Shinohara stood up, when he heard a doorbell. And of course he had to see this man, about whom he couldn't stop thinking for even a moment.

"Do you want to go somewhere, Shino?" asked Yamiyo.

Akumarou hadn't even the strength to protest.

* * *

In one small house in the city lived once an old woman. When she died, no one bought her home and that's why it was still empty. No one cared about her garden as well, which old woman loved more than her life. No one, besides one half-demon.

Shino had a key to the garden gate that Amanoshi arranged for him. How, he preferred not to know.

The garden was beautiful, colorful and a lot of flowers grew here. The most numerous were roses and tulips in various colors. But there were also irises, mallows and other flowers, as varied as if Oba-chan, as the people called her, wanted to collect all kinds of flowers from all over the world.

Yamiyoru stood among these flowers, amazed with their beauty. All these colours, scents, the delicacy of roses, the dignity of tulips, it was all so fabulous, unreal, unheard of.

Shino plucked one of the roses whose petals turned violet. He didn't know, why he chose this particular one. He also cut down a yellow tulip, then he gave it to Yamiyo. The angel stared at the flower with some distant gaze and Shino came up with something strange. He shortened the rose stalk so that it was practically absent, removed the spikes from it and unnoticed he inserted it into Yamiyo's hair, who only realized after a while what had happened. He looked at Shino and then the half-demon understood.

Naokiyo Yamiyoru wasn't a woman. It seemed like he wasn't also a man, because of androgynous beauty of angels. So was he something in-between?

No, Yamiyo was above them. Shino had never met such gentle woman or so beautiful man as the angel standing in front of him was. The yellow tulip in his hands and the violet rose in his hair made him even more delicate than he possessed. Finally Shino understood what was going on in his heart and some strange fear appeared as he thought what would happen, if Yamiyo find out about Hashidani's challenge. He would be scared for sure, he would beg either Shino not to go to the duel or Hashi to call it all off. However, knowing the stubbornness of the older angel, he would have turned to Shino, who would then have said firmly "No". He would rather lose his life than lose Yamiyoru.

"This garden is so beautiful" said quietly Yamiyoru, stroking tulip's petals. "So calm and beautiful."

"Just like you" thought Shino, in the last moment stopping himself before touching the angel's hair. "Exactly as you."