My apologies everyone! This chapter and two other fics were meant to be released on Christmas, then on New Year's but I was swamped with work and various other real life incidents. I only hope you can forgive me by enjoying these. I even upped this three chapter fic to four chapters! This is very unedited, yet I find it hilarious that it is exactly 2016 words, perfect for this new year.

There was no way Gou was curious about that model from a few days ago.

He also wasn't scouring the internet for some information of him or pictures that showed glimpses of him in them … No amount of trying to convince himself otherwise wasn't working. Pausing in his more or less fruitless task, Gou leaned back in his chair to look at the only wall that Kiriko had allowed him to cover in photographs of his favorite shots. Many of them were from past shoots where his boss sent him a few copies, others were from his freelance time of landscapes, and the rest were his sister and him… and Shin-nii-san too of course.

Eyes drifted down to land on the copies Kiriko just dropped off on the desk nearby. That model stared back at him, a powerful presence that paired perfectly well with the black motorcycle that he was riding… The motorcycle that he had been practically straddling, and oh dear god his mind was not going to go there at all. Gou could practically feel his sister's eyes boring into his skull and he shifted in his seat, refusing to glance over towards where she was sitting comfortably in a recliner nearby.

"You should know it was only his fourth shoot. He really suits his stage name, doesn't he?"

"Stage name?" Gou paused, fingers half-way raised in an attempt to restart his search while his brain connected the dots. Movement caught the corner of his eye and as he turned to look, he found his sister \standing beside his chair. Crap, he had forgotten that it was a rule…

"Oh!" Kiriko's eyes widened with the realization that she had forgotten to tell her dear brother his stage name, which would have been the only way to find him on the internet, seeing as his real name was never used in the public eye, just like The White Goddess and Heart. A quick check on what Gou was searching for via his search bar only made it quite clear he had forgotten that rule. However she couldn't fault him for it; the company only now had given him his name in a public meet and greet just a few days ago.

"He's known as the Shinigami, the Grim Reaper."

Grim Reaper? As quickly as he could, the boy's fingers darted across the keyboard and hit enter. Immediately pictures began to pop up as well as articles and the very few magazines they were in. There was one that had captured his attention. Its mysterious nature and dark atmosphere made all of the others look pale in comparison. So drawn he was into it, and rather jealous it hadn't been him that had gotten the shot, he only dimly heard his sister point it out and say it was her favorite, as well as the first shot ever released to the public.

Damn…

The photo was darkly lit with an atmospheric setting such as a low-hanging tree with smoke around its base. Yet the thing that popped out, other than the small child crying over a grave was there in the background. A figure was leaning down as if to help the child up; it was easy to see it was the model himself. His face could be seen underneath the loose cloak he wore, and the clothes underneath looked so intricate yet ancient and otherworldly. It was perfect. Even though his eyes were cast downwards, there was a softness to them, something that pulled at his heart.

It was small details like this that made the shots perfect.

"You're jealous." His sister's voice brought him out of his daze with a start. Glaring up at her, he stuttered a no and crossed his arms over his chest, sinking into the chair as she chuckled. It was obvious she could see through his poor defense. The way his eyes kept flickering up to roam over the picture again and again was also a clear clue on where his thoughts lay. She leaned back on her heels, simply observing her brother.

It had been interesting to see the way he would react when Chase – Kiriko almost giggled at the fact she knew his actual name – had offered to fill in for the sick model once his agency gave him the confirmation. From a look of annoyance to sudden jaw-dropping awe, it was such a quick 180 turn. Kiriko lowered one finger to poke her brother's cheek, earning her the reaction of him nearly falling out of the seat in order to dodge her next one.

"Oi!" Gou protested, a frown tilting his lips downwards as his fingers tightened on the edge of the chair to prevent himself from falling. Him, jealous? Okay… He would never admit it to her face, but yes, he was jealous. Any photographer would be jealous of a work that is so perfect. Sure, Gou had snapped some amazing ones himself, but he always kept pushing himself to get better. Photography with his passion after all. His sister chuckled at his expressions before she straightened up, an idea beginning to form in her mind. Excusing herself with a rather bright smile that, to Gou, looked very suspicious, Kiriko walked out of the room.

"What are you planning, sis?" the photographer murmured, nibbling on his lower lip uncertainly. Whenever he saw that particular smile, it never boded well for him at all. Following after her wouldn't get him anywhere, and when her door clicked shut across the hall, he knew whatever was being planned would end up sneaking up on him when he least expected it. With a sigh, Gou resolved to settle back down in his chair, pulling his signature white jacket closer around his chest.

The pictures stared back at him, nearly all of them otherworldly in nature. It reminded him of how the company made each of their models famous, something that made them quite famous to begin with as well as being versatile on having models for every occasion. Each of the executives worked one on one with the models when they were hired. Their stage names came from their first shoots that were released to the public. Gou wasn't too familiar with the details, but it had something to do with their personalities and how they held themselves.

Heart had been the first to receive his stage name that he knew of. His personality was heartwarming, which is where the name came from, and the fact he considers everyone around him a friend. His shoots were suited to happy ones, especially ones centering around family or friends. The White Goddess was almost always in white, although there had been instances where she wore black whenever the clothing designer wished it. Hers were more romantic in style, which left him wondering why they had picked her for the motorcycle shoot.

Perhaps it was to show that women were also interested in the product? It would please the audience, especially the female buyers… As his eyes roamed over the pictures again, he recalled another model from the agency. It wasn't one he had worked with personally yet, Brain. From the few pictures he had seen from him he figured he was more intellectually based with shoots, a favorite with business advertisements and technology.

That left this Grim Reaper… Gou's eyebrows furrowed as he studied a close up of the man. He did suit the stage name they picked out for him, he had the looks for it too. It seemed his color theme was purple, similar to Heart's being red and the Goddess' being white – as well as that Brain guy having green. Honestly he would have expected black, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to not go towards the cliché grim reaper in a black cloak that everyone always envisioned.

All of a sudden he sighed, burying his head in his hands. That left the purple getup, which seemed to always lurk in the back of his mind. Why? Why that purple leather? Grumbling to himself, he pushed his laptop back and laid his head on the cool wooden desk. It wasn't like he didn't like leather - it wasn't something he would wear - it was the fact that it looked so damn good on that model. The Grim Reaper… He mumbled it to himself in a whisper, trying out the stage name. Obviously they would shorten it to Reaper, but still it was a mouthful. Pity they never could figure out their real names.

A shrill noise startled him, Gou landing on the ground and his face stinging from the sudden impact. The photographer inhaled deeply as he stared at the wall on the other side of the room, contemplating exactly why it had startled him in the first place to the point of him falling flat on his face. The sound continued to ring above, reminding him to change the ringtone to something other than the annoying default ringtone built into the phone. The thought of it possibly being a text from either his manager or someone else important, even Shin-nii-san, was enough for Gou to sit up where he had fallen and reach for the offending piece of technology.

Oh, it was just an alert… It was all too tempting to give into the desire to mash the 'end alert' again and again but he squashed it so he could read what was printed on the screen.

Alarm Reminder: Sunset in 30 minutes.

Sunset in half an hour? For a second he mulled over the strange reminder before his eyes widened and shut the alarm off. Sunset! He didn't have much time to make it! Gou sprang to his feet and only took a moment to look at a collection of pictures haphazardly thrown on his desk, the very reason why he kept setting alarms every day. They were of the same place at sunset, different clouds clinging to the air as the setting sun's light washed over them. Gorgeous colors of red and blue, purple and orange all mixed into a beautiful canvas of nature's design, one that was never repeated. It was one of his favorite things to photograph on his off days.

He knew the place well, a rarely traveled path overlooking a lake with mountains in the distance. Kiriko and he had gone there many times with their mother, always ones to explore their grandparent's house and the forests beyond back in the days. Even to this day, he wanted to capture the timelessness that was lost in the city. The city was different than the sparse locations where forests and mountains dominated rather than buildings and people. There were railings that guarded pedestrians against falling down the steep cliff, he remembered scaring his mother and sister when he balanced on top of it, smiling as if it was a simple task.

Just the thought of that brought a warm smile to his lips, eyes softening and replaying the memory he cherished so dearly. He would have taken a picture of himself in front of it, but he wanted it to be natural, not staged, and there was rarely anyone who walked that way anymore… Even his sister agreed that it should be someone who happened to be there. However she did always loved his pictures and thought all of them were amazing, but she didn't understand the obsession, the need to have that perfect shot that he was unable to capture since the one he took of Mount Fuji!

With a jolt, Gou looked at the time again and nearly sputtered. He just spent five minutes strolling through memory lane! Grabbing his pack and camera, and shoving his feet into his shoes, Gou yelled out a goodbye to his sister before he raced out of the house. If he was late in catching the subway over to the station, he would miss the small amount of time available to take some test pictures. For his mother and grandparents, Gou prayed he could make it.