Disclaimers: Pita-ten is copywrited to Koge-Donbo and all licensed companies that translated the manga series, etc. etc. The OC angel (main character in a way) of the story is mine, as warped as it is.

--- Bloody Recline ---

--- Prologue: In chains ---

She tugged at her hair lightly, trying to get the sense of pain back into place. It was better than remembering anything; and hell, there was a lot she just wanted to forget now. But it was so hard sometimes, and 'they' weren't about to allow her to let it go willingly.

Oh yes, 'they' loved to cause her pain and agony and anything else that would make her miserable. 'They' had succeeded long ago and still 'they' didn't allow her go. On and on it would go, reminding her of the life that did not exist for her and the fact that, even if there was a chance, just one, she would not have the heart to grab it.

But then again, did she even have a heart? Even now, after all of this, what did 'they' intend for her to do now? She was too weak to do anything of use, but that was why no one guarded her now. She just lay there, on the cold stone floor, staring blankly at nothing, eyes unfocused. Her hair, a delicate shade of silver mixed with tinges of gold, lay mattered all around her. Her clothes were grimy and the food by her lay untouched.

At the rate she was going, she was more than dead.

Yet was it possible for an angel to die again?

When 'they' had first brought her to this place she had been so strong of will, so hard to break and usually caused more damage to them than they to her. But 'they' had persisted, suffering largely from casualties and deaths; never believe anyone who says that angels can't be violent. They do it within good reason, though, and this was a good a reason than any other mentioned.

'They' had persisted, though, and 'they' had the numbers on their side. Who cared if people died in the process? Who gave a damn if, in the end, it was all paid off with what they had now?

She had no will. No memories. She didn't even speak now.

In the end, she was just a broken soul within a shell; lying there to be examined and tested.

It was not meant to be this way.

How many years had it been, though? So many that it was impossible to count, and as the angel looking nothing more than sixteen, it was no point trying to calculate it based on her age. Footsteps would echo outside of the holding chamber but no one looked in. She was a rare being, true, but dangerous at one point, and besides, they saw her during tests and experiments and such.

Mortals were cruel, really.

---

The angels above could feel the unease, the destruction, the abuse, and the horror that these mortals carried with them all the time. Corrupted, tainting the world into a darkness that could never be healed; and they just continued to get in deeper, and deeper, not knowing what they were doing to themselves.

And they could do nothing about it.

She was gone. Angels-in-training still continued their lessons, and they tried to maintain the balance as best they could.

But there had been a massive upheaval when she was taken. And now… she was nothing more than like the mortals themselves, but more broken and shattered on the ground; leaving nothing of her old life in their hands.

It was treacherous, barbaric, to say the least, but it was too late and they could not go down there themselves. Whatever those mortals had used in the first place could end up capturing them as well, and there was no way they could risk that.

"But we can't give her up!"

"We have to watch out for ourselves now. She's already gone, Terra. Please… forget her."

"Kami-sama…"

This battle was one that the mortals would never see or hear about because it was something they created themselves. And they had left it in the wake of Heaven to clean up the mess they had now made, spreading further and further out and making it harder to contain.

One angel was now gone in the eyes of Heaven.

---

In most cases, demons don't give a damn about many things, especially when it comes to angels and heaven as such. Because of their differences, the unspeakable hate between the two was an unspoken agreement and everyone just lived by it, doing whatever they wanted. Of course, they had to keep the balance, but the darker part of things, their side, was getting a little overwhelming. And they were supposed to keep the balance.

It was getting harder by the day.

Nothing they did could change it and it seemed to be an evil that mortals had created themselves; and it was something they would have to work on. The angels were already on it, so they were reluctant to begin.

Having witnessed the capture and soul-shattering of the lone angel, a number of demons had been sent to, well, 'retrieve' her, as it was clear that she was nothing more than a mere child. On basic terms they weren't supposed to do that, but as heaven had done nothing to her rescue…

Besides, she had no memory; no place now, and being tested and examined was something no one after death wanted.

But she wouldn't be taking residence in hell, either. She would have to be given a second chance. The devil couldn't bother to message Heaven about it, there was no point, so she returned to the Surface World with no recollection of her past life or anything related to it. If the angels weren't going to hear a word on it, the demons would have to keep an eye out for her.

Yet there was more to her than one might have expected…

---

"I'm going now!" called one Kotarou Higuchi as he closed the door to his apartment. Of course, he was saying it upon deaf ears, as no one else was home, and his cousin Shino was standing right next to him at that very moment.

As routine would have it, the next thing the purple-haired boy knew he was more or less tackled by his next-door neighbour, who was, as always, hyperactive and ready for another tiring day of, as she claimed it, 'making him happy'. What made him most happy was when she wasn't trying to 'help' him, but she wouldn't listen.

"Morning Kotarou-kun! Shino-chan suuu!"

"Misha-san! Get off!"

Strangely enough, the pink-haired angel did as she was told. Kotarou frowned at this, noting at an instant that something wrong must have gotten word to her, because the last time he'd seen her this way was after her admitting to failing her angel exams. "What's wrong?"

Misha fidgeted, staring at her shoes, "Nothing's wrong, su. What made you ask that?"

His frown deepened and he stuck a hand under her nose, gaining her attention, "Because you're depressed and thoughtful, what else. And usually you don't let go until I pry you off me, get it?"

She smiled faintly at this, but the bunnies in her hair still looked worried, "Suu… it's just that I got word from up there," she finally said, "there seems to be trouble at the moment, suu."

Kotarou decided the best idea was not to question too much about the 'up there' part of the conversation, "What sort of trouble?"

"Nyuu--… we once lost an angel down here and, although they knew where she was, suddenly she's disappeared and they're worried about her and there's a bad feeling about this."

"… Right…" it was also best not to question the 'angel' either. Then he caught track of the time, "We're going to be late!"

'She's gone… and the troubling feeling's increasing… this is bad… not to mention everyone else is tense and worried,' was the last thing Misha thought before returning to her cheerful self, which meant attaching herself to Kotarou and having fun. Well, life just went on.

---

A/N: Yes, I know, shoot me for starting another story. Well, when the idea came to me, I though, why not? So here it is. I will be working on Within the Shadows, but both Demon in Disguise and Watch Over Me will probably be on hold because I'm lazy.

This is slightly AU, following the manga after Shino comes and before Shia leaves, 'kay? So her real relationship with Kotarou is unknown. And yeah, Kotarou is still ignorant about the whole 'angel' concept in this (I find it utterly amusing).

Story will be focused more around the girl, her past, present and how she affects the real characters. So beware… (oh yes, and comments are welcome as well)

Don't ask where the title came from; I have no idea myself.