Azalea's alarm began ringing. She unwrapped herself from her feathered cocoon and stretched her limbs before jumping up to shut off the novelty extraterrestrial clock, pressing down on one of the eye stocks. Any other day she'd be reluctant to drag herself out of bed, but today she was just too excited to reunite with her friends at school.
"Today's the day." Azalea cheered. "I'm sure everyone missed me."
The self assured nephilim threw her uniform, plus shorts, on in record time. After dressing herself, Azalea noticed a photo fell from her blouse.
"What's this?" Azalea mumbled to herself inspecting the picture. She must have still been holding onto it when she ran out of the occult research club.
"It's that girl!" Azalea said aloud. What was her name? She couldn't remember. "What am I supposed to do with her photo?"
"Eh, I'll figure it out after school." Azalea shrugged, putting the picture in her top drawer, to be quickly forgotten. "I have far more pressing matters to attend to." The matter in question, breakfast.
Kalawarner heard a knock on her door, rousing her from sleep.
"Come in." The navy blue haired fallen yawned.
"Hey." Brandon casually said, letting himself in. "Just wanted to say thanks."
Kalawarner rubbed her eyes, and recalled yesterday's chat.
"Don't mention it." She dismissed. "Your family drama is none of my business."
Brandon took a seat at Kalawarner's bedside. "So how are you feeling?"
"Oh, you know. Leg's still broken." Kalawarner sardonically answered. "Aside from that I'm trapped leeching off the kindness of strangers."
"...yeah." Brandon for once genuinely had no response.
"So how about you?" Kalawarner attempted to continue the conversation.
"Well, aside from the sudden exposure to the supernatural, I guess it's just going to be another day at Kuoh academy." Brandon said with some contempt.
"Oh poor you. A handsome teen surrounded by girls." Kalawarner sarcastically teased. "How will you ever go on?"
"Yeah, it would be real great, if I was attracted to girls." Brandon retorted.
"Oh." Kalawarner sounded just slightly surprised. "Guess that explains that comment from you the other night."
"Yeah, sorry if that came off as insulting." Brandon apologised. "I have a bit of a habit of getting unnecessarily brash."
"Reminds me of someone I know." Kalawarner commented, before her eyes widened in realisation. "Speaking of that, your name was Brandon wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Did you happen to run into anyone named Dohnaseek?" Kalawarner asked.
"Middle aged looking guy, wears a hat, and throws blue light spears?" Brandon listed off.
"So you're that same Brandon." Kalawarner exclaimed.
"How many other smartass British teenagers are you aware of in this Japanese town?" Brandon remarked.
"He sure wasn't kidding about your attitude." Kalawarner deadpanned.
"Glad to know I'm being accurately represented." Brandon briefly grinned. "So do you think your group is going to come looking for you? Should I look out for one of them and tell them about your situation?"
"Don't bother. They'll just assume I abandoned the mission." Kalawarner scoffed. "Let them saddle someone else with the workload."
"Alright. If you say so." Brandon shrugged. "Have fun hanging out with Mom, I'm sure she'll enjoy the company."
"And you have fun with your personal hell." Kalawarner teased.
"I'll let you have that one." Brandon said, walking out as Kalawarner had a giggle at his expense.
The ride to school was fairly short but it felt like an eternity to Azalea. Time seemed to slow down in the nephilim's overactive mind, making the entire trip a boring slog.
Brandon was preoccupied with finishing up his book (Azalea was beginning to regret suggesting he check it out), and she didn't want to bother her mother in fear of involuntarily slowing the ride down even further. All she had as a distraction was watching the world pass by through the car's window, which normally would be plenty to keep her entertained, but today did little to take her mind off of her return.
When the ten to fifteen minute drive was over Azalea was fidgeting in her seat.
"My, someone's excited for school." Aine commented as she parked up front, before unlocking Azalea's door.
Once there was an opening, the over excited nephilim jumped out of the car.
"Bye Mom, bye Bro, love you both!" Was her last message as she dashed off.
Brandon closed his book and let himself out. "I'll see you later Mom."
"See you." Aine said. "And tell Azalea I said 'I love you too'."
"Will do." Brandon promised, beginning to walk away.
"And Brandon."
"Yeah?" Brandon stopped, but didn't turn back.
"I know you're troubled." Aine revealed. "I want you to know that whatever it is, you can come to me."
"Thanks Mom, but I'd like to sort this out on my own." Brandon said. "It's kind of personal."
"Okay." Aine relented. "But remember that Azalea, and I will be there for you. I love you, Son."
"I love you too, Mom." Brandon said, before they went their separate ways.
Once Azalea made it to the student council room she quietly let herself in, gently shutting the door behind her so she didn't cause a disturbance. That sentiment flew straight out the window the moment she saw her classmate, chatting with Tomoe and Ruruko.
"Tsubaki!" Azalea exclaimed. The student council vice president barely had time to turn around before she was tackled into a hug. Azalea held the bewildered vice president tightly, resting her chin in the crook of her neck.
"My, Azalea. Going for two out of four?" Tsubaki snidely remarked, to Azalea's confusion.
"I'm sorry, what?" Azalea asked, taking a step back and tilting her head slightly to the side.
"Your brother might have leaked your type." Tomoe spilled, conveniently leaving out that she was the one that requested the information.
"I'm Sorry. What?!" Azalea repeated, blushing.
"Tomoe was the one to ask." Tsubaki revealed, to Tomoe's visible distress.
"And I'm going back home." Azalea turned around and headed straight for the door. "It's been fun knowing you."
No one bought it for a second. Until Azalea twisted the handle and stepped outside. Sona was ready to send someone after her, but Azalea stopped the door with her foot before it fully closed.
"Nah, I'm just kidding." She admitted on her way back in. "Got you though."
"So, I trust you've been able to pull yourself together?" Sona enquired, seated at her desk with her fingers interlocked, secretly holding back a smile.
"Oh, that? Yeah." Azalea responded. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that… and about snotting your uniform."
"No need to apologise, it was an emotional day for you." Sona waved off Azalea's concern. "As for my uniform, Rias has paid for the replacement."
Azalea began to walk to the head of the classroom, behind Sona's desk, and gave the seated girl a quick hug.
"Thank-you." She muttered as she let go.
"You're very much welcome." Sona said, still resisting the impulse to smile. "But I'm a bit curious as to what you did on your day off."
"Oh you know, lazed around watching tv." Azalea said, scratching the back of her head. "Well, and then…" She trailed off.
"And then what?" Sona urged Azalea to continue.
"I may have saved a fallen angel last night." Azalea revealed. Sona raised an eyebrow in intrigue.
"Would you care to share the story behind that?" The student council president requested.
"Well, you see." Azalea began, walking back to the front of the desk. She had the entire council's attention.
Aine returned through the front door after dropping her kids off at school and immediately strolled into Kalawarner's temporary room.
"How are you holding up, Kala?" Aine asked, standing over the bed.
The blue haired fallen angel didn't answer, she just laid there facing away from the Byrne matriarch.
"Are you awake?" Aine asked, tousling the woman's shoulder.
Kalawarner shifted onto her back; her head fell facing Aine. She'd fallen peacefully back to sleep while the Byrnes were away. Aine almost felt bad about having to wake her back up.
"Come on Kalawarner, I'm going to need you with me today." Aine said, gently shaking the snoozing woman's shoulder.
"Just five more minutes…" Kalawarner whined as Aine continued trying to stir her.
"I'm sorry, hun. That's not an option." Aine wouldn't let up.
"Alright, alright… I'm awake." Kalawarner surrendered, groggily pushing Aine's hands away. "What do you want?"
"Sorry to disturb you, but you're going to need some new clothes and I don't know your sizes."
"And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Kalawarner questioned, stretching her arms upward.
"Well, first of all your tit's out." Aine bluntly stated. Kalawarner quickly brought her arms down and adjusted the dress's strap. "Secondly, that dress wasn't made with your bra size in mind, and I can't risk a wardrobe malfunction while there's a hormonal teenager living here."
"I thought Brandon was gay." Kalawarner stated.
"He is." Aine confirmed. "So is Azalea."
"Oh." Kalawarner responded. "What are the odds of that?"
"Probably a lot higher than getting knocked up by a fallen angel after a one night stand." Aine retorted.
"Fair enough." Kalawarner supposed that was true. Fallen angels did have an abysmally low birth rate.
"Now let's get going." Aine said, ready to head out. She began reaching to scoop Kalawarner up. "Hold on tight."
"But what if someone from the church recognises me?" Kalawarner raised her concern.
"...I haven't thought about that." Aine sat down to think up a solution. "I have some hair dye we can use. I think you'd look nice as a brunette."
"Hm, So that's why Azalea looks like an inverse Azazel." Kalawarner commented. Aine's face immediately grew cold at the mention of that name, but she was able to quickly return to her friendly demeanor before Kalawarner noticed.
"Not at all, Azalea's hair is natural." Aine corrected. "We tried dyeing it, but it never sticks. The brown dye is for me and my son."
"What's your natural color then?" Kalawarner asked, curiosity piqued.
"Asking a lot of questions for someone in throat slitting range." Aine casually stated. A scalpel from a nearby drawer floated to her as if it was grabbed by an invisible third party, and placed itself into her open hand.
Kalawarner stared Aine dead in the eye, looking particularly unamused. "You can't be serious." She deadpanned.
"Probably not." Aine said, twirling the scalpel between her fingers and tossing it perfectly back in its drawer.
Things got awkwardly silent for a minute, with Aine's 'joke' falling flat.
"I guess the dye plan will have to do." Kalawarner sighed, breaking the silence. "Can't just sit in this room forever."
"Alright, let's get you over to the bathroom and get started." Aine got up to lift Kalawarner again.
"Alright." Kalawarner accepted, wrapping her arms around Aine's shoulders, and letting the shorter woman hoist her away.
"Are you positive she won't be an issue?" Sona asked.
"Yeah, I had her promise no killing while she stays with us, and it's not like she'll be able to do any damage with that broken leg anyway."
"In that case, I'll trust you to have her hold up her word." Sona said. "That's one less fallen I have to worry about."
"Thank you, Sona." Azalea smiled. It was a major relief that Kalawarner wouldn't be prosecuted as she recovered. Azalea was quite grateful that Sona wasn't acting off of prejudice.
Now that Azalea was finished with her explanation, Tsubasa saw an opportunity to speak her apology.
"Okay, I've been dying to ask this ever since I saw them." Ruruko suddenly spoke up, drawing Azalea's attention.
Tsubasa quietly sat back down.
"Can I feel your wings?" It was a brazen request, but Azalea didn't see any harm in it.
"Sure." All ten of Azalea's wings shot out from her back. "Just stay away from any of the wing pits. I'm ticklish there."
Ruruko steadily moved her hand towards one of the topmost wings, and with some hesitation gently slid her thumb and forefinger down the feathers of the rim.
"Wow, they're so soft." Ruruko breathed out in amazement.
"Thanks, I preen them pretty often." Azalea claimed.
Momo approached Azalea from the side. "Do you mind if I feel them too?" She shyly asked.
"Go ahead." Azalea said.
The white haired girl began to brush the backs of her fingers down the outer feathers on one wing. She seemed content.
"I want to try!" Tomoe blurted.
"Me too." Reya followed her lead.
"Might as well." Tsubaki shrugged before joining in.
Soon all of the student council, minus Sona and Tsubasa, were having a feel of Azalea's feathers, each focusing on a different part of a wing. She was surrounded. The crowd and sensations were starting to get overwhelming for the nephilim.
"Okay okay, sensory overload." Azalea's wings simultaneously receded. "I'm going to need everyone to take a couple steps back."
"Aww." Several council members chorused in disappointment, before giving Azalea her space.
"Well that was an interesting experience." Tsubaki said. "Thanks for the opportunity, Azalea."
"No problem, but for future reference, let's stick to one at a time." Azalea said.
"Sorry." Momo apologised, guiltily looking downward.
"No need to apologise." Azalea said, patting the shorter girl on the shoulder. "I didn't know either, but now we do."
"Alright then." Momo quickly perked up.
Now that there was some space between Azalea and the other student council members, Tsubasa had her chance.
"Um, excuse me." Tsubasa stepped up to Azalea. "Could I talk with you for a moment?"
"Sure, go ahead." Azalea was confused as to why Tsubasa all of the sudden wanted to acknowledge her existence, but she wasn't going to turn her down.
"In private." The blue haired tomboy specified.
Azalea turned towards Sona. "That okay with you?" Sona nodded. "Alright then." Azalea said, turning back to Tsubasa.
Tsubasa led Azalea away from the council room, and far enough from the door to prevent Tomoe and Ruruko from eavesdropping. Thankfully the halls were still quite empty.
"So what did you want to say?" Azalea asked.
"I'm sorry." Tsubasa let out, clenching her fists and looking to the side.
"Can I ask why?" Azalea requested.
"I've been cold to you-" Tsubasa began, only to be cut off.
"I know that. I mean why do you want to apologise now?" Azalea specified.
"I never saw you upset." Tsubasa began again. "Whatever Akeno did to you, it wasn't right."
Azalea grabbed one of Tsubasa's balled up fists with both of her hands and shook it. "I accept your apology."
"Just like that?" Tsubaki questioned.
"But I'd like to know why you were acting like that to begin with." Azalea said, letting go of Tsubasa's hand and crossing her arms.
"Well…" Tsubasa scratched the back of her head, blushing.
"Wait." Azalea believed she had it figured out. "Don't tell me I've got another secret admirer." She blurted, pointing an accusatory finger at Tsubasa.
"What?! No!" Tsubasa blurted, waving her hands back and forth in shock and refutation. "At least, I hope not."
Tsubasa looked around the hallway, making absolutely sure no one was around to hear what she was about to say. Even though the coast was clear she got closer to deliver the message into Azalea's ear.
"I, kind of, sort of… have a thing for Momo." She reluctantly whispered.
"I don't see the connection between that, and you giving me the cold shoulder."
"It's just that." Tsubasa began. "When you first came in and introduced yourself, you didn't hesitate for a second before you announced that you're a lesbian without a hint of shame, and then at the the personal introductions you started flirting with her. I just felt so useless."
Azalea pulled Tsubasa into a hug, confusing the tomboy, then took a step back.
"I wasn't flirting with Momo, I was just being friendly. Trust me, if I was flirting you'd know. I'm terrible at it." Azalea let out a self deprecating giggle. "I'll admit she is cute, but I'm not really interested in going after romance with any of the student council. No offense."
"Don't worry, none taken." Tsubasa chuckled, feeling unbelievably relieved.
"Good." Azalea said, confidently. "So, will you let me help you let Momo know how you feel?"
"After everything, you'd do that for me?" Tsubasa questioned in total disbelief.
"What are acquaintances with mutual friends for?" Azalea put forth rhetorically, patting Tsubasa's shoulder.
"But aren't you at least a little bit mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad? You weren't mean, just distant." Azalea said.
"I mean, I did brush off all your attempts at being friendly."
"Water under the bridge." Azalea dismissed. "Now come on."
The duo made their way back to the council room, this time with Azalea taking the lead. The rest of the members were curiously awaiting their return. Momo had taken to her seat while the two were away.
Azalea shoved the door open, with Tsubasa in tow. "We're back, and Tsubasa has something to say."
"Wait! Right now?!" She blurted.
"Yup." Azalea cheekily replied, weaving past the other council members, and ignoring Tsubasa's protests as she effortlessly dragged the rook over to Momo.
"Go ahead." Azalea encouraged Tsubasa with a light slap on the back. The rest of the council just silently watched things unfold, unsure of what to make of the situation. Even Sona was perplexed.
Tsubasa just stood there looking at Momo, blushing and completely stunned. The white haired girl had absolutely no idea what was going on, or why the normally coolheaded Tsubasa seemed so flustered.
Were the two announcing their relationship? But why would they announce it to her? Did they want to include her in it?!
As Momo's mind was left to wander, her cheeks grew just as red as Tsubasa's and they both just stared at each other like deer in headlights.
"Oh for the love of…" Azalea brought her palm to her face and began shaking her head. "Tsubasa wants to date you, Momo. She's too nervous to say it."
"Azalea! What The Hell?!" Tsubasa rebuked, snapping out of her stupor.
"A-alright." Momo meekly squeaked out.
"I Can't Believe You'd…" Tsubasa paused her rant at Azalea to turn to Momo. "Wait what?"
"I-I'll go on a date with you." Momo mumbled, blushing.
"Just like that?" Tsubasa questioned.
Momo nodded in response.
Azalea looked at Tsubasa with a smug grin. "You were saying?"
"Umm…" Tsubasa awkwardly looked downward, avoiding eye contact. "I guess I should say thank you."
"Anytime, friend." Azalea said. "I hope you two have fun."
"Interesting development." Sona had gotten up and approached without Momo, Tsubasa, or Azalea noticing. "How did you know that it would work out?"
"Oh, I didn't." Azalea stated. Sona was mildly taken aback at Azalea's response while Tsubasa gave her a look of disbelief. "It's just best to be upfront about your feelings."
"So you just hooked two members of the student council up, out of principle?" Tsubaki joined the conversation.
"What can I say?" Azalea turned around and looked back with a grin that just screamed 'I'm going to say something stupid and I'm proud of it.' Her wings reemerged from her back. "I make an excellent wing woman."
Azalea let the pun sink in. Not one council member made so much as a cough. As if the school itself was attempting to sandbag her, the first period bell began to ring.
"Already?" Azalea questioned, retreating her wings. "Well, see ya later."
Azalea walked out, leaving the rest of the student council in nonplussed silence.
Tsubaki let out a sigh, and quietly followed after Azalea to their shared first period class.
At the abandoned church three fallen angels gathered for a discussion. Dohnaseek, and a young looking girl with blonde hair styled into pigtails, wearing a maid outfit complete with an oversized black bow, sat on a dilapidated church pew before a furious woman with long black hair, violet eyes narrowed into pinpricks, and an incredibly revealing outfit consisting of shoulder length leather gloves, asymmetrical shoulder pads, thigh high boots, and various latex straps that barely preserved her non-existent modesty.
"Just Where Could She Be?!" The black haired woman ranted, pacing impatiently in front of the other two fallen angels. A chain hanging from the sleeve of her left glove rattled all the while.
"Lady Raynare, I'm sure Kalawarner has a good reason for her absence." Dohnaseek reasoned.
"Kalawarner? I'm not worried about her, She's probably just off somewhere sitting on her ass, or clothes shopping. I'm talking about the nun!"
"Was that, like, supposed to be today?" The little blonde fallen asked.
"YES!" Raynare blurted. "Have you been paying attention at all?!"
"With all due respect, Lady Raynare." Dohnaseek began. "Mittelt is still young, you can't expect her to catch up on everything."
Mittelt childishly stuck her tongue out at her boss. Raynare just flipped her off in return.
"To catch Some People up." Raynare said, glaring at Mittelt. "There's supposed to be a nun heading over, we're going to watch over her until the time is right to extract her sacred gear."
"Like, what's the point of all that?" Mittelt questioned.
"With twilight healing I, Raynare, will be supreme." Raynare began her impassioned speech. "All of those fools who doubted me, who hated me, who spat on me will regret it; Especially that bitch, Dobiel. Azazel, Shemhazai, and Penemue will love me and we'll all-"
"Okay, cutting you off." Dohnaseek interrupted Raynare's delusional ramblings, quickly covering Mittelt's ears. "I know where that was heading, and it is not safe for children."
Mittelt pouted in disappointment that she couldn't hear Raynare's speech to the end.
"Oh please, Mittelt had to have heard a lot worse back at the grigory." Raynare brushed off.
"We're not at the Grigory, are we?" Dohnaseek countered. "It's bad enough we have to work with that pig, Freed. Mittelt doesn't need any more bad influence."
If it were up to him, Dohnaseek would've had Freed skewered ages ago.
"On that note, why is he even here anyway? He's more of a liability than an asset." Dohnaseek added.
"It's not my fault the higher ups stuck us with him." Raynare said. "Besides, it's not like he'd ever try anything with superior fallen angels like us."
"Sure, and I just stay out in the hallway at night, guarding your doors, because I enjoy sleep deprivation." Dohnaseek sarcastically remarked.
"Well, I wouldn't want to take away your favorite pastime, now would I?" Raynare cheekily retorted. "Creeping around girls' rooms."
Dohnaseek clutched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Why are you the leader again?"
"Because she's like, totally the best." Mittelt chimed in.
"And this is why we don't throw you out into the gutter." Raynare said, patting Mittelt on the head, which flattened her bow against her hair, making the younger fallen huff in indignation.
Dohnaseek groaned in irritation. Not even five minutes ago Raynare and Mittelt were in a tiff with each other, but the second Raynare has her ego stroked she's happy as can be. It's a wonder they were still alive.
A quiet knock reverberated throughout the near empty church. Someone was at the front door.
"Go get that, Dohnaseek." Raynare ordered.
Dohnaseek got up, mumbling unintelligible complaints, and trudged his way over to the doorway. A blonde haired nun that didn't look much older than Mittelt stood at the entrance.
"Raynare, the nun is here." Dohnaseek called over to his leader.
"Well bring her in." Raynare impatiently called back.
Dohnaseek led the nervous nun over to the church pews where Raynare and Mittelt were waiting.
"Hello, my name is Asia Argento, and-"
"Great, great." Raynare cut her off. "My name is Raynare, the pipsqueak in the maid uniform is Mittelt, and the scruffy man in the detective getup is Dohnaseek."
"Pipsqueak?"
"Scruffy?"
"I've got to say it's quite a privilege for a lowly human like you to be of use to a high class fallen angel like me." Raynare bragged. "You wouldn't have lasted a day on your own."
"Umm… Tha-"
"Oh, where are my manners?" Raynare interrupted the nun again. "Let me show you where you'll be staying."
Raynare revealed a secret trap door just beneath the church's podium and led Asia away, leaving Mittelt and Dohnaseek on their own to grumble over their less than stellar leadership.
"Really, in the church bathroom?!" Kalawarner repeated in disbelief.
Aine was currently behind the wheel, with a now brunette Kalawarner sitting in the passenger seat.
"You were young once too." Aine said. "Don't tell me you never did anything stupid as a teen."
"Well, first of all, I'm a creation; I'm physically the exact same age as the day I was made. Second, for the first two hundred years of my existence I was still a pure angel. And third, even as a fallen, I wouldn't do that!"
"Prude." Aine remarked.
"Slattern." Kalawarner countered.
The two women shared a laugh, neither taking the other's insult to heart.
"Slattern, huh?" Aine said. "Just what century do you think this is?"
"Oh, excuse me for being wise beyond your mortal years." Kalawarner sassed.
"Who's the one with the doctorate here?"
"I could breeze past human medical school if I wanted to." Kalawarner claimed.
"For what, phrenology?" Aine jested.
"Hey! I knew that was nonsense from the beginning." Kalawarner incredulously alleged. Aine didn't entirely buy it.
Aine let out another chuckle. "Something tells me we're going to get along just fine." She said, before making a turn into her stop at the shopping center. "Wait there while I set up your chair."
"So how do I look?" Kalawarner asked, propping herself up on one leg outside of the changing room. She was now wearing a heavily cleavage exposing red leather top, and matching short skirt with diamond shaped slits that accentuated her thighs. In Aine's opinion it all looked a size or two too small.
"Way too sexy to walk around my household." Aine bluntly put. "We can still get you the outfit, but you'll need some casual wear."
"But this is my casual wear." Kalawarner complained.
"In that case you won't be able to dress like this in public either, for a while." Aine said. "Don't want to get recognised after all."
"I guess you have a point." Kalawarner admitted.
"And you'll need some underwear too, no going commando." Aine added.
"Seriously?" Kalawarner groaned. Aine responded with a firm nod, yes.
Aine went on to help Kalawarner try on several, more family friendly outfits and undergarments that the two agreed upon. After a while they had amassed a small wardrobe for the fallen angel. Kalawarner stayed in a one third unbuttoned red flannel with a white undershirt, and an almost knee length black skirt.
At the checkout Aine was ready to pull out her wallet when Kalawarner waved her off.
"Don't worry, I've got this." She assured Aine. "Just hold the door."
"Alright." Aine said, surprised that the fallen angel was able to pay on her own.
As Aine approached the door she heard the cash register chime and she turned back to see Kalawarner rolling in her direction, with the rest of her newly bagged outfits folded on her lap.
Aine gave her some room to wheel through the entrance, and followed behind to push her onward, missing the cashier's blank expression as they left.
"I've got to say, I'm surprised you had the money to pay for all that." Aine commented as they moved to their next destination. "Were you hiding a credit card in your bosom this whole time?"
"Oh, no." Kalawarner said. "I just used a little hypnosis on the cashier."
"That is just devious." Aine chided, suppressing the urge to chuckle.
"What can I say, I'm still a fallen angel." Kalawarner shrugged, not feeling any need to justify her actions.
"I'll let you off the hook this time, but no more stunts like that." Aine dictated. "I have no problem paying for you, and too many repeats will definitely draw attention."
"Does that mean you want to go back and pay for all this?" Kalawarner asked.
"Oh heavens no." Aine tittered. "I'm not that good."
Kalawarner couldn't help but laugh along. This woman was alright, for a human.
The two made a stop by the car to deposit Kalawarner's new clothes, then decided to eat out while they were still around the shopping center.
After some looking around Aine found a sandwich shop with outdoor seating. She parked Kalawarner at one of the tables, and went inside to make both of their orders.
"Should be about ten minutes." Aine said as she returned, taking her seat by the wheelchair bound fallen angel.
"Do you mind if I ask something while we wait?" Kalawarner asked.
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"
"I hope this isn't overstepping any boundaries." Kalawarner looked around to make sure there was no one to listen in on them. "Your son's ability."
"Oh, Shattered Glass? Sure, I don't see much harm in that." Aine gave the go ahead.
"What is it exactly?" Kalawarner asked. "I'm sure it's not a sacred gear, or we'd have already been informed about it, and I couldn't sense anything when he summoned it."
This time Aine took a quick look around. "It's called a stand, a unique manifestation of a human's fighting spirit."
"Why haven't I ever heard of anything like that?" Kalawarner questioned.
"Stands tend to be undetectable by non-stand users, and users themselves aren't the most common." Aine explained. "The only information I could find about them in my research was from a work of fiction called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and a plagiarism called Diesel."
"So how do you get them?" Kalawarner asked.
"That, I'd like to keep a secret."
"Fair enough." Kalawarner wasn't going to press too hard for the information. "Can I ask if you have one?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Aine said.
"Tease." Kalawarner quipped.
Shortly after their stand conversation they were given their orders. The two women made idle chatter as they ate their fill undisturbed, before heading home.
Aine opted to spend the rest of the time before she picked up her kids keeping Kalawarner company, not wanting to leave her on her lonesome.
Aine could read in Kalawarner's eyes that even though she was grateful and enjoyed the company she still viewed Aine as lower. But Aine couldn't judge the fallen angel too harshly, biases built over thousands of years wouldn't just disappear with a day of positive interaction, and to Kalawarner's credit she hasn't acted on her prejudice in the slightest.
"So, how are you liking things here?" Aine asked. "Aside from the broken leg and all."
"Definitely better than doing busywork at the Grigori." Kalawarner said. "I might just decide to cut ties and stay here." She joked.
"Well let me know if you do." Aine smiled.
"Wait." Kalawarner faltered, stunned at the implication Aine just made. "Are you being serious right now?"
"Sure thing." Aine said casually. "Of course you'd be getting your share of the chores once you recover, but you can stay as long as you want."
"Guess that means I'll need to move the medical supplies to my room." She added, under her breath.
"You have to be joking." Kalawarner said in disbelief.
"Not in the slightest." Aine assured.
"But, you barely know me, why would you do something like this?" Kalawarner argued, as if trying to resist Aine's welcome. "I'm a fallen angel!"
"Kala, it's fine." Aine's comforting smile did not waver. "Azalea could use another member of her species to direct her questions to."
Kalawarner's eyes started to water. "No, this isn't fair. You can't do this to me. You can't give me hope like this."
Aine wrapped her arms around the distraught fallen angel, who began to sob into her shoulder.
"There, there. Let it all out. You've been holding this in for a long time haven't you?" Aine said, patting Kalawarner's back. "You don't need hope, you have my word."
After minutes of vulnerability that Kalawarner never thought she'd let anyone see, her tears ran their course and she put herself back together.
"Do you have a phone I can use?" Was the first thing Kalawarner asked after drying her eyes on the hospital blanket.
"Here you go." Aine said, pulling her cell phone from her pocket and handing it over.
Kalawarner flipped the phone open and began dialing; whatever she was trying to reach did not have the standard eleven digits. Probably a security measure. Aine lost count of the button presses before the dial tone finally began.
"Hello, this is Kalawarner. Yes, assigned to assist Raynare. I'd like to connect to Fallen Resources. Thank-you." A couple minutes of elevator music passed by before Kalawarner was patched over. "I Quit!"
With her resignation verbally submitted, Kalawarner promptly hung up and let her head fall back onto her pillow.
"No going back now." Kalawarner said.
"Did it feel good?" Aine asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Kalawarner affirmed.
"I guess we just need to work on your cover story now." Aine said, grasping her chin before snapping her fingers in triumph. "I've got it! You're my younger sister that fell on hard times and had to move in with us. Perfect."
"Younger sister?" Kalawarner questioned. "You do realise I'm over twenty generations older than you, right?"
"Yeah, but who's going to believe a gorgeous thing like you is the older sister of this middle aged mother of two?"
"You make a good point." Kalawarner chuckled.
"Azalea's going to be so excited she has a new aunt." Aine stopped for a moment to check the time on her phone. "Speaking of which, it's about time to go pick them up. You want to come with me?"
"No thanks." Kalawarner said. "I think I need some time to process today."
"That's fair." Aine began to walk away, but halfway to the door she turned to get one last look at Kalawarner's face.
"Your eyes changed a bit." She quietly mused.
"What does that mean?" Kalawarner questioned.
"Oh, nothing important." Aine dismissed. "Just thinking out loud." With that, Aine made her exit.
Aine made it to the school just in time to catch Brandon and Azalea exiting through the gate. The ride back was calm, with Aine deciding to hold off on sharing the developments made with Kalawarner until they were home.
Azalea would no doubt be ecstatic, but Aine wasn't sure what Brandon's opinion would be. He seemed unusually receptive towards the full blooded fallen angel, but a new member of the household is quite the mix-up and he very much preferred stability.
"I hooked up two girls from the student council today." Azalea shared, unprompted.
"You did? Good for them." Aine gave her best regards. "Guess that makes you a good wing woman." She grinned.
"Beat you to it." Azalea informed. "By about seven hours."
"Damn." Aine grunted, making a turn. "How about you Brandon, anything happen with you?"
"Nothing much, met back up with the kendo club, sparred a couple matches." Brandon said. "Some were giving me weird looks, but it was overall a quiet day."
"Why were you getting looks?" Aine questioned, although she could easily guess the answer.
"The usual, just knocked some wagon's lights out the other day."
"Brandon!" Azalea reprimanded.
"The one that made Azalea cry?" Aine assumed.
"Yep." Brandon confirmed. "Left her with a black eye, a busted lip, and a bloody nose."
"Nice." Aine said.
"BRANDON!" Azalea protested.
"Did you honestly expect anything different, Azalea?" Brandon dryly asked.
"Well… no." Azalea admitted. "But I still don't approve!"
"Just be glad it wasn't me that got to her." Aine said. "I might've done something that would get my medical license revoked."
"You two are just incorrigible." Azalea grumbled.
The family pulled into the home's driveway.
"There's something I need to tell you once we get inside." Aine spoke with a neutral tone, not looking back to make eye contact. The Byrne siblings followed her into the house, and Brandon closed the door behind them.
"So, what's the bad news?" Brandon bluntly asked.
"You don't know it's bad." Azalea said, giving him a shove.
"Kalawarner is going to be staying with us. Indefinitely." Aine turned around to reveal. "The cover story is that she's my little sister, your aunt."
"What?" Azalea blurted, with an ecstatic smile painted on her face. "That's amazing!"
"Hmm." Brandon hummed, looking deep in thought. "Didn't see that coming. I probably should have, but I didn't."
"Is it alright if I talk to her?" Azalea asked, struggling to remain in place.
"Sure, just don't get too excited." Aine said. "I'm not sure Kalawarner can keep up with your energy."
Azalea was at Kalawarner's door in an instant, knocking on the wall with barely restrained excitement. Aine and Brandon looked at each other and shrugged before following along.
"Come in." Kalawarner gave her permission.
Azalea would have rushed inside had Aine not grabbed her shoulder to reign her back as they entered. Once near the foot of the bed Aine made the mistake of letting Azalea go. The over-hyped nephilim rushed over to Kalawarner's side and hugged her before anyone could react.
"Um, hello." Was all Kalawarner could think to respond with.
"Azalea approves." Aine stated, shaking her head, but smiling all the while.
"I'm so happy you're staying with us." Azalea said, slightly tightening her hug. Kalawarner gave the over excited girl an awkward pat on the head.
"Azalea, let her breathe." Aine chided. Azalea quickly let go and stepped back, mumbling an apology. "This is what you signed up for, no turning back now."
"I can live with that." Kalawarner chuckled.
Brandon stepped forward, and stood by the bedside, holding out his hand.
"Welcome to the family, Kala." He greeted, aloofly. After a moment Kalawarner accepted his handshake. "If you're having trouble with anything, just let me know."
With Kalawarner at a loss for any response, Brandon simply let go of her hand and exited the room.
"I'm surprised he doesn't have any problem with your stay." Aine commented, once Brandon was out of earshot. "He's usually a lot more abrasive."
"I'm glad." Azalea stated, taking a seat in the chair by Kalawarner's bed.
"Good to know he won't be stabbing me in my sleep." Kalawarner jested.
"He may be a jerk at times, but he wouldn't do that." Azalea affirmed, before moving onto the next topic.
As Azalea began chatting with the older fallen angel Aine snuck a glance at her eyes and saw nothing but curiosity from her little nephilim. Kalawarner has already proven she's not a threat; there'd be no harm in leaving them together and letting Azalea learn about herself.
"I'm going to go prepare for dinner." Aine excused herself. "I'm sure Azalea wants to stick around, call me if she gets too out of hand."
"Alright then." Kalawarner said. "I think I'll manage."
"Good luck." Aine said, tousling Kalawarner's hair, which earned an annoyed look, before giving her daughter the same treatment. "You know where to find me."
Aine departed to the kitchen, leaving her daughter, and her 'little sister' on their own.
"Sorry if I startled you earlier." Azalea apologised again. "Sometimes I just get so excited…"
"It's alright, no harm done." Kalawarner waved off the concern.
"I like your new look, by the way." Azalea added. "It suits you."
"Thanks." Kalawarner said. "Your mom said that my normal outfit was 'too sexy,' so this was the compromise."
"Probably for the best then." Azalea supposed. "It'd be weird seeing my new aunt that way. Besides, you look great as is."
"Thank-you." Kalawarner smiled at the genuine compliment, they weren't something she'd receive often. Usually any praise was just an attempt to get something from her.
Azalea went quiet for a bit, she looked like she had something on her mind, but just didn't know how to phrase it.
"Is it alright if I see your wings?" She abashedly asked.
Kalawarner wasn't sure why Azalea suddenly seemed flustered after a harmless question like that. A fallen's wings weren't exactly a private affair.
"Knock yourself out." Kalawarner scooted to turn her back to Azalea and two black wings unfurled themselves.
Azalea stared at the feathered limbs in fascination, but something seemed just a bit off.
"Wow, this is the first time I've gotten a good look at someone else's." Azalea exclaimed, moving her face closer for a better look. "Why are they different from mine?"
"Every pure blooded fallen angel's feathers are unique, it's the same with our light spears." Kalawarner explained.
"Light spears?" Azalea repeated in confusion.
"You've never seen one?" Kalawarner asked, turning back forward. Azalea shook her head no.
Kalawarner held her hand out and manifested a faintly glowing golden spear of light. Its blade frayed at the back of the head with ornate indentations, and on the opposite side there was a second smaller spearhead somewhat reminiscent of a pointed leaf. Azalea looked on in total awe.
"So, what do you think?" Kalawarner asked, smirking.
"That's amazing. You're amazing!" Azalea marveled, totally mesmerised by the shining weapon.
"Oh, it's nothing special, we all can do this." Kalawarner said, letting her spear dissipate.
"I can't." Azalea said.
"Well you weren't created with the knowledge to do so, unlike me." Kalawarner discreetly bragged. "But it should be possible to learn, even for a low level nephilim."
Kalawarner peered over Azalea's shoulder.
"Come to think of it, I never saw your wings." Kalawarner realised. "Why not show them off?"
"Okay, but they won't be as pretty as yours." Azalea said, turning away and revealing all five pairs of wings. "I'm not sure why there's so many, probably just a mutation."
Kalawarner was wide eyed and speechless. Suddenly Azalea's hair made perfect sense. Her feathers were just like...
"T-ten wings?" Kalawarner sputtered.
"I know, pretty freaky, right?" Azalea conceded, misconstruing Kalawarner's reaction.
"Y-you-" Before Kalawarner could finish her sentence there was a knock on the door.
"Knock knock." Came Aine's voice. "Coming in."
As Aine let herself inside she saw the scene of a flabbergasted Kalawarner staring blankly at her daughter's wings. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer confusion in the older woman's eyes.
"Ah, looks like you found out my daughter's little secret." Aine slyly commented before turning to Azalea. "Dinner is just about done, why don't you go wait at the table?"
"Alright, Mom." Azalea cheered, withdrawing her wings as she darted out.
Now that she was alone with Kalawarner, Aine took a seat.
"You look like you have something on your mind." Aine commented as Kalawarner recovered from her shock. "Something you want to ask?"
"Aine. Did you fuck the leader of the Grigori?" Kalawarner jumped straight to the point.
"Guilty as charged." Aine confirmed without a hint of shame.
"She doesn't even try to deny it." Kalawarner muttered to herself in total disbelief.
"Honestly I'm surprised it took this long for someone to figure out." Aine said. "Azalea's name isn't exactly subtle."
"How? You? Him?" Kalawarner questioned.
"What can I say? Angel wings are hot." Aine shrugged.
"That is Not the part I'm questioning!"
Aine sighed. "It wasn't long after my husband's death, I got a bit drunk. I don't like to talk about it." Her voice went somber and withdrawn. "Is it alright if we save the full story for another time?"
"I have so many questions." Kalawarner said, before sighing. "But I guess they can wait."
"Thanks." Aine began to smile. "Now enough about my former sexlife, let's get you to the dinner table." She said, cheering up immediately. How this woman maintained such control over her emotions Kalawarner would never know.
Aine rolled Kalawarner up to the dinner table where Brandon and Azalea were already seated, before retrieving a casserole from the stove and distributing helpings to each plate. As usual, Azalea would receive the largest portion.
"So, what made you decide to stay?" Brandon broke the ice.
"You all treat me like a person." Kalawarner answered, scooping up some casserole with a fork, and taking a bite. "Food's good too." She added, after swallowing.
"The Grigori was that bad, huh?" Aine queried.
"They don't treat us weaklings well, no one cares if we live or die. At best I was just a disposable tool." Kalawarner explained. "But it's not like I had anywhere to go if I left. Eighteen hundred years of that garbage, is it any surprise I cut ties the first chance I could get?"
"Well, I'm glad you decided to accept my invitation." Aine said.
"And to think, this morning you were threatening to slit my throat." Kalawarner remarked, with a grin only Aine noticed.
"you're going to hold that against me, aren't you?" Aine groaned.
"Big time." Kalawarner confirmed, with a growing smirk.
"What the hell, Mom?!" Azalea blurted.
"It was a joke!" Aine defended herself.
"Ah, the old 'I'll slit your throat gag,' a classic." Brandon sarcastically commented.
"Stop teaming up on me." Aine complained.
"I deeply apologise for my mother's behavior." Azalea said, taking a moment to turn back to Kalawarner.
"It's fine, really." Kalawarner chuckled.
The family continued to bicker amongst themselves as Kalawarner watched on in growing amusement. They didn't seem to care that she was starting to laugh at them all fussing over her.
This bizarre family didn't even know her for two days, and yet they accepted her without a second thought. For the first time in her existence as a fallen angel, Kalawarner felt like she belonged. But that did not in the slightest alleviate the sheer amount of questions she had on hold.
Rias and her peerage, including the new addition, Issei, gathered before an abandoned warehouse.
"According to the reports, this stray has been tricking people into that abandoned house, and eating them." Akeno said.
"Gross!" Issei replied.
"Tonight's job shouldn't be too hard." Rias said. "Just find the beast and kill it."
"These monsters are pure evil." Kiba claimed as the group walked inside. "They don't care about anything but their own selfish desires, and that always ends in ugliness."
"Issei-" Rias began only to stop dead in her tracks.
"What the hell?" Issei blurted.
The form of a large chimera lay motionless on the ground as the sound of buzzing flies and the smell of rotting flesh filled the air. The chimera had a humanoid figure grafted to the top of a monstrous body lined with teeth, its face was frozen and dried out in shock.
Kiba walked forward to examine the corpse. Thousands of piercing wounds littered its flesh.
"The cuts, it looks like they all burst from beneath the skin." Kiba appraised. "What could have done this?"
"Whatever it was, it did our job for us." Rias said. "I guess I'll have to explain the pieces some other time."
"Does that mean we're done here?" Issei asked, holding his nose.
"I suppose so." Rias said, before casually forming a red magical circle under the corpse, and obliterating it with destructive magic.
After destroying the stray's remains Rias created another magical circle at her feet that her peerage soon joined her on.
"Aww what a shame, I didn't even get to play around with her." Akeno bemoaned as she stepped beside her leader.
"Don't worry Akeno, there will be other strays." Rias said, promptly warping them all away.
The occult research club made their leave with the new knowledge that some unknown, dangerous force was loose in Kuoh.
I'd like to thank everyone who decided to follow, favorite, or leave feedback on my fanfiction. I'm now up to double digits in the favorites and twenty follows, and that is huge to me. Thank you all so much.
Aine got quite a bit of focus in this chapter (guess you know where Brandon gets some of his quirks).
Kalawarner is officially a member of the Byrne household (Why do I get the feeling she's not the first woman Aine sister zoned?). The vibe I got from her in her first appearance was just kind of done with everything, so that's what I had in mind while writing her character. That, and skepticism over suddenly being treated well, which Aine was able to successfully break through.
The remaining members of the bumbling miniboss squad, now minus one member, have all been properly introduced. Mittelt looks up to Raynare and willingly feeds her ego, while, as demonstrated, Dohnaseek and Kalawarner more or less tolerate her.
Raynare herself was fun to begin writing for. Describing her appearance was a real pain; For how skimpy it is, her outfit is also stupidly elaborate. I really hope I got her character right.
Also some clarification, stands exist, the stand arrows exist, various other items and concepts from JoJo exist, but the characters, individual stands, and events of Jojo's bizarre adventure are a work of fiction in this story, which is why I don't consider it a true crossover. Also probably don't need to say this, but Diesel also never happened.
Personal news: fully vaccinated now. (Finally)
Lastly: Anyone see the Shin Megami Tensei V trailer? They made the protagonist just unnecessarily pretty. It's ridiculous how pretty he is.
