Only the Fool

Chapter 1: ...Lets Himself Be Seen.

Do you want to live again?

Do you want another chance at life?

Those questions...

Even though he was disoriented enough, his mind suspended in a state of disbelief with the news of his death, the fact that he was in Heaven and the fact that the boy in front of him was an angel, a real angel, those words echo in his mind, loud, demanding, distracting.

Do you want to live?

And despite the new knowledge that he was dead, despite the things that the angel told him, somehow...

Those questions...

Somehow he feels that those questions weren't for him.

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No matter how long he stares at his hand, it looks as solid as ever.

He still keeps expecting it to fade away, into something see-through...his body fade away until he's an actual ghost.

And finally...

"You're still here?"

He doesn't have to look over to see who it is. There's only one person now who can see him after all. Well...he supposed that he doesn't exactly count as a person. "Welcome home, dear." He says with that lilt in his tone that he knows irritates him beyond belief.

"I'm not home." Is the reply, predictably snappish, "And neither are you."

"Ah, so mean." He says, raising a hand to his forehead, tilting his head back against the sofa, the very picture of drama, "And here I was, waiting for your return oh so faithfully."

"Not like you can do anything else."

He sits up straight and finally looks over his way, grinning. "That's true. But you can't blame me for trying to find something new to do, right?"

"The only things you need to do right now are your missions, Kano." The other boy sighs, "And you have a new one now."

"That's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Kano points out, "You'll only go searching for me if I have a mission to do. It's not like I'm important for anything else."

"I don't need to go searching for you at all."

"Because you're an all-powerful angel with spooky mind-reading abilities." Kano makes mystical 'woo-woo' gestures with his hands.

"No, because I'm always watching over you."

You say it like I can forget about it.

As if I can, when you're the one stopping me from living again.

The angel is staring at him, a sour expression on his face. It seemed to be the only expression that he was capable of displaying. But his eyes had taken on that same, unreadable glint that sometimes made Kano think that he really was able to read Kano's mind.

"Let's go already." He finally sighs, turning back towards the door. Kano gets up and brushes the back of his jeans, straightening up to see the angel turn his back on him.

"Hey, can we come back here after the mission's done? Seto's finally bringing that girl, Mary over here."

"The longer we stay here, the longer you'll take and the less chance you have of seeing her." The angel says, back still turned. Kano hums and nods.

"Is it another delivery, Shintaro?"

"No. It's a surveillance mission. Should cheer you right up."

It did. "Hehhh...that's good."

His hands, which had been lowered to his sides, slowly unfurl. And glowing in his palms is a bright, white flame, sparks dancing off his fingertips and sinking into the floor.

"I was starting to worry that I would get rusty."

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He didn't know what he expected would happen when he died. It did seem obvious that he would be heading to Hell though.

But the Gods had other plans for him it seemed.

"Hey. Wake up."

That's odd. That voice was wrong. It wasn't the voice that he was used to hearing. It said those words that he wanted to hear, but for some reason the voice was wrong. No, not wrong...different.

He opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is red. A beautiful, heartbreaking red.

His eyes prick, his throat goes dry. And he doesn't know why.

It takes him a few seconds to realize that it was a person standing in front of him. A boy with dark hair, skin pale against the red of the jacket, dressed in clothes that appeared to be quite big for him, his lanky, thin frame lost in the fabric.

His eyes sweep over Kano's form and he frowns, "Good that you're awake now, but mind putting some clothes on?"

When he speaks, Kano realizes that his brain is sluggish; it takes more time to recognize his words. Almost as if he was watching TV with a lag of sorts between the display and the actual audio. He breathes in and realizes that his heart is slow as well, little more than a lead weight in his chest.

When he finally manages to understand, discomfort and shyness, his body's conditioned responses to this type of situation, they finally kick in and just when he wishes he was clothed, soft white light envelops his body, wrapping him in a comforting warmth.

It's only when his feet hit the ground does he realize that he had been suspended in air and the ache and pain that spreads like an irritable itch under his skin tells him that he was tied up there with strange ropes that seemed to bite at his flesh.

And his already-heavy heart sinks in dread.

He tugs at his clothes. They feel warm, freshly-ironed. The same coat for as long as he can remember...which is nothing. Nothing at all.

"Relax." The boy says coolly as he finally starts to panic, "Your memories are just messed up right now. You'll start remembering again soon."

"I..." He speaks in a voice that's more feeble than he'd planned, "What...where am I?"

And he could have imagined it...but for some reason, an expression of guilt flitted briefly across the boy's face.

"You are dead."

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"I'd really hoped we could have settled that without using your powers."

"That would make a nice change." Kano agrees.

The angel gives him a dirty look. "...You were unnecessarily ruthless back there."

"...I was having a bad day?" Kano asks, smiling at him apologetically.

"I told you before, didn't I? Though you weren't much of a sinner in your previous life, your actions would be judged?"

I still think your judgement is lenient. But he doesn't say the words out loud. For someone who doesn't even show his wings, Shintaro was quite a stickler for rules. Then again, Kano would do best to keep to them if he didn't want to die. Again. Or disappear forever. He never was clear on the subject.
"And the worse the sinner, the more the power."

"And the more time that he spends on his Judgement." Shintaro looks back at Kano, "You complain a lot about the fact that I'm watching over you, be grateful that I'm not doing it for a literal eternity."
"You're not?" Kano asks, mock-innocence marking his expression. Predictably, Shintaro huffs and turns away.

"...Ah, right. Here." He throws something small at Kano. When Kano catches it-with minimal fumbling this time, he was pleased to see-he sees a small candy in a childish yellow wrapper. There were even little bunnies on it.

"This my treat for today, Shintaro-kun?"

"You were the one who said you wanted more sweet things."

"Such a softie." Kano says with a snicker. When Shintaro glares at him, he continues, "Thank you, Shintaro-kun", in a sing-song voice.

"...I think I liked you better when you were freshly dead."

"So mean!" Kano says, pointing to himself, eyes wide and innocent, "Are you saying that I'm a bother for you?"

"Yes."

I already know that, though. "Then why are you sticking with me?"

"Not like I have much choice in the matter, don't I?" The words sting him more than Kano would care to admit. "You don't exactly do a good job of that, do you? You still leave me alone most of the time."
"Is that what you think?" Shintaro asks and Kano feels something tug at his hair gently.

He turns around. Shintaro was standing closer than he realized.

Fingers move from his hair to his cheek, gentle, heart-achingly sweet and Shintaro's voice is strange, filled with emotion when he asks, "Do you think I would ever leave you all alone?"

And Kano's face shows no emotion, even if the glint in his eyes are sharp, curious and air leaves his lips in harried, quick breaths, his words steady.

"Yes. You'd leave me without a second thought."

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Mary was quiet and loud at the same time, if that was even possible.

She was perfect for Seto, who was quiet about most things, rarely loud.

Kano had said as much to him, but of course the words fell flat in the air with no-one to listen to them. They always did.

He still kept talking, because it's all he knows to do. "Oi, oi, Kido. If you keep talking bad about me, I may tell her some stuff on my own~like the time before when I found y-"

"Irrepressible, irresponsible and a shady guy all around." Kido finished with a huff, cutting him off. A habit of hers, even when he was alive. Mary looked uncomfortable to hear their dead brother being described in such an unflattering light, but Kano swore he almost saw the shine of tears in Kido's eyes for a brief second.
She blinks, and the gleam is gone, she as cool as ever.

"You've learnt from the best, haven't you? Tsubomi?"

No reply. As always.

Seto chooses that time to walk over to them, smiling brightly. "Ah, Kido! Telling Mary about Kano?" When Mary nods, he laughs and leans back a little, adopting a nostalgic expression, "We have lots of stories about him...mostly because we were inseparable, you know? We knew each other since we were little kids!"
"Really?" Mary asks, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. The kind of look that really made Kano want to mess with people.

Seto used to have that look a lot. Kido did at some points too.

There was something there...a certain sense of vulnerability that Kano didn't like to see.

He would do anything to wipe it away. Make them laugh at him, glare at him, anything to erase that little stolen moment, a deeper part of something that he couldn't bear to see.

When he saw that expression on Shintaro, saw it on someone that he'd always associated as grumpy, snarky, powerful, strong...

No. His expression was different. The vulnerability was there...but mixed in with that look in his eyes, Kano could almost delude himself into thinking that the care the angel showed for him was genuine.
What a scary thought.

Since that day that he woke up, Shintaro had been nothing more than cold and distant.

And yet, Kano still has to fight with himself. Pushing down the little voices in his mind, he tries to focus on the conversation at hand.

Hah. I can't believe I'm saying this...but I've missed this feeling.

I've never had much of a reason to lie or hide my emotions lately.

He looks up and sees that the sun had set. He also sees that the room was almost empty now.

Save for him and one other person; his father. His adoptive father at any rate.

The colors of the room grow sharp under the artificial light, the scent of food heavy and strong and Kano realizes that his hands are aflame with his power; swirling, white flames that somehow smell of crisp, pure snow.
That's odd. Why would he...

He hears Kenjirou talk and looks up. But no-one else is in the room.

Only him.

"You're quite the potent soul, aren't you? Despite not being much of a sinner, your flame still burns bright."

Kenjirou is looking at him.

Kenjirou is talking to him.

Even amidst these revelations that stunned him silent and made his flames flicker, weakening with lack of control, he still manages to think;

His eyes...they were never red.

And those eyes are suddenly close, close enough to see the slits he had for pupils, before a hand fills his vision.

He's slammed against the wall, fingers squeezing tightly on his temples, the tips warm, uncomfortably warm, boring into his skull and setting his mind on fire and he just barely hears a cry that sounds like a wounded animal and realizes when he feels his throat hurt and air in his mouth, that he's the one crying.

Hurts...

It...hurts...

I can't...I can't think...

His flames flicker and die out.

He hears the man's voice from far away.

"You'll make a nice meal for me, boy."

Scared. He's scared.

Ahh...it hurts...

Did my own death hurt this much?

I...can't remember.

Will I die again?

No...no, I can't, I want to...live!

Please...I want to live! I want to see them all! My family...my family...

"You'll still not ask for it, huh."

And the pressure is gone, the pain is gone and warmth touches his body through his skin and clothes. He looks up and sees familiar dark hair, a familiar scowl, but it's aimed away from him. And when he looks in that direction, his breath, frantic to restore the air in his body, stops.
White wings, a beautiful, glittering white are shielding him away from his attacker, curled around their master's body and around him, a contrast to the stark red of his jacket, of the fabric surrounding the arms thrown around him.

It's so warm, that he wants to cry.

"What a creep." Shintaro mutters and his wings start to flare out, but the arms around Kano tighten in response.

And then, his wings come down and a light brighter than anything he'd ever experienced fills his eyes.

And he remembers nothing more.

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This is more fun to write than I thought it'd be~

Yeah, this is multiple parts, don't worry. And yes, there shall be smut.

Oooooh yes there will be~

In any case, I still haven't decided the fate of my Cards of a Feather series, but this may end up joining it? Not sure. I usually like to keep requests separate from my own stuff but...well, we'll see.
I'll be writing a set of stories for this AU as well at any rate. So, don't worry!

See you next chapter!