Author's Notes:  Trillions Tomo-chan suggested I write a sequel to Tenshi no Awaremi quite a while ago, and I'm finally getting around to writing it.  Like TnA, this is a crossover between Trigun and X, taking place in the Trigun universe.  I don't know how many or who survive in the X manga (the manga's not even finished), so I won't mention who survived the war between the Sky Dragons and Land Dragons.  If I'm confusing you, I'm sorry.  I'll try not to leave anything unexplained in the story, if explanations are needed.  Okay?  Okay.

I highly suggest you read TnA first, unless you really want to be confused.  Also, Trigun and X do not belong to me, but to Nightow Yasuhiro and CLAMP, respectively.

"Akuma no hôfuku" means "demon's revenge."

Akuma no Hôfuku By Annie-chan Chapter One:  Peaceful Times

Knives walked under the light of the suns setting behind him, the town of Avril taking up most of the horizon.  He and his brother—who was walking a ways behind him—hadn't been here in a little over seven years, and their random travels had brought them this way again.  It was a large town, but not large enough to be called a city.  It had a reputation for being a clean town, the crime rate being relatively low, and the population being on the better-off side.  The town wasn't exactly rich, but it wasn't poor, either.  It could afford to raise a decent police force, which kept a lot of the criminals out.

This is where I met Legato reborn, Knives thought a bit pensively.  I wonder if we'll run into him again.  But, for all I know, he may not even live in this town anymore.  He could have moved for any number of reasons.

"Hey, Knives!" he heard his brother call from about fifty paces behind him.  "Let's take a break, okay?"

Knives stopped and turned around.  "We're almost into town!  Why stop now?"

"But, I'm tired, Knives!" Vash whined.  "You've been walking fast all day, and it's all I can do to keep you in sight!"

You're just as fit as me, Vash, Knives thought, a little fed up with the whining, which he had gotten almost all day.  And, you're not the one carrying our supplies.  He adjusted the strap of the supply bag on his shoulder.

"Can't we just rest a few minutes by that big rock?" Vash asked, pointing toward the town as he continued to near his brother.

There was indeed a large boulder, about as twice as tall as them, about twenty paces away from Knives toward the town.  Knives sighed, signaled agreement, and walked toward the boulder.  He was so caught up in his thoughts about the little eleven-year-old he met in this town seven years ago, that he barely noticed the sounds of someone standing up on the far side of the boulder, and didn't actually realize there was someone there until that someone had rounded the boulder and walked right into him, dropping the small pouch they had been carrying.

"Oh!  I'm sorry!" the person said apologetically.  "I didn't know you were there!"

"No problem," Knives replied.  "I wasn't exactly looking where I was going, either."  He was going to continue, but stopped dead when his brain registered the face he was looking into.  Blue-black hair, hazel-brown eyes…a near-perfect resemblance to—

"Hey, everything okay?" Vash, who had sped up when he saw the two-person collision, asked.  He saw the young man in front of his brother and shot Knives a look, a definite question in his eyes.

Knives nodded minutely, understanding perfectly what Vash was asking him.

"Um…excuse me, Sir?" the young man said, looking quizzically at Knives.  "Have I met you somewhere before?"  He then looked at Vash.  "Or maybe it was you.  You two look so much alike."

"I'm sorry," Knives said.  "I should have introduced us.  My name is Knives, and this is my twin, Vash.  I do believe you and I did meet each other in the center square of this town several years back, when you were a boy.  Eh…'Mick,' was it?"

The young man grinned.  "Hey, good memory!  But, I don't go by that anymore.  I got sick of the other kids teasing me about that name.  My parents called me that, because they thought it was cute, but all the kids at school kept calling me 'Mickey.'  I stopped going by that around thirteen years old."  He made a bit of a face, causing Knives and Vash to chuckle at the thought of being called "Mickey."  "'Mick' was short for 'Michael,' my middle name," the young man continued.  "My first name is Alexander, and I go by 'Lex' now."

"Well, then," Vash said, speaking up for the first time since he recognized Lex as the rebirth of someone he had some problems with several years ago, "nice to meet you, Lex."

"Pleasure's all mine," Lex replied, reaching down to the ground and picking up the pouch he had dropped, replacing the few small objects that had spilled out back in.

"Seeds," Knives said, recognizing the small, roundish objects.

"Yeah!" Lex said, his eyes lighting up.  "I use these flower seeds to practice on."

"Practice what?" Vash inquired.

"Come over here," Lex said, motioning them to come over to another side of the boulder.  They followed him, and their eyes widened a bit as a medium-sized patch of brightly colored flowers came into their view.  Knives set the supply bag down, not wanting to be bothered with it at the moment.

"Wow," Vash said under his breath.  "How do you get them to grow in the bare sand like that?"

"Well," Lex said, crouching down and scratching a shallow pit in the sand.  "I kinda reach down with my mind and draw water and nutrients up from the underground water supply.  There's a water shelf under almost every part of this planet, it's just that a lot of it is too deep to dig down to for a well.  But, once I tap into it for a patch of flowers like this, the link stays open, apparently indefinitely.  I haven't had a single one of my flowers die from dehydration or malnutrition.  I don't even have to keep them shaded when the suns are shining on them.  It's really weird."  He looked up to the twins, grinning a little self-consciously.  "It seems I have some kind of psychic power.  I can't really remember exactly when I discovered it, and nobody's taught me how to use it.  I just practice on my own, and it's not that hard to figure out what I want to do.  I hope to get good enough to work on things like trees and bushes, not just flowers."  He looked down to where he had just dropped and covered up about five seeds.  "I bet I sound crazy, don't I?  Jabbering on about psychic powers and all…"

"Oh, no," Knives replied.  "There's nothing wrong with that.  It's a very special talent you have there."  Vash nodded beside them.

Lex looked up to them, gratefulness in his eyes.  "Thanks," he said, happy someone could accept him so readily.  All his friends, even his best friend and girlfriend, had had to get used to his unique skill before they really got close to him.  "Now, watch this."  He placed his had lightly on the ground, just next to the patch of sand he had replaced over the seeds.  He closed his eyes and concentrated, and the sand over the seeds began glowing a barely visible, light-blue light.  "Grow," Lex breathed.  No sooner had he said that, five thin green stems emerged from the sand.  The twins watched, fascinated, as the stems grew, sprouted leaves, then flower buds, and finally bloomed right before their eyes.

Lex opened his eyes and sighed.  "I used to have to sweat to do that, but it's coming pretty easy now.  I hope to move up to slightly larger plants pretty soon.  The flowers need some kind of pollinators to ensure another generation, and the local insect population seem to be landing on the flowers quite a bit." As he spoke, Vash and Knives saw several insects come and go from the flower patch.  "Maybe they find the nectar a treat after their usual diet of sand fleas," Lex continued.  "I won't know if another generation will grow, or if I'll have to replant.  I won't find that out for a while, I imagine."

Vash knelt down to the flowers, placing a hand on Lex's shoulder.  "This is quite a skill you have, Lex.  Very valuable to the health of this planet, if you develop it."

"Yes," Lex said, looking down at his creation and smiling a bit.  "I once read a very old legend from Earth about a man named John Chapman, nicknamed Johnny Appleseed.  He traveled on foot around a huge country called 'America,' planting apple trees wherever he went."  He suddenly looked back up to the twins, an eager gleam in his eye.  "I want to be Gunsmoke's Johnny Appleseed!  I want to go from town to town, planting my flowers and trees for the people, only for the sake of planting them!  I want to make this planet green, make it a better place for humans to live!  That's my only goal in life!  I don't care if I have to live a poor life like Johnny!  It'll all be worth it if I succeed in my one true wish!"

Knives smiled down at the young human.  He was so different from the hateful, withdrawn, self-destructive man Legato had been at eighteen.  Knives' heart ached at how fortunate the change was.  "You have a very noble desire within you, Lex," he said.  "I wish you the best of luck."

Lex smiled up at the older twin.  "Thank you," he said sincerely.  "That means so much to me."  He stood up and brushed himself off.  "Hey!  Why don't you two stay at my place?  At least for tonight if you have to move on.  My parents always like having guests, and I can introduce you to my girlfriend."

The brothers politely accepted the offer, and followed the spirited young man to his home on the edge of Avril.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heaven.

A smallish, dark-haired angel lay on his stomach in the grass, basking in the warm sun in the middle of a lush meadow, his snow-white wings lying to either side of him.  Near him, the chirping of happy birds could be heard, and he turned to watch the blonde angel that knelt on the grass not far from him.  Kotori, his one true love.

He smiled as he watched her play with the flock of small birds.  Her name, Kotori, meant "small bird."  The image Kamui was presented with couldn't have been more fitting.

Many centuries ago, long before the humans even thought about leaving Earth behind for good, they had grown up together in the city of Tokyo until Kamui had to move away with his mother to Okinawa.  And, not long after they had finally been reunited in 1999, she had been brutally murdered by her own brother, right before his eyes.  That, along with so many other tragedies caused by the war between the Sky Dragons and Land Dragons, had driven him away from the company of other people.  He had almost become a hermit, living on the edge of society.  Instead of human contact, which he got as little of as possible, he chose companionship in animals, cats being his favorite.  They never questioned him, merely loved him for the care he gave them.  The children in the area where he lived knew him as "that animal guy."  He didn't mind, as long as they didn't bother him or his animals.

He had stayed a virgin his entire life, never marrying, never even dating.  It just didn't feel right to even think about spending his life with anyone but Kotori.  He had died at the age of fifty-nine.  Many people said it was from loneliness.  When he had arrived in Heaven and found her in his arms again, all either of them could do for several minutes was weep for joy at their reunion.  They both had their first experience of physical love soon after, and had been each other's exclusive love partners ever since.

He sighed, sitting up.  He was one of the smallest angels in God's service.  He didn't know if he had some defect in his growth hormone, or if despair stunted his growth, or what.  All he knew is he never grew much taller than five-foot-four.  And, since a soul looks like the body does/did/would have soon after it's full-grown, Kamui was still only about five-foot-four.  He still got teased about it by his friends, especially Sorata and Yuzuriha.  It was, of course, Yuzuriha who first greeted him in 1999 with, "Second shortest in the group!  Do they stick you in front for the class picture?"  That had set Sorata literally rolling on the floor.

He closed his eyes and turned his attention to his mortal charge.  Alexander Michael O'Sé was about eighteen now, and growing up beautifully.  He was such a kind-hearted young man, always giving his all to help others, never putting himself before others.  It was a welcome change from the misguided, mentally ill youth he had been in his previous life.  Lex was becoming Kamui's pride and joy.  He was almost like a son to him.

He had a very strong resemblance to Legato Bluesummers.  Kamui had deliberately chosen an unborn baby to deliver the soul into whose genetics would make him look much like he did in his previous life.  His soul would always look like he did in his first life, and there was really no reason for him to be confused with why he looked the way he did when he eventually died.

Kamui grinned as he looked in on Lex's current activities.  He was becoming quite the gardener, and would soon be ready to try his skills on small trees.  It had been Kamui who had been silently coaching Lex in learning his powers, doing it in such a way that the boy thought he was learning on his own.  Indeed, half of what he knew was never taught to him by Kamui.  He was a very intelligent man, and found many things out for himself.

Good, Kamui thought as Lex invited Vash and Knives to his home.  It looks like he'll have a healthy relationship with both of them this time around.

"Oh, Kamui-chan," a singsong voice said into his ear, and he felt two slender arms wrap around his shoulders.  Kotori was hugging him from behind.  "Remember that we promised Yuzu-chan and the others we'd come to the for-the-fun-of-it party Sorata-san thought up for today."

"All right, all right," Kamui said, standing up and feigning slight annoyance.  "I'm coming, I'm coming."

Kotori giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling her soul mate along behind her as she ran off toward the destined party spot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hell.

Unknown to, and very unfortunate for, all involved, another supernatural being had its eyes on a certain youth on the edge of a town known as Avril.  It had been waiting for years for him to meet up again with that particular pair of twins, and now, all its patience seemed to be paying off.

The demon grinned a hideous grin, bounding off gleefully to report to the Dark Prince the good news.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:  I really don't have much to say for this chapter, only that I wanna thank Trillions Tomo-chan for giving me the idea for a sequel to TnA, and Kira Douji for urging me to finally write this.  Arigatô, you two!  I'm not sure how long this story will be, so don't ask.  Just let me know what you think of it either in a review or at mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!  Oh, and I was guessing in the dark about Kamui's height.  I really don't know how tall he's supposed to be, only that he's really a very short young man.