When we got back, I didn't get the chance to rest. Grell ran up to me, near tears.

"Scarlet, William took my death scythe!" he cried as he latched onto me.

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to tell him that was what he got for using one he wasn't supposed to. But I found that I couldn't. I could just hug him back, trying not to cry myself.

"Scarlet?" he asked, pulling back to look at me.

My tears overflowed when I looked into his green eyes. "I was so scared."

He looked at me, confused. Had he really not known I was there?

Clearly not, because the next thing he said was, "Did those voices come back? What did they tell you?"

"Grell, I found the boy I was after. It was the one you were trying to kill. I saw everything."

His face fell.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you again..." I cried, then reached out and hugged him tight. "If I hadn't sent Jazz after Will-"

"Stop, Scarlet. Don't think about it. I'm alright."

All I could do was nod. I didn't have the heart to yell at him. I would ask him why he had deviated from our plan later. Right now, I was just so happy that my big brother was alright.

I gradually was able to stop crying. Grell was right. I shouldn't think about it right now. He was okay, and that was all that mattered.

I pulled away and wiped my eyes, slowly looking around to see if anyone had seen my tears. I did still have a reputation to uphold, after all. "So what did Will do?"

"I told you!" he exclaimed, going back to his flamboyant self. "He took my death scythe! And after I'd worked so hard on it!"

I gave him a small smile. "That's what you get for using an illegal one."

He stuck out his lower lip in a pout, and I laughed. "So now what?" I asked him. "You're still working, right? Please don't tell me I'm getting all of your work."

"No, I'm still working, but I've been demoted. All William would talk about was his overtime and paperwork. Oh, and then he gave me these..." He pulled out two small scythes, both of which appeared to be normal scissors.

I sighed. "Well, it's better than nothing. We still need you to work, whether you broke the rules or not. I guess you'll have to be going out with others now?"

Grell nodded. "It's a good thing you're here, Scarlet, or I'd have to go out every night with those other fools."

I rolled my eyes. "Aren't you in love with like half of the men here? I don't think you'd mind." I gave him a playful smile. "Not that I mind my big brother coming along with me. I need to be keeping an eye on you, anyway, and now that the voices are gone, someone has to finish my training."

"They're gone?" he asked, cocking his head with a hopeful gaze. 

My smile widened. "That's what they said. They're leaving me alone for the time being."

He smiled and hugged me again. When he pulled away several long moments later, he looked between me and Jazz. "I do apologize for the trouble I caused you. Now, go get some rest. If you've truly completed your tasks, Scarlet, then you deserve a good night's sleep."

I suddenly remembered my exhaustion, and the slightly worried look on Sebastian's face as he'd told me to go home and rest. Had he really been worried about me? But he was a demon. He shouldn't be worrying about a reaper like me.

When I didn't say anything, Jazz took my arm. "I'll take her back to my house and let her rest there. I'm sure there's still some tension between her and your mother, and she needs to rest before going home and dealing with that."

Grell nodded. "Yes, I agree. Besides, I'm sure she'll have an earful for me as well. She won't want to listen to that."

I smiled, already seeing our mom screaming at him for breaking the rules and getting demoted.

We all said our goodbyes, then parted ways as Jazz led me back to her house.

As soon as we opened the door, her whole family was there, bombarding us with questions.

"Where have you been? Are you hurt?"

"I heard something happened with Grell. That stupid fool."

"My, you both look awful. Especially you, Scarlet."

"What did Grell do this time? He probably got in trouble for flirting with humans or something."

I bit my tongue to keep myself from shouting at Jay. He had no right to talk about my brother that way, but I knew if I opened my mouth it would only make things worse.

"Jay, stop it!" Jazz yelled at her brother. "Scarlet just had a very stressful night. She's going upstairs to rest." She then turned to me with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry. They're always like this when I leave home for an extended time. I'll fill them in." She paused, then added, "If that's okay with you, of course."

I nodded. I didn't care if they knew. Word traveled fast, and they would hear from someone else sooner or later.

Her smile brightened. "Alright. You go on upstairs."

I smiled back at her, then pushed my way through her family and up the stairs to her bedroom, where I didn't even bother to change clothes before jumping into bed and falling into a dreamless sleep.