Fudoumine

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Lady Crysiana

Lys ap Adin

Branch

The stories focusing on Fudoumine and Angel Sanctuary's Michael.

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://www.branchandroot.net/archive/).

"Unexpected Visitors" published on 2005-01-05 13:21:24.

"Parallel" published on 2005-01-05 13:34:08.

"Declarations of War" published on 2005-01-05 15:15:23.

"Secondhand Angels" published on 2005-01-05 16:51:26.

"Green Eyed" published on 2005-01-05 17:34:55.

"Post-Game" published on 2005-01-12 15:01:15.

"Interesting Times" published on 2005-02-02 16:15:29.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on September 6, 2019 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Cover illustration is "Effect of the Butterfly" by Anastasiya Markovich, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anastasiya_Markovich_Effect_of_Butterfly.jpg).

Cover design by Branch.

Unexpected Visitors

Lady Crysiana

Michael encounters Setsuna at Fudoumine. Drama with Humor, I-2

The search for Tachibana led Michael to another set of tennis courts. Michael didn’t really see the attraction in this particular sport, though he understood the need to compete as the underlying principle of sports in general. He was about to walk over to the player called Tachibana when a familiar voice rang out behind him. “Oh, it’s you. Hey, what are you doing here?” Michael turned to eye Setsuna, not without a little surprise.

“I thought all of you left,” Setsuna continued. Despite his words, he was smiling easily, standing in his favorite slouched position. “So what’s up with you being here?”

“Belial is playing with souls, and I don’t want him to get a lot,” Michael replied shortly. He didn’t continue to say that he didn’t want Belial doing anything to benefit his brother in the long run, since Setsuna would assume it, anyway.

“Oh,” said Setsuna. “I’m just here to meet this guy I know, Tachibana Kippei. He’s kind of rough, but an okay guy. Good about protecting his friends.” Setsuna nodded over at Tachibana, who seemed to have noticed them and then dismissed the thought of them to continue practice. “We probably can’t catch him right now – they’re busy working for the nationals.”

Michael frowned. “So you’re friends with the guy Tachibana? Someone suggested that he might need some help.”

“Pfft. Not for his playing,” Setsuna declared, grinning. “Guy’s incredible on the courts. I love to see him kicking ass out there.” Setsuna frowned and shifted. “But yeah, if anything goes wrong with the shot he took to the head, he might need help.”

“Well, I could…” Michael paused, remembering his second’s warning about offering angelic assistance without considering the phrasing. “I could help him out, if that happens. If you really want me to.”

“Sure,” said Setsuna easily. “If you wanna help out a friend.” Setsuna waved to Tachibana again and turned to jog off. “Anyway, catch you later.”

Michael settled on the edge of the courts to wait for practice to end.

Parallel

Lys ap Adin

Michael's offer to Fudoumine. Drama with Humor, I-2

“Are they allowed to do that?” the redhead wondered, after Michael had explained himself to the group of boys.

Michael shrugged. “No rules against demons and humans making contracts,” he said. “Kind of a long tradition behind it, really.”

The guy he was here to visit, Tachibana, seemed as pleased by the news as anything else. “So,” he said. “Yukimura will be playing at Nationals.” He practically glowed with anticipation.

“Yep,” Michael said.

“And you’re here because...?” the girl asked, eyes sharp.

“It’s hardly fair for Hell to go poking their noses into things without one of us investigating,” Michael said. He shrugged. “I’ve been given to understand that Fudoumine might be interested in some help.”

“We aren’t in the habit of looking for help outside our ranks,” Tachibana said, quietly. “Especially when help comes with strings attached.”

Geez, he sounded like Tezuka. Maybe it was something in the water. “I didn’t say there were strings, did I?” Michael retorted. “As it is, I’d be doing the favor for Setsuna as much as for you.”

The guys relaxed somewhat. “You know Setsuna?” the tall one with the bandanna asked.

“Oh yeah. Good guy to have at your back in a fight,” Michael said, grinning. “Look, if you don’t want my help, it’s cool.”

“Nii-san,” the girl said, quietly. “You’re still not fully recovered.” Her smile was sharp. “If Rikkai’s being helped by a demon, it’s only fair that you get a little help from an angel, don’t you think?”

That bit of logic coincided so neatly enough with his own that Michael had to grin. The boy with longish hair had something to say, too. “If we’re going to meet Rikkai at Nationals, you’ll want to be at your full strength,” he murmured, “especially if Yukimura is going to be there...”

The redhead grinned. “It’s almost like poetic justice,” he said, “don’t you think?”

Tachibana considered it. “It does seem appropriate,” he agreed, at length. “Very well; I accept your offer.”

Michael grinned. “You won’t regret it,” he promised, cracking his knuckles. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Declarations of War

Lys ap Adin

Lucifer finally meets Michael at Fudoumine. Drama, I-3

Mere humans shouldn’t be so damned perceptive, Michael had decided, even if they did have some funny bloodlines going for them. It was distressing how well he fit in with the guys of Fudoumine’s tennis team, who didn’t take shit from anyone, and the way Ann had taken to mothering him—well, Raphael would never let him hear the end of it, so Michael had decided that there was no way he was letting word of this get around back home.

He still didn’t see much appeal in the tennis thing itself, though.

It was a real pity that his brother had to have gone and shown up at the Fudoumine courts, though, and spoiled an otherwise pleasant afternoon of hanging out with the guys.

“What do you want?” Michael demanded, glaring. If there had been any justice in the universe, Lucifer would have combusted on the spot, and Belial would’ve gone up right along with him.

“Can’t a man want to visit his own brother?” Lucifer inquired, and if a person squinted, and maybe was half-blind, he might have said Lucifer was smiling pleasantly. “It’s been a while.”

“Not long enough,” Michael growled. He crossed his arms. “What do you really want?”

But they were interrupted before Lucifer had a chance to answer. The guys had stopped practice to look, and Tachibana was headed in their direction—and fuck, Ann was with him. “Michael-kun, who are your guests?” she caroled, looking Lucifer and Belial over.

Lucifer, in turn, was examining Tachibana. “This must be the one,” he remarked to Belial, who nodded, looking speculative.

Tachibana took a position at Michael’s shoulder. “Won’t you introduce us, Michael-kun?” he asked, voice deep and even and very, very territorial.

Belial grinned, and Michael glared at hir. “This,” he said, reluctantly, “is Lucifer, the Lord of Hell.” Well, there was no real use in not acknowledging it. “My brother.”

“You never said you had a brother,” Ann said, with a grin.

“He tries to avoid the topic,” Belial said, smoothly. “You may call one Mad Hatter.” Se looked at Tachibana. “You must be Tachibana-kun.”

“I suppose I must be.” At least Tachibana had the good sense to sound wary. “You have the advantage of me.”

“Seiichi has told me a great deal about you,” Belial purred. “It’s such a pity Mika-chan got to you first.”

Ann shot Michael a look, and mouthed “Mika-chan?” at him. Michael ground his teeth. His brother was going to pay for this, if only he could figure out how.

Then inspiration struck. “Actually,” Michael drawled, trying to match Lucifer’s bored tones, “if you wanna get right down to it, I didn’t get to them first.” When he was sure he had Lucifer’s attention, he grinned. “Setsuna did.”

The effect was every bit as gratifying as Michael could have hoped, and he etched the sight of Lucifer’s face into his memory to treasure. Of course, it did mean that Belial stepped closer to hir master and the atmosphere turned about ten degrees more dangerous, but then, Michael was a dangerous sort of guy himself. “Setsuna,” Lucifer said, finally.

“Mmmmhm,” Michael agreed, savoring the moment. “Really, I’m here as a favor to him.”

Then Tachibana’s hand dropped on his shoulder, the way he did sometimes when Kamio started getting excitable. “I take it you know Setsuna too,” Tachibana said, and immediately the atmosphere lightened somewhat.

Lucifer’s lips quirked. “I have found that Setsuna has a way of getting around.”

“No kidding,” Ann agreed, and Michael blinked, wondering when she had gotten herself part of the way between Belial and himself. “That guy knows everybody.”

Belial laughed. “That is possibly truer than you know.” Se surveyed the courts, where the rest of the guys had given up the pretense of practicing, and were ambling over. “One can see how he would be happy here.”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed, and he had gone back to smooth and untouchable. Well, it had been fun while it had lasted, anyway. “Things seem to be well in hand here.”

“We’re so glad you approve,” Ann said, and while she wasn’t being ungracious about it, she definitely didn’t sound as friendly as she had. She was pretty cool, for a girl, Michael decided.

“One will be looking forward to seeing Fudoumine at Nationals,” Belial murmured, eyes sharp.

Michael stuck his chin out. “Don’t be in too much of a hurry,” he warned. “We’re gonna kick your asses.”

“One looks forward to seeing you try,” Belial said, amiably. “But one trusts you won’t destroy the stadium in a fit of rage when you lose.”

Michael hissed, but Tachibana squeezed his shoulder in warning, and Michael checked his temper somewhat. “Fudoumine looks forward to meeting Rikkai Dai at Nationals,” he said, calmly, and the guys had ranged themselves behind them in support. “Until then, however, we have a great deal of work to do.”

Belial looked to be impressed in spite of hirself, and Lucifer’s laugh rumbled low in his throat. “Our presence is keeping you from that work,” he said. “We’ll be going.”

“And good riddance,” Michael growled.

“And goodbye to you, too, Michael,” Lucifer said, and he and Belial vanished.

Ann let out a long breath. “That,” she said, “was interesting.”

Michael shrugged off Tachibana’s hand. “I fucking hate him,” he complained, to no one in particular.

“Those are Rikkai’s pet demons, huh?” Kamio asked, and when Michael looked over his shoulder at the guys, most of them were wearing thoughtful expressions. “What did they want with us?”

Michael shrugged. “To piss me off,” he said, trying for nonchalant and not quite making it. “Same as always. Sorry he interrupted your practice.”

“Things are certainly more interesting with you around,” Shinji observed, and nudged Kamio. “Come play a set with me.”

Kamio looked to Tachibana, who nodded, and followed Shinji to the courts. After a moment, the doubles pairs followed them, and began their own practice set. Tachibana watched them go and smiled. He glanced at Michael. “We’re strong,” he said. “We’ll definitely win.”

Michael grinned back. “Of course we will.”

Secondhand Angels

Lys ap Adin

Ann discusses older brothers with Michael. Drama, I-3

He should have known Ann was going to come after him at some point the minute his bastard of an older brother had shown up. Well, he had known, to be honest, though he had been avoiding thinking about it.

She gave him a couple of days of space before cornering him while the guys practiced singles (except for Kamio and Ibu, who were double-teaming Tachibana). "So," she said, settling the box of water bottles down on the ground. "'Mika-chan'?" Her grin was sly as she stood.

"I fucking hate being called that," Michael growled.

"I could tell," she said, sounding just like her brother at his driest. "He really pisses you off, huh?"

"Been doing that since we were born," Michael admitted, after a moment. "The bastard." He waited for the inevitable round of questions—and waited, and waited. She didn't ask.

Instead, Ann chuckled. "I think that must be the natural function of older brothers," she said. "Kippei can piss me off just by breathing."

Michael blinked. "He can?"

Ann rolled her eyes at him. "Of course he can. We're siblings, y'know? If we didn't fight like cats and dogs, we wouldn't be normal."

"But—" Michael was having trouble processing the notion, and this was an excellent digression from the topic of his own brother. "You and Tachibana fight?"

"Oh, yeah. Not as much these days, since I think he's growing up on me or something, and it's like trying to pick a fight with the wall, but we manage." Ann waved a hand. "He spends way too much time in the bathroom, fussing with his hair, for one thing."

"He does?" Michael boggled.

"Uh-huh. He's really vain." Ann grinned. "You don't have to tell him I told you that."

"Of course not," Michael managed, still trying to process these revelations.

"And according to him, I spend way too much time on the phone." Ann tossed her head. "Which is silly, but what can you expect from a guy?" There was no way Michael was crazy enough to answer, but Ann fixed him with a piercing stare. "What do you and Lucifer-san fight about, Michael-kun?"

"Everything," he said, automatically.

Ann cast her eyes heavenwards. "Obviously," she said. "So tell me about it."

"We're twins," Michael said, and waited for the usual round of questions. Ann just nodded, so he went on. "And there was this prophecy about us, that one of us was gonna go bad someday. Everyone... thought it was gonna be me."

"That's a nice sort of thing to saddle someone with," Ann muttered. "Why you, and not him?"

Michael snorted. "Look, if you'd known him, you wouldn't have to ask. The bastard was born knowing how to do everything right. Me, I was the fuck-up. It made sense that I'd be the rebel." In any case, it made more sense than the way things had actually turned out.

Ann shook her head. "Mm-mm-mm."

"What?"

"Nothing," she said, still shaking her head back and forth.

"What?" he demanded.

"It's just... That's a really shitty thing to do to a kid," she said. She paused. "I'm not going to get hit by a lightning bolt for saying that, am I?"

Michael had to laugh. "No," he said. "No lightning."

"Then I'll blaspheme to my heart's content." She cocked her head to the side. "You don't really think you're a fuck-up, right?"

Ann had a gift for catching him off-guard, that's for damn sure. "Umm."

"Thought so," she murmured, fixing him with a look—the same look Tachibana tended to give the guys when the goofing off got out of hand. "Don't be such an idiot."

"Fuck, you're bossy," Michael grumbled.

Ann grinned at him. "Dealing with all them, you kinda have to be," she said, and looked out over the tennis courts. "I was kinda mad, at first."

"What?" Michael blinked at this latest change of direction.

"About getting a secondhand angel," she clarified, still studying the guys.

Michael bristled. "Secondhand—"

Ann held up a hand. "Hear me out," she said, and he subsided. "Look, when you came down here, you didn't come to us in order to counter Hatter. You went to Seigaku. They're clearly the favorites to win Nationals, right?"

"They'd already defeated Rikkai," Michael admitted, and left the corollary—that Rikkai had defeated Fudoumine—unspoken.

"Exactly my point," Ann said. "Everyone expects them to go on to win Nationals, I think—in spite of Rikkai's demon." She snorted. "And they had the nerve to turn down angelic assistance and pass it off to us? That's pretty damn insulting, if you ask me."

"Um." Michael was at a loss. "Sorry?"

Ann shrugged. "It's not your fault. It's Seigaku's captain who needs the lesson about not underestimating his opponents." Her grin was sudden, and fierce. "They don't expect us to win. No one expected us to make it out of district preliminaries, even. This being in Nationals thing? Just a fluke, as far as everyone else is concerned."

"That's a lot of hard work, just for a fluke," Michael said, jerking his head at the fierce battles taking place in the practice matches.

"Exactly." Ann's smile turned thin. "If we," she said, her gaze sweeping over the boys and Michael, too, "had any intention of following people's expectations of us... we'd never have gotten anywhere. You know why we don't have a coach, Michael-kun?"

He'd wondered, but hadn't pursued the topic. "No?"

"The boys ran him off," she said, tone dripping with satisfaction. "Used to be that only upperclassmen played tennis around here. Didn't matter how good you were; if you were a freshman, all you did was pick up balls."

"That sucks," Michael said.

"Doesn't it? The guys thought so, too," Ann said. "So they split off, and formed their own team, and when their sempai hassled them, the guys fought back. Now we have the tennis club, and their sempai play other sports."

"...So what happened to the coach?"

"Kippei beat him up," Ann said, matter-of-fact.

"He did?" Michael studied Tachibana. Yeah, okay. He could see that, actually. "Cool."

Ann wasn't done yet. "So when Seigaku gave us a hand-me-down angel, I was pissed off. For one thing, I'd thought Tezuka had more respect for us."

"I think he does respect you," Michael offered.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ann's smile was rueful. "I cooled off eventually. But that's not the point. I was pissed off that he thought we couldn't hack it in Nationals without help."

"Like I've been that much help," Michael scoffed. "You guys were just fine without me."

"Maybe we were," Ann agreed. "But I think we're even better now." She stretched, lacing her hands behind her head. "No one expects anything of us. We're the school no one's ever heard of, the school that's an accident. It's just a matter of time before we drop out of the play-offs, right?"

Michael snorted. "Yeah, right."

"We're going to win." Ann's voice was quiet, and dead serious. "Screw what everybody else thinks of us. To hell with their expectations. Just because they think it doesn't make it true, right?"

"Absolutely," he agreed, grinning.

Ann leaned over and flicked his forehead. "So apply that to yourself, idiot," she said. "Same standards apply to you, as long as you're one of ours."

"One of yours?" Michael repeated, rubbing at the sore spot.

"Aren't you?" Ann's smile was sweet, and utterly devious.

"I thought you didn't want a secondhand angel," he said.

Ann grinned. "What would we do with anything else?" She looked at the courts, where the matches were starting to wrap up. "Looks like they're about done. Here, make yourself useful." She kicked at the box of water bottles, scooting it toward him, scooped up an armload of towels for herself, and trotted off to the guys.

Michael picked up the box and followed after.

... Damn, but he liked these kids.

Green Eyed

Lys ap Adin

Raphael comes looking for Michael and gets a surprise. Drama with Humor, I-2

"Oh, for pity’s sake," Barbiel said, slamming the folder down on Raphael’s desk. "If you miss him that badly, go find him already!" She scowled. "I cannot stand another minute of this moping!"

Raphael blinked, and settled on a response. "I'm not moping," he said.

"Like hell you're not moping," Barbiel grumbled. She pointed at the door. "Out. And don't come back until you two have made up."

"You can't kick me out of my own office," Raphael protested.

Barbiel planted her hands on the desk and leaned over it, until they were nose-to-nose. "Watch me. Out."

Discretion seemed the better part of valor at this point, so he went, and had to admit he was glad for the excuse to go find out what had been keeping Michael out of his hair lately. Not that he had been moping over not having his offices blown up on a regular basis, of course. Where did the woman come up with her ideas? But it wasn't a bad idea to look in on the angel of fire and see what he was up to.

"Not here?" Well, judging from the progress the work crews were making on Michael's palace, it was obvious that Camael wasn't lying, and that Michael hadn't been around for some time. "Where is he?"

Camael seemed as puzzled by Michael's absence as Raphael was, but distinctly grateful for the chance to get some much-needed structural work taken care of. He shrugged. "We think he's been spending his time in Assiah. Shall I let him know you've been looking for him?"

"No need," Raphael said. "I'm sure I'll bump into him sooner or later."

Considering that there were no active wars on at the moment, and no prophecies coming due, there was an insane amount of divine and diabolic activity happening in Assiah, more than could logically be accounted for by the Messiah's presence. Raphael wrinkled his nose and avoided Kanagawa Prefecture entirely—it stank of Belial, and he had no desire to tangle with that one—and settled for tracking Michael's movements across Tokyo.

He very nearly bypassed the first school, figuring it for a fluke, until the boy with glasses looked directly at him, sighed, and inquired, "We're not interested, but thank you anyway." He eyed Raphael. "You might try Hyoutei."

So, not a fluke after all. Raphael studied the boy, who was obviously a seer of some sort—well, the old bloodlines still ran true, sometimes. "I'm not here on business," he said. "I'm looking for an associate."

"I sent Michael to Fudoumine," the boy said promptly. "If you're looking for Lucifer, he was looking for Michael."

Raphael willed his blood not to drain from his face (Tokyo, after all, hadn't gone up in flames yet, so he still had time). "Thank you," he said, and hurried off.

The tennis courts at Fudoumine were tranquil—much more so than he had expected—and when he landed next to Michael with a thump, Raphael wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed by the absence of any cataclysms.

"Raphael." Michael eyed him. "What lit a fire under your ass?"

Raphael shook his wings out, irritably, and furled them away. "Nothing," he said, looking around. "So this is where you've been."

"Yup," Michael said, looking embarrassed.

"Yo, Michael, who's this one?" one of the humans called out.

"Just a guy I work with," Michael said, lazily, waving them back to their game. "Nothing to worry about."

"Ah, so Lucifer has been here after all," Raphael murmured. "And the place is still standing?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Raphael turned to see a young human female watching them. "Mika-chan isn't known for his restraint," he murmured, "and Lucifer has a way of bringing out the worst in him."

"Does he?" She cocked her head. "Michael-kun, are you going to introduce me?"

"You don't wanna know this guy," Michael warned her. She gave him a look. "Fine, fine. This is Raphael, angel of wind and all-around pervert. Raphael, Tachibana Ann."

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, bowing over her hand.

"...Right." Ann didn't seem particularly impressed. "What brings you to Fudoumine, Raphael-san?"

"Curiosity," he said, and looked back to Michael. "Care to explain to me why you're supporting a junior high tennis team?"

Michael opened his mouth, and then closed it. Raphael raised an eyebrow, waiting, and Ann looked back and forth between them, openly curious. Finally Michael lifted his chin and glared at Raphael. "'Cause these guys are cool," he said. "I like them." His expression dared Raphael to say something about it.

Raphael held his peace, out of consideration for the humans present, and pursued a slightly different subject. "Yes, but... tennis?"

Michael shrugged. "Hatter started it, with Rikkai. Seemed like a good idea to counter her."

The logic behind that was purest Michael: Belial was Lucifer's creature, so anything se did was at least tacitly approved by the Lord of Hell. Therefore, countering Belial was really countering Lucifer. "You really are a simple creature," Raphael sighed.

"Never claimed to be anything but," Michael said, calmly. He looked past Raphael, to the tennis courts. "They're looking good today," he observed.

"They are," Ann agreed, sounding pleased. "Demons or not, we're going to give Rikkai hell at Nationals."

And as neatly as that, he had been dismissed. Raphael sniffed, but Michael ignored him in favor of a discussion of a training regimen, and eventually he gave up and left.

"I said we weren't interested." Tezuka looked at Raphael over the rims of his glasses, and it wasn't quite a glare, but it was close.

"I know you did," Raphael said, calmly, "but consider this: Your shoulder, while recovered, is still vulnerable, and in conjunction with the fact that all of your closest rivals now have angelic or demonic support of various kinds, Seishun Gakuen is at a considerable disadvantage. You can try to do this on your own, but there comes a point where pride must give way to practicalities."

"Tezuka, your shoulder—" Oishi began.

"My shoulder is fine," Tezuka snapped.

"It is not." Raphael crossed his arms. "Trust me, I should know. I am Heaven's most renowned physician."

Fuji opened his eyes. "Tezuka." They locked eyes. "None of us will think any less of you for accepting his aid."

Tezuka's mouth thinned to an angry slash, but Echizen spoke before he could. "Buchou. You didn't have a problem sending an angel to Tachibana," he said. "And I know you're looking forward to meeting Yukimura. Why is what's okay for them wrong for you?" He paused for a beat, to let that soak in. "Besides, they deserve to meet you at your best."

Tezuka sucked in a breath, but when he let it out, his mouth had softened. "Well done, Echizen," he murmured. The boy grinned, and adjusted his cap. Tezuka looked back to Raphael, who had observed this byplay with interest. "We accept your offer," he said, slowly, "but only for as much aid as is strictly necessary." His team let out its collective breath in relief, and Tezuka swept his gaze over them. "Back to practice, all of you."

They grinned at him and dispersed, Momoshiro lifting Echizen's cap in order to ruffle his hair as they went.

"I have to admit," Raphael said, after they had gone, "I didn't think you would accept my offer."

Tezuka was quiet for a long moment before replying. "I would rather not have," he said, finally. "But... to be able to play, all-out, against Yukimura, and Tachibana, and Atobe, without lingering fears..." His smile was quick, gone as quickly as it had come. "It is very compelling."

"So I see," Raphael said. He reached out, probing Tezuka's shoulder, and made a face. "If you had gone ahead without me, you would have ruined this. It's just as well that I came back here."

Tezuka snorted. "I had wondered about that. You seem more Hyoutei's type."

"Quite possibly I am, but I detest Sakaki Tarou and his artistic pretensions," Raphael explained, sending a bit of power through the joint. "There."

Tezuka rotated his shoulder. "Ah. Better. Thank you." He picked up his racquet, ready to head to practice, but stopped. "Raphael-san. A question?" Raphael inclined his head. "Why are your people getting involved?"

"I can't speak for the demons, but as far as the angels..." Raphael shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you it goes back to sibling rivalry?"

"I might, but that still doesn't explain your presence," Tezuka murmured.

Raphael smiled, and gave the most honest reason he was willing own up to having. "I'm trying to piss Mika-chan off."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow, but let the matter drop, and moved off to join his teammates at practice.

Raphael laced his hands behind his head and contemplated the summer sky. It was, he decided, a beautiful day.

Post-Game

Branch

Michael taunts Belial about winning and Lucifer gets involved. Drama, I-3

"Hah!" Michael took his opportunity, as the teams filtered past each other on the way out of the stadium, to taunt Mad Hatter. "Told you we'd kick your asses."

Ryouma stopped to watch, Fuji-senpai and his brother pausing beside him.

Hatter looked Michael up and down with a glint in his eye. "Technically, in fact, you have not."

"Hiding behind technicalities, now, huh?" Michael was obviously enjoying himself a great deal. Tachibana-san was rubbing his forehead, though his small smile said he wasn't as exasperated as he tried to sound.

"Michael-kun..."

"What?" Michael grinned. "It's true."

Hatter flexed fingers that were suddenly full of... playing cards? Ryouma frowned, puzzled. Yukimura-san, though, made a fast snatch for Hatter's wrist. Hatter gave him a deeply disappointed look.

Yukimura-san shook his head. "I'm pleased with the performance of my team, Hatter-san. If the results don't entirely satisfy us, then we'll have to make sure they come out differently next time. It's well."

Hatter sighed, and the cards vanished. Ryouma was really starting to wonder how he did that.

Michael's brows were nearly in his hair. "Never thought I'd see the day you had two masters, Hatter."

One corner of Hatter's mouth lifted in something that was not a smile, and he turned slowly back to face Michael.

"I wouldn't borrow too heavily on reflected glory if I were you, Michael," Lucifer said from behind the smirking angel.

Michael whirled with a snarl. "You looking for another fight right now?!"

Lucifer lifted a brow, the curl of his mouth far more amused than Hatter's had been. "If you like. Little brother." Four black wings swept open behind him.

Ryouma sighed. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Lucifer to take his advice. Oh, well.

Michael tensed up even more, and his wings unfolded, too. Fire licked around him.

"How... tense. Brothers, hm?" Fuji-senpai stirred beside him, looking speculatively at the two. His step forward, however, was checked by Yuuta's very tight grip on his arm.

"Aniki, you're not allowed to get yourself killed before I beat you at tennis," Yuuta stated, not taking his eyes off Lucifer and Michael. "So don't suggest what you're about to suggest, okay?"

"You have to admit, it works," Fuji-senpai said, reasonably. But also quietly.

It looked like they had noticed anyway. Lucifer looked from Fuji-senpai and Yuuta back to Michael, and laughed softly.

Michael's jaw dropped. "You... what... what the fuck?!"

"Hm." Lucifer took a long step towards him and cupped the side of Michael's face with one hand.

Michael vanished in a skyward flash of wings and sputtered swearing. Lucifer calmly folded his wings back in.

"Excellent suggestion," he murmured, glancing sidelong at Fuji-senpai. "I can see why you like this one, butterfly."

Hatter smirked, leaning against Yukimura-san, and Fuji-senpai looked like he was considering whether to take that as a compliment or not. Tachibana-san, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and was looking disapproving.

"That was unnecessary, Lucifer-san," he said, quietly.

Lucifer tilted his head, examining Fudoumine's captain. "Perhaps. But if he truly wanted to fight me again, he could have done it by now." He turned and walked away, merging into the crowd just as a blond man and woman fought their way out of it to congratulate Tachibana.

Ryouma shook his head, sparing a moment to be glad Seigaku's angel didn't have as many Issues as the rest of them. Maybe he should add some psychologists to The Plan.

End

Interesting Times

Branch

Kurikara and Michael hit it off. Drama with Humor, I-2

Kippei really did hope that at some point his days would become less interesting.

"So, lemme get this straight." The short, glowering redhead who had appeared on his courts put his hands on his hips. "You summoned me to deal with him?" He waved a hand at Michael, who was also glowering, dividing his attention between the newcomer and Lucifer.

Lucifer, having set his brother off in the first place, with no regard for visiting shinigami, lounged on the sidelines watching the show.

The younger of St. Rudolph's two guardians glared right back. "Who else were we supposed to summon for something like this, Kurikara?" he snapped. "Suzaku? She'd make it twice as bad. Souryuu? Give me a break!"

Kurikara paused judiciously. "Well, all right, you might have a point. Though it could be kind of funny watching the cold fish deal with this."

"Why are you in that form, though? You should have two wings in this world, not two legs," Tsuzuki cut hurriedly over whatever his partner had been drawing breath to say, for which Kippei was grateful; he hadn't noticed Kurosaki being very moderate in his temper at the best of times.

Kurikara gave him a withering look. "Between them," he gestured to Michael and Lucifer, "and your knee-jerk habit of casting wards at the first sign of trouble we're not precisely standing in Ningenkai, if you haven't noticed."

Tsuzuki blinked. "Oh."

Kurikara slapped a hand over eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he growled, and then paused, glancing at Kurosaki. "Okay, not complete idiots, a complete idiot really would have called in Suzaku and the whole city would be burning." He eyed Michael, and the scorch marks from where he'd lost his temper at Lucifer's arrival. "You remind me of her, some."

While Michael was deciding how to take that, Lucifer stirred from his slouch against the fence. Kippei braced himself for a new round of explosions. Lucifer's tone, however, was academic when he spoke.

"Of course he does. We are, after all, reflections of each other in our different planes." Lucifer pushed himself upright, and paced across the court, not to Michael, but to Tsuzuki. Kippei settled back, watchfully. Lucifer took the man's chin in his fingers, holding him still for a searching examination. Just when Tsuzuki was starting to look tense and Kurosaki was looking as incendiary as Michael, Lucifer let him go. "You have some of the same heart as the Messiah," he said, "but your power is broken. A shame, that. If you were whole you might be able to free your little human with your own strength." He didn't wait for an answer before turning away, which, to Kippei's eye, was a good thing. Tsuzuki looked stunned.

"Enjoy yourself, Michael," Lucifer told his brother as he walked away from them all. "Try not to destroy the entire world."

Michael's jaw dropped, and Kippei sighed. He'd known it was coming.

"Try not... world... you... You asshole!" he howled at Lucifer's departing back. "I'm not the one who tried, even if it didn't work!" Fire was snapping around him again.

"Michael-kun," Kippei said, firmly.

Michael swung around. "What?!" Kippei waited, and after a moment Michael deflated a little, and the flames faded. "Sorry," he muttered.

Kippei, now that he wouldn't be singed, clasped Michael's shoulder, hoping to lend him some calm.

Kurikara gazed after Lucifer. "So," he remarked, "that was the Lord of Hell, hm?" He looked contemplative for a moment before he snorted. "What a jerk."

Michael stopped brooding and turned a brilliant smile on him. "I like him," he declared to the court at large. "What was your name again?"

"Kurikara, RyuuOu."

"Michael, Angel of Fire. Pleased to meet you."

Looking at the two of them grinning at each other over clasped hands Kippei couldn't help thinking, though he was careful not to say, that Lucifer really did know his brother pretty well. Michael probably would enjoy himself with Kurikara. He turned back to his other guests, only to find Kurosaki looking at him intently.

"Tsuzuki, I really don't think we should interfere here," Kurosaki said.

"We know this team is picking up some serious influences from Michael, though," Tsuzuki objected. "That's going to mess up the bookkeeping, and they always blame us for that."

"They'll live," Kurosaki replied bluntly. "I'll speak to Tatsumi-san, if there's trouble. As long as Tachibana-san is here, it will be all right. We shouldn't interfere."

"Oh?" Tsuzuki's glance at Kippei was suddenly more measuring. "Oh. Well, in that case..." He was interrupted by the increasing volume of Michael and Kurikara's discussion.

"...you got to toast him yourself?" Michael was exclaiming, gleefully. "Awesome! I was on the other side of the building when Setsuna and Ani-ue were killing God; I was so pissed off."

"It was great to finally get my claws around the Emperor's neck," Kurikara agreed, with a look that would have been beatific with fewer sharp teeth. "It was almost as much fun as pounding Souryuu into the ground like a tent peg when I finally got loose again."

Michael looked enthralled. Kippei sighed. He could have wished for Michael to acquire a calmer friend, but at least Kurikara seemed to have decent control of his temper. A muffled chuckle from Kurosaki brought his attention back to the shinigami. Kurosaki was regarding him with the kind of sympathetic amusement that suggested he had just heard Kippei volunteer to babysit his neighborhood's greatest brat.

"I wouldn't have your job if they paid me," Kurosaki said. "Good luck. Come on Tsuzuki."

"Um." Tsuzuki glanced at Kurikara.

Kurikara glanced back and waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah. So, Michael, I'm really not supposed to stay in this plane without anything to do, and as soon as Tsuzuki takes back his wards I'm going to be a really big flaming dragon anyway. Wanna come back to Gensoukai with me?"

"Sure," Michael agreed, and then paused and looked at Kippei.

Kippei smiled at him; Michael still needed a good deal of reassurance. "We'll still be around when you get back, Michael-kun."

Michael looked away and shrugged. "Of course."

Kurikara gave him a wry look, winked at Kippei, and threw an arm over Michael's shoulders. "Let's go then! Beer and stories!" They both vanished in a flicker of fire.

Kippei shook his head at the space where Michael had been. Someday, maybe, his life would stop being quite so strange, but he wasn't betting on it.

End