MARS Fan Fiction ❯ Fall of a Broken Angel (Part I of the Angels Series) ❯ Fallen ( Chapter 1 )

Okay, guys. This is only the second fic I've ever written without a co-authoress. It's also my first fic that hasn't featured Yu Yu Hakusho. So this one might be a little rough. However, it must be done, because I like to finish what I start. So as Benjamin Franklin once said, “Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. We're going to war!”

 

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Chapter 1—Fallen

 

“Rei?”

 

Silence.

 

“Rei!”

 

No answer.

 

“REI KASHINO, WAKE UP!!!”

 

“Wha?”

 

“You were supposed to be at the track twenty minutes ago!”

 

“What? No, that's not possible….I set the clock for 7:00 so I would be at the track by 8:15, so….”

 

Kira shoved the alarm clock in her husband's face, and said husband yelped and jumped out of bed. “Damn it!”

 

So began another morning in the Kashino home. Kira watched fondly as Rei scurried around the room, cursing a blue streak and looking for his clothes. “Kira, have you seen my—?”

 

“Your watch is in on the bathroom sink,” Kira replied.

 

“Thanks. And where's my—?”

 

“I washed your jacket and hung it on the chair.”

 

“Oh, and do you still have my—?”

 

“I sewed the button back on and put it back in the closet.”

 

“Okay, and what time—?”

 

“The gallery closes at five and it'll be closed tomorrow, Friday, and for all of Thanksgiving weekend.”

 

“Okay, so when—?”

 

“We're meeting Tatsuya and Harumi at six thirty for dinner, and wear something nice.”

 

“Where are we—?”

 

“We're eating down at the new café on the corner by the art supply store.”

 

“Okay, I'll see you tonight, so call me if you actually need me to finish a sentence for you.” Rei spoke quickly as he kissed Kira on the cheek and bolted out the door.

 

“Will do, and pick up something to eat on your way to the track!” Kira called after him. Then, with a sigh, she got up off the bed and started to make breakfast for herself.

 

It had been eight years since Kira and Rei had gotten married, and they had been the best years of Kira's life so far. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt this happy, or this safe. Even when her mother had died seven years ago when her liver failed, Kira hadn't felt hopeless or alone as most people did when a loved one died. Rei had been there for the diagnosis, the funeral, and everything in between.

 

Kira giggled suddenly as she shook herself out of her thoughts. “Being silly….” she muttered as she set a skillet on the stove and began to make scrambled eggs.

 

-----

 

“Eight years….” Harumi sighed. “Kira got married eight years ago today….”

 

“You're such a hopeless romantic,” Tatsuya teased. “You're never this sentimental on our anniversary.”

 

“That's because Kira's my friend, and you're….you,” Harumi replied.

 

“You're so cold.”

 

“You know it.”

 

Tatsuya reached out and took Harumi's hand. “So what time are we meeting the awkward couple?”

 

“Six, and they aren't so awkward anymore, ya know.”

 

“Sure, whatev—”

 

“Rumi!”

 

Tatsuya and Harumi turned, and both of them smiled as Kira came running up to them., trying to juggle six shopping bags and a take-out cup of coffee. “Hey, guys,” she greeted them brightly, just as she began to overbalance and fell into Tatsuya, who in turn took four of the bags. Keeping two for himself, he handed the other two to Harumi.

 

“What the heck did you buy?” Harumi demanded. “These things way a ton!”

“And a half,” Tatsuya added.

 

Kira laughed. “Sorry! I'd originally planned to pick up a loaf of bread and some eggs, but on my way back home I passed the art supply store and there was a new pastel set in the window and it was in this really pretty leather case and you know what happens when I see new pastels and since I needed a new set anyway I went in to buy them and then I found a pad of sketching paper with this really pretty design on the front and I remembered I was almost out of sketching paper too so I got three of them and before I knew it I was walking up to the counter with all this and Rei's gonna kill me because I bought all this stuff and forgot the bread and the eggs but he never stays mad at me for more than half a minute so I figure it'll be fine.”

 

Harumi laughed. “Kira?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Breathe.”

 

Kira laughed again. “Right. Breathing now. Sorry, I'm just so happy today!”

 

“You're always happy during the holidays,” Tatsuya said, laughing. “Well, c'mon, my car's just down the street. We'll throw this stuff in the trunk and go to the new coffeehouse. We've got time to kill before we have to meet Rei.”

 

“Um…no, that's all right,” Kira replied after a moment. “I think I just want to go home and get ready for tonight. See you guys later.”

 

“Okay,” Harumi replied. “You sure you don't want a ride?”

 

“I'm sure, but can I have a huge favor, Tatsuya?”

 

“Sure, what's up?”

 

“Can I borrow your car? These bags weigh a ton, like Rumi says, and I feel like my arms are about to fall off. And since you live just down the street you can walk home and take your motorcycle to the restaurant tonight and I can drop your car off in the morning and get a ride to work with Miki.”

 

“Um…sure.” Tatsuya smiled at her and tossed her the keys.

 

Taking her bags back, Kira ran off down the street, dropping her coffee into a garbage can. “Thanks! See you at six!”

 

-----

 

It happened before Kira had even made it to the end of the street. As she glanced into the rearview mirror, a motorcycle careened around the corner in front of her, swerving crazily. Without thinking, Kira yanked the wheel as hard as she could to the left to avoid hitting the motorcyclist, and the wall of a building came into her vision. She tried to maneuver the car back to the road, but there wasn't time. She felt the car crash headlong into the wall. The front of the vehicle crumpled, glass shattered, and Kira felt herself flying forward…

 

-----

 

“All right, Rei!” Akitaka slapped Rei heartily on the back. “You just beat your own lap record!”

 

Kyoko smiled. “You keep doing that! If you keep this up, you'll smoke them on Sunday!”

 

“They won't know what hit `em!” Akitaka agreed.

 

Rei scratched his head, grinning. “Yeah, I plan to leave `em in the dust. But I guess we'll find out, right?”

 

“Right,” Akitaka agreed reluctantly.

 

“Oh, stop it,” Kyoko said teasingly to her husband. “He is right, you know.”

The three laughed as they headed towards the parking lot, leaving the maintenance workers to take care of the motorcycle Rei had been riding.

 

Rei was silent as he walked, a far-off, thoughtful expression on his face. His eyes clouded over, and a small smile touched his face as he stared at something only he could see.

 

“Whatcha thinking about, Rei?” Kyoko asked lightly as she leaned against her van.

 

“Hmm?” The man snapped back to reality. “Oh…nothing.”

 

“Liar,” Akitaka said, chuckling. “I know a Kira-daze when I see one.”

 

Rei grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess you would by now. Well, if you really want to know, I was just thinking about how things never go the way we plan. I mean, looking back to ten years ago, you never would have guessed we would end up where we are now, would you?” His voice took on a quiet, serious tone as he stared off into the sunset. “Kira and I…we're from different worlds. She was always so quiet and sweet and…pure. And I was…everything she wasn't. Trashy, loud, obnoxious…. Who would have thought we would end up together? And here we are, married for eight years… Yeah, it sure is funny, the way life turns out, huh?”

 

Kyoko smiled. “It sure is, Rei. It sure is.”

 

Akitaka put his arm around his wife's shoulders as Rei's cell phone rang. Rei flipped it open and grinned. “Hey, Tatsuya. What's up? Whoa….slow down, buddy! Where are you? What?!? Why?!? Oh God….okay, I'm coming. I'll be there in….ten minutes.” He flipped the phone shut and pocketed it with fumbling fingers.

 

Kyoko laid her hand on Rei's arm. “What is it, Rei? What's wrong?”

 

Rei drew in a shaky breath. “It's Kira….she's been in an accident….she's in critical condition at the hospital.”

 

-----

 

Harumi was sitting in a chair in the waiting room, crying quietly into her hands, and Tatsuya was sitting next to her, when Rei burst through the doors, Akitaka and Kyoko right behind him. Tatsuya jumped up to meet them.

 

“Where is she? Where's Kira?” Rei demanded, dangerously close to panicking. Strike that, he was panicking.

 

“She's in the operating room,” Tatsuya said quietly. “They're working on her now.”

 

“How is she? Have they told you anything?” Kyoko asked.

 

“Nothing yet, but I heard one of the doctors say that…” He faltered to a halt. “Well, they said it…doesn't look good.”

 

“It was horrible…” Harumi choked out from her chair. “I saw everything…Tatsuya was in one of the stores when it happened. A motorcycle…came around the corner. The driver was drunk or something. Kira…she swerved to keep form hitting him, and she ran into the side of a building and flew through the windshield… And the guy on the motorcycle drove off and never looked back… It all happened so fast…I was so scared!” And Harumi's face dropped back into her hands as she sobbed brokenly. Tatsuya looked just as bad.

 

Sighing, Rei sat down in a chair and settled in for the wait.

 

The hours inched along in the waiting room, which was empty except for the five who were waiting for news of Kira. Then, about two hours shy of midnight, the awaited news finally got to them.

 

Rei was the only one in the room who was still awake. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. That wall was the only thing holding him up. He had originally been pacing, but after four and a half hours his legs gave out on him and he had gone to sit down. After a bit he had tried to start pacing again, but he had only taken a few steps before he had collapsed against the wall.

 

The strength finally came back to his legs when the doctor came in, looking tired and haggard. “Friends and family of Kira Kashino?”

 

Rei pushed himself away from the wall. “That's me. How is she?”

 

The doctor looked at the sleeping couples and spoke in a quiet voice. “We've repaired all that can be repaired, Mr. Kashino, and she has a chance at recovery, but there is some bad news….

 

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I have nothing to say, except….review, please!!!

 

Oh, and I confess that I have no idea exactly when Rei and Kira got married, so let's pretend it was around Thanksgiving, okay?