Senshi (Guardians)

At four pm, Ariella gently descended onto the schoolyard. Students began to gather round, but a force field prevented them from coming too close. The canopy opened. Thael exited the craft and waved. They recognized him at once. He was wearing his Ikemen clothing.

Kyoko ran down the stairs. Thael took her hand and they passed through the force field. She stepped up and into the cabin. He gently patted Ariella’s side next to the door. It closed and sealed itself. He got in on the other side. As soon as his door closed Ariella gently rose into the air. When she reached five hundred feet, she hovered a moment. By now everyone still at the school was watching.

Ariella shot forward so fast, some of them missed it because they blinked. There was no sonic boom.

A few seconds later she landed on the top level of the Hospital parking structure. The two royals exited the craft.

“Is it safe to leave her here?”

“Certainly, she’s a sentient life form, and can take care of herself. Look…”

Kyoko turned around and the ship had disappeared.

“I forgot she could do that.”

When they entered the hospital room Sato Ami was surprised.

“You came?” Her speech was slow and thick. She was on heavy pain medication.

“Of course, we came as soon as we heard.”

Kyoko walked over and took her hand. “When a friend is sick, we will always be there. How do you feel, Ami chan?”

“Groggy. Bad headaches… can’t move my legs anymore.”

“Kyoko sama? Watch the door for me,” Thael’s white wings appeared.

Ami Chan managed to say: “Tenshi…?” She was pretty groggy from the pain meds.

“Not really. Just relax and let me do my thing.”

His wings started glowing. He rubbed his palms together and a white light that went from a glow to searing bright was leaking through cracks in his hands. “Close your eyes, Ami chan, I don’t want to blind you.”

It was an easy request to fill because the light was already irritating her eyes, making her head ache worse.

He put his hands on her head for thirty seconds. The white light got even brighter. A nurse came in and saw the winged man surrounded by a bright light. She screamed and ran from the room.

“Just a few more seconds…” Then the glow disappeared along with his wings. He staggered back to the chair and sat down.

When the nurse came back to the room with other staff, Thael and Kyoko were sitting in the chairs. Sato was sitting upright, chatting with them.

“But I saw an Angel I tell you. It was here with its hands on the patient’s head. It was glowing so brightly it was almost blinding.” She looked at Kyoko and Thael. “You must have seen it. You were here.”

“Sorry,” Thael said. “No Angel here. We’re the only people around. Did you see an Angel, Kyoko sama?”

“No, I can’t say that I did, Gomenasai.”

“How about you, Ami chan…?”

“No. I’ve just been here chatting with you two.”

One of the other nurses spoke up: “Chotto matte… An hour ago you were practically comatose. Now you’re conversing and can speak normally?”

“Yeah, it happened kind of suddenly. No more pain. I feel great!” The nurse noticed the IV was disconnected. She rushed off and came back with a doctor.

“Say something, Sato chan,” she said.

“What would you like me to say? My headache is gone and I feel fine.” She got out of bed. “See?” She danced a jig. “It’s all working again.”

The nurse told her to lie down on the bed. The doctor said he needed some privacy. The nurse pulled the curtain around the bed. Thael and Kyoko left the room while the doctor examined Ami chan.

The nurse opened the curtain ten minutes later. As the Doctor and nurse left the room he said, “It’s impossible. That tumor was terminal. How can she be okay?”

He ordered a brain scan. Fortunately they had room to squeeze her in. A while later he came in to the room again. “I just don’t understand it. The scan shows nothing there. The tumor is completely gone. We need to observe you for a few days. If all the results are clear, we’ll send you home.” He left in a hurry.

Thael leaned closer to Kyoko, “Wait a few minutes. He’s in for an even bigger surprise.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I do that, I don’t just heal the person I’m touching.”

Ami chan sat forward, “What? Who else does it heal?”

“It takes a lot of power to heal a tumor that size. That power goes all over the place. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that almost everyone within a three hundred foot radius on this floor, the floor below, and the one above was healed too.”

Kyoko tilted her head, “But how come you can do that?”

“It’s the same power I use to heal myself. I just turn it outward. The only problem is that there is nothing left for me for several hours. I have to rest to get my strength back. You may even have to help me walk.”

Sato was concerned, “Are you all right? You didn’t hurt yourself helping me did you?”

“I’m not hurt, just tired out. Say, one of your friends tells me you make pastries.”

“Yes, I want to become a pastry chef if… when I graduate.”

“Can we try some? She said you make your own creations.”

“Yes. I’m experimenting all the time. I’ll make you some of my successes.”

“Great. I’ll be looking forward to it. Kyoko sama, my legs seem to be all right I need to…”

“They’re down the hall. We passed them coming in. She kissed him. Are you sure you’re good enough to go alone?”

“Been going alone for a long time, my love, I should be okay.”

Ami chan chuckled.

“Baka! Don’t take too long, we’ll worry.”

“No problem.”

He left.

Ami chan put her hand on her head where the tumor had been, “He fixed me didn’t he?”

Kyoko smiled, “Yes, that crazy, wonderful, Angel-man did.”

“I knew I saw an Angel.”

They heard a commotion in the halls. A nurse came in and checked on Ami chan. She saw her sitting up and lucid, “You too, huh?”

“What does that mean? Me too, what…?”

“All our coma patients suddenly woke up. They’re asking questions and I have no answers. Three floors of patients suddenly cured. One nurse said she saw an Angel. There are miracles happening all over tonight. She rushed out of the room.

Ami chan giggled. “Little does she know… say; Thael seems to be taking a long time. Do you think he’s okay?”

“I’d better go check.” Kyoko left the room in a hurry.

The hall was bustling with nurses and aides. Kyoko asked if they had seen him, but they hadn’t. They were too busy to notice anyone even if he is a pop star. She finally found him. He was lying on the floor in one of the stairwells.

“Thael…? Thael! Are you all right? Do you need a doctor?”

He looked at her and winked. He nestled his head in her lap. She held him. She was crying softly. Her ring had almost turned black. Thael’s was turning too. When she wiped her eyes, she noticed her ring.

“No, no, no, no…”

“No what, my Princess?” He sounded half asleep. “Have I told you today how much you mean to me? How much I love you? I love washing your back in the shower. I love washing and massaging your little feet. When we get home, I’m going to start at your tiny toes and kiss every part of your lovely body.”

The rings started to glow. They glowed brighter as he continued talking. She realized she had to think loving thoughts or their rings might die and never sing again.

She began to think of all the things she loved about him. The rings grew brighter. Soon they began to sing. She let out a sigh of relief, “Yokata.”

“Kyoko sama?”

“Yes my love?”

“Why are we cuddling on a cold cement stairway landing?”

“It seemed like the thing to do at the time. Are you rested enough to get back to Ami chan’s room before we leave? She was worried about you.”

“Yes, but I’ll need some help. My legs are gone and so is most of my strength.”

She helped him up and they limped back to Ami chan’s room.

Ami chan met them at the door. “Yokata! I was worried about you two. I was about to come looking for you.”

She helped Kyoko get Thael into a chair. “I think he needs that bed more than I do.”

Kyoko smiled, “He’ll be okay. What he needs most is some rest. For some reason he’s totally exhausted.”

A nurse came in and made Ami chan get back in bed.

“You won’t believe it. I just heard that an Angel walked through the children’s cancer ward and cured all the kids… miracle after miracle tonight.” When she was through adjusting Ami chan’s bed, she left.

“Thael, you didn’t!”

He was lying in her arms. He looked up at her, “Well, they’re children, Kyoko sama…” He closed his eyes.

She looked down at him, her hand on his cheek, “My Angel, my wonderful, crazy Angel-man. What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me for the next few thousand years,” he mumbled before he fell asleep.

Ami chuckled. Kyoko sat holding him, her hand still on his cheek, looking at his face.

“Baka, like I could love anyone else?”

Their rings were singing softly.

The news that night had two main stories. One, the mysterious Angel that cured so many at the hospital, but the biggest story was the second: the Guardians had come to earth. Government officials announced their ambassadorial status and they talked about the Interplanetary Rescue teams. They told the people not to panic if they see a saucer or any other strange craft in the skies. Then they told them they might get a glimpse of one or more of the winged people flying by too.

They had interview footage of Thael and Kyoko talking about their origins and their marriage. They had filmed it a few days before. One of the Government officials explained that they were the crown Prince and crown Princess; heirs to the throne of Taelon. There was Vid from Taelon showing the palace and the Sacred Singing Valley. Another clip showed Taelon families doing the same things with their kids as Earth parents. Except for the ears, they were just like humans.

The PR blitz worked. Ninety eight percent of the public came to accept them; however, as always, there were a few zealots that refused to believe that any life forms from space were anything other than demons. The Pope announced that it would be arrogant to think that God had made only one people and one inhabitable planet among the billions of stars out there.

Ami chan turned off the TV. “You two sure have made an impression on the world,” she laughed. “At least now I know why Thael can do the things he does. No wonder you always call each other sama. I can’t wait to see the other student’s faces.”

They explained everything that had happened at school. Kyoko invited Ami chan to the wedding on Taelon and she readily accepted.

Two hours later they went home. At about four o’clock in the morning, Kyoko felt something tickling her toes. She looked down and saw Thael.

“Baka, what are you doing?”

“Keeping a promise,” he kissed the top of her foot, then her ankle. When he got to the top of her calf he kissed just behind the knee where the leg bends.

Kyoko’s voice came out of the darkness: “If you stop now, you’ll regret it.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” he slowly kissed his way up her thigh.