Cedrick to sigh as he massaged between his eyebrows gently. "I kinda made a mistake which he saw and I now need to keep an eye out for him" I admitted. "But that's not all, I also felt sympathetic for him when I dug deeper into his background," I took a peak at the report for the meeting which just made my head hurt so I instantly walked back to the sofa where I sat earlier.

[Cedrick]

"Where is that guy," she groaned, her eyes were about to fall off their sockets when she glared too much at the wall clock and back to her wristwatch multiple times.

"We have time so calm down," I sighed, drinking the last sip.

"Should Iー" Noel was about to say something but was cut off when she suddenly jolted up and was on her way through the door already.

"Hey!" my call fell on deaf ears when she had already left the room. "Let's clean up a little, yeah?" I suggested when Noel stole a glance at my reaction.

He immediately nodded and gathered all the paper that was scattered on the table, holding everything while tapping the bottom part of it to the wood to level it. I also did the same and tidied her desk, putting the paperwork in a file on the right side and her closed computer on the left.

We were both having light-hearted conversations when only a few minutes had passed,  and the door opened, revealing a frail-looking boy.

He looks a lot younger than any of us here in the room. His skinny body looked like he would fly away when a strong wind came by, and his puppy-like expressions would awaken anyone's instinct to protect someone weak, he is also just a few inches smaller than her.

Noel and I both greeted him with a warm welcome as Rei closed the door behind her.

"Hello!" He blurted out nervously. "I'm Kikoe Ikeda" he started fidgeting his fingers as if he wanted to remember something he'd forgotten. "Uhmm..what should I say next," we all heard his silent murmur. "I was a former courier in the Support Division," he added then looked at our expressions which didn't seem too amused.

"I'm looking forward to working with you," he then bowed the perfect ninety degrees which made the three of us exchange looks at each other.

I instantly stood up from sitting on the sofa and tapped his shoulder to end his sincere greeting when Rei left her side to sit beside me.