\n"Oh, for pity’s sake," Barbiel said, slamming the folder down
\non Raphael’s desk. "If you miss him that badly, go find him already!"
\nShe scowled. "I cannot stand another minute of this moping!"<\/p>\n
\nRaphael blinked, and settled on a response. "I’m not moping," he said.<\/p>\n
\n"Like hell you’re not moping," Barbiel grumbled. She pointed at the
\ndoor. "Out. And don’t come back until you two have made up."<\/p>\n
\n"You can’t kick me out of my own office," Raphael protested. <\/p>\n
\nBarbiel planted her hands on the desk and leaned over it, until they were nose-to-nose.
\n"Watch me. Out."<\/p>\n
\nDiscretion seemed the better part of valor at this point, so he went, and had
\nto admit he was glad for the excuse to go find out what had been keeping Michael
\nout of his hair lately. Not that he had been moping over not having his offices
\nblown up on a regular basis, of course. Where did the woman come up with her ideas?
\nBut it wasn’t a bad idea to look in on the angel of fire and see what he was up
\nto.<\/p>\n
"Not here?" Well, judging from the progress the work crews were making
\non Michael’s palace, it was obvious that Camael wasn’t lying, and that Michael
\nhadn’t been around for some time. "Where is he?"<\/p>\n
\nCamael seemed as puzzled by Michael’s absence as Raphael was, but distinctly grateful
\nfor the chance to get some much-needed structural work taken care of. He shrugged.
\n"We think he’s been spending his time in Assiah. Shall I let him know you’ve
\nbeen looking for him?"<\/p>\n
\n"No need," Raphael said. "I’m sure I’ll bump into him sooner or
\nlater."<\/p>\n
\nConsidering that there were no active wars on at the moment, and no prophecies
\ncoming due, there was an insane amount of divine and diabolic activity happening
\nin Assiah, more than could logically be accounted for by the Messiah’s presence.
\nRaphael wrinkled his nose and avoided Kanagawa Prefecture entirely—it stank of
\nBelial, and he had no desire to tangle with that one—and settled for tracking
\nMichael’s movements across Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\nHe very nearly bypassed the first school, figuring it for a fluke, until the boy
\nwith glasses looked directly at him, sighed, and inquired, "We’re not interested,
\nbut thank you anyway." He eyed Raphael. "You might try Hyoutei."<\/p>\n
\nSo, not a fluke after all. Raphael studied the boy, who was obviously a seer of
\nsome sort—well, the old bloodlines still ran true, sometimes. "I’m not here
\non business," he said. "I’m looking for an associate."<\/p>\n
\n"I sent Michael to Fudoumine," the boy said promptly. "If you’re
\nlooking for Lucifer, he was looking for Michael."<\/p>\n
\nRaphael willed his blood not to drain from his face (Tokyo, after all, hadn’t
\ngone up in flames yet, so he still had time). "Thank you," he said,
\nand hurried off.<\/p>\n
\nThe tennis courts at Fudoumine were tranquil—much more so than he had expected—and
\nwhen he landed next to Michael with a thump, Raphael wasn’t sure whether to be
\nrelieved or annoyed by the absence of any cataclysms.<\/p>\n
\n"Raphael." Michael eyed him. "What lit a fire under your ass?"<\/p>\n
\nRaphael shook his wings out, irritably, and furled them away. "Nothing,"
\nhe said, looking around. "So this is where you’ve been."<\/p>\n
\n"Yup," Michael said, looking embarrassed.<\/p>\n
\n"Yo, Michael, who’s this one?" one of the humans called out.<\/p>\n
\n"Just a guy I work with," Michael said, lazily, waving them back to
\ntheir game. "Nothing to worry about."<\/p>\n
\n"Ah, so Lucifer has been here after all," Raphael murmured. "And
\nthe place is still standing?"<\/p>\n
\n"Why wouldn’t it be?" <\/p>\n
\nRaphael turned to see a young human female watching them. "Mika-chan isn’t
\nknown for his restraint," he murmured, "and Lucifer has a way of bringing
\nout the worst in him."<\/p>\n
\n"Does he?" She cocked her head. "Michael-kun, are you going to
\nintroduce me?"<\/p>\n
\n"You don’t wanna know this guy," Michael warned her. She gave him a
\nlook. "Fine, fine. This is Raphael, angel of wind and all-around pervert.
\nRaphael, Tachibana Ann."<\/p>\n
\n"A pleasure to meet you," he said, bowing over her hand.<\/p>\n
\n"…Right." Ann didn’t seem particularly impressed. "What brings
\nyou to Fudoumine, Raphael-san?"<\/p>\n
\n"Curiosity," he said, and looked back to Michael. "Care to explain
\nto me why you’re supporting a junior high tennis team?"<\/p>\n
\nMichael opened his mouth, and then closed it. Raphael raised an eyebrow, waiting,
\nand Ann looked back and forth between them, openly curious. Finally Michael lifted
\nhis chin and glared at Raphael. "’Cause these guys are cool," he said.
\n"I like them." His expression dared Raphael to say something about it.<\/p>\n
\nRaphael held his peace, out of consideration for the humans present, and pursued
\na slightly different subject. "Yes, but… tennis?"<\/p>\n
\nMichael shrugged. "Hatter started it, with Rikkai. Seemed like a good idea
\nto counter her."<\/p>\n
\nThe logic behind that was purest Michael: Belial was Lucifer’s creature, so anything
\nse did was at least tacitly approved by the Lord of Hell. Therefore, countering
\nBelial was really countering Lucifer. "You really are a simple creature,"
\nRaphael sighed. <\/p>\n
\n"Never claimed to be anything but," Michael said, calmly. He looked
\npast Raphael, to the tennis courts. "They’re looking good today," he
\nobserved.<\/p>\n
\n"They are," Ann agreed, sounding pleased. "Demons or not, we’re
\ngoing to give Rikkai hell at Nationals."<\/p>\n
\nAnd as neatly as that, he had been dismissed. Raphael sniffed, but Michael ignored
\nhim in favor of a discussion of a training regimen, and eventually he gave up
\nand left.<\/p>\n
"I said we weren’t interested." Tezuka looked at Raphael over the
\n rims of his glasses, and it wasn’t quite a glare, but it was close.<\/p>\n
\n"I know you did," Raphael said, calmly, "but consider this: Your
\nshoulder, while recovered, is still vulnerable, and in conjunction with the fact
\nthat all of your closest rivals now have angelic or demonic support of various
\nkinds, Seishun Gakuen is at a considerable disadvantage. You can try to do this
\non your own, but there comes a point where pride must give way to practicalities."<\/p>\n
\n"Tezuka, your shoulder—" Oishi began.<\/p>\n
\n"My shoulder is fine," Tezuka snapped.<\/p>\n
\n"It is not." Raphael crossed his arms. "Trust me, I should know.
\nI am Heaven’s most renowned physician."<\/p>\n
\nFuji opened his eyes. "Tezuka." They locked eyes. "None of us will
\nthink any less of you for accepting his aid."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka’s mouth thinned to an angry slash, but Echizen spoke before he could. "Buchou.
\nYou didn’t have a problem sending an angel to Tachibana," he said. "And
\nI know you’re looking forward to meeting Yukimura. Why is what’s okay for them
\nwrong for you?" He paused for a beat, to let that soak in. "Besides,
\nthey deserve to meet you at your best."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka sucked in a breath, but when he let it out, his mouth had softened. "Well
\ndone, Echizen," he murmured. The boy grinned, and adjusted his cap. Tezuka
\nlooked back to Raphael, who had observed this byplay with interest. "We accept
\nyour offer," he said, slowly, "but only for as much aid as is strictly
\nnecessary." His team let out its collective breath in relief, and Tezuka
\nswept his gaze over them. "Back to practice, all of you."<\/p>\n
\nThey grinned at him and dispersed, Momoshiro lifting Echizen’s cap in order to
\nruffle his hair as they went.<\/p>\n
\n"I have to admit," Raphael said, after they had gone, "I didn’t
\nthink you would accept my offer."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka was quiet for a long moment before replying. "I would rather not have,"
\nhe said, finally. "But… to be able to play, all-out, against Yukimura,
\nand Tachibana, and Atobe, without lingering fears…" His smile was quick,
\ngone as quickly as it had come. "It is very compelling." <\/p>\n
\n"So I see," Raphael said. He reached out, probing Tezuka’s shoulder,
\nand made a face. "If you had gone ahead without me, you would have ruined
\nthis. It’s just as well that I came back here."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka snorted. "I had wondered about that. You seem more Hyoutei’s type."<\/p>\n
\n"Quite possibly I am, but I detest Sakaki Tarou and his artistic pretensions,"
\nRaphael explained, sending a bit of power through the joint. "There."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka rotated his shoulder. "Ah. Better. Thank you." He picked up his
\nracquet, ready to head to practice, but stopped. "Raphael-san. A question?"
\nRaphael inclined his head. "Why are your people getting involved?"<\/p>\n
\n"I can’t speak for the demons, but as far as the angels…" Raphael
\nshrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you it goes back to sibling rivalry?"<\/p>\n
\n"I might, but that still doesn’t explain your presence," Tezuka murmured.\n<\/p>\n
\nRaphael smiled, and gave the most honest reason he was willing own up to having.
\n"I’m trying to piss Mika-chan off."<\/p>\n
\nTezuka raised an eyebrow, but let the matter drop, and moved off to join his teammates
\nat practice.<\/p>\n
\nRaphael laced his hands behind his head and contemplated the summer sky. It was,
\nhe decided, a beautiful day.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Raphael comes looking for Michael and gets a surprise.