Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Heaven is Overrated ( Chapter 66 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

XxXxXx

Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 66: Heaven is Overrated

XxXxXx

"Ooh, I like death! Who's going to die? Who?" Mikunai asked with great excitement towards the subject. He was hoping for an answer of Baratone's name but something that he did not expect came out instead.

"One of the prince's friends," Shizume told him in a serious tone.

"What?" Vasca turned and looked at the two conversating vampires. He wanted to know exactly what was supposed to happen here. The fact that one of his allies were going to die was not something to be taken lightly of.

"How do you know that?" The white-haired vampire felt stupid for making such a joke about something that was so serious. There were very few times that subjects seemed to get the better of him and this was definitely one of those moments.

"The look on his face was one of a soldier who's friend is about to pass. He looked very disturbed and it wasn't from depression. His aura was one of heavy mourning," the black-haired female told Mikuani of Hiroshima's signs. Angels emotions were hard to perceive, since most of them were taken by simply glancing once but the darker side had shone through and his depression and the real reason behind part of it was proven as the truth.

Shizume knew that Hiroshima had to, at the very least, be having visions of his ally's death and simply remaining silent about the matter.

"They say that angels foretell your death two weeks ahead of time," Constantine informed. "Perhaps he'd been having these visions for a while."

"Hiroshima must feel a lot of sorrow and pain. Angels cannot intervene in the fate of human life. They have to rely on humans to change their fate," Vasca replied with a crestfallen glance. He sympathized with someone who had become so worried for something close to them. He knew that Hiroshima didn't always tell his feeling straight out but he had a bigger heart then he led people on to think.

"When fate cannot be controlled by either one, the angel must either make a sacrifice or if they think things will be different, even when the sacrifice is made, they will simply just let fate run its course. No sacrifice has been made so this situation cannot be changed by either angel," Shizume told them. It was graver than any of them could know. More importantly, it would happen on that very day and it was only a matter of time before the event took place.

"I wonder why Tsurugi isn't fazed by it. You think he's know too...Unless he just wants to see blood as bad as I do," Mikunai put a finger to his bottom lip in thought.

"I swear, you're clueless," Helix said in a labored sigh.

"He doesn't seem like he cares so maybe he doesn't like whoever's dying," Constantine commented. If someone she didn't like was going to die, she probably wouldn't care much for them either.

"I don't want to see anyone die that's so close to my son but if it happens, then we cannot stop it either," Vasca closed his eyes and frowned, defeated. He knew that if they interfered things could either get worse or turn out the same. If they angels could not help whoever it was, then he could not either.

XxXxXxXx

"I won't let you have it!" Ko shouted and swung her sword at Baratone, who ducked and attempted to leg-sweep the girl. The white-haired fighter then jumped back, maneuvering the best that she could in her long, white, poofy skirt, high-heeled boots and tight-fitting black shirt with two rows of buttons up the front. She bounced forward and attempted to get another swing in one him.

"No!" She shouted again as Baratone made it to his sacred cross and summoned forth his 'Heavenly Light' attack which sent a golden light shooting from it and throwing her back. The contact and pain of the attack made Ko yell out in pain.

"No!" Chichiri called out.

"You can go with her," the radical priest blasted the blonde with his cross as well, sending him into a pile of dirt and debris.

"That wasn't very holy..." The blonde mustered before he collapsed from struggling to pull himself up.

XxXxXx

"I don't see Baratone. We've got to find him. If we kill him, we end this war," Hiroshima stated as Treble landed beside of he and Azmy.

"There you are," Treble told them, happy to see that they were alright.

"Lord Treble!" Azmy called out, relieved to see someone that they were unable to find until now.

"Where is Baratone?" The legend knew that Treble had been flying around the area but he didn't know what his findings were and was curious as to what he'd come across.

"I'm not sure," the answer was grim.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Azmy was desperate to find out about the location of her friends.

"They're west of you," Treble informed.

Hiroshima looked to Azmy and leveled her with a stern look. "Come on."

"Right," the girl returned the look and nodded as the two took off running. "Do you need any blood?" Azmy had a feeling that they might be heading into another battle and wanted to make sure that Hiroshima was at his peak before they continued to fight. She knew how weak he could get if he didn't get what he needed to from her.

"Not yet," the angel shrugged her off again.

The girl saddened. "Do you hate me?"

"What kind of question is that?" Hiroshima was offended that she would think that he hated her. He cared about her a lot, even though he'd never admit it aloud. She was his friend, someone who understood him and he would not let her think such a thing.

"It's about what I did to Tsurugi, I mean; you don't like drinking my blood," Azmy was upset at that fact and she had a hard time accepting that Hiroshima didn't like being a vampire. The gunner thought that it would be a great opportunity to get to know him even more and be closer to him in many ways but things didn't seem to be working out her way.

"I don't want to be a vampire," Hiroshima admitted lowly. "I don't want to depend on people to live. I want to depend on myself." He had already depended on humans for so much as an angel. For once, he wanted to live under his own rules, instead of being subjected to the binds of others.

"You hate it, don't you? Tsurugi would have been a better choice," she knew it. Azmy just knew that ultimately, Tsurugi was his best choice. All of this time, she had been trying to gain love that was unattainable.

"I love him and it's too bad that we can't bond like that but it doesn't mean that I hate you," the angel thought that she needed to hear that. Azmy was more of a mess then he was now and he did want to help her, if only she would take his hand and want the help.

"I wish you would," the slate-haired girl replied lowly.

"Why?" Hiroshima asked, confused.

"Because I love you."

Those very words seemed like a brick hit Hiroshima's face as he stopped dead in his tracks and his blue eyes widened. His whole face lit up with shock. Azmy, however, didn't look back. She didn't want to know what his reaction would be, or the look on his face. The gunner didn't want to know why he had been silent and said nothing. Tears streamed down her face.

"I can't take it anymore..."

'Why not end it?' Undine's prior words spun through her head and the more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a wonderful idea. If she died, she felt no pain and all of the madness and devastating sorrow would end. All of the insanity would end. There would only be peace.

No one would care if she died; she was simply a burden to them all anyway.

Why not take Undine's advice?

"This hurt is too much...I tried to carry the weight on my shoulders but this time it's too much. I can't look back and I can't face him now. I have to get far away. I'm sorry mom. I can't be like you and I can't come back home. I am far too shameful," Azmy cried as she ran off through the mass of fighting and death around her. She didn't care if someone hit her or not.

XxXx

Zangetsu dodged several strikes as he and one of the generals fought on an old, wooden drawbridge. The general proceeded to tell him to stay still and die. Then, the ex-Nighthawk ninja stood still as the man's arm shot out. The guard jolted back as a feather pierced his chest. The man toppled over the side of the bridge and fell into the water with a large splash. Right behind him, another soldier rushed at the black-haired ninja abd jumped up to come in for the kill. Zangetsu quickly jumped to the side and the man fell into the river along with his comrade.

Soon another soldier was on him and Zangetsu managed to deliver a swift kick to his chin, sending him backwards.

"Super Nova!" Treble summoned his attack forth and a large explosion of whites, light reds and light blues ripped through a group of soldiers, destroyed a vast number of the Catholic Army.

Keiji ran through a bunch of them, slicing several with an old sword that he had found on the ground. He knew that being without a weapon in a war made you as good as dead.

Fife wrote out a long stream of symbols and sent them reeling through the crowds. They exploded whenever they struck someone or something, sending many bodies flying through the air.

Hiroshima sliced two soldiers and decapitated another. One of the men tried to make it past him, only to have their spine ripped out of their back by the brutal angel, who licked his fingers clean of the blood that littered them. He had no time for small fights; he had to find Azmy before she did something rash.

"Where the hell is that girl?" He frantically looked for her.

"Raging Blaze!" Bass swung his fire sword and flames were emitted from the blade, sweeping through the armies and setting a number of them on fire.

Chichiri drew back, punching a man hard in the face and knocking him out. "Man, I am tired," he complained. There were a lot of men around and he knew that his task was far from over. The blonde wished that the whole war would be over soon, before he ran out of energy and had to be reduced to hiding for a while.

He hated feeling like a sitting duck.

"Buzz saw," Undine commanded as her buzz saw constructed of ice ripped through a soldier, cutting him in three pieces. Another one came up from behind but she got him with her water spout attack as his form was launched into the air, screaming in horror.

Fife's sword clashed with the enemies' twice before he ducked down and spun, chopping him in half. "Keiji-kun, do you see Baratone anywhere?" He asked his donor, who fought a soldier within sight, elbowing him in the gut before speaking.

"No, I don't. Do you?"

"Would I ask you if I knew?" Fife asked with a smile.

Keiji looked irritated, then sighed heavily. "You're still the same."

"From now on, I'll tell you how I feel," the vampire prince told him. This time it was no lie. If it was only Keiji, he would tell him the truth and it was a promise that he would try not to break.

"Hey, Prince Fife-" Keiji began to ask, but his sentence was cut short.

"Just call me Fife."

"With no honorific?" The green-haired boy was a little confused that Fife would give him that kind of permission. He could just hear everyone making fun of him for being gay.

"It's a personal request."

Keiji blushed and became nervous. "Um...Sure but, I don't want anyone to assume-"

"I'll tell him. What was your question, by the way?" Fife asked.

"Is something wrong with Hiroshima?" Keiji asked with a serious expression on his face. It was a bad idea to throw someone in the legend's mental state right into a battle. Who knew what would happen to him, or if he was in any kind of danger at such a decreased mental state?

"He has been very quiet lately. He's usually so outspoken," the vampire prince noted that the angel was usually the first one to tell you his opinion but not he was quiet and withdrawn.

"Did he say that he was depressed earlier?" Keiji thought that he had heard Hiroshima state that he was depressed and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that something like that wouldn't be good for him in battle.

"Yes, he did," the navy-haired prince informed. "When he walked out this morning."

"I wonder where he is," the green-haired boy was concerned.

"You want to talk to him?"

"Not now, I just hope that it doesn't affect his performance."

Suddenly, they heard a voice shout 'Phantom Corkscrew' as a blast of ectoplasm in the shape of a screw sped towards them at incredible pace. Keiji and Fife barely made it out of the way of the wayward attack. Keiji yelled and Fife shouted 'whee' in a playful voice, as if he were having fun on an amusement park ride instead of dodging for his life.

"I don't think you have to worry," Fife smiled.

"I think I just felt my soul leave my body!" Keiji stood stock still from having the shit scared out of him. He was pale and held a hand to his chest, trying to contain his quickly beating heart as Hiroshima flew between them and jolted to a stop, his powerful wings sent out bursts of winds around the two males, causing their hair and Victorian-style clothes to sway in the wind.

"Hello!" Fife waved playfully, happy to see the companion that happened to be the topic of their conversation.

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of the angel's head. "Stop jerking around and be serious. Have you seen Azmy?" The look on Hiroshima's face when he asked the question, although seemingly serious in nature was desperate to find the girl. He didn't have time for shenanigans from the lying prince or his donor.

"No, I haven't," Keiji was a little concerned as to why Hiroshima seemed so frantic to look for the short-haired gunner. He thought that maybe the vampuric angel simply needed some blood.

"Nope, I can't say that I have. Did you lose her?" Fife asked.

"She ran off," the angel replied lowly, the tone nearly sounded defeated but the two took it as depression.

"Do you need blood? If you do, I'm sure that Keiji-kun wouldn't mind," the prince gestured to his martyr, who nodded in response. Keiji would help Hiroshima out if he needed any blood to get back to battle. He'd waste more energy going to look for the girl and when he found her, if he didn't pass out first, he may be too weak and would have to rest. That would be too large of a risk.

"I'll be fine. Have you seen Baratone?" Hiroshima asked his other inquiry.

"No, we were just asking about that," Keiji replied.

At that point in time, Hiroshima had all that he needed to know and quickly flew off without a good-bye. Azmy's condition was on the line, as well as other things and he didn't have time to simply chat with the two.

"Okay, bye!" Fife waved happily. He was unsure of what the angel seemed so frantic about but he wished him luck on finding either Azmy or Baratone.

XxXxXx

"I think I'm far enough away," Azmy placed her hands on her knees, slightly bent over, and panted to herself lightly. The tears still flowed down her face, she could not stop crying. "I can't do anything right, I cause other's pain and I can't believe that I told him that I loved him. I promised that I wouldn't. I betrayed my friends and my mother by loving him. He was her companion...not only that but..."

'Send Tsurugi and Hiroshima my best if you see them again,' Miyaka told her daughter with a bright smile. She knew that she was going adventuring and hoped that she got the chance to meet her two old angel friends again. 'I'm so glad that they are finally together! They were truly my best friends.'

"Mother loved them so much...and I'm ruining everything for her. I don't know how to stop feeling this way...I can't keep going on like this. I want to end it all before I hurt anymore," the distraught girl's feminine, shaky hand pulled one of her guns from its holster as she held it in her hand.

"I can't go to heaven...I don't want to go anyway...because heaven is overrated," She was tired of being a disappointment to everyone, to Hiroshima, to Tsurugi and her other friends and to her own mother, who loved the two angels and wanted to see them together more than anything else. Azmy had dishonored her family by doing what she had done and that was the ultimate crime.

There was no more room for forgiveness. She knew what she had to do.

...To Be Continued...