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

Chapter 93

No beta we die like Brook the first time

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"Do you kill people?"

You look up at Norviett sharply. 

She's a bright child, just turned 13 last month. She sits on the counter, drinking a caprisun and swinging her legs, her head tilted as she looks at you. Her expression is curious, but not anything like what you expected. There isn't a hint of disgust or fear; simply curiosity.

You still don't know how to form a response, though. 

"What?"

"Do you kill people?" She repeats and blinks at you. "It's okay, you know. I've had an idea for a while. It's kinda cool, that you get away with it for o long. Do you do it for money?"

You blink rapidly a few times. 

This child has never failed to surprise you, and they just keep coming.

"No," You say gently, glancing around the small apartment. 

You hop up on the counter next to her, thinking of how to explain this to her gently. 

"Do you believe in Hell, Nor?"

"Mmm, I haven't ever thought about it before. I guess so."

"What about the Grim Reaper?"

"Like those comics?"

You snort. "Uhm, kind of."

"You don't look like the Grim Reaper."

You clear your throat. "Well, let's start with this. Say that Hell did exist. There would have to be more than 1 Grim Reaper,  right? Because there are so many people that have done bad."

"Doesn't the Grim Reaper get everyone?"

You smile gently. "No, Nor. Let's say the Grim Reapers get all the 'bad' people," you say, putting quotations around bad, "and then the Angels take all the good people. And everyone just dies when they die, because if they haven't done any good or any bad, or too much bad and good combined, then they'll be judged by a higher power that can form opinions. That way, everyone is sorted into punishments and rewards, or nothing at all for nothing extraordinary."

Norviett nods, turning to face you with the most attention. 

"So how did the Grim Reaper come to be?"

"Well, let's say the Grim Reaper is... Someone who makes a deal with the Devil, one way or another. Someone who has done something bad and wants to get out of the punishment. Someone who wants something in return. Or just someone the Devil thinks would be fun to mess with," You explain. 

Norviett nods. "So which one are you?"

You clear your throat. 

"Well, you remember when I told you about my friend, Brook?"

She nods. 

"Well, I knew Brook a very long time ago, when we were both kids. We grew up together. Something very... uhm, bad, happened to him. He didn't do anything necessarily good or bad in his life, so he was sent to a peaceful place of no rewards and no punishments. But he wanted more to do. He wanted to have a purpose, something to be there for. So, he found a path and started walking. He walked for a very long time, but there was no way to tell how long, exactly."

Norviett nods along.

"Eventually, he makes his way to Hell. He meets Satan. Satan is interested in him, because, well, who wouldn't be interested in someone who walked for God knows how long because they were bored, and made it all the way to Hell? And Satan just so happens to be short on reapers, so he makes a deal with Brook.

He tells him, "Well, you have a sister in Hell, did you know that? I have a lot of power here, of course, so how about this; I'll give you a purpose. You can become a Grim Reaper, and kill one person who has done bad every day. In return, I'll give your sister's soul a good life by sending her up the Heaven, but should you disappoint me, I'll send you back to where you came from, find a replacement, and put your sister back to her place in Hell."

Norviett purses her lips, pondering. "How does that fit in with you?"

You smile at her. 

"Well, let's say that time goes much faster in Hell than in person. I die a little while later, and am sentenced to my place in Hell for my sins. However, as soon as I get there, I ask about Brook, because he was the person most precious to me. Satan doesn't know, because Brook hasn't been there yet, so he pays me no mind. And then he meets Brook, and Brook asks about me. He thinks it's very interesting that we both asked about each other, and that we both had such similar but also different pasts. Brook is interesting. He wants to mess with Brook in different ways. So he takes me out of my eternal punishment and makes me a Grim Reaper, then plops me in the same city as Brook. That's how I would have become a Reaper."

Norviett frowns. "What happens after that? Where did Brook go?"

You smile sadly. 

"Well let's say that Brook found out some things that I did that he just couldn't forgive, so now we don't talk anymore. But we're both still Reapers, because making us exist in our misery is fun for Satan."

"That's sad," Norviett says, and she sounds very sincere, like she really means it.

"Yeah," You agree. "It is."

"How can you tell someone is bad?" She asks, changing the topic when she sees how upset you are.

"Well, they have a mark. Like an X." You make an X with your fingers. "And it's red and it goes above their clothes, so I know that that person has done something bad. But I don't know what, if it's something petty like stealing or something awful like killing and hurting people."

Norviett nods. "Do I have one?"

You look at the red X on her chest, always so out of place in her bright and warm clothes. 

"No," You say softly. "No, you don't."