Patience

By Yai-tzu Hin

Warning: No part of this story or cast of characters may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author, Yai-tzu Hin. If you do, moths will eat your favorite shirt, mice will take up residence in your kitchen and you can't get rid of them no matter what, all the bulbs in your reading lamps will go out, you'll run out of gas in your car when you're running late, and your computer will develop the annoying habit of deleting the best part of every fic.

Yatsurugi awoke to the sensation of something heavy on his chest. Opening bleary eyes, he found himself nose to nose with a small black kitten. He groaned and rolled over. Hiroshi tumbled off him onto the floor. Yatsurugi heard him squeak then felt him leap back onto the bed. The kitten purred and then pressed his paw on Yatsurugi's nose.

"My nose is not the snooze button." He growled, pulling the covers over his face. Hiroshi stared at him, then stuck his claws into Yatsurugi's arm and started kneading the blanket. The angel yelped and in one fluid motion sat up and threw off the covers. Hiroshi bounced to the floor, then turned back to stare at Yatsurugi in expectance. Yatsurugi glared at the kitten.

"I hope Kayumi and Haruka get back soon so you can go home with them." He told the kitten who was flicking his tail back and forth. "I was asleep."

"Meow," Was all Hiroshi said. It was all he ever said. Yatsurugi wondered whom he had been and what he'd done to become sealed in a cat's body. He seemed to like Kayumi more than anyone. Even Meiko, who had spent an hour cuddling him last night. It was Kayumi that Hiroshi followed meowing pitifully as she tried to work. Unfortunately, both Kayumi and Haruka were gone for the weekend. Haruka was at a seminar out of town and Kayumi was at work. The catering company she had been hired by needed all the hands they could get for a convention. Feeling that Hiroshi would be better off staying with someone rather than by himself, Kayumi had asked Keien and Yatsurugi to watch him. Meiko, interested in any small cute animal, had come over to the apartment last night and had spoiled Hiroshi rotten.

Climbing out of bed, Yatsurugi nearly stepped on a toy mouse. The synthetic fur felt so real, that he leapt back and nearly fell on the bed. Hiroshi bolted to the far side of the room, mewed, then stared at Yatsurugi with a look that said "what". Yatsurugi leaned down and picked up the toy.

"Next time, Meiko does not give you any more of these." He flung it across the room. It hit the wall and bounced onto the floor. Hiroshi crouched down, wriggled his hips, and tore after the mouse. Yatsurugi shook his head. "You are going to be seriously messed up once you get that seal off."

"Mrow?" Hiroshi replied, mouse in his teeth. Yatsurugi shook his head and started to get dressed.

"How'd you sleep with the tiny terror?" asked Keien as Yatsurugi stumbled into the kitchen.

"Sleeping was fine, it was the waking up part I could have dealt without."

"Only one more night, then Kayumi can have him back." Keien took a sip of coffee, then practically spit it back out.

"Remembered why you don't drink coffee?" Yatsurugi asked, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as Keien wiped his mouth on a napkin.

"Yeah, at least not without another five scoops of chocolate. I like mochas, but the chocolate has to over power the coffee. Tell me again why I have coffee in the house?" Keien got up and grabbed a jar of hot chocolate mix out of the cupboard. He dumped another four spoonfuls into his mug, stirred and tasted.

"Because you used it last semester during finals. I think you were living on something like three mochas a day?" Yatsurugi said trying to remember. "That and a few of your physics study group members drank it. So you got a small jar." He lay his head on the kitchen table. "I have a headache all ready and I just got up." Keien glanced over his shoulder at him worriedly.

"I hope you're not coming down with something." He said in a concerned voice. Yatsurugi nodded numbly.

"Me too. I don't like to be sick."

"Nobody does." Keien sighed and tried not to remember the last time Yatsurugi was sick. He was still convinced Kayumi had done something to make him act as he had. He didn't like not being in control of his own body. "Have you been able to figure out who Hiroshi really is?" he asked changing the subject.

Yatsurugi shook his throbbing head. "No. It's a complete mystery. The only clue is the number five that Haruka saw on the seal."

"And that five could mean anything." Yatsurugi murmured something in response, but Keien couldn't hear it. Suddenly Keien noticed Hiroshi trot into the room carrying something in his mouth. It took Keien a moment to realize what it was. The kitten drug it over to Yatsurugi and tapped him on his bare ankle. Yatsurugi lifted his head just enough to look at Hiroshi. A perplexed look crossed his face and he leaned over to retrieve the object. He stared at it for a moment.

"How in…." Keien began.

"I don't want to know how he managed to get the aspirin bottle. I just don't."

Hiroshi spent most of the day lounging around the house or playing with the mouse. Occasionally he could get either Keien or Yatsurugi to throw it for him. Then he'd go tearing across the living room to retrieve it. When he grew bored, he flopped down in the middle of the leather recliner and start bathing. Yatsurugi studied him, but couldn't see the seal that bound his powers. If this creature was truly an angel, which Yatsurugi was convinced he was, then he needed to find out who Hiroshi really was.

The question gnawed at him as it had ever since that night nearly two weeks ago. Kayumi seemed to know who he was, but Yatsurugi was hesitant to ask her. Maybe he was some old beau or friend, but he didn't act like any of the ones he could remember. Besides, Kayumi had gotten very worked up over him. Yatsurugi didn't think that she would be that way over an old flame.

"If you stare much harder, you're eyes will burst." Keien warned as he came into the room, a box of crackers in his hands. Yatsurugi looked up at his roommate.

"Hardly." He shot back.

"Any luck finding the seal?"

"Nope. It's a special seal that no angels other than the one that cast it can see. Haruka could see it because she has the sight." Yatsurugi said accepting the crackers Keien offered him. "Do you think you could give it a shot?" Keien looked startled.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you have a touch of the sight. It may not be as strong as Haruka's, but you still might see the seal." Yatsurugi said. Keien thought about it. He wasn't sure he could do anything. If all Haruka could see was the number five and a pair of wings, then what good could he do? He hadn't even noticed the wings for crying out loud!

"I guess I'll give it a shot. Move over." Yatsurugi scooted and Keien sat down on the carpet next to him. Taking a few deep breaths, Keien cleared his mind and then focused his attention on the small black feline in the chair. Hiroshi didn't stir. Keien couldn't see anything at first, then slowly he notice that there was a shimmering, fluid, skin that enveloped the kitten. Protruding from his shoulder blades were two neatly folded whispery black wings. They were so small and delicate that Keien was instantly afraid to breathe.

"Can you see anything?" Yatsurugi whispered. Keien nodded. He continued to study the seal attempting to see the number Haruka had seen. Nothing. He began to relax; his eyes were starting to ache from the strain. Something flickered. A number appeared briefly then vanished just as quickly. Yet, Keien had seen it.

"Keien? What's wrong?" Yatsurugi asked leaning towards him.

"Haruka said she saw a five."

"Right." Yatsurugi didn't understand where this was going.

"I saw a one." Keien practically whispered.

"A one? Not a five?" Keien shook his head.

"Could it possibly be a countdown of some sort?"

"I've never heard of a seal that counts down." Yatsurugi began, puzzled by this new development. Hiroshi stirred and awoke. Lifting his head, the kitten blinked at the two men sitting on the floor. Curious as to what they were discussing, he got up, stretched, and went over to join them.

"I swear I saw a one, not a five." Keien said.

"Meow?" Both men jerked. They looked down as Hiroshi sat and wrapped his tail around his paws. "Meow?" he repeated trying to get a response other than surprise from them.

"You don't think he understands us?" Keien asked still staring at the kitten.

"Of course he can hear us, he has ears. Besides he's an angel." Keien still wore a concerned look. Yatsurugi reached down and scratched Hiroshi behind the ears. The kitten started purring and leaned into the hand. As long as he was a kitten, Hiroshi would be well taken care of.

Snow had fallen on the city making driving entertaining to say the least. Yatsurugi cursed himself for leaving the apartment door open. He'd only run down to collect the mail, but apparently Hiroshi had chosen that moment to become adventurous. Both he and Keien had combed the apartment for the ebony puffball, but hadn't found him. There were tiny paw prints in the snow outside the complex that most assuredly belonged to Hiroshi, leading towards the street. Yatsurugi swore again. Kayumi was going to kill them.

"We can't be that far behind him." Keien said hopefully. "He couldn't have gotten that far."

"This is a kitten we're talking about! He could be anywhere!" Yatsurugi cried.

"Geeze, calm down. He's an angel right? It's not like he could get in that much trouble." Keien paused. "Could he?" Yatsurugi's look was grave.

"He may be an angel, but the natural instincts of his new form will over ride his common sense." Yatsurugi stated as he checked behind some garbage cans. Where was that kitten?

"In other words, we're fucked when Kayumi finds out." Yatsurugi nodded. Keien decided he didn't want the full wrath of a female guardian angel coming down on him. They had to find Hiroshi.

"Well, aren't you a cutie." A familiar voice cooed. Keien froze. Yatsurugi narrowed his eyes and fought back the urge to drop a two-ton weight on Suiichiro's head. Something hissed, spat and growled low. "Ouch! That hurt you little demon!"

Keien and Yatsurugi walked towards where they'd heard Suiichiro's voice. He was standing on the sidewalk in front of the complex. Hiroshi hung from one outstretched hand trying to claw Suiichiro for all he was worth. The man had him by the scruff of his neck and dangling him above a large drift of snow. Hiroshi spat again.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing to that kitten?" Keien demanded. Suiichiro's head shot up and a sneer curled his lips.

"Why if it isn't my favorite ex. Oh, and his little watch dog too? Never leave his side do you Fido?" Suiichiro oozed about all the charm of a wet noodle, Keien wondered what had attracted him to Suiichiro to begin with. Yatsurugi bit back a curse that would have made Suiichiro unable to perform for months and focused on Hiroshi.

"Suiichiro. Put the kitten down. You're hurting it." Keien stated firmly. Hiroshi tried to take another swipe at his captor. Suiichiro cocked an eyebrow at Keien.

"It tried to bite me. Besides it's a stray."

"It has a collar." Yatsurugi informed him, his voice icy as the winter day.

"Oh, so it does." Suiichiro feigned surprise. "Must have missed that."

Bastard.

Suiichiro began swinging Hiroshi back and forth, then as the kitten gained momentum, let go. Hiroshi went flying into the snow. Twisting in mid air, the he managed to right himself before landing in the snowdrift.

"There, the stray is free. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I was on my way to somewhere else." Suiichiro sauntered off leaving Keien and Yatsurugi seething in their rage. Once he was out of sight, Keien exploded.

"How dare he! That was totally uncalled for! I can't believe I dated him! What was I thinking? That fucking bastard! Swinging Hiroshi like that! He has no respect for ANYTHING!"

"No shit." Yatsurugi swore.

"I'm so tempted to tell Kayumi what he did. He deserves whatever she will do to him." Keien snapped.

"Shinji would stop her from doing anything to destructive. He is Suiichiro's guardian angel after all. It's his job to protect Suiichiro, even from other angels." Yatsurugi said getting his anger back under check.

"Angels can't be destructive I take it? Only do good, ne?"

"Not exactly. Everyone has both good and evil in them. Angels can hate, but it isn't looked at favorably. The older ones really frown upon revenge and that sort of stuff. It isn't healthy. If an angel starts wanting revenge, there is a chance that they might be sent back as mortals to try to learn their lessons over again. Sometimes we're sent back as something not human because the hatred was too great. If Kayumi used her powers to harm Suiichiro, she'd be reprimanded severely. There would probably be a punishment too."

"What about Murphy?"

"What about him?"

"Doesn't he do revenge type things?" Keien asked. Yatsurugi shook his head.

"It's not quite the same. He's there to remind people that life is hard and that you need to learn from every experience. Good or bad. He's not out to get anyone specifically, although it may seem that way to you." Yatsurugi reassured.

"Well, at least I'm not on his hit list." Keien stopped. "Hey, where's Hiroshi?"

"He must still be in the snow drift." Yatsurugi commented glad to see his friend was no longer thinking revenge. Yatsurugi looked up just in time to see Kayumi pull up in her car.

"Hello!" she called climbing out and slamming the door. "What are you two doing down here?"

"Fetching an escaped kitten." Yatsurugi said.

"Hiroshi made a break for it?" Kayumi laughed walking up to them. "I bet he's giving you a good run for your money. Still, we need to find him before he gets hurt." She said noticing the kitten sized hole in the snow several feet away. "Hiroshi?" She crunched through the snow just as a little black head popped up.

"MEOW!" Hiroshi tried to leap out, but it was too high for him. Kayumi had to lift him out. He was cold and wet.

"How in the…?" she began.

"We'll explain upstairs." Keien said. Kayumi nodded and still cradling Hiroshi followed the men up the stairs. They were half way up when a voice called to them.

"Excuse me, but you haven't seen a little black kitten around have you?"

The woman sat on the couch facing Keien, Yatsurugi, and Kayumi. They stood staring at the woman in gray trousers, white blouse, and long black coat. Her pale hair was pulled back in a twist, held by two long needles adorned with abalone shell. Her violet eyes were somber and full of grief.

"I'm so sorry to bother you like this, but it is rather important that I have that kitten back." She said at length.

"Are you the one who sealed him?" Kayumi asked bluntly. The woman jerked and her eyes widened as Kayumi let her see the pair of wings. Yatsurugi followed his sister and unfolded his wings. The woman's jaw dropped.

"You're both angels? What about you?" she asked Keien. He shook his head.

"Nope, I'm mortal. And yourself?" She looked away. Hiroshi had bolted into Keien's room as soon as they had invited the woman in. He'd hissed once, then disappeared.

"My name is Helen. I'm an angel of death." She said quietly. She bit the bottom of her ruby red lip, scraping off some of the lipstick. "It's all my fault!" she blurted out at last. "I was so angry at him for disobeying orders. I know it was petty, but I'd had a stressful day and I just couldn't deal with him! I just couldn't! Not that day. He was supposed to have brought that soul in a while ago, but he hadn't and then he broke the rules and…" her words trailed off as she began to cry. "I just snapped. It was only to last fifteen minutes!"

"The seal was only supposed to last fifteen minutes?" Yatsurugi asked. Helen nodded as a handkerchief appeared out of nowhere. That would explain why Haruka saw a five and Keien a one. They'd each seen one half of the number. Helen collected herself.

"He used the last of his unsealed powers to teleport away from me as soon as I sealed him. It was supposed to only last fifteen minutes, but when he didn't come to work the next day, or the next I realized that the seal was longer. I've been looking for him for the past two weeks. I want to apologize and take the seal off."

"That you should." Kayumi stated looking down at the other female angel. "Just because you're having a bad day doesn't mean that you should seal someone!" Helen shrank back.

"I..I..I am try sorry."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to."

"I know. May I see him?"

"It's not my decision." Kayumi informed her. "It's his." Helen nodded. Keien felt sorry for her. Helen was obviously torn up about this or she wouldn't have come looking. He looked back towards his bedroom. Hiroshi was most likely hiding under his bed.

Helen rose. Then suddenly her eyes flew wide. A great look of relief spread across her face. Keien studied her curiously as she began to smile.

"I must have set it for fifteen days." Helen murmured. Suddenly she grabbed Kayumi's hands. "I only set it for fifteen days!"

"What are you talking about?" Kayumi asked pulling her hands free before they were squeezed off. Helen looked ecstatic.

"The seal. It was to break after fifteen days instead of minutes." Everyone turned at once towards the new voice.

He leaned against the doorjamb. Long black hair flowed over a blood red turtleneck and down to his black jeans. His boots were scuffed and well worn, but were no less black than his pants. Red eyes narrowed at Helen.

She stood mesmerized for a moment before throwing her self at his feet.

"Please forgive me!" she said prostrating herself in front of him. Her head touched the floor and held there as she waited for the verdict.

"Forgive her or they'll never get her off the floor, Hades." Kayumi told the angel. Keien's eyes widened. So that was Hades, Angel of death and Kayumi's last date. He was shorter than Keien had pictured him. He's shorter than Kayumi, he realized as he continued to stare. Hades sighed.

"I forgive you, but that doesn't mean I'm still not mad. Do you have any idea what it's like being stuck as a cat!"

"It was amusing for us." Yatsurugi commented. Hades shot him a dirty look. Kayumi snickered.

"How about I arrange that you have the next couple of months off." Helen suggested quickly before he totally lost his temper. "You could take a vacation. You haven't had one of those in a couple centuries." Hades thought about it.

"That doesn't sound too bad. I've needed some time off for a long time. That Eizou incident wore me out completely." Hades said. Helen looked up at him.

"I'll start the paperwork immediately." She got up and headed towards the door. "I'll have it done by the time you get back. So take you're time." She called as she put on her shoes. "Nice to meet you all." When she'd gone, Hades' hopped into the air and just floated there. Then he got an impish smile and glided over to Kayumi. He dropped down so that she was forced to catch him in her arms.

"I missed you." He purred.

"You were tearing around my apartment like a lunatic. How could you possibly miss me?" Hades looked hurt.

Because I could only have non-kitten thoughts half of the time." He replied nuzzling her. Yatsurugi tried not to laugh. Glancing over at Keien he noticed he was having the same problem.

"Well, we did wonder how that date went." Yatsurugi whispered. Keien snickered.