Yuri was taking off his coat before he'd even fully opened the door to his apartment. All he wanted to do was get into bed after another tiring evening making sure Aris didn't kill herself in one of her breaks –she was even more fragile than usual with her head injury– and so the faster he could change, the better. Perhaps it was because of his hurry, or his fatigue, that he didn't notice the pair of spiked boots as he took his own shoes off. Or maybe it was because of how it had been tucked away neatly in the bottom corner of the shoe rack where there were usually a pair of house slippers in the same shade of black.
Even though he was still going through the effort of being neat and tidy (shoes in the rack or cupboard based on usage, winter coat on one of the wall hooks until he had to pack them in as spring came around, keys on another hook, everything else held on to until he got to his bedroom), it didn't mean he noticed anything off. Sure, it was cooler than usual but he'd probably left a window open (it would be the first time since he was a child in pre-school). Sure, some of the doors were in different positions but an open window meant wind (the flowers on the hallway table seemed perfectly fine).
It was only natural then that he finally realised something was wrong when he came across it sitting on the living room sofa.
Dress shirt half unbuttoned, Yuri's eyes met horrifyingly familiar brown ones. The Grim Reaper's posture was perfect (sometimes he wished he didn't notice such useless details but it was what his work required) and she held one of his books. Presumably she had been reading it until he'd come. Instinctively he looked to her chest but the black ensemble that made her look like any other teenage punk hid any signs of whether the gaping hole from the last time he'd seen her still remained.
Yuri's second instinct was to run.
Unfortunately, his higher-ups had told him to entertain her if she truly came for him to gather what information he could. They had little to nothing on the Generals apart from the monikers the public called them (aside from Cupid. that line seemed to enjoy flaunting their presence and the most recent one was Karias Blerster. the previous had been his father a century prior. both were deceptively terrifying). Few ever saw them, and those who did rarely lived to describe them, with their abilities only being known after the painstaking work put in by the world's governments over several millennia. Anything that could increase their knowledge was a chance worth taking. Yuri also knew he'd be dead before he made it out of the room if he ran.
Raising his eyes to meet her unflinching gaze in another staring contest, he slowly buttoned his shirt back up.
"You don't have to do that."
Confused, Yuri paused, blinking. Ah. He lost the staring contest.
The Grim Reaper put the book down and patted the space on the sofa beside her- "You don't need to dress yourself. You're quite enjoyable to look at."
That wasn't a compliment he wanted from a supervillain but Yuri did as she wanted, putting down his belongings and sitting down gingerly. Her cold gaze made him feel more like sheep leg hanging in a butcher's shop than a prospective lover but somehow that thought made him feel better. Who could possibly want to be the romantic interest of someone whose idea of fun was genocide?
"Yuri," she said, and he wondered how thorough a background check she'd run on him, "I thought I told you to keep your schedule free for me."
Why on earth was the simple act of existing so difficult in her presence? All he'd wanted to do was sleep. Couldn't she have visited in the morning?
Unable to voice his thoughts out loud, he donned his work smile- "Unfortunately I had to go in for my job."
"But I said I would come in advance-" she kept staring but her expression seemed the slightest bit sullen, though he passed it off as his tired brain making up delusions.
Did she truly think telling him that she would pop in randomly was easy to work around? It was childish and he wondered if all the Generals were like this.
"Yes, I know," Yuri said, hoping he could run potential damage control, "however I need to work to make a living."
Head tilting slightly, the Grim Reaper seemed to be pondering his words. Resigning himself to an early death, he wondered if Takeo or one of Aris' younger sisters would be visiting her soon. He'd tied her up and if someone didn't help her she'd be dead sooner rather than later. Well, they probably would actually. Someone would look for him if he didn't show up tomorrow and that meant they'd definitely check up on her right after.
Lost in thought, he almost missed the Grim Reaper's satisfied nod- "Understandable. Come with me, then. You won't have to work."
Yuri didn't know if things were getting better or worse but he kept on smiling- "I appreciate the offer. It's just that…" What excuse would possibly work? "I would miss home. I've lived here my entire life."
Once more, she seemed to be thinking about what he said but she came to a conclusion much faster this time- "Yes, I would not want to leave my home so suddenly either. After a few dates then?"
She understood but still wanted to take him with her? What was wrong with her? Aside from the obvious anyway.
"I'll think about it-" and what was he supposed to call her? He was going to get gray hairs from this, much less the other times that he now apparently had to see her- "madam."
Her response were her brows furrowing as she looked at him in what he was sure was confusion. In fact, something told him that she emoted little and this was how she looked aghast.
"I am younger than you!" exclaimed the Grim Reaper, actually sounding distraught.
Her words froze Yuri in place. Younger? He was sure that the current Grim Reaper was said to have been around as long as the other Generals which meant at least a century. Yet… it's not like there was anyone alive who could describe her aside from he and Aris.
Trying to seem unaffected, he leaned back against the sofa to relax- "I thought the current Grim Reaper was a century old but it seems I was wrong. My apologies, miss."
Looking sullen, and this time he was sure it wasn't his brain making things up, she leaned over him, her hand on his thigh. Immediately he regretted his actions but continued to smile. Up close, all he could focus on was her hair falling on his neck. Even that was strangely cold and made him hold in the urge to shiver.
As if to implant the information firmly inside his head, the Grim Reaper looked at him with fierce eyes, the only part of her that wasn't cold- "I'm nineteen. You're thinking of my fathers, or brother."
If that truly was her goal, she had succeeded.
Suddenly feeling very naked, despite only three buttons of his shirt being left open, Yuri wanted to escape even more desperately than before. It had been one thing having to play house with a General, it was a completely different case dealing with a girl he was almost a whole decade older than. Having a teenager take an interest in him was more than uncomfortable and yet he couldn't even do anything to stop her. Maybe he could bring this up with the higher-ups later. Somehow run from her.
For now he just tried to sink further back into the sofa, her hand feeling like an anvil on his leg- "I did think you looked quite young, miss. But I assumed it wasn't that surprising compared to everything else."
"Call me Seira," she said as pressed her forehead against his, shifting to straddle him, "Full name: Seira J. Loyard. Remember it, you'll be a Loyard too once we're married."
Everything was getting worse. Yuri could feel her breathing, even if he still couldn't hear it, and he wondered what atrocities he'd committed to have a child General over him like this. And that wasn't even going into what she'd said. Marry? The rest of the room seemed like a distant fog, and so did is own body. Perhaps that was a good thing; he didn't want to be here at all.
Struggling to keep up his smile, enough so that he was sure she could feel him trembling, he spoke, his voice also faltering, "And the J? What does that stand for?"
Seira stroked his cheek, eyes narrowing in what seemed to be worry. If she truly was capable of feeling such an emotion she should get off him and never return, Yuri wanted to scream. Fear kept him quiet.
"It is my elder father's name," she said with a steady voice, "He doesn't like the people knowing his name, especially not the common folk."
"Ah. Did something… happen to him and your family?" Yuri asked, attempting to ignore how she pressed up against him and failed, instead being hyperaware of it even through his fog, "Or did I make a mistake in calling you the Grim Reaper?"
She frowned and he wondered what he'd said to upset her- "No, I am in charge now. My fathers and brother disappeared with Ser Zarga Siriana in the atomic explosion three years ago. One of the Dragons, as the common folk call them."
Common folk. Atomic explosion. Zarga Siriana. Yuri wasn't sure what was more important here. The archaic terms she used as if she was nobility of some sort, the fact that several Generals had been present in what they had thought to be a D-tier villain's lucky day, or that she was telling him all this so easily. It was suspicious, just like how she should find him asking all this suspicious too. Was it because she was a teenager that she offered it up so freely? Was she actually in love with him? Even though he knew it would be better for his survival if she was, the thought was sickening.
"Disappeared, not died?" If she was simply playing with him, he at least wanted to get more information.
"Officially they are dead. Unofficially the Empress says they probably got bored and faked their deaths to have some fun. It sounds like something my brother would do."
Seira sat up for a moment to take off his glasses, wrapping her arms around his neck as she brought her face close to peer closely at his eyes. Every moment was torture and he kept staring at her for lack of things to do aside from thinking her words over. Just like her, her family and the other General sounded insane.
As Yuri struggled to reply, Seira sighed, her face scrunching up in what he guessed was disappointment as he stiffened. He hadn't even done anything! All he did was sit here as she touched and examined him like some sort of pedigree dog. Yuri wanted to complain, to push her off of him, but fear kept him still.
"You haven't said my name once, Yuri," she said, shifting to hold his face with her hands. "Even though I told you to..."
That was all? With slight relief, most of it offset by her touch, he relaxed.
"Seira," he whispered, voice much quieter than he had intended. As if he was breathing it instead of saying it. He wondered if it was too little but with the slight smile appearing on her face, it seemed to be good enough.
"Good job," she murmured, her bright eyes instilling a cosmic horror in him, "You did very well."
Then she kissed him.
Yuri's eyes shut and he wanted to do something, anything, to make her stop. To keep her hands from going to his hair, to his shirt (to the skin under it he realised with terror as she unbuttoned it. to his body). To prevent what he knew she seemed to desire so fervently. To somehow go back to the past so he could avoid her entirely or to some other world where she couldn't find him. But he couldn't.
Fear kept him complacent.
Fear, Seira observed as she lovingly kissed her beloved, made him hers.