continued from Flowers

"C'mon, you gotta admit at least that it's creepy."

"You mean the way you've been staring at him all morning?" Yin didn't bother looking away from her book, idly turning the pages as she levitated by the exit out to the training yard. "Oh yeah, that's definitely creepy."

"Ha ha, VERY funny." Even without looking at him, she could picture Yang still in the same position he'd been in all day: hunched by the stairs, hands over his eyes to block out the sun while he glared in the direction of their new garden, also not looking at her while he talked; "You know what I mean! Just look at him gardening; since when does Yuck garden!?"

"Since he stopped being Yuck and became Luck instead."

"Oh great, YOU too?" Yin rolled her eyes as she buried her face even more in her book; she could also picture Yang's annoyed stare clearly in her mind. "The townspeople and even Master Yo are bad enough, but you? Don't tell me you're falling for it too!"

"Yang, come on, it's been a month. Not even Yuck would keep up an act THAT long." At this point Yin was just staring at the words, not actually reading them as she thought back on the events of the last month. She could understand why her brother was so unnerved; Yuck - or rather, Luck - had really taken a 180° turn in personality. "I mean, remember how he tried to get Herman to turn over a new leaf last week and he nearly ripped his limbs off instead? No way the old Yuck would've taken a hit to his pride like that just for the sake of pretending."

"Amnesia? Or maybe hypnosis on himself? Or maybe he hired a body double while he's working on his evil schemes right under our noses-"

"Or maybe he's really changed." She now visualized Luck working in his garden; the way he took care of the flowers so gently, humming softly to himself with that glimmer in his sunset eyes that she still couldn't stop thinking about- "I mean, what if he's a good guy for real? Wouldn't that be better for everyone? Having him as an ally instead of an enemy? So why not just let him?"

"Oh sure, the embodiment of our negative traits, a good guy. You're just saying that cuz he gave YOU a gift. Honestly Yin, you're so easy to-"

"OK, you know what?" Closing her book loudly, Yin finally looked up and glared at her brother, still overlooking the yard with his back on her. "No, please, finish your sentence. Give me a good reason to throw my book at the back of your big head and hope I'll knock some sense into you. Or at least knock you out and make you shut up-"

"Who's that?"

Yin stopped mid-rant, lowering her book as she stared at Yang. She hadn't noticed until that moment, but her brother was completely still, voice lowered to a whisper. Curious, she turned her head in the direction Yang was staring.

She couldn't even tell who they were; the dark cloak they wore covered them from head to toe, only showing blue bony hands peeking out of the sleeves. Even their face was completely obscured by their hood; they were only a giant scythe away from a full Grim Reaper getup. And they were approaching Luck, who was still tending to his garden and had picked that exact moment to look up.

And Luck had kept on surprising her for the last weeks, offering a smile and a helping hand to literally every living soul he ran into - even villainous ones. Which is why she was genuinely shocked when he saw him freeze instead. Just standing in place, the flowers he had been uprooting falling out of his hands.

Was he…..scared?

"I knew it! I was right!"

Yang's triumphant whisper brought back Yin's attention: her brother, still staring, was literally rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "What are you even talking about? How does THIS prove you right?"

"Uh, hello? Mysterious stranger wearing a creepy cloak? That's like, textbook villain looks!" His ears perked, and then he turned to Yin with a smug smile as he jabbed a thumb in the garden's direction; "And guess who they're getting all chummy with?"

"What?" She turned her head and saw Luck and the figure talking. The green rabbit was no longer frozen is place - had she imagined that? - and while he was facing away from them, she could still tell from his body language that it was friendly conversation. Familiar, even. "Wait, they know each other?"

"DUH! Of course they know each other, they're bad guys!" Yang was now right next to her, pushing her slightly aside to get a better look at the conversation much to her annoyance; "I'll bet you anything he's Yuck's new partner in crime! And now they're here for the final step of their evil plan, and no one suspecting a thing-"

But Yin zoned out the rest of Yang's conspiracy theories, gaze still fixated on the hooded figure. Every once in a while, her connection to Magic let her feel disturbances in the Foo. Sometimes it was over something trivial like Master Yo having bowel problems, but sometimes there would be something deeper, something genuinely sinister, lurking underneath. And whoever Luck was speaking to made her feel a disturbance like no other. "Yang, maybe we should tell Master Yo about this-"

"And have him blow us off again? He's not gonna believe us!" But something snapped Yang out of his sulking, and he snapped his fingers. "Unless we show him the evidence! He's gotta believe us after this! Do you know where we left the camcorder?"

"Yang…"

"You're right, it's faster if I just start looking!" And before she could stop him, Yang had fled back into the dojo as quickly yet as silently as he could; "You keep an eye on them! And if you see them do something evil, make sure they keep doing it when I come back!"

Yin rolled her eyes as the door closed behind her, turning to look over at the garden again. Whatever those two were talking to, it was enough to distract them from realizing she was even there, but she couldn't make out anything from where she stood and if she tried getting closer they would definitely notice her.

And while she didn't want to believe that Luck was still a bad guy - mostly because she genuinely believed she was good now, but also because otherwise it would prove she had let him trick her again - there was something about that figure that just made her skin crawl. The last thing she wanted was for them to see her.

Wait, see her….

"Yinvisibility."

Yin's body glowed an opaque blue, her fur becoming more and more transparent until she could just barely see the outline of her own arm - and that would be only her; nobody else would see if the spell had been performed correctly. Now that she was sure she'd go unnoticed, she walked down the stairs and towards the garden until she was right behind Luck.

"...idn't expect you." Luck sounded surprised, but not unpleasantly so. Or at least that's how he sounded, because Yin still noticed he kept running his fingers through his neatly combed fur almost nervously. "If I knew you were coming, I would've prepared accordingly-"

"Which is exactly why the International House of Peaceful Readjustment didn't let you know." The voice behind the hood was the very definition of neutral; Yin couldn't tell if they were happy or upset, young or old, male or female. It was completely devoid of emotion, and it made her skin crawl. "It would defeat the purpose of checking your progress if you knew one of us was coming. Your new self is not something to be rehearsed, is it?"

"N-no, of course not!" Luck laughed, but as Yin stood by his side to take a better look at his face, she noticed his pupils had shrunk. "You're absolutely right, like always! Uh…" He looked around him and noticing the flowers he had dropped, he picked a rose among them and offered it to the hooded figure. "Want one? Grew them myself."

As the figure inspected the flower in their hand - holding it with the tips of their fingernails like a dead mouse - something resonated in Yin's memory. International House of Peaceful Readjustment? A name that long and specific was hard to forget; Luck had mentioned that he'd been taken there by 'reformed Grim Reapers' to give up on his evil ways when he first appeared as his new self.

So Luck's really a good guy now, and these guys made him that way.

While the first thought was relieving, she was still on the fence about the second one.

"Why gardening?"

The reaper's voice brought her back to reality. Luck, on the other hand, laughed sheepishly as he untangled his fingers from his fur. "I've gotten that a lot lately. I just think it's neat, getting to grow and care for things rather than destroy them. Give something back to the world, you know? And it helps me relax, too."

"...I see." The reaper was still fixated on the rose, and was now examining its thorns with the other hand. "An...endearing pursuit. But ultimately selfish, don't you think?"

Luck's face immediately fell, ears pressing flat against his head. "I'm sorry?"

"Flowers are beautiful, but fleeting. They die so quickly, and so easily." They pinched a thorn between their thumb and index finger and pulled, plucking it off the stem and leaving a pale blemish. "In the same way, the happiness it gives you is just as fleeting. The gift you give to the world is only temporary. If you really want to make a positive impact as a changed person, don't you think you can do better than that?"

Yin felt anger slowly rising in her at those words. Maybe it wasn't exactly the greatest display of heroism, but Luck had worked hard taking care of those flowers! He LOVED those flowers, and that was definitely not fleeting. And seeing them pluck out the rose's thorns one by one, she recalled something he had told her before; how the thorns were part of the rose's beauty, even when they hurt you. She could see what he meant now as she watched them decimate the rose's stem, leaving those blemishes behind like open wounds.

Wasn't Luck even going to defend his work? She looked at him from the corner of her eye, and her stomach lurked. The green rabbit beside her had gotten pale, cowering with his eyes fixated on the rose the reaper kept tearing apart. That expression of borderline terror looked out of place on Yuck. It looked out of place on Luck.

"I...I wasn't….I didn't think-"

"Moving on." The reaper didn't let him finish, tucking the now thornless rose into their sleeve. Luck immediately stood up straight, visibly struggling to remain calm. "This place. You mentioned there were...individuals you had to make amends with. Is this where they live?"

"Y-yes!" Luck's voice came out a little too high-pitched, and he coughed before continuing in a more controlled voice. "I-I mean, yes, this is where I live now. With my fellow Woo Foo Warriors, who I've wronged in the past but I'm doing my very best to make it up to them!"

"So they've accepted you, after everything you did." A strange, unsettling noise came from behind the hood. Was that supposed to be...laughter? "How truly gracious of them, considering what a vile, disgusting fiend you were before we found you. You better be grateful to them."

Whatever confidence Luck had managed to get back deflated once again. As he bowed down his head in shame, Yin's anger burned brighter; Yuck had been a truly awful person and she of all people knew that better than anyone, but he wasn't like that anymore! He didn't deserve to be treated like that; no one did.

If all reapers were like this one, she couldn't understand how they were responsible for someone as sweet and kind as Luck.

"You mentioned their names before….Yin and Yang, wasn't it?" Hearing their names said out loud in that monotone, empty voice made her shudder; "How are they like? Do you get along?"

"Well...I think Yang still hasn't warmed up to me yet." Luck's voice was much quieter now, gaze still aimed at his own feet. He gave a weak laugh, but sobered up once again when he got no answer. "I mean, I can't really blame him, can I? But he's a good guy; he's brave, he's assertive, and I know he does it because he's looking out for his sister and master. I know I can get through to him if I keep trying."

His words made Yin's eyes soften. That's what he thought of Yang? All while her brother kept insisting that he was evil, basically waiting for Luck to mess up and get any excuse to literally kick him out? He was still looking for that camcorder in hopes of getting evidence against him, and he was none the wiser.

"And Yin?"

Luck stiffened, and it made Yin's ears lower. Why had he reacted like that? She saw him raise his head to meet the reaper's non-existent gaze, looking hesitant. Was it that bad?

"Yin? Oh, Yin's wonderful!" But to her complete surprise, his expression lit up, a shy smile showing off his sharp teeth. "She's kind, and sweet, and so confident! She loves flowers and much as I do, and she knows what she wants, and her favorite animal are puppygriffs, and-!"

She stared dumbfoundedly as Luck kept going, slowly coming out of his shell with growing excitement while listing more and more things he liked about her. She felt her own cheeks turn warm; she couldn't recall anyone talking about her with so much admiration, not even Coop (and when Coop talked about her like that, it came off as creepy rather than genuine).

"And...and if I was a fraction of how good she is…" His puppy-like excitement mellowed out, and the soft expression in his eyes - oh, his eyes, they had never looked more like the sun until that moment - made her heart do a flip. She couldn't tell what emotion he was experiencing right then and there, but it made her feel warm. "If I had the tiniest fraction of all the love she holds in her heart...it'd be more than enough."

"...I see."

The garden fell silent. The warmth in Luck's eyes turned into apprehension again, and Yin found herself standing between him and the reaper, pointless as it was since she was invisible. The reaper wasn't even looking at Luck; they had their hood raised towards the sky, watching the birds fly by as the sun began to set.

"We can tell that you've made progress. The House is pleased with your efforts." And yet their empty voice showed no such thing. Not that Luck seemed to mind, judging by the relieved sigh he let out - not of happiness or accomplishment, of relief.

Why was he so on edge around the people that had helped him become a better person?

"However."

Both Yin and Luck's relief was short-lived as the reaper turned to look at him again - and although she knew her Yinvisibility spell was still active, she could swear they were staring right at her, too. "There is still plenty of room for improvement. Even with our help, your true nature is not so easily forgotten. There is much you still need to do to prove your worth."

The rose was pulled out from under their sleeve, held high for Luck to see. And to his - and her - horror, it slowly began to wilt, pink petals - the same hue as her fur - growing brown and decayed until they all fell off.

"It would be a shame for all of your efforts to go to waste," the reaper's voice was as stone cold and emotionless as ever as they crushed the wilted stem into dust in their hand; "all because of such fleeting distractions."

A pitiful wail came out of Luck's throat, as if they had crushed his heart in their palm instead. Kneeling on the floor, he reached out to the pile of dust that used to be his flower with a shaking hand, but the shadow that loomed over him made him cower back.

"Remember your lessons, child:" A bony hand pointed right into the hood, where the reaper's mouth would probably be; "Keep smiling, no matter what. But not too much in your case; there's no comfort to be found in those ghastly teeth of yours."

Luck's face twitched, his lips trying to form a smile through his oncoming tears that ended up looking more like a grimace. Both hands clamped over his mouth as another wail came out, and with shaky legs he fled back into the dojo. And Yin watched him go, her mind screaming to chase after him or to turn around and set this jerk's robes on fire yet refusing to budge-

"He said you were nice. But eavesdropping on other people's conversations without their knowledge isn't a nice thing to do, is it?"

Her blood turned to ice. Slowly, she turned around and saw the reaper's pitch black hood stare in her direction. Not through her- right at her. Words stuck in her throat, her first instinct was to look down at her hands.

They were still translucent.

"We assume you did it out of concern like your brother. Concern for your family or for him, that we do not know. But we still forgive you." They took a step closer, and Yin took a step back. Why couldn't she respond? Why couldn't she fight? Why were her instincts screaming at her to run for her life? "But that's a terrible habit to keep, regardless of your intentions."

They leaned down, still towering over her, their silhouette blocking out the sky. And even though the inside of their hood was still pitch black up close, Yin could almost picture a smile crystal clear in her mind.

"At the International House of Peaceful Readjustment, we would be delighted to help you with that."

And then, without another word, they straightened and headed for the entrance like nothing had happened. And Yin simply stood there, color spreading across her body as Yinvisibility wore off, eyes never looking away as they disappeared behind the doors without a sound.

Light faded away as night fell.

"YIN! What did I tell you!?" She heard Yang's voice, but it sounded so far away. Even as she felt him grab her shoulder and made her turn around. "Yuck nearly ran into me, hands on his mouth like he ate a bug or something, and-!"

Frustration became surprise, and surprise became concern. "Yin?" Both of Yang's hands rested on her shoulders, but it's like she barely felt them. "Sis? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Looking at him like what? Why did Yang look so worried? He never showed emotion like that, not unless things were really bad-

Her face felt cold. She raised a hand to her cheek.

Ah.

"Yang." Even through her tears, Yin's voice sounded unusually calm. She thought of that reaper, and she hated it. "Now we really need to talk to Master Yo."