1Okay, so my brand new and spiffy computer is here and many many well overdue updates will follow. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a comment!
Chapter 3.
Laughter and chatter rang throughout the grand hall where the more socially lively characters of Angel Sanctuary had gathered. Sara and Moonliel were seated on a sofa discussing how Sara's Jibrille outfit in volume 15 had been "so military chic". Katou and Lucifer sat at a table arm wrestling and the rest of the AS crew were milling about conversing. Suddenly, a strong wind began rustling fine hair and billowing cloaks.
"Quick!" yelled Raphael, dropping the highly attractive extra he had been holding moments before. "She's thumbing through the pages! Everyone in their places!"
There was a great commotion as characters flew around from all directions grabbing swords and a number of other lethal props. Just then, Raziel came skidding into the hall out of breath. "It's you Lucifer! She's stopping at you with the bird!"
Lucifer scowled and swept off, running as fast as he could without looking like he actually cared or losing any of his "bad angel" coolness. Once in his place he picked up the black bird stationed at the window and concentrated on looking dark and poignant for a few moments. Then, letting the feathers go and watching the dark storm of black birds fly up into the air, he slowly began to turn at the sound of approaching footste– footsteps? Where was Katan? It wasn't at all like him to be late for a scene. He waited a few more seconds and was about to go and find Rosiel for himself when he felt something fall onto his head. Plop, plop, plop. He reached up and touched the silk black hair only to find...toast crumbs. Oh, he hated it when people ate and read at the same time. Scowling and brushing crumbs out of his hair, he strode out the door with the intention of finding the silver haired duo and getting out of the way before-god forbid- it started raining jam.
"How dare you keep her from me!" Setsuna yelled at Raphael and took a swing at him. Uriel was trying to break them up for the eighth time in less than two days. He honestly had no idea why the reader liked this part so much.
Once he was certain the page had been turned, Lucifer stepped out from behind a large apocalyptic looking boulder and over the Messiah and two elementals.
"Hey Lucifer, shouldn't you be in your scene getting ready?" asked Setsuna.
"Bad news," he replied, "Rosiel and Katan are gone."
"What do you mean, 'gone'"
"I mean gone as in not here doing their jobs like their supposed to."
"Alright," said Uriel looking a little strained. "Maybe they just went to a different volume for awhile...a different language?" he suggested.
"Why? So that Rosiel can compare the light reflective quality of his hair with the French Rochel?" Lucifer asked exhasperatedly.
"Well it's worth checking out," reasoned Raphael. "Katan knows the no one is supposed to make unannounced trips to different languages with out permission, and he's usually able to dissuade Rosiel from doing anything too dumb like that."
"I think she's closed the book now, so Lucifer, you check out the French volumes, I'll take German, and Setsuna and Raphael, you dig around here," delegated Uriel, and four swept off to question their foreign counterparts in various tongues.
Two blocks and a number of complaints later Rosie sat himself down on a bench and refused to move another inch until he had something to eat. Katan, not really knowing how one went about purchasing and preparing food here or even if they had the same kind, looked around the shops lining the street and decided that the shop with a big sign saying, "Food Market" would probably be a good place to start.
"I'm going to go in there, alright sir? I won't be more than ten minutes,"he promised and walked across the street throwing nervous glances over his shoulder. He felt bad about leaving Rosiel there all alone and vulnerable- wait a minute now, what was he thinking? Rosiel vulnerable? He would be fine- it should be the passers by who he should really be worrying about.
The food market was like a maze. It was even worse than the maze Rosiel had once constructed at his mansion and put him in one day for lack of anything else to do. In this maze, there were people with shopping carts who kept nearly running him over in their haste to get what they needed and get out, and disorienting noises and smells. He did, however, finally manage to make his way over to the produce and picked a carton of strawberries- one of Rosiel's favorite foods.
Once in line at the cash register he took the piece of paper out of his pocket and examined it. It had a clearly printed 100 on it and though 100 seemed like a lot to Katan he didn't know what it was 100 of, and he feared it might not be enough. Stepping up the man the man behind the till he handed him the paper and the carton. The young man picked up the 100, turned it over in his hand, and stared at it in apparent amusement. He popped open the little money drawer and turned to Katan. "Hey, you got anything smaller on you? I can't break this much."
"Uh..." Katan shook his head."Alright then," the man replied "hold on a minute." He turned around and waived one of the other employees over. "Hey man, can you break a hundred?" he yelled over the head of customers and waived the 100 in his friends direction. The friend nodded and came over the their register with a sizeable amount of more paper.
Katan didn't like attracting this much attention to himself, and was glad when he was handed the receipt and remaining money. On his way out of the supermarket, Katan passed a number of fliers all tacked to a large cork board. One in particular caught his attention- it was an advertisement for a boarding house. They did need a place to stay and although it was certain that Rosiel would not applaud the idea of sharing the large Victorian house with any number of other people, he thought he just might be able to trick him into thinking everyone else there were servants, at least until everything was finalized. In any case, it wasn't going to be a permanent arrangement. Katan had resolved already that someday he was going to buy Rosiel a large and luxurious house of his very own. Ripping himself away from fantasies of indulging his master in the decadence he so enjoyed, Katan tore off one of the perforated slips of paper at the bottom of the add with an address and phone number printed on them and hastened outside.
The man at the register who had dealt with him earlier watched him go with curiosity. "Pays for strawberries with a hundred, but needs to stay at a boarding house..." he muttered shaking his head and turning around to tend to the next customer.
He came outside to find Rosiel on the same bench throwing some suspicious glances at a pigeon who was standing next to him on the bench. Katan was very glad to see that there were no dismembered body parts anywhere to be found which meant that Rosiel had either not been bothered or that he was just very good at hiding things. As Rosiel opened up the carton of strawberries the pigeon edged a bit closer and made a few clucking noises.
"Hey," said Rosiel, coveting the fruit, "go away-it's mine."
The pigeon completely ignored Rosiel's warning and pecked at the carton. Rosiel turned, eyes ablaze, gave it a murderous stare and...it's feathers fell out.
While Katan though it looked quite ridiculous like that and it had served it right, Rosiel looked absolutely horrified and stared open mouthed at the fleshy pink pigeon. Katan, knowing that look could hardly be out of guilt and compassion for what he had done, asked,"Sir? What seems to be the matter?"
"I..." Rosiel stammered and looked up at Katan with frantic and imploring eyes, "I meant to make it explode!" He looked down at his hands, raised one up, pointed it at the pigeon and nothing save for a small static spark came off his fingertips. Katan tried his luck at the pigeon and was surprisingly more successful in his attempts than Rosiel. He was actually able to make a dramatic wind and the pigeon make a terrible sqwaking sound and fell over motionless.
Rosiel stood up and screamed at the world at large, "I am the most powerful angel in all of existence! What the hell is happening to me!"
It was this point that Katan realized they could be in serious trouble.