Ch 2: Tales of the Angel and the Demon - Pt 1: Forbidden Friendship

Many years ago, there was a little Angel girl who had always been a misfit. From an early age, Angels were taught that Demons were their sworn enemies since the beginning of time. The curious child never understood why the world was this way, and she never received a satisfactory explanation. In her innocent mind, she truly believed everyone could get along if they tried. How come no one else questioned this? Had anyone even attempted to talk with a Demon and have a proper conversation?

As the daughter of an Archangel who commanded a sizeable portion of the Angel's forces, the girl's inquisitive nature and her constant challenging of a reality that had always been accepted blindly caused trouble for her father. The other Archangels frequented her family's manor. These Angels of authority openly expressed their misgivings about their companion's daughter and treated her coldly.

One day, the girl overheard the men discussing plans to invade a Demon town. Being the pacifist she was, she barged in and pleaded that they change their minds, emphasizing that the Demon's in that town had not done anything wrong. Her father's superior stood and slapped the poor ten-year-old Angel across her face and angrily asserted that the crime they had committed was simply existing.

Hearing the commotion, the girl's mother rushed in and ushered her daughter out. After holding a cool cloth to her face, the woman asked the child if she could leave the men to their business. Handing her daughter a white sunhat with the blue bow, the mother offered a change of scenery. She suggested getting some fresh air and taking a walk in the garden. The little Angel obeyed and quietly accepted the hat, and her mother escorted her to the door.

The girl was admiring the myriad of colors in the rose garden when she heard a noise like the cracking of a tree branch. She peered around the rose bed and slowly made her way toward the back of the garden where the bonsai, the only tree in the garden, had been planted. Just before she completed her search, she heard a voice cry out from the forest behind her.

The girl walked up to the fence and tried to peek through the framework with her hands holding two of the upright bars. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

There was no response, but the ever-curious Angel was certain what she had heard. After taking a double take to make sure no one was watching, she proceeded to climb over the fence and investigate the source herself. After walking along a natural path for a few minutes, she spotted an injured boy with pitch-black hair under a lone cherry blossom.

"Oh, no! You're hurt!" The Angel ran up to the boy in a hurry.

Upon her arrival at his side, she knelt down to inspect the wound. The boy's leg was gashed so deeply she could see that his shin had splintered. "Oh, my! Please let me help you."

The girl reached out her hand and held it over the opening in the boy's leg. The silent boy swiftly smacked her hand away, and he tried to pull himself across the ground. All this time, he had refused to face her. Not accepting no for an answer, the Angel squeezed his broken leg.

"Ahhh! What do you think you are doing?!" The boy finally turned his head in response to the agonizing pain.

The girl's grip on his leg loosened at the sight of his face. She had been completely captivated by the color of his eyes. They were a red she had never seen before. As red as a ruby.

The boy's exasperation subsided at the sight before him. The gentle breeze was blowing the girl's golden hair and stirring pink petals that appeared to be floating around her. The sapphire eyes looking into his were sparkling.

With his guard down, the Angel closed the cut in the boy's leg with her healing magic. She then braced the break with some sturdy sticks and a piece of her white dress she had torn off to use as a wrap.

The boy had been watching in awe before he looked back up at the stranger. "Thank you... Um..."

"Miyo. My name is Miyo." Miyo smiled brightly at the boy, and once again, he was in awe. She then tilted her head, wondering why she did not receive a response. "So, what's your name?"

Shyly, the boy averted his gaze. He struggled to sit back up against the cherry blossom and calm his nerves. "Right. Um... I'm Hakuma."

"Nice to meet you, Hakuma!" Miyo offered her hand.

Hakuma slowly reached for the fragile fingers. To his surprise, Miyo swiftly pulled him right up to his feet. He panicked for a moment and braced himself for the shooting pain that never came.

"See? All better! You can walk now, right?" A playful smile greeted Hakuma when he steadied himself and looked back up.

"Um... I think so... Thanks again, but..." Hakuma's voice drifted off.

The boy's hesitance once again piqued the interest of the curious Angel. "Hmm? What's the matter, Hakuma?"

"Why..."

"Why?"

"Why are you helping me? I mean, you must have realized when you saw my face..." Hakuma's expression became forlorn as though what he was trying to say was going to ruin the moment. It had been quite some time since he was able to talk with someone around his own age.

Still naive to the complexities of the world, Miyo cocked her head the other way. "Realized what?"

The boy's saddened eyes widened with shock, but when he saw how serious this girl was, he squinted at her in disbelief. "Wait. You mean you really don't know?"

Miyo looked up at the cherry blossom and scratched the side of her head under her ear. She hummed a little and looked back at Hakuma, who was still staring at her intently. "Oh! You mean how pretty your eyes are?"

"What?! No! Not that!" Hakuma could feel his face heating up from blushing and took a deep breath to calm down. "Have you seen anyone with red eyes before?"

Miyo shook her head. "No, but that's what makes them so special. Don't you think so?"

"I wish it was as simple as that..." Hakuma lowered his head, looking at the splint on his leg. "But where I come from, almost all of us have red eyes."

After a short pause, Hakuma let out a defeated sigh. "Haaah... I would probably be better off keeping this to myself, but you seem harmless." Hakuma met Miyo's eyes again, and his voice grew serious. "I'm a Demon. That's why my eyes are red."

Miyo's eyes lit up, and she held her fists up in front of her chest. "Really?! That's so cool!"

Unable to escape the series of shock and awe, Hakuma was losing his grip on any composure he had left. "C-c-cool?!"

"Yeah! I've always wanted to meet a Demon!"

"You have?! But--! But we are enemies! Are you crazy?!"

Miyo turned her head to the side and waved her hand like she was shooing a bug. "Oh, I don't believe in any of that mumbo jumbo." She placed her hands against the center of her chest with a sincere smile. "I believe in my heart that we could all be friends if we tried."

Hakuma squinted at her again. "I don't even have to ask -- I can tell you are serious about this."

Miyo held her arms open and smiled a softer smile than the ones she previously shared. One that somehow seemed pained. "So, what do you say? Will you be my friend?"

Hakuma, unsure of what to make of this unusual Angel, stared silently with his mouth slightly opened. He could not believe what he was hearing. An Angel girl wanting to be friends with a Demon boy? The thought of it filled his body with a new sensation. One of immense warmth. Although it was against everything he knew, this was a relationship he did not want to give up on. "Okay. Let's do it."

Still standing with her arms wide, Miyo's smile perked up. "Then come here and we'll make it official!"

"Come? But I'm right here?"

"Closer silly!" Tired of waiting, Miyo jumped into Hakuma and hugged him herself. After a moment of hesitation, Hakuma slowly put his arms around the delicate body of the Angel before him and rested his cheek in her soft hair.