A/N: I'm so sorry guys! Something went wrong and the original chapter disappeared... But here it is again! Please enjoy the first chapter of Touched By An Angel!
I stared at the ceiling, lying on the stone-cold bed. How long had it been since then? Days? Months? Years? I turned to my side, trying not to let the past get the better of me. Right now I just wanted to get some sleep. I closed my eyes, hoping for tomorrow.
"Aya! Wake up and get your fucking ass down here!"
I groaned as I slowly got up. Damn, today was going to be just like any other day. When could I have some time to be by myself? I sighed, stood up out of bed, and dragged myself down the stairs.
A head popped out from behind the kitchen wall.
"It's about fucking time you got down here. Go get some cigarettes and beer for me."
"Yes, Father," I said, trying to hide the disgust I felt towards him. He'd been like this since the day Mom left, but now it was just getting out of hand. Then again, I didn't really have a choice; it was either doing what he said or facing the punishment he created for the day. Both choices were terrible.
I ran up the stairs as fast as I could without glancing at my dad, wore whatever clothes I grabbed out of the closet, and ran out the door before I had to hear another "request" from him. I leaned against the door, took a deep breath, and started walking to the nearby convenience store.
"Ohayo, Aya-chan," said a friendly voice as I opened the door.
"Ohayo, Ta-kun."
He smiled at my weariness. "Is it the usual?"
"Yeah." I felt a huge wave of relief. Ta-kun was always there to cheer me up.
"So how are things, besides how they are everyday?" he added after I gave him a look.
"I honestly just want to get the hell out of the house so I don't have to deal with him anymore." I replied.
Ta-kun smirked. "As if that will happen."
"Shut up." I grabbed the shopping bag from his hand and left, heading toward the place I wanted to avoid the most.
"You're late. What the fuck took you so long?" was my dad's usual phrase when he saw me walking through the door.
"You told me to get beer and cigarettes for you." I said as controlled as I could.
"Don't give me the goody-goody shit, you bitch." The next thing I knew I was against the wall with my hair painfully pulled up in his fist. I knew better than to scream, because if I did, it would only get worse.
"You'll learn not to be a smartass with me," he quickly reached into his pocket and took out his pocket knife. "But I want to make sure it sinks into your skin."
I'm not sure how long he slashed, but when he was done, I saw blood everywhere. It took everything I had not to collapse right in front of him, because I didn't want him taking my virginity away from me too.
"Make sure you clean up," he said as he closed the knife and walked upstairs to his room.
The instant I heard the door slam shut I ran into the kitchen, dressed my wounds as fast as I could, cleaned up the blood on the floor, and left the house with hopes of making it to my secret hideout before going unconscious.
Feathers rain down from the sky
White but stained with a crimson dye.
One by one, Heaven's angels will fall
Bringing down to Earth the end for all.
A life must be traded to end the world's hurt
She is the Chosen One since the day of her birth.
Innocent and pure-hearted, a strong warrior,
Touched by an Angel, she is our Savior.
I woke up in a daze, trying to remember where I was. I sat up and looked around, then let out a sigh of relief. I'd somehow made it to my secret place before passing out from blood loss.
My secret hideout was the only place my father never knew about. It was hidden behind a large group of bushes that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere, but it was actually close to where I lived. The entrance was located underneath a trap door that had a special combination, while the exit was camouflaged into a small underground corridor. Inside was a stairway that led underground to a small room with the basic necessities to get by for about a month or so.
I sat on the hard bed, staring helplessly at an old picture of my mother from what seemed like forever ago.
"Mom… what should I do?" I didn't bother to hide the hurt inside. I cried the tears that I'd been hiding from my father for so many years, simply letting them fall while looking at my mother's smiling face.
Do not lose sight of what you must do, child.
I looked up, trying to find the voice's owner. "Who is it? Where are you?"
You must rest and let yourself heal before you face your fate.
"What fate?"
Only when the time is right will you understand what the future holds for you.
A faint white light appeared before me, in the shape of what looked like a ghost… no, it was an… angel? I thought I was crazy, until I felt myself unwillingly lie on the bed, like the angel was gently pushing me down to put me to sleep.
"No…. I've rested enough. I don't need to sleep anymore…." Even as I said it, I could feel myself slowly giving in to the temptation of rest. My eyelids felt heavy, then slowly everything went black. The last thing I saw was my mother smiling down at me.
The Angel's Touch has been complete,
Now the Warrior must rise to her feet
And prepare for what the future holds
For there is no escape from what will unfold.
The time of the Purge has yet to come
Though a short time remains to hide and run.
Chosen by the Almighty Creator
To protect the Earth, she will become its Savior.
My eyes snapped open as I bolted upright on the bed. I looked around, relieved to find myself still in my underground lair. For some reason, I heard a voice in my head reciting a strange poem about someone saving the world from ending. I shrugged and shook my head, not letting the dream get to me. After all, it was only a dream, right?
I glanced at my watch and almost freaked out. It was almost dinner time; I'd slept for over ten hours and I wasn't home, which meant that I'd get double the dose of what happened in the morning. I shuddered at the thought of facing my father again, but it was impossible to avoid the inevitable. I left my underground hideout, making sure to put everything back in its exact positions, and ran home as quickly and quietly as I could.
When I quietly opened the door, I saw my father leaning against the wall expectantly.
"You were smart to come back. I don't want to go through the trouble of catching you with the authorities involved. Besides, I hope that you've learned your damn lesson by now." He smiled coldly, as if he hoped I hadn't.
"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble, Father," I responded innocently, bowing to show "respect."
"Tell me where you were."
Shit, I thought. Why'd he have to ask now?
He stared at me evilly, as though peering into the depths of my soul, trying to find the answer to his question.
I ignored his stare, answering as convincingly as I could. "I was at a friend's house. I helped her finish a project she had to do for school."
He gave me a calculating gaze. I tried my best not to show the hate I felt towards him.
"Okay. At least you were being useful." Even as he said it, I knew he'd try and do some research later. Man, he was the goddamn Devil.
Before he could ask me anything I went up to my room as quietly and swiftly as possible. Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and looked briefly out the window.
If only I could just run away.
I locked the door so that my dad wouldn't come up and try to kill me in my sleep or anything, then sat on the bed.
"Wow, your life really is a hellhole. If I were still alive, I'd kill that fucking asshole."
I jumped at the sudden voice, then quickly looked around to see who was in the room with me. I felt a wave of panic rush and take over me.
"Hey, relax. I'm not going to do anything to you. Up here."
I looked up and saw a guy with wings hovering above me.
"Wah!" I jumped off the bed and stood up so I could face him. "Who are you?!"
"Me? Oh, I'm Kenichi, Shinigami of the Death Realm. Well, one of them anyways."
Wait, did he just say shinigami, as in "Death God?"
Holy fucking shit.
"What's a shinigami doing here? I'm not dead, am I?" I asked, suddenly really confused and scared.
Kenichi smiled reassuringly. "Nope, you're not dead, but your name is on the list. It's pretty complicated…." He scratched his head, contemplating the best way to explain the situation.
I tried to fill in the blank. "So, I'm going to die soon with a disease or something?"
Kenichi shrugged apologetically. "Sometime in the future, yes, but I'll be here for the time being and when you die so I can take your soul to the Death Realm."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
"Yeah, but there's no other way to say it."
It was my turn to shrug. Then something occurred to me. "How did you become a shinigami?"
He froze, then his relaxed demeanor suddenly turned into that of mixed emotions: sadness, pain, regret.
"… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something you didn't want to talk about." I shrinked away slowly, afraid that he would hit me.
He looked at me and instantly retained his relaxed self. "It's okay. It's just that no one's actually asked me how I became a shinigami. Usually it's "Why are you here?", "What are you going to do to me?"; that whole spiel…. You're not afraid of me?" He flew a little closer, as if verbal verification wasn't enough.
I smiled. "Trust me. After everything I've been through, death is nothing." I held my ground, determined to show him that I really wasn't afraid.
He reached out his hand brushed it gently against my cheek. I kept myself from shivering; his hand was like ice.
"I forgot what it was like to be alive…." His voice drifted off.
I stared blankly at him. "What?"
He recomposed himself and quickly flew a few feet away from me. "It's nothing." He looked down at the floor.
There was a small awkward silence between us. I decided to break it.
"So do you have any idea when I'm going to die?"
"Well, not really. It's never really that specific until it actually happens." Kenichi was back to his usual self.
The loud thudding of the stairs echoed loudly throughout the house.
"Shit," I murmured. I looked at the door and back at Kenichi.
"No worries," he said with a smile, "he can't see me."
There was a clamor at the door.
"Aya, open the goddamn door."
I looked at Kenichi for help. "What do I do?" I mouthed.
"It's okay. He's not going to—" He suddenly had a shocked expression. "Don't open the door."
"Why? What happened?" I asked quiet enough for only him to hear.
"Your dad's holding his knife."
It took everything I had to not panic.
"Why does he have his knife out?!" I whispered.
"Why else? You didn't come home for ten hours. He's pretty mad about that."
"Yeah, he's probably drunk, which makes it more painful for me." I shuddered.
The door-banging persisted.
"Aya, open the fucking door right now!" My dad was charging at the door, attempting to break it down.
I whipped around to the window and started to unlock it.
Kenichi flew to my side. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, worried.
I gave him an incredulous look. "I'm going to jump out of the window. I can't stand living in this hellhole anymore." I managed to open the door with trembling hands and looked down to calculate the height.
I never realized how high my room was; I stared at the ground, which was about 30 feet from my window. Damn, I hated being afraid of heights.
Kenichi saw me tense up. "The door's about to burst open," he said with no emotion.
I didn't bother to look back. I mustered up all my courage and jumped out just as I heard the door break open.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at the ground, and braced myself for the impact that would lead to my death.
It never came.
I slowly opened my eyes, finding myself floating in midair. After regaining my focus, I found myself being carried in Kenichi's arms.
"Jesus, you're such a handful," he sighed as he flew.
"Thanks for not letting me die even though you're a shinigami," I muttered sarcastically.
"You're welcome," he replied.
We flew for about another 25 minutes and arrived at a large, mansion-like building.
"What is this place?" I asked as Kenichi placed me on my feet. I stared at it in awe, unable to process that I was in front of such a beautiful place.
"Well, this is your home now," Kenichi said, looking at the household residence sign, which said "Kanazawa" on it.
I was too amazed to look at the direction he was glancing. "You've got to be kidding me."
"No, I'm not. And people have forgotten about this house, so no one will be able to find you if your dad files a missing person case." He said matter-of-factly.
I turned my head to look at him, then burst out laughing at the look of determination on his face. Then I stopped when I realized how long it had been since I'd laughed or smiled.
"Oi, are you okay?" Kenichi was in front of me, wearing a look of deep concern.
It was then when I noticed I was crying.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought about how long it's been since I've been this happy," I said through small, light sobs.
Kenichi had a smile on his face. "Don't cry like that. You scared me to death."
"You're a shinigami," I countered, "you can't die."
"Come on. Let me show you inside."
He flew in front of me and made the doors open using his shinigami powers without ever touching them. I followed him inside the mansion, which was even bigger than it looked outside.
The inside was almost gothic, with the vaulted ceilings and dark color scheme, yet it still had an elegance that radiated everywhere. The chandelier hung from the ceiling to the second floor, glittering as the crystalline diamonds reflected the light in every direction. The curtains were a crimson red, with intricate Victorian-esque patterns that looked as though they were made of silk.
I circled around, trying to take in the entirety of the mansion. "How is it that no one knows about this place?" I wondered aloud, completely flabbergasted.
"It used to be well known," Kenichi responded, "but the owner disappeared and everyone's forgotten about the mansion ever since."
I turned to look at him, clearly surprised. "Is it even possible to forget a house like this? It's so goddamn huge!" I jumped a little as my statement echoed through the emptiness of the house.
Kenichi shrugged, "And it is old."
There was a sudden gust of wind that blew from nowhere. I shivered even though it was a calm, warm breeze.
"Come on. I'll show you the rest of the place," Kenichi urged. He seemed both excited and sad to be in the mansion.
"Hey, Kenichi?" I said in a soft voice as he led me up the stairs. "What happened to the owner of the house?"
His response was icy. "He died from a rare disease," was all he said. I was a little scared by the tone of his voice, and decided not to talk about it for the time being.
As we neared the top of the stairwell, I saw a painting in the very center that seemed to glow in the diamond light. I walked up to it, looking at the perfect woman bordered by the frame.
"She's so beautiful," I said in awe.
"That's the owner's mother. She inherited the house when her father died."
"She reminds me of my mother," I gazed at the woman, trying to remember why she looked so familiar.
Kenichi didn't say anything for a few minutes, then decided that he wanted to show me the room I'd be sleeping in.
The moment I walked into the room, I was more speechless than before; there was a double queen sized bed that consumed most of the back wall, with elegant silver and crimson embroidery on its silk-like bedding. The wall next to the bed was taken by a large window with the same color-schemed curtains that were drawn back, letting in the sun to illuminate the room. On the ceiling hung an intricate silver chandelier, dazzling in the sunlight.
I looked around the room, knowing that I was crying again. Wiping the tears away, I turned around to Kenichi and gave him a sincere smile.
"Thank you, Kenichi. I don't know how I can repay you for everything you've done so far.
The floating death god gave a cocky smile. "I knew you'd like it. I figured it would be a much better place than where you've been until now. And seeing your situation, I think it's best of you stay here for a while."
"I guess so…" I replied. At this point I really didn't know what was more important: fighting against all odds of giving myself to a shinigami or hiding from a dad that took every chance he could inside the house to impale me. Both options were equally terrifying.
"Well, I think you should get some rest for tomorrow," Kenichi urged.
I was unwilling, but eventually gave in when I realized how heavy I felt. I slid into the silken bed and tucked the covers under my chin.
"Don't do anything stupid," I remarked.
The last thing I heard was a chuckle that grew fainter as I succumbed to sleep.
Time is running out for the Warrior to Awake,
Quick, make haste, much more is at stake.
Heaven and Hell are on the brink of war
With the Earth as it battlefield, bloodshed is in store.
No moral or creed can quell their rage
Only the Warrior can, once they set the stage.
My eyes snapped open and I bolt upright. Another verse of the poem? Why was it being recited by the same voice? Who was reciting it? What did it mean? So many questions filled my head as I tried to push the grogginess away and focus.
Practically jumping out of bed, I ran to the nearby work desk, pulled a pencil and pad of paper from the drawer, and wrote the three verses of the poem. I sat back, trying to piece together the poem's meaning.
Wait. This looked like more than just a poem. I skimmed the writing piece again, and something hit me.
"Holy shit! Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! It's a prophecy!" I was sure that the entire city heard my outburst, but I didn't care. All I could think about was what was written on the piece of paper in front of me, trying to make sense of why I was given a prophecy when I was probably the world's least special person.
The next thing I knew, Kenichi was flying through the door and at my side with a frantic expression on his face.
"Aya! What is it? Are you hurt? What happened?" he asked. I looked at him, about the overflow with mixed emotions.
"I'm so confused, Kenichi!" I looked back at the prophecy, which Kenichi looked at from over my shoulder.
"It really is happening…." I heard him whisper. The way he said it sent shivers down my spine and sent my panic and fear into overdrive.
"What really is happening? Do you know? What's going on? Tell me, please!" I flailed. Why did it feel like I was the only one who didn't know what the poem—prophecy—meant? "Calm down first. This is going to take a lot of explaining." Kenichi waited until my nerves had calmed down, then made me sit on the bed. He sat beside me with his legs crossed and began what seemed like a long explanation of a confusing poetic fortune.
Unfortunately for me, that's exactly what it was.
"Okay, so about ten millennia ago, God the Creator and the Devil King had gotten really close to war against each other because they felt that the balance of power was too unstable and there should only be one to keep full power. God, being the peaceful negotiator he is, came up with a solution that divided the power exactly in half, giving him the power to create life and the Devil King the power to create death. The solution was more complicated than that, but that pretty much sums it up.
Anyways, before the negotiations ended, God predicted that there would be an Earth-born individual with the capability of ending the disputes between Heaven and Hell altogether when the time came for both leaders to meet again to actually go to war. The Death King doubted someone like that existed, but God really believed he or she did.
Moving to present day, Heaven and Hell have gotten serious enough to use Earth as the battlefield for their war. The only way that can't happen is for the Chosen One to Awaken and become the Savior who will stop the war from happening. There was a long prophecy written out and the selected individual will be the only one to hear it."
He paused, waiting for some sort of reaction from me. He stared at me intently, wondering if I would faint from hearing so much information at once or have a mental meltdown at trying to make sense of what I was hearing. I was just concerned about which came first.
"Well?... What do you think?" he asked, still staring at me.
"What do I think? This is completely crazy, that's what I think! Why didn't you tell me if you knew? I've been so freaked out about this that I don't know what to do and you just expect me to be fine when you tell me everything now? You've got to be kidding me! This isn't real. It's definitely a mistake right? Right?" My voice grew edgier. This couldn't be happening to me. I was only sixteen; how the hell was I supposed to save the world from a war between supernatural powers? Even after hearing the entire explanation, none of what I heard made sense.
Kenichi scratched his head. "I don't know how either. That's all I know. I'm sorry." I saw the cheerfulness fade away again. He slumped his shoulders and hung his head, like he was to blame.
I turned to face him and sat on my knees. "You don't have to take the blame. It's not your fault," I reassured him. "Besides, I'm sure it'll all make sense eventually."
"Okay," he half-smiled. I smiled in reply.
I stood up and brushed off my jeans, then went towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Kenichi asked.
"Relax. I'm just going to get some fresh air. I'll be back soon." With that I walked out the door, trying to resist the urge to run.
Just keep calm. I told myself, and you can figure this out.
I walked to an intricately-designed bench and sat, taking in the natural surroundings; above me, the sky was clear and blue with clouds that reminded me of fluffy down in a thick winter jacket.
"What's it like to fly?" I asked myself.
A little voice in my head answered, "You'll experience it soon, child."
A/N: Once again, I'm really sorry about this chapter! Hopefully something like this won't happen again in the future!