Heavenly Breath

part one ~ Tenshi wa Ore dake ni Hohoemu

It was a sob. The misplaced sound the youth heard was sobbing.

In a place like where he was, screams and cries were not by any means uncommon, but in this particular area it was odd. This was an area nobody went to, except him. Only officials were allowed, and those who could come around here never did. Not enough action. So it was always quiet, and he liked coming here to get away from his usual existence. To be alone.

But it seemed someone else had the same idea. Found the secluded spot to release their sorrow.

The young man peered around the corner, bright blue eyes widening when he saw just who it was weeping alone. "Shimura-kun!?"

The large golden eyes that looked up at him could’ve broken anyone’s heart. "Na...Nakamoto-kun..." A sniffle.

"What’s wrong?" Sitting next to his young protégé and friend, he gave the other a soft look. "Why are you crying?"

The short brunet wiped the tears from his cheek with the back of his sleeve and sniffled. "People...people hate us!" he burst out. "They want to destroy us! I...I don’t understand...don’t get what we did so wrong. We’re just doing what we were meant to do! Why do they hate us so much!?"

It surprised the dark-haired youth. As the one in charge of his young partner’s training, he’d come to know the other’s strengths and weaknesses...perception was not a strength. He didn’t think he’d have to approach this particular subject for a while, but the short boy seemed to have caught on already. Guess he had no choice but to be perfectly honest.

"Of course they hate us," he began. "We are demons, after all."

***************

The wind that constantly blew through the area picked up silky strands of pink and violet hair, whisking them across a scowl-held forehead. Matching violet eyes gazed down upon the land, searching. A sharp face held a look of stern concentration.

Until a blunt object hit him in the shoulder...hard.

"Yuusuke!" he shouted after seeing who’d just smacked him. "What’s the big idea!?"

The black-haired youth laughed out loud at the angry face his partner made. "You looked too serious. Lighten up!"

"We have an important mission ahead of us, how can you be so casual!?"

"If you let it get to you, you’ll get wrinkles." He ignored the other’s snort at the notion of them ever getting wrinkles. "We’ve just gotta do what we’ve gotta do. So do it!" He gave the other a shove, pushing him off his perch and sending him hurdling towards the Earth, cursing his existence. A smirk crossed his lips. "Go to it, Tougo."

With that, he opened his wings in a flurry of white feathers and dropped down after his friend.

***************

"Heehee!"

The blue-eyed demon smiled at his partner. It was hard explaining to the child-like one their existence, that they were evil, that what they did was considered wrong. It was difficult getting the boy to bear what they were. But the long conversation reaped understanding, and the youth came to accept that it was simply the way they were created. That’s just the way it was.

Ice cream helped too, and he treated the younger agent as a celebration of his first real mission. The boy ate cheerfully as they headed towards their destination on foot. When walking in the human world, they had to don a human guise, so no wings to fly with. No pointed tail either. They looked like two normal teenagers, not counting the flaming bright eyes that were impossible to hide.

"Na, how much longer until we get there?" the little demon inquired, not taking his attention away from the cold dessert.

"Should be right up ahead." He adjusted his glasses.

And he was right...of course. The huge set of buildings were before them a few minutes later, waiting for them. They stopped in front of the gates to take in what would be their home for a while.

"Se-ri-yuu High School," he read slowly. "It’s so big!" Golden eyes were widened with amazement. The posh private school was far larger than the public schools he’d seen in his prior training. What a place for a first mission! "Are we really going to stay here!?"

"That’s right," the other chuckled. "Though probably not for long. It’s an easy enough mission, so should go along quickly enough...providing nothing gets in the way."

The shorter demon looked at his partner curiously while stuffing the last of his ice cream cone in his mouth, but was silent.

"Let’s go in." A gesture towards the gates caused them to open, seemingly of their own will. The two of them crossed the line onto school grounds, smiling.

***************

Despite the bad take-off, the angel managed to land gracefully on his feet upon the school rooftop. Not a minute later his taller partner landed behind him.

"We’re here."

The black-haired young man folded his wings behind him, then they vanished. He walked over to the edge of the building and peered over the side. Fearless, as a fall wouldn’t hurt him. "So now what?"

A snort accompanied the answer, "we register, of course." He joined the other at the roof’s edge and took in the surroundings, noting there wasn’t anyone around since classes had already started for the day.

"Man, I don’t wanna have to go to school!" The whine hung in the air as the two dropped off the roof.

***************

"What!? We can’t room together!?" The small imp tugged on his friend’s sleeve. "I don’t wanna be alone!"

Gently taking the other’s hand to settle him down, "we have to be separated, to avoid suspicion. Besides, it’ll be easier that way, so we can cover more ground."

Pulling his hand away, the shorter youth crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. Little more than a minute later a secretary approached them, giving them each a new student packet, which contained their class schedules and room assignments. After thanking the woman the pair left, heading toward the dorms.

"It’s not like we’ll be that far apart from each other," the bespeckled demon was saying. "Our rooms are still in the same building and-" He stopped when he realized the other had discontinued walking. "Shimura-kun?"

The boy was staring off into the distance, and following the line of his gaze disclosed a beautiful sight. A tall, lean frame that was almost too skinny, long blond hair that shone in the sunlight, and gorgeous blue-green eyes set in an angular face. A stunning piece of human artwork, casually strolling back to his room after having left class early.

But that’s not what made the vision so great.

"It’s him!"

Adjusting his glasses, a blue-eyed glance confirmed the statement. "So it is."

"This’ll be easier than we thought! I might even get a promotion!" With a giggle, he lept into the air, black leather wings appearing on his back.

In his excitement, he didn’t even hear his tutor yell for him to wait.

Slender legs stopped their journey short when a figure appeared before the teen. Short brown hair, he noted, petite, with large golden eyes and a round face. It wasn’t the boy’s appearance, though, that caught his attention...it was the fact that he was hovering in the air in front of him, bobbing slightly with the movement of black wings. He blinked in surprise.

"Hi!" the...thing...greeted him cheerfully. "You wouldn’t happen to be Shimon Takagi, would you?" The smile plastered on his face pretty much gave away that he already knew the answer.

"What...what do you want?"

Seeing such a creature giggle seemed more than a little unusual. Who’d have thought demons could be cute? "You have something I need."

The teen took a step back. "Like what?" As if he had to ask.

"Your soul, of course!" And with that he pounced at his victim, arms outreached.

It was a flurry of white feathers that stopped him. Sharp white feathers, one of which managed to knick his cheek, causing a small cut and thin trickle of blood. He gasped and threw his arms up to protect himself, the force of the strike pushing him back a bit.

"I’m afraid I can’t let you do that," a nasal voice spoke as the storm dissipated, and the short demon looked up...and the breath caught in his throat. Violet hair like silk with a strip of pink, piercing bright violet eyes, and a strong body, surrounded by large white feather wings; the ethereal sight was paralyzing. "Who are you?" the angel asked.

"M-Mikimaro Shimura," he stammered. "Demon, third class."

The other snorted. "Tougo Arai, Angel first class."

"Angel!?" Then paused. "What’s an angel?"

Violet eyes blinked. "You...don’t know?" He smirked when the little demon shook his head slowly. "No matter," he raised his arm, crossing it over his chest. "You’ll soon learn!" His hand shot out towards his opponent, accompanied by another barrage of feathers.

For the first time since the angel’s appearance, Mikimaro shut his eyes, tightly. He cringed, waiting for the attack to hit him. When it didn’t come he looked up to see his partner standing in front of him, holding a hand up while the razor feathers bounced off an invisible barrier.

Unmistakable. Blue-black hair tied into a short ponytail, bright blue eyes behind thin-framed glasses, and a thin figure. "You!" the angel stopped his attack and glared at the new arrival.

"You know the rules," the other demon spoke, sunlight glinting off his glasses with a tilt of his head. "Angels are to be at all times merciful." A faint smirk played on his lips and in his voice, "you can’t attack anything."

"Nakamoto-kun! Nakamoto-kun, what is he!?"

The bright blue eyes never left the being in front of them. "He’s our opponent...but don’t worry, he can’t touch us. His powers are for helping only."

The angel scowled.

"Tougo!" Another winged creature flew up, landing beside the violet-haired one. This one with black hair and sparkling silver eyes...and a rather big mouth. "What are you doing, just leaving me behind without saying anything!?! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for-"

"Yuusuke...Kato..."

All eyes turned toward the demon who’d spoke, and silver eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Syo..." The world fell silent as the two stared at each other. Everything stood still, except their hearts, pounding in their chests at the first glance in hundreds of years.

Neither knew what to say. All this time, each had thought about what they would tell the other when they met again. Both practiced the words they would say, if ever the other should again appear before them. And now that they had...neither could even take a breath.

They could only stare; their gazes locked....

It was movement that resumed the turning of the Earth. The blond target, having grown tired of the show-down, turned on his heels and continued his interrupted journey back to his room. He had to be to work soon, and if these...things...wanted to fight over him, they’d have to do it later. Hands in his pockets, he walked without a glance back.

"Wait!" the shorter demon called after him, getting no response. "Don’t get away!" He lunged after the teen, but ended up on his face when Tougo quickly leapt forward and grabbed his tail. Thus began their very first ranting and teasing session.

Watching for but a minute, Syo turned to the black-haired angel before him. "And so...it begins."

to be continued....

notes:

The title comes from the 'Sukisho!' vocal album ~Heavenly Breath~ ...I stole it!  ^^  Chapter title is Takagi's image song from the 'Sotsugyo M' final album Ore-tachi no Sotsugyo.  It translates to "the angels smile only at me" and is actually a really good song.  ^,^  Ryo-sama's voice is quite sexy in it.  Err...anyway.. ^^*