Author's note: Although this story uses the characters from the anime/manga Angel Sanctuary, it does not follow the same plot. Although every attempt was made to keep the characters with the same personalities (and in some cases, relationships) as the original work, this series takes place in an alternate universe where there are no such things as angels or demons (this is not discounted by the presence of any non-human characters from the series, as they are humans in this story).

Furthermore, I own no rights to the Angel Sanctuary franchise or its characters. This story is not to be associated with the real-world change of money. So without further ado, I would present to you Angel Sanctuary: Restart

Chapter 1: Unwanted Offers

It was a sunny day early in the spring. The weather was warm; the type that just tends to place people in a good mood, without the rain and chill that is often associated with the season. Although the sky was not without its clouds, they were of the kind that seems only to make the sky more pleasant without inspiring gloom in the people who look at them. In all, it was perfect for the last day of school. However, one girl was not at all cheerful.

She stood in a shaded grove of trees somewhat off the main path. She had black hair that reached almost to he shoulders, and wore the uniform for the nearby school. Tears gleamed beneath the old-fashioned glasses that she wore. Most of the students who walked by could tell an observer that the girl's name was Saiki Ruri. More correctly, they could have if they could see her, but the trees acted as a shield between the girl and the students who walked by on the path, happy that the school year was over and oblivious to their sad classmate only a short distance away.

If they could see into the shaded grove, those same students could also give the name of the young man who stood not too far from Saiki. Setsuna Mudo, a third-year in middle school. At least until school started again, when he would start attending a local high school. Other than their names, the passing students could not say much other than that both teenagers were not well known; Saiki was a straight-A student who didn't socialize much with the other students, while Setsuna was perhaps more fitting of the "loner" stereotype. His ancestry, which included an English grandfather, made him a curiosity to the girls and earned him a bit of resentment among his male classmates, although Setsuna was never seen much by either group except while at school.

After a few minutes, Saiki ran away, sobbing into her hands. Setsuna showed no reaction at all, lost in thought until a voice called out to him from nearby.

"You probably could have been a bit nicer," the voice commented. Setsuna turned to face his observer, who was a student at the high school that Setsuna would soon be attending. He also wore glasses, although they were not as antique-looking as those that had been worn by Saiki Ruri. His hair was also black, although it was much longer than most guys, being long enough that the male wore it gathered in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" Setsuna asked. He had never met the youth who was leaning against the fence that encircled the school grounds. As Setsuna turned to walk away, the older student closed the book that he had been reading and stood up straight.

"My name is Sakuya Kira," he responded. "and I've come here to offer you the position as my personal sidekick."

"Not interested," Setsuna answered without facing the other.

"Come to a decision so soon?" Kira asked, disappointed. "Don't you even want to know what your position would entail?"

"Like I said, I'm not interested," Setsuna said as he walked away. "I have enough to worry about as it is, and I don't need someone else's problems on top of mine."

"So that's why you rejected that girl," Kira muttered. "No wonder she ran away crying."

Setsuna paused. "That was different," he told the high-schooler before walking the rest of the way to the path. Without looking back, he left the school grounds and headed towards his father's house. He passed people along the way, but paid no attention to them. He was almost to the house when a familiar voice called out to him from above.

"Where're ya going so fast?" it asked. The voice belonged to a fifth-year elementary school student who sometimes talked to Setsuna when he passed by. He stopped and looked up so he could talk to her.

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone tonight," he told her.

"Ooo, is it your girlfriend?" she inquired. Setsuna felt a pang of sadness; he only wished it could be so!

"No, nothing like that," he responded calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I should get going, Kurai." The girl watched for a while as Setsuna resumed his walk home before leaving.

Setsuna's father was not at home when he arrived, but he rarely was. His mother and sister were not there, as Setsuna's parents were divorced and lived separately. He changed out of his school uniform into jeans and a sweater, and then lay down on his bed for a while to consider the two offers that had been made to him that day. The first one was a definite no, and the second one didn't seem to bring any advantage to him. If only there were a third offer that would be made that night, but Setsuna knew better than to falsely raise his hopes for something that would never be.

He lay thinking for so long that he forgot to watch the time, and realized that he was going to be late for his meeting. He rushed out the door and ran as hard as he could towards the place he was supposed to go. People sometimes gave him odd looks, but they got out of his way and Setsuna just ignored them. He was so intent on making it on time that he didn't see the brown-haired middle-school girl who walked in the other direction until he had already passed her.

"Where do you think you're going?" she yelled after him. Setsuna slid to a stop, and turned around to face the only woman he would ever love.