A/N: Finally! An update after being in the hospital for 2 days and a half. I'm sick of hospital food and needles poking into me! I'm finally home where I belong and in front of my laptop. I wrote this chapter sometime before I fell critically ill. Now I'm just gonna finish it up and eat some good food. I hope you enjoy this chapter; there's nothing much to it other than it's a breather for the next things to come. I still got lots to dream about ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: "Tell me Caius, do you believe in angels?"

Angels Can Fall (Part 6)

"Lightning! Where are you?!"

Caius came to a stop looking for the angel. Gone. Simply gone. Gazing down empty streets, the angel was nowhere to be found. Propelling forward, Caius was determined to find Lightning after their small quarrel. Shaking his head, he cursed himself for allowing her to prowl alone in the afternoon. There were only two hours left before the sunset and the night would take over. Turning a corner, he found an angel but it was the angel in the poster. With time not on his side, Caius immediately headed the other way in search for Lightning.

Lightning stood in front of the Palumpolum troupe poster and tore it off the wall; the sight of an angel sickened her. Crushing then igniting the poster with her fingers, she felt slightly better. Angels. Angels. Angels. That's what all the humans ever think about: bloody Angels. Angels were high beings giving humans hope when they wished for it. Yeah right. Hope her ass. Breathing out a sigh, Lightning placed her hands on her hips as she would do when she was done silently ranting. Turning her head to lock gazes with an empty street, she wondered where she was. She had stormed quite a distance away from Caius after their little spat. Taking some steps forward, all Lightning could see benches, trees, some parked vehicles and kids running after each other. She had absolutely no clue where she was.

Great. I'm lost.

Without a destination in mind, Lightning advanced down the street ignoring the glances she received from some people. Things got so much better when rain clouds rolled in and decided to unleash a terrible storm. People quickly ran for shelter and Lightning? She continued walking down the soaked streets of Academia. Kicking a can to the side, the aluminum object bounced off a person's leg. Expecting it to be Caius, she looked up and saw a tall young man with silver hair.

"Sorry," Lightning apologized through the sound of the rain.

"It's okay," The young man replied. "I don't want to intrude but why are you walking in the rain?"

"I'm lost," Lightning admitted. "I can't find my way back to my abode."

"Abode?" The young man chuckled but immediately ceased once Lightning gave him a slight glare. "House you mean?"

"Yeah, that."

"Let's quickly get out of the rain and talk," he gestured to a small shop. "I can barely hear you over the sound of the rain."

Without thinking, Lightning followed the stranger into a small shop. Judging from its appearance, it was a coffee shop humans enjoyed. The aroma of different beans and blends caused the angel to gag; it was the same garbage Caius drank in the morning! Shaking her head, Lightning rinsed out her hair as she sat by the window with her legs crossed under the table. Sitting across from her was that young man she encountered. Even before she uttered a word, he extended his hand.

"Hope Estheim,"

"…Lightning." She shook his hand in response. Quickly pulling back, Lightning stared into Hope's eyes. She was still very alert of humans and this one was no different.

"Lightning," Hope repeated. "What a strange name."

"Yeah, well, you're not the first person to comment on that." Lightning replied dryly remembering Fang's intrigued look.

Silence momentarily settled between the two that was, until Hope was the first to break the silence.

"It's nice to meet you Lightning," Hope smiled warmly. "To be frank, I've never seen anybody like you in Academia before. Did you recently move here?"

"…Yeah, I did. I came to live with my fiancé." Lightning lied with a straight face. "He needs someone to help clean up his room, y'know. Men can't do a single thing without a woman's touch."

Hope couldn't help but stifle a chuckle, "I see, I see."

Hope's eyes shifted toward the window observing countless raindrops collide against the glassy surface. One by one, drops slid down the window and into the potted plants below. Lightning merely observed Hope. This young man was strange in her perspective; he approached her without fear crossing his mind. She always believed humans to be fearful creatures, even if it's with each other. Most of the time, humans stayed a distant from one another. Hearing thunder crack against the sky, Lightning's attention returned to how she was supposed to get home. She had no idea where Caius lived. All she knew was how his room looked like. If she imagined it clearly, his room was an abominable mess; clothes, alcohol bottles and food lay waste on the floor. He wasn't considered hygienic in her standards. Then she wondered: Were all men like that? No. The angels in Valhalla were clean, even the men were tidy and respectful of their space.

Racking her memory, she knew Caius didn't live in a house but in a building with hundreds of rooms. Within her imagination, she imaged a beehive. She was positive. Yet, how could she distinguish his building form all the other buildings when the other structures look exactly alike? Irritated (and beyond annoyed), Lightning shifted her weight and uncrossed then crossed her legs. She wondered: Could this human help her without raising suspicions? It was worth a shot. To much of her knowledge, humans weren't that smart to begin with. Case and point: Caius.

"I'll help you look for your house," Hope spoke warmly. "Do you know roughly where it is?"

"Not really," Lightning closed her eyes. "I just arrived here not too long ago. I'm not familiar with the locale."

"Okay, can you describe any landmarks you remember?"

Landmarks… Lightning mused. Of course, the park where she first met Caius. "A park. It's a ways away from the main city. There's a fountain there."

"Well that was easy. There's only one park here in Academia. I can take you there."

"Appreciated."

Finally getting somewhere, Lightning couldn't wait to get back 'home'. Of course, the reminder of Valhalla waiting for her would always be on her mind. For now, her human home and her so called 'fiancé' were waiting for her. By now he was probably frantic about her whereabouts.

"LIGHTNING! LIGHTNING!"

Caius darted out of an alley to no avail. He cursed himself at Academia for being so goddamn huge! Who the hell had the idea to build this goddamn place so high the buildings even touch the goddamn sky?! Okay, maybe he should calm down and worry about finding the angel. As he thought, Fang and Vanille were already looking around town. As luck would go, those two are experts are finding lost people. Running around drench, where was he even supposed to look when Lightning could be anywhere in this labyrinth? He could officially go to the authorities but they would be searching for a person who doesn't exist in their database. Screeching to a halt, Caius listened to the sound of violent raindrops slam against the pavement.

Only gaining a moment of silence, Caius's cellphone rang, startling him. "You found her?"

"Her?" A girl spoke. "Caius, it's Yeul."

"Yeul?" Caius questioned but suddenly recomposed himself. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I wanted to check up on you." Then Yeul paused listening to Caius's breathing and the rain slamming onto him. "Are you outside? Do you know it's pouring rain?! And why do you sound so tired?"

Quickly thinking Caius responded, "One of my coworkers lost her dog. She ran away when she heard thunder. Now we're looking for her."

"Oh dear," Yeul covered her mouth. "Okay. I won't you hold on any longer. Go find the dog! I hope it returns back to your friend!"

Caius warmly smiled, "Thank you, Yeul. When I'm done I'll come over okay?"

"Alright." Yeul smiled and hung up.

Relieved, Caius tucked his phone back into the jacket and focused on the task at hand; Lightning. The last thing he wanted was Lightning to be lost in the foreign city alone unaware of the dangers which lurk around every corner…

Hope and Lightning walked side by side under an umbrella. Hope figured it would be a shame for Lightning to catch a cold after arriving here not too long ago. Lightning cared not for sharing a small, plastic umbrella with Hope. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, they continued to walk until they reached a moving sidewalk. While they were on it, the sound of laughter echoed behind them. Rolling her eyes, Lightning faced a large man with tattoos scattered across his face. She noted the other two men behind this oaf and the two other men behind Hope. When would the humans learn they couldn't best an angel?

Clicking his teeth he spoke gruffly, contesting with the storm. "And what do we have here? Two love birds on a date?"

"We aren't dating," Lightning replied coolly appalled at the childish remark. "What do you want from us you stench-filled oaf?"

"Look at her talk boys," The man spun around to the man on the right, directly pointing at the angel. "She called me an oaf! How adorable."

"Charming," Lightning retorted. "You know, we'd appreciate it a lot of you get out of the way. We're in a hurry."

"Not so fast." The man held out his massive tattooed palm. "Why don't you ditch this scrawny pretty boy and come with us? We'd love to know you better."

"Thanks but no thanks. I'm taken," Lightning lied, again. "Listen here, Behemoth slob, we need to get to someplace and you're blocking my way. It's starting to piss me off."

"You better do what the lady tells you," Hope added, closing the umbrella. "You don't want to anger her."

Launching his massive body onto the duo, Hope immediately spun around and snapped the umbrella open into the face of his attacker. Taking the prompt, Lightning darted forward and delivered a strong uppercut toward one of the men, knocking them onto the ground. Landing several feet away, she encouraged another man to attack her. Taking the bait, the man clenched his fist and thumped his chest with authority. Bellowing like a moronic beast, he charged at Lightning only to have her fist meet the center of his gut. Bending over, his face was soon met by a strong knee between the eyes knocking him backwards. Hope on the other hand was doing just fine; disarming these two dangerous trolls with his plastic umbrella. Side stepping, one of the men stumbled into their leader before shoved back into the fight.

"You guys aren't that tough," Hope said quietly dodging a fist aimed to his face. Snapping the umbrella to the side, he allowed the troll to trip and faceplant into the sliding walkway. "Just a bunch of mindless thugs."

Biting his ringed lower lip, the thug hissed, "Why you little—!"

Lightning removed her hand from the back of the man's neck slowly watching their leader fall onto his knees and kissed the end of the walkway. Glaring at the man standing behind Hope, Lightning dared him to make another move. It was she predicted; he took several steps back before running away with an invisible tail tucked between his legs. Clapping her hands to get rid of the filth, Lightning turned to Hope.

"I guess this place isn't as safe as I initially thought," Lightning voiced. "I thought it would be a safe utopia without thugs roaming the streets."

"It happens in every city," Hope calmly responded getting off the walkway. "Our security is tight in Academia but there are some which sneak under the radar."

"Uh huh."

"But I'm very surprised at your talent, Lightning. You took out those men like they were amateurs. Are you trained in some defensive exercises?"

"No—I mean yes. I took defense classes since I was a little girl." Then Lightning landed her hands on her hips. "What about you? You seemed awfully calm when they attacked."

"I've gotten used to it," Hope smiled and re-opened the umbrella. "I've learned to deal with thugs and hotheads over the years. At first they scared me but now, not anymore."

"I see. Well, since we're done here let's keep on moving. I'm starting to feel soaked to my bones."

"Good idea," Hope smiled. "The park is still a long way from here."

Nodding, the two walked side by side watching the rest of the populace hide under large structures. Though it was funny watching people watching them in an odd way; Lightning observed some of the girls whisper to one another. Something about a 'Director' of some sort. Huffing, Lightning paid no attention as she stepped over a deep puddle now arriving at the intersection. The lights in front of her switched to green prompting the two to cross. Again, as Lightning walked with Hope, heads began to turn. Now she was utterly curious if there was something special about Hope? He looked like any other normal teenager in this day and age. Tall, lanky and not really malnurioushed. Perhaps, slightly good looking in terms of human standards?

Regardless, the two crossed safely to the other side reaching the lush green park. Lightning stepped out from the confines of the umbrella and spotted Caius standing beneath the tree where they first met. She watched him look around for a while until their gazes were locked. Without spoken words, Caius stepped forward increasing his strides. Arriving in front of Lightning, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey," That was the first thing that came to the warrior's mind. "Looking for me?"

"Are you alright?" Caius voiced then turned his attention to the young man beside Lightning. "You found her?"

"Yeah I did," Hope turned to Lightning. "She was wondering the city. I found her after I finished my shift."

"I see. Thanks. She's new here." Caius started at Lightning watching the raindrops slide off her bangs. "I was worried about her if she were to get lost and never found her way back."

"I know," Hope responded. "Ah right, you must be her fiancé then? And your name is…?"

"Caius."

"Caius, that name is oddly—wait, you're Fang's ex-husband."

"That's right." Caius mumbled.

The sound of thunder cracked against the sky prompting another wave of wet curtain upon them.

"It's time for us to go, Lightning." Looking at Hope again, he said, "Your help is appreciated, Director."

"Director?" Lightning glanced up at Caius. About to question further, Hope had already spoken.

"Any time," Waving goodbye to the duo, Hope watched Caius remove his jacket and covered Lightning's head. In an odd gesture, Lightning pushed away his hand and stormed away.

Standing beneath the umbrella, Hope watched the two until they were out of sight. Gripping the handle, Hope was unable to shake off an odd feeling he encountered with Lightning. There was something particularly odd about Lightning; her gestures and speech indicated she was not definitely an Academia locale. Her mannerisms were off which made Hope wonder: Where did Lightning come from? Nevertheless, Hope had a feeling he would encounter Lightning again. Shrugging, Hope turned around to exit the park. It was all in a day's work for Academia's founding personnel to be helping his citizens' one person at a time. Walking through the puddles made by the rain, Hope was going to return to his room for a nice cup of hot cocoa, waiting for him. It felt good to be helping someone whom he had never met before. Humming a quiet song, Hope made his way back to the Academy to relive the moments Lightning and himself took down the thugs. Sure enough, it felt good breaking from his usual routine stuffing his face in datapads and books, reading about the existence of angels and the mysterious land known as Valhalla.