A Fate Worse Than Death

Entrance Hall, Death Incorporated Building, Early morning

The interior of the building is designed to look very mundane and normal. It is the sort of office building you’d find anywhere.

Akane Hayakawa stands in the entrance hall. She is in a queue of people leading up to the front desk. The rest of the people in the queue are shadowy and not in detail. She is nearing the front of the queue.

Akane is dressed in a formal outfit. She holds her bag in her hands tightly. She is clearly nervous. She glances around, confused.

The person who was in front of her in the queue moved away. Akane doesn’t notice. She’s too busy glancing around nervously.

Receptionist (Off-panel): “Next.”

Akane doesn’t hear it. She’s too anxious and nervous.

The receptionist glances up for just a moment. She has a scowl across her face.

Receptionist: “I said, next!”

Akane flinches before she quickly scurries up to the desk.

Akane: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The receptionist sighs and looks at her computer. She starts typing.

Akane: “I, um, I applied for a job at this company and I got a call back. Today was supposed to be my first day but…”

Akane has an embarrassed expression.

Akane: “I keep getting lost. Can you help me?”

The receptionist continues typing without looking up.

Receptionist: “Name?”

Akane: “Um…Akane Hayakawa.”

Receptionist: “Age?”

Akane is looking more confused.

Akane: “Twenty-four?”

The receptionist types again. She has a straight and serious face.

Receptionist: “Are you a good person?”

Akane’s face is confused. Then, slowly, her expression grows flustered. It’s a mixture of confusion and embarrassment. How is she supposed to answer that question?

Akane: “Um…uh…”

Akane avoids eye contact as she truly thinks about the answer. After a moment of retrospection, she finally replies.

Akane: “No.”

The receptionist finally looks up. Her expression is still mostly blank, but there is a hint of surprise on her face. She almost raises an eyebrow. This wasn’t the answer she was expecting.

Akane feels flustered by the receptionist looking at her.

Akane: “W-well, I mean, I try to do good things. I donate to charities. I do volunteer work sometimes. But every day, I see on the news the horrible things happening to people all around the world. War and famine and poverty. There are people who have given up everything they have to help, and I’m not one of them. Instead, I’m complacent living a relatively comfortable life in a safe country.”

Akane smiles. It is the sad smile of someone who has accepted her own sins. She recognises her own evil.

Akane: “So no, I’m not a good person.”

The receptionist goes back to typing on the computer. She doesn’t raise her head again.

Receptionist: “Cause of death?”

Akane looks blankly at the receptionist. The question is so outrageous that she’s certain she must have misheard. She forces herself to laugh.

Akane: “Sorry, I didn’t hear you properly, could you repeat the question?”

Receptionist: “Cause of death?”

Akane begins to panic. She is starting to sweat profusely. Her exaggerated panic is a moment of great comedy.

Akane: “I…my cause of…uh…”

A hand comes from behind to tap her shoulder.

Spirit 1 (Off-panel): “Hey lady, will you hurry it up? Some of us have places to be.”

Akane begins to turn around.

Akane: “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long—”

Akane sees who is behind her. It is a middle-aged man who has a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. The hole goes through the entirety of his head, and Akane can see straight through it.

There is a moment of silence.

Then, Akane screams in complete terror. There are tears at the edge of her eyes. Her terrified expression is very humourous.

Title card: My New Boss is the Grim Reaper?! Episode 1.

Entrance Hall, Death Incorporated Building, Early morning

Akane continues screaming and panicking wildly. She holds her fear in just long enough to ask a question. She is shaking terribly.

Akane: “A-A-A-A-re you okay? Oh my god, is that a bullet wound?”

The man looks confused. He glances back at some of the other people in the queue. Everyone appears equally confused. Akane is the only one who seems to be in shock.

The receptionist takes a deep sigh of disappointment.

Akane ruffles through her bag.

Akane: “Oh god, oh god. D-Don’t worry, I’ll call the ambulance!”

Akane takes out her phone. There is a close-up of her signal bar which reads No Signal.

Akane: “No Signal?!”

Akane glances up. The man is still staring at her, very confused. Akane becomes even more panicked and scarred. She returns to ruffling through her bag.

Akane: “Um…um….”

Akane takes out a single bandaid.

Akane: “H-Here!”

Akane sticks the bandaid on the man’s forehead before he can react.

The bandaid is very clearly too small for the bullet hole. The edges of the hole are still visible.

There is a pause as Akane and the man stand there in complete silence. Nobody moves.

Then, the bandaid falls off very anti-climatically.

Akane begins to scream again.

Akane: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Akane returns to her bag.

Akane: “I-I’ll get another one!”

Another man approaches her. His face is obscured by the panel.

Spirit 2: “Ma’am, you should calm down.”

Akane looks up at the man. His face is completely covered in bandages, leaving only a single eye poking through. The eye does not appear to have an eyelid. The spaces between the wraps of bandages reveal rotting flesh underneath.

Akane screams again. She falls onto the ground, shaking.

Spirit 3 (Off-panel): “Are you okay?”

A third man offers her a hand up. Akane turns to look at him. It is a man whose head is detached. He holds his head under one arm while he offers to help Akane up with the other.

Akane screams the hardest this time. She is completely and irreversibly terrified. Her expression of terror is very exaggerated and toned for humour. Tears are streaming unstoppably down her cheeks.

From behind the receptionist’s desk, a dark figure approaches. The angle of the panels hides his face, though it is clear he is wearing a formal western suit. There is a dark and malicious aura about him. He glances out at all the spirits gathered around Akane.

Death: “What’s going on? Why are all the spirits gathered over there?”

The receptionist speaks without turning back to face Death. Her expression is one of boredom.

Receptionist: “Some spirit came in here and got into a panic. I don’t think she realises she’s dead.”

Death glances at the receptionist’s computer screen.

Death: “So she doesn’t think of herself as a good person?”

Receptionist: “We don’t get a lot of people who can admit that.”

Death laughs maliciously.

Death: “In that case, maybe I should go over there and give her a really good scare.”

The receptionist sighs.

Receptionist: “If she sees you right now, she might just lose her mind.”

Death walks towards the crowd of spirits.

Death: “What’s the harm? It’s not like it’ll kill her.”

Death approaches the crowd of spirits. Many of the spirits turn to look at him. The moment they see him, their faces are filled with fear. They instinctually move away as he gets closer, clearing a path for him through the crowd.

Death’s full appearance is still not fully shown, but there are hints that he is very tall and that his head is inhuman. There are glimpses of his antler horns.

Death gets to the centre of the crowd, where Akane is curled up on the floor. She is curled up into a ball and rocking back and forth with fear. She mutters to herself as she does so.

Akane: “This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is just a dream.”

Death reaches a hand over to touch Akane’s shoulder.

Death: “Oh, this is very much real, young lady.”

Akane looks up.

Death’s full face is revealed. It is a horrifying sight. Death’s entire head is a deer skull, with massive gaping holes where his eyes are supposed to be. Worse yet, his whole body gives off an aura of malicious energy.

There is no doubt this creature, for he is too vile to be called human, is the very embodiment of all things evil and cruel. He is a demon, in every sense of the word.

Death opens his mouth to reveal a horrifying line of mangled teeth. His mouth is able to open scarily wide. It is big enough to completely devour Akane’s head, and he leans down so close, it almost seems like that is what he is going to do.

Death (Narration): “If you are truly the sinner you claim you are, this is just a taste of what you will be getting. Are you scared yet, young lady?”

Death meets Akane’s eyes. He is shocked.

Akane looks up at him without a shred of fear across her face. She has a hint of slight awe and curiosity, but otherwise, she does not seem afraid. There is almost a sense that she might recognise him from somewhere; as if she is trying to remember who he is.

Death is completely taken aback. Then, he quickly becomes angry. He closes his mouth and moves his head back.

Death: “Do you think you’re brave?!”

Death starts to grow. The crowd of spirits around have horrified expressions. Many of them turn to run, screaming.

Death continues to grow. The full extent of his transformation is obscured, but there are glimpses. Dark fur grows out to cover his back. His arms grow to reveal bone underneath his sleeves. His hands become feral claws. His teeth grow in size and sharpness.

Death has become so large that he is able to coil himself around Akane, almost like a snake. His full form is revealed. Whatever semblance of humanity he had has vanished. He is a monster, through and through.

Death cranes his head to Akane. He opens his mouth wide to roar at her.

Death (Narration): “Fear me!”

Akane doesn’t move. Her expression doesn’t change. She holds no fear. She is not afraid. If anything, she almost looks comfortable.

Death looks down at Akane with more shock. Then, his body begins to shrink.

Death (Narration): “Why…”

His fur recedes. His claws revert to what appears to be human hands. There are glimpses of his head becoming human too.

Death (Narration): “Why aren’t you afraid of me?!”

Akane’s eyes widen.

Death is now fully human. He is a handsome but brooding man with a face that holds a tragic past. He stands over Akane with a look of anger, shock, and disgust. His teeth are clenched and his eyes are sharp.

Death: “You’re still alive.”