Hi peoples! Welcome to chapter 13 of "Strength"! OMG, can you believe it? I'm actually updating this story ON TIME! It's a freakin' miracle!
NinthFeather: Actually, I'm pretty sure it's a sign of the apocolypse.
Me: Keep that up, Feather-chan, and your never getting out of those shackles.
NinthFeather: Eh, considering what a sadist you are, I'm probably going to end up in these shackles for the rest of my life, regardless of how nice I am, so why bother?
Me: Because I have the power to take away any access you have to anime, manga, and chocolate, in addition to keeping you shackled to the wall?
NinthFeather: O.O You wouldn't.
Me: Oh, but I would.
NinthFeather: No, not even you are that evil.
Me: Are you forgetting that you are currently shackled to a wall, compliments of Yours Truly?
NinthFeather: Crap.
Me: *smirks* Now, what was that you were saying?
NinthFeather: Um...I love you?
Me: That's what I thought.
Warning: Well, not a whole lot to warn about in this chapter. Some bishie abuse, but it is of the mild variety.
NinthFeather: For once.
Me: *smirks evilly*
Disclaimer: I do not own the bishies, so you can go away now, Mr. Lawyer.
It was mid morning on Earth, around 10 am to be precise. The sun was shining brightly, but did nothing to warm the crisp, cool October air. A gentle wind shook the brightly colored leaves from their branches and scattered them like confetti all through the sky. At first glance, it appeared to be just another beautiful autumn morning. However, if one looked closer, one would notice a certain red-headed boy storming angrily through these trees, occasionally knocking one over in his frustration.
"Ugh! Stupid Kira-nii-san! I don't understand what his problem is!" Maya grumbled, continuing his rather destructive trek through the forest.
Maya just couldn't understand why Kira was reacting the way he was. And who did he think he was, telling Maya he couldn't leave the house? Ok, yes, Kira was his older brother, but that most certainly did not give him the right to dictate what Maya could and could not do. After all, Maya was an adult angel, and perfectly capable of making his own decisions.
So what if on Earth he was only around fifteen years old, and thus not technically an adult? That was beside the point.
All he wanted to do was go into town by himself. The younger children there all loved him, and he had even made some friends among the older adolescents of the village. So what if some of the adult men gave him odd looks? It wasn't like any of them had tried anything.
Ok, so maybe ONE person did, Maya thought to himself, remembering the man who had offered the young angel a bag of coins to follow him into a dark back alley. In all honesty, Maya still had no idea what the man had been trying to do, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good, as Kira had all but killed the poor man until he begged for mercy and promised never to approach Maya again.
But again, that was beside the point. The point was, Kira was clearly overreacting, and it was starting to piss Maya off.
Maya was so lost in his angry rants and mutterings that he did not take much notice of his surroundings. That is, until he tripped over a rather large protruding rock and found himself landing face first in a very wet, as well as very smelly, puddle of mud.
Biting his tongue to keep from screaming curses and profanities that most certainly would have gotten him kicked out of Heaven had he not already left (hey, you don't spend almost a year on Earth without picking up at least a few things), the small angel got to his feet. After saying a few simple spells to remove the worst of the mud from his clothes, skin, and hair, Maya finally stopped to take stock of his surroundings. Unfortunately, the conclusion he drew from his observations was not promising.
He had absolutely no idea where he was.
Maya had stopped his destruction of the forest about a mile back, and, while the ground was muddy, it was the kind of mud that, although it sucks your foot in and gives you hell getting it back out, once you succeed in freeing your self, it left no visible sign that you ever stepped there.
"Great," Maya grumbled, "Just great. First, I have a fight with Kira-nii-san, then I fall into a mud puddle, and now I'm lost! Ugh! Could this day get any—"
But before the words had even left the red head's mouth, the very air around him began to ring with ear-splitting, agony filled shrieks.
Forgetting all about his own troubles, Maya ran towards the source of the painful sounds, fearing what he would find when he reached his destination, and praying that he would not be too late. His feeling of dread only increased when the screams came to an abrupt end a few minutes later.
Throwing any caution he might have retained to the wind, Maya burst through another thicket of trees and came upon a clearing, and the scene that was taking place there made the smaller angel freeze in horror.
Yuda, Gou, Ruka, Shin and Gai all lay sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. They were surrounded by demons, all of whom appeared to be taking orders from a tall, white-haired man who currently stood over Ruka.
Maya felt his stomach roll over as a particularly grotesque demon picked Gai up and flung the small, limp angel over his deformed shoulder. Something so disgusting and defiled should never be allowed to lay a hand on his friend! He had to do something!
I have to go get Kira-nii-san! Maya thought, all previous feelings of animosity towards his brother forgotten. Then we can go to Heaven, tell Zeus-sama what happened, and—
But before he even had a chance to finish his thought, an intense pain split his skull. Stars danced before the small angel's eyes, and the last thing he felt was a pair of strong, solid arms lifting him off the ground, before he finally faded into unfeeling blackness.
The dark-haired fallen angel looked curiously at the limp body in his arms. Well, this certainly was an unforeseen development. Not only have their kidnapping of the Saint Beasts witnessed, but having it witnessed by a young half-breed. Especially this young half-breed. This was an annoyance they most definitely did not need.
Still, the dark angel had no desire to kill the young boy. Years of exile in hell had taught him to appreciate beautiful things, and this half-angel certainly fell into that category. Still, if he served no purpose...
The fallen angel smiled. No, this boy would serve a purpose. A most useful one at that. He chuckled darkly. Really, it never ceased to amaze him how easily those good little angels up in Heaven managed to fit into his plans.
"Lucifer-sama," The dark-haired angel turned at the sound of second-in-command, and loyal friend's, voice. The white-haired man stared distastefully at the red-haired half-angel in his master's arms. "Lucifer-sama, shall I...dispose of that for you?"
Lucifer chuckled at his friend's words. Clearly, Gabriel had yet to overcome certain prejudices. "Now, Gabriel, I'm surprised at you. Don't you realize who this is?"
Gabriel looked closer at the small boy, then reeled back in shock. "Lucifer-sama, is that..."
Lucifer smirked at the other fallen angel's reaction. "Yes, it is. And I know just how to make good use of him. Here," he said casually, passing the unconscious Maya to his second-in-command.
Taking a few steps back, Lucifer, with little effort, materialized his graceful, pitch black wings in the center of his back. He then reached back behind him and plucked a single, shining black feather from his left wing and dropped it, watching it float slowly to the ground.
The dark angel couldn't help but smirk at the confused look on his friend's face. "Lucifer-sama, why...?"
"Because, my friend," Lucifer replied casually, retrieving Maya from the white-haired man's arms, "This way will be so much more amusing."
Well, that concludes chapter 13 of "Strength." I'd say I'm sorry for leaving you with yet another cliffhanger, but really, I'm not, so I won't bother.
NinthFeather: You know, you really should be kinder to your readers.
Me: Since when have you known me to care about what I should and should not do?
NinthFeather: Good point.
Me: Anyway, I hope you all liked the new chapter! I think you know what's coming next, but what the hell, I'll do it anyway...REVIEW! I HAVE BEEN A GOOD GIRL AND FINISHED THE NEW CHAPTER ON TIME, SO PLEASE REWARD ME WITH A REVIEW! PLEASE!
Until next time, my lovelies! Ja ne!
~Neko-chan~