Chapter 1: The Grim Reaper... Is a Girl?

They say a Grim Reaper appears once a person dies to reap their soul and guide it to the afterlife. Usually portrayed as a skeletal figure dawning a hooded robe that covers their eyes and brings a scythe, seeing a Grim Reaper means you have finally reached death. For someone like Cain, seeing the spectral figure of the reaper of souls means he had finally achieved peace. So why did a girl arrive in its stead? And why is she so damn annoying? ————————————————————— The wind gently blew away the hair that covered his eyes as he looked down on the bustling street with a stoic expression. Atop the tall four-story building, there he sat at the very edge of a small nook with a notebook in his hands, the railings behind him, as he examined the street below. Even if they were mere dots to him, the sound of their laughter reached his ears, as if the wind specifically tried to mess with him. Despite this, however, the boy felt no such emotion of loneliness. Those pesky feelings disappeared years ago, and he does not feel the need to dwell on such trifling matters. "Too crowded..." Cain muttered, and sighing, he stood up, held onto the crooked railings and jumped to get to the other side. He walked away from the edge of the building and towards the run-down emergency exit, where he plopped himself down beside it, crossing his feet, and rested his head against the wall. Taking out the notebook he had been holding, Cain flipped through the pages until he arrived at his most recent entry. Attempt 36, it read. He reached into the pockets of his jacket, taking out a pen. Cain then bit the lid off and scratched off the words from the page until the words were no longer visible. He closed the notebook and laid it down beside his lap, then leaned his head at the back of his palm, his left thigh supporting his arm, while looking towards the fiery sky of orange and blue. He wished to leave. There was nothing in this world that he possessed that gave him an inkling of regret if ever he died. There wasn't even someone he was close with, may it be from home, work, or even school. Heck, even the landlord seems to be avoiding him in every change he could get. Yet as much as he was ready, death does not seem to welcome him. Death even seems to be repulsed by his presence. Of course, no surprise there. The many attempts had only left him with both scars tainting both his skin and mind. Like medicine, it left a bitter aftertaste to Cain, who had suffered even way before just from continuing on living day after day. So, why not take his own life then let those who loathe him have the guilt follow them around for taking a person's life? Cain looked forward to the day he would open his eyes and see a figure donning a hooded black cloak in front of him, a scythe in its hand. A Grim Reaper. Only then would he finally be relieved from all the pain of living. Only then would he finally feel peace. There was a commotion below, yet he heed them no mind. Commotion or not, he should just jump off the building then and there and end this once and for all. The looks of pity from others had only made him detest living more. Grim Reaper. Seeing a Grim Reaper and dying seems better than living with the false sense of hope that people around you care. "What are you thinking about?" A sweet voice whispered in his ear, and Cain, who was deep in his thoughts, yelped and flinched in surprise, pushing the person away from him roughly in instinct. "WHAT THE FUCK!" He shouted in surprise, backing away as the person he pushed fell to the floor with a loud thump and a groan. Only then did he realize he had pushed a girl. Not that it mattered, anyway. She had silver-white hair that cascaded down her plump and rosy face; the sun adding a touch of shine to her hair. Her gentle blue eyes that looked like sparkling jewels were staring right at him with widened eyes. To the normal person, she looked like the epitome of the radiating lunar light from the moon in the starry night. She even had pale skin that looked like she was about to disappear in white light at any moment. Noticing he had been staring and admiring her for far too long, Cain took his attention off her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to push you that hard." He muttered, holding out his hand for her to use as support to get up. The girl sprawled on the floor gazed at his hand, then towards the peeking bandages he had hid with the sleeves of his jacket. With a smile, she shook her head and stood up without his help. "It's alright, I did scare you." The girl smiled awkwardly. She leaned closer towards Cain with curiosity and by instinct, he inched away from her face, as if he was repelled by her very existence. "So what were you thinking about?" She asked. "None of your business. Please stay back." The girl frowned, then staring right behind him towards the edge of the building, she asked once again. "Do you want to die?" Cain looked at her with a weird expression, unable to comprehend what kind of bullshit the girl was speaking of. He looked right into her eyes, trying to search for an answer between her blue eyes. What is she thinking? She wasn't like an open book. She was full of mysteries. With a sigh, he answered vaguely. "What kind of question is that?" The girl shook her head and smiled innocently. "I asked first." "I am not obligated to answer, seeing as I don't know you and you aren't close to me." Cain took her by her shoulders and softly pushed her away from him. He walked towards the emergency exit and retrieved his notebook. "Also, I didn't hear any footsteps going up here, so how you managed to sneak on me, I don't know. Please refrain from doing that in the future to anybody." He was about to open the door to lead him inside, when soft, chilly hands clutched him in the arm. It wasn't a grasp that hurts, taking him off guard, and it felt like she was cautious about making sure she wouldn't apply pressure in his bandaged arms. But it might have been just a coincidence. She might've unconsciously done it. There was no way a stranger would know. He was wearing long sleeves. With an exasperated expression, he looked at the girl. She also had the same expression on him. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him. "What do you want?" He asked. This girl. She's getting on his nerves, and Cain felt like he could punch the wall in frustration. What does she want? Does she want to commit a double suicide? Why else would she be here on the rooftop of an abandoned building if not so? There was no answer. Cain looked down at the girl, as she refused to look him in the eye. So instead, he looked at her hair. If it wasn't for her face, Cain would have thought she was a senile old woman and would not survive from a small nudge in the ribs. He could almost hear her whole ribs breaking and falling apart just from imagining it. However, she looks to be the same age as him: a high school student. He had never seen a person with silver-white hair before. The closest he had seen was a platinum blonde, and it belonged to a fucker in his class. The thought irritated him. "Hey, let me go." Cain held her hand and pushed it aside, finally freeing his arm from her grasp. She muttered something he didn't hear. He looked at her, puzzled. "What? I didn't hear you." "Go die." She looked at Cain with a fiery passion. "I even evacuated the people from below so you could die a silent death and-" The girl stopped speaking after noticing Cain's expression. He was frozen in place, as if his mind had shut down temporarily, only to be rebooted in a short amount of seconds. "Oh, I'm sorry it came out that way..." the girl muttered. Cain smiled at her with such hostility that the girl turned red and was taken aback. "You sure have balls to utter such bullshit." "I was right..." She prolonged, her cheeks now rosy. "It really came out that way..." "Who are you?" This time, it was Cain who grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. "What do you want?" "Didn't you want to die? You were thinking of wanting to see a Grim Reaper, right?" The girl answered in a fast manner. "How did you-" "Exactly!" The girl pushed Cain's hands away and rubbed her neck, gulping. "How would I know what you think, right?" She smiled sweetly at Cain, and he flinched. "Lucky for you, the heavens- " She stopped and whispered, "-or hell, heard your pleas that you wanted to die and gave me to you!" She had officially lost her mind, Cain thought. What kind of cliché movie plot is this? "I don't need a savior so you can shove that 'Look at me, this isn't you. Don't die for me' shit up your ass." The girl laughed. "I'm not here to be your savior, you know. I'm the opposite of that. I'm a Grim Reaper."

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