Heaven Sent

Chapter 8: The Dawn of Destruction

Jade blades of grass swayed to the tune of the arid breeze blowing across the field, caressing the strands of red upon Asuka's long crimson mane, though her steely blue eyes hardened upon Mana as she tightened her grip around the hilts of her twin blades. The demon had strategically put herself between her and the boy Kaoru, but as she glanced at him, his empty eyes seemed different, as if he had changed.

"What have you done to him?" Asuka snarled, lifting her accusing blade towards the red headed demon.

The demon answered, suddenly drawing her flaming blade and lashed out at the angel, her sword arcing just above Asuka's head. Quickly, she followed with a calculating thrust to the torso, then slash to the throat, however each blow found either empty air or the cold resisting bite as it clashed against one of Asuka's twin swords. Then a smirk curled itself from the corner of her lips. "Why aren't you attacking, Asuka?"

Biting her bottom lips, it took every ounce of Asuka's will to keep her from ripping this demon to pieces. "What have you done to Kaoru?" she demanded, quickly stepping aside to dodge a sudden slash, deflecting Mana's next blow with her left blade. "Why did you call him brother? Just who the hell are you?"

"This isn't- uh… twenty question… hyaa!" she grunted, lashing out, her blade missing Asuka's stomach by a hair's breadth. "This is, gah… war!"

All three blades met just above Asuka's head as she desperately held Mana's sword in place. Both girls struggled to gain control, neither girl giving ground, then finally, a fourth blade arced out, spilling blood all over the grass. Asuka's twin blades fell from her grip, sprawling to her knees, painfully clutching her bleeding side. Asuka could smell her own cauterized flesh. Wincing, she forced herself to look up only to find two figures standing over her, each holding a burning sword.

One was Mana with a victorious smile on her face.

The other was Kaoru, standing over her with an expressionless gaze.

"W- why?" Asuka stammered in disbelief, staggering backwards with a trail of crimson in her retreat.

The boy remained silent, lifting his blade above his head, stopping at the apex of his ascent with only one direction to go… straight down upon Asuka's head. However, the blade didn't move at first, standing still above his head. A few awkward heartbeats later, the blade began to tremble in his grip as if he was struggling to hold it. His face contorted to one of pain. "A- Asuka! RUN!"

"Kaoru!" she screamed out.

"RUU- un… AAAAGH!" he screamed, then all of a sudden, the blankness returned to his face and the blade began its descent. The girl could do nothing but watch in disbelief as the only boy who cared for her was about to execute her in cold blood. A bead of saline flow rolled down her cheek.

S C H I N K

The blood stained blade completed as it imbedded itself four feet deep into the crimson streaked ground. Kaoru suddenly fell to his knees, panting heavily as if he had been struggling against something, barely able to lift his head up. Blood was everywhere, but no Asuka was to be found. "Asuka…"

Suddenly a shadow materialised behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You put up quite a fight, Kaoru. I'm impressed" Misato said. "Usually, I have no problems bending the will of demons to my own… but you… you're quite the fighter. You must love her quite a lot."

"No," Kaoru muttered beneath his breath, "I… couldn't… I couldn't have killed her."

"Of course you didn't," scoffed Misato. She quickly looked at the blood, noting several black feathers covered in blood. "Rei..."

…

Crimson trailed Rei's every step as she carried Asuka upon her back, ignoring the lamentations of the gaping laceration on her back. She felt Asuka's cool breath blowing upon her wound, and strangely enough, she smiled as she stopped, throwing the girl upon her bed, herself crumpling along the bed's side. Weary from the loss of blood, she struggled to see the girl rising up from the bed, looking at her strangely. At this, Rei managed a weak smile. "Thank God…" then collapsed to the floor.

For a second, a confused Asuka stared at the fallen Rei, then she noted the blood seeping from the wound on her back. "Rei!" she screamed as she ran to her aide.

…

Rei felt warm. Not the kind of warm she'd normally feel in the sun on a temperate day. This kind of warm felt somewhat… nice… soft… alive. It was a kind of warm that she knew all too well but hasn't felt in an eternity. The searing pain on her shoulder had faded in the radiance, but still she could feel the warm flow of water around her.

Curious, the girl slowly blinked her eyes open to find herself staring up at the ceiling of her bathroom. The balmy flow was nothing but lukewarm water, and yet, it felt different. She then turned her head to the left and found a face smiling back at her.

"Are you okay?" Asuka asked.

Rei managed a curt nod as she sat up from the bathtub, her right hand reaching over her shoulder to inspect her wound, only to find nothing but her unmolested skin. "You… healed me?"

Asuka shrugged. "I don't like going around owing people favours. I just needed to clean you up a little." She then reached over and offered Rei a towel. "Come out, I need to talk to you."

Again, Rei nodded, standing up and accepting Asuka's towel as she stepped out of the tub, drying herself off in front of the redhead. "What about?" she finally said, tossing it aside.

Asuka's expression darkened a shade. "I need to know something… about Kaoru…"

Heaving a deep sigh, Rei slowly lowered the towel to her side, her gaze falling to the tiles. "I'm sorry Asuka… he's no longer one of you."

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

Rei remained silent for a brief moment before shaking her head. "I had no hand in this, Asuka. He fell in love with you all on his own."

"But he's an angel!" Asuka refuted, "he's supposed to follow orders, and those orders were to help me win this fucking bet. He couldn't possibly fall in love with me."

"First of all, he is no longer an angel," countered Rei. She quickly left the bathroom as she walked into her bedroom, leaving Asuka inside. "The fact that he has become a fallen one is proof of his betrayal. The second point worth noting was that he was able to resist her control, which proves his affections for you beyond a shadow of doubt."

"Whose control?"

Silence.

"Whose control, Rei?" she insisted.

Again, the girl fails to respond.

Finally, a thought came to Asuka's mind as she stood up, stepping up to the bathroom door but stopping there. "Why did you save my life back there, Rei?"

She heard Rei growl. "Asmodeus was right… you ask far too many questions."

"Just answer me, Rei!" she demanded forcefully, slamming her fist into the wooden panel to prove her frustration. "Don't give me this shit about doing the right thing. You're a demon! You're supposed to follow orders, and that means winning the bet by any means necessary."

"Then," Rei began. All of a sudden, the door swung open, revealing Rei wearing a new set of clothes as she stared into Asuka's cobalt spheres, "it would seem that I am not the only one lying, Asuka. You are also given orders to win by any means necessary and yet you saved my life time and time again."

"I wasn't ordered to win by any means necessary," she countered.

"And since when were you allowed to conspire with demons?" Rei's voice grew a shade darker. "Since when were angels allowed to aid demons? Were you not forbidden to help the enemy?"

Asuka suddenly fell silent, her eyes falling, unable to hold Rei's gaze. Suddenly, she brushed past Rei and stormed towards her front door, opening it and was about to leave when she paused, halting in mid stride. "I just… couldn't let you die. I just couldn't…" her voice halted as her footsteps continued behind the creaking of the door she left hanging open.

…

Elsewhere

Kaoru felt a different kind of warm: it was dark and eerie, accompanied by the ear piercing screams of lamenting souls writhing in a sea of molten sulphur. He watched as the tide of lamentations crashed over the jagged edges of hell over and over again and imagined what it was like day and night for all of eternity. He then realised that he didn't have to imagine this.

He too was damned.

Finally, Misato emerged from the shadows to appear before him, smiling at the boy. "Welcome to your new home, Tabris. Please, make yourself comfortable. You'll be spending some time with us from now on."

The boy gnashed his teeth and balled a fist. "You… made me hurt Asuka. I'll never serve you!"

"Oh really?" Misato began. "But what if I can promise you that you can be with her, Kaoru? What if I promise you that you can be with Asuka in heaven, forever?"

Kaoru froze.

Misato grinned. "She's yours, Kaoru. All you have to do is follow just a few instructions." She stepped up to the boy, running her fingers along the contours of his cheek. "You two make such a nice couple… it'd be such a shame if anything happens to her."

Kaoru stepped back, his eyes trembling. "No, please! Don't hurt her!" He fell to his knees, gnashing his teeth, "I'll do anything… just don't… don't hurt her."

Misato raised a brow. "I didn't say I was planning on hurting her. I said that I want you to be with her instead of that unworthy Shinji. He doesn't appreciate her like you do, Kaoru. Shinji can never truly love Asuka like she truly deserves."

All of a sudden, the boy stopped shaking. "I know what you want…."

"All I want is for her happiness."

"No!" Kaoru shouted. "What you want is for heaven to burn! What you want is revenge!"

S L A P

The boy scraped along the concrete, his head leering over the edge of the cliff overlooking the burning waves of torment below. Suddenly, Misato bent over him, forcing him to look into the waves. "Is this what you want, Tabris? Is this what you want for Asuka?" All of a sudden, the whirling mass of anguish darkened, forming images of Asuka. Suddenly, Kaoru noticed that she was in her room, getting dressed and that she was not alone.

Shinji … get out of my room!

You are so beautiful, Asuka.

W- what? Cut that out you idiot. I SAID GET OUT! DON'T COME IN HERE! Uh- ngh. No, don't do that.

But you're so soft -

SHINJI! I SAID - AARGH!

Just relax Asuka… it'll be better for the both of us.

Kaoru quickly shut his eyes, but he could still hear her anguished moans slipping into his ear, tormenting him with her every pained grunt and groan.

"Is this what you want for Asuka, Tabris?"

"NO!"

Misato knelt over, laying down on the boy's back, putting her lips upon his ears. "Do you want her to suffer for him, Kaoru? You know that he doesn't love her, so no matter how much he fucks her… she will not give him a child. Not one that is conceived out of love anyway. He can only love Rei. Heaven will lose eventually, the only difference is how much Asuka suffers, and that depends entirely up to you." Slowly, she pulled away from him and rose to his feet as she ran her fingers through her long lavender locks. "So, what is it going to be, Tabris? Will you join us?"

A long silence ensued as Misato waited patiently for the boy's choice, but deep in her heart, she already knew the outcome. His love for Asuka would allow Misato to control Tabris, just as it has given her control over Rei. Ten thousand years of planning was about to pay off: she was finally going to get her revenge. Finally, Kaoru rose to his feet with a defeated expression, his heart weighing him down. "I'll do it," he mumbled, kneeling before the enemy she had sworn to defeat. "What is thy bidding?"

At this, Misato grinned, placing her hand upon his shoulder. "Very well, Kaoru… go see Asuka. Make sure that she is alright."

Kaoru looked at her conspicuously for a second, wondering just what the devil was up to. But she was right about one thing: Asuka was hurt

…

The quite hiss of pneumatics of a door sliding gave way for a weary young girl as she stepped inside her apartment with a look of confusion and betrayal upon her face. So many thoughts filled her mind as she wandered aimlessly down the hallway. The light headed feeling hadn't left since she used most of her energy to heal the wounded demon, using what remained of her energy to lightly treat her own wounds left her almost completely drained. That was when she noticed a shadow in her path. Her eyes slowly traced up to find an anxious look upon Shinji's face who stepped closer, inspecting her.

"Asuka," he began, "are you alright? You didn't come back to class after lunch… neither did Kaoru-"

"I'm fine," she grumbled, stepping to the side to bypass the boy when all of a sudden her knee buckled under her weight. Asuka nearly fell when all of a sudden she felt two arms grasping her arms, breaking her fall. A sudden jolt of pain screamed from her side, forcing Asuka to wince and grab her wound which might have opened up. Then she felt herself being slowly lowered to the floor. Slowly she lifted her gaze a second time to find the boy screaming at her, but she couldn't hear him. His eyes widened with fear, and somehow it pleased Asuka to see him this way. With the last of strength, she managed a weak grin before darkness took hold.

"ASUKA!" screamed Shinji, "ASUKA? What's wrong with you?" He quickly scanned the girl and lifted her hand from her side, lifting up her shirt to find a darkened patch of skin. Shinji froze for a second, wondering just how she could have received the wound when all of a sudden, he heard the front doorbell ring."

"Asuka," Kaoru's voice announced over the intercom. "Asuka, are you there? Look, I think we need to talk… about what happened this afternoon-"

Suddenly, a thought struck Shinji's mind. The wound on Asuka's side, her disappearing after class with Kaoru. Carefully, he lowered the stricken girl as his expression darkened, turning towards the door with clenched fists.

Outside, Kaoru pressed the doorbell a second time, hoping that Asuka was not harmed too badly. He wasn't sure what happened exactly in the school grounds. He remembered being attacked by Mana, the pain in his gut a constant reminder of this. He remembered Asuka coming to his rescue, but what he remembered most was the way she looked at him which sent a cold shock down his spine: the look of his betrayal.

He quickly shook the thought from his mind as he reached for the doorbell a third time when all of a sudden the door slid open. Before Kaoru could greet Shinji, Shinji suddenly launched himself at him, his hands tightening around Kaoru's throat. Both landed heavily upon the tiles outside.

"You bastard!" Shinji snarled through clenched teeth, squeezing Kaoru's neck, "How could you hurt her? I thought that you were her frien-" He stopped short as he was suddenly flung back through the air, slamming against a concrete wall.

Kaoru gasped for air as he slowly drew back his foot and pushed himself up to his feet, noting the other boy also rising to his feet. "Look Shinji!" he rasped, "I didn't mean to hurt her. I just want to know if she's alright?" He paused for a second then smiled. "Tell her that… I'm- I'm sorry," he said then walked away, disappearing behind a flight of stairs.

As the last echoes of footsteps turned to silence, Shinji quickly dropped his stance as he rushed in with but a single thought on his mind. "Asuka!"

…

A strange, somewhat familiar smell roused Asuka from her sleep, something sweet and bitter at the same time. As light filled her eyes, Asuka slowly scanned her surroundings, hopeful to find the source of the smell. There it was, sitting on the side table to her right next to a young boy smiling at her. Her face turned a light shade of pink. "Sh- Shinji?" she muttered weakly, sitting up. She then stopped at once, feeling something a thin sheet of blanket brush against her skin. Her face turned bright red.

Sitting across the bed, Shinji blushed as well. "M- Misato taught me how to apply gauze on bruises so that they'd heal faster. I put your clothes in the wash and there's some clean ones just over there." He pointed over to study table on the other end of the room where a neat pile of clothes lay.

Asuka nodded as settled back into the mattress, pulling up her sheets. "Th –thank you…" She reached into the blanket and felt around, touching the gauze around her waist and confirmed the boy's story. Then she laughed to herself. "Did you like what you saw?"

His face turned crimson, dropping his head.

"It's alright," she laughed, "I would've pounded you if you said no-"

"Asuka," Shinji cut in sharply, still unable to raise his head, "did… did Kaoru do this to you?"

Asuka became silent all of a sudden as his question caught her off guard. A long silence followed this as she thought about lying to him at first, but then she found herself unable to do it. Not after everything he has done. Instead she remained silent.

Shinji laughed as he shook his head. "I thought… I thought that he would have never hurt you," he stammered, "he was always there for you, Asuka. He defended you whenever I complained about you behind your back, and that night after the battle, he waited all night just to give you dinner. I knew then that he loved you…" he paused, hacking back a tear. "I can't forgive him, Asuka… not after what he did to you."

"Hey," Asuka whispered, trying on an awkward smile, "I'll be alright… after all. I've got you, don't I?"

….

Outside watching silhouettes upon a curtain, Misato stood upon an adjacent rooftop, enjoying the cold wind running through her hair. She listened to the hushed whispers of the breeze, to the untold horrors hiding in the shadows. It was then that she heard a soft footstep upon a tile a short distance behind her. At this, the woman closed her eyes as she curled a devilish grin. "You wish to speak to me, Asmodeus?"

Mana slowly rose to her feet some five or so meters behind Misato and followed her gaze to a certain window across the street. "Was this a part of your plan?"

"Was what a part of my plan?"

"This," she pointed out to the silhouettes upon the curtain, "I understand why you used Kaoru against her. That was to catch her off guard, to throw her off and slay the chosen one of the light so that Rei can win unopposed. However, she has managed to turn this against us, even bring Shinji and Asuka closer together. It would seem that Rei was the one who turned against us."

Misato simply scoffed as she turned to face Mana. "You do not look far enough into the future, old friend," she hissed coldly, "all you see is a failure in front of you. What I see is a stepping stone on our path to heaven."

"A stepping stone you say?"

"Yes, a stepping stone," Misato reiterated. "I did not overlook anything, Asmodeus, and secondly, I was not aiming to destroy Asuka in this move. I was merely providing a platform for Rei to make the final move."

"I don't see what you're trying to do with this."

"That is because you don't look far enough." Misato brushed her hair back over her shoulders as she explained. "You do not see that… we are already at heaven's door. All we need to do is open it. Shinji is the lock that stands in our way and Rei is the key."

"I still don't see where you're going with this."

Misato scoffed. "Have patience, old friend. All the pieces are in position. All we need to do now is for Asuka to fall for our trap, then heaven and all that lies beneath it shall be ours."

…

To be continued.

…

Gomen everybody. I've had a whole bunch of things to do over the past month or so, I just didn't have the time to work on this….

Alright! I've been playing a f load of Tekken 5. So what if you guys in US have had it since March, we only got it in July. Why am I saying this? Well, you'll find out next episode.