Part 23

Hanamichi stared at the still body of Kogure as he slowly walked towards him with uneasy steps, his face masked with sweat, his eyes watering. "Sou na..." He whispered to himself over and over again. When he was standing over Kogure, he knelt down over the boy and prayed that he wasn't dead. Carefully, he took the upper body of Kogure, one hand supporting the head, and turned it around to face him. When he heard Kogure groan because of the pain, he felt his chest expand. He stroked Kogure's quivering cheek and gasped out happily, "Yokatta! Yokatta ne..."

Kogure lifted one eyelid up, the one that wasn't matted with blood, and stared back at Hanamichi's eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead, he choked out a mouthfull of blood, grimacing slightly at the pain and metallic taste.

Hanamichi held him carefully, hoping that the flow of blood would stop. "Shikarishite, Kiminobu-kun..." Hanamichi didn't know the full name of the boy he held in his arms, nor does he remember seeing him before, but once that name escaped his lips, visions of basketball games passed through his head, him and this boy playing together, talking, smiling...then, he heard the Hanamichi in his mind announce, 'MEGANE-KUN!'

But the person he called replied tiredly, 'My name's Kiminobu Kogure, Sakuragi-kun.'

"Kiminobu...Kogure..." Hanamichi whispered silently. Then, he looked down at Kogure's face and added, "My name's...Hanamichi...Sakuragi..."

Kogure's eyes lit up at that as he blinked in disbelief at Hanamichi. Masaka! He knew that every soul that would enter Heaven loses his or her memory when they are in Zion, but Hanamichi...how did he remember his name? Kogure didn't know how, but before he could ponder on it, Raphael's frame loomed over both him and Hanamichi. Hanamichi stiffened with fear, but there was also anger in his eyes as he whipped his head around to glare at Raphael.

Raphael looked down at Hanamichi with weary eyes. "Now, now, there is no place for anger in Heaven."

"You almost killed one of my teammates." Hanamichi replied coldly as he place Kogure's head down gently on the ground and lifted his body up to stand before Raphael. Boldly, he retorted to the angel, "I think that's reason enough for me to be angry."

Raphael drew back one step, his face contorted into an angry yet scared look. "Impossible...do you remember EVERYTHING?"

Hanamichi shook his head at that, his gaze never wavering from Raphael's face. "No. I don't remember everything, but it seems that little by little, they are coming back to me." Hanamichi took one step forward, sending Raphael back. "Now, my turn to ask a question. Why'd you try to kill Kogure?"

Raphael, seeing that over a hundred angels were watching them at the moment, held his ground as he grounded out, "The word that you should pay attention to in your question is the word 'try'. True, he deserves to die because he hasn't interfered with my work and the cycle of life, which is against the law in our book. He is one of the best angels we've got, I spared his life for the time-being."

"Yours won't be spared at all."

Everyone around the area had somewhat similar reactions to that cold statement. Raphael's eyes widened to size of saucers as he took an uncertain step back, Kogure's hand twitched from its lax position. The 50 angels around the area all drew out their swords and held it in front of them. Hanamichi turned away from Raphael, saw who spoke up, and felt his heart stop. Only one thought managed to pass through his brain. Omae...

Rukawa stared back at Hanamichi with disbelief, his chest rising and falling as he took in his beautiful redhead. I found you...you're okay... Tears threatened to pour out of his eyes, but he held it in when he saw Hanamichi gazing at him quizzically, an expression of recognition crossing his face.

Hanamichi felt his mind pound when he stared into the raven haired man's blue eyes. He felt the same pain jab his brain and he fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. "Itai!"

"Hanamichi!" Rukawa called out, but then, before he could move forward, he saw black fire cross his path. He turned to look at his side and gasped.

Mitsui's aura...was out of control.

Sendoh and Koshino were beside the dark haired boy, but when they noticed the black fire slowly becoming bigger and bigger, they started to back up. Rukawa cursed and stepped in front of his cousin, reaching out to touch him. But as his fingers were about to graze Mitsui's shoulder, electricity came from the black fire surrounding Mitsui's body and hit Rukawa's hand. Rukawa hissed and drew back, fearing that Mitsui has lost his mind.

Mitsui, however, didn't care at all. All he could see was Kogure, lying down on a bed of roses, blood coating his body. He moved his crazed look to Raphael and took a step forward. "Are you the one who did this to him?"

Raphael held his ground and replied calmly, "Aa."

"DIE YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!" Mitsui shouted as he flew up to the air and drew out his scythe, the blade made out of black fire. He aimed it towards Raphael and flew down, his speed increasing by the second. Raphael drew out his sword and blocked Mitsui, but in turn, their powers turned into what looked like a bomb, covering them both in smoke. Mitsui wasted no time and flew back up, his scythe ready. "Get ready to die, you bastard!"

Raphael shook his head and place his sword back on his side. He sighed. "The walk to Heaven should have ended an hour ago. You're making me late."

Mitsui drew his scythe back and shouted out his pent up frustration as he neared Raphael again. "I'll kill you for killing Kogure!!!!!!!"

Hanamichi stepped forward and shouted, "But he isn't dead yet!"

Mitsui paused halfway at that, his entire body arched in an attack position. Raphael stood still as he observed the demon in front of him, waiting for what may happen next. Koshino held Sendoh's arm tightly as Sendoh stared seriously at his brother. Rukawa took a step forward, noticing that Mitsui wasn't moving an inch in the air.

Hanamichi scratched his cheek, question marks popping out of his head. Eh? Did I say something wrong?

Mitsui, who was still in the very same position as before, grounded out, "Wha-what did you just say, Hanamichi?"

"He isn't dead yet." Hanamichi repeated.

Mitsui's face scrunched up slightly. "Huh?"

"I. Said. He. Isn't. Dead. Yet." Hanamichi said slowly. Then, he added, "He's just resting."

Mitsui was still and silent again. Actually, almost everyone was. No one moved, no one said anything, nothing. Finally, Mitsui turned his head to face Hanamichi, his expression unreadable-

-then flew down towards the redhead, strangling him by neck.

Mitsui screamed angrily at Hanamichi, "Kono baka yaro!!!!! Do you know how scared I was?!!!! Why the hell didn't you tell me?!! BAKA!!!!"

Hanamichi struggled to breath as he shouted back, "Why the hell are you mad at ME?! You didn't ask me anyway!!! Besides, who are you?!!"

Mitsui suddenly released Hanamichi, this, dropping the redhead to the ground. Hanamichi winced and rubbed his neck, his butt still stinging from the impact as Mitsui glanced down at him, then remembered about the memory loss thing. He waved a hand in front of Hanamichi then smiled. "Oh yeah! Hi! My name's Hisashi Mitsui. Nice to meet you, Hanamichi-kun!"

Hanamichi stared at him strangely. "What the heck? One minute, you're trying to kill me, the next, you're introducing yourself. What gives?"

Mitsui shrugged at that then, turned around. "Forget it." Then, he spotted Kogure a few feet behind Hanamichi and ran to him. When he got down on his knees beside Kogure, he cradled the head as if it was something so fragile. When Kogure opened his eyes slightly, Mitsui gave a relieved sigh. He smiled down at his lover. "Good thing you're still alive. I thought that you were gone back there."

Kogure smiled tiredly as he spoke softly. "I heard." Then, his expression grew serious. "And it's a good thing that you didn't go on with your battle against Raphael. You could have been killed."

Mitsui's eyebrows rose as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Kogure closed his eyes as he continued to speak softly. "Look at his right hand." When Mitsui looked at the angel's hand, it was tucked at his back, the two fingers intertwined with each other. Kogure, sensing that he was done looking, continued. "That is a sign that would mean an assault of all 100 angels on you and only you. Most of them are hidden, judging from their aura, but they are there nonetheless. All Raphael has to do his make the sign and all of them will destroy you. We may be angels, Hisashi, but we also kill if needed."

Mitsui gulped, silently thanking Hanamichi for shouting at him. Then, he noticed the wounds all over Kogure's body and hissed. "Damn! We need to get you out of here!"

Hanamichi stared at the pair behind him, feeling slightly envious. Even the second pair behind the two, though they weren't in a position that could be called affectionate, they seemed to support each other mentally. Hanamichi sighed and rubbed his backside. When he saw black boots in front of him, he lifted his gaze and felt his mind throb again when his eyes clashed with the raven haired man's.

Rukawa stepped forward, hesitantly reaching out for Hanamichi.

Hanamichi saw what was coming and felt his insides become warm. But before the other man could touch him, pain engulfed his brain as he cried out, holding his head tightly in his hands, he screamed when it felt like his brain was being crushed.

Rukawa knelt down beside his redhead and touched Hanamichi's arm. But when he did that, Hanamichi gave a loud, painful scream that seemed to bounce around the area. Rukawa drew his hand back, and when he did that, Hanamichi's scream died away. He stared in disbelief at his lover, then turned angrily at Raphael. "What the hell is going on?! Why can't I touch him?!"

Raphael smiled a self-satisfied smile at that question, then gave a small laugh. "Isn't it obvious, Rukawa-kun?" Rukawa didn't know how he knew who he was, but continued to listen when the angel opened his mouth again. "He cannot bear to have you touch him."

"Why?" Rukawa asked as he clenched his fists tightly.

Raphael shrugged indifferently then explained. "The soul of a person loses his or her memory once they come to Zion, however, if they see or feel the person that they loved in their past life, they feel extreme pain. The more pain that person feels, the more it signifies the love that person had for the other person." Raphael crossed his arms over his chest and stated, "In laments terms, you will hurt him if you are near him. Even if you do bring him back to earth."

Rukawa stared in disbelief at Raphael, his mind suddenly dead. I...can't be with Hanamichi...anymore?...

Hanamichi bit his lip to draw his attention away from the pain as he slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the raven haired man standing above him, his heart aching suddenly when he saw a look of despair pass over his face. Hanamichi gasped when pain coursed through his body again, but he pushed it aside as he struggled to stare at the man. I know you...but I can't remember... Then, not being able to take the pain anymore, Hanamichi blacked out and fell on the ground.

Rukawa heard the sharp intake of breath from his lover and turned just in time to see Hanamichi faint and fall back. His arms encircled Hanamichi's lithe frame, his heart pounding hard against his chest when he felt heat seep through Hanamichi clothes. He's alive... Rukawa didn't care about anything anymore. Hanamichi was alive and in his arms. That's all that mattered to him.

Raphael snapped his fingers suddenly. Rukawa forced his eyes to open as he saw over a hundred angels appear from the sky and surround them. Mitsui held on to Kogure's battered body, Sendoh dragged Koshino with him towards the center, and Rukawa lifted Hanamichi's body into his arms. The angels came closer and closer, their swords drawn. Raphael's voice cut through the rising tension. "Sorry, but the time has come to end this. I need Hanamichi to enter Heaven, and since all of you demons are intruding, you will all have to die."

Rukawa backed up until he was near Mitsui. Sendoh did the same, and soon, they were surrounded by the angels. Sendoh cursed and looked around. "Kaede, we won't be able to fly out of here."

"I know that." Rukawa gritted out.

Mitsui looked around, his heart racing when he saw the angels were about 15 feet away. "Damn! What do we do?"

12 feet.

Kogure slowly opened his eyes and whispered, "Hi-Hisashi..."

Mitsui looked down at his lover and shook his head. "No Min-kun. Don't talk."

"Hisashi." Kogure pressed on, determined to have his say. "Hold both Rukawa and Sendoh's hands. Do it."

Mitsui was confused at first, wondering what Kogure had in mind, but when he looked up and saw the angles only about 8 feet away, he grabbed Rukawa and Sendoh's hands tight. "Done!"

Kogure smiled and closed his eyes. Mitsui feared that Kogure may have fallen asleep, but then, he saw a star with a circled around appear on top of their heads. Mitsui stared at it for a while, wondering what it was, when he remembered the sign form his book. The transportation spell! That usually killed someone before they could use it! He turned to look back down at Kogure. "YAMERO!!!!"

But it was too late. In a flash, the white light surrounded their body, and when it disappeared, so did they.

TBC