The sun rose behind the mountains, its rays raining down over New WaterSlum and bathing it in a golden glow. School buses and cars revved to life, leaving homes and parking lots to quickly fill the roads. Kids tiredly exit their houses, moving sluggishly towards their bus stops.
A mail man rode by, gripping a newspaper from his satchel and tossing it at the Yamishito Residence door. Before making contact, Takabi opened the door and caught it without effort, shutting the door behind him and locking it. His feet carried him down the steps, both Shine and Frannie's voices greeting him loudly.
"Have a good day at work," They yelled from the windows.
He turned back to them, flashing a faint smile before getting into his car and starting it up. His eyes flashed to the rearview mirror. Nana's car came speeding around the corner, with Jewel not too far behind her. Both girls skid to a stop to block off the driveway, stepping out of their rides and rushing towards the door. They stopped once they spotted Takabi in his car, and frantically hurried over to drag him out.
Thankfully he locked his door already. Slowly, he lowered the window and asked, "What the hell is wrong with you two?"
"Inside! Now!" Their voices came out collectively. Both were sweating, wide eyed and exhausted.
Takabi slowly shut his car off, stepping out from the driver's side and looking back. He noticed another presence but each time he wanted to address it, it slipped from his mind.
It was as if the simple concept of whoever it was had too much weight to settle in his mind. As they made their way back inside, Shine came downstairs. Her pajama shirt was unbuttoned a bit at the top, and dark hair wild in the air. "What's going on?"
"Table. Please." Nana stepped into the kitchen.
Takabi kept glancing over his shoulder, finding nothing to greet his eyes in the emptiness of his yard. His eyebrows rose and he scratched the back of his neck, before closing the door behind him and looking forward. "What's going on? Where'd you go last night?"
Jewel grabbed his shoulders. "Please. Shut up and sit down. You'll want to."
He followed her instructions. As confused as he was, he had no reason to doubt anything so far.
Nana shut all the blinds in the house, even the ones in the upstairs rooms. Coming back down, Jewel shut any light switches off, and produced a candle from the cupboard under the sink in the kitchen. Placing the tips of her fingers against the loose string, she muttered a single word. "Ignite."
Orange fire burst to life at the candle top. She placed it in the middle of the table, exchanging a glance with Nana before looking at Takabi and Shine. Frannie slowly crept down the staircase, hidden from sight.
"So… A lot happened while we were gone. Like, a lot more than we thought would. Two years was too long for us to stay quiet."
Takabi lowered his gaze, slowly standing. "So that's what this is about. Sorry, but I'm going."
"Excuse me," Nana chirped. She moved in front of him, blocking his way towards the door and jabbed her finger into his chest. "You're not going anywhere."
"Nana, you know I want nothing to do with this life anymore. I left the Mystics for a reason." His voice was small. The regressed tone and strength in his words tugged at Nana's heart. She could see how broken he was, how much he disapproved of fighting again.
She didn't want to force him, but she also knew they couldn't do it without him. With what she knew, and was about to say, not having him on the front lines would be the biggest and best way to doom them all. "Takabi, please. Hear us out."
"Yes, please, My Son."
Once the voice registered in his ears, he moved his eyes from Nana to the old man behind her. He had been leaning against the front door once he came into view.
"Who's that," He asked pointing.
Nana placed a gentle hand on his arm and lowered it. Frannie watched the man closely, her fingers curling around the bars of the staircase. With her free hand, she closed her robe tighter, as she was dressed in a rather revealing nightgown underneath.
The man raised his palm to the group. "Joseph. Pleased to meet the fabled Yamishito. Haven't seen one as tenacious as you in a long while."
Takabi narrowed his eyes. He was on full alert.
When did this guy get here? Is that why these two are acting so weird?
"Fortunately yes," He said suddenly. "Being in my presence seems to have shaken their usual calm natures."
Takabi's eyes widen, flames roaring to life around him. "You read my thoughts?!"
"I can do much more than that. Do you need a display?"
Takabi grit his teeth, feeling the steam rise from his fangs. Slowly, his body relaxed and shoulders slumped. "No. I'm not part of this anymore."
Joseph stood straight up, stepping towards him. "I can feel it. You've resigned in your heart and given up. Fallen Angels can be such emotional creatures, but you seem to be a special case. You haven't been as numb as you have been growing up, and you're more sensitive lately." He touched his shoulder.
The contact sent a jolt through Takabi's being. The darkness of his soul lurching and gagging, crying out in pain at the man's hand. "I wonder why that is. I recall watching you shrug death aside. There were moments when you've had overwhelming guilt, but now, it seems to be truly eating away at you." He produced a small flask from his dirty jacket, opening the cap. "Remember Jonathan?"
"Who's Jonathan," Frannie asked suddenly. Her voice drew everyone's eyes to her for a moment, then back to Takabi and Joseph.
Takabi turned his head away. "The boy from the orphanage. That was his name."
"You took his life, a sin I would judge many for harshly. However, I foresaw your importance, and twisted some things so you wouldn't have to worry. Case in point, how you weren't jailed and prosecuted."
"You twisted things," He asked, locking eyes with Joseph. "Don't say things like that. It makes it hard not to hit you."
Jewel's eyes went wide. "Takabi, No! That's a big NO!"
He looked back at her. "Oh yeah? Why? All I see is a magical bum spewing a bunch of bullshit." He glanced back at Joseph. "How about you tell me something only I would know? Or something I don't know that's true."
Joseph looked at Nana. She questioned why until she felt a sudden twist in her stomach and heart. "No… Not that."
"I seem to recall you telling me we do what we must on the way here. I can sense it, and certainly see it. If he knows what happened, he'll follow without question."
"Something happened," Takabi asked, looking at Nana.
Shine crossed her arms. Jewel avoided eye contact with him and Frannie moved a bit further up the steps. The air grew incredibly thick with tension.
"Nana, what's he talking about?"
She bit her lip and kept her head down.
"Nana," He said a bit more sternly.
She shook her head, palms gripping her pants tightly to the point her knuckles turned white.
"If you don't speak, I will."
"You can't!" Her voice came out strong, but cracked towards the end. Her eyes were full of tears that spilled down her face. "Anything but that! I know he's important, but I can't hurt him just to have him help us!"
Joseph sighed, drinking from his flask quickly before stating, "You already have. He just doesn't know it."
"Can someone clue me in?"
Nana locked eyes with Joseph, anger building through her tears. "I can't… I can't tell him."
"Then I shall," He said, flask vanishing from his hand. Nana looked away, shutting her eyes and ears. "Nana had a moment of weak faith last night."
"Weak…" His eyes went wide and his heart stopped. Slowly, he looked at the back of her head. "What the hell is he talking about?"
"I don't know if this will justify it in your mind, but she drank a little heavily last night. In her drunken state, she assumed you were there with her to help her to the car." He touched his lips. "I regret to inform you, my Son, but Nana shared a kiss with another gentleman."
His hands grew clammy. The gentle breaths he had been taking became short and shallow. Gripping his shirt, he eyed Nana up and down as she removed her hands from her ears. "That's a lie right? Why… Why would she… Who are you to say such a thing about her!?"
"Takabi," Jewel spoke up. She shut her eyes and also lowered her head. "It's true… Hailey saw them first but… We all saw it…" She raised her eyes quickly and followed with, "But she was drunk! So stupidly drunk that she actually thought her boss was you!"
"Jewel!" Nana spat, and the girl covered her mouth with terrified eyes.
Joseph touched Takabi's shoulder, who had already broken into tears. Joseph sensed it, how deep his depression and despair was. This was another heavy blow to his already weakened spirit, but it was something he needed to hear. "My boy. I know this is hard for you, but this happened because of how you have been lately."
The girls opened their mouths, Joseph waving his hands to seal their lips shut. A magic circle appeared around each one of them, keeping their bodies locked in place as he kept speaking.
"Did you not realize how much you were hurting her? Driving her into the arms of another man?" He stepped around. "A human at that. How does that register in your mind, Son? To lose an Angel's heart to a mere Human?"
The tears were coming harder and harder. His legs gave out, Takabi dropping to his knees and just staring at the floor. Joseph placed a hand on his head. "You have a lot to do to prove yourself again. So get up. We're going to the Bunker." The candlelight went out, and each of the blinds opened with a force unseen. Joseph whistled as he made his way towards the door. "Oh, one more thing. Please, do not disrespect me again. As God, I do give fair chances and only speaks truths. Even to one as tainted as yourself." The door opened and shut.
The girls felt control return to their bodies, and all rushed towards Takabi. Frannie knelt next to him, placing hands on his shoulders as he silently cried. Nana covered her mouth, her own tears streaming so intensely she could barely see. Shine rubbed the back of her head at the awkwardness in the air.
"So…. That was God. What an asshole."
"Please, don't disrespect him, Shine," Jewel said.
"Why not? Did you not see what just happened?!"
"Takabi, are you alright," Frannie asked.
He slowly stood and turned towards the door.
"Bro," Shine called him.
He didn't respond to her or anyone else. He simply left them home, the girls clenching their fists. "Nana, you fucked up big." Shine looked her in her brown eyes. "He still loves you, and that's obvious. You love him too, otherwise you wouldn't be crying so damn hard. That's why this is all so painful for us, but I will tell you right now. If this Joseph guy turns out to be a fake, I swear I will rip his head off and bathe in the blood that comes from his throat. God or not, what he did just now was beyond fucked up."
"We needed him," Jewel said. "We do… We really do…" She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "The world… No the fabric of reality needs all of us right now."
"Oh, Yeah? And why's that? Why should I even bother going along with this after all of that?"
"There's another Gem."
It went silent.
Jewel scanned Shine and Frannie's faces, before continuing, "The Gem is in the Garden of Eden. The Garden can't be accessed without a special spell being placed in a wide enough area, with enough souls in exchange for it being summoned to the mortal realm. That's what Joseph told us anyway."
"And he couldn't simply tell Takabi that?! I'm sure he would've helped, although reluctantly."
"He wouldn't have," Nana said. "Garuga, Porrelth and Syrreth. Their deaths left such a heavy imprint on him and who he is now. It's why he left the Bunker in the first place."
"Because he felt it was all his fault," Frannie chimed in. "I guess… I guess he didn't want us to get hurt because of him."
Shine yelled angrily and kicked the glass table, watching it smash against the wall. "That's such bullshit! He knows it's not his fault!"
Jewel touched her shoulder. "Does he FEEL that way though?"
Shine sucked in air and went quiet, snapping her eyes away from them.
Frannie got to her feet. "Shine, let's go change and hurry. I want to hear more from this guy." She looked at Nana for a moment.
In truth, she hated her right now, but it wasn't something for her to judge. Things happen according to God's will, that's what she was taught growing up. Even if Shine was right and he was an asshole upfront, he's doing things that he knows works best. They just had to go along with it, whether they wanted to or not.