Disclaimer: I do not own Man, the characters (except my own) or the main concepts/arcs from the anime/manga. All credit goes to Miss Hoshino Katsura.
Chapter 1: And It Dawned On Me
-Three months ago-
When the red-haired man came to a halt in front of the grave, he was, to his surprise, contemplating whether or not to put down the single lotus flower. Since when was the last time he had visited the deceased? In fact, he had even contemplated visiting the grave in the first place.
Maybe it was the heat doing things to his head, but somehow he found himself heading towards the direction of a small cemetery on the outskirts of Mumbai, his memories slowly , a single flower simply could not do justice, but at least it was better than nothing. He gazed down at the grave, tipping his hat lower to shade from the sweltering heat, rubbing his sweaty chin and reading what seemed to be the name of the person in Hindi on the headstone.
He didn't know them personally; it was Old Man Zu who had revealed the whereabouts of their grave. It was Old Man Zu who knew more about this person, but he didn't probe into it too much since he didn't really feel the need to. Even so, the old man had spoken so much praise and love for this person that it intrigued even him.
Despite the recollection of his memories and other irrelevant reminiscing, the only thing he himself knew was that this person was related to her.
He took out a cigarette and popped the end in his mouth once lighting it. He could still vividly remember the first time he met her, though the situation in which they met wasn't particularly convenient.
He had found her sitting in a dark alleyway in the pitch-black of night, her colourless, wet dress and face stained in someone else's blood, her widened eyes fixed on the blood on her tiny hands. She had been in so much shock she hadn't noticed him approaching her. To his dismay, she wasn't in her right mind and began screeching and wailing in horror at the realization of what she had done, until she passed out. Her screeching still ringed in his head every time he thought of her. It was then he had realized that she had carried out his mission on eradicating the Scottish slave house and bringing herself to him, and without realizing until soon after, taking the lives of all those inside the building.
"Must have been fate, having her appear right in front of me without having to lift a finger..." He placed the lotus flower next to the grave and turned.
"...Maybe I should pay a visit." He took his hat off and wiped the sweat off his brow, careful not to disrupt the position of his mask. He smirked and licked his lips, beginning to walk out of the cemetery, wondering how elegantly she must have grown by now. Now that he had his idiot apprentice out of the way, he could now get down to business.
"The Angels, the children of Heaven, saw the beautiful daughters of man, and coveted them.
The Angel Semyaza led two hundred Angels out of Heaven and descended onto Mount Hermon. Each of these Angels then took a wife as they saw fit, of different colours, tribes and cultures. Beginning with Azazel, the Angels taught their wives all manner of forbidden things like magic and charms.
In time they began to have children by these wives, humans with great wings and Divine abilities, their core made of Innocence. And these children grew and began to multiply. Men of great renown, these winged men would inflict great ruin upon mankind. They consumed all in their path, in time feeding on the vulnerability of humans.
The control of man reached the Archangels in Heaven, who interceded with God. God replied to the appeal, and sent his warrior Angels to bind and capture the Fallen Angels.Meanwhile, a fierce battle between the Wielders of Innocence and the Noah would soon take place, which destroyed the world.
The warrior Angels sent did indeed bind and capture the Fallen Angels, and the Three Days of Darkness did blanket the Earth. The Fallen Angels faced judgement and were sentenced to a life of torture in Heaven, and The Curse was placed on their children who walked the Earth, and their children and great grandchildren, till the end of time."
"Oi! Aria, shut up!" The young woman hadn't heard the voice above her over her singing, the sound of her voice engulfed the whole room. She sang lightly, her voice melodious and sweet, but passionate. Every word, every expression and every key she poured out of herself swallowed her mind in temporary bliss, as if a natural force was being swept over her in comfort, covering her like a blanket.
"I said shut up, cursed one!" Her mind snapped to back to reality and she narrowed her eyes, the magic was gone. Great, they were here earlier than expected. She looked up at the opening of her house from her bed. It was a large gaping hole created in the centre of the ceiling which traveled down the levels of her house, with masses of huge Wisteria vines and leaves dangling through all the openings. From within the blue and purple flowers, two small heads were seen peeking down at her.
"No one wants to hear you sing."She calmly sat up despite her irritation, her honey brown eyes glaring up at the small blond boy that spoke. He didn't seem fazed though and gave her a smug look, his delicate skin and sharp blue eyes glowing within the cluster of flowers. His partner, another boy with plump red cheeks and dark golden-brown hair, grinned down at her. Aria heaved a sigh and placed herself on the edge of her bed, her feet dangling in the air.
"What do you two want this early in the afternoon?"
She didn't get the answer she was looking for as the two boys began preparing themselves to jump down. She shot them a look of death and shook her head.
"Don't you dare..."
"Catch us, Aria!" In a matter of seconds the two boys dropped down from the opening with their arms stretched out, screaming.
"GOD DAMN IT" Without even realizing, two large pair of wings grew out from her Aria's back as she pushed herself off the bed and glided across the room in accelerating speed, wincing at the pain. She caught the boys just before they hit the floor. Her large wings flapped, sending a small ripple of air around the room as she slowed her speed and balanced her stance in mid-air, causing some objects in the room to move or fall off from their places.
"Ha-ha! Look! We made you show your cursed wings!" The boys pointed their tiny fingers at her discoloured wings in mockery.
She let out a shaky breath as she gently landed on the wooden floor, deliberately dropping boys on their backsides. She could hear her heartbeat thumping against her chest as she put her hand on it, trying to calm herself down. She had broken a sweat because of these pathetic gremlins.
"Must you have to bother me with your potential deaths so early!?" She seethed in fury, scowling down at the two boys, who she realized where both completely naked, their hair disheveled. Even her hair – which was already in tangles – was all over the place.
"Who the hell even jumps from the roof knowing very well they haven't grown out their wings yet?"
"We wanted to see your wings," Her scowl deepened as the boys laughed at her dramatically, their index fingers once again raised at her discoloured wings.
"You always hide them, so we found a way to make you bring them out." They're laughing broke into whines of pain as she smacked them both on the sides of their heads.
"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?" She ground her teeth together as she placed her index finger and thumb on her temples in aggravation. The tender, prickling pain between her shoulder blades caused her wings to quiver slightly. She would go months and months without releasing her wings, so when she did, it was painful.
"Someday I'll leave this place and never come back," She closed her eyes, breathing in and trying to regain her composure.
"And no one will be able to save you the next time you fall from my house." She spat out sharply, flicking her hair away from her face. Houses were not made like human houses in Seventh Sky, instead of a roof above their heads; there was an opening which allowed people to enter. However, those who had not gained their wings yet would need to use the vines to climb down from.
To her, the boys and their constant antics and attempts to make fun of her wings was something she was used to, and it came as no surprise that they had been taught to look down on the wings that she possessed. In fact, she couldn't solely blame them for their prejudices; their conditioned thoughts were the outcome of their adult's fears and mental superiority. Everyone here feared or looked down on her for having discoloured wings. Frankly, she found it exhausting, and never really stayed in Seventh Sky for too long for this reason.
"Is that all you came for then?" She asked coldly. The boys had already recovered and had began playing round with her objects that had landed on the floor, particularly the one's from land. She felt a vain throb from the side of her head.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID NOT TO TOUCH MY THINGS?" She shrieked, grabbing the two boys by their arms and lifting them up to her level.
"No, no, we were told to come get you!" The boy with golden-brown hair looked up at her, letting out a small sigh in relief once he had her attention.
"Grandpa called for you, there's a visitor in the city that wants to see you."
A/N: Hello! This is kinda my first fanfic in YEARS (I used to have a fanfic account back in the day but soon strayed from it) which may or may not be crappy, but honestly, this is all for my enjoyment and wanting to get better at writing...Plus I'm low-key really obsessed with Man so yeahhhh. I don't know how this story will end up, but this is kind of my own experiment to try out new ways of writing and see how far I get. If you think it's worth keeping up on, please support my story, I will always appreciate it and from the bottom of my heart I hope everyone who reads this is doing well! Have a lovely day my loves!