"That's the seventh soul I've reaped today, such a dull life indeed. Or do you call this a life?"

The young man pulled back his black hood and shouldered his scythe. His amber eyes looked into the distance. His next target wasn't due to join this creepy void of a world until much later. That gave the reaper time to poke around in the human world.

Humans…they amused him. Humans always got their hopes and dreams up it seemed when their lives were coming to an end. Of course being a reaper he didn't understand life, but a part of him wished he could.

Little did the reaper know that today that was all going to change.

~#~

Of course humans couldn't see him as he walked through their world. Not unless their time was up or if he allowed it of course. So it baffled him when he was met with a pair of emerald eyes by the hospital.

Testing it a bit he looked back. "Can you see me?"

"Yes."

For some reason this bothered Seishirou. He had been watching this boy for a while now and hadn't removed his cloak to reveal his presence. He didn't want boy's time to be up. However, there was no other way he could be seen, right?

He willed his scythe to disappear before walking over to the boy, his hood falling and lifting the invisibility spell.

"How…how can you see me?"

"I'm not sure...I just can. Is there anything wrong with that?"

The correct answer was yes but Seishirou didn't want to say that in front of the boy. "No not at all."

"I know what you are you know. I know about reapers."

Seishirou wore a shocked expression on his face from the boy's response. "How does one so young know about something like that?"

"Just as you are not what you appear to be nor am I."

Now Seishirou was puzzled; he liked riddles just as much as the next spiritual being, but he liked telling them, not solving them. "And what does that mean…err?"

"Subaru, my name is Subaru."

"Very well Subaru-kun," amber met emerald. "Seeing as you seem to know so much, I suppose you know my name as well."

"You are correct Seishirou-san."

"So how are you so knowledgeable about me? More importantly, how can you see me? I'm invisible to the world."

"Because," A soft hand touched his face, "I'm the exact inverse of you."

Seishirou knew this gesture should make him worry and yet...it made this dull life of his a lot more interesting so he allowed it. "Why?"

"I've been watching you just as you have been watching me."

"Hmm true, and there's something I've wanted to do ever since then."

"Oh?"

The taller male leaned down and kissed the smaller man.

'Oh.'

Is this what life felt like? Warm and pulsating with energy? Seishirou wouldn't know, it's not like he was alive. And yet…he wondered if maybe he had been alive once. Or was he just born this way to wander forever in purgatory?

'It doesn't matter. Alive or not, right now I feel alive and that's all that matters.'

~#~

Months passed and every day during his down time he went to the mortal world to see Subaru. He never felt more at ease, and then it happened…the day he knew would come if he got too close. Subaru's name was on the list.

"Subaru-kun…?"

"My name is on there isn't it?"

"…"

"That's no surprise, death is something I wanted for a long time, since my sister died." A pause. "If it's by you I don't mind dying, I have no regrets"

"Give me your knife."

"Don't you have your scythe Seishirou-san?"

"I do but I'm not using it, give me the knife."

Subaru handed over his knife a little hesitantly and watched as Seishirou sliced his hand open before gently asking for Subaru's and repeating the process to the boy's hand, then, pressing their hands together, he began to chant.

"O mors, puerum istum in virtute commercium sanguine nostrum. quamquam ego messor evocavit pretium scelus est prohibitum, ita virtutum, exaudi orationem meam, et tenebras lucem et elit."

Subaru suddenly felt very cold and Seishirou pulled his hood up ignoring the steady blood flow from his face.

"Why? It's forbidden."

"So be it, I never did play by the rules. "

A kiss to a pale cheek and Subaru pulled his partner's hood down. "Your eye…"

"You are far more important. Now let's find your sister."