That Mortician; Desires

Prologue

"I've completed the required soul reaping," the silver-haired reaper placed the pile of paperwork on his higher up's desk before turning to leave.

"Hold on, Adrian."

"Yes, Sir?" the reaper turned back and looked into the eyes of his boss.

"Congratulation on your reaping recently! You're going to be moved to a different office," the reaper placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder while congratulating him on his promotion.

"A promotion, Sir? I haven't even been working here that long," the reaper sounded unsure of this information.

"Nonsense! You have worked harder and longer than any of the new reapers! This is a fine reward for someone of your skill. Keep it up and you might become one of the big-wigs!"

Adrian gave a small 'thanks' before moving onto his next mission. He was the only reaper who hadn't come from any special academy or anything like that. It was just him. It had always been just him. No friends or colleagues to call friends. That's why he could always concentrate on his work. No distractions. No interruptions. He didn't remember much from before he was a reaper, only what came after he started his job. Sometimes, he would think about that, about what it was like before. He would fantasize during the tedious hours of work.

"Who is next?" Adrian muttered to himself while sitting on top of a roof. He was looking down at all the humans. There was one in particular that caught his eye. He looked young but not too young. He was probably still in school. Bluish-black hair, brown eyes, and a beauty mark under his left eye.

"He is quite handsome," Adrian smiled to himself. The appointed collecting time hadn't come yet. Unless, no, it can't be, that's terrible! He is so young (and handsome). This was the first time that Adrian didn't want to collect someone's soul. He hadn't even met this guy before but, somehow, he didn't want to watch him die. How was he going to go against his job? Surely there would be some consequence.

Now was not the time to think about consequence. Now was the time to act. Adrian took out a pink bookmark and began changing the life of this guy. His death was not set in stone, so, Adrian was able to change it. No, even if it was set in stone Adrian would still find a way to break the rule of fate. That man would not die in a carriage crash this night.

Adrian continued to protect that man. He kept extending his life. Eventually, his superiors found out about the reaper's constant meddling. He was severely reprimanded time and time again, but that did not stop him from changing things. He continued down the path of experimenting with human life. His fellow reapers no longer thought of him as a studious worker; instead, they feared him for changing the ways they were accustomed to.

"You've changed Adrian."

"What kind of nonsense are you going on about now? Just get to work and do it properly!"

"What kind of crazy reaper did I get in my division?"

Eventually, his fellow workers began to loathe him. The reaper who was above all reapers, the one who had become known for his countless collections, became hated for his interest in human life. What had started out as an innocent hobby became a mutilated obsession. Adrian no longer thought of how to preserve the human life; instead, he became fascinated in the ways a human could die.

He forgot his original goal and neglected his reaping duties to travel the earth. He brought only a few things with him when he left the Grim Reaper Association, (because he only had a few things to begin with).

His scythe, his research, and his glasses.

The one thing that hadn't changed was his interest in that one human...the one that had started his downfall...

The one who we have come to know today as Vincent Phantomhive.