something that the two half plot bunnies have been gnawing at my brain forced me to write. not one of my favourite, if i had it my way, i would think up another chapter to even things out, but then they (the bunnies) joined together with another to form the three headed plot bunny of DOOM that pounced me in thai resaurant. i like it though, even if it is a tad confusing.

Disclaimer: if i owned this, there would be actual BL instead of the 'really, there is no ulterior motives behind me saving you repeatedly for practically nothing' from Dômeki and more of Yûko's clients would die bloodly, gorey deaths. as it stands, i own nothing my bubble head angle, the vauge demonthingie and the even vauger crush crusher boyfriend.


STORY START

On a dreary afternoon full of fat cloud filled with rain, Watanuki was sweeping the path when an unexpected break in the blanket of clouds opened over the front yard. Looking up, the bespectacled teen was glad for the break, and enjoyed the warming qualities of the sun until a shadow flashed across his face, breaking the serenity. Eyes snapping open, he saw that a huge white bird, about half as big as the giant one Mokona during the Zashika-Warashi incident, was falling from the sky, flipping head over tail. And just because the shop attracted so much trouble, the bird landed in the front yard, creating a bit of a crater in the once perfect lawn. And, to add insult to injury, the rain that had been threatening all day decided to come down as soon as that hole in the cloud cover closed.

"Ah! Watanuki!" Yûko yelled from the porch, "Could you please bring the poor girl in?"

"Girl!" Watanuki screeched, running over to the hole in the lawn. Indeed, the 'bird' was in fact a girl with snowy white wings, milk white skin, white blond hair, and in a long white dress, making her look like a white bird when traveling at high speeds. Unfortunately, she looked the same weight as Watanuki, not including the wings.

"Could I get some help?"

"No" Yûko called back, smiling. Grumbling, Watanuki reached down and lifted the angel out of the hole, nearly falling when he used too much force, expecting her to be much heavier than she was. Carrying her bridal style, he ran into the house, trying to keep as much water off as possible, although both boy and girl were already partially soaked.

"I've got her!" he yelled, walking into the foyer and discovering it to be empty.

"Lay her on the rug in the receiving room; make sure she's on her front, don't want to crush her wings." Yûko called from the storage room; not to be mistaken from the treasure room. A few seconds later, she reappeared, bottle of Saporo beer in one hand, a mound of blankets, towels, and spare clothes in her arm. Maru and Moro peeked cutely out from behind her.

"What do you want me to-"he started

"OUT!" the time space witch yelled, literally kicking him out.

"OW!" Watanuki yelled, the door slamming firmly into his back

"You too!" Yûko said, opening the door and tossing Mokona out onto her employee.

"What!" Watanuki screeched, opening the door, only to be greeted with the pale, and bare, back of the angel through the door while Yûko hovered about, trying to get a dress around the large wings. The now bashful boy slammed the door back and, blushing, left to go make some tea, maybe some pork buns too.

"My humble employee," Yûko said maybe ten minutes later, waltzing into the kitchen, "meet Parisa." Turning, Watanuki saw that Yûko had gotten the pale angel into a stretchy grey summer dress with one with a thin strap that served as a back instead of a full square of material. Yûko had also tamed the wavy blond shoulder length hair (much like the troubled twin's style) with a thick grey ribbon. Parisa herself stared somewhere between waist height and the floor, grey blue eyes hooded and vacant in a sleepy manner.

"Ooh! Food!" Yûko cheered, grabbing a pork bun and spinning over to the fridge for another Saporo.

"I made tea! One bottle of beer is a glass of wine or a shot at dinner, and you've already had three bottles today!" Just then, a loud slurp interrupted the conversation. Both heads turned to the table where the angel had found a stool to sit on and had just finished the entire plate of buns and had finished using the teapot as a cup. The regular residents of the house stared at the guest, and the guest stared back. Blink blink went three pairs of eyes before Yûko broke the silence.

"Yeah! Now the only drink we have on hand is wonderful beer!"

"Sorry" the blond whispered when Watanuki's head hit the table in defeat.


Yûko, in a fit of kindness, decided to delay asking the angel what she had been doing, to fall to Earth, and what her wish was, for she had to have a wish, considering which front lawn she fell into, until the next day. So the next day they (meaning Parisa and Yûko) were found around the dining room table.

"So," Yûko started the first batch of pancakes (today was Saturday, so Watanuki could spend the wee hours cooking before falling back to sleep after making lunch) "What do you want?"

"I'm not really sure I want, but I know what I don't want."

"Really, and what is it you don't want." Parisa blinked a few times, then leaned over the table and whispered in the time space witch's ear, too softly for Watanuki in the kitchen to hear.

"Oh! How delightful! Of course I'll keep it a secret. I'll accept your payment after that, but I'll need something to channel magic through."

"Thank you Yûko-san." Parisa said, smiling and tugging a stray feather from her wing, giving it to Yûko. As soon as the feather changed hands, a blinding flash filled the room. When it cleared, Parisa's wings had turned transparent and…chibi in style, a vague outline of wing with the zigzag 'feathers' on the bottom.

"WHAT!" Watanuki yelled, dropping a skillet.

"Well, we can't have normal people seeing an angel roaming around the streets."

"Out in the street? Isn't she staying here?"

"Noooo," Yûko drew the syllable out like she was pulling taffy, "She's going to work to pay for her food and board, just like you, except that you want to get your wish granted, so it isn't the same." For the second time that morning, Watanuki banged his head against a hard surface while the blonde angel just sat there, looking confused and holding an empty teapot.


So, that was how Watanuki found himself shopping for tonight's dinner with a wistful and slightly air-headed angel, with Mokona along too.

"Red bean paste, red bean paste…" Watanuki muttered, scanning the aisle for the can in question.

"Watanuki-kun!" a fem voice called from the end of the aisle.

"Himawari-chan." Watanuki blushed, catching sight of his long time crush.

"What are you making for Yûko today?" she asked, swinging her own basket slowly around her knees.

"Curry." Parisa said, dropping a package of curry powder into the basket along with a pound of chicken.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met." Himawari said, looking over Watanuki's shoulder. "I'm Himawari Kunogi." She added, extending a hand

"Parisa" the angel said, almost rudely, reaching over Watanuki's shoulder, causing him to blush at the foreign contact.

"Are you Watanuki's girlfriend?" she asked, ignoring the look of pain and the almost palpable thoughts of "NOOOOO" coming from the bespectacled boy.

"I'm a girl and a sort of friend." Parisa answered, ignoring Watanuki's quiet yet passionate "What sort of vague answer is that!"

"She works at the store." Watanuki said, blushing scarlet in shame.

"Well then, would you like to come to lunch tomorrow at the park too?" she asked Parisa, much to Watanuki's mimed horror.


So that was how the rag tag group of students and an angel arrived in the park, each with their own offering; nigiri from Dômeki, leftover curry from Parisa, tempura from Watanuki, and a family pack of maki and Pocky from Himawari.

"So who are you exactly?" Dômeki asked, taking a spoonful of curry.

"I'm a recent employee of Yûko who finds herself in a similar position to her first employee." Parisa replied wistfully

"So you're stuck in her clutches." The archer condensed tactlessly.

"Yûko isn't that bad." Himawari said, giggling.

"Yes she is," the other three replied in unison.

"Another player for you comedy act Dômeki and Watanuki." Himawari giggled.

"We don't have a comedy act!" Watanuki screeched,

"Shut up" Dômeki muttered at Watanuki, eliciting another giggle from Himawari and a bored expression from Parisa.

They finished their meals in relative silence, excluding the occasional meaningless squawk for Watanuki that was countered like clock work by Dômeki.

"I brought cake!" Himawari said happily, once all the lunch dishes had been placed in a bag to be washed.

"Ah Himawari-chan, that looks delicious." Watanuki gushed, starry-eyed.

"Thanks, I got it at the store that that twin works at." Himawari said, ignoring Watanuki's fall into disgrace. Parisa giggled and Dômeki coughed suspiciously.

"I think perhaps we should move under those trees." Parisa said out of the blue.

"Why?" Watanuki asked,

"Because it's going to rain soon." Was the response, and, sure enough, shortly after they had ignored the comment, it started to rain, buckets. Luckily, they didn't have to contend with soggy cake, as it was finished already, but only three of the four teens raced to the cover of the trees. Instead of trying to dodge a soaking, Parisa got up and raised her arms, opening her mouth to the sky to catch the drops.

"What are you doing?" Watanuki screamed at the girl, rain plastering the once loose dress to the angel's body.

"I'm living without regrets." She replied, pulling Watanuki and Dômeki into the rain too.

"We'll catch colds." Dômeki commented.

"You're place is nearby, isn't it?"

"The shrine's close, but not that close."

"Then we'd get soaked walking there anyways, the rain isn't going to stop for a while."

"How do you know?" Himawari asked, Parisa just pointed the sky, which was covered to the horizon with thick, black, storm clouds.

"You still didn't have to pull us out in the rain!" Watanuki screeched,

"But it's so much fun to dance in the rain!" the blonde sang dreamily, spinning the bespectacled boy in circles.

"Now I get to deal with two idiots instead of one." Dômeki said, monotone, although he made no effort to move under the trees. Suddenly the blonde let go of her reluctant dance partner and sent him sprawling in the taller boy. Luckily, they landed on the cat seat as appose to the mud puddles forming.

"What did you do that for?" Watanuki screamed at her.

"You looked like you two needed to be thrown together." She replied, smiling an odd smile that seemed more like showing teeth than smiling.

"Why would I need to be thrown together with this idiot?" Dômeki asked calmly, pointing to the screeching boy across his lap.

"Living without regrets my ass." Watanuki mumbled as they ran to the shire a short time later, the rain still falling heavily.

"A little boy in India regretted not running in the rain, for that would have been his only fond memory of the monsoons." Parisa called from the back of the pack. They reached the shrine after a few minutes hard running, raced up the steps, and made it through the paper doors in record time.

"There are some towels in the closet at the end of the hall." Dômeki said, "Watanuki, go get some."

"Don't order me around!" the shorter boy said, going to get them nevertheless.

"I'll help you Watanuki-kun." Himawari said, going after (ignoring or just not seeing how he perked up immediately). Dômeki sighed and moved to the kitchen, ignoring the curios blonde that followed

"What are you doing?" she asked, eyes drooped.

"What are you?" Dômeki replied, moving around the kitchen.

"That doesn't answer my question." Parisa replied in a sing song voice.

"I'm making tea, now, what are you?" Dômeki asked again, slowly, like he was talking to a baby.

"I'm an angel who has fallen from heaven." She replied, serious, perhaps for the first time that afternoon. Dômeki looked back at her seriously too, even though she just spewed some of the most cliché rubbish from her mouth. He had known there was something different about this girl; blame a childhood spent almost entirely in a shrine that sent spirits to…wherever.

"I assume Yûko and Watanuki know." He said, plugging the kettle in.

"That Himawari too." Parisa added confidently.

"Himawari?" he asked, eyebrows raised,

"You don't know? Shit, well then, ignore that." Back was the flimsy façade, flimsy now it had been seem past, remarkable opaque otherwise though. And Watanuki and Himawari with those towels. Dômeki sighed, pouring the boiled water into a teapot, adding a ball of leaves, and moving to the closet where the spare clothes were kept to retrieve a spare set for each of them while their clothes dried.


The week moved slowly and wet, raining almost everyday. Flooding had occurred in several places, luckily, Watanuki lived in an apartment and Yûko on top of a hill. Things continued in their rainy day manner until Friday. Watanuki had noticed that Himawari had forgotten an umbrella, probably because there had been a brief break in the storm clouds this morning, resulting in beautiful skies. However, just after morning bell, the rain started again and had continued until the present. By the exit of the school, Watanuki could spy Himawari, steeling himself; he walked up to the girl fully intent of offering to escort her to her home under the dry of a shared umbrella. Alas, as he moved within earshot, she zipped out of the building, her rectangular backpack a makeshift covering. As he watched, she ran over into the company of a tallish, roguish man wearing a black coat and holding a black umbrella. Himawari got under the umbrella, said something to the man, who replied, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Unbeknownst to her, we think, Watanuki deflated.

It was in the same deflated state that Parisa, equipped with a retro bell umbrella made of clear plastic.

Yûko-san sent me to look for you." She said, looking down at the slightly damp boy who had taken refuge under a thick-branched tree.

"Tell her you didn't find me," he got out eventually,

"Himawari-san dump you or something?" she asked, taking the seat beside him.

"She already has a boyfriend." Watanuki said quietly.

"Well, did you ever ask if she was already taken?" Parisa asked, looking up into the maple branches.

"No,"

"And that's why you shouldn't live with regrets."


When they got back to the store, Watanuki could hear an agitated customer yelling at Yûko.

"I can't give those secrets up, not even for my angel." Someone, male, was yelling at the time space witch in the parlor.

"Watanuki, go get us some tea, bring three cups." She ordered the depressed boy, who just sighed and went off. He heard an astonished "Parisa" from the same voice that had been yelling at Yûko in the parlor. When he returned, he found a rather surprised angel getting hugged by an energetic man with cherry coloured wavy chin length hair. He would have ignored them, the damnable happy couple, except they were blocking the door.

They eep-ed as Yûko dragged them out of the way to let Watanuki through with the tea set, Maru and Moro, who until now had been…somewhere else, followed.

"Thank you Watanuki." She said, dismissing him but giving him the 'eavesdrop subtly' look when he left. After he exited the room and closed the door, he leaned against the wall beside the door.

"So, you found your angel, Manelin?" Yûko asked

"Thank you for your generosity Ichihara-san." The man said graciously.

"Now that you've found you contact Parisa, I expect my payment."

"Thank you Yûko-san." The wispy voice only just carried through the door, "I will give whatever you feel necessary that I feel I can part with."

"Only information my dear." Yûko said gleefully. "Will there be a war in between heaven and hell?" Watanuki almost screamed a loud "WHAT!" but Mokona shoved himself into the open mouth before anything came out.

"Shush." He scolded once he got out of the boy's mouth.

"It may happen tomorrow, it may happen in one hundred years, but it will happen eventually. Our souls are still human even if we no longer wander the Earth, and humans crave war." Came the reply, wistful even, from Parisa.

"Our contract is complete; you are no longer in my debt or under my protection." Yûko said seriously, there was silence for a few seconds, "however, you are welcome to use this room for a few minutes to discuss privately." She added, getting up, "the tea's complementary"

"Thank you Yûko-san" Parisa said, "And please thank Watanuki for his company and help." She added rapidly.

"I will" Yûko responded, voice much closer to the door. Soon, it opened and Yûko emerged, quickly closing it behind her and walking away. Watanuki was unsure weather to leave too, until he saw her creeping back, her buckskin boots in no where in sight. She smiled deviously and put a finger to her lips after settling down on the other side of the door.

"Why did you miss the meeting in Paris?" Manelin asked

"I was being arrested, I've been exiled." Parisa said listlessly, "I think it might be prudent to fall and join your ranks before Aaron sends someone down."

"They would kill you?"

"I know too much and think too much to be punished either by demotion or banishment, you know that." Silence,

"Then we should go, we've lingered long enough." Both eavesdroppers scrambled to compose themselves as footsteps tread nearer the door, Watanuki to the kitchen, Yûko to put on her boots and make it look like she was just wandering past as the door opened.

"I take it you're no staying on Earth or going to heaven?" Yûko's voice drifted down the hall to kitchen where Watanuki was pouring out tea, adding sugar then storing it in the fridge for later.

"Observant as ever, the closest portal's in Kyoto" Manelin said, there was a pause as Parisa's voice failed to make it to the kitchen.

"Good luck, then, I happen to have a cape I was going to dismantle, those wings are awfully suspicious." Yûko said, there was another pause,

"I hope not to see either of you for a while, no offense." She said,

"None taken," Manelin said chummily, "May you prosper." There was the sound of a door opening and closing, then out of the kitchen window, Watanuki saw Parisa, wearing a slightly ratty tweed rain cape and Manelin holding an umbrella over them both as they walked down the path and out of sight.

"I hope we never see those two again." Yûko said solemnly, sitting at the table. "So, my humble servant, what is for dinner?" she asked, attitude doing another 180.

Unbeknownst to the two in the eccentric shop, shortly after dawn the next day (which dawned clear for the first time this week), Dômeki was awakened by a scuffle in his yard. Going to the door, he nearly ran into a slim boy with chin length and wavy hair, kind of reminded him of Watanuki if he ever went punk, except for the large bat wings attached to his back. What surprised him though was a familiar voice yelling "Run Manelin" and 'Manelin' sprouting leathery bat wings and flying up onto his roof. The lack of young demon turned his attention to his yard, where the scene threw him into shock. Parisa sat in the dust, one charred black wing hanging, broken, on her back; the other was being crushed by a sandy haired, broad shouldered man dressed in an open white robe and loose white pants with a pair of wings that flashed silver in the morning light.

"For the crimes of voluntarily giving information to agents of Satan and Lucifer for the purpose of a war between Heaven and Hell and allowing an agent of Lucifer and Satan to escape, we find you, Fallen Parisa, former Angel, guilty of all charges, the number of which dictates your punishment being second death as oppose to banishment. Have you anything to say for yourself?" he said, reading from a scroll he procured from the air.

"I do not regret my actions; I do not agree with the strict protocol of Heaven so I acted. It is better to have tried and died than stayed silent and suffer, no? I'm sure Virtues Zeal and Courage would agree. I die with no regrets, I hope you may do the same if you time ever comes Power Sameal, Power Sandaphon." She finished, addressing the other angel who resembled the first, except he wore a breastplate of gold and had a gold tint to his wings.

"Here you die Fallen." The one with the sword said, putting one hand behind Parisa's head and running the blade across her throat. There was a scorch or light, a stench of burnt meat, and a hiccupping gasp of pain as Parisa fell back, silvery blue blood bubbling as air unsuccessfully tried to reach her lungs across her slit throat. She lay there for a while, spasming slightly and gripping the fabric of a Power's pant leg until she relaxed and her body blew away in a nonexistent breeze like it was made of dust.

"Fallen Parisa, soul terminated for recycling in the next millennium, may she find peace." The scroll Power said, making note of his words. They both took a mighty upstroke with their wings and vanished on the down stroke in a ring of light that burnt his eyes.

After they had left, Dômeki stumbled into his kitchen, sat down, and thought. He remembered everything he regretted not doing, everything regretting doing, and considered what his life would be like if he did the things he didn't do and didn't do the things he did do. That was how his mother found him when she got up after her Saturday lie in, four hours later.

The next Monday, as Watanuki passed him his bento, Dômeki said something rather unusual.

"Thank you." Watanuki was flabbergasted for a minute, then gave a sincere smile and said "You're welcome" back. Now, why did Dômeki say thank you today of all days? Because on Saturday he realized that he regretted not making his haunted friend smile.


When Watanuki returned to the store that day, he found Yûko sitting in the window seat of the parlor, staring out into the rain, eyebrows knitted in worry.

"What's wrong?" Watanuki asked, Yûko rarely showed concern.

"Parisa is dead." She stated matter of fact.

"WHAT!" Watanuki screeched, dropping his book bag and umbrella.

"I'd like Italian stuffed noodles with rosé sauce tonight please." Yûko said cheerfully.

" Catalonia?" Watanuki asked, still concerned for the bubble head angel but more concerned with his employer's stomach. Said employer gave him a blank look, "The large round ones you fill with cheese." He explained, honestly, for a know-it-all, she was rather oblivious.

"No, the flat ones." Yûko said, pouting.

"The flat ones! The flat ones!" Maru and Moro chimed in time.

"Ravioli then, with ricotta cheese…I'm going to have to go all the way to Ginza street to find these ingredients!" Watanuki complained, moving back towards the door.

"This shouldn't have happened," Yûko muttered once she was alone again, "the residue of my keep-away spell should have lasted until they made it to Hell." She bit her lip and though a bit, soon after, she sighed, only coming up with one answer to how the Powers could have found Parisa and Manelin,

"The Queen of Misfortune must've had her fingers in this pie."