Chapter 2

     I awoke with a small groan as I turned off my alarm clock, only to get under the covers and rest a moment more. After a minute of peace, I took the covers off before stretching my legs across the bed til my feet touched the floor. My tired eyes lit up after hearing a voice.

     "It's about time you woke up," spoke an unsatisfied Yin.

     "Ah!" I screeched, backing back onto my bed. She was plopped against the side of my bed, leaning against it, and her face was clearer in the light, which made me feel calmer. Everything from the previous night was clearer; the dark figure that appeared on my window, the dark angel that said she would protect me, Yin.

     "Don't tell me you forgot me? You dunce," she said, making a dissatisfied face.

     "N-no, I didn't!" I replied with a blush, "I just.. thought it was a dream.."

     This made her laugh, "So you really DID forget!" she continued laughing.

     "And is that surprising?" I asked, only to point out "sorry for not having angels in the human world."

     "Well, you've got them in your religious texts, don't ya?" s2he spoke, raising an eyebrow.

     I wasn't sure if she was trying to joke around with me or not, so all I could do was sigh and look the other way. "Well yeah but.." I started before giving up, "I've gotta get dressed."

     Deciding what I wanted to wear, I started getting dressed. Suddenly a bare back appeared right in front of me, causing me to step back in surprise.

     "See? I'm the real deal," Yin casually spoke, her head turned to try and look at me from the corner of her eye. She stretched out her back to me, while covering her chest with her arms. I blushed lightly from how sudden this was, but nodded in agreement. It was an interesting sight to behold. I reached out my hand, but retreated my fingers back from my increasing curiosity.

     "Come 'on, don't be shy" she said with ever so slight embarrassment. With that response, I trustfully returned my fingers back to her pale back.

     The bones and muscles that were so sensitive to the touch twitched when I traced my fingers along the areas around her wings. The feathers had such a soft and silky black, which had a certain shine to them in the light. Small full ones, and even fluffy ones, grew millimeters right from the skin, giving them such a raw look.

     "Yin," I softly spoke. This creature, this being, no.. she.. was such an incredible beauty. To imagine that such could exist, out of all myth and legend, the idea baffled me so. Her openness to me astounded me. Those who would kill her in a second, and I who she trusted to become this vulnerable to me. For a moment, I felt a sense of connection, not just between her and I in our difference of species, but of two different worlds, intertwined. She's here to protect me, to fight with me, whatever that means, and showed me such trust. 'So, this is truly real?' I wanted to ask, but could barely mutter the words; It just seemed like it would be too silly to ask such a thing, so all I could do was just nod and bare a simple, "thanks."

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

     I went on to brushing my hair. Yin casually waited for me, lying on the bed. I decided to break the silence.

     "You can always borrow one of my brushes, you know, i-if you want." I tried to make it as less awkward as possible, since I don't have siblings, nor did I hang out with girls much. Who was I kidding, I was being foolish.

     Her eyes went straight to mine as she gave me a confused look before smiling a toothy grin. "Heh, thanks," she spoke with a casual yet friendly laugh. With that, she took hold of a translucent purple-handled brush before brushing her long, shining black hair.

     I laughed a bit, to which she reacted, "What?" in a stern tone.

     "Nothing, I just, I guess you really can act like a girl sometimes," I replied with a winking smirk.

     Her smile drooped, only to turn into an evil grin. "Oh, and you think THIS massive wad of hair is girly?" she teased, tousling my hair.

     "Hey, I gotta go catch my bus soon..!" whined to which she just laughed, which made me smile.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

     We started walking, well, rather, flying in Yin's case, down to the bus stop. "High School, eh?" Yin began, "Hm... You sure there's no fighting classes?"

     "Nope. Well, except for when dumb girls or guys decide to fight," I replied and commented proudly, "But it's really just building up our brain for the future."

     Yin nodded, "I see... So you're just a bunch of boring ol' eggheads," she casually remarked. "W-what?! N-no no no!" I instinctively reacted, "I mean, it's important to do our best to get good grades and succeed, but there's more to it than that!"

     "Oh really? Then enlighten me, Lady Egghead," she commented, giving me a comical bow, outstretching one of her arms, and crossing the other across her body.

     I gave a frustrated look from her remark only to shrug it off. "If you must know," I started off confidently, only to grow calmer. "Well, there's some kids that only care about looks, and others who don't. Some people are mean, and others kind, some are into school, and others not so much. Interests vary, like the people, and for some, you have no idea what they're thinking," I tried to explain. "You don't always know when you're gonna mess up."

     Yin nodded, "Hm... I see, well, that's just what makes you normal" she casually spoke.

     "I guess" I muttered under my breath.

     "A bunch of normal, little, simple eggheads," Yin teased more.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

     The time came where the bus stop came into full view, and I couldn't help but notice some of the other kids from my block there already. "Ah!" I exclaimed quietly to myself, stopping in my steps as I tugged Yin by her skirt, thankfully we were blocked from view by a parked car.

     "Hm?" she hummed casually, turning her questionable glance to my worried one.

     "T-they're gonna see you..!!" I spoke, freaking out.

     "Huh? No they're not," she said.

     I began patting at her legs, noticing that my hands weren't passing through her in any way. "B-but, y-you're not a ghost or anything! If you get found then.. then...!" I continued, worriedly.

     Yin just rolled her eyes. "Just go, go.." she casually said, pushing me from behind to continue onward.

     "B-but..!" I started up again.

     "Just relax," she spoke while still pushing me on from behind.

     I gave in, somewhat curious of as to what she meant, and continued walking as I usually did, turning on my iPod so I could listen to some music while waiting for the bus. We all stood waiting in a row. though I stood further away from everyone else. To my surprise, no one seemed to notice the dark winged angel floating next to me with casually crossed arms. I wanted to ask Yin what was going on, but didn't want my peers to see me casually talking to thin air. Instead, I just tried to remain natural and calm while waiting.

     A few minutes later, the school bus arrived as we all got on the large, yellow vehicle. I was the last one to get on, as Yin floated in after me, only to casually sit next to me, as I was sitting in an empty booth. I thought this would be a good time to ask her what was going on, since everyone was distracted with their phones and each other, not to mention how loud the bus was as it is.

     "U-um.." I began, trying to get her attention while poking her, "Yin?"

     She casually turned her head towards me, her arms rested behind her head, as she raised an eyebrow, "Hm? What is it?" she asked me.

     I tried to keep my head and body facing the window, trying not to seem rude to Yin, but not wanting to seem like a freak-show either.

     "It's a shadow cloak" she said, "I manipulated dark shadows both within myself as well as within the surroundings to make me undetectable. It's kinda like a blanket made out of a shadow or cloud which bundles me up to keep me invisible from others. Of course, though, you can see me."

     "I see," I spoke with a nod, to think such powers existed, it was incredible, "that's so cool," I finished with a smile towards the seat ahead of me. From this simple expression of her abilities, I was reassured that I could learn a lot from her. As she was sent to protect me, I wanted to protect her.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

     Noticing where we were, I quickly took out my phone and started typing out a text.

     "Who's that to?" Yin wondered as she nudged closer to me.

     I edged closer to the window in response, trying to hide the message. Yin raised her eyebrows, almost getting on top of me, there was no hiding anything from her. I sat normally and continued texting, reluctantly allowing the screen to come into her view. She leaned against my shoulder, reading the message that I was typing.

     "Hm, Tony, huh?" she wondered, "Aw, is he your beau?" She proceeded to nudge me with her elbow. I automatically blushed.

     "Well, we've been together for over a year now and I love him a lot," I began with a smile. He lives on the other side of the country, so we have a long-distance relationship, b-but we make it work, since we talk every day."

     "Ah, I see, cool. So you sure he doesn't have anyone on the sidelines?" she asked, eyebrows raised in a sarcastic manner.

     "H-Hey! Don't even joke about that!" I argued with a pout.

     She laughed, "fine fine, I guess I'll have to see it for myself."

     I sighed in response before finishing the message and putting my phone back into my pocket.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

     At last, we arrived at school, and upon exiting on the bus, Yin simply phased through the walls of the bus within shadows. We walked together, Yin floating alongside me and occasionally phasing through people. It was rather funny, as some would make odd expressions when it happened to them. Yin simply looked around, seeming intrigued at the amount of kids, how they acted, and the structure of the building. Seeing such a curious side to such a rugged seeming person, or well, creature, seemed pretty odd, but made me laugh.

     I soon reached my classroom and placed my bag inside, just to walk back out.

     "Huh?" Yin spoke, confused, "Why'd you leave? That's your room, right?" She looked at me like I was stupid.

     "No, no," I began, stopping right next to the door, "I'm just waiting."

     "Waiting?" she asked, "for what? Your boyfriend?" she joked.

     "No, my friends," I confidently responded.

     "Ah, agreed to meet up, huh?" she wondered.

     "Well, no, b-but it's a usual thing for us" I formulated, "and besides, I saw them yesterday, so I'm sure they'll come today."

     "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said, "just don't cry when they don't~" Yin was cut off as a familiar figure came into view.

     "Leo!" I exclaimed, giving him a hug as he hugged me back.

     "See!" I exclaimed in the opposite direction towards Yin as she rolled her eyes.

     "Mia? Who're you talking to?" Leo asked. "Uh.. w-well.." I began, unsure of as to what excuse to make.

     "She's got the sixth sense!" laughed Noah, who recently arrived. I pouted as they continued to joke around. Hugo arrived after, saying his last words to his friend before coming towards us.

     "Hugo!" I exclaimed, however, only to be interrupted by Noah.

     "Hugo! Mia sees dead people!" Leo commented with a laugh, to which Hugo just raised an eyebrow and glared at Leo, disapproving how he rudely interrupted. He ignored him as we began to talk.

     Yin leaned close to me, "Your friends are weirdos," she commented.

     "They're not that bad!" Realizing what I said, I tried to cover it up, "S-shonen! Yeah, shonen mangas. I currently started reading Cosmic Coalescence," I said, laughing a bit nervously.

     They gave me an odd look before Leo thankfully broke the silence, "Cosmic Coalescence?" he said before exclaiming, "I love that manga! The fusion between humans and aliens is just too cool!"

     "Not to mention the futuristic setting, even if some elements are unrealistic," Hugo commented.

     "But the romance is just too good!" I squealed.

     They continued conversing as Yin made faces at me for my social awkwardness.

     As the time drew where we had to part, I gave them all one last hug before we all returned to class.Yin stayed with me at the start of class, though that only lasted a few minutes. She quickly grew bored and explored the room, floating over student's heads and occasionally messing with the teachers, drawing with their chalk behind their backs or misplacing some of their things. This got quite a laugh out of the class, and luckily no one got into trouble, though some class clowns were questioned a couple of times.

     However, as the end of the day grew nearer, Yin started to leave the classrooms early, going to check in on other classes, watch movies in film classes, or even mess with the school intercom. There was an announcement about a food fight, and it was of no surprise to me if she started it.

     We met again at the end of the day at my locker, which was on the second floor. "Yin! Where were you all day?" I asked, worriedly.

     She was walking around with her hair in a high ponytail and it looked like her wings had disappeared. Her attire was changed to a tank top, shorts, and sneakers as well. I thought it was just some part of her shadow cloaking ability. "Around. By the way I got this in gym class," she said, tossing a trophy to me.

     "W-what's this for?" I questioned out loud.

     Yin cracked her neck and stretched her arms. "Huh? Oh, something called 'volleyball'" she casually said. "It was freaking easy. They gave me this award thing, but it's not made of real gold! Freaking rip-off those sons of.." Yin muttered under her breath. "Gah, why are humans so cheap?! You might as well not give anything at all if it's not worth anything! So, I thought you'd like it, humans like shiny stuff, I'm guessing?"

     "Yin, this is an honor!" I said, "Still, I'll put it on my shelf for safe-keeping."

     She laughed, "ah, you humans and your sense of feeling special" she commented. "Come 'on," she said, taking my hand with hers, "we gotta go catch the bus."

     "You're learning so much," I said with a sparkle in my eye as I walked with her.

     "Oh shut up, I'm just a bit rough with this stuff!" she excused herself, "And besides, I just heard it from the guys in gym, taking the bus to go home and stuff, you know, that big yellow thing."

     I laughed at how new she was with some things. As we reached the first floor, some guys looked our way. "Hey, Yin!" one muscly guy said, "nice spiking action!" He then high-fived Yin as she high-fived them back.

     "Is there any doubt in my skills?" she said confidently.

     Soon, more guys were congratulating Yin, giving high fives and fist bumps and even the occasional bro-like hand shake. They made comments like "Nice play!" and "Way to beat those volleyball team jerks!" among others, including random "Woots." I stood there like a specter on a stage, and my height and fluffiness did the feeling no justice. That was until Yin put her arm around my shoulders and started walking towards the double doors which would lead us outside.

     She concluded with a simple, "Bye dudes! Catch 'ya later!" as she laughed her carefree laugh.

     As we got outside, I commented, "Yin! what are you doing? I thought no one could see you!"

     "They couldn't," she said, "but that was before. I got bored and saw this place called the "gym" or "P.E." class. Really dumb name and mediocre training ground to boot. Sure people were running and jumping like a bunch of animals, but it seemed fun. So I stopped my shadow cloak and used my shadow veil and boom, I was in and showing those "pros" how it was done."

     I looked behind her, patting on her back, "b-but, where did they go?" I spoke, nervous and confused.

     "Well, wings are retractable, so I can let them in or out as I please, though it's a lot more comfortable with them out. Not to mention I can only keep them in for a short time. How do you think angels complete some of their dumb ol' missions on Earth?"

     "ah," I nodded, "wait.. b-but your wings are..! I mean.. there's the traditional ones we believe in, but you.." I held my tongue, not wanting to seem rude. "How do you do it?"

     "Dummy," she said, pressing her fist against my cheek, "we both have the same biological system, it's easy." She teased me by tossing out some feathers from her back in my direction, as I was walking behind her.

     "No no!" I said, "Yin, you gotta stop! People are gonna notice and freak out!"

     "You're the one that wanted to understand it more," she teased as she stopped.

     Locating the bus, we boarded and casually sat down. Luckily, she didn't stand out, though except for her hair, and gym apparel.. and eye color. What was I saying, she looked completely out of the ordinary! I texted my usual afternoon message to Tony to distract myself from what no one probably cared about. We reached closer and closer to our destination until we finally arrived at my stop.

     We slowly, yet casually walked until everyone else was already in their homes. As soon as Yin noticed this, she cast what seemed almost like a spell, though no words were spoken.

     She jumped up as her large, powerful, black wings burst out from her back. Dark shadows surrounded her as her hair flowed all over the place, whipped by wind. Her outfit changed to what it was at the start of the day, what she wore when we first met. As her little transformation was complete, she stretched her arms and back, her massive wings flapping. "Ugh," she loudly sighed, "finally that day's OVER! It was so boring, I swear!"

     I wasn't sure if she was visible or not, so I tried to ask, "Um.. Yin?" I asked, poking her a bit, "you're still using your shadow cloak thing, right?"

     "Nope," she bluntly stated without care. "Besides, everyone's in their homes now, trust me, if anything they're lazing around the couch like a sack of potatoes right now, heh," she laughed with a smirk.

     "Well.. okay.." I said, rather uneasy, as I looked up at her a bit as she flew next to me. 'She has such confidence and doesn't even care,' I thought to myself, 'she lacks such structure.' I gazed at her for a moment longer before shaking away my thoughts and staring forward and the remaining road before us.

Author's Note

A casual chapter, please feel free to leave comments or remarks on what you liked and what you think could be improved. All feedback is welcomed. Thank you, and I hope you are enjoying the story so far.