Hatsu shrugged at Sam's input, and was still considering his answer when blurted out a sudden compliment concerning his eyes. Hatsu raised his eyebrows at her and blinked, but before he could give any other reaction the girl quickly apologized, made an excuse, and changed the subject again. Hatsu sat, stunned for a moment, until he could regain his previous train of thought.<br/><br/>"Uh, yeah..." he started, "I'm not sure. On one hand, he'd probably be a big help against the Reverend, but on the other... he was definitely trying to get away, and I doubt any enemies saw him, moving at his speed. I doubt he's in much danger, so... I guess maybe we should leave him alone?" Hatsu sighed, "I really can't figure that guy out. He's confusing enough in the first place, and he never shares anything about himself either. All I really know is his name-- and he wasn't even the one who told me it."<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/>(I've decided that Azrael and Abaddon are half-brothers.)<br/><br/>When Lord Death approached him and began speaking, Azrael immediately jerked himself out of his train of thought and stood to attention. "I'm sorry, my Lord," he said quickly. "I was distracted. You see..." he paused briefly, "I've just had a telepathic chat with Abaddon. It appears that he and his host are no longer amicable with with Lucifer and the Reverend. He asked me to pass on two messages the next time I saw you."<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/><br/>"Merle--!" Vaan exclaimed, stopping his stroking for a moment to look down at the mismatched girl and seeing her condition greatly worsened.<span style="font-style: italic">This isn't good,</span>he thought desperately,<span style="font-style: italic">I don't have any time!</span>But he had to do something. If he didn't... Merle was going to die-- almost certainly. But maybe... even with his training only partially completed, there would at least be a chance she would survive.<span style="font-style: italic">Any</span>chance was better than none, right?<br/><br/>------------------------<br/><br/>Hiei quieted down when Alastor snapped at him, and waited quietly for the story to start.<br/><br/>"Now," Alastor said, "This was several years before the invasion. I'd learned that there were plans to invade the mortal world so I was paying a short visit to see what it was like. After wandering around for a while with no real destination, I eventually found myself at a cozy-looking house." He paused to smirk for a moment before continuing. "I had lapsed into a spirit form for the visit, so I was completely invisible to the humans. So I just walked inside and took a look around."<br/><br/>"As it turned out, there was a small conflict going on inside. I passed by a small girl in the hallway-- a cute little thing, clutching a pink rabbit doll-- and stood behind two adults: a man and a woman. They were talking through a door at someone, and they sounded very concerned. Apparently, they were worried about the boy inside because he hadn't left his room in a long time-- except at night, when he would sneak out and do god knows what. The door was locked, but the father got desperate and went to get a key for the door so they could go inside. When the door was open, the well-meaning human parents stepped inside a foot or two, and I followed, moving off to the side where my view wasn't blocked. The parents spoke in concerned voices to their son, but he didn't say anything. He just stared at them."<br/><br/>"All of a sudden, the boy moved. He grabbed the base of the small lamp on the dresser beside his bed and ripped it free of the wall. He tore the shade off, leapt forward, and swiftly beat his parents to death." Alastor smiled again as he continued, "That much was understandable for me. They'd gone against his wishes and invaded his space. No, it was the next part that amazed me."<br/><br/>"I followed the boy as he walked calmly out of his room. His eyes turned down the hall and caught sight of the brown-eyed girl-- certainly his sister. I watched him as, without any emotion, not even a blink, he strode up to the girl, petrified with fear, and beat her to death too."<br/><br/>Alastor laughed and his eyes went wild with excitement. "I'd never imagined a human could do something like that! To kill something so precious, beautiful, and innocent, for absolutely no reason--<span style="font-style: italic">and</span>to show no emotion while doing it...! That child was more demonic than some<span style="font-style: italic">demons</span>I know!"<br/><br/>As the story progressed, Hiei's eyes opened wider and they quivered slightly. Perspiration broke out on his forehead and his breathing grew uneven.<span style="font-style: italic">A lamp,</span>he thought,<span style="font-style: italic">a lamp... I dreamt about a lamp. Oh god no! That boy...</span><br/><br/>"True," Alastor continued, "when it came to my main ability, manipulation, you weren't compatible with me at all. But as soon as I saw that cruelty, and that affinity for killing, I knew I would make you my host when the invasion began." He smirked, "I found you in a matter of hours. The only problem was--"<br/><br/>"Stop!" Hiei interrupted. "That's enough!"<br/><br/>Alastor frowned. "But the story isn't over yet. Don't you want to know what happened after you ki--"<br/><br/>"I said," Hiei interrupted again, a dangerous edge to his voice, "Shut. Up."<br/><br/>A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Alastor's face when he saw the look in Hiei's eyes.<span style="font-style: italic">J-jeez,</span>the demon thought.<span style="font-style: italic">He really wants to kill me...!</span>"F.. fine," he consented, feigning confidence. "But we'll pick this up later."<br/><br/>------------------------<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Vaan.. Please.."</span>Merle muttered deftly. Coronis panicked up above, and Vaan struggled internally to come to a decision.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"... Go ahead and try, then. If you want to save her so badly,"</span>Abaddon said after a while.<span style="font-style: italic">"You could get lucky. Just don't go killing yourself in the process."</span><br/><br/>Vaan's emotional state steadied as he got that final push towards a decision. He held Merle carefully in one arm and freed the other, holding his palm to her wound.<span style="font-style: italic">I cannot regenerate anything,</span>he reminded himself.<span style="font-style: italic">All I can do is take away the pain, fatigue, and whatever toxin is in this wound. Then, I'll have to trust Merle to recover on her own.</span>The next moment, small black flames appeared lining the edges of the tears in Merle's face.<span style="font-style: italic">This will probably scar her,</span>he thought as the process began.<span style="font-style: italic">Imperfect black hellfire can still do minor damage to physical things. Well... I'm sure she won't mind some black-singed scrape scars on her face if it means she can live. Oh please let this work.</span>