"The Reaper?" She scowled. "The entity which collects the souls of the dead and dying?" The boy gave her an almost imperceptible shrug, shifting his gaze away from her.

Her temper flared. After all the time she spent waiting for him to show up, after all the nervous anticipation she felt, this was what Kagamine Len had to say to her? "Do you think this is some kind of joke?" She raised her voice, balling up her fists at her sides. He didn't acknowledge or even seem to notice her outburst, which just irritated her even more. "This is my brother we're talking about here! You can't just use him as a stupid punchline for your stupid joke!"

"I don't know why you would think it's a joke," he answered. He sounded almost bored, and she angrily thought about reporting this insensitive asshole to the Kapitol. "If you're one of the few in Veldemore who actually know of the Reaper, then you ought to have some level of intelligence."

"There's no such thing as the Reaper! It's just a fairy tale made up to scare little kids so they wouldn't stay out late at night. The Kapitol has already done research to prove that there's no life after death, and tall tales like this hold no basis in fact," she retorted, hoping that someone would soon appear and rescue her from this ridiculous conversation.

"No one's going to come." His abrupt statement startled her, and she stared at him, suddenly very uncertain. How did he know what had been on her mind? "If what you want is proof that I am who I say I am, then you can follow me and I'll show it to you. I promise that no harm will come to you as long as you do exactly as I say," he added, turning away from her before she could agree.

He drifted down the empty street, and she hesitated. As things were, following him would probably be a stupid mistake. But there was something in his voice, something about him that made her want to listen to what he had to say. Glancing around again, she took a deep breath and went after him, maintaining a cautious distance between them as he headed towards one of the houses nearby.

"What do you see?" He pointed to the house as she caught up with him. Narrowing her eyes, Miku studied the building. It was a fairly standard suburban house, decidedly middle-class. The walls were a pale, unassuming beige and the door was painted dark brown. The windows were covered by thick grey curtains. The lawn was uneven and the hedges were slightly overgrown. There were no flowers.

"It's a house. Not a very well-maintained one, though," she answered. He did not acknowledge her observation, reaching for the doorknob instead. Much to her surprise, the front door actually opened. He entered first while she hesitated at the threshold, wondering about the legality of this. She might be charged for trespassing, or even worse, breaking and entering. Kagamine Len looked back at her, his expression blank. He didn't move, and yet somehow his presence felt like a challenge.

He didn't have to ask whether she was coming in or not – his body language spoke for him. Her tongue darted out, barely wetting her lips. Carefully, she took a step inside, feeling the soft creak of old wood underneath her feet. As she entered the house, the front door swung quietly shut behind her, blocking off the faint light that had been streaming in from outside. She flinched.

"Where are we going? Entering other people's houses is against the law, you know. We could be charged in court," she whispered, keeping her voice as low as possible. The boy did not respond. She turned her attention towards the house itself, wondering who resided here and if they were home right now. The wooden floor planks were bare, and the house was covered in a dirty green wallpaper that reminded her of vomit. The air smelled faintly musty. She spotted a white vase in the hallway that held a bouquet of dried pink flowers, along with a hanging portrait of a stately old couple.

"This house belongs to a widow. Her husband passed away a few months ago from stomach cancer, and her own health has been ailing ever since. It is time," the boy suddenly spoke, making her jump. They paused at a doorway on the other end of the passage, and he glanced at her, his gaze cold.

Before she could say anything, he took a step over the threshold, and Miku could swear that she felt some unseen force pushing her into the room. The first thing she noticed was that the mustiness in the air felt far heavier in this room. It was a parlour, dimly-lit and almost claustrophobic. There was a rust-coloured fireplace at the far end of the room, covered in a fine layer of dust. In fact, everything here was dusty – from the windowsill to the coffee table to the two armchairs in front of the fireplace.

She recognised the elderly woman sitting in the left armchair. It was the same person whose portrait hung up in the walkway. She was holding a newspaper, her neck craned slightly forward, looking unseeingly straight ahead. Miku realised that it had been a long time since she last saw anything in print – most people had made the transition to digital news, so printed news was beginning to dwindle.

But what was most surprising was the fact that the old woman did not appear to notice them. She wasn't moving or blinking, she just sat there rooted in place. Miku wasn't sure if she was even breathing. Hesitantly, she waved her hand in front of the woman's face. There was no reaction.

Kagamine Len took a step closer to the old woman. "Watch," he said. He placed a hand on the old woman's shoulder, and almost immediately she slumped over, the newspaper falling from her hands.

Miku jumped back. "What did you do to her?" she demanded, her gaze flitting between Len and the collapsed woman. He looked so calm that she could almost convince herself that there was nothing wrong – but she glanced at the woman again and saw that she looked dead, her eyes wide open and fixed on the ceiling. The old woman's irises were so pale that the entire eye was practically white.

"I did what had to be done," the boy replied. He removed his hand, and Miku watched in shock as a wispy white trail followed his palm, connecting him to the unmoving body. The mist coalesced into a small, fragile butterfly, and it crawled across his outstretched finger, its white wings trembling. "You are free now, free from pain and misery. Go wherever you wish," the boy lowered his voice, and for once she could hear a tinge of emotion – he sounded tender. The butterfly fluttered its wings and rose, resting gently on his cheek, before it flew past them towards the closed window. Miku blinked, disbelieving as the white butterfly flew right through the wall into the world outside.

"Did you just…turn that woman into a butterfly?" She never once imagined that someday she would have to utter such a question. The boy smiled. It was the kind of smile that was both lovely yet intimidating – a combination she would never have thought possible before today. Again, she felt the urge to get closer to him, while another part of her desperately wanted to run as far away as possible.

"I didn't turn her into anything. Humans all have a form they take after they die, and my duty is to free them from their mortal shell once it expires," he answered. "Once free, they roam the world, doing as they please until it is time for them to be called back and reborn." He looked at the body resting in the armchair. "For someone who secretly resists the Kapitol's influence, you certainly do believe a lot of what they say," he remarked, slowly drifting out of the room. Miku gritted her teeth, equal parts stunned and annoyed. She had no idea how he knew about her innermost thoughts, but what he said about her wasn't wrong. Why did she immediately think that the Kapitol was right about the Reaper?

As she followed him out of the house, she kept her gaze fixed on his feet, and she noticed that his shoes just barely skimmed the surface of the floor. Glancing back at the parlour, she wondered if anyone would find the woman's corpse. She would have called the police herself to get them to visit the place, but she didn't want to answer any difficult questions such as what was her relationship with the deceased, or how she had known that the occupant of the house was dead.

She still wasn't entirely convinced about Kagamine Len, but there was definitely something not quite human about him – she had witnessed his actions herself, and her own eyes couldn't possibly have deceived her. This boy, whoever he was, had the ability to make time and space stand still. Right in front of her, he had drawn something out of the old woman, leaving her lifeless body behind.

"You said that Mikuo is currently being held in a detention centre, right? And that it's not his time yet. But if you can control when people pass on, then why do you need my help?" Miku asked once they were back in the open. The boy said nothing. Instead, he looked at the sky, studying the clouds that blanketed the town. It was a gloomy day, and it looked like it might start to rain soon.

"I will meet you another time, and we can talk more about it then." He lifted the hood of his sweater, covering his golden hair. "I have spent enough time as it is in the mortal realm. If the others realise that I have been talking to a human…" A shadow flitted across his face, and he fell silent. She wanted to press him for more information, but before she could open her mouth, the boy winked out of existence, and time unfroze itself. Suddenly, she could hear the sounds of traffic in the distance. A strong breeze picked up, and someone exited one of the houses ahead, carrying a black umbrella.

It was much warmer now. She shuddered, rubbing her hands against her exposed arms. The boy took all the chill with him when he left. She wondered if the cold was because of his association with death. Was he really the Reaper? Were the old tales really true? Fairy tales, myths and legends – these were all things the Kapitol suppressed, for they could not be proved with science or fact, and anything that was intangible and unprovable could not be allowed to distract the people from what was important.

But now she wasn't as sure. Maybe the stories were real, and there was a whole other world out there, where the witches and mermaids and fairies from the old legends roamed free and wild. Perhaps they were all hiding in Elysia, the land of plenty, where singing and dancing were not forbidden, and music and poetry flowed freely from people's lips.

Shaking her head, she decided to hurry home. She felt extremely uncomfortable in this place – the suburban lifestyle was foreign to her, and it felt much too exposed. The uniform houses were far from welcoming. She was used to the dingy, poverty-stricken street where she lived. Although crime ran rampant there and people were constantly going missing, to her that neighbourhood was home.


Miku climbed the rickety stairs towards her room, carefully keeping her footsteps light so that the wood wouldn't suddenly just give way and send her plunging to the ground floor. Once in her room, she placed her bag on the floor and fell back onto her bed, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip.

Kagamine Len said he would tell her more about her brother and the entire situation next time. But when would next time be? She had so many questions, and he was the only one who could provide the answers. She wanted to know how Mikuo was doing. If he still remembered them, if he still remembered her. What would she say to him if she saw him? It had been over a decade, and she was so little when he was taken away. He was five years older than her – a young man by now.

What the Reaper said about Mikuo made her uneasy. He mentioned that Mikuo may not be able to hold on for much longer…what did that mean? Was the Kapitol torturing him? She shuddered. It was an upsetting thought, but she wouldn't be surprised if they really did. Given the sheer number of people who disappeared in Veldemore every year, it would come as no shock to anyone if some of these people died as a result of the Kapitol's torture. It was said that those who were taken were used in human experiments as Kapitol scientists strived to reach the very limits of science and technology.

"Miku? May I come in?" She heard her mother's voice, followed by a timid knock. Miku made a sound of assent, and her mother entered her room, closing the door quietly behind her. She made a mental note to paint a new coat of colour over the door once she could afford to do so – it was starting to look rather dilapidated. "You were back late today. I was wondering if something happened."

She opened her mouth, wanting to tell her mother about her encounter with the mysterious boy and what he said about Mikuo – but then she changed her mind. Her mother was a middle-aged, frail woman whose face was worn down with worry. Her thin skin stretched taut over jutting bones. Her poor mother had enough troubles as it was, and she didn't need to know about a boy who may or may not be lying. Miku would figure out whether or not Len was telling the truth before saying anything about Mikuo to her mother.

"No, nothing happened. I just stayed behind in school today to do some work with Gumo and Gumi, that's all," she answered. Her mother nodded. She knew her mother liked the Nakajima twins since both of them were good at their studies and could quickly grasp concepts that Miku struggled with.

"Gumo is a very good boy. He visited yesterday, you know. While you were taking your nap. He said he and Gumi made some quick notes for your vectors module just in case you needed them." Her mother smiled. It was rare to see her smile, and Miku felt a sudden surge of guilt – she had always wondered if her academic incompetence was the main source of her mother's worries.

"Yeah, I know. They passed me the notes this morning." She exhaled. "Oh yeah Mum, one more thing – when will the Kapitol come to our district to collect the old earpieces? I heard they would come this weekend, but I didn't manage to catch the bulletin announcing our timeslot."

"Oh, they'll be here on Saturday morning," her mother answered. "Do you want to give me your earpiece? I can exchange it for you if you don't think you can wake up on time." She smiled again. It was a well-meaning offer, but Miku shivered, grabbing her thin pillow and hugging it to her chest. She still had yet to figure out a way to keep her old earpiece. She just knew she didn't want to hand it in.

"It's all right, I'll do it myself. I want to choose my own earpiece – I heard they might be giving out a limited edition pastel series, so I want to be there just in case," she answered. There had been no such rumour – everyone knew that the Kapitol always handed out standard equipment because any sign of individuality was frowned upon in Veldemore – but her mother nodded anyway. Miku was glad that her mother wasn't the kind to ask questions. She was too busy worrying about other things.

"Rest well then," her mother said. "You have a long week ahead of you. Your exams are coming up next month, aren't they? I hope you manage to get into Elysium," she continued, beaming at Miku. Miku grimaced and nodded back, her chest filled with cold dread. Elysium was the elite university in their town, and anyone who graduated from that place was more or less guaranteed a well-paid job with the Kapitol. However, Elysium was notoriously competitive, and it was close to impossible to secure a spot within the school without top grades.

Her mother did not react to her expression, leaving the room as quietly as she came. Miku lay back in bed and closed her eyes, thinking to herself. She couldn't forget that her parents were relying on her to take care of them as they aged – she had to ensure she got a good job so she could support them and hopefully give them a better life. But Kagamine Len and his mention of her older brother made her curious, and she couldn't help but want to find out more even if there was a risk it would distract her from her studies. What she should do then? If her brother really was suffering at the hands of the Kapitol, she couldn't possibly just turn a blind eye and ignore his plight.

Swallowing, she turned around and faced the wall, leaning her head against the cool surface. She tried to push this issue out of her mind. Until Kagamine Len told her more about the situation, it would probably be best not to think about it at all.