Part 22

Death snickered evilly as he extracted his scythe from the body of the mortal and saw the light in his eyes disappear. Death shrugged at that then watched as the body slowly faded away into nothing, leaving only blood where it once lay. "You know, I think now would be a good time to find Kaede-sama, Fujisawa-san." Death mumbled.

Eri smiled and nodded determinedly. "Yes, I think so too." At that answer, she looked up to the ceiling and thought to herself, Finally Kaede, you will be mine.

Death grinned at the young demon and together, they both walked into a portal created by Death and disappeared, not seeing balls of light hovering over the blood of Hanamichi. The white orbs floated about for a while, then, they landed on the floor, rubbed themselves on Hanamichi's blood, and faded away, leaving nothing behind.

* * * * * *

Kogure looked at Rukawa who was currently staring off into space as Mitsui wiped his wet hair with a fresh towel. Everyone was gathered around his room. Sendoh and Koshino were on the opposite side of the room, silent and doubtful about the turn of events. Mitsui was still in shock over what Kogure told him that morning, but he pushed his own feelings aside to assist his cousin. Kogure was still shaken from the scream of Hanamichi's soul, but his pain didn't even compare to Rukawa's. Rukawa didn't have anything in his eyes. They were dead, lifeless, as if losing Hanamichi meant losing himself. Kogure understood this very well, but he was also getting worried for the young raven haired man. He hadn't eaten since Mitsui found him under an oak tree in the park around 10:20 am, and now, it was nearly 11 am and still no response from Rukawa. Kogure was getting desperate, but he had patience.

Mitsui, however, didn't. He stopped wiping Rukawa's head and murmured, "Come on Kaede. Snap out of it."

Rukawa didn't answer. He continued to stare at the wall of Kogure as if it was the most fascinating thing he has ever seen.

Mitsui threw the towel to the ground and grabbed Rukawa's shoulders, shaking him roughly. "Kaede! Can you hear me?!" He slapped Rukawa hard in the face. When nothing happened, he continued slapping the pale faced boy over and over again until his cheeks were as red as tomato. Mitsui cursed and hauled Rukawa up to his feet. "Snap out of it!" He had obviously lost his temper.

"Yamero, Hisashi!" Sendoh ordered with a cold voice, stepping up to his brother to refrain him from doing anything else to the raven haired boy. He clamped a hand over Mitsui's arm and stated, "Let him be."

Mitsui cursed under his breath and dropped Rukawa to the bed, moving to the door right after he did so. He slanted his body against the doorframe and snorted, angry at Rukawa for not being able to react to any of their questions, and angry at himself for not being able to do anything. He slammed his fist hard against the wall beside the door, his teeth clenched tight.

Kogure looked at his lover, then back at Rukawa, who, despite having been thrown on the bed angrily, managed to sit up straight. Kogure bit his lips when an idea passed through his brain, an idea that would go against everything he believed in, but he pushed all fears away as he stood in front of Rukawa, his voice shaking slightly. "Rukawa-kun?"

Rukawa didn't respond.

Kogure smiled softly at him then continued. "A...ano, I think I may know a way on how to save Hanamichi."

Everyone looked at him at that, even Rukawa. The light in his eyes slowly appeared, but he didn't still didn't say anything. Mitsui, Sendoh, and Koshino, however, looked like they were ready to explode, wanting to know what Kogure had in mind.

Kogure breathed in deeply as he went on. "When a good person dies, he or she loses their memory when they are in the area before entering Heaven. This process is sort of long, so I think Hanamichi still hasn't entered Heaven." Kogure closed his eyes for a while, then stood up straight. "I can go to Heaven now, search for Hanamichi, and go against the other angels to get Hanamichi to come back to earth, however, I'm not too sure about what may take place once that happens."

Rukawa looked up at the spectacled boy and murmured softly, "Now?"

Kogure nodded. "Now."

The light in Rukawa's eyes finally came back at full blast. He smiled softly at Kogure and whispered, "Arigatou."

Kogure smiled back at him. "Welcome back, Rukawa-kun."

Rukawa seemed startled at that reply, but nonetheless, he looked at everyone around the room. When his eyes landed on Mitsui, he made an apologetic movement with his hands. "Sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay." Mitsui shifted his attention from his cousin to Kogure, looking very worried. "Can we come with you, Min-kun?"

Kogure looked back at him then shook his head slowly. "As much as I would want you to come, the angels would sense your presence easily from afar. It is not advisable since there are over a 100 angels positioned around the area Hanamichi is in."

Mitsui cursed under his breath and fell back against the door, his face etched with fear and worry for his lover.

Kogure gave him a soft, encouraging smile, then turned seriously to Rukawa. "Remember this, Rukawa-kun. I promise you, I will try my best to bring Hanamichi back, even if it means risking my life." Mitsui looked like he was going to resent that, but Kogure continued. "Hanamichi is a very close friend of mine. He is also one of the best players in the basketball club. I will not allow him to die like this." He turned to face Mitsui and added. "And I promise you, I'll try my best to come back."

Mitsui took a step forward his lover, opening his mouth to shout something, but it was too late. White light erupted from Kogure's chest and spread out. Everyone closed their eyes for a few seconds, and when the light disappeared, they cautiously opened their eyes to look at the place Kogure stood. Mitsui slumped to his feet and hugged himself, tears falling from his eyes.

Kogure was gone.

* * * * * *

Mezame...

Nani? Hanamichi slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing in what looked like a long, beautiful meadow filled with beautiful red roses. The sky was dark blue, as if it was going to rain, but that color mixed with the red roses looked surreal. Hanamichi looked around and spotted an angel coming towards him. Silently, he asked, "Where am I?"

"In the area between Heaven and Earth, Hanamichi." The angel came up to Hanamichi's side and reached out for the redhead. He pulled Hanamichi towards his tall, lithe body and hugged him. Hanamichi closed his eyes, the feeling of warmth overpowering his senses as the angel continued. "We call it Zion. My name's Raphael, and I am here to guide you to Heaven."

Hanamichi smiled up at him. "Okay."

Raphael smiled back, already fond with the redhead. "Okay, now let us go." Raphael held out one long arm and moved his hand in a fast movement. A hole connected to another dimension appeared before their eyes.

Hanamichi's mouth gaped open at that and turned to look up at Raphael. "Is that Heaven?" He asked in a child-like voice, his eyes innocent and free.

Raphael nodded. "Yes."

Hanamichi extracted himself from Raphael's arms and walked towards the whole, seeing nothing but bright light, however, beautiful music floated in his ears, images of people and places entered his eyes, and a comfortable feeling settled over his heart. He was about to enter the vortex when all of a sudden, he stopped, his eyes wide with curiosity when a face passed over his eyes.

Raphael noticed the boy's actions and stepped forward. "Hanamichi?"

Hanamichi looked at his hands, wondering who that person was, when that face passed over his eyes again. He backed away from the vortex and held his head as images started pouring in, all of them having that person in each picture. He felt like his mind was about to explode. He sank down to his knees and cried out.

Raphael came forward and took Hanamichi in his arms. He held the boy gently and asked, "What is it?"

"A...boy..." Hanamichi gasped out.

Raphael stared at Hanamichi strangely. This process never happened with any of the other souls who died. Wanting to end Hanamichi's suffering, he pulled him up as he asked, "What boy?"

Hanamichi looked at him with large eyes as he murmured, "A boy...with black hair, but...it looked like it was also green..." Hanamichi looked up at the sky and saw the face smiling back at him. H continued breathlessly. "He has a pale face, blue eyes, and..." Hanamichi's eyes widened when he saw the entire body of the person he was describing. He continued to stare as he whispered, "Black...wings..."

Raphael paused at that and glanced down at Hanamichi. The souls weren't suppose to remember anything from their past life when they are in Zion, but he...remembered a devil. Fearfully, he looked at Hanamichi's face and said, "Come. Let us enter Heaven."

"No."

Raphael blinked and stared at the redhead. "What? Why?"

Hanamichi pulled away from the angel, his eyes looking around the entire area. "Because...he needs me..."

Raphael stood up straight and stared at Hanamichi in wonder. "What?"

Hanamichi turned to face him and said, "He needs me...that boy needs me..."

Raphael shook hi head at that and grabbed Hanamichi's hand roughly. "Hanamichi, he is a DEVIL. They don't need anyone, they don't care about anyone. That is why we angels must fight against them because they are bad." He said this all as if he was explaining it to a little boy. He turned around and started walking towards the vortex. "Now, let us enter Heaven."

"NO!" Hanamichi furiously struggled to get Raphael to release his hand. "He needs me! I can't leave him!"

"Hanamichi, go inside now." Raphael ordered in a soothing voice.

"Stop right there, Raphael."

Raphael and Hanamichi stilled at that voice and turned their heads to the side. There, standing at the edge of the garden of roses, was Kogure, his wings spread out, his body cloaked in white, and his hair tousled by the wind. Hanamichi stared at him. I know him...but who is he...?

Kogure walked forward, smiling at Hanamichi as he did so. "Hello Hanamichi. Good thing I came right on time."

Raphael glared at Kogure. "What are you doing here, Kiminobu? You are suppose to be on earth."

"Oh, I just came to get Hanamichi and we'll both return to earth." He held out his hand towards Hanamichi and said, "Hanamichi, come here. We are going back home."

Hanamichi tried to go to the other angel, feeling that he was suppose to, when Raphael tugged him back. Raphael place Hanamichi behind his back and whispered, "Has the devil possessed you, Kiminobu? You know it is against the law to bring back a dead soul to the living."

"Yes, I know that." Kogure retorted impatiently. "But I also know that Hanamichi is not supppose to die yet. He wasn't suppose to open that book and read the incantation, but he did, and Death killed him. Remember, the future is undecided, but the day of their death is always true."

Raphael shook his head. "This is reality, Kiminobu. Accept it, or pay the price."

Kogure whipped out his sword and held it in front of him. "I anticipated this."

Raphael glanced at Kogure hard, then sighed. "You were one of the best angels I have ever met." Then, he lifted his hand to the sky and added, "But now, I ban you from Heaven." A white light escaped his hand and moved towards Kogure. Hanamichi watched as Kogure gasped in pain, tears rolling down his face. When the light disappeared, Kogure stood there in mortal clothes, still holding the sword, his wings gone. Raphael shrugged. "Even though you have that sword, you have no power. This is the end."

Hanamichi didn't understand what was going on, but when he saw 50 angels fly down towards Kogure, swords aimed, he jumped away from Raphael's side and shouted, "ABUNAI!!!!"

But it was too late. All 50 angels dove straight at Kogure, and a blinding white force exploded from that area, sending Hanamichi reeling back as hot wind blew against him. When the wind subsided, he opened his eyes, and felt his mind become blank as he stared.

Kogure...was lying face down on a puddle of blood.

TBC