Chapter Text
As she flew in the air, looking down at the city above her, Rin started feeling nervous again. She had to lie to Brother again and she wasn't quite sure how to package it. If Teto would have attacked her, why wouldn't she have called for his help then? Why would she casually come to him, announcing that the fight was over and expect him to have no objections?
She closed her eyes and thought harder about how to go about it. She quickly came up with an improbable scenario: what if something had stopped her from communicating with him earlier during the battle? That was something that could excuse her randomly showing up after the battle had ended. The angel quickly remembered some of her training on demons: some of them had the innate ability to disrupt angel signals so as to confuse and separate larger groups of them. While Teto didn't seem able to do such a feat, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Brother would believe it.
She let herself fall for a good hundreds of meters, landing on a busy sidewalk on all fours, like a cat that had just fallen out of a tree. Getting up, she struggled not to lose her focus with the countless human beings walking through and around her. Sighing, she started preparing her speech to Brother inside her head. It was proving quite difficult; she never had to lie this deeply before and her mind was still proving quite tired. After she managed to sketch out the basics of what she had to say to him, she looked down at her perfect ghostly form, devoid of any apparent battle-struggle.
“I shouldn't forget about this…” She mumbled.
Rin summoned a small knife, which she quickly aimed at her chest. Her form was neat and tidy; she didn't look like she had just won a fight with a demon. It was really important that she was able to sell the act to Brother, otherwise she might've gotten herself into even more trouble. She used the knife to painlessly disrupt her form in multiple places, simulating battle wounds as well as she could, then roughed up her hair with her hands. Her translucent pale white body gained multiple cuts running through it, similar to the ones she had gotten from yesterday's demon. Indeed, she looked a lot more battle-damaged now.
Rin let out another heavy sigh as she started mentally calling for Brother.
“Brother! Hello?”
“Yes!” His response was immediate, and his tone worried and alert. “Did you find anything?”
Rin bit her lip. She put on her best worried expression, even if he couldn't see it. “I-Yes, I did! The demon i-it attacked me and…” The fakeness of her tone made her cringe, Rin quickly wondering if Brother would even fall for the lie.
“Oh my! I'm coming over to you right now!” He gasped.
Apparently it had been genuine enough for Brother.
He quickly materialized himself next to her, hurriedly flinging his head and body around, desperately trying to catch sight of what had harmed Rin.
“Where is it?” He panted, then stopped his frantic searching to take a better look at Rin. “Did it get away?”
This was Rin's signal to resume her act. “N-no! It attacked me in the school and I tried to call for you but… something stopped me from doing it! Even after it was over I still couldn't so I decided to go look for you normally!” She put on a scared expression, or well the most scared expression she felt she could fake.
Brother stared at her in shock for a couple seconds. For just a moment, Rin really thought that he wasn't going to buy it after all.
“So … it has communication disturbing abilities.” If she would've had easily visible eyebrows in this form, they would've definitely been shot up in shock. She knew angels were programmed to inherently trust each other very deeply, but she had no idea Brother was capable of being this gullible.
He continued. “That's very unexpected. Splitting up was a clear error on our part!” Brother took a small pause, almost as if he wanted to say something else as well. “But you know…the protocol states that if communications fail you're supposed to remain on site, right? You shouldn't have come looking for me.” He lectured her in his usual stern tone, although he didn't seem too upset at the apparent blunder.
“I…uh…” Rin hadn't even thought about that. She wasn't sure if she even remembered hearing of such a thing. It sounded like such a niche scenario. However, she was grateful that Brother was willing to provide her with some believable faults in her story.
“I kind of…I got very caught up and I forgot…Apologies.”
Brother nodded solemnly, seemingly accepting her apology.
“What's important now is that we find the demon, where was the last time you saw it?” He continued, with a hurried tone.
Rin did the same shtick as last time, materializing the Core and showing it to Brother, who was again shocked, his “mouth” agape.
“Again?! That's quite impressive!” He grabbed the Core, feeling it around his hand, almost as if he was checking to see if it was truly real.
“I-It was pretty hard. The fight I mean.” She let out a flustered laugh.
“I can see that.” Brother took his eyes off the Core for a bit, giving her a quick glance up and down. He handed the Core back to her. “Well, it really seems like you have these under control, that's very good.” Brother quite obviously was still taken aback. “And I guess in the end splitting up was good because…” His face suddenly became serious again. “While looking around, I felt so much demonic energy around here. We seriously have to report it back.”
That last remark made Rin tense up. She really hoped that Brother's new found data wouldn't resort in more angels getting called to investigate their site. That would definitely ruin her chances of seeing Miku again.
“That's pretty bad…” She sighed, trailing off.
“We should go now.” Brother said with a warmer tone of voice. “I'll write the report while you rest, and we'll continue tomorrow. I assume we'll be spending even more time here.”
Rin quietly nodded. She still couldn't quite believe that Brother had fallen for the lie. A part of her expected him to suddenly lash out at her, and call her out on her bluff. But that never happened. He dissolved his form, returning to their liminal plane which they called home. The entire interaction really ended almost as it had begun. She quickly followed suit. It was nice to finally take a break from it all.
Laying down in the abstract plane, her tired subconscious seemed to relax at first. Rin thought she'd get some “sleep”, but before long the question about the human world started bugging her again. Rin didn't know what she was going to do about it, though one thing was certain; she'd definitely have her stay extended. Rin knew that there was no avoiding that now with Brother's extra report.
Even though a part of her wanted to return to her heavenly ways, she still couldn't contain her joy. Brother buying her lie gave her a bit more confidence that she could really have her cake and eat it too. Just one more week or so, and then of course she'd go back to how things were.
If she would've had a physical form she would've definitely looked quite smug. It seemed like a good deal, best of both worlds. Sure, she had been quick to completely dismiss her training but at least she'd get to both enjoy her time with Miku and protect her from demons. A new thought popped up inside her head: maybe getting along with humans was excusable if it meant she could defend them better. Maybe this was just the way Rin was supposed to go about her mission, even if it slightly contradicted the heavenly imperative of not interacting with humans unless necessary.
Although thinking more about it Rin realised that by not killing Teto she had, still, ultimately failed her mission. She waved the thought away. Teto was clearly a special case, and the other demons were sure to be much more “scream and fight”. And Rin was good at fighting with those. To her, Teto could easily be ignored until some other angel inevitably dealt with her.
She was feeling quite satisfied with her situation, until, almost as if to torment her, another thought reemerged. Rin couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't like Brother and all other angels. Why couldn't she just fit in and do as she was told? Guilt started washing over her again, the familiar feeling from earlier. She quickly came to the only logical conclusion she could reach: there was something intrinsically wrong with her, something outside her control. Her lack of joy in menial angel activities. Her interest in what was not angelic as a whole. Maybe sin was tempting her all along.
But she had been made this way. For as long as she could remember, her duties had been nothing but a drag. She kept working and working, convinced that one day it would all just click, but that day never came. Until this particular human episode, Rin had just kind of learned to accept it; to accept a life she found no interest in, to keep working for the sake of maybe one day reaching higher duties she'd hopefully find more interesting. It wasn't how most angels saw it, but Rin had no other way to go about it.
This reminded her of what Miku had said earlier. That not all humans fit in. Miku said about herself that she was an outcast, and yet she had no trace of sin in her body.
But Rin wasn't human. And she couldn't have been made wrong on purpose; all angels were designed to be perfect beings. And yet here she was. Rin couldn't help but wonder if, maybe, she had been lied to about that. Just like she had been lied to about the existence of "not evil" demons.
The thought made her stomach turn. That Heaven could lie. Maybe Heaven just didn't know any better. Maybe she was a mistake so rare that not even Heaven could foresee it.
…
“You know…humans are the main reason most stray…both angels and demons.” Teto's shrill voice rang inside her head.
If she were to believe Teto, this wasn't uncommon. Her situation wasn't rare. Even though the thought should've brought her comfort, it only made her even more anxious, her guts squirming the more she thought about it.
So it really was just clear cut treason she was participating in. She felt herself overcome with dread. The sudden switch ups between “This is fine.” and “I'm a sinner!” made her feel dizzy, like her being was getting shuffled and reassembled at its very core.
No matter how much she tried to find an excuse for herself, she really was a sinner. Whether she was made like that or not. Maybe it was her burden to live out the rest of her days in an existence she didn't like.
But it was so damn hard. To really give up her desire to see more of the earth.
She felt her mind become hazy.
At least everything would come to a close soon. Even if enforcements didn't arrive, her time spent at that particular school would inevitably run out and she'd be forced to move on. She wasn't quite sure that she believed herself either. But she couldn't just go to the school and not see Miku; that thought just went against her entire being. So, naturally, she just had to wait it out. And then she'd be forced to make her final decision. Which Rin obviously thought of as just repenting and moving on with her duties.
But right now she was so tired that she felt like resting for centuries wouldn't be enough for her.
Her mind was finally starting to calm down, or maybe the tiredness had finally won, and she let herself drift away into “sleep”.
“Have you finished your duties?” A familiar, thunderous voice rang inside her mind.
“Hu-...Pardon?” She replied, clearly taken by surprise.
The vision was hazy, so much so that at first she wasn't sure where exactly she even was. Her own voice sounded like it was so far away from her own body, like it wasn't even her who was speaking.
“The report.” The voice of the other angel stated blankly as Rin could feel it look down at her.
“Ah…Well…” She averted their gaze, twiddling her fingers as she thought of what excuse to say.
“Stand up straight when you're talking to superiors. Hands alongside your body. This is basic courtesy.” Their voice rang inside her head. They weren't angry persay, but definitely ticked off.
Sister stood up from her desk and looked at them. Their form was pretty hazy, common for higher ranking angels who didn't see much value in wasting energy on projecting a detailed shape. However Sister could still vaguely read their expression: stern and disappointed.
“The report.” They said again, in the same tone.
The angels next to her began shuffling around, clearly intimidated by the presence of their higher up.
“I…Here.” She quickly grabbed the bit of endless scroll she was currently writing on and gave it to the other angel.
They read it in silence, quickly rolling more and more of it as they soon reached the empty part of the manuscript.
“You're about 7 hours behind. This is unacceptable. We're fortunate to still have the original records. You know very well that everything that is on those scrolls needs to be organized and classified into the main record.”
Sister felt her head lower itself in shame.
“Look at your superior.”
She quickly lifted it back up. Their "expression" had not changed.
“You need to keep up with the pace that's expected from you. We are in a constant state of war; there is no room for incompetence. If you can't do this simple task then how are you expecting to serve Heaven?” Even though they had asked a question, their tone rang monotonously inside her head. Almost as if Sister wasn't even worth angering themselves over.
“Go back to work.” They put the main record scroll back on the table and then started making their way down the endless corridor of desks and busy angels quickly writing away at their own never ending scrolls.
Sister sat back down and sighed. Her angel "desk-mate" to her right side moved her chair a bit further away from her's, almost as if she was trying to add salt to injury. On her left; Brother, who had witnessed the scene so many times he had long stopped reacting to it. He just kept writing away, skillfully unrolling multiple scrolls at once to find the needed information. Every once in a while he pulled a bit more of the long scroll from its compartment, a large box attached right to the front of the common desk, giving himself an even more endless scroll for him to write on.
Sister looked down at her desk, pushing back the already written part of the main record into its own compartment under the table until she undid the superior's meddling. More fresh paper. Not that it ever ran out.
Another angel placed a new scroll on her desk. She did the same for everyone, quietly making their way down the rows of desks. Everyone but her got around three scrolls. She received only one.
So obviously word of her incompetence had gotten out to the distribution angels as well, not just her higher ups.
She sighed.
She grabbed one of the scrolls she had been working on before off her desk and started reading it.
“Angelic Unit of Medium Action 507-122 comprised of 3 Angels supervised by Archangel $%#* reports its following findings:
Performed check-up of demonic forces in the quadrant A-357-099 of the continent of the Southern Americas. Upon closer inspection 3 demons have been found. Supposed to be Tier V and two of Tier VI. The demon of the lower tier has been eliminated by the Archangel.
Backup units are being requested. Archangel has stated the need for at least 2 more angels. Requesting permission to continue the pursuit and eradication of the remaining Tier VI demons by the Angelic Unit.
Report finished.”
Below was the reply from Heaven.
“We have successfully received the report provided by the Angelic Unit of Medium Level Action 507-122 supervised by Archangel $%#*.
From what We have gathered, more troops would be considered adequate for the situation given. They will be sent out to the given location and should arrive by the time this message reaches the unit.
Considering the fact that the demonic presence was of a high specific threat, We ask that updates be sent regularly about the developments that may occur.
We demand reports of the situation at the end of each day. The operation will continue until all demonic forces are annihilated.
End of response.”
The scroll continued on. The demons were found and killed but an angel was injured. Archangel was requested to be transferred to another unit. More demons were found in the same area. Different Archangels were assigned to the group. Gained a couple extra angels too.
By the time the report had finished, Sister had already unrolled a good couple meters of paper. It wasn't unusual for reports to get this wordy, as units typically just kept spotting more and more demons or anomalies.
And since Heaven was so thorough…
She picked up her pen and started jotting down on the main scroll.
“Unit: Medium Level Action 507-122.
Supervisor's presence: Affirmative
Supervisor : Archangel $%#*
Involvement of angles of a second rank or higher: Negative…”
.....
She felt her mind starting to drift away again. She tried to focus her brain back on the information but it all just mushed together inside her head. Sister couldn't help but wonder why on earth she had to note down every little detail and either affirm or deny it.
She looked at Brother again. His focus and attention to detail was mesmerizing, his fingers expertly writing with such speed that he made it seem like he was merely gliding his hands across the paper. For a second she wished to have even half of his writing abilities. Even so, she returned to her work.
“Sister?”
She looked to her left. Even though it was his voice, Brother wasn't talking to her. He was still diligently writing away.
“Is everything alright? I got a response from Heaven.” His voice rang inside her head again, his form not moving.
Rin quickly realised that she was still “sleeping” and for whatever reason her brain decided to give her one of her bureaucracy related mishaps to chew on. Like her current predicament wasn't bad enough.
“S-Sorry. Give me a second.” She mumbled.
She materialized her angel form and opened her eyes. She was laying on her abdomen on the soft “ground” of the abstract plane, with Brother looming over her, a scroll open in his hands. He looked a bit worried.
“The reply from Heaven came. Let me read it to you.”
Rin wanted to let out a groan, but she stopped herself. No matter where she went, "dream" realm or not, the Heaven reports seemed to follow.
“We have received the…” Rin let out a quiet yawn. She would've definitely rested for a little longer if she could. She resented how her resting moments had been wasted on reliving unpleasant memories. Absentmindedly, she fluttered her wings as she was laying on the ground. waiting for Brother to get to the more interesting part of the report.
“...Since the demonic presence was of a lower specified threat…” Rin almost let out a gasp. So Brother was still cataloguing the clearly Tier V demons as Tier IVs? He really had no faith in her abilities. Which was bad because she really wanted those extra 2 weeks to spend with Miku. She sighed.
“...Extra units will not be sent out. However, because of the reported increased demonic activity around the perimeter of the original's mission location, We heavily encourage that the surrounding area be checked as well.
We have decided that the radius of action be increased to 4 kms (2.48 mi) around the pre existing zone. Splitting up as to cover more land is suggested, although it is recommended that an angel be present at the grounds 0 of the operation at all times…”
Rin could feel herself burst with excitement at hearing the news. Obviously Brother wasn't going to want to take the human school, since he hated the human proximity and noise and he would want to search the city more, since he could do his job mid-air as well. But Rin couldn't help but wonder why Heaven didn't send out more angels to aid them. Was it because Brother had reported the demons as being not very dangerous?
“... Because of the enlarged perimeter of action and the decision to not send extra units to help, the time of the mission will be extended to a week. If no demon activity is reported during this week then the mission will be declared complete and successful.” Brother finished.
A week. For a Tier IV demon? Rin didn't quite get it; she had obviously read about similar situations in her century of doing paperwork, but protocol usually demanded that the unit receive extra members to finish the job quicker, not just an absurd amount of time.
“That's….good but why do you think that they're not sending anyone out to help?” Rin asked. “Isn't it a bit weird to cover that much land just to deal with some Tier IVs?
Brother looked a bit taken aback by the question, almost as if questioning a heavenly order was outside of his mental capabilities.
“Well. I suppose usually it would make sense to send more units to get it over with fairly quickly but…” He drifted off. “I think Heaven is going through another low point again, and they don't have many angels on hand.”
Rin twisted her head. “Why do you think that?”
“This scroll took more than a day to come back. Usually this only happens if the staff is overworked. Which obviously happens when the war gets particularly bad; they don't reply immediately to non urgent matters.” Brother looked a bit worried as he recounted basic information Rin already knew. He hurriedly let the scroll disappear into thin air as he stared at Sister. It was common for Heaven to struggle sometimes, and Rin had lived through plenty of times of "bureaucratical overwork", but it still seemed to trouble Brother.
Rin shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. According to what he had said earlier, she had slept for about a day. But she was still so tired, like that dream had sucked some of her lifeforce again. She finally got up on her legs to face Brother.
“I propose that I take the human school and you the perimeter.” He said with a serious tone.
Rin really hadn't expected that.
“But…I thought you didn't like the school?” Feeling the need to make herself sound less disappointed, she quickly added: “Maybe a change would be good but…I wouldn't want to make life harder for you like that.”
Brother raised an eyebrow. “It's true that the city was much more pleasant to check than the school. But I don't think it's fair that you do all the heavy lifting. Obviously the highest demonic presence is in the human school.”
Rin felt herself grow slightly desperate. “I think that it's best that we do the task we are best fit for, for maximum efficiency. You know I get easily distracted with the city, last time I didn't even find the school! It's better if I have a closed off place to check, I think it's harder for me to get lost like that.”
She gulped. This was getting stressful. She was so close to seeing Miku again, and yet Brother was making it difficult.
He stared at her.
“I don't like it that you've been ambushed two times by demons. Obviously you've dealt with the threat remarkably well but you appear to be quite tired. I wouldn't want you over exerting yourself. “ Even though his tone was slightly cold, she could feel a smidge of care in it.
She looked back at him, intensely. “I've been doing so well in the school, I don't want to mess it up with the city.”
“You won't mess it up.”
She felt herself grow even more desperate. “Brother…Please! All my life I've been so bad at this but now I'm finally doing something!” This wasn't completely untrue. “Please, I just wanna serve Heaven!” This, probably was. At least in some part.
Surprised by her sudden emotional intensity, Brother backed down. “Alright, alright! I see that you're very…dedicated.” He looked at her suspiciously.
Rin couldn't contain herself and grabbed him by his shoulders, which surprised him greatly. “I just want this mission to go well. You're so good at scouting, I didn't even feel any demonic presence as I was flying around in the city. If anything, I'm just a big demon magnet.” She pouted.
Brother quickly brushed her hands off of him.
“Don't say that, you did very well, Sister.” She could feel him give her gave her a rarely seen smile. “I'm sure the mission will continue to go well.”
Silence fell between them. Rin almost couldn't believe that she had managed to sway him. If she weren't right in front of him, she would have definitely started zooming around in excitement.
“So..”
“Ah..Yes! We should get going, right?”
Brother nodded.
“A day has already passed. We really shouldn't waste more time.”
Rin couldn't disagree with that. Her tiredness seem to mysteriously vanish as she thought about seeing Miku again.