"Kazuya…"

"What is it?"

"I'm… sorry."

"What could you possibly be sorry for, Mei?"

"You've been demoted…"

" What? "

It was too bright in this new place. The sun bounced off the white clouds around him, sending harsh glares into his eyes. There were no walls in this part of heaven – something he was far from used to. The guardian angels did not require places to reside. They were constantly busy, moving place to place or wherever their charge lead them. The open sky was their home and the clouds were their walls. The sun was their a companion and the earth far below was their office.

Yet everywhere he looked, Miyuki only saw grunt work. He had other – more important – things to get done. He didn't have time for this. Looking after the creations below was simple and easy. Anyone could do it, and he had no idea why he, of all people, had been moved down in the ranks.

Miyuki watched the other guardian angels fly about to do their work with a neutral expression, but inside he was loathing. They all looked ridiculous with their absurdly fluffy wings and flowing white gowns. Wasn't it enough to be demoted? Why'd he have to wear their outfits too?

And where was his supervisor? Wasn't he supposed to meet him here? Was life in this division always this lax? What were the rules anyway?

The flap of wings startled him, but he pretended everything was fine. "Miyuki," the angel said behind him.

Miyuki could hear a gentleness to it that he was not used to, but he knew if he wanted out, he'd have to play his part. If it meant acting the role of a guardian angel, so be it. He turned to greet the angel, but faltered. "Chris… senpai…?" He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him. Chris had been one of heaven's best angels and someone Miyuki looked up to until he had mysteriously just disappeared. "You're a… a…" Miyuki couldn't bring himself to say it. To think such an outstanding angel would fall to such ranks was just unheard of.

Chris didn't seem to be fazed by his loss of words. His smile never faltered as he said, "It's good to see you again."

Miyuki looked into his senpai's eyes. They were warm and caring, something that had been missing from Miyuki's last memories of Chris. The other's body language in general was much more relaxed as well. "Yeah, it's good to see you, too."

"Well then, shall we get going? We have a lot of work to do today," Chris said.

Miyuki could only nod, and when Chris took off, he followed silently. His brain was having difficulty assessing the situation. He just couldn't seem to connect the Chris from his memories to the one flying before him. It was like night and day, and Miyuki was curious what had changed his senpai so much.

It wasn't until they were descending that Miyuki came out of his thoughts. "Er… Chris-senpai, where are we going?" He asked, stopping in midair. He looked down at the earth. He did not want to go there.

Chris looked back at him. "To our charge." He said it as though it was obvious. "Every guardian angel has one. You'll be helping me with mine."

"Why?" He still couldn't see Chris in this role. Where did the once strong angel go? Miyuki just couldn't understand.

"Because that's what we do," Chris responded, smiling warmly once again.

His eyes shifted downward. A feeling of distaste settled over him. "I don't want to go down there."

"Miyuki…" Chris trailed off, and silence filled the air between them until Miyuki met his senior's eyes. "When was the last time you visited?"

Never , he thought bitterly. He never wanted to and the role he'd been given did not require it. He liked it that way because he saw those precious creations as inconvenient, but he would never voice those thoughts aloud. It would just make him even more disliked among his peers.

"Have you ever thought," Chris continued when Miyuki remained silent, "that maybe that's the reason you've been sent here?"

"What?" Miyuki asked. He did not like the knowing look in Chris' eyes. It left him feeling uncomfortable.

"You want to return to your position, right?" Miyuki nodded, but looked away. "Then we must go down."

Glancing down, Miyuki felt dread. "Fine," he said, hoping his voice held authority.

He followed Chris quietly. They flew over cities and crowds of people. It was loud with the bustle of everyday life, and Miyuki found it annoying. Then they moved away from the city and passed the suburbs until they were over more rural establishments with houses farther and farther apart. This he didn't mind too much, but still there was so much hatred in this world that seemed to drown out the good.

That was why Miyuki never once visited the earth. The humans that were so loved in heaven seemed to have little for each other. Wars and death plagued them, yet if they just stopped hating, it could be different. Looking down at the small humans, he wondered,What's so good about them anyway?

"Isn't it obvious?" Chris asked as he slowed his flight. Miyuki visibly tensed when he realized he'd spoken his thoughts aloud. "It's the fact that each and every one is so different, yet all have so many possibilities." Chris smiled warmly. "It's our job to watch over them, hoping they reach that full potential."

Miyuki still didn't see the wonder of it, especially when so many used that potential for the wrong reasons. "So where's this charge of yours?" Miyuki asked, raising an eyebrow at the grin on Chris' face.

"Just below."

They both descended until they saw two kids raking leaves. Miyuki didn't know their ages, but he could easily tell they were quite young. "Which one is it?"

"The boy," Chris said fondly.

After raking the leaves into a large pile, the girl spoke. "Eijun," she said, "we have to push the pile over there." Miyuki noticed the devilish look in the boy's eyes. "Eijun?" The boy discarded his rake. "Eijun, no!" She yelled, but it was too late. The boy had already jumped into the waiting pile, smiling and laughing gleefully.

"Come on, Wakana!" Eijun grinned from ear to ear. "We need a break to play!"

Wakana glared until Eijun threw some of the leaves at her, a couple getting caught in her hair. Giggles erupted, filling the air with such positivity it felt contagious. Wakana eventually gave in, jumping into the pile as well. The two diving and throwing leaves at each other until they had to rake it all over again.

"That is why they are great." Miyuki looked back at Chris, who kept his eyes on the children below. "Despite all the things that go wrong, there is still such purity in this world that we need to watch over and care for."

Looking back down to find Wakana lecturing Eijun, Miyuki felt the corners of his lips turn up. The scene was… nice. It felt like a reminder that all the work they did was to protect the innocents like these kids. "Hey, Chris-senpai," Miyuki began before he could really think it over, "do you mind if I stay for a bit?"

"Not at all."