Recommended listening: Moondance by Nightwish

My Angel

Chapter Seven

"Well, when they say the cat comes back, they mean it."

The angel and the amethyst-eyed man whirled around at the voice, setting on the owner of the voice that had already instilled them with an eerie feeling. The man was a good six feet tall, dressed head to toe in white clothing, his skin a mysterious milky color. His platinum blonde/silver hair covered one of his eyes, one that seemed out of place and artificial as it glowed a bright blue. His other eye, more normal than the larger one, glowing an eerie shade of silver, locking the two friends in its steely gaze. He wore square-rimmed glasses in front of these eyes and a small smirk was playing across his lips. Tsuzuki had never seen him before.

"You!" Hisoka exclaimed suddenly, his face contorting in anger as he walked a few steps to stand in front of Tsuzuki, who stared on in confusion. "What do you want?"

The man chuckled in a way that sent chills down Tsuzuki's spine. Despite the innocent clothing, he didn't see like a man to be crossed, especially at this time of night and in this place.

"Well, bouya, I see your job has changed," the man exclaimed. "Protecting humans instead of playing your little harp in Heaven. Must be quite the promotion for you."

The man had struck a nerve and Hisoka growled; his hands clenching into tight fists until his knuckles turned white. His green eyes flashed dangerously and a small gust around him kicked up as his white wings unfurled, stretching behind him in a protective gesture to Tsuzuki and a threat against this new foe, who merely chuckled.

"You think I feel threatened by your puny white wings?" he asked, adjusting his glasses on his face. "You are not the only ones with wings here, bouya."

Hisoka flinched and the man proved his point by taking off his glasses, sliding them into his pocket and closing his eyes in concentration. In a fraction of a second, two black bat wings appeared on the man behind him, contrasting and clashing with his seemingly angelic white outfit. His eyes then opened and shone in amusement.

"You know what they say, bouya," he said, the smirk never sliding off his face. "Angels fall first and Hell angels drop the deepest and the fastest."

Hisoka took a step back, and then braced himself just as the man flew at him, punching the poor boy in the gut. Tsuzuki watched in shock as the boy used his wings to propel out of the mysterious man's way, trying to level out his breathing, Already, Hisoka was panting hard. The man glanced at Tsuzuki for a moment, eyes shining in cold amusement and a malicious smile playing across his face once more. Then, his bat wings expanded, shooting his body into the air, hovering across from where Hisoka flew, facing the boy. Tsuzuki could only watch as the two angels began to fight.

Hisoka's wings bent slightly as he shot to the left, dodging the attacking man. He turned himself around, facing the silver man and asked, "Who are you?"

The man paused for a moment. "My name is not of much importance because you will soon see second death. However, if you must know, it is Muraki."

The name seemed to click somewhere in Hisoka's brain and his body was sudden burning with pain. He let out a scream as hidden memories flooded his mind. Flashes from a past he never knew came back to him. There was a red moon, the pink sakura petals falling from grace, the blood, and the pain… all of it. All. That. Pain!

The man watched on amusement as he saw his work being done. The boy was clutching himself tightly, his eyes wide in panic as the past came back to him in a blur. The dark emotions he radiated to Hisoka only added onto the pain and the boy's head dropped in anguish, his arms hugging ever tighter to his shaking body. Tears began to trickle down his cheeks as his heart beat faster. His shoulders shook violently and his wings tensed, folding slightly, but open enough to keep him in midair.

Tsuzuki, from his position on the ground, couldn't figure out what was going on. The man wasn't even touching Hisoka, yet the boy was in pain. It hit him then. It was his empathy. The man was dark and evil and his unshielded emotions were probably hurting Hisoka just as much as his own sadness had done, possibly more. Tsuzuki could feel the pain coursing through Hisoka's body and he didn't even know where it was coming from. He could almost taste the salt in the boy's tears, feel the pain of being torn into two, and feel his body shaking as much as he was…

Tsuzuki couldn't take it anymore.

"Leave him alone!" he shouted up to the hovering black winged man. The man, now known as Muraki, glanced down and looked into the glaring amethyst eyes full of anger, yet veiled with pain. It was a look he hadn't seen anyone use against him in a long time. The smirk grew on Muraki's face; just by looking at this man, he knew this man's weak spot. And vice versa, of course, if you included the shaking white angel across in the air from him. Muraki knew how the stop the boy's pain and he did so regrettably.

He shielded up his dark thoughts in a mental state and the pain in Hisoka's burning body subsided to a degree. The tears stopped and the shaking began to cease. Tsuzuki watched on, the glare never leaving his eyes as he inwardly wondered how it could have stopped all of a sudden, leaving Hisoka panting in the air, his wings flapping more often than not to keep him hovering.

Muraki smiled evilly at the ashen blonde tenshi and said, "He seems to care for you, boy. However, all that care and attention will be for nothing, once you realize his inner demons."

Hisoka stared up at Muraki, glanced back down at his friend, and then glared back up at Muraki. "He's not a demon. If anyone here's a demon, it's you!"

With that, he attacked, pulling from behind his ear a feather that had seemingly come out of nowhere. The white feather began to shine with an earthly golden glow and he tossed it at Muraki as he sped past, his wings folded slightly to help him gain speed. Muraki dodged the onslaught and the feather exploded behind him, nothing but a small piece of fireworks in the sky.

Muraki lunged at the boy, who mimicked him almost immediately. The crucifix around Hisoka's neck shone with the same color as his previous feather and soon, his speed matched the black winged angel he fought. Punches and kicks came from both sides, aiming from head and knees, shoulders and arms.

Hisoka brought his arms up to block a kick aimed for his chest, but Muraki diverted at the last moment, feinting his attack and instead used his wings to propel himself behind the ashen blonde angel, kicking him in the back, just above the place where the wings met the spine. Hisoka coughed out a blood-filled gasp, caught by surprise and he hung there, his body shaking with the after effects. Muraki pulled a sneer and kicked him in the back again, harder this time.

Hisoka plummeted down and slammed into the brick wall, his knees crumpling as he slid to the cement ground. Tsuzuki began to run to him, but was knocked back by a sudden blast of power from above him. Muraki smirked down at him, arms crossed, his look that of someone with superior status. A small groan escaped Hisoka's lips and he pulled himself back up, stretching his wings to get used to them again before he took off at the same speed he fell, rising back up to met the deranged black angel.

Tsuzuki could still only watch as they went at it again. Hisoka was a bit slower this time, but he still seemed to catch up well. His shining necklace brought out power in him that he didn't know of and it helped his speed match that of Muraki's.

Hisoka pulled out another feather, which turned into an arrow. From out of thin air, a wooden bow with a single string made of pure silver materialized in the boy's hands. The angel cocked the arrow in a second and took aim, his energy pulsing out of his wings and into the metal tip of the golden arrow.

In less than a millisecond, the arrow fired itself and it struck the man in the right shoulder, golden sparks of holy dust settling around the black angel's collar. Muraki let out a hiss of pain, and then smiled in a way that could make shivers run up anyone's spine. He waved his hand and the strong arrow dissipated into nothing, the wound that had been done unto the shoulder immediately mended.

Hisoka glared, trying to hide his shock as he glanced down below at his client, who could do nothing but watch as he was failing to defeat this enemy. Gritting his teeth, Hisoka pulled out another feather, transforming it into another arrow and took another aim. Closing one eye, he shot the small lead tipped spear. Muraki was prepared this time. He easily dodged the arrow, which dissipated into nothing, and drew back, his leathery wings pulsing with some foreign energy that had come out of nowhere.

"It seems you did not learn your lesson last time we met!" he yelled at the boy. "You will see what happens when you cross me a second time!"

His black wings beat faster with an even darker aura and were soon encased in a deep silver energy with tinges of blue pulsing around the edges. The silver energy then surrounded Muraki in a circle, lines of fire crossing in the middle, forming a star shape. It was a pentagram. The pentagram glowed brightly and then transformed into a giant ball of fire that Muraki held up to the touch with a single hand. Hisoka's eyes widened and he floated back a few feet, his bow and arrow vanishing without his notice.

Muraki smirked. "Oh, it's not for you, doll," his eyes fell down to where Tsuzuki was standing, mouth open in astonishment, "it's for him."

Hisoka's eyes leveled into a glare. "Don't you dare!!"

"Oh, don't worry doll," Muraki mocked, pretending to be reassuring. "I will."

Hisoka shot towards Muraki, but the man only dodged his attack and used his free hands to push the boy away, making Hisoka wobble slightly in the air as he tried to regain his balance. Muraki smirked and turned back to Tsuzuki on the ground. He threw back his arm and the fireball shot downward at an alarming speed.

Gasping, Hisoka folded his wings tightly to his back, propelling himself downwards at a speed that nearly matched the ball of fire. Gritting his teeth, and shutting his eyes tightly, Hisoka shot straight downward like a rocket, using his powers to give him more speed rather than strength. The fireball was faster than he was. He wasn't going to make it… Hisoka felt a tear roll down his cheek as he shot down at level with the fireball. He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't going to save Tsuzuki… He failed.

A giant flash of white light consumed the alley.

"TSUZUKI!"