Part 7: Othello

About an hour later, Yotsuba, Othello, Azariel, Oscar Farelle, and Tachibana sat in the conference room. Othello, Azariel, and Oscar sat in chairs, Yotsuba lounged on the couch, and Tachibana crouched between Yotsuba and Othello.

Oscar spoke up, "I trust the government has been briefed?"

Othello nodded, "Yean, Tachibana pulled some strings with the humans. " He grinned, "The media's great here, we'll be fine."

Oscar shook his head and lit a cigarette, "Yeah, well humans are easy. Heaven's a whole 'nother ballgame. They know Hell's royalty was involved, they want a meeting Othello."

Yotsuba's eyes widened, "A meeting? Is that really a good idea?" He turned to Azariel, "Looks like you're back in business, Sir Celeste."

Othello shrugged, "They're all in a tizzy over it. They seem to think the big boom has something to do with the savior. Personally, I don't get it. Heaven's politics are above me." He laughed, "Get it? Above me?"

Yotsuba frowned, "So they want us to turn her over because she's the savior or something?"

Azariel nodded, "Yes, they believe that Chiaki's powers indicate the coming of the new godhead. It's always been their main priority to find the godhead, and nab it before Hell does."

The young commander shrugged, "Well there's no point in even meeting with Heaven, then. We don't have her."

Oscar sat up in surprise, "What do you mean, 'we don't have her'?"

Yotsuba grinned, "She ran away, man." He poked the minister of war with his shoe, "Isn't that right, Tachibana?"

Tachibana moaned and put his head in his hands, "Lord Ororon snatched her right out of my group."

Oscar frowned, "Ororon?"

Tachibana nodded, "Ororon."

Othello smiled, "Don't sweat it Tachibana, mistakes happen." He rose to his feet, "Now if you excuse me, I need to have word with Azariel privately."

Nodding, Azariel stood up and followed Othello out of the room. As soon as they were gone, Yotsuba turned to Tachibana, "Hey, what do you make of her?"

The minister of war glanced up, "You mean Sub-General Celeste? She's held her rank a long time, since before Othello took charge…I suppose she's all right…something about her bothers me though…but Othello seems to like her."

Oscar nodded, "That he does…maybe too much."


Othello turned and stared at Azariel. "What did you want to say to me?"

Azariel looked at him dispassionately, "Whatever do you mean?"

Othello frowned, "What do you mean, what do I mean? Earlier you said that we needed to talk. Now I'm prepared to do so."

Azariel narrowed her eyes, "You betrayed us. You told them where we were. If you wanted to leave the throne so bad, why not give it to Oscar? He wants it bad enough!" She whirled on him, eyes blazing, "You make me sick!!! You could have at least told me about your plans!"

Othello winced, "Ororon is your friend…I couldn't tell you. I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to be upset…"

At this, the fallen angel shook her head, "Like hell you didn't!! After Futaba died, you were one of my only friends. At times I thought that I might even be falling in love with you, and not too long ago, eleven days to be precise, I thought you might feel the same way. Still, at the back of my mind, there was always the suspicion that I was simply a replacement for Futaba, one warrior woman to replace the other. Now I see that I was wrong on both accounts." She stopped and looked out the window, "It turns out, I was simply a tool," she faced him once more, "a plaything to be discarded when you grow bored with me!"

Othello's face fell, "Azariel…that's not true…I do care about you, and you could never replace Futaba; you're nothing like her." He reached out with one hand and stroked her face, "You're something completely different, and that's what I love about you." As she met his gaze, he looked down at the floor, "Please don't hate me, Azariel…please don't leave me all alone…"

At this last statement, Azariel's face softened, and as she drew closer to him, she met his gaze once more, "Othello…there is something you should know about me…"

Othello smiled, "You mean the fact that you're a fallen archangel?"

The fallen angel took a step back, "How long have you known?"

He shrugged, "Ever since eleven days ago, when you rushed out the door, and left this behind." He held up a small gray feather.

She tossed her reddish hair back defiantly, "And what will you do about it?"

Smiling, he took her face in his hands, "What do you want to do about it?" And then his lips met hers in a passionate kiss that broke the laws of Heaven and Hell forever.


Smirking, Oscar Farelle turned away from the scene, a look of subtle amusement playing across his features. "Oh yes, " he murmured to himself, "Much too much."