Tenshi no Uta (4/16)
Sep. 27th, 2014 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wendyjolyPairing : Guess who~
Rating : PG
Genre : SF
Lenght : Chaptered
Beta : Confetti shower to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chibipinkpetals
Genre : Music, love and star ships
Disclaimer : I owe nothing but Arashi owns surely my soul
Summary : “An Angel has the power to pacify a crowd, to convey emotions people ignore. But…when an Angel
sings for his master, this man can feel the fullness of body and mind…however, one Angel is made for a Master and only one. And the master can’t choose his Angel.” But when Ninomiya Kazunari, an Angel fated to belong to the ruler of the galaxy chooses the Commandant of the ship designated to guide him to his Master, what will happen to him?
Note: The concept of singing Angel belongs to O.S Card, I borrow it with all the respect due to his huge
talent.
CHAPTER 4
The big room was pitch dark and without his constant vigilance, even a skillful man could have accomplished his task. Because he was here on someone else’s order, no doubt.
As the departure approached, their attempts were numerous and rough. The enemy began to panic and was less cautious and bolder. And this night, for the first time, he dared penetrate into his bedroom. If it hasn’t been such a great sacrilege, he could have admired him.
Tiptoeing, he had followed the shadow who just opened the door and waited one feet behind to see what he planned to do. Even if this man won’t stay alive, it was still interesting to observe the method he would use…every planet had his own teaching, his technique to capture or kill a prey. Every hint was up for grabs. The man touched his sleeve and it has been the last thing he did. He was about to take out a cable to catch the Angel: he was a mercenary, nothing more. Frustrating, but so expected…he could come from anywhere in the Galaxy and won’t talk at any price.
Thus he wasn’t useful at all.
As the stranger bent on the big bed where the Angel slept peacefully, he put the palm on the nape of his neck and pressed two fingers against it, taking his life soundlessly. The mercenary weighted between his fingers and he left him falling on the floor softly.
“Masaki? What’s happen? Is it the morning?”
“No, sleep my Angel, I was just watching over you. Tomorrow is the big day, isn’t it?”
“Hm…tomorrow we’ll leave.”
“Exactly. I will prepare you to be the most beautiful Angel.”
“You always say that.”
“Because you’re the most precious person of the galaxy." Whispered Masaki, stroking his hair, smiling as Nino closed his eyes again.
Masaki dragged the corpse outside of the room silently and immediately, two guards of the Palace threw him into the external pit, like they did for the others.
The place was safe for the end of the night, it was probably their last attempt before the departure. Masaki placed two men at the Angel’s door, giving them strict orders and went down to the Great Intendant office.
“Come on in.” He heard as he was about to knock. ”Once again?"
“Indeed, Usui-sensei. A mercenary. He entered the room this time. They are bolder.”
“They are surely panicking. The backer, whoever he could be, imagined it would be easier to kill him here rather than in Okada’s palace.”
“Seems so, Sensei. I think the travel will be perilous too. What did the General planned?”
“A simple patrol ship, it seems to me, in order to keep low profile. A small crew will be better to him, less scary.”
Masaki stared at the old man for a moment and wasn’t surprised to see him so worried. It was heart-breaking to deliver an Angel to the world and Nino more than anyone.
“We protected him the best we could, Sensei.”
“I know, I know, Masaki but I can’t help it. And if he wasn’t fated to be for Okada, if the Oracles were wrong? If Okada should hurt him? He’s a warrior, he can be harsh and violent, he put to fire and sword the galaxy…”
“The oracles can’t be wrong. And I’ll be with him, Sensei, I’ll protect him.”
“He’s so tiny and so fragile…”
Masaki laughed out loud.
“He’s a wonderful Angel, perhaps the best this palace ever knew, he can use each experience to magnify his songs. Once outside, he will become such a marvel. You’ll be proud of him.”
“You’re right. This is only old man babbling.”
“I know what I owe you, Usui-sensei, I won’t betray him, I swear to you.”
The guardian kneeled and the old Intendant squeezed his hand and caressed his head.
“I’ll miss you too, Masaki. Tomorrow I will lose two Angels…This is a lot to deal with for my old heart.”
“I’m just a fallen Angel, I don’t deserve your regrets, Sensei.”
“Oh…my child…don’t. I tried my best to protect you too…you and Toma. Excuse me, for being so weak.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Sensei. It’s the law, only the law…”
“This world can be so cruel, alas, especially for his most beautiful creatures.”
“Kazunari won’t repeat my mistakes. I’ll take care of him.”
“If I could, I’d keep you here, behind the walls of the Palace, but it’s not the role of a parent or a teacher. One day, we have to let them fly out of the nest. It makes me feel nostalgic…go now. Tomorrow is an important day.”
“Good night, Usui-sensei.”
“Good night Masaki.”
The old man stared at the fallen Angel leaving the office sadly. Tomorrow, Masaki would leave the palace for the second time, and even if the circumstances were less tragic than before, he knew it would be the last time and it hurt him more than he could tell. Perhaps when he was an Angel himself, he would have found the score to sing his sadness, but today he was a very old man who had the chance to come back at the Orchid palace after his master’s death. It was so far from him. Losing his master, he lost the right to sing and all those decades without any song made him lose his ability. He felt only nostalgia for that time.
And today, with Kazunari’s departure, he figured out he could be angry.
Okada didn’t deserve an Angel. Even if he couldn’t talk to anyone, he was convinced this kind of man didn’t deserve to be blessed by receiving an Angel like Nino.
In spite of the prediction of the Oracles, in spite of Okada’s pretending, he couldn’t be his, it was definitely impossible. Maybe it was only an old man’s ranting, who left the tenderness befuddled him.
~Ã~
“What will happen today?” asked Nino raising his arms to let Masaki dress him.
“Today, you will bid farewell to the Orchid Palace.”
“Are you sad, Ma-chan?”
“Of course, a bit, it’s my house after all. But our new house will please me too, I’m sure of it. We’ll be together and the Court is a wonderful place.”
“Did you ever go there?”
“Once or twice.”
“How is it?”
“It’s…bright. Everything is silver and blue, the Empire’s colors, decorated by Eagles. There are a lot of people, always, everywhere; it’s a place which never sleeps. You will hear sounds you never heard.”
Masaki raised his gaze and saw a shadow in the Angel’s look.
“What do you want to know, Nino? Ask, I’ll answer.”
“I was wondering…how is my master? I dreamt about him, you know. You said I’d know that I’d recognize him, that I’d know I was meant to be his, but I can’t imagine him.”
“Ah, General Okada…he’s a handsome man, probably the most seductive of the Galaxy. His gaze is fierce, he’s a warrior. You will like him. You can rest assure.” He chuckled and the Angel laughed.
“Sure.”
“Come with me now, everybody is waiting for you. Look at you, you’re ready.”
Nino stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was dressed in white from head to toe, conferring him an unearthly appearance which fitted him particularly.
He smiled to his friend who didn’t take his eyes off him. The Angel took a last glance at his bedroom and what it contained. He left, abandoning behind him what made his life until now, ready for a new one.
They climbed down the stairs of the Paradise, then the Houses’, walked by the Garden and everywhere an impressive silence reigned.
When he finally reached the entrance of the Palace he saw the entire school facing a podium, set for the occasion. There were the teachers and Usui-sensei who reached out. Kazunari stopped at the foot of the steps, feeling a big knot of sadness obstructing his throat. He glanced at the assembly, all those faces who stared at him with admiration. He recognized some boys from the House and suddenly in his mind popped the image of the one who has been his brother during several years. Was he in here? Nino searched for Satoshi as fast as he could to not bother Usui-sensei.
Perhaps once on the podium…he felt Masaki’s hand pushing him softly to the Great Intendant and he climbed some steps then turned around to face the children.
“Kazunari.”
He heard at his ear.
“Kazunari?”
“Yes, Sensei?”
“Do you remember the day I brought you to the House, I told you one day I’d ask you to sing for me.”
“I do.”
“This day has come, since we’ll never see each other anymore.”
“I…but I will be back, one day.”
“I’d like that, my child, I’d like it so much…now sing for me. Let’s hear the song of an Angel.”
For the children who would never have the chance to leave the House, the only chance for them to hear an Angel was the day of his departure. And it was exceptional.
Kazunari closed his eyes, letting the memories overwhelming him.
From the moment he left his mother, the sweet and soft hand of Usui-sensei who grabbed his to lead him into a world he never dare to dream. He sung his first singing lessons, the pain in his belly when he saw Satoshi’s paint for the very first time, his joy when they intertwined their fingers, his warmth against him, their separation and his meeting with Masaki…and the Angel’s world, the lonely and beautiful world of the Supremes singers.
He opened his eyes and faced Usui-sensei, sang the tears on the old man’s cheeks, the sadness in his eyes, his trembling hands and the fragility he discovered. The last note flew in the silence of the Palace, closing his eyelids again, coming back to him and the present.
They clapped after a long time of stupefaction and Kazunari smiled to those luminous faces who yelled their joy and their pain to see him leaving the palace.
He felt his old friend approaching him and holding his hand.
“Thank you, Kazunari.”
When the Angel took back his hand, he realized he put a ring of wings shaped on his index finger.
“This is the mark of the Angels. Wear it proudly. Follow me now.”
Kazunari observed the silver ring, made for him, and did what he was told, Masaki behind him.
They walked through the huge doors and Nino took a last glance at the school.
The heat-wave struck him strongly. He frowned and faced, in the Palace yard, a sliver and blue ship, just like Masaki told him.
In front of the ship, a bunch of men and women.
At the front, two men.
One with a pride gaze in spite of a swollen and blue eye, the other one with a tender look but terribly determined and manly. Behind them, a man and a woman with similar red and black outfits and at the ship’s door, a heteroclite group bent on a 3-D cart of the system Hiroo.
Kazunari stared at them one after another and smiled happily as he began to walk fast.
He ran to the Commandant Sakurai, cupping his face, diving in his look and whispered slowly with his light, airy voice:
“Masaki told me.”
“I…what?” murmured Sakurai unmoving.
“He told me I’d recognize him immediately, the man of my life…my master.”
~Ã~
5 days early
Sho and Jun met at the feet of their ship. Their mission was quite simple: go to the Orchid Palace, in the system Hiroo and come back with what they would receive. It wasn’t extraordinary, but the order came from Okada himself, and It was a fact known that that man didn’t trust many people.
They used, for the first time, their Commandant and First lieutenant’s stripes, proudly and they walked through the gangways of the military base of Kanda, an unwavering smile adorning their faces.
Kanda was the core of the Galaxy, the planet of the Imperial Court. A luxuriant and rich land, the only one with mountains and torrents, oceans and deserts.
The military base was as huge as a town and a ship was needed to walk around. Sho and Jun had two days prior the departure to plan their travel and meet the crew, even if they knew most of them and their common life as soldiers made the task easier.
They entered the ships warehouse and enjoyed the crowd of mechanics working in a well-organized ballet.
“Commandant. First lieutenant.” Said loudly a man they identified immediately as the Quartermaster of the place.
“You’re here for the jewel?”
“Indeed.” Confirmed Sho, smiling nervously.
“Come with me…I’m gonna show you. What kind of mission?”
“We have to retrieve a package.”
“Really? It should be such a precious package…” he pointed a big cruiser where about ten mechanics were working. “Tamamori, come here!” Yelled the Quartermaster to a young man.
He was covered by grease and wiped his hands on his black overall then greeted the two men. He was very young, but the Quartermaster talked to him respectfully.
“This is the Commandant Sakurai and the First Lieutenant Matsumoto. Tamamori is the Chief mechanic who prepared your ship according the General’s instructions. He will fly with you…Yuta-kun?”
“Hm…let me show you around…” he climbed the gateway and pointed the open door of the ship “Actually, it’s not a simple cruiser, it’s rather a war ship with a cruiser appearance….there is the command post.” Said the young man penetrating a flight crew compartment similar to the Kobayashi Maru one.
“It’s pretty ordinary here, the big difference is rather there.”
He took the first gangway on the right. Jun caught Sho’s gaze and shrugged his shoulders. Until now, the ship didn’t differ from the ones they always knew. Tamamori handed them a magnetic card.
“This is the first particularity. There is a quarter for the guest and the commandment.”
“The guests?!”
“Yeah. This is the exact replica of a suite of the Court. It was the first demand of the General, he designed it himself.”
“So…the package…” began Jun”…isn’t a package.”
“Sounds like…” achieved Sho, perplexed. But it was not the time, nor the place to speculate.
“Keep on, please.”
“Okay, now the below deck.”
They climbed down a steep staircase and landed in a hold surprisingly wide for this kind of ship. The crew quarters had been suppressed to build this warehouse.
“I guess you’re wondering where the crew dormitory is and it’s above. This part has been built for the Eagles. Two eagles. That’s why I won’t switch my place with anyone else…I dreamt to fly with those marvels once in my life at least and with a little bit of luck a pilot will allow me to check the engine out…”
“I’m sure they will.” Said Sho encouragingly.
They exited the warehouse without a word, each of them lost in thoughts.
Once at the mess, they sat at a table.
“What does it means?” Began Jun.
“I’m…how could it put it…puzzled. I have a bad feeling.”
“Yeah, me too, this is a lot. The Kobayashi crew, the two Eagles this…”suite”. What are we going to retrieve?”
“It’s rather ‘who’, don’t you think?”
“Okada’s mistress?”
“Possible and it could explain a lot, indeed. He enlisted a rookie crew, who won’t attract attention, especially Lady Aoi’s.”
Jun grinned.
The very beautiful wife of the General Okada was the Emperor’s sister and say she was crazily jealous was a mere understatement.
Sho ignored if it was a matter of love or a matter of pride, but he already caught her slapping a Lady at the Court who dared to stare at her husband a bit too insistently.
“Do you think he would be crazy enough to take a mistress and welcome her at the Court?» Began the first lieutenant.
“Maybe will he hide her once at Kanda?”
“He better, if that's the case, because he won’t enjoy the girl if he’s not cautious enough…and you?”
“Me, what?” Smirked Sho.
“You, your marriage, your mistresses, your lovers, I don’t know…it’s been a long time since we've talk.”
“And…You miss it or is it just a way for you tell me your love life?”
“More or less…” Smiled Jun stretching his athletic body.
“A marriage?”
“No way! I’m too young to be married. But I heard your family was negotiating with the Duke Horikita?”
“True…for a while now, but nothing is settled.”
“And your love life?”
“Which love life? We already talk about it and I didn’t change my mind. I will marry the woman chosen by my parents, so taking the risk to fall in love, what’s the point?”
“A baron may have a mistress…or a lover.”
“Like my father, you mean? Bringing them at the Court under my mother’s nose to feed the gossips? Not for me…”
“Well, I guess it falls on you without notice. You will be hands and feet tied, like everybody else.”
“Are you talking about yourself?”
“It’s different for me. I’m too fond about women to choose one. Thereon, if you allow me…There’s one at the bar moping all alone, it’s my duty to rescue her.”
“Go on…I go to bed and don’t be late tomorrow. 6AM.”
“All right, Commandant! Good night.”
Sho exited the mess after a last glance at his friend who, nonchalantly, sat on a high chair at the bar close to the woman he targeted.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Drawled Matsumoto without looking at his neighbour.
“I still have one…first Lieutenant Matsumoto.”
Jun checked out the girl and stood speechless when he recognized his childhood sweetheart. He expected to meet her one day or another, but not so early, not here. And especially not to be so breathless. Nothing left of the sweet young girl he remembered. She was a 24 years old woman, sharp and determined, with an ironic gaze but her beauty was stunning. Jun felt like the 15 years old teenager he was once, unable to approach the older girls, too intimidate to be bold.
“Juri…” he said in an undertone.
“Captain Ueno, if you don’t mind.” She took a sip of beer and her coldness woke Jun up.
“I heard you’ll be under my orders.”
“Indeed, General Okada sent me an order of mission.”
“Where were you?”
“System Mita.”
“It’s still the war out there?”
“It is.”
Jun observed her carefully. She avoided his gaze on purpose but seeing the blush on her cheeks, he could feel she was as confused as he was to be so close to her after so many years. It was strange to chat like this….he had often dreamt about it. He often imagined this kind of moment during when he could ask her what happened during their 13th years. But it was too late. Today, they spent almost half of their life in two different worlds and nothing linked them anymore. If he had realized she was the girl at the bar, he would simply have turned tail.
“Does it feel strange?” she murmured suddenly, reading in his mind.
“What? You and me at this bar, talking together? Or you and me on the same ship?” Said Jun bitterly.
“The entire thing.” She turned to face him, a shadow of sadness in the eye.
Jun felt the urge to take her into his embrace to erase those years of misunderstandings and separation.
“Juri…”
“Captain Ueno, Baron Matsumoto.”
What did she want? Blow hot and cold…but what was the purpose? Jun sensed an old anger overwhelming him.
“So that’s it, finally?”
“What?”
“My barony. That’s what bothers you. Because you’re a forest girl? Yet, your squadron isn’t precisely a bunch of commoners…Nishikido, Yokoyama and above all Tadayoshi, all traitors at the Empire but blue-blooded, isn’t it?"
“Traitors?” Hissed the woman incredulously.
“You know what I mean…Their families were against the General Okada during the Secession War!”
“They were loyal to the former Emperor!”
“The former Emperor passed away! They had to give up!”
Juri clenched her fists like she did at the time they were at the Academy and she was bullied.
“May I take my leave, First Lieutenant?” She said blankly, standing up.
“Do you have to meet your ‘friends’?”
“I preserve myself.”
“From what?”
“I don’t wish to be put in fetters because I punched an officer.”
“Is it a threat?”
“May I take my leave, Sir?”
“Don’t be shy…look, I take off my jacket…there’s no more officer here.” Said Jun defiantly turning around her, his First Lieutenant’s stripes on the high chair.
He rolled his shoulders and smiled when she took off her jacket too, keeping her top-tank just like him. A circle of soldiers was formed around them and they began to yell.
“It’s not a good idea…” smiled Juri moving laterally, mirroring Jun.
“I won’t punch you that hard, don’t worry…” Smirked Jun.
“I’m rather worried for you. Will you be popular with girls with a broken nose?”
Jun felt the excitement growing. She sounded determined but above all he had the feeling to be with the little girl who played with him, hundreds of years ago. He didn’t plan to hit her but he wanted to set things right and finally let the anger they felt explode. Lancing the boil to restart from scratches. And he knew she won’t punch him either.
He smirked…then moved back to avoid narrowly the young woman’s fist.
She arched an eyebrow and smiled at him. It was a shot across the bows and he understood she played to win.
He moved into an offensive position as she approached him and under the screams of the crowd tripped her, making her slide on the floor. She fell but dragged him on the floor and he gripped her wrists to tie her down, squeezing strongly as he straddled her. She struggled then gave up, out of breath, staring at Jun who smiled brightly with anger.
“I won.” He said, recovering his breath, leaning on her to come close to her face under the whistles of the soldiers. “Say it.”
“Never.”
“I’ve all the time in the world.”
Juri kept her eyes on him and wriggled under him to escape. Jun suddenly realized the situation and the way his body was reacting to the vigorous friction. He tried to move but the pilot took advantage of the situation, moving her arm to punch him as strong as she could. The Baron fell on the floor and barely saw her grabbing her jacket to leave the place.
The next morning, at 6 AM, he passed the threshold of the warehouse and the crew glanced at his swollen eyes interrogatively.
They introduced themselves and without real surprise found Kanayoshi, Shin and Himoto back. Tamamori, the mechanic they already met was here, like the two pilots of the Eagles, Tadayoshi and Juri. Seeing the man’s smile, Jun figured out she told him the fight and swallow his anger to not create havoc. The mission had begun and their personal fights had to be parenthesized.
The journey went smoothly and naturally, Sho took his place. Jun even saw him joking with Juri and he felt the jealousy bite him. The young woman only talked to him to answer his questions and she skilfully ran away when he had tried to evocate the mess incident. Not to mention the fact that the mechanic, bedazzled by the pilots didn’t leave their side.
When they landed at the Orchid Palace, they replenished supplies for the ship then went to the Palace to meet the person they had to escort. They didn’t know what to expect…but certainly not the person who went out of the Palace.
They moved forward when the Great Intendant came to them, then they saw the young man in white. Sho knew on-the-spot they came for him. Not for a woman, not a mistress, him. His gaze was sweet and luminous and everything was perfection in him. The commandant fell the Earth opening under his feet. And when he ran to him to cup his face, his heart stopped and the world disappeared definitely.
“Masaki told me.”
“I…what?”
“He told me I’d recognize him immediately, the man of my life…my master.”
TBC...
Rating : PG
Genre : SF
Lenght : Chaptered
Beta : Confetti shower to
chibipinkpetals Genre : Music, love and star ships
Disclaimer : I owe nothing but Arashi owns surely my soul
Summary : “An Angel has the power to pacify a crowd, to convey emotions people ignore. But…when an Angel
sings for his master, this man can feel the fullness of body and mind…however, one Angel is made for a Master and only one. And the master can’t choose his Angel.” But when Ninomiya Kazunari, an Angel fated to belong to the ruler of the galaxy chooses the Commandant of the ship designated to guide him to his Master, what will happen to him?
Note: The concept of singing Angel belongs to O.S Card, I borrow it with all the respect due to his huge
talent.
CHAPTER 4
The big room was pitch dark and without his constant vigilance, even a skillful man could have accomplished his task. Because he was here on someone else’s order, no doubt.
As the departure approached, their attempts were numerous and rough. The enemy began to panic and was less cautious and bolder. And this night, for the first time, he dared penetrate into his bedroom. If it hasn’t been such a great sacrilege, he could have admired him.
Tiptoeing, he had followed the shadow who just opened the door and waited one feet behind to see what he planned to do. Even if this man won’t stay alive, it was still interesting to observe the method he would use…every planet had his own teaching, his technique to capture or kill a prey. Every hint was up for grabs. The man touched his sleeve and it has been the last thing he did. He was about to take out a cable to catch the Angel: he was a mercenary, nothing more. Frustrating, but so expected…he could come from anywhere in the Galaxy and won’t talk at any price.
Thus he wasn’t useful at all.
As the stranger bent on the big bed where the Angel slept peacefully, he put the palm on the nape of his neck and pressed two fingers against it, taking his life soundlessly. The mercenary weighted between his fingers and he left him falling on the floor softly.
“Masaki? What’s happen? Is it the morning?”
“No, sleep my Angel, I was just watching over you. Tomorrow is the big day, isn’t it?”
“Hm…tomorrow we’ll leave.”
“Exactly. I will prepare you to be the most beautiful Angel.”
“You always say that.”
“Because you’re the most precious person of the galaxy." Whispered Masaki, stroking his hair, smiling as Nino closed his eyes again.
Masaki dragged the corpse outside of the room silently and immediately, two guards of the Palace threw him into the external pit, like they did for the others.
The place was safe for the end of the night, it was probably their last attempt before the departure. Masaki placed two men at the Angel’s door, giving them strict orders and went down to the Great Intendant office.
“Come on in.” He heard as he was about to knock. ”Once again?"
“Indeed, Usui-sensei. A mercenary. He entered the room this time. They are bolder.”
“They are surely panicking. The backer, whoever he could be, imagined it would be easier to kill him here rather than in Okada’s palace.”
“Seems so, Sensei. I think the travel will be perilous too. What did the General planned?”
“A simple patrol ship, it seems to me, in order to keep low profile. A small crew will be better to him, less scary.”
Masaki stared at the old man for a moment and wasn’t surprised to see him so worried. It was heart-breaking to deliver an Angel to the world and Nino more than anyone.
“We protected him the best we could, Sensei.”
“I know, I know, Masaki but I can’t help it. And if he wasn’t fated to be for Okada, if the Oracles were wrong? If Okada should hurt him? He’s a warrior, he can be harsh and violent, he put to fire and sword the galaxy…”
“The oracles can’t be wrong. And I’ll be with him, Sensei, I’ll protect him.”
“He’s so tiny and so fragile…”
Masaki laughed out loud.
“He’s a wonderful Angel, perhaps the best this palace ever knew, he can use each experience to magnify his songs. Once outside, he will become such a marvel. You’ll be proud of him.”
“You’re right. This is only old man babbling.”
“I know what I owe you, Usui-sensei, I won’t betray him, I swear to you.”
The guardian kneeled and the old Intendant squeezed his hand and caressed his head.
“I’ll miss you too, Masaki. Tomorrow I will lose two Angels…This is a lot to deal with for my old heart.”
“I’m just a fallen Angel, I don’t deserve your regrets, Sensei.”
“Oh…my child…don’t. I tried my best to protect you too…you and Toma. Excuse me, for being so weak.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Sensei. It’s the law, only the law…”
“This world can be so cruel, alas, especially for his most beautiful creatures.”
“Kazunari won’t repeat my mistakes. I’ll take care of him.”
“If I could, I’d keep you here, behind the walls of the Palace, but it’s not the role of a parent or a teacher. One day, we have to let them fly out of the nest. It makes me feel nostalgic…go now. Tomorrow is an important day.”
“Good night, Usui-sensei.”
“Good night Masaki.”
The old man stared at the fallen Angel leaving the office sadly. Tomorrow, Masaki would leave the palace for the second time, and even if the circumstances were less tragic than before, he knew it would be the last time and it hurt him more than he could tell. Perhaps when he was an Angel himself, he would have found the score to sing his sadness, but today he was a very old man who had the chance to come back at the Orchid palace after his master’s death. It was so far from him. Losing his master, he lost the right to sing and all those decades without any song made him lose his ability. He felt only nostalgia for that time.
And today, with Kazunari’s departure, he figured out he could be angry.
Okada didn’t deserve an Angel. Even if he couldn’t talk to anyone, he was convinced this kind of man didn’t deserve to be blessed by receiving an Angel like Nino.
In spite of the prediction of the Oracles, in spite of Okada’s pretending, he couldn’t be his, it was definitely impossible. Maybe it was only an old man’s ranting, who left the tenderness befuddled him.
“What will happen today?” asked Nino raising his arms to let Masaki dress him.
“Today, you will bid farewell to the Orchid Palace.”
“Are you sad, Ma-chan?”
“Of course, a bit, it’s my house after all. But our new house will please me too, I’m sure of it. We’ll be together and the Court is a wonderful place.”
“Did you ever go there?”
“Once or twice.”
“How is it?”
“It’s…bright. Everything is silver and blue, the Empire’s colors, decorated by Eagles. There are a lot of people, always, everywhere; it’s a place which never sleeps. You will hear sounds you never heard.”
Masaki raised his gaze and saw a shadow in the Angel’s look.
“What do you want to know, Nino? Ask, I’ll answer.”
“I was wondering…how is my master? I dreamt about him, you know. You said I’d know that I’d recognize him, that I’d know I was meant to be his, but I can’t imagine him.”
“Ah, General Okada…he’s a handsome man, probably the most seductive of the Galaxy. His gaze is fierce, he’s a warrior. You will like him. You can rest assure.” He chuckled and the Angel laughed.
“Sure.”
“Come with me now, everybody is waiting for you. Look at you, you’re ready.”
Nino stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was dressed in white from head to toe, conferring him an unearthly appearance which fitted him particularly.
He smiled to his friend who didn’t take his eyes off him. The Angel took a last glance at his bedroom and what it contained. He left, abandoning behind him what made his life until now, ready for a new one.
They climbed down the stairs of the Paradise, then the Houses’, walked by the Garden and everywhere an impressive silence reigned.
When he finally reached the entrance of the Palace he saw the entire school facing a podium, set for the occasion. There were the teachers and Usui-sensei who reached out. Kazunari stopped at the foot of the steps, feeling a big knot of sadness obstructing his throat. He glanced at the assembly, all those faces who stared at him with admiration. He recognized some boys from the House and suddenly in his mind popped the image of the one who has been his brother during several years. Was he in here? Nino searched for Satoshi as fast as he could to not bother Usui-sensei.
Perhaps once on the podium…he felt Masaki’s hand pushing him softly to the Great Intendant and he climbed some steps then turned around to face the children.
“Kazunari.”
He heard at his ear.
“Kazunari?”
“Yes, Sensei?”
“Do you remember the day I brought you to the House, I told you one day I’d ask you to sing for me.”
“I do.”
“This day has come, since we’ll never see each other anymore.”
“I…but I will be back, one day.”
“I’d like that, my child, I’d like it so much…now sing for me. Let’s hear the song of an Angel.”
For the children who would never have the chance to leave the House, the only chance for them to hear an Angel was the day of his departure. And it was exceptional.
Kazunari closed his eyes, letting the memories overwhelming him.
From the moment he left his mother, the sweet and soft hand of Usui-sensei who grabbed his to lead him into a world he never dare to dream. He sung his first singing lessons, the pain in his belly when he saw Satoshi’s paint for the very first time, his joy when they intertwined their fingers, his warmth against him, their separation and his meeting with Masaki…and the Angel’s world, the lonely and beautiful world of the Supremes singers.
He opened his eyes and faced Usui-sensei, sang the tears on the old man’s cheeks, the sadness in his eyes, his trembling hands and the fragility he discovered. The last note flew in the silence of the Palace, closing his eyelids again, coming back to him and the present.
They clapped after a long time of stupefaction and Kazunari smiled to those luminous faces who yelled their joy and their pain to see him leaving the palace.
He felt his old friend approaching him and holding his hand.
“Thank you, Kazunari.”
When the Angel took back his hand, he realized he put a ring of wings shaped on his index finger.
“This is the mark of the Angels. Wear it proudly. Follow me now.”
Kazunari observed the silver ring, made for him, and did what he was told, Masaki behind him.
They walked through the huge doors and Nino took a last glance at the school.
The heat-wave struck him strongly. He frowned and faced, in the Palace yard, a sliver and blue ship, just like Masaki told him.
In front of the ship, a bunch of men and women.
At the front, two men.
One with a pride gaze in spite of a swollen and blue eye, the other one with a tender look but terribly determined and manly. Behind them, a man and a woman with similar red and black outfits and at the ship’s door, a heteroclite group bent on a 3-D cart of the system Hiroo.
Kazunari stared at them one after another and smiled happily as he began to walk fast.
He ran to the Commandant Sakurai, cupping his face, diving in his look and whispered slowly with his light, airy voice:
“Masaki told me.”
“I…what?” murmured Sakurai unmoving.
“He told me I’d recognize him immediately, the man of my life…my master.”
5 days early
Sho and Jun met at the feet of their ship. Their mission was quite simple: go to the Orchid Palace, in the system Hiroo and come back with what they would receive. It wasn’t extraordinary, but the order came from Okada himself, and It was a fact known that that man didn’t trust many people.
They used, for the first time, their Commandant and First lieutenant’s stripes, proudly and they walked through the gangways of the military base of Kanda, an unwavering smile adorning their faces.
Kanda was the core of the Galaxy, the planet of the Imperial Court. A luxuriant and rich land, the only one with mountains and torrents, oceans and deserts.
The military base was as huge as a town and a ship was needed to walk around. Sho and Jun had two days prior the departure to plan their travel and meet the crew, even if they knew most of them and their common life as soldiers made the task easier.
They entered the ships warehouse and enjoyed the crowd of mechanics working in a well-organized ballet.
“Commandant. First lieutenant.” Said loudly a man they identified immediately as the Quartermaster of the place.
“You’re here for the jewel?”
“Indeed.” Confirmed Sho, smiling nervously.
“Come with me…I’m gonna show you. What kind of mission?”
“We have to retrieve a package.”
“Really? It should be such a precious package…” he pointed a big cruiser where about ten mechanics were working. “Tamamori, come here!” Yelled the Quartermaster to a young man.
He was covered by grease and wiped his hands on his black overall then greeted the two men. He was very young, but the Quartermaster talked to him respectfully.
“This is the Commandant Sakurai and the First Lieutenant Matsumoto. Tamamori is the Chief mechanic who prepared your ship according the General’s instructions. He will fly with you…Yuta-kun?”
“Hm…let me show you around…” he climbed the gateway and pointed the open door of the ship “Actually, it’s not a simple cruiser, it’s rather a war ship with a cruiser appearance….there is the command post.” Said the young man penetrating a flight crew compartment similar to the Kobayashi Maru one.
“It’s pretty ordinary here, the big difference is rather there.”
He took the first gangway on the right. Jun caught Sho’s gaze and shrugged his shoulders. Until now, the ship didn’t differ from the ones they always knew. Tamamori handed them a magnetic card.
“This is the first particularity. There is a quarter for the guest and the commandment.”
“The guests?!”
“Yeah. This is the exact replica of a suite of the Court. It was the first demand of the General, he designed it himself.”
“So…the package…” began Jun”…isn’t a package.”
“Sounds like…” achieved Sho, perplexed. But it was not the time, nor the place to speculate.
“Keep on, please.”
“Okay, now the below deck.”
They climbed down a steep staircase and landed in a hold surprisingly wide for this kind of ship. The crew quarters had been suppressed to build this warehouse.
“I guess you’re wondering where the crew dormitory is and it’s above. This part has been built for the Eagles. Two eagles. That’s why I won’t switch my place with anyone else…I dreamt to fly with those marvels once in my life at least and with a little bit of luck a pilot will allow me to check the engine out…”
“I’m sure they will.” Said Sho encouragingly.
They exited the warehouse without a word, each of them lost in thoughts.
Once at the mess, they sat at a table.
“What does it means?” Began Jun.
“I’m…how could it put it…puzzled. I have a bad feeling.”
“Yeah, me too, this is a lot. The Kobayashi crew, the two Eagles this…”suite”. What are we going to retrieve?”
“It’s rather ‘who’, don’t you think?”
“Okada’s mistress?”
“Possible and it could explain a lot, indeed. He enlisted a rookie crew, who won’t attract attention, especially Lady Aoi’s.”
Jun grinned.
The very beautiful wife of the General Okada was the Emperor’s sister and say she was crazily jealous was a mere understatement.
Sho ignored if it was a matter of love or a matter of pride, but he already caught her slapping a Lady at the Court who dared to stare at her husband a bit too insistently.
“Do you think he would be crazy enough to take a mistress and welcome her at the Court?» Began the first lieutenant.
“Maybe will he hide her once at Kanda?”
“He better, if that's the case, because he won’t enjoy the girl if he’s not cautious enough…and you?”
“Me, what?” Smirked Sho.
“You, your marriage, your mistresses, your lovers, I don’t know…it’s been a long time since we've talk.”
“And…You miss it or is it just a way for you tell me your love life?”
“More or less…” Smiled Jun stretching his athletic body.
“A marriage?”
“No way! I’m too young to be married. But I heard your family was negotiating with the Duke Horikita?”
“True…for a while now, but nothing is settled.”
“And your love life?”
“Which love life? We already talk about it and I didn’t change my mind. I will marry the woman chosen by my parents, so taking the risk to fall in love, what’s the point?”
“A baron may have a mistress…or a lover.”
“Like my father, you mean? Bringing them at the Court under my mother’s nose to feed the gossips? Not for me…”
“Well, I guess it falls on you without notice. You will be hands and feet tied, like everybody else.”
“Are you talking about yourself?”
“It’s different for me. I’m too fond about women to choose one. Thereon, if you allow me…There’s one at the bar moping all alone, it’s my duty to rescue her.”
“Go on…I go to bed and don’t be late tomorrow. 6AM.”
“All right, Commandant! Good night.”
Sho exited the mess after a last glance at his friend who, nonchalantly, sat on a high chair at the bar close to the woman he targeted.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Drawled Matsumoto without looking at his neighbour.
“I still have one…first Lieutenant Matsumoto.”
Jun checked out the girl and stood speechless when he recognized his childhood sweetheart. He expected to meet her one day or another, but not so early, not here. And especially not to be so breathless. Nothing left of the sweet young girl he remembered. She was a 24 years old woman, sharp and determined, with an ironic gaze but her beauty was stunning. Jun felt like the 15 years old teenager he was once, unable to approach the older girls, too intimidate to be bold.
“Juri…” he said in an undertone.
“Captain Ueno, if you don’t mind.” She took a sip of beer and her coldness woke Jun up.
“I heard you’ll be under my orders.”
“Indeed, General Okada sent me an order of mission.”
“Where were you?”
“System Mita.”
“It’s still the war out there?”
“It is.”
Jun observed her carefully. She avoided his gaze on purpose but seeing the blush on her cheeks, he could feel she was as confused as he was to be so close to her after so many years. It was strange to chat like this….he had often dreamt about it. He often imagined this kind of moment during when he could ask her what happened during their 13th years. But it was too late. Today, they spent almost half of their life in two different worlds and nothing linked them anymore. If he had realized she was the girl at the bar, he would simply have turned tail.
“Does it feel strange?” she murmured suddenly, reading in his mind.
“What? You and me at this bar, talking together? Or you and me on the same ship?” Said Jun bitterly.
“The entire thing.” She turned to face him, a shadow of sadness in the eye.
Jun felt the urge to take her into his embrace to erase those years of misunderstandings and separation.
“Juri…”
“Captain Ueno, Baron Matsumoto.”
What did she want? Blow hot and cold…but what was the purpose? Jun sensed an old anger overwhelming him.
“So that’s it, finally?”
“What?”
“My barony. That’s what bothers you. Because you’re a forest girl? Yet, your squadron isn’t precisely a bunch of commoners…Nishikido, Yokoyama and above all Tadayoshi, all traitors at the Empire but blue-blooded, isn’t it?"
“Traitors?” Hissed the woman incredulously.
“You know what I mean…Their families were against the General Okada during the Secession War!”
“They were loyal to the former Emperor!”
“The former Emperor passed away! They had to give up!”
Juri clenched her fists like she did at the time they were at the Academy and she was bullied.
“May I take my leave, First Lieutenant?” She said blankly, standing up.
“Do you have to meet your ‘friends’?”
“I preserve myself.”
“From what?”
“I don’t wish to be put in fetters because I punched an officer.”
“Is it a threat?”
“May I take my leave, Sir?”
“Don’t be shy…look, I take off my jacket…there’s no more officer here.” Said Jun defiantly turning around her, his First Lieutenant’s stripes on the high chair.
He rolled his shoulders and smiled when she took off her jacket too, keeping her top-tank just like him. A circle of soldiers was formed around them and they began to yell.
“It’s not a good idea…” smiled Juri moving laterally, mirroring Jun.
“I won’t punch you that hard, don’t worry…” Smirked Jun.
“I’m rather worried for you. Will you be popular with girls with a broken nose?”
Jun felt the excitement growing. She sounded determined but above all he had the feeling to be with the little girl who played with him, hundreds of years ago. He didn’t plan to hit her but he wanted to set things right and finally let the anger they felt explode. Lancing the boil to restart from scratches. And he knew she won’t punch him either.
He smirked…then moved back to avoid narrowly the young woman’s fist.
She arched an eyebrow and smiled at him. It was a shot across the bows and he understood she played to win.
He moved into an offensive position as she approached him and under the screams of the crowd tripped her, making her slide on the floor. She fell but dragged him on the floor and he gripped her wrists to tie her down, squeezing strongly as he straddled her. She struggled then gave up, out of breath, staring at Jun who smiled brightly with anger.
“I won.” He said, recovering his breath, leaning on her to come close to her face under the whistles of the soldiers. “Say it.”
“Never.”
“I’ve all the time in the world.”
Juri kept her eyes on him and wriggled under him to escape. Jun suddenly realized the situation and the way his body was reacting to the vigorous friction. He tried to move but the pilot took advantage of the situation, moving her arm to punch him as strong as she could. The Baron fell on the floor and barely saw her grabbing her jacket to leave the place.
The next morning, at 6 AM, he passed the threshold of the warehouse and the crew glanced at his swollen eyes interrogatively.
They introduced themselves and without real surprise found Kanayoshi, Shin and Himoto back. Tamamori, the mechanic they already met was here, like the two pilots of the Eagles, Tadayoshi and Juri. Seeing the man’s smile, Jun figured out she told him the fight and swallow his anger to not create havoc. The mission had begun and their personal fights had to be parenthesized.
The journey went smoothly and naturally, Sho took his place. Jun even saw him joking with Juri and he felt the jealousy bite him. The young woman only talked to him to answer his questions and she skilfully ran away when he had tried to evocate the mess incident. Not to mention the fact that the mechanic, bedazzled by the pilots didn’t leave their side.
When they landed at the Orchid Palace, they replenished supplies for the ship then went to the Palace to meet the person they had to escort. They didn’t know what to expect…but certainly not the person who went out of the Palace.
They moved forward when the Great Intendant came to them, then they saw the young man in white. Sho knew on-the-spot they came for him. Not for a woman, not a mistress, him. His gaze was sweet and luminous and everything was perfection in him. The commandant fell the Earth opening under his feet. And when he ran to him to cup his face, his heart stopped and the world disappeared definitely.
“Masaki told me.”
“I…what?”
“He told me I’d recognize him immediately, the man of my life…my master.”
TBC...
