Hell's Greeting
Mikan
I coughed into my fist, looking out into the night air. It was approximately twelve thirty at night, and it was time to escape. Yeah, easy peasy.
NOT!
C'mon Mikan, you can do this. Escape Heaven. It shoulde be easy, since Heaven's guards are only specifically keeping demons out. Yeah, they failed at that job. Question is, how the hell am I going to get out?
Youichi needs you, Mikan! Do something for him! He's your freakin brother, for crying out loud!
Or, I thought, I could just contact the authorities and let them handle it.
No, no, no Mikan. You know that they won't be any help. As soon as they find out, they'll laugh at me and tell me that he's probably out drinking or being a teenager somewhere. But, when they find out that I'm telling the truth and not making this up, it'll be too late and Youichi'll be half dead.
I looked outisde and stared at the large iron gates. My heart stopped beating. The one on night duty today was...
Ruka Nogi. He was standing there, a high student, already having his own pair of white wings.
Crap, crap, CRAP! Stop turning red and keep your head in the game, Mikan Sakura!
Oh, how I wish Luna was here.
On second thought, Ruka was really nice, so maybe...I'll just have to find out. I stood up from the shelter of the bushes and dusted the leaves off of my skirt, my eyes never leaving Ruka's gorgeous face. Smoothly, I stepped out and glided up to him, a slight smile on my face. I hoped I looked innocent and not like some random fan girl.
"Mikan?" he asked, his azure eyes wide with shock. He frowned, staring at me. "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be studying for trials tomorrow?"
I'd rather be studying you, I thought, but kept my mouth shut. I stared at him. Ruka was trustworthy. He wouldn't laugh at me. Even if he didn't believe me, he'd let me show proof first, and then he'd at least consider letting me leave. I had to remind myself that Ruka was a nice person, a cute boy, with good records. If he did this now, he could be banished from the Angel society or worse, become a Fallen Angel. But Youichi was in danger and in the hands of demons. Demons. Demons.
"Ruka," oh God, I didn't mean for my voice to sound so high. "Listen I-Well, you see- I just," I fussed over things to say, twindling with a strand of my hair. Ruka stared at me with a kind smile, one of those princely smiles that would knock your breath away. He chuckled.
"It's only me, Mikan." he laughed lightly.
"Yeah," I murmured back, shifting my gaze to the ground.
Keep your head in the game!
"Ruka," I began again, sounding like a helpless child. My voice was barely a whisper. "Ruka, I need you to believe me, Youichi was kidnapped by Demons." I looked up and saw him staring at me with wide eyes.
"Go on," he said in awe.
He really believed me? "And, the Demons said that they would only let him go if I went to Hell."
"Mikan!" Ruka exclaimed. "You know you can't do that! They'll kill you as soon as you get there!"
"Ruka, please," I begged. I was positive that I was desperate. I needed to save my little brother. "Ruka, you have to let me go. I can't leave Youichi alone!"
He looked unnaturally calm. I was afraid he would alert the authorities, but, to my surprise, he smiled. He effin' smiled!
"Alright," he allowed. My jaws nearly dropped.
"You're letting me go?" I yelled.
"Only if I come with you, that is," he said slyly.
I rasied a brow. "Why?"
"Mikan," he began in a tired, exhasperated voice. "All my life, I've lived here, always following the rules, being the perfect student, the smart, goody-two-shoes. I've never had any real fun or done something irrational before in my eighteen years of living as an Angel." he stared at me with longing eyes. "I want to get out of here. I want to be free, do something dangerous, prove that I'm not just a robot that abides by rules. I want to be an individual, be someone who makes his own decisions and mistakes." he took a deep breath. "Do you understand even a little bit?"
I blinked in shock.
I've always wanted to be normal, to be a good girl. But, now that I thought about it, was there a part of me somewhere that wanted to be special and dangerous and wild like Ruka? All I knew is that Ruka was not the person I thought he was. I furrowed my brows.
I wanted to go to America when I graduated. I wanted to live a rich life, be stubborn, eat things I wasn't supposed to eat, gain a few pounds and get out of this skimpy body. There was a part of me that wasn't entirely all saint.
Maybe Ruka and I were the same after all.
"I can see where you're coming from, Ruka," I began steadily, "But what're you going to do? Even if you do go with me, you-you might be killed. And even if you do survive, you'll be punished or banned." I sighed.
Then came the unexpected question. "I don't know, Mikan, but what will you do? Will you accept becoming a Fallen Angel?"
"I don't plan on living," I responded honestly, not hearing the crack in my voice.
I was going to see a bunch of Demons, after all. And what did Demons do to Angels?
Oh, yeah. They killed Angels.
"That's suicide," Ruka pointed out, but sighed. "This is insane, but I'll do it." he smiled warily, fishing out a pair of keys from his pocket. "Ladies first, partner?"
"You're just too chicken to go first, aren't you?" I teased.
"Maybe. This is a suicide mission after all. Maybe I'll become the emo Fallen Angel." he laughed.
"I don't think you'd be popular anymore," I pointed out.
"Yeah. The horror." his voice was sarcastic. I smiled. This side of Ruka was so new, so fun. I liked it, but not romantically. More like a friendly 'like'.
"Hell, here I come," I mumbled as I watched Ruka open the gates with wide eyes.
"RUKA, ARE YOU SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY?"
"YEAH, I'M PRETTY SURE!"
"PRETTY SURE? RUKA, WE COULD GET LOST IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!"
"WON'T THAT BE EXCITING?"
I gaped at Ruka's excited expression. His blue eyes were wide with anticipation, his blond hair was whipping back, and a smile was on his face. We were currently falling down from the gates of Heaven to Hell, and let me tell you, it was worse than a roller coaster. It seemed like we were just falling non-stop and all I could see were shades of black, red, and purple as we passed by like lightning.
I felt like I crushed my back when I landed. There was a sharp crunching sound, and I let out a cry of pain, sure that I had broken something. Ruka had landed more gracefully, flapping his wings gently and landing lithely on his feet. He threw me an apologetic look and I rolled my eyes. I would heal soon; Angels and Demons healed way faster than humans. I straightened my back and winced, trying to set it straight so it wouldn't end up looking crooked and turn me into a hunchback.
I grimaced, then heard Ruka gasp. I rubbed my eyes and tried getting clearer vision. I smelled a sweet yet odd, unearthly scent swirling around me ... flaring inside my nostrils like acid. No scent could compare. It was dangerous, spicy, very different from the warm smells of Angels.
I looked up and my jaws literally dropped.
Thee, standing in front of me, was a large group of people who could only be Demons. Their auras were hostile, lethal, and absolutely frightening, dressed in black cloaks, which I was grateful for. If they didn't wear something to cover their eyes, I'm sure I would've screamed bloody murderer. Their leader, I assumed, stepped up and cleared his throat.
"Angel of Heaven, you possess the last remaints of the Royal Bloodline. I am Natsume Hyuuga, and you are, from now on, Hell's prisoner." his voice was so low but not too deep, just perfect. I was dazed and scared to death at the same time.
He lifted his black hood and the scream inside my throat ripped free. There, staring at me coldly, was a pair of dark, bloodthirsty ruby red eyes that could hold superiority of the whole universe with just one look.
I looked back to Ruka wildly, but he was staring at me with the same mask of horror on his face that I had. We both stared at eachother, and then at the Demons in front of us.
"We're going to die," we both stated in unision, our voices like those inside a grave. I knew that my life had litearally turned into hell the moment I stepped out of Heaven.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Mikan and Natsume finally meet! How do you like this new Ruka? And Mikan has Royal Blood in her? OMG!
