The Cherubic of Kokichi Ouma // Pregame Saiouma Halloween Special 2022

11 - Afraid

"Are you afraid of me?" Shuichi finally asks. "You're not much different from me, are you?"

I swallow hardly. "I... I'm not a good person. But I'm human..."

"What? You're still saying that?"

"W-What...?"

"You don't remember yet? That's strange... I thought you would know by now..."

"T-Tell me, Shuichi," I say, not really meaning it. I don't want to know what he's talking about.

"Well for starters... I'm your guardian angel."

...

I've been speechless many times throughout my life, but nothing compares to this moment. There's no words that are able to describe what I feel right now. Angels are real? And I really have one?! All I had to do was ask.... I wish I knew about this sooner! Who would've known that they were so lovely?

And... who would've known that they were so horrifying...

Shuichi perks up in amusement. "Don't know what to say? That's adorable... but there's something I want to know. Why do you think you have a guardian, Kokichi?"

"B-Because... you're here to save me. Y-You want to help me be happy, right?"

"That's partially correct. Now, how many people actually have guardians? Any guesses?"

"U-Um..." I take a moment to think to myself. "As many people that need it."

"...Wrong." Shuichi mutters. "There's only one person in the universe that has a guardian angel."

My eyes widen. "A-And that's..."

"Yep! It's you, Kokichi!" Shuichi sings with a sadistic smile. "You're so special!"

"But... but why me?!" I cry. "I don't... deserve this..."

"..."

"Shuichi?"

"Do you remember grade school?" The angel finally speaks. "Or anything before that?"

I freeze. Grade school...? I don't... I can't remember it...

"Gah!" I lose my balance as a sharp pain suddenly stabs through my head. I've never had a headache that hurts like this...

"S-Slow down, Kichi! You're going to hurt yourself!" Shuichi exclaims, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I'll explain everything to you."

I look up at him expectantly, allowing him to begin. "You don't have any memories anything before junior high because you weren't on Earth then. You're an angel, just like me. But we're a special type of angel... we ascend the good to heaven and send the terrible people of the world down to hell. We're called archangels."

I try to protest, but my mouth won't open. That can't be true. I'm a person... right?

"For a very long time, archangels weren't allowed to go down to Earth," Shuichi continues. "We aren't as strong as other angels, who can travel anywhere in the universe without issue. However, it was decided that archangels would do their jobs better if they could actually visit the human realm, so we immediately went to work to find a solution. And eventually, we did. We discovered a way to transfer godlike powers to archangels, and you were the first to be sent down to Earth to see if the transition worked."

"I-I was a test subject?!" I shout, furious.

"No, no... you volunteered," the golden-eyed corrects me. "You were sent down shortly after, but never returned. We begged for the stronger angels to go and look for you, but apparently they were 'too busy' keeping universal order or something like that. So once we perfected the transfer, they assigned me to be your guardian angel and retrieve you from Earth. And on the way down, they sent me a list of people to send to heaven and hell. Kaito, Kaede, and your 'parents' were some of them."