Improper Guardian

Chapter Six

By: Brenli

"Well if it isn't Mr. Pervert Doctor! Hi!" Michael smirked at his friend. In all honesty, Michael was a little amazed that Raphael did not come down to visit sooner. A full month had gone by now, and he'd expected some kind of slap on the wrist from Raphael much earlier than this. "Where the Hell have you been?"

Raphael only shrugged. "In Heaven. What kind of question is that?" Michael gave him an annoyed glare and a shrug of his own as the Wind Angel continued. "I've been too busy HEALING people to come down here. I guess I don't need to tell you that it SUCKS that you had to show off your power in front of Nema, do I?"

"Nah, I already knew that." Michael said boredly, using his sword to draw lines against the ground outside Nema's house. "But what the fuck was I SUPPOSED to do? They were gonna choke her to death!"

"Run up and punch the guy's lights out?"

"That gets so old, Raphael!" Michael jabbed at the ground. "… So you've been healing people… Don't tell me you've been healing Cheriour and those assholes…!"

"So long as I don't give an opinion you know I'm obligated to help whoever comes to me asking for it!" Raphael reasoned. "I just use half-assed attempts on them. That's why Cheriour's nose is officially fucked up."

Michael laughed loudly as he thought of Cheriour's healed nose. It was crooked now; nothing terrible, but to Cheriour and his vain self it was mortifying. Ever since Nema had done that to him, he seemed to make even more appearances himself instead of sending out people to kill Nema for him. "Well at least ya do that!"

Raphael smiled and nodded. "But I won't be doing that anymore. I submitted my opinion today."

"You mean you're actually taking PART in this damn 'Kill the I-Children' shit?"

"If you don't they seem to count you as one of the ones in favor of their… removal, as they call it. So I decided to put in my piece. From now on, if anyone comes asking me to heal them, they will be supporters of I-Children or I-Children themselves." Raphael shrugged. "You should put in your opinion, too."

Michael scoffed. "Fuck that…! I'm too busy keeping Nema all safe and cozy and shit!"

"You make it sound like you hate the job, but I know you don't!" Raphael commented. "Just because I haven't been able to come down here doesn't mean I haven't noticed how things have changed. You and Nema have turned it into a GAME. You keep her home all week but every Sunday you turn Harajuku into a nighttime brawling site! You have your fiery fun setting Nema up as a lure and then saving her! Then you both go home and pick fights with each other here until Sunday comes around again! And what do I get? At least 20 patients that very night! Most of them are repeat patients because you reopened their older wounds!" Raphael looked exasperated as he ruffled his blonde hair. "I'm just glad I don't cater to them anymore! I have free time again!"

"Well seein' as you don't cater to them anymore, don't make it sound like it's such a big deal! And it's not like Nema cares. She beats up on them, too!"

"And I'm surprised she hasn't DIED because you LET her beat up on them."

"Well, she HASN'T, so relax!" Michael grumbled. "I always save her before it gets too risky, so who cares? I might as well make things more entertaining while I'm stuck here guarding her!"

"There are more ways to make things entertaining while you're down here; it's just that you're not interested in them." Raphael commented dryly.

The Fire Angel scoffed. "And you say you're not a pervert, anymore! YOU go fuck her if those ideas are on your damn mind!"

"I'm not that interested in doing that with her, and I'm sure she doesn't quite want to do anything like that with me, either."

"What makes you think I want to? What makes you think SHE wants to do that with ME?" Michael snorted. "We'd both be dead before we considered that."

"What I wanna know is, why DON'T you want to do things like that with her?" Raphael gave his fuming friend and teasing smirk. "I think she's the only woman alive that can deal with you for as long as she has! I mean, that has GOT to mean something!"

"What are you saying? That I'm hard to deal with?"

"You make it sound like that's hard to believe! It IS hard to deal with you, Mika-chan!"

"It would be a whole lot easier if you didn't piss me off by using THAT damn nickname!" Michael snapped. "And about Nema. The only reason she deals with me is –"

"Because he's stalking me!"

The two Angels turned their attentions to the closest window. Nema had opened the window and crossed her arms on the windowsill, and she gave them a wide smile as the foam from her shampoo sat on her head. The sounds of a shower were behind her.

"I thought I heard your voices! I figured I'd say hello to you, Raphael! I don't need to say hi to Michael because he's always stalking me and all…"

"Fuck you! I'm not fucking stalking you!" Michael spat at her.

"Right, sorry. You're saving my life, sigh, swoon!" Nema fanned herself off with her hand.

The Fire Angel sneered. "Ain't it just like a woman to faint 'cause she thinks she being treated extra special!"

Nema's red eyes narrowed to glare at him. "What, you think I seriously want to faint because I'm being treated extra special? You know I'd rather gag myself with my shampoo bottle – HEY!" Nema quickly ducked as Michael shot flames through the window. "WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? EVAPORATE ALL THE WATER AWAY?" Her eyes peeked over the edge of the windowsill. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Evaporate all the water into thin air so you can see me better!"

"I CAN'T SEE YOU ANYWAY 'CAUSE OF THE DAMN WINDOWSILL, BITCH!"

"Yes, DAMN this windowsill because you secretly WANT to see me!"

"YOU SHUT UP AND FINISH YOUR SHOWER, YOU FILTHY WHORE!"

"I'm squeaky clean now, Michael-SAMAAAA!" Nema grinned at him.

"Then CLOSE the damn window!"

"I should leave it open just to spite you!" She smiled cruelly, but then quickly ducked as Michael shot more flames at her.

"I DON'T THINK IT'D BE VERY SMART TO SPITE ME, NOW WOULD IT?" Michael snarled at her, completely unsuspecting.

Neither of the two Archangels suspected that what happened next would happen, or at least, that it would happen right then. They had both accepted Nema as an albino girl, a simple albino human, however foolish that might have been.

The window dropping down to shut itself could have been excused with the idea that it had never been properly secured in the first place, and maybe the initial cracking of the glass is something to be expected, too. But why should the window actually explode into several dagger-like shards, all sent directly outward and towards Michael? That wasn't simple chance, at all.

Michael flung himself out of the path of these glassy daggers with eyes was wide as saucers. Raphael's eyes weren't any less larger as he rushed to Nema's shattered window. "Nema?"

Nema's head popped back up, her eyes round and frightened, her shampooed hair flopping down to the side, now. "Y-yes?"

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?" Michael hissed as he, too, ran up to Nema's window, his face peering in and receiving a sharp slap.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I'M STILL NAKED!"

"PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON, THEN!"

Nema quickly wrapped herself up in a red bathrobe. As she did this, the two Angels swiftly entered her house and threw open the door to the bathroom. They were surprised to see that the glass shower door and the bathroom mirror had also exploded, the bits of glass lying all over the floor. Nema, with her bare feet, was still standing in the shower, the water turned off and the shampoo rinsed out of her hair. "… I'm gonna cut myself if I try getting out of here…" She muttered miserably.

Michael's eyes suddenly narrowed and focused on a small pile of something black and wet, sitting at the drain of the shower. He moved off toward Nema's bedroom, leaving Raphael to cautiously step in and carry Nema out. "Michael, what are doing?" He asked, watching the Fire Angel return with a single, black feather in his hand.

"There is a SHITLOAD of these in her bed." Michael held it up for Raphael to see. "I thought it was weird that you were taking ANOTHER shower, Nema…! You were trying to wash feathers off your body!"

"Off my BACK. Just my BACK. It's not like I'm some kind of parrot!" Nema said defensively. "… Is this part of that whole rabbit thing?"

"Why the fuck were you shampooing your hair, then?" Michael ignored her question.

"Because I could! Does that bother you?"

"Okay, wait, wait." Raphael motioned for them to be quiet. "Nema, you KNOW about Rabbits?"

"… Yes… Are you part of that whole thing, too?"

"I'm not a Rabbit, but I'm involved in the mess…" Raphael sighed.

The three of them sat in Nema's living room, Nema feeling like she was a lab specimen under observation. Michael and Raphael were exchanging raspy half-whispers to each other and giving her sidelong glances.

She hated every second of it. It had been a month since she'd really been given this kind of treatment. Her life was far too abnormal for it, now. Nema had kissed those days goodbye, but suddenly, they were back. She wanted to slap them both for looking at her the way they were.

"… Entirely sure?" She heard Raphael ask.

Michael laughed shortly and flicked the black feather in his friend's face. That was his only reply.

"… Nema?" Raphael started slowly.

"Nani?" She snapped.

"… Have you been able to… make things explode like that before?"

"What the Hell kind of question is that? Of course not!"

Raphael got the hint that Nema was feeling annoyed with the way they were suddenly acting around her. "Nema, I'm sorry. We just need to make sure –"

"Make sure of WHAT?"

"Make sure we know whether you are what we think you are!" Michael's blue-green eyes pierced into her.

"Well what do you think I am?" Nema's red eyes clashed with his.

"A damn BITCH for trying to put HOLES in me with glass!"

"… I wasn't TRYING to hurt you."

"BULL SHIT!" The Fire Angel pointed down at her with his sword. "NONE of those shards were directed at Raphael! They all came right at ME!"

"I WASN'T TRYING TO HURT YOU!" Nema screamed, slamming her hands down against the ground she sat on. A vase containing several red roses suddenly exploded, the old water running along the table and down on the carpet, the red rose petals separating from their stems and settling on the water.

"OKAY, STOP IT! STOP IT!" Raphael held his hands arms out to keep them from flying at it each other. He pointed at Michael. "YOU need to stop jumping to conclusions. And YOU…" He pointed at Nema, now, "… need to calm down. It doesn't seem you have this power of yours properly harnessed, yet."

Michael still pointed his sword at her, maintained his hard stare as Nema looked up at the blade sourly. She quickly batted the sword away, ignoring how hot it was against her skin, and the Fire Angel uttered a quiet, "Feh!" and turned his eyes away from her.

"… I know about your Sunday games, Nema." Raphael said soberly. "You both can't play them, anymore. It's too risky, now. They'll definitely want you dead, for sure."

"Want me dead… Who wants me dead?" Nema asked softly. "… What are you both hiding from me? Why can't I know anything?"

"I'm sorry… The less you know, the better. Just trust us."

Nema could feel the stinging of tears against her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Part of her just didn't want Michael to get on her case about being a weak woman… and part of her didn't want to be a weak woman, herself. "… I'm tired of being left in the dark…"

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Cleanup's done. I'll be leaving now, 'kay, Nema? Ja ne." Raphael said with a kind smile.

"Ja…" Nema sighed, offering her own smile as she waved. It came out crooked.

"And Michael?" Raphael said in whisper to the Archangel beside him.

"Nani?" Michael said gruffly.

"Don't pick fights anymore. Not with Nema. She might make your head explode or something... so be nice to her."

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU, A SCHOOLTEACHER? 'BE NICE'?"

"Dammit, Michael!" Raphael went outside and motioned for Michael to follow, and he shut the door behind him. "You know, I personally don't care if you wanna treat me and everyone else like they're lower than you, but Nema's different –"

"Why, you wanna bang her?" Michael gave him an angry grin.

"NO! But YOU'RE her Guardian Angel, Michael! And there is so much MORE to that than, 'oh, I saved her ass, now I'm off the hook!' This is a lifetime deal! As long as SHE'S alive, you protect MORE than her life! You protect her peace of mind, too! If you don't do that, you might as well just leave her to Cheriour, because what's the point of living a human life if you're miserable all the time?"

"Well she doesn't seem to actually be a HUMAN, now, does she? And the way you're talking? You sound like you want her BAD!"

"What is WRONG with having some empathy for the girl? How about the way YOU'RE talking? Always accusing me of wanting a piece of her… Are you SURE it isn't YOU that's interested in her?"

"Why the Hell are you turning the tables around? I don't want that bitch!"

"… Okay, you know what? That's not the point. The point is, you need to do your job, okay? You know Kamael? Your servant guy? You know what he's been doing since you've NEVER watched over her?"

"Do I CARE what he does?"

"You ought to. He's RECORDED Nema's life, Michael. In some kind of vain hope that you might stumble on them and watch them, if that would somehow HELP you with your duties." Raphael frowned down at his closest friend. At times like these it was hard to believe that he actually considered Michael to be his best friend, but he did. Even now, it wasn't something he questioned. "… I've seen bits and pieces… There have been so many times she's needed you… and you were never there. That's unfair, Michael. She deserves the same protection as everyone else in Assiah." Michael wasn't saying anything, just staring at his friend with half-angry, half-bored blue-green eyes. It made Raphael's heart sink, so he gave up for now, turning to leave. "… Maybe that's the REAL reason God sent you down here. To make you realize that you're not just the Angel of War. You're the Angel of Protection. That's what war is for. Protection."

"War is for killing! That's ALL it's for! Don't talk like you know my place better than I do!" These were Michael's parting words for Raphael, the two Archangels parted, Michael stomping into Nema's house. "Hey, Nema!" Michael called out. Nema had moved away from her spot next to the table. Grumbling to himself, he continued stomping throughout the house, calling out for her, and yet, she never responded. He saved her bedroom for last, and stepped inside, finding nothing but the usual, and large pile of black feathers sitting on Nema's bed. "… You're FUCKING joking…!" Michael hissed at no one in particular. Nema had run off again!