Grell's Cup of Tea
Chapter II
Where there's a Will, there's a way

After finally managing to dress up in my full, fabulous attire, I use the balcony instead of the door, as usual. Living up to my expectations, William is patiently waiting for me, balancing on a chimney with elegant grace. As we are skipping across the delicate tiles of the rooftops, I'm not going on full speed. On the rare occasions that I'm assigned to work with William, I usually run as quickly as I can, in immeasurable bliss. I could lie to myself and say that I was saving my energy for the actual execution of our contract, but I can't afford to be such a fraud. In reality, I'm holding back because I want to be able to see him. Our sole being feels fragile at this moment; there's a certain, faint sensation of danger in the air. I probably shouldn't act on it, since William would deem my doubts as forsaking our mission. Still and all I rarely get to work by his side, so for now I'll just keep these feelings to myself and trust my professional instinct. Being this slow will most certainly arouse some suspicion on William's part. I ought to speed up and seem like I'm eagerly waiting for the sadistic thrill of our soon-to-be reaping, that feels like a personal honeymoon to the la-la land of gruesome euphoria. As being heedful is definitely not one of my virtues, my foot decides to come down the wrong way and I tumble towards the edge. How my heart feels unburdened in this state of falling. It is at peace, after a long time of doubtful misery. I can still hear the sound of the frail roof tile sliding out of place after the sheer pressure of my heel cracked it in two. Reluctantly my fragile body comes closer to the gloomy pavement, even though I easily could have regained my balance instantly. I've put all my faith on William. He must be rushing to save me even at this very moment. I am the helpless maiden, a damsel in distress and he is the cavalier of my dreams, my determined savior. Any second now, I'll feel his sturdy arms embrace me. To my surprise, the only embrace I feel is the tough, frigid walkway as my back slams against it.

It has all been in vain. I've tried to be careful, but my reckless nature has cost me. The damage has already been done and there's nothing I can do about it anymore. I can barely move as displeasing waves of revulsion grasp my body. I use my sheer willpower to rise, even though I can clearly feel that it has snapped in two. These shoes are brand new and professionally tailored and one of the heels is broken already? I can't believe I have to go shoe shopping again. Letting out a cry of despair I break off the other one as well. What would William say if he was me looking asymmetrical? Speaking of the shinigami, I can vaguely see him still skipping on in the sphere of my vision. I guess he didn't hear my stumble, since he obviously would've saved me if he did. It takes me a while to get in the habit of walking in flats, but I adapt to it easily enough. This neighbourhood seems strange. The further I walk, the more it gives me a feeling of discourage. My nerves must be playing  tricks. After all, I didn't have my morning coffee. Suddenly it occurs to me that our contract is near. I can feel it in my gut. William has most likely established eye contact a long while ago. The feeling of inescapable peril grows within me. I need to catch up with him. My mind has wrapped all around this predicament but I can't seem to decipher it. There's nothing dangerous in reaping missions. Doing this is a very wanted position amongst us death reapers. It's a normal everyday job. I have to empty my mind, be calm and concentrate on William and our target. They're both right around the next corner. But before I can make it, I see something that I've never seen before in the scenery of a reaping.

Everybody knows that I like to be extravagant when fulfilling the tasks that I'm given. However, I do respect the routine of being discreet. What I'm witnessing before me is completely unthought-of and absurd. Masses of people are running in fright. Panic should never accumulate this suddenly. I slip my way through the crowd and am filled with disgust when I step on a deformed figure that was trampled by the constant flow of people. To be honest, I'm not so sure if it was a cringe of revulsion, rather than a twitch of enjoyment. It's difficult to move forward, so I decide to change my manner of movement. Rooftops are much more versatile and accessible. I skip around until I detect the origin of all this chaos. Countless strands of cinematic records, flailing helplessly all round the town. They all seem to cluster towards one certain area. I have a feeling that our contract has something to do with this. I have to find out what's happening, what caused this whole incident and what I can do to stop this. And most importantly, where the hell is Will?