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By Rae (Yume68 @ hotmail.com) -<>-<>-<>- Heaven was perfect… Heaven was flawless… Heaven was made up of the Father's love and power, two things that never corrupted Him. Heaven was… completely, and utterly, boring. Seolfer never understood her creator. He had made her in the image of an adolescent, bright and beautiful, sharp-witted and alert. She had been granted the gifts of the Old World gods, allowing her to control the Heavens and most of the elements. Her pubescence permitted her to learn new things, like how to adapt to a weapon or style of warfare. She had fought bravely through the battle for the Throne… So if God had given her all the attributes of a young adult… couldn't He make his Kingdom more… interesting? So, to relieve herself of bordem, she travelled to the Mortal Plane in search of something to capture her. She found a friend there, someone that accepted her into a mortal life… and she was punished for it. Having recovered from that, she saw the same thing happening to her brother, only in the romantic sense. Tatsumi Seiichirou was the man's name… a mortal that cared for her sibling as much as her brother cared for him. It was perfection, it was beautiful, it was something that Raphael had been willing to give up his seat on the Council for… And he had been punished, taken away from her, losing all memories… and then he became a God of Death. She hadn't expected to see him again. Nor Seiichirou, who wasn't their Seiichirou. And suddenly, she wasn't silver any longer. Seolfer. She was gold. Aurum. -<>-<>-<>- Seven: Circle Cassiel gazed upon the duo with a large grin, muscular arms crossed, spiked, red hair blowing slightly in the wind. He was dry, untouched by the unfortunate weather, keeping a thin barrier about his form. His wings were outstretched, holding him still in the air, making him seem more like a creature out of a fairytale than someone working for God. "What are you doing here?" Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes. Just when he thought it was safe to come out, this bastard had to find him. Cassiel had pursued him even in the Kingdom, desperately trying to claim the attention of the Healer. He was annoying, persistant, territorial, ignorant… Those were just his good days. "Well, I was coming to stop the Vial from being poured, but I was too late… then I saw you and this… guy." "Tatsumi," the 'guy' corrected, frowning. "… This guy," Cassiel continued, "and I figured that you had gotten over that Seiichirou character…" Raphael sighed, rubbing his temples. He felt a migraine coming on. "Cassiel, this is that 'character'… Seiichirou… died, remember? I'd like you to meet the Shinigami secretary-slash-chief, Tatsumi Seiichirou." The new angel turned his eyes onto the man in question, scowling. So, the bastard was back, was he? The mortal that had taken away all hopes of gaining Raphael's affections was alive, well, relatively speaking, minus one gunshot wound. And from the way he met his gaze challengingly, Cassiel knew that he had not entirely given up on the prize at stake. A smile quirked his lips. This would be fun. "Obviously, we were too late to stop the Vial from being poured." "Obviously," Raphael echoed quietly, flatly. He really didn't want to be there. Wait, so why the hell was he there? The angel closed his eyes and let out a sigh, light overcoming his being, allowing him to slip into what he accurately and affectionately called 'Stasis'. Before two pairs of eyes, Raphael faded, leaving a disorientated scientist in his departure. Watari sighed, fixed his glasses, and pulled out what looked like a kerchief to tie his hair back, long pieces hanging in his eyes and sticking to his skin with the rain. Cassiel stared in blatant interest, eyes wide, moving toward the blonde Shinigami. Watari seemed quite alarmed and unsure when the unfamiliar one put a hand on his cheek. "How very interesting… You are Raphael, but you are not. … Still so beautiful, though…" 003 glared at the angel. Something just wasn't right about this one. "W-Who…?" The angel stepped back and bowed with a flourish. "I am Cassiel, the ruling Prince of the Seventh Heaven who appears as the Angel of Temperance and Prince of the Order of Powers. I bind together the unity of the Eternal Kingdom." Tatsumi snorted. "By the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you are doing your job. Vacation, perhaps?" Cassiel sneered. "You're one to talk. It appears that you needed to put a bullet through your chest to get a vacation of your own." "Stop it," Watari whispered hoarsely, balling his hands tightly at his sides, but the two kept arguing, sniping at each other about deeds that they knew not of. 003 buried herself into her master's hair, cooing softly, pitying the men that fought with their words, rather than their fists. They were insecure and petty, hiding behind what they said, feeling that they were defending their blonde piece of property. "Stop it," the scientist pleaded again, the world swimming in a cacophony of color and sound. He could see the Vial being poured… could see the ground being torn up in angry fissures, could see the people running, trying to save their children and loved ones, could see the blood splattering, the bodies flying, thedebristhepainthehorrorthefearthehurtthepleadingtheprayingthescreaming thecryingthelaughterthehumortheevilthedemons… Oh, God… the gun… the blood… why aren't you waking up…? seiichirou…? tatsumi… i am never enough… the cheerful one… that is all i will ever be… i am nothing more, nothing less in his eyes… "Stop it." His voice was cracking. "You think you can take care of him?!" "You think you can bring him to your broken Kingdom and live?!" "Stop it!" "I knew him first!" "I had him first!" "We were born from the same Creator!" "We were in love!" "Were. Why are you defending him if you use past tense?" "He never loved you, so why do you pursue him?" "For God's sake, STOP IT!!!!!!" The air erupted with a sonic boom, but the sound barrier hadn't been breeched. The two stopped their pointless bickering to stare at the third of their party. Watari glared at them both with angry eyes, especially at Tatsumi. "I am NOT your… your PRIZE!! You both… you just… ARGH!! I can't even form a coherent sentence! I'm going back to Meifu to help. You two can sit here and argue some more." With that said, Watari disappeared in a flurry of feathers, leaving the two staring in surprise after him. -<>-<>-<>- I don't understand it… Muraki… I gave up everything… For you… And this betrayal… -<>-<>-<>- Watari heard such a plea, then turned his trajectory and faded back to ChiJou. -<>-<>-<>- "Oh…" There were no words for the sight Watari was witnessing. Strung up, hanging prone in the center of the room, was the long-haired man that had fought with Hisoka over a cardkey. Blood decorated the walls and furniture, splattered against the floral designs, and the table with the tea sets had been thrown in what looked like to be a fit of rage. Woven like an erratic web was thread, glistening with blood in the dim, overhead lanterns. The dark head was bowed in submission, immobile, defeated. The scientist moved to grab one of the threads when it almost cut his hand off. Yelping in pain, he waited a minute before the appendage healed, taking painstaking care to avoid touching the string. "Are you all right?! Can you…" He trailed off when he noticed the shape his body made. A mockery. A parody of the Crucifixion. "Oh, God! I've got to get you down!" "Don't." "I… I beg your pardon?!" "Don't. Leave me here. This is my punishment, and my penance." Watari struggled to come up with the words to describe the man's implications. "You-You're going to allow this, this Corpal Mortification?! This isn't penance! This is self-mutilation!" "No. Not self. I am merely taking the retribution given. He calls the shots for me, now. Isn't love grand?" The scientist said nothing to further that statement, but something inside him strummed, like a guitar string being plucked. "Gabriel." The dark-haired man lifted his head and smiled wanly. "Has it been so long, Raphael, that you have forgotten me so easily?" The blonde closed his eyes to try and bring the angel out, but nothing happened. He was not drawn into that warm, deep darkness where he was allowed to sleep. Raphael refused to resurface. Well, that wasn't good. "I… He won't…" "No, I suppose not," Oriya mused quietly, sighing. "The boy could never take it when he saw something he loved hurt or taken from him. I'd venture to say it would be the latter." Watari sighed. "Yes… He loved a man named Seiichirou… I love a man named Tatsumi… but they are the same man." "Ah. The four-eyes that was hear with you and bouya." 003 was jolted slightly from her slumber when the shoulders she had been perched on tensed, blinking curiously up at the bound man. "He seemed like a kind man, if not a bit… stiff." Despite the situation, Watari smiled. "Yeah… That's a good description." "Is this our punishment? As angels, can we not love? Will we be the ones that are hurt?" A sigh. "Seems that way." "Go back to your world. Muraki… he's there… and with his newly-discovered identity… he won't be the one to relent this time. Don't worry. I'll be let down when he sees it fit." Watari looked dubious for a moment, then sighed, nodding his agreement. "All right. Good luck." "Oh, and Raphael?" He turned around. "We are on our own now with this war… the Holy Trinity has… forsaken us." |