Chapter 2: Lingering Distance

Nana placed her phone face down and sat up from the bed. Her spaghetti strap slid off her shoulder, and long hair was a mangled mess on her head. Standing and stretching, she grabbed a pair of shorts from the nightstand next to the bed and left the room.

A hair tie was in her teeth, and her brown eyes scanned the living room in an attempt to find something to do. The routine was Takabi would leave therapy and spend some time by himself for a while, which gave Nana time to sit around the house and do whatever she felt like. It was lonely, but she at least enjoyed looking over their pictures of the last couple years. 

Her eyes fell on the photo frame that was hung next to the TV. The picture was of the pair, standing outside the front of a beige colored, two floor house. Some of the windows were open, exposing the couch and appliances that had been already brought inside. Behind the two, Kairas was carrying a mattress inside, with Jewel not too far behind him with black nightstands on each arm.

That moving photo was one of the few where Takabi seemed genuinely happy after the Dragons' passing. It hadn't been too long, but she missed seeing that smile.

Nana sat at the kitchen table, opening her laptop and checking through her emails. Nothing new, from work or from the Mystics.

It was quiet for the last two years. Quiet, and if Nana thought honestly, so painfully dull. The life of a human definitely didn't suit her, having to find a job and work just to keep from going mad.

It wasn't that she welcomed and thrived in chaos, but defending the world from a cult of inhumane creatures and demons, as well as people who were evil to the core, was better than working at a company that dealt with cargo transport, both within and out of the country.

The simple life wasn't for her, but she was willing to try for Takabi.

Sitting back in her chair, she grabbed the remote from the table and flicked on the television, flipping through the channels until she found the news.

"In recent developments, we wish to welcome back a very special man and his hometown. A few years ago, a man named Takabi Yamishito brought a world unknown to us all into the light. In Old Waterslum, he battled with what can only be described as a large man bat and slew the beast down." The newscaster took a pause, her face twitching from holding back laughter.

Nana narrowed her eyes, before sighing and sitting down and changing to another station.

"Can't they give it a rest? How'd they even hear he was back? We've been basically hiding all this time." She put her feet up on the coffee table, fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. "I know he used to be famous for that fight, but his fifteen minutes should've died by now." A loud mewling filled her eardrums. A ball of black hopped onto the couch, crawling over and sitting on Nana's stomach.

She huffed at the weight of their cat, picking her up and holding her high in the air above her head. "Why do they keep picking on Daddy, Rosaline?"

The cat yawned and she placed it down. "You're just hungry, aren't you?"

A knock came to the door. She got up and moved towards it, standing on the tips of her toes to look through the peephole. A green eye met her brown with a look of exhaustion. Immediately recognizing Kairas, she opened the door and said, "Can't you ever smile?"

"Sorry, long night," He replied earnestly.

Kairas stepped inside, hands in his pockets and bags under his eyes. Scanning the living room, he stepped towards the couch and sat down, kicking his shoes off and resting his head back.

"Nothing new?"

"Nope," He said. "All is quiet."

"While I'm happy about that, it doesn't sit right with me." She made her way towards the kitchen, pulling a cup from the cupboard and moving towards the fridge. "They can't be an issue for months and suddenly vanish off the face of the universe."

Kairas shrugged, looking towards her. "Drink please."

"Get it yourself. You're not a guest and I'm certainly no one's maid." She poured a cup of water then placed the jug on the table for Kairas. He stood, promptly swiping it and drinking from the source. She gave him a disgusted look, something he didn't care too much about.

The phone in his pocket began to vibrate as he swallowed. Pulling it out, he stared at Jewel's name on the screen before answering softly, "Hello?"

Nana took the jug back and placed it down. Kairas' eyes went wide and he frantically nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm on my way!" Shutting his screen off and ending the call, he rushed back to the door. Grabbing his shoes along the way and holding a massive grin, he only stopped when Nana asked him what was wrong.

Facing her, Kairas smiled and looked her directly in the eye. His throat was dry, more from a collected nervousness at the idea rushing through his mind. "I'm… I'm going to be a dad."

Nana paused for a moment, blinking and rubbing her ears. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that right. You're what?"

"A dad! I'm going to be a Father!"

"Kairas, that's great!" Nana reached for her phone and began to dial a number. "I have to tell Takabi."

"Please do. I'm going now." His fingers brushed the doorknob as it turned and opened wide, revealing Hailey and Saiya behind the wood. Kairas greeted them hurriedly, then rushed down the steps of the front porch and into his car, backing out the driveway and speeding down the road.

The girls glanced at each other, then at Nana. The girl was smiling proudly and opened her mouth to tell them. Their initial reaction was shock but not that it happened; More that it happened so soon.

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The Honda Accord was parked in the distance down the road. The sun beat down overhead, Takabi standing on the mountain structure in the middle of the earthy terrain. His shirt was tied around his waist, drenched in sweat that glistened under the light.

With clenched fists, he sucked in as much air as he possibly could, his skin turned black and hair long; Reaching his lower back as Black feather wings shot out.

His voice left his throat, ground quaking under the force of his vocals. Mana burst around him in a thick white and violet aura that danced violently. The clouds overhead gathered and darkened, rain pouring down at the intense heat he released. As his muscles relaxed, his skin lightened up and hair shrunk back to its previous length.

The rain was hot, evaporating against his skin in a thick steam that faded in the air.

Sitting down and crossing his legs, he hunched over. He shut his eyes, breathing in deeply. He wanted peace. He wanted to try and relax his mind. Therapy could only do so much, but he needed to find a way to cope.

A face came into his mind. Dark hair and eyes, with a five o'clock shadow and tired vision. As he spoke, he could make out the little details. Wrinkles in the skin around the eyes. Dry lips and dark scales.

"Takabi," He spoke, his voice soothing. It sent a relaxing air through him.

The image twisted suddenly, blood pouring from the eyes and lips. His voice became strained, fading further and further as a ghoul like whail echoed in the distance.

Takabi snapped open his eyes, holding his mouth. It came quickly, up his throat and through his fingers. Opening his mouth, the contents of his stomach spew over the edge of the rock formation. He hurled and hurled, for what felt like an eternity.

By the time he finally stopped, he rolled onto his back and gazed at the fading clouds. A faint laugh escaped him, soon replaced by tears.

Takabi cried.

He rolled over on his side, clutching his arms in the fetal position and let the tears flow freely.

He hated living this way. Plagued by the nightmares of Garuga's death every time he closed his eyes.

Plagued by Porrelth and Syrreth's sacrifice.

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. At first he decided to let it ring and let it go to voicemail. It stopped after a bit at first, but started back up a couple minutes later. By that point, Takabi had picked himself up and wiped away the tears and vomit. Clearing his throat and hopping down the rock structure, he placed the phone to his ear and spoke, "Hello?"

Breathing greeted him at first. He pulled the phone back from his ear to look at the number. Sevens across the board, something that made him a little uncomfortable. Placing back to his ear, he said, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Listen." A male's voice. Old and withered. Sounded exhausted, as if they went through something intense within the last few moments. "The roots are appearing. Their seals are coming undone."

"What?"

"Can't you hear the angels singing?"

Takabi landed on the side of the road, walking down towards his car. His eyes glanced around, searching for any sign of an angel or anything. In the back of his mind, he considered it was him the old man was talking about, but quickly crushed the idea at the fact he didn't sing.

Not well or in public.

"I don't hear anything at all. I think you have the wrong number, Man."

The voice laughed loudly, startling Takabi to the point he almost dropped his phone. Approaching his car and opening the door, the man spoke again through a cough. "Listen. The angels are singing. The gates are opening. It will appear, and he will come."

He raised an eyebrow, before hitting the end call and dropping his phone in the passenger seat. The car revved to life as he turned the key, and sped down the highway once he slammed on the gas. 

Those calls have been happening for a week.

Random people from different numbers, reaching out to him and telling him the same exact thing. Each time he would look, and with good reason. He had no reason not to. Nana was an Angel. That fact alone made him very wary of others of her kind, as well as demons and such.

There was something new in that message.

It will awaken. What will? I've heard the gates and Angels singing, but awakening?

His grip on the wheel tightened and foot pressed harder on the gas. The car picked up speed, clocking in at seventy miles per hour.

Oh well. It's not my problem now, he thought.