"How did your written exam go?"

"Wonderful! I got an A average!"

"I expected as much my dear."

"My test is in a month... could you train me?"

A wide smile graced his features and he nodded. "I would be honored..."

*~...

Silent tears dripped over her eyes, onto the body of the child. She turned her head as the other reaper bludgeoned him through the stomach; small patters of blood collected across her cheek.

"I always knew there was a reason only men got accepted into the program..." The man muttered passive-aggressively.

She sucked in air through her teeth and stood quickly, her weapon that was previously on her lap clattered to the floor. He turned his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She almost hit him, but stopped when she saw the sight behind him. By this point her tears had stopped completely, and the feeling of pity for any creature had been lost.

So when the strips of film started flowing out of the stomach wound of the child they were reaping, tying up the unprepared reaper trainee, she watched him struggle and cry out.

"Don't just stand there! Help me!"

She tilted her head and sighed. "I would, but I am a woman. And only men get accepted in the program..."

*~...

"The first woman reaper... You will forever go down in the history books."

A small protest could be heard from the back of the crowd by a red head, stating they were the first woman.

"State your full name. You can change it if you'd like, but this is the name you will live with forever."

She opened her mouth to give her usual response, but stopped. I could be someone else... "...Ethel... Ethel Crevan..."

*~...

"I've got to say kid, you're good. I might just ask William to make us partners! Us ladies have to stick together."

She looked up in surprise. She hadn't realized anyone else was in the training room with her. "Oh… Thank you, Grell. I would be honored to be your partner." She wasn't lying. Out of all the reapers, her and Grell were the two who everyone else underestimated, and didn't take seriously.

"It's settled then. Grell and Ethel! The first woman reaper team!"

She shook her hand and gave a small smile. "Sutcliff and Crevan. The only woman reaper team."

*~...

"Let me see it! Let me see it!" Grell jumped up and down as she opened the long black box that held her reaper weapon.

"Alright!" She took a deep breath and only hoped she didn't get something bad. She saw someone who was forced to carry around a shovel as their reaper weapon, and they practically had to bludgeon the cinematic records out of people.

She pulled out the sleek pitch black swords, stunned to silence at the craftsmanship. They fit her perfectly, and were amazingly light. If you looked close enough, you could see the small barbed vines wrapping around the piece, making every angle deadly as the next.

"They... are... PERFECT! They are just so you!"

And she knew, Grell was right.

*~...

"Did they... Did they, um..."

"They passed away in their sleep. It was very peaceful. They lived a full life, and knew you were happy."

She nodded biting her lip, looking at the ceiling trying to blink away the tears.

"He had two sons and a daughter. They are all married and wealthy with children."

She smiled and wiped away a stray drop. "Good."

*~...

"We've asked you in for an important reason. As you know, the number one enemy of a reaper is a demon." She nodded and kept silent. "They interfere with the soul collecting, making it practically impossible for us to decide where their soul belongs. That's where you come in. Your reaper scythe is very important. It also works as a demon sword." She sucked in a sharp breath out of surprise, staring at him wide eyed. "It has only happened once before. This is why we need you. You will be assigned not just to your dispatch, but everywhere a demon is involved in a death. Do you accept?"

"... On my honor. As long as Grell can come along with me." Grell had been there for her since the beginning. No matter how much trouble they got in, they were always there for each other.

The man groaned and rolled his eyes. "Very well. That flamboyant idiot can assist you in your work." She pursed her lips and fought to hold back a glare. The decisive nod was short and curt, she turned on her heel after and left, going to tell Grell the good news.

*~...

January 16th, 1944

I killed my first demon today... It was a rush I've never felt before.

I knew him.

It was one of those purple haired triplets I once saw at the Trancy estate...

I felt powerful. Like I could do anything.

I am no longer who I used to be. Now I am Ethel Beth Crevan. Death God. Demon hunter...

*~...

Her long curly strawberry blonde hair whipped in the wind, blowing across her face. The glasses that had worn golden roses with black thorns curling around the lenses complimented her golden doe eyes.

She was wearing a strapless off white corset with flowy, floor length skirt. It didn't seem very practical, but in the folds of the skirt, two ingeniously placed pockets, invisible to even the trained eye, held the weapons that turned her from an angelic sight, to a ferocious beauty. The two beautiful swords, made so delicately as anyone other than her could not wield them.

Like her glasses, the woman had black thorns crawling up both her arms, one vine branching out and ending in an elegant swirling pattern-golden roses at the end of each stem-on her shoulder, the other sliding around her neck like a choker, also baring the flowers. Under the vines on her neck, a pendant was permanently trapped between her skin, and the thorns. It was a dark golden chain, with a simple blood red gem that fell right under the bodice. The vines could be taken for tattoos, and that's what everyone did take them for.

She sat on the top of a building, the sound of car horns bellow as she swung her legs at the night sky.

"Two more minutes. You ready girly?"

She looked over at her partner and gave a small smile, appreciating her appearance. She had changed dramatically since they first started working together. Her hair was now a cute bob, and the color of blood; a very dark red. And, probably the most prominent change was the mounds on her chest. Yes, after the world changed enough to be accepting towards her, and technology advanced enough to help her transition, she got the surgery the second she could. She was honestly beautiful (it's not like she wasn't beautiful before, but now the world can recognize it), but still the same old Grell.

"When am I not ready?"

"Alright, get ready for a fight; it's just down this alley..."

*~...

Demons may be fast, but she was faster. They may be cunning, but she was clever enough to outwit them every time.

The only thing she didn't excel in was strength. She was definitely strong for a reaper woman; as anyone could notice the time she spends at the training center by her toned muscles. But a demon was a creature of instinct. What they lack in understanding and wits, they made up for in brute force.

She studied their habits for years; the patterns of the different species were child's play to her. She could name off the noble status of the demon kinds like the ABC's.

The demons monarchy was a complicated thing. The longer you lived as a demon, the higher your status in the underworld. And also, the more powerful they are.

The older demons never got caught feeding on innocent pray though. They were the ones that made contracts, and didn't have to feed for decades at a time.

If she wanted to kill the demons, she had to be fast. Instead of taunting them, she just simply slit their throat without a sound, weakening them, making them unable to call for help. Then she had to stab them through the heart. If it wasn't the heart, they came back to life.

"Grell, I'll take out the demons, while you deal with reaping the soul. We don't need any improvisations like last time. Your idea was lovely, but the idea that you would be able to seduce them to death was poorly thought out."

Grell just coughed out a laugh and looked over the edge of the building to hide her sheepish look. Her gaze fell upon the alleyway below where two demons seemed to have found a midnight snack. She nudged her and nodded her head towards them.

She gave a look that said, "Let's hurry up. I really don't want overtime," and they jumped.

It's a reaper thing.