Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Fractured Perceptions ( Chapter 38 )

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Sacrifice

Chapter 38: Fractured Perceptions

By: Melissa Norvell

XxXxXx

The winds swirled around him in a mixture with the clouds as Musashi arrived back in Cloud Kingdom. Kuro, Hikari and Raiki had all been waiting for him. He could hear Kuro state that it was him upon arrival. Soon after, Hikari called out in glee that he was back and Raiki had welcomed him and called him a young hero.

Musashi was confused at his comment. He held up both of his feathered arms and put them to his chest as if he were indicating himself as the subject. "Hero? Me?" The Wind Cavern had never been referred to as a hero before. He was flattered but also very confused. In his own opinion, he had not done anything that was particularly heroic in any way.

The dragon affirmed his confusion. "Yes, you're a hero. You helped save those children and guided through the perils of Flora's wrath. You also saved them from her minions in the Forest of Illusion."

"Seems that we underestimated you, Musashi," Hikari admitted, a little ashamed of herself for the fact that she had doubted him before.

"Yes, " Kuro agreed, "we're sorry that we called you an idiot."

"I just feel guilty about killing," Musashi's beak tilted towards the puffy clouds at his feet. "I'd never killed anything before."

It was true; in all of his existence he'd never killed anything. He was a very peaceful being and would have much rather been passive then aggressive. The death of Elf Kaizer was something that played over and over in his head. It was something that he was sure that he'd feel guilty for quite some time but he had also saved a life and it made him feel good that he had done that.

"It's alright, as long as you have a good reason you won't get kicked out of here," Hikari assured him. Musashi thanked the pink Wind Cavern for those comforting words. He definitely needed them.

"You've done well and as a result, you shall join my guard team and always be near me," Raiki informed. Musashi could feel himself be overwhelmed with a burst of happiness and excitement as he thanked his lord with a bow. The Wind Cavern had thought of this as one of the happiest days in his life. He had always admired Raiki and was more than happy to be spending his days with him. The Wind Cavern was grateful and thanked his lord once again with another polite bow.

The white, hairy dragon looked upon his subordinate with pride and a kind look in his eyes. 'Even now…You are shining brightly…'

XxXxXx

"I suppose I have no choice," Fife stood and looked to Keiji. His eyes and overall expression seemed different now. They were not falsely happy. Navy blue eyes that were lazy but sad and held some sort of cryptic feeling in them and his once happy smile that seemed so hollow was now a small frown. The green-haired drummer didn't know if Fife was ashamed of what he had done or feeling guilty because he had gotten caught at it.

"You really don't," Ko crossed her arms with a serious expression on her face. She wanted to get to the bottom of this one way or another. "You owe us an explanation and I should beat your ass for doing that. Keiji is right, you shouldn't do that. If I would have known that you were doing that then I would have made you take the money back."

Azmy uttered his name in a sympathetic tone and looked to him as if she'd felt sorry for him.

"It isn't exactly something that I can just go around telling everyone. I'm actually doing this for someone," Fife replied. Was he wrong for it? Of course he was but now was not the time to bow his head in shame and act as if he wanted people to feel sorry for something like him. He had to be strong for he knew that he would have to face their wrath on this subject sometime. This had been sooner than he had expected but nonetheless, it would be this point in time which would make a turning point on the other's opinions. Fife had felt safe with Hiroshima and Tsurugi knowing his secrets but this one was of an entirely different magnitude.

This was a matter of character judgment.

"Who would force you to do something like that?" Chichiri asked. It seemed more like Fife was in trouble. If he told them what was wrong and who was forcing him to be a prostitute then he could help him get out of that destructive situation.

"They are not forcing me. Let me explain." For the first time in a long time, Fife's face was serious and almost stoic. His eye brows were furrowed slightly and his eyes fully open and even piercing compared to their once soft look. "When I was young, we lived in a quaint little house at the edge of Sumeria."

"Sumeria?" Tsurugi had known of that place but had never known that Fife had actually lived near it.

"Sumeria is ruled by vampires," Hiroshima too, had been to Sumeria but had never met Fife there.

"Yes, we passed through Sumeria when we were going on a quest back to Princess Teruna's land," the blonde angel replied.

"We'll have to go back through Sumeria to get back at Saesugawa," Hiroshima's features turned into a devilish smirk. His anticipation to get to Saesugawa was growing.

"You've got to be kidding me," Chichiri exasperated. The last thing he wanted to do was go to a country that was infested with vampires. He had already fought plants and he really didn't feel like taking on vampires any time soon.

"Yes, I'm lying," the spiky-haired angel shot sarcastically.

"Phew!" The blonde sighed in relief. He thought Hiroshima was serious for a minute there. "Good because I thought you were telling the truth there for a minute."

"Of course I'm telling the truth," the legend dead panned.

"But I don't want to get attacked by freaky vampires," He whined.

"Well, we'll just have to find the right ones," Tsurugi pointed out.

"There's a 'right one'?" Ko asked. Weren't all vampires evil? At least she thought so, so what kind of vampires would be trying to help them get through Sumeria?"

"We made allies with some of them. We'll just have to find the ones we made allies with last time," since Tsurugi had a good idea where they were, they would surely be easy to find in a time of crisis when they decided to venture towards Sumeria.

"But we'll talk about that later. I want to know what Fife had to say," Keiji looked to the now stoic Fife.

"Of course," the other boy replied casually. 'What made me think that just because they changed subjects they would completely forget?' His thoughts berated him.

"As I was saying, when I was young we lived in a quaint little house on the edge of Sumeria. The vampires didn't really bother us. It was just my mother, older sister Angeline and I. Father was in and out but Sumeria was at constant war with Baklava, the village next to it. The guards from Baklava always picked houses on the outskirts of Sumeria to hide in. they would kill the family inside or enslave them, assuming that they were vampires and interrogate them into telling the secrets of Sumeria." Fife informed. "One day, we were all at home. Not doing much, just preparing for a new day when suddenly, the guards broke in. We were all afraid and my mother told us to run and hide. I didn't want to because I wanted to stay by her side but she grew angry and told me that if I didn't run then I'd die so I hid in the closet in her room. I didn't know where Angeline hid. At the time, I wasn't worried about her. I was simply worried about myself. While I wished for her safety, I feared for my own. I couldn't cry and every since that moment, I've not cried a single tear no matter how bad my life has been."

"What happened after the guards came?" Azmy asked. "Did they find you?"

"As I was hiding, I heard her scream the most bone-chilling cry that someone at the age of five could ever hear. I dreaded it. Every second that went by. There was nothing but silence as a few of the Baklava guards spoke amongst themselves and all that could be heard were footsteps and the occasional crash of things being overturned but…" Fife paused, as if the subject was a little hard to talk about. "They eventually found me. When they took me out of the closet, I saw my sister a few feet away. There were several guards around her and only one beside of me. He held my arm tightly. The pain was so intense that I thought my arm might have been broken but the snapping sound never came. My older sister, who was twelve at the time, looked at me with despair in her eyes as the guards spoke of what they were going to do to her. Many things were discussed- rape, prostitution…and the possibility of being in the general's harem. The topic was long and before I knew it, I only said one thing that made the guards reconsider…"

'Please don't hurt her! You can have me instead! I'll do anything as long as she stays alive!' The small child with extremely long blue hair begged. The young child's voice echoed through his older self's head and the constant image played through his senses with striking clarity.

"And at that, the general got a sly smile on his face. He told me that if I came with him, she wouldn't be harmed. As long as I did what he asked of me. So I became this person to save her. You see, I can't get away from him. I have to sell myself but I get half of the profit. I want to put it towards all of you. It's the least I can do to help. I didn't want any of you to worry about me."

"That's horrible…" Azmy's gaze fell to the floor. It was as f she could feel the paint hat was radiating off of his form. The feeling seemed nearly overpowering. "I wished that I could help you."

"It's alright; traveling with you guys is a good thing," Fife's once stoic face reverted back into its normal happy façade. "I can help both sides out."

"If you're under a strict rule, then how are you able to travel with us?" Keiji found it odd that it seemed as if he was so flexible despite being chained to his current occupation.

"Yeah, good question," Ko agreed.

"Because I owe someone else here favors for sparing me," the feminine one replied simply. His voice and demeanor was calm.

"What? So after you pay off your 'debt' you're going to leave?" She continued to ask. It was kind of strange that the navy-haired boy would continue to stay with them since he had belonged to someone else.

"No, I'm trying to escape from the deep grave I've dug for myself," Fife replied.

"How sad…You must have hated trying to hide all of that from us, knowing that we might judge you," Azmy replied.

"What? Because he's a prostitute?" Hiroshima was a little irritated that everyone took such pathos on Fife for being someone of a derogatory occupation but he, as a killer would be condemned for his actions? It was ludicrous and those who called themselves his 'allies' should be ashamed of what they were saying and shouldn't show favoritism to him just because he was nice. Fife looked at him. He wondered why he was angry but didn't question him. If Hiroshima was angry then he probably had good reasons to be.

"How can you be so crude?" Ko was offended that he would treat the situation of someone's past so crassly. How dare he gripe at a time like this! Especially when Fife was hurting like he was, he had some nerve.

"It was kind of wrong of you to say it that way," Chichiri stated a little meekly. He was afraid of Hiroshima's anger and didn't want to spark it as Ko seemed to enjoy.

"What? Someone can do the things he has and they receive sympathy but if a man goes out and kills another, he's condemned to death?" Hiroshima asked in an irritated tone.

"Well, he killed someone," Ko reasoned. The two scenarios seemed very different to her. A killer should not be let off of the hook on the same terms as a prostitute because the killed took lives and the prostitute didn't. They were completely different cases! She couldn't believe that he'd brought up a subject like that! Why was he so irritated about it anyway?

"Are you talking about yourself by any chance?" Chichiri wondered. Why else would someone take something like that so offensively? He did kill people after all. It was simple math.

"I suppose you'd feel sorry for the one who died?" The angel seethed but his voice was controlled.

"They were murdered…" Azmy wasn't sure that she should have said that but she would have felt sorry for whoever had died. Taking away a human life made her feel sorrow because she knew that a life had been taken away and it could not be replaced or revived.

"Depends on the circumstances," Keiji had half-way defended Hiroshima on the subject.

The legend looked to the green haired male with a look of confusion. "What do you mean, kid?" He decided to question him before he thought that anything would make him feel like a fool for even thinking the kid would have defended him.

"As it stands, we're no better than killers. We've all killed something. Don't forget that," the stoic boy stated. His allies shouldn't act like they are 'holier than thou' to Hiroshima when they had all killed as well. As far as he was concerned, they were all equal in that category.

"You all shouldn't judge someone based upon their actions. There could be reasoning behind such actions," Undine informed.

"So?" Ko argued. "If you kill another person it's still murder, even I know that."

"You do what you have to do, whether it gets you a bad name or not," Tsurugi's voice was calm but strong in tone as a serious expression crossed his face and he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm going to rest," Hiroshima had enough of their senseless accusations and petty bickering. He had heard enough from the people in Saesugawa and people along his journey. He didn't need his allies bad mouthing him either. Rest would do him good since he'd not gotten the opportunity to rest until now. His body was tired and it ached and he'd been slightly dizzy from blood loss.

"What was he being so bitchy about?" Chichiri asked after the wingless angel had left the room. "Was he jealous because we felt bad for Fife?"

"Sorry for that. I didn't mean to fight," Fife felt like it was his fault that the whole subject was brought up. This had been another reason that things of this nature should not be discussed with the group. They all had different opinions on everyone and nothing but arguments would be the end result to something of this nature.

"It's not your fault," Azmy replied. Fife was just trying to tell everyone his past. In her opinion, Hiroshima was a little harsh and seemed to only see things from his own side. He also seemed rather jealous of anyone who got sympathy instead of him.

"Yeah, Hiroshima was just being a jerk," Ko agreed. The legend was always rough and brash about things. Fife shouldn't have been upset about him at all.

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Hiroshima slept for about three hours, never moving from his position in bed. He didn't move in his sleep and lay on his back. The cushion of the bed felt good against his injured wings and back as he slumbered peacefully. After a few minutes of silence passed a thick but small black fog streamed from his chest cavity and slowly grew in size, filling the room and creating a half-circle shape above him.

He woke up slowly and felt an ominous presence. His glassy blue eyes glanced around the room and he asked what was going on. It was aimed at whatever was in the room with him, since the object or person's presence was sudden as if it had taken no steps to get into the room.

'It's time to make yourself known.'

The angel then heard a voice that seemed to only be inside of his head. It was deeper then even his and sounded very old and dignified. It was full of power and authority. "How the hell can I do that with no wings?" Hiroshima suddenly felt a jerk and his body trembled and he doubled over as four white wings shot from his back and pure feathers littered the room in an angelic beauty.

'Did you think I'd forget?'

The now white-winged angel said nothing but remained hunched over as the cascades of white feathers hung down around him in divine glory.

'Look at them…So pure and white…You hate it, don't you?' The voice asked and tried to tempt him into wishing to turn them black.

A dark smirk crossed Hiroshima's face. "Of course I do," he hated those white wings more than most anything in the world. Committing sin seemed to be the only thing that quelled his sadistic urges. He was a murderous being at heart and could not be tamed by mere human shackles.

'So why don't you go and taint them black? Besides, we grow weaker in this state. We need to consume more souls so we can gain more power.' The voice instructed him.

"Of course but do you want me to do it here or do you want to advance?" Hiroshima asked. Advancing may cause everyone to search for him and it may cause trouble within the group. He would not be there to protect them if the journey was too difficult.

'If we travel tonight, we'll only be a short distance from everyone. We should go ahead and have those humans meet you in the next village.'

Hiroshima agreed and stared at the door to his room for a few moments in contemplation. He thought about how to go about the situation he'd be making for himself. The angel also thought about his team mates and their recent excursions and a part of him wondered if anyone would miss him when he left.

'Don't tell me that you care about those creations? They are the reason you are so battered right now. Why start caring for something you'd not cared about before? Your hatred for these humans is what caused you to take on this curse in the first place. You cannot forget your goal.' The deep, masculine voice advised him of his initial plan. He hadn't come all this way to just ditch what he had started. Even if he'd acquired team mates, he could not forget what he had been seeking out.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Otherwise, I would have wasted twenty-two years of my life," Hiroshima replied in monotone. To be truthful, he wasn't sure of what to think about the people who called themselves his allies. He could feel his body temperature drop as the black fog was sucked back into his chest. He grimaced in pain and put a hand to his chest.

The angel slowly stood up, still hunched over as his white bed-sheets slowly slipped off of his form and a few white feathers floated gracefully through the air. He then walked over and grabbed the Crimson Blade, which lay against a nearby wall. "Good thing I don't need to use the door," he floated through the wall. Remembering something, he stopped mid-way through. "Wait…" He phased back through the wall and tossed the gem he had on the bed.

'They can at least find me this way.'

Outside, he spread his white wings and darted off through the sky. It felt good to fly again after being grounded for so long. He viciously pulled out his sword as a devilish grin formed on his mouth. "Wild spirits can never be restrained," Hiroshima commented as she flew straight up and out of sight. "And Now…" The angel spun and flew upwards, his words trailed behind him, lost to the winds. "…It's time. Time to show these humans exactly what I'm made of, they'll reap the day they dared to label me."

XxXxXx

"As long as you're with us, try to refrain from doing that got it?" Keiji asked.

"Keiji-kun…" Fife wasn't sure what to make of the cryptic tone in his voice. It was stoicism mixed with what seemed to be concern.

"No back talking me. I don't want any problems. You don't need to hurt yourself like that. Get a regular job like everyone else," the other make told him, his voice subdued.

"You're so sweet, Keiji-kun," the navy-haired boy wrapped both arms around Keiji's neck and gave him a long, warm hug and smiled slightly to himself. 'If only I could be so confident in my ways…Now you'll probably not want me because I'm dirty.'

Fife could then feel large hands sat gently on his back. Green eyes looked at him with sympathy. "I'm not hitting on you. I just think you need this right now." He commented. Of all people, he knew most of all that Fife was suffering a lot right now and had been for quite some time.

"I know," the other stated simply. 'After all, how could anyone love a slut?'

At that time, Azmy walked into the room to see the two males in what looked like a romantic embrace. "Hey guys," she started, then blinked a couple of times and looked a bit ashamed of herself for walking in on something so intimate. "Oh my gosh!" The girl flung her hands up to her chest, blushed and turned around. Her slate blue hair shaded her eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

Annoyance crossed Keiji's face. Of all the times for her to walk in on him, she had to talk in on THAT particular moment in time. He'd almost rather had been naked. He could have dealt with that a lot better. 'Why?'

"Oh no, we're not doing anything like that, Azmy-chan!" Fife replied. "We're just hugging."

"Oh!" The short-haired girl reminded herself of why she'd gone to them in the first place. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the gem. "Look!" She unfolded her hand and revealed it to them.

"But hasn't Hiroshima been keeping it with him?" Fife asked.

"He's gone. He went to his room because he got mad and now he's gone," she looked worried. "All that's there are white feathers and this gem. I noticed that he hadn't come out in hours so I went to talk to him. When I opened the door, I got an awful feeling-"

"I always get awful feelings around him," Fife commented. Every time he'd stood within a certain proximity to Hiroshima, he felt dizzy, as if he were sick to his stomach, tingly and cold. It was a nauseating feeling that he couldn't shake, almost as if he'd been so emotional he'd made himself sick. The boy was used to it now but Hiroshima's aura was unlike anyone's. It was large, impending and very powerful. There was something forbidden, dark and vile about it but there was also a deep sorrow and anguish that he couldn't place. It was as if Hiroshima had constantly mourned something. Fife was curious as to what it might have been. The enigma that was the legend fascinated him.

"Come to think of it, so do I," Keiji remembered feeling the exact same way Fife did whenever he was around Hiroshima. "I can't explain it but ever since I first met him I've felt an eerie feeling. It wasn't death…It was an incredibly cold feeling and it sent chills up my spine."

"It makes you sick with dread. At times I used to not be able to look him in the eyes but I've gotten used to it now," Fife replied.

"It's not that feeling," the worried girl slowly shook her head. "I know that feeling. He used to make me want to cry. I felt so horrible…but this feeling nearly made me pass out."

"I wonder what happened," Keiji mused.

"Did anyone see him leave?" Fife asked.

"We should ask around," the short-haired girl replied. Maybe someone was lucky enough to catch him on his way out or something. She couldn't imagine why he'd leave the gem behind. It was very important and he always guarded it so faithfully.

Something just seemed wrong.

"Everyone else is in the next room. They were talking earlier," Keiji informed.

"After they gave me twenty questions," Fife lifted a finger and sweat dropped.

"That's what you get," Keiji crossed his arms.

"I get no compassion," Fife's voice was too happy for the situation.

Azmy walked into the next room and Keiji followed suit. Fife called out for them to wait as he ran after them. As they entered the next room, they could see the others in a group. They seemed engaged in conversation. Tsurugi was sitting in a wooden chair with one leg crossed over the other, Chichiri was leaning on the side of the couch and Ko was standing in front of them.

"No! He really was retarded!" Her voice could be heard as they neared her.

"He was!" Chichiri agreed with Ko. They both tried to convince the seated angel, who looked a little confused. "He was all 'I really don't know the answer.'"

"That's not very nice of you to say," the blonde angel chuckled with a hand over his mouth.

"He shouldn't have jumped off the stage like that. He actually thought people would catch him. He just humiliated himself," Ko continued to say.

"It was kind of cool because he was a first rabid fan," Chichiri replied.

"Yes, at least he made an ever-lasting impression on you," Tsurugi remarked.

"And the ground," the other blonde mumbled.

"Hey guys! Have you seen Hiroshima?" Azmy stopped beside of Ko, who looked at the shorter girl beside of her. Tsurugi told her that he hadn't seen Hiroshima since he had walked away from their conversation earlier and asked why she was asking them. She lowered her head and informed everyone that he was gone again.

"Really?" Tsurugi uncorssed his legs. He leaned forward and put his hands on both knees.

"Did anyone see him leave?" Keiji asked.

Chichiri and Ko told him that they had not.

"Come to think of it, I haven't sensed him either," Tsurugi didn't know when he had stopped sensing him. The angel had been lost in conversation with Ko and Chichiri and had simply assumed Hiroshima had gone to bed because he was tired and unlike everyone else, had not healed. A serious look crossed his face. Hiroshima usually didn't lie about things like that and if he had disappeared, it could be more serious then he thought initially.

Azmy looked around and caught glimpse of a small box garden in one of the nearby windows. The plants were wilted and had turned brown, almost as if they had been dead a while. Large, slate blue eyes were transfixed on them for a while before she noticed that the plants outside had all been dead as well. They looked as if they had rotted and were slowly decaying.

"Why are all of the plants dead?" She asked, a bit of concern to her voice. It was strange that they looked this bad when they were green and healthy just moments before. How could something die so fast?

"Huh?" Ko glanced around at the plants after Azmy asked that question. "They are, every single one of the plants here are dead."

It was true, potted plants, the box gardens and even the trees and grass outside were all brown and turning darker and darker as time progressed around them. Every second the foliage got closer and closer to decay. It was almost as if the plant's lifespan was quickening while they were standing still.

"What's going on?" Chichiri was slightly freaked out. Something was definitely weird.

"Something is terribly wrong," Tsurugi stood up in a hurry and with a look of urgency, he ran out of the room.

"Hey!" Chichiri ran after him. "What's up?"

"We've got to hurry."

"Running, running, running," Fife sing-songed as he ran happily beside of an agitated Ko, who's irritation was only growing the more he sang.

"Ugh…Would you just shut up?" The white-haired girl sighed in exasperation.

"Sorry," he apologized happily.

"Look at this," Chichiri glanced around the village of rotting plants. Even the large trees had bent over and even snapped off. Dead bushes and vines hung everywhere. "Every plant here is dead."

"That many plants can't just all die that quickly," Tsurugi stated as a piece of a nearby building fell from the weight of the plants. "Move!" He shouted as the corner of one of the roofs fell towards the group. Everyone was barely able to make it out of the way before it smashed into the ground.

"They whole city is falling apart!" Ko pulled herself up off of the dead ground.

'Flora must be trying to destroy this place.' Undine thought as a small earthquake shook the decaying town.

"We've got to get out of here or we'll die along with the people who live here!" Keiji shouted as everyone tried to run along the shaken ground with uneven steps.

"What about Hiroshima? What if he's in here! We can't just leave him here to die!" Azmy was frantic and was consumed in her feelings. Feelings of sorrow and unease, as well as a fleeting feeling that caused her stomach and chest to burn.

"We don't have a choice! We'll have to hope that he makes it out!" Ko shouted.

"She's right!" Chichiri agreed as they continued to run through the village that was slowly caving in on itself. "If we go back to look for him, we'll die!"

Just then, a large Roman-looking pillar fell in front of him and smashed into the ground. Chichiri had to skid to a stop to miss it and everyone screamed as their way had been blocked. Undine called upon her water spout and blasted a through it. She called out for everyone to follow her and hurry. They all ran through the path, which had been created by her hydro pressure. Azmy was lagging a little behind everyone else. She found it incredibly difficult to walk on the shaken ground and her small, thin legs had trouble keeping balance.

Behind her, one of the dead trees had snapped and began to fall headed straight for her. She could hear Ko call out for her to look out. Turning to look over her shoulder, the girl screamed and tried to run but her uneven footsteps made her slow and the tree fell right on top of her, the outmost branches covered her form completely as she was lost beneath decaying leaves.

"Azmy! Are you okay?" Fife shouted, concerned for the girl's safety.

"I'm fine," she stumbled out of the branches. "Only the small branches got me."

"Thank goodness," Fife put a hand over his chest and smiled. He then took her hand so she didn't fall behind again and started to run. He had to run a little slowly because his legs were a lot longer than hers but he didn't seem to mind as long as they didn't fall behind too much.

Tsurugi spied two pillars with a decorative plant header before them. It signified that the boundary that separated the village from the next was just up ahead. "We're almost out. The gate to the next village is just ahead."

"I'm glad we didn't go to the middle of town," Chichiri replied.

"You wanted to station there!" Ko reminded him of his earlier statement to stay in the middle of the town where all of the shops were.

"Only because we were close to tall of the markets!" Chichiri exclaimed as they ran through the gate and stopped. They had made it out of the City of Plants as the many building and large plants could be seen. Large crashes and snaps could also be heard as various things collapsed. Panting and out of breath, the group watched as the village destroyed itself.

Azmy stared across the village as sorrow filled her round eyes. "Hiroshima…" Worry laced in her voice, she could only think of him and wonder if he was alright.

"I hope he wasn't in there," Fife spoke from beside of her.

"If he made it out then he'll be in the next village. Let's just go ahead," Keiji had more faith in Hiroshima then that. The legend wouldn't be beat out by a village. Knowing him, he was probably in the next village by now and they should do the same.

"Yes, that would be our best bet," Tsurugi agreed and wrapped a slender arm around the girl's small shoulders. "Don't worry." He chided and closed his eyes with a peaceful smile as the girl looked to him. "It will be alright, dear Azmy."

"But he's hurt and he has no wings. He couldn't fly out-" Azmy tried to reply but was cut off by the blonde angel.

"He wouldn't have been able to anyway. There was too much debris falling from the sky from the taller buildings. He would have been pinned to the ground by them and died," he explained. The girl's eyes widened in horror at that explanation. The sheer possibility of it was enough to make her fear the worst. "But I don't think that's what happened at all. You've got to have faith in him." Tsurugi tone turned soft as he looked out across the field of destruction. He knew Hiroshima was out there somewhere and he hoped that nothing serious had happened and that he could just hold tight until they could get to him.

XxXxXx

"The deed has been done. Even though I cannot stop the humans completely, I can stop them from taking advantage of me," the wounded goddess said to no one but herself. After she had finished her sentence, she could hear Hiroshima's statement cut deep into her senses.

'Beings like us were created to suffer.'

"That is my firm belief as well but at least we can find a way to somehow rise above the pains…even if they are eternal," Flora said with regret. Truly her good intentions had paved a road to a hell that only the divine would know.

To Be Continued…