Geez, this site was giving me a lot of problems with my files yesterday. Well, I got it figured out now, so please enjoy this chapter. Hopefully I have an easier time writing chapter seven. Here's to being hopeful!
Moonlight Demon
Chapter Six, How to Share a Secret
It was still dark out, even though she had been out for a few hours. Aizou glanced up at the star-filled sky with a slight smile, before she shook her head and continued walking. Mango followed a few steps behind her, silently.
The ability to see the future in brief visions was a power that she had been blessed with at birth.
At that time it had been a valuable ability. For years a war had been raging between Heaven and Hell over the fate of a single half demon. It hadn't been the first war over it, and in her lifetime alone there had been three more.
It - the half demon, aptly nicknamed "The Shadows" for its ability to manipulate shadows - was a legend within the two realms.
To the demons in Hell is was nothing more than a tool of war - a supreme weapon that they could use. Because it was only a half demon, the pure energy of an angel could not harm it as effectively as it would a full-blooded demon. And in a few cases, angelic energy only fed its power.
To the angels in Heaven it was an unstoppable, despicable demonic force that had to be eliminated. It was pure unholy power, strong enough to destroy all of Heaven, wrapped up neatly in a human body.
It was their nightmare. Their apocalypse.
It was so feared to such a degree that several of them ventured to the darkness just to acquire the knowledge to create a curse that could destroy it.
But as with anything that was so powerful, it came with a hefty price. It took five angels to execute the ritual a single time. When the ritual ended, and the curse was unleashed upon The Shadows, those five angels would share the same fate.
To the angels it was probably a necessary evil to destroy a much larger one.
However, Aizou had witnessed it once before. She was only of the few beings to be in the presence of The Shadows when the curse took it.
Her stomach churned at the memory.
"Getting distracted won't help us find it," Mango spoke up. She gently placed a hand on Aizou's shoulder and smiled at her.
Aizou nodded.
"You don't have to tell me that," she sighed.
They were a strange group of friends - three half demons and a fallen angel. Though despite what they were, it was their abilities that made them a suitable team.
She was able to feel out the emotions of others - an ability that she acquired from the angel that she performed the Life Exchange ritual with. For someone that had grown up as a demon, empathy was a generally useless ability for her. The only aspect of it that was useful was that it also allowed her to impose the emotion of her choice on other beings.
Mango's ability was somewhat disturbing, even to her. She could read minds and hear the thoughts of others. It was extremely useful in battle, however. Being able to know when an attack was coming, and to effectively counter it, gave her an edge against her opponents.
Though, as if honouring her angelic roots, she'd never tried to impose thoughts onto someone.
Aya, on the other hand, was a very different case. She possessed a very rare ability - one that belonged to an old demon lord. With it she could manipulate and control the body of living being that she wanted.
She had, however, been born and raised as a human, completely unaware of her demonic blood. Because of that she was less skilled and very inexperienced with her powers. At her current level she could only control something if her will surpassed its own - and that was a rare occurrence.
"We've got company," Mango mentioned, her voice barely over a whisper.
Aizou gave the slightest hint of a nod and continued walking. Mango followed in suit, slowing her pace so that she was several steps behind.
She closed her eyes as she continued to walk. The air was filled with a mix of unnamable emotions, but those were all from slumbering humans. Beyond that, she could feel something growing.
She could feel something hot. It filled her body until she felt like it was on fire. A stinging sensation accompanied the heat, a feeling quite similar to pins and needles pricking at her heart. Whoever was coming for them was angry, and definitely bitter.
"Ah, so it's you two," she sighed. She stopped mid-stride and glanced around..
"You two?" Mango echoed, sounding confused. Her face filled with understanding a second later. "Ahh… those two."
"You know, for a mind reader you're pretty dense sometimes," she laughed.
"It can't be helped when I'm making an effort not to intrude," she chimed back.
"You're never trying."
"Ah, you got me there."
"So you sensed my presence, did ya, demon bitch?" a voice snarled.
A moment later two shadowed figures stepped out from around a corner. Even though she couldn't see them very clearly, she knew exactly who they were. She'd never met any other being with such a distinct, enraged feeling about them. It was rare to find in angels, but there were a few that just could not suppress that part of themselves.
"Rizuo-chan, your mouth is as foul as ever," she taunted him.
"Shut up!" he shouted back.
Her eyes flickered between the two shadowed figures. The second one was Sarie, Rizuo's partner in the Human Realm. She'd met both of them several times before in situations just like this one. As subordinates to Misha's sister, Sasha, their time was dedicated to hunting down the pink-haired girl, with the hopes of one day returning her to her former self.
This time was no different.
"Where is Misha?" Sarie spoke up. Her voice was softer, gentler, than her partner's.
Without saying anything, Mango walked between them, her back turned to Aizou. Her body was relaxed, with her arms hanging loosely at her sides.
Excitement danced in the air and over Aizou's skin. This feeling she was certain belonged to Mango. Separate the two angels were sub par fighters, but as a duo they were capable of some amazing things. Mango, who loved to fight, could never resist a powerful opponent.
"They're not worth our time, Mango. We have more important things to do."
"You shut up!" Rizuo snapped.
"Can't you say anything else?" she sighed. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Just tell us… where Misha is…" Sarie insisted, sounding unsure of herself now. She didn't appear to be too keen on fighting. Or maybe it was…
Aizou sighed again and rubbed the back of her head.
It bothered her that the two angels had found them so quickly. It didn't take much to figure out that, Misha being Misha, she would want to come back here at some point. This was the place that Kotarou Higuchi lived. No matter how much time passed, as long as the boy was alive, Misha would always return to this place.
It wasn't a surprise that her sister, Sasha, would know that much.
It was troublesome. In her vision about The Shadows, this was the place that it was to awaken in. She knew enough about the current situations in Heaven and Hell to know that they hadn't completely narrowed their search down to the country of Japan. Until they realized that this was where The Shadows was, she had the upper hand for finding him. If these two persisted in following them, they would undoubtedly come across their true reason for returning here.
She would not allow them to find it first.
It was possible to kill them. If Mango would stop playing around long enough and fight long enough with the intention of killing them, it would be enough.
However, that would only confirm their location and bring more angels. It was a no-win situation for her.
"We're not in the mood to fight you two," Aizou declared. "So just get the hell out of here, would you?"
Sarie jumped back. Rizuo took a step forward.
She gave them a tight lipped smile. In order to give them a chance to travel to Japan without being followed, she had imposed terror into Sarie's heart. It was a terror strong enough that she would not easily recover from it. Even though she could recover from the initial shock of it, she would never fully recover. There would always be some part of her that was scared, some part of her that would always tremble and shake when she was startled.
It was a last resort for her. She disliked the thought of condemning someone to such a fate. To make more time to search for The Shadows, though, she had needed to do something.
Mango took a step back, then turned around and began walking away. She'd either been following Aizou's thoughts, or on her own she had come to the same decision.
Fighting the two now was pointless. Sarie wasn't in the proper state of mind, and without her support Rizuo was useless. They weren't an immediate threat. Killing them would only complicate matters.
Turning away now was the right thing to do.
"How dare you…" Rizuo growled.
She shrugged and joined Mango.
"You're too weak to fight," she quipped. She waved back to them. "Come back next week."
The heat that she'd been feeling flared.
Mango spun around suddenly. She raised her elbow and thrust it out; a sickening crack quickly followed after. Aizou turned around in time to see Rizuo fall to his knees, blood gushing profusely from his face. Mango was already walking away from him.
Aizou just sighed and turned away.
Things are going to get complicated from here on.
--
"Misha!" Aizou's voice broke through the silence of the kitchen.
If she had the energy for it, Misha would have jumped right out of her chair.
Instead all she could muster was a breathy chuckle.
"Aizou. Su…"
She should have expected it to be coming. Feeding on humans, and even demons, disgusted her. It wasn't like she killed them. No, unlike pure demons who needed to sacrifice the life of another to sustain their own, she could survive just by taking the smallest amount. The one she took that energy from would weaken slightly, but it wasn't permanent. They would heal in time.
But even with that in mind, she couldn't bring herself to feed on someone. It felt wrong to take someone else's life energy away from them.
It was easy for her to spread out her feedings due to the fact that she was an artificially created half demon. Therefore she was only a "demon" half of the time that naturally born ones were. Even though God's blessing had been revoked from her, her angelic blood was able to sustain itself in the Human Realm.
Aizou made her way across the kitchen so that she was standing at her side. She knelt down, looking up at Misha's face. Was she looking for something? An answer, perhaps? She should have had that without needing to check.
"You're such an idiot," she sighed, casting her gaze to the side.
Aya, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, leaned over so that she was practically laying on it, and pouted.
"Doesn't Misha-chan have to take a special entrance exam today?" she questioned.
Aizou pushed herself to her feet and nodded slowly.
There was a knock on the wall before Mango's voice announced,
"I'll go buy an energy drink."
"Heh. Yeah, for what good it'll do her," Aizou agreed.
Misha smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry. I just… can't do those things yet…"
Aizou let out an exasperated sigh before flopping down onto the nearest chair. She folded her arms over her stomach.
"Really, how many times do we have to go through this before you get it? Especially at a time like this…"
"What's going on? Nyah?"
"I had a run in with Rizuo and Sarie earlier."
"Already…? Nyah?"
Misha looked down to her hands where they lay in her lap. She'd never met either of them until after she joined Aizou and the others, but Rizuo and Sarie had been relentless in their pursuit for her. Over and over, they claimed to be doing it in Sasha's name. Was it because of her repentance that she'd never met them? Or were they just trying to fool her?
"Sacchan…" she whimpered.
Aya slid back into her chair and stared curiously at Aizou. "Should I help you catch a demon?"
She nodded.
"Oddly, there don't seem to be many in the area. We'll need Mango's help to track one down, too."
Misha straightened herself up in her seat. She understood perfectly well why Aizou was annoyed with her. It was the first time in all of their travels together that they would actually be staying in one spot for more than a few days. They had always uprooted themselves the moment they angels had caught up to them. Now, with time dwindling down, they no longer were able to.
Now, they were going to have to face whoever those two were under, be it Sasha or any other angel.
And she was in no condition for that.
"Misha," Aizou began. Her tone was as firm as it could be. She was going to lecture her.
"I won't hold back tonight!" Misha snapped back, panic edging its way into her voice. She hadn't meant to snap, but she also didn't want to hear the lecture.
She was silent for a moment, then finally added,
"…as long as it's a demon, I won't hold back."
Aizou nodded and pushed herself to her feet. Giggling, Aya followed her.
"We'll have to wait until after the exam to have her feed," she sighed. "For now, Aya, you help her get to the school."
"Got'cha! Nya!"
"What about you?" Misha asked.
"I have another matter to attend to," she explained. "Until then, don't over exert yourself."
She nodded. "Okies. Su."
--
Kotarou stared at Aizou from across the café table.
What does she want from me? he wondered. He sighed impatiently and cast his gaze to the side.
He had been surprised when the woman had been standing at the tricot's entrance, waiting for him to arrive. And unlike during their last meeting, she was straight to the point. She "needed" to speak to him about Misha.
That was the only reason that he agreed to speak to her.
Yet despite the fact that she was so direct at first, she was now taking her time getting to the reason that she approached him. She took the time to order a drink - which he graciously allowed her to do - and then spent her time glancing around the café as if he wasn't even there. When she did acknowledge him it was nothing more than a brief glance before she resumed what she was doing before.
Kotarou sighed again, a hint of a growl inching into it.
"What did you want to talk about, Aizou-san?" he asked finally.
Her attention returned to him, but she said nothing. She propped her head on one of her hands and stared at him.
"That must be your girlfriend," she commented.
Kotarou gazed over at the front counter where his friends were seated. Takashi and Shia were in uniform, standing behind the counter, but they all seemed to be in a heated discussion about something. Koboshi was seated nearest to them and glanced back often. She looked upset about something.
"From the way that Misha spoke about her I'd gathered that she was the jealous type of person, but I wouldn't have guessed that it would have been so strong," she continued. She continued to gaze at him from across the table, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "I don't think she likes that I'm talking to you."
"What's your point?" he sighed. He was getting really tired of her.
She laughed softly, "alright, alright. I understand. You don't like me that much either."
He furrowed his brows at her. It wasn't that much of a surprise that she knew how he felt about her. It wasn't as though he was making an effort to hide it from her. What bothered him, though, was the fact that she didn't even seem to care.
"You should have some idea as to why I asked to speak with you today," she said.
Kotarou shook his head.
She frowned and tilted her head curiously at him. "Has Misha even mentioned anything about the last three years to you?"
He narrowed her eyes at her. What was she trying to get at?
"Your tea, Aizou-san," Takashi announced as he approached them.
"Thank you, Ayanokoji-kun," she replied as she turned to face him.
He smiled slightly at her, then at Kotarou. He stood there for a moment, obviously unsure as to whether he wanted to continue the conversation or not. Finally he just nodded to them and walked away.
Kotarou watched impatiently as she sipped at her tea. Whatever it was that she had to say didn't seem to be all that important to her. Was her only purpose in speaking to him to jerk him around? He wanted to stand up and walk away from her, but even just the chance to hear about what she had been up to kept him in place.
He shifted in his seat.
"Could you hurry this up?"
She folded her arms on the table, and nodded. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then finally said,
"I have a request of you, Higuchi."
"What does that have to do with Misha-san?" he snapped back.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Plenty."
Plenty? What exactly was that supposed to mean? His eyebrows furrowed again.
"What is it?"
Aizou sat up straight in her chair now, leaning over the table as if she meant to tell him a great secret.
"When see Sasha next, don't tell her that you've seen us. Especially Misha."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Aizou looked away, irritated.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that once she's back in Japan, she'll come to see you," she grumbled. "Misha isn't in the best of health at the moment. If she's forced to confront any angels it would be her death."
Kotarou sat up straighter.
"What's wrong with Misha-san?" Panic edged into his voice. "And what do you mean it'd be the death of her? Why would Sasha-san try to…"
A bitter smile graced Aizou's lips.
Kotarou could only continue to stare at her as he waited for an explanation. Shia had told him immediately that Misha had abandoned Heaven, but he had never given the price of that a thought. Shia had also explained that failing the angel exams meant death for an angel - what was it that Misha had done to avoid that and extend her life? What had she done to earn that second chance?
"Misha was still just a kid when I picked her up. Because of what happened with your former self she was never exposed to the truth of Heaven."
The truth of Heaven…? he silently wondered.
"Angels don't just go poof when they fail their examinations, you know," she said. She sipped at her nearly forgotten tea.
Kotarou had to think for a moment before he asked, "What happens to them?"
"Well, to be honest, it's not usually such a severe punishment, but for someone in Misha's case… as an angel that has completely fallen from grace and tainted her body with demon blood, the punishment is death."
His eyes widened until he was certain they might pop out of their sockets.
"Wh-What do you mean… it's punishable by d-death?" he stammered, his voice quickly rising.
"I'm saying that by becoming a half demon, Misha condemned herself to death," she stated very matter-of-factly.
"By becoming a half demon…?" Kotarou echoed.
That makes sense, he thought reluctantly. Angels and demons hate each other. If an angel became even half of one, they'd want to destroy it. But… how it is even possible to do that? And why would they do it? Why would Misha-san do something like that…?
"If you can't figure out the why, you're even more of an idiot than I thought you are."
Kotarou jumped to his feet. His chair slammed to the ground and skid back a few feet. He slammed his hands on the table hard enough for Aizou's tea cup to bounce and spill tea all over the table. He could feel the anger, the rage, building up inside of him as he glared at her. Who was she to sit there and make fun of him at that moment? Who the hell did she think she was?
She met his heated gaze with a calm expression, though there was something in her eyes that revealed her discomfort.
Good, he thought, sneering at her. I hope she is uncomfortable. That woman… She…
"How could you turn her into one of you!?" he shouted. He could feel himself getting hotter and hotter as if a fire was burning deep inside of himself, fueled by the anger he was feeling at that moment. "You took everything away from her! Her dream to become a full-fledged angel… that was something she really, really wanted! And you took it from her!"
He only half meant the words that were coming out of his mouth. The Misha that he held dearly in his memories wanted to become a full fledged angel more than anything else. She would never do something this insane, something this radical.
She never would have left him.
It was this woman's fault, wasn't it? What she did to Misha… It's all her fault…
"Kotarou, man, that's enough!" Takashi was nearly shouting at him.
Kotarou glanced at him. He was standing beside the table now, somewhere between them as if he meant to protect Aizou from him. His hands were raised, prepared for anything, with an expression on his face that told him to 'back off'.
"Kotarou," Koboshi called out to him. She had also gotten up and made her way towards them. But she was standing a few feet back. Was she scared? Of him?
Yeah, he must have been acting pretty crazy at that moment.
He looked away. She was his girlfriend, but he didn't honestly feel that way about her. It had been so stupid to try to use her to get over Misha. He'd been so stupid to think that he could actually do it. He loved Misha more than anyone else that he knew. He loved her so much that it hurt to think about her.
With those thoughts in mind, there was no way that he could meet Koboshi's eyes. He felt embarrassed. And a little ashamed.
"Shia should have told you," Aizou said, "that if the ritual hadn't gone through, Misha would be dead right now. There are very few angels that can survive without God's blessing when they're in the Human Realm. Very few are strong enough, both in actual power and will. Misha wasn't much of an angel. She was weak, her heart and been wounded deeply by Kotaroh. Would you really have preferred it if she died, rather than giving up her dream to become a full-fledged angel?"
He twitched. His anger had subsided because of his friends, but hearing her voice brought it back in full force. And yet he couldn't bring himself to say anything. The words that he wanted to scream at her were trapped in his throat. His hands curled into fists. He couldn't only continue to glare at her.
Would death really have been better for Misha than this?
No…
He bowed his head in defeat. There was nothing that he could say. She was right. If Misha had died then, he didn't know what he would have done.
Aizou raised to her feet. For the first time he realized how pale she'd become. Despite that her balance was steady and her firm gaze unwavering.
"If you understand what I'm saying then protect Misha. Don't let Sasha know where she is."
He still couldn't find his voice. Was he supposed to say something to her? He'd lost his will to yell at her. What else was there to say now?
"Aizou-san, are you feeling alright?" Takashi asked her.
She smiled weakly.
"Of course."
Their voices slowly blended into the background. He didn't care about what they were saying.
Why hadn't anyone told him this sooner? Why did he have to find all of this out from that woman? How could Misha just smile and say those things to him as if nothing had changed.
"Kotarou," Koboshi called out to him. She tentatively touched his arm. "Are you okay?"
He stared at her dumbly for a moment. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling, but he felt sort of numb inside.
--
Kotarou growled as he slumped over his text book. It was getting harder and harder to focus on his studies as each day passed. The more things he learned about Misha the more confused he felt about her. How could she - someone who wanted so desperately to become a great angel - have chosen to become a half demon? How could she have given up all of her dreams for something like that?
"It didn't seem like Aizou-san was lying," he mumbled to himself. He frowned deeply at that.
Aizou had no purpose to lie about Misha. Even though he barely knew the woman - and as much as he despised her - he had no reason to distrust what she was saying. She was asking him to protect Misha.
If Sasha-san finds out about Misha-san being here… will she really kill her? he wondered. That's impossible, isn't it…? Sasha-san's an angel…
"Hey, Wonder boy."
He jumped at her voice breaking out so suddenly. He hadn't noticed that she had come down. How long had she been there? Did she hear him talking to himself?
She knew that Sasha would be coming, he thought to himself.
Finally, he turned around to face her.
As usual she was enveloped in the bright, unnatural glow that somehow gave off a faint warmth. He could feel as his body accepted the energy in that light and slowly relaxed. It was like sinking back into a pleasant dream.
She placed her hands on her hips. There was something unsettling in the way that she was staring at him.
He sighed.
Forget dreaming. Dealing with Sasha was more of a nightmare.
"I'll cut to the chase," she sighed, waving an hand around. "I want to know where Misha is."
He continued to stare at her. He'd met with her on several other occasions, when she was hopeful that Misha had contacted him. She was usually polite at those times, losing her temper only after she discovered that he had no information to offer her. But this time was different. This time she wasn't asking him if he had been contacted by Misha. She was demanding the information from him as if she already knew.
Does she already know? No… Sasha-san isn't sure yet. That's why she's confronting me now.
"I don't-"
"Don't even try playing dumb with me!" she snapped, nearly shrieking. She lowered herself to the ground, still glaring down at him. "I know she's here! We've confirmed it! So tell me where in this city she is!!"
He growled. To follow Aizou's request, or to deny it? What path would keep Misha the safest? Could the angels reverse what was done to her? Could they make her a pure angel again? Or would they really just kill her on site? That was so un-angelic. Could he trust what he was told?
"Please, kid," she urged, her voice suddenly very soft. "There might still be a chance. As long as there's that chance for her to go back, I won't let anyone touch her."
His head snapped up. His eyes met hers.
"There's still a chance for her to be an angel again?"
"…so you know, then."
He bit his lip. Damnit…
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She flashed him an exasperated expression.
"Listen, what Misha is now, that's a really dangerous thing," she explained. "I don't know who told you - if it was Misha herself or one of those animals that she travels with - but you have to be careful around them. I doubt Misha even understood what she was doing when she agreed to it. A half demon is a dangerous monster. A wild, untamed animal. When it's hungry, it feeds without any consideration to others!"
"Misha-san… wouldn't do that…" he quietly protested, lowering his eyes from her face.
"You don't get it, do you!?" she shrieked. "That's not Misha anymore! It's an animal! A beast!"
He pushed himself to his feet. His hands curled into fists. How could she say that about her own sister? He had his doubts about Misha, especially after hearing what Aizou had to tell him, but… Misha was still Misha, wasn't she? She was still the sweet, loving woman that he'd fallen for.
"I don't know where she is!" he shouted. "I don't! At all!"
"Geez, you're stubborn," she hissed. She turned to leave, paused, then turned back around.
"What?"
"Be careful. If she hurts you, she'll never forgive herself."
With that, she phased through the wall and was gone. Kotarou stood there, staring straight ahead.
His shoulders slumped and he sighed.
"Misha-san… what have you done…?"
--
Misha stumbled along the city streets as quickly as she could. She did not even pay attention to where she was going. It did not matter where she was going, either. The only thing that mattered was getting as far away from the apartment building as was possible for her.
Mango had been the first one to notice that an angel was descending from Heaven, but she was unable to discern who it was. Though it took her a moment, Misha recognized the unforgettable presence of her sister and alerted the others. No matter what, they couldn't be discovered there. If Sasha found them, then other angels would follow and Shia would be placed in danger.
She stopped and glanced around the street.
I think I made it far enough away, she thought, breathing hard. She walked up to the nearest street lamp and leaned against it. I should be okay from here…
Using the street lamp she lowered herself until she was sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest. Tears rushed to her eyes. She was tired, scared, and alone. Until Sasha left she had no choice but to stay out on the street and hope that she didn't sense her. The others scattered from the building on their own, leaving her without anyone to depend on.
She bit back a groan as a sharp pain tore through her chest. Instinctively she grabbed for it.
No… Not right now… Not like this… she silently begged.
"Misha?!" Takashi's voice echoed through the empty streets.
She shuddered and remained still. The pain in her chest was slowly subsiding. It would have been stupid to hope that the blond would simply walk past her, but that didn't stop her from wishing that he would. She'd been through this before plenty of times. She was reaching her limit and would have to feed soon.
If she didn't…
"Misha, is it you," Takashi sighed, sounding relieved and a little worried.
She heard his footsteps slowly approaching her. She sucked in a few deep breaths to test her breathing. It still hurt, but the pain was bearable. She was certain that she could ignore it, at least long enough to send him on his way.
But what happened after that? Until she met up with the others she was helpless.
"Misha," Takashi repeated her name again. He knelt down so that he was at eye level with her. "What's wrong?"
She returned his gaze, the first tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I'm tired. Su," she replied. She attempted to smile but her face fought her. "I'm tired of being like this…"
Takashi placed one hand on her shoulder, while rested the other against the side of her face and gently turned it so that she was looking at him. Her eyes searched his face. Illuminated in that pale, artificial light he looked as though he was bathed in a Heavenly light - glowing as a full fledged angel would. His green eyes were kind and full of concern.
A real smile tugged at her lips.
Being with Takashi was like that. No matter what was bothering her, just looking at his caring face could bring a smile to hers. He was the only person she knew that could do that to her. Instinctively, her body reacted to his.
"Of being… half demon?" he questioned.
Misha eyes grew wide and she drew back from him, the smile wiped completely from her face. Her breath caught in her throat. Her mind raced a mile a minute. How did he know? Not even Kotarou was aware of the change yet, so how could he have found out? Who had told him?
Did he hate her for it?
"Calm down," he said. He reached for her again, and she flinched. "Calm down, Misha. It's alright."
Her chest was burning. It was starting to hurt again. Breathe! her mind frantically screamed at her.
She sucked in a deep breath. The cool, fresh air quickly eased the burning sensation. Her shoulders slumped as she continued to breathe deeply.
Takashi placed his hands on her shoulders, and she flinched again.
"H-How…" she stammered. "How did you… know…?"
He sighed. He sounded frustrated.
"Aizou-san came by the café today," he told her. "She spoke to Kotarou for a while, and I… They got into a fight, and they were both saying some pretty weird things."
"Aizou…" Misha repeated her name, her eyes wide again. "Aizou was saying those things?"
And to Kotarou-kun, she said to herself. Kotarou-kun knows now, too… What if he hates me now? Everything… Everything I've worked up to since then… I'd lose all of it…
"It didn't really make a lot of sense, y' know?" he continued. "So I just figured I should ask you. You know… I just want to hear you tell me what's true…"
She looked away. There was no point in denying it now.
"I-It's a pretty crazy thing to think, isn't it? Su?" she questioned.
"It is," he agreed.
"But… what if…" She stared into his eyes. "What if I was crazy enough to say the same thing?"
His eyes were filled with emotions, most of which she could not discern. There was one that was more predominant than the others, one that made her heart skip a beat then pound twice as hard to make up for it. She knew what he was trying to tell her.
"W-Would you believe me…?" She had to know for sure.
He nodded. He looked serious.
She looked down. For some reason she just couldn't look him in the eyes. It was like admitting something dirty. She shuddered.
"I-I am… half demon… and half angel…"
He didn't say anything. He didn't move. He just continued to rest his hands on her shoulders.
She closed her eyes. What's he thinking…?
Takashi rose to his feet silently. He held a hand out to her.
She took his hand and let him help her to her feed. She couldn't manage even a simple "thank you". Her voice was stuck in her throat. He didn't believe her, and she couldn't blame him. Most humans remained blissfully unaware of the existence of angels and demons. She was claiming to be both now, out of the blue. It was only understandable that he didn't believe her.
Understandable, and yet so disappointing.
She was a little shaky on her feet she realized as she felt herself sway to the side. It took some extra effort but she managed to catch herself before she fell over.
"You're really pale," he commented. He brushed her bangs out of her face for a better view. "You shouldn't be out here. I'll take you home."
Misha shook her head. She couldn't feel Sasha's presence anymore, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was gone just yet. If she returned too soon, and without the others…
She shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about that.
Instead, she just smiled faintly and gazed up at him. In the pale, artificial light, his face was lit up - glowing almost like an angel.
She blushed.
"Takashi-kun…"
She could feel her body beginning to tremble. The pain in her chest was starting to grow again. She clutched at her chest, whimpering softly.
"Ta… ka…"
"Misha, what's wrong?"
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly. Concern had taken over his features once again.
Pain shot through her chest suddenly, earning a quiet cry from her.
"Misha!?"
She had to fight it off again. She refused to die like this. But at the same time, she couldn't make Takashi one of her victims. If she could just get past this…
She felt another pain tear through her chest. It felt like someone was tearing her apart from the inside. Unable to hold back any longer, she screamed, and fell against him.
"Misha!?"
He was shouting her name. She could hear him, shouting from some far off, distant place. Each time he said her name, his voice sounded a little further away, until it was nothing more than an incoherent buzz. Her eyes lost their focus slowly, and the world dimmed until all that surrounded her was darkness.
Takashi-kun… I'm scared…