Title: Tears in Heaven

Summary: It's been ages since I've posted here, much less a YYH fic! Le gasp, Solaris! Anyway, AU fic, totally fucked up if you ask me, but here goes: Kurama is on his way home when he finds a little demon girl running from something. Confused, he offers her safe haven, and finds that she's on the run from heaven. An angel-demon cross? What has been going on? And why does she intrigue him so?

Rating: M

Warnings: The general shit, yanno, Language, Violence, OOC. No citrus forseen.

BGM: Meteora by Linkin Park. Should be the soundtrack for the whole damn story. Provided it doesn't exceed 13 chapters.

Blood type: Cherry Blossom (Lipton Green Tea) and ramen. The staple of every college student's diet.

Comments: Read the damn story.

Disclaimer: Yeah. University student owns YYH? Please. I wish.

Part one: Somewhere I Belong
--
"See you Monday!"

"Ja ne!"

"Dinner at that new café tonight, we still on?"

Kurama walked past the other students just getting out of class at the University in Tokyo, calling out a fair few of these goodbyes himself. He was in his senior year at the university, and at 25 had a real life ahead of him. He didn't really consider it as such, only foreseeing getting to his apartment and making dinner, the same as he did every Friday night.

He was fated to be wrong, though.
--
As he turned down the nearly-deserted side street, a small figure ran smack into him. As he caught his balance, he instinctively grabbed the small wrist to detain the figure. Long waves of auburn hair swept across a pale face, eyes such a dark brown that he at first thought them black staring widely in fright. At first he missed the ears proudly sticking up from the hair, a red-orange sign of something…

The tiny vixen struggled to escape, pale gray tunic revealing long legs as she pulled to get away. The long shirt only reached her mid-thigh, and was torn and stained in several places. Her tail beat a furious drum at her legs as she pulled and cried.

"Let me you, you damned ningen! Release me!"

"Whoa… calm down. What's wrong?"

"Calm down? They're going to KILL me if they find me, and you tell me to CALM DOWN?! That's a novel notion! Sure, as soon as they fucking decapitate me, I'll calm down! After all, I'll only have my death ahead of me!" she shrieked in fury. It got her to stop struggling so much, and he noticed small bloody prints on the concrete ahead of him. He looked down to see her ankles raw and bloody, and a quick inspection of her wrists showed the same. Someone had not been kind to this kitsune, as he now recognized her as being. With little thought, he put his backpack on her back, picked her up, and piggy-backed her.

"Hold on to my shoulders, and don't scream. I'm getting you out of this mess. Just… explain this to me when we're safe." He said, and upon feeling more than seeing a small 'hn' of agreement, he took off running. Something about this girl had just given her full rights to change his routine, and even he didn't understand it fully. Finally, breathless, they reached his apartment. As he rested, she looked around, still scared.

"You don't have to wear my backpack anymore, you know." Kurama told her, and she shrugged off the bag. "So… can you explain this to me now? Or did I just fall prey to a prank?" The girl was in his face in seconds, furious.

"This is no prank! It is a matter of life and death to me!" With that outburst she flopped onto the floor and sighed. "But I did promise. And I'm not going to break that promise. The reason they're after me is… I'm on the run from Heaven."

"… Right. And I'm Queen Elizabeth."

"I'm not lying, ningen! I really am! Look… I'm on the run because someone opened a door that shouldn't have been opened. A freaking fury was unleashed on Heaven. And they can't contain her. So I'm being blamed. Figures." She said, scoffing resentfully. "They won't blame one of their precious angels, so the little demon gets fucking blamed. Ignore that daddy dearest is the angel of death." She rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't that make you half angel?" he asked.

"You would think, ningen, but no, one convenient little fact that your beautiful texts ignore is that death is demonic. Heard of Shinigami? That's as close to the truth as it gets. So if I have any angel in me, it's so far buried that it's just more convenient to bill me as demon. And I won't argue with them. If dad's an angel I'd rather be a demon."

"Oh. But… why are you running?" Kurama asked, and the vixen sighed.

"Are you dense? I just told you. A fury… more accurately a demon of incredible power that threatened Heaven, so frightening that if captured they're locked up and billed as furies… was released from her container, and I get the blame, even though I wasn't anywhere near the damn door at the time. They just see the fact that I am the bastard child of death from an affair with a demoness and want to blame me. I can't even explain myself, they want to kill me and use my body as fucking bait to get the fury back into her cage. And I won't go peacefully. So I ran here, thinking either it'd be safer or I could go to hell and the fucking bigots wouldn't get me. Plus… I got family there. My mom and a twin sister. Dad just chose to keep me because they'd have a fit if he brought home a little kit with flame-red hair instead of the darker-haired little tame one that I was. Wanted to train me as a Shinigami. I proved he could hardly do that. So now even dad's given up on me. I'll bet he even ordered me killed. That son of a bitch…" she growled, showing sharp fangs in a grimace. Kurama was stunned.

"So… they want to blame you for the escape of something horrible, and this gives them the excuse to kill you? Well…"

"Yeah. Guess you noticed the burn marks, huh? I thought they were going to let me tell them what happened, and only figured it out when they tied me up and got out the swords. I'm lucky I didn't get worse." She said flippantly. "One thing can be said for me, if nothing else: I've got a hell of a survival instinct. If I didn't get a few feathers out of their wings at least, then I'll be shocked. I actually rather hope I ripped one of 'em's wings off."

"Stay here, I'll get the first aid kit." He said, and got the small box. "Say… can I ask you your name?"

"Solaris Sarue Moon. I chose it myself, actually. Dad wanted me named some stupid airy thing, as light as sunbeams and undoubtedly pleasing to his superiors. I ditched that as soon as I could talk."

"Sarue?" Kurama asked; he wasn't familiar with that… or anyone having a middle name.

"In my mother's language, it means 'bringer of flames'. Well, even if I didn't really do it, I think that proves it. And believe me, that's about as peaceful as it gets in hell. If you bring the flames, you're a calmer demon than most. And it's the only thing my mother gave me before she turned me over to my father. 'If nothing else, call her Sarue'. But in Heaven, it means 'fate be with ye' and no one liked that. So dad ignored that, except to tell me my mother was a fool and sacrilegious. Of course, he hated admitting he had to screw her for me to come about, and I would always torment him with the fact that he was being a hypocrite." Those pearly white teeth were bared in a sharp grin, and Kurama could just tell that this girl was going to be trouble, and he didn't care. "And can I ask your name, or do you want me to keep calling you ningen?"

"It's Kurama. Minamino Shuiichi if you want to call me what my mother named me. Kurama if you want honesty." He sighed, knowing this would take some explaining, but just as he opened his mouth, she held up a hand.

"Youko Kurama is a textbook staple, don't worry about explaining. Your trick is documented so that other demons aren't allowed the same option of escape to a human body. Dad wanted to go after you when you were a teen. Tried several times. But, as can obviously be seen, dad is a fool to think that you could be taken down so easily." Solaris laughed softly, then winced. "Careful with the rope burns…"

"Sorry." He said calmly, and wrapped them in soft gauze. In no time, she was back on her feet, inspecting the bandages. With no words she got to her feet, and tried a few steps, then started humming a soft, ethereal song… 'Time's Scar' would have been as close as it got, but Kurama didn't really think she was humming that… she stepped softly, as if she were a teenager in a madrigal impersonating a formal dance. Her hand hovered in the air, as she turned, knees bending slightly in a soft curtsey, and then the humming took on a new sound, and the dance sped up. Her voice sprang from her throat in a single syllable, the notes hit perfectly and the dance faster and more tribal if anything. As it slowed, she turned slower, and when it sped back up, she added more movement to it, testing her motion. It ended abruptly when she fell to the floor, laughing.

"Too much at once!" she smiled. "Sorry, had to see how well I could move. On my feet, yanno? And I think I can handle this much. I can't do that last move but I don't care."

"It was… nice."

"You should have heard the instrumental instead of the vocal. It wasn't so good translated to vocal, but it sufficed." Solaris shrugged from her position on the floor. As her tunic pulled a little with the motion, a tear in the gray fabric widened to show a slightly scratched side, and a little more… he turned and left the room, confusing the vixen. When he returned, it was with a pair of old shorts and a shirt with the characters from Cowboy Bebop on it.

"You look about the same size as my brother, and he left these clothes here when he last visited, so… here you go." He pointed over towards his door. "You can change in there." She inspected the clothing for a minute, then looked at the tunic, and nodded.

"Do you possibly have a knife? If I change my hair too, maybe they won't recognize me." She suggested. Kurama looked mildly shocked.

"It's not just for disguise! That tunic is torn to shreds. And why would you want to cut your hair? If you just pull it back they won't recognize you."

"Oh. Point to you." Solaris nodded, and left the room, only returning when she was in the shirt and shorts. "Hey, what should I do with this thing?"

"Trash." He said, pointing to the burnables. She merely threw it and smiled when it landed right where it was supposed to. Upon closer inspection, she looked to be the same size in shorts as his brother, but the shirt was a little tighter than he thought it would be. This would have to be remedied quickly. As soon as he thought that, he started laughing, mildly freaking the vixen out.

"Dude, are you all right or did I get saved by a lunatic?" she asked.

"No, it's nothing. I just thought of how you changed my day and it amused me for a minute. See, I have this routine, and you broke it, and I don't mind." He smiled. She flopped down on the couch by him, black-brown eyes shining up toward him.

"Then that just shows how much you needed to change your routine. See? I think that's what happened with the Fury. Some little angel got bored and decided to start more trouble than they could handle. And guess who got the blame because she's vocal about being bored?" she laughed.

"It's really that boring?" he asked.

"Oh, hell, you have no idea! Let's see, you always wake up early because the sun rises so much earlier… hell, it barely even sets before it's rising again. So, you can't sleep, and you get breakfast of honey and bread every day. No variety, no change, no outside food, no exceptions. After that you can either try to go back to sleep or you can do whatever your job is, but with me, dad had me shuffling papers and handling his little mistakes with the higher ups… which were few and far between, but man were they fuck-ups! You know the Napoleon dude? Exiled fucking TWICE?" she asked. When he nodded, she continued. "Yeah, well, that guy was supposed to die the first time. Dad missed that notice. And that Rasputin guy? Well, he wasn't really supposed to survive that first assassination attempt… or the second. That was not a good time for dad. Gave me no end of laughs… until I got the fucking paperwork. After work, more honey and bread for dinner, and games. Always last picked for everything. Even dodgeball, and my team always won, because I may not have had great aim, but if I threw that ball I could generally bounce it off something and hit someone. And I was always last on the field, 'cause I could dodge like hell."

"I imagine you get good at that after a while…" Kurama said quietly. To his surprise, she laughed.

"Yep! When you got kids asking you why you have funky ears and you tell 'em, you gotta learn to fight or dodge fists and rocks fast. After the first time I fought, I just stuck to dodging. Dad didn't like me roughing up the precious little brats, yanno? Said I was being pissy, that he separated me from mom and sis so I would have a better life, and I was trying to ruin it by being difficult. And none of the brats cared that I'm the kid of fucking death. But, yeah, I usually spent my time reading, usually what dad could get me from people who died. After the ninth romance novel, I just gave up and got my own damn books between paperwork. When he found that out, he rescinded my library privileges and started getting me insipid little morality things. Gag me with a pitchfork." She said, and pantomimed the action. "After I threatened to gouge out my eyes with a spork, he gave up and gave me my card back."

"Would you have?" Kurama asked. She cut him a look.

"Honey and bread. No earth privileges. How the hell could I have even found a spork? But dad didn't think of that. Lucky for me." She sighed. "Hell, I think I just sealed my fucking fate and got myself kicked out for good. Even if I were found innocent, I left heaven without permission, and you obviously found me. So I've messed with the damned order. Nope, no more early mornings and bland meals for Sol-Sol! Can't honestly say I'm too disappointed about that."

"Huh? So you can't go home?"

"Never really regarded it as home. After all, is home a place where you're constantly pissed off, and ready to slit your own wrists if only for variety? Nah. Not so much."

"Well… where are you going to go?" he asked.

"Beats me." Solaris said. "Probably gonna go sleep on a park bench or something."

"No way," Kurama declared. "I'm not turning you loose to sleep on a park bench. They jail you for that, yanno. And what about food? Just… stay here." Solaris cut him a look.

"I'm not particularly useful. I don't like cleaning, I wasn't allowed to cook, I read entirely too much, and I don't do the wishes thing. Remember, I'm not an angel, really. About all I'm good for is navigating around paperwork and policies and shit. So why would you keep me here?"

"Because I didn't realize that I was bored as hell until you ran into me. And… well… you're pretty interesting. So if you just stay here and help a little where you can, it'll all be worth it." When he said this, Solaris laughed, a musical bell of a note, and patted his shoulder.

"You have a convincing argument! All right, I'll stay! But, uh… can I borrow different clothes if I go out of the house? No offense to your brother, but I don't think I could handle walking around in pajamas."

"Deal. So long as you don't mind oversized clothes." The two laughed easily, and that settled the matter.
--
"Is she gone?" a shadowed figure asked of an angel dressed all in white. The angel nodded his head, blond tresses obscuring his face. The figure stepped from the shadows, smiling. This was a tall woman, dressed all in black, with wings dark as pitch and as wide across as a minivan… each wing. They were leathery, bat wings from the appearance, and she smiled with fangs. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of red, and her skin shone like she was on fire. The fury laughed evilly, which wasn't too hard considering she was the epitome of evil. "Good. If you hadn't have gotten rid of her, that little half-angel would have figured out what was going on. Where did you dump the body?"

"We couldn't kill her. She figured out what we were trying to do, gnawed through the ropes, and ran." The angel was hoisted into the air by the collar of his robes. The fury was not pleased.

"WHAT?! Shouldn't you have had guards on her?! She's part demon, after all!"

"We did, but she kicked one in the gut and knocked the wind out of him, and the other got her claws to his face. By the time we figured out that she wasn't the one screaming, she'd gotten the ropes undone and ran the second we opened the door." The fury threw him down and he got to his feet, fixing himself back up. He sighed, "We should have seen it coming. She ran laps around the other angels, without even using her wings, and had them down before she was even sweating."

"This is going to be a bit of a setback…" the fury mused, biting her thumbnail. "Where did she go?"

"Earth."

"Ah. She won't be too much of an issue for a while then. Do you know how much she understood of her father's administration?"

"He had her doing paperwork. I can't really ascertain how well she was educated with his system. But I can find out within the day."

"Do that. And see if you can find where on earth she is. I'm going to need her in this… And are you sure you convinced Shiroi of her guilt?"

"He didn't take much convincing, for being her father. After all, she was the only one who was vocal about being 'bored', and even said she was 'ready to release a fury if it meant the stuffy old farts would lighten up and do something besides say no all day' once." The angel had the good grace to blush. "She had the worst vocabulary… I blame it on her demon heritage."

"And yet that is exactly what I need. A little Gray… So few born now… And after this, you will be my second in command. Now… leave me. I need to think of how to turn this screw-up into an advantage." The angel bowed and left, and the fury touched the window softly, the glass bubbling outwards from the heat her body radiated. She grimaced; she wouldn't be able to go near the vixen until the heat from her imprisonment had subsided. As it was she was surprised the angel hadn't fried to a crisp. She removed her hand from the window and smiled into the sunset, darkened by the flames created by her body, the flames that spread her chaos throughout heaven and would help her cause, of getting the little vixen back to her.

"Solaris Sarue Moon… you cursed child, come to me… I alone will love you… I alone will shelter you… and I alone will be your confidant. And when I have your trust, and you've told me the secret of your wings… I'll rip them from your body and thrust you on to the heavens. And when you regain what little sense you have, you will be mine… My little Gray to use as I will. And heaven will be mine at last." Her laughter rang up to the stars, lost in the shouts of angels trying to restore some semblance of order to heaven.
--
TBC
--

Hope that was an ominous enough beginning for you. Next chapter…

"The wing marks on her shoulders were…"

"Soft feet pattered around the house and he wondered why she was running…"

"A feather rested on the pillow, but where Solaris had been before, she was gone…"

Also, Sarue has no real meaning, so any meanings of her middle name will be pure fabrication. I got it from my little brother's contrived spelling of Solaris. Don't ask me how he got Sarue.