The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

Update: Thank you to Gaia, for being the beta for this chapter. ^.^

A/N: I’ve noticed something in my excessive reading. I’m reading a manga called Addicted to Curry right now, and it’s a sienin manga. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s a story targeted at older males, nineteen to about twenty-five, I think. This manga has some of the hottest anime people I have ever seen drawn. You’d think the guys in the manga would be less attractive when it is targeted at males. Honestly, the guys were as hot as the girls were and I was like, “Woo-hoo.” Some of the guys were hotter than the ones that usually flaunt themselves in shoujo manga. ^.^

Gaia: Thank you for your review. It made me laugh because I had been thinking the same thing after chapter 4. *chuckle* I even showed it to my sister and a couple of friends. I’m glad you like Shuey, though. I’ve had a few people I know personally tell me that she’s too standoffish and negative to actually be a human being. I’ve actually met a guy just like her once. Even though he was really scary, he drew people in like he was some kind of magnet. Is it just because people are fascinated by what they don’t know or understand? I wonder sometimes.


Chapter 8-Fighting Dirty
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Shuey awoke with a headache. She knew she it wouldn't be wise to have a headache
before enduring both Leon’s and Cordon’s company for a long period of time, but just
thinking about it made her head hurt. Tossing the pillow in her face to the side and off the
bed, she glimpsed around the room from her reclined position. She’d been laying here for
nearly half an hour, but she really couldn’t be bothered to move. Just knowing what she
had to deal with soon put her in an apathetic mood. It was very strange to feel this way
when she was usually so dead-set to get things done.

Without even a chance to revel in the glow of laziness, Shuey’s little comfort was
shattered by a knock at the door. “Shuey? Are you awake?” If she wasn’t mistaken, that
was Leon’s voice. She did not want to answer that door.

“She’s up, I know she is, just open the door.” Another male voice grumbled from the
door. It wasn’t the smooth, creamy tone that Jerrick usually used, but she could still
identify the man when she heard him. “What are you just gawking at me for?”

“The door’s locked, idiot, how am I supposed to just walk in?” Shuey rolled her eyes as
the morons on the other side of her door argued. How were these two friends when they
bickered at one another like this? “What if she’s naked, anyway?” Smirking, she sat up,
grabbing her boots and socks beside the bed and sliding them on. She could wear the
same pants twice, right? After all, she’d just tended to the bar yesterday. She did tug off
her shirt, though, digging around in a bag for another one, finding a blue shirt that fit her
just perfectly.

Just as she slid it on, “Just pick the lock, Leon. No, wait, I have a key somewhere…”
There was some amusing muffled noises coming from the door before. “Ah… what are
you staring at now?”

“Pervert.” Jerrick’s deep laughter reverberated through the air, making Shuey roll her
eyes again. And these two were supposed to teach her something? Without a sound, she
stood in front of the door, watching as it swung open to reveal the redhead angel and
ebony haired demon. They stared at her in astonishment for a few minutes before anyone
spoke. “She’s going to take that key from you, you know.”

Without realizing it, a small chuckle escaped her throat, making both men’s jaw drop.
Was it really that amazing to hear her laugh? “Ah, yes, anyway…. are you ready to go,
Shuey?” She nodded dully and followed the two out, wondering idly why they had come
to her door personally in the first place. Instead of going downstairs like she had
expected, the pair led her upstairs towards the roof. So that’s where they planned to train
her.

Once the morning light hit her face, she realized just how early it was. It was irksome to
know she hadn’t gotten the sleep she needed. “First, I need to know how you would react
in a fight right now,” came the baritone voice of Jerrick, interrupting her train of thought.
He smiled at Leon, whose wings flared from his back; without any blood following, she
noticed with annoyance. A smooth chiseled chest lacked a shirt, allowing one to see the
muscular frame as it was. His red hair was a tousled mess, spikes going whichever way
they fancied as the small breeze blew over the roof. Wearing nothing but a pair of black
pants and what looked like construction boots, the angel smiled at her with a wink and a
wave of his hand.

“Come on, Shuey, how bad can you be?” he taunted, a smirk forming on his features.
With a frown, she looked at the man before her, wondering whether he was truly what the
humans called an angel. Weren’t they supposed to be… kinder or something? She’d
known he wasn’t a nice guy, but he hadn’t outright provoked her before. Although she’d
only known him for a couple days, and that wasn’t really enough for an accurate sense of
personality… or was it?

"Right,” she muttered, stretching slightly as she usually did when she woke up. She
nodded slowly at Leon, knowing she had agreed to this the previous evening. The angel
smirked wider, lunging towards her with surprising speed. Eyes narrowing, Shuey ducked
and turned, landing one elbow solidly into the man’s gut, watching smugly as the leer on
his face vanished. As if the offending elbow would pierce his skin, he jerked back and
swung a heavy fist in her direction.

Eyes widening, Shuey dove towards the ground and swung a leg up, only to have it
caught by the winged man she was up against. It was only when he picked her up off the
ground that she realized she was much shorter than the angel. Not letting it deter her, she
tugged lightly at her most useful belonging, pulling the dagger from its sheath and
slashing out at his thigh.

With a flinch, he dropped her suddenly, as if surprised to see that she cut him. When she
only rolled further away and rose to one knee, he realized that she was fighting him as if
the situation was real. “I’m not really going to hurt you, idiot. You didn’t have to fucking
cut me!” Jerrick had a smirk on his face as the redheaded man twitched in anger, even as
the wound healed itself on his leg.

“It’s not like it really hurt you anyway, Leon. Chill out.” This earned him a glare from his
old friend, only making him laugh more. “I’m fairly sure she did it to distract you more
than injure you. Don’t you think it would have been deeper if she had intended to wound
you?” The angel mumbled at him before eyeing Shuey as if she was a coiled snake, and
his mind’s eye she probably was. He might just take her seriously this round.

“Well, let’s try again, then.” Without another word, he went for her again, this time
knowing she would spring in a counter attack. When she did, she moved more quickly
than any human could, which surprised him a bit. He hesitated for just a second,
nullifying his attack but giving him enough time to block hers… barely.

Her dagger was buried in his arm this time, but Shuey was on the ground. Slightly
confused, he turned to Jerrick for the answer. The demon only nodded at the ground, so
he glanced back to see the girl shudder and claw at her arms, leaving small streams of
blood in wake of her nails. “Leave,” she said dangerously, looking up as her bangs fell
beside her face instead of in front of it. Two different colored eyes glared at him, leaving
him stunned and staring at her in awe.

Mere seconds after seeing her eyes, she screamed, which did make him jump back a
slight bit. He hadn’t jumped entirely because of the scream, he’d jerked back because of
the wings that practically leapt from her back as if they were flying away, spattering
blood on his chest and face. When she didn’t move for a few minutes, he began to
wonder if she was dead. A small moan slipped from pout lips as Shuey’s body slumped a
bit, fingers clawing at the concrete beneath her fingers. “Pick her up, please,” Jerrick said
softly, watching his friend’s reaction warily.

This really hadn’t been what he planned. He hadn’t wanted Leon to know in case the
angel had a prejudice against the product of such a union. Without even a sound of
indignation at the order, Leon had stooped low and picked up the lithe body. Brows
furrowed, he laughed as he went to the door. “She really doesn’t lie, does she?” When
Jerrick only shook his head, he knew the demon was gauging his reaction. Knowing the
man for so long, he guessed it gave you that advantage. “Don’t worry, I left my beliefs
with the angels. This woman…” he trailed off as he tromped down the stairway, Jerrick
leading the way to ensure no one saw the pair. When he opened Shuey’s door, Leon lay
her softly on the bed, seeing her curl up into what appeared to be a ball. “How’d she
survive for so long?”

The demon leaned against the closed door, arms crossed, a small smile on his face. “She
won’t say. All I know is that she’s seventeen, a mixed blood, and… I know her father’s
name.” Leon gave him a look that obviously said, “who?” and the lean man smirked at
him. “Zeke Brethmel.” And that’s when he realized how the man kept such a stubborn
creature in his shoddy inn. “She’ll wake up in a few minutes. If she’s up to it, we can go
back and finish training.” He turned around and headed out the door. “Clean her up,” he
muttered before disappearing behind the wooden thing.

“Sheesh, you’re trouble,” Leon whispered before meandering into her tiny little bathroom
to find something to clean her off. Spotting a towel, he grabbed it and swiped at her back,
having to lean over her because her back faced the wall. When he leaned back, two
different eyes were watching him carefully, but her eyes ventured to the knife still buried
into his arm. Noticing the widening eyes, he followed them slowly. “Whoops. I forgot
about that,” he murmured and dug the blade out, wiping his arm carelessly on the towel
and eyeing the wound as it healed. “Feeling better?”

Not sure how to respond, Shuey nodded and sat up slowly, wincing as her head swam. It
seemed she’d lost a lot of blood again. Her wing problem kept getting worse, and
eventually, it was bound to kill her, right? She frowned at her train of thought before
looking up at Leon. He probably wanted to ask a few questions. “What do you want to
know?” she asked lowly, hating herself for forgetting her jacket.

Blue eyes narrowed slightly and the angel shrugged. “I don’t care,” he said bluntly,
eyeing her back a moment before going into the bathroom and looking for something to
hold water. “Do you have a damn cup in here?” Seeing the shaking head in the corner of
his eye, he sighed. This girl really didn’t know how to take care of herself. “You need
something to drink. Water.”

Seeing Leon looking through her belongings, Shuey glared at him. What right did he
have to look through her stuff? She idly noticed the blood on his chest, but dismissed it
quickly, fairly certain she knew where it came from. She was still unsure how the man
was taking this. Would he try to kill her? Obviously not, or he would have done it
already, right? “Come here.” Different eyes widened slightly at the direct command, then
narrowed in insult. “You need something to drink, ya know… oh, I see. Please
come here,” he corrected sarcastically.

When she didn’t budge, the angel stalked over and picked her up, ignoring the fist to his
back. It really didn’t hurt that bad, so he just carried her to the bathroom without listening
to her. He dropped her on the small toilet like a huge sack of potatoes and leaned over her
to turn the knob of the tiny shower. “You like it cold, right?”

“How?” she muttered, but quieted as if realizing something after speaking. He chuckled
at the look on her face, turning the cold water completely on and tugging at the hem of
her torn shirt. When she raised her arms, he came to the conclusion that she was nowhere
near modest. The door opened and closed quietly, signaling that Jerrick had returned.
His frame filled the doorway, eyebrow arched as he witnessed Leon tugging Shuey’s shirt
up. “Already molesting her? Don’t you think she might be a bit tired?” Seeing the scowl
on both faces, he chuckled, though he couldn’t repress the jealousy he had at seeing them
so in sync. “Shower?” The woman nodded as the angel straightened.

“Move,” she muttered, pushing against the redhead’s chiseled chest to make him shift
towards the door. Once he was well out of range, she just yanked the shredded shirt off
and left it in the floor, leaving the two of them gaping at her. “What?” she asked,
irritated. “Going to watch?” Not expecting blushes or muttered apologies, she watched as
one smirked and the other crossed his arms and chuckled.

“Is that an offer?” Leon muttered, earning a glare for the comment. Chuckling, he nodded
his apology. “Bet she goes through a lot of shirts that way. How's she get new ones, I
know you don’t pay her much.” Jerrick’s muffled reply couldn’t be heard through the
door as it closed. With a sigh, Shuey pulled off the rest of her clothes and stepped into the
cold water. It felt wonderful.

She guessed that all angels preferred the cold water, but maybe it was just Leon’s
observation skills. He had surprisingly good ones, meaning he was the type that naturally
read people like books. That was more irritating than she’d like to admit, so she just tried
to spread her wings in the tiny space to get the blood off and not think about it. Running
her hands over each wing, she eyed them for missed spots and decided to discard a full
wash for a quick rinse. Leaving those two idiots in her room alone was not favorable to
her. Shuey quickly wiped herself down, removing all excess water and slipping back into
what clothes were in tact. They still had some blood on them, but she didn’t really care.

Stepping out, both men looked up at her in surprise. “And I thought all women took
forever to bathe.” What took so long about it? You washed up and rinsed off and got out.
Not bothering to answer, she bent to get a shirt from her back, receiving silence as she
did. When she did return her gaze to them, sliding a shirt over her head, Jerrick was just
staring at her and Leon was smirking again.

“What now?” she asked irritably, not really wanting to put up with the pair if they were
just going to gawk. The angel shrugged at the russet haired half-breed, obviously not
really caring one way or the other. Jerrick, on the other hand, just gazed at her steadily,
assessing her health, she supposed. Not caring in the least, she rummaged through her
clothes to see how many she had left before she needed to do laundry.

“Ready for more training?” Jerrick asked slowly, eyes never leaving her body as she
moved. Rolling her eyes as her back was turned, she shrugged visibly. “Well then, let’s
go back. You can get used to using those things if we’re lucky.”

Shuey jerked up, brownish red hair brushing her cheeks as it swayed one way then back.
“Using them?” When the dark haired demon only nodded, she glared. “You want me to
fly?” Knowing that was a very stupid question, she watched the man laugh at her
outwardly. “No.” Succeeding in wiping the amusement off his face, she went on out the
door ahead of them.

“Wait, what?” the demon questioned, earning a chuckle from his angelic friend. “Don’t
laugh, she said she won’t fly. What did she expect they were for, shields?” Leon only
patted his back roughly before standing and heading towards the door.

“Probably,” he muttered as he trailed after the irate halfling. Women were so much
trouble, especially the moody ones like this one. Then again, he could understand that she
was annoyed, being ordered around when she was obviously used to making her own
decisions. As he’d observed her the past two days, he’d noticed that she didn’t say much.

He was fairly sure she’d grown up alone, or at least in isolation. That was probably the
only reason she’d lived this long. Who knows, maybe she had found some suckers like
him and Jerrick to protect her until she decided she no longer needed them.

“Jeez, better hurry then, in case she chooses to train on random people to vent off some
of that temper.” With a chuckle, the friends walked quickly towards the rooftop, knowing
the storm that awaited them.

A/N: And I think I’ll end it here and finish their little training session in the next chapter. O.o I didn’t really want to drag out the session so long, but I guess I did. ^.^ Sorry. I hope Jerrick and Leon seem very comfortable around one another, because they’re supposed to be really good friends. *smile* I’m not sure if it was a good idea for Leon to know about her lineage so soon, but I guess that’s the way it is. If nobody likes it, I can always go back and change it in appeasement. *grin*

I’d like to say that I appreciate my reviewers a lot; they make me more comfortable with posting my story here on AFF. I read the story over from time to time, but being the author, I always find it boring. *sigh* It ruins the excitement if you know the story so well. If I say it is boring, don’t worry, that’s my perspective as the author. My friends have often said I’m very cruel when it comes to critiquing people, so I try to avoid doing that. O.o I’m a nice person, though…. Most of the time. ^.^