Disclaimer: I don't really own anything...even my muse seems to have a mind of her own...
Seki: Damn straight!
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Shi-chan: Okay, this is definitely going to come off as the weirdest thing I have EVER written, topping off 'WuMan,' 'Death Becomes Him,' and 'Keep In Touch' alike. This whole thing is based on a dream I had last night--I woke up like 10 minutes ago and I've gotta get it all down. Consider yourself warned, and on with the fic!

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Death and the Angel

By Shimegami-chan

Warnings: Alternate universe, shounen-ai

Music: "Flowers," from Weiß Kreuz--Crashers

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, based on a dream. Prepare for weirdness. ^_^



It was a stupid, stupid idea--I'm still not sure why I decided to go along with them. I mean, I had better things to do than be walking along the streets in the dead of night like I was asking for trouble! Not that there was any real danger involved--not with three teens out together; one 17-year-old girl that called herself Shinigami among other things, one 15-year-old guy that seemed to radiate anger most of the time, and a 16-year-old girl that could probably use her miniature backpack as a small but effecient weapon in a pinch. Doubtfully anyone was going to come near us--and anyway, this part of the city was safe, we weren't exactly in the slums.

I had only put up a half-hearted fight in the first place--Ryo-oniichan was dying to get out of the house and Ami-chan didn't really care what we did. Me, I'd have rather been on my computer or watching TV, but with those two around there was no chance of that. Instead, with a little convincing Ryo-kun dragged us girls out in the dead of night with some half-witted plan to see the God of Death.

I didn't know exactly where he'd gotten the idea that the lure of seeing Shinigami would convince me to go along with his plan. Far from it, I had adopted 'Shimegami,' as a nickname only a few months back, and I had no desire to see any version of the original owner of the name. Besides, taunting Death just wasn't something you did. Whether or not he was as real and tangible as Ryo-kun claimed him to be.

I had quite decided that this was completely pointless, but there was no way I was letting my little brother and my best friend go out at three in the morning looking for an old legend that could only bring trouble. And Kami-knows-why, both of them seemed quite eager to head out. Was the house that boring? I mean, come on! But go they did, and I followed complaining all the way...

"This way," Ryo-kun called, dragging me by the hand. "We'll take the well-lit streets, the short-cuts aren't short enough to be significant. Just a little furthur!"

"Where exactly are we going?" I wondered idly.

"I don't know the legend," said Ami-chan.

Ryo sighed. "Okay, here's what I know of it--they say that, like, decades and decades ago or whatever, Death fell in love with an angel, and every night they met secretly outside this church--the Maxwell Church. Anyway, one night something happened to the angel, and he never went to meet Death. Death waited in the church for a week straight, until he went insane from loneliness and destroyed the whole building. Since he had killed innocents when it wasn't their time, he was condemned and taken away from his position as the Shinigami, and he died of a broken heart. Meanwhile the angel had been caught and punished for consorting with demons, and was doomed to walk the Earth alone forever, unable to find his love."

"Wow, that's so creepy." Ami-chan shivered and looked nervously behind her. "And sad."

"And you honestly beleive that an angel and a devil have actually taken up residence here on L2? That's real unlikely, Oniichan. It's just a folktale to keep people away from the old Maxwell Church. I don't know why they never just tore the place down."

"Shinigami wouldn't let 'em." Ryo-kun said confidently. "They say that's the only place where the angel would ever come to look for him, so Shinigami scares off anyone else. But my friends snuck in a few nights ago, and actually saw the God of Death."

"Sugoi..." Ami-chan looked only slightly interested now. "What did he look like?"

"He was huge, and dressed all in black; Ran-kun said," Ryo boasted, "and he carried a giant scythe for killing people. He had glowing red eyes and no face, just darkness inside of a hood. His hands are just white bone."

"Creepy!" I laughed. "You actually *want* to see him?"

"Well, sure!" he retorted. "Better than sitting around all night?"

"As opposed to meeting Death, or getting some sleep? I'm take sleep or sitting around, personally."

"No fair, Kuri!" he pouted. "You love adventures!"

"Not when it interrupts my twelve hours of daily rest." I replied hotly. "Anyway, let's get this over with. There's the church up ahead."

Ami-chan clutched her bag tightly. "Okay, let's go."

The three of us crept up to the window of the deserted church and peered inside hesitantly, unsure of what we'd see--and what I saw was actually pretty surprising. It was a spacious building, dimly lit, spare in furnishings. But what caught my attention first was the candles on the altar--five of them, blazing brightly, flickering as almost the only source of light in the place. The second thing I noticed was the order everything was neatly put in--bibles and choir books were lined up in the pews, as though waiting for the next crowd of worshippers to come in and open them again. Even though no one had set foot in the old place for years, not a speck of dust could be seen on the items.

The third thing I noticed was the old woman kneeling in one of the pews, head bowed in prayer. "Hey! Guys, check that out!" I whispered, pointing.

Ami-chan turned her gaze toward the woman. "Whoa! Am I imagining things?"

The old woman did not move, did not raise her head. I wondered if she was even still alive. She had long grey hair wrapped around her head in a braided bun, and wore no earrings or jewelry from what I could see. She wore faded black rags in a sort of robe-like fashion.

"Nope...but this place is supposed to be deserted." Ryo-kun pressed closer to to the dark window. "What's she doing alone in there?"

It was about this point that I noticed that I could actually see that woman fairly clearly, when it had been so dark before that I hadn't noticed her right away. My gaze flickered to the row of four candles on the altar, and then to something bright just below.

Four candles.

"Hey. Oniichan." I nudged my younger brother. "Weren't there five candles?"

"Huh?" Maybe he hadn't noticed the candles at all. But my guess was quickly confirmed as flames licked the cloth covering on the altar. One of the candles had fallen and the carpet just out of our view was on fire.

As the fire spread up the altar, the sudden light captured both my friend's attention. "Oh my God!" Ami-chan hissed. "It's on fire!" She started to pound on the window, trying to get the old woman's attention. The woman did not move.

I ran to the door and wrenched it open, nearly pulling it off its rusty hinges. "Hey!"

The woman raised her head and looked at me questioningly, but didn't say a word.

I pointed at the blaze. "Come on, you've got to get out of here! It's burning down!"

The old lady turned her eyes to the fire and blinked sleepily before rising to her feet and looking at me. "Help me."

Biting my lip, I ran into the building despite Ami-chan's protests and extended an arm to the woman, but she instead bent and began to gather the prayer books from the pew. She piled them in my arms and nudged me forward. "Help me."

Blinking in shock, I bolted outside and lay the books down in the grass before running back in, motioning Ami-chan and Ryo-kun to follow. "Help me!"

Ryo ran to the altar, but the fire was too big for him to do anything at all. Ami-chan and I hurriedly picked up books and bibles and crosses and rushed in and out of the burning building, depositing them in the grass. "Ryo-kun!" I howled. "Call the fire department!" He nodded and disappeared out the door, leaving us with the near-empty church and the blazing fire.

Edging furthur away from the altar, I cast my gaze around the ancient church. "That's everything, there's nothing left for us to take!" Ami-chan nodded in response, and we prepared to make a break for it. But the old woman was kneeling on the floor in
the corner, wrestling with the edge of the carpet there. I ran toward her, whether to help or drag her away I don't know, but tears were running down her face and she scrabbled frantically at the flooring.

I dropped to my knees beside her and tore back the rug, revealing a stack of envelopes buried under the red covering. The letters were yellowed and old, and the one on top was addressed to 'Heyu.' I laughed despite my self and said "Hey, you."

The old woman looked up at me, mirth sparkling in her indigo eyes. She wiped tears away.

A clattering at the door drew my attention away from the woman, and a group of boys--my brother included--barged in carrying blankets and buckets of water. "That was fast!" Ami-chan yelled, running to assist them.

"Yeah!" Ryo-kun wheezed. "I ran into them on the street. Ran-kun's gone to call the fire department, but Heero-kun thought maybe we could put it out ourselves."

"Heero-kun?" The name caught the old woman's attention. She choked on the words though, closing her eyes and putting a hand to her chest. Worried that she'd passed out, I steadied her light weight with my left arm and hesitantly took her hand with my right. Her hands were small and thin, a little cold, fine-boned and impossibly smooth for her age. She wore an Irish claddaugh ring on her left ring finger, turned in to indicate that her heart belonged to someone special. She still did not awaken.

"Obasan? Obasan!" I shook her lightly, casting a worried look at my brother and his friends. Ryo-kun and Heero-kun ran over, Ami-chan trailing close behind.

"She okay, Kuri?" Ryo-kun asked, frowning. "We ought to get her out of here before the place goes up in smoke."

"No," the woman mumbled. "I can't go. This is the last place. The last place."

"For what?" I questioned.

"The only place he'll look," she whispered.

"For what, Obasan?"

"Who are you calling Obasan?" She opened her eyes and speared Ryo with a hard glare before closing them again.

"Gomen nasai," he apologized. "I didn't mean..."

"How old are you?" I thought for a moment, but my head was whirling with confusion. "Seventeen and a half?" The words were no sooner out of my mouth then I wished I could retract them. She had to be at least seventy, yet my first guess was seventeen. Impossible. I cringed, anticipating at least a giggle from the old woman or my brother.

Instead, her grip tightened on mine. "That's right, seventeen and a half."

"She's delusional!" Ryo whispered to Heero, who had been keeping stoically silent. The young man, our next-door neighbour; never seemed to have much to say. He hadn't been living in our neighbourhood for long, and though he has only sixteen or seventeen he lived alone in the apartment. Now he was looking at the woman's left hand, entwined with mine since her collapse. Heero reached forward and took the pale hand in his own, inspecting the ring on the wedding finger.

"Impossible," he breathed. "It was just a legend. A legend."

All three of us were now centered on him and the woman smiled serenely. "Oh no, no legend. And you know what the ring means, although that's an impossibility in itself."

"What?" Heero blinked and looked curiously at the old woman, whose eyes were still tightly closed.

A smile danced on her lips. "I scared them all off before--I knew he'd never be frightened by my illusions. But after a while...I knew he wasn't coming back. I never gave up hope, but my anger just grew and grew...I felt so betrayed; he never came here to look for me. Did you?"

"What?" Heero gasped. "I...can't say anything..."

She opened her indigo eyes and stared into his colbalt ones. "You know who I am, Heero Yuy. I've been waiting sixty years for you." She handed him the jumble of old letters, pale hand trembling.

Heero's mouth formed a perfect 'o' as he took the papers. "Masaka..."

"Why didn't you come for me, Heero?" she whispered, biting her lip. "I waited so long."

"I was punished," he replied softly. "They thought that if they held me for so long I'd forget about you. I was released only a few weeks ago...I'm sorry."

"I forgive you,” she said hoarsely. "I forgive you."

Ryo and Ami-chan gaped at each other as the whispered conversation continued. Heero moved forward to take her into his arms. "What's happened to you, my love?" he questioned, caressing her face. "Your beauty was eternal."

"Despair and fear does terrible things to a person...it came to a point when I just didn't care for my appearance anymore. I've been living in the church for years and years, now...I haven't seen daylight since the night you left me."

"No." he whispered. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."

"But it's all right now, isn't it?" she replied, smiling softly. "I'll become what I once was, if you're truly back and not just my imagination."

"Yes." He held her close. "I'm really here. I'll never leave you again."

I must have blinked or something equally stupid, because the sight before my eyes left me gaping. Instead of the old woman, Heero held a young boy with striking indigo eyes and chestnut hair in a braided bun, exactly the same as the one Obasan had worn. With a pale hand the boy pulled away a hairpin and the braid fell free to tumble past his waist.

It was a boy, I was sure of that. The complete lack of a bust under the tight black clothing attested to that--he wore a shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a white priest's collar, and skin-tight black pants and boots. On his left hand was the Claddaugh ring the woman had worn...I blinked in shock. Had this handsome young man been the old woman a few seconds before? But wait, I had assumed it was a woman because of the long grey hair and the whispered alto voice. My suspicions were confirmed seconds later when the boy opened his mouth. "Is that better?"

Emotion welled up in Heero's eyes and he whispered, "Duo," before leaning forward to kiss his love's lips. Ryo-kun's eyes were the size of dinner plates and Ami-chan looked at me in shock, but I was merely taking in the whole scene. My brain made a connection it hadn't noticed before--'Heyu,' and 'Heero Yuy.' The first two letters of Heero's names--the letters had been addressed to him all along. I smiled faintly as everything fell into place.

And then something fell out of place: close behind us, a fiery beam that held the church together crashed from the ceiling to the floor, jolting us all. The fire had spread even further and the heat was suddenly overwhelming, as though we had been inside a protective bubble for the last few moments. The black smoke was almost blinding and more supports were falling now, as the teens on the other side of the wall of fire ran panicked out of the burning building.

Duo stood and looked at me, extending a hand. "It's time for you to go."

I was suddenly struck by an alarming thought as the last puzzle piece fell into place. Duo smiled warmly. "You understand."

"H-hai." I nodded, swallowing and taking his hand.

"I don't want to kill anymore." he whispered. "And now, I want to live."

I gazed into his eyes until the floor disappeared from beneath my feet, and then everything went black.






"Kuri. Kuri!" Ami-chan's voice shook me awake, along with her insistent hand on my shoulder. "Wake up!"

"Nyaaaaniii?" I mumbled sleepily. "Whaddya want?"

"Man, I just woke up from the weirdest dream! I've gotta tell you before I forget! There was this supermarket, and an old lady, and a fire, and we had to take everything outside, and then this guys named Anthony showed up and the old woman turned young, and... it was just too weird!"

"That's nice, Ami-chan. Go back to sleep." I yawned and rolled over, cutting off the conversation. She sighed and quieted, and after a few moments her breathing became deep and even. I didn't need to turn around to feel the other, darker presence in my room, but I did, sitting up as I did so. "Hello, Shinigami."

"So you knew all along." Duo grinned from his position near the window, shrugging his shoulders. "I wanted to thank you for your help."

"And I yours. I guess maybe a little adventure can't hurt a girl now and again."

Duo nodded gravely. "The church is gone, but it's just as well. Now that I've found Heero again I don't need to ever go back."

"I'm glad."

The God of Death smiled and took my hand in his. "Someday we'll meet again, you and I. But not for a long, long time."

"I don't know whether to say I'm looking forward to it or not," I said with a laugh.

"You shouldn't." He smiled genuinely. "But when we do, in sixty or seventy years time, I'll greet you like an old friend."

I nodded in response. "Good bye, Shinigami. Best of luck."

"And the same to you." With that, he was gone.

Smiling, I lay back down and drifted into blissful dreamless sleep.





When Ami-chan finally dragged me out of bed and down into the kitchen for breakfast the next morning, the room was abuzz with noise and excitement. I dropped into a chair between Ryo-kun and Ami-chan, and my brother was all over me in moments. "Kuri-chan! You wouldn't believe what happened! Ami-chan and I both had the exact same dream last night, and it was too weird! This abandoned supermarket was burning down and we had to go in, but there was all this stuff that was burning that we had to take out, and then you found a package addressed to some Anthony guy, and it was so real! And we both dreamed it!"

"That's nice, Ryo-kun," I said disinterestedly, wondering what Duo or Heero had done to warp the dream like that. "Interesting."

My father was reading the paper at the head of the table. "Look at this, the Maxwell Church burned down last night. I guess that old legend is finally dead."

"Hn," I mumbled, but neither of my parents looked up.

"Speaking of goings-on last night," my mother said, "When I went down to pay the rent today Ms. Tezuka told me that Heero moved out of his apartment in the middle of the night last night. She found the rent money under the door, along with an envelope addressed to Kuri."

"To me?" I wondered out loud.

Mom picked up a white square from the counter and handed it to me. "Here..."

I gingerly tore the side open and touched a slip of paper with my fingers as a small metal object dropped out onto my lap. The note read, "For all your help. I've got something new to wear on my wedding finger now...someday, I'll show you. -Duo"
Under the messy handwriting was a neat printed message that said, "Arigatou gozaimasu. -Heero Yuy." I smiled and refolded the note, cradling the object that had fallen: the Claddaugh ring, silver and worn, and warm to the touch. With a smile I slid it onto the ring finger of my right hand and tucked the note in my pocket.

"What was that?" Ami-chan asked curiously. "Heero gave you something? I never knew you knew him well."

"I don't." I smiled and stood up, grinning at her. "But someday, I will. And someday, I'll tell you all about it."





~OWARI!



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Shi-chan: Damn! I don't care how many people actually read that, I'm still really proud of it! In case anyone's wondering, the dreams that Ami-chan and Ryo-kun had were closer to the original--I had to modify it slightly so they wouldn't seem so weird, and Maxwell Church seemed like an appropriate place for a devil and an angel. ^_^ R&R, onegai!