Chapter Text
“Get us back to the Agency, Atsushi!” ordered (Y/N) as she faced the still manic Akira, who was trying to break through the hatch and continue her fight. Thankfully, her body was failing her as her gift could only go so far. Her strength was faltering. Unfortunately, that meant her life was, too.
“What about her?!” cried Atsushi.
“I’ll handle it.” (Y/N) took a deep breath. She needed to be calm. Akira’s ability thrived on anger. If she relaxed enough, she’d return to her usual form. Akira continued to bash into the hatch, but her jumps were less successful with every attempt. It was little more than messy hops at this point. (Y/N) winced at the blood that collected on the ground with every jump. “Akira.” She swallowed as the less-than-human being turned to her. “Akira, I need you to listen to me.” Her heart clenched at the pain that swam under Akira’s wrathful appearance. “I know you’re upset, but—” Akira growled, and the shadows clinging to her shifted uneasily “—But you know that you’re dying. And you know you can’t die now, not like this.” Wincing, (Y/N) reached up. Her wrists could still move, but her hands screamed in protest at any movement. She pushed the feeling aside and gently cupped Akira’s face. “You need to be strong. And right now, strong is pushing aside your anger for another day. I promise, Fukuchi will lose. We’ll beat him. But I need you to do that. You have to be there.” (Y/N) pressed her forehead to Akira’s and closed her eyes. “I need my best friend to be there.”
Through the black and red glow surrounding Akira, green filtered in like an extension of (Y/N)’s mind. Where her forehead and fingers touched her friend, a healthy hue returned to Akira’s skin and slowly spread out across her body. Her horns turned to smoke and blew away. Her claws became fingers once again. Her facial features returned to humanlike state, also serpent resemblance gone. The clinging shadows her fell away; light illuminated her features. Last, the green touched the black abyss resembling eyes. As the emerald faded, the void disappeared and left Akira’s ruby eyes visible. She blinked as if finally aware of her surroundings. She opened her mouth to speak but instead collapsed as the full gravity of her wounds hitting her. (Y/N) caught her and sat down. She hugged Akira close and pressed an extravagant blanket to her more severe injuries, even as her own throbbed and bled.
“You’re alright. It’s going to be okay.” (Y/N) murmured words of comfort. They may have been for Akira; they may have been for her. It was unclear.
“I feel like death…” Akira coughed. “Probably look it, too…”
“You look fine.”
“Liar, I look like shit, so I’d rather—” She paused to spit out blood “—not die. Not a good look for my death. I mean the ripped dress if cool, but my own blood? Not so much…Much prefer to die bathed in someone else’s…” More blood was coughed up.
“I’m sure you’ll look wonderful when you die.” (Y/N) went along with her friend’s antics as she wiped away the blood on her cheeks. She winced as her injured hands pained but continued. “Black dress, enemy blood, maybe a sword?”
“Sword? Sexy weapon…good choice. I think I know someone who sells them…”
(Y/N) shook her head and pressed the blanket to Akira’s bleeding palm. “Just stay alive so you can get it.”
“You gonna get Akiko…?”
“I know you like to treat yourself, but—”
“Please.” Akira gripped (Y/N)’s hand (albeit gently due to her wound). (Y/N) looked down at her friend in surprise. “Please get me to her. I don’t want to die. I can’t.” Her voice was pleading. “He’s out there, (Y/N). I need to get him, please. I need to—” kill him. Get back to Akiko and tell her that none of what happened is her fault or mine. Get back to Chuuya and tell him that I care and want to be with him. Stay with you and fight. I need to live… She turned to the side and heaved as blood caught in her throat.
(Y/N) cleaned away the drops and hushed her. “I’ll get you there, I promise. Yosano will heal you. Then we’ll regroup and beat Fukuchi. But first, you need to focus on staying alive, alright?” She held Akira’s face affectionately.
“…Did I try to hurt you?”
“Of course not.”
“…I was scared I would.”
“I know you would never hurt me,” said (Y/N) seriously.
“No, you don’t.” Darkness tinged Akira’s voice. “I wasn’t really…in control. I know I always walk with one foot in shadow because of my ability, but this…I was on the edge of an abyss. If I fell…I don’t know if I’d ever return.”
“Return?” (Y/N) paused in her rudimentary treatment and looked into her eyes.
“I think I was losing myself in darkness, in rage.” Akira swallowed. “I know I’m an angry person…but this was different. It wasn’t an ember I could use as motivation, it was a fire burning me alive. Everything that made me me was turning to ash…” She shuddered.
“You fought back to the surface. You listened to me and fought for control.” (Y/N) smiled. “And you won.”
“I almost didn’t. That type of fury…it’s overpowering.” She fought back a sob. “I don’t want to be angry forever…I don’t want that to be who I am, but when he mentioned my mother…I just—”
“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” soothed (Y/N). “Look at me.” Akira’s eyes met hers. “Yes, you have anger in you. Let’s be honest, you have a right to those feelings. But that’s not all you are. You’re so much more than that. You’re clever, your mind runs circles around people and your quips are witty. You’re a fighter, you persevere and survive no matter what is placed in you path. And, although you pretend not to be, your kind. I know that you provide for an orphanage in Yokohama. You are always looking out for kids looking for their way in the world. And you’re here, with me, fighting to protect the world. Akira, you’re a good person, even though you can’t see it.”
Akira’s eyes were wide. Since her mother died, the only time she’d gotten close to hearing such words about her was Chuuya. This was the first time she’d heard them, though, since Nanako. She almost wanted to cry at the affection and honesty in (Y/N)’s voice. “You’re an angel…like her. You have a light in you.”
When Akira said “angel,” it didn’t disgust (Y/N). It wasn’t obsessed; it was reverent and affectionate. “Like who?” She was hesitant to ask, but the question spilled from her lips before she could stop them.
“My mother…” Akira smiled as a single tear fell down her face. It disappeared into the blood on her face. It would be the only tear she shed that night, no matter how saddened she was. “My mother was an angel.”
Eighteen years ago…
Nanako sat back in her chair. She drummed her fingers on the armrest as she listened to her friend on the phone.
“Something’s…wrong, Nanako. I can see it. Ever since he came back home on leave…something’s been off.”
“Well, war can change people. It might have affected him psychologically.” Nanako looked down. “Mori…If they don’t have enough doctors, he’ll probably be dragged in…The same may happen to him.”
“No, that’s not it. Well, I mean, partially, but something else is going on.”
“Like…an affair?”
“I almost wish that’s what I thought it was, but no. He feels dangerous to be around, not just because he’s a soldier or his ability, but just…wrong, frightening. I can feel it.”
Sometimes I wonder if she has an ability with those accurate “feelings” of hers. Nanako frowned. “You feel unsafe? Is he going to hurt you?”
A soft sob came through the line. “I hope—I mean, of course not! But Nanako, I’m scared. Could you—?”
“Look into him?” She sighed. “I mean, if it’s just psychological, I don’t know what I can do. I can observe him and determine whether he’s a threat, but—”
“I want you to look into what he’s doing. He sneaks out. He’s reading strategy books by…unsavory characters. He’s been angry at home but acting jovial in public. Something is going on. I know it is. And he thinks I don’t, but I do.”
“Alright. I will, for you. In the meantime, try to keep calm, act normal, and…have a plan to leave, if need be. If it turns out he’s dangerous, you know you can’t beat him. Not when he has that gift. So please, be careful and stay safe.”
“I’ll try.”
“I’ll call you when I have definitive news,” said Nanako.
“Alright, bye.”
“Bye.” She got up and stretched.
l
“I’m off to work,” said Mori, kissing Nanako on the forehead.
“I’ll see you after work,” she said, smiling. “And remember not to make Elise do all the work and get lazy.”
Elise blinked. “I do whatever Dr. Mori asks me to.”
Mori pouted. “I always do my work! I love it!”
“Uh-huh, good, poor Elise suffers enough just being your ability.”
“You’re so cruel…” Mori slouched out the door.
“Rintaro.”
Mori perked up and looked back.
“I love you.”
He blinked. “I love you, too.”
Nanako watched her husband leave. When he was gone, she turned and began to get ready. She had business to take care of. Sending a quick text and pulling on her coat, she walked to the door.
“Mommy, where are you going?” asked Akira.
“I have to go help a friend,” said Nanako.
“Are they okay?”
“Yes, of course, I just have to help them sort some stuff out.” And everyone else might pay if I don’t…including you, Akira. I can’t let that happen.
“Oh, okay,” said Akira. “When will you be back?”
“A little later. Can you be good and go over to the neighbors for a little bit?”
“Yeah, Mommy!” Akira agreed eagerly.
“Alright, then I’ll be back soon.”
“Bye, I love you, Mommy!” called Akira.
“I love you, too, Akira,” said Nanako affectionately. I do everything for you. I love you so much.
She walked through the city with purpose. She ended up in an old warehouse district. A few people milled about in shops near the area, but for the most part, it was barren.
“You can come out now,” said Nanako, taking off her long coat. Strapped to a halter and belt, several knives flashed in the light.
“I thought we came to talk about…Well, it seems talking is out of the question,” said Fukuchi, stepping out.
“You brought your sword,” pointed out Nanako. “You didn’t expect a civil discussion either.”
“There’s no reason we can’t still speak. Like you, I’m merely prepared.”
“I don’t really have anything to talk to you about. I know what you’re planning to do something terrible.”
Fukuchi narrowed his eyes. “Did your ability allow you to discover that?”
“People figure things out,” said Nanako.
“Well, then, if you know, then why ask me here?”
“To ask you why.”
“ ‘Why?’ ” Fukuchi raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to unite this world.”
“No, you’re going to destroy it. And at the expense of everyone you care about, or at least, used to.”
“So be it.”
Nanako narrowed her eyes and slipped her knives inter her hands. They were lodged between her fingers just as she had taught Mori to do. It made it as easy as a flick of her wrist to throw them at high speeds. “And this is the reason we have nothing to discuss.”
Fukuchi hand reached for his sword. Three knives embedded in his hand before he gripped his weapon, and he was kicked backwards into a wall.
“Be Not Afraid.” Nanako was lying, she wanted him to be frightened, but she knew he wouldn’t be, and she couldn’t change the name of her ability. Nor would she want to. After all, it was magnificent. White wings unfurled from her back while four others flapped around her head. Her eyes turned white until the iris and pupil were lost in the sea of light. A golden halo floated above her head. Several glowing rings of light circled her arms in bands. She flicked out more of her knives and jumped into the air. Fukuchi pulled the weapons from his hand and gripped his sword. This battle could alter the future; they both knew that.
The battled raged between them, and both grew heavily injured and tired. Fukuchi was forced to send his sword to the past to wound her, but she either kept fighting or sensed where the attack was (he suspected that the halo acted as a surveillance device), and Nanako abandoned her knives in favor of using her blade-like feathers as weapons, but Fukuchi blocked them or continued on (she suspected he had physical enhancements). On and on went the fight, neither participant willing to give up until they literally couldn’t continue. Eventually, Nanako managed to pin Fukuchi to the ground. She drew a feather from her wings and pressed it to his neck.
“This is over,” said Nanako.
“Not killing me? You seem so prepared,” said Fukuchi.
“Knowing how to kill isn’t the same as loving to kill.”
“In my line of work, that’s called weakness. And for gifted, that’s called death. I wonder if your child will lose their life because they don’t learn how to kill…I mean, if she ends up gifted, of course. Gifted never get an easy life, do they?”
It was just a moment, just a single second of distraction. But it was enough. Nanako froze at the idea of Akira’s death. Her daughter didn’t even show signs of an ability, but it was a legitimate fear. Very, very few gifted ever got into a position that was completely safe and devoid of danger. Nanako didn’t want her daughter hurt. She loved Akira. Unfortunately, Fukuchi understood that and used it to his advantage. In her momentary shock at his comment, a sword flew through her stomach. She collapsed to the side. Fukuchi stood up and pressed his boot into her shoulder and stabbed her once more.
“Pity. I believe a few years ago you wouldn’t have been phased by such a comment,” remarked Fukuchi.
He was right. A few years ago, she wouldn’t have had a family to care for, to worry about. But she did. And it was a weakness Nanako wasn’t ashamed of. “At least…I care about mine. You’re going to regret not caring for yours.”
Fukuchi raised an eyebrow. “Unless your gift allows you to see the future, I find that unlikely.”
Nanako could feel herself drifting into Shinigami’s awaiting arms. But she had one last act to perform before she accepted his embrace. After all…she was angel. Her eyes lit up. “Tennin! Kami!” Her words reverberated around the warehouse. “Give me strength!” For my death. I know I cannot survive…so let me die fighting. Even if he survives…grant me this, Kami. Please.
Fukuchi sighed. “You seriously want to continue fighting—?”
As if someone answered her, her halo, wings, and bands glowed brighter and brighter. Nanako closed her eyes. The air heated around her as the light became blinding.
Akira, Ogai…I love you so much.
The warehouse exploded, throwing Fukuchi backwards. The buildings surrounding it collapsed. It was like a bomb had gone off except…no one other than Fukuchi was injured. Nanako had fought to her last breath and died as a true angel. Fukuchi struggled to his feet as people began screaming and running about. It was nearly unbearable for him to stand. If not treated soon…he’d die. He looked at the few feathers and burn marks of halo and three sets of wings in the floor.
“The Decay of the Angel…” he observed before collapsing.
l
Mori jumped out of the ambulance as it stopped in front of the destroyed buildings.
“Any survivors?” he asked a nearby EMT who had arrived earlier before more professionals were called in.
“Yes, everyone,” answered the EMT.
Mori frowned. “Everyone survived that explosion?”
“Some people have bruising from some rubble, but other than a soldier who arrived to help with the situation, no one else was hurt. He was close enough to the source that he nearly died, but we managed to bring him back.”
“Did he say what happened?”
“He said a woman and man were fighting, and when he tried to discover what was happening, the woman was killed and…exploded.”
Mori considered the information. “So she likely had a gift…” His inquisitive nature got the better of him. He walked into the destroyed warehouse. He froze and nearly dropped to his knees. He could see the burned marks of a halo and pairs of wings. And…a few feathers littered the floor. “No…No, no, no!” That day…a part of Mori died. And a part of his daughter would, too.
l
Later on, Fukuchi entered his home. He had gotten changed and cleaned up so as to hide he’d been fighting but returned home soon enough. However…something was off. It was quiet, and many items were…gone. He frowned and curled his hand into a fist. He smacked it into the wall, leaving a dent. That damn Nanako…She warned her of something…She gave her time to get away… Fukuchi’s eyes darkened. No matter. She isn’t as brave as to come after me, not in her position. And even if I have to find more strategists and workers, my plan will come to fruition, whether now or in years. Damn that Nanako…she created enough of a racket that if something happens now…people will make the connection. Damn her to hell…
He could almost hear the world laughing at him after those words.