After Life Consultation

The room itself seems to be something out of all of your dreams and nightmares all rolled into one, the sheer expanse of the room causing your jaw to drop in awe. All around the room it appears as if there is no end to what at first seemed to be a small office tucked away in the midst of the castle, brilliant blue and slightly cloudy skies lazily drifting by while innumerable gave markers litter the floor for miles in each direction. However, while your reaction is one of confusion and amazement it appears to be just another part of the architecture to the rest of those around you, none of them seeming to register the impossibility of the room and instead focusing all of their energy in looking around in confusion for a certain individual.

Kid is the one who speaks first, her elegantly tapered and feminine chin stroked slowly by lithe and delicate fingers as she speaks, “Hm…I wonder where Honorable Father went. Normally he never leaves the **** Room except for important business and even then he would have announced his presence.”

“That is a good question Kid-chan,” Maka mumbles, looking all around the room and stealing a few glances at you before turning back to the gargantuan mirror before you, “We can’t even contact Shinigami-sama the normal way…his mirror is still here…”

“You’d really expect him to be on his toes for something like this,” Soul mutters, her hand idly scratching the back of her neck as she turns to you, “I mean, hasn’t he been telling us to keep on the lookout for John for weeks now?”

It is Blair that speaks up next, her head nodding as she voices her opinion, “Even after he had Spirit-kun ask me to create that beacon and all…Blair was so tired!”

With a soft cough you gather the full attention of everyone in the room, all eyes turning to you as you speak your mind, “I don’t mean to be rude but can you explain this to me please?”

“Of course! The great and wonderful me can fill you in John-kun!” Star shouts, happily preparing to help and hopefully earn a few more of those oh so coveted ‘rewards’ from you.

However, in a rare move of aggression Tsubaki claps a hand over Star’s mouth to silence the blue haired ninja, her gaze turning to you as she speaks with a rather rapid voice, “Shinigami-sama sensed that you had come into your own power as the next generation Deadman-Shinigami and since he sensed that you had inherited the ability to hop between dimensions he has kept all of **** City on a look out for you so he can speak with you about your abilities and the power of the Urn you have!”

While Tsubaki’s actions and words garner a glare from her meister instead you are deeply intrigued, not only by the possibilities but also by who exactly this Shinigami-sama really as. Reaching down with your fingers you gently stroke the smooth side of the odd little piece of pottery hanging from your belt, the uniquely strong and resilient porcelain artifact dangling from your belt loop by a length of chain since you first acquired it and causing more than its fair share of trouble in your life. Cupping it in your hand you raise it up slightly, all eyes going from your face to the powerful tool on your belt and subsequently widening to an exponential degree, “You mean this Tsubaki-chan? Are you saying that Shinigami-sama knows about the Urn…and how to use it?”

Before anyone can make a sound a new voice joins the fray, a rather amused and singsong tone flowing into your ears and causing you to turn on a dime, “That would be correct John-kun~”

Standing before you is a massive black cloaked man, a being that surprisingly enough easily matches your height and wears a brilliant white cartoonish skull like mask, “What the hell?”

Your eyes widen as the black cloaked figure leans back and lets loose with a powerful laughter, its previously hunched form straightening as it bellows with amusement, “Oh ho ho! Across dimensions and through space and time and the Deadman-Shinigami still finds something he hasn’t seen eh?”

Blinking a few times you turn your gaze back to the girls, each one of them bowing their heads in respect to the gargantuan cloaked man which prompts you to turn back and do the same, “I…guess you could say that…are you Shinigami-sama?”

Chuckling a bit the cloaked figure nods his head, “Yes, yes, but please no bowing or any of this ‘sama’ stuff. After all, you and I are very much alike; no need to bow to peers now is there, oh ho ho!”

Standing up straight once more you scratch the back of your head with general unease, “I…I guess. So…you say we are alike?”

The Shinigami nods once more, his head tilting to the side slightly as he speaks, “Oh yes, yes we are Deadman-san, or perhaps you prefer Shinigami-san?”

Hearing the amusement in Shinigami’s tone you can’t stop a small smirk crossing your lips, “John is fine Shinigami-san, after all, no need to bow to peers right?”

Shinigami lets off another laugh as he nods, “Yes, yes, of course John-kun! Now let me see…ah yes! We are very much alike John-kun, both of us being Shinigami and having experience with the Urn you now wield.”

This comment takes you by surprise, your eyebrow rising as you speak, “You had the Urn before me?”

The Shinigami quickly shakes his head as two white, almost foam finger like hands pop out from his sides and wave in front of his face, “No, no, I said experience John-kun. You see, the line of Deadman-Shinigami is not inherited by blood but rather by luck. Only one Deadman-Shinigami is allowed to be alive at any time and each one is born in only one dimension at a time. In essence there is only one Deadman-Shinigami throughout the whole of creation no matter what dimension and no matter what time it may be.”

Blinking a few times your hand scratches the top of your head, “Um…could you please simplify that?”

Shinigami chuckles a bit before he speaks, “What you are now John is a one of a kind item, something that is unlike anything else in any dimension known in all of existence and it will stay that way until the day you die.”

For several moments you stand in silence as the fact slowly sinks in, your presence as a one of a kind organism not only in this dimension but in every other one hitting you with the **** of a sledge hammer right between the eyes. Following your previous discussion with your grandfather about your father and his position as the previous Deadman-Shinigami you knew that your kind was very rare. Hell, from that conversation you had expected the ability to be passed down along bloodlines thus explaining where you got the ability yourself…but now…to learn the true fate of your state of being and what that had meant for your father…sent more than a few pangs of hurt through your chest.

Feeling a soft paw at your cheek you turn to find Blair looking at you with concerned eyes, those beautiful luminescent orbs reminding you of Yoruichi, of Soul Society, of home, of your family, and of everyone that loves you with all of their hearts. As a warmth grows in your chest you allow a small smile to cross your lips, your head nodding to a hopeful Blair as you turn back to Shinigami, “Alright…so there is only one of me…but how does that explain my father? He was the previous Deadman-Shinigami and we were both from the same dimension and bloodline.”

For once Shinigami seems stumped, his cloaked shoulders shrugging as he speaks, “For that I cannot be certain…perhaps he died the moment you were being born and you just happened to be the closest receptor to the Deadman-Shinigami ability.”

With a sigh you remembered your grandfather’s tale of your father’s gruesome end…that certainly could be a possibility. Shaking your head to rid yourself of the thought you turn up to face Shinigami with a firm face and a serious disposition, “I can understand that but I still can’t understand why I exist alone.”

Shinigami nods deeply, his white foam hand curling around the bottom ‘teeth’ of his mask as he speaks, “Ah yes, yes, one of your predecessors with the dimension hopping ability also thought the same thing. He came to the conclusion that most of the Deadman-Shinigami are mean to keep balance in their native dimensions, sort of like a failsafe to make sure that no one dimension becomes too powerful or destroys itself. However, the ones with the dimension hopping ability are like all purpose mechanics, tuning up and getting rid of the problems of multiple dimensions instead of just one.”

Raising an eyebrow you cross you arms at Shinigami’s words, “So…you’re saying that somehow and in some way, Deadman-Shinigami are the Mr. Fix-it’s of all existence.”

Shinigami lets out a deep chuckle as he nods, “Pretty much!”

With a groan your forehead finds your palm with a resounding slap, “Wonderful…I’ve become an interdimensional plumber.”

“Aw, don’t feel bad Johnny,” Blair says, her cheek nuzzling yours in a soothing action, “if it helps any Blair would love to see your sexy plumbers butt any time!”

Blinking a few times you can feel a wave of rage rise up behind you, each of the girls focusing on Blair with unkempt jealously and anger at her forwardness. You on the other hand only sweat, turning away from the grinning kitty to a giggling Shinigami, “Anyway…so you say you’ve had contact with a dimension hopper Deadman-Shinigami before?”

Shinigami nods briefly, his head tilting slightly as he spoke, “Yes, yes, he was around the fourth or fifth incarnation before you John-kun, a very lively fellow but rather…er, whipped by the women in his life as it were.”

Chuckling a bit you scratch the back of your neck, “Er…yeah…I know the pain and the pleasure.”

“Indeed” Shinigami says with another laugh, “While I knew him he shared many of the secrets of the Urn with me, both in how to use it and how to control it.”

“Wonderful!” Your voice is filled with happiness and relief, “Finally, I can get this thing under control and stop showing up in random places when I fall asleep!”

“Not quite,” Shinigami interrupts you with a singsong tone, a teasing voice that turns your attention directly to him, “From what I remember, your predecessor was never able to fully control his night time…escapades but he was more than able to control it during his waking hours.”

With a sigh you shrug, “Well damn…I guess you can’t win them all. So can you tell me how to do it? How to control it when I’m awake?”

“Nope,” Shinigami says with a jovial tone, his hands vanishing into the cloak that surrounds his body as he speaks in that singsong voice of his.

“What do you mean…nope?” You growl, your eye twitching at not only realizing that you are destined to randomly go dimension hopping in your sleep but now you are faced with a prankster Shinigami who seems damn near adamant to push every button you have.

“I mean nope, I won’t tell you,” Shinigami says with a voice that almost makes you imagine a brilliant grin crossing his lips, “Unless you do me a favor.”

Feeling the hairs on the back of your neck prickle as you nervously ask, “What kind of…favor?”

“Simple,” Shinigami says with that cheerful voice of his, “I want you to marry my daughter…”