The next day, I meet up with Reine on the way to school, walking silently side by side. Last night, I spent a few hours watching a movie with Ayette, Vivian, and Darian in the living room after Nathan and Melantha left. Reine ended up making dinner because she felt it necessary to repay us for being so kind to her and my parents had no objections to a nice, pretty girl offering to help out. Reine ended up making nachos with cheese and some sandwiches to go with, as well as a pitcher of iced tea. Ayette heated up a cup of Ramen for herself because she's not a huge fan of sandwiches and so she had her nachos with that. I want to be able to spend as much time with my family as I can, given that I might not see them for a long time.

As the two of us continue walking together, I recall one of the conversations I had with Reine in my room last night when the two of us were alone.

"Hey, Reine?"

"Yeah?" she asked, looking over at me as we sat together on my bed.

"What's your realm like?" I breathed out, "I mean, I might be staying there for a while, so..."

"My realm?" Reine's eyebrows raised before she turned her gaze away, fixating her eyes on the carpet, "well...it used to be quite beautiful. It still is beautiful, but it is much more dangerous now than it used to be. There are four major sectors and then there are six adjacent sectors. Then, beyond those six adjacent sectors, there are eight more sectors. There are also some areas that are not within any sector. The sector I came from was full of beautiful cherry blossom trees and it always felt generally warm there. I wouldn't call it super hot, but it was nice and there was often a warm breeze to go with it. I remember when I was a kid I always loved playing in the fields. I also enjoyed playing in the warm rain. It always made me smile. Training in the rain was fun too. I remember one time I was coming back from training and it just started raining as I was walking through my village. I was disappointed, but I remember smelling fresh melonpan coming from one of the market stalls and little eleven year old me sprinted to it as fast as I could, my sword draped across my back as my feet splashed through multiple puddles on the dusty dirt road. My mom made a fuss over me potentially getting sick or fatigued as she chased after me, but it was worth it to me. My father just laughed and encouraged me when he heard the story."

"Wow," I smiled softly at the girl before me who was fondly recalling her past, "it sounds like you really loved it there."

"Yeah," Reine smiled gently, looking over at me as her eyes held a warmth that somehow felt deeper than anything I've ever seen or felt, "I really did. I still do, it's just that...there is a lot of conflict now. I do my best to help with my fellow guardians, but sometimes it's not easy."

"Nobody ever said life was easy," I said, looking ahead at my door and smiling absentmindedly, unaware that Reine had her expression fixated on me, her eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat.

"Who all do you..." I clear my throat and Reine glances over to look at me, "who all do you have to pick up in this realm still?"

"Well..." Reine pauses for a few moments, thinking, "Renji is the last link in this realm, aside from you, Nathaniel, and Melantha."

"Where even is he?" I ask, raising a brow at her.

"Renji is also a junior like the three of you, but he turned seventeen a few months ago, so he's slightly older," Reine explains, "and he's...aware...of his nature. Renji is in a high school not too far from here, perhaps fifteen minutes away."

"He already knows?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah," Reine hums in thought as we turn the corner of the sidewalk and come upon the school, "I will explain in further detail later. We'll be going to find him tonight, hopefully."

"Do you know what his gift is?"

"Of course I do," Reine smiles softly.

"What is it? If you don't mind me asking."

"Angel," Reine says quietly, almost forlornly, "Renji is Angel."

***

"Remind me again why all of us had to come?" Nathan sighs as the four of us stand outside Renji's high school at dusk, "I had soccer practice, man..."

"Don't you think saving the world is a bit more important?" Melantha darts her eyes over to Nathan, who simply sighs again in defeat.

"I think the better question is, why are we here at night?" I ask.

"You'll see," Reine says, pursing her lips together into a firm line as she leans around the corner of a sunset-orange brick wall, the rest of us behind her, our eyes all watching in anticipation.

My eyes widen in surprise whenever I spot a tall, lean yet built male wandering from side to side, his puffy, wavy, strawberry blond hair having wild tufts sticking up in multiple places as he holds his left arm while he staggers. He grimaces, his grip on his arm faltering slightly as pain flashes through his amber eyes that have shards of bright green in them. My eyes flit to his back, noticing the pair of white angel wings that furl inwards and disappear into the back of his white v-neck, drops of blood trailing down his left arm and landing on the pavement. Drops of blood occasionally land on his stonewashed grey jeans and on to his black and white sneakers, dirtying them. In the distance, something shines and glints around his neck and I suspect that it's a necklace that's partially hidden under his v-neck.

He suddenly falls to his knees in the middle of the cobblestone courtyard, a few benches on either side of him, as well as some hedges and shrubbery, and his torso begins to shake softly at first before it becomes more violent and his sobs echo to my ears.

"Renji comes here every night," Reine whispers, her voice sorrowful, "his father abuses him and his mother died when he was five. His mother was an Iegashyia and his father loved her dearly, but he became an alcoholic after she died and ended up taking his anger out on Renji. He despises Renji because of what he is, simply because it reminds him of his wife and that she died because she was killed in battle by an enemy Iegashyia. He thinks that if she were normal by his means, everything would've been okay and they could've lived happily ever after, and now Renji blames himself constantly even though he did nothing wrong. He just...accepts it..."

"That shit's not right," Nathan scowls, his eyes darkening.

"How do you know all this?" I ask, my eyes flickering between Renji and Reine.

"I am able to watch over each Link in my Soul Chain and I can sense their emotions..." Reine frowns, her eyes flickering down to the ground, "I tried my best to influence his link as best as I could, sending him hope through my powers as a guardian, but I was unable to leave my realm itself to do much more. I was...in a predicament...for quite some time. Now that I'm able to be here, I want to help as much as I possibly can."

I frown when she mentions that she was stuck in a predicament for a long time and begin to wonder what happened whenever I hear a female voice cry out.

"Renji!" a short tan brunette cries out, her long straight hair flying out in all directions behind her as she runs up to Renji in a white short sleeved hoodie, jean shorts, white thigh-highs and white ankle boots, a pale pink purse thrown over one of her shoulders to match the pale pink headband with dark pink and red jeweled hearts on it in her hair, "Renji! Don't tell me it happened again! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Renee," Renji smiles tiredly, rubbing the back of his neck, "really, I'm fine."

"Oh, Renji," Renee sighs, her hazel eyes sadly scanning over the boy before her, "you're far from fine. Come here. We'll go get a bite to eat. It's on me, yeah?"

"Renee, you don't have to do that," Renji frowns, "I don't want you to spend--"

"Nonsense," Renee waves it off, tugging on Renji's visibly uninjured arm, "you're coming with me whether you like it or not. You need something to eat and I'm going to get you patched up. As your best friend, I demand it."

"Uh," Nathan starts, his eyes flickering between Renji and Renee, "looks like you might be losing your guy there..."

"Not on my watch," Reine waves a hand and stomps out into the open, marching towards them.

"Reine, wait!" my eyes widen and I hesitantly chase after her, Melantha and Nathan following suit.

Just before Reine reaches them, Renee eyes her from the side and reaches into her purse, hastily pulling out a sharp silver dagger that glows bright white with a white ivory handle. Renee points her dagger at Reine while Reine summons her katana and points it directly at Renee, the two of them eyeing each other up as Renji stands there wide eyed and the rest of us catch up to Reine to stand behind her.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Renee narrows her eyes skeptically at the four of us.

Why do I keep ending up in these types of situations?