Open Skies

by TsuTsuYandere

Osomatsu had always liked dismissing responsibility and living his own life his own way, even if devils like him were created with a clear purpose: to oppose the Heavens. Either way, that doesn't stop him from accidentally forming a bond with a certain megami. Simultaneously, other major problems arises.

10. Chapter 10

After Matsuyo left to inform the Heavens of their future visit, a day passed, which was very convenient for everyone. Osomatsu was exhausted, and he knew everyone else was as well. There was only so much healing could do – he and everyone else were healthy physically, but how they were feeling mentally was a whole other matter.

Osomatsu was very grateful that he had Choromatsu. The wings on his back kept getting random grow spurts, which tore the skin around them open, but Choromatsu was always there to heal those wounds.

By now, he thought they'd finally stopped growing. They weren't as big as Choromatsu's, and definitely not as big as Lucifer's, and Osomatsu was wondering if they even were big enough to fly with. Until now, he'd only managed to move them up and down, flapping them uselessly, and it didn't do anything except make him look stupid. He finally understood Choromatsu's struggles.

After trying to actually fly with his wings for about ten minutes without any success, he declared himself finished, to Jyushimatsu's great protests, and went to snoop around the kitchen instead, in search of something to drink – preferably alcoholic.

He snuck past the living room, where Choromatsu was walking around, trying to tidy up the house. Which Osomatsu thought was useless, since it was a big hole in the wall, and that broken vase they'd found on the floor had probably been valuable. What Choromatsu was doing was cleaning up stuff that was already clean, to make up for the troubles – But whoever the owner of this house was, he would most definitely be pissed no matter how many times Choromatsu wiped the imaginary dust off the windowsills.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge as quiet as he possibly could. His eyes immediately landed on the glass bottles in the door, and he gasped before he remembered he had to be quiet. He took one of the bottles out, admiring it like it was the first time he'd ever seen a beer.

"Osomatsu …" Choromatsu's voice came from the door, making him jump. How the hell was he that quiet? Either way, he didn't even sound angry, he just sounded exasperated.

Osomatsu stared at him for a couple of seconds, before he brought the bottle to his mouth and licked it. "I licked it so it's mine now," he informed him.

Choromatsu raised his eyebrows. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Shit, tough question," he answered, grinning. "But sorry, I don't make the rules."

"You can't just take that from Matsuzo!" Choromatsu said, taking a step forward. Osomatsu hid the bottle behind his back, and Choromatsu rolled his eyes. "He's already given enough. Give me the drink."

Osomatsu tilted his head to the side. "The drink?" he repeated. "Do you even know what this is?"

Choromatsu blinked. "It's … It's not important," he said. "What matters is that it's not yours."

"No, I licked it, it's mine now."

"Osomatsu!"

He grinned, taking a few steps forward while holding the beer in front of himself. When Choromatsu tried to grab it, he snatched it away again. "You've lived in a lake your whole life," he said. Choromatsu raised his eyebrows as if to ask "you don't say?" but he ignored the sarcasm for now. "Which would mean you've barely tasted anything at all. You hadn't even eaten pizza before. And you haven't been drunk either."

Choromatsu looked even more exasperated now. "Of course not," he said.

"Wait, is drinking a sin?" Osomatsu asked, while popping the cap open with his finger, ignoring the ugly stares he got from Choromatsu.

"Drunkenness is a sin," Choromatsu informed. "Drinking is not. Either way –"

"Hold on – How can drinking not be a sin, while drunkenness is?" he interrupted, bringing the bottle to his nose to breathe in the smell. "Oh, it's been so long …" he sighed dreamily, before taking a step backwards as Choromatsu tried grabbing the bottle again.

Choromatsu gritted his teeth. "A glass of wine during supper isn't a sin, just drink moderately, and why am I telling you this? Just give me the bottle already!"

Osomatsu snickered. "If you want a taste you can just ask," he said, dodging Choromatsu's attempts at taking the beer from him. "It's really good."

"It's not yours!"

"I already opened it, it's too late now anyway!" Osomatsu held the bottle out. "Here, have a taste."

Choromatsu stopped, not prepared for Osomatsu to hold the bottle out so willingly. "No," he said, taking a hold of it. Osomatsu didn't let go.

"What, you're gonna put it back in the fridge?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure the guy doesn't want this beer anymore. Come on, Choromatsu!" He sent him an encouraging smile. "Just have a taste."

Choromatsu narrowed his eyes. "Why?" he asked. "What are you planning?"

Osomatsu gasped in fake offence. "What do you think of me, why would I ever?" he said, bringing a hand to his mouth. "I just want you to have a few pleasures in your life, that's all. It's not even a sin, as you said. You can't get drunk from just this."

"Osomatsu, why are you –"

"Choromatsu," Osomatsu took a step forward, giving him a serious look. "You've had a rough time. You deserve this. Karamatsu's friend probably won't even be mad."

Choromatsu scowled. "Do you promise not to steal anything more from the fridge?" he asked.

Osomatsu rolled his eyes. "Fine. Only if you taste this, though."

"Fine." Choromatsu took the bottle from him, then brought it to his face. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. Then he put the tip against his lips and took a small sip. His face immediately scrunched up. "It's disgusting! How could anyone like this?"

Osomatsu took the bottle back as if he was offended. "It's an acquired taste," he said. "You should drink some more to get used to it." He grinned again.

If Choromatsu rolled his eyes any more now, Osomatsu thought his eyes would get stuck backwards. "I can't believe you're trying to tempt me into sinning. Isn't that a bit old school?" he said.

Osomatsu shrugged, then tried making his way past him without bumping his wings into anything. "It's an old habit, I guess," he said, then sent him yet another smile. "I feel like I get more points the holier the being is. If I convinced Karamatsu to sin, I wouldn't get as many points as I get if I make you sin. Get it?"

Choromatsu followed him, still with the suspicious look on his face. "Is this a game to you?" he said. "What pleasure do you get from that other than those imaginary points?"

"Stop being a party-pooper," Osomatsu whined, taking a swig of the beer. "It's just what I do."

"It comes with the demon-package or something?" Choromatsu asked.

"Devil," Osomatsu corrected, giving him a look. "And yes. I think so. Though the purpose of our existence is unclear, I think that's a part of it, at least."

Choromatsu scoffed. "That's ridiculous," he said.

They walked out on the porch again. "You're just envious because you can't do whatever you want, because everything is a sin for some – Wait." He stopped in his tracks. "Isn't envy a sin? One of those seven deadly sins, right? Choromatsu, what do I have to do with you?"

"I'm not envious of anything!" Choromatsu argued, fighting a smile. "Stop acting like a child."

Osomatsu sat down on the steps. "I am not acting like a child, I'm –" He stopped when he noticed something weird about the ground. The grass was moving strangely. As if … Oh, of course. He suppressed a smile, put the beer down, then launched himself forward. As expected, his body came in contact with something solid, and right when he hit the ground, Jyushimatsu appeared beneath him.

Jyushimatsu gave a yell that was somewhere between defeat and delight. "So close!" he said, then leaned his head back as he laughed.

Osomatsu grinned, then rolled off him. "Nice try," he said, trying not to be contaminated with Jyushimatsu's laughing. "But you can't catch me off guard."

"Jyushimatsu?" Choromatsu said, sounding just a little bit confused. By now, everyone was pretty used to Jyushimatsu's antics. "What's going on?"

"Did you know," Jyushimatsu said. "Osomatsu-niisan's senses has become stronger too?"

Osomatsu grinned, trying his best to think of his power growth as something exclusively awesome, and not something that might kill him in two weeks. "It's not like you could defeat me before either way, though," he said, dodging Jyushimatsu's elbow.

"I will!" the angel exclaimed determinately. "Just watch!"

"Are you saying that you've been fighting?" Choromatsu asked, sounding like a worried mother. "Physically fighting?"

Osomatsu exchanged glances with Jyushimatsu. "Well," he said. "There haven't been much to do since Matsuyo left. We had to do something to fill the waiting time."

Choromatsu looked like he was about to stand up. "That's dangerous!" he said. "So much could go wrong!"

Osomatsu smiled innocently. "A lot of things can go wrong at all times," he said, waving his hand. He stood up, then sat down beside Choromatsu again. "It's alright, stop worrying so much!" He swung an arm around his shoulders. "You should have some more beer."

"Osomatsu!" Choromatsu hissed. "Can you take things serious, for once?"

Osomatsu gave a whine, his head falling backwards. "Can't we take a break from all that serious stuff for once?" he asked. "We've been going none stop for, like, three years now, can't we – "

Choromatsu poked his arm, and he looked back up to see some random person walking on the sidewalk by the house. He was giving them an incredulous look, but when their eyes met, he quickly looked away, and sped. None of them said anything as they watched the man shuffle hurriedly away.

"Ah …" Jyushimatsu said. "That's probably not good."

"We're being way too careless, aren't we?" Osomatsu said, snickered, then took another swig of the beer.

Choromatsu sighed beside him, having seemingly given up on worrying about small things like that.

Someone opened the front door behind them, and Osomatsu leaned his head backward to see who it was. Karamatsu stood there with his hand on the door handle, and he sent him a tired smile. His eyes were still half lidded with drowsiness, and his hair was a little messy. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, except they were clean, if only a little bit damp, like he hadn't been patient enough to wait for the dryer to finish.

"Good morning!" Jyushimatsu called, unnecessarily loud. Karamatsu was standing right there.

"Good morning," Karamatsu replied, voice gruff. He cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"

"Did you sleep until now?" Choromatsu asked.

"Beer?" Osomatsu offered, earning a look from Choromatsu.

Karamatsu nodded, then sat down on the other side of Choromatsu. "I thought I was rested yesterday, but …" He shrugged, giving a small smile. "I don't think going to Hell was the best idea."

Osomatsu stiffened a little, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Karamatsu came before him.

"But obviously, I couldn't leave my dear brother behind," he said, brushing his bangs away from his eyes. "It is just what any true friend would do, is it not?"

Jyushimatsu gave a laugh. Osomatsu cleared his throat to disguise his own giggles. "Thanks," he said, not quite succeeding in hiding the amused smile on his lips. He held out the bottle, trying again. "Here, you deserve a beer."

Karamatsu gave him a weird look. "Uh – No thanks, I'll pass," he said.

Osomatsu gestured exasperatedly with his arms. "Jyushimatsu?"

"Ichimatsu-niisan says I get weird when I drink!"

"That's even better then, take –"

Choromatsu elbowed him. "Just drink the beer yourself," he grumbled.

"Why, if you insist," Osomatsu said, sent Choromatsu a devious grin, then turned the bottle upside down. When he'd drunk it all, he let out a content sigh, placed the bottle down beside himself, and ignored Choromatsu's disapproving look. "By the way, where's Totty and Ichimatsu?" he asked.

"Ichimatsu is still sleeping," Karamatsu said. "And I don't know where Todomatsu is."

"He went for a walk!" Jyushimatsu said, plopping down on the ground in front of them.

Choromatsu looked worried again. "Do you think he remembered to hide his tails and horns?" he asked.

"Probably," Osomatsu said. "But we're not the ones to talk right now. We're sitting in front of the house in plain view. I wonder what that guy is thinking …" He leaned forward to look at Choromatsu and Karamatsu, who were both wearing slightly worried expressions. "But you don't really have the energy to care much about that, do you?"

Karamatsu sent him a guilty look, while Choromatsu just looked away. Osomatsu snickered, and stood up.

"Well, he probably just thought we were a little too excited for Halloween, maybe," he said, standing up. His mind went back to when he'd broken that guy's leg and tried eating his soul because he was feeling a little pissy. It felt like ages ago now. He gave a quiet, laughing scoff. "I'm bored," he said, looking first at Choromatsu, as if he was going to do something about it, but then he remembered that Choromatsu was the most boring out of all of them. He turned to Jyushimatsu instead.

Jyushimatsu stared back at him, mouth wide open in a big smile. "I saw a kiddie pool in the garage!"

Osomatsu snapped his fingers. "Yes! Let's –"

"You can't just take out a pool!" Choromatsu protested.

Osomatsu stared at him, then he and Jyushimatsu spoke in unison: "Why?"

He looked lost. "Because," he said slowly. "This is not our house. What do you think?"

Osomatsu pouted. "Karamatsu, what do you think Matsuzo would say?" he asked.

Karamatsu frowned. "He is very, uh … relaxed might not be the right word, but – accepting, I guess … about things he finds weird, and just things in general. I wonder why he has a kiddie pool though." He shrugged. "But he would probably be okay with it. I think."

"It's fine then!" Osomatsu said, then jumped down the steps. "Let's go, Jyushimatsu!"

Jyushimatsu shot to his feet, and they ran off before Choromatsu had the time to protest.

Osomatsu lifted the garage door open, and narrowed his eyes when he scanned the room for the pool. Jyushimatsu stood behind him, and an odd, unfamiliar sensation told him that he was touching his wings. He glanced back at him. "What is it?" he asked, although he was pretty sure Jyushimatsu was only touching them out of curiosity.

"Your wings are really small, Osomatsu-niisan," Jyushimatsu commented. When Osomatsu arched an eyebrow, he retracted his hand. "Maybe they're more for looks than for flying."

Osomatsu turned to him. "Do you mean you think I can't fly?" he asked, the thought unbearably disappointing. He could have gone without these new, improved senses and powers and the wings if he could, but at least the thought of flying made it all a little better. If he didn't even get that, then it was all just shit.

But Jyushimatsu shook his head. "That would have been stupid," he said. "But maybe it's a little magic too. Not just muscles!" He flexed at the word, grinning stupidly.

Osomatsu was confused, but he smiled anyway. "Well, we'll figure that out at one point, probably," he said. "Let's find the kiddie pool first."

By the time they'd dragged out the kiddie pool, blown it up, and found the water hose, Todomatsu had come back from his walk, and was watching them fill the pool with water with feigned disinterest. Karamatsu and Choromatsu were still sitting on the porch, both of them looking like they sat there just because they had nothing to else to do while they waited for Matsuyo to come back.

After about twenty minutes, Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu stood proud in front of their work, while Choromatsu was rolling his eyes fiercely in the background. What a party-pooper.

Osomatsu poked his foot into the water, then retracted it. "Cold!" he hissed, the water temperature almost painful in contrast to the hot summer weather. Then Jyushimatsu made it hard for him to look tough by diving into the water, not even bothering to change out of his toga. Then again, it seemed like the robes he and Choromatsu was wearing were dirt resistant, so they were probably water resistant too, or something.

"Awesome!" Jyushimatsu declared, spreading his limbs to his sides, trying his best to completely submerge himself in water, as the pool was way too small for him.

"Aren't you going in, niisan?" Todomatsu said teasingly from his spot on the porch. Osomatsu sent him a look, then reach behind his neck to drag his shirt off. When it got stuck in his wings, he struggled for a moment, before he managed to drag it off, with only a small portion of discomfort.

When he reached for his pants, Choromatsu made a weird sound. "Don't take off your pants!" he squawked. Osomatsu sent him a weird look.

"Why?"

"It's indecent, of course!"

Osomatsu tilted his head to the side. "Choromatsu," he said, smiling amusedly. "Do you honestly think I, or any of us for that matter, care about that?"

Choromatsu's gaze didn't waver, but his cheeks became just a little bit red. "W- Well … No, but –"

Osomatsu dragged his pants down before he got the time to finish. "Feast your eyes!" he cackled. Choromatsu face palmed, even though Osomatsu was still wearing underpants, like what more did he expect from him? He sent him one last devious grin, before he braced himself, and jumped into the water as well. Jyushimatsu laughed loudly at Osomatsu's face scrunched up in discomfort, but it didn't take him too long to get used to the temperature.

He crouched down, the pool way too small to fit two grown men, and especially not two grown men with relatively big wings on their backs. When the water covered his wings, he let out a delighted sound. "This is amazing," he moaned.

"Right?" Jyushimatsu agreed.

From the porch, he could practically feel Choromatsu roll his eyes. He turned to him, raising his brows at him. "What?" he barked. "If you're jealous then we can make a little more space for you, Cherrymatsu."

"I'm good, thanks," Choromatsu said dryly.

Osomatsu sent him a sly grin. "It'll be just like home for you, won't it?" he asked. Choromatsu looked at him with distain, and in the next second, water splashed into his face. He yelped, then blinked at Choromatsu, who was fighting a mischievous smile. "Did you do that?"

Choromatsu shrugged. "Maybe."

"Eh?" Jyushimatsu sounded. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Me neither," Osomatsu said, feeling surprisingly offended.

Choromatsu shook his head. "Know your lore," he said. "It does make sense that a goddess of a lake can control water, doesn't it?"

Osomatsu looked at Jyushimatsu, who seemed just as clueless as he felt. "It's not that obvious," he mumbled, even though it was kind of obvious. Choromatsu sent him one of those know-it-all looks of his, and he replied by sticking out his tongue at him. Water splashed on his face again. "Choromatsu!"

Choromatsu put a hand over his mouth in a horrible attempt to stifle his laughter. Osomatsu gritted his teeth, then stood up, stepping out of the pool with a vengeful grin slowly spreading on his lips. Choromatsu stopped smiling, and sent him a wary look instead.

"What are you –"

"Give your big brother a hug!" Osomatsu interrupted, spreading his arms out. His body dripped with cold water. Choromatsu stood up, and Karamatsu swiftly moved away from them. Todomatsu was nowhere to be seen. He'd probably ran off the moment he understood what was going to happen.

"Why are you the big bro- Hey!" Choromatsu jumped up the steps when Osomatsu lunged at him, almost stumbling in his own robe.

"I thought you liked water!" Osomatsu laughed, then leaped forward, barely catching a hold of his robe. Choromatsu said something incomprehensible, though it definitely was a protest, and tried shoving him away. He shoved his palm into Osomatsu's face, but he couldn't help but laugh. "I just want a hug, Churro –"

"Go back to your kiddie pool!" Choromatsu barked, then yelped as Osomatsu tickled his side, and his grip loosened. Osomatsu lunged forward, catching him around his neck, and he gave a frustrated growl. "You're dripping, Osomatsu!"

"Just like home!" Osomatsu sang through his laughter.

"That's not funny!" Choromatsu yelled back. "Get off, you're cold!"

In half a second, he could sense something coming up behind him, but he didn't react quick enough before Jyushimatsu's booming voice sounded right by his ear: "Sneak attack!" he bellowed, then his body slammed into Osomatsu's, the impact sending all three of them to the ground.

His forehead slammed into Choromatsu's, and he let out a pained grunt, simultaneously with another one of Choromatsu's frustrated groans. Jyushimatsu cackled, not even bothering to move away from where he was lying on top of both of them. Osomatsu snorted, before Jyushimatsu's laughter spread to him too, and he brought a hand to the growing lump on his forehead. Choromatsu looked up at him with an unbelievably exasperated look on his face, which just made him laugh harder.

"Jyushimatsu," Choromatsu said, and the corner of his mouth quivered dangerously, threatening to break into a smile as well. "I can't breathe."

Jyushimatsu rolled off them with a gleeful giggle. "I did it! I snuck up on Osomatsu-niisan!"

Osomatsu turned to him. "What? No, I was busy, but I –"

"Osomatsu, get off!" Choromatsu commanded.

Osomatsu looked back at him, then sat up, but didn't get off him just yet. He smiled cheekily. "I just kind of seem like the older brother type though, don't you think?"

Choromatsu rolled his eyes, then pushed him off. Osomatsu yelped, then laughed again. Choromatsu pressed his lips together, desperately trying to keep the pissy look on his face intact. "Are you done?" he asked. "Go put your clothes back on."

With a silent agreement that, yeah, it would be a little embarrassing if Matsuyo came back while he was walking around in his underpants, he stood up and walked back to pick up his clothes, but not before he'd stuck his tongue out at Choromatsu again.

He was in the middle of putting his pants back on when Ichimatsu walked out on the porch as well, then stopped in his tracks to eye the scene in front of him. He didn't say anything, but the confused look on his face said enough. Jyushimatsu jumped up beside him, taking his arm.

"We found a pool!" he said.

"I'm not going in there," Ichimatsu said firmly.

Todomatsu's head poked out from behind him, and he narrowed his eyes at Osomatsu, before he looked visibly relieved, then stepped out onto the porch again. He sent Ichimatsu a teasing smile. "Afraid of some water, Ichimatsu?"

"You're the one to talk, Totty," Osomatsu snorted. Todomatsu sent him an annoyed stare.

Ichimatsu didn't look amused. "I had enough of water after I drowned myself in a lake," he said dryly.

Osomatsu made a grimace. "Careful, you might offend Choromatsu," he said, then laughed at his own joke. Choromatsu looked ready to leave. He looked back at the kiddy pool, considered cleaning up their mess, but then decided against it because that just felt like too much work for him right now. His excuse was that he'd been through a lot. He could afford to leave the kiddie pool there for Karamatsu's friend to put away instead of himself.

He pulled the oversized t-shirt over his head again, then struggled with trying to fit the wings through the holes they'd made in it, before he gave up and walked over to Choromatsu. "Help?" he asked, pointing to his back.

Choromatsu looked at him like he was about to lecture him, but then sighed and stood up. "Turn around."

He grinned, and did as he said. Choromatsu was careful as he pulled the wings through the holes in the shirt, but it still felt uncomfortable with the fabric brushing against the leathery skin when he moved. He'd have to figure something out to fix that. How did Lucifer deal with it, for instance? It's not like he'd ever met a devil with wings before that he could ask about this stuff.

He watched the road, which had been empty since that random person had walked past. They were lucky they ended up in a neighborhood that wasn't too crowded, with houses that weren't placed too close to each other. The less pedestrians, the better, but then again he couldn't care less about what they saw and didn't see at this point. What were they gonna do anyway? Tell the police? He'd learned long ago that humans just saw what they wanted to see. They were alright, that way.

As long as none of them started flying, nobody would completely lose their minds, right?

At that thought, the sound of beating wings reached his ears. He tilted his head to the side, looking up.

"What is it?" Choromatsu asked, following his gaze.

"Can't you hear that?" Osomatsu said. "It's wings. Matsuyo, I hope."

"Are you sure?" Choromatsu asked, while fidgeting with the shirt. "Is this okay?"

Osomatsu nodded, and turned back around to try and spread his wings a few times. Still way too slow to even lift him a little bit off the ground. He held back a sigh, then focused on the sound of the wings again instead. "It's definitely wings. Can't you hear it?"

Choromatsu looked bewildered, but when Osomatsu walked over the garden to get a better a look above the house. He couldn't see anything, and for a moment he was confused, but then he remembered that Matsuyo had probably turned invisible, as this area was a bit more crowded than by Karamatsu's house.

"Choromatsu, can you see her?" he asked, waving him over to where he was standing. Choromatsu came to him, then squinted up to the sky.

"Oh," he said, after a few seconds. "There's an angel, at least."

"It isn't her?" Osomatsu asked, surprising himself with the worried tone in his voice.

Choromatsu sent him a look, but shook his head. "It is, probably," he said. "She's just too far away to see properly. How can you hear her from this distance?"

Osomatsu shrugged. "Just barely," he said. "Maybe I've just been waiting for that sound, so I noticed it easier." He looked down and back at the others, who'd crowded together on the steps of the porch and was chatting about something or other. Jyushimatsu was standing behind Ichimatsu, leaning on his shoulders, while Todomatsu sat beside Karamatsu, who looked a little uncomfortable with that. Osomatsu remembered what Choromatsu had told him – That Todomatsu had possessed him against his will when they were in Hell. He probably wasn't over that yet, of course he wasn't. He had reason to be angry. He'd been through a lot.

From Hell to the Heavens too. Osomatsu wondered if they should've waited a bit longer. Matsuyo had asked them about it, but they all knew they had a deadline now, the word "dead" a little bit too literal than preferred. They had no time to loose. At least going to the Heavens would be like a dream come true for Karamatsu, he supposed. For himself and Todomatsu on the other hand …

To say the least, he had a bad feeling in his gut. When they came up there, he was basically powerless. And from prior experience, he didn't trust the Heavens' judgment. They would be wary about the two of them, so if they even did a minor bad thing, they would… kill them? Maybe. Then they also had very different views on what a bad thing was. What if he just did something he considered normal, and they'd put him in jail for it?

He wondered what their prisons were like. Prisons were prisons, right? They were for criminals, so it couldn't be that much different from the tunnels in Hell … He didn't want to go back there.

"Osomatsu," Choromatsu said, breaking through the wall around his mind. "Are you listening?"

He blinked, then turned to him. "Huh?"

Choromatsu looked at him seriously for a few seconds, before he put his hand against Osomatsu's chest. "You're scared," he said.

Osomatsu clenched his jaw, and moved his hand away. "It's just the Heavens," he said. "How bad can it be?"

"I'm scared too," Choromatsu said. "But it's okay. I trust Matsuyo."

Osomatsu didn't answer. He studied his face, then looked away. Choromatsu had reason to be scared too. He broke the rules, which was obviously a no-go in the Heavens. In addition, everyone seemed to have something against him, for something he couldn't even remember.

His mind flashed back to when he'd lost control, and he'd briefly seen someone else standing in Choromatsu's place. But there hadn't been anyone else … He'd looked just like Choromatsu. Yet, it hadn't been him. A part of him thought he knew what he'd seen, but the thought made him sick. It didn't make any sense. He already had too much in mind. He didn't have the energy to dwell on that as well.

He swallowed, then looked up to the sky again. The sound was getting closer. "Where is she?"

Choromatsu looked up as well, then took a deep breath. "Everyone," he said, raising his voice. "It's almost time to leave."

Two seconds after, the form of Matsuyo appeared right above the house. She soared smoothly over the roof, then landed on the ground almost soundlessly. Jyushimatsu jumped down the stairs, catching Matsuyo in a hug. Matsuyo gave a surprised little yelp, but then laughed, hugging him back. "Hello again, Jyushimatsu," she said.

The others stood up as well, but as Ichimatsu started to walk towards them, Todomatsu and Karamatsu stood behind, both looking equally as nervous. Osomatsu could relate, as he had an embarrassing urge to hold onto Choromatsu's robe for support.

Matsuyo looked around herself, and went over their faces like she was counting them. Then she looked to the house, and made a slight grimace. "We should do something about that," she mumbled, eyeing the hole in the wall. Then she looked back at them. "Well. I suppose you are all ready to leave?"

Osomatsu wanted to say no, but then Matsuyo looked at him, and he kept his mouth shut. She tilted her head to the side. "Your hair is wet," she said, sounding puzzled.

Osomatsu glanced back at the kiddie pool. "Uh … It's a little warm outside," he said, as if he didn't come from a place that was steaming 24/7.

Matsuyo looked confused, but she giggled amusedly. "Fair enough," she said, then turned to Karamatsu and Todomatsu, who was still standing awkwardly by the stairs. "Karamatsu, Todomatsu. Are you ready?"

Karamatsu jumped, while Todomatsu, as always probably subconsciously, hid halfway behind him. "Ah –" Karamatsu cleared his throat, then tried changing his posture to a more confident one. "As … As ready as we'll ever be, right? Todomatsu?"

Todomatsu glanced at him, before he too straightened his back, and started walking towards Matsuyo as well. "Can you teleport us all up there?" he asked. "Because Ichimatsu isn't in shape to teleport between worlds again this soon. Are we going to take turns, or something?"

Osomatsu wanted to say that he could just admit being scared, instead of blaming it on something like that.

Matsuyo shook his head. "Jyushimatsu will help me," she said. "And Choromatsu can teleport as well. Can't you, Choromatsu?"

Choromatsu stiffened beside him. "I – That isn't safe," he quickly said. "I haven't … I've only projected myself places, not physically teleported before."

"It's almost the same," she said. "You know how to do it. I believe in you."

Osomatsu sent him a look. "Choromatsu," he said. "I'm sorry, but I can't say the same. Can I travel with Matsuyo?"

Choromatsu sent him an irritated look. "No!" he said, hitting his shoulder. "If you're going to act rude, then I'm taking you down with me."

Rubbing his shoulder, he sent Choromatsu a grin. "How cruel," he said. "It's not my fault you haven't been able to practice teleportation before."

"No, but it is your fault that I now have that opportunity, so it makes sense that you're with me on this, doesn't it?" Choromatsu retorted, smiling like he'd won the argument.

Osomatsu pressed his lips together. "Jyushimatsu –"

"I'm traveling with Ichimatsu-niisan!"

"Oh … 'kay." He looked at Choromatsu, then at Karamatsu and Todomatsu. They'd have to travel with Matsuyo then. Not that he didn't trust Matsuyo, but he would definitely be wary if he had to travel alone with her. They didn't know her, after. Well, Karamatsu might be okay with it, since he'd basically worshipped her his entire life. "Right then. If I die, it's Choromatsu's fault."

Choromatsu hit him again.

"Very well!" Matsuyo said, clapping her hands together. "Now, if you –"

"He- Hello?" an unfamiliar voice said. Osomatsu whipped his head around, and saw a man he'd never seen before. He looked at their group, before his eyes moved over to his house, and lastly the kiddie pool. He hoped and closed his mouth many times. "What … what the –"

"Matsuzo!" Karamatsu gasped, rushing over to him. "I've been so worried. Where were you?"

Osomatsu sent Choromatsu a questioning look, but he was too busy fidgeting with his hands to notice, which could only mean that this was the owner of the house they'd ruined. Well, it wasn't them who'd ruined it, but he doubted that this Matsuzo-guy would care about that.

"An angel came to me," he said, sounding like he thought that was incredible. Which it probably was, in his eyes. "I still don't understand, but he took me away – Told me that the house was under attack. All I heard was a loud bang, which I … I guess was the wall …" His voice faltered, and he looked back at the house.

Karamatsu followed his gaze, before he looked back at him. "I'm … terribly sorry," he said. "Coming here was risky. I should've given it more thought."

Matsuzo was quiet for a few seconds. "Maybe… Maybe you should've," he said slowly, but sounded apologetic about it. Well, at least he was honest.

"We're very sorry about this," Matsuyo piped up, taking a step forward. Matsuzo looked back at her, and if he had been surprised by the many non-human beings before, it would've made sense that his eyes widened. But there wasn't anything more special about Matsuzo than any of the other ethereal beings in their group. It took Osomatsu a few second to recognize the look in his face: Admiration.

"It's okay," he said quickly, having seemingly forgotten the words he'd said mere seconds ago.

Matsuyo shook her head and walked up to him. "If I were you," she said, smiling knowingly. "I'd buy a lottery ticket in the closest store from here. Maybe you'll win something."

"Ah…" Matsuzo said, looking at her blankly for a long time. Then he blinked. "U- Uh, yes! I'll do that, I'll … What's your name?"

Matsuyo looked a bit taken aback. "Matsuyo," she said, then smiled amusedly. "And you're Matsuzo."

"I'm – Uh, yeah, that's it," Matsuzo said awkwardly. He looked down to his shoes for a moment, then back at her. "It's a nice name. Yours, I mean!"

Matsuyo smiled warmly. "You flatter me," she said.

Osomatsu nudged Choromatsu. "If this gets anymore sappy, I'm gonna throw up," he whispered.

"Shut up," Choromatsu hissed.

Karamatsu, who stood beside the two of them, looked very uncomfortable. Poor guy. He was probably too polite to interfere too.

Osomatsu cleared his throat. "So," he said. "We were just about to leave."

He gained Matsuzo's attention, and when he saw him, his eyes widened. "Is that a demon?" he whispered, as if Osomatsu, and everyone else, couldn't hear him.

That. Osomatsu wrinkled his nose, but let the matter go. "No, I'm not," he said. "I'm a devil."

"The devil?" Matsuzo repeated, sounding ridiculously worried.

"No, not – Well. I can work with that."

"Osomatsu," Choromatsu growled under his breath.

Osomatsu giggled quietly, but kept his mouth shut. Choromatsu sighed deeply.

"Yes, of course," Matsuyo said. "Sorry, Matsuzo. We will take our leave now."

"To where?" Matsuzo asked.

"To the Heavens, of course."

"Of course?" He looked doubtful and worried at the same time. "The Heavens?"

"Matsuzo," Karamatsu said. "Sorry for barging in. I hope all of this haven't completely messed you up in the head, but we have to go now. Sorry again for the intrusion."

"Wait," Matsuzo said, then hesitated. "Am I going crazy?"

Osomatsu tilted his head to the side. "Humans really do see only what they want to see," he said. Choromatsu cleared his throat quietly, as just another way to ask him to shut up. He ignored him. "Yo, uh… Matsuzo? I've been away so I don't know the whole story here but honestly, do you think we're some kind of figment of your imagination?"

"Osomatsu, please," Choromatsu complained.

Matsuzo looked at him warily. "Not … exactly," he said slowly.

"You're not going crazy," Karamatsu said quickly, patting his shoulder. "But you can try to rationalize this if you want. It's a lot to wrap your head around, I know."

"Okay…" Matsuzo looked to each of them, before his gaze landed on Matsuyo. He fidgeted with his hands. "Well – When… When I look at you, it makes it easier to believe that angels exist."

Matsuyo's mouth fell open, before she looked away, almost bashfully. "Oh, stop it," she said quietly, bringing a hand to her cheek.

Osomatsu wanted to burry himself in the ground. Behind him, Jyushimatsu was quietly mimicking sounds of vomiting. Karamatsu wore a stupid, airy smile on his face. Osomatsu wondered how long he'd known Matsuzo – Maybe it was him he'd gotten his painfulness from.

His impatience got the better of him, and he left Choromatsu's side to walk up to Matsuyo and Karamatsu. "Hey," he said, sending Matsuzo a quick smile out of courtesy. "Very sorry to interrupt this very, very sweet moment, but we have a deadline."

"Right! Right," Matsuyo said, shaking her head. She put her hand on Karamatsu's shoulder then sent Todomatsu a smile. "Are you ready?"

"I've been so for a while," Todomatsu replied, although the way his face paled implied otherwise. He walked over to Matsuyo, and she put her other hand on his shoulder.

"Choromatsu," she said. "You know what to do. Don't worry about this." She then turned to Matsuzo to give him one last smile. "Thank you for your hospitality," she said. "Good bye."

Then, she started glowing, and the light spread from her to Karamatsu and Todomatsu. Osomatsu stared at them as the light became brighter, and didn't remember that he shouldn't be looking at that brightness before Choromatsu covered his eyes with his arm. "Oh, right," he said, then turned away from them. His eyes were already stinging.

"Do you ever learn?" Choromatsu muttered.

Next was Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu, who disappeared without any more talking. Jyushimatsu held onto Ichimatsu's shoulders, and this time, Osomatsu closed his eyes the moment he saw a light spreading from Jyushimatsu's chest.

When they'd disappeared too, Osomatsu looked at Choromatsu. "Your turn," he said.

Choromatsu looked like he was going to be sick.

"Is it really that bad?" Osomatsu asked, suddenly feeling a little bit more worried than before. "I don't want to get fried or anything."

"Shut up, you're not going to get fried," Choromatsu said heatedly. "The worst that can happen is that we land in the wrong place." He took a deep breath. "Hold onto me."

Osomatsu raised an eyebrow, but did as he said, taking a hold of his arms. Choromatsu held around his arms as well, and he could feel that his hands were sweaty from nervousness. He sent Matsuzo a look, who was just standing there, looking ridiculously confused.

"I would say see you later, but I guess that isn't what you want right now," Osomatsu said with a cheeky grin.

"Close your eyes, Osomatsu," Choromatsu said softly, and again, he did as he said. "Good bye, Matsuzo."

When the words were out, Osomatsu felt a growing warmth coming from Choromatsu's palms, but also radiating off his body, like a soft wind. His hair fluttered slightly, and he took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that Choromatsu knew what he was doing better than he thought himself.

The warmth comfortably enveloped him, and he let out a shaky breath. Choromatsu's grasp tightened around his arms, and in the next moment, he was weightless.

The ground appeared bellow him surprisingly quick. The sounds of countless chattering voices filled his ears. He snapped his eyes open, and was immediately met with an awful feeling in his gut. They were standing in the middle of some kind of town square. He didn't know what he'd expected, but his first thought was that this was nothing like Hell. Everything was brighter and cleaner and just nicer, but still … They were surrounded by winged creatures, and from every direction, their group got curious and shocked looks. Some looked scared. Some looked disgusted.

"Why are we in the middle of this fucking angel rave –" Osomatsu started, but Choromatsu clenched his hands around his arms. He then noticed that he was still gripping Choromatsu's arms tightly, and hesitantly let go of him.

"It's a teleportation hot spot," Matsuyo said, and her apologetic smile told him he didn't look very tough where he stood right now. "Come. The Headquarters are right over there."

She gestured to an amazingly tall building, so tall that he had trouble registering that it was real at all. So busy staring at that, he almost didn't notice that Matsuyo had started walking, before Choromatsu nudged his back. He looked back at him, and saw that he was looking at the ground, clearly uncomfortable with the attention they were getting. He looked to the others as well: Karamatsu's eyes were wide open, as if he couldn't at all believe that this was actually happening. He noticed that he was wearing a cross around his neck now – It was a new one, not like the one he usually hid under his clothes. Had he done that to impress the angels up here?

He moved on to Ichimatsu, who was looking straight ahead, his eyes half lidded, yet so intense, if Osomatsu had been someone else and seen him on the street, he could admit that he'd feel a little bit scared of him. Yet, now that he did know him, he could understand this behavior. Coming from Ichimatsu, it just meant that he was nervous or uncomfortable. Osomatsu had to remind himself that Ichimatsu hadn't needed to become a Reaper, hadn't he been kicked out of the Heavens. Being back here was probably not a good feeling for him.

Jyushimatsu was walking closely beside him, looking like he wanted to hold Ichimatsu's hand. If it was to support himself or Ichimatsu, Osomatsu didn't know. Their arms brushed together for each step. Jyushimatsu was still smiling, looking like a ray of sunshine in the midst of their glum group. The last time he'd been up here, he'd been chased away, after attempting to carry out Osomatsu's wishes to send his message to the Heavens, without even knowing if he was telling the truth. Osomatsu made a mental note to do something if the angels tried punishing him again, even if that got himself in trouble.

Lastly, there was Todomatsu. He was walking beside him, but not too close. His back was straight, and his chin was lifted high. Every time he noticed someone sending him a degrading look, he looked back at them with an unwavering stare, until the angel had to look away. He could see that his Adam's apple was bobbing, so the tough look on his face was only a mask. Osomatsu wanted to support him somehow, but he knew that touching him would be bad right now. Not as he was on edge like this. Not when he was trying to keep that tough image up.

Well, he could at least join him. He breathed in through his nose, puffing up his chest. He reminded himself that he had wings now, which is a sign of high rank. The angels had to know that too, right? He wasn't going to stare at his feet like Choromatsu did right now. Instead, he started looking around himself, taking in the sight of the Heavens now that he had the chance. He felt like out of all in their group, he was the one getting the most stares, both degrading and fearful ones. As Todomatsu was just looking back at them, that wasn't enough for him, no. When an angel narrowed their eyes at him or winkled their nose, whenever their jaw fell open, or they even stopped walking out of shock, he would lock eyes with them, and then grin broadly, giving them a good view of his pointy teeth. They way they'd proceed to scurry away as if they were in danger was such a satisfying feeling. And that was almost an understatement. He flicked his tail.

He felt so cool.

Then something closed around his tail, and he abruptly stopped walking, whipping his head around. Choromatsu was holding it in front of himself, sending him his best death stare. He only uttered two words, but the intenseness of them was enough to make his cheeky façade falter:

"Behave. Yourself."

He tried tugging his tail away. "Let go," he said. "I haven't even done anything."

Choromatsu released him, but didn't look away. "Stop it," he said, and started walking again. "People are already wary. You don't have to make it worse."

"I'm not!" Osomatsu protested, rubbing his tail where Choromatsu had grabbed it. He really was stronger than he seemed. "They're being rude. I've done nothing wrong."

"I hate to break this to you," Choromatsu said. "But in their eyes, you have done plenty wrong. Do I need to list it all?"

Osomatsu wrinkled his nose. "I personally think skipping out on missions the past decade is enough to forgive me," he said.

"Osomatsu, you've been alive for, what, three thousand – You know what, I'm not going to discuss this right now. Just – while you're here, don't do anything stupid." Choromatsu shook his head. They were nearing the entrance to the headquarters now. "And when we get in there, try not to speak."

Osomatsu sent him an offended look. "Why?"

Choromatsu deadpanned. "You know why."

They stared at each other for several seconds, before Osomatsu rolled his eyes and looked ahead. "Fine," he said. He was quiet a little bit. "I'll try," he then added, earning a warning look from Choromatsu. He smiled innocently.

"Promise me," Choromatsu said. "For both of them."

"I promise I'll try."

Choromatsu just sighed, seemingly giving up.

When they walked through the door, they found themselves in some kind of lobby. It was quiet, aside from echoing footsteps, hushed voices, and the sound of scribbling on paper. The walls and floor and roof and everything was white. Osomatsu couldn't spot a single spot of dirt in the entire room. If they hadn't been hated by the residents, Todomatsu probably would have liked it here.

"Wait here for a second," Matsuyo said, then hurried over the counters, were angels sat, busily working.

Osomatsu tilted his head to the side, then looked at Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu. "Is it always like this here?" he asked. "I haven't seen a single angel just enjoying the nice weather. Everyone seems to be going somewhere."

Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu reacted the same way, by giving a sigh each. "Constantly," Ichimatsu mumbled.

"It's really exhausting!" Jyushimatsu said, as if it was funny.

"It's to keep order, of course," Choromatsu said. "I think it's inspiring, the way they're working so hard."

Osomatsu turned his head to him, giving him a weird look. "So you'd want to live like this?" he asked.

Choromatsu shrugged. "I've always dreamed of the Heavens," he admitted.

Osomatsu blinked. The words hit him surprisingly hard, as a horrible thought came to him. Choromatsu, a goddess, who'd been staying in a lake for God knows how long just because the Heavens told him so, who'd been dreaming about getting up there for just as long … Now that he finally was here, what was stopping him from staying? What if his impression of the Heavens was so good, so tempting, that he'd decide to stay there. It made sense.

He'd always dreamed of the Heavens.

Choromatsu turned to look at him. "Are you okay?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Osomatsu stared at him, opening his mouth, but then Matsuyo walked back to them.

"Come say your names to the angel over there," she said, pointing to a pink haired girl sitting behind the counter. She was looking at them with wide, shameless eyes, as if they were some wild animals escaped from the fucking zoo.

He gritted his teeth, but followed after Matsuyo without saying anything. Ignoring the worried looks coming from Choromatsu.

Before they got to the counter, Todomatsu grabbed his arm, tugging him towards himself. "Why do they need our names?" he hissed into his ear. "I don't want them to know anything about me."

Osomatsu sent him a bothered look. He hadn't even thought about that. "I don't think we have a choice, Todomatsu," he said, shrugging. "It is as it's been for a long time now. We don't have anywhere else to go."

Todomatsu sent him a disbelieving look. "What's up with you?" he asked. "What happened to all that bravado from before?"

Osomatsu hummed innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, watching as Karamatsu presented himself to the administrator.

"Karamatsu," he said. "Uh – Karamatsu Matsuno."

The pink haired girl's eyes widened even more. "Ma- Matsuno?" she repeated. "As in –"

Karamatsu laughed nervously, brushing his bangs away from his face. "Ah, yes. As in the Matsuno's," he said. He tried sounding proud, but Osomatsu heard the discomfort in his voice. "That's … Uh, I'd appreciate it if we'd leave that matter be. If that is okay?"

The girl opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "Of – Of course! Of course, Mr. Matsuno," she said, writing something down on. Osomatsu tried not rolling his eyes.

"Just Karamatsu is fine," Karamatsu mumbled, but it didn't seem like the girl heard him.

"Right, Mr. Matsuno," she said. "That is all. It's – It's an honor to meet you."

Karamatsu was quiet, then he glanced behind himself as if she was talking to someone else. "Uh – Uh …" he stammered, turning back to her. "Thank you?"

"You're welcome!" the girl beamed. "Then – Next please?"

Choromatsu stepped forward. Osomatsu couldn't see his face, but he saw that he had folded his hands, and since he was using such a long time to actually say something, he could only guess that he was very nervous right now.

The girl smiled questioningly. "Your name, sir?" she asked. She seemed awed to see him to, or – She must be awed to see a goddess, not Choromatsu specifically. But it didn't match her excitement of meeting Karamatsu.

"Ch- Choromatsu," Choromatsu stuttered. "I don't … have a last name."

The girl looked amused. "I didn't expect you to," she said. "Most angels don't. Or goddesses, I suppose." She looked down to her desk. "With C – H?"

"Uh – What?" Choromatsu asked, his voice rising a bit. Osomatsu wrinkled his nose. She wasn't even that pretty. Nothing like Totoko, for instance.

"It's C – H – O – R – O – M – A – T – S – U," Osomatsu said before he had the time to think. The girl looked up at him, and when she saw that it was him that had spoken, she swallowed. Osomatsu's body acted on its own. He walked up to Choromatsu, ignoring the way he was staring daggers at him. "Sorry for him, he's just nervous around girls."

The girl stared at him. "Uh – I see…" she said slowly, then hesitantly looked down to her papers. "Choromatsu."

"What's your name?" Osomatsu asked, leaning over the desk slightly.

"Osomatsu, what are you doing?" Choromatsu hissed. "Stop it!"

Osomatsu sent him a grin. "I just thought it would be a good idea to make friends while I'm here," he said, then turned back to the girl. "So?"

She looked horribly uncomfortable. "Hashimoto," she answered.

"That's a nice name," Osomatsu said. "Isn't that a nice name, Choromatsu?"

"Osomatsu!"

Matsuyo put a hand on his shoulder. "Osomatsu," she said. "Wait your turn."

Osomatsu turned his head to her, considered ignoring her request, but then let out a huff of breath. He turned back to Hashimoto. "Right. Sorry," he said, noticing the way he didn't sound sorry at all, but turned away, walking to the back of the group where Todomatsu was fighting a smile.

"I don't know you," he whispered, dodging a punch from Osomatsu.

Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu didn't take long to deliver their names, as Hashimoto seemed to already know them. She only acted a bit weird around Ichimatsu, but not like she hadn't been expecting him. Maybe he met her the first time he'd come back to the Heavens after becoming a Reaper.

When it was Todomatsu's turn, Osomatsu had to push him slightly to walk forward. He walked up to the counter, his whole body stiff. "What are you going to do with my name?" was what he said.

Hashimoto straightened her back a little. "It's for notifying the High Council that you are here," she said. "I have nothing to do with it. You are obliged to tell me, though."

Todomatsu clenched and unclenched his fists. "It's Todomatsu," he said grudgingly.

"Thank you," she said stiffly, writing it down. "Then … Osomatsu, if I've understood correctly?"

"You have," he said, noticing that the impulsive energy from before was slowly disappearing. Maybe it just had something to do with Choromatsu. He hadn't even known he could be this jealous. Why was he so jealous anyway? It's not like Choromatsu would run of with this Hashimoto girl. Yet, he'd felt furious when Choromatsu reacted the way he did. He gritted his teeth as she wrote down his name.

"That's it. Thank you," she said, sending him a fake smile.

He forced his lips to smile back. "Have a nice day," he said, then turned away from her. The others were looking at him, all of them with different expressions. Although Choromatsu was the only one he really took notice of. He looked furious.

He looked away, focusing on Matsuyo instead. "What's next?" he asked.

Matsuyo gestured to the elevators. "Follow me," she said with an enthusiastic smile.

The elevator surprised him by opening up by themselves. They walked inside of it, and the door closed, without any of them doing anything. It didn't take long for the elevator to get where it was going, but when the doors opened, he was met with a big room, looking like some kind of … lobby? Then he realized it was just a living room. They were in an apartment of some sort, and on the other side of the room was big windows, framing the view of a gigantic, clear sky.

"What the …" Osomatsu started, but Choromatsu elbowed him. "What?"

"Language," he scolded.

Osomatsu was about to start an argument, but then Matsuyo took the word. "This is where you'll be staying when you are here," she said. "I hope you find it comfortable. The High Council will see you tomorrow. In the meantime, you should get some more rest."

They walked out into the living room. Ichimatsu immediately sat down on one of the couches, and Jyushimatsu flew over to the windows, gasping loudly.

"There's a terrace here!"

"How far up are we?" Todomatsu asked, joining him by the window. "I can't even see the ground from here."

"The top floor," Matsuyo asked, sounding a bit strained.

Ichimatsu sent her a look. "To keep watch over us," he said. "The hardest place to escape from."

Matsuyo looked apologetic again. "Not exactly – Well, yes. It's not supposed to be a prison, but the High Council would like you to stay here until tomorrow," she said. "I'm … I'm not supposed to tell you this, so please don't tell anyone I said this."

Osomatsu wrinkled his nose, and looked around. "A prison?" he repeated. Was this the Heavens version of prisons? And he had to suffer through … He shook his head. Don't think about it.

"Please try to stay inside until tomorrow," she said. "Don't get into any trouble. And Osomatsu –"

He looked back at her. She looked hesitant, and folded her hands nervously. She walked over to him, lowering her voice. "If you can avoid it," she said. "Try not talking about Lucifer. It will make things… a lot more complicated than it has to be."

Osomatsu swallowed. "Will do," he said.

She smiled, then turned around to address everyone. "Well, then I'll leave you," she said. "See you tomorrow evening."

After watching Osomatsu shift uncomfortably in the oversized t-shirt they'd found in Matsuzo's closet for several hours, Choromatsu had a thought. He went into the apparent, as the others were doing their own things out on the terrace. He went into the bedroom – And yes, it was just one bedroom. A big one, but just one nonetheless – and walked over to a big cabinet standing beside one of the windows.

He opened it, and what met him was six identical white robes. Choromatsu scoffed. He doubted Osomatsu would wear one of those.

The second the thought crossed his mind, the one of the robes shimmered, and turned into a suit. A white shirt, a blue jacket, a gray tie, and gray pants. On the bottom of the closet, there was a couple of black shoes.

He smiled contently, then walked out to the living room and out of the terrace again. "Osomatsu," he called.

Osomatsu, who had started practicing flying with Jyushimatsu again, froze in a weird, crouched position, and turned to look at him. "Huh?"

"Can you come here for a second?"

Osomatsu frowned, walked over to him, to Jyushimatsu's great protest. "Are you finally going to yell at me? You've been keeping that in for a while now," he said as he approached him.

Choromatsu rolled his eyes. "I wasn't, but now that you mention it …" He sent him an ugly look. "You were acting horribly back there. How could you?"

Osomatsu didn't meet his eyes, but laughed halfheartedly. "Uh … I was nervous?"

"You know, to be someone who's supposed to be good at lying, you're really bad at lying," Choromatsu said, and lead him into the living room again. "You're such a – a baby! You had literally no reason to suddenly start acting out like that! Did I do something to offend you? Is grabbing your tail a no-go or something like that?"

Osomatsu trailed behind him. "Oh, man… It was kind of an asshole thing to do, wasn't it?" he said, then laughed again. "Though it would be cool if you didn't grab my tail, actually."

"You're not answering my questions!" Choromatsu snapped. "That girl – Hashimoto – Didn't you see how uncomfortable she was? She was scared!"

Osomatsu was quiet for a few seconds. Then he scoffed. "Yeah, she was," he mumbled.

They walked into the bedroom, and Choromatsu took a deep breath. "The clothes here," he said. "They're made for people with wings. The enchantment will make your wings go through the fabric magically, so you don't have to worry about that anymore. It's like my robe – self-cleaning and all that."

"Seriously?" Osomatsu walked over to the closet, and opened it. He frowned. "The suit? It's so … bright."

Choromatsu walked over too, curious to see if the suit had changed to meet Osomatsu's preferences. But when he got there, it looked the same. Either, the magic only worked for Heavenly beings, or Osomatsu actually liked the way it looked.

"Better than that shirt, though," he said, then walked over to the window. From there he could see what the others were doing, so that he'd know if one of them decided to do something they shouldn't. He could hear Osomatsu struggling with getting the t-shirt off, and turned around to give him an amused look. "Need help?"

Osomatsu deadpanned. "No," he said, standing in an uncomfortable looking position with his arms behind his back. "I can handle it."

"Okay, then." He turned back to the window, not particularly wishing to see Osomatsu undress. "So, are you going to explain, or are you just going to keep avoiding my questions?"

Osomatsu groaned, but he understood that it was because he tried get out of the shirt, and not because of what he'd said. "I'll, uh, avoid your questions, thanks," he said, then sighed. "Finally…"

He could hear him taking the suit out of the closet.

"I don't understand," Choromatsu said. "I told you to be quiet, and that is what you do? You said you'd try! That's the opposite of trying!"

"I don't know," Osomatsu said. "Honestly. I was in a bad mood."

"That doesn't excuse it! You know how to act properly, you just didn't do it!" Choromatsu said, feeling angrier by the second. "People are already wary of you! You're just making it worse!"

"And so what?" Osomatsu asked, sounding a little annoyed himself. "They're already wary of me, and nothing I do is going to change that. I'm not like you – I don't fit in here. So why bother?" He made a low humming sound. "Interesting. You can turn around now."

He did, and saw that Osomatsu had his back to him. As he'd expected, the wings on his back went through the fabric as if it had holes cut out perfectly for them. "How does it feel?" he asked.

"Almost like it did before I got them," Osomatsu answered. "So, good."

"Good," Choromatsu said, then focused on their other conversation topic. "You can at least try to behave yourself while you're here. You might be right that they won't ever see you differently, but making it worse is pointless. You do understand that, don't you?"

Osomatsu glanced at him, then looked away again. "I understand," he said flatly.

"How can I trust that you won't do it again?" Choromatsu asked, and Osomatsu scoffed.

"You know," he said, still without looking at him. "I'm getting a little tired of hearing that."

Choromatsu faltered a bit. "Osomatsu…" he said softly. "You know I notice when something is bothering you."

He raised an eyebrow at him at that. "Because of the soul binding?"

"Because I know you," he said, taking a step towards him, but Osomatsu stopped with his next words.

"Do you, though?" he asked. "You haven't known me for that long. I guess going through all of this shit together brings people closer, but how can you know? How can you be sure that I am who you think I am? Maybe I'm just some devil, like you thought the first time we met. Maybe I'll change the minute all of this is over with. How do you know?"

Choromatsu frowned. "Where is this all coming from?" he asked, confusion clouding his anger. "I do trust you, Osomatsu. You know that, right?"

He was quiet for a few seconds, before he gave a laughing huff, shaking his head. "I don't know," he said. "I'm just in a bad mood, I guess. Don't worry about it."

"Are you honestly expecting me to just accept that?" Choromatsu asked incredulously. "Don't worry about it?" He smiled a little. "You know how I am."

Osomatsu laughed quietly. "Right, I forgot," he said. Then, his smile faltered a bit. "It's dumb."

"Obviously not dumb enough to make you forget about it," Choromatsu prompted.

Osomatsu made a grimace, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, well … I don't …" He hesitated. "I was thinking … about what you said. When you said you'd always dreamed of the Heavens." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his new pants, looking at the floor. "And I, uh … I thought that maybe – maybe you wanted to stay. Here."

Choromatsu felt his jaw go slack. "What?"

Osomatsu shrugged. "I mean, it makes sense," he said, sounding defensive. "You've always dreamed of the Heavens. You admire the way they work. You want to be like them, right? So when you talked to Hashimoto I kind of …" His face suddenly became very red. "Maybe I'm weak when it comes to envy because of the seven deadly sins and all that. We talked about that, right?" He laughed weakly.

Choromatsu didn't know what to say. Osomatsu gave a sigh, and mumbled something about sitting down, then walked over to one of the futons laid out on the floor.

"So anyway," he said as he sat down. "It's dumb."

Choromatsu stared at him. "It's – It's not dumb," he said, then followed him to the futon. "If you're worried about things like that, you can just say so."

Osomatsu looked up at him. He looked different in the suit. More powerful, maybe. Yet, he looked vulnerable. Choromatsu wondered how many times he'd thought that about Osomatsu. He wondered if he was the only one who could see through that mask of his too. Probably not anymore – He'd been letting his walls down more and more to all five of them. Which was good; He didn't want him to bottle up his emotions like he'd done before.

So he wanted him to talk.

"I'm already whiny enough, though, aren't I?" he asked, grinning.

He smiled a little at that, and sat down beside him. "Are you worried about me staying here?" he asked. "Even as all of this is going on?"

Osomatsu shrugged. "I dragged you into this mess," he said. "You're safe up here. It's where you're supposed to be, isn't it?"

Choromatsu looked down to his lap, resisting the urge to fidget with his hands. "I …" he started, glancing at Osomatsu. "I want to be where you are."

Osomatsu didn't answer, but he noticed the way his brows twitched.

"I said I've always dreamed of the Heavens, but …" He looked up to the roof, trying to find the best way to convey his thoughts. "You were the one who convinced me to leave the lake. And although I still sometimes feel bad because of that, and although the situation you led me into wasn't the easiest … I don't regret it. You've shown me the world as it really is, not just the parts of it that I chose to see through projection. And it's … scary, a lot of times. I've been scared ever since leaving the lake, because everything happening is new to me. But you've been there through it all. So when things seem dark, you …" He trailed off, and looked back at him. "You've been the light," he finished quietly.

Osomatsu bowed his head a little bit. Choromatsu pressed his lips together, feeling awkward the way they were sitting.

"A- And if I lost that," he continued, shaking his head slightly. "I don't… I don't know what I'd do. I'd be in free fall. So … I'm not going to stay here in the Heavens. You don't have to worry about that."

Osomatsu sent him a weird look. "I don't get it," he said.

"Don't get what?"

"How you can think that of me."

Choromatsu looked back at him. Osomatsu didn't seem like he put much thought into that sentence. It was just a thought – His face was blank, if not just a little confused. The fact that he was genuinely wondering about this made him sick in his stomach. He wondered why this was so hard for him to understand, but … when he thought about it, it wasn't that hard to figure out. His whole life had been under the command of Tougou, as far as Choromatsu knew. It didn't seem like he knew anyone besides Todomatsu before he met Choromatsu. He hoped that confusion arose because he wasn't used to being loved, and not because he thought he didn't deserve it. None of them were good, of course, but he wanted Osomatsu to know that he was loved. And that he deserved it, no matter what he'd done in the past. No matter what Tougou had made him believe.

Choromatsu swallowed down the sudden lump in his throat. Then he leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder. "You brought me happiness," he said softly. "How could I not?"

Osomatsu was quiet for a long time. Then his body suddenly shuddered a little. "Fucking shit," he muttered suddenly, then sniffled. Choromatsu lifted his head to look at him, as his cursing had gotten just a little bit more excessive than usual, and saw that he was rubbing his eyes furiously. He scoffed. "When did I become such a crybaby?"

Choromatsu pressed his lips together, then laid his forehead on Osomatsu's shoulder. "Aren't we all?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse. Osomatsu laughed quietly, before he became quiet. Then he shifted, changing his position so the he sat with his face turned to Choromatsu. He had a concentrated look on his face, like when people step out on the ice, not sure if it's thick enough to hold their weight or not.

"Then I'm not going to leave you either," he said. "I'll annoy you for eternity."

He stared at him, then laughed. "Okay," he said. "That's okay."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Osomatsu grinned. "No take backs."

Choromatsu smiled back at him. "I'll take the risk," he said. Osomatsu's grin broadened, then he lunged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around him. After getting over his immediate surprise, he closed his eyes, leaning into the embrace. He could feel Osomatsu's heart beat rapidly in his chest.

"Choromatsu," he said quietly. "I'm so glad you're alive."

Choromatsu swallowed heavily, then took a deep, shuddery breath. The lump in his throat from before came back at full force, and he grabbed the fabric of Osomatsu's shirt, crumpling it in his fist. This, he told himself, was where he wanted to be. He'd never leave that for anything else.

Karamatsu didn't expect Osomatsu to come out to the garden again with new, fancy clothes, and definitely not smiling and laughing with Choromatsu as if not harm had been done at all. He sat in the shadow of the apartment right by the doors, and when he got eye contact with Osomatsu, he sent him a grin. Karamatsu smiled back.

"You look like a new man, brother," Karamatsu said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Oh – Uh, thanks," Osomatsu said, looking down on himself. "To be honest, I'm just wearing this for the wing perks, but thanks." He turned around, pointing to where his wings stood out of the fabric. Karamatsu didn't understand how they'd managed to cut such accurate holes for them – but then he saw the weird way the fabric was shifting and changing, and he realized it had to be magic.

"Fantastic," he said. "I'm sure this will make practice easier for you."

"Practice?" Jyushimatsu echoed. "Are we gonna practice?"

Osomatsu stiffened, then slowly turned to Jyushimatsu. "Practice?" he said hesitantly. "Haven't we been practicing enough already?"

Jyushimatsu straightened his back, putting his hands on his hips. "Not until you learn to take off from the ground!" he commanded, spreading his wings. "You too, Choromatsu!"

"Huh- But –"

"No buts!"

Karamatsu kept quiet as their protests were brought to silence, and Jyushimatsu dragged them out on the terrace again, motivating them with his endless energy. He smiled softly, leaning back against the wall as he watched them try and fail and try again, over and over. After a while, Ichimatsu walked over to them too, then surprised everyone when a pair of dark, misty wings materialized behind him. Ah – That might explain where the "angel of death" expression had come from, as Reapers weren't actually angels.

The last of them then walked out of the doors, holding a glass of something that looked like a smoothie. Todomatsu looked at the scene before him, then turned to Karamatsu. Karamatsu looked back at him without saying anything. He didn't have anything to say to him.

"Hey," Todomatsu said, sitting down beside him. "You haven't called me names yet."

Karamatsu looked away. "I wasn't thinking clearly when I said that. No mature person calls people names," he said.

"That's bullshit, in my opinion," Todomatsu said, before falling silent for a short while. "Are you angry with me?"

Karamatsu swallowed. "You had your reasons to do what you did," he said. "And in the end we achieved our goal, so you were right. But … it was a douchebag move either way."

Todomatsu nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "I would be angry at me too. Judging from Osomatsu's reaction, possession seems to be pretty … bad."

He sent him a look. "It is pretty bad," he said dryly. "It's just as bad as I feared it would be. As I have feared since I learned about my parents' death."

Todomatsu pursed his lips. "That… makes sense…" he said slowly. He looked sideways at him, then averted his eyes. "It really was a douchebag move."

"It was," Karamatsu simply said.

Several seconds of silence passed.

"So…" Todomatsu said. "Did you talk to Osomatsu-niisan yesterday?"

Karamatsu nodded. "We… talked," he said, remembering the exact moment he'd decided that he wanted to punch Osomatsu in the face. He'd never before felt such an impulse, but right there and then it had been uncontrollable, even if he regretted it the moment after. He especially remembered the dread he'd felt when Osomatsu spat out a tooth into his hand.

"…And?" Todomatsu prompted.

"And…" He shrugged. "And nothing. Wounds like that doesn't heal overnight. I forgive him, of course, but … things are still a bit weird. It'll take time."

"I see," Todomatsu said quietly. He looked down into his lap, then up again at the others trying their best to make Choromatsu and Osomatsu fly. Ichimatsu was now teaching Choromatsu, while Jyushimatsu and Osomatsu seemed to be talking about something with great passion. Jyushimatsu was making grand movement with his hand, then pointing furiously at his head, and then at Osomatsu's head. "Look, Karamatsu," he then said, turning to him. "I wish I could get tears in my eyes and all that jazz, but … I'm not like that. I really do wish we could've done it another way down there, but I was only trying to protect you. You do understand that, right?"

Karamatsu looked blankly at him. "I understand all of that," he said. "I don't blame you for what you did, but it doesn't change the fact that you viciously stepped over my boundaries. And you haven't apologized for that."

Todomatsu was quiet for a few seconds. His brows knit together, as if this was an alien concept to him. "But I am sorry," then said. "I'm sorry."

"Do you mean that?" Karamatsu asked, earning a look from Todomatsu.

"Of course I do," he said. "I just didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you. I'm sorry. I really am."

Karamatsu smiled. "Then I forgive you," he said, leaning back against the wall again.

Todomatsu stared at him. "Really? Just like that?"

"Mhm."

"Aren't you mad at me anymore?"

Karamatsu took a moment to listen to his emotions, and – yeah, he was still angry. But he'd let it pass. He gave a short laugh. "Love your neighbor as yourself," he said, brushing his bangs away from his face.

Todomatsu kept staring at him. "What?"

"Mark 12:31."

"What?"

"It says in the Bible, Todomatsu," Karamatsu said, as if he was surprised that Todomatsu didn't know the book by heart, as he, almost, did. Almost.

Todomatsu wrinkled his nose a little, then leaned against the wall as well. "Okay, then," he said.

They sat in almost comfortable silence after that. Karamatsu breathed in through his nose – the air in the Heavens was noticeably fresher and cleaner than the one down on Earth. The temperature was also perfect, no matter if you sat in the shadows or if you basked in the sun. He wondered if the weather was ever bad up here.

His eyes wandered to the others, still struggling to teach the two to fly. It was a little funny, the fact that the two strongest beings of their group were the ones that had to be taught that. Even funnier was the fact that this picture almost seemed normal to him now. An angel, a Reaper, a goddess and a devil, playing together as if it was the most normal thing in the world. It almost looked like one of those baroque paintings picturing angels and demons fighting, except this version was much friendlier, and not as elegant.

Jyushimatsu walked behind Osomatsu and took a hold of his wings, moving them up and down. Osomatsu's shoulder went up to his ear, and he jumped away from him.

"Stop that!" he barked.

"Then do it yourself!" Jyushimatsu commanded.

Osomatsu stared at him, then frowned in concentration. His wings moved, but much too slow to actually lift him off the ground. Then he shrugged. "I guess I'm just not meant to fly," he said, then tried to laugh, but his disappointment was very clear.

"It's magic!" Jyushimatsu said, earning a confused look from Osomatsu. He smiled, pointing at Osomatsu's head. "You said wings in Hell symbolize power and high rank, then it would be super stupid if you couldn't even fly with them. I think that the wings are a lot for show as well as for flying! So maybe you have to use your magic to fly, and not your muscles!"

Osomatsu didn't look convinced, but Choromatsu joined in on the conversation. "He might be right, Osomatsu," he said, sounding like he'd thought about this for a long time. "Angel wings and devil wings might work in different ways, because they were created for different purposes. Angels have wings for practical reasons – to help people in need on the Surface, and because they're living in the sky so they need a way to get down to Earth. In Hell you're not helping anyone – no offence – and it's impossible to use your wings to fly away from Hell and up to the Surface, so there's actually no reason for you to have them. Yet, as you say, it is used to show power and dominance and high rank. And we do know that devils can fly if they have wings, so the only solution I can think of is that it isn't the wings that makes you fly. It's the magic that comes with them."

Osomatsu looked overwhelmed. "That doesn't make any sense," he said. "Why wouldn't the wings work? That's stupid!"

"They do work," Choromatsu said. "But maybe they're more for show than for actual flying. Try using your magic to lift yourself from the ground, without focusing so much on moving your wings."

"Why couldn't I just have gotten the power to fly, then? Without the wings in the way?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Choromatsu shrugged. "Power display, I guess," he said.

"That's so shallow," Osomatsu muttered, but closed his eyes. He stood there for several long seconds, then he opened his eyes again and groaned. "This isn't working!"

"Try again!" Jyushimatsu prompted.

"Maybe they are just for show," Ichimatsu muttered.

Osomatsu whined. "Why is this so complicated?"

"Let me help," Choromatsu said, but when he closed his eyes, Osomatsu grabbed his arm, and he opened them again to give him a confused look.

"With the soul binding?" he asked. "I don't wanna."

"I'm just going to help you focus," he said.

"No, you're gonna manipulate my emotions!"

"No! I'm just going to feel what you feel, and then try to guide you a little!"

Karamatsu tilted his head to the side. "Is soul binding really that bad?" he asked. Todomatsu glanced at him, then looked back to the circus in front of them. He shrugged.

"I don't really feel any different," he said. "But … somehow I get a feeling that the bond between Osomatsu-niisan and Choromatsu-nii – … Choromatsu is a bit stronger than mine and Jyushimatsu's." His cheeks turned a little red, and Karamatsu stifled a laugh.

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

He shrugged again. "Just a feeling."

Karamatsu turned back to Osomatsu and Choromatsu. Both of them had closed their eyes. While Osomatsu was frowning deeply, obviously struggling to achieve whatever it was he wanted to achieve, Choromatsu looked peaceful, the only thing revealing that he was actually concentrating and not just standing there with his eyes closed the slight movement of his head, as if he was trying to listen to a very faint whisper.

"You're focusing too much on focusing," he said.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Osomatsu snapped.

"Just relax," he said, his brows furrowing slightly in irritation. "Think of it as any other type of magic. It starts in your chest, and spreads out through your body. Maybe imagine that you're floating off the ground."

Karamatsu noticed that the air got electric, as it often did when magic was performed. He stared at Osomatsu as he took a deep breath, then let it out, his body visibly relaxing.

"That's it," Choromatsu said softly. "I think you're getting there."

Everyone became dead quiet, and just stared at the two of them, suspension thick in the air. Then, so slightly Karamatsu barely noticed at all, Osomatsu's feet slowly lifted off the ground. Karamatsu held his breath. He was floating just above the ground, even if it was just ten centimeters, his wings barely even moving. His eyes were clenched shut.

"Is it working?" he then asked.

Choromatsu opened his eyes. "Uh …"

"Uh?" Osomatsu opened his eyes too, then they widened in surprise. "What the – Agh!" He fell right down again, his legs giving out under him.

"You had it!" Choromatsu gasped. "You did it!"

Osomatsu looked overwhelmed again. "I did it," he muttered.

"You did it!" Jyushimatsu shouted. "One more time!"

Osomatsu pouted. "I don't know how I did it," he said, looking to Choromatsu for help.

Choromatsu folded his hands excitedly. "There was something different, though. Didn't you feel it?" he asked. Osomatsu shrugged. "Just find back to that place in your mind. Now that you've already been there, it can't be as hard to find your way back."

"The place in my mind?" Osomatsu echoed. He wrinkled his nose then closed his eyes again. "Are you saying I just have to feel what I felt just now?"

"I think so," Choromatsu said.

Osomatsu hummed. Then he took a deep breath, and leaned backwards. Karamatsu was sure he'd fall right onto his back, but then he just kept floating, as if he was shoulder deep in water. Choromatsu's mouth fell open.

"You're doing it! You're doing it!" he said, sounding more excited about it than any of them. The excitement seemed to throw Osomatsu out of his zone, because right after he fell onto his back like Karamatsu had imagined he'd do. He groaned, then laughed loudly.

"It isn't that hard!" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Jyushimatsu was cheering about something Karamatsu was pretty sure had something to do with baseball, but he got the message across.

"How did you get a grip of it so quickly?" Choromatsu asked, kneeling down beside him. "That was amazing!"

"Well, you told me to imagine that I was floating," he said, gesturing with his hands. "And it reminded me of when you're drunk and you lie down and you feel like you're doing just that, so I just thought about how it feels to be drunk and thoughtless, and it worked!" He grinned, rubbing the underside of his nose.

That obviously wasn't what Choromatsu expected to hear. "Really?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Really!" he said. "I just had to stop thinking so much!" He turned to Todomatsu and Karamatsu. "What do you think?"

Karamatsu gave him a thumbs up. "Well done, brother," he said, flashing a smile.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Todomatsu said.

"This is easy!" Osomatsu said, the proceeded to dive headfirst into the ground. Jyushimatsu laughed the loudest out of all of them. He sat up, holding his nose, which had fortunately not started bleeding. Todomatsu was clutching his stomach, his laugh sounding just a tad more obnoxious than it should be, probably to piss Osomatsu more off.

"Again," Ichimatsu said, smiling broader than he usually would.

"Okay, you guys suck," Osomatsu said, rolling his eyes. He stood up, then closed his eyes shut, muttering something under his breath. It took a few seconds, but then he took off the ground again, smoothly, as if he'd learned it a long time ago. Nobody said anything. Then he opened his eyes hesitantly, like he was afraid he'd lose his concentration by doing that. For a moment, he faltered in the air, looking like he was going to fall again, but then his posture steadied. His mouth had formed into comically round "O", but when he realized he had control, it spread into a triumphant grin. "Hah! Take that!"

Choromatsu smiled, but shook his head, somewhat exasperated. "This wasn't a bet, Osomatsu," he reminded him.

Osomatsu obviously didn't listen, as he was too busy trying to take backflips in the air. Jyushimatsu cheered him on, but Choromatsu knit his brows worriedly together. Ichimatsu looked at him as if merely watching him keep on with that made him exhausted.

Karamatsu didn't know how the flying thing worked, but it seemed like a pretty big deal that Osomatsu managed to master it that quickly. Well, maybe not master it, as he got close to falling many, many times, but … It was impressive, nevertheless. Though, he thought it was only a matter of time before something went wrong, if he knew Osomatsu correctly.

Maybe it was Lucifer. Maybe being lent his powers also meant getting better at mastering things like that. His senses had gotten stronger too, hadn't they? He'd gotten stronger, in general.

And Karamatsu… He was the same. A sigh escaped him.

"What is it?" Todomatsu asked.

He glanced at him, then looked down to the floor in front of him. "I was thinking," he said. "Everyone is getting stronger. I don't know what to do, now that my parents' documents are gone. I'll never be as good as them." He briefly wondered if he ever was meant to follow their path. They never told him to do so. They never left their documents specifically for him … They could have told him, when their souls were with them. But they hadn't done that. They hadn't told him anything.

"Karamatsu," Todomatsu said, stopping his train of thought. He turned to him, and saw that he was looking at him with narrow eyes. "Your parents weren't that great."

Karamatsu blinked. "Excuse me?"

Todomatsu just scoffed. "Excuse you? No, excuse them," he said, crossing his arms. "Yeah, they were a big fucking threat for us demons, obviously, but why should you care about what good they did for some angels they couldn't even be sure existed, when they didn't do shit for you?"

"Todomatsu, they were my parents –"

"And so what?" He stared at him, almost like he was offended. "You know, I never knew my parents. Most demons don't. Some do though, and let me tell you, the envy is real. Though some of us are better off without them, see Osomatsu-niisan for instance."

Karamatsu was taken aback. "Todomatsu, show some consideration," he said, bringing a hand to his chest.

He shook his head. "My point is," he said. "Just because they're your parents doesn't excuse the fact that they weren't good people. You don't owe them anything. You don't owe them the privilege of you carrying on their memory as if they were some great fucking heroes. Because they weren't. They were just workaholics that didn't care shit for their son, like they should have."

"What- What does that have to do with you?" Karamatsu asked, feeling vulnerable under Todomatsu's glare. "You don't know if they cared about me or not. They just … had a lot of responsibility."

"You don't think you were their responsibility too?" Todomatsu asked. They stared at each other, none of them willing to look away. Then he sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm just saying … You've been fixated on becoming the picture of your parents, without even knowing how they really were. How old were you when they died?"

Karamatsu swallowed. "Eleven," he muttered.

"Did you see them much before that?"

He opened his mouth, but then averted his eyes, looking down to the floor again. "No," he said.

"Then how can you look that much up to them? You didn't even get to know them." Todomatsu's voice softened a bit. "You seem unable to let go of them, when they don't even deserve that gratitude. You don't need their documents. You're doing well enough on your own."

His lip quivered a little when he spoke. "Really?" he asked quietly.

"Really," Todomatsu said, then looked down to his lap. "Besides. You have an advantage your parents didn't have. Osomatsu-niisan and I can teach you things about Hell's creatures that your parents could only dream of knowing. You'll be the best exorcist in the history of exorcists."

Karamatsu stared at Todomatsu, his vision slowly blurring, and after a few seconds, Todomatsu looked back at him. He frowned, his cheeks becoming red.

"Don't start crying," he said, softly pushing Karamatsu away. "I don't know how to deal with that."

Karamatsu swallowed, blinking rapidly. "Sorry, sorry," he said, then laughed quietly. "I just… didn't expect that."

"My help?" he asked. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "Isn't that a bit of a burden?"

Todomatsu was quiet, then he shook his head. "Stop thinking like that. We're a group now, so we help each other out, right?" He stared ahead of him, the blush not quite leaving his cheeks. "Karamatsu-niisan?"

Karamatsu took a shaky breath, staring intently at his own feet. He nodded slightly. "Okay," he said, his voice quivering a little. "We help each other out."

Osomatsu didn't have big expectations when he went to bed that night, so before anyone else decided they wanted to go to bed, he snuck into the bedroom, and dragged one of the futons further away from the others, knowing that he'd probably wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat from whatever memory he had to relive, just like the night before. It wasn't as if he'd already had trouble sleeping before he got captured by Tougou. Now it was practically impossible.

And of course he was right. The dream wasn't very clear, but he still knew what was going on. Back in Hell, back in the tunnels. He was running by several of the windows where he'd seen Todomatsu and Ichimatsu, except now it was all of them, standing right by him, but without seeing him. They were just standing there, and for every time he got to a new window, the picture of them changed. Their faces faded away, and their postures faltered, until they were just standing side by side, facing him as if they could see him, but chose not to do anything about it.

In the tunnels, he was constantly hearing Lucifer's voice, but he couldn't understand what he was saying. His voice boomed in his head, making him unable to hear anything around him. The darkness became harder and harder to navigate in, and he constantly knew that if he turned around, someone would stand there. Tougou would stand there, ready to take him back to that torture chamber.

He ran and he ran, slowly feeling his legs rotting away, and his breath leaving him. He stumbled in his own feet, and Tougou's laughter echoed through the tunnels. He looked out the windows, and saw that everyone was still standing there, except Choromatsu. The stopped, momentarily forgetting that he was being chased, because why wasn't Choromatsu there? Where was he? Why did he leave them?

Tougou's rasping voice was by his ear. "Stupid boy," he said. Osomatsu whipped his head around, but he didn't come face to face with his father.

Choromatsu stared back at him, smiling the way Tougou would.

Then he jolted awake, nausea washing over him. He didn't think as he stumbled to his feet, and ran out of the room, and into the bathroom. He barely managed to get to the toilet before his stomach churned violently, and yesterday's snack came rushing up again.

The room was spinning, and he gripped the toilet seat, his body lurching forward again and again. His entire body was shaking, and he reached for the toilet paper, wiping his mouth when he thought his body had managed to get rid of everything inside of him.

"Osomatsu," Choromatsu's voice suddenly sounded, and his whole body jolted. Stupidly enough, he had difficulty turning around to look at him. Would he see Choromatsu? Or was he still dreaming? Would he see Tougou? His breath wouldn't calm down. "Osomatsu, are you –"

He gasped for air. "Ch – Choromatsu," he breathed. "It's you, right? It's j- just you?"

"Of course it is," he said, walking towards him.

"Don't," he quickly said. "Don't touch me. D- Don't …" Was the air getting thinner? He tried breathing, but his lungs wouldn't let him.

"Osomatsu –"

He stood up, barging past Choromatsu without looking at him. He stumbled a little, and had to lean against the wall as he rushed towards the terrace. Then he threw the door open, and his knees buckled beneath him. Everything was spinning. He staggered, crashing into the wall, the slid down to the ground.

Why couldn't he breathe? Why was everything making so much noise? He tried breathing in, but he barely manage to do so before his lungs constricted. Tears blurred his vision, and he dug his nails into his scalp, gasping desperately for air.

He could hear Choromatsu walking out on the terrace as well, but he couldn't look up at him right now. "Osomatsu," he said, crouching down in front of him. "Please remember that you're safe. Try to calm down."

He shook his head. "Can't – breathe –" he gasped.

"Yes, you can," he said softly. "I can breathe, so you can breathe too. Listen. Breathe with me."

A warmth spread in his chest, and for a moment, his panic grew. But then he realized it was just Choromatsu, transferring his own feelings into him through the soul binding. It was a calm, comfortable warmth, distracting him from the fear that had filled his entire body. This was Choromatsu – only he could do that.

He looked up at him. His eyes. His kind smile. Not Tougou's. Not Tougou.

He grimaced, then reached out for him. Choromatsu leaned forward and enveloped him immediately, quietly shushing him. "It's okay," he said. "I'm here."

Did he know what he had thought? What he had feared? Did the soul binding reveal that? Either way, it was the words he needed to hear. He held around his chest, trying to match his breathing pattern. Choromatsu made circles on his back, slowly and gently. The comfortable warmth stayed, reminding him where he was. Home. Safe.

Choromatsu sat patiently, just like the other times he'd comforted him. Even if his breath had turned next to normal now, he still didn't let go, and Choromatsu didn't question it.

"I brought some water for you," he whispered. "If you want."

Osomatsu nodded, but didn't answer or move right away. He waited another minute. Then he leaned back, and Choromatsu reached for a glass beside him. Osomatsu took it with shaky hands, and drank away the gross taste in his mouth. When the glass was empty, he immediately leaned back on Choromatsu's chest. He wasn't in the mood to think about how pathetic he was acting. Right now he didn't care. Choromatsu didn't complain, as he ran a hand through his hair carefully, placing a kiss on his head.

"Sorry," Osomatsu mumbled. "I had a nightmare."

"I noticed."

"Did I wake the others?"

"Yes."

"Shit. Sorry."

"It's okay, they don't blame you."

Osomatsu opened his eyes, but all he saw was Choromatsu's robe. He lifted his head, and shifted his position, so that he could lean his head on Choromatsu's shoulder. When he did that, he got to see the sky over them, and a small gasp escaped him.

"What is it?" Choromatsu asked, sounding a bit worried. Osomatsu straightened his back.

"Look," he said. Choromatsu turned around, and his jaw went slack.

Over them, the sky was specked with millions of stars. It was nothing like looking at the starry sky down on the Surface – Osomatsu got the feeling he only needed to fly a few meters up, and he would find himself surrounded of those glimmering lights. It was as if he'd looked through a misty window all his life, and now the window was open, now he could suddenly see the skies clearly. It was like a picture taken with a telescope.

He staggered to his feet, then walked out onto the terrace, always looking upwards. He would never see anything like this again. He, as a devil, was lucky to even get to see it once. And after living in the warm, stuffy netherworld that was Hell for thousands of years, he'd never felt this … he didn't even know what he felt. He felt strange. He'd thought he'd seen the universe in the eyes on the veranda with Jyushimatsu, but that was nothing like this.

This were the open skies he'd dreamed about. This was freedom.

Choromatsu came up beside him. "I can't believe I've had the chance to see this during my entire time in the lake," he said. "Yet I chose to stay, just because of a feeling in my gut."

"You were just doing what you were told," Osomatsu said.

"Still." He huffed quietly. "I'm a little bitter."

Osomatsu laughed. "Yeah, me too."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, then Osomatsu sat down, earning an odd look from Choromatsu.

"I think I'll stay here," he said. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep anyway, so …" He lied down on his back. That way he could see right up into the sky, and he wanted to keep looking at that as long as he were able. He wouldn't get this chance again.

Choromatsu lied down beside him. "Then I'll join you," he said.

Osomatsu smiled. "Okay."

They didn't say anything after that. When Osomatsu reached out with his hand, Choromatsu took it without hesitation.

The next day, the weather was just as nice as the last one. In the early hours of the morning, Todomatsu had walked out onto the terrace while the others were still asleep, finding Osomatsu and Choromatsu sprawled out on the ground. Choromatsu was lying on the side, using his wings as some kind of weird blanket substitute. Osomatsu was lying on his back with his limbs spread out everywhere. Their hands were knit tightly together, even in unconsciousness.

And both of them had become ridiculously embarrassed when Todomatsu woke them up. Under normal circumstances, Todomatsu would have laughed, but he knew his brother had had a rough night. So he just told him he'd drooled on the ground, then went back inside.

And now, Osomatsu stood by the railing on the terrace, looking like he was in deep thought. Choromatsu and Karamatsu was sitting on one of the couches, reading some kind of book while discussing quietly among themselves. Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu had gone out earlier, to speak with Matsuyo or something. Todomatsu guessed they had a lot to catch up on.

He walked up to Osomatsu, then peeked over the railing to see what he was looking at. The ground was so far below them, Todomatsu almost felt sick. Even a demon wouldn't survive that fall.

"'Sup?" he said, choosing to look at Osomatsu instead.

Osomatsu glanced at him, then turned back to the view. "I kind of …" he started, but stopped, turning around to look at Karamatsu and Choromatsu, where they were still sitting, deeply concentrated on whatever they were doing. He turned back again. "…want to explore," he finished quietly.

Todomatsu's lips quirked upwards. "That's not safe for us," he said with a scoff.

"But –" Osomatsu frowned, briefly looking back at Choromatsu. " –We're bound to them. I'm bound to Choromatsu, and people notice that. Though that's mostly annoying, it's practical in this case. People won't have so much of a problem with a demon or a devil as long as they're under the control of an angel or a goddess, right?"

"I guess … But Choromatsu would never let us leave anyway," Todomatsu said.

"… I guess," Osomatsu echoed after a few seconds, the thoughtful tone in his voice not very calming. "Hey, where's Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu?"

"I think they're talking to Matsuyo."

"I see."

He frowned, sending Osomatsu a suspicious look. "What?"

"You know," Osomatsu said, leaning his head in his hand while looking up into the sky. "I can fly."

He stared at him. "No fucking way," he said, louder than he planned. Choromatsu looked up from where he was sitting, narrowing his eyes.

"Osomatsu?" he said.

Osomatsu pressed his lips together, then turned to him with a grin. "Yes?" he asked innocently.

"Adrenaline goes under the list of strong emotions," Choromatsu said. "As well as mischief. I don't know what you're thinking, but stop thinking it."

"Yeah, niisan, stop thinking it," Todomatsu muttered.

"I have no idea what any of you are talking about," he said, then made a face at Choromatsu. Choromatsu stared back at him, then reluctantly looked back at the book he and Karamatsu was reading. Too quick for Todomatsu to react properly, Osomatsu slid an arm around his waist.

"What are you – Huh?"

Osomatsu hugged him tightly against his body, then threw himself over the railing with a shrill yell. Todomatsu barely registered what was happening, before the wind was whipping against his face, and he gripped tightly onto Osomatsu as if that would stop them from falling, while his mind kept screaming this is it! This is the end! And it's because of your idiot older brother!

Then the world stopped. Todomatsu was clenching his eyes shut, gripping around Osomatsu like a koala. They weren't falling anymore. He cracked an eye open.

The ground was far beneath them.

"Osomatsu," he gasped. "What the fuck do you think –"

"Yeah, yeah, I have it under control," Osomatsu said, then gave a carefree laugh.

"That's not –!" Todomatsu pulled his eyes away from the ground and tried wrapping himself even closer around Osomatsu. "Take me back!"

"Hey, stop squirming, or we'll – Woah!" Abruptly they were falling again. Todomatsu let out a piercing cry, but then they stopped again. Osomatsu was laughing. "Just kidding!"

His heart was going to leap out of his throat, and he tug his nails into Osomatsu's skin. "You –"

"Osomatsu!" Choromatsu's voice rang, and they both looked up. He was standing by the railing, eyes so wide they looked like they'd pop out any moment. Karamatsu appeared beside him, eyebrows deeply furrowed. "What are you doing?"

Osomatsu giggled. "Enjoying this chance of seeing the Heavens while I can!" he called back, grinning broadly. "We'll be back before the meeting!"

"What? Come back here!"

"You have wings!" he laughed. "Use them!"

Then he bolted downwards, heading towards the tall buildings of the city. Todomatsu couldn't do anything but hold onto him and hope that he wouldn't randomly lose control as he had so many times yesterday. Osomatsu hummed as if no harm was done at all.

"Relax, Totty, I got this," he said. Todomatsu whined in reply.

Immediately when they landed on the ground again, Todomatsu pushed Osomatsu away, staggering a bit as his knees felt like they were going to buckle under him any moment. "You're a fucking asshole!" he spat, earning a content grin from Osomatsu. "Stop smiling like that!"

He looked around, and saw the he'd picked a rather empty street to land, but there were some angels here and there, all of them sending them wary looks. Todomatsu stared back at them the way he had when he first arrived, and they quickly looked away.

"This isn't safe," he said. "We have to go back."

"Todomatsu," Osomatsu said, completely ignoring the looks they were getting. "Before we got into this mess, did you ever think you would see the Heavens with your own eyes?"

"Of course not!" Todomatsu snapped. "Because we're not supposed to fucking be here!"

"But we are!" Osomatsu said, throwing out his arms. Then he gripped Todomatsu's wrist, and started leading him down the street, completely ignoring his protests. "And we're never getting this chance again! This is the Heavens, Todomatsu. Can you believe that?"

Todomatsu scoffed. "Why are you so starstrucked?" he asked.

"I'm –" Osomatsu sent him a bothered look, before looking ahead again. "I'm not. I'm just … curious. I wonder if there's someplace you can just chill out here. Or is working the only thing people do here?"

"I don't know. Do you wanna ask someone?" Todomatsu asked sarcastically. Osomatsu stopped, then gave him an excited look.

"Good idea!" he chirped, then started walking towards one of the angels.

"No – I didn't actually –"

"Excuse me!" Osomatsu yelled. The angel jumped, and turned around to them with a slightly horrified expression, mixed with a weird kind of disbelief, like he was wondering if he was awake or not.

"Y- Yes?" he answered.

Osomatsu sent Todomatsu an impressed look. "Some of them are actually polite," he commented, then turned back to the angel, who seemed too baffled to be offended. "I was wondering if there's any, like, venues or something where people hang out, or is everyone just working up here?"

The angel blinked. "Uh – There's – There's some parks here and there," he said.

"Not any coffee shops, or a fast food places?" Osomatsu continued, then narrowed his eyes. "A pub, maybe?"

Todomatsu dragged a hand over his face.

"Not that I know of," the angel said.

"Damnit," Osomatsu sighed. "And I was getting my hopes up too. This place seemed so fancy." He grinned at the angel. "Much fancier than Hell. Did you know?"

Todomatsu watched as the angel's posture become stiffer and stiffer the longer Osomatsu stared at him. Though he still thought this was a stupid idea, it still made an amused smile play at his lips. He knew Osomatsu was enjoying this as well. In the end, they were both sadistic assholes.

"I didn't know," he answered, eyes flickering around them as if trying to find an escape route. "Um … Angels can't go there. Pardon me, but I thought it was the same for demons. A- And devils."

Osomatsu gasped, and the angel jolted. "You're the first one to know the difference!" he said, taking a step forward. "Thank you!"

"You're … welcome?" the angel said, his face hilariously pale.

"Well, thank you for your help," Osomatsu said. "Maybe we'll see you later." When he walked past him, he patted him on the shoulder, and the angel jumped again.

"Okay," was what he said. Then he scurried away as fast as he could without setting into a run.

Osomatsu snorted, then set into a loud laugh. Todomatsu couldn't help a few giggles escaping him as well. "Did you see his face?" he cackled. "He looked ready to pass out!"

Todomatsu shoved him. "That was unnecessary," he said, as if he wasn't as much entertained by it as his brother. "What are you planning on doing now? There obviously isn't much to see here, except hustling angels doing the big man's work or whatever."

Osomatsu shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to look around," he said, then stopped for a moment. "Hey, do you think we should hide the horns and stuff?"

Todomatsu thought about it for a moment. "I mean … All it would do is make the angels confused and not immediately scared or wary, because it's pretty obvious that we're not angels, without the feathery wings and all."

"Maybe they'll think we're fallen angels," Osomatsu suggested.

Todomatsu sent him a doubtful look. "No offence," he said. "But you seem as far from holy as possible."

He giggled. "None taken!" he chirped. "Well, let's just confuse them, then." His demonic traits flickered, and Todomatsu followed his steps.

They came to a larger street, filled with more angels going from places to places. The minute they emerged from the narrow alleyway, some angels even stopped in their tracks, looking at them as if they weren't sure if they'd seen correctly or if their minds were playing tricks on them. Todomatsu gave one of them a wave.

Osomatsu snickered. "Let's take a walk," he said.

Choromatsu was leaning over the railing, watching as Osomatsu and Todomatsu disappeared behind the tall skyscrapers, feeling infuriatingly helpless. "That irresponsible, annoying little – " he started, teeth gritted, but interrupted himself with a frustrated groan. "What is he thinking? How did he think that was a good idea?"

"He probably didn't," Karamatsu said. "He probably just did it despite knowing that it was a horrible idea."

Choromatsu laid his face in his hands. "This is the worst!" he moaned. Karamatsu patted his back awkwardly.

The terrace doors opened behind them, and Choromatsu turned around to see that Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu was back. Upon seeing Choromatsu's horrified expression, both of them tilted their head confusedly to the side, Jyushimatsu's movement excessively big, and Ichimatsu's quite the opposite. It was a perfect example of the difference in their similarities.

"Why the long face?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"Osomatsu and Todomatsu went on an adventure," Karamatsu said.

Ichimatsu frowned. "As in … left?" he asked slowly.

Choromatsu and Karamatsu nodded.

"Are they stupid?"

"Todomatsu was kind of dragged into it, but …" Choromatsu rolled his eyes. "Osomatsu is definitely stupid."

"I'll go after them!" Jyushimatsu said, and crouched down to shoot off the ground, but Choromatsu almost jumped out of his skin to get to him first.

"No! You're in too much trouble already!" he said. "We're not supposed to leave the building! If you're seen out there –"

"I can go," Ichimatsu said. "I'm a Reaper. Their laws don't apply to me."

"Is that really how that works?" Choromatsu asked.

Ichimatsu shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But I can turn invisible, so either way they won't see me. I'll go." He closed his eyes for a moment, and his smoky wings materialized behind him.

Choromatsu pressed his lips together. "Okay, but be careful," he said, then realized he sounded like he was their mother or something. "We're already in enough trouble as it is."

"Yeah, yeah," Ichimatsu mumbled, then disappeared on the spot. A gust of wind was the only thing that betrayed that he left.

Choromatsu leaned against the railing again, closing his eyes exasperatedly, mumbling silent whys under his breath. Jyushimatsu bounced up and down restlessly, staring out into the city like he'd spot them if he tried hard enough.

"What would happen if they got caught?" Karamatsu asked.

"I don't know," Choromatsu said, opening his eyes again. "Since this isn't really a prison, and the Heavens are supposed to be good and forgiving and all of that, I don't think they can actually punish them for leaving, since they never told us that we couldn't. They just implied it to scare us into staying inside. But I guess since it's Osomatsu and Todomatsu, the two of us that they trust the least, they'll find a way to punish them for that anyway."

"We can protest!" Jyushimatsu said. "I'm still an angel, so my voice still counts, right?"

Choromatsu felt ill. "Maybe …" He gave a sigh. "But then I'm also worried about what will happen while they're out there. I don't know how people will react to them. Especially when their personalities are as they are. Osomatsu is probably making matters worse, as we speak."

Karamatsu folded his hands. "Have some faith in him," he said. "They might not ever see this place again. Of course they'd want to see it all."

He could understand that, but he still didn't forgive Osomatsu for leaving right at the moment. He could do it after, after he'd scolded him for it. "What about you?" he asked. "Don't you want to see it?"

Karamatsu gazed thoughtfully out to the city again. "I was hoping we could see it when they give us permission to leave," he said. "I don't want to anger them. After all, I'm hoping I'll come here in the afterlife."

The words came as a small surprise, and then he remembered that the afterlife was a pretty big thing in Christian faith. It was easy to forget when you were immortal. "That's true," he said. "You might not come here, though."

Karamatsu sent him an alarmed look, and he quickly waved his hands.

"Not that you wouldn't go to Heaven!" he quickly corrected himself. "Just another, ah … I guess you can call it floor? Of it."

"What do you mean?" Karamatsu asked confusedly.

"Why do you think we call it 'the Heavens' and not just 'Heaven'?" Jyushimatsu asked, as if he found Karamatsu's confusion funny.

He looked back and forth between the two. "I just … I didn't really think much of it," he said. "I thought it was just another name for it."

Choromatsu shook his head. "There's three levels," he said. "We're currently in the second one: The angel's part of the Heavens. The third one is the parts where souls go. Good souls, that is. The others go … Well, we all know that." He intertwined his fingers, his gaze not focusing on anything in particular as he thought about what was in the third level of the Heavens. "The last floor, the one closest to the Earth … That's where God is. Nobody has ever been there."

Karamatsu's mouth was hanging slightly open. "I see," he said, looking thoughtfully back to the city. "Well, I hope I've been good enough to reach that place."

Choromatsu smiled amusedly. "I don't think you need to worry about that," he said.

Jyushimatsu made a sudden impatient sound, taking off the ground for a moment. "Choromatsu-niisan, let's teach you to fly again!" he said, waving his arms.

Choromatsu sent Karamatsu a look, a silent call for help, but Karamatsu pretended not to see, smiling slightly while he stared pointedly at the city in the distance. That traitor. He hesitantly looked back to Jyushimatsu, then sighed. "Fine," he said. "But only until the others come back."

Now that he thought about it, it would be easier to find them if Jyushimatsu was here. He was bound to Todomatsu after all. Either way it would mean that they couldn't have gone too far, thanks to the soul binding.

It was just a little bit hard navigating in the air between the tall buildings. If he flew too low, the angels would notice a gust of wind, but wouldn't notice him, which left them confused. Random gusts of wind didn't happen in the Heavens, since the weather was always perfectly sunny and wind-free. And since angels were visible for each other, they couldn't blame it on that either. Nobody would think a Reaper was flying above them.

Ichimatsu guessed Osomatsu could be flying around now that he were able to, but he doubted Todomatsu would like that, and he also thought that Osomatsu wouldn't leave a chance to bother some angels be. Because he was an idiot, they all knew that.

It was kind of funny, though.

He tried flying close to the ground in hopes of overhearing someone talk about a demon or a devil prancing around, because that must be a pretty interesting conversation topic, right? If not, he could just ask someone.

He swooped down on the ground, then released his invisibility. His sudden appearance startled the angels nearby, and he turned to the angel closest to him. "Hey," he said, his voice sounding a bit more brooding than he'd planned. The angel's eyes got wide.

"Good morning!" she peeped, her shoulders tensing up. Ichimatsu tried stopping the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe," he replied. "I was wondering if you'd seen a couple of demons walking around here somewhere." He could hear Osomatsu correcting him about "a couple of demons" in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to make this more complicated than it had to be.

The angel's mouth fell open. "A- A couple of demons?" she asked, as if she was wondering if she'd heard correctly. When Ichimatsu nodded, her brows knit together. "… No," she said slowly. "Should I have?"

Ichimatsu shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said. When the angel seemed to worry about it, he let out a silent sigh. "They're friendly," he assured her, then turned on his invisibility again, and jumped off the ground, giving a small scoff. "Friendly-ish," he added quietly to himself.

After flying around the taller buildings for a long while, he decided this part of the city was pretty boring, and Osomatsu and Todomatsu had probably come to the same conclusion. Or so he hoped, as he soared towards a less busy part of the city, where the buildings were in different sizes, and not everything was white and squared.

He flew up on a rooftop and landed there to observe the city, trying to see something that was not as normal and repetitive as everything else in this part of the Heavens. He sat there for about ten minutes, and was about to move on, when he spotted something in his peripheral vision. Just about to disappear behind a building, he saw a couple of figures, and one of them had a pair of red wings on his back. He stood up, and quickly flew over to where they were. Instead of flying right to them, though, he instead landed on another building, watching them as they sat down on a bench, laughing about something or other. He could see that their demonic traits were flickering slightly, indicating that they'd hid them, as if that would help them seem unsuspicious.

Ichimatsu sat down. Jyushimatsu had probably already started distracting Choromatsu from his worries already. He could afford to just sit there and observe for a little while. It could become entertaining, right?

Probably shouldn't tell that to Choromatsu, though. Well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

As predicted, most angels weren't fooled. They were giving them strange looks, because there was something up with those two, but what was it? The attention made Todomatsu both nervous and a little excited. He'd always liked attention, after all. And maybe this wasn't quite the right attention, but it was attention after all.

Osomatsu seemed to be having loads of fun, but after a while, he started complaining about his feet hurting, and they sat down on a bench by the road. Todomatsu wondered why it was even there, since nobody seemed to have a second to relax in this place.

Osomatsu yawned, way too loud to be natural, making the angels walking past turn to them with weirded out looks, or worried looks, or frightened looks. Some of them even jumped. Weird how the ones supposed to be the protectors of the Surface managed to be such scaredy-cats.

… Not that he had anything to say on that matter, in some cases.

Either way, he didn't put much effort in hiding his laughter, especially not when Osomatsu cackled with no shame.

"I told you this was a good idea," he said, grinning contently. "I know what I'm doing."

"I still think it's a bad idea," Todomatsu said, crossing his arms. "Just – Sometimes bad ideas are fun ideas. You're still an idiot."

"You're just mad because I was right," Osomatsu said.

"Sure, sure," Todomatsu hummed, watching as angels passed hurriedly past them. It was as if they'd scared them enough while walking around like everyone else, but now that they were sitting down relaxing, their suspicions about them being not one of them were confirmed. Maybe relaxing was a crime.

"Niisan?"

"Hm?"

"Is relaxing a sin?"

Osomatsu sent him a weird look. "Why do you think I know?" he asked, sounding almost offended.

He shrugged. "I heard you talking about sinning with Choromatsu," he said. "Maybe he'd told you."

Osomatsu pursed his lips, humming quietly. "Maybe … Sloth? One of those seven deadly ones."

"You're not lazy for taking a break," Todomatsu argued.

Osomatsu shrugged as well. "I don't think so either, but I guess angels have a different view on that," he said.

As he said it, an angel stopped slightly in their tracks, looking at them confusedly. Todomatsu quirked an eyebrow at him, and he came closer.

"Excuse me," he said. "Are you two lost?"

Todomatsu glanced at Osomatsu, who was smiling brightly at the angel. Then he tilted his head to the side, mocking thoughtfulness.

"Like," he said. "Right now, or just in general?"

Todomatsu pressed his lips together.

The angel looked confused. "Sorry?" he said.

Osomatsu cleared his throat. "Because," he said, gesturing with his hands. "Life is a … bumpy road, and it is often difficult to find the way! The right way, I mean … There are many wrong ways, but only one right! Or am I wrong?" He glanced at Todomatsu, and then back at the angel. "I –" he started, but his voice was wavering, the way it often did when he was about to execute a joke he thought was funny. "I was once lost. But now, I have f- found myself in G –" Then he couldn't hold his laughter in anymore, giving a loud snort before throwing his head backwards. Todomatsu tried holding his own laughter back, but didn't quite make it.

The angel looked very taken aback. "Are you –" he started, but looked like he didn't know what to say. "Are you mocking me?"

"Eh," Osomatsu frowned, looking at Todomatsu. "Is mocking a sin?"

"I have no idea, niisan," Todomatsu said, turning to the angel. "Is mocking a sin?"

The angel blinked, looking back and forth between them, the suspicion growing visibly in his eyes. Oh, oh, this was getting dangerous, Todomatsu thought. If he wasn't already enjoying himself so much, he might have bailed, but… Maybe Osomatsu was affecting him.

"I'm sorry if this offends you, but I was wondering…" the angel said, frowning a bit. "Are you not from here?"

"What gave it away?" Todomatsu mumbled, and Osomatsu snorted again.

"Uh – We're …" he said, looking to Todomatsu, and then back. His lips quivered. "From … downtown?"

Todomatsu laughed, then covered his mouth with his hand. Now the angel definitely looked suspicious. They were going to get in trouble if they kept this up.

"I have never seen any of you before," he said, eyeing them up and down. He probably wondered where their wings were. Maybe it was impolite to ask. "Where exactly do you mean?"

"My mom told me not to give my home address away to strangers," Osomatsu said.

The angel scoffed, then caught himself, giving a strained smile. "Nobody is a stranger here," he said, as if that was obvious. As if he was prompting them admit who they really were

"Right," Osomatsu said slowly. He pursed his lips, turned to Todomatsu for a moment, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. He sent the angel a devious grin. "Well, I guess we're not very social people. Here," He stood up, offering his hand to the angel. "I'm Osomatsu."

Something weird flickered in the angel's face. Surprise, maybe. But then he blinked, shaking his head a bit as if chasing away an unwelcome thought. He took Osomatsu's hand, only frowning a little bit. Before he had the chance to introduce himself, Osomatsu took a step forward and dragged the angel towards himself, stopping with his mouth close to his ear.

"Do you wanna hear a secret?" he said, quietly, but loud enough for Todomatsu to hear. "When I say downtown, I mean like … really far down. Do you get what I mean?"

The angel leaned away from him and stared at him, clearly alarmed. Then, whatever he saw in Osomatsu's face made him pull his arm back, stumbling away from him. Todomatsu licked his lips, his heart hammering with adrenaline of what was going to happen next. The angel clenched his fist. "You - !" he said loudly, making other angels turn towards them worriedly. "How did you get here?"

Then Osomatsu did something incredibly stupid, probably just so he could look cool. He released the invisibility, his tail, horns and wings appearing for everyone to see.

"Well," he said. "I can fly." As if that had anything to do with it.

The angel raised his arms, ready to either defend himself, or attack. Other angels stopped as well, looking at them with wide eyes. And now they didn't seem like they were just frolicking anymore – The angel made it look like they were hostile. And Osomatsu didn't make matters any better.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, sounding horribly casual. Todomatsu stood up, ready to bolt.

Then, there was a sudden gust of wind, and dark smoke appeared in front of them. For a moment, Todomatsu thought Osomatsu had been stupid enough to attack, but then Ichimatsu suddenly stood there, facing the angels.

"Leave," he said, calmly, but loudly.

The angel stared at him, mouthing a silent word: "Reaper." Then he just nodded, and scurried away. Many of the other angels did as well, and those who didn't at first, only needed one brooding look from Ichimatsu, before they too were on their way. Oh, how Todomatsu wanted that kind of power.

Then Ichimatsu turned to them, his expression slightly less bored than usual. "Are you stupid?" he asked.

"I guess I could use my head a bit more often," Osomatsu said, then laughed. "Man, I was so scared there for a moment!"

"Really?" Todomatsu said dryly. "Because you sounded like you were picking a fight."

"It's an instinct!" Osomatsu said, and shrugged. "Well, we definitely could've handled that situation better. Uh, what now?"

"We're going back," Ichimatsu said.

"What?" Osomatsu pouted. "But we haven't even seen anything interesting yet!"

Ichimatsu scoffed. "Yeah, there isn't much interesting to see here. I think you've seen the most of it."

Todomatsu tilted his head to the side. "That's … very disappointing," he said. "Can't wait to tell everyone."

"Tell who?" Osomatsu said. "I don't think your classmates want to have a friendly conversation with you anymore."

Todomatsu grimaced. "True, well," he said, shrugging. "I guess they'll never know, then."

"Hey," Ichimatsu said. "We're leaving. Osomatsu, hide that away."

Osomatsu sighed dramatically. "I can't believe you're asking me to hide who I really am," he said. "But, fine. I'll do so for you, dear."

"Shut up," Ichimatsu said, sending him an annoyed look. "To be honest, you getting in trouble won't affect me so much, so I could've cared less about what would've happened if I hadn't gone after you. Choromatsu, however. He's pretty upset." This time, it was Ichimatsu who grinned deviously.

Osomatsu pressed his lips together. "I'm not scared of Choromatsu," he mumbled.

Todomatsu made a doubtful sound, earning a look from his brother. He sent him a small smile in return. "Maybe you should be."

Jyushimatsu was in the air, yelling instructions at Choromatsu, who was still on the ground. Not that he was getting impatient – he had loads of patience, at least when it came to people. And Choromatsu was trying his hardest, beating his wings harshly. The force sometimes lifted his body half a meter off the ground, but it wasn't enough to get him further up. But rather than muscles, Jyushimatsu thought it had to do with courage – Choromatsu seemed to be just a little bit afraid of letting himself higher than that.

He swooped down, landing in front of him. "Choromatsu-niisan," he said. "Are you afraid of height?"

Choromatsu blinked. "No, of course not!" he said defensively.

"It makes sense if you are!" Jyushimatsu prompted. "You've been in a lake! It makes sense that you're afraid of the air as much as I am afraid of the ocean!"

Choromatsu frowned. "You're afraid of the ocean?"

Jyushimatsu blinked. "So! What I'm thinking is that you need to get over your fear, and then you'll be able to physically let yourself fly higher!"

"I'm not afraid of heights!" Choromatsu snapped. "I'm just not strong enough, that is all."

"But you are," Jyushimatsu said. "You can keep yourself of the ground, but you won't let yourself fly higher. Maybe subconsciously, I don't know."

Choromatsu shook his head. "That's not it, I – What are you – Agh!"

Jyushimatsu bounced over to him, then lifted him up bridal style before he had the chance to react, completely ignoring Choromatsu's panicked protests. "I'm going to fly now!" he laughed, then shot off the ground.

"N- No, no, no, no! Put me down!" Choromatsu shrieked, clinging to Jyushimatsu as if his life depended on it. But Jyushimatsu knew what he was doing, of course. He was the strongest in his class! "Jyushimatsu, put me down!"

"Why, you can fly on your own!" Jyushimatsu said, still grinning.

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can!" He looked down, and saw that they were pretty far away from the ground now. "Ok, I'm going to let go now."

"What?"

"Three, two and –"

"Jyushimatsu!"

"Three!" He threw Choromatsu up with all his strength, to give himself little more time to get ready catch him if something went wrong, then dived down towards the ground, turning around midair. Choromatsu was screaming, which was well expected, flailing with his arms before he remembered to spread his wings. And then he fell.

"J- Jyushimatsu!" Karamatsu yelled.

"It's fine!" Jyushimatsu said.

"He's gonna –"

Then Choromatsu beat his wings forcefully, and he stay in the air for a moment, before he started falling again.

"Again!" Jyushimatsu yelled, jumping up and down. "Again! Again!"

And he did it again. He stayed in the air. Jyushimatsu cheered.

"I – I –" Choromatsu stammered. "I'm doing it! I'm flying!"

"You're flying!" Jyushimatsu bellowed.

"You're flying!" Karamatsu echoed, his hands tightly folded against his chest like he was praying.

"Now land!" Jyushimatsu said.

"Land?" Choromatsu sounded worried again. "Ho… How?"

"Dive!"

"I can't do that!"

"You said that last time as well! Just try!"

Choromatsu stared at him, before he closed his eyes, swallowing heavily. "Okay!" he said, and opened his eyes. He took a deep breath, then tipped forward, bending his wings closer together. And he started falling again, though now with a concentrated look on his face. But it quickly turned to panic.

"Spread your wings again!" Jyushimatsu instructed, and though Choromatsu did as he said, he still came fast towards the ground.

"I can't stop!" he shrieked.

"I got you!" Jyushimatsu ran backwards, holding out his arms. Then he jumped, catching Choromatsu clumsily. He fell backwards, crashing to the ground, then rolled across the floor, losing the grip on Choromatsu along the way. When he stopped, he ended up on his back, the world around him spinning. "Wow!" he laughed. Choromatsu groaned beside him.

Karamatsu came running over to them. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice lighter than normal. This was what he sounded like when he wasn't trying to act cool, Jyushimatsu noted. It had happened more recently than before.

"Yeah!" Jyushimatsu said. "That was fun, wasn't it, Choromatsu-niisan?"

Choromatsu sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head. "I thought I was gonna die," he muttered.

"You're immortal though!"¨

Choromatsu gave him a sideways glance, then closed his eyes exasperatedly. "That's true…" he said.

Jyushimatsu laughed, but then abruptly stopped, feeling something in his chest vibrate. Choromatsu lifted his head as well, looking around. Karamatsu gave them both weird look.

"What happened just now?" he asked.

"They're coming back," Choromatsu said, staggering to his feet. Jyushimatsu jumped up as well, and they jogged over to the railing. And surely enough, they could see three shapes in the distance, flying towards them. This time, Ichimatsu was carrying Todomatsu, as Osomatsu already looked like he was exhausting himself flying on his own, as he was shaking a bit in the air, flailing with his arms now and then.

Choromatsu made a quiet, but infuriated sound. Jyushimatsu looked over to him, just in time to see him stand up tall, making a big movement with his arm. The air around them vibrated, and then he was sure he heard Osomatsu give a surprised yell. He looked back at him, and saw that he was suddenly not wavering in the air anymore, but rather flying towards them at an amazing speed. It wasn't he who was in control of it though.

His yelling became louder as he came closer, and it didn't seem like he was slowing down much. At least not enough to get a smooth landing. Then Choromatsu took a step to the side, and Osomatsu flew past him, took a somersault, and then landed on his butt.

He gave another yell, which quickly turned to a groan. "My ass…" he whined.

"You childish, irresponsible, mindless buffoon!" Choromatsu growled, and trampled over to Osomatsu.

Osomatsu turned around, quirking an eyebrow. "Buffoon? Really?" he said. "Also, how did you do that, that was kind of co – Actually, hold on, was that because of the soul binding?" He stumbled to his feet, staring incredulously at Choromatsu. "It was, wasn't it? I can feel it!"

"Yes, it was because of the soul binding," Choromatsu said, and didn't sound sorry about it.

"You promised you wouldn't use it against me!" Osomatsu snapped.

"And you –" Choromatsu said, pointing a finger harshly in Osomatsu's chest. " –promised not to do anything stupid!"

"I said I would try!" he argued.

"Is this what you call trying?"

Osomatsu pressed his lips together, then looked stubbornly to the side. "I wanted to see the Heavens," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Choromatsu sucked in air, then let it out in a deep sigh. "Maybe you'd get that chance later, without doing anything so reckless!"

"Key-word is maybe," he retorted.

Choromatsu gave him a sharp look. "I only hope you didn't do anything that will attract attention," he said, looking up into the sky while brushing the hair away from his face.

Osomatsu stiffened a bit, pressing his lips together. "A- About that …" he started.

Choromatsu slowly looked back at him. "About. What?"

He grimaced. "Well …"

Jyushimatsu looked away, tuning out the sound of their argument. Instead, he focused on Ichimatsu and Todomatsu, who was within hearing range now. Jyushimatsu gave them a wave, and since Ichimatsu couldn't wave back, Todomatsu did instead.

"Did you have fun?" he yelled.

"Uh –" Todomatsu started nervously, glancing at Choromatsu. "It was, um, interesting."

Ichimatsu landed on the terrace, and Todomatsu jumped down in his feet again. He glanced at Osomatsu and Choromatsu, who were still arguing, and starting slowly making his way to the doors.

"And Todomatsu!" Choromatsu suddenly said, while gripping Osomatsu's shoulder as if physically trying to pause their argument while he talked to Todomatsu. Todomatsu turned halfway to him, but Choromatsu just stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing. "You didn't willingly participate in this madness, forget it."

"What?" Osomatsu said. "He did stupid things too!"

Todomatsu slipped through the doors before Choromatsu had the chance to turn back to him again, but Choromatsu just shook his head.

"Aren't you the older brother? Aren't you supposed to set an example?" he asked.

Osomatsu scoffed. "I'm – He sets his own fucking example, we're not fucking children anymore!"

"Well, you're acting like one! And watch your language!"

Jyushimatsu turned away from them again, facing Ichimatsu instead. "What did they do?" he asked.

Ichimatsu smirked. "Riled up some angels," he said. "Playing with them and all that. What you'd imagine they'd do."

"Ah," Jyushimatsu said, scratching his head. "Probably not a good thing."

"Probably not."

"Oh well!"

"Oh well."

The rest of the day was spent just lounging around. Osomatsu kept getting annoyed looks from Choromatsu, but he decided that if he just ignored them long enough, he'd forget about it. Why couldn't he just react like Jyushimatsu? Jyushimatsu thought it was funny – he even admitted he would do the same in their shoes. In which he also got an annoyed look from Choromatsu.

Hmpf. What a party-pooper.

Karamatsu and Todomatsu was sitting by themselves, discussing different ways to perform an exorcism. Karamatsu was eagerly writing everything Todomatsu said down in a notebook – Osomatsu didn't know where he had even gotten that from, but it seemed that everything they needed just magically appeared in this apartment – and Todomatsu was gesturing with his hands more and more as his enthusiasm grew. He'd just learned all of this in training after all, so he probably enjoyed sharing his newly found knowledge.

Jyushimatsu had somehow worn himself out. He and Ichimatsu were lying on the floor, Jyushimatsu halfway on top of Ichimatsu, facing the sky. Osomatsu didn't know if they were sleeping or not, but they looked like they were having a good time.

Choromatsu was sitting in the sofa reading a book.

And Osomatsu was sitting in a chair. Upside down.

"Hey, Choromatsu," he said.

"I'm not talking to you."

He deadpanned. "So cold," he said. His eyes went back to Karamatsu and Todomatsu. Todomatsu was now smiling determinately, while Karamatsu looked more uncertain. He didn't know what they were talking about, but Karamatsu shook his head violently.

"Come on!" Todomatsu said, throwing out his arms. Osomatsu narrowed his eyes, and strained his ears. "It's not dangerous! I won't actually do anything."

Karamatsu gave him a suspicious look. "That's what you said last time," he said.

"Well – I mean it this time! You have my word," Todomatsu said, making a cross over his heart. "Just repeat the mantra."

Karamatsu took a deep, shaky breath. "Okay… But when I tell you to stop –"

"I stop, yeah, yeah." Todomatsu clapped his hands together. "Go on."

Osomatsu watched as Karamatsu started chanting something or other in Latin, his eyes closed in concentration.

"Here I go," Todomatsu said warningly, then started dissolving. Osomatsu fell out of the chair trying to sit up properly, then straightened his back, watching the scene with round eyes. What – What were they doing? Why? The Todomatsu-smoke shot towards Karamatsu, but was pushed away from him again by an invisible force. Todomatsu briefly appeared again, but then dematerialized, trying again.

Karamatsu's chanting became louder, and more strained. The Totty-smoke shot at him again, but again he didn't get to him. When he reappeared, Karamatsu's chanting simultaneously faltered, but when he saw Todomatsu disappearing, he tried to start chanting again, but then made a choked sound.

Choromatsu looked up from his book at that. "What are they –"

Osomatsu shot up, darting over to Choromatsu to cover his mouth with his hand. "Shut up. He's being taught some useful shit right now," he whispered. "I can't believe he went along with it."

Choromatsu ripped his hand away. "What are they doing?"

"He's trying to possess him."

"What?"

"Just watch!"

Karamatsu brought his hands to his throat, then croaked out something. At first, Osomatsu thought he was telling Todomatsu to stop, but then the smoke shot away from him again, and he started coughing heavily, while still trying to keep the mantra going. Todomatsu stumbled backwards, giving a small laugh.

"Good, you're doing good," he panted. "One more time." And he dematerialized again.

Karamatsu spoke up, but then the smoke shot at him more violently than before, and he was pushed back, making his words falter. Immediately, his threw his head backwards, before his body lurched forwards as if he was going to throw up. The smoke gathered around him, and he waved his hand violently.

The Totty-smoke floated away from him, and Todomatsu reappeared. Karamatsu fell limply forwards, but Todomatsu caught him by his shoulders. "Hey," he said softly. "That was good."

Karamatsu didn't answer at first, but nodded his head slightly. "Th- Thanks," he muttered quietly. "I'm exhausted already."

Todomatsu crouched in front of him. "You can take a nap if you want," he said. "Osomatsu does it all the time, except he takes naps on top of people. It's really annoying."

Osomatsu wrinkled his nose. "I heard that!" he yelled.

Choromatsu jumped, giving him a weird look. "You did?" he asked incredulously.

Karamatsu turned towards him. "You did?" he echoed.

Osomatsu stood up, walking over to them. "How did you convince him to do that?" he asked Todomatsu. "That's like … I mean, I do actually know what possession feels like now, and really, Totty, it's horrible." He looked at Karamatsu. "What kind of determination …"

Karamatsu pressed his lips together, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Ah, that's …" he said, brushing his bangs away while clearing his throat. "Just … such you have to do, for security measures. There's no helping it."

Osomatsu smiled amusedly. Although he'd found Karamatsu's weird demeanor unbearably painful at first, he now found it strangely charming. Karamatsu was cute, in his own way. Briefly, he could forget the weird tension that was between them, knowing that Karamatsu had only forgiven him to let himself heal, and he sat down beside him. "You know," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "If you want to practice exorcism, I can help you with that too. We don't need to do it the way we did it before. Unless you want to, of course. Whatever… Whatever you're comfortable with."

Karamatsu was quiet for a few seconds, then he smiled softly. "Of course, brother," he said. "I would like that. But not right now. Now I …" He stopped to yawn. "I really … need to lie down."

Todomatsu stood up. "I'm gonna see if there's something in the kitchen," he said, looking at Osomatsu. "Maybe beer. It isn't a sin to drink, isn't that what you concluded with?"

"Only drunkenness," said Osomatsu, then he shook his head. "Why do I know this stuff?"

The other two laughed. When Todomatsu disappeared into the apartment, he and Karamatsu sat in silence a few seconds.

"Well," Osomatsu said. "This suddenly became really awkward, I'm sorry."

Karamatsu glanced at him, then shook his head. "I'm just tired, don't worry," he said, smiling sheepishly. "The fact that only this made me this worn out is … it's …" His shoulders sank. "It's humiliating," he mumbled.

Osomatsu frowned. "You're just human, Karamatsu," he said.

"So were my parents."

He stiffened a bit, then let his gaze fall to the floor. "I, uh …" he said, feeling bad just nearing himself that topic. He didn't have any right to talk about them. He swallowed. "I guess … I- I mean, I know – a- and by that I …" Oh, he wanted to disappear right now. "Fuck. Sorry."

Karamatsu was looking at him, his brows turned worriedly upwards. "You can talk about them," he said. "It's okay."

He glanced at him, then looked away again. "It's, uh, of course true that they were great," he said, closing his eyes. He fucking knew they were great because he had been chosen to kill them. Why was he talking about them like he was honoring them? He took a deep breath. "But they were also older than you are. You're, like … twenty one, right?" Karamatsu nodded. "So, you have loads of time to learn. I don't know how your parents got so good at their job, but I'll tell you something." He tried looking him in the eye while he spoke, even if it wasn't easy with this conversation topic. "They weren't great for that many years. I don't know what compelled them into pursuing exorcism, but they definitely started it when they were adults. They got really good really fast, obviously, since they, uh…" He looked down again. "…attracted some unwanted attention. So what I'm saying is – you have their blood. Their skill is in your genes. If you just let yourself rest and take things at your own pace, then you'll easily become as good as they were. So … Don't beat yourself up just because of this. You're stronger than you think."

He fell quiet for a few seconds, and when Karamatsu didn't say something back, he glanced back up at him, to see that his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears again.

"D- Don't start crying!" he yelped, waving his hands, mind flashing back to their conversation on the porch outside Matsuzo's house. But this time he just sniffled, and looked up into the air for a few seconds.

"Sorry," he said, again excusing himself for crying. "I just get really emotional when I'm tired."

"Aren't you just an emotional type of person?" Osomatsu asked. Apparently, that was what it took for Karamatsu's tears to overflow after all, and he gave a quiet sniffle, wiping them away with his sleeve. Yet again, Osomatsu didn't know what to do. "So- Sorry?"

Karamatsu shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, and took a deep breath. "I simply …" He paused, giving a chuckle. "…wasn't prepared for such kind words, brother."

Osomatsu raised his eyebrows. "Ah, shit – Um, I'll time it better next time, okay?"

"It's fine, I just … I'm – I'm really tired …" he mumbled, sniffled again, then lied down, using Osomatsu's lap as a pillow. "Is this okay with you? You'll have to deal with that anyway, sorry."

Osomatsu's mouth fell open, before he grinned. "You don't make the rules," he said. He couldn't believe Karamatsu remembered that conversation, after all that had happened since.

"I don't make the rules," he said, closing his eyes.

Osomatsu looked at him, an embarrassingly warm smile resting on his lips. He brushed his fingers through Karamatsu's hair carefully, and he fell asleep almost instantly. Osomatsu felt overwhelmed – he'd felt this before, with Todomatsu, but this was different: Karamatsu was just human – he was weak compared to everyone around him. Todomatsu could take care of himself, but Karamatsu – He needed to protect Karamatsu.

Oh, he was turning into such a sap. He was the worst devil in the history of devils!

He looked up for a moment, his own thoughts worrying him, and then caught a glimpse of Choromatsu on the other side of the terrace. He was looking at him, smiling knowingly, before returning to his book. Osomatsu wanted to scoff, but didn't, in case it would wake Karamatsu.

He could bother Choromatsu later. Right now, he could sit here, no matter how long it took until Karamatsu woke. And after a few minutes, he found himself dozing off as well …

When he woke again, the sky was painted orange and pink. Choromatsu was standing in front of him, smiling affectionately. Osomatsu noticed Karamatsu was still sleeping on his lap, drooling on his pants.

"It's time to go," he said quietly. "Matsuyo is here."

It took half a second for Osomatsu to understand what that meant. "Shit," he muttered, his heart suddenly speeding up.

Choromatsu shook his head. "It's going to be fine," he said. "You're just going to answer their questions. Matsuyo will be there."

He nodded, but his heart still didn't calm down. He swallowed. "I'll wake Karamatsu," he whispered. "I'm fine."

Choromatsu nodded, then went ahead. Osomatsu looked down to Karamatsu, and ran his fingers through his hair again. "Hey," he said, leaning slightly down so he could hear him when he spoke that softly. "Wakey wakey eggs and bakey."

Karamatsu jolted, his head crashing against Osomatsu's face. "What?" he said.

"Ugh – My nose," Osomatsu mumbled. Karamatsu sat up, giving him a horrified look.

"I'm sorry!" he gasped, voice still drowsy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Osomatsu said, waving his hand. "Uh – Matsuyo his here, so …" He nodded towards the doors, trying to stop his breath from shaking.

Karamatsu blinked. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again, frowning worriedly.

Osomatsu sent him a smile. "Just a little nervous," he admitted, and got to his feet. "I'll get over it. No need to hold my hand or anything."

Karamatsu stood up as well. "It's going to be fine," he said.

"I hope so," Osomatsu muttered, as they walked into the living room again. The others were waiting by the elevator, all of them looking slightly nervous in their own ways.

Matsuyo smiled kindly at him. "Then we're all set," she said. "This isn't dangerous, everyone. I'm not going to lie and say it will go smoothly, because the High Council is very, ah… strict –"

"A.K.A. heartless," Ichimatsu mumbled dryly.

That didn't make Osomatsu feel any better. He glanced at Todomatsu. He didn't look much better either.

"Well," Matsuyo said. There was a pause. "Anyway – Just answer their questions, and don't lie. Even if it's just small white lies, you shouldn't risk it. And Osomatsu –"

"Yes?" he said, stiffer and louder than he'd planned.

Matsuyo sent him a sympathetic look. "Remember what I said. Try not to mention Lucifer if you can avoid it," she said. "It will only make matters worse."

Osomatsu frowned, but didn't question her. "Got it," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But don't lie. Alrighty then."

"And behave," Choromatsu added, as if that wasn't a given. Osomatsu rolled his eyes.

"We have to go now," Matsuyo said, and the elevator doors opened magically. They all stepped into it, and Osomatsu suddenly felt like he abruptly had gotten a fear of elevators. He stared intently at the ground, jumping ever so slightly when they started moving downwards.

When they got out of the elevator again, Choromatsu walked up beside him. "You look a little pale," he said.

Osomatsu sent him a look. "I'm always pale," he said. "My skin is even gray sometimes."

"You're not always pale," Choromatsu disagreed, sending him a slightly teasing smile. "You just don't look like you've been out in the sun that much, that's all. But you're definitely paler than usual."

"Well," Osomatsu mumbled. "I actually feel like throwing up. Again. So that might explain it."

"Listen," Choromatsu said. "They brought us here to fix a problem, right? They've noticed that something's up. They're not out to get us. We're just here to tell our story."

"I appreciate your positivity," Osomatsu said. "Although it's a little weird that I'm the nervous one and not you right now. But honestly, you have an advantage. Totty and I, however … They hate us. They're going to use every single reason they can find to treat us like shit. You saw what happened last time."

"And last time I threatened an angel because of that," Choromatsu said. "I don't think they like any of us that much, to be honest. But we have your back. We'll be out of there soon enough."

Osomatsu took a deep breath as his stomach did a somersault. "If we could take a pit stop at the toilet that would be –"

"It's here," Matsuyo said, stopping their group outside a door looking like it had come to a party thinking it was more formal than it actually was, compared to the other doors in the hallway. It was bedazzled with diamonds and crystals and gold, and around it was shiny marble. Karamatsu probably thought it was magnificent. "Are you ready?"

It was quiet, and when he looked up, he saw that she was looking at him. "Uh – Sure," he said lamely.

Matsuyo nodded, then knocked on the door. It opened by itself. She walked in, and the others followed hesitantly, with Osomatsu and Choromatsu in the far back.

"Shit," Osomatsu whispered, forcing away the nausea washing over him.

"Not that I haven't told you this before," Choromatsu whispered back. "But now would be a really good time to watch your language."

"Shit, sorry – Ah, fuck."

"I guess you tried."

"Shut up."

They walked into a spacious room, filled with tables formed into a horseshoe. There were seven empty chairs – three on each side of the ends of the horse shoe, and one alone in the middle. On the rest of the chairs, sat several angels, all looking just as grave serious as their neighbor. For someone who were supposed to be all good and protective and pure, they sure could look scary if they wanted to. Osomatsu guessed this was why the angels yelled "fear not" so much.

But they weren't doing that right now. In fact, it looked more like they were just mentally telling him to "fear".

The angel in the middle stood up. "Welcome," he said. His voice was rather … cheery? But not exactly. He sounded like he was in pain. Like he was being threatened into sounding cheery at gun point. "Thank you for coming here. Please take a seat. Osomatsu –"

He tried not to jump when the angel said his name. "That's me," he said, then mentally scolded himself for not just saying a simple "yes".

"Please take a seat in the middle."

"Of course," he said, catching sarcasm in his own voice. Just control yourself, would you? he thought to himself. He sat down in the chair, feeling horribly vulnerable. The angels stared back at him as the others sat down, like he was some kind of circus animal. And this time, giving them challenging grins wouldn't help him, like it had done out in the streets of the city. He noticed a familiar face sitting in one of the chairs – the asshole angel from the other day. The one that had hurt him for no reason.

Apparently Osomatsu was giving him an annoyed look, because the angel raised his eyebrows at him. He looked away, again trying to gain control of himself.

"So, Osomatsu," the angel – the head of the High Council, he guessed – said, smiling stiffly. "and Todomatsu. Those are names I have not heard before. I am Camael, and –"

"Camel?" Osomatsu said before he could stop himself. Camael stopped, giving him a surprised look. "Ah – Sorry, that just kind of … slipped." His cheeks were burning.

"Right," Camael said, putting pressure on the "t". "As I was saying – I am Camael, the archangel of strength, courage and war. I assume you, Choromatsu, already know my name?"

Choromatsu straightened his back, looking confused for a moment. "Uh, y- yes, sir," he said, sounding like he wasn't even aware that he knew that.

Camael nodded. "Then there is Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu," he continued. "I do know you two. Young angels, or … angel, I suppose. Ichimatsu, what compelled you to do such a reckless thing like this?"

Ichimatsu stared back at him unwaveringly. "Because you kicked me out in the middle of an upcoming war," he said flatly. "And I feel the need to protect the Heavens, even after I saw your true colors."

Camael looked a little taken aback. "Our true colors?" he repeated, then shook his head. "No matter. And lastly –" He turned around to Karamatsu, whose eyes widened noticeably. "Karamatsu Matsuno. It is truly an honor to meet you, as I never got the chance to meet your parents."

Karamatsu opened his mouth, but didn't get a word out as Camael kept talking.

"Honestly, I was not even aware that they had a son. Such a pleasant surprise," he smiled brightly, and looked genuinely excited about the situation, like Karamatsu was some kind of prince from a faraway land. Karamatsu didn't look as amused – I was not even aware that they had a son. Was he stupid? – but smiled bravely anyway.

"Thank you, sir," he said. "It's an honor to be here as well."

Camael smiled contently, then turned back to Osomatsu, his smile shrinking. "Then to business," he said. "You come here with a message. Tell us exactly what that message is, please."

Osomatsu wanted to whine "again?" but caught himself this time. He cleared his throat. "As I've been saying," he said, trying to not sound as annoyed as he felt. "There's been a change in Hell, a.k.a. a revolution, so it's actually pretty big. Lucifer has been thrown off his throne, which has been taken over, by … a devil named Tougou." The last part came out quicker and not as clear as the first part of the sentence. "And Tougou wants to put his long lived plan of taking over the Surface into action. And when he's done that, he plans on taking over the Heavens."

Camael nodded, his smile having slowly melted away as Osomatsu spoke. He was looking at something behind him, and it took a moment for him to realize that it was his tail, which he had been moving back and forth. A nervous habit. He decided he didn't want to stop doing it just because it ticked the angel off. "If you do not mind me asking," he said, sounding like he couldn't care less of what Osomatsu did or didn't mind. "Why would you, a devil, want to save… the Surface? Not only because you are from Hell, but this devil Tougou… he is also your father, is he not?"

Osomatsu gritted his teeth, trying to keep his emotions away from his face. "He is," Osomatsu said stiffly. "Let's just say we don't have a particularly good relationship. And I want to save the Surface, because …" His mind wandered off to his second meeting with Choromatsu. "Because I like the Surface." He shrugged.

Camael narrowed his eyes, then gave a laughing huff. "You like the Surface?" he repeated. "And why should we believe that?"

"I've never been too fond of the way things work in Hell, to be honest," Osomatsu said, swallowing down his growing irritation. "It's a hassle. I've been in the same church for millennia, and it's been the same all along – go out, kill some angels, eat some souls … It gets boring after a while, you know?"

Camael wrinkled his nose ever so slightly. "Do you kill angels often?" he asked, with a warning undertone.

Osomatsu raised his eyebrows, the urge to mess with the angel's head unbearably strong. "As a devil, wouldn't you expect that from me?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. There was a pang in his chest, and he immediately knew it was Choromatsu scolding him through their bound souls. He gave a sigh. "But no. Not anymore."

"But you have killed angels before?"

"Of course," he said. "That's what we do, isn't it?"

"And what about souls?" Camael asked, sounding more and more disgusted.

"What about them?" Osomatsu asked, feeling the same towards him. His patience was already growing short. If they wanted to treat him like shit, then they should be able to fucking deal with the consequences as well. "If I eat them? If I punish them? The answer is yes for both anyway. Though it's been a little while now."

Camael quirked an eyebrow. "Which would mean?"

"About three weeks, maybe?"

He raised his eyebrows, then shook his head slightly. "Okay. And back to the angel killings – why did you stop?"

Osomatsu's mind blanked for a moment. He'd stopped because the job became too much for him – but it had become too much for him because he no longer wanted to work for Tougou. And that desire had arisen because he'd possessed someone as powerful as Karamatsu's mother. It had left him traumatized. "I didn't want to work for Tougou," he said, cutting the story short. He wasn't lying. "And killing angels is a hassle. You're good fighters."

"So you are saying you stopped killing angels because you are lazy?" Camael asked.

Osomatsu shrugged. "Pretty much."

"And what about your conscience?"

He tilted his head to the side, a smile playing at his lips. "My conscience?" he repeated. "Do I feel guilty for killing all those angels? No, I don't. Sorry."

Camael lifted his head. "You do realize you are making it very hard for me to trust you when you go on like that?" he asked.

Osomatsu stared back at him. The good thing about letting his irritation get to him was that it clouded over his anxiety. The bad thing was that it made his mouth act on its own. "I was told not to lie," he said. "Though, whichever you prefer."

There was a pang in his chest again. He ignored it.

"Quite a joker, are you not?" Camael said, folding his hands. He studied him for a moment. "I have been informed that these wings of yours weren't there last time. Is that true?"

"Yes," Osomatsu said, and his stomach did another somersault. How could he explain them without mentioning Lucifer? "Devils can grow wings if they become strong enough. Did you not know?"

"I did," Camael said. "I just find it peculiar that they grew that quick. Is it not a bit abnormal? Or are you just that strong?" He sounded like he was mocking him.

Osomatsu narrowed his eyes. "I do share blood with the one who defeated Lucifer," he said coldly. "Are you really that surprised?"

They had a staring contest for a few seconds, until Camael looked down to his papers. "There is another, completely different topic written down here," he said, looking up again. "It says you and the goddess Choromatsu seem fairly close. How did you find him?"

He frowned. "You say it as if you were hiding him," he commented, glancing at Choromatsu. He was looking nervously between him and Camael, his hands folded tightly in front of him. "I was sent to kill him," he then said. Camael raised his eyebrows again. "Which I didn't, obviously. It was when Tougou revealed that he was going to throw Lucifer off, so I ran away, pretending that I was going out to kill him. Instead we just had a nice chat, so …" He quirked an eyebrow. "Why is that so interesting?"

"I am the one asking the questions here," Camael simply said, clearly not caring that he sounded awfully secretive. "The second question is: What do you know about him?"

Osomatsu blinked. "What do I know about Choromatsu?" he asked. Camael nodded once. He frowned, looking at the man in question. Choromatsu looked just as clueless. "Man – Choromatsu doesn't even know much about Choromatsu. How should I know anything about him?"

"You tell me," Camael said.

He shrugged. "Choromatsu … has lived in a lake for as long as he can remember. Uh, he's bad a flying. He's a control freak, he worries too much, um…" He grimaced. "He left his lake because of me. Because I, accidentally might I tell you, lured danger to his lake."

Camael nodded. "You lured him out of his lake," he said.

Osomatsu's eye twitched. "No," he said, trying to speak normally. "I saved him."

"By putting him in danger."

"By accident!"

Camael sent him a sharp look, and a different kind of pang in his chest shot at him. He gave a pained sneer, gripping his chest.

"Keep your voice down, please," Camael said. "And remain calm."

Osomatsu stared at him for a long time, but then decided it wouldn't get him anywhere. He looked down. "Sorry," he grumbled.

"Osomatsu," Camael continued. "What exactly is your relationship with your father?"

The irritation just grew more when they referred to him as that. "He hates me," he said. "I hate him. He's tried to kill me multiple times."

"On which occasions?" the angel prompted.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "The first time when he found out I'd been hanging out with Choromatsu," he said. "I got away, but he broke my shin in half. And… The second time was when we summoned a demon to torture information out of, wasn't it? He appeared, surprisingly, and I probably would've been dead if Choromatsu hadn't saved me." He sent him a short smile at that. Then his smile faltered. "And the third time … was …" He silently took a deep breath. "I'd been to Hell, to uh … to free Karamatsu's parents' souls. You knew about that, right?"

Camael nodded, glancing at Karamatsu, who was staring intently at the table now, and then back at Osomatsu.

"Well," he continued. "Everything was weirdly quiet down there when I was there, so the mission went smoothly. But it was a trap, of course. When I got back, a demon followed me there. He stabbed me in the back, then I guess he teleported me back to Hell. It's the last thing I remember before I woke up in … in …"

Don't think. Don't think. Just breathe.

"Woke up in?" Camael repeated.

Shut up, Osomatsu thought, staring at his lap.

"Osomatsu," he said. "The third time your father tried to –"

"Stop calling him my father!" Osomatsu suddenly snapped, his impatience mixed with the growing fear making his tongue roll on its own. Camael looked a bit taken aback. His eyes scanned his body, the hint of disgust in his eyes quite visible to Osomatsu. He looked down on himself, and saw that his arms were tinted gray. He sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he quickly said, while trying to calm his breathing.

Choromatsu's chair creaked. "Osomatsu –" he started.

"Be quiet, goddess," Camael ordered. Choromatsu froze, then sat back down again. He looked back to Osomatsu. "Continue your story, please."

Just then, there was a warm feeling in his chest. He looked up, and saw that Choromatsu was staring intently at him. He his fists were clenching and unclenching, and he looked deeply concentrated. It was like when they practiced flying. Choromatsu was trying to help him find that place in his mind. He smiled softly back at him, before turning to Camael.

"The third time he tried to execute me the traditional way," Osomatsu said, focusing on the warm feeling. "But he held me prisoner for two days. In Hell-time, that is. Mere hours passed on the Surface."

"How did you escape?" Camael asked.

"I managed to break free," Osomatsu said. "Ichimatsu, Todomatsu and Karamatsu found me, and Ichimatsu teleported us back to the Surface."

"Karamatsu?" Camael turned to the lastly mentioned. "What were you doing in Hell?"

Karamatsu looked up. "I, uh – I wanted to find Osomatsu," he said. "I wanted to save him."

"Really?" Camael said, sounding puzzled. "It is such a mystery to me, how a man like you could become friends with a man such as him. Why is that?"

Karamatsu met his eyes for a moment. He was good at keeping this brave, collected mask, but Osomatsu could see how stressed his was getting. He looked back to Camael. "He has been through a lot for the Heavens' sake, and he has been a good friend to me," he said. "He is not just my friend. He's my brother."

Camael raised his eyebrows. "Your brother?" he asked. "Pardon me for asking, Mr. Matsuno – How did you end up trusting him, as it was creatures like him who took your parents away?"

The room somehow became more quiet than it already had been. Osomatsu clenched his jaw. He could feel Choromatsu's anxiety through the soul binding. Karamatsu was looking blankly at Camael, the panic in his eyes nearly invisible. "I – I –" he stammered. "Y- You're generalizing all beings from Hell. Not all of them are the same. All of them cannot stand for one's action, just like humans, and just like angels." Karamatsu lifted his head. "God has told me that nobody can judge but Him. I'll follow those words until the day I die. A- And after."

Nice talking around the truth, Karamatsu. It still made him feel like shit, but nice!

"So you don't believe he is capable of such horrible crimes?" Camael asked, clearly not liking the thought of the two of them being friends.

He could practically see the wheels turning in Karamatsu's brain. How could he talk around this one? He didn't think Osomatsu was capable of such horrible crimes, he knew he was. He was the one who'd committed that horrible crime!

"N- Not anymore …" Karamatsu tried. "Or – Or I mean …" He opened and closed his mouth several times. Osomatsu thought that if he listened closely enough, he could hear his heart hammering against his ribs.

Don't lie, Karamatsu. Matsuyo had told them not to risk it. Don't –

"Osomatsu wouldn't –"

"It was me."

The words were out of his mouth before he had the chance to think. It happened again, except this was the worst of them all – the ultimate slip of the tongue. He'd done it. The worst thing possible.

Camael, and all the other angels, laid their eyes on him. "Excuse me?" Camael said. He didn't even sound surprised. He probably thought he'd heard something wrong.

Osomatsu glanced at Karamatsu, who was looking at him with wide eyes, as if trying to mentally send a messages just consisting of "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He swallowed, looking away from him again. Sorry, Karamatsu.

To his left, Choromatsu's feelings were going berserk. He didn't dare to look at any of them.

He tried looking at Camael, but shot his eyes to the ground. "I … It was me," he said. "I'm the one who killed his parents."

Maybe he'd get brownie points for being honest.

"You –" Camael started, all the friendliness gone from his voice. "You did it? You were the one who killed the Matsunos?"

He forced himself to look up at him. "It was what made me stop working for Tougou," he said. "Because possessing someone as powerful as she was is … dangerous."

One of the angels stood up. "This is outrageous," she said. "This is what we've been looking for, for ten years. And now their murderer just shows up like that! We can't let a chance like this pass!"

"I agree," the asshole angel from before sounded, sounding calm, but looking like he'd just heard the biggest news of his life. "It must be a sign."

More angels stood up, talking over each other. Osomatsu looked around himself, worried that his mistake might even be a little worse than he'd originally thought.

Camael lifted a hand, and the room went quiet. "Very well," he said, looking at Osomatsu with cold eyes. "Osomatsu… I thought that sounded familiar. You have made quite a name of yourself, both in Hell and the Heavens. You're not just any devil. You are one of the worst."

Osomatsu gritted his teeth. "Am I?" he asked, trying to mask his anxiety. "What an honor."

Camael bared his teeth, then did a movement with his arm. The doors behind Osomatsu slammed open, and he automatically jumped up from his chair, whipping around. Two burly angels came walking in, carrying spears like they were from 10.000 BC.

"Take him," Camael said. "Let him die for his crimes as he should have, ten years ago."