The reaper was awoken from his deep slumber by loud knocks. He opened his eyes, feeling confused. He looked around the room.

He didn't usually sleep. So why was he waking up...from sleep? There were knocks again and he shot up from bed. Who was knocking on his door? He got out of the bed and walked to the door. When he opened he was surprised to see Denise, smiling and holding a picnic basket in her hands.

"Good afternoon." Denise said. The reaper stared at Denise in confusion.

The reaper stared at Denise in confusion. "Afternoon?" Denise nodded.

How did she even know where he lived?

"It's one minute past twelve." The reaper nodded, but was still confused. Until he suddenly remembered what happened the previous day. It was a bit fuzzy though, with gaps in his memory. He stood aside and let Denise in. "You look better, that's great." She was wearing a lovely pink floral flowy dress that ended at her knees. Dresses looked good on her. Her hair was in a top bun with a pink ribbon tied around it.

The reaper closed the door as Denise walked towards his kitchen. It was a small cottage, so the kitchen and living room were in the same place. There was no dining area.

"You looking fine means my soup didn't kill you. Yay!" The reaper smiled, following behind Denise. She really was a caring human. "I bought some ready-made food for you. You know, to not risk you dying and whatnot." She put the basket on the small kitchen counter.

"Are you that bad of a cook?" Denise shrugged.

"I don't cook a lot, so we can't be certain." The reaper smiled.

"Thank you for thinking about me." It was not an act. He was genuinely grateful for Denise. He was happy that he had Denise by his side.

It was sad, though, that she would be dying in two days.

"Don't worry about that. I'll prepare brunch, while you go wash up. You don't smell so good."

"Thanks." The reaper was sarcastic, but went to take a bath. He did not smell, he knew that, but he did look a little...dirty.

Usually the reaper would snap his fingers and he would be clean, but he was once told that showers were therapeutic. So he got ready to take the first shower in a very long time.

In the bathroom, as he was getting himself ready for a bath, the mirror moved. He looked at it and tilted his head to the side. It was almost like when a pebble is thrown in water, it was the same effect, but in the mirror. The mirror moved until it showed the face of a person.

"Senior," the reaper bowed his head. His senior, just like him, did not look as old as he actually was. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He had a dark shadow on his jaw and a stern look on his face.

"We heard your distress call. We couldn't contact you for the last fifteen hours."

"I was sleeping. I apologise." The reaper bowed his head, once again.

"Sleeping?"

"I seem to be sick." His senior looked at him for a while. "I cannot remember most of yesterday's events. All that I remember is that I felt pain."

"Reapers do not feel pain." His senior stated.

"I am aware." The senior seemed thoughtful.

"You need to come back to the Unknown Realm as soon as possible so that we can check you up."

"I cannot. My assignment has not yet ended. I have two more days on Earth."

"Two days." The senior shook his head. "That's too long." He said to no one in particular before his face vanished from the mirror. The reaper stared at it for a little longer, before he carried on undressing. Their conversation was unfinished.

The shower was as therapeutic as he was told. For a while he actually forgot about him being sick, with only one constant thought in his mind. Denise.

A little later...

"Wow, you look handsome." Denise said as she looked up from the TV. She smiled at the reaper, making him feel...excited?

"I try."

Denise laughed. She pointed behind her to the kitchenette. "Food is on the table."

"Oh, thank you." The reaper smiled when he saw the food. Pancakes, yum. There were pancakes on a plate with orange juice on the side on a tray. He took it and went to sit next to Denise. "You should stop spoiling me, you know," he said as he took a bite of the pancake. "I'll start getting sick more often." Denise laughed.

"I won't mind. You're great company." The reaper smiled as he moved closer to her. He could feel her sincerity, but also her sadness. Ever since she had arrived she had been sad. She was also worried, but mostly sad. He looked down at her with a ghost smile on his face. He hated that she was always upset.

"Let's go out tomorrow." He said.

Denise looked up at him and pouted thoughtfully. She then nodded and smiled. "Okay. Sure. Is that a date?"

The reaper tilted his head with a small smile on his face.

"Do you want it to be a date?" He cutely asked, raising his eyebrows.

Denise stared at the reaper for a long time before she nodded. "You just have to be romantic."

The reaper shifted even closer to Denise, causing her to not look away from him.

"I can be romantic."

Denise smiled.

They watched a movie before Denise received a phone call. The reaper could feel the worry radiating from her as she stood up and rushed to the next room. She whispered into the phone so he couldn't hear her. He could have used his skills to listen on her conversation but felt like he would be invading her privacy. He had never felt like that before.

She rushed back into the room. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

The reaper shook his head. "Is something wrong?"

Denise seemed to be close to tears as she started to get ready to leave. "Munchy ran away."

The reaper stood up. "I'll go with you."

Denise shook her head and put her hand on his chest.

"Stay, you're sick. I'll tell you what happens later." She said. The reaper watched her as she looked at him with hurting eyes. He closed his eyes, feeling all the feelings that she was feeling. They were all strong. He nodded. He opened his eyes and held her hand.

"I'll walk you out." Denise gratefully smiled.

As soon as Denise left the reaper felt his mood also deflate. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to be there for her. He felt so useless.

He stopped before he got to his couch. Three men wearing dark outfits and blank expressions stood in front of him.

"Albai," One said. The reaper looked at them with the same blank expression. The one man in the middle had spoken, "we heard about your predicament."

"We are here to take you away." The man on the right said.

"What about my mission?" The reaper did not make it obvious that he was scared of not being able to say goodbye to Denise.

"You'll be back before nightfall in this realm." He nodded and then they all disappeared, one by one, with the reaper being the last one.

What the reaper did not know though, was that Denise was standing behind the door. She had just come back because she had left her phone. When she saw the strange men through the window she got worried and stood closer. They were not there when she left only a few seconds before. She peaked into the room and there was no one there.

She walked into the house in confusion. What had happened? She peaked into the bedroom and they were not there either.

It was like they had disappeared into thin air.