Title:Cathatrsis
Rating: T (may go up)
Pairing: Nowaki x Hiroki (Egoist), with sprinkles of Terrorist and Romantica.
Warning: AU, shounen-ai, un-beta-ed
A/N: What's with me and this crazy plotbunny... this is a NowaHiro AU that refused to leave my head. The setting may be quite confusing, since I used the names from different beliefs and myths and then just made up my own world... but I'll explain it gradually... so don't associate the names of places and stuffs here with the original... I just borrowed names XP. And English is not my first language so please excuse typos and stuffs, since this is un-beta-ed... I hope you enjoy this. ^^

R&R please!!

The brown-haired angel stared down at the bustling streets of Tokyo. It was rush hour. Here and there he could see humans walking around busily, paying no heed to the similarly busy people around them, as if they were alone in that sea packed of people. From his place on top of a nine-storage building, the humans were like swarms of dots flowing to every direction.

He liked it there. Humans were a very interesting creature indeed, observing them had proven to be quite a fun.

He sighed. He should start his job soon, too.

He took out a piece of parchment out from his pocket. Familiar format of names were written there. Aligned with those names, were scribbling of places and different times.

The brown-haired frowned. "What's with these messy scribbles? That blasted Miyagi must've slackened off again... and what's with this p.s? 'Good luck Hiroki my sweet honey, don't slack off!'...."

Hiroki felt a start of budding annoyance and also the tempting urge to tear the parchment apart, in his mind swam Miyagi's gleeful expression when the older angel imagined his reaction when he read that message clearly written to annoy Hiroki.

Yet if he tore the parchment, he would lose the list of people he should 'pick up' this day. And asking for a replacement to Miyagi was a bigger hassle...

Hiroki snorted and shoved the parchment back into his pocket. Nope, he wouldn't give in to Miyagi's pranks. He wouldn't give that Miyagi his pleasure of making him annoyed. Even though somehow Miyagi was always pleased whether Hiroki was annoyed or not... it seemed that seeing Hiroki's face alone was enough to entertain the black-haired angel...

With a single step, he jumped down the building, spreading his feathery black wings wide in the process, and flew with ease around the high buildings of Tokyo. His destination was the first place written in that parchment. Ooedo Hospital.

Angel of Death.

That was the job assigned to him. That was his title ever since the day he was created. He was bestowed with the task of escorting people's souls when their time came to the place those souls deserved, whether it was Underworld or the Elysium, until the day they were ready to be reborn.

One of the High Angels, named Miyagi, and conveniently nicknamed 'slacker' by Hiroki, was the one responsible for bringing him the list of people he must escort everyday.

Hiroki was the only angel throughout the Celestial Kingdom with the privilege of entering the Underworld. It was also easy to distinguish him from the others, since he was the only one with a pair of black wings. There were times when he envied the other angels' pure white ones, and wondered how it would be like if he ever had a pair. Though most of the times he didn't actually pay any attention to his wings. If he was credible and did his job splendidly, then that was enough for Hiroki.

Karin --- Ooedo Hospital. 09.00 am room 405.

After some squinting and interpretations, he finally managed to read Miyagi's messy handwriting clearly. Hiroki made note to himself that he would bribe Miyagi the sorry excuse of an angel about the importance of neat handwriting later. What if he misinterpreted and went for a wrong person instead? Seriously, with that kind of attitude, how come Miyagi had such a high position in the Celestial Kingdom?

Hiroki stared at the huge building before him, trying to figure out which was the room 405. He was perched on a huge tall clock in the hospital garden, the one which glaringly said 08.45 am. Hiroki decided to take it slow, considering he still had fifteen minutes until the assigned time.

"Oh, isn't it Hiroki?"

Hiroki turned to the source of voice and spotted Takahiro. His fellow angel. The other's white wings were spread wide, complementing the serene aura Takahiro seemed to emit. He smiled brightly at the Angel of Death, waving in greeting.

Hiroki nodded in return as the other flew closer to him.

"I see you have work here too..." Takahiro still smiled. "What kind of person you will escort today?" Takahiro asked politely, giving Hiroki a room if he decided not to tell.

"A little girl named Karin... it looks like she'll lead a happy afterlife until she's ready to be reborn..." Hiroki told his companion.

"Really? That's good to hear!" Takahiro beamed.

Really, He was too kind, Hiroki thought. And perhaps that was the reason why Takahiro was liked by almost everyone. His kindness was his best aspect, though it was bordering at obliviousness at times. He even compensate with those who committed sins unfathomable to most. No wonder it was not him who held the position Hiroki currently occupied. Takahiro would not have a heart to bring even a high class criminal to the Underworld.

"You see Hiroki, I was assigned today to give life to a baby!" Hiroki couldn't guess whether it was the light or Takahiro's eyes were indeed sparkling. "The mother's first child! What kind of soul do you think I should give to the child? Girl? Boy? Or maybe twins!"

"...." As much as Hiroki liked the other angel, he was really noisy when it came to something that excited him. "Just... pick what you think the best for that woman..."

"I know! But I'm so confused..."

Hiroki sighed. "Just.... a boy. Yes, a boy will be fine," he said randomly.

"You're right! I'm off then!"

Hiroki waved lightly at the other angel's departure, shaking his head slightly at Takahiro's antics.

"Now... to the room 405..."

The little girl was pretty, was the first thing that came to Hiroki's mind when he entered the room. Karin was a girl diagnosed with a rare heart disease, Hiroki forgot what it was, but he was sure Miyagi told him about that when he delivered the list today. She had curly locks of black hair and a pair of large, innocent-looking light brown eyes. An IV was injected to her arm. Her skin was pale, sickly pale, and yet the girl looked calm. She was reading a storybook with a cute bunny as the cover. What a waste, at such young age she had to die... she would grow into a fine young woman.

Hiroki was surprised when the girl talked to him, dissolving him from his musings.

"Hello, Nii-san," she had smiled up at him when he approached her.

Hiroki blinked, humans should not be able to see him. Only those in their soul form were given the ability to. The angel studied his surroundings for awhile, making sure that the girl was indeed talking to him. "You can see me?"

"Oh, you're supposed to be invisible, too? Are you his friend?" the girl brightened up, sprouting things Hiroki couldn't understand.

"... friend?"

"Yes, the one with wings! My friend! He said he was an angel, are you an angel too? But you have different wings..." she smiled, saying most of that stuff to herself even though she directed her eyes at Hiroki. "Are you here to accompany me like he did? Hospital can be boring, you know."

The girl was definitely gifted.

"I come to pick you up, Karin," Hiroki tried his best to be polite, offering his hand to the little girl.

"Pick me up?" the girl parroted. "Where to?"

"Somewhere fun..."

"But Mom said not to trust strangers..." Karin frowned at the offered hand.

"I'm not a stranger, I'm an angel, right? Angels are bound to good deed, you know?" Hiroki coaxed. Well, it would be so much faster if he yanked her soul out but that would be plain barbarian since that hurt a lot, that technique of his was only reserved for those sinned souls who didn't met his good grace... or if it was written in his parchment, whichever came first.

The girl looked contemplating. "Should I ask for Mom's permission first?"

"You don't need to... your mother will be there too eventually..." Well, he hoped he was not lying to the girl, but this girl's hesitation was getting into him. "You're bored in here, right? Don't you want to go out?"

"Oh..." the girl blinked. She then hesitantly reached out and took Hiroki's hand.

Hiroki's lips curved up slightly as he took hold of the small hand. "Good."

The black-winged angel then gently removed her soul from her body, severing all chains the soul had with her body. Hiroki watched as the body grew limp and the soul was now standing in front of him. Before the girl's soul was able to question why she was able to see herself lying on the hospital bed, Hiroki touched his palm gently to her forehead.

"Go on..." he dissolved the soul, sending her into the Afterlife.

"One down, two to go..." Hiroki checked his list.

"So Karin-chan's time has come..."

Hiroki whipped his head at the voice, not realizing that he had company.

On the doorway, a tall person was leaning at the doorframe. His eyes were a mesmerizing pair of dark blue. His short hair was the color of midnight, his long bangs framing his attractive face. His clothes were all black, complementing his pale skin complexion. But the feature that stood out the most was a pair of black, bat-like wings on his back.

A demon.

Hiroki's eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?"

"You can say I'm Karin-chan's friend. My name is Nowaki," the demon smiled at Hiroki.

Hiroki knitted his brows. As a member of Celestial Kingdom, it was a given that he certainly didn't favor the occupants of Underworld such as this guy here. And yet the way that demon named Nowaki smiled was somewhat... sincere. It wasn't the usual expression of arrogance and those evil smirks he had seen plastered on most, if not all, Underworld occupants.

"But it's such a shame, I never get to say goodbye to Karin-chan..."

"So, you're the 'angel' she mentioned about?" Hiroki gruffly said, crossing his arms. "That's quite a lie you made there..."

"A white lie wouldn't hurt," Nowaki said, the smile never leaving his face. "Children are so pure, don't you think? They see the world in black and white. What good will it does for Karin-chan if she knows that her company is a demon? She's going to be scared."

"At least you're being honest."

"I just wanted to make her happy by keeping her company. She has such a short time after all..."

Hiroki's frown deepened. "That is so considerate of you, I don't know if demons are actually capable of good deeds," he said in a mocking voice.

Briefly, Hiroki noticed something flashed in the demon's blue eyes as the impact of his words.

Sorrow?

"You haven't seen all of us then, Angel of Death..." the taller demon's smile was still intact. Though this time, the smile didn't reach his eyes. In those pools of blue Hiroki could see traces of that sorrow earlier. Of what, Hiroki didn't know.

And he sure as hell didn't bother to find out.

"Out of the way. I have jobs to do," he muttered, shoving the demon aside as he passed to the doorway.

The brown-haired angel was bewildered when the demon took hold of his arm, stopping him rater abruptly.

"What the--! Let me go!"

"Your name."

"Huh??" Hiroki directed his brown eyes to Nowaki's blue ones.

"I still don't know your name."

"Must you?" Hiroki tried to shake his arm free but the taller one tightened his grip. It looked like he had no intention of letting Hiroki go before the black-winged angel fulfilled his wish.

"I told you mine. So at least you can tell me yours, Angel of Death." The voice, though it was the same, gentle tone from before, it held a hint of command in there.

Hiroki twitched.

"Hiroki," the shorter one said defiantly, his chin raised high as he stared at Nowaki. "Now let go."

The demon didn't protest now when Hiroki shook his hand free of his grip. Nowaki's blue eyes followed the grumpy angel as he made his exit, and the gentle gaze still lingered there even though the angel had just jumped out of the window and flown out of sight.

"Hiroki..." the demon whispered, smiling. "That's a nice name..."

The tall demon turned his body; following an exact same trail certain black-winged angel took.

"This could be quite interesting..."

---* TBC *--