Title: The Watcher
Category: Anime/Manga » Zombie-Loan
Author: Kitsanken, formerly known as Chiruken and/or Sandlewood996 and/or Kittsune
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: K+
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Published: 01-12-08, Updated: 01-12-08
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,088

And no, I didn't "Steal" this fic from "Sandlewood996"...I've merely begun transferring all of my other fics from my "Sandlewood996" account to this one in an attempt to keep everything together and no confuse myself any further. (I have a horrible memory and trying to remember passwords for multiple accounts is a real pain.

Zombie-Loan Fanfiction

ONE-SHOT

Zombie-Loan Peach-Pit Enix G-Fantasy Yen Press TV Asashi

All Fanfics created by Kitsanken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

A/N: This was originally written as a request by my "imouto-chan". Though it didn't turn out quite the way I'd envisioned it, I was still rather pleased with the results even if it is a tad on the ambiguous side.

The Watcher

by: Kitsanken

He'd seen her, the human with the Shinigami Eyes, Kita Michiru. He'd seen her with the two he had yet to Reap, the two lost souls under contract with the one called Ferryman, Akatsuki Chika and Tachibana Shito. It defied logic. How could a human maintain contact with the undead and not be adversely affected? Kita Michiru fascinated him. And so, he bided his time, waiting, watching, and when the Black Ring appeared around her neck he'd hesitated. Rather than performing his duty as he should, he'd remained in the shadows observing, strangely reluctant to raise his scythe and release her soul as he knew it must be done.

He'd stayed in the shadows, following, watching, listening. The woman with the Black Ring, the one Michiru referred to as "Sensei", had followed the path to damnation, allowing herself to be ruled by base desires. She spoke of strange and interesting things. Who was this person she claimed to have a contract with? Why would she believe that the Black Ring offered proof that she'd been freed? Freed of what? Her words made no sense. Instinct told him to Reap her immediately, and yet he hesitated. Michiru was in the way and his odd reluctance to perform his duty had only grown stronger as he'd followed her over the last several days. And so he'd remained unmoving, blending seamlessly into the darkness, eyes moving from one black ring to the next in uncharacteristic indecision.

Impatience rose as Michiru's undead companions fought against the female zombie and accomplished little more than to get themselves torn to shreds in the process. At the rate they were going, they'd be little more than pieces of animated corpses strewn around the room while the woman sated her gluttonous appetite on the only two living beings in the immediate area. His eyes narrowed in disgust at the pathetic scene before him. In the next instant, however, time seemed to stand still as she appeared before Michiru and the unconscious human. His hand clenched against the haft of his scythe as the illegal zombie's cleaver sliced through living flesh. It was the moment of truth. He could no longer afford to procrastinate. No matter how reluctant he was, he could no longer put it off. Kita Michiru's soul was preparing to depart her body and if he didn't release her as his duty dictated, she would be cursed just as her companions...just as the undead woman who's blade had sliced so deeply into her body.

Her laboured breaths sounded loud in the cavernous room, heard even above the sounds of battle taking place just beyond where she lay motionless in a pool of her own blood. Slipping through the shadows, he slowly made his way towards her, gaze flickering back and forth in an almost nervous gesture as the distance separating him from the curious human with the Shinigami Eyes diminished. He was nearly to her side when the battle abruptly ended. Freezing in place, he was aware of a Soul Guidance being performed, but all of his attention was focused intently on the dying life-force before him. Slowly, he began lifting the scythe, pausing to watch as her eyes filled with tears, overflowing and spilling. His focus shifted to the way her blood stood out in stark relief against her pale skin, her lips trembling as she fought a losing battle as she clung to life precariously. Again, his arm dropped to his side. Now was the time to release her soul...to continue to hesitate risked allowing another zombie to come into existence.

And then the moment was gone. The large doors opened and the Ferryman's subordinate entered, chattering in a disturbingly cheerful manner, considering the current situation. He watched as the one called Yuuta flitted from one client to another, seemingly overjoyed by their current battered state and various injuries. Tilting his head to the side, he contemplated the energetic assistant curiously. Male? Female? He blinked slowly, studying the androgynous form intently before tilting his head to the side in silent amusement before his attention returned, once again, to where Michiru lay as Yuuta approached her. He watched as the epicene office assistant cautiously approached the prone form, expression finally turning thoughtful and serious at the sight of the girl's grave injuries. He drew back further into the darkness as Bekko, the Ferryman, appeared. Eyes narrowing, he watched as the head of Z-Loan adjusted his glasses as he studied the dying girl.

He didn't like the sly look in the man's golden eyes as he informed his clients that the girl could be saved. His own eyes narrowed suspiciously. Did Bekko intend to place Michiru under contract? His hand clenched into a white knuckled fist as he gritted his teeth together to prevent giving his presence away to the Z-Loan representatives gathered before him. However, as he listened to the proposition he relaxed minutely. He was suspicious of Ferryman's motives. He was not known for his generosity, not that he wasn't fair, but he was, after all, a businessman. What he was proposing was virtually unheard of in his prior dealings.

Her tears struck him in a way he'd never experienced before. What was it about Kita Michiru that made him ignore the call of his duties? Was it the rarity of finding a human possessing the Shinigami Eyes? Was it the way she ignored the natural order and befriended beings that should have terrified her? What was it? Her plaintive cry of wanting to live echoed within his ears. He lowered his scythe and relaxed. There would be no Reaping this night. He was certain, though, that their paths would cross again. He found himself hoping that it would be soon...but under better circumstances. Then again, if she continued associating with individuals such as Akatsuki and Tachibana, it was inevitable. Though they were currently vulnerable and would be easy to Reap, he chose to allow them to escape their Fate for one more night.

Owari

Author's Notes: Sadly, after transferring my fics to my other account, I will lose all reviews. T_T

Because of this, I wish to thank everyone who left a comment under my other account (Sandlewood996):

jayanx jayanx

Mie

DestinyxEternal

vines-throughXfate

The Anonymous Authoress

Asurahaya020

just-a-noob

MikariStar

4K-san

Thank you ever so much for reading and taking the time to leave a review.