“There was a massive bus accident on Marlow bridge today with a pile-up behind it. Emergency responders reported 30 deaths so far—“ Benimaru exclaimed, “That’s terrible.” Tetsuya groaned, “Charlie’s going to be working late.” “Are you not more bothered about the dead people?” Aaron asked, incredulous. “I mean, yeah, it’s sad. The extent of the work required to process such an accident—“ “That’s enough, Tetsuya. I’m sure Charlie doesn’t want you bothering Beni and Aaron with the details of her job,” Tenseiga warned with his usual smile as he served snacks. “Why don’t you all ever talk about what Charlie does for a living?” Benimaru couldn’t take his eyes off the screen as he asked. “Or any of you for that matter,” Aaron muttered, “I understand you all work for the government somehow, but what exactly do you do?” “Well, I would be her- counselor,” Tenseiga noted. “Bodyguard,” Tetsuya said. “How much do you get paid for that?” Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Paid?” “Yeah, how much money do you make? Are you sure you’re just her counselor?” “Well, that’s the best answer I have. Oh! I think Benimaru’s favorite show is on!” Tenseiga changed the channel. — Charlie walked through the accident with ease. She separates from the corporeal realm when reaping. Only the dead or those near death can see her. Her scythe was glowing as the souls of the dead were collecting within it. The ones that were dead were easy. It’s the ones who are clinging to life that are the most difficult to discern, even for death herself. Unfortunately for those, she has to wait them out. The grim reaper doesn’t determine who lives or dies. She waits until the soul loses its last connection to the body. This rule can be pretty sad because there are many teetering on the edge who are begging for death. She can hear them call out to her in the night when she forgets her medication, which helps her sleep through it as best as one can. Unfortunately, she has limits. The souls of those trapped in an expired body, forced to continue living in suffering, are particularly loud. At least until the mortal doctors have done all they can, or they finish burning alive, drowning, or bleeding out on a mountain due to a failed hiking trip. On more than one occasion, she’s had people near death beg her to take them because their families would be better off drawing their life insurance than having them alive. Since she’s had to watch over Benimaru, she doesn’t spend as much time waiting on them as they wait for her. It’s usually okay because the most dangerous souls are flagged to be on high alert as the body prepares for death. Massive accidents like this take a long time to process because if the person is not set to die yet, the souls of their descendants have to be reprocessed and put into a different person’s queue. This process is how some people have multiple children at once, descendant reprocessing. As she was walking, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. “Charlie,” the voice coughed, “what are you doing here?” “Mom!” Charlie got on her hands and knees near her little Toyota. Maki was pinned underneath the burning vehicle, “Mom! You’re not supposed to be able to see me. No, no, you can’t be seeing me right now!” “Charlie,” Maki said weakly, “I always see you. I don’t understand. Why are you here? What are you doing?” Charlie indicated the scythe she threw down to get to her, “Mom, if you can see me in this state, it means if someone doesn’t find you soon, you’ll die. I’ll have to collect your soul, too. No…. You know what, I’ll help you! It’s against the rules, but you’re too precious to me— to all of us to leave you here like this.” Charlie assumed her corporeal form, which caused her scythe to disappear. Charlie coughed as the smell of burning flesh and rubber stung at her nose and lungs. She flung the car off of Maki and picked her up very carefully. Maki hissed with pain. “I know it hurts, mom. I think your legs are broken,” Charlie said, tears in her eyes, “hold on for me, okay? I’ll get you to the medics.” “Charlie?” “Listen, mom, I know this is weird, and you’ll probably think I’m a freak or some kind of demon if you remember all this, but I don’t care. Fuck the rules and my complex. I’m getting you out.” “That’s not what I was going to say at all,” Maki thought as she lost consciousness. Charlie weaved around through the carnage. She finally made it out to the medics. “Help! Please, help!” Charlie dashed over to the ambulance. The EMTs assessed Maki. “We need to get her to intensive care right away. Miss, we need to check you, too,” the EMT went to assess Charlie. “No! I’m fine, just get her out of here. Her name is Maki Chiba-Obsidian,” Charlie told the medic and handed him a copy of her father's contact information. “This is all well and good, but you look—“ When the EMT looked up from his notes, she was gone. — “There is no word on how many more people are still trapped in the pile-up as emergency responders— wait! Who is that?” the news came on the TV over Benimaru’s favorite show. The cameraman in the helicopter zoomed in on a figure stumbling out of the flames carrying something. “Amazing! Two more survivors!” “Wait a minute, that looks like—“ Aaron began. “Mom? Mom!” Benimaru jumped up, knocking the snacks over. “Is that Charlie carrying her?” Aaron looked closely. There was no audio as Charlie handed Maki off to the EMTs and provided the information. The next moment, she was gone. “The young woman who carried out the survivor somehow vanished? Was that a spirit that carried her out? Well, whatever it was, someone may go home to their family after treatment at the hospital.” “Damn it, Charlie,” Tetsuya said under his voice, “they all saw her, but her back was mostly to the camera, so no one may figure out it’s her.” “You must have lost your damn mind today, Tetsuya. Shut your damn mouth,” Tenseiga hissed. “What? What happened to her?” Benimaru was frantic, “Please, Tensei?” “Let’s just worry about getting to your mom, okay?” Tenseiga pats him on the head, “I'm sure Sam will know where she is. I’ll give him a call. Sit tight, okay?” Benimaru plopped back down on the couch, shaking. Aaron held him close to console him. Tenseiga stepped into the dining room, “I'm sure you’re already apprised off what happened on TV just now.” “I know, and the hospital also just called me to let me know where Maki was,” Sam said solemnly. “Do you want me to wipe the boys’ memories?” Tenseiga asked. “No, Charlie will figure out what to say once she’s done collecting and processing the other souls.” “You two sure do love making exceptions for these three.” “Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same thing if it were Beni or Aaron,” Sam reprimanded. Tenseiga was quiet. Sam was right. He would have bent the rules for them too. “Anyway, I need to see to my wife. Tell everyone we are at Vermillion Memorial,” Sam disconnected the line. Tenseiga sighed and loaded everyone into the car. — “Mom! Are you okay?” Benimaru burst into the hospital room, much to the chagrin of the desk nurse. “Oh, Beni! I’m fine,” Maki smiled, “I mean, both of my legs are broken, and I have a concussion, but I’m fine. Thanks to Charlie.” Benimaru held her and wept, “I’m so glad you’re okay.” “Where’s Charlie?” Maki asked. Sam stammered, “She has some business to take care of, but I’m sure she will be by later.” “I hope she was okay. She seemed catatonic when I noticed her. Then she got frantic, telling me that I shouldn’t be able to see her,” Maki mumbled, trying to recollect what happened before she lost consciousness. “I’m sure it was someone else,” Sam tried to save the situation. “She said, the only way that I would be seeing her in that state is if I was dying,” Maki continued, “and that she was breaking the rules by saving me?” “Mom, I think that concussion may have you confused. Charlie wouldn’t say stuff like that,” Benimaru shook his head. “Perhaps you’re right, son. I’m just glad I'm alive.” “Me too,” Sam and Beni said at the same time. — Charlie sorted the souls to the part of the afterlife they belonged. As usual, those doomed to eternal damnation begged and pleaded for a second chance. There were no second chances once you took your last breath, at least not at the life you had before. Even then, only those in the neutral afterlife got those chances at reincarnation to be more decisive while they were alive. It didn’t take too long to sort the descendant souls. Most of them had already been born and weren’t on the bridge. She began to feel sick. “I overdid it, and now I’m suffering the consequences, but uncle Mal is still spooked,” Charlie wretched, “It was a simple job I could have done on my own.” When she finally stepped out of the void, she still smelled like smoke and flesh, and her clothes were dirty. She felt sick from the smell and also the switching back and forth. The problem isn’t the switching itself as she had to store her scythe in her spirit, which was already over half full with them. Vertigo from that lasts for days. “Charlie? Is that you?” Benimaru called out. He bounded around the corner into the foyer and hugged her. “Oh my gosh, are you okay? It’s been five days, and you’re still in the clothes you were wearing at the accident site!” “The— accident site,” Charlie muttered, “five days?” “Trying to reap souls, save your stepmother, and keep me in? Bet you feel like hammered shit losing track of time!” the chaos taunted. She had to take a piece of it from Mal to do the job a little easier, but some of the parts of Mal are nasty and cruel. Charlie grabbed her face, “Stop it, just be silent.” Benimaru lifted her face to look at her. She was pale, her eyes sullen as if she hadn’t slept in all that time, and— a kind of hysterical look in them with a tinge of fear. “Charlie, what’s going on?” “Yes, tell your mortal brother that you’re a freak half goddess who can barely keep her shit together.” “I’m not a freak. I’m not,” Charlie argued out loud. “No one said you were?” Benimaru was confused. “Now he just thinks you’re crazy. Crazy freak bitch half goddess,” the piece laughed. “Shut up! I’m not crazy!” Charlie grabbed her head. “Charlie?” Benimaru steered her to the couch. “I’m not crazy.” “I know you’re not,” he said, sitting her down. She gulped, shivering. “He’s lying to you, you know. They all lie to you. Telling you how great you are, but you’re still that scared little brat whose body I possessed.” “Stop it,” Charlie pleaded. Benimaru held Charlie stroking her hair, “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s going to be okay.” The front door burst open as Tenseiga shouted, “We’re home!” “Jesus, what’s that smell?” Tetsuya held his nose. Tenseiga could feel the anxiety in the air, “Beni?” “We’re here! In the living room,” Benimaru called out to him. “We?” It hit Tetsuya like a ton of bricks as he dashed through the door into the living room. He kneeled in front of Charlie, tilting her face to him. He could see the fragment taunting and tormenting her. “Let’s get your meds and get you cleaned up, okay?” Tetsuya said, helping her up and guiding her towards the stairs. “Don’t worry, Beni! She will be okay,” Tenseiga tried to reassure him. — Once she was asleep, Tetsuya snuck out of the room to play ball. There was nothing he could do about the fragment. He would just have to help her to the basement when she felt better. He was dribbling and shooting. “You know, it’s interesting how this is where we come to clear our heads,” Aaron approached. “Yeah,” Tetsuya said, passing him the ball. Neither of them felt like talking it out, so they played ball until they were exhausted. — Aaron sat at the dining room table, trying to rehydrate before hitting the shower. “You seem to have a lot on your mind,” Tenseiga sat at the table with his cup of tea. “Yeah…you seem to understand Beni better than I do in some ways.” “I guess, but you’ve known him for a lot longer!” “That’s what’s bugging me. I know a lot has happened since we got here, but...” Aaron figured he would bookmark all that to unpack in a different conversation. He was more concerned that he was having a harder time understanding what Benimaru was thinking. Benimaru had been through a lot between the current situation, Chad making passes at him, and whatever it was that happened at the party. Still, he’s always been open with Aaron— about everything, which may not be fair because Aaron hasn’t talked much about the darker side of his past. Lately, it just felt like they were drifting farther and farther apart. “Well, why don’t you ask Benimaru directly?” Tenseiga suggested. Aaron stared at Tenseiga. “Oh yeah. I forgot who we were talking about. He will tell you whatever it is on his own time. Just make sure he knows your door will always be open.” “Thanks, Tensei,” Aaron held his hand up for a fist bump. “No problem,” Tenseiga hesitated at first, then returned his fist bump. “Such a strange show of affection…” — Tetsuya got cleaned up and crawled into bed. He stroked Charlie’s hair, assuming she was asleep. “Tetsu, I think I should go home,” Charlie said, causing him to jump. “You are home?” Tetsuya was confused. “No, home,” she pointed downward. Tetsuya knew she was mortified Benimaru saw her when she was about to lose it. Charlie wanted to lock herself away again. “Princess, as much as you may want to hide right now, you know I can’t let you do that,” Tetsuya kissed her forehead. “I’m the boss, aren’t I?” “Yes, you are the boss.” “So when I say I want to go home—“ “What you really mean is you want to run away from something.” “That’s not what I was going to say.” “Well, that’s what I know to be true,” Tetsuya said, “I may not be Emperor of the Underworld. I may just be your servant...” “Tetsu,” Charlie looked up at him, “You’re not my servant. I love you.” “I know you do, and I you, which is why I’m not going to let you go hide in your cave,” Tetsuya touched her forehead to his, “You dragged me out of mine, remember.” “You’re right,” she closed her eyes and smiled. “I’ll follow you wherever you go and burn everything for you, but Beni and Aaron would miss you too much, and while it would be a blink of an eye for you with no changes, they are mortal. Do you really want to miss out on time with them while they walk among the living?” “Of course I do! Ah,” Charlie caught herself, “I guess I can stay, but how do I explain the news thing… and my nervous breakdown.” Tetsuya kissed her forehead, “You’re the most brilliant woman I know, and if you can’t think of anything, I’ll knock them out. They might get amnesia.” “Tetsu,” Charlie warned. “Okay, okay! Don’t worry. You’ll think of something.” — The next day, Charlie made a mad dash for the basement to avoid everyone. Once she was in the void, she tapped her scythe to her temple then pulled. A ball of red light popped out, spewing curses. Mal took it and swallowed it, “I’m sorry you had to do it that way.” “It’s okay. That’s why we keep the medication on hand,” Charlie grinned at him. “You wouldn’t need it if I hadn’t possessed your body that one time,” Mal looked down. “That was Kumiho’s fault. She had to do something to keep us preoccupied so she could convince pops to throw Tensei in jail,” Charlie grumbled, “Stupid bitch…” “Charles!” “Sorry, uncle,” she sighed, “Well, since you’re the wise one, I think I have a problem I need your guidance on.” “Shoot.” Charlie explained everything that happened. “I take it amnesia is off the table…” “Uncle!” “Right… Right! Sorry. What about— the sodas Tenseiga bought were from a sketchy guy, and it turns out they were laced with peyote?” Mal suggested. “Tensei is not that sloppy, and he has offered them actual peyote,” Charlie facepalmed, “I had to explain that mortals drink and smoke pot in college, not go on full-on spiritual adventures.” “I’m pretty sure they did that in the 70s,” Mal noted, remembering all the souls they processed during that time. “Ugh…” Charlie sighed in frustration. “You could always try the truth,” Mal offered. “Sure, because they don’t already think I’m a freak now,” Charlie laughed. “I think it may blow their minds at first, but—“ “No, uncle. You know I can’t,” Charlie shook her head. “Why because the stupid rules say so?” Mal mumbled. “Wh-what did you say, uncle?” Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Nothing! Don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Mal scooted her out the door. “That’s— so unlike him,” Charlie shook her head, confused, “Uncle Mal always encourages staying within the confines of the rules.” “Listen, I’m a couple of weeks out from that big job, but I think you should take more time, uncle,” Charlie said carefully. “After what’s been happening? No way,” Mal shook his head, “I can get over whatever is happening to me to help you.” “Right…” Charlie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. Part of the problem is that he loses time, specifically when she’s on jobs, but she didn’t want to cause her uncle any more distress. She just nodded and patted his arm. “Thank you, uncle.”