Chapter 1

Riku's head shoots up as he catches the scent of darkness on the wind. He stands up straight from his position leaning on the railing and debates ignoring the scent, but then again, this is his home, whatever is out there doesn't belong. He should probably eradicate it before more come along, the last thing he needs is a gathering of darkness bringing intruders to the area. He hasn't survived this long by being careless, well mostly. He sighs, brushing his silver hair back irritably and steps off the porch to find the source. Sniffing the air, he lets his nose guide him south.

A scream interrupts the silence, "Shit," he curses. An attacked human is also trouble that he doesn't need. Taking off at a run, Riku follows the sound and comes upon a pack of demon hounds preying on someone, there's blood on the ground and one of the hounds has his teeth clenched around a wing.

Wings?! Ugh, this just got a lot more complicated. I can't just let him die, even if he's not human, he thinks. He ignites a fireball and easily picks each one off before moving closer to the still form and bending down on one knee. Now that he's closer, he can see that both the wings are half torn off. Just what I need, a dying seraph to bring more trouble.

Caught off guard in his mulling, he stumbles back in shock when the person, who he now sees is a teenage boy, grabs his wrist, cerulean eyes wide and fearful, "Help me please."

Well, that settles that decision then. "Alright, alright, I've got you." He ignores the blood soaking into his shirt and covering his hands to lift the boy up which is immediately followed by a cry of pain from him before passing out.

Well, at least him being unconscious makes this easier. Riku carries him back to the house calling for Marianne, his housekeeper. She rushes to the door, "What happened?"

"Not sure, I found him out there unconscious. Can you help me clean him up?"

"Of course," she replies before turning away to get supplies. That's what he likes about Marianne and why she keeps her job, she doesn't ask questions and takes everything in stride.

He carries the boy down the hallway to an empty guestroom and deposits him on the bed. He glances at the door before placing his hands at the base of both the wings willing them to heal. He watches the silver light flow from his fingers to the base, pull at the wings, and begin to attach them back to the skin. "That would probably hurt if he were conscious," he winces. As the silver fades away, he leans in to get a better look, there's what looks like silver threading interweaving across the base. Riku shrugs and leans back, No one will be looking that close anyway, better a bit of silver, than having no wings at all.

Marianne returns to the room with hot water, soap, and bandages, items that he has a large supply of which unfortunately come in handy more than he would like. Together they quickly cut away the bloodied clothes and clean away the blood. Riku wonders what she's thinking as she helps him to bind the wings with bandages to keep them from being damaged further by movement, but she asks no questions throughout the whole process.

As he putting the supplies away, she stands, "If that's all, I'll be heading home now."

Riku nods, "Yeah, that's all, thanks." She gives him a nod before leaving the room. He hears the front door shut and looks back over at the bed. Now that the boy is cleaned up and not in immediate danger, Riku gives him an appraisal. He's younger than he initially thought, still a teenager but definitely no older than 16, he'd bet. He's rather short with messy brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and dark eyelashes resting on still slightly round cheeks, definitely a young seraph. But, what was he doing here on Earth all alone, someone had to be looking for him.

Ah well, he thinks standing up, as long as he wakes and leaves before they come this way searching for him, it'll be fine. He takes one last look back before hitting the light switch and shutting the door behind him.
~~~~~

Sora wakes slowly, aware of a constant ache in his back. He sits up and the first thing he realizes is that he's shirtless and his chest is covered in bandages. His wings are out but they're so tightly bound to his back that he can't even move them. He glances around the unfamiliar room recognizing nothing, then it all comes back to him, his curiosity about the human world, the hounds picking up on his scent before he could flee, and the human that somehow rescued him. This must be his rescuer's house he concludes. Mindful of his tender back, he gets up and cautiously leaves the room.

Sora proceeds down the hallway wondering where he is the entire time before stopping when he nears a large kitchen. He carefully steps out of the hallway near the island, eyes across the way on the person watching TV the entire time. He takes a deep breath and clears his throat.

Riku turns around slightly, looking over the back of the couch and raises an eyebrow. "Look who woke up."

"Uh...yeah. You saved me?"

"Yep."

"But how?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was being attacked…."

"They were just dogs, it wasn't hard to scare them off."

Just dogs? Those were demon hounds. I guess he doesn't know anything after all. "Thank you."

"No problem. So, do you know how to get home?"

"Yeah, I know the way."

"Well, I'll get you a change of clothes and you can be on your way."

"….."

"What? You don't wanna go?

"No, I mean yes, but it's not that. I have to fly to get home and my wings aren't exactly healed."

Riku winced. No, no, no, no, he's got to go. "So….you want to stay here and recover, am I right?"

Sora brightened, "That would be awesome!" And I could explore the human world more!

Riku forced a smile, "Sure, but not for long. There are probably people worried about you."

He waved a hand dismissively, "Nah! It's totally fine. They don't even know I'm gone!"

"How old are you anyway?"

"14!"

"A little young to be alone at night."

Sora pouted, "It's not. How old are you?"

"17," he raised an eyebrow, "and the state I found you in last night seems to prove my point."

Sora gave a sheepish smile, "Heh….that was unexpected."

Riku rolled his eyes.

"But, about that, aren't you going to ask me about my wings?"

"No, I am not. In fact, it would probably be better if I didn't know anything about it. Safer for me to know nothing. Keep it to yourself."

"Yeah, I suppose that is for the better."

"Well, anyway, I have to be at work," Riku said rising from the couch. "So try not to break anything, stay inside and there's food in the fridge. He turned towards the door, grabbing his keys and wallet on the way there. Riku paused with one hand on the doorknob, "Don't cook," he added as an afterthought.

"Wait," Sora exclaimed. "You're going to leave just like that?"

"Like I said, I have to be at work, it's not really optional."

"For how long?"

"Nine hours more or less."

Sora took a step closer, "After that, will you show me around the human world?" He asked flashing a bright smile. "I have to be here while I heal and exploring was the whole reason I came."

Riku stared, "Maybe," he answered before hurrying out the door to avoid any more questions.

Sora glanced around his surroundings, absorbing the layout of the house. What am I supposed to do here alone for nine hours? He took in the open living room, the soft grey carpet, and how pristine everything appeared to be and pondered the fact that he knew nothing about where he was, not even the other male's name.

He really shouldn't have come to the human world on his own, but he was so curious and he figured nothing bad would happen if he watched from afar. But, he had gotten tired of flying and the open area seemed like a safe place to land, the hounds had come out of nowhere.

He gave his thanks for surviving the encounter, Cloud and Leon would have been upset had something happened to him. Not that he was lying about anyone looking for him, they didn't keep track of him, but they'd be sad if they found out he had died.

Sora considers going outside, but then thought he'd be safer inside. He settled in on the couch and prepared for a long wait.
~~~~~

"Riku," one of his coworkers greets him as he arrives at his desk. He nods back in greeting before powering on his computer. He didn't have to come to work today, in fact he never had to come to work, his demonic powers of deceit kept anyone from realizing that he wasn't there half the time. However it never hurt to show his face every once in a while, plus he really wanted to get away from that seraph.

He couldn't believe he actually let him stay, Riku prided himself on staying below the radar, something he worked hard to achieve. Fancy house, he may have used magic to get it, but no one would know since he pretends to work. Nothing good could come of letting him stay. But, he's already sealed his fate, so he might as well see the next few days through.

Riku is attempting to do work he barely recalls on the computer, he really should come to work more often, when Axel appears on the side of his desk.

"Hey Riku, whats up?"

Riku glares at him suspiciously, "What do you want?"

"Why the attitude, I visit sometimes."

"You never visit me at work."

Axel waves a dismissive hand, "Whats it matter? It's not like they can see me anyway, unlike some people, I'm strong enough to shield myself from however many people I want to."

"Seriously, what do you want?"

"So, if someone was going to die soon….."

Riku continued typing, "People die every day."

"Exactly! Humans are so fragile, but if they became demons, they could live life without the fear of death."

Riku paused and turned his chair to face Axel, "Are you telling me that you want to steal someone who is about to die?"

"I'm not stealing their life, they're about to die anyway!"

"If you didn't think it was a big deal, you wouldn't be asking me."

"Okay, smart ass, what do you think?"

"I think it's a shitty thing to do to someone."

"How about you drop those human morals for a second. You wouldn't be a human even if you had the choice."

"Will they get a choice?"

"….."

"What the hell did you expect me to say, Axel?"

"Not to be a righteous prick about it."

"Why'd you even bother to ask me? You're going to do what you want anyway. No one's opinion stops you."

"You got that right."

"Go be a big bad demon stealing souls."

"Fuck you," he hisses.

Riku laughs, "I'm trying to work here."

Axel glared, "Don't lie, I'm better at it." Without breaking eye contact Axel pressed his hand against the computer melting the insides before disappearing.

Riku stared at his smoking computer, "Fucking asshole demon."
~~~~~

Riku opens his door to find the seraph laying listlessly on the floor. He stared down at him, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm hungry."

"I told you there was food in the fridge."

"Yeah, but I didn't know what any of it was."

Riku sighed and stepped over him, "I'll make something."

Sora shot up with a wide grin, "Yes!" He trailed after him, "What will you make?"

"If you don't know what it is, why would it matter?"

Sora pouted, "Don't be mean, I'm just curious," he replied peaking around Riku's shoulder.

Riku snorted, "Because we know where your curiosity leads."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" He questioned grinding his head into Riku's arm.

"Not while you're staying with me."

Riku set the plates on the table and once the seraph was happily eating away he questioned, "What's your name, anyway?"

He pauses in his chewing, "Sora, yours?"

"Sora, hmm," Riku appraises him taking in his bright cerulean eyes, "that fits you. I'm Riku."

Sora leans over the table enthusiastically, "Riku! So will you take me out?"

Riku hesitates.

"Please," Sora is giving him the most hopeful look and against his better judgement he nods. "Thank you!" His eyes appear to get even brighter, if that's even possible.

"But, don't do anything to call attention to yourself."

"I won't."

Riku watches him for a second before asking a question he'd wondered about, "Do you age?"

"Huh? No, I was created not born, so I may change a little, but this is my final form."

"Hm." Riku considers how that goes for demons too, he knows he was born because he aged, but now at almost age 18, he's pretty sure he's not going to age anymore. Similar to what Axel said about demons not aging since he knows for a fact Axel doesn't age.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious." Riku gazes at the boy across from him and wonders what he's gotten himself into.