Archangels of War

It had taken much convincing, but I had managed to break away from Raiden after school. By much convincing, I really meant that I just told him I was going to eat out with some friends and tried my best to lose him. At first, he flat out refused to let me go alone, and was adamant in following me all the way to the mall. "You of all people should know that I'm not just going to leave you to go to the mall alone." I was really starting to grow tired of that damn phrase. I remained silent, continuing to walk. Raiden followed closely behind, continuing to talk. "Before we left home, I was given one task. One order. A purpose. To p-" 

"To protect me." I finished Raiden's sentence, not even bothering to hide the disdain in my voice. How many times was he going to reiterate the same point, use the same excuse? "You say that again and again, but do you really think that I need your protection that bad?" My voice was starting to raise but I didn't care. I was just frustrated with all of Raiden's actions as a whole. Claiming that everything that he did, or more fittingly, didn't do, was all because he wanted to remain on the path of protecting me? "Even if you do, even if you want to continue treating me like a fragile piece of glass that will break at even the softest gust of wind, are you really going to throw away any sense of identity that you have, for this mission?" 

Raiden was taken aback by the raise in my voice, and the harshness off my words. For a moment, I wanted to apologize, I wanted to make the hurt look on his face go away, but then he spoke. And his next words served only to anger me even more. "Listen, as long as I keep you safe, and in the best standing possible, who cares what happens to me? I'm the only one affected by my actions, and if I'm the only one who will face the consequences, then if I can handle it, It's okay, right?" 

I clench my fist in anger. What the hell was this guy saying? What kind of stupid. self-sacrificing attitude was that? It was bullshit! "And what about me? Huh?" He looked confused, unable to answer my question. He remained silent, as if I had just asked a rhetorical. I turned away from Raiden in frustration, beginning to walk. "Just like at the house yesterday, you don't get it! Even if you don't care about being left behind about suffering, what makes you think that I want to see that? That I want to look back and see my brother, holding himself to a sub-human standard?" 

"You're exaggerating i-" Raiden began to speak, but I cut him off. 

"Oh really? Exaggerating? I don't think so. You've just become a sort of slave to that damned mission given to you by father!" That was probably the harshest thing I had ever said, and I really didn't mean it. However, I was too angry, my emotions to clouded by my rage, to even think of taking it back. 

Raiden instantly looked down, and my anger flared once again. 

"Why, won't you even look me in the eyes while talking? What-" I was stopped by the fact that Raiden had already turned around. He began to twirl his wand in his hands, the long black sword looking like a cane. 

"Alright, I'll leave you alone." There was unimaginable sadness in his tone. As he began to walk away, I wanted to reach out, to immediately apologize, however, I couldn't bring myself to. As I watched my brother walk away, the only thing that I could think about was what exactly was wrong with me. 

*** 

I sat down at the table with my two friends, Homura, and Ren. We were inside of a coffee place that was located inside of the large mall plaza. It was a medium sized placed, and we were sitting in the corner table, by a window. This was in a futile attempt to try to avoid the stares we got from people. Even as I was walking through the plaza, I couldn't stop myself from feeling the gazes that were drawn toward me because of the uniform I wore. What made it even worse, was the fact that not all of them were hateful. In fact, most of them were scared. I though back to what Suijin had said. About the fact that people used to regard the magical as fantastical, and an interesting sort of mystique. And now, they looked upon it with fear. How Ironic, I though cynically. 

Ren had returned to the table with our cups, and we thanked him. He was a average height boy, with twists that reached down to his mouth area. He had fairly dark skin. "You really didn't have to do all of that." Homura said as she accepted her cup thankfully. 

Ren shook his head as he passed me my cup. "It was an opportunity to be a noble knight and take on the brutal gazes of disdain in place of the two-maiden sitting in front of me. It was an obvious decision." He exaggeratedly held a hand to his heart. 

"Ha ha, you're one funny guy." I said sarcastically as I grabbed the cup from his hands. I took a few sips, loving the taste of the tea. 

Ren leaned over to Homura and began to whisper into her ear. "Who the hell actually orders tea at a coffee shop?" 

"I can hear you." I spoke. 

Ren moved away from Homura instantly, pretending to clear his throat, as if he had never asked the question in the first place. He then shifted his gaze to me. "Soooooo, Kami, what's on your mind? I can tell that something is a bit off." 

"First of, don't say, 'so' like that, you sound like a creep. Second off, don't try and read girls that you've only known for two days, It makes you look like a creep." I immediately criticized Ren's demeanor and actions. 

Ren put his head down and held his heart in a joking manner. "Can you believe the harshness of her words Homura?" 

"I'll be honest, nothing she said was wrong." Homura shot down Ren's cry for help brutally. "When you first meet me, you had been following me around for the entire day, all of this to just return an earring that had fell down. If I had been even a little less compassionate, I would have accused you of being a pervert right then and there. 

"Uggh!" Ren let out a hurt cry. 

I watched the interactions between the two, smiling. These were the two idiots I had made friends with. A tactless girl with long straight, black hair, and a melodramatic boy with twists. Then I remembered my interactions with Raiden. My smile faded instantly. Homura and Raiden noticed this, and they looked towards me expectantly. I sighed.

"Spill it." Ren said. 

"Go ahead and lay it out." Homura said at the same time. 

I sighed. I was just about to speak when- 

6 men dressed in black burst into the coffee shop, crashing through the door, and immediately grabbed hostages. A 7the man walked into the room with a weird device in his hands. Outside the window, a veil seemed to fall, blocking at the view of the outside. I could feel my chest being constricted, as I lost the ability to feel the mana in the air. Magic sealing tech! 

The 7th man held a pistol into the air, shocking the entire coffee shop into silence. "Where are members of the organization that only pursues justice. We stick to the shadows and morph the shadows. We are the ones who are responsible for the sentencing, and the execution!" After he finished this, he turned his pistol to us. "And because of those wretched magicians sitting over there, you all are about to lose your lives!"