.: It has been a busy summer for me! I have no excuse for my unexpected absence other than too much outside activity. I'm sorry. But I am happy with this chapter so I hope you are happy about it, too. This is a longer one, and luckily I didn't feel a strain when working on it. Hopefully that is a good sign for the future. Enjoy! :.

The Archangel of the Hidden Leaf

Chapter 26:

The Promise - Origins of Project Archangel, Part 5

The archangels were active as long as the sun was out. Akuma stayed hidden even with all the flying going on around him. He was just glad a strong sense of smell was not a trait among their kind, or else they could have found him using it.

One thing he kept an eye out for was any sign of any archangels bringing back dead bodies from their feeding. Many left the vicinity, but none carried anything back. That either meant they were left alone to rot, or they were eaten at the site. Akuma still wanted to go check for himself when the coast was clear. There was just one thing he had to take care of first.

Families with young children were the first to turn in for the night. Akuma wondered if they had to sleep gathered together to stay warm with body heat. There was not a single sign of clothing to be worn or blankets to be used by any of them, so it would make sense. Eventually, older individuals returned to the cave, and then the last of the adults and teenagers disappeared as well. The only one to remain was Tenshi. She had napped on and off throughout the day in the same area as the other expectant mothers and new mothers, wanting to pass the time so that she could be with Akuma again. Now she was alone, and her stomach growled with hunger as her unborn child squirmed inside her. Hopefully, Akuma had more food for her. The pills did not help her appetite for more than three hours.

When she was walking along the side of the mountain away from the cave, Akuma went to return to the tree they were meant to rendezvous at. But he made sure to bring his pack this time. He had to store away the trap and return to the village with it. There was no more purpose for its use.

With the pack secured on his back, he traversed branches until he reached the trunk. Then he dropped down so Tenshi would see him and think he had never moved. Once he got her to return to the cave in a few minutes, he would retrieve the trap he threw in the bushes and leave. It was a simple plan. He just hoped it would go smoothly.

The sight of her new lover excited the pregnant archangel. This moment of being reunited could not have come any slower. Her blank eyes darted around his clothed body. He still wore dark garments that were soft against her skin when she touched him. There was something on his back that was not there before – she knew because of the brown straps that were around his shoulders. So, instead of meeting him face-to-face, she rounded his back to see what exactly it was.

"Tenshi?" he said as he turned to see where she was going.

"What is…?" she trailed, following the backpack as it rotated away from her reach.

"Oh, nothing," he confirmed, grabbing the sack of food pills from his waistband. "Hungry?"

The word instantly plucked her attention from the backpack. "Hungry," she repeated back, eyeing the sack and holding her hands out.

He turned it over into her palms to pour the remaining ones out. "Good girl." Bringing her hands to her mouth to begin feeding, she watched as Akuma rolled up the limp sack and pushed it into his pant pocket. "I have to leave now."

She swallowed what was in her mouth. "Leave?"

"Yes–" He patted his own chest "–Go home."

Her nonexistent brows narrowed in confusion, so she pointed in the direction of the cave. "Home."

"No, your home here. My home–" He pointed toward the trees "–there."

"No. Your home here."

Akuma hesitated. How could he reason with someone who could not be reasoned with? "Tenshi," he said with a firm tone.

"Your home here," she repeated defiantly. He made the promise to be her new lover, so why was he trying to leave now? And with the birth of her child nearing closer by the hour, she needed him now more than ever.

Her hands dropped from her mouth as she properly looked up into his face. Akuma was taken aback when he noticed a thin film of tears forming on her lower eyelid. "Your home here," she repeated again, her lip wanting to curl. "Hungry. You bring food. Weak don't live!"

Hearing the emotion teeming in her voice bothered him. Somehow, he believed to understand what she was trying to say. In her current condition, she could not get sustenance for herself, and it did not help that nourishing a fetus made her hungrier faster. That was why she was clinging to him after he gave her food yesterday. If she could not feed herself, and nobody else would help, then she was doomed to starve. Her kind only desired to produce strong members, so the weak had to die off to ensure that. No wonder they killed each other during feedings…

When he watched a single tear stream down her faceless face, he instinctively caressed her cheek and used his thumb to wipe it away. Tenshi was just scared both for herself and her baby. If she was truly angry with him, she could have brought out her monstrous side and devoured him by now, but she was reacting like a normal human would instead. She was proving that archangels had feelings, customs, and intelligence. It all made him admire her even more than he already did.

"You won't die," he promised her, pulling her hands back up to keep eating the pills. "Food tomorrow."

"Stay," she insisted, obediently intaking more and chewing.

"Oh, alright," he gave in. It would make no difference if he returned to the village now or later. The coolness of the night would slow the decomposition of any bodies left behind from the most recent feeding, and he was just going to sleep in his own bed tonight anyway if he did go back now. Spending another night with Tenshi would be okay. Besides, if he waited to return in the morning, he could visit a butcher to buy some meat and bring it back for her. He just did not know how often or how consistently he could.

As he laid on his back with his bag underneath his head, Tenshi rested against his chest, breathing slowed to indicate she had begun to snooze. It had only been a few minutes. She must have felt plenty safe to have found slumber so quickly. Feeling her body's temperature against him was comfortable, he had to admit. It was the closest thing he had to a blanket. Even as his right hand rested against the curve of her side, Akuma embraced the radiation and allowed it to lull him to sleep as well.

When Akuma stirred before dawn, Tenshi woke up as well. She had rolled off him during the night, giving him the full range to move however he pleased. The heat his body created against her side was quickly fading after he found his feet, causing tiny bumps to form on her skin. She shivered briefly and watched as he slipped the backpack on. He had no time to waste. If he wanted to avoid the scout's emergence, he had to leave now.

But of course, there was an obstacle he had to overcome. "Akuma," he heard her tiredly say.

"Sleep," he told her without looking. "Food tonight."

"But…"

He kneeled in front of her as she sat up on her side. "I'll come back," he said, trying to make the departure as painless as possible. Touching a finger under her chin, he lifted her head to press a kiss to her temple. The intention was to show her he promised to stick to his word, but whether or not she acknowledged it as that was up to her. "Sleep," he whispered, helping her lay back down as she was.

Tenshi looked at him with wonder. What kind of gesture was that? She never experienced anything like it before. It was…comforting. When he rested his palm against her swollen abdomen, she did not budge. His blue eyes, twinkling in the dimness surrounding them both, had a sentimental emotion inside them. There was a connection between them that was very new but real to her, but was he starting to recognize it, too?

Akuma stepped away and out of sight to retrieve the trap. He tried to be as quiet as possible so he could listen for the pregnant archangel. Even as he began to leave the area, there was no sign of her. For once, he felt relieved to be alone. Tenshi, who wanted to cling to his side, displayed her trust by not following him. Perhaps she did understand that he was going to take care of her after all. The only question was how long would he?

To Akuma's dismay, he had to return to the village empty-handed. The corpses he found from the previous day were too mangled and decomposed to be useful. Waiting another day would be a waste of time. He had no choice but to press on with a developing plan he was piecing together.

After observing behaviors and patterns of Tenshi's clan, Akuma felt that it would be best to strike before they were active for the day. Every archangel resided inside the cave during the night without anybody acting as a guard or lookout outside, meaning they cornered themselves. The Hidden Stone had ventured inside blindly and were easily overwhelmed and massacred in a matter of seconds, but he knew how to turn the tide now.

Diverting away from his usual route home, Akuma made his way to a special unit inside the village's military force. Only the most prestigious shinobi were recruited to work within it, the majority of them belonging to a single clan who possessed a corresponding kekkei genkai. Akuma knew the leader of the Explosion Corps (although not very personally) because he was his brother-in-law. Pride probably encased Haruk's personality and prevented him from acknowledging the talents and abilities of others who differed from him, creating a divide between the two of them. Haruk brought destruction with his line of work while Akuma saved lives with his. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Since Akuma was never close with his brother-in-law, he wondered if requesting his help in his plan would have the reaction of a joke instead of seriousness. But Haruk was geared for setting up ambushes for impending battles, so he could have ideas of his own to add to the plan. Whatever was to come, Akuma had to keep an open mind while remaining realistic. He was the only one in the entire village who had some kind of understanding of the archangels, so his knowledge was more than vital.

Upon entering the stone-laden building, it was clear that he was out of place. Shinobi wearing the red uniform of the Hidden Stone Village were hard at work making paper bombs by sealing away pieces of their own chakra onto rectangular tags. Others were testing new ideas for weapons he had never seen before.

Eyes turned to him momentarily, some registering his identity while others showed disinterest. Regardless, he went around aimlessly until Haruk came into his view. He was monitoring a small team of rookies as they formed their first paper bombs. New chunins from the same clan as Haruk, he was trying to not be cold toward them as they learned the process.

"Haruk," Akuma voiced from behind him.

"I'm busy," he sternly replied, not turning around to greet him despite recognizing the voice.

"I understand but this can't wait. It's about the archangels."

The four teenage chunins paused and looked over at Akuma when he uttered the word everyone in the village hated. Suddenly Haruk was reminded of his wife's late-night ramblings about what her older brother's current endeavors were. She did mention how he survived an encounter with the vermin at the newest cave, but other than that, he could not remember what was going on with him.

"Keep practicing," Haruk told the group before he turned away from them.

Akuma came face to face with the man who kept a roof over his sister's head. His sandy blonde hair hung over his left eye, trying to reach the scruff developing on the lower half of his face. It appeared he had not been home much lately or getting good sleep, but it did not deter from his doughty presence. He saw the dark clothing Akuma was clad in and the pack hanging from his shoulders. It was not common for a shinobi to be out of uniform, but it was clear he was busy doing something for a mission, which was odd for a medical shinobi. Haruk believed they belonged in a hospital or battlefield environment only.

"I need your help," Akuma continued, reaching for a rolled map he had marked up.

Without saying anything, Haruk tipped his head and began walking away, wanting him to follow. He could tell this would be a discussion, so he wanted to lessen the distractions.

They separated themselves from the noise in favor of a place to sit. The flat surface between them worked as a table even though it was a rock. Akuma unrolled the map and laid it across for Haruk to look. He immediately recognized the layout of the topography inside the Land of Earth and the series of markers showing every cave of archangels that had been found over the years. Haruk knew the Hidden Stone was working to eradicate them from existence so that casualties would be a thing of the past, but he had not been a part of the effort to clear out areas as Akuma had been.

"Lord Tsuchikage has assigned me to come up with a plan to finally rid our land of the archangels," Akuma began. "I've been watching them and keeping notes of how their bodies work. I believe I know the best course of action now, but it would require the Explosion Corps to join in."

"Go on," Haruk impatiently prompted.

Akuma pulled out his journal and flipped to where he sketched the opening of a cave similar to the one Tenshi resided at. "The archangels all stay inside their cave during the night with nobody out checking for danger. I believe we should use this to our advantage."

Although Haruk was listening, he could not help but notice the way Akuma spoke regarding the vermin. They were bloodthirsty monsters who were apex. Of course, there was nothing they deemed dangerous.

"In the past, we have always tried to draw them out into the open and kill them. Perhaps we have been going the wrong way about it," he theorized, taking out a pencil to circle a few areas along the upper lip of the cave. "Would it be possible for the Explosion Corps to collapse the mouth of the cave to trap them inside for good?"

The areas Akuma circled were at the very top of the gaping mouth. Since there was open space underneath, it was more than possible to dislodge enough rock from the mountainside to cover the space. What would be even better is crushing any vermin who tried to escape.

"It's possible," Haruk confirmed, "but it'll require a lot. The paper bombs we have now will run out fast."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"Well, it would be possible to make larger paper bombs that'll pack a bigger punch, but it'll take time. Plus, depending on the location of a cave, we would have to take out what's above the mouth of the cave as well in order to completely trap them inside. That would require other toys we're still testing out."

Akuma sat quietly. His brother-in-law had good points, and since he knew exactly how to coordinate explosions, he had to trust his recommendations. "Would it help to try a small cave first?"

"Yes, it would. But you should have Lord Tsuchikage approve of this plan before we move forward with anything."

"Of course–"

"Can I get back to work?" he interrupted.

"Y-Yes."

Getting up, Haruk took a few steps before pausing next to Akuma. "Come back as soon as you know, and come with us to the first cave. We'll need your guidance."

Surprised by how inclined Haruk was to participate in the plan, Akuma looked at him. But Haruk began walking away to return to his previous post. It was not normal behavior for him…Perhaps he got the news that he was going to be a father soon, so now he has something else to protect.

Onoki was pleased to hear the plan and told Akuma to proceed. It was the perfect opportunity to request he go back outside the village to find the smallest cave for the first round. When granted, Akuma felt relief. Tenshi would not go hungry.

When restocking his bag, he looked at the kunai knives and shurikens he was about to put back inside. They were the only weapons he would use for protection this time in archangel territory. Everything else…he hesitated. Aside from the trap, there were many things he decided he did not need for this trip. But he thought about Tenshi's condition, and for some reason, his gut told him to think as the medical shinobi he was trained to become.

He visited the hospital and smuggled supplies. Medicine, tools, water, anything he could think of that she might need, went into the bag. The last thing he retrieved was fresh meat from a butcher shop. Once he had it all, he headed out. Tenshi would be surrounded by members of her clan during this time of day, so he would have to visit caves from a distance until it was safe to go to her. All he needed was to see which one was the smallest. Details were unnecessary for his plan at the moment.

He mentally kept track of which caves he saw along the mountain range he traveled across. It was supposed to be a quick excursion, but he figured out it would take more than one afternoon to visit them all. He had to slow down when getting closer to a vicinity that contained archangels and stay hidden to remain alive. He jotted a quick note in his journal to help him remember the sizes of caves he laid eyes on. But when he visited Tenshi's cave tonight, he would refrain from noting its size. He did not want her home to be the first round even if it turned out to be the smallest. It was most likely he would keep it the last, but he pushed the thought out of his head.

Once the day hinted at coming to a close, he changed course toward where he was meant to be. He pictured the archangels disappearing for the night and tried his best to time his arrival. Just like the other caves, when he entered the vicinity, he slowed his pace and switched to travel along the ground. His dark clothing helped hide him in the growing shade of nightfall as he scanned for danger. There was silence; no beating of wings, hisses, or growls were detected. The mouth of the cave towered over him, and there was no sign of Tenshi.

The medical shinobi turned left. He and Tenshi seemed to have developed a certain rendezvous out of habit. She was probably waiting for him right where he left him earlier that same day. "Tenshi?" he called with a hushed tone.

Hearing her name stimulated her eardrums as Tenshi stayed on the ground. With extreme tightness in her uterus and burning between her legs ravaging all senses of pain, the only response she could summon was a moan. The sound made Akuma falter in his steady stride and then run. She was exactly where he thought she would be, but she was stuck on her hands and knees with wings out.

Seeing her in such a state alarmed him. He was beside her in a flash, his mind going straight into doctor mode. "What's wrong?" he asked, well aware of what was happening.

Tenshi looked to him, her eyes black and blood drooling from her lip from her teeth having accidentally nicked the skin. Her breathing became more erratic as a pained groan exited her lungs. Akuma could read a world of discomfort in her worried expression.

"It's okay," he breathed, having a look and feel to see how far along into labor she was. When he found that she was already at a point of no return, he found it hard to suppress panic. How long had she been by herself like this? Did she purposely hide just for this? The idea of her clansmen considering childbirth as a test of strength angered him. If anything drastic happened, she could die!

"Weak don't live!" she had told him last night. That was the way of her people, but it was not the way of the Hidden Stone.

Her body tensed as she strained with a push, but he tried to get her to stop. They were not in the ideal place for birth. He had to have access to water, but not what he had brought for drinking purposes.

"Hold on," he said, scooping her up into his arms. If she could just hold off for a few minutes, he could get her to a small river that was a little over a mile away. A single leap got them up into a tree, and then he began traversing as fast as he could. The weight of her wings dangling gave a dragging sensation, trying to slow him down. But the gravity of the situation gave him the push he needed to squash the trip in less than eight minutes.

Tenshi was relieved to be laid down on the rocky shore though her body protested having to refrain from pushing. Akuma threw his backpack off and started digging for medical supplies that were about to pay off. He knew nothing about delivery, but he knew there was instinct involved. Assistance would be provided as much as was needed, but it was mostly up to Tenshi to get the job done. She would have to listen to herself.

And she was more than prepared to do just that. Akuma kept her calm and helped guide her as best he could until there was a baby in his hands. It happened in an instant, catching him by surprise, but he quickly swished a finger in its mouth to clear the airway. A little gurgle and then a shrill cry caused a genuine smile to cross his face. His first delivery as a medical shinobi was a success, and it was not inside a hospital.

Tenshi panted as a wave washed over her, an array of dark colors clouding her eyesight. All the pain and excruciating pressure were gone, and the cry of her baby filled her head. She tried to sit up, finding Akuma wrapping the little human with the warm cloak that had been hanging from his shoulders. The sight made tears spring from her eyes. It was exactly what she wanted.

Once everything was settled, he placed the baby in Tenshi's arms. "It's a boy," he informed her, letting her take him as the loud cries continued to ring out. The archangel locked her gaze on the blank face of her son. The great need to protect and nurture something so helpless and precious filled her very being. His little body was so warm as he tried to squirm against the cloak. Pulling her wings around herself, Tenshi provided an extra layer of body heat.

Something about it all made a strange feeling stir in Akuma's chest. It was good – that was the best he could describe it as. He did not want to move or leave her side as a result, so he did not. The birth of Tenshi's son had formed an attachment that was out of his control.