Brook X GN Reader || I'm The Grim Reaper

Chapter 51

Scarlet and Chase walked down a dark alley with their hoods up. The sounds of their footsteps echoed throughout it as Scarlet glanced to her side.

Chase wore a dark blue hoodie, the inside being a neon dark blue. His undercoat covered his neck, with a dark blue neon pawprint on the side, and his mask had dark blue neon whiskers and a nose on it. Scarlet was in a large black cloak that went down to her ankles. She glanced at Chase.

"...So, why do you get the cool outfit and I get the trash bags?" "It's not a trash bag, it's a cloak. And you wanted it, don't blame me. I just threw on whatever covered the most skin... Not my fault that my closet is impeccably styled with blue cat patterned outfits." "Right. Blue and cat-themed. Definitely doesn't stand out at all." She gave him a small smirk.

Chase put both hands in his pockets and leaned back slightly to get a look at her since she was a few paces behind him. "...Scarlet. Honestly, I'm more worried about you sticking out. You're the one with the debt. I'm just the bumbling sidekick. Though I suppose our only potential danger would be those other reapers. Are you sure they're gone?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

They stopped walking. "I don't have any memory between when the demon took over to when you helped me come back. I assume that I ripped them into pieces like the bodies in the alleyway. Satan evaded all my questions, but he seemed kind of annoyed. He usually doesn't get that way, so maybe Brook and Deer were really stripped of their reaper abilities. But Brook's situation is different since he isn't a sinner, so I don't know. But I kind of feel like if they lived, he would have come after me again... Since their boss wants to catch me..."

Chase kept walking and Scarlet followed a few paces behind him again. The image of Scarlet's reaper flashed through his mind for a moment. "...I can think of a few reasons they wouldn't want to pursue you again..." "Huh?" "Ah, don't worry about it. There are bigger questions to tackle. What exactly is the nature of their deal with the boss of the Red Spades? It seems so strange." "Ahh... I mean, it's kind of like what we have going on. The boss tells them who to kill, they kill them. They say that anyone who gets involved with the Red Spades is a bad person, so they don't mind killing them."

"But they don't mind going after you, even though you don't have any memories?" "I'm a reaper... I kill a lot. I'm bad. The Red Spades criteria aren't exactly incorrect..." Chase hummed thoughtfully, looking to the ground. "'Anyone who deals with the Red Spades and has a sinner's mark deserves to die' is a very, very strange morality system to have. There are certainly people who are driven into a corner who do business with the Red Spades. I doubt they deserve to be reaped.

"I mean, that's just what they told me. Their intentions aren't going to change the fact that they are working with them, anyway... Since the possibility of running into him is still on the table, do you have any kind of plan? I don't really know how to deal with him other than fighting back, maybe you have a better idea." "...Well... I'm mostly betting that we'll be in and it before the Red Spades can respond. After all, they might not even be at this location." "But if they are?" Chase closed his eyes.

"Well, I guess one could be there and the other at the main location, in case you came back..." Scarlet scrunched her nose thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so. They sort of have this... thing... going on." At the look Chase gave her she shrugged. "In most situations, there isn't an easy answer for everything. You just have to calculate the odds and determine if the risk is worth the reward." Chase continued, reaching a hand up to adjust his mask.

"In this case, the reward is impossible to obtain anywhere else. Knowing why you're in debt is priceless, and could really help us understand who you were. The consequences, however... You could probably always get away. I could die, but that's not so bad." There was a pause, "That would be awful." "Depends on how you look at it." Scarlet glared at him. "I won't let it happen."

-----

Chase and Scarlet stood on either side of a door covered in stickers and graffiti. They listened for a while before Scarlet spoke up, quiet. "...This is it? How did you know this was the place?" "Public registration for this building said they manufactured pool noodles locally. No one is buying pool noodles in this city." Scarlet smirked slightly. "O-okay. I guess that makes sense. But what's the game plan? How are we going to find their transaction records?"

"I go in first. You follow me. I've investigated countless buildings before, I'll be able to find the records room. Once we find it, I'll go in and locate your record. It'll just be faster if I do it. You'll need to stand guard in the hall. But, uhm... Since I know how to find your record fastest, and you're better at standing guard, I'll need to make sure that your sales history is actually there." Chase looked to the floor. "If you're uncomfortable with that, I could grab the record and we could go, but that is a little risky since the record could be misplaced. But I don't want you to feel -"

"Chase." She gave him a small smile as he finally looked up at her. "It's fine. You can read it. I trust you." He narrowed his eyes, then nodded. "Good to hear. Let's go." Chase opened the door and started running inside, Scarlet close behind him.

'The Red Spades probably keep paper records so they can get rid of them at any time... They know putting them on a device would leave the file open to duplicates... If I had to guess, they probably keep the records on the first floor for ease of access and transport... At the innermost point of the building.' Chase thought as they ran through the halls, looking at the rooms.

He turned the corner where he thought the records would be and stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. Two people stood a little ways away from him. A woman with her back to him, her long, blonde hair in a high ponytail behind her. She had a bright blue scarf, a black crop top, black jeans, and black boots.

The man next to her wore a black plague mask, black hat, thick black boots, black jeans, and a cloudy blue long-sleeved turtle-neck. 'Fuck! How are we going to get around without one of them screaming?'

From behind him, Scarlet sprinted forward, knelt, and jumped towards the duo. She kicked the woman in the side of the head harshly, and, as she made eye contact with the man, he froze, eyes wide. She swiftly wrapped her arm around his neck and squeezed hard. It didn't take long for his body to go limp, and when it did, she turned to a frozen and shocked Chase. She brought her index finger to her lips to warn him to be quiet.

They kept walking forward slowly, and they didn't have to go far before Chase caught sight of a door. Next to it, on a plaque in blood-red letters, read, 'RECORDS'. He brought his hand up behind him and spared Scarlet a glance as she stopped. She nodded her head, turning around to keep watch in the hall as he approached the door. He opened it gently, and within the dimly lit rooms were piles upon piles of books and folders. 'What? It's so disorganized...' He narrowed his eyes and the floor creaked as he took a step further into the room.

'Fuck. I wasn't expecting something easy, but just stacking the records on top of each other? That's... Impressive levels of disorganization.' He looked around. 'Still, though. There has to be some pattern in this chaos. If it's not alphabetical, then I might be able t find a glossary based on transactional dates...' He stopped in alarm as his eyes caught sight of something on the floor. A blue book, slightly open in the middle of the floor.

'Why is that one just laying there? Don't tell me..." He walked towards it and picked up the book, holding it out to read. "ANTE NORA" in jagged, red letters on the cover. He narrowed his eyes and sweat dropped. Opening the book, he looked at it for a while. "What... Why is it all just-" A hand grabbed his chin harshly.

"Chase's definition of cool is kind of weird." - Graveweaver

Word count : 1504