Illusions

Chapter 2: The Boundary

***

Today seemed to be just a little bit busier than before, and the foul-ups at reception weren’t helping matters much at all.

Akuma stood on the ledge of the pit leading in from the massive iron gates behind the crowd, about to fall asleep from boredom. How could they have assigned him to such a pathetic job? He was created as one of the Elite – the equivalent of a guardian angel! And now, here he was, holding a long, pointed metal pole in one hand, dressed in the scruffiest clothes he had, ‘guarding the gates of Hell’. It was one of the most demeaning jobs he’d ever had; he didn’t care if there was a shortage of demons about the place, he hated having to stand guarding the line with the fattest, ugliest creeps around.

The giant blue creature opposite was a fine example of exactly that. He had too many rolls of fat to count, starting from his several chins to the final roll which covered his crotch to the point he wouldn’t need clothes necessarily. The oaf’s head was indistinguishable from his shoulders, and the crooked horns on top of his head were almost the same size as the undersized wings sticking out of his back. And he was one hell of an ugly bastard without the weight problem, anyway. The worst part about it was that Akuma seemed to be the only one around with a decent physique and the ability to use his wings to actually fly. After all, he was born and bred to be a fighter and an Elite; he was one of the most well-known demons around, since he was one of the best.

And here he was, on guard duty.

A slight disturbance in the crowd caught his attention. The people were starting to move forward faster, and it seemed someone was being trampled beneath them. Stupid humans. None of the other oafs seemed to notice, so he decided to act; the pole still in his hand, he swooped down and spread his wings, hovering above the crowd.

“Whoa there…” They ignored his command and kept on moving. He growled, and lowered himself a little further, hovering precariously just above the figure being pounded beneath the feet of the converging crowd.

“Stop…” Still they ignored him.

Now, after being so closely associated with Kazuya of all people, he’d mastered the ability to get the attention of even the most stubborn asshole. He dropped directly down into the crowd, throwing the pole out from one side of the trench to the other, half knocking out everyone who was in harm’s way. “I said, Whoa!”

This time, they all stopped dead and stared. After all, such a formidable creature was, well, formidable. Akuma’s eyes were known for scaring the living daylights out of people. Few demons shared the same coloured eyes, and most didn’t have the same intensity his did. With the black iron pole still held there, he dragged the trampled figure out of the dirt roughly, pulling it to its feet. It turned out to be a middle-aged housewife from a Western country, or at least, that’s what he guessed by her appearance.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, taking a nap?” The tone in his voice resembled a parent scolding a naughty child.

She was obviously terrified, and collapsed to the ground again, crying bitterly. Now why did this seem so familiar? Rolling his glowing golden eyes and sighing, he lifted her back to her feet again. “That’s enough of that, it looks pathetic. Pull yourself together! What the hell is the problem?” He was losing his patience.

She sobbed and stared at the dirt path as she was wrenched to her feet again. His grip had hurt her, since she was now nursing a rising bruise on her upper arm. “I…I shouldn’t be here…this is Hell…I shouldn’t be here…not here…”

Again, this was nothing unfamiliar. He reached down and grabbed a small piece of paper sitting just out of her jeans pocket, and quickly read the scraggly handwriting scrawled across it.

“Well, it says here that you should be.”

Her bloodshot eyes stared up at him in shock and dismay. “What?! But I went to church every Sunday! I prayed every night…I…” She cut herself off when she ran out of excuses.

Akuma laughed cruelly. “Church? Who gives a damn? It means nothing here. Damn religious fanatic…” He looked over the paper again. “You have quite a list here, Ma’am. Shoplifting, use of illegal substances, refusing to pay all your traffic fines, adultery on three counts with three different people…need I go on?” Indeed he could have if he bothered to read the rest. He folded the paper back up and jammed it back into her pocket. “Sorry, but I believe you’ll be staying here for at least two terms…”

Again, she looked absolutely distraught. “But! But, but…”

He interrupted her once again. “Listen, I’m going to give you two choices…” By now, several demons above the pit were watching on in amusement; it always seemed to be the rich bitches that had the most trouble with adjusting to their temporary fates. “One: I let you move along now, and join the rest of the queue in front of you. Two: You stay right here blubbering, and I release this here impatient mob on you. But you’d better decide quickly, because my arm’s getting sore.” No wonder. He was still holding back several thousand people with the iron pole.

Sobbing, she hurried along the trench. Akuma performed his most courteous act today so far; he let her get ahead of the crowd and almost to the back of the mob in front of her before he released the group he was holding back…mainly because his pole managed to get stuck in the muddy side of the trench opposite and it took a little time and elbow grease to pull it back out. Damn humans.

With that out of the way, he flew back up again and stood, watching. There was an old clock that still worked on the Town Hall tower in the near distance; five more minutes to go before he was relieved of duty for the day. But luck was in his sights, since the demon to take his place had arrived early. He tossed the pole to the short, lanky red figure as he approached. The creature caught the pole, and stumbled pathetically beneath the weight…it only made Akuma laugh.

“Tory, you’re gonna have to build up some muscle, or the humans’ll use you as a punching bag…” He snickered and walked off before he got a response.

***

Though she was apprehensive, it seemed Keiji was ready and rearing to go. Mitsukai smiled softly at the boy, and ushered him out the door, locking it behind her as she followed him.

“When will we get there, Okaasan?” His energy levels were increasing rapidly, and this was without him being on a sugar high.

“When we get there, sweet-heart.”

He frowned. “But when is when we get there?”

She scooped him up into her arms, then balanced him on one hip. “I don’t know dear, but it’ll be a little while. It’s a long way to fly.”

As she took off into the air, the young boy’s curious eyes darted about, watching the landscape as the treetops grew smaller and smaller. He was perfectly accustomed to this sort of air travel, and moved about quite comfortably against his mother, holding on artfully so she didn’t have to concentrate on holding him.

“So Okaasan, what does my daddy look like again?” It had been about a half hour of peace and quiet before he started up again, but Mitsukai was eternally patient with him, and always answered his questions as best she could.

“I don’t want to tell you yet, because I don’t want to frighten you Keiji. I already told you, he’s a demon.”

“Oh, one of them other world peoples from the other side of The Boundary…I remember now…” He nodded thoughtfully as he watched the fields whiz past below.

“You could put it that way.” She chuckled to herself. She was so glad that he’d listened to her rather than the others; she didn’t want her son to take on the prejudice and arrogance most Angels had for Demons. There was no need for contempt and racism in the modern world. They couldn’t help it that her kind took in the ‘good’ humans and Akuma’s kind took in the ‘evil’ ones…they all had to go somewhere, after all.

Another twenty or so minutes, the land began to change. The forest dwindled, and up ahead, it became desert. They’d arrived at the barren wasteland on the very edge of The Boundary. The head rising from the surface was obnoxious, so Mitsukai increased her pace to get through it faster. Thankfully, it was only barely a kilometre to fly across before they came to The Boundary itself.

And the famed Boundary was nothing but a force field encompassing the planet directly down the middle. She landed lightly since by now Keiji was asleep, and walked straight through it. Really, it only felt like a rush of static electricity; but humans that had only just been assigned could not, by any means, cross it.

Once inside, she took off again and headed for the vast, half-ruined city in the distance. After she’d stepped through, she immediately noticed the change of atmosphere; instead of a bright, happy sun in the centre of the sky, dark clouds now covered a blood-red sky, letting only a glimpse of the dying red sun in every now and again. The heat and humidity was almost unbearable…how did the demons live in such conditions day after day?

It was another half-hour flight to the city, and by now, her wings were beginning to grow tired. When they arrived, she was mightily relieved, and by this time, Keiji was awake again…and a slight bit terrified of his surroundings. She put him down, and he clung to her arm with both hands as if he would never let go. The two pressed on within the city, passing by numerous streets reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic mega-city, with the remaining population left in relative poverty. And this was the boy’s father’s home.

Finally, the streets became familiar; she could see Akuma’s home a few blocks away…but at this time of day, she doubted he’d be there. Instead, she led her son carefully through the streets until she found the Main Drag so to speak – a wide boulevard with poorly maintained tarmac, street shops all along both sides, and Demons and ‘evil’ humans alike commuting up and down in every direction.

They were starting to grow hungry, and Keiji was starting to get a little upset by the extreme change in environment, so Mitsukai picked him up and headed toward the most salubrious-looking restaurant she could find…which was clearly run by a group of demons with aspirations beyond poking humans with pitchforks.

She turned to head into the place, driven by the smell of food and the desire to get out of view of the fat old demons cracking crude angel jokes as she passed…and in her haste, she crashed headlong into a solid object. She and her son sprawled to the ground, as did what appeared to be a tall demon. She’d walked right into someone!

…and guess who that someone was?