This is a chapter where I basically spell out Ren's story from the passages I made in 'Angels and Demons.' It has small tidbits of Ren's journey in New York, but nothing too necessary should you want to skip the very long chapter that this has become.

Otherwise, enjoy Ren's little tangent.

I've been held up with a puppy for the past week and it's slowed my writing significantly. Not to mention the fact that I'm being bombarded with work from school and I'm a props assistant in a play and have to be there until 6 PM for each rehearsal. I've barely got time to myself, and any of that time usually gets eaten because I have to make sure my puppy doesn't kill himself or destroy my house, so I apologize if my updates for all of my stories become less frequent (the chapters for my Shadowhunters story - The Five of Them (But Really Only Two) are premade, so they'll still be coming).

:)

Ren wanted to stay in his hiding place forever. He wanted to let the world fade away and simply forget. But he heard the clanging of a door opening and someone opening the trash bin he was hiding beside. Luckily the person opened it from the other side and never saw him, but he knew that his location was compromised.

He knew that the sun should have risen, as he'd escaped from the Nephilim facility near late dawn, but clouds had come in and it was becoming humid. Ren knew that the rain would be coming soon.

Sure enough, he felt droplets tickle his skin and he ran for cover. Other humans had devices to protect them, but Ren was left exposed and out in the open. Sometimes, Ren loved the rain. It wasn't as though it was deadly to him in any way, but it was cold and best not to waste his energy on drying himself or keeping the rain away. He was already weak enough, and he needed to save his energy with all he had.

Ren ran up to a large structure of rock that provided shelter. It was carved by the humans, most likely as a monument of some sort. Ren collapsed against it, columns supporting a large slab of concrete above him with a building at the other side. He tried to find a hiding spot where people wouldn't see him, and listened to the trickle of rain around him.

Suddenly he took it all in. He was alone, afraid, clueless as to what he was supposed to do, stuck in a world he didn't understand, and he just wanted to find Kan, take him away from all of this. He wanted it to just be them again. He wanted everything else to just…fade away.

Ren didn't know that he'd fallen asleep.

Did angels dream? He'd once asked that question. There was once a point in time where he was incapable of sleep. When he was banished, he learned the answer one way or another. Mostly, he just had memories. Now was no exception.

I heard a storm.

That's right, it was raining on the day we met.

I walked through the forest, searching for some herbs. I might as well try and live a life here, if this was where I was going to be stuck for all eternity. The problem with being an angel was that even when I was as weakened as I was, I was still very hard to kill.

I was immune to disease, it would take millennia for me to die of hunger or thirst, I still healed ten times faster than any mundane - unless the wound was specifically made by a weapon of anti-angelic power - my power would sustain me underwater for months on end, I could be tossed down from the sky to the ground and still recover from the impact within a few hours, and extreme heat or cold would make me miserable, but wouldn't be able to kill me.

I was still an alchemist, a hobby that was still entertaining for me. Now that I was in a new land, I might as well take the opportunity to experiment with the new flora and possibly fauna. I'd already checked out the plants near my home, and a made a bunny friend who seemed to be following me around despite my urgings to go home.

Eventually, I accepted the bunny and named him Bun-Bun because I lack proper naming skills. BB, for short, I supposed.

I tried to keep my mind off of how much I missed home, but it was kinda hard with everything around me reminding me that I was in a different land. Even when I was in my house, it only made things worse because I woke up the first few weeks thinking that I was still in Heaven, and that my banishment had just been a dream.

The pain ate away at me from the inside out every moment, and I occasionally broke down, crying myself dry or destroying some things in my lab, having to clean the damage up afterwards. At the very least, I was able to bottle some of my tears for use later.

BB seemed to sympathize with me, even though he was just a little baby bunny and didn't know how to communicate yet. Angels could understand all creatures, but while humans communicated through speech patterns, other creatures communicated through gestures or basic survival understandings.

I sighed. "You're lucky, BB. You only ever have to focus on your survival. Meanwhile I have too much brain power and I'm able to understand way more suffering. Ignorance is bliss, my little friend."

The bunny gave no reply, but he did give a look of confusion. He didn't really interpret my speech as anything more than noise, but he knew when I was referring to him at least.

I noticed that the skies were darker today and worried about my little bunny. He insisted on staying beside me though, even as I put him in the little bed I made for him and told him to stay put. I didn't lock him in my house, as he was free to leave me whenever he wished, but he instead wanted to stay by my side and helped me look for different plants.

When I felt a raindrop hit my wrist, I quickly bottled my samples and grabbed BB, putting him in my jacket pocket for safety. I was afraid that he wouldn't like it at first, but he seemed content and adjusted to the jostling rather fast.

I was heading back to my house when the rain started pouring down. The trees offered a bit of protection, but I had to use my aura to keep the rain off. My power had been growing stronger as I used it without Heaven's aura supporting it, but it was still something that I had to be careful with. Still, a small task like waterproofing wasn't too hard.

When I reached my house, I was surprised to find there was a person slumped against the side of the building. It looked to be a male form, but he smelled…powerful, in a dark way. I sensed a demonic aura from him, and I hid back behind the trees.

What was a demon doing here? Wasn't it bad enough that one of them got me cast out of Heaven, but now they were haunting me in my exile?

The demon should've been able to sense me, but he didn't make any motions. He seemed to be asleep, and if it weren't for the slight rhythmic movements of his breathing, I might've been convinced he was dead.

BB seemed to be getting impatient, poking his head out to look around and see if we were home yet. He saw the demon, though he didn't seem deterred. Animals of this world were able to sense demons and angels, and BB had some good intuition, but he had never been so rash as to try and jump out of my pocket.

"Bun-Bun!"

I quickly caught him before he fell all the way from my breast pocket to the ground. I wasn't the tallest angel, but it was still more than enough of a drop to hurt the poor thing.

He squirmed free of my grip, running across the ground over to the demon.

"BB!"

I ran after him and snatched him up, hugging him up against my chest despite his squirming to get free.

The demon noticed us, his head rising slowly. I took a few steps back, but he had already spotted us.

"Why are you here, demon?" I demanded, trying to sound confident.

I didn't have the strength to summon anything to defend myself, and I was a pacifist, so I didn't like weapons or the idea of fighting at all.

But the demon merely sank back against the wall again. "So this is my punishment. Please, make it quick, angel."

"What?"

"Kill me. I don't care how, but I request you make it quick. I need not more time suffering the shame of being at the mercy of an angel."

I blinked in confusion. So he wasn't here to kill me? Or maybe he was here to trick me like the one before.

"What do you mean? Why are you here?"

"I have transgressed. I have been thrown to an angel who shall kill me."

I looked around, unsure of what to do. Even if I wanted to kill him, I wasn't really sure that I had the energy to do anything fatal. Besides, it didn't seem that the demon was hostile. It was entirely possible that he was just trying to see if I would let him live and then make fun of me if I didn't, but at the moment, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

If a creature as vile as he could wish for death, then what could have happened? He said that this was his punishment. Irony, perhaps, that this was where I was sent for my punishment as well.

I hadn't found any traces of mundane life, and I questioned whether this truly was the mundane world or just some sort of artificial prison, so possibly this was a place of limbo, torture for angels and demons alike. Not that I knew much about demons other than what I'd been told and tried researching.

I had done all the research I could, but angels knew very little about demons since they wanted to pretend like they didn't exist. My curiosity for them is another piece of evidence used against me in my trial. I only did my investigations to help, make sure that we weren't blind to the demons should their numbers grow large enough to pose a serious threat.

Still, even with all my efforts, I had yet to do proper experiments on a real demon before. I wasn't one to kill anything, but perhaps this demon would accept punishment instead: being the subject of my research.

It was the only idea I had, since I wasn't going to kill this guy, but he didn't look like he was going to leave any time soon and wanted some kind of retribution for whatever he'd done to be sent here. I did sense that his aura was weaker than the demon that had tricked me before, and though I knew I should be cautious, he couldn't really do anything to make my situation worse than it already was.

That's what I told myself, anyway, but there was something else within me that trusted him. I couldn't place it.

Despite what I really should've done in my situation, especially after all that had happened with me and demons before, I slipped my bunny into my pocket and moved to pulled the demon into my arms and pick him bridal-style. He was a little taller than me, and lot more fit, but this was just my current physical form, and my real strength came from my powers within. Considering I'd been training up my aura again, he weighed nothing.

"H-Hey! What the Edom?!" He shouted, squirming in my grip.

"I have to bring you inside. The rain makes this an unsuitable location for anything, acting as an inconvenience to you as well as me."

"Didn't know an execution took a proper setting."

"I have no intention of killing you. I must do some experiments. It's not every day I get the opportunity to have my own demon at my mercy. If I am the one to decide your punishment, then I choose not to kill you, and rather to keep you."

"Do all angels use the shaming technique? Of keeping us like pets?"

"Most of the time. But should any other of my kinsman have found you, you would probably be sent back to where you came from as some sort of bargaining chip."

"So you're much worse."

"So I've been told. However, I'd imagine that going back to the people who banished you is truly a punishment, especially for demons."

"You know nothing about demons. Do you believe us savages?"

I pushed open the door and then closed it behind me, walking over to the couch in the living room to set him down on. "Please, do enlighten me."

"We do what we do for survival. We are treated like monsters because we are different, nothing more. Lilith was cast out of Eden for being who she was created to be, for sharing her opinion and refusing to be nothing but a slave. Adam treated her like a pet, a servant, when they were born to be equals, and accused her of not being complacent, as though he owned her. She was supposed to be his equal, but she was cast out just for being a woman, as Adam could've very well been banished as well from Lilith's perspective of the matter, and replaced with Eve. I bet your big boss regrets making her, huh? She and Adam got kicked out of Eden for good reason. They deserved it."

"Humans are a flawed species, but they are diverse. They have the ability to expand and adapt, move beyond survival instincts and open their minds to other ways of life, even if it can take many centuries, millennia, or more. Our species cannot change; we are born not wanting to. Both of ours."

The demon chuckled.

"What?"

"I expected you to make a quip about how Lucifer was the one to get Adam and Eve kicked out."

"That's true, but it was Eve who believed him and ate the fruit despite her clear order not to. And Lucifer was a fallen angel. I can see why he'd be angry. In any case, enough with the history lesson."

I walked over to my lab in the room next door, grabbing some empty jars off the shelves and returning.

"Okay."

I plucked some hairs from his head and put them in one jar, labeling it.

"Ow, man. Little warning next time."

"Sorry. This won't take much longer. Now, I'm gonna need some blood, skin, nails, and saliva."

As I was labeling jars, BB hopped out of my jacket pocket and landed on the demon, who jumped and shoved him away, taking shelter at the opposite end of the couch.

"What is that creature?"

"It's a bunny."

"A what?"

"I call him a bunny, anyway. You stay away from him; he'll stay away from you."

"Uh…okay."

He slowly relaxed, but he was still staying at the far end of the couch. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of a little, harmless bunny, scaring the demon so much simply because it was a foreign species.

"So, are you gonna let me go eventually, once you're done getting your stuff?"

"If I find no more use for you, sure. For now, there's much I can do with these samples, though trial and error will most likely result in numerous need for refills."

"And what if I just got up and left? What then?"

"The walls of this house are enchanted with angelic energy. If you want to risk walking out without permission and risk being burnt to a crisp, be my guest."

He crossed his arms and sunk further into the couch, grumbling something to himself.

"So, do you got wings? I heard angels have wings."

"We keep them sheathed for safety as well as convenience. They're heavy, you know. Especially if you have more than one set."

"How does that work, anyway? What dictates your number of sets?"

"The higher you are in the hierarchy, the more you get. They're a symbol of your rank and power."

"I hear archangels are supposed to have more than one pair, but what are archangels?"

"It's complicated. It depends on how much you've done to earn your position. We're born into certain places on the hierarchy, but can move up or down depending on who we are and how dedicated we are. It's never easy, but it's possible."

"So you're a scientist? Does that mean you're pretty high up? What are you doing in a backwater place like this?"

"I'm here…for research. This world is very unique, and I'm the angel that gets his hands dirty by coming to such 'backwater' places, as you put it."

"Yeah. I didn't expect an angle to be brave enough to approach a demon, let alone make contact or conversation."

"You're harmless to me. And even if you weren't…well, dying in this place doesn't seem like much of a bummer."

"I'm guessing you're an outcast?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're the guy who sticks out, and people don't like you for it."

I sighed. "Yeah, basically."

"And so people probably wouldn't mind if you died."

"Yep."

"So you're here…what? To get out of their hairs and be left alone?"

"Yes."

"Because to me, you look more like the guy who was banished here because you were different."

I flinched, and he laughed in his success. "Ha, so we're both here because of that then."

"What did you do to get here, then?"

"Me? I…well, I had pity."

"Pity?"

"There was this little girl who was beaten, told she needed to suck it up. But she was so young, barely born before she was nearly drowned and whipped. I wanted the others to take it easy on her, but they said she needed to learn what it meant to be a demon and continued."

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah, even for us that's harsh. I expressed my concerns, but was brushed off. I was banished from my city, but I accidently stumbled upon her and her farm. She was a cute little child, and she had been born and raised to believe that punishment was a normal thing, expected for the simplest things. It's true we have a harsh society, but the point of being a child is to learn from your mistakes, and we demons are raised to cause hell when necessary. She was just so submissive, it was terrifying. When I discovered that it was actually her that I had met, it was when I got kicked out of Edom to this hellhole."

"Perhaps I can help you get back to her."

He scoffed. "You're an angel. What makes you think you can make some kind of portal back to a city of demons? I doubt you lazy arses know anything about us."

"I'm the angel that gets my hands dirty, remember? I haven't been shy about my studies into demons, but now that I have actual samples, I might be able to make some serious progress into angelic and demonic powers. Quite possibly I could harness my angelic power and make it compatible with demonic origins."

He looked extremely surprised, blinking a few times before hiding his face behind his knees and looking to the side. "W-Why would you want to help me? We just met, and I'm a demon for crying out loud."

I looked to BB, who looked like he was stalking his prey as he stared blankly at the demon at the other end of the couch. I don't know why I trusted this demon, but even after all that I'd been through, I didn't see the threat. Perhaps that was a natural quality of a demon, seeming completely harmless against all odds. But I had nothing more to lose. This demon could kill me or torture me, take my experiments, or anything else he could think of. How much lower could I fall? Everything I did now was pointless. I had no more friends (unless you included my bunny), family, or life.

If I could befriend him, then why not? If he betrayed me, I wouldn't be very surprised, and at least I could pretend to have a friend for a little while longer before I died. It was only a matter of time before I was killed. Might as well speed up the process and lessen the suffering.

So, I simply shrugged. "What's there to lose? I'm banished. It's not as though the angels can punish me for conspiring with a demon, as I'm no longer within their jurisdiction. And if you're to betray me, so be it. Like you said, death is a better punishment than living in the shame of being cast out. Besides, I'm curious to see if this will work. Might as well."

He stared at me for a long moment, and I began to shift awkwardly under his gaze.

"A-Anyway. I'll go get some food. It's made from this place, so it should be harmless to you if it's harmless to me."

I hurried out of the room, suddenly extremely nervous as to what he was thinking. He didn't have the same look in his eyes as him, but it was still unnerving in a way. It was the curiosity of a demon, one that could swing either way, harmless or deadly. There was caution and hardness, but also confusion and interest.

And his face didn't look hostile, not really.

If anything, it looked extremely ho-

Stop it! No! Bad brain! Don't make the same mistake again!

I breathed and quickly gathered some food for the two of us and made some tea. Did demons like tea? What if he didn't? Could demons even taste at all? Another great test to add to the list.

When Ren woke, it was to someone poking him with a stick.

He groaned and opened his eyes to see a man in a uniform of some sort holding a stick that resembled an L shape but with the taller part overshooting, or maybe a T with one side of it extending too far.

The man said something, but Ren couldn't understand the human language.

"I speak the language of the celestials. Your speech cannot reach me."

The man seem to understand that Ren didn't understand and started miming his words. He pointed down to represent the location they were in, and then shook his head 'No.' Luckily that hadn't changed meaning within the years Ren had been imprisoned, and he understood that the man was telling him he couldn't be here.

Ren sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry."

He stood and moved to leave. At least the rain had stopped.

Ren looked around the city. He couldn't read the human language anymore, he couldn't speak their language, and he had no idea how their society worked anymore. It had been so long since he'd interacted with humanity, and they had clearly changed. Women were wearing outfits resembling men's clothes - they were allowed to wear something other than long dresses that covered their legs and feet. Both men and woman's fashion seemed to have advanced significantly. Now, the humans almost seemed to have caught up to the angels.

They had technology, Ren realized. Phones, tablets, computers…cords coming out of their ears? Perhaps they were plugging themselves in to their electronic devices. Had they really become so advanced so quickly? Or maybe he'd simply been imprisoned for longer than he'd anticipated - and he knew he'd been away for a long time.

Ren walked in the same direction as most of the humans were, looking around the large city. How would he find Kan?

His heart clenched as he thought about the demon. He wanted to hug Kandai, he wanted to kiss him and tell him that he loved him. After everything that had happened, Ren never dared to do so back when they were imprisoned. He had barely been able to move, he was so weak, and though he might've been capable of speaking, he didn't dare let Namir hear him tell Kan he loved him. It would be a sign of defeat, that he'd given up. He wouldn't give up if Kan was still willing to go on. The Greater Demon had enough hope for the both of them combined despite their overwhelming odds. The least Ren could do was fight back in his own way.

But now, Ren couldn't sniff out Kan's scent when there were so many other scents in the world. There were half-demons, cursed humans, undead humans, and faeries in varying numbers all scattered about around the city. It made Ren's head hurt if he extended his senses. He was out of practice.

He tried to get away from the artificial world, look for some hint of nature, and found a park. There were signs, but Ren couldn't read them. All he knew is that it was quieter here, there were even animals wandering around. Animals Ren could deal with.

He walked into the park and looked around for some animals. Whatever the place was, humans seemed to be preserving it, having built their city around it. He found some birds first, but they simply asked him for food. Did the humans feed the birds around here too? What nice people!

"I'm sorry. I don't have food."

The birds gave passive shrugs and flew off in search of other humans that might feed them. Ren found a squirrel next, who stared at the angel curiously before scurrying up his leg and coming to rest on his shoulder.

Ren chuckled. "You're full of energy, aren't you?"

The squirrel chittered and then climbed down, scurrying up the nearest tree and disappearing. Ren sighed and continued to wander the area. Eventually, Ren did see some other people who waved. Ren held his hand up and that seemed to satisfy them. He'd keep that in mind - humans held their hands up like that to greet each other.

Ren came to the edge of the park to another street where humans drove their contraptions. Ren saw a little animal running across the street, just as a larger vehicle came down the road. It made a loud noise to try and scare off the animal to get out of the way, but the furry creature simply froze in terror. A surge of panic flowed through Ren as he realized what was about to happen, and he ran for the street just to see the creature run over. Ren heard it squeak in pain before it suddenly went silent and the human contraption continued onward.

Ren rushed over into the street and kneeled to find the fluffy creature resembled a bunny - the bunny he'd had all those years ago during his exile. Instantly, Ren put his hand to the dead creature and pumped his energy inside it, mending its broken bones and returning its blood back to the body, sealing any wounds. In moments, the bunny was glowing white and then came back to life, making a small noise as it shook its body as though stretching after a nap.

Ren was unaware that his bunny could make noises like that, but he assumed that it was just an evolutionary trait that happened in his absence. Come to think of it, now that the animal was fully healed, it did look a bit different than his old bunny. So this was what bunnies looked like nowadays.

"Hi little one. You're okay now."

The odd bunny wiggled its small tail and pawed at him appreciatively. Ren chuckled and picked it up, being careful because it was so small and delicate. He quickly deduced that it was a boy, and since no one else seemed to be looking for the bunny, he started to think of names.

"You look like…hmm…Tobias? Hmm…Tidus? Yeah, that sounds like a good name. Uh…and your last name will be…Nico…Nicholas. How do you like that, little one?"

The bunny yipped happily and wiggled in his grasp.

"Okay Tidus. Do you have a family?"

The bunny gave a small hum.

"No, huh? You're lost? Me too. If you've got nowhere to go…how about you come with me? I'm looking for someone, and once I find him, we can try to run away together. Of course he's got that blood oath that he stupidly took for me…" Ren sighed. "But he took that oath because he loves me so much. And I really love him. If the roles were reversed…stars, I'd do the same thing."

Ren hugged his new pet, which helped him as he imagined hugging Kan.

There was a loud noise that Ren recognized as the horn of one of the human contraptions, and he remembered that he was currently standing in the streets where they passed. He quickly waved an apology to the drivers and ran to the sidewalks where pedestrians would traverse.

"Where do you think we should look, Tidus?"

The bunny wiggled in his arms, looking around at the city from his new perch.

"I guess I can't communicate with any of the locals. Hmm…those Nephilim that I ran from…they had angelic runes. Weak ones, for sure, but angelic runes all the same. They don't have the advanced ones, but I certainly do. Then again, I don't want to waste a lot of my power, so their weaker ones may be beneficial. Let's see, what was that 'Speak in Tongues' one?"

He put his finger to his forearm and thought of the rune as it instantly burned itself onto his skin. He smiled as he listened to the chatting people. He put on another rune to be able to read as well as hear and speak, so he then decided he was set. Of course, he could activate and deactivate the rune so that he spoke in Enochian as well as the human language, just in case language barriers actually came in handy.

"Hello! Hi! Greetings!"

Ren said warm hellos to everyone he passed, elated as the humans said hi back and he got confirmation that his rune was working. He got a couple of them to smile, even if others scowled and were suspicious of him.

Ren was too weak to sense most of their pain, but he knew it was there. He resisted the urge to use the little reserves of energy that he had built up to help the people he passed. He knew the dangers that imbalance to the universe might cause.

Still, there were some people that he helped manually, putting his new bunny on his shoulder where it seemed content. Everyone thought Tidus was adorable, of course, and Ren knew that he would protect his new pet for as long as it lived.

When Ren found some Downworlders, he asked for someone who could help him locate a demon. In the end, he learned about warlocks, werewolves, and vampires - putting labels on the new creatures so that he could identify them (faeries, Seelies, etc. having existed in Ren's time as well, so he knew who and what they were).

He was directed to the High Warlock of Brooklyn (Brooklyn apparently being the place he was located) and given directions to his home. Since Ren had no idea what an address was or how Brooklyn worked, a warlock opened a portal and took Ren through. She wished him luck and then disappeared through another portal as Ren looked up at the large house that belonged to the High Warlock.

Ren walked up to the door and knocked gently before the door opened itself. He saw no one there, but he carefully stepped up to poke his head through the doorframe.

"Hello?!"

"I thought I sensed an angel."

A man came walking down the stairs, and Ren's angelic eyes saw a soft dark aura around him. His powers weren't at their full strength yet, especially after healing his new pet and casting his translation rune. Ren could definitely tell that he was a warlock, spawn of a human and a demon, but the humanity in them made most good people.

"I'm looking for the High Warlock of Brooklyn. I was told you could help me find someone."

"That depends on who this someone is, and who you are."

"I'm Ren'ai, and I'm looking for the Greater Demon Kandai."

"I see. And why would one as powerful as you be seeking my aid? Don't your kind believe us with demon blood to be just as malicious and tainted?"

"There are good and bad in this world, I know that for sure, but blood doesn't make one either immediately. That rumor was born because the majority are raised by their kinsman, the habits and traits being passed down. However, there is no guarantee. There are those who learn from their forbearers, learn to be better, or learn to be worse. I prefer to see for myself who someone is, to never believe in rumors. I know what warlocks are, but that doesn't mean I know who you are, or that woman I met on the street, or the man I saw at a store. Though each hold demonic blood, they are far from demons. They are also part human, and humans, I've learned, can be quite amazing if given the chance to prove themselves."

The High Warlock gave a wry smile. "Well, it seems you're quite philosophical."

Ren smiled. "I'm an alchemist - I like to think a lot."

"An angelic alchemist. Interesting. Please, come this way. Tell me of this Greater Demon you seek."

His name was Kandai.

He was a 'Greater Demon,' a demon above some of the lower classes.

He was quiet and reserved, less violent than the other demons and he himself was interested in the science of angels. He played instruments quite well, and we were able to play pieces together that actually sounded pretty decent. He loved reading up on all of the notes I'd taken from my experiments, and soon, the bookcase was beginning to fill with his own notebooks as we worked together.

I barely knew him for more than a day, he was a Greater Demon - the same kind of being that got me kicked out of heaven - and yet he was suddenly my best friend. The possibility of everything being a lie always remained, but I continued to tell myself that there was little else that could hurt me at this point, that I might as well take what I could get.

By the end of the week, the two of us had a routine. Kandai would sleep on the couch, I would sleep in my room. When we woke up, we would take turns introducing each other to the kinds of food each of our species liked for breakfast. We would sometimes eat while writing notes and thoughts we may have had - but no food in the lab, of course (something I've have to scold Kandai for) and then we got to work.

Days passed in a blur, weeks, then months. Kandai merged into my life so quickly I didn't even remember when he stopped becoming that stranger demon I picked up outside and turned into more my friend who I was living with to help pay the rent - though we obviously didn't have to do any paying.

Kandai was shy at first, unwilling to do many things less out of caution and more out of depression, feeling that nothing was really worth it. It's not as though I hadn't felt the same way about things ever since I'd fallen from home, but once I saw the characteristics of depression on someone else, Kandai in particular, it suddenly inspired me to cheer him up, stay on the bright side.

He did open up, eventually, and though we always had our concerns, we made some kind of silent agreement that we'd be fine if we betrayed each other, but until then, we might as well be friends.

For some reason, it was just so easy to get along with him, to bring him into my life. Perhaps that's because I felt my life was already over, so why not? But I couldn't really place the feeling, not really. I dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, this demon wasn't like the last.

We weren't very fast in the lab at first, adjusting to each other's work style, but mostly because we were always talking about stupid things and playing around rather than taking the work seriously.

"So you actually fell asleep?"

"For only a few minutes!"

"You woke up when the bell rang! You told me!"

"He had to have been most of the way through the lecture at that point."

"He had just begun! Now you're contradicting yourself."

"So was it much more interesting in a demon school?"

"We don't have school. We just learn as we go. Anything mandatory for life is something that we're bound to learn on our own because it's…well, it's essential for life. Why go to a school to learn things and get help, have your hand held all through your childhood only to release you into the world not actually knowing a thing?"

"But it's gotta be hard learning everything from scratch on your own."

"That's the point. You learn the hard way the way the world works. Everything else you learn could just be rumors and such, but there are facts in the world that you can't deny. You have to learn that the world is tough, that there are going to be challenges, and you have to be raised ready to face those challenges as they come, improvise, accept, and adapt. That's what it's like to be raised as a demon."

"So you live your lives based on the concept of survival. It makes me question what we base our ways of life on, in turn."

"According to rumors down in Edom, you angels just live your lives in luxury. You never give thought to the rest of us who have to work hard and suffer to make do. When people beg for your assistance, you never give much, just dangle bait in front of those who are on their knees to keep them submissive."

"I suppose that's what we are, really. We take for granted all that we are, never think that out there others are just as smart, just as powerful, and we seem to think we're definitely the higher species."

"Is that what you think, though?"

"I don't know what to think anymore. Meeting you, talking all of this stuff out - it makes me realize just how arrogant we are. Of course, I always considered myself less arrogant than the rest, but even I took for granted all I had. At…least, until I lost it."

There was a moment of silence as Kandai twirled his pencil in thought. "Say, I've been meaning to ask. You don't have to if you don't want to, but can you show me your wings?"

"My wings? Why?"

"I've never seen angelic wings before. We all assume they're beautiful, but we all debate at how big they are. And if you have more than one set, are they all the same size? Do they ever get in the way and knock into each other when you're flying? Do you have to actually concentrate on beating each wing? Is there a limit to how many sets you can have? If you have a lot, do they get smaller? Do you grow them pair by pair, or do you have an expected maximum number given to you when you're born?"

"Okay, slow down. What's with the curiosity?"

He looked down. "Well…there are rumors that there are some demons that are powerful enough to gain wings. A demon like that…it just started making me question if the wings of a demon worked like the wings of an angel's."

"So…does this mean you've…met a demon with wings? I'd assume that's what got you so curious."

"Yes, I have. And…they didn't understand their wings very well. That's what got me interested in angels, actually."

"Does this person…this demon…happen to be…you?"

Based on the way he tensed up, I got my answer.

"Kandai, you have wings?"

"Demonic wings, yeah. But Greater Demons don't just get wings. Wings are inherited, there's no way to predict them. Demons in general just…don't have wings. Lucifer was a fallen angel, so he doesn't count. There are dragon demons, sure, but they're low-ranking, and we're talking about…real wings. If someone else - another demon, I mean - has ever gotten wings before, it's not on record."

"And you don't know what to do with them?"

"The only thing I've learned is how to hide them. I was really little when they first emerged, and I locked myself up for months while I tried to get them under control."

"When wings are first grown, they have to…they tear out of your back. Usually we have preparations that you have to go through to make it easier, but…"

"I thought I had some kind of wound, maybe a friend had played a prank on me or something. I saw two marks on my back at my shoulder blades, but thought little of it. I thought they'd heal. They didn't. I screamed when they emerged, and someone nearby came to find me. They looked terrified, and planned to run and tell the council. I killed them before they could."

"That must've been horrible."

"What? The murder or the wings?"

"Both! What if you were caught and tried for murder?!"

"Oh, the murder was normal for demons. If someone's killed, they're killed. If they're a higher class than you, sure, you could get in trouble, but if they're the same level or lower than you, killing is fair game."

"We'll talk about the injustice of your legal system later. What happened after your wings emerged?"

"I ran and hid. At first, they were really heavy and I couldn't balance very well. They were numb, so I couldn't feel anything on my back. I eventually washed them off in a river since they were covered in gross stuff, but they hurt to move around."

"Most angels go through a course in school to learn how to work their wings."

"Yeah, well I was terrified and clueless. It took me ages to get them under enough control that they weren't jumping around to the beat of my thoughts."

"They'll reflect your emotions no differently than your face."

"And I was constantly scared of what would happen if the demons found out about me and I was taken in."

"Did they find out? Is that why you're here?"

"No. If they'd found out, I would've never left."

"Can I…do you mind if I see them?"

He hesitated a moment before sighing and hopping off his seat to walk back into the living room. I followed cautiously, moving in front of him as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Behind him, his wings emerged. They were each twice his height in length - though that was normal for wings - and the feathers were midnight black with a slight blue tint at certain angles. They were large, though that was also normal. He wasn't able to fully expand them as he was restricted by the size of the room, but they were-

"Beautiful…"

Kandai looked up in surprise, before pulling his arms and wings close in embarrassment. "They're demon wings. They're probably nothing compared to your angel wings."

I shook my head. "No, they're…they're unique. I've never seen anything like them. Can I…?"

I couldn't help but reach out to touch one, but he flinched back in surprise.

"Sorry! They're sensitive. You haven't used them a lot. You haven't even groomed them."

"Of course I haven't used them. I wouldn't know how, and every moment they're exposed is a moment I might've been dragged away and locked up."

"Well, now you're free. You don't need to fear them."

He looked to the floor and sat down. "Can you…maybe…teach me about them?"

"Uh…sure. For younglings just getting their wings, you learn that they're going to reflect your emotions, they're going to seem to have minds of their own, and you have to learn to groom them regularly, no different than you would a pet. If you want to fly with them, you have to make sure the feathers are in good condition to withstand the wind as well as your weight, and you can waterproof them with."

"Okay, so how do I groom them?"

I moved and sat in front of him. "Well, you have to straighten the feathers first. Yours are a disheveled mess."

"Can you show me how?"

"Uh…it's not exactly a process for someone who's not close to you. Wings are one of the greatest weaknesses of an angel."

"You and I have a mutual agreement that either can do whatever they want to the other. You could cut these things off for all I care."

"No! No…these are…I'd never do something like that. Cutting off wings…that's the worst pain that an angel can face, and I'm sure you're no exception. It's just…grooming wings is an…intimate process."

"I don't care about your angel customs or whatnot. I just wanna learn how to do it myself and you won't ever have to come near them again."

"No, I don't mean that like it's some kind of custom only for married couples or something. I mean that…well, it's…just let me show you."

I reached out and gently ran my fingers through his feathers, working to pull out a couple ones that had already been torn out and repositioning those that were still attached and salvageable.

The moment I did, Kandai instantly tensed up and his hands balled into fists as he tried to keep his composure. "Oh…" He choked out.

"Yeah. You want me to stop?"

"No, no…Just…just show me…what I need to do…"

"Okay. You have to feel around the wings for loose feathers that have been plucked from the root but are still just stuck in the rest of them. Once they've been taken out of the way, new ones can grow, like teeth, but infinite uses and much faster regeneration. Now, near the base of the wing, here at the end, you'll feel that there's oil the wings naturally produce used for waterproofing the wings. It's like a duck. It's your job to constantly reapply the oil so that the wings stay sleek for both water and the wind when flying. You don't want feathers to go constantly flying, right? And it keeps them looking nice too."

"S-Says the guy w-who's wings must p-practically glow s-since they're w-white."

"Sure, that's how it works for angels, but yours have this blue tint to them, and the black is quite…different. I like them. I think they're amazing now, but once they're properly groomed, I know they'll look-"

I cut myself off before I finished when I realized what was just about to come out of my mouth. Was I seriously about to say 'Sexy?!' I'd never wanted to say that word aloud in my life! I wasn't the kind of guy that ever went into that who romance thing. I had close friends, and it wasn't as though angels were forbidden to love, but it wasn't too common either.

I couldn't think of any other word to replace it fast enough and recover, and so I just shut up and tried to think of something to change the subject with.

"S-So. How about you try it?"

I pulled my hands away, covered in oil, and he gasped in relief. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get himself under control, as well as pulling his legs up to hide his lap. He reluctantly reached out to touch his wing, but when he made contact, he seemed surprised that he didn't get the same feeling as before.

"You won't have any effect on your own wings."

He shrugged and began to search through the wings for loose feathers. "So, why does that happen?"

"Not sure. They're sensitive because they're delicate, but they're beautiful and help you fly. Once you train yourself and your wings up, you'll be able to control the feathers of your wings, harden them at will to make them into semi-decent shields, and even detach the feathers when you swing the wing as a projectile. All are built for self-defense, however. We're not aggressors."

"Unless you find something that threatens you."

"That's not…not how I am, anyway. The other angels have debated whether we act under certain conditions."

His head fell, and his wings drooped. "The demons, they're provoking the angels, you know?"

"What? By making more and more? We figured that out long ago."

"No. By making a certain one that poses the greatest threat yet. That girl I told you about? The little girl who was beaten? She's an experiment that the demons created. I was in on the experiment, I'm a scientist studying angels, but I never met her, only heard reports of what was happening to her. You know the rest after that. I just wanted them to cut her some slack, but they wanted her to become a killing machine by any means necessary, including showing her no mercy. But she's not just any demon. She's the daughter of a mundane woman, injected with a potent dosage of blood from every demon in existence, as well as every angel."

"Angel? How would you get your hands on blood from every-?"

Then, I realization dawned on me. Me. That's how they got it. My experiments, my collection, my samples. That's what that demon who tricked me took. He took all of the blood samples I had from every single angel, years' worth of work and convincing that what I was doing was for a good cause. All of my work put into making a monster against the angels, while I was cast out for it all as well.

"One of the other demons tricked an angel into getting the stuff. That demon's memories were erased of the event as 'punishment' when the angels randomly returned him. I guess you guys really are pacifist. Can't even execute a demon who tricked you."

"We don't do executions," I agreed.

"Anyway, I'm not sure what that girl will become, but the demons plan for news of her creation to slip to the angels, and they're sure that they're going to take action."

"They're trying to make us into aggressors?"

"Basically. After that, I'm not really sure what they hope to accomplish. All I can really say is they're putting all their efforts into making that girl a monster. I felt enough pity for her when I hadn't met her, but after I was banished from my city for expressing my concerns, I actually met her, and…and she was so kind, so innocent, nothing even close to a monster. And I thought, maybe she didn't have to be one. Maybe she should be able to choose her fate, hopefully learn what it means to be kind. Even though she's been shown nothing but hatred, she's not angry, she's not hateful. I wish I could see her again. I wish I could show her."

"Show her what?"

"That there's more than just being some experiment, some slave. She shouldn't be spiteful, but she shouldn't be so submissive."

"I told you, I wanna help you. Remember our mutual agreement? I'm going to help you. I have no reason to, but I want to. It could mean my destruction, but so be it. I think I'm making some serious progress into the workings of our different species' powers and making a solution."

I plucked a feather from his wing and he flinched. "Hey!"

"Sorry, but a winged demon? How can I resist? The feathers of your wings and your wings themselves are invaluable! Perhaps this could be the key to connecting our energies in an un-hostile manner."

"You think mixing feathers from our wings might produce a result? I have to admit, that might actually be a smart idea."

"Well, I can't promise anything. Quite possibly, it takes more, but I'll get to work on it right away."

I rushed into the other room and pulled out a jar of my own feathers that I'd collected previously, and began working with them. Staring at my own feathers, I realized just how long it had been since I'd even thought of home, missed it. In a way, I still did, but in another, I realized how nice it was to be away, to be living here with Kandai. Now, he was all I really needed. One friend.

A friend who didn't betray me.

Not yet, anyway.

Kandai screamed as he fell for the eleventh time this evening. I winced as I felt him hit the ground, before rushing over to help him up.

"You okay?"

"How do the dragonites make this look so easy~?!" He whined.

"Sorry, but I don't know much about training the younglings to fly. I'm not a very good person to ask for tips."

"You're doing fine. At least I've gotten off the ground. That's something."

"Angels fly mostly by controlling the winds around them, and the wings only help with the surface area. They also are used to teleport. Just flap and suddenly you shoot to where you're aiming in a beam of light. I'm not sure if things are exactly the same with you."

"At least I've managed to gain a big burst of wind at take-off, so I shoot up into the air. I just can't sustain it once I'm up there since the ground's so far away that I can't push against it."

"You don't need to use the wind to push off the ground once you're up and away; you need to use it to push up against your wings - in a circular motion when hovering and a kind of wavy lifting pattern under the wings when flying. And you need to be able to keep your wings ridged and firm so you don't fall. They're malleable for the sake of convenience when you need to fold them away, use them for defense, or turn quickly in the air - they're also organic, not like armor or something - but otherwise, you need to keep your initial reactions from your sensitive wings under control. Usually, you take a class to help build up your wings' resistances and keep them still when under pressure."

"Maybe I'll try the different wind techniques. It's just…a little hard when in the air."

"It feels scary at first, I know. But you'll learn to not fear being away from the ground."

"Maybe for an angel it's easy, but demons don't fly."

"You can. You will."

He looked to me, confused. "Why…why would you…?"

He squirmed nervously with his head down, wringing his hands together.

"What?" I asked.

"Sorry. Demons don't usually…complement each other. Usually, it's taunts that you can't do something that encourage you to work harder to do so. To prove them wrong, to show them you're stronger than they think and that you deserve your place in the hierarchy. If you don't prove you deserve your place, they have the right to lower your status and such. I'm a Greater Demon. I can't ever afford to be shamed in such a way that I'm lowered to the status of a mere lesser demon. The embarrassment and dishonor would be…horrifying."

"Does that mean you're being shamed right now, being banished to this place?"

"No. It's because I'm such an important and respected Greater Demon that I've been sent here to die to an angel rather than be taunted by my fellow demons, walked upon like some low-life where I was once a high and respected member. Being humiliated by another race is better than being disgraced by my own. It's like…if you got murdered-"

"Well this escalated quickly."

"Shut up, it's metaphorical. If you got murdered by some random stranger that you didn't really know, it'd mean a lot less than if it was, say, your best friend who you've known all your life. The closer the relation the more effect their betrayal is."

"Well, we're of opposing species, no? I don't have to be mean to you. If your world works in reverse psychology to mine, I suppose being nice is my way of being mean."

He seemed to bit the inside of his lip. "Sure, but…that doesn't mean I…can't appreciate it."

"Well, anyone can become friends, no matter where they're from. Even if they're enemies, they just need to see each other's perspective."

He blinked in surprise. "We're…friends?"

I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah. I thought that was implied."

He shrugged. "I guess…I never really thought about it. There isn't such thing as a 'friend' for demons. Just those who respect you and those you respect. I know of the word friend, but I don't really understand it. I don't know what friends are."

"Friends are…people you trust more than others. There's not really a way to put it into words. It's different from just allies or people you can get along with. It's a bond. And there's such thing as 'best friends' too, people who are even closer. People willing to share secrets, even entrust their lives to."

He looked to the sky in thought. "People you trust, huh?"

I couldn't quite place why, but I saw a small smile creeping across his face.

"I've never met this Kandai demon you speak of, however I…might know someone who is old enough to have most likely heard the name at the very least. Her name is Asushunamir, one of the eldest and most brilliant women I've met. If anyone has the knowledge you need of this Greater Demon, she'll be the one to look for. I don't suppose you've heard of her?"

Ren put his hand to his chin in thought. "No, I don't think so. Maybe the name sounds familiar, but I can't recall anything at the moment."

"I'll give you the address."

"Oh, thank you."

"When you meet, her tell her that Lorenzo Rey sent her the business and wishes to speak with her soon."

"Sure."

Ren ended up walking out of the mansion with a slip of paper giving him an address. Though he could now read it thanks to his rune, he still didn't understand the road systems or streets. Even if he could read signs that told him which street he was currently on, it didn't mean he knew how to find the location that he'd been given. Maybe he'd go and look for that warlock to help him with directions again.

He walked through stores, and eventually found a giant mall that had multiple stores that Ren didn't understand very well. Although he knew the language, he still didn't understand the slang and his manners. He didn't know how he should be acting, but he saw people browsing the aisles of clothes, he did so as well. He grabbed things and tried to examine them, but he didn't understand why humans wore such things. Shouldn't they just need one type of outfit that protected them from certain weather? Were there this many conditions that they needed different varieties of garments? For the cold and the heat he understood, for rain and snow, maybe wind, but they certainly didn't need so many different options.

Ren found some sparkly things and couldn't help but stare. Had humans managed to harness small pockets of heavenly energy? Or were they just minerals with no magical properties? A lot of them were, but he found one thing that appeared to be special - a ring that looked so similar to the one he'd made all those centuries ago for Kan. Ren put his hand to the glass and wondered if it was the real thing. Ren couldn't sense its power, but maybe the glass it was in hid its powers. Ren looked over the ring again and examined the runes. No doubt, this was it. No one else could have access to those runes since he made them himself from scratch - runes that channeled angelic energy into demonic. A dangerous weapon in the hands of any demon except Kandai.

Ren needed to get it out of there.

He didn't understand the stupid contraption to open the glass case. It looked as solid as ever. But if those things got in there, there had to be a way to get them out. Humans didn't know magic, they weren't able to ever in the future without drastic misbalance to the universe, and if these things were on display like many other things around the store, it meant that it wasn't some secret rare powerful person that locked these up with magic. These things were expected to be that way by the humans.

Ren gave a heavy sigh and looked to the bunny on his shoulder. "What do you think, Tidus?"

The puppy yawned with a small squeak. He had no other thoughts on the matter.

Ren looked in the glass cabinet again. No other choice.

He punched his hand through the glass and grabbed the ring from the fake hand that it was displayed on. He heard a piercing alarm go off as a group of men in matching uniforms came rushing into the room. They were mundanes, but there were a good deal of them. Ren didn't know if they knew what they were guarding, but in this place where mundanes came to buy things, there had to be some level of security, Ren knew that much.

He knew that fighting them wasn't in his best interest - he might kill one of them by accident. So he did the only thing that he could do. He ran.

He started sprinting for the glass that led to the outside, and since he didn't remember which way the door swung, he simply crashed through, glass shards flying around him and the bunny on his shoulder squeaking in surprise and/or delight at his ride. Ren bumped into mundanes crossing his path, many shouting in surprise as the guards chased after him.

Ren was making his way through an alley with no people when he was finally caught. He was tackled from the side as he came out, and he realized that the men had split up and run around the buildings to surround his path. He was shoved to the ground, his bunny falling away with a yip. Tidus stood and shook himself off, shouting the funny noise that he made which Ren identified as him trying to come to Ren's defense.

Ren felt some metal clamping around his wrists - probably an attempt to restrain him, but Ren pulling his wrists apart with barely any effort and the weak metal snapped. He pushed himself up and head-butted the man that had tried to restrain him. He stood and snatched up Tidus, but another pair of hands wrapped around the animal.

Ren felt his pet being pulled away from him and panicked. He tugged back Tidus and kicked at the person who had tried to snatch his bunny. He nearly fell over, but managed to get his footing and started to run again. The ring, he couldn't lose his pet, but what they really wanted was the ring. Whether they knew about its properties or not, they had reason to get it back by any means necessary.

So he popped it in his mouth like a pill and swallowed it.

The next time he was stopped, it was because he was zapped by lightning. Or what felt like lightning. The mundanes somehow found a way to harness the elements without magic. Ren normally wouldn't have been so affected, but he was an angel that was weakened. He didn't know it, but his body didn't work well with tasers. It wasn't able to properly connect and disperse the circuit, and therefore he got a full 50,000 volts of fun while normal humans would've gotten only around 1,200 once they had been struck.

He might've been fine if he were at full strength, hell, if he were at a quarter of his strength, but the only power that he still had was just barely able to keep him alive. The rest of him was nearly killed as he passed out, and he felt a shock as his mark flared and the man that had used the taser collapsed behind him, shock with more than enough electricity to kill him instantly, Tidus still barking in protest as Ren's vision faded.

I ran after Kandai.

He'd made it further today. He'd managed to sustain himself in the air. Of course, the moment he realized his accomplishment, his excitement caused his concentration to waver and he came crashing down.

But I was ready to congratulate him. It was almost as exciting as when I had first managed to hover properly in the air. Maybe it was because I was proud of my teaching skills, but really, it was just me happy for him. He was my friend, after all.

I wasn't sure where he'd landed, but I made my best guess and ran through the trees. "Kandai! Hey!"

I pushed through the branches and leaves of the bushes and trees alike, before I finally came out to an open area. My excitement suddenly turned to panic as I slipped and found myself tumbling down a ramp of rock.

Rocks went falling down with me as I rustled the loose earth, and despite my efforts, I couldn't get a solid grip. I expected that I'd reach the bottom and be able to stand, dusting myself off and hope that I could get back up, but instead of finding the bottom of some crater, I ended up feeling nothing but open air greeting me.

Reaching out with my adrenaline-enhanced speed, I managed to grab the edge of the cliffside that I'd rolled down from, but the rocks weren't stable or fully supported. I tried to carefully pull myself back up, but the rocks shifted and I screamed as they barely held on.

Below was a long fall into a canyon. I couldn't see the bottom, though there was another stretch of land a good 50 meters down and 30 meters away, as though there were two continents and this was the large gap left between them. There'd be no way for me to jump to the other side, and though I knew that I wouldn't die from the fall, there'd be no telling how long it would take for me to get back up.

I was an angel. I'd never been afraid of heights, afraid of falling.

Until I was brought to the court of Heaven on charges of treason. Until I was told my verdict was guilty. Until I was told my punishment was banishment. Until I was sentenced to this place, thrown through a portal to this world as I looked my former best friend in the eye. Until I lost everything.

"Kandai! Help me!"

I wasn't afraid to die. But ever since I'd met that demon, I had a life again. I found a reason to keep going. I hadn't thought about missing home in ages. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to fall.

"Please! Kan! Help!"

I didn't realize I was crying until I tried to look up and saw nothing but a blur. I blinked quickly, scanning the cliff for any sign of Kandai. The rocks began slipping once more and I shouted in panic.

"Kandai!"

"Ren?!"

His voice was far away, but close enough to hear my shouts, and my heart jumped. "Over here! Help me, please!"

I heard him running my way. "Ren?! Where are you?! Keep talking to me! I'm coming!"

"Look out! There's a cliff!"

I finally saw him push through the final greenery and kneel at the top of the ramp I'd fallen from. "Ren! Are you okay?"

"Help me!"

"Can't you fly back up?!"

"I can't fly, Kan! I can't!"

"Okay, stay calm! I'll…"

He looked around behind him frantically.

"I'll be right back!"

He disappeared out of sight, before returning a few moments later with a pair of…sticks?

He jumped down the ramp before jabbing one of his branches into the loose earth and coming to a slow crawl. He stabbed his second in, using each of them to scale his way down. I would've been extremely impressed at his quick thinking and resource management (not to mention how cool he looked coming to my rescue), but I was more focused on the fact that the earth I was holding onto was very far from the stable part of the rocks and I was going to fall at any moment.

"I'm coming," He called. "Just stay calm. Look at me. Look at me! Do not think about the drop. Think about…your experiments. How do you make a…a potion for…a severed limb?"

"Is the limb recoverable?"

"Sure!"

"Well, you'd need to take some samples from the victim, and you'll need to understand how the autonomy of the person works, depending on what species they are. Then, you'll need to take some phoenix ashes or Ditto paste to help rebuilt the ties that were broken."

Before I knew it, he was slowly approaching the ledge where I was hanging from. He slid his foot closer as slowly as he could, trying to keep his one branch dug into a steady hold while reaching out his other hand and branch.

"Think you can reach me?"

I braced myself and reached forward, but the rock I was hanging from lurched and I pulled my weight back into place. "No!"

"You're gonna have to try and jump."

"What?!"

"Try and get a foothold and jump to grab my hand. I can't go down any further without risking falling too, but if you can use the falling earth to give yourself a boost, we might be able to meet."

"That's a stupid plan!"

"Got a better one?"

"No, the plan thing is your job! You're the hero rescuing me!"

"And I can't rescue you if you don't work with me."

The rocks were crumbing, the ledge coming down. "Okay, fine!"

I slowly pulled myself up and the rocks began to fall faster. I got a foothold above the ledge and jumped for his hand as the earth below me went down. I felt myself lose contact with the ground and felt weightless, but I didn't have enough forward propulsion.

I missed his hand. I smacked my chin against the remaining edge of the cliff and couldn't grab on.

I was falling through the air. There was nothing to reach for to stop my descent.

I panicked.

I had never fallen before. I had never been afraid of open air. And I had never dived without my wings. Not until today.

And what I was most afraid of was that I'd never be able to climb back up. I'd lose what little of the life I'd gained back, the small life that I realized I had too late.

I wasn't afraid to die. I was afraid to live. I was afraid of being alone.

And I think, most of all, I was afraid of never seeing Kandai again.

It was an irrational fear, as well as an unexpected one. But it was still the only thing I could think of as I fell. What if I couldn't be found once I hit the bottom of the canyon? If he tried following after me, would he be able to survive?

Heck, even I may not survive. Having been away from Heaven for so long, who knows if my aura was strong enough to survive such a drop?

But I couldn't do anything. I was helpless.

And then he jumped down after me. His wings fully expanded, and the next thing I knew, he grabbed me. I gripped him tightly without even thinking about it.

Was he planning to come down with me? Did he have a plan at all?

I didn't think about things like that, and only focused on feeling him. No matter what happened, he was with me. I just wanted him with me.

And then the wind changed. I felt gravity increase as we lurched upwards.

He was doing it. He was flying. Not hovering, not jumping with a little assistance - flying.

I opened my eyes (when had I closed them again?) to see that he was struggling with both of our weights, but he was pushing against the air as hard as he could. We made it over the cliff, and he flew us as far in as he could before we began to wobble in the air and he barely managed to come to a running landing and lying me down as gently as he could before collapsing next to me, panting hard.

"You okay?" He asked.

It took me far too long to process that he had said anything, still trembling from the shock of what had just happened. "I-Isn't that m-my line?"

He chuckled. "I'll live. You?"

I could only nod. After a moment, he grabbed me once more, pulling one of my arms over his shoulders before he struggled to his feet, pulling me along.

"Shouldn't you…rest a little more?"

"We need to get home first."

It wasn't a long trip before we made it back to the house. BB seemed to have been waiting for us, as he was staring from the couch as we walked in and followed as Kan took me into my bedroom and set me down.

"You're cut up pretty badly from the tumble you took, and you're jaw's taken a hit. I'll go get some-"

"No!"

I was gripping his wrist tightly. I wasn't sure completely why, but I knew that I didn't want to be alone right now. I couldn't help but feel like I was still going to be falling the moment he let go. Why was I crying? I was safe. I shouldn't be like this.

"Okay," He said gently. "I'm not going anywhere, all right?"

He hesitantly came closer, and wrapped me into his arms. He scooted onto the bed next to me and let me grip him, sobbing and trembling. I shouldn't show such weakness to anyone, angel or demon, ally or enemy. But who cared anymore? This was Kan. Maybe it was our mutual agreement that let me relax with him, or maybe it was just the fact that he was my friend.

"Why didn't you fly, angel?" I heard him whisper.

I'm not sure whether he meant for me to hear him, but I choked out an answer. "I can't…!"

"Why not?"

"I don't…I don't have wings."

"What?"

"It was me…! I was the angel who was tricked! That's why I'm here! And I can't…when I was banished, they…they cut them off!"

"Your wings?!"

His grip tightened, but I welcomed it and simply nodded through my sobs.

"My gods, Ren. How could they…?"

He wrapped his arms around me as if to try and hold me closer, to protect me from my memories even though he couldn't change what happened.

"That's why you never showed me yours. That's why you never offered to fly with me while teaching me."

"I'm…sorry."

"Shh. It's okay. I know why you didn't say anything. An angel shouldn't go around telling demons their greatest weaknesses."

"You're not just some…demon I picked up off the street…anymore…you know?"

He chuckled, and I could feel his voice resonate while my head rested at the base of his neck. "I'm honored."

"You should be. I'm a…really special angel, you know? My love does not come cheap."

"Yeah. I knew that from the moment I met you."

His grip began to relax and we just laid there in silence. I never realized how nice it was, just sitting in his embrace. He smelled really nice, too. Had he always smelled like this? Did all demons smell this good? His grip was protective, but not harshly so. Not like him. Not like that first demon at all.

"You think you're good?" He asked.

"Shh. 'M sleepy."

"Sorry. I'll slip out once you're asleep."

"No. You'a good pillow. Stay."

He chuckled, disturbing my nice and comfy position. "I don't think it'd be right for me to sleep with you."

"Why not?"

"Uh, demon and an angel?"

"No one's judging us, Kan. No such thing as social status or whatnot when there are only two of us in the entire world."

"Yeah, but sleeping with someone requires intimacy, and I'm not sure how that goes for angels, but for demons, it's not easy."

"It's not intimate if you're comforting the wounded. Now shut up and sleep."

I felt his heartbeat increasing at my ear.

"Stop it. S'loud."

"Sorry," He whispered.

His heartbeat eventually calmed down (I made a mental note to check why he had a heartbeat. I mean, angels didn't have heartbeats. Heck, we didn't have to breathe) and I eventually relaxed until I fell asleep.

When I woke up, Kandai was still there. I nearly panicked at first, remembering that he was gonna leave once I'd fallen asleep, but he stayed.

"Hey, angel."

"Hullo," I muttered.

I didn't want to get up, but I was at a point where I was too awake to fall back asleep, but too drowsy to want to fully push myself away from the warmth of Kandai along with the blankets that must've gotten there at some point, but I was too tired to think about it.

"Good nap?"

"Yup. I was all unconscious and stuff."

He laughed, and with my head at his chest, that woke me up. "I'd hope so."

"You hungry? I'm hungry. Wait, I don't wanna get up. And you're not going anywhere, pillow."

"I'm glad to know I play such an important role in your life."

"You're my best friend/pillow. I'd call that an accomplishment."

"Best friend?"

"We've known each other for months and you're growing on me. Besides, you saved my life. That counts for something, at least."

"So, does becoming a 'Best' friend require some ritual of saving one's life? If so, you angels must not have a lot of best friends."

"Nope. They're jerks."

"Well, didn't you have some best friends before me? Back up with your kind? You angels have friends, right?"

"Sure. And it's not forbidden to fall in love, either. But we don't reproduce the way humans do, so it's not like reproduction requires love between angels anyway. And love isn't easy for angels. They're all work and no play. It's basically just those you know and those you've heard of - maybe those that you don't know, but that's rare with not a lot of new angels being created these days - those you get along with and those you don't get along with, and those you ally with and those you fight. Basic relationships. And yes, we have a hierarchy too. We know when to bow to those above us."

"Tell me about your friends, angel. What was it like to have angel friends?"

"I had plenty of acquaintances and those I got along with, but my friends? Hm. There was one that I called my best friend, and lot that I could consider regular friends."

"Any girlfriends?"

"Yes, plenty of my friends were girls."

"No, that's not - ugh. Okay, languages don't make sense sometimes. Continue."

"Well, I had friends like Hannah, Uriel, Zachariah, Anna, Balthazar, Nadia, Inias, Ion, Hael, Ezekiel, Rebecca, Bartholomew, Adina, Daniel, Ingrid, Malachi, Ambriel, Thaddeus, Lily, Abner, Miriam, Efram, Hozai, Rachel, Asariel, Sophia, Esther, Jonah, Muriel, Benjamin, Duma, Samandriel, Elijah, Josiah, Nathaniel, Azrael, Esper, Conrad, Nithael, Joshua, Hester, Ishim, Ezra, Theo, Mirabel, Constantine, Neil, Akobel, Oren, Jofiel, Tyrus, Castiel, Isaac…Kandai!"

Kan jumped awake from pretending to fall asleep. "What? Sorry, you lost me after Hannah."

I shoved him but laid back against him once more. "Plenty more where that came from. Anyway, I guess you can't really consider them friends if they're your family, considering all of us angels are technically brothers and sisters, however we're the kind of family where yes, you are siblings, but your relationship are more like friendships. My main family is Michael, Lucy, Raphael, Gabriel, Raziel, and Ithuriel. Ithuriel was my best friend."

"What was he like?"

"Nice. I'm the youngest of my immediate siblings, however he helped me through being the silent and invisible younger sibling. He supported me through school before I was a dropout-"

"Wait, you dropped out?"

"To pursue my alchemic carrier! Now shut up! He supported me through that, too, even if he was a bit hesitant about my methods. I was a rebel, but really, I just wanted to be left alone. I was known as the nerd around Heaven, everyone knew me, but it wasn't as though I was some criminal. I was different, and the court really didn't mind so long as I didn't go ruining things for the angels or lead some kind of rebellion. But…when I was thrown here, he didn't do anything. No one did. I was accused of treason because I was tricked by that demon for those samples, and well…here I am."

"And they…you said they cut off…?"

"Yeah. One at a time. Fully conscious. Screaming as loud as I could."

I pulled off my shirt and let my wings show, though there wasn't much to see. After I'd first found my home, I'd checked to see how badly damaged they were. I had them cut off just before I was thrown through the portal that left me here, and so they had yet to be properly tended to when I had first arrived.

I had patched the four little stumps that had once been my wings up, each maybe five centimeters tall each. When cutting off wings for some punishment of a crime, there was no real point in making a precision cut that basically made them disappear into my skin, right? No, they were messy, lazily chopped off. But even Gadreel was simply locked up and tortured in Heaven. He didn't have this done to him.

Kan gingerly let his fingers dance across the skin around what remained of my wings. "Oh my…they…"

"Yeah. Wings are no different than arms, and having them chopped off is just as fun. Worse, really. To an angel, wings are…everything. They're much more sensitive than arms or legs, and they're…well, getting my junk cut off would've hurt less."

"Uh, did not need that visual, thanks. Way to ruin the moment."

I smiled weakly and shrugged. "It's the truth. For the first few days, I was always haunted by dreams that I was still back home. But more than that, I always imagined that they were still there. Phantom pains, I guess. I feel like not just a part of my physical body is missing, but a part of my soul, who I am, if that makes sense. I'm not sure if angels have souls, not anything like humans, at least, and certainly not like demons, but…I've toyed with the idea that maybe we just have weaker versions or something.

"Angels are soldiers, they follow orders, they never change. I take that to mean they have lesser souls within them, less diversity and need for it. Humans, they have varying degrees, and I think that's the reason they were dad's perfect creation. They can go in any direction they want with a little time, they can open their minds and evolve even if it takes some time. Even if many of them fail, it doesn't mean that another of them won't eventually succeed. Nothing is set in stone for them, for better or worse. And demons? They have too much of a soul, they understand too much, and know too many horrors. Ignorance is bliss, some say, and they're right. Humans, they have the ability to see pain and overcome it, but demons are the ones that don't overcome it. They see how cruel the world is, and they give in to it, let it control them, and are considered evil for it. They're not evil, that's not how I see it. I see it as they've just seen too much, they act the way they do because they have too much of a soul inside them and don't know really what to do with it all. So they lash out, create chaos for whatever reasons, because no matter how good you act, there's nothing that says order will ever be perfect, so why even bother in the long run?"

"We demons have some order, you know."

"I know. That's just how things work. All demons embrace that kind of…'live for yourself' thinking, and suddenly, without realizing it, they've created a system. I find it fascinating, the kind of depth that one can see within if they look closely enough."

"You're brilliant, angel."

"Yeah, and my brilliance got me thrown out. I've tried to tell myself how it shouldn't bother me, wondering…if I were a normal angel, what would I be feeling? Would a normal angel feel like I do?"

"You're not normal. And I like you that way."

"Thanks."

"I'm serious. I'd rather be stuck here with you than those upstarts upstairs."

"Hey, that's my family you're talking about."

He smiled and shrugged. "Sorry. But your family is a pile of douche bags."

I opened my mouth to protest, but then closed it and leaned against him once more. "Yeah, it is."

He burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but join in.

"So, breakfast?" He asked once he'd regained his ability to breathe.

"Sure."

We didn't speak about the incident after that.

Kan sometimes asked to see my wings, what remained of them anyway, and ran his fingers through the small parts, probably imagining what they had looked like before.

"You had four?" He asked once.

"Yeah. I'm an archangel, so I grew more than one set."

"So, did you have a predestined set or no?"

"I had a predicted easier chance of growing more than one set, but it took my own skill to earn the second set. And yes, I had to grow them same as the first which required some time in pain to let them grow and have my brother Gabe rip them out since he was the only one available at the time. In retrospect, I guess he was the best one, since Mike was the oldest, and not really a family guy, Lucy was doing some time in prison, Raph was the middle child with the whole 'I deal with my issues, you deal with yours' complex, Raziel was off doing dad knows what, and Ithuriel was in school at the time. Gabe was the weirdest of my brothers, you know, besides me, and we got along pretty well. He sucked at helping me through the process though."

"What exactly is the process?"

"Soak yourself in a bath or shower to weaken the skin and then push the wings out far enough so that they tear through the marks that form and then someone else usually assists in pulling them out. Gabe was all like 'Ew! They're covered in gross stuff!' and basically left me to do the entire thing on my own."

Kan snickered. "He sounds fun."

"Lazy weirdo that stays away from all the family drama, but my best brother besides Ithuriel. I hear he went to go disguise as a human after this big family fight, and I would've gone with but stayed because I was afraid of leaving Heaven and…I mean, they suck, but they're my family, right?"

"I guess so. I don't really know what it's like to have a family, but if I can take my guess, I'd assume it's something that sucks but you can't imagine life without it, you know?"

"Yeah. Until I ended up here."

"You're with me. I'm the best family there is."

"Yeah right. You keep stealing my waffles, you disregard the 'No food in the lab' rule every other day, you snore like a dying whale-"

"I do not!"

"And you never listen to anything say, do you?!"

"I listen! You're just stubborn!"

"This is my house, and therefore my rules!"

"I'm a guest and your best friend! I have rights!"

"Not under my roof!"

"You tyrant!"

He grabbed a pillow and threw it my way, hitting me in the face. "Damn straight! And I declare you exiled from the lab!"

He gasped dramatically. "Oh no! What ever shall I do?!"

"And the kitchen."

He tackled me into the mattress. "Evil! No! I will end you! I want my spaghetti!"

I shoved him over and flipped our positions. "You don't get spaghetti if you keep eating it in the lab!"

"Fine, I won't! But you have to sleep on the couch and I get your bed!"

"As if!"

"That thing is uncomfortable, man!"

"You're a demon, deal with it!"

He shoved me and flipped us again. "You're an angel, you deal with it!"

"You wanna sleep in here? Fine! But not without me! I'm not getting kicked to the couch, and there's room for both of us."

"Whoa, at least take me on a date first, honey."

"Fine, but I warn you. I don't do one night stands."

"Neither do I."

"Good."

"Good."

The next thing I knew, I was kissing him, and he was kissing me. And there were sparks, explosions, fire, everything. I needed to feel him against me, and nothing else existed.

It lasted an eternity, or maybe just a few seconds, but I knew that we were both out of breath, and when I opened my eyes, I saw he was still extremely close, his eyes dilated and lips a bit bruised.

"So, how about that date?"

I chuckled. "Spaghetti?"

"Yep."

I realized I was gripping his shirt, and had been since I pulled him in. I released it gently, and allowed him to pull back. I could sense his reluctance, though I couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. I knew that I definitely wanted more of his kiss, but maybe I was pushing it.

I mean, angels weren't used to love, and what the heck did I know about it? Last time I thought I understood love, I got tricked and sent here in disgrace. So maybe I should slow this down. Then again, we had a mutual agreement, right? We agreed that we could hurt each other all we wanted, because neither of us could possibly be hurt or disgraced further than we were.

Still, losing him because of my stupid romantics would hurt a lot more than any physical pain inflicted. But wouldn't that be just like a demon? To gain emotional trust and rip it away? More painful than any physical torture? Demons hurt me like that before. I should really learn my lesson.

"Hey!"

I turned to get something tossed over my head. I quickly pulled it off to see Kan smirking.

"Don't get me wrong, you're cute without a shirt, but not at the dinner table, please."

I realized I had taken off my shirt to show him my wings and had never put it back on. I hoped he couldn't see how hard I was blushing as I slipped my shirt back on and rushed out to the kitchen.

True to his word, Kan ate dinner in the kitchen with me and we had what might have been considered a date if we hadn't done it a million times already. What we hadn't done previously was act so close to each other.

Kan looked for any excuse to make physical contact, and I couldn't really argue with any of it. Suddenly, his touch seemed to burn, but in a good way. He took a couple opportunities to kiss me again, each time causing my stomach to twist in knots. But he was also gentle about it, leaving me unsatisfied, but not really scared.

Was this how love was supposed to be? Back with…the other one…his kisses left me winded and wanting more, but he was much rougher than Kan. I never realized it until now, but he more dragged me around than loved me. I wasn't ever enough to satisfy him, and I knew that inside, but I always thought it was something that was wrong with me. He teased me, gave me just the slightest bit of hope that maybe if I changed myself that maybe I could fix whatever he didn't like, fix myself.

"Something the matter?"

Kan walked into the room carrying a pillow and a blanket.

"What are you-?"

"We made an agreement. I get to sleep on your bed if I don't eat food in the lab. I ate dinner in the kitchen tonight, and so begins the contract. The moment I eat in the lab, I don't get to sleep in here. But until then, I get to sleep on this cloud and you can't stop me!"

He flopped onto my bed and pulled his blanket over him.

"You know, I have those sheets for a reason."

"But this blanket is comfy~!" He complained, wrapping himself up like a demonic burrito. I can't believe I just said that. Or thought that. Whatever.

"Well you can have one of my pillows, at least. I'm gonna go feed BB."

I left and checked the open room where BB stayed. He was free to go at any time that he wanted, and so I'd made a little room for him near the back where the backdoor was. He could leave at any time that he wanted through a little bunny door, which took a little bit of training to teach him how to use.

He was sitting expectantly in the middle of the room. I took some of the herbs and veggies from the garden that I'd collected for him and set them down for him. He'd come to expect dinner every night considering how I fed him. He was being dependent on me. I spoil that little bunny.

When I returned to my room, Kan had decided that maybe the covers were a good idea. He'd dropped his blanket off the side of the bed and practically disappeared into the sheets of my bed.

"Hey."

He popped up and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm never leaving this thing," He declared.

He flopped back into the soft sheets again and I laughed before hopping onto my side of the bed. I slipped under my side of the covers and snapped the lights off.

"Never lay in a bed before?"

"A mattress, maybe. I didn't know angels needed sleep."

"I didn't think demons did. The beds are mostly for a comfortable place to rest even if you aren't sleeping."

"Same for us."

"But this place makes me tired."

"Me too."

He rolled onto his side to face me, and I turned to do the same.

"So…" He began. "Is…this a thing?"

"Us?"

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"I don't know," I admitted. "The last time…"

"Last time?"

"Last time I fell in love…I ended up here. Alone. Cast out. And…terrified…abandoned…"

I didn't realize I was crying until I couldn't get out my words anymore. I felt like I was being eaten away from the inside, everything within me hurting. I felt him shuffling closer until I was engulfed in a warm hug. I instantly felt a sort of calm from his presence, and was honestly too tired out to think of why something might go wrong. This was Kan. Anything could go wrong, but I knew it wouldn't.

"You met me. You're not alone anymore. You're free to be yourself here."

I squeezed him and then relaxed into his embrace. "Yeah. And you're…amazing."

"But I won't promise I won't be a bed hog."

I snickered and leaned up to kiss him. I felt his hesitance at first, before he moved to deepen it and the next thing I know he's pushing me down and I'm letting him.

Ren woke to a warm snort.

He realized that it was Tidus, finding that it was a brilliant idea to sleep on his face. Ren carefully pulled the bunny off as it let out a small growl and then a yawn. He had a small snort, Ren realized. Aw, that was adorable!

Ren realized that he was somewhere new, on a concrete floor surrounded by metal bars and with some metal clamped around his wrists and ankles. The humans seemed to like it when he was restrained. Perhaps that would get them to be nicer to him. Being diplomatic always helped when trying to avoid fighting and killing.

At least they didn't take Tidus with him. The bunny seemed happy about it.

Ren decided that his only option was to wait, so he started playing with his new pet, who was full of energy, jumping around, standing on his hind legs, yipping playfully, and then napping like a boss before doing it all over again. Ren was just allowing Tidus to get some sleep again when a man walked up and opened the door to the cell with a clang.

Ren blinked. It was another of those guards, but he had a bandaged wrist, and he allowed another group of men to come in who were definitely strong by mundane standards and didn't look too happy.

"Who are you?" Ren asked innocently.

The guard closed the cell door with a clang and Ren heard a lock click. "You're little mutt did this to me," He said, holding up his bandaged hand. "And you killed three of my colleagues just to bring you in. My friends."

Ren frowned. "Oh, sorry. I must've hit them too hard. And the one with the lightning got hurt from the mark…I didn't mean to kill them…"

The guard scoffed and walked away, leaving the two men inside the cell with Ren. He squeezed his new pet friend. He wanted to get to Kan, he needed to get out of here. Maybe they were looking for the ring too. They'd have to tear him apart to get it, but these men had no weapons that could harm him, no matter how weak he was.

"Um…I'm Ren. How's it going?" He tried.

Ren didn't remember it all.

He just knew that he dodged fists and kicks, tried to make sure that these men didn't hit him and become victims of the mark's power. It was only when he heard the squeak of Tidus getting hit and falling to the floor, when his pet stopped moving and went silent, that Ren lost it.

Most humans described the feeling as seeing red, the blood coursing through their system, adrenaline flowing through their veins, and forgetting all reason in favor of instinct and rage.

Ren saw white.

He saw nothing but angelic power surging through him. Perhaps he didn't even see that. Maybe he was just gone as the rest of him exploded.

I rolled off of Kan and out of bed.

It had been months since we'd first kissed and…yeah. I still couldn't believe this was my life. Sure, things had been crappy surrounding how I'd gotten here, but now that I was here, things were too good to be true.

I jumped in the shower and washed off before getting changed. Kan was next, taking his quick shower while I made the heavenly creation called pancakes. Apparently, Kan had never had them before he'd come here, and so he loved them. Then again, he loved all of the food that I made him.

In turn, the food that he usually made me was exotic and mostly safe for angels to eat. Apparently, Edom was just as advanced as Heaven, and even if they were demons, it wasn't as though they were uncivilized.

When Kan walked into the kitchen, he plopped down in the seat that he'd deemed his. "Yea, pancakes!"

"You're such a child sometimes."

"Excuse me? Sometimes?"

I couldn't help but giggle as he took a pancake and practically inhaled the thing.

"So," He said with his mouth full. "How's project H.O. going?"

I pulled over a beaker of liquid that looked like liquor. "It's…going. The properties of Holy Oil that contain angelic power are very interesting. It seems that it's made to react with our angelic powers, like a magnet repelling another magnet of the same charge. Of course, it only activates when set ablaze, given the energy to fire up its properties. Truly, the biggest mystery is where it comes from en masse."

"And can you figure out why those demonic symbols have the ability to trap us? That's always bugged me! I mean, why is it that the moment I step within it, I can't move? It's just a painting! Seriously?"

"They channel certain energies that contain your demonic properties. Easy. Again with the magnet thing. The symbol sends off a demonic aura, one that traps you rather than repels you."

"Oh, that is just evil. Who the hell came up with that, anyway?"

"I'm an alchemist, not a historian. Figure it out on your own. And swallow before you speak."

"Whatever."

But he swallowed anyway.

We continued doing our stupid talk of the morning - something you think would eventually get old, but so far, it's still amusing. I couldn't possibly have a better life. Being away from Heaven and the other angels…it's refreshing. And with Kan here, what else could I possibly want?

And, like all the things I love, it was taken the moment I realized how much I loved it.

"Here you go. A ring that can transfer angelic power to demonic. Allows me to use my power to heal you, and it is the only one of its kind. I made this one to do the opposite, transfer demonic energy to angelic."

"Heaven is missing out on your skills, man. But perhaps that's a good thing. You're all mine. They would waste your potential, you know? I mean, they threw you here, didn't they? They don't appreciate you."

I passed over the ring to him. "Does it fit?"

He tried slipping it onto his index finger, but it got stuck at his second knuckle about halfway down. He pulled it off again and moved it to his third finger, as his middle and index were relatively the same size, and it slipped on nicely.

He held out his hand and showed off the ring. "Perfect. And, it does look very nice, if I do say so myself."

I slipped my ring onto my third finger, and he chuckled. "What?"

"I think humans consider that a proper proposal."

"A proposal of what kind?"

"A proposal of the marriage kind."

"What's that?"

He rolled his eyes. "You made a pair of freaking rings that can merge two types of species that are practically made to kill each other…and you have no idea what marriage is."

"I told you, I'm a drop out. Now spill."

He sighed. "It's a kind of union or whatnot that binds two people's families. Usually, it happens out of love, but some humans consider it nothing but a means of binding families for survival and proper offspring. Demons don't really do it, or at least, they don't make a big deal about it. I assume angels don't either, considering you guys are basically one big family."

"Yes."

"And something like marriage between an angel and a demon would just be scandalous."

"Oh. Well then, perhaps we shouldn't-"

"Since when do we give a crap about what others think? If I cared enough about your kind being the opposite of mine and all those stupid customs and rules, I would've bolted for the door and never come back at the first opportunity! I want to marry you, idiot!"

"Does this binding…how does it work?"

"Well, for humans it's just a bit of legal stuff and a pair of rings, but for higher beings or other certain creatures, it's a very special and magically binding thing. It's basically something where you promise to forever be a part of someone's life, and have them forever be a part of yours. It binds you with a bond as strong as, if not stronger than, siblings. You choose someone to marry, you choose someone to love forever. Marriage is the contract of sorts that keeps you together. Of course, then there's divorce, but one step at a time."

"So…I have to choose a partner that I would spend the rest of my eternal existence with?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, basically."

I leaned forward and grabbed his shirt, pulling him to kiss him from across the table. It might have been a bit of an uncomfortable position, but he didn't seem to be complaining.

"Well, I'd be very happy to marry you."

He chuckled. "Well, it's not like you were gonna spend eternity with anybody else. Not like you really have many options."

"I could kick you out at any moment, mister. And BB is good company too. And he doesn't snore."

"I do not snore!"

"You're unconscious at the time, so how would you know?"

"I just do!"

"Whatever."

"You are the worst."

"And you get to marry me and be stuck with me forever!"

"Lucky me."

I looked around, reaching over and grabbing a flower from one of the gardens that we had growing in the lab.

"Here. Accept this as a token of my flavor."

He giggled. "I think you mean a token of your favor."

"Whatever. I still don't get what that means."

He rolled his eyes and still took the blue flower. "I love it. I love you."

"Obviously."

"Shut up and kiss me, dork."

"Rude."

But I kissed him anyway.

I had finally managed to open a portal. It had taken us countless days (we were fooling around most of the days, but we were still working) and finally, I had opened the portal to Edom.

"I can't go through," I told Kan.

"What? Why? Your ring thingy protects you from demonic stuff, right?"

"This is Edom we're talking about. The ring is new, it hasn't had a lot of exposure to demonic presence, and it would be overwhelmed by an entire city of demons. This is the first of its kind! You can't expect it to be foolproof yet, and until we've broken it in and gotten it out of beta, I'm not gonna risk becoming an angelic barbeque. But you can go there. I'm not sure how much time has passed back in Edom, but I'm sure that it's not the same as here."

"So I could've been gone for much longer than just the year or so that I've been here?"

"Or you could've been gone for a fraction of the time. Who knows? But you need to go see that little girl, hope that she hasn't given up on you. If a lot of time's passed, then see if she's grown into a young woman, but make sure you come back to me, okay? I'll leave the portal open. Of course, if you wanted to leave me and never come back…well, now's your chance."

He shook his head firmly. "No. I'd never do that. I…I love that little girl, but…I love you more."

Something within me clenched in what I could only assume was embarrassment or flattery. "I…thanks."

He nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Right, let's do this thing. And Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. If not for you…I'd probably be dead, or alone, or…and I would've never gotten the chance to see her again."

"You're my friend. And my fiancé, which is a weird word. But it means you're close to me. So…yeah. Of course."

He surged forward and grabbed me in a tight hug, before taking a deep breath and stepping through.

He found himself in the fields of wheat around the little girl's farm. He inched his way through the tall grain, remembering what happened last time he had been there. He'd found a man that was spying on Susu, waiting to punish her should she leave the farm. She had tried to leave, wanting to go and visit Kandai, and so he confronted the child. That's when Kandai had showed up and gotten angry.

And in his killing of the man, he'd scared off the little girl. Great. How was he going to explain to her what happened? Was she afraid of him now?

He made it to the farm, just barely poking his head out of the wall of wheat. She was still the same as when he'd left her, so no major amount of time must've passed.

He sighed. Here goes nothing.

"Shu."

She jumped and fell to the ground, backing away.

"Hey, no, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm sorry for what happened. I was afraid that man was going to hurt you, so I scared him off."

"Y-You hurt him instead?"

He hesitated, before sighing. "Yes, I hurt him a little. But just to make sure he didn't come back to hurt you ever again."

She looked over him, before she heard her mother's footsteps and jumped to her feet. "She comes. Hide!"

She pushed Kandai into the wheat field once more, waiting until her mother's footsteps had receded before she relaxed.

"I apologize for my actions previous that had scared you off," Kandai said. "Perhaps we could begin again."

What could help convince her? Wait, his flower! She would like that! He reached to his jacket's coat pocket and pulling out a flower with blue petals that almost seemed to glow.

"Accept a token of my apology?"

She looked at the object in his hand curiously. She didn't seem afraid of it, more interested. It had some kind of angelic touch to it, something to be expected from Ren, really. She looked to Kandai, who she saw was praying for her forgiveness.

He held his breath as she looked back and forth between him and the flower, before she rested her hand gently on his, accepting the plant.

"Yes," She said. "Perhaps we could begin again."

After that, Kan made many journeys to visit the girl - who he called Susu. I entertained myself by playing with my experiments in the lab, maybe hoping to open a portal to somewhere else, but I never realized how important Kan was to my life until he was gone. I mean, I knew he was important, but it was just so quiet without him.

I missed his presence, whether we were speaking or not. But I did look forward to when he came home with a story about what they did, him gushing about his little girl like a proud parent. And I was happy for him, I was. I could tell he was worried about neglecting me, but I didn't blame him for wanting to look after a child.

And I didn't even blame him when he forgot all about us being engaged.

I missed the times when I had him all to myself, but that would be selfish of me to think only about my own needs. So I smiled to him as hard as I could. I tried my best to laugh at every small detail of his stories that I understood, sometimes at things that I didn't.

Life was okay. And then it blew up in my face.

Then, the angels appeared around high sun (what one might call noon). The building first began to rumble and shake, a heavenly aura taking over the place, before, in a flash of light, three new people were standing in my lab.

"What the Edom?!" Kan shouted.

"Raphael?" I asked. "What are you…?"

"Conspiring with a heathen such as this once more. Really, little brother. And I thought you couldn't fall any lower."

"I am no longer in the jurisdiction of Heaven! Why are you here?!"

"You are not who we're here for, Ren'ai. You just happen to be in the way."

Raph threw his hand forward and Kan was thrown into the bookcase where all of our journals were being kept. The shelf went tumbling, along with all of the journals and books, and he was pressed up against the wall by Raphael's power, and strained as he was pushed flat and was being crushed.

"Stop it! He hasn't done anything!"

"It matters not. His very existence is a threat."

"Wha…? Stop it! Stop it!"

I moved to help him, but the angel to Raphael's left, Ezra, waved his hand and I was thrown into the shelves containing a good deal of my live experiments, dumping many chemicals on me that weren't very good to mix.

"You shouldn't have done that…" I muttered as some of the chemicals began to bubble and burn.

Kan was looking to me in panic, but Raphael wasn't paying attention to me and Ezra was panicking on what had just happened. I reached over and grabbed an emergency lighter - yes I have an emergency lighter in my lab, sue me - and threw it to the Holy Oil that I'd been messing with.

It had spilled out across the room, and when it lit, the fire started spread around the room to the plants, to my experiments, and to me. Everything turned white and exploded, and I knew that my essence was being atomized in the blast, but I managed to pull my angelic energy back together and reform my body.

What did the experience feel like? I don't know. How do you feel after every cell in your body is blown apart at an atomic level? I barely managed to muster the consciousness and strength to magnetize my angelic power back together, and when I did, I was extremely drained and was ready to pass out.

But I saw Kan, lying in the rubble of what had been my house, and he was much worse off than I was. I rushed over to him, pulling him into my arms.

"Kan? Kan!"

He was burnt all across his front side, with multiple cuts, but he was breathing. Perhaps that was a good or a bad thing - as I'd learned that he only breathed when he was weak enough to need to breathe in energy from around him, or he was extremely nervous and/or embarrassed. Basically, it was a survival thing.

I already felt like my brains had turned to jelly thanks to blowing myself up and reforming, but I threw my energy into healing him with all I had. He hummed with my energy as his burns began to disappear and his cuts sealed themselves, and when he groaned and opened his eyes, he coughed, but he was okay, looking up and grabbing my arm.

"Ren. Ren, stop! You're gonna kill yourself!"

I really had no choice as I stopped the healing process and collapsed onto him. He wasn't at full strength, by any means, but he was okay. Even with how crappy I felt, that knowledge allowed me to relax against him.

I heard him shouting, I felt him picking me up and shuffling before there was a whoosh and he pulled me through some portal - I know it was a portal because my head spun for a moment - and then I lost consciousness and knew nothing after that.

When I came to again, I saw that I was staring up at a roof, meaning I was inside somewhere. I sat up and looked around, finding Kan sleeping next to me. He looked like he had just recently passed out, probably staying up and waiting for me to wake up like the worry-wart he was.

I shuffled closer to him and closed my eyes again, not wanting to wake him and needing more rest anyway. I wasn't sure where we were, but we certainly weren't still in the same dimension that the two of us had been living in.

We were somewhere new.

When I next woke up, Kan was already up as well.

"Hey, how you doing?" He asked gently.

"Fine. Ish. I'm hungry and I have a hangover. At least, I think this is what a hangover feels like. I've never gotten drunk before."

"Can angels even get drunk?"

"If we take a vessel and lower our powers so that the alcohol can take effect, yes."

"Well, I got some food. It was a creature I'd never seen before, but it tastes good."

He passed me some meat on a stick that he'd been cooking over a makeshift fire, and I wondered just what it was that he had hunted and killed. I took a bite and shrugged. It was pretty good.

"So where are we?"

"After you blew up the place and healed me, I took one of the experiments that you'd been working on - that portal that could take us somewhere other than Edom - and activated it. I just jumped through blindly, really, but it closed behind us and the angels haven't been able to find us. Yet. There was a large house thing, and I found there was no one in here, so I brought you in here to rest. The place seems abandoned, but it must mean that there are others out there in this world. There's a forest outside that I went around in to hunt. Nearly got lost, but our rings seem to have the ability to allow me to track you. I also got the wood to make a fire, and used a little energy to get a spark."

I smiled. "You're awesome, love."

"I know."

"Shut up."

He chuckled. "You just regain your strength, first, and we can go scout out the world. See if there's anyone to avoid. I'm sorry you lost your lab."

I shrugged. "Well…"

"You didn't."

"I work in a lab where things can blow up all the time. Of course I have a way to restore it all and summon it here. Little magic and alchemy and boom."

I pulled a small gem attached to a necklace out from under my shirt.

"So that's what that thing was!" Kan exclaimed. "Ren, you're amazing!"

"I know."

"Oh, shut up!"

I laughed. "All is not lost, Kan. We can go back, but if the angels can get there, it's probably best to stay away in case they track us back down to there. Luckily, our home is mobile now."

"So we keep on the run from your family?"

"That's the plan."

"For the rest of our lives?"

"Basically. I don't know what they have against you. Raph said he wasn't there for me, that I was just in the way, and that you were some kind of threat."

"I don't know what he meant. I mean, I'm the most peaceful demon out there."

"I know what kind of person you are, and I know that you're not a threat. But I also know my family, and they won't listen to reason. But I won't let them touch you."

"I hate being on the run…"

"Me too. But it shouldn't be too hard. Our rings should hide us from them, and we won't have to move too often. They're not omnipotent. If we just hide ourselves well enough, they'll be forced to track us the old fashioned way. The painfully long way."

"Is it bad that I feel happy at the prospect of their suffering?"

"No. I've been dreaming of it for most of my life."

"Well, let's go be fugitives together."

I smiled. "Let's."

"Kan…"

Ren woke up shaking. He could barely feel his limbs, but he forced himself awake. Was Kan near? Was he dreaming? He wanted Kandai back.

At least waking up here was quieter than the city with all those loud contraptions, and he had less of a headache from people being around him. He still felt terrible, his body weak from exhaustion, but he would recover with time.

"Tidus?"

The bunny was lying asleep at Ren's side. He seemed unharmed, content even. He was okay. That was all that mattered.

Ren saw the remnants of the men he'd probably killed, but he didn't have enough energy to feel remorse. He closed his eyes and relaxed, trying to think of what he was supposed to do now.

What was he supposed to do now?

He had that address. Maybe these people had contacted this Asushunamir and told her about him. Asushunamir…where had he heard that name before?

Ren was too tired to be thinking coherently at the moment. He regained his strength as he sat there waiting for his fate at the hands of the mundanes. He just wanted to go home, go back to those days where he had Kan, had a place to live, had his own little world untouched by the horrors of the real world.

He suddenly heard the loud clang of the cell door again, looking up and seeing a new guard.

"Get up. You're being released."

"Why?" Ren asked.

"Special circumstances."

Ren looked up in confusion, but allowed himself to be taken away.