Chapter 2

"Mako-chan!"

Nagisa wriggled out of Rei's arm's and looked up at the grim reaper. Grim reaper, Rei mused, and yet he had white wings and a human figure. He looked no different from him, Nagisa and Haru. He was quite tall though, so Rei wondered if that made him look all the more intimidating in his dark hood. That thought soon disappeared when Makoto took his hood off and showed them his face. He had the kindest smile, and the gentlest green eyes that reminded him of soft grass he could lie down on while idly watching the clouds pass by.

Rei then remembered what Nagisa had just said. This guy was Haru's best friend, which meant he was also an angel… or used to be. According to the books that he read, grim reapers are, after all, simply angels of death- except they send the souls to a different destination. And their most obvious distinction? Their uniforms- the black hood, go figure.

"Nagisa, long time no see."

Makoto ruffled Nagisa's hair, making the younger one giggle. He then turned his attention to Rei, looked at him curiously, then finally gave a pleasant grin.

"Hello, I don't think I've seen you before. Nice to meet you, my name is Makoto."

"Ah, hello. Nice to meet you, I'm Rei." Rei nodded awkwardly.

"We're training him to become an angel, Mako-chan"

"Really? That's great! Do your best, Rei. I'm sure you'll be joning u… them, pretty soon." Makoto said delightedly, patting his shoulder.

Makoto then looked at Haru, who was standing a few steps below on the stairs, and walked towards him.

"Haru, how are you? Have you been eating well? Do you still take really long baths in the morning? It's almost fall, you know. Mornings are getting colder so don't do that anymore. Do you still eat mackerel all the time? I told Nagisa to make sure you eat some vegetables every now and then-"

"I'm trying, Mako-chan!" Nagisa yelled, arms raised in defiance, then puffed his cheeks when Makoto didn't even pay any attention to what he said.

"Have you changed blankets? Make sure to use a thicker one. And also…"

Rei smiled bitterly as he listened to Makoto go on and on. Glancing at Nagisa, he saw the other boy had the same expression on his face. As for poor Haru, the usually blank face was starting to look exasperated. It was only a matter of time before he…

"Makoto. Shut up."

… exploded. Rei's head drooped.

"By the way, Rei-chan. Mako-chan is a bit of a worrywart. He gets especially more fussy when it comes to Haru-chan."

"Could've told me sooner, Nagisa-kun." Rei sighed.

"AH! Rei-chan!" Nagisa yelled, getting both Makoto and Haru's attention as well.

"Wha- What?!"

"Wings!"

"Huh?"

"Your wings! They came out!"

"Eh?!"

Rei looked behind him, and true enough, he could see- and now feel- his wings.

"That explains the sensation I felt on my back earlier, when I tried to protect Nagisa-kun"

"Wow… that's great. That means you can finally start flying lessons from Haru-chan now."

Makoto perked up.

"Haru will? That's great. I'd love to see Haru teaching." Makoto beamed at the blue-eyed boy.

"Too much work…" Haruka sighed, already starting to look tired.

-x-

"… I don't understand." Rei fell on all fours, feeling exhausted. "I read and re-read all levels of Fundamentals of Flying textbooks in preparation for today's lesson with Haruka-senpai and I still can't figure out what I'm doing so wrong!"

"There, there, Rei, I'm sure you just have to…"

Makoto flinched upon seeing Haru flopped down on the pool side, thoroughly exhausted. Even Nagisa, who was just watching the entire time, looked just as drained. But all the same, he reluctantly got up the bench and walked towards Rei as Makoto went to help Haru get up.

"Rei-chan. Want something to drink?" Nagisa passed him a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Nagisa-kun."

Nagisa sat on the poolside bench beside him as he drank. They sat in silence, admiring the colorful foliage of the trees around the pool. One by one a different-coloured leaf fell to the ground each time the wind the wind blew. Nagisa caught Rei's attention when he giggled. Curious, he followed Nagisa's gaze and saw Makoto opening a mackerel grilled cheese and trying to feed Haru, who was half eating and half dozing off. Haru woke up earlier than all of them that day and packed lunch for all before they headed out once more to the nearby high school's pool for Rei's flying lessons.

"They haven't changed. Haru-chan is still like a baby that Mako-chan just loves to dote on."

"They've always been this close?"

"Yup. Among angels, they're known as the inseparable duo. They've been together since birth."

"Wow…"

"Their story is really famous among angels. Wanna hear it?"

Nagisa offered with an eager smile. Rei nodded, curious.

"You've heard the story of the First Man and the First Woman right? Angels come to this world in the same way. We are created, rather than born. Haru-chan and I, and also Rinrin, are like that. But there are also cases when angels fall in love, just like humans do, that's when angels are born. Mako-chan is one of them. Even so… Mako-chan was still a special case."

Rei nodded, wordlessly waiting for Nagisa to continue.

"Mako-chan is the son of an angel and a demon. When he was born, the forces of light and darkness were constantly battling inside of him, so Mako-chan's mother was told that the poor baby might not make it and he could die in just a few days. However, in that same infirmary where baby Mako-chan was, other angels who were created just a few months before he was born were also there, and one of them was Haru-chan. According to the story of the angel working at the nursery, Mako-chan started crying and he looked like he was in so much pain, so he stepped out to call a Healer. When he came back, Haru-chan, who was sleeping when he left, had somehow crawled to Mako-chan and was holding his hand. When he picked up Haru-chan to let the Healer check on Mako-chan, the Healer was astounded. The forces of light and darkness had become stable inside Mako-chan. "

Looking at Haru and Makoto with fondness in his sun-coloured eyes, Nagisa smiled.

"It was all thanks to Haru-chan"

"Huh?"

"There was one more thing that the Healer noticed. Haru-chan and Mako-chan's soul were bound. That was the very first time Haru-chan's ability to bind souls manifested."

"Wow…" Rei gasped, wide-eyed. He felt goosebumps throughout his arms. No wonder Haru and Makoto seemed so close. They shared more than just a long history- they shared one soul. And then he frowned, bothered by something. "But then that doesn't make sense. If their souls are intertwined, doesn't that also mean they have to be together at all times? Just like in humans… When a couple gets married for example, their souls become one. But when one of them dies, their souls temporarily separate until their partner also dies."

"Right! At which time, Haru-chan appears to bind their souls once more. You learn fast, Rei-chan!"

"Of course!" Rei grinned proudly. Even if his flying skills were horrendous at best, no one could beat him when it came to studying. "How are they holding up, now that Makoto-senpai is no longer an angel and doesn't live in Heaven anymore?"

'Why… did he leave in the first place?' Rei inwardly asked, hesitant to bring it up in case it was a sensitive topic.

"I was still so young, so I don't really remember much of it. But during their coming-of-age ceremony, demons attacked Heaven. From what I heard, Mako-chan, who was half-demon took responsibility and faced exile. "

"I see…"

"And since he had to leave Heaven, Haru-chan had to separate their souls."

Nagisa smiled bitterly as he added softly, as if speaking to himself "Though I think it's the other way around…"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing" And then Nagisa beamed at him brightly, as if the earlier sad look in his eyes was never there. "At any rate, by the time they came of age, Mako-chan had learned to control the light and darkness within him, so we don't need to worry. Right now, he's working hard in pretty much the same job as Haru-chan, just working for different bosses."

To be continued…