Hell's Angel
Chapter 6 (or 7, I can't remember... ^_^;)
By: IceQueen
AN: I'm so sorry!!! I couldn't update before on this, cuz I was really stuck on where to go with it. Now, though, I decided to just skip what Hotaru and Duo did for lunch. ('Cause lunch is boring.) We start out right after Hotaru gets home from work....
Disclaimer: Usual ones apply.
~Written in Hota's POV~
I sighed upon walking into my domicile, and seeing what a mess it was. I hadn't been there for practically weeks. Crumbs were everywhere, clothing lay over plants and under tables. Coffee lay hardened and greasy inside of old mugs. The plants which the clothes were lying on were brown, and wilted. I would have to do some cleaning soon.
I contemplated cleaning, shook my head, and flopped over the backside of the couch, landing gracefully on its cushions.
Today had been a wonderful, exciting, happy, bright, sunshiny day. The first one in many years. Duo had come to lunch with me. We'd eaten at a tiny, decrepit diner, which was once an old speak eazy. You could still see the bullet holes in the walls, and the place smelled eternally like smoke. It was fun though.
Afterwards they'd gone to the nearby rollerskating center and raced.... for two hours. I have to admit, for a mortal he could actually keep up with me. Of course I hadn't been going as fast as I could, and was barely out of breath when they stopped, although Duo had been panting. He'd even gone so far as to pounce on the first drink he saw... Which happened to belong to an elderly woman with extremely Mimi Bobeck-ish makeup. The woman had proceeded to beat Duo over the head with her handbag until they left. I had collapsed into a fit of giggles outside the roller-rink.
The day after that had seemed much brighter, and I had even begun to like work. Rather than having its usual monotonous reel, everything was new and exciting. Even the drills I'd worked a hundred times over.
And so I was here... now. With my house a mess, and myself completely exhausted.
I felt the air thicken behind her, and felt the little hairs on my neck raise up, like hackles on a dog. I stayed in my relaxed position, ready to strike the materializing maybe-foe.
"Mistress," I heard behind me, and released a breath I'd not been aware of holding.
Suddenly two dark fuzzy large lumps landed in her lap.
"Um...?" I began, but was cut off by one of the lumps, who unfurled itself, and began to sniff her in earnest.
"Setsuna?" I asked, wanting an explanation.
"They cannot stay in Hell, milady. They are mixed breeds. Of no value to us. They won't be able to hunt properly. You, as the current ruler, must find something to do with them." With those words Setsuna smirked, relieved to give someone else the burden of the two shadow pups.
I studied the two bundles of black, brown, and near-blue fur.
"Setsuna, what am I supposed to do with them?
"I don't know. Give them away. Keep them. Beats me. Like I care." The words sounded very un-Setsuna-like, and juvenile. Apparently the two little things gave her a fair amount of trouble.
I sighed. Some help she was.
"Alright.... I'll find a home for them." Setsuna smiled, nodded, and shimmered out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~The Next Day: Saturday~
"No! Don't piddle there!"
Uh-oh.. too late.
"Grrr.... Listen to me, you little punk! When you have to piss, you go by the back door! Got it?!?"
The puppy, Loki, as she had dubbed it, whined and hid its head underneath his paws. "Bad dog..." I muttered while cleaning up the mess.
Gaea, the other puppy, chose that moment to trot into the room, dragging behind her Hotaru's Gucci heels.
"NOoooo!" I yelled, running up and yanking the shoe away. I surveyed the shoe, tallying up the damage. "These were eighty dollar shoes, you little bastard."
Gaea joined Loki in the faux-ostarich position.
I tossed the now-unwearable shoe in the trash can, looked down at the despicable puppies, and sighed.
"What am I going to do with you two?" I asked while rubbing my temples. "It's okay... It was just a shoe..."
Both of the pups perked up at this, their pointed ears twitching.
Suddenly a wave of exhaustion almost knocked me off of my feet. Sighing, I decided to take a nap.
"Now, I'm going to take a nap. You two be good."
Ishuffled herself into the living room, sliding easily across the hardwood floors. I plopped down on the couch and groaned. The heavenly feeling of lying down was almost enough to send me into an orgasm. Within seconds I knew I was sound asleep.
*********** (pReTY... STARs... *_*) ************
I woke to the sound of the phone ringing. Sighing, I opened her eyes and stared at the white, pristine ceiling. The only part of my house untouched by dirt, grime, and dogs.
Attempting to roll over, and grope for the phone, I discovered that two certain puppies had decided to take a nap with her. I felt myself smile. They actually looked kind of cute... When they were sleeping. Okay, I had to admit, they were growing on me.
The phone rang again, practically screaming, 'Pick me up! Pick me up! Waste your money on me!'
I shoved the two dogs off of me, and rolled off the couch, groping for the phone underneath all the clothing, magazines, and mail I had piled up.
Finally I found the little, white, cursed device.
"Hello?" I said upon clicking the talk button.
"Hotaru?" A voice squeaked back at me.
"Yes? Who's calling?"
"It's Duo."
"Duo? What's the matter?" I asked, fear singing along my nerve endings.
"Nothing's wrong with me. It's Hilde. She's been in an accident."
I swear I just about jumped up and sang 'Hallelujah!' However, still playing the role of the friend, I made my tone empathetic, worried, and caring.
"What happened? Will she be okay?"
"She's in the hospital. Her lungs are collapsing." Duo said, his fright apparent in his voice. Oh her poor Shinigami! Always stuck around death!
"Which one?" I asked.
"St. Luke's South Shore... She's asking to see you." Duo told her.
"Um..." I hesitated. I couldn't leave Gaea and Loki alone!
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks." Duo said, and with that both lines disconnected.
"C'mon pups! Road trip!" I called.
I ran upstairs, taking the steps two to three at a time, and grabbed a large black duffel bag. Quickly going back downstairs, I managed to get Loki in with little trouble. He was still asleep. Gaea kept wanting to walk away though.
"No. Sit." Finally she got the dog to stay in the bag. I zipped up the zipper, leaving just enough room for air to get through.
Hefting up the bag, I booked out the door, grabbing my keys on the way out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upon arriving I found Duo rather quickly, pacing outside Hilde's room with the other ex-Pilots. I walked up to him as he was facing away from her and tapped him on the shoulder.
Duo whipped around, murder written on his face, and then he saw me. His expression drained away, and left nothing more than a worried mortal there. "I'm here.." I said dully, masking my happiness at seeing Duo again. Now was not the appropriate time.
"She's in there," He said, with a nod, indicating the door next to him. I nodded my head. I began walking into the room with my bag full of puppies, but Duo stopped me with a simple gesture. It was amazing how old habits never fade. Not even after millions of years.
Duo took my bag, a gentlemanly thing to do, and struggled with its weight. "What've you got in here?" He asked incredulously.
"Two dogs actually." I said without much tact. "Please keep an eye on them."
With that I turned by back toward him, refusing to be held by a simple gesture any longer, and strode into the room.
It smelled of chemicals, and... death, to be quite frank.
I saw Hilde lying on a hospital bed, dressed in one of those ridiculous gowns. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, and an IV. She also was on a breathing machine.
I sat down in the guest chair beside her bed, and scooted a little closer, my knees touching the cold, hard surface of the bed. I placed my hand on hers and exerted the slightest of pressures.
"Hilde, honey, wake up," I called softly.
Her eyelids fluttered for a bit, as though undecided, but finally opened up, revealing bloodshot eyes.
"Hey..." She croaked out.
"Hey, yourself. What'd you do?" I asked.
"Smacked into a semi.... punctured my lungs. I'm dying unless I can get a transplant in the next few hours. They can't do anything about the blood in my lungs."
"Oh honey. I'm so sorry." I said truthfully, my eyes tearing up slightly. I'm still a bit rusty on the whole crying thing.
"Don't be. It's not your fault... Anyway, I wanted to talk to you." She said.
"About what?" I asked, my eyebrows dipping down in a 'V.'
"I have some things I want to take care of. First, I want you to have my 'Water Lilies' painting, and Monet. Second-"
"Honey, you don't have to give me your cat. You'll make it through this." I told her, trying to be the optimist despite the extremely slim odds.
"No, I won't. Now, second, I want you to look out for Duo for me. Who knows how much trouble he'll get into?
I love Duo a lot, which I'm sure you know by now. He's the best. I know he's going to be sad about my going, but you have to not let it get to him. I couldn't stand it if he was all sad and mopey over me. I want you to do this because you're the only person I trust enough with this job. Promise me?" Hilde said in a rush.
Why is it I always get stuck with everyone's last wishes?
I nodded my head in agreement.
"Say it." Hilde ordered.
"I promise," I said, smiling slightly.
"Thanks..." She whispered.
With that last word the heart monitor started beeping virulently, and 'code blue in room 147' was screamed over the loudspeakers.
Stunned I moved away and watched while Hilde's soul left her body, flying to Hell, because Heaven was far too picky. Only people like Mother Teresa went there.
Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, trying to revive her. I knew they wouldn't succeed. Hilde was gone. Indefinitely.
Numb, I walked into the hall and smacked straight into Duo, who was trying to see in the doorway.
Remembering my promise, I pushed him back, and into a chair.
I sat down numbly, next to my bag of squirming puppies, and stuck my fingers inside for them to sniff.
We- myself, Duo, and four complete strangers, to me at least- waited for the pronunciation of death.
AN: Was it good? Yes or no? C'mon peoples! I need reviews here! It took me a lot of thinking to write this chapter, and I don't know when I'm going to update next, so please... REVIEW! Don't make me bust out my cheerleading outfit....
Chapter 6 (or 7, I can't remember... ^_^;)
By: IceQueen
AN: I'm so sorry!!! I couldn't update before on this, cuz I was really stuck on where to go with it. Now, though, I decided to just skip what Hotaru and Duo did for lunch. ('Cause lunch is boring.) We start out right after Hotaru gets home from work....
Disclaimer: Usual ones apply.
~Written in Hota's POV~
I sighed upon walking into my domicile, and seeing what a mess it was. I hadn't been there for practically weeks. Crumbs were everywhere, clothing lay over plants and under tables. Coffee lay hardened and greasy inside of old mugs. The plants which the clothes were lying on were brown, and wilted. I would have to do some cleaning soon.
I contemplated cleaning, shook my head, and flopped over the backside of the couch, landing gracefully on its cushions.
Today had been a wonderful, exciting, happy, bright, sunshiny day. The first one in many years. Duo had come to lunch with me. We'd eaten at a tiny, decrepit diner, which was once an old speak eazy. You could still see the bullet holes in the walls, and the place smelled eternally like smoke. It was fun though.
Afterwards they'd gone to the nearby rollerskating center and raced.... for two hours. I have to admit, for a mortal he could actually keep up with me. Of course I hadn't been going as fast as I could, and was barely out of breath when they stopped, although Duo had been panting. He'd even gone so far as to pounce on the first drink he saw... Which happened to belong to an elderly woman with extremely Mimi Bobeck-ish makeup. The woman had proceeded to beat Duo over the head with her handbag until they left. I had collapsed into a fit of giggles outside the roller-rink.
The day after that had seemed much brighter, and I had even begun to like work. Rather than having its usual monotonous reel, everything was new and exciting. Even the drills I'd worked a hundred times over.
And so I was here... now. With my house a mess, and myself completely exhausted.
I felt the air thicken behind her, and felt the little hairs on my neck raise up, like hackles on a dog. I stayed in my relaxed position, ready to strike the materializing maybe-foe.
"Mistress," I heard behind me, and released a breath I'd not been aware of holding.
Suddenly two dark fuzzy large lumps landed in her lap.
"Um...?" I began, but was cut off by one of the lumps, who unfurled itself, and began to sniff her in earnest.
"Setsuna?" I asked, wanting an explanation.
"They cannot stay in Hell, milady. They are mixed breeds. Of no value to us. They won't be able to hunt properly. You, as the current ruler, must find something to do with them." With those words Setsuna smirked, relieved to give someone else the burden of the two shadow pups.
I studied the two bundles of black, brown, and near-blue fur.
"Setsuna, what am I supposed to do with them?
"I don't know. Give them away. Keep them. Beats me. Like I care." The words sounded very un-Setsuna-like, and juvenile. Apparently the two little things gave her a fair amount of trouble.
I sighed. Some help she was.
"Alright.... I'll find a home for them." Setsuna smiled, nodded, and shimmered out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~The Next Day: Saturday~
"No! Don't piddle there!"
Uh-oh.. too late.
"Grrr.... Listen to me, you little punk! When you have to piss, you go by the back door! Got it?!?"
The puppy, Loki, as she had dubbed it, whined and hid its head underneath his paws. "Bad dog..." I muttered while cleaning up the mess.
Gaea, the other puppy, chose that moment to trot into the room, dragging behind her Hotaru's Gucci heels.
"NOoooo!" I yelled, running up and yanking the shoe away. I surveyed the shoe, tallying up the damage. "These were eighty dollar shoes, you little bastard."
Gaea joined Loki in the faux-ostarich position.
I tossed the now-unwearable shoe in the trash can, looked down at the despicable puppies, and sighed.
"What am I going to do with you two?" I asked while rubbing my temples. "It's okay... It was just a shoe..."
Both of the pups perked up at this, their pointed ears twitching.
Suddenly a wave of exhaustion almost knocked me off of my feet. Sighing, I decided to take a nap.
"Now, I'm going to take a nap. You two be good."
Ishuffled herself into the living room, sliding easily across the hardwood floors. I plopped down on the couch and groaned. The heavenly feeling of lying down was almost enough to send me into an orgasm. Within seconds I knew I was sound asleep.
*********** (pReTY... STARs... *_*) ************
I woke to the sound of the phone ringing. Sighing, I opened her eyes and stared at the white, pristine ceiling. The only part of my house untouched by dirt, grime, and dogs.
Attempting to roll over, and grope for the phone, I discovered that two certain puppies had decided to take a nap with her. I felt myself smile. They actually looked kind of cute... When they were sleeping. Okay, I had to admit, they were growing on me.
The phone rang again, practically screaming, 'Pick me up! Pick me up! Waste your money on me!'
I shoved the two dogs off of me, and rolled off the couch, groping for the phone underneath all the clothing, magazines, and mail I had piled up.
Finally I found the little, white, cursed device.
"Hello?" I said upon clicking the talk button.
"Hotaru?" A voice squeaked back at me.
"Yes? Who's calling?"
"It's Duo."
"Duo? What's the matter?" I asked, fear singing along my nerve endings.
"Nothing's wrong with me. It's Hilde. She's been in an accident."
I swear I just about jumped up and sang 'Hallelujah!' However, still playing the role of the friend, I made my tone empathetic, worried, and caring.
"What happened? Will she be okay?"
"She's in the hospital. Her lungs are collapsing." Duo said, his fright apparent in his voice. Oh her poor Shinigami! Always stuck around death!
"Which one?" I asked.
"St. Luke's South Shore... She's asking to see you." Duo told her.
"Um..." I hesitated. I couldn't leave Gaea and Loki alone!
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks." Duo said, and with that both lines disconnected.
"C'mon pups! Road trip!" I called.
I ran upstairs, taking the steps two to three at a time, and grabbed a large black duffel bag. Quickly going back downstairs, I managed to get Loki in with little trouble. He was still asleep. Gaea kept wanting to walk away though.
"No. Sit." Finally she got the dog to stay in the bag. I zipped up the zipper, leaving just enough room for air to get through.
Hefting up the bag, I booked out the door, grabbing my keys on the way out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upon arriving I found Duo rather quickly, pacing outside Hilde's room with the other ex-Pilots. I walked up to him as he was facing away from her and tapped him on the shoulder.
Duo whipped around, murder written on his face, and then he saw me. His expression drained away, and left nothing more than a worried mortal there. "I'm here.." I said dully, masking my happiness at seeing Duo again. Now was not the appropriate time.
"She's in there," He said, with a nod, indicating the door next to him. I nodded my head. I began walking into the room with my bag full of puppies, but Duo stopped me with a simple gesture. It was amazing how old habits never fade. Not even after millions of years.
Duo took my bag, a gentlemanly thing to do, and struggled with its weight. "What've you got in here?" He asked incredulously.
"Two dogs actually." I said without much tact. "Please keep an eye on them."
With that I turned by back toward him, refusing to be held by a simple gesture any longer, and strode into the room.
It smelled of chemicals, and... death, to be quite frank.
I saw Hilde lying on a hospital bed, dressed in one of those ridiculous gowns. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, and an IV. She also was on a breathing machine.
I sat down in the guest chair beside her bed, and scooted a little closer, my knees touching the cold, hard surface of the bed. I placed my hand on hers and exerted the slightest of pressures.
"Hilde, honey, wake up," I called softly.
Her eyelids fluttered for a bit, as though undecided, but finally opened up, revealing bloodshot eyes.
"Hey..." She croaked out.
"Hey, yourself. What'd you do?" I asked.
"Smacked into a semi.... punctured my lungs. I'm dying unless I can get a transplant in the next few hours. They can't do anything about the blood in my lungs."
"Oh honey. I'm so sorry." I said truthfully, my eyes tearing up slightly. I'm still a bit rusty on the whole crying thing.
"Don't be. It's not your fault... Anyway, I wanted to talk to you." She said.
"About what?" I asked, my eyebrows dipping down in a 'V.'
"I have some things I want to take care of. First, I want you to have my 'Water Lilies' painting, and Monet. Second-"
"Honey, you don't have to give me your cat. You'll make it through this." I told her, trying to be the optimist despite the extremely slim odds.
"No, I won't. Now, second, I want you to look out for Duo for me. Who knows how much trouble he'll get into?
I love Duo a lot, which I'm sure you know by now. He's the best. I know he's going to be sad about my going, but you have to not let it get to him. I couldn't stand it if he was all sad and mopey over me. I want you to do this because you're the only person I trust enough with this job. Promise me?" Hilde said in a rush.
Why is it I always get stuck with everyone's last wishes?
I nodded my head in agreement.
"Say it." Hilde ordered.
"I promise," I said, smiling slightly.
"Thanks..." She whispered.
With that last word the heart monitor started beeping virulently, and 'code blue in room 147' was screamed over the loudspeakers.
Stunned I moved away and watched while Hilde's soul left her body, flying to Hell, because Heaven was far too picky. Only people like Mother Teresa went there.
Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, trying to revive her. I knew they wouldn't succeed. Hilde was gone. Indefinitely.
Numb, I walked into the hall and smacked straight into Duo, who was trying to see in the doorway.
Remembering my promise, I pushed him back, and into a chair.
I sat down numbly, next to my bag of squirming puppies, and stuck my fingers inside for them to sniff.
We- myself, Duo, and four complete strangers, to me at least- waited for the pronunciation of death.
AN: Was it good? Yes or no? C'mon peoples! I need reviews here! It took me a lot of thinking to write this chapter, and I don't know when I'm going to update next, so please... REVIEW! Don't make me bust out my cheerleading outfit....