Hearing the manager's gruff voice, Tessan grinned, somewhat menacingly, and walked through the open door. She held the bucket above her head, making it visible, and slowly walked into the room, taking every measure not to slip on her way. Throwing the water out of the bucket, it splashed directly all over the manager, visibly soaking him. As she saw this, Tessan started into a maniacle giggle, which sounded fairly creepy and echoed in the room.

'Oh, yeah. That's Shozii.' He rolled his eyes, these constant reminders of death were getting to be a bit much for him. He was still a bit shocked that he would appear so suddenly where he hadn't expected, but now he was more irritated than anything else. "As if he didn't already know the answer to that question," Brodie said under his breath as he slid down in his seat and glared straight ahead.

A few students started to raise their hands, but slowly brought it down or pretended to scratch the back of their head when they looked to Brodie. Those who could see his face were surprised to see anything besides an expressionless face. A couple tense seconds passed until one girl near the front of the class spoke up. "Um, Mr. Marez?" Brodie didn't look at her, he didn't have to, he could hear the awkward sympathy in her voice, "I'm not sure that's the best question 'cause...well, Terry's brother.." she looked over at Brodie.

She didn't even know his name, but she knew of his brother, which was enough for her.

"What the hell!?" the manager boomed, standing up and glaring about the room.

"I swear Boss, I have no idea what just happened!" the employee exclaimed, standing and looking around the room with wide, fearful eyes. "Boss... I think this place is haunted..."

"Nonsense! There's no such thing as a ghost! It's most likely that worthless little git!"

"But Boss," he protested, pointing to one of the monitors off to the side wall. "He's been in the back room this entire time. He couldn't have..."

"Actually, talking about death is one of the best ways to cope with it. Those who remain silent generally end up hurting themselves and the people around them. It's an appropriate and relevant subject," he replied, fixing her with his cold, brightly colored eyes.

"Now, enough with this pretending not to raise your hand. When I ask you a question, you will respond by putting your hand straight into the air and it will remain there until either you've been called on or the discussion has moved on. Do you understand me?" he asked firmly. The class nodded their heads, somewhat unnerved.

"You will now answer my question. Which of you have lost an immediate family member in your lifetime that you can remember?"

One girl in the second row bit her lip and raised her hand up as the class had been instructed to. "I did..." she said quietly.

"Oh? When did they die, who were they to you, and how did they die?" he asked her, moving to the front of the desk and sitting down on it.

"M-my mother died three days ago," she said, barely above a whisper. "She died of a stroke."

Shozii gave a small, sympathetic nod in the girl's direction. "I'm sorry for your loss. Would you like to go speak with the counselor?"

"No. I want to be here," she said, looking up to meet his eyes. "It...actually felt good to say it... I know she won't come back, but I've just been lying to myself that she's just gone and will come home soon. It hurts to walk through the halls holding on to that..."

He gave another nod towards her. "Hopefully this will help any of you cope with a death in the family. Would you like to continue talking about it, or would you like me to call on someone else?"

"Call on someone else. But... Could I please see you after class?" she asked hopefully. Unable to understand it, she found Shozii oddly comforting to talk to.

"Of course. Anyone can come and see me after class if they want - or need - someone to talk to about this." His eyes scanned the room again. "Alright, who's next?"

A girl in the back of the class raised her hand.

"Yes?" Shozii asked, calling on her.

"I don't know if it really counts... He's not dead yet, but he'll be dead soon. My father has a fast growing tumor next to his brain stem. It was diagnosed two months ago, and back then they said he wouldn't make it to the summer..."

"If you'd like to talk about that, then you may. As you'll be dealing with death soon, I believe it still counts," Shozii replied with a nod to her. "You can continue."

Tessan let her giggle fade away, then said, "Silly human." Making herself partly visible, but see through. "If you do not smarten up with all of your employees and customers, I will really come for you," she said, making herself invisible, slowly, so it looked like she was fading away, and started her maniacle giggle again.

Brodie's eyes only followed the girl for a second as she sat down. 'Darn.' He could usually depend on those kind of people to do the talking for him. He probably should have counted on Shozii not allowing something like that. Giving Shozii the most defiant look he could, Brodie didn't move, keeping his arms loosely on his desk.

The first girl's answer made Brodie flinch. His defiant expression left instantly as he looked directly at the girl. As the next person was beginning to talk, she looked back at him, their eyes caught each other. Her expression was a sad one, it pleaded with him to talk. He somehow tore his eyes away and back to Shozii, his hand now drumming softly on the desk as if it wanted to rise as well.

He listened to the few more answers that the students gave. For some it was a few months ago, a few years. By the third both his hands were clasped tightly in his lap. It was only a few more until there weren't any more hands up. With a low, rattling breath, Brodie rose his hand. Now he was staring at his desk instead of Shozii.

"Yes?" he asked, his eyes falling on Brodie. "I wasn't sure if you'd answer this, even though you can't really claim you haven't experienced it."

Brodie let his hand fall back down to his desk. "Right," he said quietly before he started. "Well....two weeks ago, Terry..." he started tapping on his desk out of anxiousness, "My brother, he..." Brodie stopped to look up at the man. He hadn't realized until now how hard just saying it could be, he really hadn't said it out loud since it happened. He sat up straighter, making his hand sit quietly, "He died," he said simply and waited for Shozii to respond.

"Well, as we already know who he was and how long ago, maybe you'd like to tell us how he died?"

"Well," Brodie continued, he was talking now more to Shozii than to the rest of the people in the class, "He got hit by a car. The guy didn't notice the red light or my brother. Major head trauma, he died at the scene of the accident."

"As a good amount of people die from head trauma immediately. The only way that someone can survive severe head trauma is if someone of outstanding medical talent can get to them in time and has the proper tools to save them. Although the human mind can be a very powerful thing, the brain it resides in is very fragile."

His eyes moved about the room again. "Alright, new question: Name the three most vulnerable parts of the human body in which an injury to these can easily lead to death."

The sudden change in subject slightly confused some students. Rather than exchange looks, several hands went up- mostly because they were a bit afraid to keep Mr. Marez waiting when they knew the answer.

He wouldn't say it to Shozii, but Brodie did feel better now that he'd started talking in class again. He raised his hand as well, even if he wasn't completely sure he knew the answer.

His eyes searched the room and fell back on Brodie. "As he finished the last discussion, I'll let him start this one," he said, nodding towards the boy. "Mr. Fisher?"

"You just said that the brain was really vulnerable," Brodie held up one finger, "then, the heart sounds pretty darn important, and..." another finger, and here Brodie reasoned between the kidney or the lungs since the two seemed like they did a lot. "The lungs?"

It was quite strange, this whole talking thing. Almost as if he were the same as he'd always been.

"The lungs are very important, but there are two of them whereas there's only one brain and one heart. You can live with only one lung, though you won't thrive like you would with two." Orange eyes scanned over the faces in the classroom again, falling on a boy near the door.

"You?"

The boy put his arm down and looked Shozii in the eyes. "The spleen?" he asked, dead serious and thinking that it was a very good answer. Several students exchanged confused looks, while a few of the more intelligent ones giggled and snickered.

"What!? Shut up! The spleen is important too!" the boy protested, flushing angrily.

"Mr. Thomas, do you know where the spleen is located?" Shozii asked, tilting his head in mild amusement.

The boy looked confused for a moment, before slowly putting his hand above his right hip.

"Wrong, Mr. Thomas," Shozii replied, placing his right hand against the side of his ribs a couple inches below his underarm. "This is where the spleen is, Mr. Thomas. While if the spleen is injured and bleeding it can be deadly, you can live without one should it be removed."

The boy's face turned scarlet and he hung his head, staring wide-eyed down at his desk.

Shozii dropped his hand to his side and looked over the class again. "Anyone else?" he asked.

A girl raised her hand, a confident look on her face.

"Yes, you?"

"The intestines," she answered firmly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because in the past, warriors used to kill others by thrusting a blade through them and pulling it back out quickly. They usually died very fast."

"And where did you learn this?"

She flushed slightly, looking down at her desk. "I saw it once on an episode of Xena, Warrior Princess..." she answered quietly. The half of the class that remembered the old television show or had seen reruns began laughing.

"Hm. Well, there's some truth to that. But you might want to examine the facts rather than just take a science fiction fantasy show's word for it," Shozii replied, rolling his eyes just slightly.

As Adalia sat on the nearby pile of blankets she took out her list for a moment. Two names in particular stood out to her: 'Kayaray Ishtar and Itami Ishtar...they must be brother and sister then.' she concluded from how they interacted with each other. 'Dependent on each other for life.'

Adalia put a hand to her head, as if these actions somehow stirred something within her. Her thoughts went again to the dream she couldn't remember, as if somehow this situation was similar to it. She shook her head, as if somehow feeling that this action would clear her mind.

The reaper stood up and walked closer to the pair, her eyes drawn to the older brother. As the time passed she could see him breaking, his life clearly dependent on her well being. Adalia had to wonder, 'If his sister means this much to him will her death be his undoing as well?'

Crouching down, the reaper took out her pocket watch counting the seconds until Kayaray Ishtar breathed her last breath.

---

Elizabeth started straight for her classroom after her meeting with Brodie. While she kept her eyes to the ground, no one could see how they began to tear up. Her pace quickened, but she was visibly unstable, even more unbalanced then usual. When she made it to her class she went straight to her desk, not looking at anyone else in the class.

'What an idiot! An idiot!' she cursed herself. 'Of course I knew, I knew it wasn't Terry. Heck, I'd even seen him talking to him. Brodie Fisher. When I heard Terry speak his name, I knew his brother was important to him. I'd never forget his name. And then like an idiot. I. I. Hurt him. I hurt the one that Terry cared for.'

As the teacher walked into the room, he had a very solemn look on his face. "As you all know, your classmate--our good friend, Terrance Fisher--Terry has--" he paused for a moment to wipe a tear from his eye. "Well...he's no longer with us. I know many, if not all of you are still in grievance over this. Well we recieved word from his parents that his funeral will be this sunday at..."

Sunday...that the day when I'll say goodbye.

Itami held his sister in his arms, his jaw resting on the top of her head. He was trembling, feeling the presence of death in the room. Slowly, Kay's breaths became more shallow, her eyes fluttering closed as she lost consciousness. A few moments later, and her chest had stopped moving with her struggled breaths.

"Kay..." he whispered, looking down at her lifeless body. Tears welling up in his emerald green eyes. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head, clinging to her as though it might possibly change something; though he knew it wouldn't.

"Ita...?" she asked softly, though her brother couldn't see her anymore. Kay's eyes widened when she realized her body was still in Itami's arms. "ITA!!!!" she screamed, rushing towards him. "Ita! Let go, I'm here now, not in your arms! Let go of my body and hold me! Ita! I'm here!" she sobbed, pulling on her brother's arm, but he didn't notice her.

Amani sighed and stood up fully in the back room, staring off at the wall for a moment. "Fuck this," he muttered, tossing his work things to the floor and walking out. He headed back to the employee's locker room and grabbed his backpack and helmet. "If you want a ride, Tessan, then you better hurry," he called, stepping out into the alley where his motorcycle was parked.

The second the pocket watch closed, it happened.

"Ita...?" came the voice of the lifeless Kay.

Adalia waited for it. The moment when they realized it. And then:

"ITA!!!!" Kay's spirit screamed, rushing toward her brother. "Ita! Let go, I'm here now, not in your arms! Let go of my body and hold me! Ita! I'm here!" she sobbed, pulling on her brother's arm, but of course Itami did not see her.

'Why do I always have to deal with this?' the reaper asked herself as she stood herself up. Tapping gently on the girl's shoulder she tried to get Kay's attention.
"Excuse me! Yes, hi. I think you've realized this by now, but with your death it is now time to leave this world. I'm here to escort you."

Sticking her tongue out at the manager, though he couldn't see it, she ran to the locker room and into the alley. "What do you mean, 'if you want a ride'? You wouldn't leave me here with that stupid man would you?" she asked, standing beside the bike, still hidden by the shadows.

She attempted to push Adalia away, struggling to get her brother's attention. "Don't you come near me!" she screamed, pulling at Itami's arm again. "Ita! Please look at me! Ita!!"

"I tried," he said softly, loosening his grip on his dead sister. He slowly stood up, lowering her body the rest o the way onto the bed and pulling the blankets up to her neck so it looked like she was only sleeping.

He placed his hand on the corner of the bed, vines beginning to grow out of it and over Kay's body, forming a protective layer over her, her body now just barely visible underneath them. Small toxic purple flowers budded all over the vines and bloomed.

Kay's eyes opened wide in spirit, shocked. "He...hasn't used his powers since I was young... Why...? Why now, Ita?" she whispered in amazement.

Itami pulled his hand from the vines and gently caressed Kay's cheek, then turned to leave the apartment. He picked up the key from the tiny, rickety table next to the door and he went out into the hallway, pulling the door shut and locking it behind him. He couldn't afford a casket or a funeral, so he'd have to find some place to bury her. Cremation was out of the question; she wouldn't be reborn if her body was reduced to ash.

"I would if you didn't follow. It's not like he can do anything to you. And if I stay her any longer I think I might just hit someone. He held the helmet out towards her. "Are you coming with me or not?"

Making a huffing sound under her breath, she took the helmet and said, "Well, I'm not going to go around reaping souls all day, so ya, I'm coming with you. Did you not know it would be this bad when you got the job?"

"He wasn't the original owner," he said, pulling out his goggles then holding his bag out towards her as well. "And I can't take both you and the bag," he reminded her. "Where do you want to go?"

Taking the backpack, Tessan threw it on her shoulders, half wondering what was in there. "Oh...so you just didn't bother to try and find a new job yet?" she asked, in the process of thinking of somewhere to go. "I dunno, really. Wherever you want to go is fine, I guess."

"I've been looking for a new job for weeks, thanks for assuming," he muttered, pulling on his goggles and mounting the bike. He turned it on and waited for her to climb on behind him. He wondered if he showed up early for his next job if he could somehow manage to get paid a little for overtime.

Shaking his head a little, he decided against it. He'd head over to Andrew's to visit Zaitsu and see how he was doing. Possibly head back home after that before he was due at his second job of the day.

Tessan stuck her tongue out at him, putting the helmet on her head and jumping on the back. "I didn't mean to make it seem like you were lazy or something, just that you decided to stay here for awhile before looking for a new one..." she said, pouting a little.

"I've been looking for a job to replace this one for weeks. I just didn't want to quit until I had another job in it's place," he sighed, turning the bike around and speeding out of the alley and back the way they'd come. After nearing his apartment building, he bolted past it and deeper into the city towards Andrew's apartment building.

"Do you have anywhere to live?" he asked her as he came to a stop at a red light.