[Bonus chapter] The giant reaper

Valeria was walking towards the convenience store, pulling her coat close to her when Mark called her again. She cancelled his call again. She was not in the mood to talk to him. She already did what she was supposed to do so she doesn't owe him anything anyway.

After she bought some sandwiches and a pint of ice cream, she sauntered back to the Zen Soul Headquarters. She is fast getting sick of eating cold sandwiches. She would love a hot meal and yet she is reluctant to go to a proper restaurant or cafe to get a proper meal alone. She has always eaten at home with the monsters in laws and even when she ate alone in the large dining room, Penny would be around to chat with her.

Her phone pinged again. She stared at it. It was Mark.

"Call me back. Urgent."

She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her phone.

"I'm not at your beck and call asshole," she said as she waltzed into the reapers' headquarters. A few reapers who were walking pass her gave her curious looks so she smiled sweetly at them and gave them a little wave. Her enhanced eyesight meant that she can now differentiate between humans and reapers. There are quite a number of humans at the headquarters today. Probably for the ongoing yoga and meditation classes, she thought.

She went over to the stairs and just as she takes the first step, someone jumped in front of her and blocked her way. Someone tall and large. Someone who towers over her even if they are not standing on a step above her. She looked up, up, up and found herself gazing into bright forest green eyes.

"So, you are that substitute mortal reaper," the owner of the bright green eyes remarked.

Valeria took a step back and took in the whole image of a tall, large man with mischievous looking green eyes and a shock of unruly silver hair. Definitely a reaper, she thought. And so deliciously good looking too. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if all male reapers are as good looking as this one and that she had not been paying more attention to the multitudes of them in the headquarters.

"Heh. Thank you. Just so you know, most reapers are genderless…we don't have to identify with any gender if we don't want to," the handsome reaper said.

Darn it. So this reaper can read her mind too. Has she no privacy here?

"I'm afraid so…you will need to learn how to silence your thoughts," the reaper replied conversationally. Valeria frowned at him.

"Who are you anyway and why are you blocking my way?" she asked him. Handsome or not, he is fast becoming as annoying as the demon in her room.

The giant silver haired green eyed reaper gave a loud bark of laughter.

"Demon! Hahahah…I am sure Ari hated that term," he said. "Give me a chance, I am pretty sure I am more amazing and awesome compared to that little demon," he wriggled his eyebrows cheekily.

Valeria could sense some sort of rivalry between this reaper and Ari. She studied him again and couldn't help admiring his fine features. If she was to compare this reaper with Ari…she quickly shove the thought aside and gave this reaper a look.

"Since you know who I am, shouldn't you at least introduce yourself?" she asked him. The giant reaper grinned cheekily at her.

"I am sure you were about to think I am more good looking than that little demon," he said. "I am Ace, and I don't have to tell you that I am a reaper, that much is obvious, so we are sort of colleagues,"

Do all reapers have names starting with A, she wondered.

"No, not all. Only our group under A. There are about 100 of us and I guess, you are the only reaper whose name doesn't start with A under A," he replied. (A/N: A as in the supervisor)

"Not like I had a choice, I was forced to do this or be sent to the King of Hell and be his slave or whatever," she retorted. Her stomach growled at that moment.

"Look, Ace, I would love to chat but I am hungry as fishes, can I go back to my room to eat in peace please without annoying reapers reading my mind and answering whatever the fishes I am thinking?" she stepped aside to go up the staircase but Ace's hand shot out to block her.

"Aw come on Vals. I've been wanting to meet you, you are sort of like a legend around here, let's hang out, you can eat at that cafe over there," he pointed to the back, a section she had not explored before. She craned her neck but couldn't see any sign of a cafe but then it stretched so far back, it is probably out of sight.

"What??? There's a cafe here? Then why in fishes did I go to the convenience store to get crummy sandwiches??!" she exclaimed. Damn the fish stick Ari, he could have told her.

Ace chuckled, dimples winking in both his cheeks. He placed a large hand on her arm lightly.

"Come, let me take you there for dinner," he said gallantly.

Since he's a reaper and in the same group under A, Valeria supposed he meant her no harm. It wasn't as if she was an escaped evil spirit anyway. Reapers couldn't harm normal mortals even if they wanted to. They can only reap those in their lists, she thought. She shrugged internally and let Ace guide her towards the back of the building.

They walked past a yoga group of humans being taught by a lithe purple-haired reaper in a female form. They walked past another group of humans sitting in meditation as a dark-haired androgynous-looking reaper hummed and murmured in a monotone. They walked past more ponds, water features and plant-wrapped platforms.

Finally they came to a section with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and french doors that opened out to an outdoor cafe set amidst water features, plants and more platforms with low tables and cushions.

Valeria marvelled at the gorgeousness of the tropical looking cafe and let Ace lead her outside to one of the platforms with beanbags and table. Once outside, she expected it to be cold but surprisingly, it was warm and has a tropical feel to it.

"This is not actually in your world," Ace told her at her puzzled expression on the difference in temperatures.

"Not in my world? What? Are we in hell?" she asked. She never knew the headquarters has a direct link to hell. To think, one can just walk into hell so easily.

Ace chuckled again.

"No, this is not hell…more like a reapers' realm. Our own space, in between," he explained.

Valeria looked around. It looked just like an outdoor space of the headquarters. Except for the difference in weather, it looked normal.

"So, is it always warm in reapers' realm?" she asked. "Is it because you are nearer to hell?"

Ace laughed.

"The weather here is always at a comfortable temperature, somethings chilly, sometimes warm and not, it is not because it is nearer to hell," he replied. "And no, we are not demons although I like that you call Ari a demon,"

A thought occurred to Valeria. Reapers don't need to eat. So why would they have their own private cafe in their realm?

She turned to look at Ace suspiciously. Did she get duped by something other than a reaper?