Improper Guardian

Chapter Eleven

By: Brenli

"That can't be right…! It's… HER…!"

"Nani? You're lying. It's just another albino girl."

"How many albinos in mini-crowns live in Tokyo?"

"But what's she doing without Mr. I'll-Saw-Your-Head-Off-If-You-Touch-Her?"

"How should I know? Maybe they got into a tiff and she stormed out. You know how she used to do that way back when. Because she is stupid like that."

"… So, what then? Should we kill her?"

"You know we ought to."

"… But don't you remember… those… Sunday night tricks they used to play? How do you know this isn't another one of those?"

"… Eh. I have no idea."

While two Angels whispered between each other, Nema whipped out her cell phone and quickly dialed a number.

"What? You cold or something?" Michael's voice came through sharp yet teasing.

"I've got enough layers from the waist down to be fine!" Nema said in a whisper, twirling her favorite black, scalloped skirt about her trademark knee-high boots.

"I meant your stupid chest…! All you got is that slutty corset thing!"

"It is NOT slutty!" She retorted, looking down at her black, leather corset, accented in grommets. She'd gone for a darker look than usual, dressed head-to-toe black, topping her head with a black mini-crown adorned in spikes, painting her eyes and lips dark as the night sky. "And I'm not cold! I'm bored, you know. Nothing's happening."

"Be patient! There are a couple of 'em."

"Just two?"

"If you don't stop complaining I'LL just go ahead and take 'em out right now!" Michael hissed quietly into his own phone, hiding at the top of the nearest building.

"… Well you're no fun…"

Michael grinned. He expected that kind of response but he couldn't stop himself from laughing quietly. It was cute, but not so cute as to make him hurl. "I'm fun enough. You just gotta wait for your prey."

Nema blew raspberry into the phone.

"Anyway, I'm hanging up on you, now."

"Ohhhh… doushite?"

"'Cause I can! Watch me!" And the sharp, monotonous tone began its song.

"… Fine. Fuck you, too…!" Nema tucked her cell phone safely away under her mini-crown. She thought she could hear a faint snickering, but she couldn't tell if it was Michael's laugh or someone else's. If it was Michael, she wouldn't be too surprised. He thought her mini-crown was the silliest thing off the face of the planet and he wasn't afraid to tell her so, which was to be expected, even if two days ago, Michael had his own little mental breakdown.

Life around him had been strange since then. As swiftly as he seemed to fall into his violent version of despair, he was back to being his loud-mouthed, rowdy self. In spite of this, Nema tried to be as patient at possible. It was a chore, to say the least, but in some small ways it paid off. Michael stopped mouthing off if Nema got too quiet, and now, most of their squabbles were friendly ones. Nothing to be taken seriously… and Nema was fine with that. However, for the first time in Nema's life, she realized that she really wasn't as much of a badass as her peers made her up to be. Michael was at least twice as rebellious. She wanted to show him to everyone who had ever written her off as a delinquent and see what they thought. And while they dealt with him, Nema would do something not so badass-like. Like take a long bath or sleep all day. … Well, sleep really did sound promising, right now…

Nema yawned on that thought, stretching her arms up over her head. "Oh, oops…" She said to herself as she felt the soft feathers of her dark wings tickle her back. Why was it that she just could NOT control the appearances her wings liked to make?

At least the wings had been a successful trigger in making the two hidden Angels charge forth, their own white wings flapping away as they tried taking her both from the front and from the back. But Nema was quick to duck, and her wings flapped up to smack them both alongside their faces, temporarily blinding them with black feathers. When they could finally see again, Nema was above them both, and she promptly kicked at their heads before soaring upwards.

She was flying…! Nema wasn't quite sure how she was pulling it off…! She was tensing her shoulders… in a way… and yet she was controlling a group of muscles very new to her. "Are you two dizzy already? You're a waste of time! I shouldn't have come here!" She grinned evilly down at her opponents, who sneered up at her before joining her in aerial combat. Nema decided that she liked aerial combat much more. It left her legs free to do more kicking, considering that the laws of gravity no longer applied.

"… YOU FUCKING SUCK!"

Nema's red eyes turned down at the vision of Michael, who stood there with his arms held out and a pout on his face that screamed, 'Where's MY fun?' "Gomen!" She called down at him, and cheerfully slammed her fist into the chest of one Angel while the other shook off another blow to the head.

Michael sighed heavily and glared up at Nema and her worthless opponents, but after a time, he felt an involuntary smirk light up his features. Damn the fact that he couldn't fly up there with her…! It had been so long since he'd flown, the envy was eating him up inside. And yet, now that he could only observe, he felt happy. Michael wasn't too sure why. The War Angel in him was happy to see that the training had paid off, as he finally noticed that Nema's movements really had become more fluid and less rushed. And a part of him found it oddly amusing how similar Nema and he just might have been. Michael had always considered her an opposite. In many ways, she was. But watching her grin cruelly as she delivered harsh blows, her eyes sparkling in fresh bloodlust… he could see himself in that.

But there was something more to it. It was in the way her dark skirts swirled about her boots and the way her snowy hair shimmered as it flowed around her in a long, shining, graceful cascade of ivory strands. The way her skin glowed in its haunting pallor and the way her ruby eyes reflected the moon so clearly, even from where he stood. Michael wasn't going to come right out and call her beautiful, or anything like that… but damn. She definitely wasn't ugly. After a while, the fight actually began to look more like a dance on Nema's part, and Michael almost forgot that there were two Angels receiving a severe beating. Maybe they had forgotten they were receiving a severe beating, because suddenly, Nema wasn't even moving anymore. She shut her eyes and then threw her hands over her nose as she sneezed.

"Bless you." Michael said automatically, and the other two Angels, believe it or not, almost said it themselves. It wasn't out of any sort of kindness, sadly… but it had a lot to do with the fact that they were beings from Heaven. It was such a stereotypical common courtesy, it was nothing more than a habit, now, and Michael proved it when his blue-green eyes widened and he yelled, "Hey! Don't fucking sneeze into my gloves! That's fucking sick!" For indeed, Nema had stolen his gloves and worn them for this one night.

It was apparently a very large sneeze, because Nema still faltered, and then the unthinkable happened. Just randomly as her wings appeared, they disappeared, and Nema began her not-so-graceful fall. The two Angels took advantage of this sudden weakness, or they tried to, anyway, until the Wind Angel himself made his last-minute appearance and blocked them off with a gust of his element. As the two Angels had endured enough, they left with bruised egos, deciding that Cheriour did not need to know that they had been kicked around by an I-Child.

Meanwhile, the Fire Angel had been quick to catch Nema, and she landed into his arms perfectly, the two of them showered with the black feathers that did not want to leave with her wings. "Nema, daijoubu?"

Nema's only reply was another loud sneeze.

"Bless you." Michael responded habitually.

"… Domo…" Nema said while she sniffled, arching her pale brows up at him. Even if Michael was trying to be a bit nicer… the idea of him blessing her was just plain freaky.

Raphael was suddenly beside them, and, as usual, he tsked Michael. "… Okay, what did I TELL you about doing this?"

The Fire Angel was quick to defend himself. "Well, we got bored!"

"So? Aren't you training her for whatever odd reason?"

"Well I've gotta put her to the test, don't I?" Michael stated matter-of-factly.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "And she isn't passing if she falls out of the sky!"

"Raphael… YOU came out of the sky…" Nema spoke up as she sniffled, confused both by her sudden cold and by Raphael's miraculous appearance.

The Wind Angel's eyes icy blue eyes widened at the epiphany. Shit! He'd been caught!

"Sounds like you've been hallucinating, Nema! You must be REALLY fucking sick or something!" Michael quickly said, saving Raphael from any further scrutiny, and Raphael decided that, for now, he'd lay off the lecture because Michael had come to the rescue.

"She's ill?" Raphael asked, and as confirmation, Nema sneezed once more.

"Bless you." The two Elemental Angels replied automatically, leaving Nema to give out another shaky, confused, "… Domo…"

"Raphael!" A female voice called out, and in rushed, of all people, Barbiel, her wings flapping in urgency. "Three, now! There are three! You need to come b- Wah!"

Raphael made a big show of embracing Barbiel, his hands slapping at her magnificent white wings. "No wings, no wings!" He whispered harshly. "How are they?" He asked as Barbiel quickly willed her wings away.

"All bleeding. I suspect it was only one, but the other two got wounded coming to you."

"I-Children?"

"All of them."

Raphael sighed and ran a hand through his blonde strands. "Why are they being so brave…?"

"I… Children?"

Michael looked down at Nema with a confused glance that was quickly washed over with the realization that Nema had only heard of Rabbits... she had no idea that a Rabbit WAS an I-Child. "Like you." He responded gruffly, wanting to leave it at that.

"… Rabbits like me?"

That did it. Barbiel's eyes widened and she held a hand over her mouth in shock. "Don't insult yourself, dear!" She cried.

Michael winced at the reaction, but Nema stared on, confused. She had no idea what was so wrong with calling herself a Rabbit. Was this woman who appeared to be closely acquainted with Raphael against Rabbits or something?

Barbiel had nothing against Rabbits at all, but she had a confused look of her own on her face as she stared at Michael carrying Nema. If he held her any tighter, it would have looked as though he were cradling her intimately. A smile slowly began to creep onto her face as she nodded her head slightly at the Fire Angel. "… Hi, Michael-sama."

"Hey." Michael replied brusquely, feeling the suspicious stare of Barbiel's pierce him. Damn it all…! Since when did carrying a girl have to mean something? It must have been a woman thing. He'd ask Nema once they got home.

Raphael could feel the uneasy atmosphere begin to form between Michael and Barbiel, as Nema remained confused, and coughed. "Well… we need to get going, then, Barbiel…"

"WAIT A MINUTE, DOC!" The Fire Angel interrupted Raphael from any parting words. "Do me a favor and cure Nema real quick!"

Raphael sighed in an exasperated manner. "It's a common cold! It's not like her arm's cut off!"

Nema sneezed again, spurring habitual "bless you"s from three Angels, now. "Domo." She said for the third time, quietly.

"Just do it real quick! Flick her nose or whatever!" Michael went on, pleading.

"How's THAT gonna help?" Nema asked. She was ignored.

"If you want me to flick her, I'd have to flick her whole head! Every inch!" Raphael hastily dug through the inner pocket of his coat and took out a small bottle that was filled with a red liquid. "Here!" He tossed the bottle to Michael, letting it land in Nema's lap as Michael held her. "Drink it, I'm leaving!" And with that, he took Barbiel by her hand and rushed off with her.

"Well, you heard him!" Michael said to Nema. "Drink up!"

"… Lovely bottle…" Nema said, admiring the crystalline bottle before taking the top off and sipping at the contents. It was cool against her throat, and sweet, reminding her mildly of fresh persimmons and sugar. "… Wau… this tastes good…!" Nema heartily drank the rest of the bottle. "Not a bit like medicine!"

The Fire Angel snickered. "… Raphael is cool like that." He had no other excuse. He never understood why medicine on Assiah was so horrible to the taste, anyway. When he'd asked Raphael about it, the Wind Angel had shrugged and said, "They're not smart enough to make medicine more worthwhile."

"I didn't know Raphael was a doctor…"

"Yeah, he's a damn good one, too." Nema had no idea just how good of a doctor he was, and unfortunately, Michael couldn't go into it. It disappointed him, though he'd never admit it. As days went on, he wanted more and more badly to explain who Raphael and he really were… even if that meant Nema would know that it was Michael himself that had failed to come to her aid… all those times she needed him.

Nema's body stiffened in his arms as she yawned, and it suddenly occurred to Michael that he was STILL holding her. … That was a long time to be holding a girl! No wonder Barbiel was giving him weird looks! He quickly released her, muttering in his usual manner, "Let's go."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Nema's legs gave out and she nearly face planted.

"Kuso!" They both swore, and Michael added, "Daijoubu?"

"What kind of question is that? My legs aren't working anymore!" Nema snapped.

And as quickly as this dilemma arose, Raphael returned, out of breath. "Oh, and don't – Oh. Fuck."

Michael's eyes seemed to glow in green anger as he glared at the Wind Angel. "Don't WHAT, you fuker?"

"… Don't drink the WHOLE bottle… it makes you…loopy. A bit… intoxicated."

"And NUMB?"

"… Sometimes."

"… What the fuck, Raphael?"

Raphael held up his hands in a helpless manner. "She'll be FINE. She just needs some sleep.

Michael grumbled as he scooped Nema back into his arms once more. "Nevermind what I said about you being a good doctor. You're a SHITTY ONE!"

"I have DYING people to look after! Nema's only sick!" Raphael sighed and held out his arms, rolling his blue eyes. "You know, if you're really SO pissed, I'll carry her home."

"Nah, I got her."

Raphael had to do a double-take at that. He almost wanted to ask Michael to repeat himself. It didn't feel like so long ago… Michael would have cringed at the idea of touching Nema unless it was to shove her around! What was THIS? "… O… Okay, then." He said quickly as he witnessed Michael's scowl begin to curve onto his features again, and left.

The Fire Angel sneered as his friend departed. He knew what he was thinking… just like Barbiel…! They were probably going to giggle about it privately, between themselves… well, fine then! They could go ahead and do that! Michael had to get Nema home before he considered hurting them for it! "Hey, Nema, you awake?"

Already the medicine was working its magic on her. She could barely keep her eyes open and her head was hung, the white strands of her hair falling over her face. "… Yeah…" she said weakly.

Michael rolled his blue-green eyes and began the walk to Nema's house. He walked as briskly as he could without discomforting Nema, hoping to avoid any passersby. Who knew what other people would decide to gawk at him?

"… So…" Nema said through a yawn, "… That one girl…"

"Who, Barbiel? Raphael's assistant." Michael fought the urge to call her Raphael's lover.

"She said I insulted myself… How?"

The Fire Angel paused and said grudgingly, wishing that Nema hadn't brought this up. "… You called yourself a Rabbit. It's… insulting."

"It is? But YOU call me that."

'Dammit, don't do this!' Michael wanted to scream at her. But instead he said, "… Yeah, well, to me it's not a big deal…"

"… But it's an insult."

"Yeah well I don't MEAN it that way!" Michael snapped. "Stop being so fucking –"

"Sensitive." Nema said quietly.

"Yeah…!"

The pause following Michael's short explosion, countered with Nema's quiet completion of his thoughts, rubbed the Fire Angel the wrong way. So he'd always called Nema a Rabbit. He hadn't meant anything bad by it… He hadn't! It was just a nickname to him, a pet name for the only girl who'd ever been around him for this long. Wasn't he ALLOWED to actually count her as… well… a friend? So he'd chosen the word Rabbit. It didn't HAVE to be an insult…! That was society's fault, and damn society to Hell for being so fucking strict and hard on him!

"But…" Nema's quiet voice floated up to him. It sounded slightly slurred, and sad, and he hated it. "You know I like you… It hurts when people insult me… but when you do it… it hurts twice as bad. 'Cause I want you to care about me, you know…"

"… You need to get those thoughts out of your head." She really did need to…! Those ideas of hers… crazy, lovesick ideas she formed because he was her protector… she had no idea how dangerous those ideas were! Michael looked down and Nema was staring up at him with sleepy red eyes. A blush spread itself across her nose and over her cheeks. She looked genuinely drunk, yet sad, as she failed to blink up at Michael.

"… So, I wanna know… If I dyed my hair, would you date me? Like, red like yours?"

"No! That would be fucking creepy, Nema! Stop sayin' shit like that!" Michael snapped at her. He shuddered as Nema's head fell onto his shoulder, her lips almost brushing across the delicate skin of his neck. "… If I wasn't a Rabbit… would you care for me… like I want you to…?" Her breath tickled his neck, and he shuddered again, finding the reason why to be repulsive… only because it embarrassed him, though he would never admit this to anyone.

The breathing continued, but it was slow and deep. Nema had slipped into slumber. At last Michael was a mere block away from Nema's house, and he slowed his pace. "… It's… it's not because you are an I-Child… You could be… the highest ranking Angel, and it would still be a sin to…" Michael immediately cut off his words. What was he saying? Just the truth, it would be a sin if he ever… Well, it would never happen, anyway, so what was he being all flustered about? He was just saying the truth… the rotten truth… Well, he personally didn't care… that much… Only a little bit.

Well, if he wanted to go ahead and be with Nema, you know, he ought to be allowed to. Damn God and His stupid rules…! Restricting him… not that he cared…! Michael didn't care… Because he was Michael. Michael the fearless, the ruthless. Michael who cast his 'evil' brother out of Heaven. Michael who needed no woman.

Michael laid Nema down on her bed and began untying her left boot. Nope, Michael didn't care about those kinds of restrictions…! Well, maybe he did, but only because he didn't want to be restricted at all, right? Right… Michael didn't have any interest in Nema… Michael believed in this as fiercely as his fiery heart would let him… Except for one thing.

Michael liked to lie to himself.

Lying to himself helped preserve the wild, violent parts of him… but it killed off… other parts of him. Made him less whole… and not himself, anymore. So maybe he was violent. And loud. And crazy. And he loved it. But wouldn't anyone let him get away with having a heart, too? He did have one… Wouldn't they let him keep it beating…?

Why was Nema the only one?

The Fire Angel felt the pressure building up in his chest, and he fought so hard to keep it down. He didn't need to think about this, anymore. He could just lock it away. He could dwell on it later… when the Rabbit Hunting was done. Sure, he could. Why not dwell on it then? It wouldn't do to come to a conclusion now, anyway… What could he do, anyway…? If he came to the conclusion that crept up behind him… what would he do? Nothing? And let Nema lie there… crying inside… feeling ugly… and not worth anyone's care?

He remembered when nothing like that mattered to him… What happened? What…

"Nema…! Hey, Nema…!" Michael grabbed at her hands.

Her pale fingers clutched at his. "… Go away…"

"No, I need to say something…!" Michael fished through her box and quickly took out her favorite white rosary, and wrapped it around her hands, his hands clasped over hers.

"… Can't it wait…?" Nema said weakly.

"No!" Michael cried. "You wanna know somethin'?"

"… Sure."

"Your rosary is more special than you think. I've noticed it before… the cross on your rosary… do you know what it's made of?"

"… Crystal?"

"Half right… Your parents only tell you half of the truth… It's Angel Crystal."

"… Are you just fucking with me because I'm out of it?"

"No, no…! It's real… a good, strong crystal… a sacred stone. Close your eyes with me… We're gonna make a holy promise."

Nema laughed. "… A holy what?"

"You think this is hokey, don't you? Well, I don't care! I need to say this!" Nema's eyes were already closed. Michael was almost afraid she'd fallen back to sleep, but he went along anyway. "… I know that I cause you nothing but trouble. All it ever feels like I do is hurt you. Right? But I'll become a better person if you let me…! And I want God to hear it, too, so you know that I am dead serious… I want God to hear my holy promise…! Nema…" Michael quickly shook her hands and felt her fingers grip his again. "If I ever hurt you… If I ever say or do ANYTHING at all, to hurt you… I want you to tell me that it hurts. Can you do that? Can you say that for me?"

"… It hurts?" Nema said in a groggy mumble.

"And when you say it, I'll stop. It's just two words…! It's easy… and I swear no matter what it is, I'll stop… On God's holy rosary, I swear it…! On God's holy rosary, I seal it…" Michael staggered at the end… what he didn't say was that the game of 'holy promises' was a childhood… game. It might or might not have worked. But back when his peers were children, it was fun to believe that it held some significance. And even if it was just a game, Michael thought it might help… he was willing to try anything… that would make everything better… that would make Nema stop hurting… Because…

Fine, dammit. He cared.

Michael finished off the holy promise with a kiss on the Angel Crystal cross, and he pulled her rosary away from her milky fingers as he put it away. There. It was done. And Michael laid his head down on the edge of Nema's mattress staring at her sleepy face as she drifted into a deeper slumber, where her dreams could run free, no matter how wild.

"... Did you hear it, God…? Is this what You want…? Will You leave me alone now? Because You know I can't… give her what she really wants…"