Johanne Green is a 15-year-old girl who lives in Golden City, the capital of West Land, the place where everyone has a guardian angel to protect them and guide them towards purification.
Johanne's mother is the mayoress of Golden City, Linda Black...
The divine spirit watched her in silence. When Joan got assured she wasn't dreaming, more tears gushed from her eyes:
"I'm sorry... So much time has passed! I thought I'd never see you again. All I ever wanted was to get embraced in your fluffy fur shawl and feel that perfect delight, at least once again. I've undergone so many hardships, just for that! But I guess, I was never worthy enough of your grace, to begin with."
She was truly a failure... She almost gave up on her dream and had this divine being reappear before her in order for her to get back on her feet! How pathetic could she be? She troubled Tsukishiro all the way, making him abandon his perfect silence, just to reassure her he was real! Did she really deserve his grace after that? She had totally failed him. He probably had come here only to inform her that she hadn't met his expectations and was therefore no more welcome to his abode.
"Joan..."
She started and looked up at him, her eyes swollen with tears.
"Joan, it seems you haven't yet realised what true happiness means. What is it you want the most in your life? You want to attain perfect peace, don't you? What does perfect peace mean for you?"
Joan bitterly smiled and shook her head:
"No, Lord Tsukishiro... I wanted perfect peace before I would meet you. Back then, I craved worldly balance and my own peace of mind. After I met you, however, my views on life completely changed. I realised that the world has nothing to do with my unhappiness. What I need is love - the emotion I lacked so much in my childhood, and had never tasted... But when your fur shawl embraced me, I felt happier than ever. I thought my mind had finally attained peace. When you disappeared, I sought for you in order to reunite with you and remain forever by your side, to feel that peace forever on. However, as time passed, I realised it was much more than just peace of mind. Every time I found new information about you and felt one step closer to you, my heart banged hard in my chest - a sensation I could not well explain. I've never liked any boy in my life. I've never felt attached to anyone. Cedric has been the only friend I've ever had because he was my past life's brother and my soul felt somehow close to him... But whenever it came to you, I underwent these weird sensations all over. When I thought you might not have been real, my heart sank into a deep depression. Now when I saw you before my eyes again, I feel so full of spirit, so joyous, so soothed, even though I'm chained up in a cold cell, left to starve... Even though I know you'll soon be going again since, as you've told me before, your time here is limited, I've still regained faith for tomorrow. I... I hope this does not insult you, but... I think I might be in love with you."
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She reddened up and cast her eyes down - there, she said it. Now she was a goner for sure - she had read in a lot of books that angels and other unearthly beings hated being loved by humans, for they felt superior and believed they were never compatible with such low-level creatures as humans were. Tsukishiro, as the ruler of Perfection, would be even more prideful than all of those unearthly beings combined, so daring tell him that she loved him was nothing but an insult on her part. She shivered, but still felt somehow at ease that she had gotten this heavy secret off her chest, disclosing it to the only person she had ever truly admired and loved. She was completely aware of her feelings now when she had grown enough, and she firmly knew what she had been undergoing for all this time was nothing but love.
"So, that is your answer?"
She started when heard such a stern tone and looked up at him again - he watched her with his shimmering yellow eyes. No odd emotion had struck his face - not joy, neither sadness nor anger. He remained cold and quiet. Seeing such a lack of reaction from him, Joan flushed with embarrassment and tiny tears of shame ran down her cheeks:
"I... I am sorry... I know I've insulted you with my daring declaration. Please forget it... I never intended to_"
"I've asked if it was your answer."
She bit her tongue. He demanded a straight reply from her on the question he had given. She sighed and wiped off her tiny tears:
"Y... Yes. That was my answer, but... I am truly sorry."
More tears fell from her eyes. She shivered in fear, waiting for punishment any time now.
She felt a warm, clawed hand rub her cheek. Tsukishiro had taken a seat right before her. She blinked in shock:
"W... What are you doing?"
"Joan, I am the force of Perfection. For you, a feeble human, to love perfection, is dangerous. Tell me - are you ready for any painful obstacle that might be thrown at you, just to continue striving and reach me at the end of your journey?"
"H... Huh?"
"I am asking this for your own sake. It is not that I am insulted by your feelings. I see they are genuine. I am surprised, and I am alarmed. Back then, I appeared in front of you to encourage you not to give up, and yet it seems, I've driven you into further difficulties. The perfection you wish to attain... it might not even be possible to reach in your current incarnation. If you live out any of your incarnations purely and end your life as a golden soul, however, you'll reunite with the High Forces and be forever beyond my reach. You shall never be able to meet me. If you wish to go down the path you tell me you chose, then you'll have to choose me over the High Forces that is your primal source. Are you ready for that?"
"Ah..."
Joan realised what the spirit was telling her. It brought her fear - if she ever made a single mistake, she'd be forsaken by both the High Forces and Tsukishiro, and end up in the Black Energy realm, to be forever consumed by darkness! However, then, a sweet beam covered her face:
"Once, I read a book about Samael's true life and found out that he had a beloved woman whom he strove to save. That woman too - Lilith - struggled to remain bonded with him, and both of them rejected their primal sources, just to be together. The High Forces forgave them in the end because they worked for a far greater force - the love. I do not hope for forgiveness from the part of the High Forces, but my mind too is made up - if it is to reunite with you, Tsukishiro, I shall accept to sever my tie with my primal source, and I am ready for any risks that might await on the path of reaching you."
The white spirit widened his eyes in a stupor. He stared at her for quite some time. Then, he inquired:
"So, I can count on you to never waver again?"
"I promise."
A bright, benevolent smile formed on the spirit's face. His white fur shawl embraced Joan tightly, pouring delightful sensations into her heart. The next second, she felt the divine man's lips press upon her own. She widened her eyes at first, but then closed them and gave in to the spirit's embraces. She felt she was soaring into the ninth heaven. In her mind, she heard the man's soft voice echo like a loving whisper:
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