Humbled ((Undertaker X Reader))

Act Twenty-One: Fear

"So..."
I attempted to start a conversation, urging the girl to cock her head, causing her frizzy curls to bounce,
"Yes?" She questioned curiously.
I cleared my throat and averted my eyes from her. How bothersome, she seemed so nice, why was she acting so off now that we were alone?
I didn't have to make conversation, but what was that thing about customer service? If she was here, did she have someone pass away?

"How are you connected with that fella you were with?" I tried a casual question, to which she smiled,
"Oh, I'm not. Not really, anyway. He said he needed some help finding the shop and I was happy to lead the way, I was headed here anyway. The Undertaker was so thoughtful when my grandmother passed, I'd never forget the way."
That was a story I'd heard before.
The great care in the bodies that come into the shop were nearly second to none. Maybe a few mistakes of my own here and there, but watching him work was like nothing I'd seen before.
I returned an awkward laugh and waved it off,
"Well, you know what they say. Most people work for a living, he works for the dead."
That might've been the most horrible thing I'd ever said, but it looked to relax the girl some,
"Was that meant to be a joke? He likes jokes too, but I reckon you already knew that. Anyway, I guess I don't truly need to stick around, do I?"
"Probably not," It was odd she was at all if she had no corpse business to attend to. The man was dressed more fancy, while the girl was clearly of common blood, why didn't I consider they didn't have a connection in the first place?
She shortly curtsied with a sweet farewell and turned to leave. Her hand fell upon the door, only to stop in her tracks.
She suddenly looked tense, unable to turn and face me.
"I'm sorry," The girl suddenly apologized out of nowhere. What was that for? She didn't do anything worth an apology. I nearly dismissed it when she continued, "My family needed the money. Please understand."

I didn't get a chance to speak before she slipped out.
What in heavens was that about?
I didn't understand, but something still seemed off. I didn't like it one bit.
I racked my brain before finally moving to step outside as well. If not speak with the girl, something told me to check on The Undertaker.
The jingling bell rang out for a third time, but my heart sank to find the sidewalk was empty of all parties only in the shop a short time prior. Where...
No, something was wrong, dreadfully wrong.
William's eyes, had I... Yes, I had seen that eye color before, The Undertaker and Grelle were the only ones I had ever seen with such a delicate color, and they were both-!
My legs jumped into overdrive when I ran back into the shop. Without thinking, I grabbed the only weapon I could find nearby, arming myself with a grave gun, and grabbing the pink bookmark from my belongings.
I couldn't be positive, but if I was right about this hunch, I had to do something!
The gun was clunky and didn't fire like a normal gun, but if I pulled the lever, how hard could it be? And at worst, I could use the pink bookmark.
I... Could, right?
Where was the book The Undertaker had used at my manor? He said something about needing a specific book, right? A working book, where would he keep that?! The bookcase, perhaps? Damned if I was going to let another reaper take him away, it was my turn to step up and protect him now.

"Quite a walk," The Undertaker looked around the streets as he kept up with William's pace, "Don't tell me it's a surprise party~"
Unfortunately, William's face remained stoic, not even looking at the mortician as he remained focused on his path. With an ever so slight frown, he cut the lighthearted conversation off to dig his claws into the purpose of the visit,
"Undertaker, I'm not here to dawdle, there's something very important I must speak about."

"Hm," The reaper hummed with light disappointment before fixing his crooked hat, "This is the path to the church, dare I ask what this is?"
William merely huffed,
"Come now, I know you're smarter than that, don't play a fool. We've known about your operations for some time but decided to leave you be. Seeing how you weren't causing significant trouble to the lives and livings of the humans, it was ultimately up to you to refuse your final resting," The man adjusted his glasses as the pair entered the church gates, "But you see, we have a problem on our hands. A missing soul. I'm sure you know what I mean. Nobody in the association picked it up. Not only that, detected activity of souls already picked up."
With a light pep in his step, The Undertaker grinned with sharpened teeth, suddenly taking the lead in their walk with pride,
"What bold accusations! You weren't even there when I left, were you? How bewitching they would send you with that cold stare of yours. You know there's nothing better to carry than a smile?"
It was obvious, of course. Every coworker of his had already ascended and was granted their final rest after reaper work long ago, which would make The Undertaker the current oldest reaper known, at least in the England district. Still, how could they possibly pin such things on him? Simply because he was in the area?
No, it was probably more than that, but they had no solid proof, especially if he continued to play dumb. He knew these types, quite common in church as well, especially when he was alive.
Callous, serious, sheer boring, and yet, ever so easy to anger, especially when things didn't go to plan.

He didn't miss them when he passed, The Undertaker never fit in with those dull priests either.
William turned away from even looking at him to continue walking along the winding path up to the church doors,
"This is a problem. The fact there's a missing soul also tells us something quite disturbing. The likelihood of a rogue scythe is particularly high. I can't be sure how it got out, but..."
He hesitated to sigh, stopping in the middle of the church to fix his glasses once more.
That's what this is, is it?
It wasn't a Sunday, the church would be empty. Well, except for the nun, if not for the fact...
Yes, The Undertaker had been here before, the night he collected that soul to scope out the back area, so he already knew she had days off as well. It was no coincidence William brought him to the church on a day neither of them would be here, and everything unlocked as well, this was planned.
That's how it would be, he expected a fight where mortals wouldn't linger around.

If that's what he wanted, it would be nice to work in his death scythe after so long.
The Undertaker had stashed it in that same back room for... That purpose, but the luck of having it here, William must've already known it was hiding nearby.
So then why fight if it would've been so easy to steal?

The mortician nary had time to think about it before a sharp object was suddenly shooting his way.
He ducked quickly and made his way around William on the other side of the aisle.
With another sharp attack from the reaper's scythe, he jumped back once again. There would be no fight without his own scythe, he had to get to it. It wasn't far, but it wasn't safe to turn his back towards the assailant.
Was that it then? He didn't just want the scythe, it was an elimination mission, and William planned to take back both in a package deal.