Night remained beside the elder for a few moments after the chain was broken to make certain no demon came to attempt the collection of that soul. Once it was clear that none would attempt the suicide mission, probably because they sensed Night in the area, she stepped from the deceased woman and wandered through the house. As she walked, she viewed the woman’s various photos and drawings, her mind idly working through the long tale she had the pleasure of hearing.
When she finally left the home, everything was as it was when she entered. Soon, probably in the morning actually, a human would find the body of the elder and learn of what happened. To them, it would appear she had simply passed away in her sleep. A far more peaceful ending than many received. There would be no questions that age had taken her, which was completely true. In the end, it was time that killed the elder. Night just disconnected the chain that held the soul to the body; otherwise it would be taken by some demon or attached to the thing closest to the elder. The house maybe or her wedding ring, since those she had been around for a large part of her life. That was how things became haunted, due to a Death God such as herself slacking off on the job when they should be devoted.
It wasn’t their faults, for the majority of cases. Believe it or not, Reapers, or Shinigami as Night liked to call them and herself, had many enemies. Demons attempting to harvest the souls, humans that believed it was not their time to cross, angels that had fallen from heaven, Gods that did not want their subjects to pass, and, believe it or not, the occasional disagreement with Death itself. Because of this, failures were not as few and far between as her kind would like.
Despite the enemies though, Night never failed a job. In fact more often than not, she was able to listen to the victim’s tale before they passed. It was humbling for Night to hear a human’s tale from beginning to end. It was interesting how none of their lives were the same as any of the others, and she had heard millions of them! But, they all seemed to interlock with other lives in some way or another. Often times she found herself trying to relate one tale to another, and was surprised when each had something in common with another. It could be redundant like they were both born in the same town to they shared the same birthday. But on the other hand it could be vastly more interesting, like the tale of two swordsmen that Night was told as a special treat from Death.
The two swords men were both Japanese samurai. While Night knew little of what a samurai was, beyond being a warrior, it was a simple fact that linked them. It turned out that each had spent their entire lives training to kill an emperor that was less than agreeable to them. They were each born in the same town, actually right next door to one another, but had never even once met. They trained in separate villages, each going to highly respected masters. Then, when deemed ready by the masters who gave acceptance at the same day, they set out to kill the emperor. For the first time they met at the steps that led to the palace, but without thinking they fought, figuring each were enemies. In the end, this resulted in the battle of the two greatest swordsman japan had ever known. The two fought so intensely that they did so out of the town, through a raging river that would have swept any other man off their feet into a watery death, and finally into a clearing. In the end, the two killed each other with strikes to one another hearts and died in each other’s arms.
How incredibly interesting that two men had set to kill a man generally thought of as evil, but only ended in killing men that were labeled as good. The emperor that lived ruled for many years later, each year being crueler than the former before finally dying in bed of old age. Night did not have the pleasure of hearing his story, for a different Reaper was set to the ending of his life, but she was fairly sure it’d be a rather boring one.
The stories were probably a major reason of why she enjoyed being assigned to humans most. A human life was incredibly short and so they normally had enough time to tell of it before they passed if she found them in a timely fashion. The ending of demons, angels, and Gods were much less fun. They lived much longer lives than others, and listening would take far too long.
Still, she had tried to listen to a few of them and their own stories were far more interesting than that of humans. As far as Night knew, she was the only Shinigami to have ever end a God. In fact, she had ended three Gods, though their names had faded from memory as time drew on. Two had to be ended on the spot, but the third had some time. In fact it was quite a bit of time, four hundred years if she recollected correctly. She, for the God was female, had traded Night her story in exchange for the information of when exactly she would pass. It was a good trade to Night, for she spent the next four hundred years repeating the lengthy story in her head and made sure that when the Goddesses time came her Death was as painless and easy as possible.
There were very few beings that Night had never stopped to hear the story of. These were all the stories of certain undead creatures that Night despised. The list included certain creatures like zombies, spirits (Not to be confused with ghosts), and the likes of vampires, who she hated with every last fiber of her being. Zombies were human bodies brought back from passing. As a rule, they lacked the souls that they had lost and had to be controlled by some outside source, like a lodestone or necromancer. Spirits were souls that had become either corrupted or cast back to earth by foolhardy Gods. They were just opposite of Zombies in form, but the same in the way they were formed. Many necromancers had so tried to combine the two together, thus resulting in a new being, but those certain fools were just asking for someone like Night to knock on their door and tear out their throats.
Finally, there were vampires, disgusting creatures that were banished to the night. Vampires held an especially lithesome place in her heart for the reason that they were not passed souls or bodies brought back, but were living turned dead. Vampires must sacrifice their souls to become what they are, otherwise their bodies will reject themselves and in the end it will destroy them, sometimes sooner and sometimes later. Thinking of such things alone set her mouth sour and so she rarely did and busied herself once more by doing the same and ignoring the thoughts. Regardless of what it was, if it was undead she would destroy it.
The time passed thinking caused her to travel much further than she intended, which was little surprise. It didn’t matter much to her; she had no impending contract to fulfill and could kill some time. Actually it turned out well, for on the horizon the sun was rising as the clouds fled. It was always relaxing to watch the sun make its ascent toward the heavens.
All this talk, or rather thoughts, of beings had caused her to recall what she was herself. Many years, especially in the first recollection of her birth, had been spent trying to decipher it all, but still she was lost on the full explanation. Death had explained, to be sure, but his explanations were just riddles that left her more curious and with more questions than before. What she had managed to gather so far was that she was a Death God. Though Shinigami was the word Death, and she preferred. Sending souls to the afterlife was the very reason she existed. However, Night had a bit more freedom than one would expect, to the point that she could freely deny contracts or take as many as she saw fit. Mostly, Night used this extended freedom to end what she hated most, vampire scum. Beyond that, Night appeared to just be an innocent little girl with a few abnormalities. She was a Death God, free from Death Gods.
In what ways though? The shinigami race was a fickle group. Each kept separate from the others and meetings were rare. Not surprising, for while there were more than one shinigami, which nobody seemed capable of understanding if she took the second to answer, the shinigami rarely ever saw one another. There were not many of her kind, to be sure there are less shinigami than almost any other being, and so contracts and meetings were scarce. The only times one would run into another would be because a chance meeting, a conflict within contracts (Something Death did to keep things interesting), and a gathering called by Death. Chance meetings were few, conflict in contracts fewer, and gatherings only once in every few millennia.
But it was strange considering the other shinigami her brothers and sisters, for it felt like they were anything but. They felt relatable, but different and distant. Like cousins one never truly had the time to meet. They felt it too; she could tell by the way they kept their distances at any meetings. She could tell by the way that she dined beside Death in his physical form as they all kept their distance, only casting the occasional nervous glance and speaking only when spoken to in His presence. She didn’t have such qualms about speaking to her Father as they did, in fact she felt at home at the table. It was humbling to be allowed a seat with Death, but it was difficult to not be cocky about it. Every once in a while she would catch herself enjoying the attention a bit too much, but it mattered little in the end.
The questions of why Death treated her with favor were far more confusing than anything else. The way He looked around let her know just how useless and sacrificial He saw his subjects as being. But every time He turned to look at her, there was genuine, she hesitated to say ‘Love’, affection in the gaze. And she would return that affection in her own, for she felt like He was truly her Father.
Night wasn’t a fool; in fact she was far more intelligent than many of her and other kinds, so she was able to consider what was available to her. He showed affection towards her, allowed her to maintain a human looking even though He considered them lesser beings, and not only that, but a part of Him lived inside of her. It was difficult to explain, but it was as if a fragment of Him was living inside of her body. She couldn’t really explain it, in fact she would not even know if He had not told her, but there was a dark presence in her gut and mind, one that smelt clearly of Death.
This lead her to think even further in his relationship to her, after all no other, as far as she knew, was allowed his presence inside. The feeling that her ‘relatives’ were distant cousins while she felt him as a Father led her to believe that she was His daughter. One day, long ago, she had even asked him about it. He had told her that she was indeed His daughter, but so were her ‘sisters’ and ‘brothers’. But she was different. Because she was what no other Death God was. She was the original Shinigami.

The speckled lights in the sky had grown in the time she had thought. Hours of the day wasted to night as some would think, though when you were as old as she was hours were only like seconds. Seconds were easily wasted to even the shortest lived subjects, so why would it feel like an excess waste to her?
“Thinking and planning is all well and good, but it is time to move on. I have a `contract I’d like you to fulfill today. Interested?”
The voice came as it always did. Distant, but still so close. It was deep and ancient, powerful in a way that one could not explain, but they could clearly feel. It was male in sound, though its owner was not necessarily so. Nor was it expected to be. For all assumed, or at least it seemed that they did, that Death was male. And this indeed was Death, itself.
“What did you have in mind?” She murmured to herself. Speaking was unnecessary; in fact if she were to be in more populated areas she would not. Often times, she’d gather more than one strange look. He could hear her whether she spoke to Him with her mind or her mouth.
“There’s a small city up the road, about 30 miles east to where you are right now. Inside, a woman is about to pass over. Unfortunately, I doubt you’ll much like her story. From what I’ve seen, she’s little more than a street rat.”
Night huffed and began walking in the direction of the city. Her face was a deep pout and she occasionally kicked a rock from her way. Very childlike of her, but that was a pretty easy way to display her displeasure. “Why me? Send one of the lesser shinigami if that is all she is. I can’t imagine they care what they kill.”
“True… I could send one of your sisters or brothers, but that feels wrong somehow. Frankly, I asked you to do it; I did not say you had to… But…”
“But..?” She questioned, sensing the hook that’d catch and drag her along. He wouldn’t have ever asked her if there wasn’t, because it was obvious she’d say no. What was the point of ending a person that held no interest? She had ended more than enough street rats in her time and it was never enjoyable. Actually she had developed a habit of killing them without them being aware of her. It was just so much easier that way.
“But…” He continued his tone amused and sweet. He knew how she was, which did not serve to please her very much. “I think I sense an odd presence there. Actually, I believe it to be a vampire. I cannot be sure for, as you know, they have no souls to sense, but I think it can be assumed. Regardless, there is something, whether it is zombie or vampire, taking seat in that city. Who knows why and what does it matter? Interested now?”
A spark of interest lit in her gaze and the pace at which she was walking doubled. A vampire eh? And even if not a vampire, something undead. That made it far more interesting…
“One rule, my Night. Kill the urchin first before hunting down the vampire. I’d rather you not engage in battle and thus miss out on a contract. The demons are particularly hungry these last moons. Already, more than a dozen contracts have been forfeited this month alone. Try not to disappoint like them, would you?”
“Now now, Father, try not to insult me too much. I think you know as well as I do that I have never failed. I also think it’s fair to say that I never will.” The words were laced with slightly dangerous venom, both for him and her.
“Teasing Dear, teasing. Hunt well my darkest Night.”
With that last, slightly sarcastic, comment the presence of Death left her mind to allow her thoughts to take the front. Urchins, as despicable and annoying as they were, were easy kills and so provided little to worry about. But undead, particularly vampires were a different story. They had quite a bit of fight in them, especially when they found out whom, or rather what, she was.
With that in mind, she prepared herself for whatever battle might take place. Better safe than sorry was a rather fitting saying, or so she believed. How did she get ready? Well to be honest all she had to do was focus her mind on the task and the rest would play as it should when the battle arrived, if it even did. This was going to be a fun night.~

The city was in a deep sleep as nights silent footsteps fell upon the streets. Strange as it was, nobody was out and about at the hour which if she were to guess was just past midnight. The district she was in was one of the poorest she had seen. The buildings were ancient and many windows were broken or cracked. The dust that caked the air was mixed in with the stench of the city, which seemed particularly strong in this area, and held in the air like a fog. The shops along the western side of the street were broken down and abandoned and the apartments that lined the other side seemed to be the same. No wonder nobody was out. This block seemed more likely to crumble away then to support any sort of life.
It wasn’t the most tactical decision to launch her strike here and now. In a city, there were plenty of places for a Vampire to hide in. There were plenty of places for them to run. And, considering the fact it was night time, they were not going to be confined to the shadows. Despite the risks and various downfalls, patience was a virtue that Night did not have when it came to these soulless beings. Her hate was far stronger than her reason in these situations. Or perhaps it was blood lust? Rage? It was always too hard to tell.
Regardless first things came first, and that would have to be her promise to Death. Seeking out the Urchin took precedence over that of the killing of the vampire. The hunt was never fun with these things. Whatever rat hole the urchin was hiding in it would be difficult to find, whether because it was hidden well or in such plain sight that it hardly occurred to the eye that it was what it was.
With a slight sigh of annoyance, for she wanted to get on with the real hunting already, she set herself in the nook between two buildings. The alley was far too small for any vehicle to drive in and only just big enough for her to slip inside. It smelt of trash, urine, and all sorts of unlikable things, but it would serve to cover her as she set her mind to work by closing her eyes and taking an inhale of the rotten air she allowed her mind to expand. But it was beyond that. She wasn’t just thinking or something similar to that she was searching for something that few others could find. That would be the Urchins shadow.
That may not be what was expected, after all a shinigami sought out souls not shadows. But Night was unique. She held a power that few held and even fewer could use and that was the power over shadows. Death called it ‘Shadow Art’, the ability to use and control the shadows as you pleased. The current way she was using shadows, which was actually to have her own move about and brush against all the shadows within perhaps a one mile radius, was known as ‘Shadow Sight.’
Shadow Art is a deep and ancient form of magic that was created before time itself. Gods, Demons, Angels, or whatever was there all the way back in those times created it as an advanced form of warfare. As time came to light, the art of shadows went to darkness and steadily faded till only one in a million knew about it. Night wasn’t surprised she had it, in fact she would be more surprised, and even insulted, if she did not. For to the best of her knowledge the creator of the Arts was the current Master of the Arts. And that would be none other than Death itself.
But that was enough thinking for now. It was time to sever the chain and move on to the monster of the city. Slipping out of the alley, to which her nose thanked her considering the smell in there was far worse than the stench of the block, she set to finding the urchin and removing it from its hole.
Within a few minutes of strolling the streets she was on the block she required and was approaching the alley of her prey. How to end this one? Should she do it stealthily? Should she even let it know about her? Hmm, it’s probably bet-
Without a word her footsteps continued until she was past the alley and moving down the street. The first opportunity she had, she turned, acting as casual as can be, and then turned once more, but her pursuer followed regardless. With a quick casting of her mind, she found that It was not behind her on the street but was up on top of the room tops and was definitely following her.
The troubling part of the matter was that something about the shadow felt familiar, though the entire shadow was a mystery to her. That was troubling because what it held that she could relate to was something her own shadow held, though she could not place it directly. If it was a Shinigami, she would have him torn to shreds with her own hands. Perhaps one of her kind had mistaken her for the urchin?
Casting a subtle glance over her shoulder, this was not a stretch considering if a young girl like herself was walking through the streets at night it would be common sense that she would be a bit worried, she caught a glimpse of silver. Not good. There was only one being that she knew of that had silver eyes. And that was vampires.
Returning to her walk she cursed her luck, or fortune if that was what through the being at her, not only did It have the higher ground, but Death would be extremely displeased that she is going to have to attack the undead before finishing her job, like she promised she would. Ah well, fate was not playing in her favor as it was. His wrath would have to come later, for now she had a new job to do.
Night rubbed her hands together as she prepared herself for the confrontation to come. But first thing was first, she had to get up there and on level ground with her assailant. The next alley up was swathed in such darkness that the eye, even hers, could not penetrate it. Perfect. Moving over towards it, she slipped inside and as if through teleportation she was behind the Vampire.
This was another ability of hers. The ‘Shadow Walk’ which allowed her to enter one shadow and leave through another. That was perfect for these sort of situations, for there were truly no places that held no shadow. The trick was that if she were distracted midway, or if the shadow she intended to leave was destroyed and she could not find another, she would be lost in the otherworld. The Void.
The Void would have to come later, for now she was faced with her foe.
“Spying on others is not exactly polite…” She murmured from behind him, her voice leveled and calm. It was strange how he did not turn even though she was sure he knew she was standing behind him. Perhaps he underestimated her? Or maybe his senses were not as powerful as most of his kind? It mattered little to her. He seemed a normal man from behind. He was taller than Night and was slim, but clearly defined by muscle. His hair was that of a raven feather black and descended to the back of his neck with relative ease. It was spiked back, which was a common style at the time, and seemed to breathe with his breaths. From behind she couldn’t see much, but that was what she could tell so far. There was no reason to outright kill him. Besides, she felt fairly sure he’d be able to react and turn on her in a moment if she even attempted it.
“So is sneaking up on others.” He countered, his voice equally leveled. It was good that it was, for his sake, otherwise it would make her feel even less of him. His voice was smooth in an intoxicating way. Behind it was a slight accent of something she could not discern and there was also something else in it. Sadness.
“True enough, Vampire…. Who are you?” Odd of her, to be actually talking this long with one of his kind. Normally it was ‘Hi, I’m Night. Time to die,~” but something was screaming for her to listen to him, rather than outright kill him. Call it respect or instinct, cause she did not know what to name it.
With a slow and deliberate turn, he turned to face her. Now that she was faced with him, she was slightly surprised to see that he was a pretty handsome man. His form was held with dignity, almost in a royal way, and his gaze was un-daunting, fearless, and that damn silver that all vampires held, less they were blood lords, which were the elder ancestors and held crimson orbs.
“My name is Nox Noctis Coma; I am a vampire like you said. What are you?”
Well that seemed incredibly rude to her. She had asked ‘Who’ he had asked ‘What’. Scoffing at him she released a grumble of annoyance before squaring up to him. He wanted to know what she was? Alright. That didn’t mean she couldn’t go beyond just saying it, right?

With a grin, she rose a hand into the air, palm open like a student would at school to get the attention of the teacher. Shadows would then start to swarm and combine into a sphere that was absolutely perfect in every way. Her crimson gaze watched him closely as his reaction set her grin even large, for he took a hesitant step back and squared up into a more defensive stance. Good, seems her show was going to have a pleasing enough reaction.

“I am a Shinigami. My name is Night.” Upon her name her risen hand would close upon the shadow ball. Almost instantaneously the sphere would change form into a scythe nearly as long as she was tall with a blade of about a third of its length. The ancient weapon was made of black obsidian like mineral with golden etchings along its bladed edge, almost like the jacket she held on her arms. If one were to have held it, it’d probably be of a high enough weight that using it would be impossible. But from the way Night was so easily holding it, it was obvious that it would be more like it was just a feather in her hand.

The weapon was a nice touch to her little act, especially seeing how that undead bastard scowled at it. It was her greatest weapon. It was her Death Scythe. Death Scythes came in all types of shapes and sizes and could be anything from a scythe, like she had, and a gun. It all depended on a Shinigamis particular style. Call her old fashioned, but this was her favorite style. A scythe was a lot more interesting to her, and it felt like a sort of connection to the stereo typical Death that the humans associated him as.

The lovely Night gave the scythe in her hand a twirl before resting the head of it, the part with the blade, onto the ceiling of their building. It was a relaxed stance, but still one that if she needed to she could quickly react to anything that the Vampire decided to throw at her.

“A shinigami..?” He murmured, sounding unconvinced despite her show, to which reacted in a grimace and flare of hurt pride. She thought it was a rather good and convincing show…

“Yes, Shinigami. Death God. Reaper. Whatever you want to call it.” She gave a nod, grinding the scythe into the ceiling. She was itching to attack the beast before her. He was an abomination that held absolutely no place in her heart. But something about him was… Different than the others. It was remote and odd. His body pulsed in a strange way and, with a start, she realized the pulsing was a soul.

This caused her to scowl. There was no denying that the monster before her was indeed a monster, but it held a soul. This was incredibly odd, not only because it shouldn’t even be capable of that, but also because she had never even heard of such a thing. It was widely known that Vampires sacrificed their souls by becoming what they were and, perhaps less known, that they were incapable of adapting a soul. Still, her Shinigami powers only allowed her to feel the soul, it did not allow her to outright observe it. She’d have to get a hold on his chain to do that, but it was highly unlikely that she would get the chance to try.

“Hm… That is impossible, but I can’t see you lying about it.” He murmured, giving her a curious look as she observed him. At the moment, there was perhaps a fifteen foot gap between them. Not good enough to run, not good enough to have a great lunge or surprise attack. Oddly enough, her thoughts were on the exact same wave length as she observed tactics to which she could attack him. “What does a Shinigami want to do with me?”

“Well, Mr. Coma, I am here to kill you, in simple terms. I hate your kind, you see. You are all barbarians that sacrifice themselves for ‘Power’. You forsake your souls in the attempt to fuel you great greed’s. You drink and kill innocents to your heart’s content. You have no right to be ‘Alive’. Also you are a revolting lot that has only inspired fear in the hearts of humans all throughout the world. Honestly, even being as close as we are is a bit… Annoying for me.” She wasn’t sure why she had told him any of this. It would have been just as easy to stop herself from doing so and just continue on to the killing, but yet again her instincts were advising her against it. This was becoming annoying. “I have a question as well, why were you following me?”

The vampire eyed her with renewed caution as he was confronted with the answer. What chance did he stand to get away from a Reaper set to kill him? He couldn’t imagine there was much of one, but he’d still try if it came down to it. That was just in his nature to do.

“Well… That’s not what I would have particularly enjoyed hearing…” he muttered, arching a brow towards her question. “I suppose if I said ‘We just happened to be going the same direction’ you would not believe me? Very well, the truth was that you piqued my interest. You seemed very interesting for a girl walking down the road.” He would give a nod afterwards, watching her closely with those damned silver eyes.

She would release an un-amused chuckle confronted with this information before the ‘Instincts’ once more kicked in. Turning without a word, she walked into the shadow behind her. A few moments later, she walked back out, the Urchin in her hand. She was slightly surprised he had just sat still the entire time, which if anything gave her a slight degree of respect for his bravery, and was also pleased. This would be good. By giving him an explanation she would also full fill her job and would not be claimed as having failed. She’d never failed a contract before after all.

“If after this you still don’t believe me being what I am, then that is your problem.” She murmured before reaching down to the currently unconscious Urchins chest. She had knocked the woman out before attempting to take her anywhere, seeing as that was easier, and so the Urchin put no resistance. Her hand would slide into the woman’s chest without disturbing cloth or flesh. It would go wrist deep before pulling back up, a light blue chain in hand. “Observe.” She murmured before crushing the chain in her hands and sending the Urchin to what lied beyond the world.

When she looked up her surprise was… Well…. Surprising. On his face was a deep grimace and he was looking away from the now deceased woman. His look was angry and sickened. It seemed the vampire disliked seeing the death of the woman… Strange. Why would the monster even care about it? “Why do you look away?”

“Because I do not approve of the killing of others.” He muttered his voice sour. Strange. He really did seem to care.

Standing from the job she had just finished, she cast him a puzzled look before releasing a sigh. “Then why do you all kill without care?” She countered, glaring at him now as her grip tightened on her Scythe. She had never released it the entire time she had been removing the soul. That was what was safe after all.

“If you must know, I didn’t choose to be what I am. In fact I hate it, being a vampire, drinking others blood, shying away from the sun and everything else me and my kind suffer from. I was transformed into one by a clan of vampires and was raised by the coven till I broke free of the group. I hate every last one of them for making me what I am and I hate myself for what I am, but I cannot kill myself. This body is home to two.”

Of course! That made sense. It wasn’t his soul she was sensing, it was another soul that had latched itself to his body. That was extremely peculiar… Souls rarely just connected. Despite her knowledge on the matter, she kept her information to herself, only giving him the same leveled glare she had been giving. “Two?”

“Yes, there is something else inside of me. Another thing, if you can believe it. I don’t know what it is though. Just that it is not me.” He gave her an interested look. Perhaps she could tell him what he was? Unlikely though, considering that she seemed pretty intent on killing him.

As for Night, she simply observed him and his facial features specifically. One could discern a lot from a person’s expression if they looked hard enough. You could find intentions, thoughts, emotions, behavior issues, and all sorts of other things. Unfortunately, he had a firm hold over how his face was established and had it in a mostly bored set. The only thing of his that changed with seemingly growing amounts was that of his eyes and so, though she hated having to look at those optics, that was what she watched the most.