Chapter 5

"Angel?"

The seraph looked up from his sundae, curious at the hesitant tone in his normally brash lover's voice. They were in mortal form, seated in a soda bar somewhere in North America - he had been amused to discover that the little demon had a sweet tooth and a craving for cold things. "What is it?"

"What... what is love?"

The angel nearly choked on his spoonful of ice cream, and hastily wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Where did that come from?" he wondered, still coughing.

The demon gave a little shrug, looking wistful. "I just wondered. The concept is so foreign to us, I can't even begin to comprehend it. And I've never had anyone I could ask about it before."

The angel sighed, and thought about it for a moment. "Well, love is different things to different people. Everyone experiences love in a different way. I think the best description of it that I've ever heard, is: 'love is when the other person's happiness is vital to your own.' You are happiest when the person you love is happy, so you will go out of your way to do things to make them happy."

The incubus looked thoughtful, sipping on his milkshake and studiously ignoring the trio of teenage girls in poodle skirts who were sighing at him from across the bar. Even in mortal form, the angel thought fondly, his lover was stunningly beautiful.

"I guess that covers things like, friendship and family, right?" the demon asked, thinking it through. "I've never understood those, either."

The angel was a little stung. "I'd say we're at least friends, wouldn't you?" he said, trying to keep the hurt from showing in his voice.

He didn't succeed; the incubus gave him an apologetic look. "That doesn't mean I understand it any better, angel. If anything, I'm more confused now than I was before I met you."

The seraph had to chuckle at that; he knew exactly how his lover felt. "Did I manage to answer your question, at least a little?"

The incubus sighed, and rested his chin on his hand. "What... what does it feel like to be IN love?" he queried wistfully. "I mean, how do you know if you're in love?"

The seraph blinked at him. "You don't ask the easy ones, do you?" he said ruefully. "I'll take a shot at it, but keep in mind that I can only give you my interpretation of it. Being in love is like... it's when you need the other person, like flowers need the sun. You want to be around them all the time, you want to make them happy, you want them to like you in return. You ache when they're not there, or when they're mad at you. You want to do little things for them all the time, just because you can. You get a little thrill when they smile at you, when they tell you they love you. And then, of course," he grinned slyly, "there is the lust aspect of it, but I'm sure I don't need to lecture you on that."

"Not hardly," the demon replied with a chuckle. He tossed his head to flip his over-long bangs out of his eyes, and the trio of girls sighed in chorus. The angel had to fight an urge to tell the girls to back off, this one was his... the thought was unworthy of him. The incubus saw his struggle in his eyes and patted his hand. "Now jealousy I understand, at least well enough to use it against someone," he pointed out. "I just never could figure out what made people care enough about someone else to BE jealous over them."

They were both silent for a while, the angel mostly ignoring his sundae in favour of watching his demon lover licking happily at spoonfuls of ice cream and syrup. The incubus suddenly asked, "You love me, don't you, angel?"

The seraph was startled by the question. "Of course," he replied gently. "I wouldn't be with you if I didn't. I've told you so before, haven't I?"

The demon kept his eyes glued to the table, tracing patterns in the condensation on the table with his left hand. "Does it bother you that I've never said it back?"

"I... sometimes," the angel admitted with a sigh. "But it's not your fault that you don't love me. It's just not in your nature to love."

"What if... what if I said I thought I was falling in love with you?" the incubus asked, raising his eyes to meet his lover's nervously. The angel gaped at him, astonished at the very thought. Everyone knew that demons weren't capable of love! "Everything you said, about what love feels like - that's how I feel about you," the demon confessed. "I'm miserable when you're not around. I want to always be with you, and... and I don't even care if we're having sex or not!"

That was saying a lot for an incubus, and the angel knew it. Briefly he spared a thought for the other customers around them, and was grateful that they were speaking in Angelica instead of English. North America in this time period was not particularly welcoming to same sex couples, and despite the incubus' androgynous features they were both unmistakeably male.

"I've never felt anything like this before," the demon continued wretchedly. "It's driving me crazy. I can't think what else it could be, except... that I'm in love with you," he finished shyly, blushing.

The seraph closed his eyes briefly, savouring the little thrill that went through him hearing his lover say those words. "Then I guess all I can say is... that I love you too," he replied with heartfelt sincerity.

Omi stood before the window, watching the light dusting of snowflakes falling to coat the streets with a layer of pure white. He held his left arm cradled to his chest in a posture that had become reflex, cushioning the wounded limb and supporting it because the muscles in the arm weren't strong enough to hold it up. After two months the broken bones had finally mended, and the lacerated skin had become a puckered scar. More little scars dribbled their way down his neck and shoulder, where the demon's saliva had touched him. He would always carry the reminders of his encounter with evil, but the doctors had assured him that he would regain full use of the hand in time.

"Arm bugging you, kid?" Youji asked from behind him, where he was working on an arrangement at the table. "I guess you'll always know when it's going to rain, huh?"

Omi nodded absently, eyes tracking a particular snowflake down to the sidewalk. The pure, fluffy white snow turned dark as it met the dirty slush on the streets, and the sight sent an odd pang through his heart. "Everything pure turns dirty in the end," he whispered to himself, shivering.

Warm, heavy wool settled over his shoulders, and he glanced up to see Aya standing over him with an unusually soft look in his violet eyes. "You need to take better care of yourself, Omi," the older man said, nodding to indicate the thin cotton long-sleeved shirt Omi was wearing. Omi shrugged into the sweater jacket Aya had given him with a tired smile.

"Gomen, Aya-kun," he replied with genuine contrition. "I didn't think it would get this cold today." He wandered away from the window to sit at the table, not wanting to look at the suddenly morbid-seeming scenery any longer. He picked up some of the flowers and started making a simple arrangement, forcing his left hand to function. The physical therapist had laughingly said that floral arranging was as good practice for his hand as any, and cleared him for work.

Ken came clattering down the stairs, moving carefully to avoid spilling anything from the four mugs on the tray he carried. "I made hot cocoa for everyone," he said cheerfully, making it to the table safely. Everyone reached eagerly for a mug.

Omi held his for a moment, knowing it would still be too hot to drink and just savouring the warmth against his chilled hand. Circulation in his left arm was still poor, and it got cold easily. He smiled his thanks at Ken, grateful that the strained tension between them had finally begun to ease. They were friends again, though Omi had never again sought his comfort late at night, no matter how bad the nightmares of the demon got.

"Did you guys have any luck last night?" he asked, since the store was empty except for them. Ken shook his head in frustration.

"No. Those disks you gave us just aren't enough to get through the security they have. We need someone who knows what he's doing to crack the files." It was their third attempt to take down a baby-snatching ring, and the leads they needed were locked away in the electronic files of one of the head ring members. Omi hadn't been out in the field on a mission since he'd been attacked, but until now the team really hadn't suffered too badly from the lack.

He bit his lip, and glanced down at his hand. It was curled around the mug, a feat he wouldn't have been able to manage a month ago. With an effort, he lifted the mug to his lips with his left hand alone. His arm trembled, but he succeeded in the attempt, and nodded in satisfaction.

"I think I'm strong enough now to go with you guys again," he declared. "I wouldn't want to get into any hand to hand fights, but I should be fine for infiltrating and hacking." The others looked like they wanted to protest, but no one said anything - they all knew that without his help this mission probably wouldn't be successful.

"At least there hasn't been any sign of that... THING again," Ken sighed. "Almost no new bodies since it attacked you, and all of those were at Schwartz sites, not ours. Maybe it gave up on us?"

Omi shivered, and lowered his gaze. "Or maybe it's just waiting for me to go out again," he whispered. Youji laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You can't be scared of shadows for the rest of your life, Omittchi," he said, not unkindly. "We'll be with you - I promise we won't leave you alone for a second. If it wanted you that badly, it could have gotten you here or at school, anyway."

Omi nodded, conceding the logic. "I said I'll go," he reminded them. "I'm just... nervous. I'll be fine, as long as you're with me."

Omi swore as another bullet whizzed past him, and tried to make his path down the hallway erratic. He wove back and forth, expecting to feel the bite of a bullet in his flesh at any moment.

The firing behind him paused for a moment, and he thought he heard someone cursing as they struggled to reload. He took the opportunity to duck into a side passage, hoping to lose them. He'd been separated from Ken some distance back, and was on his own now. His darts were gone, and he couldn't use his crossbow with only one hand.

Pressing himself into a dark alcove, he heard the guards thunder by the side corridor without even pausing. Grateful for the reprieve, he leaned against the wall and took deep gulping breaths as quietly as he could.

Ahead of him he saw someone else skid into the corridor, silhouetted against the brighter light of the hallway. "Siberian?" he called, figuring Ken had managed to track him.

There was a grunt of surprise from ahead of him, and then Nagi stepped forward out of the shadows. "What are you doing here?" he asked as Omi blinked at him.

"Mission," Omi replied automatically, his heart racing. This was the first time he'd seen the Schwartz psychic since before he'd been attacked, and his body was making it clear that the attraction between them hadn't lessened over the intervening time. "We're after the baby-snatching ring."

Nagi chuckled softly. "What do you know... we're on the same side for once," he murmured, joining Omi in his less obvious alcove. There wasn't much space in the niche, and their chests brushed every time they breathed. Omi felt himself flushing, and was grateful for the darkness.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously, fighting to control his breathing. Nagi shrugged.

"We've been hired by a Yakuza whose infant daughter was taken by the ring. He wants them destroyed, and he's paying good money for it. Schuldich has been bitching all week that we're doing your job." Nagi's voice conveyed his amusement even though he was whispering. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in months."

Omi gulped, and cradled his arm to his chest. "I was... injured," he replied shortly. "I'm still not a hundred percent - I shouldn't even be here, but they couldn't crack the computers without me."

He could just see the gleam of Nagi's eyes as the other boy looked at him in concern. "You got separated from them?" he guessed shrewdly. Omi nodded, knowing he'd feel the motion in the close space. "Well, I'll help you get back to them, if you promise not to tell Crawford." Nagi was irritated with his leader, Omi could tell that much.

"Has he been lecturing you about talking to me again?" he asked. "We haven't even seen each other for months."

"He just started again tonight," Nagi replied. "I guess he saw that I'd run into you, and couldn't find a way to avoid it."

Omi's reply was cut off by a shout of discovery, as the lights in the hallway they were in suddenly came up. Both boys instinctively ducked, well-honed reflexes saving them from the bullets that whined over their heads. Nagi threw up his arm, and the guards were blown back away from them, sprawling on the floor in a tangled heap.

"Come on!" he shouted, grabbing Omi's injured arm and taking off down the hall. Omi bit back a cry of pain and followed.

They darted through the hallways, Nagi using his powers to beat back any guards that got close to them. Their communications frequencies had been jammed some time back, so Omi wasn't sure where his teammates were. The advantage of having a telepath on your side was obvious, as Nagi was easily able to keep in contact with his group.

Finally the found a door to the outside, and bolted across the open parking lot towards another building. Halfway across, Omi stopped dead in his tracks, nearly tripping Nagi with the sudden halt in momentum.

"What..." the younger boy started, then suddenly he shivered and stared wildly about. "They're back!" he exclaimed, hand tightening on Omi's arm.

Omi glanced at him, surprised. He could feel the presence of the demon around them - more than one this time, he thought. "You can feel them too?" he blurted out, astonished and gratified that someone else could sense them.

Nagi gave him a startled look. "Yes. Schu says I've been imagining things, because he can't sense anything..."

"You're not imagining things," Omi told him, shaking his arm free and holding it up for Nagi to see. The other boy gasped, horrified.

"What the hell did that?"

"A demon," Omi replied grimly. "It came out of nowhere, attacked me, and then vanished. It's been following us around to all our missions, and yours too apparently, eating guards and bystanders."

Nagi abruptly cried out, and grabbed at Omi for support. Random debris scattered over the pavement around them skittered away, and Omi could feel the pressure against him. Nagi had lost control of his powers again, and that was bad news for them.

As if on cue, the air around them shimmered and solidified into several terrible beings. Two were roughly dog shaped, though their muzzles were more like a bear's, and had double rows of sharp teeth. Dizzily Omi identified them as the same type of thing that had attacked him before. Behind them stood three humanoids, and just glancing at them made his knees go weak with fear. He averted his gaze to stare at the ground before them, keeping a sharp eye on the dog creatures.

"Kchdss grk sstrg," one of the larger things growled at them, the words seemingly without vowels of any kind. Omi thought the language sounded vaguely familiar, though he wasn't quite able to understand it.

Seeing this, the devil switched languages. "We have found you, little traitor," it hissed at them in strangely accented Japanese, its voice rumbling deep enough that Omi could feel it in his bones. Beside him he could feel Nagi shaking with fear, and the telekinetic's hand fumbled for his own. He grabbed it and held on tight, needing the reassurance as well.

"Face your punishment for defying Lucifer," another devil added, and laughed. It was a horrible sound, like broken glass grating over a raw wound, and both the mortals cowering before it shuddered.

He barked a sharp command to the Hellhounds, and the beasts surged forward to attack. Nagi drew a sharp breath and gathered his energy, creating a shield around them that the dogs couldn't get past. Omi could see how much it was costing the other assassin to focus his powers through the fit that had taken him.

The devil who seemed to be the leader hissed in fury. "You cannot defy us forever," it snapped at them, as the dogs redoubled their attacking frenzy. "Surrender now, and we will not harm your precious lover."

Omi and Nagi traded a startled glance at that, before Nagi had to refocus his concentration on his barrier. "I think you've got the wrong people," Omi stuttered out nervously, unable to believe he was talking back to these things. "W-we're not lovers!"

The devil just laughed again, and Omi shrieked as the barrier around them weakened. The Hellhounds were getting closer with each leap against it, forcing the shield to collapse in on its creator. Nagi was on his knees, biting his lip as he fought to keep the wall in place.

"Nagi!" Omi heard Schuldich's unmistakeable nasal voice shout from the building. Pounding feet sounded over the pavement, and several bullets whizzed overhead to slam into the devils. "Hold on!"

The devils laughed again, clearly unaffected by the gunshots. Schuldich skidded to a halt a dozen feet from them, glancing wildly around. "Where the hell are they?" he demanded, and Omi realized that he couldn't see the demons any more than Youji had been able to.

"Look through my eyes," Nagi gritted out, and his face went blank as Schuldich took control. Several more shots rang out, targeted dead centre of the devils' heads, but they were again unconcerned by the attack.

From the other side Omi saw Youji and Ken running up, followed closely by Aya and Crawford. Farfarello was sauntering in from the direction Schuldich had come from, his single amber eye fixed on the Hellhounds with fascination. Somehow Omi wasn't surprised that he was the only other person who could see the monsters.

"Is it the demon again?" Ken panted, kept from reaching Omi by the barrier Nagi still held around them. Omi nodded, as Schuldich attempted to go at one of the Hellhounds with his fists and was stopped by Crawford.

"You can't hurt it, and it will eat you," the American snapped at the furious German. Omi burst into hysterical giggles at the idea of Schuldich getting eaten trying to rescue him.

*Not you, brat, I'm doing this for Nagi,* the telepath snarled at him mentally.

One of the Hellhounds gave up on the barrier and started pacing towards the unprotected humans. "Ken! Youji! It's coming up behind you!" he shouted a frantic warning to his teammates.

Youji spun and pulled his wire automatically, but he had nothing to target. Omi saw Ken reach into his shirt and grab something, then the dark-haired boy closed his eyes and his lips started to move. Omi could just hear his words over the snarling of the Hellhounds and the laughter of the devils, a rhythmic litany of English...

"Hail Mary, holy mother of Christ..."

Omi winced as the Hellhound howled eerily, the sound grating on his nerves. The demon snarled and backed away a pace, and he thought he saw the devils' confidence slipping. "It's working, Ken!" he cried encouragement to his friend.

Schuldich gave him an incredulous look, then shrugged and looked resigned. *I can't believe I'm doing this,* Omi heard faintly, as his voice joined Ken's in the prayers. *Hell, I can't believe I remember these!*

Farfarello cried out in outrage and lunged for his teammate, but was caught by Crawford before he could plunge his blade into the German's back. The Irishman struggled wildly, and Aya and Youji leapt to help restrain him. Crawford's voice joined the other two on the next prayer, then they all spoke along as Schuldich fed them the words.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

Omi mouthed the words along with the others, feeling pain singing along his nerves as the second Hellhound joined the first in its wailing. The devils were snarling now, their laughter gone, as they were forced back slowly.

Finally the leader called the now-whimpering Hellhounds back to his side. "You may have driven us away this time," he snarled at the two boys in the center of the fracas, "but you have not won. There is nowhere in this world that you can hide!"

With a final burst of hideous laughter, the horrific things faded from sight. The aura of evil faded with them, until Omi knew they were gone completely. He fell to his knees as well, huddled against Nagi and shivering. The others dropped out of the prayer one by one, with Schuldich and Ken the last to stop. Both men automatically crossed themselves on the final amen, then stared at one another. Farfarello subsided into a growling sulk, and Youji and Aya released him reluctantly.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to my warnings," Crawford barked at Nagi. His eyes were wide, and Omi sensed he wasn't seeing the scene before him, but something else.

Schuldich was backing slowly away from all of them, swearing in German and holding his head with the hand that didn't have the gun. The muzzle was aimed at the ground, and he looked like he might be sick. *Schist... Brad, I'm losing it again,* Omi heard in his mind. *I can't shut them out - I've gotta get away before they overwhelm me!*

"Go," Crawford ordered curtly, his own gun now trained unfailingly on Ken's heart. "Any of you Weiss move, and I kill him. Farfarello, guard Schuldich on the way out - DON'T touch him! Nagi..."

Nagi wobbled to his feet, and Omi had the feeling that if he hadn't just exhausted his power keeping the Hellhounds away, it would be out of control again. He staggered to his leader's side, and Crawford caught him with his free hand without looking. They backed away slowly, only turning to run when they were safely out of range of Weiss' short-range weapons.

Omi remained kneeling on the ground, still panting with terror. Youji crouched next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, bishounen?" he asked in concern.

Omi gulped and nodded, and accepted a hand up. He was shivering uncontrollably, barely able to think coherently. He certainly wasn't able to speak.

"What happened?" Ken asked him, taking his other arm and slinging it over his shoulder. Between them, he and Youji got him started walking towards where their vehicle was hidden, with Aya ranging out ahead as a scout. "I still couldn't see anything..."

"Th-th-the d-demons," Omi got out between his chattering teeth, feeling frozen in the core of his being. "M-more of them. Th-they're after N-Nagi and me! Th-they said s-something ab-bout being a t-traitor..."

Just talking about it was making him shake harder, and Youji made a soothing sound. "It's okay, Omi, you're safe now. They're gone, we're here, we'll protect you."

Omi shook his head wildly. "They'll kill you too!" he insisted hysterically. "You can't stop them - Schuldich shot them a dozen times, and they didn't even blink! We only drove them away because everyone was praying - if we'd had fewer people, or there were more of them, we wouldn't have been able to stop them! They'll tear you into little tiny pieces and make me watch..." He was sobbing so badly now that he didn't think they could even understand him, but his tone got the message across.

"Calm down, Omi," Ken murmured in his ear. "They're gone, we're all safe for at least a while. You're gonna hurt yourself if you don't calm down."

Omi tried to obey, but he couldn't get his limbs to stop shaking with fear. His wild sobs refused to lessen, doubling in strength every time he thought of one of his friends suffering because of him. Abruptly he squirmed out of Ken and Youji's grasp, bolting away from them and ignoring their surprised shouts. Terror gave his feet wings, and he outdistanced them despite their longer legs. He quickly lost them in the maze of warehouses in the area, and leaned against a wall, panting for air.

At least they'll be safe, he told himself, glancing wildly at every shadow in the alley. He felt very vulnerable, and very alone, but it was worth it to know that his friends were safe.

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Epilogue|

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