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A cloaked figure glides across the sidewalk, weaving through bystanders as if he’s completely invisible to them. A young man with white hair walks roughly a meter ahead of him in an unhurried manner, humming softly to himself. The two pass a few buildings before the white-haired man suddenly turns into an alleyway, his humming coming to a stop.
The mysterious figure follows after him, quickly and quietly closing the distance the moment they were far enough from prying eyes. A long, black scythe materializes in his hands as the other suddenly turns to face him as if he knew he was being followed all along. Even when aware of the danger he’s in, the man just watches him with a calm expression.
Scaramouche freezes mid-swing, eyes locking on to the singular lock of brilliant red in the other man’s hair. His heart gives a painful twist as he finally lowers his scythe, letting it dematerialize once more. The other man looks surprised and gives the reaper a soft smile before the cloaked figure vanishes from thin air.
Scaramouche’s feet touch the floor of his apartment and he crouches, curling himself up into a ball as his mind spins. That wasn’t supposed to happen, that wasn’t part of the mission, no one told him that human would look so strikingly like him. A voice echoes in his head, “My last name was Kaedehara…” Shit.
He pulls out his phone and, sure enough, the name of his target is Kaedehara Kazuha. That’s when he suddenly gets a call, the sound nearly making him jump out of his skin. The ID reads Lady Asshole and Scaramouche rolls his eyes and huffs out a long sigh before hitting the “accept” button.
He purposefully holds his phone a small distance away from his ear as he hears a loud, annoying voice come through, “You idiot, why didn’t you harvest that soul? Don’t tell me that insignificant pest was too much for you to handle.”
“I’ve got it handled, fuck off.” He snaps back.
“You better or I’ll finish the job myself.” Before Scaramouche can retort, he hears the sound of the call disconnecting.
What have I gotten myself into this time?
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The grim reaper can’t manage to get a wink of sleep that night, constantly thinking about what he should do. Finally, he gets up and turns on his computer, clicking on an app he hasn’t opened since that one fateful night a couple decades back. He shakes off the memories that arise upon seeing the familiar UI, quickly directing his attention to the task at hand.
He sits there for an hour or so, typing away at his keyboard, before finally leaning back. On the screen is a pending video call, the tone ringing away in his earbuds as he waits with bated breath. It only takes a couple of minutes before the call is accepted.
The screen morphs to show the human Scaramouche had encountered earlier, who looked like he had just showered judging by his damp, loose hair. The man looks surprised but easily greets him with a smile, “We meet again. May I know your name?”
“I am simply a bringer of death, there is no need for you to know me as anything other than a grim reaper.” Scaramouche says coldly.
Kazuha furrows his brow. “You say that and yet you spared me, why?”
The reaper lets out a short, exasperated huff. “You humans ask too many questions. All you need to know is that I do intend on reaping your soul as my duty dictates I must.”
“But is that what you want?”
Scaramouche pauses, the easy lie about his oath on the tip of his tongue and yet he finds himself unable to voice it. Instead, he chooses to reply with, “It matters not what I want.”
“Of course it does. Everyone is allowed their own selfish desires, even if you did want to take my soul I wouldn’t object. Something tells me you don’t want to, though.” Kazuha easily replies as if it could ever be that easy for Scaramouche to follow his desires.
The reaper maintains a standoffish disposition as he counters, “How would you know? I’ve taken countless souls, you would not be any different.”
Kazuha shrugs, “There’s uncertainty in your eyes, that’s all. You keep saying that you’re dangerous and yet I find it hard to believe that someone so merciful and beautiful can be so one-dimensionally evil.”
Scaramouche feels his face flush at the compliment, though he’s unsure if it’s out of frustration or flusteredness. “You think too highly of me. I’ve ended the lives of many; women, children, the elderly and the newly born. I have no heart.”
Kazuha seems unphased and shrugs. “Everyone has to meet their end at some point. It isn’t heartless to help guide souls to their destined end.”
“You’re mistaken.” Is all Scaramouche can manage as a reply before he ends the call, unable to handle the false hope Kazuha offered so easily to him. His heart gives a familiar tug and he knows he’s already in way too deep.
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A couple weeks pass as Kazuha continues to strike up conversation with Scaramouche, either through messages or calls. The reaper is quickly becoming way too attached and he needs to try and end this before it gets too out of hand. And yet he finds himself calling once again.
There’s only two rings before Kazuha answers. It’s late in the mortal realm so Scaramouche is unsurprised upon seeing the other looking as if he was about to go to sleep. However, the sight of Kazuha’s bare torso does catch him off-guard.
“Gods, Kazuha! Put a shirt on!” Scaramouche quickly averts his eyes from his computer screen and the human has the audacity to laugh. Despite himself, the reaper swears it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard and it fills him with a strange warmth.
“I was in the process of doing so when you called, give me a moment.” Kazuha agrees after finally reigning in his laughter. When Scaramouche finally looks back at the screen the human has disappeared and all he can hear is rustling. It only takes a couple minutes before Kazuha finally reappears with a grin and a loose undershirt on. “Better?”
Scaramouche is unsure whether or not he meant to tease, but the tone of his voice sets fire to the reaper’s whole being and it feels as if steam were radiating off his face. He doesn’t respond and he can hear a poorly muffled chuckle in his ears.
Scaramouche eventually gathers himself and speaks gravely, “It seems that you’re unkillable.” He finally redirects the conversation and Kazuha chooses not to say anything about the sudden change in subject matter.
“Or am I just someone you don’t want to kill?” Kazuha proposes and the reaper feels his gut twist.
He does his best to maintain his usual cold exterior, “I do want to kill you. In fact, I will kill you. After all, I’m the best reaper for the job.”
“If you say so.” Kazuha says with a smile and it almost feels like he can look directly into Scaramouche’s heart and mind. The reaper catches a glimpse of something adjacent to affection in the other’s crimson eyes and he quickly ends the call.
Shit. When did that get there?
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A month passes and Scaramouche continues to fail in his mission of reaping Kazuha’s soul and ending his fragile life. For now his superiors seem to be satisfied with his excuses but they won’t last forever. He has to make a choice.
And the only one is to end this now.
Scaramouche knocks on the window of Kazuha’s apartment, the reaper floating in midair effortlessly. The human quickly appears and opens the window, seemingly only slightly surprised by his sudden appearance outside his fifth-floor apartment. “Why hello again. Are you here for my soul?”
Scaramouche sighs, “I am.” Those two words make his heart clench with anxiety but he tries to steel his nerves. It has to be done.
Before he can continue, Kazuha suddenly disappears into his apartment, calling over his shoulder, “One moment, I have something to give you.” He quickly returns with a single forget-me-not, which he holds out to Scaramouche with a warm smile.
Stunned, the reaper accepts the flower, left speechless at the gesture. “I can’t accept this. If you get too close to me you’re bound to end up dead.”
Kazuha’s upturned lips morph into a frown. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
“The only person I ever loved was killed right before my eyes, all because of me.” Scaramouche turns away from Kazuha, the eye contact suddenly overwhelming as painful memories flood him. “I shouldn’t be telling you this…”
Scaramouche paused for a moment, conflicted, before eventually continuing. If he was to go through with his mission, it shouldn’t matter what he tells Kazuha now. “He was a grim reaper like me, who had a streak in his hair just like yours. He used to be human like you and even shared your last name while he was mortal.
“We were always told us reapers were immortal and invulnerable, unable to be killed. But one night, a fellow reaper turned his scythe on me. When he tried to strike, my love was hit instead and killed on the spot.
“It was all my fault and yet I never received any kind of punishment. I won’t repeat that mistake again.” The reaper looks back at the human, expecting to see some form of fear in the other’s expression.
But Kazuha just shakes his head. “You know, I believe that the love I have for you matters to me much more than whatever may happen to me afterwards. In the end, at least I would have been able to make my feelings clear and have you with me, even for just a short while. My only wish would be that if you do reap my soul that you’d at least remember me, even if you don’t feel the same.”
At those words, Scaramouche disappears once more, completely and utterly unable to even think of turning his scythe against the man in front of him.
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…And yet he can’t seem to stay away for too long. After just a week, he finally answers Kazuha’s messages. It’s at this point he knows that the mission has been failed for a while now, his heart betraying the entire purpose of his creation.
His phone rings just as he finishes messaging Kazuha and Scaramouche doesn’t need to check the caller ID to know who it is. He once again holds his phone a short distance from his ear as he accepts the call.
“Why is he still alive?! You’re a fucking imbecile. It doesn’t matter how ‘unkillable’ he is, if you don’t get his soul soon I will do it myself.” La Signora’s loud voice comes through his phone and Scaramouche’s blood runs cold at her words. She’d mentioned doing the job herself before but he could tell her patience was running thin now. Dangerously thin.
He needs to act now.
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Kazuha opens his window again and this time Scaramouche takes a seat on the windowsill, his feet hovering over the floor of the apartment. The reaper turns his head to avoid eye contact as he finally releases the weight from his chest.
“I’m scared… but I love you too. I can’t take your soul, I wasn’t able to from the moment I saw you there in that alley. And yet if I can’t, someone else will.” His words weigh heavy in the air and the human is silent for a time, seemingly pondering their options.
“...What if we just ran away together? It won’t be easy by any means but I want to stay by your side as long as you’ll allow me to do so.” Admittedly, this was an outcome Scaramouche had dreamed about and his heart soared at the idea that Kazuha was willing to do this for him—for them.
Still, the reaper hesitates. “Are you sure you’re willing to uproot your whole life just for someone like me?”
Kazuha quickly nods. “You’re not just ‘someone’ to me anymore. I don’t think I could live without you now. If that means abandoning my old life so I can have you in my new one, so be it.” The human sounds firm in his resolution and Scaramouche can see the determination in his eyes.
“Alright.” He accepts before pulling Kazuha close for a kiss. The reaper can feel himself melting at the sensation of the sweet, gentle kiss they share and knows he’s made the right decision.
There’s a rough road ahead of them full of uncertainty, but when has love ever been certain?