Akira woke from a sound sleep in his room, trying to figure out what had awakened him so thoroughly. His powerful demon senses scanned the immediate area, looking for the disturbance. Just as he decided that it was nothing, a light thud resounded off the roof. He tensed as tiny scratches reverberated along his hearing. As soon as they started, however, they disappeared and he returned to sleep.
Two bright eyes watched him from outside the window a moment, and then vanished just as quickly as they appeared.
Akira walked home with Miki the next evening after school like he always did. As they passed the park, he stopped and looked into the park, narrowing his eyes.
"Miki, I just remembered that I forgot one of the books I need in my desk. I really need it for tomorrow's test." He turned and ran back towards the school.
"But—"
"Don't worry, I'll be back in time for dinner!" He called over his shoulder cheerfully. He was soon out of sight.
Miki sighed, "This is the third time in a month that he's done this. I hope he isn't just making excuses to goof off..." She turned and slowly walked home.
High in a tree, Akira watched her walk out of sight. He jumped down and walked into the park after she had disappeared. About a quarter of the way down the path, he turned and trotted into the trees. It was close to sunset when he stopped in a small clearing. For once, his demon side failed to identify the hidden menace he knew was there.
"Whoever's there, come out and face me!" Akira growled, letting his human form slip slightly.
The foliage parted and a humanoid figure emerged. The figure was male with two sets of wings, long golden red hair, and piercing amber eyes.
Amon quavered slightly in the back of Akira's mind and whispered urgently to him.
"Hello Amon. I must say, I am surprised to see you here." The figure looked him up and down and smirked, "And merged with a human to boot."
Akira growled low in his throat, much to his surprise, "Who are you?" Akira asked gruffly, being genuinely curious now.
"Ah, the human is in control." He looked impressed, "Amon won't tell you who I am? I'm hurt… I am called Azieral." He gave a sweeping bow, his wings draping for a dramatic effect.
Akira had relaxed slightly, only wary now. Anything that intimidated his demon half certainly deserved looking into. He studied the male in front of him, "Are you an angel?"
Azieral gave a flash of white teeth, "Yes, I am." He fluttered a set of his wings, "I fought the demons in the war and became stuck on earth. I've been stuck here ever since."
Akira nodded acceptance at his explanation, "Why did you call me here?"
"I did not 'call you', as you say."
"Then who did?" Akira seemed puzzled.
"I do not know; but I was brought here also… perhaps we were lured here for a reason?"
Akira looked around warily, but sensed no demons in the vicinity. He mentally shook himself and turned back to Azieral, "I must be leaving. Good evening to you." He turned and began walking off, ignoring Amon's scream of protest.
"Farewell, until we meet again human!" Azieral gave a slight wave of his hand, watching Akira's departure. As soon as he was certain the young man was gone, he called out into the trees, "You can come out now, Riist. I've known you were there since the hybrid appeared." He sounded bored.
A lithe figure landed on the ground under a nearby tree. She swished her tail and growled low in her throat.
Azieral looked pointedly at her, "You aren't going to attack me; we both know you are nowhere near my strength." He crossed his arms in a relaxed pose.
Riist slowly stood, "How do you know that?"
He grinned rakishly, "Come now, I am an angel. I can sense how strong— or in your case, weak— a person is. I could easily crush you right now."
Riist's ears went flat against her head and she raised a brow, "An 'angel'? If you are an angel, then you must have fallen from His grace."
Azieral shrugged, "Perhaps…" he cocked his head at her, "I was rather surprised to find that you actually followed me all the way here to Japan." He sighed, "And just for revenge…" he shook his head.
She snarled, "What did you expect? You destroyed everyone and everything I ever cared for!" her tail swished wildly.
"Everyone you cared for? Or just a certain person?" he asked slyly. He danced nimbly away as Riist made a wild swing at his head with her claws.
"Everyone!" she roared.
Azieral brushed himself off, "Temper temper. There's no need to shout. I can hear you perfectly." He fluffed his wings one more time, "Now then; we can talk like civilized people or we can fight and you and I both know what the outcome of that would be." He looked at her, "Well?"
Riist huffed and plopped down on a stump, "There, happy?"
"Ecstatic." He replied dryly. "I was a little disappointed when you did not try to tackle me in the middle of my conversation with the hybrid."
Riist snorted, "Did you take me for a fool? I am not so easily manipulated into creating enemies I have no need of." She gave him a sleepy look, "Speaking of the hybrid, why did you call him here? You do realize that his demon side will never let you hold sway over him."
Azieral gave her an equally sleepy look, "That is my business. It does not concern you."
"On the contrary, it does concern me; especially if you try to send that creature to kill me." She replied sharply. She examined her claws, "You should not have lied to him, if you are an angel."
He cocked his head at her, "On the contrary, I believe it was you who said that I couldn't possibly be an angel. That I must have fallen from His grace if I am what I claimed to be."
They stared at each other for a moment. Riist sighed, "I could stay and spar with you for hours, but I have pressing business elsewhere. I have just the one question I want answered…"
He gave her a slow smile, "And which one would that be?"
She looked deep into his eyes, "Once again, why did you bring him here?"
He cocked his head to the side and stared back at her with half lidded eyes, "Once again, I will tell you; that is my own business." He turned and walked into the trees from whence he appeared. A moment later, Riist heard the sound of flight off in the distance.
She sighed to herself and shook her head, "Why do I even bother?" she turned and walked off, leaving the small clearing to appear as it was before.
Akira went out to meet with Ryo at his apartment the next day after school. He knocked on the door and waited until Ryo called for him to come in. As he walked in, his best friend crossed his arms.
"You're late." Ryo commented.
"Sorry about that. One of my classmates needed to talk to me." Akira apologized, sitting in a chair across from him.
"Your classmates never need to talk to you. Was it Miki again?" Ryo asked, staring unnervingly at Akira. Akira squirmed a little in his seat. Ryo sighed, "I told you that girl is nothing but trouble. The only thing she's good for is demon bait."
Akira bristled, "Now wait just a minute there, Ryo. That's my girlfriend you're talking about killing so casually like that."
"And I still think you should keep your mind on demon slaying instead of your social life." Ryo lay back in his seat.
"So what, I'm supposed to become a recluse like you? Obsessing over the war with the demons?" Akira shot back, angry with Ryo for being himself and angry with himself for rising to his remarks.
Ryo blinked, "What's got you so riled up?"
Akira sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I'm still a little edgy over this whole thing. Meeting that angel yesterday didn't help either." He said, more to himself than to Ryo.
Ryo shot forward in his chair, "What angel? You never told me anything about meeting an angel." He seemed a bit irked about Akira not reporting to him immediately after the encounter.
"What? Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you. As I was walking past the park after school, I sensed something. I went in to investigate and ran into an angel named Azieral. He said that he had been stuck on earth since the war with the demons and angels ended."
Ryo snorted, "There's no way God could have forgotten one of his warriors on Earth unless it was intentional." He waved off the explanation.
"How do you know? There's still the possibility that it could have happened." Akira insisted.
"Besides, I thought you could only sense other demons with your powers."
Akira became thoughtful, "That's something I wanted to speak with you about… Amon hates Azieral with a passion. He kept on telling me to transform and attack him. It also seemed like he was trying to hide something from me while I was speaking with Azieral." He looked at his best friend, "Ryo, I think Amon knows that angel from somewhere; and I think they might have been on the same side at one time."
Ryo began to show some interest in the matter, "Are you telling me that there could have been another exiled angel like Satan?" he rubbed his chin, "I would like to meet this 'angel' for myself if I could…" he shook his head, "Anyway, back to business. I have another demon sighting for you. This last one was seen over by the college. It ate three students and one of the staff already. All four of its victims are supposed to be on vacation this week until the end of the month."
"When do I leave?"
"Tonight."
Jade sighed audibly as she walked into her apartment, tossing her coat onto the back of a chair on the way in. "Today has been too long for my tastes…" she made a face.
She went into the kitchen and got herself a coke from the fridge. She flopped onto the couch and glanced at her answering machine. The light was flashing, signaling a message. She leaned over and pressed the button.
"Hey girl, this is Leya. Just calling to see how you're doin'… So, you track down that angel-wannabe yet? I hope so cause you really need to kick his ass for me. Anyway, have fun and don't take all the cute guys for yourself. I might end up joining you after school lets out (Jade snorted at this remark). I'll talk to you later, ciao."
Jade checked the time on the answering machine. It read 11:00 AM. Jade shook her head; trust Leya to forget about the fourteen-hour time difference. She must have just gotten off work, Jade thought to herself with a grin. Her grin faded as she remembered the other part of Leya's message. Azieral, the 'angel-wannabe' as Leya so aptly put it, was still loose in the city. A city infested with demons. Demons that could hinder or help her quest for vengeance.
She shivered as she remembered the slaughter of her family and neighbors at the hands of demons. And at their head was Azieral, the creature she once thought of as beautiful.
She thought back to her first meeting of the awful entity known as Azieral.
She was walking through the woods on a warm, spring day. For once, the ground was only springy and not squishy with past rainfall. She went deeper than she usually did and stumbled upon a clearing with a small creek spilling into a pond in the center. There were many rocks on which one could sunbathe. She smiled in delight and took the heavy pack off her shoulders to rummage for her lunch and sketchpad.
Suddenly, she heard a slight sound from one of the larger rocks. She looked up to a silhouette of an angel touching down onto the rocks. His red hair streamed behind him as he gracefully landed.
"Hello…" he said to her.
Her heart fluttered slightly as she stared at the beautiful creature. She swallowed convulsively.
He gave a wry chuckle, "Can you speak or have you been struck silent by my presence?" he teased lightly.
She shook her head and finally found her voice, "H-hello…" she began hesitantly.
He sat down on the rocks and folded his wings modestly around him; he beckoned her over, "Come sit with me a moment."
She walked over to him and sat beside him, being careful not to touch him. She glanced over at him and accidentally caught his eye. She felt herself being drawn into his liquid amber eyes. The sensation was wonderful; she never wanted it to end—
Then he turned his head and she came back to her senses. "So, what is a pretty kitty like you doing out here so far from civilization?" he asked her.
She blinked, "What do you mean, 'pretty kitty'?"
He looked at her again, "Did you not know that you were one of the gifted humans? You are able to change your form at will from a human to a feline creature." He looked at the spillway, "Thus, I called you what you are, a 'pretty kitty'."
Her heart began to pound, He thinks I'm pretty, she thought to herself wildly.
They sat there for a long time, neither one speaking. Lunchtime came and went and it wasn't until her stomach complained that Jade was shaken out of her reverie. The angel laughed, "I'm sorry, I have forgotten how humans need to refuel their bodies by eating." He waved her over to her lunch, "Please, go ahead and eat."
Jade walked over to her pack and took a sandwich out and, as an after thought, took another one out for the angel. She offered it to him, "Would you like to try a salami and Swiss sandwich?"
He graciously declined, "No, thank you. I have no need of sustenance other than the air and sunlight."
She nodded and sat back down beside him with her meal and took a bite of her pastrami sandwich. She looked thoughtfully at the angel, "If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"
He smiled at her, "My name is Azieral."
"That's a beautiful name. Azieral…" she tested it on her own tongue.
"Now that you know my name, may I ask you for yours?"
"My full name is Jade Samantha Riist." She told him.
"A lovely name for a beautiful young lady." He complemented.
Jade blushed and turned away so he could not see her face. "Can you teach me to transform myself?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes, but it won't be easy. You must let go of the part of you that makes you human; your sense of reason." He looked at her seriously. "Only when you are at the mercy of your animal instincts can you transform for the first time."
Jade shivered in the warm sunlight, giving up part of her humanity was not something she was ready to do.
He looked back at the pond, "You don't have to do this if you aren't ready, Jade."
She nodded nervously, "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"There's a good possibility that I will visit this place tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll think on this and give you my answer tomorrow. Is that alright?" She asked a little timidly.
"That's fine." He stood, "Now, I must be leaving. I shall see you tomorrow at around this time, okay?"
"Okay."
There was no meeting at the beautiful clearing the next day, however. She had hurried to meet her angel and waited for an hour for his arrival. She had finally given up as it began to get dark and, dejectedly, walked slowly back the way she had come. Halfway home, she smelled the scent of burning flesh and ran the rest of the way back.
The scene that greeted her was horrible. Her small home was in flames and there were ugly creatures that she had never seen before grabbing up people and devouring them. She could hear the screams of the dying and the laughter of the monsters. Her mind went numb at the chaos surrounding her, refusing to believe what her eyes told her.
Then she saw him. He was at their center, laughing along with them. At first she didn't want to believe that it was her angel with the bloody wings and the long banner of red hair. But then he turned and looked at her with his molten amber eyes. The eyes she no longer thought of as beautiful. He smiled at her and gestured mockingly for her to join him.
Her mind almost shut down completely at that moment. All she could see was Azieral and the fire behind him. She screamed in rage, it sounded hollow in her own ears. She crouched down and sped towards her now hated enemy. She left a trail of blood and gore that would have left the bloodiest murderer shaken. Her mind could only register that sinister, mocking look of—something, she couldn't remember anymore. All she could see were his eyes. The eyes that she wanted to claw out and destroy.
That was the first time she had transformed. Azieral had taught her most effectively. By using the most effective way to destroy a person's reasoning, destroying their family.