Chapter one, in which I attempt murder on my main character

[therealkaichan]

Chapter One
The black haired girl


The Mother had chosen the name Celine for her. She liked it, it was kind of cute, even if she didn’t think she was cute enough to fit it.

Like any normal girl, Celine would wake up in the morning, and do her chores. She would meet the rest of her family for breakfast, and they would talk about normal things, like the weather, their plans for the day, or if anyone had an interesting or fun dream.

Then it was time for class, which Celine did enjoy quite a bit, lunch, more class, and after that it was homework until dinnertime. She could have the time after dinner all for herself, which she usually used to read or watch television. It was, all in all, a nice life.

From her family, Celine couldn’t really say anything remarkable. Her mother was nice and kind, and a little strict. Her father was a bit of a boring man, always into his work and his books. Her older sister was pretty much outside all day long, too busy between her boyfriend and her studies.

On the bright side, not having anything remarkable was also a good thing. It meant there were no bad things to say, right? She got along just fine with all of them.


However, this is not a story about Celine’s nice quiet and normal life, but a story about how her easy life became a little bit more complicated.

Like everyone, Celine was protected by the Angels, and she was very thankful for that. The Angels were kind and selfless, and always ready to put a human’s needs before their own. Like any normal person, Celine liked all the Angels, even the more stuck up ones, but it was simply logical to like your Counselor a bit more. Saelel was an important part of her life, and he was always ready to hear and lend a hand.

Thanks to the Angels and especially her Counselor, Celine was able to lead the nice, happy life she had. Thanks to their hard work they lived in a safe, happy place, where there was no need to worry about dangers or about leading an unfulfilling life.

The morning where everything started, Celine woke up feeling a little uneasy.

She was pretty sure it was all because of the stories about the missing girl in the Sixth District. It was strange for people to go missing, usually they just turned out a little later, but this one had been lost for over a week, and people were starting to whisper.

It was very likely that soon the Mother would make an announcement regarding that, but for the time being it had been nothing but silence.

Her Counselor always said that there was nothing wrong with doubting as long as you were ready to do something about it. Feelings were tricky and could sometimes be confusing, but that was exactly why so many Angels had become counselors to begin with, to help humans sort their thoughts and think about what they wanted to do.

With that in mind, Celine dressed up and joined her family for the usual breakfast ritual.


That day was the day she met the black haired girl.

Months later, when thinking about this, Celine would wonder if her choice of meeting Saelel that day had been what took her to where she was now. She wasn’t really sure if there was such as thing as fate, or if it was only a thing humans had made up to try and understand the world, but she was absolutely certain that taking another road would have absolutely changed how things had turned out.

But by now, thinking about that made no sense.

Celine was on her way to the Transformation Center when the girl came in like a flash, running away from some imaginary enemy. The girl kept looking over her shoulder, and Celine couldn't help but wonder if the girl was an irregular, or if she was actually scared of something. They were instructed to stay away from irregulars, since they could be dangerous, but she couldn't just judge someone like that.

As she got closer, Celine noticed the girl wore the uniform for one of the Sixth District schools. She couldn’t help but frown at that, was this the missing girl?

“Hi...!” The black haired girl smiled, and Celine blinked a few times, confused, taken out from her thoughts.
“Are you fine? Do you need help?”
“I’m fine, just fine!” The girl gave a small twirl, almost as if to show her she wasn't hurt or anything. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Celine.” She was quick to answer, after all you didn’t deny your name to another person, it was just impolite. The girl’s eyes almost brightened up, and she laughed quietly.
“Ah! So my Angel was right!”
“A-are you sure you are fine...?” Celine couldn’t help but take a step back at the girl’s outburst. The more she saw her, the more the uneasy feelings grew.
“Perfectly fine now! But are you fine?”
“Why wouldn’t I be...?”
“I don't know, you started asking, silly!”
“You were running, and I thought...” Celine trailed off when the girl started laughing again.
“Because I was late for our meeting! My Angel said I would meet a girl with a name of the moon today at this time. He is always so kind to me.”
“Your angel...?”
“Yes, yes!” The girl giggled, stepping a little closer. Celine frowned. It was really strange for the streets to be deserted at this time, and yet nobody was around. The houses looked quiet and empty and the uncomfortable feeling washed over her again as she tried to put some more space between her and the stranger.
“If you excuse me... I should be on my way now.”
“Oh no, no. You simply can’t. There is something I have to show you right now, and you can’t miss it, not for anything.”

Like everyone else, Celine had never experienced pain before. The Angels made sure that pain was nothing but a slight inconvenience accompanied by a warning signal to the brain, so this experience wasn’t something she was ready for.

The blood she had seen, and the aggression (even if it was quite rare) she had also experienced, but the feeling was absolutely numbing, and for a moment she could only watch the blood seep from the wound in her abdomen with an absent feeling.

When trying to make sense of these things, Celine would tell herself that the black haired girl had a knife hidden somewhere in her clothes, that the strange sensations had confused her mind, and that the whole thing had been something that she would forget with time, but all the wishful thinking did nothing to alleviate the issue at hand.

As she blacked out, Celine realized that she wasn’t scared, and that scared her more.




She woke up in a strange bed. Her hands went straight to the place where the wound was, but she felt nothing strange, and had to move a little to realize nothing was there but a small white line.

She was quick to deduce that she was in a hospital room, and that she had probably been taken there by a passerby. The wound was gone, because it was very likely that an Angel had already healed it. She was very busy in her detective work when a man entered the room. His white clothing marked him as an Angel, and he was quick to give a look at the room before looking at her.

“Miss Celine. Are you feeling well?”
“Y-yes.” The sound of her own voice startled her a little.
“Good. We have informed your family about this, and they know you are safe. You should get more rest.”
“Thank you...”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No, I’m good... Did you catch her?”
“The irregular? She is still on the run. She had not show any kind of aggression before, so she was not considered as high priority. We have informed the Mother and she has dispatched the priority team to handle this.”
“I’m glad... Hopefully she won’t hurt anyone else.”
“The Mother will make sure of it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“If you need anything else, you can ask any of the nurses. If you have any questions, my name is Iofiel, you can ask them to call me over.”
“I will.”
“If you excuse me, then.”

The Angel bowed, as politely as he had spoken before leaving the room, and Celine breathed a sigh of relief. She felt much better knowing that the strange girl wasn’t going to be on the run for much longer. The Priority Team had never before failed to catch or at least neutralize an irregular, after all.

As she rested her head on the pillow, she wondered why the Angel hadn’t mentioned anything about the unusual pain she had felt, but the thought flew her mind as she drifted off to sleep.



The next time Celine woke up, there was a nurse in the room. Her blue sky clothing marked her as a human, and she smiled a little upon seeing her move.
“Are you feeling well, miss Celine?”
“I am, thank you.”
“That is good to hear. The Mother has assigned you a Guardian, she should be here anytime.”
“A Guardian?”
“Oh that must be unusual for you... Iofiel said it was to take care of you while the procedures were finished.”
“I see...”
“You are very fortunate, miss Celine. Not everyone gets to have their very own Angel, even if it is for a while.”
“Fortunate is a way to put it.”
“O-oh... Excuse me. I should’ve offered you something for lunch!”
“Lunch sounds well right now...”
“I will get you something right away.” The nurse smiled, stepping back. “The remote for the television is on your right side, feel free to use it.”
“Thank you.”

The nurse left the room quickly, and Celine sighed. At least a Guardian meant she should be safe from any strange tricks by the black haired girl, but it was still a little weird. She wasn’t anything special to warrant so many cares, at least not that she knew.

Well, she would put up with it for as long as she needed to. The Mother wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like this for no reason, so thinking too much was just pointless.

Celine reached for the remote, and turned on the television, flipping between the channels for a while until a familiar face on the screen caused her to stop.

White shoulder-length hair (a little longer on the right side, was it?), red eyes, pale skin and that immaculate suit, were the quickest ways to recognize the Mother, not that anyone in the world wouldn’t recognize her face. Celine waited, remote still in hand to see what it was about. The headline title from the news showed this was a recorded message, but even then, the Mother was a busy person, and she wouldn't take the time for this if it weren’t important.

“Because of this, it is most important that you remember to report any suspicious or irregular behavior to your Counselors. A responsible behavior will help us keep Order, and it will keep you and your family safe, which is our priority.”

Celine smiled at that. Clearly the Mother had taken the time to calm down the people after the things that happened to her, and that was a good omen. Once a problem got to her, it got solved with no exceptions. The black haired girl would be caught soon, and she would very likely be helped to reintegrate into society.

“---for this we once again recommend that you make sure of not going outside alone until we find the irregular.”

Celine nodded. That made sense, and she should have thought about it before leaving on her own that afternoon. Ignoring the protocol had been a bad idea, even if there were no news about the irregular being aggressive.

Sighing a bit, she rested her head in the pillow, her attention drifting off from the message, and she stayed like that until the doctor and another girl, an Angel, came into the room.

“Miss Celine.” Iofiel started. “This is Nanael. She was assigned as your Guardian for the next few days.”
“Hello Celine.” The brown haired Angel smiled at her. “My name is Nanael, hopefully we will get along just fine.”
“Hello...” Celine smiled, moving to sit a little. “Nice to meet you.”
“She will be ready to be dispatched by the afternoon.” The doctor added. “We have some paperwork to finish and some small routine exams. She should be done by then.”
“That is good.” Nanael answered, still smiling. “I will explain anything she needs to know, about Guardians and the standard procedures, meanwhile.”
“This is good. Excuse me then.”

Iofiel left without waiting for an answer, and Nanael laughed quietly, her green eyes a little mischievous.
“He’s such a sucker for the rules. He drives me crazy.”
“Rules are there for a reason...”
“Of course, but there are times when rules cannot solve everything. That’s when he starts being all weird.”
“Have you known him for a long time, miss Nanael?”
“Just Nanael is fine. And yes, we used to work together a long time ago.”
“I see...”
“But let me give you the short rundown. I was assigned to check on you while we catch this irregular. You get a panic button and all. Then if you see the suspicious girl, you just push the button and bam, I’ll be there before you can say the word panic.”
“I understand.”
“Wow you’re such a quiet one.”
“Why would I be any different...?”
“Well, usually the irregulars target people who have a lot more spunk, since they tend to be drawn to personalities closer to theirs.”
“I see...”
“Maybe you have some hidden badassery that we haven’t found yet?”
“B-badassery?”
“Of course. Some talent, or maybe some really hardcore thoughts.”
“I’m just a normal girl, Nanael...”
“Normal doesn’t have to mean boring. But don’t let me rant too much or Iofiel will get angry at me for upsetting you.” The Angel chuckled, getting a little closer. “We can try to find it later!”
“It sounds like a terrible idea...”
“Oh! Spunk! I like that!” Nanael laughed playfully while stepping away and checking her pockets. “Now where is that thing...?”
“Did you lose something?” Celine tried to get a better look, but the Angel shook her head, taking something out of the uppermost pocket of her long coat.
“Nope, here it is.” She said offering a small silver object to Celine. “This is your panic button. You see danger. You push it. You get Nanael.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“You should also use it to let me know when you are going out. You push the button twice for that.”
“So twice to let you know I’m going out, got it.”
“You can also push it if you happen to find you did have a special badass talent, I’m always ready to have some fun.”
“That sounds like a terribly dangerous idea. What if I take you out of another important duty just because I had a silly thought?”
“Wow, you are kind of boring.”
“Benefits should not be abused. It’s the kind of things we get taught at school.”
“You are all growing to be mean deadpanners.”
“Excuse me.” A third voice interrupted. It was the nurse, bringing Celine’s food, and like that the discussion died out.

Celine had her lunch, and had all the exams done before being allowed to leave. Nanael insisted on staying by her side during the whole thing, chatting a lot and getting Iofiel quite uncomfortable. After that Celine was given an envelope with instructions and then allowed to leave. Nanael insisted in accompanying her home.
“So, today you are going home, but tomorrow you should go to the Transformation Center, huh?”
“I’m sure you shouldn’t be reading the instructions written for me, Nanael.”
“And I’m pretty sure your special talent is being a party pooper.”
“Maybe it is common sense.”
“Wow I see you implying I lack common sense. That’s mean.”
“I’m not implying anything.”
“Lies lies. So. Do you have a boyfriend? Any friends?”
“I have friends. I also have friends who are boys. But I’m single.”
“Oh... Any boy you like?”
“How is this even related to your work?”
“The topic just got dangerous, huh?”
“It’s not that. It’s just irrelevant.”
“Okay, okay... I just wanted some more info so I could have our team check on all of them just in case.”
“You could have just asked, you know?”
“But what would be the fun in that?”
“Not everything is about fun. You could try being serious every once in a while.”
“That too, but why do it when it’s not needed? I like having a little fun with you humans.”
“You are weird.”
“But isn’t being weird a good thing? It makes me different.”
“Everyone is different. We are all unique.”
“You’re just saying that because you were taught to say it.”

There was a long moment of silence. Celine didn’t want to admit she had thought those things before. It was wrong, wrong. Everyone was special. So why was she even doubting? Had she really been programmed to think like that?

“Celine.” Nanael’s voice got her out from her thoughts. “Don’t think about it too much. I’m just being silly.”
“It’s fine... I don’t mind thinking a bit here and there.”
“That is a good thing... Many people are scared of thinking, and that makes them close minded.”
“Do you really think that...?”
“It’s complicated.” Nanael smiled. “Thinking is good. But thinking too much can be terrible.”
“Saelel always tells me that it’s all about thinking but not letting the thoughts take over you. You mean that?”
“Yes, that’s a good way to put it. He’s your counselor, right?”
“Yes. He has been my counselor since I was a child, so we speak a lot.”
“I have only spoken to him a few times, but he seems to be a decent enough guy.”
“He is always very kind to me.”
“Then that’s good enough. There is no point in having a mean counselor.”

It was then that Celine realized they were in front of her house. She stopped before going in, however, a little curious about one of the things Nanael had said.

“Is there such a thing?”
“As what?”
“A mean counselor.”
“Some people get along better with less permissive or kind people. Everyone is different.”
“That’s true... I remember Nate saying something about his counselor being really different to Saelel... I hadn’t thought about that before.”
“It would be pretty horrible if you had to confide in someone you don’t get along with, huh?”
“Right. I suppose a lot more things happen on your side than we humans think...”
“That’s simply reasonable. You have no need to worry about that.”
“Still. Sometimes I wonder if we humans aren’t a little mean, always taking your help for granted.”
“A bit, maybe. But we don’t do this expecting any kind of gratitude or retribution.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“We do it for the Mother.”

Celine let the conversation drop, and thanked Nanael for her help before going in. Her family was all over her in seconds, worried about the incident, but her mind was far, far away.


------------------


Notes:

I don't know what's happening anymore.

I really don't.

I remember when my main character was going to have a different name.

I also remember when Nanael wasn't supposed to appear yet.

Michael is so hot.