Aoba fell silent the entire way to the truck. His gaze never left the ground, willing himself not to turn around. Not to look back. Aoba tugged on the ends of his clothes, hoping that having to press the bottom of his short back out would distract him. 

It didn't. 

The angel mimicked the priest as he put his seatbelt on. Right after, his gaze focused on his lap. He refused to look at the barn again. He tried not to think about what happened, but instead he ended up thinking about everything. Him crash landing to earth and Kuro's promise to protect him. . . Meeting Dani. . .Having so much fun with the two demons, and then the attack that happened not too long ago. All of that played over and over in his mind, but Aoba stayed completely silent, save for the few sniffles and him wiping his eyes. 

"You did the right thing Aoba." Gerard hated to see the young angel so hurt, but of course he would be. The angel had grown attached to his so called protectors. Gerard was sure that once he got Aoba to the church, he'd understand. The angel would feel better and purer in no time. He glanced over at the angel every now and then as he drove. "So, when we get to the church you'll need to bathe. And then some of the others will help you start your purification. The sooner we do it, the quicker we can work our way getting you home." All he got was a small and quiet nod from Aoba, making him sigh gently. Aoba would get better. He would. 

~~~~~~~

The trip was far. They even passed the town. He didn't even know there was a town farther out from what he was used to. The unfamiliar territory made the angel nervous, but that was typical for the angel. Lots of things made him nervous. By comparison, this town had way more people and buildings and things going on. There were a lot more cars on the road too. It made Aoba shrink away from the window. Everything was overwhelmingly larger. 

The truck parked and Aoba stared at the church in front of them. It wasn't larger than his- well, Kuro's barn that was for sure. The outside looked like a regular, yet kind of old brick building with large windows. At the top, there was a pointed tower with a bell inside. Aoba had never been to a church before, but he remembered learning about them. They were sanctuaries. They were places to heal. They were the closest thing to his old home since he had been kicked out. He could sense the trickles of pure energy seeping out of the building. Slowly, he followed Gerard to the building. "O-Ow?" Moving closer to the building, he felt a sharp sting around his arm. 

The priest pulled Aoba's sleeve up and examined the bracelet. "Demonic charms. You can’t keep this. It'll hinder the process." As Gerard took it off, Aoba looked genuinely surprised. Being surrounded by so much demonic energy he didn't even realize it. Aoba's sad expression returned as he quietly followed Gerard once more. What the priest did with his bracelet- what he thought was just a simple gift, Aoba didn’t know. He didn't want to admit that he liked it and wanted to keep it. 

The inside of the building looked a lot larger than the outside. The ceiling was high and two chandeliers illuminated the building. Cushioned pews were lined on either side- a lot of them too. Aoba's examination of the place was cut short when gentle gasps broke the silence. Two women, one elderly and the other much younger rushed forward from a back room. By their looks, it was quite obvious that Gerard must have told the two a lot about him. Instinctively, Aoba's wings moved closer to his back but he didn’t move away when both women stopped in front of him. "You could have told us to prepare for the angel, Father! Oh, he's so small. Are you hungry? Are you hurt?" A small, wrinkled hand went to his head. "You're warm. But you don't look sick." She frowned gently as she stared into his eyes. "Come, come. Let's get you settled in. Ariel, get some clean towels and clothes."

Gerard watched the elderly woman with a warm smile. The loving woman should have been able to get Aoba out of his funk. As the angel was being pulled off, Gerard spoke. "This is Miss Susan or Susie. She's one of our elder members and she'll be able to help you and show you around the church. And that was Ariel, my daughter. She'll be able to help you around too." Aoba looked back at Gerard a little nervously as he was pulled towards a door leading to the back rooms. "Not to worry Aoba. You're in good hands." 

~~~

"Goodness, you poor soul! You're so dirty! They must have worked you like a dog at that barn."

"I- Ma'am, you really d-don't need to do this! I-I'm capable of cleaning my-myself!" Aoba was a bright red color as the elderly woman decided she would take it upon herself to clean him down. 

"No need for all of that nonsense dear. I need to make sure you're clean. In all my lifetime, I've never seen divinity dim like yours. I'd expect you to be some sort of soldier the way you've managed to get your feet so dirty." For an old woman, she was quite forceful. Fortunately her touch became much more gentle as she cleaned off his wings. "So gray. . ." Susan muttered to herself as she examined them. Aoba was forced to sit quietly in the small basin. Hearing her comment about his wings made him flinch in guilt. "Oh, it’s okay dear. Not to worry. We'll get you feeling better. And get you home." When she was satisfied with her job, she allowed Aoba to scramble up and dry off. He kept his back to her as she began to ramble about doing this before and cleaning others like homeless people and. . .Well, by that time Aoba had put on the white button up shirt and dark slacks he was given. Something "appropriate" for the church- well midday. No need for sleepwear at the moment.  

"Come, come. I'll have Jade show you around. My old bones can't move as fast as they used to." The angel didn’t have anything to say. He didn't really want to be there. He knew it, but he felt wrong thinking it. He was supposed to be happy with the familiarity. . .but instead he felt so empty. The sudden hand rubbing his back made him look up from the floor. "There, there dear. You have a lot on your mind, I can see. It's in your eyes. Things will start to clear up for you." The angel simply nodded, but was mostly unresponsive. He folded the used towels for the elder and then followed her gesture out the room. 

[I]'I honestly just want to be alone. . . But it's not polite to do say something like that. Not when they're working so hard to make me. . .better.'[/i] The old woman made him feel like he was sick. She kept mentioning he would get better. But was he really sick? Back at the barn [i]they[/i] never said he was sick or anything, just weird. But- But he shouldn't have been thinking of them. They were bad. And yet somehow he had a hard time believing himself. . .

The angel had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't realize he had wandered back into the main building until he noticed the pews lined up again. Quietly, he sat down in the second row, unsure of what to do next. Everything was so foreign- it was unnerving. It felt like coming to earth all over again. He didn't know where he was and the one person he did know, he didn’t want to be around- but just like the first time, being alone was never an option. . . The angel leaned his head against the seat in front of him and sighed.

[I]'What's wrong with me? Maybe I don't deserve to be an angel or anything. I've screwed up so much. Why am I so. . .broken?'[/i]