AUTHORESS NOTE: Lordy, lordy, Chapter THIRTY, now…! Truth to tell I am very much afraid to even fathom an end. Not to say that this won't end (sorry, kiddies), but I can't seem to ever predict the correct chapter this will end on.

Improper Guardian

Chapter Thirty

By: Brenli

Nema didn't know how long she had been in the big bath. She'd gone about washing off the dirt and blood in a painfully slow manner, her pale fingers running over the scrapes. The wounds were a bright pink all around the edges. The bite she had endured was a vibrant red. She was infected all over, and when Raphael made his usual trip to her territory to aid her, she knew she would have to submit herself to his healing prowess.

When Raphael came to visit her, he often brought along her parents. Setsuna and Sara would continue to try and persuade Nema to call some kind of truce to the war. She never agreed. She also knew that Raphael himself didn't agree with that idea. "Your parents are too worried about you," he had said once, "if you called a truce, it is doubtful that Cheriour and his men would uphold it. They would betray you in the name of their beliefs."

Nema made it a point to discuss things other than the war when Raphael came to visit. If her parents were there they spoke of Uriel, and the ever-confusing attraction that was blatantly evident between Katou and Doll. Nema would always ask about the well-being of Barbiel. This, at least, would bring a glimmer of light into Raphael's icy blue eyes. She seemed to be handling the pregnancy with ease, he'd always told her with gratitude in his voice. She would be due… goodness, very soon…! Any DAY now…!

Aside from this small subject of happiness, Raphael was a quiet man, in her presence. Idly, she wondered if he still kept in contact with Michael. True, they were on different sides in this Revolution of hers. But they had been friends long before Nema had entered the picture and stirred up a war. She wanted to believe that in some awkward way, she hadn't strained their friendship. She also knew it was silly to believe that they could be on good terms after all of this. Logically, two enemies should not be interacting, should they?

When she had finished washing herself, she continued to sit in the hot water, the steam causing her snow white face to blush. She felt wetness of a different kind on her face. She was crying again. Not even of her own accord. And Nema assumed that was okay. She did have a good list of things to cry about. So she sat there, in the wee hours of the morning, crying and letting the hot water melt away the aches in her bones.

And then she fell asleep.

"Morning, Queenie."

"… What…?" Nema opened her red eyes and stared up at the form before her.

She wasn't sure what to say. Before her stood a Nyssa of a very different sort. Up until now, Nema was only acquainted with a Nyssa that wore loose, gray, average clothing, perhaps to mirror her placid spirit. But it could be safely said that as of last night, Nema had more or less met the Nyssa everyone had compared to Nema herself. A stronger, braver person.

Apparently Nyssa actually had great fashion sense, too. Even in Nema's beaten and half-tired state, she managed to keep a keen eye on clothing. She still wore her black boots, but they were a common staple with everyone's clothing, including Nema's. A pair of black leather pants that fit her so snugly it became a second skin against her pale thighs. Her black top was simply cut, but fit her better than her typical gray or white shirts. And from behind black-rimmed eyelids, Nyssa's green eyes looked down at her. "... You didn't drown."

She spoke with mild amusement in her voice, though she also seemed particularly firm in the way she spoke. Nema wasn't sure if that was because she wasn't used to Nyssa speaking with much emotion or because Nyssa was actually aggravated. "Should I drown?" Nema asked, her voice croaking a little with sleep.

Nema watched Nyssa idly rest her hand on her hip, taking to note that she had strapped a sword to her side. "… No. Cheriour should."

Nema blinked up at Nyssa, and then finally allowed a small smile to curl on her lips. "… Agreed."

"It's early, still. Raphael is here with some visitors for you. … I didn't think you would still be in here."

"I didn't think I would, either…" Nema climbed out of the water and wrapped a robe around herself, scooping up her dirty and torn clothing, picking up her mini-crown and boots. "I'll get dressed and join them right away."

"They're waiting outside your bedroom…"

Nema paused. "… Fine, they can see me in my bathrobe, then." Nema took it as a good sign that Nyssa chuckled.

They were silent as they walked, save for Nema quietly saying, "You should wear eyeliner more often. Looks good on you."

Nyssa had offered an equally quiet, "… Thank you."

"… Oh my goodness, Nemaelle!"

Nema paused, her red eyes widening. "… JINHO OPPA?"

"What happened, dear? Who did this to you?" The elegant vampire promptly took her clothing from her and kissed her hand. "Raphael-sama must fix you up right away! This won't do!"

Nema laughed and waved away Jinho's concern. "May I get dressed first, Oppa?"

Nyssa arched a pale brow. "… So you know this newcomer? I keep wondering how he ever got into Heaven just fine…!"

"Just the same way we get Lucifer to come into Heaven." Sara spoke up beside Raphael and her husband. "A big black Rabbit Hunter cloak…"

The visitors watched as both Nema and Nyssa sneered on instinct. "At least those things do us SOME good, then." The green-eyed I-Child known as Nyssa muttered.

Setsuna held open the door and allowed his daughter to step through, offering her a fatherly and concerned frown all the while. He shut it, and in mere moments, Nema reopened the door wearing, from head to toe: a white mini-crown, a black tube top, white cotton shorts (as she often wore when she was training), and her trademark, black knee-high boots. "… Nyssa."

Her green eyes shifted toward Nema. "Yes?"

"I'm assuming you know all the military strategies."

"Of course."

"Recite them for me, then."

Nyssa blinked. "… Excuse me, master!"

Nema sighed. "I just want to make sure. You only heard of the plans… from Rujiel."

There was an awkward silence, and then Nyssa began, "The Rabbit Hunters have been falling more on defense, so we're free to assume more offense maneuvers. The easiest cut to any of their bases is through the Rabbit Fields, but we're to try and find another route, if possible."

"… Wow. You've got that down word for word."

"Was there ever any doubt?"

"I guess there shouldn't have been." Nema agreed. "If the troops give you trouble, seek me out."

"Check." Nyssa shrugged and left.

Nema waved an arm for everyone to enter. "Nyssa was the leader of a rebellion prior to the Rabbit's Revolution. She has offered to take my place in military actions for the day."

"… You have a day off, then?" Sara asked with a relieved smile on her face, brushing back a stray lock of blue, wavy hair.

"Don't be too happy, mother. Really." Nema rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help smiling, herself.

"After being wounded as you are, it's good you're taking a day for yourself," Setsuna said firmly. "… Have you considered a truce, yet?"

Nema said nothing this time, and Raphael spoke for her. "We'll take the silence as a rejection." The Wind Angel placed a bowl of warm water that he had been holding on the vanity and motioned for Nema to sit. "Looks like you just have minor scrapes on you, but there's a hefty amount. Did you take a good fall?"

"I'd hardly call it a good fall, really…" Nema sat and shrugged. "… How is Barbiel?"

"… A little ill. It'll be soon." Raphael cleared his throat.

"… Nervous?"

"A little."

Nema offered him a kind smile as he brushed his hand over the scrape on her left elbow, feeling the wound disappear, leaving behind a lingering warmth. "She'll be fine, so long as the master healer is there."

Raphael found it in himself to laugh. "I heal wounds, I don't deal with childbirth! ... Well, I will soon."

"What will you name it?"

"That's a surprise, thank you very much." Raphael said with a smirk, finished with healing her arms and beginning to run his hands down her back and across her belly. "Good Lord, how many scrapes do you have on yourself?"

"Too many." Nema answered shortly.

"Good answer." Setsuna nodded. "… So how is Rujiel?"

Nema fell quiet. "… I ended up hurting Rujiel on accident."

Raphael brushed his hand over her knee and got rid of a particularly nasty-looking cut. "Where is he?"

"… He won't be coming home."

The rest of the room fell silent, save for Raphael. "… You killed him? Where's the body…?"

"You can't revive him, Raphael." Nema said shortly.

The Wind Angel understood what that meant. "… I see."

Nema quickly batted away the tear tumbling down her cheek, but her parents saw it well enough. "Oh, sweetie…" Her mother said softly, and she stepped forth and kissed the crown of Nema's head.

Jinho arched a curious, dark brow. "Rujiel?"

"… He was my boyfriend for a while." Nema mumbled, refusing to look at the confusion on Jinho's tan face.

Raphael whistled in amazement when he came upon a long line of scraped and torn flesh traveling down the outside of Nema's right thigh. "Definitely took a nasty fall, didn't you?"

"I told you it was hardly a good fall."

"Any sprains or broken bones while we're at it, Nema?"

"No. This leg was giving me trouble the other night, but it's fine, now."

"Good, then." Raphael rested his right hand on her knee and brushed his left one down her thigh.

Jinho couldn't help himself. "Goodness, this looks rather seductive…! Wouldn't this send Michael up the wall?"

All other faces shifted gazes to the floor. Sara told him softly. "… We don't talk about him much. Ever since he became a Rabbit Hunter."

"… I see."

"I did need to ask you something, Raphael. Something I was wondering." Nema suddenly asked.

"… Yes?" Raphael looked up at her from his kneeling position.

"Do you… still talk to Michael at all?"

The Wind Angel looked down at the floor again. "… When he made that decision… I was very disappointed in him. I hadn't expected him to agree to that idea." He inspected her left leg and got rid of another scrape. "… I did try to call him, once. The number won't work, anymore. I suspect… they gave him a different phone. And I can't actually visit him for fear of being attacked. … I figure… if he needs to reach me, he knows my number. And I am willing to listen to him."

Nema absorbed all this information in silence. She could think of nothing to say in regards to that subject. "… Jinho?"

"Yes, my dear?" Jinho asked from his spot near her vanity.

"… How have you been?"

Jinho's black eyes blinked in mild surprise, not expecting anyone to ask of his well-being. He decided to be honest. "… I have been better, truth to tell."

Nema looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…" Jinho laughed nervously. "You are familiar with the Evils, and the kingdom of Gehenna, yes?"

"… Auntie Kurai was once Queen, there." Nema said softly. "Until she died giving birth to her only child."

"A daughter." Jinho mumbled. "The new Dragonmaster of Gehenna and Princess, as well. Her name is Lilith."

"A beautiful name."

"A name truly meant for her. She is quite a cruel girl." Jinho said quietly. "… I have been betrothed to her."

Nema's mouth lifted in a crooked smile. "And you're not fond of her."

"She is a child." Jinho allowed the disgust to fall from his lips.

"A foolish brat?"

"No, she is literally a child."

Several faces turned to him with wide eyes. "… She is actually of a suitable age for marriage; don't be fooled. In order to maintain her position as Dragonmaster she has taken to drinking potions that will reduce her physical age to the time just before she began turning into a lady. I have not seen her in her true form." Jinho tried shrugging it off, but it was obvious that it bothered him. "… She has no interest in anyone. She has written me off as a lecher even though she knows that this union wasn't my doing."

"…Why are you betrothed to her?"

"… I grew up in between Gehenna and Korea, so my name was one of many in a matchmaking ritual the elders of Gehenna resorted to on her 18th birthday, as she had not chosen a suitor for herself. I had… the supposed fortune of being chosen as I am her equal yet opposite match."

"… I'm sorry to hear your union isn't a happy one." Nema frowned thoughtfully. "… I have heard that you already have six wives of your own, though. I imagine at least they make you happy."

Jinho took off his top hat, playing with the brim and laughing nervously. "Yes, about that…"

Nema arched a pale brow up at him. "… Is that all a lie?"

"Oh, only a small one, really… considering the only ones to believe it are a few Demons that like to spread rumors, you, and Michael-sama. I blame the Demons for turning it into something much larger than it should have been."

"… But why would you lie about something like that?"

"… I suppose this is the point where I must make my apology." Jinho walked forth and bowed deeply. "The truth is I had been watching you and Michael-sama a day prior to my visit. I could not help but feel there was potential for a… how can I put this… union. Yes. I felt there was potential for a nice little union between the two of you." Jinho toyed with his top hat again. "I have a reputation for being quite the matchmaker myself… though my methods often involve trickery and jealousy. Michael-sama is an easily angered man, so I knew that some minor flirtations on my part and some properly fed lies would… give him the proper push, I suppose. I knew that the idea of a man taking interest in you for the purpose of adding you to a collection of brides would rile him up. He seemed particularly interested in making sure I did not regard you as a lowly bunny Rabbit… He held you in a position as a worthy equal, this was very obvious to me. So I knew that making him believe I wanted you to be one of many wives would stir up enough anger to make him become protective of you… to… treasure you, I suppose."

Nema stared down at Jinho with a soft frown. "… You set us up."

"I was unaware that Michael-sama would be so brash as to… engage in intimate affairs with you." Jinho said quietly. "Nor was I aware that you were under careful surveillance and would suffer as you have because of a simple game I wished to play." The vampire looked up at Nema with a sincere frown on his handsome face. "Nemaelle, I can't help but feel as if these recent events are my own fault. I am aware that this war has good motives, and for this I am happy. But as I visit you and realize that now you do not even wish to discuss Michael-sama, anymore… It is this pain that I must apologize for. I had only meant to cause a union. Not heartbreak."

The vampire felt her gentle hand on his cheek, and she bade him to stand, but as he slowly rose she wrapped her arms around his neck and told him, "I don't hold you at fault… I don't."

And Jinho smiled and returned the tender embrace. "Your ability to forgive is much stronger than I had assumed."

There was a knock on the door, and Nema allowed a tall man to step in. "Nema-sama," He spoke without letting her speak, "Nyssa is demanding on taking out our warriors and…"

"And she is allowed. Do as she says."

"…What…?" The I-Child stuttered before his Queen.

"Nyssa will be filling in for me today and I trust she will make wise decisions. You will treat her as you treat me."

"… But…" He swallowed the lump in his throat and frowned, then bowed. "…Very well."

Nema sighed once he had shut the door. "… There are few who trust Nyssa's judgment, these days. She fell into a slump… but I think it's safe to say she snapped out of it."

Raphael returned to mending Nema, brushing back the ivory hair that covered a scrape over her collarbone. "… Holy…! Well THAT'S not a minor wound!" Raphael pointed at the bite wound on Nema's neck. "Look at how red that is…! That doesn't hurt at all?"

"It stings, a little." Nema said quietly.

"… Looks like some kind of manic vampire bite…"

"Really? Let me see." Jinho seemed to take particular interest in the wound and stepped close to inspect it. "May I?" He asked Nema, who nodded. He took off one white glove and began pressing on the edges of the wound, pushing them out and staring intently. Raphael watched as a look of disgust fell over him. "… I'm offended. That's not a vampire bite, at all."

"It isn't?" Setsuna arched a brow.

"Of course not; look at it." Jinho pursed his lips into a pout and waved a hand over Nema's wound. "Not one vein of any decent size has been punctured. Plenty of torn flesh, no torn veins. Deep, but no significant damage." He slipped his glove back on and told Nema, "If a vampire bit you, he or she is a POOR excuse for one. Not that I would wish any harm on you, dear friend. I'm happy it's not a vampire bite." He sent Raphael a annoyed glance. "I would appreciate it if you brushed up on your knowledge of my race, sir. Just because you've caught sight of a neck wound does not mean that a vampire is at fault."

Raphael returned the annoyed glance and asked him. "What did this, then?" As though Nema would have no idea, herself.

"The wound is deepest along these two edges, here," Jinho pointed out the areas for Raphael to see. "No doubt it was someone with fangs. I suppose it COULD have been a vampire… but a very STUPID one, then." Jinho rolled his eyes, and then fought down a sly smirk. "… Of course, it could also be a particularly violent love bite."

It was at this moment that Nema waved aside the hands hovering over her wound. "Are you going to heal me or not?" She asked bitterly.

She refused to meet the eyes of any of her visitors, and finally Raphael brushed aside her hair again and pressed his hand over the wound. When he lifted it, there was no mark left. "… You're good to go." The Wind Angel said quietly, dipping his hands into the bowl of water and drying them on a soft square of cloth.

"… Thank you." She had been trying to ignore the pair of icy blue eyes piercing into her, and she could finally take no more, and met Raphael's gaze with a look of her own.

His eyes were questioning at first, but as he caught the tears lingering in her ruby eyes a new look came over them. He knew who bit her. She shook her head and let a fake yawn fall from her lips. He realized that she did not wish to speak of why Michael had ever been close enough to bite her, at least not while her parents and Jinho were in the room, so he let it slide, for now. "… Speaking of love bites, Doll is covered with them."

Nema arched a pale brow. "… Really?"

Sara giggled and smiled. "So it seems that all that pent-up tension between Katou and Doll has been finally released!"

"Katou has been telling me he'd like to share a room with Doll. He says it would be easier to keep his room clean, but he's not fooling anyone." Setsuna added.

Nema watched as Raphael sighed silently. "Well even they will be running into a little trouble, soon… I'm afraid it's partly my fault."

"What…?"

"Why do I feel like I'm the only one who's noticed Uriel's true feelings…?"

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"… Where is that key…?"

"You actually lost Doll's key?" Raphael asked boredly.

"I haven't lost it; I've just misplaced it…" Uriel muttered to himself. "… Would you help me find it?"

"I already know where it is. Or who has it, anyway."

The Earth Angel looked at his fellow Elemental with curious green eyes. "Really?" His voice flowed from him. "Who?"

"Apparently Doll collapsed again. Katou turned over the whole place looking for the key… I was the one who told him to try the library."

"… Oh. I see, then." Uriel said slowly, pulling up a chair and sitting in it. "Well… at least I have an idea of where it is."

Raphael cleared his throat. "… You realize that if neither you nor he found her, she would have been left overnight…? I was told she was in a private area only you and her knew of. If no one had found her until the next day –"

"I am aware that her spirit would have escaped her."

"… And that doesn't bother you?"

"Do not make your assumptions!" Uriel suddenly said harshly. After taking a few long breaths, he mumbled, "… I have been out of sorts lately."

"Why?" The Wind Angel asked plainly.

"… One could say that Doll's current… behaviors and… manner of dress are… unsettling."

"Is that what you call it?" Raphael asked with a semi-smirk. "She has been copying a vintage pinup model from Assiah."

"I am aware of this, yes."

"… She is trying to seduce you, you know."

Uriel coughed. "It is… I rather wish she would stop such behaviors."

"… Uriel?" Raphael looked out of the library window, through which light filtered through.

"Yes, Raphael?"

"… Have you ever considered that maybe it's time you began dating Doll?"

A long silence followed. "… I am afraid I have never… that is to say…"

"I'm not stupid. You felt a minor attraction to Doll's soul and THAT is why Doll exists. After all this time… I KNOW that you are still attracted to her."

"THERE IS ONLY ONE WOMAN I HAVE EVER ADMIRED!" The Earth Angel snapped, sending Raphael a particularly cruel glare.

"… Alexiel is not the one meant for you."

"Silence."

"She has been married to Lucifer and crowned his Queen for so long now… And never has there been word of anything negative between them. They are happy together. You know you can't separate that…"

"SILENCE!" Uriel's exceptionally tall frame came to a stand, towering over Raphael. "NOTHING MORE ABOUT THAT!"

"… Exactly. That is exactly what I mean. There is nothing more… about her. In regards to you."

"Enough!" Uriel hissed, his dark robes swirling around him as he turned and made a big show of looking for a book.

"… But there is Doll."

Uriel's shoulders drooped. "… There is no guarantee that she is the one for me."

"There never is with any relationship. That's something to risk." To Uriel's silence, he added, "… You can't wait forever, Uriel. Neither can she. … Just something for you to think about…"

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"… Of course, with my luck, I have to say these things prior to finding Doll bouncing around in some tiny maid dress she made, her neck covered in hickeys, telling me how Katou gave her some necklace." Raphael ran his hands down his face in anguish. "Now I am actually hoping that Uriel does NOT say anything to Doll…"

Sara frowned thoughtfully. "… He waited too long."

"It will be my fault if he decides to pluck up the courage and get burned for it…" Raphael said miserably.

Nema managed a weak laugh. "It's so ironic it's pathetic, really…"

Jinho asked her, "What do you mean?"

"… Just… this whole thing with love. I am fighting a war for the sake of love. Liberation, equality, freedom, call it what you will… in the end, I'm pushing the message the love is okay, and good, and the products of love deserve to be made. And then I look around me… see all the messy tangles and bleeding hearts and… I don't even have to look at anyone else if I don't want to… But everything I see in regards to love… paints love up as a picture of… sadness, and anger, and… evil. And the products of love are actually stems of hate."

No one could think of anything to say in response to that.

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Michael spat in frustration and kept stomping along. Nothing. He could find no information in regards to his Holy Blood… Everyone proved ignorant no matter how many times he hit them, and he had just finished off the fifth computer that decided to flash a "NO DATA" screen at him.

Why couldn't he find anything about it? This Holy Blood was part of some big, grand scheme of that terrible Angel, Cheriour…! HOW could there be no info on Holy Blood when the battle was in a FEW DAYS?

Had Cheriour already assumed that Michael should know nothing? The first time Michael had decided to access a computer, he thought he might be getting close to finding some info, until he found it to be locked behind an identification key and password. Michael had tried "Cheriour" for the key and "asshole" for the password. To his disappointment, nothing came up. So he gave the monitor a hefty kick and sliced the computer's tower into thirds with his sword. That made him feel better for about two minutes.

The Hunters steered clear from him, now. They weren't stupid, and knew that the lack of Michael's troops, as well as Michael's cloak, meant Michael had more or less stopped Rabbit Hunting. No, none of them knew why, and none of them were going to try asking. Michael was relieved that no one so much as dared to kick him off base, as well. Probably a very foolish move on their part, but hey, Michael wasn't going to complain if that meant that he would have more opportunities to find out where his Holy Blood was hiding.

Maybe they didn't care, because they knew he wouldn't find it.

Michael had tried to be civil about it, and hack computers and hunt for books and files. Then he took more threatening measures and "interviewed" people he felt would know something. Then he began turning over rooms. Most Hunters were gone, so they were in for surprise once they got back. Not that Michael cared. By this point, Michael was ready to burn the whole place down and just fucking HOPE the Holy Blood was in there, somewhere.

The Fire Angel decided to go for a walk. This… didn't take him very far. He was surprised to find there were battles going on all around his base… His first thought? Duel with Nema.

But he could not find her. Instead, he noticed that the Rabbit fighters were taking orders from a different woman. She was tall, a rather statuesque woman, with striking green eyes and an apparent fondness for electrocuting her victims. Actually… she seemed like a worthy opponent, but Michael was more interested in finding his Holy Blood than fighting her. So he left, before she could notice him.

He decided to try the Rabbit Fields. Maybe they were already set up… The Fire Angel laughed to himself. Wouldn't that be some kind of fucking STUPID move, setting up a bunch of bombs so early? If something ELSE set them off, there went their damn plan! Or… if someone STOLE them! Wouldn't that be something to die laughing about? Stealing his blood back and leaving them with nothing but a valley full of annoyed Rabbits, flying back out to kill their asses? And they'd deserve it, too, for being so damn stupid!

So he set out to steal them, sure that the Rabbit Hunters were stupid enough to do something like that. But there was nothing there.

So Michael cursed and swore in the vast fields full of dead Rabbits. He struck a tree with his great sword, growled out loud in frustration, and strapped the sword to his back. He took a few deep breaths. And then he set out for a walk. Yes, a walk in a field full of death. But after being a War Angel for so long, he was able to walk through all this death and look at it calmly.

Many of these bodies were dead long ago and no longer ceased to look very human, anymore. It was a disgusting sight, but to Michael, a good one. It meant that less Rabbit casualties were occurring, though the numbers were still hefty. Michael had to admit a bit of this was his own fault… but he was not going to kill another Rabbit, anymore. He didn't care if he hadn't met his quota… 201 souls left. Well, he didn't care. He wasn't hunting, anymore.

Suddenly Michael came upon a more sweetly scented area. He followed the smells… vanilla… lavender… magnolias… feminine scents. At last he came upon it.

It was a crooked, crude cross, upon which were hung the long-dead corpse of some little girl… Michael inspected the wounds… Whip lashings… knife wounds, too. She was not Wing Cut, and the small black wings drooped in their death, the feathers gone tattered and sparse. Her face was gone… He walked around the cross to find a single bullet-hole in the back of her head.

He finished his circle around the cross and looked down. The sweet smells were coming from an altar… no doubt something the I-Children had constructed. Several incense burners had been lit, hence the soft smells he had picked up on. At once he noticed a surprising thing among the flowers and letters left at the altar, but before he gave it any attention he read the words etched into a stone tablet laid against the foot of the cross.

ISOBELLE: THE DEATH THAT STARTED IT ALL…

"… Her death, among others, will not be in vain." He read out loud. So this girl's death had started the Rabbit's Revolution… He suddenly saw it very clearly. This must have been the body Nema had been more stirred by. But why? There were many dead children here… Michael looked up at the missing face and thought of the bullet hole in the back of her head. "… Mercy killing." Yes, that's what it must have been. Nema must have found her alive and suffering… and had spared her by shooting her in the back of the head. That sounded like something Nema would do. And no doubt after doing so, she must have been moved to start at war.

It was then that he turned his attention to the surprising thing he had noticed. He picked it up. It was a mini-crown, a white mini-crown. Accented in white lace, barely seen, with a pearlescent cross at the top. So much like the white one Nema had worn. She had worn it… the night that they had made love and ultimately damned their whole relationship. Yes, he was almost certain he'd damned it all because he had done too much and finished it all by saying, "God, I think I've fallen in love with her."

Michael frowned to himself. Why couldn't he have just kept quiet? What made it so hard to keep his hands off her? So Jinho had said he wanted to make Nema his seventh wife. He could've just beat him up a good deal and that would've been that.

But he didn't do that. He… had become greedy and jealous. Yes, he'd admit that readily, now. He was jealous that someone dared to take Nema away from him and greedy enough to claim her as his own, even if it was for just that one night.

… And it had been just that one night. There was nothing more about it but her hatred and his delicately made façade of cruelty. Michael looked to the left and noticed the glass samurai sword stabbed into the ground. He froze. No… it wasn't glass.

The Fire Angel moved forth to touch it, and examined the blade. It was a perfect, flawless blade. Then he took up the sword and made a few slashes and jabs. A beautiful, FUNCTIONAL sword. He suddenly stabbed it right in front of the altar. Not glass… it was an Angel Crystal sword, Nema's sword. A shard of the Nanatsusaya, and only Nema, Alexiel, and probably Setsuna could get away with touching it and not going mad. It was good Michael wasn't planning on taking the sword for himself. It was good he had properly identified it, already.

He crouched down and ran his and down the blade once more, allowing disappointment to wash over him. Nema had been here. She had lit this incense he had smelt, left behind her mini-crown and her sword. Why had she left her sword behind…?

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Nema had been right to go into hiding once she had heard that angry swearing. She regretted leaving her sword behind, but she had reacted in panic. Now she sat up in the boughs of the nearest tree and peered down at Michael. She had watched him circle Isobelle's body and crouch down to read the stone. For a moment she was afraid that he might destroy the altar. She told herself that if he did, she would rupture his very heart. She also knew that she was not that brave.

It didn't matter, anyway. He didn't seem intent on ruining the altar. She watched him pick up her mini-crown, examining it with a thoughtful frown. She almost called out to him when he began to toy with her sword, and then she sighed with relief when he put it back into the earth. She watched him run one hand down the blade, the other holding the ribbons that she used to tie her mini-crown onto her head. She saw a look on him that she hadn't expected to see. He looked… sad. The frown on his face wasn't deep, but it was there. His shoulders drooped.

Michael slipped his earring out of his ear and examine it, and then look at her sword. She realized he was wondering how her sword became her earring. It was all by her own will. If she wanted to, she could turn it into an earring again and have it fall to the ground, but that wouldn't have been a wise decision.

The Fire Angel sighed, dropping the earring onto the altar and cradling the mini-crown in both hands. She saw him whisper something, and then place the mini-crown onto the top of her sword. They both heard a crash, and Michael quickly left to go see what it was.

This was her chance.

Nema smoothly slipped out of the tree, rushed to the altar, and turned her sword back into her earring, slipping it back into the left ear. She placed her mini-crown on the center of the altar, for she had meant to leave this behind as a sign that she had been there.

She looked over her shoulder. She couldn't see or hear him. So she lingered for a short while more, picking up the forgotten earring. It was silver… Unlike most cross earrings, the chain that extended from the fish hook end attached to the middle of the cross, not the very top. She had never noticed that before… but then, she hadn't had many opportunities to look at his earring.

Nema felt the familiar wetness on her face and cursed herself for being so pathetic. She allowed herself to press a kiss to the cold silver of his cross, and then she laid the earring neatly before her crown. And then she left.

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"… I'm sorry…" He whispered to no one. He whispered it to her, but she was no where near him. Only her mini-crown and her sword had heard, and they could not respond for her.

A loud crash startled him. For crying out loud… was there going to be a battle here, too? He went to check.

No, nothing. A poorly-planted cross had fallen over, its victim now lying there, staring at the sky. Michael sighed and returned to the altar slowly.

He froze.

Her sword as gone! Michael sprinted forth and saw the white mini-crown, suddenly laid neatly at the center of the altar. And just before it, his earring, laid as neatly as if it were for sale.

God…

He'd missed Nema.

AGAIN!

Wasn't that some kind of fucking luck, for him? Maybe he would've picked a fight if he saw her. But maybe he would've told her about Cheriour's plans with his Holy Blood! Or maybe… maybe he would've kissed her and told her loved her and stole her away! Maybe he'd even fucking beg for forgiveness! It wasn't like Michael cared right now! All he cared about is that he had JUST missed Nema! AGAIN!

He slipped his earring back into his ear… God, he could've sworn it felt warmer… now that she had touched it…

In anguish, the Fire Angel slammed his fist into the ground. "NEMAAAA! GOD DAMMIT!" He screamed and screamed. It did nothing to quell his anger, and he left in a bigger rage than he had already started out with. So close! So fucking close…!

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Nema dropped down from the tree for a second time and stood before the altar, watching from a safe distance as Michael stomped away, occasionally yelling a few loud curse words, always taking the Lord's name in vain.

Nema shook her head in a futile attempt to be rid of sadness… and returned home.