2b

I ran my fingers through my wings, pruning the delicately appendages folded around me. I acknowledge the body that settled down near me, disturbing my solace. I glanced up at the large black man who strolled forward. I smiled, waving as Mu. He settled down beside me, watching my movements. Since my death, he had become a sort of surrogate father for me. He was my best friend and had taught me everything I needed to know in the weeks following my death.

"Hello Mu." I murmured, wiping away the last of my tears with the back of my hand. I did not want Mu to see my tears, but he knew. He stared at me with unhappy brown eyes. His dark skin appeared even darker against his white wings. His cropped black hair was as dark as a midnight sky. He sighed.

"Tenshi," His voice was quiet. He took a step forward and embraced me, pulling me up to him. I struggled for a moment and then collapsed into tears. He held me against him as I sniffled, tears slipping down my face. Angel tears. They were strange tears, tinted purple. I had heard whispers that angel tears held secret powers, but they were just false rumors.

A soft breeze swept over us, alerting me to the barrier that Mu had erected around us.

"I-I-I'm s-so lost." I sobbed, struggling to string my words together. Mu patted my back, comforting me.

"You are not lost kid," Mu smiled. I sniffed, stepping away from him. I brushed away my tears and laughed for Mu's benefit. It was stupid of me to cry when I had so many things to be thankful for.

"You… are really sad here, aren't you?" Mu's face fell when I said nothing to affirm or deny his words. I could not meet his gaze.

"I know that I am being selfish, but I miss Kakashi." My voice sounded wet from my tears.

"You are not being selfish. A young girl should not have had to give up her life the way you did." Mu looked at his hands, clenching them. He flew away, not giving me another word. The barrier came down and I dropped back, lying across the cloud. I turned onto my stomach, turned my gaze upon the earth. Happy children played, men and women kissed. I could never have a family now, never be the man and woman kissing. I moved to another cloud, closer to the ground now. I watched people as they got up, getting ready for the day. A young mother tried to get a squawking toddler under control before turning to kiss her husband goodbye. I watched as a ninja woke up and prepared for the day ahead of them, for the missions. These were only a few of the things I was missing.

I left my cloud a few hours later, lazily floating through the sky. I blinked when someone called out to me.

"Tenshi," Mu called behind me. I recognized his voice immediately. He always did enjoy watching the mortals with me. I turned towards him, smiling.

"Mu, come watch with me." I turned to stare curiously down at the ninja who were on a mission.

"Tenshi," Mu repeated, his voice was tight and forced. I frowned, turning to look at him again.

"Mu?" I moved to turn, but I was not fast enough. There was a flash of silver and pain shot through me. I gazed at Mu, my eyes wide. I looked down, grasping the silver sword that slipped into my skin, right beneath my rib cage. My gaze followed the weapon up to stare at Mu who was holding the end of the sword. Blood began to ooze from the wound. The silver glistened in bright contrast to the red of my blood. I had only seen the sword once or twice; it was Mu's job to make sure that the sword was used correctly. I wondered for a moment if he would get in trouble for using the sword on me.

"I couldn't watch you suffer anymore," Mu explained as he pulled out the sword. My chest ached as I pulled in a deep lungful of air. My wings pumped in an irregular rhythm. I touched the wound, no longer feeling the pain. It continued to throb.

"Mu?" I whimpered, confused. My vision swam in and out of focus. Mu shook his head, offering a smile.

"Tenshi, there is…" I was falling. My feathers molted and my wings began to fade away. I dropped down through the air, freefalling. I could see Mu's dark face before I turned and calmly let myself plummet towards earth. No wings to stop me from hitting the ground.