Improper Guardian
Chapter Twenty Five
By: Brenli
Missed her? Missed her, did he? Hah. He ought to revive every single Rabbit he'd killed, first. When he did that, then they'd debate whether he even CARED enough to vaguely miss her.
"… Talk, dammit!" Michael spat after a short moment.
"Well what the fuck do you want me to say?" Nema snapped back, flames of quick hatred sending imaginary sparks between them. "Welcome back, honey?"
To Nema's disgust, Michael laughed. It was a strange laugh. It was slower than normal. Or at least it was slower than she remembered it to be like. She shook away the momentary confusion as he swung the heavy blade of his sword up high. "Give me a present…? Fight me!"
"Gladly!" Really, truly Nema would be glad to take him up on such an offer, though she despised how he seemed to think this was mere sport. Maybe to him, it had been sport, but that was because Nema hadn't given him her own version of Hell just yet. Yet.
But she'd give it to him now. She ran at him with her Angel Crystal sword slashing at the air wildly. She was sure she looked frantic and unsure, and that was fine. That was what she wanted. The Fire Angel simply stood there, a peculiar sort of smile sitting on his face. He thought this was too easy. Well, good. She wanted that too.
"… Wait a m- Oh!" The Fire Angel's smile became a wide, intoxicated grin as he spun around and blocked the blow coming down on his head. "That was sneaky! How do you move so fast?"
"That's a secret for me to keep!" Nema sneered and continued to make quick slashes at either side of them, which were promptly parried. She took joy in the fact that though the blade of Michael's trusty Fire Sword had been crafted to be wide and thick, the sheer material of her sword, Angel Crystal, kept it strong. Perhaps stronger than Michael's sword.
"Keeping secrets? What's the point in that? There isn't a part of you I don't know!" Michael grinned widely. Oh, that was probably a very bad thing to say, wasn't it? That was just too dirty. The words seemed to catch Nema off guard, too, her ruby eyes widening just the slightest bit before narrowing into slits.
"… Fuck you! There isn't a part of me you don't know? Since when were you a perverted kind of creep?"
"… Since… now?"
Nema ignored him and charged once more, the crystal blade of hers actually touching soft skin. Even in whatever strange state he was in, the Fire Angel leapt back enough to prevent any serious damage, and he got away with only a light scratch that traveled across his chest. Chances were, it wasn't even going to bleed.
However, Nema DID manage to catch the bandages covering his left forearm, slicing them open just the slightest bit.
The white cloth began to sag and slip down his arm, and Michael, frustrated with it, shook off the bandages. Nema's eyes focused and remained on the peculiar cross, only just gently healed over… a mirror of her own scars… when Michael had often told her that he would never take such an action. "Wh-"
"What, you wanna play that way? Fine!" Michael swung at her and allowed the tip of his sword to catch some black fabric and listened to it rip with a satisfying sound.
"OH MY – WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Nema cried and quickly gathered as much fabric as she could. He'd cut open her shirt and now it was falling open, revealing her lacy black bra.
Michael was laughing. LAUGHING as she blushed and clutched the fabric at her bosom. "WOOOO…! What a show!"
"A SHOW?" Nema hissed and ran at him once again, but this time Michael dodged and grabbed the back of her shirt, forcing it off her body. "FUCKING STOP IT! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"
"'Course it's not! Never said it was!"
"THEN WHAT IS IT?"
"Enjoyable!"
"Enj-" Nema found herself repeating the word. Enjoyable. This was… ENJOYABLE? That word actually came out of HIS mouth, at a time like THIS? "… FUCK YOU! CREEP!" Nema screamed, no longer caring that she was standing there with only her bra to cover her breasts.
Again she charged. Again he parried and swung carelessly while Nema struggled in blind anger and embarrassment. And Nema felt like she was completely misplaced in this fight, though she was sure it had to be the other way around. She was lost in a strange kind of rage, but Michael took it all lightly… like he didn't care… like this wasn't even a real fight.
Did Nema wish it wasn't a real fight? … She used to think so with all their other fights, since they'd last discovered they were each alive. She used to wish that, under his evil green gaze and tight scowl, there lurked the blue-eyed Angel that she had fallen in love with… But not now, of course! Because she was with a better man, now. Rujiel, a man who would never forsake her, or betray her… or tear her heart up. Yes. She'd found someone new. And she wanted this to be a real fight.
And now… after the few days that she had gone without fighting him… it was HIS turn to not want a real fight. He was acting like… like this was training. Like when he would train her down in Assiah… He was being so strangely lighthearted in spite of his skill, he was going easy, taking defense… and most importantly… he was smiling. And somehow, that smile made Nema forget she was in Heaven. It made her think she was in Assiah… training, and that was all. And that she could stop, and he would stop, too.
So she stopped.
And he stopped, his sword frozen in mid-slash.
... And why the Hell couldn't he have been like this BEFORE? It wasn't like she had ALWAYS wanted to hurt him…! "I swear I…"
"… Yup?"
"I SWEAR I FUCKING HATE YOU!" She fought again. Oh God, did she hate him! What kind of sick, SICK timing was that? NOW he was going to be a gentle fighter? After making her feel hopeless, empty, fucking ANGRY? Now he was just playing around?
Something strange blurred her vision, and for some reason Nema did not realize that they were tears until Michael had successfully pinned her and… kissed one of the tears away. "Poor girl…"
Poor girl? POOR GIRL? He was raining PITY on her now? She didn't need it! "HOW DARE YOU FUCKING KISS ME! GET OFF! GET OFF RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh, why? Is that Ruji bastard gonna kick my ass?" Michael laughed it off, and suddenly Nema's blood ran cold. Michael wasn't acting like Michael at all. Not one bit, and this was scaring her. He was completely unpredictable now!
… Was he going to rape her, now?
She screamed. Oh God, she screamed, and she flailed, and she tried her hardest fight her way out of this sticky situation. And then his kissed her, long, deep, and so completely demanding, and Nema screamed into his mouth, as though she'd still be heard… at the very least, be heard by some part of him still like the Michael she had loved.
Once.
She had loved him ONCE. And not anymore.
Yes.
… Maybe.
Nema, lost in the psychological trauma that came with the idea of being raped for the second time in her whole life, suddenly broke down in tears of a wild, panicked kind. But when Michael ended the kiss, Nema choked back her sobs and let her head flop to the side, the tears running like frightened rivers, her red eyes shut as tight as they could ever hope to be.
She was unable to see Michael licking his bottom lip. It was not out of any sort of intoxicated seduction, but because he could taste something peculiar. "… Strawberries? I knew it! I KNEW your lips were way too pink! You're wearing lip gloss! Goin' on some kind of hot date?" At last Michael seemed to register the anguish he'd thrown Nema into. "Heyyyyyy don't cry…!"
"LET ME GO!" Nema suddenly cried.
"What, you think I'ma rape you? I won't."
"I don't trust you…" She replied in a low hiss.
"Well that sucks…" Michael let his finger glide down her neck and felt her shiver. "Do you remember then? I do. You made me feel good."
"Well that's good for you, then, huh?" Nema snapped sarcastically. As soon as she had felt her body's involuntary shiver she had snapped back into her angrier self.
"…Huh?" She watched him arch a deep red brow. He'd never done that around her before and to be honest… it was actually kind of cute. "Noooo not like thaaaat."
"No? Then like wh-" She paused. He was nibbling on her neck, now… in that God damn spot of hers! And damn him for ever being in the kind of position that ALLOWED him to find it! She felt herself shiver again… And she wished… that she COULD just enjoy it. She wanted to be home, again… and she wanted to… just… be with him. That's all she wanted. She just wanted to be with him. Still. Even after all of this.
God dammit.
Then a tiny sound escaped her, one of pain. Somehow, in the long while they had been apart, she'd forgotten that Michael had fangs. But now she remembered. Oh God, she remembered.
Michael felt his fangs pierce flesh, but didn't hear her teeny cry of pain. And then he tasted the blood, the metallic flavor seeping slowly into his mouth. Somehow, this appealed to him. He was taking a part of her into him… Suddenly he remembered that he missed her. And suddenly he remembered that he'd had a plan, too, but he'd forgotten what it was, exactly… he wondered if this was okay, though. Maybe this was the plan? Well, a fucking WEIRD plan, then. He swore never to take so many pills again.
Out of nowhere, Nema quickly flailed, finally managed to get her hands against his chest, and shoved him off. He quickly stood and watched her, teary and disheveled, sit up and press a hand to her neck. Wow… he'd bitten her good. He hoped he didn't puncture an important vein or something… She drew her hand away from the wound and observed a decent amount of blood smeared over her pale fingertips.
When their eyes met, Nema's were wide with disbelief and anger. "… You fucking BIT me?"
Michael said nothing in response, only licked the blood off his right fang.
God dammit, she was THROUGH with this game! She snarled and took up her crystal sword, when a tall, dark figure appeared from somewhere up above and came between them.
It was Lucifer, Nema's surrogate uncle, Michael's brother, wielding his own sword. "That's enough. Nema, you are indecent. Go home. Get your neck looked at."
Nema's mouth fell open in automatic protest, but Lucifer stood his ground in his usual icy, authoritarian manner.
"Go on. I would love to take it from here."
She gave her former lover one last glare, and she wanted to promise a continued fight, like they always had… but… she couldn't do it. Not a single syllable could fall from her lips, and in frustration and pain, and spun and left, her sword turning into her cross earring once more.
"Hey, come back!" Michael rushed after her, and he almost failed to sense the sleek blade of his older brother's sword coming down on his fiery head. "God dammit! Fuck off! This isn't your fight!"
"But it is my fight." Lucifer said coldly, as it was his nature to do so. After all the impossible shit the War Angel had been enduring, he'd almost completely forgotten his brother, his cruel, cold brother, but now here they were, fighting each other.
For the first time in his life Michael did not want to fight Lucifer. It was not necessarily because he no longer despised him, for it seemed they came from different worlds and they always would, but because he was getting the way of big PLAN… whatever it was, because he'd forgotten already…
"IT'S NOT YOUR FUCKING FIGHT! NEMAAA! GET BACK HERE!"
"Stop whining." Lucifer continued to swing his sword side to side, and then blocked Michael's frustrated blow to the head with a steady face. "Nema is going home. After being sexually assaulted by my poor excuse for a little brother, I would imagine she needs to recuperate. It must be good timing of mine, showing up when I did. Would you have raped her if you'd been given more time?"
Michael froze for a short moment, and then sneered. "I WASN'T GONNA FUCKING RAPE HER!"
Lucifer gave his younger brother a small smile that expressed disbelief and mild amusement. "You have hurt her enough, haven't you?" He enjoyed watching Michael's frustrated movements and continued blocked them all, "Leave her alone. My poor little niece no longer needs you."
"NIECE?" The Fire Angel sneered.
"Niece." Lucifer simply repeated, and finally he grew tired of playing. "Enough now."
It was way more simple than it ought to have been, but within seconds Lucifer had used the flat of his blade to knock Michael onto his side, and he delivered a swift kick with one of his black, steel-toe boots. The Fire Angel coughed out a, "S-SHIT…!" He tried to come to a stand, but Lucifer kicked him twice for trying and pressed his boot against the hand that held Michael's Fire Sword.
"Tell your older brother what you're on."
"… W-what? Fuck… you!" Michael was still coughing from the steel-toe kicks.
Lucifer sighed, but maintained an aloof face. "It's been so many years, hasn't it, little brother? But I am not a fool. That has always been your expertise."
"FU-"
"Ah ah ah…" Lucifer ground his boot against Michael's hand. "I know perfectly well that you are on something. Not once have you delivered a blow that would make me proud to call you my brother. You are not the same. So tell me… What are you on?"
Michael scowled up at Lucifer and grudgingly answered, "… Just… painkillers."
"Ah. For your… strange new wounds, then?" Lucifer nodded down at Michael's exposed arm. "Overdosed…? Were you looking forward to a high, or is this a failed suicide attempt… attempt number two, I presume?"
"…St-stop being so… fucking… calm…!" Fatigue was starting to hit Michael and settle over him like a heavy blanket… So taking six pills just leaves a short high, then…now he was beginning to feel an itching type of pain his arms…
Ah, dammit. He was definitely not taking so many pills ever again.
"… It is such a pity… look at you. You have let yourself go, haven't you?"
"F-fuck off…!"
"But did you have to take my niece with you?"
"Nema… is not your fucking niece…!"
Lucifer arched a dark brow. "She is the daughter of Mudou Setsuna. She may as well be my niece. Of course… there was a short time in which I had believed that she would become my sister-in-law, instead of some technical niece. But these were just empty hopes… Are you still awake?" Lucifer tapped his forehead with his sword.
"… Yes…"
"Goodness… you better not die out on me… I would be most disappointed in you if you were to die by suicide. Most disappointed."
"I'm NOT… gonna die… fucking idiot." Michael stifled a yawn.
"Well, then." Lucifer stepped off Michael's hand and sheathed his sword. "I have no interest in fighting you if you are in a drugged state. You must promise me that you will never fight Nema again."
Michael stared up at his brother. "… Why?"
"You cause her too much greif. It would be best if you avoided her at all costs. She will move on… if she never has to see you again."
The Fire Angel was silent.
"Wake up." Lucifer kicked him.
Michael growled and yelled, "I'm not gonna promise that!"
"And why not?"
"Because… I fucking said so!" Oh, that wasn't any good…! He had to make a lie, and quick! "Because I want her dead, dammit…! I want her dead! Fuck!" He endured another sharp kick to his ribs.
"I will ensure your death long before her own, if this is the case… little brother."
Michael held a hand over his abused side and mumbled, "… That… sword…"
"Sword?"
"Her sword…"
"Ah yes. Isn't it a clever little thing? Her sword turning into her earring? She will never have to be unarmed and so few will ever realize it."
"It was… her rosary cross."
"You are still observant, then…" Lucifer said idly. "The rosary was a gift to her father when he discovered that Sara had become pregnant. He used it to pray for the safety of his child… and the cross? It is a small piece of my Queen's sword… the Nanatsusaya… She had a cross cleverly carved out of the blade and had the rosary constructed herself."
"... So Nema…"
"Wields part of the Nanatsusaya. A sword that will never, ever break. A sword that only she can wield, without going mad." Lucifer tapped his brother's thigh with his boot. "Have you been enlightened enough? I am waiting for you to change your mind and promise to leave Nema be."
God... if he did that… what if some other Hunter killed her off, just because he had avoided picking a fight he would never finish? Well… this was something he was not going to divulge to his older brother, so he lied once more. "I told you I want her dead!"
The blade of Lucifer's sword suddenly, swiftly came to a position just over Michael's throat, threatening to pierce him there and leave him to choke on blood. "One last chance… for my little brother." Lucifer said the words coldly, yet… did Michael detect a very tiny shred of compassion?
Michael didn't care. Michael went ahead and laughed. "God… Oh God… Go ahead. It'll be… so fucking merciful of you… I'll die laughing."
These words made Lucifer think over his actions. "… And mercy is one thing I should not give you." And Lucifer left.
And Michael still laughed. "I'll die laughing, damn you…! Because I can't promise that… shit! Because I…" And then the Fire Angel passed out from his high and overexertion.
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AUTHORESS NOTE: It's short, and the truth is I wanted to make this chapter even longer, but seeing as my schooling has been TEARING ME APART, in my desperation to show that I have no given up on Impy I post this for you all. I humbly thank all if you who have stuck through this with me! I've been trying really hard to get everything else in my life balanced out… I'm not turning this into a blog, but in short I'm a little on the failing end right now, but I'm still going to give you what I can give you without having everything else bite my head off!
So sorry there's no Katou and his cookies. That was SUPPOSED to be in this chapter but now you'll have to wait. Gomen ne!
Impy Lesson of the Day: DON'T DO DRUGS. EVEN IF THEY'RE PAINKILLERS AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED WAY MORE THAN YOU OUGHT TO TAKE. YOU'LL END UP SEXUALLY HARASSING THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT!