Chapter 3

Takeda slunk sullenly back into the rectory, removing his shoes at the entrance and not quite bothering to announce his entry. He and the Rector had been on good terms for a while now. If he was feeling full of himself he might have even said that he was the Rector's favorite. Today, however, he was feeling far less conceited.

I failed again, he thought grimly.

He had been trying to get her to join them again. It was a pet project of the Rector and he, Takeda, was put in charge…sometimes. To be honest, he had ulterior motives to his work with Natsuki. One look at the girl and everyone else in the church could see what he saw in her. What the Rector wanted from her, however, was perhaps a little purer than that.

With an angel like her as a part of the church, they would be famous. The church would be known throughout the country and would receive more funding than one could imagine. They would have enough money to rebuild the church, give to charity, and line the Rector's pocket as well.

Okay, so it was only a little purer than Takeda's obvious lust.

But time and time again, Natsuki would barely look his way. It was grating on his nerves.

I don't understand.

He was beginning to find himself annoyed, honestly. He was a teenage boy with limited patience. Despite what the wise Rector taught him about self-restraint and desire, he was still just a young man.

She was so arrogant.

If he were to be illuminated by God, he would show his gratitude. But she seemed determined to have as little as possible to do with His work. She had once been convinced to sit down with the Rector and talk but that had ended in shouting and she had left.

"No good?" asked a kind voice. Takeda turned to see the Rector. The look on Takeda's face told the man what he needed to know. "I'm not terribly surprised, you know. She's one tough cookie."

For some reason the Rector said this with more amusement than disappointment. Takeda looked at the floor in shame. The Rector ignored this and walked over to the window. It had begun to rain again, as it was wont to do, and the dreary sight only worsened Takeda's mood.

"Uh...Sir," he said hesitantly, remembering something else. "There was something else that happened."

The Rector smiled at the rain coming down and nodded slowly, signaling Takeda to continue. The young man wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say about the X factor in his most recent talk with Natsuki.

"I was…interrupted by a girl. She…didn't seem to know Kuga-san and well…" Takeda didn't know what else to say. Something had just made him feel as though he were an outsider as soon as she stepped into the conversation. And it wasn't just the way that she had asked him to leave Natsuki alone either.

To his surprise, the Rector was strangely interested in what he said. He had turned sharply and was staring intently at Takeda.

"Was it important?" he ventured hesitantly.

"Perhaps," the Rector replied, "Next time…"

The Rector stopped there as if unsure and left the room. Takeda was still for a few minutes before leaving the rectory and heading home. Something still weighed heavily on his mind.

A/N: I am terribly sorry for the poor quality and brevity of this chapter. I needed to take a break from Shizuru's point of view but Takeda is…well…boring. He's really just a piece of plot and there wasn't much I felt like doing with him. I just needed to get this chapter done with. So it's a disgusting 566 words….

Anyway, as another note, I have some background information about the origin of this story as it relates to the Book of Revelations, which I think I'll put in the first chapter, so look out for any changes in the next few days. Thank you for your support! Please feel free to comment and look for a 4th chapter by…the end of Spring break? Hopefully…