It's taken a little longer than expected to get this chapter out, and it's probably because I wrote a super long, God forsaken chapter for Manifest Destiny. Speaking of which, it seems like that fic might not be worth continuing, if things don't change soon. So, if any of you are Naruto fans and you're fond enough of my style, check that story out. If it turns out to be wasted effort on the whole, I'll likely just drop the fic and save myself the trouble.

Anyway, it occurred to me that Airi and Melona haven't been heard from in like, six chapters. So you can be assured that we'll get back to them again, so we can see how things are developing with them.

It was funny, how easily stereotypes could be shattered. The misconceptions of men were so fragile if they came face to face with what they had always judged. That was why Church was so utterly fascinated with Nanael, and to a lesser extent, Hachiel as well. He learned something new and startling about them every minute they traveled on the mountain road to Bosk.

Church had always imagined angels to be the epitome of perfection in every way. Physically perfect and unblemished, mentally pure in every way, and so on. But that misconception had not lasted even the first five seconds of his union with Nanael and Hachiel. Even though they were angels, both girls were so undeniably human. Hachiel was kind and pure of heart, that was true. But she still got nervous about things, still worried and fretted over tiny details and overall plans. Nervousness and worry did not go with perfection.

And then there was Nanael. She was so human that it was hard to believe she was some sort of holy being at all. She was as flawed as any person in personality; she was brusque, and rude, and occasionally quite vain. She could also be arrogant, annoying, and lazy, and a number of other things that Church never figured an angel would be. And of course, there was her wing: a bodily imperfection, and definitely a very big one. It was not like having a mole or crooked nose or something (Neither of which Nanael had). Her wings may have well counted as limbs, and for lack of a better word, they were flawed.

Was it on purpose? Did God make her that way, for some particular reason? God himself was supposed to be all-powerful: it was not as if he could 'mess up' while creating an angel, right?

Church looked over his shoulder as he rode Snow, eying the blue-haired angel riding on the rear because she was too lazy to fly the entire time, and thought walking was beneath her. She was sitting in reverse, with her back facing him and her wings curled inward to avoid bumping into Church, and it made the pathetically small right wing so much more obvious. She was not perfect: far from it, she was the last person Church ever would've thought of as an angel. But for some reason, none of Nanael's flaws caused him to pity her. In fact, they only intrigued him more.

"Are we there yet? How far is this place anyway?"

Hachiel, who was still gently soaring a few feet above her companions, cast a disapproving look down at her angelic comrade. "Nanael, it's only been ten minutes since the last time you asked that. Have some patience."

The blue-haired girl stuck her tongue out at Hachiel. "Patience? We could have been there forever ago if we had just flown!" Then she turned towards Church. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

Church scowled, knowing that making Snow move any faster than a snail's pace was impossible. The mare was stubborn as all hell, and if he were cruel enough to whip it for speed, it was unlikely that Snow would even feel it anyway. So no, his mode of transportation could not go any faster. "Sorry Nanael, but Snow doesn't really take orders all that well. But if you guys want to fly ahead, I don't mind."

He figured that Nanael would seriously consider doing just that, but after giving him a peculiar look, she merely shrugged. "If we did we'd just have to wait there for you, so I might as well sit right here."

Church wanted to think she was staying because she enjoyed his company, but it was more likely that both she and Hachiel needed something from him. After all, every time he had run into the duo, they had been hell-bent on getting answers out of him, although he wasn't sure what problem of theirs he could have the answer to. He wanted to be helpful, but although the angels had been accompanying him for the better part of an hour, neither of them had asked him a pointed question.

"Well you know, talking can make the time fly by faster. And besides, I get the feeling you two want to 'talk' anyway, right?"

Hachiel answered him from above. "We do have some questions, but for now it can wait. Let's talk about something else. Something fun."

"Like what?"

Nanael offered an answer this time. "Tell us if you're straight or not, Church."

"What?! Why the hell do you need to know that? And yes, I am, thank you very much. What the hell did you ask that for?"

Nanael allowed herself a smirk. "I was just checking. I needed to know."

"Why?"

"Let's just call it 'personal interest.'"

On one hand that answer was insufficient, but on the other, Church was afraid to inquire further. Also on the list of Nanael's imperfect qualities was her rather unhealthy interest in men. Of course, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing unless it made her do something crazy...

Hachiel loosed a heavy sigh, used to her friend's antics but not supporting them, as always. "Nanael, with your personality I really don't think a harem is ever going to be possible for you."

The rather unsavory idea of a harem caught Church's attention, and he couldn't help but note it was the first thing he now disliked about Nanael. She must not have noticed his sour look though, because she retorted to Hachiel unfazed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hachi. I'm charming, funny, and beautiful. Who wouldn't want to be with all of this?"

It may have been his imagination, but Church could have sworn he heard a very slight, bitter undertone in Nanael's boasts. It even sounded slightly mocking, or self-deprecating, and it occurred to Church that maybe Nanael herself didn't believe what she was saying.

"Besides, I bet Church here wouldn't mind sharing me with some other men, right?"

Brought out of his own thoughts by the idea of something that he would never do, Church put his musings over Nanael beside. "Wrong. If I were in a relationship with someone, I'd want it to be deeper than just physical attraction. I'd never want to be in a relationship with someone if I didn't love them beyond the superficial."

Nanael frowned at him, although it held a small amount of thought in it, and Church allowed himself a small smirk, afraid he had, in a roundabout sort of way, called Nanael shallow. "Besides, I'd much rather have you to myself if I was going to have you at all."

His joke went mostly unappreciated. Sure, Nanael smiled, but it was clear she was faking it for the sake of pretending she wasn't bothered by something. Problem was, Church had no idea what could have possibly bothered her in what he had said. Personally he thought it had been clever and suave.

Then again, it had indeed been a joke. For all he knew, perhaps Nanael had interpreted that as him considering a relationship of any sort with her to be a laughing matter. In that case he could definitely see why she would be upset, but it was just an assumption without enough evidence to actually apologize for.

Either way, Nanael looked like she had become uncomfortable, and she sought to rectify it immediately. "Y'know, actually my wings are cramping up a bit back here. I'm gonna stretch for a bit. I'll catch up."

With that, Nanael took off from Snow's back with all of the strain it usually took her to do so. Church stared after her, now convinced he had said something wrong or at least something that had been misinterpreted.

"She doesn't think I was making fun of her does she?"

Hachiel spared a sorrowful glance for her friend as well, but turned her attention back to Church quickly enough. "I don't think she feels that way. But even if you did not mean any offense, well... Nanael has been on the receiving end of far too much mockery in her life. She won't hold it against you knowing that you didn't mean ill, but I'm sure it still stung a little."

Naturally Church felt terrible at having upset Nanael inadvertently or not, but he could hardly apologize without her present. Still, he was curious as to what mockery Nanael could have possibly been the brunt of. Surely other angels didn't do that to one of their own? That didn't sound like heaven at all.

With the atmosphere drastically changed from what it once was, the now duo of travelers moved in silence for a few minutes, but it was quickly broken by Hachiel's serene voice. "Church, may I ask you a question? You do not have to answer if you don't want to."

"Ask away."

"Do you think Nanael is inferior to me?"

Church spared a venomous glare for the pinkette above him, sickened by the mere thought that Hachiel may have been hoping for him to say yes. But the look on the angel's face was not looking for gratification. She was asking a genuine question of him, for the sole sake of knowing his thoughts.

"Should I?"

Hachiel tried her best to say the next line without sounding cruel or mean, and although she meant it neither way, the facts themselves just sounded insulting. "Nanael can be loud, obnoxious, and often times considered a nuisance. She's also clumsy, foolish, and not terribly bright. Physically, she flies slower and more awkwardly than all of the other angels, and is the only angel in heaven with such an obvious physical defect. If you thought she was inferior to me, or even inferior to yourself, I would not be surprised."

Church took all of these facets of Nanael's personality into consideration, knowing that they were probably all true. Because if Hachiel, her best friend, was saying them, how could they not be? But even taking all of these things into account they seemed irrelevant to the question at hand, at least for him.

"No. I don't think she's inferior to either of us, or anyone else for that matter. Everything you said about her is probably true: I'm sure you know better than I do. And sure, she's got some qualities most people would consider irritating, but it's obvious that she's not a bad person. As for the wing, I can't think of anything that could make her a more unique individual."

Hachiel smiled, gentle and warm, something that seemed to be a specialty of hers. "If you truly believe that, then I beg you to find the time to tell her you think so."

Church smiled back, wondering if an angel would really accept words such as those from a relative stranger. He hardly knew Nanael all that well. But then again, what harm was there in trying to make someone smile? And she had saved his friends from certain death at risk to herself, so the least Church could do was try to raise her spirits somewhat. With that in mind, he decided to put some thought into the matter as he rode to Bosk with the shade of pink feathers above him.

Tardiness was something that did not sit well with Airi. She prided herself on being efficient in everything, which probably had something to do with her past life as a maid. She had been subservient to a mortal long before she had been a slave to the Witch, and that mortal life had drilled one thing into her right from the start; do things right the first time, and there won't be a reason for your master to hurt you.

It was ironic really. In life, Airi had despised servitude. Her existence as a slave to someone that cared for her as much as any other piece of replaceable equipment made her bitter and angry and resentful. She'd wanted nothing more than to be free, to live a life where no one could tell her what to do.

Yet after being revived by the Witch she was all for service and servitude. Of course, perhaps that was a matter of lesser evils. Airi had been suffering unspeakable horrors in hell before the Witch resurrected her. She had been ecstatic, absolutely overjoyed to the point of tears to be saved from that agony, even if it meant serving someone that cared nothing for her a second time.

That was the main reason Airi had been happy to serve. She truly felt like she owed the Swamp Witch her loyalty for what she had saved the redhead from. Airi wasn't stupid; she knew the Witch had not done it out of the kindness of her heart. But she didn't care. All she cared about was the fact that she was existing in a state outside of eternal torment thanks to the Witch.

The second half of her willing service had been fear of exactly that though. For a long time Airi had believed that she could be returned to hell at any point in time by the very being that had summoned her. And naturally, she was absolutely, entirely unwilling to let that happen, so she gad always served as capably as she could to avoid being discarded.

Things were changing though, a little bit at a time. For the first time in many years Airi was disgruntled with her position in the afterlife. She was not so outright dissatisfied that she would rebel against the Witch or anything, but she had begun to investigate her own demonic powers more thoroughly. Turned out she was capable of more than she thought. She had even found herself capable of dispelling the curse the Witch had placed on her to ensure obedience, but Airi hadn't actually gone through with it; yet.

After all, it raised some interesting questions. If she was strong enough to dispel a powerful curse placed on her by the Swamp Witch, was she not just as strong, or even stronger than her? That seemed a little too good to be true, but Airi was interested in learning the full extent of her abilities. If she did decide one of these days that a life of slavery was wearing thin, it would be comforting to know what she could do to escape it.

For now though, her dissatisfaction was not that far gone. She was by the barriers her servitude erected in regards to her relationships, but that was not enough to spur rebellion. Not as long as the relationship in question wasn't important enough to risk eternal damnation for.

Indeed, the one disgruntling issue Airi had at the moment revolved around Church. That day on the hill, they had truly experienced a meaningful moment with one another. A moment that could have been the impetus for something beyond friendship. In all honesty, at that point in time it was a possibility that Airi had been interested in pursuing, but couldn't because of her situation.

She felt guilty though, for feeling the way she did. She didn't love the man in question. She liked him, even in a romantic light, but not nearly enough to even begin calling it love. But that didn't make it wrong to start somewhere smaller did it? Didn't real love have to start somewhere anyway?

Honestly Airi wasn't sure. Romance had literally never been a part of her life, because ideal romance was something for girls to dream about. And Airi had not been a girl, she had not even been a person. Her existence had been as a tool, and so she had never had a chance to just be a girl.

At the core of this situation, that was the heart of the matter. Church had sparked something in her when he talked about how beautiful she was. The desire to be seen as something she had never been before. In life, she had been nothing more than a slave. In death, she was still just a tool. No one had ever thought of her solely as a person, and moreover as a beautiful woman, and that made her happy. Happy enough to be mildly disgruntled with her current lot in life.

Now that someone had aroused the desire to experience normal life the way she never had a chance to in her, Airi was eager to explore. To sate curiosity, to experience the things she had missed due to a life of slavery and servitude. That included many, many things, but a major one was still love. Airi wanted to know how it felt to love, and more importantly, be loved by another person. And even though it wasn't love at this stage, Airi could admit to herself that the prospect of loving the one man she already liked sat perfectly well with her. And it kind of gave her butterflies.

For now though, her own situation with the Witch and the danger of being returned to hell was more important than her relationship, or lack thereof. And that was why she was still returning to the Swamp, dreading the possibilities of that return.

No matter what excuse they used, she and Melona would both probably be punished for some reason or another. Their original mission, which felt further in the past than in actually was, had been to bring the wayward Menace back to the one who had resurrected her. Of course, that had ended in failure. That was months ago, back in the desert that was the origin of her newfound desire to embrace humanity.

Soaring through the air, Airi allowed herself a small smile at the memory. Ironically, she had disliked Church at first A lot actually. At the time she had seen him as nothing more than a pointless distraction that kept her from her duties. But then he proved that he could make her smile and even laugh, and that was such a foreign yet welcome thing for her that he suddenly became much more than a nuisance. She was truly grateful that Melona had surrendered to one of her petty whims on that fateful day.

Reminded of her presence, Airi glanced back at Melona, who was leisurely walking down the road quite some ways behind her. She apparently had no sense of urgency in returning to the swamp, something that had not made Airi any friendlier towards her. The two of them had barely spoken a word to one another since their spat back in Alabaster town, which had been more than half a week ago. Strangely, the silence between them seemed to stem from different causes.

Airi was still furious at the slime for the nonchalant way she had slighted Church's friendship with them. Despite her own confusing emotions regarding the man, it had been a long time since Airi had not considered him a true friend at the very least. And she knew that he thought of both of them as real friends, hence why Melona's words had angered her so. At the very least, he deserved recognition for the friendship he had offered all of that time.

As for Melona, Airi suspected that the slime was angry at her for the way she had spoken to her, but there was no evidence of it on her part. There hadn't been any scowls, nasty glares, or poorly concealed middle fingers sent Airi's way at all, and that led the redhead to believe that Melona was silent for an entirely different reason, although she couldn't tell what.

She was somber and melancholy, a startling contrast to the pink, the ears, and the shameless getup that pretty much defined Melona's appearance. Quiet was something that just didn't seem to match up with her personality at all. Airi was slightly concerned about her behavior: even though she was livid with the girl, the two of them were still friends, in a manner of speaking.

Even so, Airi didn't thinkt here was any need to inquire. What was upsetting Melona was not really her concern, even though the answer to that question did indeed concern her. For now her primary goal was to return to the Witch, eager to avoid angering her for while Airi was still ignorant of the extent of her abilities. For now, it was entirely possible that the Witch could send Airi back to hell whenever she wished, and that was enough to ensure complete obedience for now.

But that was an unsavory thing to dwell on for a myriad of very serious reasons. And that being the case, Airi wasted no time turning her thoughts to more pleasant things, which was mostly her newfound desire to really just live life for once. Truth be told she was a little nervous at the idea of ever living without someone to be her master, because she had never had a life free of a superior that dictated what she could or couldn't do.

What would she do if she were really free at some point? Maybe she could roam the world? She had never seen the ocean, or climbed a mountain, or visited a far off foreign land. She'd never had a chance for adventure and excitement before, so the thought of exploring the world she had lived in but never really experienced was truly appealing.

She wanted to have all of the experiences that had been denied her thus far. Visiting new places, being friends with whomever she wished, and of course, falling in love with someone that really loved her too. That last one was, ironically, the closest to fruition relatively speaking. She had someone she liked who obviously liked her back. All she had to do was somehow liberate herself from her binds and she would be free to explore what that could one day become.

That was of course assuming she ever saw Church again in the first place. Melona had discreetly asked around Alabaster Town as to the cause of its troubles, and word of a red clad duo spreading trouble certainly made an argument for Church's survival. Perhaps that was optimism on Airi's part, but she couldn't imagine anyone else wearing that red jacket of his that had been specifically mentioned by some of the people in the bar.

As things stood now, it seemed unlikely that they would somehow find each other again. Airi couldn't spare anymore time shrugging off the Swamp Witch's orders. She had run too great of a risk as it was, performing less than admirably in her Master's service thus far. She had no choice but to focus entirely on pleasing the Witch for the foreseeable future.

Not to say there wasn't hope of course. If Airi found someway to bring about her own freedom, she would have all the leeway in the world to do whatever she wanted. Even then though, finding one person across the vast lands of the Continent would be no easy task. But Airi actually found herself with some great deal of confidence in Melona regarding that. Melona seemed capable of finding just about anyone, anywhere, provided she had enough time to do so: and possessed the motivation.

That motivation was honestly what worried Airi the most. If Melona really hadn't cared for their wayward companion at all, she certainly wouldn't care to help Airi find him. But she just couldn't see that as being true. Melona was a surprisingly easy person to read when she wasn't deliberately impersonating someone else. She made it really clear what appealed to her and what didn't. And throughout their time with Church at their side, she at least seemed to like him enough. It wasn't like she had possessed any reason to fake friendliness with him if that weren't true.

Finding herself more invested in the truth of all this than her will to continue without it, Airi landed on the ground and decided there was no time like the present to discern the truth. So she waited until Melona's leisurely stroll finally brought the Slime to her position.

"Melona?"

The pink slime had been planning on passing the wraith, being in no mood to talk, but stopped at the sound of her name and offered Airi her attention, although she still refrained from saying anything.

Since it was obvious that Melona's attention was on her, Airi continued with her query. "I need to know... I need to know if you really believe the things you said about him back at that town."

Although his name had not been mentioned, it was clear who Airi was referring to, and Melona's expression immediately shifted to one of distaste. "I don't want to talk about this again."

"Melona please, this is something I need to know. It's none of my business how you feel about someone, but I don't think it's right for you to believe he didn't at least consider you his friend. That's not fair to him."

While her tone was completely calm and bore no sign of starting another altercation, Melona still found herself uncomfortable, though only because of the implications of the question being asked of her. "Why do you care so much?"

Airi pondered how to put her feelings into words, resulting in a few moments of silence between the two of them. Still, she had been doing a lot of soul searching lately, and it didn't take long for her to verbalize her misgivings about the situation."I just... weren't you happy? I thought he was making us both happier. For me, it wasn't until he was around that I actually started to really care more about myself. And even more about others. He made me feel... I don't know, human again. And that made me happy. It felt good to be a good person again, even if that was just me trying to be a good friend to someone."

The redhead paused for a moment, searching for the right words to shift the focus from herself to her companion. "And you... well, I can't speak for you, but it at least looked like he made you happier too. I mean, you're already pretty spry all the time anyway, but I'm almost positive you smiled a lot more, and because you were enjoying yourself with another person for once. Was... was I wrong? Did you really not think of him as a friend, even a little bit?"

The look of agitation on Melona's face was more than evident, though the reason for said feelings was known only to her.

Melona was a Slime. Her whole existence was imitation and illusion. That being the case, most every relationship she had ever formed was a lie, and by extension she had never really been friends with anyone. She liked to pretend that this didn't bother her, but the lack of companionship over the centuries had grown both lonely and tiresome.

That said, she had enjoyed being considered a friend by someone for once. She knew damn good and well that Church looked at her in such a light. She didn't believe for a moment that she'd been some negligible presence he just didn't care about.

But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the relationship was still a lie. Church didn't know her, not really. He didn't know she was a Slime. He didn't know how much of her life she had spent ruining others. He didn't know that she was mostly a terrible person. He didn't know any of this, and did that not void his friendship with her?

Melona at least felt certain that it would. She doubted someone like Church, who was clearly a morally upstanding person intent on doing good, would be willing to have anything to do with her if he knew the truth. And that was what Melona was so unsure of.

"Airi... you really think he would look at us the same way if he knew what we were? That he wouldn't treat us like everyone other normal person?"

This was a question Airi had asked herself once already. She had of course wondered if Church would treat her any differently if he knew she was technically a demonic spirit. At one point she had believed he would, but after his last words to her, she did not. After all, did the fact that she was a spirit change who she was? She was still the same person regardless of her state of being, and her as a person was what Church cared about. Obviously this was true for Melona as well.

"Were you yourself around him?"

Melona didn't immediately catch on to what Airi was asking. "What do you mean?"

"Did you act like you always do when you were with him?"

"Yeah... I guess?"

"Then he wouldn't look at you any differently if he knew you were a Slime. He's friends with you because of who you are. Not what you are. His opinion of you didn't change at all when I told him you were a beastkin."

Melona almost managed to smile before that last part caught up with her. "You told him what?"

"Well come on Melona, it doesn't take a genius to see you aren't exactly an ordinary human... I just made up a fitting excuse when he asked. You are constantly sporting rabbit ears."

The Slime in question actually managed to laugh at the absurdity of it, finding it truly amusing. "I guess that works... I guess he really doesn't give a crap about stuff like that huh?"

Airi smiled back at her, glad that they were coming to an understanding. "Not at all. I don't think it would matter to him what we are so long as we remain who we are."

Melona folded her arms behind her head, seemingly in a better mood than before. "Maybe we'll find out for certain one of these days. We can tell him next time. Maybe."

"A reunion with him could be unlikely as things stand now, Melona."

The pinkette gave her ally a confident smirk. "Oh please. I can find anyone if I really want to. Besides, Church leaves trouble in his wake no matter where he goes. It would literally be a cinch."

Her mood considerably brightened by their conversation, Airi decided she had one more important question to ask. Something she wanted to do now that she wanted to enjoy life the way it was meant to be was have more friends. That obviously meant she had something important to ask the woman beside her.

"Melona?"

"Yeah?"

"What about the two of us? I know we're on the same side, but are we actually friends?"

Melona gave the wraith a peculiar glance before directing her eyes elsewhere. "Well I don't know. Do you think we are?"

"I'd like to think so."

Melona's bunny ears twitched in a rather peculiar way, one that Airi couldn't associate with anything other than mild nervousness. "Then I suppose we are."

Not yet content with her answer, Airi prodded the girl just a little further. "Are what?"

The pinkette glared at her with mild displeasure. "I suppose we are... friends, Airi. There. Is that good enough?"

This answer brought a lot more joy to Airi's heart than she had expected. She had friends, something that had eluded her in both life and a fair part of death. It felt good to know there were people that cared about her now. The only downside was that one of her newfound friends was absent from her presence.

Even so, for the moment Airi was content, and she began to move forward again. She decided to walk with Melona this time, who was now sticking her tongue out as though she had tasted something bitter.

"What are you doing now, Melona?"

"It just feels weird to use that word, alright? I'm not used to it."

"I think what you meant to say was that it feels nice, right?"

She only received another glare for her trouble. "Don't push it, Airi. This is already the friendliest I've been in like, twenty years."

"...exactly how old are you, anyway? How long do slimes live?"

"...let's just let sleeping dogs lie, Airi. There's no need for anyone to know the answer to that question."

About an hour after she had left, Nanael returned to her companions, and just as Hachiel had predicted, her attitude was all cheer. Had Church not seen her clearly upset demeanor earlier, he never would have believed that she had been so at all. Still though, her facade was more obvious now than it had been before. Now that Church was truly aware of it, it was much easier to see the smiles that were too stilted to be genuine, and even easier to see through the bravado that served only to offset a lack of real confidence.

Ironically, Church could relate to exactly what she was doing now. Living in post NOVA Earth was not easy for any of the survivors. Depression was a powerful force that claimed hundreds of New Eden residents.

It was a very easy trap to fall into: one glance at the outside world and all you saw was scorched earth that would never again hold life or beauty, at least not within the lifetime of the viewer. One could look out into the world and truly understand that it was all just... gone. That billions of people were ashes on the wind, that life as you knew it was over for good. The sky would never be a crisp blue again, you would never get the chance to swim in the ocean again, you could never even enjoy a simple walk through the woods. All that was left of the world was a barren wasteland of Ash and radiation, and one flying city that housed all that was left of humanity.

How could you not be depressed by all of that? Church had felt the brunt of that reality shortly after NOVA had occurred. But he had always put up a wall to hide his emotions. He didn't want everyone to see his pain.

But that was as far as his ability to relate to Nanael went. Her front was a shield to protect herself with, while Church's wall in the past had been to protect the ones around him. Besides, the root of their respective depressions was different. Church had been struck by the hopelessness of a doomed world. Nanael was plagued by the venomous barbs of those around her.

That was something Church did not know the pain of. He had never been the target of ridicule and disdain, save the norm that most everyone experienced at least once in their life. Most everyone got bullied at some point in life. What Nanael had experienced was not that. It was one thing to be made fun of. It was another thing entirely, and far worse besides, to be treated as though you truly held no worth. To be looked upon as a meaningless existence by everyone around you.

It was possible of course that Church was making assumptions. Hachiel had simply stated that her friend had been the target of a great deal of mockery. She had not specified what form that mockery took, or how severe it was, or how long it had been going on. But piercing the veil of Nanael's facade now that he knew to look for it, Church was certain that the shielded girl within was suffering far beyond what mere mockery would entail. There was someone under that shell of a smiling, prideful girl that did not believe a word of her own praise. That much was obvious.

"Oh? Is that the village up ahead?"

Hachiel's serene voice sliced through the heavy thoughts on Church's mind, and he looked up from Snow's saddle to see the village of Bosk before him, a sight he had longed to see for quite some time. Besides Nanael, he still had a promise to keep to Rachel and Sera. He would not leave this place until it was accomplished.

"It looks like it. Hopefully it won't take very long to find someone willing to help me with what I need."

Nanael, still sitting reverse on Snow's saddle behind Church, craned her neck to look at the destination now in sight. "I wouldn't mind if you took a little while. It would give me more time to check out the resident male population, if you know what I mean."

Church would have found that comment irritating before, but now that he knew it could not be taken seriously it only made him frown. If he was going to do anything to lighten the spirits of his newfound companion, he was going to have to splinter a very tough shield first.

OK, and we're done. Huge dialogue and character development chapter, and I hope this gives you guys a good idea of the things I have planned for Nanael. As you can probably tell, she's a bit different than she was in the anime, but the whole story I have woven for her depends on something completely OOC, that being the absence of that super narcissistic arrogance of hers. Sure, it's still there, but does she really believe her own words?

On another note, I'm going to rewrite some of the dialogue in the older chapters, because compared to what I can do now, those lines were awful. If you're interested, I have already redone chapter 2, and will probably upgrade the other chapters soon enough. It might not seem important, changing a handful of dialogue and description lines, but who knows; you may find a significant difference that improves your overall reading experience.

Anyway, a new event will begin next chapter, and it involves Church finally acquiring a unique weapon, so look forward to it. Finally, don't forget to check out Manifest Destiny if you're interested.