Nnoitra's head was killing him. He rubbed the side of his head, his beautifully perfectly curated edgy-emo hair. It was as if someone just beat the shit out of him. What was I doing again? He asked himself. His lips felt stiff. Like he was puckering them.

...

   Did he finally get to kiss her? He hoped for it so badly, but he knew better than that. If he kissed her, he would've definitely remembered. No, the last thing he remembered was that he was trying to blow out his candles. Because it was his birthday. That's right, it was his twenty-first birthday.

   He finally opened his eyes. Something was off. But he knew better than to question things that were off. He always accepted them and never questioned them. His eyes slowly looked up towards the ceiling fan, at least, where the ceiling fan was supposed to be. That damned, disloyal ceiling fan. The kind of disloyalty that would never set you up with its friend that you think is cute, but just when you've finally moved on, they hard launch their relationship on instagram. This damn ceiling fan could never finish the job before, but now...

   It finished the job pretty well.

   There Nnoitra Lee was, standing aside, watching his birthday scene unfold. And there he was again, his body was slumped over the chair, his head presumably crushed underneath the weight of that gaudy ceiling fan/chandelier. The table was large and circular, the cake was equally as circular and must've made a nice pillow for his head. His family and friends were in a state of panic, all reacting in a way that he thought, at least, made sense.

   His friends, Eli and Kendall were arguing. They were trading Eli's expensive (an exclusive edition from some billionaire) phone back and forth. A game of diamond-studded hot potato. "I can't fucking do this, dude." Eli panicked.

   "You think I can?" Kendall cried out incredulously. He pulled Eli closer in a whispered hush. "I can't talk to the pigs man."

   "It's just the 911 operator!"

   "See, you know more than I do, you should just do it."

   "I am French!" Eli firmly placed his phone in Kendall's hand, a sight Nnoitra thought he'd never see.

   "I was gonna bring up my ethnicity first, asshole!" He pushed the phone back to Eli. "I'm brown, I'm the one that should be scared."

   "You don't understand, I panic in French. O la la, they're picking up, je ne sais pas!"

   Nnoitra couldn't handle much more of that conversation. His headache was still present and listening to pure, unadulterated stupidity wasn't much help. He walked over to his mother and father by the kitchen, only to immediately turn around. He knew better than to listen to any conversation those two hold. Watching them fight would not be the cure to a migraine.

   The last place to look would be his body. Oh, he was definitely saving this part for last. He slowly and solemnly walked towards his body, barely lifting his chin high enough to see. There she was. Everyday she had grown more beautiful, and today, she was radiant. Platonically, of course. Besides, it was probably by comparison, I mean, Nnoitra didn't exactly look sexy. Her hair was sleek, long, and black, just like his mother's, but that's where their similarities end. Her skin was olive, her face sunkissed like the equator herself birthed her. And she was so sad.

   She limply held onto the wrists of Nnoitra's dead body. Though he loomed over himself and her, there was no shadow to be seen. She quietly whispered, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

   "Please, please, please, don't be gone," She cried.

   "Lei..." Nnoitra kneeled next to her. Hesitantly, his hand hovered over hers. Still, no one noticed him. She just kept crying quietly to herself.

   "Lei-" Tori tried to call out again. He placed her hand on her shoulder, desperately yet gently shaking her, trying to get her to see him, no matter the consequences. Don't cry, I'm right...here... To no avail. When suddenly, a set of darker hands placed over his. Warm and alive, the sensation of those hands made Leilani flinch and Tori leap back. His breathing became shakier. He clutched his chest.

   What the fuck? Tori breathed.

   "Leilani..." A set of wheels rolled up next to her. Tori looked up to see Vio. "You have to let go now." But she refused. Her cries became quieter. She crossed her arms and buried her head deeper and closer to his torso.

   His triplet, Virgil, came up behind her. "The EMTs are here..." He looked towards Kendall. "And so are the police."

   Kendall looked defeated. "Damn."

   "Be cool." Virgil snapped.

   "They're not gonna ask about the weed you sell, and if they do, cause you're a dumbass, they have to go through me." Nnoitra's dad chimed in.

   Kendall sighed in relief. "Thanks for being you, Mr. Hizashi." Tori rolled his eyes seriously? And Nnoitra's dad gave him a single nod. That's when Tori noticed his hand was clasped tightly to his mother's. She sat there, unable to look at Nnoitra's body, but he didn't even care. That seems pretty normal enough to Nnoitra. What didn't, possibly in a very good way, was that they weren't arguing with each other. Just holding each other's hands.

   Everyone made way for the EMTs as they walked up the stairs outside his apartment. His friends made a single file line right next to the door, almost guiding the EMTs right towards the bloody circular table which was in front of the door just a few feet anyhow.

   "Leilani-" Micah gently tried to get her to move.

   "Lei, please-" Nail bit her lip.

   "Girl, you gotta move-" Vio said less gently.

   "Leilani-" Nnoitra tried again.

   As soon as he called to her, she opened her eyes, looking through him. "Happy birthday, Tori." She gently cried.

   His heart dropped, and a tear fell. He reached out to her, "Lei-"

   "Nnoitra." A loud, firm, and pressurized voice entered his ears and reverberated throughout his body. He almost ignored it, if not for its firmness.

   He turned around and stood up. "You're awfully..." A beautiful woman spoke, with hair so shiny that the black color almost looked like a dark blue. Her eyes were a piercing light blue like he's never seen before. She was tall, her presence made her seem taller.

   "Young?" A perfectly average looking man besides the fact that he was ginger chimed in.

   "Skinny." The Woman eyed Tori up and down. "No offense, I'm not in the business of body shaming."

   "You just did." Tori scoffed, which earned him an eye raise from The Woman.

   "Let's move on from that." The Man said, quickly. "I'd like to make another observation."

   Tori turned around to watch the scene of the EMTs moving his body up on the gurney. "Sure." What a bloody scene.

   "You're awfully calm about this." The Man rubbed his hands nervously. They moved closer towards him.

   Tori sighed, resigned. "I guess when I say I learn from my mistakes, I really mean it." His dark eyes pierced through The Man and The Woman. "Strange things should just be left alone."

   The Woman sat down on a red couch, half paying attention towards the scene. "Oh what to do with you. So drab." She motioned to the seat next to her. "Sit. I'd like to talk."

   But Tori didn't move.

   And The Woman didn't budge.

   "I feel as though we all may be distracted right now." The Man let out an awkward laugh.

   "Slightly." Tori gritted his teeth.

   The Man went to snap his fingers.

   "It's alright, Councilman." She sighed. "This is good."

   "What's so good about this?" Tori couldn't take it anymore. He knew better, he knew better than to acknowledge the cruel world and its cruel peculiarities, but he just couldn't take it anymore. "Just who the hell are you guys? And why can't they see you?"

   The Man had a sheepish look, which made him look even more average. "Well...don't you know?" But Tori just stood there, defeated, shocked, and frozen. He didn't know. At least, he didn't know that he knew.

   "He knows." The Woman nodded towards him, for the first time in a warm way. Truly, he knew, but did not want to accept it.

   "I know I'm dead!" Tori shuddered. He looked them in the eyes. "But there's no way in hell that...it's you that's taking me away."

   "What? Were you hoping for The Devil?" The Woman smirked.

   "I mean, honestly, I feel like you're lucky it's us." The Man looked at The Woman, a bit unsure of what he said.

   "The Devil himself is not here today, he's very busy, so I hear." The Woman stood up. "And no, you're not going to heaven."

   That piqued Tori's interest, not that he thought he was going to heaven anyway. "I am the Councilwoman of Love." She gestured for The Man to introduce himself.

   "I am the Councilman of Emotions." The Councilman stuck out his hand for Tori to shake, which Tori shook reluctantly. It was only polite, after all.

   "Great, I never gave a shit about politics when I was alive and I don't give a shit now." He shot The councilwoman a look. "Respectfully."

   "Sure. We are a council of spirits and humans that are in charge of aspects of reality. Walk with us." She started to walk towards the wall connected to his room, even though the door was open, but the three of them easily phased through. He may have let his hands linger in the wall for a few moments just to feel what ghostly powers were like. The Councilwoman sat down on his bed and looked around in his bedroom. She ruffled his bedsheets like she was bored. "There's twelve of us, and we're essential. There's a plan, a flow, a path, energies that humans can tap into to be guided or totally ignore if they don't feel like it. It's their life." She shrugged.

   "What?" That was all Tori could say.

   "Don't worry." The Councilman laughed. "You're not going to be quizzed on this. There's a guidebook on it. Uhh...you got the part where there's twelve of us right?" Tori nodded. "Well, the reason why The Devil wasn't here to pick you up was because there's been an opening in the council."

   "I was supposed to go to Hell?" Tori raised a brow.

   "Can you guess who's retired? I'm surprised you were chosen, too, given how you're so young." The Councilwoman started to walk around Tori. "But, at the same time, it kind of makes sense." She shrugged.

   Tori looked at his dead body being carried away on a gurney from across the open door in his room. "Yeah, I feel like I know."

   "You're the new Councilman of Death." The Councilman patted his shoulder.

   "Congratulations." The Councilwoman chimed.

   He saw his mother close the front door with tears in her eyes.

   He closed his eyes. "Dammit."