An Untouchable's Love

It had been so many years since the two armies had fought so bitterly against each other. Year where the victors had taken control over the normal society, touching people’s live as they saw fit. The only way that the Untouchables, named by those how had defeated them, could get back at what humans saw as their Guardian angels, was to prove to the humans how truly horrible life was. That the world that the Guardian’s had set up for them was nothing more than an elaborate lie, a lie that the Untouchables had attempted to destroy and been banished for.

The Untouchables were marked different from their brethren by only one thing. The black wings that sprouted from their back. Tomaru was one such boy. Born years after the war, but born also with those terrible black wings. His mother would have been ordered to kill him had the lords known that his wings were black. She would have been killed as well, if it were known that her lover had been an Untouchable. Her wings shone a brilliant white, and so while his were black as his fathers, his twin brother had the white of their mother.

Rather than kill her own child, Tomaru’s mother sent him away to live out the rest of his life with his fathers people, learning to hate the Guardians for what they had done, and continued to do to the humans. Izrael, his twin brother grew to hate the Untouchables and all they stood for. Their mother could not keep her counsel however, as she heard from her lover about Tomaru’s hatred, and saw Izrael’s hatred for herself. Thinking that perhaps she could alleviate the hatred that was growing in her two sons, she decided to inform Izrael of his true parentage, of his father who was Untouchable, and brother who also carried black wings on his back.

Rather than losing the hatred he felt, Izraels hatred only grew. He had been taught the laws of the Guardian’s. Laws that demanded his mothers blood for her sacrilege. And so, he did exactly as he had been taught. He killed the woman who gave him life, and set out to destroy the stain on his lineage.

The official story was that she had died from an accident, though at the academy it was remarked as odd how much Izrael desired to become a hunter, one of the few elite few trained to hunt and destroy the Untouchables.

Tomaru was also informed of his lineage, and that which his mother hoped was accomplished in the boy. Yet, as he grew and learned of her death from his father, and then later on his own fathers death at the hands of his brother, Tomaru grew to loathe the man he was supposed to call brother. Yet, he could never bring himself to try and fight back against the man that continued to try and take his life. He just couldn’t throw away the wishes of the mother he never knew and the father that he loved and adored. The wish that the two sides could one day live in harmony much like his mother and father had.

Due to this wish, Tomaru once again found himself running down a seemingly deserted allyway as he tried to escape what he knew to be his brother chasing him. Tomaru’s characteristic black wings were hidden for now, as he was running along where humans could see him. Yet, when he felt the stab of a sharp knife pierce his side, and the blood running down his side, maintaining the concentration to keep his wings hidden got much more difficult.

Ripping off his shirt, he let his wings free and fled the alley, hoping to get as far away as he could. Mid air he finally lost consciousness and plummeted down to the concrete at the end of another deserted alley way. Blood still seeped from his open wound, where Izraels enchanted dagger had sliced him. The man in question stood stoically above him, his face a mask without emotion.

“So this is where it shall end. Dear brother.” Izrael said, kicking Tomaru over with his foot. He let his own wings out then, their white brilliance blinding to anyone who could have possibly laid eyes on him. He flew away, leaving Tomaru to what Izrael assumed would be his death.

Blood seeped from the open wound on Tomaru’s side, and when the girl shook him, that same open wound became very apparent. Although he was barely alive, some part of him registered what the girl was saying to him. The urgency in her voice, and his own state somehow evaded his thoughts however as he struggled to respond.

“Damn it woman, don’t shake me like that. My brain hurts enough as is.” He wasn’t trying to be rude, and even through his gasp of pain, and the less that lucid quality of his thoughts, his voice still sounded as if he was joking with her. Even with his life force draining from him, he was still able to joke around with a random stranger for all he knew could have been sent by his brother to finish the job.

As that thought ran through his mind he groaned, shakily bringing a hand to hold his side.

“Well, I guess I’ve lived a good life.” He said softly, fully believing that the girl was most likely going to kill him. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, for if he had he would have noticed she had black wings as well, as was of the same race as he.

Tomaru forced his eyes open to get a good look at the girl whose voice sounded so heavenly. The moment he did, he realized two things. Firstly, that they indeed both carried the black wings that marked them as Untouchable and thus she wouldn’t be there to kill him, and secondly, that she was rather beautiful. As each realization hit him he groaned, and closed his eyes again.

‘Why does every time a cute girl come along, I’m either dying or making a fool of myself?!’

He tried to sit up then, using his wings to help bolster himself. The wound was slowly starting to stitch itself back together, but he was going to need medical attention.

“Well, if you’re not going to kill me, can you at least help me? Or at least stop staring at me as I’m dying here.”

He looked at her in slight surprise as she healed his wound, his side only containing a small scar to show that he was ever injured at all. Tomaru’s surprise however, was that she knew the healing arts. Not many could be a healer, as the ability to do such work was not inherent in everyone. Not only that, those powers took so much energy from the user that some wounds could even kill the one trying to heal them. It was a dangerous art, yet one that held many benefits to those around them. An art that not many Untouchables dared take the time to learn.

“Thank you.” He said quietly, subdued by the fact he know owed this girl a great deal. His father had always told him to make good on your debts to people, and the one debt you’ll always owe the most is the one to the person who ends up saving your life.

“Because believe me my boy, in this life, we’ll come close to death plenty of times for such a debt to arise.”

His fathers words echoed in his head, and for a spilt second a great sadness washed over him. He missed his father terribly, but he refused to stay sad for long.

He stood and flexed his wings. He was still too weak to enact the illusion that would keep them hidden from sight, and so he knew he was going to have to try to fly home as quickly as possible. Turning to the girl who assisted him he said softly,

“What is your name?”

Tomaru smiled and soaked in her name and committed it and her appearance to memory. It was a beautiful name, and one that Tomaru would most certainly remember.

“I’m Tomaru.”

Suddenly he was a at a loss for words. Here was some girl who had saved his life, and he didn’t have the slightest idea what to say to her. In that moment he felt like a complete idiot.

Yet, he couldn’t just let her leave either without properly thanking her for what she done. That was the least that he could do.

“Umm, so where are you staying?” He started, though the words came out awkwardly and not how he meant it at all.

“I mean if you don’t have somewhere to go you can always come back with me.” He blushed at this, again realizing how stupid he sounded. She was probably just going to laugh at him.

Tomaru smiled widely when she said she would come back with him. He was happier than he should have been since he was supposed to only be returning the debt that he owed her. More than that though he had to admit to himself that he didn’t want to see one of his kind out alone. Not when people like Izrael was out hunting. His face darkened as he thought of the man that through blood was supposed to be his brother.

He had never known that man. Tomaru had only known the hunter and killer, the man who murdered the mother he had never known and the father that was everything to him. Ever since then he had avoided others of his own kind, and the cities he knew existed because he didn’t want to bring his brother’s wrath upon their heads. He knew that Izrael would stop at nothing to find and kill him, and bringing him to an Untouchable’s hidden city would be like bringing the wolf home to the sheep fold.

But now Izrael thought he was dead, and Tomaru was tired of being alone. ‘I’ll just keep her safe until I can get her to a city.’ he thought to himself, trying to convince himself that that was the best action to take.

“Let’s get going then.”

His voice was dark and subdued, but when he spoke to her a smile still graced his features so that she would know she had done nothing to upset him. He just wanted to make sure they got out of sight before someone saw them. He wanted to milk the time that his brother thought him dead for as long as possible.

He held out his hand to her, and flexed his wings wide, ready to take off and take him with him to a safe place. He knew he couldn’t go back to his previous home because Izrael had found him there, but he ha plenty of other places to go.

((OOC: Sorry it took me so long to reply!! Ive just been really busy lately but i'll be on more now.))

Tomaru smiled at her, as he grasped her hand tightly.

“Somewhere you never would have thought existed.”

With that he took off from the ground, his large black wings catching the air with a great strength and beauty that was completely his own. Flying had never felt so good to him before. Perhaps it was because he had been so close to death and was even able to be in the air now. Or maybe, it had something to do with the girl that was currently flying beside him. Either way, it didn’t matter to him, because he was happy, and felt freer than he had in quite some time.

It didn’t take long however, for them to reach their destination. It looked like an abandoned barn on the outskirts of the human city. Instead of continuing on to some other destination, Tomaru landed and walked right inside. On the far wall what appeared an old cloth hung. He smiled wide as he let go of her hand to walk over to the cloth, taking a piece of it in one hand.

“What I’m about to show you, can be told to know one but our own kind.”

His voice was serious even with the smile on his face. When she nodded her agreement, he smiled even wider.

“Welcome home.”

He pulled the cloth back to show an entryway to a hidden city, filled with Untouchables carrying the same tell tale black wings.

Tomaru grinned widely as he pulled her through the portal and into the city proper. Looking back, the gate way back to the barn closed, as the cloth fell back over the entrance. All that remained was an old looking door that if opened would allow them back to the human world.

“I thought so.”

His grin was infectious. After all, it wasn’t often that Tomaru was so blatantly happy. This place was home, the place his father had raised him and taught him what it meant to be both a man and an Untouchable. If it hadn’t been for Izrael he never would have left this place. While he was only here to find Asara a permanent home, he still was greatly enjoying himself.

“Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Tomaru nodded to her and smiled, knowing that the gift he had just given her, the one of knowing you belong, was priceless. Asara’s happiness was what he had been looking for when bring her here, and he could see in her eyes that in this land she would thrive. The Gaurdians had never truly found this place, and so it was safe from their murderous hunters. The only reason Tomaru’s father had been killed was because he had left the safety of the magical city. Tomaru himself had left because he knew that Izrael wouldn’t stop until he found the place, and when he nearly had Tomaru felt he needed to protect this sanctuary. Now however he could enjoy it’s beauty once again, and would for as long as possible. He knew in the back of his mind that Izrael would eventually realize he was alive. For now however, he would enjoy himself.

“Come with me. There’s something you should see.” He took her hand again and led her through the city, ignoring the looks of the women who gazed at his exposed chest unabashedly.

He brought her to the center of the city where a great statue stood of a woman and a man, both with great wings. The plaque below the statue simply stated ‘We Will Always Remember.”

“Do you know what this is?”

……………………………….....................................................................................................................

Izrael was flying back to his home, the Guardian capital. They had named this place Eden. Yes, the irony was there and he himself couldn’t help but flinch every time someone stated the name of the place. He thought it was horribly cliché to name the city after what the humans worshipped as paradise.

But right now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had finally done it. Finally succeeded in destroying the last of his cursed blood. When he landed on the balcony of his home, a sadistic smile adorned his face. He couldn’t remember ever being this happy. Not since his mother had admitted her sin. Not since he had had to kill her in cold blood.

Tomaru looked curiously at Asara when she dropped his hand so suddenly, before he finally took notice of Mari. It had been so long since he had seen her last, and she looked as good as she ever had. Being rather dense at times, he didn’t realize the emotion that was radiating off of the both of them was jealously. All he was thinking about was that he hadn’t seen her in years, and how happy he was to see her at all.

“Mari!” He exclaimed. Hugging her close to him before he thought twice about it. Just as quickly he pulled her out at arms length and examined her extensively checking to make sure she was whole and in one piece. He wouldn’t have put it past his brother to go after the people he cared for and Mari had been his childhood friend.

“How have you been? How is your mother?” His questions came quickly and without pause. He wanted to make sure all was well in the world again, that his choice to abandon them had been a good one.