They call it Love The angel watched as the newcomer flew by, eyes full of tears. "Hey," she said sympathetically. "What's wrong?" The newcomer paused in her flight and turned to look at Kasumi. "It's Ryuuki-sama! He..he.." Kasumi nodded to herself, and drifted forward to take her junior in her arms. "Don't worry," she said, stroking the younger angel's hair. "Ryuuki-sama can be really abrasive at times, but he doesn't mean half the things he says." The younger angel raised large shimmering eyes to Kasumi's. "But Ryuuki-sama said that only a fool couldn't get the sunlight trick right, and I couldn't! No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the light to shine just so.." "Shh." Kasumi told him, pulling him into a tighter hug. "Not many people can get that trick right on the first few tries. But it's a favorite of Ryuuki-sama's, and he doesn't like having to deal with angels who can't do it properly yet." She released the boy from her embrace. "Come, I'll show you how to do it." "Thank you." The younger angel said, drying his tears. Kasumi watched him for a moment, then said softly, "Ryuuki-sama wasn't always this grumpy, you know. He.. has a reason behind all his behavior- has a reason for why he's so angry and sad all the time." "What reason?" Her junior asked, his interest piqued. Kasumi looked around, to be sure that they were alone. She sighed. "They call it love." "Not normal love, not love that is freely given and freely received. Selfish love. Eros-love. Some angels have this, of course, but for the most part they aren't as in poor shape from it as Ryuuki-sama." The younger angel looked puzzled. "Eros-love? I've heard about that. But.. aren't all sorts of love supposed to be good?" Kasumi shook her head. "Not the type Ryuuki-sama suffers from. You see, he loved this other angel, and his love wasn't returned. It's been a hundred years, and Ryuuki-sama's heart still hurts from it." "Oh." The younger angel looked stunned for a moment. "It must be really painful, living with that pain in his heart for a hundred years. But he's the Fire Angel. Can't he heal his own wound?" Kasumi was silent for a moment. "This wound.." She said, "I think only someone special can heal. But there hasn't been anyone special enough to heal his wound, so far." "Not even the other Archangels?" The older angel smiled. "I don't think so, dear. There are things and there are.. things. Some things just can't be solved. The pain will just have to wait for time." Ryuuki let the voices of the two angels fade away into the sky as they left, together, even as he slumped against the tree he had been standing next to. Eavesdropping- listening to the conversation of others without their consent or knowledge, was wrong, of course. But he hadn't known that the two angels would pick the area just outside the grove he had been working in to hold such a conversation. Nor had he wanted to hear what they had been saying. He knew, of course, what most of his heavenly brethen thought of him; how could he not know? They respected him, for his skill and power, but they pitied him for his wounded heart. No one had told him that for a long time. The Bridge was cool and comforting as always, even if it didn't hold the familiarity of Heaven. Touki liked it because it was always quiet, as Heaven so often wasn't, and because Kami always relaxed His rules when they were there. She turned her head slightly, so that she could see Ranshou in her field of vision. The taller angel turned, too, and smiled at her- that smile he kept for when they were alone. She loved all his smiles, although she would never admit it, but she loved this one best of all- the one only she and she alone got to see.