Scythe Fanfiction With No Title

Chapter One

The sun beat down upon the resort occupants, and a gentle wind teased the palm trees. Anyone without at least a thin layer would burn, or at least would have had it been the Age of Mortality. Scythe Mulan walked through the gold and glass front doors of Palm Beach Resort. It was generally a nice place, with fair weather and fairer guests. A sleepy, relaxed air hung in the place. She strode towards the front desk, seemingly calm but showing intensity in her eyes. The man at the front desk visibly tensed, like most, afraid that he was selected for gleaning.

“Are Mr. and Mrs. Beneio guests here? I wish to speak with Mrs. Beneio.”

Mulan already knew where Susan Beneio was, but it seemed polite to ask.

The man let out a poorly restrained sigh of relief. “I-I believe they are out by the pool, Your Honor.”

“Thank you for your time,” she said, giving him a curt nod.

 The pool glinted out the glass back of the far door. Mulan turned and walked towards the door, the smell of pool chlorine already drifting through the air. She opened the door and was hit with the loud cries of children playing and parents laughing. Mulan smiled slightly until she remembered why she was here. A scythe should be stoic or at least show a form of sadness when gleaning. She scanned the area until she spotted the Beneio couple lounging beside the large pool. Mulan casually approached them. If she weren’t a scythe, she could’ve been any other pool goer. Around her eyes stared and when she walked by, released breaths they didn’t realize they were holding. The couple turned their heads slowly and the smiles melted slowly off their faces. Mulan came to a halt in front of the sitting couple.

“Susan Beneio, you have been selected for gleaning today.” Mulan gave the woman a moment to comprehend what she said. Susan’s mouth opened and closed. No sound came out. She finally spoke.

“I-I… okay. Okay. Just let me…” she took a deep, shaky breath. “Let me just… sort out some… things.”

“I was planning on letting you no matter what,” she said with a sympathetic smile. Light but there.

Susan took another deep breath. “My husband will sort out everything. Just let me call my mother.”

Mulan nodded, and Susan made a quick call. Afterward, she smiled tearfully.

“Okay, I’m… ready.”

“Alright. Like all my gleanings I will use a sword. Any specific way you would like?”

“No, no.”

Mulan nodded once again. She unsheathed a sword from her belt and readied it at an angle, straight towards Susan’s heart.

Susan turned around to look at her husband. “Honey….”

The bushes rustled. A gold blur shot from the hedges and rocketed into Susan’s husband, Alex, tackling him into the pool. Mulan dropped the sword, startled by the sudden movement. Susan screamed. Mulan lurched towards the churning water, which had become a seething mixture of limbs and the occasional flash of gold. Mulan sucked in a breath. It was another Scythe. Susan screamed her husband's name, reaching for the water. After a minute or so, the water stilled. Alex, Susan's husband, floated face down in the water. Dead. Drowned. Everyone watched in shocked silence as the Scythe responsible exited the water, his soaking mustard gold robe plastered to his well-defined body. The large scar on his face and carrot-orange hair allowed Mulan to recognize him.

“Scythe Alexander…” Mulan said, barely suppressing her anger. She had heard about this Scythe. A few years back at Conclave he had been questioned for his gleaning style. The High Blade decided it was fine after Alexander explained his reasoning. Alexander believed in 'natural death' - sudden and unexpected, no warning. Mulan was not sure if she agreed but she didn’t argue. Every Scythe was allowed to glean however they saw fit. As long as one’s way was not biased. Even so, Scythe Alexander the Great was eccentric. 

He smiled at her, making the scar that crossed his lips split. "Honorable Scythe Mulan. What a pleasure it is to see you he-"

“-hardly, Alexander,” she cut him off. Mulan’s temper was rising. It was the way he was acting so casually, even after just gleaning someone. Didn't he have any honor?

"Is there a problem?" Alexander asked, managing to look mildly hurt.

“How is there not a problem? You just gleaned, no, murdered that man with no sense of remorse.

"Technically, the water killed him. I just pushed him in. And held him down. And look, he hit me! My nose is bleeding!" he pointed to his nose, where a red trickle of blood was making its way down his face along the rivet of his scar.

"You deserve worse. You also caused the man’s family trouble considering I was here to glean his wife.”
6"Well, then it's a good thing I showed up. They can join each other in whatever the afterlife has in store for them," he said, trying to wring out his robe. He turned to Susan, who looked like she might already be dead. "Apologies, ma'am. Understand that in mortal times, there were an estimated 360,000 drowning deaths worldwide. Therefore, factoring in the one percent who are chosen for gleaning and the percentage death by drowning, your husband, unfortunately, fit the bill. I do do my research."

He snapped his fingers to call the pool attendant over and pointed at the floating body. "Hey, pool boy! Mind taking care of that?"

Alexander didn't wait for a response from the chalk-faced kid. "Good. Thank you."

Mulan scowled and turned to Susan, “I apologize, but I still have to glean you…”

"Allow me."

In the blink of an eye, Alexander snatched the hook-ended pool rod from the pool boy's hand, twirled it in the air and brought it down across the side of Susan's head. The poor woman fell with a dull crack, blood trickling from her head into the side of the pool.

Mulan whirled around at Alexander, fire in her eyes. "What was that?!" 

 The pool area started to clear as people left, trying to escape the scythes.

The golden-robed Scythe shrugged. "A gleaning. Well, it looks like I'm done here. I'd rather not walk around in wet robes all day, so-" he winked, "-see you around."

He began to saunter out the way Mulan had come in, not seeming to care about the terrified people scurrying away in his wake.

Mulan growled and turned to the pool boy, "Close off the pool." And with that, she headed out of the resort, terror still there.