Kai looked up at the building he was about to enter. This was where the angels put their archives in, as well as used them to educate beginner angels. It’d been nearly a week since he and Mion had started seeing each other, and during that time Kai visited the archives frequently to study more on past examples of what he was doing. Today was no exception, so he marched right inside.

The building had the shape of some sort of huge courthouse usually seen in the human world, colored snow white with some golden streaks here and there. In their process of trying to keep up with the humans, both sub-factions of heaven and hell took a lot of cues from their architecture and/or infrastructure over the years, making their dimensions looks a lot like typical modern-day cities. In the case of heaven’s sub-factions, if one was able to take a look at one of them they’d see a city with its grounds covered in a thin layer of a cloud-like mist, and all the buildings a color of heavenly white with gold streaks like the one Kai had just entered.

Walking down the hallways of the building, Kai could hear a few muffled voices coming from the closed doors on either side of him. Those would be the more experienced angels giving lectures to the beginners on what every angel needed to know. Kai couldn’t help but reminisce about how he used to be in one of those classes as he passed by a slightly open door from which he overheard an angel instructing, “…learned to adapt to and even imitate whatever technology humans came up with over the course of history. Understanding what you’re tasked with protecting ought to be a first, shouldn’t it? So it only makes sense for us to keep up with man’s current times. Yes, you may come to learn how modern-day human technology such as everyday electronic appliances are rather difficult to recreate for our own use through magic, but you’ll also come to see how much it’ll work wonders for you once you get to that level. Take their mobile phones, for example…”

“Too bad demons do the same to find better ways to screw humans over.” Thought Kai to himself. “But that said, I can’t complain at all about humans coming up with all this fancy tech for us to magically imitate… especially when it can come into great use for deeds like what I’m doing.”

That lecture excerpt wasn’t the only thing Kai inadvertently overheard though. Another classroom nearby opened up and a crowd of beginner angels piled out, having just finished their own lecture, and as Kai was standing still to let them pass by, he heard the voices of the instructing angels inside the classroom, “I do hope they’re alright after what they learned about hell beasts today…”

“Come now Nagisa, save your worry for when they move on from theory to fieldwork.” The other angel said, “Gotta make sure they’re instructed well enough for when that time inevitably comes.”

“Aye, I can’t even bear to think of what I’d do if anyone repeated Kai’s mistake from last week…”

There was a split second of silence as Kai froze on the spot at the mention of his name and what he did a week ago when dealing with the Hellhound, then the same angel added, “Don’t get me wrong Ayano, I’m not trying to look down on him or anything. I only said that because I’m just still worried for him after a fiasco like that one and so I’d rather not see it happen again.”

Ayano agreed. “It’s not just with that one dangerous incident, but several other more minor instances before it as well that worries me, because of how many of them there’s been. When you’re still a beginner, even if you make mistakes, there’s always next time for you to do better. Once you’re out there as a more experienced angel, on the other hand, whether it’s saving a human in need, or facing off against demons or demonic entities, you can’t mess up or else not only can it end badly for yourself – as Kai has shown last week – but for the ones we’re obligated to help or protect too.”

There was a second of silence in which Nagisa presumably nodded in agreement, then said, “Even if a task isn’t anything dangerous for us, what would failure to help or protect mean to those we do it for? I don’t doubt that Kai is a good angel, and his mind’s certainly in the right place, but-”

Kai didn’t hear the rest as he walked away from the scene. He’d heard quite enough, and his fears of what his fellow angels might make of what he’d been up to with Mion (if they ever knew) made it quite obvious as to what Nagisa would say next. Again, he knew where they were coming from because he couldn’t deny how many times he’d messed up every duty he’d been assigned with or been a part of, including but not limited to that damn Hellhound incident. But if for those reasons his folks thought him doing any fieldwork was wrong until he could be better, then maybe he didn’t want to be right. How could there be improvement without the practice to perfect his skill?

“Am I being too selfish?” He doubted to himself the moment these thoughts formed in his head. The fact that what he and everyone else here did as angels was always for the well-being of others – namely humans – and never anything personal seemed to have slipped his mind momentarily in his frustration. Ayano herself had even said it moments ago, “You can’t mess up or else not only can it end badly for yourself, but for the ones we’re obligated to help or protect too.”

This once again raised in him the question of what his true motivations for helping Mion out were; his own success or the well-being of another. Nagisa had said his mind was in the right place, but was it really, considering all this?

Torn between the conflicts he was stirring up in himself, Kai walked further down the hallway and once seeing an empty room with no one else nearby, entered it. The archives will have to wait, right now he just needed to settle down all the things going on in his head.

Normally when Kai had any sort of problems – usually consisting of the aftermath of his failed duties – he’d talk about them with any angel he trusted well enough to hear him out, like Makoto or Hikasa. But after hearing Ayano and Nagisa’s conversation in the classroom, he felt like for once this was a matter he couldn’t safely confide in with anyone.

That is, except one, whose number Kai proceeded to dial on his phone without hesitation.

* * *

Walking along the streets of his sub-faction – looking very much like a dystopian story’s depiction of society’s final days except with all the architecture intact – Mion looked up at the dark red sky above to see a few demons flying here and there, either minding their own business or on their way to places. None of them seemed to have the leisure of paying him any attention, but that’s how Mion liked it best when he was here.

“Don’t mind me, just trying to stay out of both sight and mind…” Thought Mion. Being left all alone wasn’t exactly fun either when his home offered not a lot to preoccupy himself with, but at least it also meant he didn’t have to be bullied by his own kind for once.

Unfortunately that sense of relief didn’t last long, as he suddenly felt a sharp prick somewhere in his pants that made him shout a little in pain. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the source of the disturbance, which turned out to be the enchanted black beetle he’d been trying to use on his target all week. The critter wiggled its six legs about and snapped its pincers in an agitated manner even as Mion held it up to his face by his rear end.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you’re getting annoyed from me not letting you bite him already.” Mion sighed. “I only ask of you to be more patient so it’ll be all the more worth it when we get to it. Closer connection with the target for a better chance at possession; I want this to end in success for once!”

Even though the beetle of course couldn’t talk back to Mion, their conversation was cut short when he noticed a presence standing near him. Turning his gaze towards it, Mion saw a demon glancing at him with a nasty smirk that looked like he was trying not to cackle.

“Did I hear things right? Because I just happened to be nearby and couldn’t help but overhear your words about how you’re taking up a whole week or so on preparing for second-hand possession.” Said the demon.

As much as Mion wanted to avoid this situation, he knew it was pointless to try and ignore any demons who were set on using him as a punching bag either literally or figuratively. The last time he’d tried that, the demons he’d tried to get away from had greatly enjoyed kicking his ass. He begrudgingly spoke while stuffing the beetle back into his pocket, “Go back to minding your own business, would you please, Ren?”

“Oh, never mind whatever I’ve been doing.” Ren replied, shaking his head. “Can’t be anywhere near as entertaining as hearing how you’re so incompetent that even possession with training wheels is too difficult for you to take this long.” And he let out the insulting laugh he’d been holding back.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Patience is a virtue.” Mion muttered, to which Ren taunted him further, “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Mister. With progress like yours, I wouldn’t be surprised to see humans going extinct by the time you manage to get to even a fraction of my or your sister’s level.”

Mion shot Ren a dirty look as he said in a mock-thinking voice, “In fact, why don’t I take that insect off your hands so it can actually have a human to sink its pincers into?” and before Mion knew it, Ren reached into his pocket and extracted the beetle, mockingly hovering it over his head.

“Hey, hands off the merchandise!” Mion swiped his hands at the beetle to get it back, but this only amused Ren more due to how futile the attempts were. “Come and get it, dipshit.”

Mion made another swipe at the beetle, but all it did was make Ren carry it farther and farther away from him until both of them were in the air. Needless to say this attracted – in Mion’s case, much unwanted – attention from nearby demons flying past them to stop and watch as Ren kept on taunting Mion with the beetle.

“I mean it, man!” Mion growled, his anger from all the mocking having reached boiling point by now. In his rage he summoned a dark-red knife in his hand and pointed it at Ren in the most menacing way he could muster up. “Give it back now!”

Ren did stop, then said, “You’ve got some balls…” and Mion was surprised to see that him putting his foot down might’ve actually worked. That is, until Ren slightly cracked his neck before saying, “…balls that I might just rip out from between your legs for pointing that thing at me.”

Long story short, Mion did eventually manage to get back what was rightfully his, but at the cost of a black eye and a cut lip. Ren, on the other hand, of course got away scot-free, laughing with the demons who’d been watching their bickering and slapping them high fives.

Before he went away, Ren dropped the black beetle on top of a K.O’ed Mion’s face and said, “By the way, I was just messing with you – what use would a certified professional like me have for with this training wheel bullshit?”

Mion waited for the other demons around him to finish laughing and go off to minding their own business again before standing back up and flying onto the nearest building rooftop where he could be left alone again. As much as he was angry at Ren and all the demons who had witnessed the fight, he blamed himself for not thinking of getting out of the sub-faction for a while.

“I should’ve called Kai or something for another meet-up as an excuse to get out of here, even for just a moment…” Mion thought angrily. “Being around my kind is nothing but torment!”

Speaking of, Mion felt another disturbance by something else in his pocket and pulled it out. This time it was his phone vibrating from an incoming call, from the only person in his life who wasn’t set on making his life more hell than it already was. He picked it up and said, “Hello, Kai?”

“Hi, Mion.” Kai replied. “I’m not inconveniencing you by calling, am I?”

“Far from it.” Said Mion. “I’m not really doing anything at the moment, and besides, I did need someone to talk to anyway.”

“That makes two of us.” Kai muttered, before adding, “Your folks been giving you a bad time again?”

“Story of my life.” Sighed Mion. He didn’t feel much like talking about the beatdown he received from Ren so he asked, “Have you been feeling a bit down too just now?”

“Yeah, I have a lot on my mind right now to the point that it’s a real mess, which is why I called.” Replied Kai, also not feeling much like relaying the exact details as to why he couldn’t just simply talk it out with his folks instead.

“Well, you’ve always listened to me with my problems, so let me hear yours. It’s the least I can do.” Said Mion. As soon as those words escaped his lips, the back of his mind began to have a back-and-forth with itself again like it did a week ago, “What did I say that for? As if I have any obligation to comfort him when he needs it, what am I, his therapist?” “Lets not be that way, it’s all for forming that close connection with him for the possession… the better the connection, the better the results.”

Kai thanked Mion for that, and explained, “Without giving too much away – again, for privacy reasons, I’m sure you understand – I’ve recently been working on something to improve myself, but I’m not letting even my folks know of it. To be frank, I kinda overheard some of them talking about me and my past screw ups, which made me more certain that if they knew about what I’m up to, they won’t let me continue. But still, it’s because they only want what’s best for me and don’t want me to do anything rash like so many times before… That made me think, am I being selfish for wanting to keep doing this even if it means deceiving my folks right under their noses?”

“Don’t doubt yourself like that.” Mion replied. “If your folks think not doing anything is what’s best for you, that’s their problem, not yours. Never let such words get in the way of your confidence and keep yourself from doing what’s truly best for you.” He paused for a second to think up more nice-sounding words to say and added, “So keep up the good work, which I’m sure you’re doing, and achieve that deserved goal of yours.”

Kai smiled to himself. Honestly, Mion’s words didn’t really do anything to resolve the conflict in his head, as it still felt pretty split, but Kai was too polite to say so. Besides, much like that time in which they talked together in the park, just by talking to Mion about what was troubling him that he couldn’t tell his own kind did wonders to his state of mind. He found himself able to breathe a sigh of utmost relief as he once again felt like he’d gotten a heavy weight off his chest.

Feeling grateful just for that alone, Kai spoke, “Thanks a lot. And you know I’ll continue to support you on your own quest to do the same, right?”

Upon hearing those words, Mion also felt in him the same thing he once felt before during their meeting in the park the previous week. The feeling that he couldn’t explain, that he never felt when he was with his own kind, that only Kai ever gave him through his words and gestures.

Before Mion could stop himself, those feelings made him reply through the phone, “What else can I say but how grateful I always am for your kindness, you’re the only one I ever feel any kind of happiness around.”

“Don’t mention it.” Said Kai, albeit slightly flattered. “It’s because you deserve it.”

Only after this exchange did Mion realize what he’d said and thought to himself, “You stupid jackass, Mion! Why would you mindlessly say something like that to him for no reason?!”

Again, the other part of his mind somewhere in him asked himself, “Did you lie though? Lest we forget he always treats you infinitely better than your kind in every way, all while never asking for anything in return. Why wouldn’t you feel much happier around someone like him?”

“Because… because he’s my first step towards real happiness among my kind!” Mion tried to argue back at his mind, even though it sounded like a futile point to make even to him. “I succeed in this one possession, it’ll pave the path to many more in the future, then my folks will finally see I’m just as capable as them! That ought to be the only reason I should be happy around him!”

But even as he forcefully tried to answer that one question, his mind raised another one as if in retaliation, “You say your success will make your folks see how capable you are… as if that’ll change anything about the fact that they still see you as infinitely inferior and treat you like shit, what with them being so many steps ahead – tell me if that’s wrong, will ya?”

Along with that, what Ren told Mion before their fight over the beetle also came to mind like an agreement supporting that point, “With progress like yours, I wouldn’t be surprised to see humans going extinct by the time you manage to get to even a fraction of my or your sister’s level.”

Mion tried to come up with a counterargument to that too, but none came. Instead, his mind leapt to all the past times his sister and the others had pushed him around for his constant lack of success while they made human suffering via their demonic activity a casual part of their lives. Following that came the painful prospect of how much more of that very same torment he’d have to suffer through in future even if he did start succeeding. Most likely – if not surely – he’d never become like everyone else when they took several giant leaps for every small step he took. As haunting as the thought was, perhaps no matter what he did, there was ultimately no escaping this hell he wanted no part in, and no avoiding this pain that he wanted to end.

“No… no, this can’t be… there has to be something, anything I can do to end my suffering…!” Mion thought, shaking his head. “If I can just find whatever option possible for happiness, I’ll grasp at it with no hesitation, no matter what it takes! I can’t afford myself to give up just like this! I want to live and be happy for once!”

“Mion?” Kai’s voice came from somewhere seemingly distant. “Are you still there? What happened?”

Mion blinked a few times in a daze, then realized Kai’s voice wasn’t coming from anywhere distant, but from his phone that he was still holding right next to his ear. Quickly coming back to his senses, he replied, “Sorry about that, my mind just wandered off for a moment…”

Kai sighed in relief again. “That’s fine. Honestly for a second there I thought your folks had come in and taken your phone away from you or something, hence the silence.”

“Can’t blame you for thinking that, sounds a lot like something they’d do just to screw with me…” Mion replied. “In fact, just before you called I had one of them doing something of the sort with one of my other possessions, and when I retaliated, he didn’t take it lightly.”

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that…” Said Kai with a sympathetic frown that couldn’t be shown over a phone call, but Mion felt a wave of comfort wash over him just from Kai’s voice alone as he continued, “If you need to vent your feelings over that, I’m listening like always. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

Even as he felt extremely conflicted over the comfort he was feeling from Kai’s words, Mion didn’t do anything to stop either the angel or himself. What with his mind in such shambles with so many thoughts, he’d be glad just to have someone to let them all out to instead of continue to be stuck in his head all alone. So he went on to tell Kai all about what had happened before the call.

As for Kai, all the things on his mind that made him call Mion in the first place were no more as he listened to the demon’s troubled voice through the phone. None of that mattered anymore; what did matter right now was to be here for Mion in times of need. And be there for him he did like an angel should.

And during that moment, whether both of them knew it or not, somewhere inside their minds there grew a feeling they couldn’t quite put in words – a desire, if you will, to keep being there for each other for how many days there were to come, and for however long time would allow them.