Hello everyone, it's mystik-dawn. Firstly, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CHEESECAKES I LOVE YOU ALL BUT I LOVE AYANAMI MORE THAN YOU GUYS BUT THAT IS OKAY. This chapter is (unfortunately) shorter than the previous ones, but plenty of stuff to look forward to! Enjoy this chapter, and don't forget about the cheesecake :3
PS: We don't own 07 Ghost.
Chapter VIII—
March 28th, 2143: 9:00 AM—
Alex was a terrible liar. It wasn't as if she chose the wrong words...it was her actions after. Alex sat rigidly in her chair, and picked at her food. She ignored the churning thoughts in her mind, and tried to focus on today. Since yesterday, Felsen seemed to have accepted her lie, but Alex felt squeamish, worried that he might find out the truth. Today, she was feeling extremely sluggish and tired; her dreams were filled with the wars whispering to her—luckily Ayanami didn't make a 2nd reappearance, but Alex woke up in the middle of the night, and refused to go back to sleep. Alex was worried that she wasn't going to get any sleep anymore.
"Oh my god what if he finds out that I'm lying?" Alex wondered.
"Calm down, he accepted the excuse, and it was perfectly logical," Lazarus replied, "You should eat something otherwise you won't have much energy today."
"I can't eat! I'm so freaked out!" Alex thought back. It didn't help that she had another nightmare last night with all the wars.
"You have to eat. I need the energy too," Lazarus replied, "Don't forget about the wars." Sensing Alex panic again, he hastily said, "Stop worrying! Just eat and be happy!"
"That's going to be hard," grumbled Alex.
"Sorry, what?" Felsen asked, looking up from his food.
"Oh nothing," Alex hurriedly replied, "I was just thinking about today's training."
"Don't worry," Felsen replied, "It will be fine; you've progressed quite a bit yesterday."
"What are we focusing on today?" Alex asked eagerly, "When can I go and visit the God Houses?"
Felsen smiled and replied, "Soon. But not now, because we need to go and train!" Standing up, he and Alex left the café. When they arrived there, Felsen turned towards Alex and said, "Today we'll be duelling like yesterday."
Alex nodded, and Felsen continued, "So far you've been using your manipulation zaiphon on other objects...but today you will learn to use your zaiphon on your opponent." Alex forgot about her nagging thoughts and began to concentrate on the lesson.
March 28th, 2143: 2:00 PM—
Teito realized that a new routine was created since he was now going to enter the Bishop Exam. For one, he had to wake up at 4 AM and help with some chores. Alex and Mikage would've died trying, but Teito was determined to get the pass.
After he completed his chores and had breakfast, he was in the courtyard again training. Castor had appeared with a doll, and explained that there was a kor trapped in the doll; Teito's assignment was to simply catch the doll. Frau had blanched and angrily demanded an explanation why the doll looked like him. The next five hours were a blur for Teito as he ran around the yard, brandishing the staff, and trying to catch the doll. No matter how Teito tried to capture the doll, it was always several steps ahead of him. To Teito, the most annoying thing was that the doll never lost its energy while Teito would.
Teito stood, panting heavily and facing the doll. "I can't do it," Teito angrily thought, "even if he said to catch it..."He continued standing there, trying to calm down.
"Keep cool," Teito thought, as the doll began to do somersaults in the air. To his mild surprise, the doll then pulled out a porn book and began to read it. "Focus...focus,"Teito thought, "Castor really did make the doll look like Frau."
Teito was unable to control himself any longer when the doll began to chase some of the nuns. "DON'T BOTHER OTHERS!" Teito angrily yelled, and swung a huge wave of zaiphon towards the doll.
The zaiphon hit the doll heavily, and the doll stumbled. "I did it?" Teito thought, but his euphoria was short lived. The doll turned towards Teito and began to run towards it. Teito began to run, and screamed, "Castor-san!"
He heard some thumps behind him, and turned around. Teito was surprised to see vines covering the doll, pinning it to the ground. "Labrador san?" Teito asked, surprised.
"Good work," Labrador said, a pleasant smile on his face, "Let's take a break, shall we?" Teito followed Labrador to a stone table, and Labrador poured him some tea.
"Do you want a flower?" Labrador asked.
"A flower?" Teito repeated. "Does he mean the flowers we eat?" Teito wondered.
Labrador smiled, and placed a seed in Teito's glass. To Teito's surprise, the seed bloomed into a flower, which grew in the water. Labrador gestured to Teito to take a sip; Teito slowly brought the glass to his lips and took a hesitant sip.
"It's delicious," Labrador said, while Teito thought, "how mysterious."
"It's sweet," Teito replied in surprise.
"Injured children find it sweet," Labrador said. Teito paused, and asked, "Injured children?" He didn't get hurt while chasing the doll around the courtyard, did he?
"Yes," Labrador replied, "in their hearts."
Teito looked down at the glass. "Mikage didn't tell me to go back to the imperial army for his family's safety. I didn't protect Alex when Ayanami was attacking us. I didn't take their feelings into account...I'm the worst,"Teito thought miserably.
"I want to atone," Teito slowly said, looking down at his hands, "but he told me not to avenge him. No matter what I do, I can't atone!" Teito covered his face with his hands, ashamed that another bishop was watching him cry.
"Mikage-kun and Alex-chan forgave you from the start," Labrador gently said.
"That's still no good!" Teito angrily said, "I have to be punished!"
"Mikage kun knew that if he were to take you back to the Imperial army, that our life would be forfeited. Alex chan also realized this later. They simply could not hand you over to him," Labrador gently said,
"They love you."
Teito looked down at his hands, and softly said, "I've always lived in a lie. In it, I found my only treasure. I have to do it." Gathering Mikage in his arms, he loudly said, "I have to show him my real world!"
He didn't notice Labrador's smile when a strange pressure appeared on his right hand. Looking down, he gasped when he saw a strange red stone appear in the centre of his hand. "Your escort has arrived," Labrador remarked, and the stone began to dissolve back into Teito's hand.
"What was that?" wondered Teito.
Returning back to training, he tried to demonstrate the zaiphon he summoned through the staff, but he found himself unable to. "But I did it earlier!" Teito silently protested as Castor lectured him on patience.
He heard a loud yawn behind him. Turning around, he saw Frau handing him a book. "Sorry, can you return this book for me?" Frau asked. Teito agreed on the condition that it wasn't porn.
As Teito walked down the hall, he passed someone. What made Teito stop though was the hair. Turning around, he thought, "Mikage?"
"No way...it can't be," Teito numbly thought, reaching his hand out to touch the person's shoulder.
"Mikage," Teito began, as the person turned around. He was surprised to find cool purple eyes stare back at him instead of honey-brown. Teito opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to.
"What is it?" the person asked, "Speak up!"
"I'm sorry," Teito said, "Why are you climbing up here?" The boy had his hair bound in a ponytail, Teito idly realized.
To Teito's surprise, the boy suddenly began to fuss with his appearance. "That's not it..." Teito slowly said, realizing the boy seemed to be 'conscious' about his 'beauty'.
"You're thinking that I'm too cool, aren't you!" the boy accused, pointing a finger at him, "I'll show you what it is to have a big heart!"
"I'm sorry," Teito muttered. "Stupid me! I've caught the attention of a dangerous guy!" Teito thought.
The boy suddenly raised an eyebrow. "I see," the boy said, "So you're my rival."
"Well, for the time being, shall we shake hands?" the boy offered, "I'm Hakuren Oak."
"Teito Klein," Teito replied, shaking his hand. They didn't break the handshake, as Hakuren remarked,
"Every year, it seems like 1000 applicants or more take the examination. Still..."
"This guy,"thought Teito, "I have a feeling I've met him before." Why was his tone so familiar?
"Are middle school students taking the exam nowadays too?" Hakuren asked.
"I remember!" Teito thought, "He's just like Shuri Oak!"
"You wouldn't happen to know a bastard called Shuri from the cowardly Oaks?" Teito asked. Inwardly he thought, "I'm not a middle schooler you fox!"
"Where do you live little boy? Big brother will show you home," Hakuren sweetly replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. By now, their hands were squeezing each other really hard; Teito angrily thought that if the church wasn't a sanctuary, then he would've definitely beaten up Hakuren by now.
"Hmph," Hakuren grumbled, slapping Teito's hand away, "There's no way a kid like you could've been accepted so easily. You need at least five years of study at the church. Is it pity? Or some connection..."
"I hear that the noble Oak family is, without fail, a family of military soldiers or politicians," Teito coldly replied, "Why is one in the church?
"I'm the only one with an interest in the church," Hakuren stated, "I have no obligation to answer to you." Hakuren turned around and called, "Well, hang in there!" Teito noticed that Mikage was on Hakuren's head.
"Hey! Come back here!" Teito called, racing after Hakuren. Hakuren was already halfway down the stairs, and Teito rapidly ran towards him, trying to catch up.
"Where is he going?" Teito wondered. He saw a huge crowd of people dressed in similar robes to the bishops near one of the doorways. Curious, he tried to squeeze between the people, trying to see what they were looking at.
"Hey, don't push!" one person angrily said, "It's crowded so deal with it!"
"What? What happened?" another asked.
"Assistant Archbishop Bastien is exorcising a kor!" someone announced.
"Assistant Archbishop?" Teito wondered. He saw a dark-haired man hold a similar staff to his, in front of an unconscious person. Zaiphon swirled around the person, and Teito noticed a pair of bony wings appear on the person's back. The wings vanished, and the person lay on the ground, still unconscious.
"As expected from the assistant archbishop!" one person remarked, "removing the kor without harming the patient!"
"Amazing," Teito thought, "to use the baculus like that!"
"That was today's course," the young man—Assistant Archbishop Bastien—said, "If you have any questions, come to my room later."
"My, studying hard Teito kun?" Bishop Castor remarked behind Teito. Teito turned around and saw that Frau and Labrador were also standing by Castor. He asked, "Castor-san, what technique was that just now?"
Castor smiled and explained, "Teito-kun's zaiphon is of the offensive branch, while Bastien-sama is an expert of the healing branch, just like Labrador. While the healing branch can't directly attack the kor, you can for instance, restrict the movement of the kor. Thus, you loosen the hold from the patient and it makes it possible to remove it. As it is more dependent on effort than any other branch, one is not bound to a particular branch and can learn to use various techniques."
Castor chuckled and said, "Tonight we'll have a special class, as you need to be trained as quickly as possible." Teito watched the three bishops leave, confused.
"They care about me that much?" Teito wondered. He was feeling genuinely confused for the first time in his life. He was forced to consider the bishops' relationships again. "They weren't strangers...but not friends...but...but what?" Teito thought. He didn't have an answer.
March28th, 2143: 6:13 PM—
"Let's go and have some dinner," Felsen offered. Alex slowly got up from the ground, and brushed off the dust from her clothes. The entire day was spent on trying to use manipulation zaiphon on a human directly, and Alex dimly realized how little she really knew about controlling manipulation zaiphon.
"They never taught us anything at the academy," complained Alex, "I can't believe how much I knew before meeting you!" She was also secretly amazed that she managed to kill the criminal and pass with such a strange result.
"You have me to thank for that," Lazarus reminded, "I always kept an eye out for you."
"Wow, I should have died," Alex thought. She suddenly stopped walking, and looked at one of the shops near the side of the road—it was a flower shop. Something inside compelled Alex to go inside the shop. Without waiting for Felsen, she walked inside the shop.
"Good morning young miss," the shopkeeper greeted her, "What can I get you?"
Alex didn't say anything as she stared at one of the flower bunches. The petals were white, and Alex felt nostalgic as she stared at them. The shopkeeper caught her gaze and remarked, "You like the kalachuchi flowers?" By that time, Felsen had entered the shop, and was mildly surprised to catch Alex standing by the flowers.
"It can't be," thought Felsen.
"Flowers often have meanings," the shopkeeper explained, "Those flowers are the symbol of death."
"Death," Alex thought, "Yet..."
"They look pretty," Alex remarked, "Reminds me of snow."
Felsen coughed, and Alex turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Alex hurriedly said, "I was just caught up by this shop! There are so many flowers here!"
"What is it with girls and flowers?" asked Felsen teasingly and held up his hands when Alex glared at him.
"Never mind," Felsen lightly said, "Let's get going!" As he and Alex began to walk down the road again, Lazarus asked, "Alex, since when did you like those flowers?"Alex noticed his troubled tone and remarked,"They looked pretty...why?"
"Nothing," Lazarus replied, "I have some good news for you about tonight. I will make sure that you have a dreamless sleep. Tonight your dreams will not be disturbed by the wars or Ayanami."
"Really?" Alex thought back excitedly, "Thank you!"
"Focus on your training so that we can get started on our quest soon,"Lazarus replied.
"I will!"Alex thought, determined. She will get those cursed tickets and travel to the Land of Seele. She will make things right, no matter what.
March 28th, 2143: 6:34 PM—
Lazarus was apprehensive as he sensed Alex's emotions turn to determination. "At least she isn't thinking negatively anymore," Lazarus thought, relieved. Every time Alex became frustrated, the wars would come and try to invade her; luckily Lazarus would always keep them at bay. Lazarus was also very worried about Alex's fatigue—today, her movements were slower, and her reactions weren't as fast as they used to be.
"I have to get rid of the wars somehow," Lazarus thought, "I'm using too much of Alex's energy and the wars is also eating away her energy too."He decided to create a barrier for Alex's mind tonight; she had to concentrate on her training.
What Lazarus was most apprehensive about though was Alex's remark today at the flower shop. "It sounded too much like her," Lazarus thought, "It can't be..."Moments before Eve's death, Lazarus had taken her memories, so that her reincarnation would not remember her. Yet it seemed as if...no...no, he was just over thinking it as usual.
"Another problem though is Verloren," Lazarus thought. Ever since he told Alex the truth, he had been thinking about Verloren's reincarnation. Lazarus wasn't sure who he was, but he had to get Alex to worm it out of Ea somehow.
"It definitely can't be Ayanami," thought Lazarus, "That man is too messed up. But he is a warsfeil, so he must be near Verloren. Does that mean Verloren works in the army?"
Lazarus was interrupted in his thoughts when he sensed another presence behind him. Turning around slowly, his green eyes widened.
"You?" Lazarus gasped.
March 28th, 2143: 6:30 PM—
Ayanami gritted his teeth in frustration, as he was thrown back from Alexandra Night's mind again. "Lazarus created a barrier," Ayanami angrily realized, "that sly angel."
He was determined to find out why the angel of dreams and illusions was in the girl's mind, and secondly why that girl gave a strange aura. Instead of finding answers to his questions in his first visit to the girl's mind, more questions were raised.
"How much power does Lazarus have?" wondered Ayanami. He was also curious to find out what happened to the angel's body; why was he sharing Alexandra Night's body?
Speaking of Alexandra Night, Ayanami was disturbed when he entered the dark part of her dream-world. The forest...it looked similar to the one in heaven (It was the same forest where he first met her). "Perhaps with the influence of Lazarus, her dream world changed," thought Ayanami. But then why did she give off a stronger aura when she commanded him to leave?
"Teito Klein has the eye of Mikhail and is sitting at the church," Ayanami thought. From his source, apparently the boy had registered to take the bishop exam. "That is perfectly fine," Ayanami thought satisfied,"I can focus my efforts on Lazarus right now." Ayanami smirked as a new idea came to him.
"Instead of invading the girl's mind, I can invade Lazarus's," Ayanami reasoned. The wars were inside the girl's body, and since Lazarus was currently sharing her body, Ayanami could enter Lazarus's mind.
Ayanami pulled out a piece of paper and dipped his pen in the ink. Since he was going to telepathically talk to Lazarus, he didn't want to reveal too many of his thoughts to the angel; he might give away crucial information. Focusing his magic, Ayanami closed his eyes and concentrated. He smiled in triumph as he appeared in Lazarus's mind; "Perfect," thought Ayanami, "He focussed his magic on Alexandra Night more than his own mind, leaving himself vulnerable."
Lazarus seemed to recognize his presence. "You?" Lazarus thought, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," Ayanami thought, "Why do you share the girl's body?"
"That is none of your concern," Lazarus immediately thought. Ayanami could sense the angel's anger.
"Well, then I suppose I will manipulate the wars to enter your mind instead," Ayanami thought back, "I'm sure Alexandra would like to wake up realizing her guardian angel has gone insane." His last words were dripping with contemptuous sarcasm.
"You evil murderer," Lazarus angrily thought, "Why do you torture the girl so much? She is nothing to you."
"It isn't me who is torturing her," Ayanami thought, "You are making her life difficult. Ever since you revealed yourself, now I am truly curious why you are inhibiting the girl's body. You're the one that refuses to answer my questions; the more you refuse, the more Alexandra Night suffers." There was no reply from Lazarus for a few seconds.
"I will answer your questions if you answer mine," Lazarus replied.
Ayanami immediately frowned. He wasn't the type for negotiations, especially if the other party was going to somehow benefit from it.
"I refuse,"Ayanami smoothly thought, "I will instead torture you and make you insane if you do not answer my questions. Do not forget that the wars are already inside the girl's body."
The angel's emotions became irritated, and Ayanami smirked. "Why are you so concerned about that girl?"Ayanami silently asked, "She is very weak."
"She is hosting me," Lazarus immediately thought, "of course I will be concerned about her."
Ayanami ignored his snide response and asked, "Where is your body?"
"My body is in hell," Lucifer slowly thought.
Ayanami was surprised. He scribbled on the paper, and thought, "Oh? Why is it in hell?"
"Lucifer's minions attacked me," Lazarus thought.
Ayanami paused, and then thought, "How did you destroy most of my wars?"
"By using my powers," Lazarus thought, "You are rather slow for a warsfeil, aren't you?"
"I'm not the one that is stuck with a useless human," Ayanami thought back, "How did you end up sealed and in Alexandra Night's body?"
"I don't know," Lazarus thought.
"You're lying," Ayanami immediately thought. He sensed Lazarus's emotions church with slight irritation and—guilt?
"Someone gave my sealed form to her, and I eventually bonded with her mind," Lazarus slowly thought. Ayanami raised his eyebrows.
"Do you know who killed Eve?" Ayanami slowly thought. He sharply concealed his emotions; he didn't want Lazarus to pick up his hesitation.
"What kind of a question is that? Verloren did of course," Lazarus thought. Ayanami refused to meander from his line of thoughts; he moved on to the next question.
"Where is Pandora's box?" Ayanami thought. The pressure on his pen began to increase.
"Pandora's Box?" Ayanami immediately caught the confusion in Lazarus's thoughts.
"Where is it?" repeated Ayanami.
"I don't know," Lazarus thought, "I don't even know who Verloren's reincarnation is!"
Ayanami furiously scribbled, and he angrily thought, "Where is Alexandra Night right now?"
"In bed, sleeping," Lazarus smugly thought. His thoughts were becoming faint; Ayanami realized that Lazarus was losing his energy.
"Don't play games with me,"Ayanami angrily thought back, "Where is she? Don't forget my warning."
"I don't know the name of the city," Lazarus thought. His thoughts started to fade away, and Ayanami no longer sensed his mind.
Opening his mind, Ayanami looked down at the piece of paper. He had wrote: Lazarus sharing body because his body is in hell, Lucifer's minions ?, used powers to destroy wars, thinks I'm a warsfeil..., was given to Alexandra, bonded with her...imperfect bond, VERLOREN KILLED EVE!, doesn't know where Pandora's Box is, is not aware about Verloren's reincarnation, doesn't know name of city.
Ayanami sat back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. Looking up, Ayanami thought back about their conversation. "Lazarus is either lying or not telling me the truth," Ayanami thought,"His body is in hell? That too, because of some minions? Lazarus isn't that weak to let some minions get his body taken away from him. But then how did Lazarus get separated?"
Ayanami wondered whether Lazarus was in a similar position as him, but disregarded the thought. "Alexandra Night doesn't portray Lazarus's personality at all," thought Ayanami, "their bond seems very flawed, in comparison to Teito Klein and Mikhail."
"But it is interesting how Lazarus doesn't know about my real appearance," thought Ayanami, "He probably thinks I am just a warsfeil working for him instead." Was Lazarus telling the truth about Pandora's Box?
"His emotions were confused,"Ayanami considered, "but at the same time he could be lying."
Ayanami glanced down at the paper and he noticed that he wrote in capitals: VERLOREN KILLED EVE! He briefly closed his eyes (why was he finding it hard to swallow?).
"The entire world is against me," thought Ayanami. His stare seemed far away as he remembered the last time he saw her. They were in the glade—it was her favourite spot, since she loved the flowers there.
"I regret coming here," Eve said, her eyes shining with worry, "I haven't talked to my father for a week. I won't go..."
"Then don't come here!" he ground out, irked. She was constantly distracting him from his work, chattering on and on about mindless things.
"Feelings are something without any form. So expressing them is important!" Eve insisted. She took her sword and began to draw letters into the ground.
"But is talking really an important thing?" he questioned. He deemed it illogical to talk, especially about feelings. Watching her sad expression, he felt something inside of him twitch.
"Come look at this," he offered, and held up his hand. A mass slithered in his hand, writhing.
"Even if there are ugly feelings, when it forms into an object," Eve began, "Then maybe we can use it to reflect on what we did."
"On the other hand, love," he countered, "the more pure love, the more light scatters, and so it can't have a form." He held open his hand, revealing nothing in it. He secretly enjoyed her amazed expression.
"So cool!" Eve exclaimed, "I have a feeling I just saw an incredible secret! Thank you!" As they both began to walk down the glade, Eve remarked, "It can't have a form because love itself is scattered, it has an infinite amount of space to contain everything."
She didn't notice his smile then. "Smart girl," he murmured.
"In the human realm, these things cannot be seen," Ayanami sadly thought, "All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I can't name."
"You didn't break my heart,"Ayanami realized, "but you have bent it quite a bit, more than I am used to. It's creased where you folded it."
"Did you know that I loved you?"Ayanami wondered, "Did you know I let you in my heart? Verloren, the Chief of Heaven's perfect creation, who seemed to despise your chatterbox ways. I loved the way one lock of your hair would curl down your cheek, and you would always play with it when talking. I loved the way you smiled, I loved the way you laughed, I loved everything about you."
Another painful memory surfaced in Ayanami's mind. It was only a few days after that conversation about love.
"I want to play the most beautiful piece of music for you," she suddenly announced one day, "I want to paint the greatest painting also."
He looked at her, blinking several times. "Why?" he finally asked.
"The most beautiful things can only be felt with the heart," Eve replied, "I want to see if you have a heart."
He was puzzled. "I am your father's greatest creation," he began, "My heart is true towards him."
"Having loyalty is different from having a heart," Eve countered, "If nothing beautiful could ever be touched, then you should learn to throw laughter behind your shoulders more often and loosen those expectations that have locked your thoughts behind you."
"I am the god of death," he replied stoically, "My duty is to the dying. If I care, then nobody will die."
"That's the problem isn't it?" Eve asked, "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us as we live."
"There are only two people who do not fear death," thought Ayanami, "the brave and the broken."
He had turned around and stared at her. "You figured it out," he replied. She smiled—he had never seen something so brilliant as that—and twirled around. He wanted to touch her, to hold her tightly against himself, to never let go of her, ever again.
Ayanami didn't like the strange emotion that was making him feel this way. "Disgusting," he muttered, chagrined that he would actually feel like this after so long. Standing up, he walked to the window, idly watching the scenery outside.
"Happiness is an ethereal thing. It is filled with virtual conundrums, made of positivity and sunlight on your lips," Ayanami thought, "Soon, I will have my powers, my body, and my scythe. When I do, I shall show this world my pain and sadness. They shall know what it is like to lose their precious people."
"Disgusting," Ayanami muttered again.
On his desk, the words were blurred, and wet spots were on the paper.