Chapter 1 - Before Everything

"Will continuous failures and hardships from the past shape one person permanently? Maybe the present things they're going through? Or will it be the things waiting for them in the future?"

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In the world of Calisthea, various kinds of creatures coexist together with mankind. Angels, Demons and a special kind known as "Mythos," are beings that possess an incredible amount of power.

Unbeknownst to mankind, "they" have been living with them for countless centuries. However, it's impossible for any humans to track these places down as they exist in different realms from one another.

Quite recently there have been cases where some of them started living in cities and villages. Some say it's to befriend humans, some say that going into the other realm will be beneficial for their race while others say that they just want a new environment to live in.

In one case of a heartbroken angel living with her family alongside humans, they must keep her real form as a secret while they're helping her on the way to recovery. Not only that, but they have to protect their own family secrets and real identities as well.

Will you watch this tale of mystery and secrets unfold?

.....................................

The moon shone brightly, lighting up the darkness in the sky. Surrounding it were countless stars, beautifully aligned together to give a little bit of light. There were no clouds in sight and only the fresh breeze of the nearby forest was present.

In the midst of this, a young blonde girl was sleeping peacefully in her room. Not too long after, there was a knock on the door but she was still in a deep sleep. The door slowly opened and a man entered inside. He had cerulean hair and was wearing a special kind of butler suit with a badge on his left that has the letter "S" engraved in it.

After looking at the young girl sleeping, his eyes dawned on a clock atop a small dresser beside her bed. It read as 9:30 PM. He also noticed her school bag that was on his right already filled with books and notebooks. Seeing the scenario, he couldn't help but chuckle.

'(Wow, they weren't kidding when they said she was excited for tomorrow.)'

He walked over to her side and took a small portion of her hair in his hands, twirling it around.

'(...To think it's been 5 months already. The first semester's over and she still hasn't gone to school yet, despite enrolling back in March.)'

'(Then again, Eri kept on delaying it because of her condition. Living every single day just to experience hell over and over, huh... And now it's already August 31.)'

'(She's had a rough life so far. I was there to see everything, yet all I could do was stare at her. Now that I have a second chance at life, I'll make sure to protect her from danger.)'

He silently stared at her from afar, her hair still in his hands.

'(Eri told me to check up on her but she's already asleep. I don't really want to disturb her just to talk, she deserves to rest a lot these days.)'

'(...I just hope she gets better soon.)'

After taking a deep breath, he stood up and was already headed straight for the door until he heard a small groan coming from his back.

"...Ugh."

"Seira?"

"Ngh...haah..!"

He quickly ran up to her, holding her hand in his.

"AAAH!"

"Seira?!", without knowing, his grasp tightened.

"N-No! Don't come near me!"

Her groans started to grow louder and tears started flowing down her eyes.

"...Please, stop!"

Her mouth seemed to be shaking uncontrollably and it continuously let out small grunts. Not knowing what to do next, he couldn't help but bite his tongue.

"Seira!"

"AGH!"

"Hey, Seira! Can you hear me?! It's just a dream!"

"Urgh, haah..!"

This time, he took a moment to look at her clearly. Her cheeks were drenched with tears that were coming out one after another, her face was filled with sweat and her whole body was shaking.

"Hey, Seira!", he shouted again as he grabbed her arms and flailed it around. Sadly, it didn't work.

"Agh..."

"Wake up!"

He flailed her arms around as much as he could and successfully woke her up. She woke up, horrified.

"Hey!" he said, looking into her eyes.

"What's wrong? Is it another attack?!"

She...didn't say anything. She stared into the distance with her blank eyes. Even though it was devoid of any emotion, her body was still shaking in horror.

He took a deep sigh, slowly thinking of what to do next. He held her hand and spoke in a gentle voice.

"...You can tell me what's wrong."

Slowly, she turned her head towards him and a small light glimmered in her dark, sapphire eyes. Her mouth started to tremble and before she could even speak, her voice cracked. Then small sobs and whimpers soon followed after.

"Sorry, Ciel... I, ugh, can't talk properly...like this..."

"It's fine, just take your time."

Her sapphire eyes started to fill up with more tears and her voice became hoarse. She couldn't help but grip her blanket more tightly.

"T-That..."

She placed her hand to her neck.

"...I tried my best to forget about it completely... ngh, but it always comes back, no matter how hard I tried... I can't forget about it."

"It's been years ugh, haah... I still remember everything...vividly. This is ridiculous."

"I'm sorry, I just...don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't want my past memories to...trigger something on accident again."

"...Alright."

He loosened his grip on her wrist and shifted one of his hands onto his pocket, taking out his phone. He was about to dial a number but was stopped by Seira.

"P-Please wait! I don't want...ugh...anyone to see me like t-this yet. Agh...let's wait for a while..."

He placed his phone down on the nearby dresser and took out a handkerchief in his pocket.

"Here, it's clean."

"Thanks..."

That moment, she started coughing and sniffing a lot more. She quickly hid her face behind her hand while she used the other to wipe her tears, she glanced at him with a flushed face and eventually looked away.

"...I'm sorry..."

"What for?"

"I didn't want to bother anyone with my problems. If possible, I'd do everything I can just to be able to control myself...along with my memories and feelings."

"It's tiring seeing me over and over like this, right? Everyone's taking care of me, always tending to my needs, and yet I haven't gotten any better. I'm still as weak like I used to," her lips curved up into a smile, but it was forced.

"I think you're pretty strong yourself. Even though you went through a lot, you still didn't give up. You need to give yourself some credit."

"..."

Seira was left with nothing to say and just hung her head down. Her guilt was all over her face and a heavy sigh escaped from her lips.

.....................................

A few minutes have already passed; Ciel still hasn't taken off his right hand away from holding hers whereas Seira finally calmed down. He dialed with his left hand and quickly got connected to the other line.

"...Eri? It's me. I'm in Seira's room and seems like she had another attack because of a nightmare."

As he was talking, he felt Seira's hand tightened a little. He glanced at her to check what was wrong and noticed she was frowning. He didn't say anything and just kept on talking with Eri.

"...Oh, in a minute? Please get the medicines then."

He turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"How're you feeling?"

"...Still terrible."

He raised his hand up to her forehead and then checked her back. He noticed two small wings that grew out with some of the feathers falling down.

"They appeared out of my will," she said.

"So the attack was severe enough that it forced you to grow out your wings. Only a small portion grew out, so you have a little bit of self-control, right?"

"Yeah. There isn't any side effect to this, but it'd be problematic if my wings suddenly appeared in public. Unless I regain back my full control, it won't go away."

"Since it appeared, I wonder if I can go tomorrow... You know how Miss Eri is, she might delay it again just so I can get more rest."

"But you want to go, right?"

"...Of course, it's been 5 months since the first semester started. I also don't want to bother the principal with my delays anymore."

She sighed, shaking her head. She stared into the distance but couldn't help fidgeting. Not long after, Ciel spoke up.

"What is it?"

"I want to apologize for...acting like that earlier. I bothered you, didn't I? I'm sure you were on duty before you came here. Also, your handkerchief is dirty now..."

"Out of all the things to worry about, it had to be that? Seriously..."

"You do know that it's also my job to look after you, right? Whether I'm on duty or not, your health's our first priority."

"Everyone has their ups and downs. You don't have to feel ashamed for what you've done earlier."

After hearing that, her eyes couldn't help but tear up. There wasn't a drop that escaped, but her eyes still shone brightly with a hint of gratitude to his words.

.....................................

Eri and Hiro, who held the medicine, finally made it onto her room. Seira reached for the medicine and the glass of water on the small dresser to her left. They sat on the bed while Ciel stood nearby.

"...Thanks. I'm sorry I woke you two up, I know you've been tired and busy lately."

Eri smiled and held her hands, "It's alright. We don't mind, we can just take a rest any other day."

"You don't have to worry about us. We're willing to help our daughter no matter what," Hiro replied.

"..."

Her eyes couldn't help but start to tear up again. Eri started stroking her hair in a very soft and gentle manner. Thanks to her parents and Ciel, Seira finally calmed down after a while and regained a little bit of her composure.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?", Hiro asked.

"...I'd be fine with bread and milk."

Ciel bowed his head and said, "Then I'll be back."

When the door closed, a moment of silence hovered over the three. Wanting to lift her spirits up, Hiro broke the ice with a smile.

"Seems like you're very excited for tomorrow."

"I happened to glance at your bag earlier and all of your belongings are already there."

"I've been waiting for it ever since a few months ago. I don't want to forget anything tomorrow, so I prepared everything already."

She glanced sideways at the floor and placed her hand to her neck.

"There's something that's worrying me lately. I've been wondering if...I could get along with my classmates. They've been together ever since the first semester so they already have their group of friends. I was wondering if I could still fit in."

"Hmm, about that? Most people get curious if there's a transferee and they come up to talk to them. Besides, most people wouldn't mind having a new friend in their group. I'm sure you'll meet some of them tomorrow."

"...I guess."

Eri stared at the two of them, not saying a word. Later on, her cheerful expression was replaced by a frown. She opened her mouth, hesitating to say a word but Hiro stopped her.

"...Don't say it right now, we'll need to talk first."

"..."

He turned his face towards Seira once again.

"Ciel, Johnny, Ain, Hyosuke and Wilhelm will accompany you to school tomorrow. One of them will guide you to his office. I've already informed your uncle about it."

"We rarely talk nowadays but when I answered his call once, he kept on asking me about how you were doing. Surprisingly, he didn't even ask about how your brother was. That old man misses you a lot more than him," he laughed.

Eri leaned in and said, "I'm sorry Seira. We wanted to go with you tomorrow but work got in the way."

"It's alright," she smiled a little bit. "You've done enough for me already, I can handle myself tomorrow. Both of you need to get back to work as well."

"Anyway, if there are five of them with me, then I'd have nothing to worry about."

Seira continued talking with her parents. And after a few more minutes, Ciel made it back with a small tray in his hands. They spent their time together in the dimly-lit room, smiling and laughing while reminiscing some memories to get Seira's mind off her nightmare. They stayed with her throughout the rest of the night until...

"Oh? It's already 10:15 PM," Seira looked at the clock beside her bed.

"Please get some rest, you three. I'll handle things from here."

Nobody stood. There was still a hint of hesitation left in her parent's hearts but Ciel urged them to go.

"I'll stay here," he said. "I'll stay by your side until you fall asleep."

"...Well, if you say so."

They opened the door and were about to leave the room, but Hiro peeked his head inside one last time.

"If you need anything, feel free to call us anytime, alright?"

.........

When they were on the way back to their room, there was a long silence between them. A frown started to appear on Eri's face and she couldn't help but bite her finger in frustration.

"Are you still worried about her?", he asked.

"...Out of all the days, why did it attack her again tonight? Right before her first day of school?"

"Some things can't be predicted. Her attacks come out randomly unless something triggered it this time."

With one last bite, she put her hand away and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Why did you interrupt me earlier? I was planning to talk to her about delaying it again."

"...Seira wouldn't want that. She's been excited over this for a month now and if you did it again, you'd only take her one source of happiness away."

"But she had an attack! Did you forget?! Putting her health first should be our priority!"

"She's been doing okay so far. I'm sure she didn't do anything to trigger an attack. And just as Daniel told us, panic attacks occur randomly whether its by night or day."

Darkness consumed her face as she hung her head down. Her voice became soft, like she was trying her best to keep her composure.

"I don't care if it's random or not anymore..."

"What if it attacks her again tomorrow and we're not there to assist her? What if she loses control and changes into her real form by accident? What if something bad happened and she couldn't contact us..?"

"We can defend ourselves any time with magic, but what about her..? She's forbidden to use or do anything that can hurt others."

"Once more people come to know about our existence, she'll also be in danger. I can't have history repeat itself after what they did to Lizanna..."

"Seira will be treated like a lifeless lab rat. She'll be experimented on, beaten and tortured until death... With the current technology here in Caelesthaerus compared to back then, it's possible they might even extract her lifespan."

"We've seen it first hand, haven't we? Humans will do everything just to acquire power and longer life. It's ridiculous how they're even more dangerous than Demons..."

"The principal understands her condition and the risks of her going out to the public after what happened on TV months ago. Shouldn't you also be taking my side, then..?"

"...I know, but we can't just delay it on the spot after discussing it with the principal for the last time. She's been excited over this for a month and we can't interfere with this again."

"We have to give her freedom at some point. We can't control every action she does. She can take care of herself on her own, we have to trust her."

"Don't you remember the first time she spoke to us? She wanted freedom more than anything else. I'm on her side this time because I want to respect her one and only wish, Eri."

She raised her hand up to her hair. Hiro went closer to her and hugged her in his arms, digging his face into her shoulder.

"I know you want what's best for her, but we have to let her explore and learn things on her own while trying our best to keep her safe at the same time."

"You...have to promise me that you'll protect her and her brother from now on."

The moonlight shone on his face as he lifted it up. He tightened his arms around her.

"I promise you, I won't let that tragedy happen again. I'll protect this family at all costs."

"...I'll be counting on you."

This time, his lips formed into a gentle smile. He rubbed off the tears on her eyes, caressed her cheeks, and then kissed her on the forehead.

"Thanks for giving her a chance."