I woke up staring at the stars.

For the longest time, I layed there just thinking about If I had really seen what I had.

But even I knew I couldn't have imagined this one. The pain was too real. My back still hurt where the wings had burst from.

Not to mention my arm, it was twisted in a weird position.
Most of it was numb except for my fingers...just trying to move them sent pain soaring up to my brain.

I sat up, trying to figure out where I had fallen.
It looked like I had landed on a local street, but it was strange...had no one passed by and seen me?

I used my good arm to get myself up on my feet. It was only then I realized that I had actually been standing in the middle of a pretty decent sized hole. The dust in the middle had settled in what looked like the position I was lying in.

I didn't feel any broken ribs, but it was best not to push my luck any farther than it had been to begin with.
There was a house nearby, and upstairs I could see one of the lights on through the curtian.

Too tired to drag myself home, however far it was- I walked up to the front door and pounded on it.
I could hear someone angrily storming down the stairs, and a voice approach the door yelling

"Who the fuck is it? Don't you have any sense of time retard? It's late!"

The voice was pretty discouraging.

...Really discouraging.

But I was hoping they'd at least put me up for a few hours, so I could regain enough strength to get back home.

The door opened and a girl with long hair, standing in the doorway in just a nightshirt had angry lines twisted into her face.

"Kura?" It felt strangely Ironic, that I had landed infront of her door.

Her eye's widened, and she stood frozen in the doorway.
Then after a few moments of silence a "Why the hell are you out here?" escaped from her mouth.

"Uh...I- ..., I started to explain but realized that I couldn't tell her anyways, I was told specifically not to do so. And even if I did- who'd believe me if I told them I had just fell thousands of feet out of the sky and survived? I was still trying to come to terms with it.

"Well?" she waited.
"I uh...I..."

I sat there scratching my head for a moment, unable to come up with an answer.
Finally she just shook her head and moved back from the doorway.

"Nevermind. I don't really care anyways. You looked like you got hit by a car. Might as well come in."

I could see she was as kind as ever.

She told me to sit at the table, and she went to the stove and began preparing some hot water.
In a matter of minutes, a bowl of steaming ramen was sitting infront of me.

My stomach growled.
Now that I think about it, when was the last time that I had ate?

I went to move my arm to grab the chopsticks, but instead- it hung there limp, lifeless.
I had forgot. That was a problem...I couldn't eat with my left.

I stared frustratedly at the bowl.
Kura, who had perched herself on the edge of the table looked down at me- waiting for me to eat.

"What? Not hungry?"

I shook my head.
"No I-...my arm..."

"Your arm?" she tilted her head and leaned closer.

"It doesn't look so hot. Is it broken?"

"I don't know, I can't feel most of it."
She didn't say anything more, and grabbed the chopsticks, proceeding to pick up some noodles from the bowl.

Was she just going to help herself?
I could do nothing as I watched the chopsticks approach her mouth, but she suddenly stopped them.

Her mouth formed into an "O" and you could hear her breath out softly.
She then turned the chopsticks in my direction, and lined them up with my face.

"Uh...huh?" I knew she was suggesting for me to eat it, but at the same time for her to actually consider doing something for someone else made me start to wonder If the fall had caused any injuries to my brain.

"For me?" I asked myself again, along with her this time.
A scary look spread on her face, and before I could take back what I said- the noodles, along with the chopsticks were shoved into my mouth.

"Forget it. Eat with your face if you have to", she stormed upstairs.
I laughed a bit. It was so like her.

I took comfort in the fact that not everything in my life changed.
At least, after I got this angel business figured out...I could come back here.

This is what you would call...feeling at home?

As I struggled to finish up the rest of the ramen, my thoughts were interrupted by a suprise noise, the sound of footsteps coming back downstairs.

Her face was sour as usual, but in her hands was a first aid kit.
Suddenly I could feel two hands grab my shoulder, and I was spun around.

Then buttons coming undone on the front of my shirt, making their way down.

"Whoa! Wait!"
Now was definitely not the time for stimulation, my arm was fucked up and I was pretty badly bruised.

(Although normally, I wouldn't have protested...)
"What are you bitching about?" she looked at me strangely and my shirt was tossed aside like an old dirty rag.

Her hand went straight to my messed up arm and she examined it carefully.
"The hell were you doing? Trying to break bricks with it?" she grimaced, which was unusual for her.

She shook her head.
"I don't have anything to fix THIS much damage. The most I can do is wrap it 'till you go to a hospital or something."

"It's fine, you don't have to worry about it. Just the fact that you actually thought about me for a minute makes me feel... a little concieted."

I pulled her in close, and the arm that had been so badly damaged earlier- regained feeling.
I couldn't describe it as anything else but warm, all the way down to my fingertips.

...this guy.

Honestly, I couldn't hate him anymore than I could right now.
His blue eyes looked up at me like a puppy who was begging for a cuddle from it's master.

And his arm which was broken only moments ago seemed to "mysteriously" regain function, as I could feel his hand linger around the edge of my waist.

I flicked his hand and he flinched, recoiling his arm back to where it belonged.

"Oww...what..."

"Faking injury just so you can get into someones clothes? Isn't that shameful?" I could feel an evil grin twist it's way across my face.

" I wasn't- I really thought it was broken! But for some reason it seems just fine now..."

That had to be the worst cover up I'd ever heard.

I recollected the first-aid kit and walked back up to my room.
I threw it on my dresser and hopped into bed.

Downstairs I could hear him putting the dishes into the sink and shuffling the chair back into place.
Then it was silent for a moment, and I could hear the soft sound of footsteps coming upstairs.

I turned and faced the wall, pretending to be asleep.
"Ah- hey, where do I sleep?" his voice said from the side of my bed.

I didn't answer, and kept up my sleeping act.
"...I know your not asleep y'know..."

I gritted my teeth. Nosey asshole...just sleep on the floor!

"Fine then, if your gonna keep playing pretend...I'll just help myself."
I could feel the surface of the bed shifting from the extra weight, and the body heat eminating from someone other than myself.

His arms slipped between mine and he wrapped his hands around my body.
At first, I was angry- thinking he hopped in my bed hoping to do some lewd things to me in my sleep.

"Hey-!" I jumped up.
I was about to yell, but when I turned I realized he was already fast asleep.

I wasn't about to try and move a 145 pound guy, but at the very least I tried to wriggle out of his grip.

...It didn't work, and instead it made him grip me tighter.
Uncomfortable as I was, I attempted to fall asleep and suceeded.

And when I awoke, he was gone...and a white feather was next to me on the bed.

It felt like it had been weeks since the last time I had seen him.
For some reason, everything seemed to turn back to the way it was before he came.

But what was normal?

Was there even a normal to begin with?

What was my..."normal?"

I felt uneasy. Not because of his unusual absence, but because it felt like something had taken it's place.
Something I wasn't aware of...just yet.

Physical Education again. Not my favorite class.
Swimming season was over now, and November, along with Christmas- was approaching.

I hadn't developed a fear of water from almost drowning twice, but I had developed a disstaste for being around it... especially when Midori was around.

All the girls had been lined up in a row outside for a practice relay run, and even though I couldn't see her face I could feel her constant irritation boiling over.

She had become increasingly irritable lately, and the simplest things seemed to set her off.
She even went so far as being caught yelling at one of the twins over something and nearly starting a fight.

Nevertheless, all dogs forget their master's missdoings and run right back.
And that's exactly what the twins did.

The P.E. teacher seperated us into three opposing teams (Red) (Green) and (Yellow), and (thankfully) neither the twins or Midori ended up on mine.

Although Midori and the twins were placed on opposing teams,
they still cheered her on from their side (Yellow), while I tried to stay within my team (Red) and uninvolved with hers (Green).

TWEEEEET "Okay everyone!" Sensei raised her hand.
"This is a relay run. The rules are simple- run as fast as you can and pass the baton to your team-mate waiting at each checkpoint."

"The quicker you pass the baton to your team-mate- the better chances your team will be the first to reach the finish!"

She waved. "Alright everyone! Take your places!"

The 2 girls on my team looked towards me for a moment and mumbled a bit, then turned and walked off to take their places.

Sensei stood on top of a small, make-shift wooden stage (mostly crates stacked together) and prepared her whistle.

You could see the the nervousness of the runners, and feel the adrenaline pumping.
They watched her every movement like a hawk eyeing it's next dinner.

She took a deep breath and... TWEEEEEET.

Our starting girl took off running. She wasn't exactly fast, but she kept good pace with the other runners.
By the time she reached our second runner, you could tell she was winded- she handed the baton to her, nearly dropping it.

Our second runner was better than the first, as she managed to gain a good lead on the Green team's runner- but she couldn't keep pace with the Yellow Team's unusually athletic second batonist (Hima)- as she blew past both my team (Red), and Midori's team (Green).

I watched as the girl came more and more into view, and finally as she stopped and handed me the baton.
I was suprised, because she didn't drop it on purpose- or try to throw it somewhere to make me behind the other runners.

Instead she looked up at me seriously, and said "Go!".

I nodded and turned, realizing that the look on her face was not someone who wanted to lose would show.
I started running, and it was then I realized that the two people in the lanes next to me weren't someone I wanted to run against.

Midori was running pretty much in sync with my speed, and Hina trailing slightly behind- which was odd, because even though she wasn't as athletic as Hima, her sister would've never allowed her to be a slow runner.

After a few seconds of wondering why she would run so slow- I figured it was on purpose,
because she knew winning would make Midori angry, or...something else?

I didn't like running next to Midori. Even while we were running she gave me ugly glances. Maybe it was a third sense- but I could feel something was coming.

And I was right.
Suddenly- one of my legs flew out from under me.

This feeling, I knew it.
Someone tripped me.

I wasn't going to let it slide this time- and as I hit the ground my hand reached out and grabbed an ankle.
Midori's ankle.

She gasped in suprise as the baton flew forward out of her hand, and she fell- along with me.
Hina slowed down, then stopped- looking confused and scared as to whether she should continue.

One of her team-mates on the yellow team started screaming- "What are you doing!? GO!"
Her sister, the other team mate- remained silent, a look of skepticism on her face, as if she was asking herself the same question her sister was.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Midori's team (Red) started yelling and tried to get Sensei to intervine.
"Your team-mate is the one that cheated!" My team (Green) started yelling back.

Midori, attempted to flail her leg wildly- trying to kick my face- but I gripped her ankle tighter and tighter.

I was sick of this constant bullshit.
I could tell something within me was changing.

I was no longer the same passive person I used to be.
And though I thought that was good for me, ..I didn't realize how much it would come to affect everyone around me.

Meanwhile...

"...It's already begun..." Tomo's whisper piereced the silent air of seriousness that hung around the "room"-
which I had been told was called "Owari no Hajimari" or "The beginning of the end". (But apparently humans had grown quite a habit of calling it "Heaven" over the millenia)

I had spent most of the day being briefed by Shiro (Spectacles) on the History and nature of Heaven and it's inhabitants (Angels and souls that had recieved enough light in their lifetime to ascend here).

And the "creatures" (souls that absorbed too much hate and negativity, thus becoming warped) of Hell.

But the time for that was over now.

Everyone was alert (and awake) and was sharply eyeing me carefully, paying no attention to my opponent.

I had been paired against Len, who was extremely unwilling to fight a "nipple-sucking newborn" (as he referred to me), but he was eventually convinced by Kiiro (who he seemed to weirdly idolize) and he finallly agreed to fight me.

"I only agreed to this because I couldn't turn down a chance to take your annoying ass down!", he yelled from the opposite end of the room, obviously over-flowing with confidence.

I didn't really have a valid comeback to that, because the way I was at the moment he probably could throw me into the next life. I had no idea what kind of abilities he had, or what abilities I could even use (I hadn't even learned how to properly fly yet).

I was at a major disadvantage. That, I knew.

Despite that, I tossed back a "Shut up, you short little punk."
Which obviously hit a nerve, and Len responded with a toss of his hand- which whipped up a burst of wind in my direction.

That probabaly only dug me deeper into my already shallow grave, but according to Tomo (Raven) if I had any sort of power at all, and my wings weren't just for show- one way to bring it out was battle.

Len closed his eyes and opened his arms downward, as if he was waiting to embrace something; the same position I had saw Kiiro do when he was concealing his wings.

Feather's burst forward from his back fluttering around the room, and his wings came forth.

I stared, not because of awe- but because I had come to a sudden realization. My wings had dissapeared into my back after that fall I had taken last night, but where could they have gone?

They didn't get ripped off. They were still there.
"I know your feeling inadequate but, you don't have to stare so much- your embaressing yourself."

Len's cocky additude pushed my mind back to the current situation I was in.
I ignored his following sarcastic remarks and I took a deep breath.

I closed my eye's and looked upwards, even though I was already at the highest place one could reach- Heaven.
I opened my arm's, letting go of everything that had been bothering me lately and accepting anything that was to come.

And I was answered, as the same feeling I had gotten the first time, this time- painless, my wings burst through.

This got a positive smirk from Rennosuke and Kiiro, and a still-not-good enough, unresponsive look from Tomo and Shiro.

Len, also unimpressed- crossed his arms and let out a laugh.
"Hah. So you can summon your wings. Big deal, it's easy to monkey-see-monkey-do."

"It won't prepare you for anything!" Len reached his arms upwards.

"HEAVENLY SWORDS!"

I stared in terror as I watched thousands of white and gold etched sword's form above the sky,
their blades flying towards me.