AN: You know, Halloween's great fun, isn't it? So, now that that's done with, let's have some misery – as in, boatloads of angst. I don't know what the point of this chapter is, really, but I kinda felt like I should write this. We haven't really had an angsty chapter yet, so I really wanted to fix that. I don't know… well, enjoy!

Story the Fourteenth: Angels Fly Low

Ever since joining Crime Sorcière, Sorano had wondered exactly what "atonement" meant. She didn't regret the things she'd done, but she was no longer proud of them either. For her, a state of uncertainty was the worst place to be. Sorano liked to know what was going on – liked to be in control of the situation. She didn't like losing, to herself or anyone else, but lately it felt as if victory was something that was just as out of reach for her as her dream of becoming an angel.

She wasn't really one for alcohol, but right now seemed to be a good time to get wasted. Telling herself that it was probably just her period, Sorano walked into the bar. It had been a while since she'd openly been in a public place, but nowadays everyone knew what the blue cloak meant, so no one bothered her. She sat down at a barstool, ordered a drink, and waited. To her right, a slightly tipsy man was flirting with a very drunk blonde girl. She didn't look too interested.

"Go away," the girl to her right mumbled. "'M drunk." The man leered at her.

"Come on, sweetheart," he drawled. "I saw your match at the Games. That costume is just asking for–" Sorano stood, sending the man a death glare from underneath her hood.

"Leave," she said quietly. The man looked like he was about to argue, but one of his friends grabbed him and dragged him off, muttering something about not wanting to get into a fight with one of them. Crime Sorcière had gotten some sort of reputation around these parts, it seemed.

"I don' need yer help," the drunk girl muttered. Sorano rolled her eyes.

"Women aren't objects," she said coolly. "I didn't just do it for you, anyway. My boss would kill me if I let a innocent little girl like you get raped."

"I'm twenty-six," the girl snapped. "I can take care of myself."

"Obviously," Sorano sneered. Her drink arrived, and she took a sip, wrinkling her nose. "I hate alcohol." She added.

"Why are you here, then?" the blonde girl asked, seeming to sober up slightly.

"I just felt like getting wasted," she admitted. "I'm Sorano, by the way."

"Jenny," the other girl said, shaking her hand. Sorano felt her throat tighten slightly as she saw the blue guild mark on the girl's shoulder.

"Blue Pegasus?" she asked. Jenny nodded. "I thought you guys had your own bar." The blonde laughed.

"We do," she admitted. "But none of this stuff – it's all romantic wine and shit."

"Sounds boring," Sorano noted. "So what's a fancy-schmancy hostess doing in a rough-n-tough bar like this?" Jenny shrugged.

"I got into a fight with my boyfriend," she said. "It was stupid, really."

"What kind of fight?' Sorano asked, more out of boredom than anything else.

"It was about his ex," Jenny told her. "I feel like a replacement, sometimes."

"How so?"

"Well, she had really long hair, and she didn't wear a lot," Jenny recalled. "But I never really understood why she was so popular, though. She was pretty, yeah, but she always had this look on her face – like somebody was constantly waving a piece of dog shit under her nose." Sorano snorted.

"Sounds like quite a catch," she quipped. "But men are like that. They're more interested in the T&A department than anything else." Jenny laughed.

"That's true," she agreed. "Karen had a great rack, or so I've heard."

"Karen, huh?" Sorano asked, looking at her drink. "Karen Lilica?"

"Yeah. Did you know her?"

"You could say that."

"I see." Jenny took a swig of her water and wiped her mouth. "Thanks for talking with me, Sorano. You're a lot nicer than I thought you were."

"I'm not as nice as you think," the silver-haired woman said quietly. Jenny didn't appear to have heard her. The blonde girl stood, stretched, and made to leave.

"We should get drink together again!" she called, waving over her shoulder. The former Dark Mage watched her leave. Suddenly, Sorano wasn't so thirsty. She put down a few Jewels, and followed Jenny outside. The blonde girl was still smashed, it seemed.

"Do you need someone to walk you home?" she called, amused. Jenny turned around and laughed.

"I don't remember where I'm going!" she giggled, spinning in a circle with her arms spread wide. Sorano shook her head.

"Blue Pegasus isn't far from here," she noted. "I can walk you there, if you like."

"And you said you weren't nice!" Jenny teased. Sorano allowed a tiny smile.

"Maybe I'm a little nice," she admitted. "Only sometimes." The walk wasn't very long, and Sorano didn't bother to enter the guild. She knew better.

"I'll see you around!" Jenny called. Sorano shrugged.

"Maybe," she replied. "Though hopefully under less creepy circumstances." Jenny laughed, smiling at her.

"I'll see you around," she repeated. "Thanks for talking with me!" Before Sorano could respond, Jenny had closed the door behind her. Sorano tilted her head back to stare at the sky. Maybe redemption wasn't as hard as she first thought.

As soon as Jenny was inside the building, she walked straight over to Hibiki.

"Jenny, I–" he began. She held up a hand.

"I'm sorry," she said, quietly. "I know I'm not a replacement. I was just being stupid. I know you miss Karen." Hibiki looked down.

"I know she wasn't a great person," he admitted quietly. "But I did love her. You get that, right? But she's gone, and you're here, and that's what matters." She kissed him.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," she told him. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily." Hibiki smiled, choosing not to point out that she smelled like alcohol.

"Good," he replied. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." He hesitated. "But I said some pretty stupid things too. Aren't you mad at me?"

"A little," Jenny confessed. "But I ended up talking to a girl I met at the bar I went to, and she cheered me up a bit." Hibiki looked relieved.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "She must have been a nice girl."

"She certainly was." Jenny agreed, grinning mischievously. "A real angel."

AN: Rather short, but also the first one to focus on an individual character. Not the last, of course, but Sorano is the only member of Crime Sorcière to have killed somebody without being possessed or in revenge. Granted, Richard, Sawyer, and Merudy are the only ones who haven't officially killed anyone, not for lack of trying, but the other murders were different – Jellal wasn't in control of himself when he killed Simon, Ultear wasn't even there, Cobra killed Brain (and many tears were shed over his loss, I'm sure), and Midnight killed Imitatia, who arguably wasn't alive to begin with. But with Angel and Karen, we never saw it happen – we just heard her admit it. All we know is that Karen likely would have died anyway, but Angel sped it up. For me, not seeing that particular murder just makes it that much scarier. Neither of them were particularly nice people, but we have no idea who started that fight, or even why. It's a mystery. We first heard about Karen in the Loke arc, and her murder was only resolved three arcs later. After the Oración Seis arc, she wasn't really mentioned until the Alvarez Empire arc, and that was pretty offhand, really. On top of that, it's very possible that, had Loke not prohibited Karen from summoning him, Angel still would have killed her, and Loke would've had to work for her instead. If that had happened, who knows how the Oración Seis arc would have gone? I mean, Lucy probably still would have won, but Loke would probably be a very different character. I don't know; I just think Sorano is a really great character, and I love writing her.