A/N: Thanks to everyone who R&R'ed my first B/A fic, 'To Hell and Back'. I was encouraged to try a new B/A fic. This one is set after NFA, should be 3-5 chaps.

Shanshu Fulfilled

It took him a few days to adjust. The last time his humanity had been returned to him, he hadn't really had time to take it all in, to understand what it meant. And this time there were two added bonuses: he had retained his superhuman strength and fast healing, and it was definitely for keeps this time. That had been confirmed with the PTB right off the bat. Word was he'd earned it, fair and square. Of course, Angel suspected Cordy had had a hand in pleading his case to the PTB, because he knew it was just the kind of thing she'd do. He'd have to remember to thank her when he saw her next.

So, what to do? There was a catch, of course. There always was with the PTB. Nothing was ever given without strings, even if it was earned many times over. He was required to continue to be a champion, doing what he could to help keep the balance of good and evil just slightly tipped to the good side. Taking him completely out of the equation would have definitely caused problems in the cosmic scale of things. Didn't matter to him, he'd already planned to continue doing what he could, as long as he got to go after the one thing he'd always wanted.

Buffy. Word had it she was in Italy, heading up the slayer school. He'd also heard she wasn't hanging out with the Immortal any more, since he had taken himself off to Japan six months ago. Angel had been very happy to hear that.

So here he was in Rome. It hadn't been easy finding out where the slayer school was. Broadcasting that bit of info would have been as good as painting a target on it. Lots of big players in the demon community would pay a lot of money to see the slayer school decimated. Angel had had to call in some favors, pay some big bucks to get the location. But it had been worth it.

Standing on the sidewalk outside the nondescript building, Angel took a deep breath. The novelty of breathing still hadn't worn off and he smiled a little as he took another deep breath. His smile faded and he started pacing as a fresh wave of nerves swept over him. Would she be happy to see him? he wondered. Of course she would. How could she not? But what if she's not…cookies yet? he thought, suddenly worried that his timing might be wrong.

A movement across the street caught his eye. His heart started pounding as he saw Buffy walking down the street. He couldn't seem to get his body to obey his brain's urging to go after her until she'd turned the corner. Snapping out of it, he dashed across the street and around the corner, just in time to see her go into an alley between the next two buildings. He jogged to catch up. He didn't want to call out to her, afraid of calling demony attention to her.

Turning into the alley, he caught a flying kick to the stomach and bent with a gasp, followed by an upper cut to the jaw that sent him reeling into the wall. "Buffy," he croaked, figuring she hadn't recognized him. As soon as she knew it was him, she'd stop. He dodged another kick and blocked a roundhouse and then realized something wasn't right. Whenever Buffy was near, he could…feel her. He wasn't feeling anything right now—except winded from that kick she'd landed. He squinted in the gloom. "Buffy?" he queried, only to have to parry another series of blows. Suddenly he knew. It wasn't Buffy, it was a double. But how? Why? he wondered. He caught her leg just before it would have connected with his middle and twisted it, sending her crashing into a stack of pallets. Looked like the only way he was going to get any answers was to subdue his diminutive opponent, which wasn't going to be easy. Apparently she was one of the slayers-in-training, but he knew he could best her. She was no Buffy, who could kick his ass on a good day. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

The Buffy twin jumped nimbly to her feet and assumed a defensive stance, studying him curiously. "Who are you?" she asked breathlessly.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Angel replied, looking at her in the dim light. The resemblance was remarkable, but now that he had the time, he could see subtle differences. "Wanna tell me why and how it is you look like Buffy?"

"I'm the one asking questions, handsome. I'll ask you again, and if I don't like the answer, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"I'm Angel."

The twin snorted and rolled her eyes. "Right, and I'm the next president. I've never met Angel, but I know he's a vamp and you ain't no vamp. My slayer senses would tell me. Try again."

Angel sighed. "The PTB restored my humanity." She wore a blank look that told him she wasn't following. "To fulfill the Shanshu prophesy?" Still with the blankness. "Look, I just need to find Buffy. I heard she was here running the slayer school."

She shrugged, relaxing marginally though she still watched him warily. "She ain't here, buddy. All I know is they cast this glamour spell on me and told me to play decoy to keep the heat off her. Lotta demons wanna see her dead."

"Who's running things?"

"Faith, though Andrew likes to think he's in charge, the weenie. We mostly ignore him," she said. She looked him up and down, considering her next move. "Tell ya what, wait here, I'll get Faith and she can decide if you're for real."

Angel nodded, relieved, and watched her leave. He leaned on the wall in the shadows, trying to control his impatience. Faith would know where Buffy was.

Moments later a shadow fell over the entrance to the alley. Angel straightened from the wall.

"Angel?" Faith asked softly. He stepped out of the shadows and a smile broke over her face.

"Hi," Angel said.

"Well, well, look at you, all human again. It's about time the PTB came through for you." She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked him up and down. "How's it feel?" she asked.

Angel smiled. "Great. It's funny the things I missed. Breathing. The taste of food. Sunshine." His eyes turned serious. "Where's Buffy?"

Faith sighed. "I shoulda known you didn't look me up 'cuz you missed me," she muttered. "She's in Barcelona, last I heard. She has to keep moving around, keep them guessing. The decoys help, but you can't be too careful." She scoped out the area, her eyes sharp. "You weren't followed, were you? I mean, if I wanted to find Buffy, I'd put a tail on you. Any twit would guess the first thing you'd wanna do after having your humanity restored is find her."

Angel looked around too. "I don't think so. My new status didn't exactly make the evening news."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Puleeze! The world's most famous vamp gets all human again and you think it's gonna stay secret? Demon grapevine's better than the AP."

"You didn't know," Angel observed, pleased at that most famous vamp part until he realized he was famous for the wrong reason. Guilt assailed him as thoughts of his past threatened to distract him, but he pushed that all away. There was no time for any of that.

"Yeah, well I tend to slay demons. I don't take time for a cuppa tea and gossip first." She looked him over again. "You look good. I don't suppose you're gonna hang around."

"I need to find Buffy," Angel said somewhat regretfully. He'd like nothing more than to stay and catch up with Faith, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to find Buffy before it was too late. For what, he didn't know, but the urgency was growing.

A wry smile quirked her full red lips. "Figures first thing you'd do is go looking for her now that you two can do the horizontal mambo without any danger of the evil twin fucking things up." Angel smiled and she sighed. "Like I said, she keeps movin' around, but I'm pretty sure Barcelona's where she is now. If it were me, that's where I'd start."

"Thanks, Faith. Take care of yourself, okay?" he said, anxious to get going.

"Sure, Angel, you too. And give my best to B when you find her." With one last look and a cocked smile, she turned away. Angel headed back for his rental car. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait too long for the next flight to Barcelona.

B&A&B&A&B&A

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