Matendou Sonata #2 by Sayuri Amagi Princess Comics Note: Fira has become Filla, in accordance with the author’s intention. Chapter 3: The Forest of Deception He sits quietly in the forest...waiting for a young boy. Filla : We have a new job? Micael : Yeah, but the head angel wouldn’t tell me anything about it, other than that a high-ranking sorceror is coming. Filla : Satan told me something was up too... Both : Hmmm.... Filla : At any rate, he’s late. The two of us are together here...it makes me feel a little...Micael, let’s kiss! Micael : Is that all you ever think about!? Filla : Yeah. Micael : In the first place, there are so many people here. Filla : Do you want to go some place where we can be alone? Micael : Don’t make me mad. Fall! Fall : Hi! You two haven’t changed a bit! Filla : Children shouldn’t snoop on other people’s love scenes. Micael : What are you talking about, ‘love scenes’? Filla : But you’ve already hit me twice! I know why, it’s because you want me! Micael : Watch out or I’ll hit you again! Fall : Um...I don’t mean to interrupt your little lovers’ quarrel, but... Filla : Fall, what...interesting...phrases you know. Fall : Wari taught that to me. Filla : That pervert sorceror... Micael : You’re one to talk! Fall : There’s a job that I’d like the two of you to help me with. Filla : I’ve got a bad feeling about this. We can’t help you out with every little thing, Fall. Normally it would be okay, but not today. Fall : Why? Filla : We’re supposed to meet with a high-ranking sorceror. Filla : What’s so funny? Micael : You’re pretty dense, aren’t you? Fall : That high-ranking sorceror is me, Filla. Filla : Huh? Micael, did you know about this all along? Micael : No, it was easy to figure out! The Forest of Deception? I think I’ve read about it in a book once... Filla : What kind of forest is it? Micael : A forest that floods your eyes and ears with hallucinations, while the dreams of thousands of people whirl around. Fall : It’s an awful place, but it hasn’t worried me until now. The people whom I’ve talked to about the hallucinations remember clay statues flying in the sky, boulders glaring at them, oak trees sumo wrestling...you know, the usual stuff. But recently an angel got lost in there, and it seems that he took a mental or spiritual shock of some kind, and he was very frightened. The next day, he couldn’t remember anything at all about what happened in the forest. Micael : Right...I think I remember hearing about that at the Angels’ hall. Fall : The head sorceror heard about it from the head angel and gave the job of investigating it to me. Filla : To a little brat like you? Fall : Me? A brat? Well, the head sorceror was worried about that too...and that’s why I was supposed to ask you for help. Filla : That’s not very nice of him. Fall : Well, will you cooperate or not? Filla : I will, but I don’t know if I want to put Micael in that much danger. Filla : And what would I do once the two of you started acting weird? Fall : I’m fine, because I don’t see the illusions. Filla : Huh? Fall : To sorcerors, it’s nothing more than an ordinary forest. For others, the old white magic and black magic start to close in over them. Angels and demons react by starting to imagine various things. But since sorcerors combine the two kinds of magic, it’s an ordinary forest to them. That’s why I called you two. I couldn’t get anything accomplished by going alone. It would be just another stroll in the woods. And if something happened to Micael, I know that Filla would save him, right? Filla : Right! Even if it costs me my life, I will protect Micael! Micael : Now he’s going to try some kind of ‘magnificent gesture’... Filla : Fall, we’ve been walking for an hour! Fall : It’s just a bit further. Filla : It’s too far; let’s fly. Turn into a bird, Fall. Fall : Shape-changing isn’t a trick you can use just for fun. My boss said that I musn’t use even the smallest bit of magic unless it’s absolutely necessary. Filla : If you mention your boss one more time-- Micael : Shut up and walk. Filla : It really is ominous... Micael : Filla, look! A flying pig! Filla : What do you mean, a pig? All I see is a giant cockroach! Eew, gross! Micael : No matter how I look at it, I see a pig! Fall : It’s only a crow... Micael, Filla : I’m tired... Fall : Is something wrong, Filla? Filla : Micael! Micael : Wait a second, Filla! Fall : Um... Filla : Today, I will make you mine. Filla : I didn’t do anything... Micael : Don’t try to say it’s because of the forest, you pervert! Filla : But it is the forest’s fault... Micael : How can you say it’s the forest’s fault, or the flowers’ fault, when it’s all you ever think about? It was your own choice! Filla : You’re so mean...you never believe me... Fall : Fine now, let’s just move on. Micael : Filla... Filla : Yes? He’s probably mad again. Micael : Hold me. It’s all right, there’s no one here. Filla : Fall is here...Hey, what happened to you? Fall : I’ve never seen anything like this in my whole entire life. Filla : Fall! Don’t just stand there and watch, do something! Fall : Looks like this is your big chance, Filla! Is this, perhaps, Micael’s own subconscious? Micael : Don’t run away...don’t leave me. Filla : His face looks strange...What’s wrong? Micael : Aah...argh...NO! --Micael...I’ve been waiting for you... Micael : No! Filla : Micael! --Micael...Micael... Fall : What happened? Filla : I’m not sure, but... --Kill...that person must be destroyed. Filla : Micael? --You’ll be betrayed someday, just like that angel Eleanor. Kill those who would hurt you...kill...kill... Micael : Kill... --My Micael, with the Sky Blues... Micael : Sky Blues... Fall : Sky Blues? Filla : Sky Blues? Micael!? What’s wrong with you!? Fall : Micael, stop! This isn’t from Micael’s subconsciousness. The weird air must’ve done something to him. Filla : That’s not Micael at all! You want to kill me, you monster? Fine then, let’s fight! Fall : What’s wrong with Filla, now!? Stop, those tree branches are dangerous! I said, stop! I’ve gotta stop them somehow, but their minds are so unstable that I can’t use magic to control them! And moreover, there’s the strange air...I don’t think the only reason is the hallucinations from the forest! Micael! Filla, no! You can’t--! NO! Now I’ve done it...Filla! Micael! Filla : Fall...did you do this again? Fall : Aah...I’m still pretty rotten at controlling my magic. Filla : Where’s Micael? Micael : Here. Filla : You’re hurt. Did you get hit? Fall, it’s okay, but please try not to use your magic to hurt anybody. Micael : It’s nothing much. Fall : I’m sorry. Filla : Why did you use your sorcery? Oh, I remember...Micael was suddenly possessed... Micael : Possessed? Filla : And I don’t remember anything after that. Micael : I can only remember up to the point when I yelled at Filla... Please, tell me what happened! We came here to investigate, so you shouldn’t hide anything from us. Fall : Well... Filla : Was Micael’s wound, perhaps... Fall : No! It was because of my magic. I... Filla : You’re a terrible liar. It was this, right? My sword... Micael? Micael! I’m sorry that I hurt you. Micael : It’s not that... Filla : Don’t be stupid! I tried to hurt you! I could’ve even killed you! And even if it’s because of the Forest of Deception... Micael : Filla, I’m scared. It feels like we’re being dragged in by some huge power... Filla : Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ll protect you. Fall : Yeah, that’s Filla being himself again. Filla : And if the one who made the blood run down your forehead was I, then this is what I’ll do. Fall : Stop, Filla! Filla : I won’t forgive anyone who hurts you! Micael? Micael : It hurts me that you would do something like that. Fall : He says that, but he’s happy to know that Filla cares so much... Wari : So then, after the two of you had given each other wounds, you returned home? But Micael had an accident and hurt his shoulder, correct? Micael : Yeah. He’s sleeping well... Fall : Well, maybe Wari can make some sense out of this. He’s really good at magic. Wari : I have no idea what happened there. In the forest, many various powers are collected... Micael : Filla said that he saw a black shadow. Could it be the shadow of a dead person? Wari : It is said that it is the place where wishes come together... Fall : But there’s something different about this...something wrong... Micael : ‘Eleanor’...could she have something to do with that shadow? Fall : Micael, you spoke of the ‘sky blues’... Micael : Did I? Well, I don’t remember that clearly... Fall : Aren’t they those jewels that were sealed up in heaven? Does that mean that the power that possessed Micael came from heaven? Wari : I doubt it, Fall. Fall : I guess that could just have been another hallucination... but that would be strange, since I heard it. Micael : Sky blues... Wari : In any case, you have no need to fear demons or ogres... because of the person who’s head-over-heels in love with you. Or don’t you believe that? Micael : No...I do believe it... Filla : REALLY!? Micael : You were sleeping like a baby! Filla : Well, I’m awake now! [The actual expression, incidentally, was ‘sleeping like a tanuki,’ a tanuki being a badger-like animal native to Japan...the pictures are cartoon tanuki pictures under which is written, ‘they actually look more like foxes...’] Filla : More importantly, you said that you believed me! Micael : No I didn’t! When did I say that? Filla : Liar, I heard! Micael : Must be something wrong with your ears! Fall : Micael has the temper of an origami folder! Wari : You think so too? [I’m not sure...I guess origami folders have a bad reputation!] Filla : How can you be so cold to me after how you came on to me back in the forest? Micael : I did not! Fall : It’s true! Micael said, ‘hold me’ to Filla! Filla : Fall, don’t say those kinds of things! Fall : Why not? Filla : It doesn’t matter why not! It makes him seem like...someone else. Wari : That someone is you, isn’t it? Fall : Does Micael really like Filla after all? Micael : I never said anything like that! Filla : But when I try to come on to you, you always hit me in the head...it’s probably because of your own subconscious. Micael : Just try and say that again! I’m leaving! Wari : He seems to be feeling better... Fall : He was blushing right up to his ears! Filla : I wonder if I overdid it...I’m going to apologize. And then we can spend a wonderful night together! Wari : Idiot! Sheesh, that guy is such a pervert! Fall : What’s wrong, Wari? Wari : He doesn’t understand at all, does he? *Before my debut I started writing in seventh grade, and I made my first contribution to a magazine in the winter of eleventh grade. That started my long career in magazines! I wrote comedies and more serious stuff without shame or thinking about others’ opinions. Then someone told me to write a romantic comedy about students, to be drawn by someone else. That bugged me because I’m terrible at love stories! I can never portray the emotions of girls in love just right. Anyway, somehow the idea of a ‘dark angel’ got into my mind...Years later, I drew Filla, and I just couldn’t stop smiling happily! *The ‘Matendou’ Series At first I was thinking about a series with some big epic plot, but I just couldn’t manage to think of one. There were so many things that I couldn’t think that it made me cry! My friends all told me, ‘why don’t you try this, why don’t you try that’...Finally I managed to tie together the episodes I had written with the episodes that I thought up later, and that worked out really well. Me and my friends called each other and managed to work out some things as a group. And now I’ve become very attached to the story. *Filla Filla started out as a 16-year-old, class-C demon. Later I made him 18, and created the angel Micael to be a sort of little brother for him. Where did I go wrong to get from there to where they are now? Filla is the embodiment of my hopes, dreams, and ideals. I’m not a boy myself, but he is the ideal guy in my mind...the kind of guy I’ve been longing for. He didn’t start out being so stupid, actually. But now, in addition to being stupid, he’s perverted, clumsy, and bad at math...just like me. Yuu : Left all alone at my father’s death, I walked away from the capital. I will most likely never again meet the one who was so dear to me. I live, and yet I’m so tired of life... O great dragon god, I know that you will eat my body, but please let my soul go to heaven... That girl... Chapter 4: The Spring of Time Filla : Huh? Where the heck am I? What an eerie swamp... I must have somehow gone through that spring in the realm of magic! Filla : Even though there are usually tons of people here, there’s no one here today. And why’s this snake taking a nap all around the spring? The water’s color looks deeper than usual... Maybe I can get a better view if I step on him... Snake : YEOW! That hurts!! Snake : Oops. He fell in. What should I do, what should I do? I know! I should tell a sorceror. This is awful! A golden-haired demon fell into the spring of time! Filla : The spring of time? I may have heard of it before...then again, I may not... Ah! Are you a dragon? Dragon : Indeed, I am a dragon god who eats the flesh of drowned humans! Filla : Don’t be so hasty! I’m not drowning! I’m not even a human. So I taste horrible! Are there even humans in this place? Dragon : Now that you mention it, those ears... Filla : Yes, I’m a-- Dragon : Ogre? Well, I’ll let you go. But I have a favor to ask of you. Filla : So powerful, and he has to ask me for a favor? What happened to this girl!? Dragon : She drowned just a little bit before you. Filla : Aren’t you going to eat her? She looks human. Or do you only eat men? Dragon : Women have a more beautiful flavor than men do. Filla : But why is she wearing a kimono? I didn’t even know that there were humans here in the realm of magic. Dragon : Of what do you speak? Do not all humans wear kimonos? Filla : All of them? Dragon : From the time they are babies to the time they are old. Filla : This may not be relevant, but where am I? Dragon : This is Japan, land of the rising sun. Filla : Wow...Japan? NOW I REMEMBER! The spring of time sometimes takes you back to the humans’ world, in the past! I’m bad at remembering, but I’m so good at forgetting things! Dragon : Perhaps I should start at the beginning. This girl must not be allowed to die. There’s a village somewhat to the East of here. I would like you to take her there and live with her. Filla : But I’ve gotta get back... Dragon : To where? Filla : Well, you know, where I come from... Dragon : If you refuse my request... Filla : Fine, fine, I understand! I’ll just take her as far as the village and then leave her... Dragon : Ogre child, if you should happen to think of eating the girl... Filla : Don’t worry, I only eat men! Dragon : Well, that is all right then. Filla : So this is the land of the rising sun? What’s the dynasty in power now? Dragon : Do you not know? It’s the Heian dynasty! [Heian period is roughly 794 AD-900 AD] Filla : The Heian? If I go to the village with my hair like this, I’ll be persecuted! Dragon : What do you mean? If you are persecuted, it will be because you are an ogre child! Disguise yourself and go. Goodbye. Filla : I’ve gotta do something about my appearance... Yuu : Mm? Golden hair...eyes like new leaves...Who are you? Filla : My name is Filla, and I come from far away. Yuu : Why’d you go and save me!? How rude! Filla : The one who saved you wasn’t me, but the dragon god. Yuu : You met the dragon god? Filla : Yeah, he asked me to take care of you... Yuu : If the dragon god said so, then I suppose that I must live. I’m sorry for the trouble. I’m Yuu. Filla : Well, here’s the village. I’m sorry, but... Yuu : You’re going to break your promise with the dragon god!? Filla : I have to go back... Yuu : But I don’t want to be alone! I’ll die! Waaah! Filla : All right, don’t cry. I’ll stay. Yuu : Really? Filla : Yeah. Even if I really wanted to get home, I haven’t the slightest idea how...Maybe I should just observe the swamp from this village nearby. Fall or Wari may come to get me. Micael? No, he has no reason to come...stupid spring of time... Filla : What a life for a demon...to spend my days just reaping rice... --The village chief may let them stay here, but I don’t have to agree! --No kidding! I’ve been thinking something bad would happen ever since they got here. Filla : There they go gossipping about me again, just like every other day. But I’m doing this seriously, even going so far as to wear my hair in a ponytail. The pale autumn sky... My blue Micael, it’s been a week since I last saw you...I can’t even call your name! --Aren’t you finished washing yet? --You still have a lot of work to do! --How ungrateful she is! --Even after we let her live here! Yuu : You must be very tired. Filla : Well, I haven’t really gotten used to it yet. Yuu : I never did any field work either, growing up in the capital. With all the odd jobs I did at some time or another, though, I suppose it’s inevitable that I do this eventually. Filla : Why did you leave the capital? Yuu : ... Filla : I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked if it’s something you don’t want to talk about. Yuu : I grew up in the capital, living all alone with my father, a merchant. Then one day, I met a young man, as beautiful as a ghost or something. We fell in love at first sight, and that night...well...but the young man told me he couldn’t live with me, and he left the capital. Hizuki : Yuu...I am not one who should live here on earth. I must return. Yuu : Take me with you, Hizuki! We’ll go together! Hizuki : You cannot come to where I come from. If you do not stay here, your father will be sad. Yuu : Then please take this. It’s a memento from my mother. Hizuki : Thank you. Goodbye, Yuu. Yuu : So I submerged my body in the water... Filla : But the souls of those who commit suicide very rarely go to heaven. Usually they are left to wander the earth for a very long time. But that time, something happened. I’m sure that if you keep on living, you’ll meet that person again. Yuu : Maybe...Filla, do you have a lover? Filla : There is someone who’s very special to me. Someone with beautiful blue eyes. Yuu : You must miss her. I’m sorry, it’s my fault... Filla : It’s not your fault, Yuu. What should I do? Can I ever get back to my place in the sky? I don’t know... Filla : I’m home! Yuu : Welcome home! Filla : Yuu, you don’t look so well. Yuu : I just felt a bit nauseated. I’m fine now. Filla : Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor? Yuu : I’m fine. It’s just that...I’m pregnant. Filla : Pregnant? With Hizuki’s child? Yuu : This must be why I had to live...For this child’s sake... I’ll be happy to become a mother. Filla : Congradulations! Yuu : Oh, I’m covered in sweat! Turn around so I can change. Filla : Okay....Yuu!? Do you still feel bad? Yuu : It’s nothing. Filla : I...I wasn’t going to do anything to you. The dragon god asked me to take care of you-- Yuu : I understand. There’s a woman whom you care about. Filla!? Filla : Micael...Micael...You aren’t here! I can’t even call your name! Yuu : Filla, it’s morning. Wake up. Filla : Micael!? Damn... Yuu : You’re a... Filla : I’m sorry for hiding it from you... Yuu : A crow-goblin!? [crow-goblins, or ‘karasu-tengu,’ are Japanese mythical beasts.] Filla : Man...first an ogre, then a crow-goblin. Don’t make assumptions about things you know nothing about. I’m a demon. Yuu : What’s that? Filla : That’s right, this is the Heian period. They wouldn’t know of our kind. Filla : It’s something like an ogre. Yuu : An ogre... Filla : Are you scared? I’m really not human, so it’s only natural that you’d be scared. Yuu : No. I don’t care if you’re an ogre, a crow-goblin, or a demon. You’re a good person. Filla : Thanks. I guess I can’t go outside today. Yuu : Why? Filla : Because I said Micael’s name, I’ll be like this for twenty-four hours. Yuu : So the woman you love is named Micael... Filla : The boy I love... Micael : Where could that Filla be? Wari : This is the place, but that was a day or two ago. Micael : Hey, Filla! What are you doing!? --You are not a human being... Micael : That’s not Filla! --Do you have some business with me? Micael : Who are you? Dragon-god: I am the dragon god of this swamp. Micael : What are you, some kind of semi-european-style dragon!? Dragon : My mother was a western dragon, and this is the shape I was born in. It’s a little embarrassing, since my eyes are different colours because of it. Micael : Would you have happened to see a golden-haired young boy some time ago? Dragon-god: Is he a friend of the ogre child? Perhaps he wants to take him back. No, I haven’t seen him. Micael : I see. Well, goodbye. It’s possible that Filla never even escaped the swamp... --Another stranger... --Must be a friend of the gold-haired one. --So cold looking... --Could be a snow witch. --Lookit that strange blue-white hair...It’s weird. Micael : Not as weird as Wari, his hair’s pure white! There he is! Filla! Filla : That voice...it can’t be! Micael!? MICAEL!! --What is this? I knew it! They’re evil spirits! [Incidentally they’re evil spirits in the sense of ‘mononoke,’ as in ‘Mononoke Hime,’ the movie, which translates roughly to ‘princess of the evil spirits.’] --That woman came here to curse us with these evil spirits! This is horrible! Micael : Ow, that hurts! Filla : Micael, Micael, Micael, Micael...Mi-Ca-E-L. Micael : Are you crying? Filla : Of course! It’s been three months. Three months since I’ve seen you! Micael : Wari said it was a day or two... Filla : I...I...Whoa, your clothes sure look sexy today! Micael : Is this any time or place to be saying that!? Filla : I didn’t mean to make him run away... Micael : It’s getting dark. We don’t have much time to get back; we have to find somewhere to hide. Filla : Let’s go back to Yuu’s house. Micael : Who’s Yuu? Filla : A seventeen-year-old girl. Some stuff happened, and now we live together. Micael : Live?...Together? Filla : Oh, it’s nothing like that. Micael : Why bother denying it to me? It’s none of my business. Filla : I only have feelings for you. Micael : Forget it, I’m leaving. Filla : Forgive me, o great Micael! --Light the fire! --Burn down the house of the evil spirits! Filla : Yuu! --Don’t dare get close, evil spirit! --You really tricked us this time! --You with the black wings, and you with the white ones, must both be evil spirits! --It’s their fault that my wife died last month! --And it’s their fault that my daughter’s sick! --And Yuu brought them here! --It’s that woman’s fault! --She’s the source of all our misfortunes! Micael : What’s happenning? Yuu : It has nothing to do with these people! Leave them alone! Filla : Yuu! --Kill the woman! --Throw her body to the dragon god! --He’ll surely be grateful for the sacrifice! --Kill...Kill the woman to stop the misfortune! Dragon-god: I can no longer tolerate these creatures called humans. --What’s that? --D-d-d-dragon! Filla : Yuu! Dragon : Foolish, weak-hearted humans! Now, I will make you well aware of the true extent of my powers! --We’re cursed! --This is the wrath of the dragon god! Filla : Dragon god, you’re going too far! Micael : Filla, we have to save the villagers! Filla : I’ll stop the storm, Micael! That’s... Yuu : Hizuki! You’re Hizuki, aren’t you? Dragon : What do you mean, girl? I am a dragon god. That is a name I have never heard before. Yuu : No, I understand. You are a dragon, but also...don’t you remember when I drowned and you saved me? And then you told Filla to stay with me, and now you’re protecting me again. Please, stop the storm! Save everyone! If you really love me, extend those feelings to all the people in the village. Dragon : Yuu... Micael : There’s no way we can go up against a god’s power! Filla : But it’s better than doing nothing! Looks like we did it! --The storm stopped! --We’re saved! --Amazing... --They aren’t evil spirits at all, but gods! Micael : Why are you staring at me like that? It’s weird. Filla : Your rain-soaked clothes...make me think... Micael : Is that all you ever think about!? Dragon : I am a dragon, as I seemed to be. I am not your Hizuki. Yuu : My Hizuki had one violet eye. There couldn’t be two people in the world with such beautiful eyes. Dragon : But I’m the dragon who lives in the swamp. There’s no way I could be by your side. Yuu : Hizuki, I have your child inside me! Dragon : Is that the truth? Yuu : When the baby grows, he will love the swamp...and I will build a house by the swamp and live there. The swamp is such a sad and lonely place that no humans ever come there. We’ll be alone... Dragon : But I eat humans. Aren’t you scared? Yuu : No, Hizuki. Please go ahead and eat me when I die. Filla : Yuu... Yuu : Filla! Filla : It’s nice that you were able to see your lover again. Yuu : And you too...that is your blue-eyed Micael, right? Filla : Yeah! Filla : I’d have loved to see the baby’s face, but we really have to return now. I wish you happiness, Yuu. Yuu : Thanks for everything, Filla. Dragon : Thank you for taking care of her, ogre child. Filla : I’m not an ogre! Dragon god, please don’t ever make Yuu sad. Dragon : You can be sure that I won’t. Filla : Good-bye, Yuu! Yuu : What strange people...I hope that they can have a cute baby too. Dragon : That’s impossible, they’re both men. I’d better not tell her that, though... Wari : Welcome back. Snake : Welcome back. Fall : Filla! Thank goodness you’re back! Filla : Watch it, you’ll get soaked. Micael : How long has it been since I jumped in the spring of time? Wari : Oh, about 5 minutes. Fall : You were asking for it, Filla. Filla : But I wasn’t doing anything...much... Micael : Be quiet! You’re always causing trouble! Haven’t you been hearing people tell you not to go near the spring of time? Even a little kid would know that! You could have appeared in any of a million springs, or swamps, or ponds! And it took Fall and Wari a long time to find the right point! Wari : Now, now, that’s enough. Filla : I’m under house arrest for a week!? But it isn’t my fault! I won’t be able to see Micael again! *Micael He’s hard to describe...Even though he appears strong, he is actually very fragile. He doesn’t trust the love of others, so he stays inside the walls he built up around himself. He doesn’t want other people to see his weak side, so he always pretends to be strong. He is actually very lonely and wants people to love him. He probably wants a shoulder to cry on, too...Filla understands Micael very well. And Micael surely knows just how well Filla understands him. Filla doesn’t care so much whether Micael is a man or a woman; he just wants to be with him and comfort him because Micael’s so lonely. (Oh, I’m so bad at writing!) As for Micael’s past...well, I don’t really know about that. I’m scared of writing it, since all of Micael’s fans are going to throw rocks at me! Anyway, lots of people have asked, “Are Filla and Micael modelled after real people?” I just wanted to clear up that they aren’t. *Angels and Demons The more important demons are Satan and Belze. Belze is Filla’s best friend. He’s a lot smarter than Filla, and he gives him a lot of advice. There are a lot of suspicions about the relationship between Satan and Filla, but...that will have to wait. I’m going to comply with what my readers ask for and write some more about Micael’s best friend Cross, who hasn’t shown up very much. * ‘Dark Angel’ Something that I couldn’t include in these manga volumes is a preliminary story about Filla, when he was still a 3rd class demon. He lives in the humans’ world for a while in order to pass his promotion exams, but eventually decides to become an angel rather than a demon. It was my debut. I’m a bit embarrassed of the artwork, but wait a while, you’ll see it in a manga volume soon for sure! [About Micael in the frog suit...in Japanese, Micael is ‘Mikaeru.’ ‘kaeru’ is ‘frog,’ and the character painted on the costume is ‘mi,’ which means ‘beauty.’] Filla : Micael...Micael...Don’t go... Filla : Not that same dream again! Belze : Was it a dream about Micael? Filla : Well... Belze : You were mumbling in your sleep. Filla : I dreamt that he was playing a harp by a blue lake, plucking out sorrowful sounds. His words were drowned out by the harp...but that doesn’t much matter, since his sad smile said it all. I wanted to run up and hug him, but I couldn’t move from the shore. I felt as if the too-blue sky and the too-blue lake would swallow me up into the world of blue... Belze : And that’s when you woke me up. Filla : Yeah...it’s so strange, I don’t know what to do. Belze : Strange indeed. But the dream wasn’t just about Micael. Filla : What do you mean? Belze : I believe it was what’s called a ‘blue dream.’ And Filla : What’s that? Belze : Don’t you know? Blue dreams have been affecting a lot of the residents of hell, and all the B-class and C-class demons are worried. The details are different for each person, but the common characteristic is blue images. It’s a bad omen. Filla : So what about the ? Belze : [I have no idea what he says] Filla : Oh, why me? Belze : He sure seems depressed about this. Hey, stop crying! Let’s go eat breakfast! Filla : Well...I am kind of hungry... Again, that night, I dreamed about Micael. Micael : Filla, I really do love you. Filla : This is a dream! But even if it’s just a dream...Micael!? Micael!? Micael : I’m sorry, Filla...I’m being called away. I have to go now. Filla : Wait, Micael! Don’t go! Micael! I don’t know why, but I can’t go after him. Who could have been calling him? He just vanished with a swish, swish. And I couldn’t run after him! Huh? Belze! Belze, wake up! Belze : Huh? Filla : Look, outside the window! It’s Micael! Belze : Yeah, right. Micael has no reason to be in hell. Filla : Why are you crying? Micael!? Belze : You must have been seeing things. Micael has no reason to be crying, either. He’s an honor student in heaven! Filla : Maybe...But could something have happened to him? Micael : Oh...oh... --Micael...I have been waiting for you to turn seventeen... For the time when you would become mine... Micael : What was that? I was just filled with cold, scary evil thoughts...by whom? Micael : A dreameater? You mean, there’s a monster than can manipulate dreams? Fall : Yes, but it’s extremely rare. It isn’t very strong, but it can interfere with dreams. I don’t know a lot about it... But it’s possible that one could be behind the blue dreams. Micael : I haven’t heard too much about those, here in the temple of heaven. Fall : I see. In the realm of magic, there’s quite an uproar about them. I haven’t stopped investigating the forest of deception since I went there with you and Filla. But I haven’t found out anything. I think there may be some connection between the forest of deception and the dreams. Micael : There was that strange voice when I was talking about the Sky Blues, and again in the dreams last night. Am I being called by the Sky Blues? Fall : Is something wrong, Micael? Micael : No, I’m sure I’ll be all right, since I am in heaven. I’ll let you know if anything happens. Fall : Well then, I’ll go with Wari to investigate in hell. Micael : OK. Fall : ‘Bye! Micael : I wonder if Filla saw an ominous blue dream too... --A dark and scary dream, was it? --I thought for sure they wouldn’t spread to heaven. --The blue-eyed angel might be involved. --Hey, Micael! Do you have anything to do with those dreams? Micael : I only found out about them today, I don’t know any more than you. --Come on, how many years do you think it took us to become 3rd-class angels? Do you think we’d buy that? --That’s right! You only just graduated from the castle of clouds! --Can the youngest cherubim get away with saying he doesn’t know anything? --Don’t lie to your elders! --Angels never rise up to being cherubim when they’re as young as you! --It must be because you always kissed up to the head angel! Micael : Take that back, Ishuma. That’s blasphemy. Ishuma : Fine, oh-so-loyal Mr. Cherubim. Micael : Excuse me. --His eyes look evil, as if they didn’t belong in heaven. --They’re real scary... --As if there were actually *four* sky blues in our peaceful heaven. --When I see that pale expressionless face, it just makes me want to do something to irritate him! Micael : Every day it’s the same thing. It’s wearing out my soul trying to deal with them. They’re all wild beasts in angels’ robes. But I’m the one who’ll end up tearing off those robes...