Chapter 1: Prayer
That morning, the bells of the death of Assistant Archbishop Bastien echoed. A large group of bishops, nuns and church people gathered amongst the gravestones to pay their last respects. "Yet another of God's children has set out on a journey. Please help him find peace. May our prayers help him find happiness." In the front row between Labrador and Castor, Frau looked on with a blank face as the sermon began, gently holding on to the cross that hung from a chain around his neck. He watched as the coffin containing Bastien's body was carefully lowered into the grave.
Seconds after hoisting himself onto the window ledge, footsteps alerted Frau to the fact that he had been caught. Glancing behind him Frau sighed in annoyance before sitting down on the sill and leaving his legs to dangle precariously out of the window. "Leaving the grounds after dark is forbidden," Bastien pointed out as he walked forward. "Are you… removing Kor even though you're not a bishop?"
"I learned how to do it after watching you," Frau explained before averting his eyes. "I feel a little lighter after I exterminate a Kor… in my heart."
"Seeking salvation?"
"No!" Frau vehemently denieed. "I just exterminate them while hoping that the person will find happiness this time…" Frau hunched defensively, clutching at his bascule.
Bastien smiled fondly, "Frau, that's a prayer."
""Those who walk with me shall sing of my glory for all eternity." May he find enrichment in our prayers." The assembly of mourners simultaneously joined their hands in prayer, wishing Bastien safe passage to Heaven. Frau brought his hands together silently. May his soul recover. The hole was filled and one by one people began to place flowers at the grave.
"I can't believe that Bastien-sama used black magic to kill the criminals," a nun said in disbelief.
Sister Libelle responded sadly, "His sense of justice was definitely too strong…"
"It seems two young students studying for the exam rushed into his room at dawn," Bishop Lars revealed.
"Were those children trying to confront him?" another bishop asked, surprised.
"Who were they?" one queried.
Three of the seven ghosts stared at the memorial from the front of the crowd, ignoring the discussion. Castor breaks their silence, "Without Bastien-sama's power to help them, those Warsfeil can no longer remain here. After this, I don't think there are any left to retreat."
"But I doubt they'll simply give up." Labrador remarked.
"In any case, I'm glad that Teito-kun is alright. I examined Teito afterwards, there was no sign of a wars." Castor smiled reassuringly before moving forward to place a bouquet of flowers on top of the rest of the growing pile.
"Yeah…" Frau grunts, thinking of how Teito could have suffered far more if he hadn't gotten there sooner.
Castor continues, "Really, I had wanted him to get baptized right after he first arrived to protect him from things of darkness."
Labrador says mournfully, "But that child has already killed too much."
"Nevertheless, he's on everyone's mind. I'm worried about how people will view this," Castor frets.
"After all, Bastien-sama was beloved by many people." Labrador added. Frau remained silent and simply threw the grave one last glance before abruptly turning to leave. The other two shared a concerned look behind him before catching up to follow. The murmurs of discussion followed them as they passed through the crowd.
"Why'd this have to happen to Bastien-sama?" a nun said in tears.
"He was probably covering up for someone else," Bishop Manfred speculates, unable to accept the truth.
Another bishop agreed sorrowfully, "He was too kind for his own good."
Bishop Elias bursts out spitefully, "I wish that ruffian was the warsfeil instead! If he were a warsfeil is one thing, but Bastien-sama…" Frau disregarded the gossip and lights up a cigarette as their small unit cleared the edge of the gathering.
"Bishop Frau!" a woman called out, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turns around inquiringly. The three nuns Rosalie, Athena and Libelle ran up to Frau with remorse painted across their faces. Athena moved forward, "Until now we had our doubts you weren't a warsfeil. We're very sorry."
"We were wrong. Please forgive us," Libelle said as the three bow.
"Don't worry about it," Frau grinned and picked up Athena's hand, "If you like, we could have some tea…" Castor interrupts Frau's proposition with a punch to the head.
"Um…" Rosalie started nervously, "I think that everyone in the church has heard of this at least once and if there were such a person in the church I think something would be heard about it at once, but… the gods who swoop down from heaven, in order to live alongside humans, always take the form of a human. An existence unpolluted by darkness. It is impossible for them to ever be tainted. And while no one has seen it, it is believed that they are sanctioned by the church to protect us from the darkness."
Libelle glanced at the women on either side of her before looking hopefully up at Frau "There's only one explanation for why Bishop Frau could touch a warsfeil's weapon and remain untainted…" The three bishops sweated nervously at the thought of being discovered and the subsequent consequences.
"You aren't by any chance one of the seven ghosts?" The cigarette in Frau's mouth fell to the grass as his jaw loosened. Castor, in a moment of panicked brilliance, deflected the question by elbowing Frau hard in the stomach. An array of porn magazines fell out of Frau's robes and scattered across the ground around his feet.
"Ah! You shouldn't have that, Frau! That sort of book!" Labrador reprimanded him while the nuns looked on in shock.
"Th-this is an offering to put in front of the grave..." Frau stuttered while maintaining a serious face.
Castor looked at him in disbelief, "Wha? What were you thinking!?"
"W-well, calm down, you guys…" Frau said, edging away from Castor's furious glare and lit up another cigarette. The three bishops shared an anxious look before quickly making their escape. The three nuns stared after the retreating bishops. Athena and Rosalie sported a sceptical look. There's no way that a bishop like that could be one. Athena turned to Rosalie, "Speaking of that, tobacco's a kind of drug."
"Where'd he get something so awful?" Rosalie wondered. Libelle remained silent, staring pensively in the direction that the three bishops had ran. "Perhaps Bishop Frau is hiding his true nature," she declared. The other nuns turned to her questioningly.
"What's this about Bishop Frau?" a curious voice joined the conversation.
AN:
I thought I should mention that I'm not great at fiction as I'm used to academic stuff but I'm giving this a try. This fic will use a combination of the anime and manga universe but I'll be sticking primarily to events that happen in the manga. This chapter is simply a reiteration of Bastien's funeral with a lead up to the premise of the story. Thanks for reading and be sure to favourite and/or follow if you enjoyed it.