Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Normal POV

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This is what the great LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. 

Excerpt from — Exodus 8:1–4

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Day 15, July 16th, 2417

Buildings fell and crumbled. Fires burned and people fled. 

They fall to their knees in fear and grovel for forgiveness and mercy. 

And as they plead and beg to their false God, it goes unheard. 

For their Gods have all but turned a blind eye, ignoring their cries. 

Soon they all but give up hope, and accept their inevitable fates. 

But then a streak of light burns through the darkness and pushed it out of sight. 

Rain cleanses the sick land and calms their fears and the deeply seated hate.

The fires quell and the rubble is swept away.

A figure, tall, graceful, sweeps across the land with mighty feathered limbs. 

This savior speaks to the people not of damnation, but of a hopeful future. 

And finally the Gods show their children they they weren't gone, only waiting. 

For only the one savior chosen by fate could make them see a world worth saving.

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It's suffocating and unbearably hot.

There's stabbing of needles all over his body. Hands, rough, scorching and gross feeling, are grabbing all over him, holding him down. Cold steel is biting hard into his back, making his spine ache in protest. He felt so awful, so wrong, so violated. So impure.

But worst of all, in his opinion, was the blackness meeting his eyes, meaning he was totally blind. He doesn't realize he was screaming until his throat is hoarse and is reduced to wheezes.

Who was doing this? What had he done to deserve this?

There's voices. Hushed and toned, but eerie and malicious. He can hear them whispering around him and making him feel smaller. 

'Keep holding him down.'

'We need to know more.'

'Don't let them know where he is.'

'He's making too much noise.'

'Cover his mouth.'

He panicked as cold and sticky tape covers his mouth to muffle his already weak sounds. More grabbing, more stabbing. It's almost enough to drive him insane from how much pain he's feeling. 

But suddenly the voices turn panicked, and the hands leave him alone briefly for some desperate amounts of free time to himself. But for some reason he just can't move... Why can't he move? He's too terrified...

'What's happening?'

"They found us!'

'Quick! Hide him!'

'Before it's too late!'

Then the voices turn to screams and he feels cold air whipping into the room and it chills his body all over. He squirmed weakly and whimpered as an indicator that he was still here, he needed to be saved. He needed to be free. 

Soon the screams quelled and it fell silent. And all he heard was the sound of his own heartbeat. Then soft, padded finger tips are soothing his needle-inflicted wounds. Silence, and then a soft whispering voice, light like a feather, is caressing against his ear drums.

"You're okay now... You're safe."

And then, as if by some miracle... 

He wakes up.

TBC

Chapter Text

NORMAL POV

'You're safe.'

He jerked upwards with a gasp, feeling sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Three A.M. The nightstand alarm clock slowly ticked away the wee hours of the morning.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The faucet from the bathroom leaked at a steady pace of a drop per five seconds. He would know, he was counting. A sigh escaped soft full lips bruised by anxious teeth. His heartbeat was fluctuating like crazy and there were red trailing marks on his skin from where he was scratching himself in his sleep. 

Another nightmare. The same one now for almost a week. But he knew where it was coming from at least even if it still scared him. Michael was really starting to annoy him with all of these visions lately. Its been a few days now since the plague started. There was still not quite any hints on what he should to do. Patiently he waited, but all he got for waiting was nightmares and dead ends. Plus there was the almost never ending torrential downpour going on outside of the sanctuary. Was blood really so difficult to get rid of that it took almost half a week of rain? Apparently. 

How was he supposed to solve any thing if Micheal wasn't telling him anything? There was nothing, no hints, no nudges in the right direction, just silence. And it was frustrating not knowing what to do. 

Beside him, Aoi slept quietly under the soft satiny covers that they shared and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. His face was so beautiful even in his sleep. Good enough he figured, he needed to rest more. Having a prophet as a lover was surely exhausting. Dealing with the bouts of exhaustion and sometimes the occasional relapse into unconsciousness it sure took a toll on anyone who knew him. They got anxious, worried, or even just flat out annoyed. 

Luckily Aoi wasn't like that at all. 

Uruha felt his heart slowly starting to regain its normal speed as he laid back down next to him. The ticking continued as the seconds passed by their little cocoon of silence, and he felt the need to break that silence or else he would lose it. 

He kissed at Aoi's cute face before sitting up from bed and stretching out his body's bone structure. Staring down at his naked body he took note of the new fresh pink marks speckling his chest. Damn it Aoi still marked him even though he asked not to be marked... Oh well they would heal soon anyway.

Then he rubbed his eyes of sleep before stepping quietly to the bathroom next to their dresser and closed it behind him with a small click.

His back slid down the door to the tiled floor. It was cold down here but he didn't really care right now. It felt kind of nice to feel it against his heated body. There was still a tiny bit of sweat clinging to his skin from last night. It was a really nice night for him and Aoi, one that he was sure they would both remember for a while.

Uruha looked towards where the water was dripping from the sink. Yesterday somehow, a few people were able to put grates over the water pipes to prevent the small frogs from entering through bath faucets and the like, and a system of purification chambers plus some filters to make it safe for people to drink and bathe.

Still he couldn't help but feel paranoid about the pipes, so he only showered here. He didn't really use the faucet on the sink. The only water he trusted to put inside his body was the water bottle stash in the refrigerator in the kitchen.

The shower head was still kind of wet from last night. They of course could not afford to get their bed sheets dirty too much. 

Lazily he pulled himself to the tub and turned on the shower head, letting the water rain on him as it turned from cold to tepid to nice and warm the way he likes it to be. It felt really nice.

He had to wonder when he was going to receive a new vision. Lucy had not bothered to speak to him since that last time and Micheal only visited him once since that time in the church and it was just for a small chat about menial things.

Angels... More like demons if you asked him. Damn things were annoying him.

Too lazy to get up he just laid there for a little while. He never got much time to be to himself that much lately so this was a nice change of pace for him. And also, Aoi wasn't here to nag him about being in the shower too long so there was also that. 

He started to feel his bone structure starting to ache a little bit because of the water and decided to turn it off. His body was clean enough by now probably and the water was running colder.   

A couple of minutes pass before he decides to pull himself up off his back and out of the shower to pull on one of Aoi's shirts that was still too big for him. Cliche he knew, but it worked considering how thin he was getting. Uruha sighed, a heavy noise that made his chest hurt. He stands over the sink to stare at his face in the mirror. There was nothing new for his sensors to tell him in here, so he just let his artificial brain do its own thing. Being a spirit trapped inside of this body was a very strange feeling. No actual heartbeat, just a small motor doing its best to mimic one and keep him alive. And no blood, just wires and whatever else Ruki put inside of him. His skin wasn't really just skin, just a series of rubber and metal wires pressed together with artificially grown skin cells. But it was the best he was gonna get he guessed. Work with what you're given basically.

If he told Aoi anything like this was gonna happen four hundred years ago he would be seen as insane. But look at them now, in the future... Uh, present, whatever. If only Takanori was here to see them now, he would lose it. The Ruki here with them now didn't really count. 

There were days when he couldn't help but remember their old lives, the smiles, the laughs, the pain and the tears. And that was what came with being human. But now he felt these emotions all over again, only a hundred times stronger. and for different reasons from back then.

Instead of worrying about lives or money or even fans, he now he to worry about the whole world and saving everyone who lives in it. Rock star turned savior of the world. How poetic really. Now he just had to wonder what his parents would think about him now, where ever they were.

He hadn't seen them in a while after he came back to life. The last he knew they were still out there in time space as spirits, looking over the planet silently. Aoi's parents didn't seem to care much for coming out of their own parts of the building. He only got to see them during emergencies or rare visits when Aoi really needed them for support. Which was rarely if it all. 

But he had to admit, Aoi was being really strong about it. He didn't show any emotional ties to them all that much since this whole thing started and it was kind of... Sad. In a way. Aside from all that though he was proud of the guy for all they have went though and being strong through all of it, unable to stand down from a fight. And for putting up with him for this long as well. Seriously, he was already tired of himself at this point. 

He was ready to start moping around again by himself when suddenly there was a small tugging at the corners of his subconsciousness. His body didn't register it at first seeing as how he was in a robot body, but it went into high alert as his emotions went haywire. This feeling he learned to grow accustomed to. It was his new prophetic powers telling him to go somewhere, tugging in just the tiniest of ways that it would almost be unnoticeable. 

Uruha panicked a little bit and tugged his shirt further down his body before top toeing outside to find his boxers from the night before. Aoi was still fast asleep, so he had some time to slip outside and find out where the tugging would lead him.

The corridor of the hallway was darkened, lit very dimly by the night time lights to preserve power. Out in the hallway the carpet was cold but soft under his every foot step. His ears could pick up on soft pitter patters of rain even from way down here.

The tugging pulled him down the hall and towards the stair well where he was directed up to the last floor... why was he being led here? This was just where they...

Oh right the cameras. Maybe this was a sign that he was ready to take his first steps into solving the issue here. Finally those good for nothing angels were doing what they promised to do. He was led straight to the camera room as he suspected and was face to face with the flat screens. Uruha swallowed and sat in one of the chairs, waiting for the tug in his head again before switching them on. First he was met with static and that was met with all of his attention. He knew it was either one of them because these monitors were static and interruption proof (supposedly) so there was no other real explanation for it. But which camera to check?

Another tug made him finally try turning off and turning on the biggest one right in the middle again and it miraculously came on (not really now that he thought about it.)

The feed was pointed at their warehouse right on top of their heads. Their windows were still broken but they still were able to put plastic on them to protect from the rain. But why was the camera on them? Nothing looked out of the ordinary here. Rain was light here, only falling in soft patterns and creating a thin veil like most around the building. Light from the moon shone eerily through the clouds to create a foggy but beautiful scene. 

Really nothing was here that he could see as a threat. Unless... that was the point? Maybe he had to see past all the cloak and dagger to find what he was looking for. Whatever that was.

Soon his mind started pulling him towards another camera, monitor number two. Which was the inside of the warehouse and directed at the entrance. Maybe he had to go there?

There was another pull in response and he immediately stands up to go back to find Aoi. If any thing he figured he should come along too to see what was going on. But then when he tried to go back the pulling became rather insistent on stopping him from going back. Did that mean... he had to be alone?

'Go alone,' His head told him in his own voice. In disbelief he stubbornly resisted the pull.

"Are you kidding? But he has to come along with me, it's not right for him to miss out!"

Still, the feeling insisted on tugging him away from the place where he was trying to go. 

'Go. Alone.'

Soon it was almost unbearable trying to resist, almost painful. Finally he relented, a little ticked off. 

"Agh fine! But can I at least put some proper clothes on?"

The tugging pulled back a little bit so he could breathe and he figured that was the best slack he was gonna be given. He went in right away as soon as he arrived back home he went for his and Aoi's bedroom to find clothes. He tried to be careful not to disturb his lover, now splayed all over both sides of the bed. Typical, he always did that regardless if he was alone or not. But that made him cute in his opinion. And when he woke up only to feel the warm feeling of arms over his body and soft lips at his neck there was no reason to complain. 

Uruha admired Aoi's sleeping face before racing out the door to follow his new trail, now dressed in just some skinnies and a pair of plain black boots. The sweater he picked to wear was also Aoi's, a grey one with fuzz on the inside.

The stairs were just as dark as the rest of the building and gave off an eerie feeling as if though they were warning him. But he ignored it and went straight to the bottom floor to find a flashlight in the lobby. If he was really gonna do this then he had to be prepared.

Taking a deep breath he started going through the main kitchens to find one and finally does in the closet pantry on a top shelf. Then he takes a large butcher knife, (just to be safe) tucks it into his sweater and made his way outside. Good thing no one was around, he would be really suspicious looking.

No one really came out here anymore. Not since the start of the plague. The frogs overran everything. The pond was inflated with them, and covering the ground, and even some tree frogs were hanging out in the few ones they had down here. The croaking was near to deafening and it made him flinch from how loud it was. He swore on his life that it was very tempting to just go back inside and stay there but his head was starting to hurt again from the ferocity of the pulling.

'Keep going.'

Uruha swore and ran for the corridor, taking care not to step in any of the small slimy beasts on his way.

Even on the wet dirt walls of the corridor they were attached like leeches. It was really gross and creepy the way they just stared at nothing like that. As though they were not really alive but at the same time they were. HE still wasn't even sure where they came from.

He got goosebumps and tried to ignore the feel of their eyes staring at him when he walked past them. It was only when Uruha finally made it to the elevator that there were hardly any around at all. Thank the stars for that, he thought with a sly smile. And from what his sensors were telling him there were no more up on top, not until he reached the top of the warehouse anyway. 

The elevator ride was slow and creaky, making him a little bit nervous. Without a second person to help him it was hard to do it. Or at least it would have been. Ruki made him stronger than usual, so he only had slight issues with the angling and crap. 

As for the voice in his head, he started hearing it a day ago. The new powers that were inside of him created a separate voice in his head. It was him, but not. It led him to where he needed to go but only in the form of hints and nudges in the right direction. That was the extent of his powers, strong enough to create a new identity inside his head. He didn't dare tell anyone about it, Ruki might think about it and...  Deactivate him. 

Ruki wouldn't do that he tried to tell himself. Or the human part of him did. The robot side of him was always on high alert since then, telling him that Ruki would most definitely try to do something to him if he seemed broken. Of course he didn't listen to this side of him at all, listening only to the human and rational side of himself to keep from being torn between his two sides.

So for now, he kept the voice a secret. And he would keep it a secret until the right time came. And as much as it hurt him to think to keep even more secrets from his lover. The ones he was already keeping were bad enough. But to add on even more... It hurt. 

But he tried not to think about it too much. He would think about it later. He would snuggle up to Aoi later and let the worry be absolved away with his nearness and everything would be okay again. 

Uruha takes a breath and continues to think more about what he was doing at this moment. 

The warehouse was as cold and as dark as it appeared on the screen. The fog was collecting on the ceiling in small thin lines that passed in and out of the windows. The moon light was making it look really creepy in here but also really pretty. It was nice but useless in terms of what he was supposed to be looking for.

So what was he supposed to be looking for? The pulls were becoming less frequent as he walked around until he reached a part in the far wall by the entrance where the conveyor belt used to be. A wide open hole in the wall was filled in with black rubber sealant and newspapers. Then as he approached there was a particularly sharp tug towards the hole and he obliged. But he didn't get it. 

The hole was as inconspicuous as ever, just having been randomly left behind after the conveyor belt was dismantled for its parts. The rain soaked through only slightly and caused drops of water to drip down the hole's outer edges. He frowned as he stepped even closer to inspect and used his instincts to determine where the pull was directing him. Then, the pull stopped when he found a particular piece of balled up paper with black rubber paint smeared on it. Confused he pulled it away from the sealed wall and studied it. 

"What the..?" 

'Open it,' the voice directed him. And he did so, peeling it apart page by page as it uncrumpled. And it was then that he realized why he was told to open it. There were a few legible words and pictures still on it. But that was not what mattered. What mattered was how the sealant created a big black 'A' in a messy and smeared pattern. A... A, a, a... Why was this particular letter so important again? He felt like he should know but... He was having trouble remembering. 

'Remember. Remember what Micheal told us.'

Frustrated he grasped the paper in his fingers and looked up at the mini fog clouds on the ceiling. 

"Remember what?" He pleaded. "I don't remember."

In return there was no voice, but he felt another tug back towards the elevator. Already he had to go back? Was this some random goose chase after all?

'No,' the voice assured him. 'Just remember what Micheal told us and we'll remember the one we are supposed to look for. Use our instincts, he didn't give us these powers for him to hold our hand every step of the way.'

So they were looking for someone. The only question was who. Micheal did tell him the names, but there were so many that he forgot all of them. 

He looked at the piece of paper and quickly strode back to the elevator after stuffing it back in his pocket. 

"Pff he could help me a little... So all I need to do is remember who he told me to help. But how am I supposed to do that? He told us nine names. And I don't remember any of them."

The elevator went smoother on the way down thanks to gravity. And the water helped a lot too. 

'We've already seen the first clue. Just follow what we're being told and we'll find out.'

He grimaced as he came back to the hallway after going back down and switched on the flashlight. The watch on his wrist was now reading only twenty minutes after three in the morning. It just had to be this early didn't it? When everyone was still asleep and he was suffering from nightmares. 

"Why couldn't this 'instinct' wait til later today to tell me what to do? I would like very much to go back to sleep."

He hears a disgruntled sound in his head and had to wonder how that happened. 

'No one else could see the first clue. That was up to us and us alone. We may love Aoi a whole lot to trust him with our life and our secrets but there are some things we cannot disclose to him until the appropriate time.'

Of course. When were the answers always just given to him? Not really ever, now that he thought about it. But of course, he thought again, there was always a point where he figured it out. 

"You don't say."

'I am saying.'

Uruha rolled his eyes in annoyance as he approached the cavern of the building, feeling more tired than he was when he first woke up. Using these powers made his head hurt, plus the voice was either a total smart ass or was totally oblivious to sarcasm. 

"Yoy know, you really need to pick up on sarcasm. The whole oblivious thing really isn't cute."

There was just a small mental sting at the back of his head and he flinched before rolling his eyes again. He felt these whenever the entity got irritated with him or he did something wrong. He guessed it had to be the former this time. 

Then he had to wonder how a regular human would be able to handle being what he was. Micheal told him repeatedly that a normal human cannot handle the emotional and physical stress with being an Angel's prophet. Their minds would not be able to cope with the visions that Micheal would send to him. It would be too much. 

That was why he was able to handle it. He was a machine capable of doing the mind and body work of over a few thousand humans at once. His body was strong enough to withstand whatever was thrown at him and he did withstand it, even if it was hard to think about it. 

The building was still dark by the time he got back, and he tried his best not to be too loud when he put the knife back in its spot by its twins. Or the flashlight back in its spot in the pantry. 

"Can I at least tell him when he wakes up?" He asked hopefully as he made his way back upstairs. "I can't just keep this to myself."

'Yes, but wait until morning where you can tell everyone. For now, just figure out the name of the target and you an go back to bed.'

Okay he could handle that. As long as he could tell someone he was totally fine with it. 

"Fair enough. So where am I going?" No direct verbal response, as usual. But he felt the urge to go to his place and went straight to the movie case that he and Aoi kept there, filled with old twenty first century films from their old childhoods that they recreated onto old DVD discs after they were discovered. But the cases were plain and not see through, having the name only written in marker on black labels. Was this supposed to be a test or something? "What am I looking for here?" 

'Just keep looking, you'll find it. If you get stuck just remember what you found.'

Uruha remembered the paper in his pocket and fished it back out to look at it, the all black 'A' seemed to stare back up at him eerily. So, he was looking for something related, or a movie starting with the letter. It was a good thing Aoi kept these alphabetically despite never actually watching them. It was all for nostalgia sake of course. 

"Okay let's have a look here."

Slowly he ran his fingers over the first couple of movies, slowly to wait for a signal. He went through all the movies for A. Nothing, surprisingly. Then B. C. And to D. By the time he got to L the buzzing started. And he knew he was close to whatever he was looking for. M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. Then at T, the buzzing turned to alarm bells vibrating and making him realize he was at the right letter. He went along all the movies and was surprised when the buzzing stopped on a particular movie. One that he, admittedly, would not have guessed. 

"Seriously? This one?" 

'Yes. This is the one.'

He grabbed the movie out of its case and stared incredulously at its new plastic cover. This was the answer obviously due to the weird sense of humor he apparently had. This was his own head directing him after all. 

"The little mermaid? Huh... Is this my idea of a weird... Joke... Wait, hang on a second." 

Uruha suddenly realized what the hell was going on. The character in the movie had a name starting with A. But what was it again...

'Think. Why do you think you are looking at this case? Look further into it. Remember,'

Panicking he stared more at the case and switched it around before it hit him. The main character was a mermaid with red hair, and her name was... 

"Um.. Uh... Ah... Ar... Um... Oh. That's right..."

'That's right,' his voice said smugly. 'You finally remembered his name.'

Uruha nodded, putting the case back in its spot with a stunned but also disbelieving face. Who would have thought that a Disney movie from the nineteen hundreds would help him this much? The name left a nostalgic but bitter taste of his old childhood on his lips. Aoi was most definitely not going to believe this.

He then dragged himself back to his room, dazed. He stripped away his clothes like before. Aoi still slept soundly unaware that his lover had ever left his side at all. Uruha smiled tiredly and put a hand around his waist snugly to hold him close to himself. But he guessed that he was being too loud because Aoi stirred in his arms before turning around to face him. 

Damn it... So close. 

"Uru...? Why are you awake..?" He asked tiredly and rubbed his eyes. "Are you okay?"

'Don't tell him yet. Wait til morning,' the voice urged. 

'Ugh fine,' he responded silently. Then he smiled softly at Aoi and cups his face. 

"It's nothing," he whispered. "Go back to sleep, I'll tell you everything in the morning."

He was met with a tender kiss on his lips and a content hum from his lover. 

"Mmm... Okay... Love you..."

The prophet continued to pet Aoi's head repeatedly to lull him back to sleep. But he didn't respond even after the raven fell back to sleep, too occupied with the name he just discovered as the name of the Angel he was meant to save. 

"Ariel huh?"

TBC

Chapter Text

Normal POV

There was a point in life, a long time ago, when the future was not certain for anyone. People were scared of the dark, of unknown things, even of their own shadows. Life was harsh and short lived, making it seem like it was more like surviving than living.

As time goes on and life becomes easier, but the problems become tougher. Life is hard, but only if you aren't among the lucky.

Rich and greedy people have all the luck, taking for themselves the best part of the meat and leaving only the scraps for the least well endowed. But such is the cruel way of life, the circle of endless struggle.

Now, it seems as though things are no different, only this time it's the whole entirety of the people suffering, like mindless marionettes and one person is tugging the puppet strings to make them bend and obey.

But if one thing was certain he knew that he wasn't gonna give in so easily.

Things were different now. Back then, he only had to deal with the small problems in life. Missing practice, waking up late, not enough rent money et cetera et cetera.

Now, he had the very fate of the entire world in his hands, in the clutches of his fingertips. It was a heavy and mentally jarring task for sure. No normal human would be capable of such an enormously important mission, but perhaps that was why he was picked. Lord knows Yuu wouldn't have been able to do it. It was just him, Kouyou Takashima.

That name held so much memories for him, so much pain both good and not so good.

Who would have thought that he, a boy from Kanagawa, would be witness to something like this? Four hundred years... It almost seems comical really, how his life turned out this way. And with the five people he led a band with, a whole life left behind.

It still made him feel lonely. Yuu, Akira, and himself were here sure. But Takanori and Yutaka... weren't. And it didn't feel right. But he has Ruki and Kai now, and they are the literal reincarnations of his friends after all. That was the very best he was gonna get he supposed. No use pining over lost memories.

The ones he had would do just fine. The robot inside of him was confused at the influx of memories and emotions coming from being alive, but the more human part was grateful that he could still feel.

He remembered things at the most random of times. How his home looked, who his parents' parents were. He remembered he had a few siblings as well, and a few nieces and nephews.

There was also that time he remembered how to play the guitar the way he used to. Yuu and Ruki, being the geniuses they were, made one for him out of spare scraps of things lying around. But he never got a chance to play with it, what with all this apocalypse stuff going on. His lover did though, but just the simple stuff since he wasn't used to it yet. He was a scientist for crying out loud, so his fingers weren't as callused as they were back then. Still, he remembered.

He wondered if he was able to play anything from their early days...

"Kouyou?"

His head popped up, and he looked around himself in a daze. He was in his and Yuu's block, in the living room to be exact. Where was... Oh yeah he was sitting here thinking about what to do. He must have dozed off. Sleep deprivation can do that to you. 

It was a few hours ago now that he came back, but only managed to sleep for a little while before he realized he wasn't really able to sleep despite being tired as hell. So he decided just to wait in the living room on the couch for his lover to get up. He's been here ever since, letting his mind wander. It was currently eight in the morning and he was still dressed in only his boxers and an over sized sweater.

"Eh?"

He came face to face with his lover, speak of the devil, no pun intended... Yuu looked at him with a gentle frown, concerned.

"You were dozing off again, lost in your own head," he says. "You were just sitting there for a while not saying anything at all. I was getting worried that you were locked up again. Is something wrong?"

Again? Oh yeah, that. Yesterday he was dozing off too, and as a result his body started to go into a state of paralysis and Yuu had to shake him to get him to wake up.

"Well," he said and groaned, stretching out his shoulders with a satisfying pop. "I'm... sleepy. Or I guess I should say exhausted. I was waiting for you to get up."

It's true, he was waiting here for a while for Yuu to wake up so he could show him what he found. 

"Why didn't you just sleep in there with me like usual?" his lover asked, sitting near him on the couch. "You know if you were tired there was no reason for you not to."

Kouyou sighed in response, rubbing his eyes. Why oh why did Ruki have to make him depend on sleep? He wasn't even human anymore damn it. 

Instinctively he pressed closer, reveling in the feeling of Yuu's soft warm arms going around his shoulders and the minty smell coming from what he could only assume was toothpaste.

"Because Yuu, I... I had another vision last night. One that might sound familiar. Because of that I couldn't sleep."

Yuu tilts his head, rubbing his arm up and down too soothe him. 

"What is it? The one you told me about with the grass and volcanoes and stuff?"

Kouyou shook his head, searching around in his pocket for the scrap of paper he found above ground. The memory of his horrible vision made him shiver with dread. Even though he knew it was only a nightmarish one that wasn't real... He knew better by now than to dismiss it as nothing. Micheal was most likely warning him. But of what? Or who?

"No not that one... Remember the day when we first did it? Back in Ruki's apartment?" 

Yuu blushed heavily, glad that no one was around to hear how bold Kouyou was being. He nodded, swallowing back a lump in his throat. 

"Oh... That one. You had it again? Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked. "I could have helped you somehow. You're not trying to solve things on your own again are you? We know how that ended up last time."

Kouyou laughed nervously, averting his gaze. 

'Go ahead,' the voice in his head suddenly says for the first time all while he was here. 'Tell him if you must. He needs to understand. We need to trust him if no one else will listen.'

'I'm sure he will,' he shot back before wringing his hands together, feeling just as anxious as before he woke up.

"It's not that at all Yuu. I just... I couldn't tell you. Not until it was the right time. And... what I have to say, please don't think that I'm insane okay? Even if it seems so I'm not."

His lover peeked over at him curiously, feeling the body in his arms suddenly feel as if he were tensed up. 

"You know you can tell me anything," Yuu says with a smile. "I'll never think you're insane, because I know you aren't. So please tell me what is bothering you."

Kouyou should have known that was gonna be his answer. Yuu never once thought of him as insane before, why would he start now? 

"Okay... Um... Early this morning I had that vision and I woke up from it. Micheal... I think he is warning me about something, but I don't know what it is yet. Anyways, I got up to get a drink of water when... See there's this thing that started happening recently... I uh, I hear a voice in my head. It's my own voice, and it told me to go above ground. I found a clue up there, one that will help us find someone."

Yuu stared at him for a while, and he started to panic. What if he did sound crazy? Was Yuu going to belittle him? 

Then he hummed, as if in thought. 

"Interesting... What sort of clue did you find?"

Kouyou slumped a little bit, relief making his body relax. So Yuu believed him, that was a huge weight off of his mind. 

"Um, well it's this," he says and brings the paper he found out of his pocket. "Remember when we sealed up that conveyor belt when we came down here? And all we had was newspaper and some spray paint?" 

Yuu nodded and took the scrap of paper to examine it. The big black 'A' scrawled onto it was as intimidating as ever. 

"Yeah I remember. And I am guessing that this has something to do with it?"

Kouyou nodded, looking forward to the movie case with all the movies on it. 

"Mhm... Do you remember the name of the Angel we're supposed to look for?" He asks, hoping that he at least remembered that. But Yuu furrowed his eyebrows, showing the opposite of that. Figures, everyone was too busy to focus on that.  

"No," he admits. "It's been a hectic week that I completely forgot all of those names. Do you know?"

Kouyou sat up and took back the paper, looking at it as though it were close to biting his fingers off. 

"Yes. His name is Ariel, and... well, that's all I know. I have yet to receive more clues. Micheal is being stingy."

His lover laughed a little and brought his arm around him closer, drawing him in for cuddles. He relaxed a little more and lets the paper drop from his fingers onto the floor. 

'Micheal is not being stingy,' the voice said in protest. 'He is merely waiting for us to keep moving forward. Now that we know Yuu is on our side, we have to know if the others will be as well. Starting with the other three who we've become so close to already. Then we will see.'

Oh well, that sort of made sense he guessed. He should have known already that this wasn't gonna be that easy. 

"Well in any case, I'm glad you told me. Are you gonna tell the others as well?"

Kouyou nodded, suddenly feeling sleepy. He would tell them but... maybe not now. A nap would probably do him some good first.

"Yes but later," he yawned. "First I have to sleep...  I'm exhausted."

Yuu pet his hair, soothing him even deeper into sleep. His eye lids drooped, and all sounds around him began to drone out until it was only a soft buzzing around him.

"All right honey," he says into his ear. "You can go ahead and sleep if you want. But if you have another vision I want you to tell me right away. Okay? I'll let the others know we need to have a meeting."

But he was already asleep. Yuu smiled warmly at him and cuddles closer, the warmth making him sleepy as well. Maybe a quick nap would be good for him too.

//////////////////////////

2006

The feeling of old but soft couch cushions pressed into his back, trapping him under a lithe body. Arms draped on either side of his head, and eyes smoldering like fire gazed at him with such hunger in them that it made him shiver.

A mouth kissed and sucked at his neck, rough enough to make his body hot but not enough to make any marks.

'Yuu we can't... not here."

Kouyou gasped as soft warm fingers slipped under his shirt, exploring and caressing his heated skin. Beside him was a couple of dropped PS2 controllers and a few empty bottles of soda. The shoddy nineties era television blinked with a blue screen, sitting on a medium sized cabinet filled with games and movies from their childhoods. Forgotten in the heat of the moment.

"Why not?" came a gentle whisper and a puff of breath. "I know you want it just as much as I do. I don't see a problem seeing as how you're reacting very nicely."

It was true he was at fault for kind of teasing Yuu a bit too much earlier. But he has never been pushed down like this before. It's only been a week since they started to date, and the sexual tension between them has been at an all time high. They may have known each other a few years already but it was still... strange to be touched like this by him. The old couch in Yuu's apartment was hardly the place he wanted to do it for the first time either. It did not feel as romantic as he would have wanted it to. So he persisted, weakly pushing at his boyfriend's chest. 

"But... I... This place is kinda weird... We don't have to stop I just... want a better place."

That must have gotten Yuu's attention because he stopped, lifting his head to stare at his boy friend. 

"I see," he says with a laugh, touching his cheek. "Why haven't you said so before?"

Kouyou pouted, his cheeks puffing out as he looked away. He always looked cute when he did that.

"I have been trying. You kept ignoring me," he complained. "I don't want our first time to be on your mom's old couch you know. I don't want to sully our few high school memories together."

Yuu laughed and sat up, now a bit sheepish. 

"Yeah you're probably right... It feels a bit weird now that you mention it. So... Do you wanna..? you know..." 

He trailed off, looking towards his bedroom. Kouyou follows his gaze and smiles finally, relieved that he got the hint. He sat up as well, letting his arms wrap around Yuu's shoulders, going in for a soft kiss. 

"Carry me?" he murmured in a voice that he knew made him crazy. And as expected Yuu's eyes sharpened and he smirked. With one arm he hooked under Kouyou's legs and another around his torso he easily lifted the other boy into his arms and close to his chest. 

"Of course."

/////////////////////////////////

Kouyou awoke a few hours later, tucked into his and Yuu's soft bed in their room. That guy... he must have carried him here and went off somewhere else. How thoughtful. He sits up and swallows, getting the usual feeling of sleep out of his eyes and letting his body return to life. The clock beside his beside table now read ten thirty in the morning.

'Glad to see we're awake,' the voice suddenly chirped, making him narrow his eyes. 'Now, push that memory aside. We have a job to do. Yuu is waiting for us upstairs with Ruki and Akira to be told about our vision so we can get to work.'

Of course, straight back to work like it always was. Could he never catch a break? Sighing he pulled himself out of bed and rummaged around in his closet to find something to wear.

"Hey, I like to remember nice things to make myself feel better," he snapped. "If I am gloomy and serious all the time we won't be able to get anywhere so just give me a second."

The reply was instantaneous, sounding just as annoyed as he felt.

'We don't exactly have a second,' it reminded. 'You know, Micheal was right in separating our voices, we never learn do we? Still as childish as ever, dwelling on the past, never willing to work harder than we should. Have we forgotten why we are fighting in the first place?'

Whoa. This was the first time the voice ever bothered to reply back to him in such a manner. That was how he used to act though when he was young, and snapped at everyone when he was not feeling his best. Maybe he was more easily irritated than he thought. Something about his personality for him to fix he supposed. 

"Of course I haven't forgotten," he growled right back and found some jeans to slip into. "I'm just tired okay? Even though I am not human I still feel like one. I get tired, I need sleep. I need a break now and again. If I just work work work all the time, then it would be like before when we pushed Yuu away from us. I don't want to do that again. So get off my back and let me breathe."

The voice did not reply, and he felt no other lingering senses in his head. He figured it probably went off to pout somewhere. Good, he needed some time to himself after all the pestering he has been getting lately. 

After eating something and brushing his teeth Kouyou left the block with his keys dangling from his fingers haphazardly, a small but important piece of self security. He remembered he would always swing them on his index finger as he strolled the city streets from his own apartment to Yuu's, humming softly to himself. Even now, he found himself doing the exact same thing as he headed upstairs. 

He stopped to look down at his bare feet on the carpet, seeing the birthmark he always got made fun of as a kid because of the shape resembling a small heart. He got called a girl, not man enough, and all sorts of things similar to those. At first it hurt his feelings seeing as how he was just a kid. But looking back on it now, he was glad he went through all that. Without a reason to go on fighting, he would not be here right now. Even for those that used to pick on him, he would be grateful. 

Realizing his mind was wandering again, Kouyou shook himself out of the stupor and kept walking towards the monitoring room. Once on the top floor he headed straight for the room at the end of the hallway where he knew everyone was. But all at once the voice was back. 

'Wait,' it pressed. 'Don't go in yet, we still have to figure out what we're going to say and what to do should the worst happen.'

Once again, he was worrying too much. He because this voice was a manifestation of himself, and was only expressing the fears he was trying his hardest to bury away. Even so, did he really have to show so little faith in himself?

"Come on stop worrying," he answered and looked up at the ceiling since there were no windows to look out of. "We know Yuu will be beside us one hundred percent. The others will as well, they already know what we are anyways. Nothing will change, they wont care."

Still, the voice continued with it's worries. It seems to lose all reason when he gets worried. 

'But... We don't know these people all that well,' it argued. 'The only ones we really know are Yuu and Akira. Ruki and Kai are still like strangers despite the fact that Ruki created us. We don't know them. And as for the others...'

There was fear underlying his tone despite the way he tried to hold it together. And that was understandable. Still, he knew that hiding and outweighing the positives with the negatives only served to make things worse. 

"Look, if things really do go south then we will figure something out. But it's like you said before, we need to get it done. Even if it's alone."

'...Very well. But a word of warning; Always watch your back.'

What... the heck did that mean? Confusion made Kouyou tilt his head and stare back down the corridor, seeing the door about twenty feet from where he stood. 

That voice, always saying the most vague of things. Again, the voice was the part of himself tied to those damn angels, so he wasn't surprised. Micheal and Lucifer both had a habit of being like that when they wanted to be. Which was why they were so damn irritating. 

With a heavy mind now weighed down by doubt he shuffled the rest of the way to the monitor room and pushed it open. Since the incident with the blood plague, Miyavi, Kai, and Hiro decided it would be best for them to move to a new monitoring room. The old one was small, barely the size of a single person bedroom since it was previously in what was supposed to be a closet for cleaning stuff. Now they managed to move everything to a whole entire block in and of itself. The rooms were furnished like normal rooms for anyone who wanted to stay and observe. The kitchen was fully stocked as well. As for the monitors, they now occupied the entire living room, with multiple screens everywhere with the inclusion of more cameras. It was designed for long observations in case of emergency, and seemed to be working out perfectly. 

Everyone was situated in the living room now, squeezed into the long couches in front of the monitors.

"Yuu?" he called. His lover looked towards the door before jumping up to meet him. 

"You're finally here! We've been waiting for you!" he says and tugs him inside to sit next to him on the couch. Ruki, Akira, Tsuzuku, Ryoga, Miyavi were all present. Even Shinya was here. But where the heck was Hiro and Kai? Kouyou voiced his questioning and was met with equal amounts of confusion. 

"We don't know," Tsuzuku says to which everyone agrees. "They've both been unresponsive to our messages and when we went to go check on them at their blocks no answer came. We're sure that they're okay but..."

Unable to finish, Ryoga continued for him. 

"We were at least hoping for some sort of message telling us they were okay. You know? But so far, nothing."

That was odd. Usually Kai and Hiro were the first ones to be here considering they were the two CEO's under Miyavi's guidance. So why would they not show up? Something felt off about this whole thing, and he prayed to the stars that they were okay. 

"This might sound a bit harsh," Miyavi says once everyone went quiet. "But we've no time to worry about that. If they are having issues, then it is their responsibility to inform us of any sort of emergency or personal issue. Now, I believe Kouyou has something to tell us. Is that not the reason we were all gathered here today this early in the morning?"

"Yeah I guess so. But uhm," Kouyou said nervously once all eyes were on him. Then Yuu puts an arm around him and he's rubbing his arms like he usually did. "It's strange, and I don't know if I should even say what I have to say because I am scared that you won't look at me the same way anymore."

It's true he was scared witless. Scared that everyone will label him as a weirdo and grow tobe wary of him. It was a fear that made him shake with uncertainty and he seriously started to consider backing out. But then Yuu is once more whispering to him in that sweet voice that makes all the cells in his body relax and the fear start to subside. 

"It's alright Kouyou. Just tell them what you told me, it will be fine."

"Yeah Kou," Akira agreed. "Whatever you have to say to us will be helpful. We won't think any differently of you because we're your friends."

Everyone else voiced their own assurances in soft voices to calm him down and he immediately felt a ton better. Still, there was a small spark of fear, but it was to a lesser extent than before. It would be enough. Kouyou smiles and looks around at the faces of his friends, relieved. 

"Okay. Well, it goes something like this..."

Minutes passed, and he finally explains the last of his story in as much detail as he can. 

"And so, thanks to the bond I have developed with Lucifer and Micheal I can now hear my own voice who is also my subconscious that is also acting as a conduit between us. Whatever he says is something that either I am thinking or what one of them are saying. They can see things we can't and therefore I can receive hints as to what I am supposed to do and that's how I figured out who we have to find, but I still don't know how yet. That's it."

He takes in a deep breath and lets it out, glad to have finally explained what had been on his mind the past few days. It really felt good to confide in his friends, but now he just had to see how they were taking it. 

First he gauges Ruki and Akira's reactions, watching for any signs of disbelief. They didn't seem to be against it, and that was a welcome reaction. Everyone else seemed amazed, not at all disgusted or freaked out like he irrationally thought they would be. The first one to speak was Ruki, much to his suspicions.

"That's amazing!" he responded loudly and jumped up from his spot in the kitchen where he was smoking. "Can... Can you hear him right now?"

He seems excited. Kouyou should have figured. 

"No," he says. "I got mad at him and he left, but he usually pops in at the most random of times, especially when I am talking with other people. They're annoying."

'Speaking of which, we should let our friends know that our two companions seem to be... ahem, preoccupied with other activities.'

And there was the voice again, right when he was talking. He rolls his eyes and grumbled a little bit. 

"And there he is now," he revealed. "But what the heck does preoccupied mean?"

Yuu stared at him, wondering what he was talking about. 

"What's it saying?" Shinya asked, speaking for the first time. Kouyou shook his head, struggling to single out the voices. 

"Uhm... It's saying that Hiro and Kai are fine and that we shouldn't worry about them. But..."

'Perhaps now would be a good time to wait a bit longer because they are almost done. Don't worry though, it's nothing to be worried about although I will say that it is kind of... crude, to say the least. Humans are so amusing.'

Ohhhhh. Well then... That was something he wasn't sure he wanted to know at all.

"But what?" Tsuzuku asks. "Are they okay?"

Well, he was sure that they were more than okay by now. 

"Um, well... Ugh, how should I put this... It appears as though... Well, to put it bluntly. They're together right now. As in, you know... Together. In Kai's apartment."

It took a few seconds of silence before Ruki was once again screeching like a banshee.

"Oh my god they're totally fucking aren't they?!"

"Ruki!" Akira screamed. "Keep your voice down!"

Kouyou facepalmed, wishing he hadn't said anything.

TBC

Chapter Text

Darkness and fog surrounded his body, the cold making his frame shiver. All around him was the suffocating blanket, nothing but emptiness. But it was familiar despite all of that. The moments he spent here in the past have since desensitized him, and the darkness was sort of... comforting. The only thing he really overthought in this split moment was his wondering how long he would be here. 

Looking down at himself showed that he had no clothes on, but that didn't really bother him much.

It had been a few hours since he spoke to his friends last, and only an hour since he spoke to Yuu. He remembered falling asleep after wracking his brain for answers in the library on the top floor near the computer room and then, he ended up here. Now, it was just a matter of time before either of those brothers showed up. Hopefully this time, it was only one of them. 

He was still pissed at them though, because not long before he fell asleep they completely wiped his memories of who the culprit of this whole fiasco was. Of course, at this point he realized that maybe it was better he didn't remember. The guilt from before was far too much too bear, and catching them would probably be far more satisfying. Still didn't stop him from throwing a small tantrum though. 

Absentminded he clawed at the small scar on his neck where the polar bear tattoo resided, a scar embedded in his neck where he had his transmitter removed. A full minute had passed and still nothing was happening. Wasn't there usually some sort of hint that they were here? That, or they were messing with him again. Which, if it was indeed true, was really bothersome. Damn angels...

"Hello? Is anyone here?" He called in an annoyed voice, not hiding his irritation. "If not then I'm leaving!"

No sooner had he spoken that the normally very stagnant air around him shifted, a cold breeze interrupting the stillness and bringing a lingering hint of flowers. Kouyou then saw a bright white light that erupted far in the dream scape limits, flickering and flashing in an almost beckoning way. Beneath his feet, the cold ground rumbled, feeling like it would give way any second.

'Run .'

Kouyou wasted no time listening to the small voice that nagged at him out of nowhere. He sprinted towards that light like his life depended on it. For some reason, his running felt.... slower here. Like his legs wouldn't let him move faster. But why? He was an android, something like this should have been a piece of cake. But still, after only a few moments of running he felt like his muscles were stretched impossibly tight and his lungs were burning for air.

Still, he ran. His feet were getting scrapes from what felt like rougher and rougher ground as the faint light brightened considerably more. The closer he got, the more he felt the ground shake even worse, and as he burst through the huge wall of light he immediately began to fall.

The ground disappeared from under him and his body plummeted into empty air. All around him he saw an entirely new setting. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds. And an endless expanse of green grass as far as he could see beneath him. Kouyou had no time to feel fear for he fell at a slower rate the closer he got to hitting the surface, enough to where he only barely felt his breath leave him as he delicately dropped into a bed of wild red posies. His stomach felt it though, letting a wave of nausea make him want to hurl.

"Ugh. That was... totally not cool," he grumbles and pulls himself to his knees, seeing grass stains rubbed onto his skin and...pants? Now he was wearing what looked like plain black skinnies and a tank top. How considerate. Wiping his hands on his pants from the grass he looks around again. "So. I'm here. Now what?" 

Now that he thought about it, it was odd that this sort of thing should happen. Normally, he only stayed in that one place, that dark and scary atmosphere that felt like he was gonna suffocate. It wasn't like Micheal or Lucifer to show him something new like this. What was going on?

He squinted and tried to look around more but saw just the endless flowers in front of him. However when he turned around he saw a hill, not too big but also not small. Just the right size to be able to simply walk over it from what he can tell.

'Walk. Find me.'

The voice in his head spoke again, though this one was not as chatty as the one when he was awake.

"Find who?" He asked out loud. "What am I looking for?"

He gets no answer but decides to listen anyways. What would be the point in ignoring? To be an asshole? Umm nah.

Kouyou sighed heavily as he dragged his feet through the flowers, growing increasingly annoyed by the second. As minutes went by he began to realize something else of significance. This field... was familiar. Like he had been here before. But why?

The thoughts would most likely make him upset the more he thought about it, so he tried to concentrate on walking. After what felt like forever he reached the flat area beneath the mountain, now covered in soft white lilies instead of poppies. In fact all he saw now were the lilies. Confused but curious he started walking up, still not sure what to expect once he for to the top.

'Trust me.'

He paused momentarily at hearing the voice before continuing onward. Yeah right. He trusted those idiot brothers and look at what they did. Started the apocalypse was what.

Well at least it meant that he could still be with Yuu. As long as that didn't change he was okay with that.

Finally he reaches the top of the hill and looks out over a new field, now covered in entirely blue flowers, looking like violets. And sitting not too far away down this hill, about maybe fifty meters or so, was a house, ancient looking in design but seemingly brand new. It was rectangle shaped with pillars all around it made of a glistening white stone. 

A Greek temple, that was what it was. He remembered after only looking at it for a split second. But why was he seeing a temple here of all places? What were those brothers thinking?

'Close. Very close.'

The voice chirped in his ear again, seeming to be excited at the fact he was now in walking distance. Close to what? Kouyou didn't bother to ask out loud because he knew he would have to find out everything himself. And right now he couldn't deny that he was very curious, having never explored a Greek temple before, not even when he had a human body. Remembering the time four hundred years ago made his heart ache with sadness and longing. 

But he didn't want to think about the past right now. There was something in there he needed to find, something important. So Kouyou set off down the hill at a jogging pace. The feeling of the flower petals lightly brushing against his skin was somewhat pleasant, reminding him that there was still something nice about the world as though it wasn't all in his head. Even a few birds somewhere nearby chirped a pleasant tune. They were really luring him in weren't they? 

Finally he came closer to the temple, a sudden break in the flowers giving way to a patio of blue colored tiled glass and an outer edge of bright grey limestone blocks that were small enough for people to comfortably step over them. This patio was circular and about twenty feet in circumference. Now that he had a closer look, The temple had to be about nine meters, or a little under thirty feet in height, ten feet in width, and when he stepped around to the side it looked like about another twenty feet in length. Pretty big for a temple in the middle of nowhere, he thought cynically. Even a smooth beautiful fountain with three tiers and crystal blue water was right in the middle of the patio. 

On either side of this patio were long rectangular pools of water set in the ground, shallow enough to see the bottom of them. Lily pads and lotus flowers are floating on the surface, creating a peaceful atmosphere. A duck was even calmly chilling there on the surface, paddling it's feet beneath the surface and staring at him. That was kind of weird.

Shrugging it off he stepped onto the patio, letting his feet grow used to the feeling of smooth stone and glass in contrast to rough ground and wet flowers. The fountain made soft trickling noises and he had to wonder. Where the heck was that water coming from? Oh well, this was a vision, it didn't have to make sense. 

"Hello?" He called out once he got his bearings. "Is anyone here?" 

He approached the steps leading up to the main platform just in front of the huge etched wooden temple doors behind some columns. It was wide open, and he could see a small light coming from inside. Curious he stepped inside and was met with a warm but dark atmosphere, smelling heavily of sweet overpowering incense. There are more columns in here, lining the sides of the all white limestone walls with enough space for people to walk in-between them. The floor was tiled in smooth designs and even in the dim light he could see how polished and shiny it was. Across the room he sees an altar with two small candles lighting it up. 

This whole thing felt so surreal, what was he here for? No one had answered his earlier calls from before. Kouyou contemplated his next actions before another flickering on his periphery caught his attention. To the far right corner behind the altar was another open door with what looked like another candle lighting the way, which strangely wasn't lit before. 

'Follow me.' 

"Me?" 

Confused even more he walked to the altar and observed it briefly before turning away after deciding it wasn't that important before turning his attention to the back room door. He was ready to just leave when another voice cooed at him, this time not in his head but coming from the room. It was mildly creepy to hear another voice out loud instead of in his head. The sound was soothing, light and wispy but also sounding disturbed, as though in distress. Similar in sound to his own voice but higher in pitch. Like a female or a very young male.

'Follow.'

Suddenly the candle flame flickered as it took off behind the door and disappeared, not a flame at all. More like a wisp or small orb of light that resembled a gentle yellow flame. Kouyou's brain took a few seconds to register what had just happened before he finally responded with the only thing on his tongue. 

"H-hey, wait up!"

Immediately he rushed after the wisp like entity through the door and almost tumbled down a wide open trap door just around the corner. His breath left his chest in a gasp and he had to take a self calming few seconds of breathing before looking down into the pitch black hole. A rickety wooden step ladder went into the pitch darkness, and his head made it seem even more rational to back out. The atmosphere in this room was different from the one he felt outside. It was peaceful out there, serene and quiet. In here was also quiet, but stiflingly so. The dark atmosphere made his skin crawl and fear gripped onto him like iron chains. 

It had been a while since he felt this scared, thinking back to when he died that day of incurable sickness. It was fear for Yuu, though, so right now he could tell that this fear was different. A fear of the unknown. 

'Do not hesitate.'

Okay, scratch what he said about the voice not being chatty. It was talking up a storm, but now that he could hear an actual voice, somehow being carried up from the black hole, made him a little frightened. It freaked him out honestly. It was like he was in a weird acid induced trip that was turning from happy to bad all at once. 

But still, he had his pride and that pride forced him to push away thoughts of retreat. Maybe this fear would be misplaced, maybe he would be greeted with nothing but security and safety. There was always a possibility, right? This was just like a lucid dream, the ones where you knew you were dreaming and could remember it afterwards. However unlike those types he wasn't the one controlling what was happening. 

Besides, Micheal and Lucifer would not do anything to harm him would they? Lucifer was in love with him, so there would be no harm done to him even in the slightest. And from what he knew of Micheal, he cared about him too. 

With that in mind he clenched his fists before easing himself onto his knees to glance down into the darkness before deciding to climb down. As he expected, the ladder was old and creaky, but thankfully it held under his weight for luckily only a few steps, maybe around fifteen or twenty. His feet touch a smooth wooden bottom, warm on his skin. He looks around, the darkness heightening his senses a little bit. His ears strained to pick up noises, but other than his breathing and erratic heartbeat there were no real noises to be heard. It was dead silent.

"Where did you go?" Kouyou called out softly to break the silence and began to walk blindly, using his hands to feel around. "Don't leave me here!"

His voice carried only a little, telling him this place wasn't very large in height. The sound bounced off very close to him, so he could deduce that he was in a small space no more than four square feet in width with smooth stone walls and maybe around seven feet from the top. A quick jump upwards told him that he was toughing the very bottoms of the temple, deep underground. However, it did carry far in front of him before bouncing off and echoing back at him. Since it was quite a distance he couldn't deduce the length of the corridor, so he had no chance but to put his hands out in front of him to feel for any obstructions. He walked like this for about five minutes before he saw another small flickering around in front of him. 

The small wisp from before. It was at the end of this strange corridor, lighting up What looked like a doorway with no door about twenty feet away. He hurried along the corridor and made it to the entry way, seeing another room now lit up by the wispy entity. Kouyou looks around, noting the seven by seven square foot room and the entity was in the middle of the room, lighting up brighter like an intense fire instead of a weak candle, so much so that he had to start shielding his eyes. 

'You finally found me,' it finally says after he had been staring it down for a few seconds. 'I've been waiting for so long. You're kind of slow, aren't you?'

It was now in front of him, and distinctly as a female voice. The bright intensity lowered so that he didn't have to cover his eyes, finally seeing that the wisp still imitated a flame from a candle, a very bright candle. Wait. Did it just insult him?

"Um... Who are you?" Kouyou asks, deciding to brush it off even if it irritated him. "Where am I? What am I doing here?"

'You have so many questions,' it mused. 'However I will only answer one of those at a time. I am of no one special at this point. You are in a vision. You are here to help me, young prophet.'

Kouyou frowned and looked around, seeing that the walls and floor were all made of stone, smooth and shiny like marble. But it was empty, except for him and this... entity. 

"I don't understand," he responded honestly. "What are Micheal and Lucy trying to accomplish by bringing me here?"

The entity then giggled, a soft sound like bells that set his nerves at ease like a lullaby. Maybe it was the gentle female tone that made it feel more secure, he wasn't that sure. Just that, he knew he felt less tense now that he knew this thing had no ill intention whatsoever. But why did it giggle?

'My child,' it began. 'Your youth is refreshing, and it makes me feel so much younger. But you're also very naive. What makes you think those two had anything to do with this?'

The idea that the brothers were involved seemed to be ridiculous enough to make this entity laugh, so what was really going on if they weren't?

"Um... Well I just assumed. Those guys have been helping me, or at least they are trying to. They gave me this power, they... They..."

He paused when the entity sighed, a deeply empathetic and disbelieving sigh. 

'Those two,' it began with a stern but soft tone. 'Really, I bring you all the way down here and you think they're the ones who did it? I'm so wounded.'

He kept his gaze locked on the entity, still confused. What was it trying to get at? Or rather, what was she trying to get at? So she brought him all the way down here. Now what?

"So... What am I supposed to be doing here?" He asked. "You haven't told me what I'm supposed to be doing. And I would very much like to know who you are so I know I won't be tricked into something I don't know what to do."

He watched as the entity flickered and brightened in intensity a brief second before it begins to grow. Kouyou backs up against the wall watching, fascinated as the shape took on a humanoid shape and he could make out a feminine form. A curved chest, slim hips and long hair to her waist. But still, it was like a flame, bright and intense, and the brightness was low enough so that he didn't have to cover his eyes. The figure stood in the middle of the room, body in a friendly nonthreatening stance and her arms were at her hips, posed like a delicate statue. 

'It seems like you still haven't pieced it together, so I shall indulge you. Just this once.'

"Eh... Ahh!" 

Kouyou stumbled back when the room began to shake a little, like an earthquake tore through the place. The entity seemed unaffected by the shaking, and walked closer. All around them the shaking grows worse, shaking the temple above them terribly hard. It seemed like it would collapse on top of him, and he grew afraid again. 

"Hey! Are you crazy?! This whole place is gonna fall apart!"

The entity just stands there and he backed up more. The entity reached out to him, pointing an ethereal finger to the doorway, her voice stern.

'Go ahead and leave,' it says to him in a soft voice. 'Go, look upon the world I myself have created for you. Look upon it, know it, and return home to do what you had always been meant to do. GO.'

He didn't question it and turned, bolting out of there like a demon out of hell. Running blindly down the corridor, he blindly reached outwards and felt for the ladder while trying not to fall from the tremors. He furiously crawled upwards and out of the backroom, bolting furiously out of the temple and downoff the patio before the ceiling could fall on his head. What greeted him outside made his blood run cold. 

The once beautiful scenery he had seen before was radically different. The sky... was blood red. The flowers were replaced with dead grass as far as he could see. Dead trees occasionally spotted the landscape and a crow shrieked from somewhere behind him. Kouyou shivered and felt the dead grass beneath his feet before turning to look at the temple. By now, the tremors have stopped, but all that was left was a few columns and a pile of stone and rubble. The patio was cracked and dirty with neglect, and the fountain had a now stagnant pool of water in its bottom basin with filth on its edges and flies buzzing around it, no longer spouting clean refreshing water. 

Horrified. Terrified. That was probably an understatement wasn't it? Kouyou felt his stomach lurch up to his throat and fell to his knees, unable to fully fathom what the fuck just happened. That entity just... tore this place to pieces. Like it was nothing, like it was tin foil. He looked around himself, shivering as the once nice cool breeze now turned chilly and whipped around him, forcing him to hold his arms close to himself. Then, out of nowhere, atop the rubble of the temple he saw a bright light.

It was her, the entity from before. Only now, he saw an actual woman, dressed in an all white chiffon with soft features and pale strawberry blonde hair whipping about in the wind. She wasn't Asian like he had learned to expect. Instead, her face had a distinctly western look to it, maybe even European. Everything about her screamed 'not human' and 'strange.' Now, it was all starting to make some lick of sense. But he had to make sure.

Kouyou then wiped the moisture from his eyes caused by the stinging cold wind and shouted at the entity with all his might, now scared out of his mind. 

"Who are you?!"

He just wanted to go home. To see his Yuu, to feel him in his arms, to hear his sweet calming voice... Could he at least know what he was in for before he left? 

The entity slowly walked out of the rubble, undeterred over the rough rubble and stones even with bare feet. He backed up on his knees, now clamoring off the patio as she came closer and closer and stood now only a few feet from him before stopping. He looked up, still afraid. But her face was calm with one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen. Still, his heart pounded and his ears were still ringing. Then, she spoke, her voice still sweet and airy but held an authority in it that made his blood rush in his veins and adrenaline made the small hairs on his neck tingle.

'Know this, my sweet boy, and do not mistake me for my brothers again.  I am Ariel, the third sister to Micheal and Lucifer, third oldest of eleven siblings. Find me, find my artifact and you will have completed your task. I am waiting for you to set me free, my Prophet. Then I can take my place beside my brothers and we can make a new future.'

Then she was gone, and Kouyou was faced with a few split seconds of a decaying city replacing the dead landscape that he recognized as Tokyo, his old one from his human life. Then, the temple changed into a very familiar looking apartment building now crumbled into ruins before he was jolted back into his own stagnant reality. 

He was in tears, hysterical to say the least when he noticed he was awake. When he realized he was still in the library he pushed himself away from the desk he was sitting at, unlocked the door and rushed out to desperately search for his lover. 

Ariel. Fucking Ariel was just now in his head and giving him visions..! His head felt like it was going to split open from the intense pain taking place and he cursed whatever Angel was listening in right now for giving him such a cursed life.

Now new tears were welling up and he never felt such a sense of urgency like this before. Akira had come out of the computer hub when he had noticed his distraught behavior and stopped him so he could talk. 

"Hey, hey hey hey, Kou what's wrong?" He pressed as he gripped his shoulders. "Where have you been? Yuu's been looking for you for over three hours now."

Kouyou paused to breathe through his clouded eyes and registered Akira's words. Three hours... It felt longer than that honestly. 

"Yuu... Where is he? I need him, Aki. I can't... I need to see him right now."

His best friend directs him to his own floor where he had last seen him and he's speeding off, leaving behind a very confused Akira. His home felt so far away, and when he did finally reach their hallway he saw Yuu opening their door. Yuu's name fell from his lips in a relieved and scared whimper and he noticed him, turning and almost getting plowed over by his distraught lover. 

"Whoa! Kou! Where were you? I was looking all over this place for you! Why are you crying?"

Kouyou threw himself into Yuu's arms, relieved and crying his eyes out as he clung onto him and pushed them into the apartment so he could collapse onto the floor. 

"Yuu... It was horrible..! The vision I got... Oh Gods, Yuu it was awful!"

His wailing continued, and Yuu could only hold him, rocking them back and forth like one would do with a scared child. He seemed so vulnerable, so small and emotionally wrecked. Yuu waited, holding and comforting him until he was calm enough to speak with a not too horribly quavering voice. This was exactly what Kouyou needed. This closeness, this security, knowing his lover was here with him and not somewhere far away.

"Tell me what happened," He says softly and holds Kouyou much closer. "I'm right beside you."

The poor raven sniffed and hiccups before looking up at his ceiling, his eyes tracing each line as he spoke. 

"It's time to go back Yuu. It's time to go home."

Yuu was at first confused. It still wasn't safe up there, what made him think it would be okay? Then it started to click. 

"Home... As in..."

"No," Kouyou says as though anticipating his answer before he even spoke it. "Not that building Yuu. Home. Our old place, the place we came into this new world together, the place where all of this started."

Yuu said no more. He already understood, and it was cruel knowing they had to go back to that place.

The place we died never really stopped being our home.

TBC

Chapter Text

There was a pleasant breeze underneath a cool baby blue sky, wispy clouds lazily floated by. Kouyou waited, just like he always did.

As usual he was dressed in, of course, a lacy black nightgown that showed off all the glory of his legs as though he were a girl. Lucifer was just a pervert. He frowned and waited as usual, idly noticing that creepy temple from the vision Ariel gave him far off in the distance beyond some rolling hills. Couldn't that damn demon have picked a better place? Well at least it was still standing and not a pile of rubble.

All around him was a field full of flowers, many many flowers as a matter of fact. At least Lucifer picked a nice place for them to meet even if it was like a carbon copy of Ariel's.

Still, he felt his stomach relax from the anxiety he was feeling before and sat calmly among the flowers, closing his eyes and letting his mind wander as the breeze picked up stray hairs around his face.

"Hello Kouyou."

Well that didn't take long at all. His voice sounded different, did he change his body again?

"You're a little early," he comments. "Though I guess after weeks of not showing up I can accept that."

"I know, and I apologize for that," Lucifer says as they finally met in a patch of poppies and honeysuckle, his voice directly behind him. "Finding time for this aside from waiting on you is kind of difficult."

Annoyed Kouyou opens his eyes but doesn't turn around, instead standing and staring out at the hills and letting his eyes fall onto the stone pillars of the temple. Even from this distance it still royally freaked him out.

"What do you want?"

He didn't mean to come across as being cold but he wanted to wake up and get going as soon as possible.

"I just want to talk," comes his answer. "We haven't spoken in ages. My brother has been keeping me busy as of late."

Kouyou looks down at his body and mentally curses Lucy for not giving him a shirt at least. When would he get over that infatuation of his already?

"I'm not upset about that," he says truthfully. "I've been busy too."

Lucifer chuckles.

"Ah yes, my sister has finally managed to reach out to you. That was a relief, but she can't reach out to us yet."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

Lucifer shuffles around and walks into his line of vision, still as elegant as ever. Now he was in a new body than before. Tall. Soft and efeminite face, pastel pink hair and a red suede sleeveless dress with a slit down both legs hugging his lean body. There was a really deep plunged neckline to his chest with a boa of white feathers and a black jeweled tear drop choker at his neck and black lace arm warmers covering his forearms. Like Kouyou he was barefooted. Kouyou rose a confused eyebrow.

"We need you to listen," he says. "You're her conduit to us. As you go to find her I will tap into your mind to hear her and relay your progress to my brother."

As much as it was important to listen to him talk he just... couldn't get over Lucy's outfit.

"Since when was the King of Hell into this sort of thing?" he asks with a smile. "What happened to the tough guy image huh?"

Lucy smiled and looked at himself with pride, fingering the feathered boa with a black painted fingernail.

"I like to change things up once in a while," he says. "How do I look?"

Admittedly? Kouyou liked it. It reminded him of his early days with gazette, more specifically around the two thousand four era. Ah good times.

"It looks good," he admits. "You look good."

Though maybe he should have been more casual with his anwer considering Lucy's feelings. The pinkette smiled wide, his pink curls bouncing as he bounced on his heels.

"Really? I'm so glad you think so. Micheal thought it might have been too 'distasteful' but I think I look hot," he says with a light laugh before looking at Kouyou with downcast eyes. "You look as beautiful as ever too."

Kouyou scoffed, shaking his head and sitting once more in the flowers. As always, this guy had such a huge ego that he stroked at any chance he got. Lucy followed the gesture and elegantly crossed his legs to the side as he idly stared at Kouyou, cocking his head.

"What?"

"Don't think that complimenting me is gonna get me anywhere closer to picking you over Yuu," he says simply. "Though I appreciate the comment."

Lucy sighs and his head drops guiltily.

"Worth a shot," he admits with a half smile. Kouyou tsked and rolls his eyes.

"Not really. Especially if it will get you nowhere."

"At any rate, I would like us to talk about some things," Lucy says quickly. "If you're not too terribly busy."

Well that was a quick subject change. More than likely it was an attempt to divert this conversation to one not as hurtful. Well whatever, he was cool with that.

"What did you want to say to me?" he asks and plucks a poppy from its roots and starts to pluck off each petal. Lucifer stares at the petals falling from Kouyou's fingers, his heart painfully twinging.

"My Sister... More than likely, she will need a host. It doesn't even have to be a female, though it is a preference of hers. It will be like what you did for Micheal, simple right?"

Kouyou frowned as he hears this new task given to him and sighs, pausing his plucking to stare at the pile of red petals on his lap. Great. Just great. How was he going to find a person willing enough and possibly close to death to give up their life for the greater good? Well, it probably wouldn't be too hard but still. It would add more time to their task than he would like. Time that could be spent doing other things.

"It's not gonna take me long is it?" he asked. Lucy chuckles.

"Well doll that depends on you," he says with a smirk. "Depending on your actions and the paths you take it will either be a breeze, or take more time out of your schedule than you would like. It all depends on you. And the tiny voice Micheal has supplied you with. Listen to it, trust it, but do not think to mindlessly obey. He is there to guide, not order. So just follow your instincts and you will be fine."

Well that kind of made him feel a little better. More so than before.

"I guess," he says with a heavy breath and drops the half plucked flower to the ground. "Though making him less snarky and bossy would help."

"That is not our fault," comes an amused snicker. "He's based off your personality after all."

"I know I know, it's my fault. If only I wasn't such a snarky little bitch," he says cynically. "That's nice to know."

There's a brief respite of silence and he once again glances at the far off structure, wondering why Lucifer wasn't speaking. Was it something he said?

But then he speaks again, and it's a different subject again.

"I won't be seeing you for a while. I'm going somewhere far away, so you will have to start talking to Micheal on your own again."

Kouyou felt the uncomfortable sensation of kohl laden eyes staring intently at him and he didn't dare to meet such a heavy gaze. His response was shaky.

"Why is that?" he asks. Lucifer sighs, a sound that sounded ancient and tired even from such a young face.

"I cannot say just yet," he admits. "Micheal can tell you if you ask him about it. But... it would help us both even if it doesn't seem like it at first. It will be a trip that I have needed to take for a long time."

Kouyou was ready to answer with understanding but the telltale signs of his mind waking up made his words catch in his throat. Quickly he stands up and his vision blurs.

"Oh! I uh-"

"Kouyou."

Lucifer's voice is soft but attention grabbing and he finally forced his eyes to meet those of his would be suitor. His heart clenches. Lucifer is distraught even as he smiles, a heartbroken look upon his face.

"What?" he asked as he tried to remain steady on his feet.

"I know you will never love me, and no matter how much I wish for you to change your mind and come with me I know I cannot. So I want to ask for only one more thing from you."

Oh boy, whatever it was it probably wasn't good. Kouyou hoped he would hurry it up, he would wake up any second now.

"What is it?"

Lucifer steps close to him, his eyes begging.

"Kiss me."

Kouyou gaped at him.

"Ehh?? Are you insane?"

Lucifer's face twists and he looks even more fragile and vulnerable.

"I know that I promised to never ask again and I feel awful for asking you. Please Kouyou. If I need to get over you I need something to help me. Please help me. I can't take this torture any longer."

Indecision twisted up his stomach and he tries to make a split decision. Should he really? He really didn't have all the time to think about it but he couldn't be sure!

"You couldn't ask me that earlier?!" he screeched as his head spun and tried to pull back from waking up. Lucifer shook his head, stepping closer.

"I was shy! You can't blame me you know. Please, before you leave me for the last time. This one thing."

Kouyou looked back between Lucy and his fingers before growling and grabbing his hand. Well if it would help!

"Fuck it," he snaps and pulls Lucifer close to him before smashing their lips into a kiss. Of course he felt nothing from this kiss but he couldn't speak for Lucifer probably. As expected he's being embraced tightly and a tongue gently probes at his lips. Kouyou is ready to pull back but the desperate gasps leaving Lucifer's mouth stop him.

'Might as well give him what he wants. Sorry Yuu. Just one time.'

Still hesitant he grants Lucifer the kiss he wanted and feels a warm tongue invade his personal space. It weirded him out, but Lucifer was in heaven so to speak. Kouyou felt so nice in his arms that it was painful. But he knew this was all he would get from now on. So he milked it as long as he could, tasting and exploring every crevice and surface.

Then he finally lets go and Kouyou steps back, breathing heavy with confused eyes and a spinning brain.

"I'm sorry," he says as Kouyou starts to fade away. "Thank you Kouyou. I love you and... I'm sorry."

But he was already gone, and unable to hear that last part. Still, at least now he knew he was ready to move on. Even if it took a while, he could pick up the pieces of his heart. One steady step at a time.

/////////////////////

Going home would be harder than he thought.

Kouyou wasn't ready, not by a long shot. And probably wouldn't be anytime soon. He was awake just before the crack of dawn, though of course the only real way to tell was from the small hologram clock by his and Yuu's bedside. Four thirty seven.

Waking up early was sort of a routine for him now. Like, four o'clock in the morning early. He couldn't help it. Lately he had been restless. Especially after all of this.

He gets up and stretched, letting his systems come back online so he could shake off his sleep. But even so, he stayed sitting in bed for a little while longer to allow himself these few moments of silence that he reveled in so much. Being by Yuu's side, letting the world drown out as he stares at Yuu sleep and let his thoughts engulf him.

Later they would have to get ready to leave and find their old place. It was somewhere out there according to Aoi, just... built better. More modern. Kai was... Well he was hesitant to let them go at first. Good old mama Kai. It reminded him of Yutaka sometimes.

'The city is in ruins,' he said to them after they explained the situation. 'Uruha's strange... friends somehow managed to coax plants to pop out of seemingly nowhere and grow everywhere. The sidewalks down on the ground are all cracked as grass breaks them apart, small bushes have started growing on the sides of the road and vines have completely taken over. It's a jungle out there and water is everywhere. Who knows what sort of sicknesses are festering about out there?'

In the first place Kouyou was not even sure how he managed to convince him to let them do it, and it wasn't easy. No doubt it would be dangerous, no to mention a little bit idiotic. But they needed to do this. If not for Ariel, then for the closure. It gave him bad memories but he wanted to move past it. Four hundred years worth of time still agonizing over his death really messed him up.

All those years ago, he would remember the agonizing last few years he spent in that small apartment that was his home. His body would ache and nothing could help him. Though in this day and age he was certain that a cure for such a sickness would not be a big deal. People died every day in this place before everything went to hell but not from sickness. It was other things now. Murder, suicide, animal attacks, natural disasters. Just things like that, and rarely. But never sickness.

Still, now that things were bad and going south pretty quickly he was certain that without proper care and medicine there were most likely sick people out there dying left and right. Those who couldn't get to a shelter in time would not have survived that bloody rain like them.

His friends really needed a good medical check up after that...

But at any rate, he knew now that even if Yuu were to get sick, he would be okay. They didn't plan on staying long in the city anyway. Just long enough to get over his past transgressions and rescue Ariel. No big deal right? And find the person willing to become Ariel's vessel.

Going there would be a challenge in and of itself, what with all the tiny rainbow colored demons hopping about outside and the jungle like conditions. More than likely the recent rainfall would have played a part in attracting their sudden appearance. That must have been all on Micheal's part, he was somewhat of a sadistic asshole even for an Angel.

"I heard that you know."

He sighed as the familiar voice pops back into his head, closing his eyes.

"I don't take anything back," he replies. "Just because you're an Angel doesn't mean you have to make my life harder than needed."

"Angels aren't there to whisper sweet nothings into your ear while holding your hand through everything," comes the just as snarky response. "You as a prophet should understand. We're beings of might and power. We fight wars, driving back the unholy horde of all evil. Not some soft chubby cheeky little cherubs chirping cheerfully on your shoulder."

Kouyou involuntarily snickered.

"Try saying that five times fast..."

The response is stern, disapproving.

"Kouyou."

"Yeah yeah I get it," he waves off and tries to keep from waking Yuu as he slides out of bed and to the bathroom. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to shower in peace. We have to talk when I am done here."

There's no response back but he knows that the voice listens to him because the intrusive feeling leaves his head. Good. Maybe he would think about what he said for a little while because right now Kouyou needed time to think to himself.

Where would he even find someone more than willing to give their life for an Angel? No doubt there would be many people out there sick and dying but there was a chance they would all be hiding.

Ariel and Lucifer were depending on him. So knowing that made his burden seem a little heavier. No doubt Yuu would be overly worried again. His been like that a lot recently. Especially after the most recent vision.

Kouyou hurried to finish showering and got dressed before heading back to Yuu's side in the bedroom. The clock now read four forty five.

"I'll let you sleep," he whispers before kissing Yuu's cheek and going outside then to the hallway. "I wonder if Koi is up. I'll go see him if he is."

"We still need to talk."

Kouyou sighed as he rounded the corner in the hallway to the steps.

"Am I talking to myself or Micheal here?"

The voice pricked his mind in irritation.

"I think you know who. You're not nearly as well rounded and eloquent as me. Don't flatter yourself."

Huh. Arrogant as ever. Kouyou knew he couldn't be talking to himself now.

"Yup you're Micheal. So what happened to Lucy huh?" he asks. "He just... Up and left after I woke up. What gives?"

The voice made a disgruntled and annoyed noise.

"Brother Lucifer is taking some time to get his business together searching for our Siblings' artifacts," Micheal says. "If it weren't for his feelings for you he would not have had to leave so suddenly like that."

Wow. He was sensing some serious passive aggressiveness here. Did Micheal really detest him that much? Kouyou paused just at the door to the monitoring room and stared at the carpet as the conversation went on longer.

"It isn't my fault," he says with an upturned nose. "He fell in love with me on his own. I'm just as displaced about that as you are." 

There's a huff and sarcastic laugh. 

"I'd say," Micheal growls. "Honestly, for the elder brother he's just like a child. If anything I was like the elder brother and he was the younger. Letting something like falling in love with our prophet hinder our work... how unbecoming." 

"Hey yeah about that," Kouyou starts curiously and looks around to make sure no one was listening in on him talking to himself. "Are you guys really brothers? Or is that just a thing you guys use?"

Micheal's voice pauses for a second but never leaves all the way. 

"We are like brothers," he finally says after a bit. "And there are our sisters too of course. But it is not in blood. In name only perhaps. We came into this world together, thrown into existence in such a violent way, a torrent of stardust and power. We have no Creator. Only ourselves, and soon after the humans after years of evolution set into motion by us. And the humans have decided that since we beings existed and could show emotion that could harm us that there had to be someone else. Someone who was perfect and showed no emotion. Someone like a God even. But here there is no God. Only us."

Kouyou listened intently, he information very new to him. 

"So you guys never really had anyone create you huh?" he asked. "It just kind of... happened?" 

Micheal chuckles at Kouyou's choice of wording. 

"I suppose you could say that. An accident really. But a good accident nonetheless. If my idiot brother had anything to say about this right now he would try to make himself seem like the more mature brother though clearly he is not."

Oh Kouyou understood that very well. Just from knowing him these last few months Lucifer clearly had somewhat of a short narcissistic streak. It was all meant in lightheartedness sure, and no one was getting hurt because of it. It was just... rather childish.

"I understand that all too well," he says and finally enters the door with a now overwhelming amount of information. "The last meeting we had kind of cemented that."

As he had suspected, the room was empty. But the screens were as usual on, as Kai said that no matter what they should keep them on in case the monitors spotted anything strange. He takes a seat in front of the main one that took up most of the space.,the camera that was directed at the entrance of their hideout. 

"And I myself have meant to ask," Micheal starts. "What exactly have you done to finally convince him to give up on you?" 

Kouyou's mouth goes dry suddenly and he's almost too embarrassed to answer. If Yuu heard him say this in any way...

"I... Sort of... let him have what he wanted from me," he admits slowly and scanned all the feeds he could see. "But only a kiss, that was all. It meant nothing to me and only served as a way of him letting me go." 

Which was true of course. Sometimes a little pain was what he needed to finally get it through his head. And thankfully it worked. 

"I see. So I was right in assuming that you finally cut him off from your affection. That was very adult of you to do."

Kouyou laughs and pulled up a feed that overlooked what used to be New Shibuya Crossing.

"Well maybe, but there was also the very obvious fact that I have a lover already and Lucifer's advances on me were making Yuu uncomfortable."

Kai was right, the city was an urban jungle now. Vegetation of all sorts was everywhere. Buildings were overrun with broken windows and vines crawling in and out of them, and at an alarming rate from what he could tell. With his eyes he could see them even now, slowly inching their way up the cemented structures like creeping tentacles, suffocating the metal beams and tapping at the already broken glass with their budding flowers. 

It was so creepy. A once urban thriving landscape now overrun with Mother Nature. Now it really was looking like the apocalypse. But what really unsettled him about all this was how at home those frogs swarming the streets seemed to be. The noise was deafening so he was forced to set it to mute. 

"This city... just what more do you intend on doing to it?" 

Micheal paused his musing and took a moment to address his thoughts out loud, ignoring Kouyou's question altogether.. 

"Has anyone ever told you the Prayer the humans made for me?" he asks. Kouyou shakes his head no. "Would you like me to tell you? Perhaps it could be of great use in the coming weeks."

"And what use would that be?" Kouyou asked. "Last time I checked I was never a religious person even up to now."

Micheal can't help but give a small chuckle at that. 

"Do not worry. Think of it more as a... a source of thinking material. It could inspire you in some way. Even if it does seem a little misplaced at first."

It wasn't like Micheal to tell him stuff like this. As far as he knew, Micheal liked to make him work for things, not just hand them out like parade candy. Still, this was just something he probably thought of now. 

"Why not I guess," Kouyou sighed and tried to use the cameras to search for a certain building. The one he and Yuu had come from. 

"Very well. But I warn you, you might feel a bit light headed. My voice does that sometimes, and despite it's words I really have nothing against my brother at all. This is just what they made.." 

Micheal's voice grows deeper but gentle, and Kouyou's ears started to ring just a bit. Just a little further now... 

"St. Michael the Archangel, 

defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil."

It should be around this area right? He remembered it like it was yesterday.

"May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts,"

Huh. Maybe he forgot to take a turn at that last stoplight... No wait. there it was. But...

"By the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

Kouyou's ears continued to ring, even long after Micheal had receded from his head. He couldn't move he was too overwhelmed. 

His old building was there. A neat three story apartment building not even too far from the Shibuya crossing. A tightness clenches at his throat and warm wetness starts to trail down his cheeks.

The once all white building was now a shade of light blue, and unexpectedly. Completely untouched. No vegetation, no broken windows. It was... the same as it was before. Virtually untouched. There was even a radius of about fifty feet around it with plain green unparasitic grass. 

"How..?"

"Kouyou!"

He gasps and whips around, his head making him groan in pain as the dizziness hit him full on. That voice calling him... It was Yuu. 

"Huh..? Yuu?" 

His lover rushed up to him, worry all over his face. Hands are at his face, petting his bangs and wiping the wetness off his cheeks. 

"Kou I was worried when I woke up without you in bed. What's the matter? Why are you crying?" 

Kouyou swallowed and finally managed to get his bearings before wiping his eyes. Yuu... he had to see it right away. 

"Look at the screen," was all he says before rushing to the kitchen to get water. His throat was dry and more tears were threatening the stability of his emotions. Damn that Angel for not warning him how emotionally messed up his voice would make him. 

His lover does what he asks, and he can feel the tension in the room rise a couple of octaves. The water does its job though after a few cold mouthfuls from the neck of a condensed water bottle. 

"Kou... This is... But how is it still here?" 

The brunette just takes a deep breath and crinkled the empty water bottle into the trash bin nearby.

"I dunno but we need to go soon. Though... I might need a nap." 

Yuu couldn't move from his spot, too shocked. Just like Kouyou had been. 

"It's home Kou. It's really home."

Kouyou nodded and dragged his heavy body to the couch, settling into his lover's lap. Just like they did before all of this mess. The dizziness and overwhelming information forced his eyes closed and he gets comfortable.

"Yeah... Wake me up in about three hours... Then we can... go..." 

Yuu giggles, carding his fingers gently through his hair. 

"I will. Just rest, you look exhausted. We have a long day ahead of us."

He smiles and tries his best not to laugh more, too tired. 

I feel exhausted.