~ The Next Night ~

Yuki sat on the ground with her back leaned against the birdcage's golden bars. Her head was pulled back as she blankly stared up at the top of the cage.

"Three days..." She mumbled quietly as she pulled her knees close to her chest before resting her chin on them. "It's been three days since I've been locked in here. How am I suppose to help Yui if I am locked in here?"

I hope Yui hasn't disappeared. Yuki then rested her forehead on her knees and hugged her legs tighter. I wonder if Itherael has noticed that I'm not anywhere on the Sakamaki grounds...? He probably has... I remember that whenever I would sneak into the Human World, he would always find me and bring me back if Mother and Father were looking for me. I guess twins have some kind of bond that no one else has...

Yuki's lips curled into a small smile as she reminisced about her childhood.

Now that I think about it, when I was locked up in the dungeons before I lost my memory, I always called out Itherael's name... But, he never came. I wonder why? He has never failed to find me before, so why could he not find me when I was in that horrible place?

Yuki lifts up her head when she hears a loud thud. She looks around the birdcage and sees a picture frame a few feet away from where she sat.

Where did this come from...? Yuki asks as she moves closer to it, picking it up and inspected the old photograph. Her eyes widens when she sees her own face in the center of the photo. Is this me? No, there's no way it's me because... if it is me, then I should still be locked up rather than smiling at the camera under the warm sun.

Suddenly, a mysterious gust of wind blew, forcing the angel to close her eyes and cover her face as the gale continued blowing for a few seconds more.

Once the wind calmed down, Yuki opens her eyes and blinks as her eyes adjust to the sudden bright sunlight. Her eyes widened when she sees a scenery she has not seen since she was a child.

"This place is..."

A white pavilion stood at the center of a lake with the area enclosed by a Colosseum-like structure surrounding the perimeter.

"Auriel."

Yuki's rose pink eyes widened even more and unconsciously, she took a step forward while gripping the picture frame tightly in her right hand.

"Hadriel...?" Yuki calls out slowly as she starts to sprint towards the white pavilion.

After a short sprint down from the top of the hill, Yuki finally arrives in front of the white pavilion.

"Hadriel..." Yuki calls again, breathless from her run.

A woman―who wore a white hooded cloak that hid her eyes paired with a long black dress underneath―stood up from her seat and her painted lips curled up into a soft smile as she turned toward Yuki.

"Welcome to my Gardens of Destiny, Auriel." Hadriel greeted with a slight bow.

Yuki blushed as she waved her hands in front of her; the picture frame still in her hand.

"Please lift your head, Hadriel! I do not deserve such respect..."

Hadriel lifted her head as told.

"But, no matter what, you were born as a Seraph." Hadriel then points at the object in Yuki's right hand. "What is in your hand?"

Yuki looks at her right hand before extending it out in front of her, handing it to Hadriel.

"I don't know... It's suppose to be a picture of me, but I don't remember taking it." Yuki explains as Hadriel takes it and looks at it.
"Hmm... This could be a fake." Hadriel finally says after a few seconds of inspecting the object.
"A fake? What do you mean?"

Hadriel held the object on the palm of her hand.

"I'll show you." The prophet said as the picture frame suddenly turns into a pile of ash.

"Eh? The picture frame... It..." Yuki stammered as she watched the ash fly out of Hadriel's palm.

Hadriel pulled her hand back down, resting it at her side as she waited for Yuki's attention.

"This was probably a vampire's creation... No, I'm certain it was a vampire's creation." Hadriel says.
"A vampire's creation?" Yuki repeats in confusion as the prophet nods.
"That's correct. I've heard that they are able to create objects that seem real, but actually, the objects they create are an imitation with false information. Speaking of vampires, there is something I must tell you, Auriel."

"Something you must tell me?"

Hadriel nods again and the warm smile that was on her face disappeared.

"It is about your two childhood friends... Shiki Kuroki and Ren Okami."

~ Meanwhile ~

* In the Kuroki Manor. *

Shiki stood in front of the remains of the golden birdcage that stood in the center of the large ballroom.

"Hey, Shiki! Is it true? Yukkin is―" Ren shouted as he entered, but went silent when he saw the destroyed birdcage. He stood next to his younger brother and kicked a golden bar at his feet. "You don't think..."

"Yeah. It was him. I'm sure of it." Shiki says as he closed his eyes, suppressing his anger.

"Dammit...!" Ren mutters as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Did we slip up or something? How could he have known what are plans were?"

Shiki shook his head. "I don't know, but... But we might have missed something..."

Ren then turns to his younger brother. "Let's go find Setsuna and explain what happened."

Shiki opened his eyes and nodded.

"You're right... There's not much we can do anymore. Let's see what Setsuna has to say about this." Shiki agrees as he turns and walks to the door with Ren following close behind him.

Please be all right, Yuki!

~ In the High Heavens ~

* In Hadriel's Gardens of Destiny. *

Yuki's eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief.

"No... You can't be serious..." Yuki said as Hadriel stayed silent. "Both Shiki and Ren... They died a few years ago? That's impossible... I mean, I just saw them last night! There's no way that they aren't alive!"

Hadriel pulled the weeping angel into her embrace and placed her hand on the back of Yuki's head, gently touching her hair with affection.

"I'm sorry, Auriel... But as the Prophet of the High Heavens, there is no way that I can lie." Hadriel says in a quiet voice. "A while back, I looked into those two's future and they had none. I'm very sorry to have told you this, but I just could not see you in pain anymore."

Hadriel released Yuki and wiped the tears away.

"Was it because of me, Hadriel?" Yuki asked as she looked up at the prophet. "Was it because I became friends with them?"

Hadriel's painted lips curled up into a affectionate smile as she shook her head.

"Do not think like that. Unfortunately, I do not know their cause of death, but I do know that it could not have been your fault. You are a good girl and you have always been, Auriel."

At that moment, a wave of fatigue came over Yuki.

"Eh..."

"Sadly, we do not have much time together, so we must end our conversation here. A Fallen isn't allowed to set foot in the High Heavens, you know?" Hadriel informs as the affectionate smile slowly showed something else.

"Ha... driel...?" Yuki called as she closed her eyes and fell forward.

Hadriel caught the unconscious angel in her arms and held the body close.

A small breeze blew which lifted the hood off of the prophet's head, revealing cold, sapphire blue eyes. Then, a pair of large, jet-black wings came out from behind the prophet's back. In addition to the raven-like wings, the female prophet changed into a male prophet as the white cloak slipped off of his shoulders and the black dress turned into a suit with a long jacket. The long, silky black hair shortened and the lipstick disappeared.

Hadriel diabolically smiled as he placed a light kiss on top of Yuki's forehead and closed his eyes.

"I shall see you later, my dear Auriel."