"Aaah..." Tsuki crooned.
"Aaah!" Hina responded until her older sister guided the strawberry into her mouth.
The blonde happily engulfed the fruit and nipped at brunette's fingertips. Tsuki cheeks
turned a light shade pink as she turned back to her plate of fruit. She picked up another
strawberry on her plate and turned to Hoshi.
"Aaah..."
"Aaah!" Hoshi was a little more forward and suckled on her sister's fingertips for a
few seconds before letting go. This caused a full blown blush on Tsuki's face, but she
picked up a strawberry and yet again turned to Hina.
"Aaah..."
"You know... watching them disgusts me yet makes me miss my sister at the same time,"
Miki said, clearly fazed at the display of the three sisters. They were currently enjoying
a free continental breakfast of the hotel.
Eveon didn't know what continental meant, but she sure as heck was enjoying her
cereal. "Oh, chill out. Like I said... they're happy, they're related, they're in love.
Deal with it."
"I know, but it's weird because I had a sister... and we..." Miki let out a sigh and
bit into her muffin. "Maybe I'll just pretend they aren't related..."
It was then that Tsuki jumped in her seat, not because of her sisters biting
suggestively at her fingers, but because of a sudden vibration. Hoshi took out her cell
phone to see it was a text message from Seth. She read it with slight confusion, showing it
to her sisters.
According to it... Miki wasn't human.
*****
"You... you didn't have to come with me," Sakura murmured as she walked towards the
abandoned factory.
"Of course I would come... do you really think I would let you go alone?" Abby asked.
"I know that you want to protect me, but I want to protect you too."
The angel had been following the dark presence and the fluttering sensation in her
stomach warned her of the imminent danger. She let out a sigh, but simply continued towards
the building. After passing through the broken fence, she could spy a myriad of Death Dolls
perched on the roof of the factory, along with Solomon standing near the entrance.
He came out to them with a smile and a slight bow. "I'm sure my master will be
pleased," he said simply. "However, I have things to attend to, so I can't witness your
reunion."
Sakura was confused as he disappeared in a whorl of darkness yet again. Abby just
shook her head. "What does he mean by reunion?"
"A reunion is a meeting between people after not seeing each other for a long time,"
a voice boomed out. Sakura shuddered. Who was it? "And... for you and I, Sakura... it's
been a long time indeed."
Adrian strode out of the building confidently, two Shadow Organization operatives
behind him. The Death Dolls jumped down from their perch and Sakura quickly said, "Abby, I
want you to run if a battle starts."
Her lover nodded reluctantly, though she knew that Sakura wasn't as strong as she
used to be, angel abilities or not. Sakura stared intently at the man in front of her,
racking her brain for answers.
His smile dropped after a few minutes of silence. "...Sakura... am I that
forgettable?" He started to laugh. "To think ? once I rediscovered you, that you'd forget
all about me. Maybe you've been screwing that woman so hard you lost your mind?"
Sakura glared at him as Abby let out a huff. "What a total weirdo..."
He just continued talking. "I can't believe you'd forget about your beloved Adrian...
even after all these years? Do you need a hint?" Sakura didn't have time to answer as he
suddenly held up a simple, silver ring. "This could have been yours."
It took her a moment, but Abby definitely did not miss the pained expression and
surprised on Sakura's face as she figured it out. "...you're... how are you alive?!"
Adrian shrugged. "I could ask the same of you. While you became the Living Inferno
and froze your lifespan, I dabbled in... more vile methods. I got exiled after what
happened with you, so I had no choice but to focus on extending my life."
Sakura tried to regain her composure. "So that's why... why did you want to see me,
Adrian?"
"I just wanted to say hello after all these years," he said, grinning at her. "And I
would, of course, like to ask you to marry me. Third time's the charm, as they say."
"Hold on! You can't marry her," Abby said, indignant. "Sakura and I are lovers, so I
think you're little marital dreams are out of the question."
Adrian only gave Abby a passing glance. "Actually, I want you to have children,
Sakura. Lots of them..."
The angel tensed up still trying to get over the shock that the man in front of her
was... Sakura now wondered what she was thinking all those years ago by initially accepting
his proposal...
"That's alright if you don't want to come willingly," Adrian said as a Death Doll
swiftly moved past him. "I can just subdue you first!"
Adrian was... he was the reason Tycara died... Sakura was still too shocked to
recognize that she was being attacked until the sword was coming down on her. There was
only a bit of blood and Adrian couldn't help but laugh at the result.
"Why aren't you moving?" Abby asked Sakura, holding the blade none too effectively
with her hands. She'd stopped the sword, but at the cost of a gash in her right shoulder
and cuts on her palms.
The angel could only stare. "Abby, please... please run, this man, he-"
"I don't care! If... if... you're scared," Abby huffed out, still trying to keep the
blade from sinking any deeper into her skin. "Then just let me be beside you... I promise I
will make it better, even if I don't have an power to use."
Adrian was laughing. "Oh, my! You hear that Sakura? Your little lesbian wants to make
you feel all better. But what are you going to do?" The soldiers cocked their guns and the
other Death Dolls began to charge.
Sakura bit her lip anxiously and prepared to fight...
Until an inferno rose up from the ground, engulfing the Death Dolls and encircling
Adrian. Sakura grabbed Abby as she fell back after the Death Doll caught fire and the angel
could sense a barrier being erected around them. Sakura recognized the seals appearing on
the ground as a type of alchemic magic and she could only guess that-
"I'll come back for you!" Adrian shouted, retreating into the factory to get to the
helicopter on the roof. The flames were roaring all about them and Sakura held Abby close.
"I'm sorry," the angel murmured. "I was thinking too much and now... now you're hurt..."
The blonde mother winced as Sakura started to heal her wounds. "It... it's alright...
Although it was stupid to just stand there, I was glad to be useful."
As suddenly as it arrived, the fire dissipated into nothingness... not even smoke.
"Alright! I think I will give myself a 12 out of 10 for that rocking entrance and for
saving two super hotties!"
Sakura frowned at the obnoxious voice. She looked over to see a man in his late
twenties walking over to them, his hand holding his fedora hat to his head. He was
grinning, like always, with his baby blue eyes shining in mirth and his white hair still
messy beneath the hat.
"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, quickly going back to tending to Abby's
wounds.
"Damn, even post-Living Inferno, you still got a stick up your ass." Sakura stood up
with Abby and kicked him in the shin.
He cried out in pain, wincing. "Why do you have to be so mean, Sakura? I know I was
your whipping boy back in Purgatory, but that was uncalled for!"
Abby looked over at him and back at Sakura. "Wait... is this guy, like... an ex
co-worker?"
Sakura nodded with a sigh. "That's... the best way to say it. He usually serves as a
messenger and assistant, so..." She gave him a questioningly look.
"Well, Purgatory's been a bit of a mess ever since Sakura retired. I've only been in
service for about ten years, but before the Living Inferno, there was no actual being
existing on earth. So, Sakura made everyone's lives easier by guiding lost souls and
fighting evil and... yeah," he said.
Abby looked confused so Sakura simply said, "I am the only Living Inferno. They have
yet to find a replacement so... so it's hard to fill the void I left."
He nodded at that. "Yep, it's not everyday that good people like Sakura willingly
cast themselves into Purgatory to atone for their sins."
Abby gave him a dubious look. "So, why don't you just become the Living Inferno?"
He laughed and waved it off. "Are you kidding me? I don't have that kind of purpose
or power. I serve more as office boy or messenger. I'm much better at thinking and
creating... Sakura has the drive and I don't. Plus, I ended up in Purgatory in exchange for
a favor." He trailed off and smiled. "I wouldn't want to be called the Living Inferno,
anyways... Something cooler, like... 'Fallen Angel of Hell' or 'Phantom Shadow Thief' or
'Flight Enforcer Feather Ranger X'!"
"He... loves to talk, doesn't he?" Abby murmured to Sakura, who only nodded.
It was then that he remembered his train of thought. "Oh, I rented a hotel room
nearby since I'm here on a mission. I'm supposed to be your sidekick Sakura and I have to
talk to you about something..."
Abby looked down at her bloody hands and over at Sakura. "That sounds... nice. What's
your name, chatterbox?"
The man smiled again. "The name's Marx ? as in like the guy with the utopian ideas."
He quickly gave Abby a onceover before winking at Sakura. "I must say, I've very proud of
the girly you picked out... no wonder you wanted to retire as the Living Inferno and settle
down. Nice catch!"
Sakura proceeded to kick Marx in his other shin before attending to Abby's wounds
again.
*****
After breakfast, Hoshi suggested they go back to their room, but her expression was
much more serious. Eveon was slightly worried about what it meant, but she and Miki
followed the sisters back to their hotel room.
It was then that Hoshi turned to Miki. "It would be a lot easier if you're honest
with us."
The green eyed girl just blinked and looked around to see Eveon just as confused and
the other sisters just as stern as Hoshi. "Honest? What do you want to ask?"
"Are you human?" The question was blunt and Miki flushed a bit.
"Of course I am!" Hoshi just grabbed her and leaned in closer.
"Really? A friend told me that Miki Uramoto was a half angel, half demon hybrid. You
seem completely human, but that's not uncommon," Hoshi said, running a hand through some of
Miki's hair. "That and I notice that black isn't your natural hair color."
"So what? And... how do you know about me being a hybrid anyway?" Miki asked, looking
around. "And why would it matter?"
Eveon looked over at Hoshi. "Give her a break - maybe she didn't tell anyone because
people aren't exactly nice to different races..."
Hoshi frowned, but ignored Eveon. "You don't even give off the same energy signature
as Tycara, so... are you hiding it?"
Miki tensed up as Hoshi placed her hand on the younger girl's clothed navel. Her holy
power began to resonate with a bluish green energy and Eveon immediately recognized it as
the same thing Miki used against the Death Dolls.
"Stop it!" Miki tore away from Hoshi. "What gives you the right to treat me like
this?"
"It's not that I don't trust you or that I dislike your heritage," Hoshi said simply.
"It boils down to the fact that you have a connection with the Shadow Organization and the
information you know could help out the rest of our friends."
"Neh, big sister, if she doesn't want to cooperate," Hina started, holding up Miki's
backpack.
"We could just look at her stuff," Tsuki finished, taking a small journal out of the
bag. It was much different than the book Eveon had seen before.
"You can't do that!" Miki cried out, diving for the book. Tsuki immediately handed to
her due to the magnitude of her negative reaction. "You shouldn't go through other people's
stuff!"
She grabbed her bag and began to double check everything as she cradled the journal
close to her. By the time Miki looked up, she could see the questioning stares she was
getting from everyone. Even Eveon was confused by the turn of events.
"...is there something you want to tell us?" Hoshi asked quietly.
"My sister and I... we were adopted for the sole purpose of being experiments for the
Shadow Organization," Miki murmured, opening the cover of the journal. "She died to save
me, so I don't really want to talk about it."
Hoshi let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry for antagonizing you, but I hope you
understand."
Miki did understand, but she almost pushed Hina away when the girl gave her a hug.
"It must be lonely to be without your sister.'
"It... it is, but she's always with me in spirit so it's fine," Miki said, looking
down at inside page of the journal. It simply read, 'Diary of Alice Bailey'.
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