(Author's Notes)

Time for chapter six! I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know if you do! I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far. :)

Mayu was just getting ready to leave the music room and head to the library, when she noticed something out of place. Taped to the windowsill was a small, and very plain, white envelope. Curiously, she walked over and removed the envelope, opening it with a swift motion. Inside was a short note, and what appeared to be the sheet music for a hymn. The letter read:

"Mayu, you should try singing this at some point. It might come in handy."

Mayu immediately recognized Yuma's neat handwriting, but still she wondered what the song would do. Snapping back to the present, however, she recalled that she had very little time to get to the library, as she was expected at dinner in half an hour. She sighed and tucked the hymn and its accompanying letter into the pocket of her cardigan, before making her exit and heading for the library she knew so well.

Upon her arrival, she immediately went to the last row and located the second volume in the series that she had been enthralled with for the majority of the day. She never could have imagined that fictitious stories about humans, of all things, could be so positively riveting. It was then that she heard it.

The sound had become almost familiar to her by now; the sickening squelch as flesh was filleted and tossed aside. And then, soon after, the incessant tapping and scratching sound as the knife hit bone. Mayu looked over to the stained glass window, and sure enough, there was Len. He was perched rather lazily on the sill, his right hand digging into the flesh of his left. Blood poured from the wound and covered his lavish clothes in black goo, but he only wore a haphazard smile on his lips. He seemed remarkably tired, though, as per usual. The first few times she had seen this spectacle, it truthfully hadn't weighed on her very much… but with each time that she saw the blonde demon do this to himself, an uncomfortable pain built up in her chest. Something tugged at her, and for the first few weeks she simply couldn't put it together. But, now, as she watched him stab the knife deeper into his arm, she knew she could sit by idly no longer, whatever the reason.

The book slipped from her grasp, and fell to floor none too quietly. Len looked over in her direction, and she used this as her chance to march up to him as quickly as she could. She reared her small hand back, and slapped his own hand as hard as she could, causing him to lose his grip on the decorated knife, and it then clattered to the floor in a decidedly noisy fashion. Len stared at her in shock, and she stared right back at him, her expression lifeless.

"What do you you think you're doing, you stupid little bitch?" Len questioned angrily, his blue eyes narrowed with rage. Mayu avoided his gaze, unable to say anything in response. She honestly didn't know what was going on in her head.

Len reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He yanked as hard as he could, until her eyebrows wrinkled with distress.

"You have to stop this." She said.

"And why the hell do you care all of a sudden?" He yelled in her ear. Mayu winced slightly, but turned her gaze on him.

"I'm not really sure but… I can no longer simply watch you do this. It's very sad to watch such things. You need to stop." She said, her face set gravely as she watched him. For a moment, something unreadable passed over his features, but he quickly scoffed at her and pulled the small girl closer.

"Oh really? But then what would I vent my frustrations on?" He asked slyly, though he punctuated his remark with a yawn.

"…"

"Ah! What about on you?" He growled, yanking on her again until the angel yelped a bit. But Mayu quickly regained her composure, and proceeded to stare straight through him. Suddenly, she lifted her arm and rolled up the sleeve of her cardigan, revealing the milky white skin beneath.

"If that will relieve your pain, then so be it." She said with finality, offering the demon her arm. Len looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You would really just let me do that to you? You do realized this blade was made to work on both demons and angels. It's been passed through my family for generations. It will hurt like hell, and you won't heal for weeks. Just like a human."

"That matters naught," She said bluntly, shoving her arm closer to him, "I only wish to stop this cycle."

Len picked up the knife from the floor and passed it gently over her skin, forming a thin, red line as he watched her face carefully. He saw not a flinch, nor the slightest bit of hesitation, and it ticked him off when he saw that determination reflected in her eyes. He dug the knife in deeper, gouging and ripping until her dress was soaked in blood. But when she finally began to show the signs of pain on her face, all of that anger disappeared. He dropped the knife as though burnt, and pushed her aside before fleeing the room.

For the first time in his life, Kaito was early for something. Dinner, to be exact. This earliness, in fact, was caused by a ravenous hunger that had taken him over in the later half of the afternoon, and driven him to where he was now; pushing open the door to the dining hall with the hope that the usual corpse might, perhaps, come a bit early that evening. He sighed as his eyes fell over the empty room — empty, that is, until his eyes stumbled over the small girl seated in her usual place. A grin immediately came over his face; he thought maybe he could mess with her a bit before the others came. However, as he came closer, he realized with a start that Mayu seemed to be slumped over in her seat. Her eyes were shut tight as though in pain, and blood drenched the sleeve of her cardigan in crimson, and it dripped incessantly down onto the floor. He walked up to her and flicked her forehead, a rather annoyed look on his face. Her eyes fluttered open slowly.

"Ah, Kaito… I didn't hear you come in." She mumbled quietly, her eyes seeming very far away.

"Did Len do this to you?" He questioned tersely, a strange rage building in his chest. He knew that Len was the only other one who had one of those weapons in the mansion — he'd somehow managed to sneak it in under Mother Matilde's nose. But, that little brat dared to harm his property?

"… I'm fine."

"That's not what I asked. But besides that, you're clearly not fine. You need to treat that wound, idiot!"

"Treat? What do you mean?" She questioned blearily, her confusion growing by the minute. Kaito sighed frustratedly, and in a moment, he had scooped her up into his arms bridal style.

"Stupid clueless girl…" He growled under his breath as he carried her out of the dining hall. Mayu protested weakly, but the blue haired demon simply ignored her. After a few minutes of traveling, as he headed to the opposite end of the mansion, Kaito could feel her body go limp and knew she had lost consciousness. Soon, they arrived at the small, inconspicuous room where he knew the medical supplies were kept, and he set her down on the bench in the corner. He sighed heavily as he rummaged through the cabinets, wondering why he felt so upset over this. He realized, with a start, that he was worried about her. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, but he tried to quell the nervousness in his stomach by sternly telling himself that she played an important role in his plans, and that, and that alone, was why he was doing this.

The rigorous battle and medical training his father had put him through in his youth all came quite in handy as he treated and stitched up the wound. By the time he had finished, the demon was wrought with anger, directed towards his blonde rival. He laid Mayu down carefully on the bench and left the room, determined to seek Len out and make him pay for harming his property. His angel.

Kaito threw open the door to Len's room, and as he sauntered inside, the hinges snapped and the door fell to the ground with a loud crash. Len was seated at his desk, where he sat with his back turned towards Kaito. He spun the chair around, and gave the angry demon a curious look.

"Kaito. And to what do I owe this truly unwanted intrusion?" Len asked flatly, crossing his arms. Kaito's eyes narrowed into thin slits. Anger coursed through his body like a disease, and he decided then and there that Len would not be walking out of this. Len would pay in blood for what he did to Mayu.

A strange wind seemed to pick up in the room, and Kaito's eyes glowed bright blue in the dimness. As he reached a hand into his mouth, his fingernails and teeth suddenly grew to sharp points. He seemed to grasp something in the back of his throat, and he pulled hard, black blood dripping from his lips. Slowly, he withdrew a sharp, and very old blade from his throat and grasped the hilt with his right hand, aiming the sword between Len's eyes. With a snap of his fingers, an ethereal blue flame lit up along the body of the sword.

Len knew as soon as he saw that cursed blade, that he was in trouble. In all their years of squabbling as kids, and later as adults, he had never seen the demon blade passed down through generations of the Shion family. Kaito had never fought him seriously; he didn't need to. To put it simply, Len was the brains and Kaito the brawn. Much to his father's consternation, Len had never been a fighter, he much preferred reading and research. Having been rather sickly as a kid, it only seemed natural to him. Despite his fear, Len let his smirk stretch.

"Now, what could possibly have you so very hot and bothered?" Len teased, pulling out his knife. He genuinely wasn't sure what had Kaito so worked up, but he had to do his best to protect himself. Kaito didn't respond, he found he couldn't. So, instead, he charged Len, blade raised. Len managed to dodge the first swing, but a thought descended upon him by the second.

"This couldn't possibly be about Mayu!" Len exclaimed with a giggle, as he attempted to dodge another attack. However, he was a little late, and the blade grazed his cheek, burning like fire. He wiped away the blood with a grin.

"Don't tell me the great demon warrior, Kaito Shion, has feelings for that brat?"

"SHUT UP!" Kaito yelled, vehemently denying the accusation in his head, but somehow he had trouble forming the words as he slashed at Len, anger building to a climax. With hatred burning within him, Kaito worked his way through Len's defenses, and stabbed straight through the blonde's arm, pinning him to the wall. Kaito stooped with a smirk and picked up the knife that Len had dropped when he was stabbed. He twirled it once with menace, and then turned to face Len, who was desperately trying to pull the sword out of his arm with a glare.

"You think you're going to make me regret it? It was fun cutting her!" Len yelled through waves of pain as he struggled, even though his own feelings were very confused on the subject. He always had been more offensive with his words, rather than his fists. Kaito stared at him coldly, raising the knife up. Then he stabbed Len in the abdomen. Then again. And again. The blade entered Len's flesh so many times, that Kaito lost count. He stabbed him until blood pooled on the floor in a soupy mess, and Len's cries of agony were drowned out by the steady thrum of Kaito's heartbeat. Then, he turned, and covered in blood from head to toe, he walked calmly out of the room. He stumbled over the fallen door, but emerged into the hallway unscathed.

At the far end of the hall stood Mayu, concern written across her face. Kaito approached her, but she didn't look afraid in the slightest, only worried.

"What happened?" She asked quietly. He placed a strangely gentle hand on her shoulder, smearing her white dress with black blood.

"Everything's fine. You need to rest. Go back to your room."

"Mikuo, we're going to be late!" Luki called from across the room, with an eye roll and a tapping foot. He received no response at all from his friend, who was currently tossing items around his messy half of their room, frantically searching for his favorite tie clips. They were the special teal ones that he and his sister had always worn back in their human days.

"Found it!" Mikuo shouted with triumph as he held the little clips up to the light. Luki waited impatiently as Mikuo arranged his teal tie in the mirror. Silence filled the room, until Mikuo spoke as the pair made for the door.

"Y'know, I basically confessed to her the other day. You didn't think I would, did you?" Mikuo accused with a wide smirk. Luki paused with a raised brow.

"Mayu? And how did she take it? You're being very manipulative about this. I should have expected such." He commented with poised interest.

"Well… I think she rejected me. I probably came on too strong." He said thoughtfully, though his smirk remained.

"And I see you are undaunted."

"To the contrary — I'm enjoying this!" Mikup responded, opening the door with a smile. However, after crossing the threshold, the pair was met with a clattering sound coming from down the hall outside their room. Looking over, Mikuo saw, with shock, that Mayu lay in a bloody heap with Len crumpled over on top of her, as if she had been supporting him before they fell. He was immediately worried that Mayu might be injured, so he rushed to her side and rolled Len off of her. Mayu quickly got to her feet, clearly panicked as she went to Len's side.

"P-please, can you… treat him?" She asked with trepidation. A dark expression passed through Mikuo's eyes, and he and Luki shared a look.

"Not our problem. You should go, Mayu." Mikuo said calmly. Mayu grasped the edges of his shirt sleeve, clearly alarmed.

"Please… I didn't know who else to come to! I-it's my fault… please…" Mayu pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't know what this toxic emotion inside her was, but she knew she had to help Len immediately. Mikuo hesitated, but looked to Luki. The pink haired demon sighed heavily and, feeling very annoyed, hoisted the blonde over his shoulder and disappeared into the depths of the bedroom. While Luki laid Len out (purposely on Mikuo's bed) and assessed the numerous wounds laced into Len's abdomen, Mikuo took Mayu by the hand and sat her down on the couch.

"Are you injured?" Mikuo asked sternly, his brows furrowed. Mayu shook her head, her eyes casted down onto her feet. Looking her over, Mikuo spotted the wound on her arm and his eyes narrowed. He grabbed her wrist and examined the injury, but Mayu quickly wrenched it away and hid the wound from his view.

"I am fine now."

"Did that brat do this to you?" Mikuo asked angrily as he stared at the small girl. Mayu only looked passed him, her face blank. Mikuo sighed frustratedly.

Soon, however, they were interrupted by Luki as he approached the pair, his hands now covered in Len's blood.

"As troublesome as the investigation will be for all of us, this kid isn't going to make it. He'll be dead in the next few hours." He said dispassionately. Terrified and racked with guilt, Mayu ran to Len's side.

"No… you have to treat him. That's what Kaito did for me. I-it works, just…" She persisted, her eyes glazed over as she looked to Luki. He avoided her gaze.

"I'm afraid it isn't so easy, Mayu… Not every wound can be treated." Mikuo explained, approaching her from behind and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, but the resulting sting only made her feel worse. She knew that only a little while ago, back in her safe room in heaven, none of this would have bothered her… But now…

"It's all my fault," she began, tears spilling over, and as she spoke, her fingers traced the wound on her arm, "I never… n-never should have let him…" Understanding dawned on the two males — they knew Len well enough to piece together the events that transpired between the blonde demon and Mayu. Mikuo wanted dearly to let Len die and pay for what he did, but seeing that horrible look on Mayu's face created a knot in his stomach. There wasn't much he could do, though he had to try and ease her pain.

"Mayu… at this point, you're the only one who can save him."

"M-me?"

"A very long time ago, in the early days of our demonhood, Luki and I fought one of the last remaining pairs of true angels. One of them kept singing this song, and it seemed to heal her comrade. I don't know the lyrics or anything… but maybe the library would have something?" Mikuo said hesitantly, staring at the back of her head. He knew there was no such thing in Len's library, but he just wanted Mayu to get rid of that look. Slowly, Mayu's lips parted, and she jammed her hand into the pocket of her bloody cardigan. She withdrew the note Yuma had written her and turned to the Lyrics of the hymn. Looking over it, she thought maybe this could be the healing song!

As she began to sing, the melody seemed to come natural to her, and the lyrics fell from her lips like water. The religion spoken of in the gentle song was very alien to Mayu — so different from the strict teachings of her Mother. But, then, somehow she found it felt good. As she continued, a bright light erupted into the room, and right before their eyes, Len's flesh, organs, skin, and bone, began to knit themselves back together until, as the last note was sung, his skin was perfect and unmarred.

"So this is the power you've been hiding…" Luki muttered, and Mikuo hurried to her side as Mayu fell to the floor; unconscious.

When Len awoke, the room was quiet. He sat up slowly, a hand wrapped around his aching stomach. As he looked around the unfamiliar bedroom, the memories of Kaito's attack flooded back into his mind.

"How the hell am I alive?" He shouted, astonished by his own survival. He was quickly shushed, though, and his blue eyes focused on a pair of beings sitting across the room on a velvet settee. He immediately recognized Mikuo, who was currently glaring at him, and the small form of Mayu draped over his shoulder, her eyes shut tight and her breathing steady.

"You're alive because this girl, for some strange reason, thought you were worth saving. She knocked herself unconscious healing you, and she needs her rest now." Mikuo angrily whispered. Len's brows furrowed and his hand clenched onto the bedsheets. After everything he'd done to hurt her… that stupid little angel saved him?

"Now, if you wouldn't mind, get out of my bed!" Mikuo added tersely, his eyes narrowed. Len huffed, but crawled out of the bed and left the room, sure to slam the door behind him. Without thinking clearly, he headed for the library. He felt so… conflicted. He didn't ask her to do this! But what was this strange feeling in his bones? No one had ever done anything like this for him. He felt like most of his family wanted the failure son to die anyway — but this girl, who barely knew him, saved his life when no one else would? He sighed and sat down at his usual place at the sill, a yawn escaping his lips. He wasn't sure how long he sat there staring at the ceiling, but it must have a been a few hours. He tried to sleep, but found his thoughts were far to loud to allow for peaceful slumber.

Eventually, though, he was startled by the eerie creaking of the door as it swung open. Panic immediately filled his chest — he knew there could only be one other person that would come to the library, and he certainly didn't want to see her after everything they'd been through. He felt an intense since of shame in her presence. He met her steady footsteps with dread, and seeing her form appear at the end of the center aisle, he turned his face away. She looked relieved when she saw him.

"I'm glad that—"

"Don't look at me!" He stumbled over his words before burying his face into his knees, blonde hair spilling over his legs. Mayu immediately heeded his words and turned her back towards him, a small frown on her lips. She stole a few glances over her shoulder as she tried to figure out what to say, but once she heard his soft sobbing, she knew what to do. She sat down beside him on the sill, so that their backs touched. His heat singed her skin, but she didn't flinch. She waited for him to work up the nerve to speak. And eventually he did.

"Why… why did you save me?" He choked, wiping at his eyes as the emotions he'd kept hidden behind bravado for so long spilled over. She stayed quiet for a few moments, just thinking.

"You wanted him to kill you?" She questioned quietly, and she felt her hand reach for his. He didn't say anything, but his silence spoke far louder than anything he could have said. For a few minutes, neither of them said a word, each scared to say the wrong thing.

"At first, I thought I saved you because I just felt guilty. I never should have let you cut me… it led to all this. I know it was my fault, and for that I am sorry… But I realized after some thought that, the more time I spend here, the more I learn about you demons… You've all been through so much… I want to protect you." She explained her new realization. He clenched her hand tightly, not daring to believe her words, even though he knew they were true.

Then, she looked at him over her shoulder and caught his teary glance. She smiled brightly, her golden eyes glimmering in the purple light.

"I want to be your guardian angel!" She said, and though it felt foreign on her lips, she ignored the pain in her hand and smiled like she never had before. He could feel his lip trembling as she stood.

"Mikuo says I should rest. I hope you feel better." She said quietly, but before she could leave, he grabbed her sleeve.

"T-thank you!"