Chapter 1: Welcome to Angel Academy!

It hurt for one second. A measly second is all it took for me to know the ugly truth...

I am dead.

I remember it all, the screaming and terrified shouts. Everything was unreal and chaotic. I could literally smell the fear from everyone as we all knew our fate was sealed.
We would all die in a matter of seconds.
It was all over the news, our deaths. I try not to think about it too much.
Our souls lingered on Earth for a while but all souls must eventually enter the Void. The Void is a place where souls are processed and sent to either heaven or hell; some are too afraid to get in line and find out... so they sneak back into the real world and become Ghouls. The living dead. Normal humans don't notice Ghouls because they blend in to society. Ghouls have an allotted time before they can never return to the Void. Why? Because their mind and soul breaks down the longer they stay on Earth.
Those psychopaths and serial killers you see on TV? Most of them are Ghouls. The crazy people in the loony bins? Half of them are Ghouls. The vegetables in the hospital on life support? Some of those are Ghouls. Ghouls break down in various ways. But the end result is the same, once a Ghoul completely breaks down and dies... the soul can never return; it's gone for good. That's why there are specialized Angel teams that take care of Ghouls, killing them before they break down completely to save their souls. But Ghouls also have the choice to jump back in the Void if their mind and soul aren't too far gone.
There are souls that I have seen wandering around the Void, looking broken and fragmented. These broken souls were Ghouls a little too long, but not long enough to dissipate. They say with time, the souls will heal. Until they can, they cannot enter Heaven, Hell, or Earth. They remain in the Void until they can heal fully.
I... am a Ghoul. I thought how unfair this life was to be killed at the age of 19 and wanted it back. But as I trudged through the streets I realized something crucial... I have nothing to live for. My parents died when I was young, my brother died when I was 13, I practically raised myself. I never got close to anyone because I thought a relationship with anybody was a waste. It doesn't matter who you are with because in the end, we all die right?
Well... I died sooner than expected, wiping out my family name in one fell swoop. The Uchihas live no more. I was the last one alive and I died. Maybe Uchihas are notorious for having bad luck somewhere along the timeline.
I step back into the Void and blink as my Ghoulish body disappears and my soul shines about with transparent luminescence. I take a step toward the line and am suddenly lifted high in to the air. Was I deemed worthy of Heaven?
As I suddenly stop, I look around. Clouds and gates and white wings. I'd say this is what Heaven is often depicted as. I look and see a frowning face I never thought I'd see again.
"Aniki?" I ask, surprised. Itachi was standing with a sigh. He had six wings. A Seraphim? "How'd you get promoted so fast?"
"Listen, otouto. You gave your Guardian Angel quite the heart attack," Itachi points to a crumpled up angel on the ground that other angels were trying to console. "As punishment, you must become a Guardian Angel in his place. Normally, when you get sent to Heaven, you get the choice of which branch you want to enter: the Peace Corps, the Guardian Corps, or the Messenger Corps. The Peace Corps are the angels that spread love, fertility, health, and happiness among humans to stop war and strife. The Guardian Corps are the angels that serve and protect human life; you'll be familiarizing yourself in this branch. And finally, the Messenger Corps are the angels that watch humans' dreams and wishes and bring them to God. I am the Seraphim in charge of the Angel Academy, where angels go to learn how to fulfill their duty."
I nod, listening to him like I always did in life. "So why do I have to fill in for him?" I point to the fetal-positioned angel.
"Because he's transferring over to the Peace Corps; angels can typically do that. Except ones on punishment, like you," Itachi sighs.
"Okay... so how do you become a Seraphim if you start off as a normal angel?" I ask.
"Ranking system. The more you accomplish your duty, the more likely you are to be picked as a Seraphim when a Seraphim returns to Earth. To be able to return to Earth in a new body with no memories of your past life, you have to become a Seraphim and remain a Seraphim for a while. God decides when you are ready to be a Seraphim and when your soul is ready to be cleansed for a blank slate. We will never remember our past lives, however, ever soul is linked to another soul permanently, so your soul mate in life is your soul mate in death and you will be eternally bound. You cannot see who they are ever, God has made it so in order to give you an adventure in finding them," Itachi explains.
"Okay... so... what if you die long before you find them?" I tilt my head.
"God will keep you here until they die and then you are kept in Heaven until you are both ready to move on; don't you think that's fair and just?" Itachi asks and I nod. "Any more questions?"
"Yeah. You said you're the Seraphim of the Angel Academy. Do you get to choose what you preside over or does God choose for you?" I ask.
Itachi sighs and gives a tired smile, "We are to choose one of the two choices God thinks is best for us. I was to be Seraphim of the Angel Academy or Seraphim of the Messenger Corps. I chose Angel Academy, knowing from the Seraphim of Prophecies that your fate would send you to the Academy. In a way, I was a little selfish with my decision, having wanted to see my brother again; but ultimately, I want to be able to teach you to be the best Guardian Angel you can."
"Alright, so what's first?" I ask as my wings unfold behind me.
"You are to be given your human. You must protect that human until the end of their life. If they die young because of YOUR neglect or because of something YOU did, you will have your wings ripped from your back and you will be banished from Heaven," Itachi warns.
"So... if I fail, I become a Fallen?" I ask.
"Yes. So do not fail. If you become a Fallen, there's no way to live as a Human again, and you cannot be a demon. You wonder Earth, forgotten by both mortals and non-mortals alike, doomed to obscurity and ostracization. Now, the human you are being given is extremely reckless. He has sent many an angel begging to be in another branch, but I feel you are up to the task to be his Guardian Angel. Since you are in training with an extremely reckless human, a Seraphim of the Guardian Corps will watch over him while you train. Your schedule is as follows: you must watch him for 12 hours of Earth time and must attend your Angel Academy classes for the second 12 hours. With no need to sleep, eat, or use the restroom, Angels are constantly doing things 24/7." Itachi looks at me after his speech and I nod.
"So where's my human?" I ask, the words sounding weird since I just RECENTLY died.
"Here he is," Itachi opens a portal and I see my human. A blond haired male, about the age I was when I died, with blue eyes and whisker like scars on his cheek. He was abnormally tan for a Japanese fellow. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto. Now step through the portal and watch him for the next twelve hours. The Seraphim that'll replace you while you train will come get you when those twelve hours are up."
I nod, step through the portal, and realize I'm falling through the air, hurtling towards Earth. I wonder if it would hurt if I made impact. I flap my wings and struggle to stay afloat. I have no such luck since these things don't come with instruction manuals. I smack face-first into the concrete. It doesn't hurt, but there's a lot of pressure and noise. But it looks like not a single person noticed... not a single person... except the person I was supposed to be watching.
"Excuse me, Mister Angel person. Are you alright?" He asks, eyes wide with concern.
"Wait... you can see me? I thought angels weren't supposed to be seen," I ask suspiciously as I stand up and brush myself off.
"Nobody else sees you. Just me. I guess I'm sorta weird. I notice the things that nobody else does. Like angels, spirits, and the living dead. The reek of death," He states with a shy grin.
"Ah... so you always knew you were being watched?" I ask with a raised brow.
"Mhm. You angels are everywhere. Always watching over us humans, or taking down the living dead... or monitoring the demons that come from below," the blond smiles and nods.
"You do know your last Guardian Angel quit on you, right?" I ask, just to be sure.
He chuckles nervously. "Yeah... I'm very clumsy and he couldn't handle that I guess. I'm sorry ahead of time." He bows and I frown.
Even though he treats me like I'm a normal living person, I just can't get the thought out of my head. The one though that's still eating at me, even though Heaven accepted me.

I am Dead.

So here we go. The kick-off to "Angel Academy". :) I hope it is successful.
Ah, anyways, as you can tell, I'm completely obsessed with Clear from DRAMAtical Murder... ;u; Help me... I think I'm loving a fictional character too hard again.

Your author,
Nova