Every pained scream and every blow that connected made Aoba cringe in fear. It was obvious just how much pain Kuro was going through and yet he continued fighting. Aoba could practically feel Kuro's pain himself. There was an ache in his chest every time he had to hear that terrible sound. He’d whine when Kuro was hit especially hard and when blood was drawn a little more than before he would turn and hide his face in Kyou’s shirt. “Just stay down. Please Kuro.” His voice hadn’t made it above a whisper and he was on the verge of tears by how badly Kuro would be injured because of him. [i]’You shouldn’t be doing this. . .Not for me!’[/i] The fallen angel could already hear Kuro explaining that it was his decision to make and it wasn't Aoba's fault, but the fallen angel wasn't convinced. Aoba found himself not being able to look away for too long as if he had to make sure Kuro would be alright. By the looks of it, that wasn’t the case- only furthering Aoba’s distress. 

There was little Kyou could really do besides keep his arm linked around Aoba’s like he was told to do. He knew in that situation- or any fight with the siblings of Satan himself, he’d die in an instant. So he stayed safe. However, the rise in demonic energy had gotten rather noticeable. Although he didn’t mind it, Kyou realized that it could possibly injure Aoba. A cold chill went down his spine at the thought of being attacked by Dani because of it, then of course he couldn’t have his delightful little ‘prize’ be injured. If he was going to be able to continue talking him, he would have to do his part. 

With a somewhat calming breath, Kyou focused and diverted the demonic energy that strayed towards the two of them in an opposite direction- being careful as to not divert it somewhere important. “Are- Are you okay Aoba?” His voice shook from fear of being so close to his superiors. Kyou only received distressed sounds as Aoba continued trying to force himself away from the madness in front of him. 

The fallen angel had barely missed Kuro’s efforts in preventing damage towards one particular spot in the field. At first, Aoba couldn’t understand what was so special there, but the longer he stared the more he started to realize. . . Aoba’s wings twitched at the memory. It was almost painful to remember, physically painful even. [i]’But why would he protect it. . ?’[/i] Now was not the time to think about those things. Kuro was still being beaten half to death and Aoba was fidgeting and trying not to yell for them to stop. The sudden portal nearby could have made Aoba jump out of his skin, but instead his feathers ruffled and his attention turned back to the fight. 

He didn’t acknowledge the two demons, save for when they exited the portal. That was just to clarify that Aoba didn’t need to run off to safety. Usually, he would have noticed the staring, especially from Homura’s blind large eyes but he was much too focused on the events before him. [i]’He is really worried, I can smell it!’[/i] Homura had gotten a little more intrigued by the fretting angel than the fight. He tried making out as many details as he could, like the occasional breeze his wings would create when he was especially fretful. It was almost as if the fallen angel was tempted to jump up to stop the fight but stopped himself immediately. 

Kyou was just thankful he was being ignored. 

Suddenly, the fight was over with a final shriek of pain making Aoba shut his eyes tight. He didn’t want to see how it ended, nor did he want to see what had become of the demon fighting and facing a punishment. As if predicting his next move, Dani was already behind him and stopping him from leaping up. Instead of responding, Aoba nodded to show he understood. For a moment, he realized that even if Dani didn’t stop him, he wouldn’t get very far thanks to being absolutely terrified of Issho. So, he anxiously waited until that feared demon brought Kuro, now wrapped in a coat. [i]’If so much energy is being created. . .Wouldn’t more demons come here?’[/i] Thinking back to the many times intimidation by Dani and Kuro scared demons away, he was sure that this energy would do the same. 

Dani’s comment about Issho being a softie made Aoba want to whirl around and very much explain that his definition of ‘being soft’ was nowhere near being soft. Instead, he was practically screaming internally but mumbling to himself that Kuro was left alive and that was what mattered. He watched as Issho cradled Kuro’s head while Homura walked over. He couldn’t help but feel rather skeptical of the scene. Issho did just attack Kuro after all. Dani had let him go, indicating that things were fine now, but Aoba didn’t move. As much as he wanted to rush over, Aoba was nowhere near comfortable being around Issho- even if he had ‘accepted him’. Maybe it was because Issho was so close in power of Satan himself. Aoba wasn’t necessarily sure if that was true, but he was convinced that it was something of the sort. 

Dani had realized Aoba was still sitting in the same spot. He stopped poking at Kyou, and nudged Aoba gently. “He’s not gonna bite you know. And Homura’s there. Kuro’ll get better.” It wasn’t very encouraging to the angel, but he did nod and slowly get up. Aoba shuffled his way closer to Homura, keeping his eyes on the ground. He didn’t sit too close, wanting to give Homura his space to work. The fallen angel didn’t know what to say to the bloodied mess in front of him and he was still teay eyed. 

[i]’If only there was something I could do to help. . .’[/i] 

Aoba inched just a little closer to Kuro’s side. Seeing his hand resting limp on the ground, Aoba held it instead. 

~~~~~~~~~

With the fight finally over, Fenrir couldn’t help but examine the silver haired demon’s methods of healing Kuro. As a doctor, he felt the necessity to know. At least, that’s what he was telling himself in effort to ignore that he felt bad for the demon risking his life. Seeing Aoba so distressed only made Fenrir hope that things would lighten up for the better quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~

To keep himself occupied while, Homura began to heal him, Aoba eyed Kuro over from where he sat. Despite not moving, he was still able to critically examine most of the wounds on Kuro’s front. It was easy to do considering he had been a medic- sort of- at some point. What wasn’t easy was stilling the various urges to point out places that Homura brushed over. Sure he was thorough, but he wasn’t thorough to Aoba’s standards- then again, there weren’t many who could match the fallen angel’s ‘need for clean’. Thankfully, the blind demon did go back, fixing him up even more. When Homura had finally did all he could, Aoba looked over at him and whispered. “Thank you.” 

He was doing a pretty decent job of not making eye contact with Issho, but he happened to turn and look at him, only to quickly look back down at Kuro. He fell silent again, occasionally looking over at Dani to see him bothering Kyou still.