So... the one-shot thing I mentioned in my profile? Didn't work out. I also didn't feel like waking up either of my lazy-asse- I mean, Mai and Leah, so have some Shima with a slice of Angel.

Leah was starting to look better, but it wasn't nearly enough for Shima's frazzled nerves.

While the woman was sleeping soundly (with her wrists tied to the bed post), all he could do was pace around the room, considering the possibilities. Lucifer had announced to him and Castillo that the van that was supposed to get Maira to the Japan HQ was found. Burned. They managed to recover two bodies, neither of which matched her DNA. A fact that either meant she had somehow survived whatever had happened, or that she just hadn't been found yet.

Frankly, both possibilities terrified him to no end. Had Leah been awake and completely herself, she'd probably add Maira going rogue to the list. And... well, if Maira could kill two Illuminati agents and burn down the van, she'd likely be coming back to finish the job. A slightly less paranoid part of him was convinced that, regardless of her problems with the mission, Maira wouldn't go this far; perhaps try to run away, but no violently murder anyone.

What he really needed to do was find a way to contact Lewin. Even though the older man couldn't know about his involvement -or Maira's- in the mission, Shima needed to make sure that Leah and himself would be safe. There was no way Lucifer wasn't getting suspicious by now, and Castillo growing confidence only served to decrease his own. Renzo was a good enough spy, but not nearly smart enough to come up with an escape. Whatever back up plans Leah had concocted were trapped with her sanity in her currently unstable body.

With a loud sigh, he fell back into her desk chair. The Deathbell's yellowed petals caught his attention. He'd put the tiny pot on top of her closet, hoping that if she somehow woke up, undid the cuffs and started searching for it, she wouldn't see it up there. Then again, so much of Amaterasu's power had gone into corrupting it, it probably reeked of- whatever a demon's power smells like.

One would think that his own 'bond' with Yamantaka would help him understand the branded's nature, but it really didn't. If anything, when he'd first learned that Maira had a demon tagging along with her, it had bothered him some. Rin turning out to be an actual demon though... well, he'd known the guy for a while longer.

Tearing his eyes from the plant, he wondered if Maira being branded was the reason for all this. Surely, Lucifer would have no use for her if she wasn't. Then again, the Order wouldn't have sent her on the mission in the first place. Hell, maybe she wouldn't have survived her first team.

The last thought made him stop. Leah and Maira, both branded, both survivors. Obviously those two facts were tied in together. In Leah's case, it must have been easier to survive- Amaterasu wasn't just a high level demon. Sentinel, however, was nothing more than a naive Will-o'-the-wisp; by far one of the weakest demons of it's kingdom. To make matters more complicated, Egyn had been there, leading the attack.

There was no way he could have failed killing off an exorcist in training- who was having a panic attack, no less-, not accidentally. Sure, he could have been trying to sent a message, but the Order already knew that demon kings were not to be messed with so easily.

So, what was it that Shima was missing?

Angel was staring at the girl nervously. Her clothes were ripped up and filthy and she was bleeding. At least, she was when Mephisto encased her in the same crystal he'd used on the son of Satan for his trial. She was frozen in time, her wounds open but not festering or healing.

The more he looked at her, the more human and innocent she seemed. But she is not, he decided. Regardless of what his sister preached about her kind, the branded were dabbling with magics and powers they could not control. Anyone who would stoop so low as to work with demons, rather than destroy them, or even bind them to their will, was as dangerous as a weed in a garden. And like a sickle, it was his job to get rid of those weeds.

He leaned back in his chair and tried to tune back into the conversation the branch leaders were having.

"We did inspect the bodies before disposing of them." One Exorcist, who had been called in as a witness, stated. "Unless the girl has ties with water demons as well, she was not behind the slaughter."

"What does it matter if she killed them?" The Chinese Branch manager spoke up, leaning forward.

"It would prove whether or not her allegiance remains with us." Caspar replied. "We only found seventeen of the Exorcists in her assigned mission. The three we couldn't find were the branded." Distaste laced her voice as she uttered the last word, and Angel could understand why.

Those three going rogue was the only possible explanation. The bodies recovered had no signs of struggle on them, which meant that they had not expected to be attacked. Then, there was no blood trace, sweat or even saliva to tell if Leah had even been there. And while Angel had always known that bonding with a demon could only lead to ruin, he was still having trouble believing that his own sister would betray the Order, and him.

His fists clenched involuntarily, and he knew only Lighting had noticed. When he turned his head, he found said man glancing at him with a well-hidden, worried expression.

"Both the Paladin and I can confirm that the girl does not, indeed, have any ties to the Water kingdom. As the Girgori knows very well, she is one of the two that survived Egyn's attack... when was it? Two years ago?" Mephisto proclaimed and even though Angel hated to agree with him, it was true. He'd be surprised if she had been faking her fear of water all this time.

"And who was the other survivor of that attack, sir Pheles? Surely, you can see why we distrust both the child and Chancellor Song." Came the response from Balthazar.

"Perhaps," Interrupted Osceola Redarm, "We should hear the story from her."

Everyone in the room turned their attention to the center of the table, over which hovered the enchanted crystal. The Grigori leaned into one another and begun whispering. Then, Caspar broke away from their circle and cleared her throat.

"She will be taken to the Infirmary and will stay there until she wakes up. Until then, we need to find a way to severe her bond with the demon temporarily."

For the first time in a long time, Angel saw Mephisto hesitate. Unfortunately, it wasn't the unnerved hesitation he wanted to see cross his features. The demon was carefully choosing his next words, preparing his bargain.

"While I cannot say that her demon is harmless, I doubt that it can do much when someone as vigilant and talented as the Paladin is watching over it."

Next to him, Lightning sucked in a big gulp of air. Angel himself reacted no better. "You monster! What are you playing at?!" He only realized that the words had left his mouth when he heard his chair dragging against the stone floor.

"Well, it would make sense that you guard the child, wouldn't it? Out of this council, you're the one that knows her best." Mephisto said, smirking.

Angel, completely fed up with the demon's slyness, turned to the Grigori, hoping that they'd turn down the ridiculous suggestion. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Even though none of their faces were visible, he could just hear the gears turning in their heads as they thought it over.

"It is... not entirely false." Lucy Yang said, scratching her chin. "But we've been talking about some witch-child all this time. What are we going to do with the portal?"

Angel sat back down in utter defeat. Surely Mephisto wouldn't be trying to kill him with her. He doubted she could even so much as scratch him. There was something about that whole ordeal that simply felt wrong to him though.

The Crystal, along with the witch, had already been transported to the Vatican's infirmary by the time the meeting was done. Of course, it was Angel's new orders to go straight there and keep an eye on things, and he was about to when he saw Mephisto take the same route. Probably to release her from the crystal.

Not wanting to have his dignity stripped further, he turned around, heading for his quarters. Lewin remained in his shadow for a while, not speaking. Just as well; Angel could use the comfort his second in command provided without having to hear his jabs and jokes. The steady sound of their feet pelting against the marble stopped suddenly, as if someone had pressed the stop button.

"Angel..."

"Not now."

"If Leah is somehow behind this-"

"I said, not now."

"-you're gonna have to kill her."

Angel felt his blood drain from his brain as the realization set in. He already knew that was the case, but having it confirmed by Lighting, of all people, made it seem even more real. Even more possible that Leah was a traitor.

"I know." He hung his head, determined not to talk about it any further.

"But you don't have to." Lightning said in protest, making Angel stop once again. "I don't mean go against the Grigori. Just... in the off-chance that she is a traitor... you don't have to be the one to kill her."

"Leah is my sister."

His responsibility.

In their first lives, Angel hadn't liked her at all. She was this annoying, clingy crybaby that either rattled him out to their parents or blackmailed him. Moreover, he had lived only six years with her; he was ten when she was born, sixteen when his parents kicked him out. He only remembered her as a six year old, helpless child with all the signs of an easy life. When she stumbled in his doorstep almost a decade later, she was older, so much older. There was a hurt in her eyes he could have recognised anywhere; not because she reminded him of the sister he left behind, but rather because he realized she was going through the same thing he had to go through.

Leah betraying the Order... Angel couldn't honestly say it was impossible, especially after her ridicule in the aftermath of the Egyn incident. But to betray him? That, he couldn't understand.

He refused to accept it.

So, I guess it was time to take a deep dive into Angel's psyche. Well, the small part of it that is related to the story. As you can see, I really like dysfunctional families. I also like to change my mind on poor Lightning every few chapters. Well, I'm planning on adding a small fun fact section at the end of the next chapter, so that's something to look forward to.