Mutual Friends of Death (Undertaker Romance)

Stirring Up Trouble

A/N Thank you to @Mochi-Jiminie for voting and adding this story to one of their lists! I very much appreciate it! Please enjoy this next installment, everyone! Also, please vote, comment, or share so I can thank all of you who are reading this!

The day was mostly quiet. Undertaker checked in on her every so often, but she was always simply sitting on the bed, reading a book. She would insist that she did not need anything, and Undertaker would return to work. There had been an increase in the number of corpses in his shop, and they needed to be taken care of. He made sure to look for anything suspicious and to keep careful track of each one, just in case one of his living clients came around looking for information. Other than a few distraught ones, he did not have many breathing bodies walk into his shop. The ones who did enter, he swiftly aided and sent on their way once more. After he had finished his work for the day, he walked back to check on the demon in the back. He found her in the same spot that he had all day. He chuckled, which caused her to look up and recognize his presence. She tilted her head slightly.

"Is something amusing, Undertaker?" He grinned at her.

~Either you only move when I am not around, or you have not moved all day, Raduriel. I always find you in the same spot, in the exact same position even. If you had not spoken each time I came to see you, I would have thought that I might need to go back to work and prepare a coffin specifically for you.~ She chuckled a little bit as she shook her head.

"I've simply been enjoying having time to read without almost constant interruption. Is that a crime?" He smiled and walked over to sit on the bed.

~Not at all. I just find it amusing. Especially since very few humans would have the ability to do such a thing. I even think most reapers would not be able to stay in the same spot for long.~ She laughed, closing her eyes briefly before looking back at him.

"Oh goodness. Trust me, when you're as old as I am, one day is not a long time." He grinned even more.

~How do you know I'm not as old as you? Perhaps I am.~ She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I would be incredibly surprised. I am quite old, and if a reaper had lived as long as I, surely I would have already heard of them. I do not recall ever coming across one such as you." Undertaker tilted his head.

~But your servant seemed to recognize me. She even called me "legendary".~ Raduriel shrugged.

"She looked into you on her own accord since she thought I needed a protector for some reason. You are not legendary to me." He smirked.

~You certainly think highly of your ability to protect yourself, don't you.~ She raised an eyebrow at his comment and narrowed her eyes.

"I know my ability. It has been tested many times before, and yet here I am." He grinned.

~Exactly. Here you are under my protection because someone actually managed to do something to you without your knowledge.~ She became obviously annoyed with his continued comments.

"I am here because I didn't fully mind the idea of being away from home for a little while. I do not need protection. I simply needed a different place to stay while my servants gather information. I am simply here until I know exactly who I need to punish for daring to tamper with my mind. If you continue to make such snide comments about my strength, I shall show you just how scary I can be, reaper." He continued to grin, not seeming too intimidated by her threat.

~Perfect. The Earl Phantomhive is always looking for someone to challenge his butler, and I've always wanted to see what it would be like for two demons to fight. I let him know I have a contender for him. That way you can prove to me you are capable of defending yourself.~ She glared at him for a few moments before spitting out her words, even more annoyed since he continued to not take her word on her own abilities.

"Fine. Such a thing will not be a challenge. Even with a human around." The mortician giggled in excitement.

~Oh, this is going to be fun!~ She pushed him off of the bed with a swift movement of her leg as she dismissed him.

"Then go send your message. The sooner this is over with, the better." He ran out of the room while laughing a laugh that caused Raduriel to truly question his sanity.

Undertaker sent his message to the earl and received a rather enthusiastic response. Well, as enthusiastic as the young earl could be after all he had experienced. He asked for the mortician to visit with his companion at the earliest convenience. A day or two had already passed before he had gotten the response, and Undertaker was more than happy to finally have an answer. The days between had not been the easiest on him. He had been banned from the back few rooms of his shop, only his work areas remained open to him. He had underestimated just how difficult it was to live with an annoyed demon. She had created barriers that kept him out of his rooms with her magic. At first, he did not know she had done this--since they were difficult to see as they had nothing more than a silvery shimmer to reveal their existence--and he ran into more than his fair share of them until he figured out which rooms he was allowed inside.

After he finally received a reply, he hesitantly began walking to the back room where Raduriel had spent the vast majority of her time. He walked with one hand in front of him as a way to discover the barriers before running into it. He gently called out to her once he was prevented from progressing any further towards the room.

~Raduriel. The Earl responded. He said to come when convenient. Raduriel?~ She walked where they could see each other, her annoyance with his presence being made quite clear in her demeanor.

"Fine. Then what are we waiting for? Let us be on our way and get this over with." He chuckled a little nervously.

~Well, we don't have any easy way to travel there. It is a fair distance outside the city and my cart is currently full of coffins." She rolled her eyes. She quickly lowered the barrier between them, and disappeared in a column of silver smoke before he could make any sort of sound, forcing him to experience her way to travel--and her magic--for the first time.