Shiki walked into the club room and dropped onto the sofa, exhausted. He was thankful Koneko was out on a contract – and, after a quick looking around the room, he took note that everyone but Rias, who was filling out some papers at her desk, was gone. – it gave him space to spread out as he tried to relax after several hours of handing out flyers. He had been offered the opportunity to do it at night instead but he preferred getting the more mind-numbing of his responsibilities out of the way first. Better yet, all the time spent out in the sun was hastening his body's adaptation to the light and gradually leaving him less tired day by day, killing two birds with one stone.
"Buchou, can I talk to you?" he called out from his seat, turning his head to look at his red-haired King.
He still felt weird, thinking about her with the title of "King". She had taken the time to explain the Evil Piece system, Peerages and basically all that entailed on the night of his induction into the Occult Research Club after he asked for as much information she could give. If being a Devil was his new life then he wanted to know every little thing he could about his role. He had been a bit disheartened to find out he was just a "Pawn" until Rias educated him on the value of the piece, how powerful it had the potential to be, and the fact that he required all 8 of her Pawn Pieces to reincarnate. Apparently whatever Sacred Gear he had was just that good.
"Sure. What is it?" Rias asked, setting down her pen and looking at him. "Were there some difficulties on your last run?"
"No, that's not it. It's just..." Shiki tried to figure out the polite way to phrase this as he sat up. When he couldn't he decided to go with the next best approach. "Can I be blunt?"
"Please."
"These jobs suck, Buchou. My contracts are all going well and I can handle handing out flyers, that's not the problem. I get that I'm new and inexperienced so I'm not going to be working anything too high level anytime soon either, that's fine too. But do all the people that summon me have to be so eccentric?"
Rias held back a laugh at the disturbed expression on her Pawn's face. "Surely it's not that bad?"
"Buchou, my first contract, the one I took in Koneko's stead? I argued with the guy about anime for two hours."
"What anime?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I didn't say anything."
"I could have sworn…," Shiki looked at Rias in confusion before shrugging it off, "Well, never mind. Anyway, two hours of arguing with a guy about anime as my first contract before I managed to convince him by the end of it to change his wish to something I could do."
"What was his original wish?" Rias asked curiously.
"For Koneko to cosplay and give him a princess carry. I don't really understand why but hey, he paid the price for it so I can't complain about that. Got him to change it to having someone just pick up enough groceries to last him a month. No real problem there, the guy was a bit off but overall it was a normal contract, I guess."
"And you did quite a good job too. A high rating on the survey and they left a comment saying they wouldn't mind summoning you again." Rias said as she summoned said survey to her hand, looking it over.
Shiki smiled. Morisawa, the client in question, wasn't so bad, all things considered.
"Though he also put in the comment form "Shiki-san should watch more shows if he wants to lecture a veteran like me. His tastes could also use some work."" Rias finished, now looking at Shiki with amusement and a raised eyebrow.
Shiki's eye twitched out of annoyance.
"Putting aside Morisawa-san's inability to acknowledge my objectively superior tastes, the contract that came after was even worse. An absurdly buff bodybuilder-looking guy that wanted to be a Mahou Shoujo. Do we even do any type of screening for these contracts?"
"Shiki, we don't judge." Rias chided gently. "Besides, he gave you a glowing review as well. "Devil-san couldn't fulfill my dream of becoming a Mahou Shoujo but he comforted me by pretending to be a villain and allowing me to fight him. Thank you, Devil-san." You seem to have a certain talent for fulfilling contracts in unorthodox ways." Rias said, smiling at Shiki with pride that he was doing so well at adjusting to his new life and responsibilities.
He turned his head away awkwardly. "Geez, and now Buchou is praising me," he muttered. "Now I feel bad for complaining. What, did all of them have something good to say?"
"Actually, yes." Shiki looked back to Rias in surprise. "Of the five contracts you've taken since you became a Devil, including the one you picked up in Koneko's stead, all five had nothing but good things to say about your work. As a matter of fact-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll quit complaining and my clients are all great people, you can stop now." Shiki interrupted. He was unused to being praised like this and to have it heaped on by Rias was embarrassing.
"Why don't you take a break? You've been working hard for the past week, take a few hours for yourself and pick up where you left off later tonight if you feel refreshed."
"You're sure it's okay? I don't want to be slacking off while everyone's working." Rias nodded and assured him it would be fine. "Well, alright. Maybe I'll go hang out with Matsuda and Motohama. Haven't had time to do that lately." Shiki stood up and pulled out his phone. "I'll be going then. Later, Buchou." With those parting words, he left the room.
Shiki was bored.
His plans to meet up with Matsuda and Motohama fell through when he messaged them after leaving the old school building. Apparently, Matsuda had gotten some "highly sought after" porn from one of his connections and he and Motohama were watching it together. When he asked for the umpteenth time, because this, oddly enough, wasn't an uncommon occurrence, why exactly they were watching porn together, he got told that a "would-be prince wouldn't understand the hobbies of porn connoisseurs". They stopped answering his messages after that, presumably because they were watching porn.
Sometimes he really wondered how it could be that he was now literally no longer human but his best friends were still weirder than him by a significant margin.
So, with that idea scrapped, he walked aimlessly. He really considered just going back to Rias and asking for more work. He had been feeling restless since the night of his induction into the club and throwing himself into his work was a good way for him to deal with those feelings. It wasn't the other members, if anything they did their best to make him feel welcome, it was the fact that he still hadn't fully come to grips with what had happened. Finding out that you died and traded your humanity in for a second life had a real way of screwing with you. Not that he regretted it, obviously. Between being alive and a Devil or being human and worm food he'd choose the former every time.
Then there were all the unresolved feelings about Yuuma he had. He didn't even want to try unpacking all of that emotional baggage. Rias had asked him about it privately after his induction and he had just told her he was fine. He wasn't, at all really, but he didn't need her worrying about him. No, it was better to just take his mind off of it, and Yuuma, when he could. Things were easier that way.
So in his own head about his problems and issues that he was completely unaware of someone walking in his direction. Someone who had their head buried in a map of Kuoh Town and wasn't paying much attention to their surroundings either. Neither had taken notice of the other up until they slammed into one another, both falling to the ground in a heap.
"If it's not one thing it's another, of freaking course," Shiki muttered as he laid on the ground. Standing up, he noticed the other party was still on the ground. He couldn't get a clear view of their face because of the veil on their head but judging by the fact that he could see they had breasts he felt pretty safe in assuming he had just knocked a girl down. Great. "You okay? You hurt anywhere?"
"N-No, it's fine. I'm alright," they called back in a shy, feminine voice.
Shiki sighed. He wouldn't feel right if he just left whoever this girl was on the ground after walking into her because of his absentmindedness. He leaned down and took her by the hand, pulling her up. "Come on, up you go."
"Oh, um, thank you, sir."
"Sir"? Damn, did that make him feel old. Was this how Azazel felt every time he called him an old man? Putting that thought aside, he grabbed the girl's map and veil off the ground before handing them back to her. "No problem. Sorry for running into you." He would have said more but now that he was finally getting a good look at what she was wearing he was panicking internally.
If the silver cross necklace around her neck didn't give it away then the dark teal nun outfit she was wearing most certainly did. Rias had told him in no uncertain terms to avoid Fallen Angels and members of the Church at all costs and what did he do? Run smack dab into a literal nun, of course. He couldn't believe his luck. Now he had to remove himself from this situation tactfully, without causing a scene and without letting her know he was a Devil.
"Well, bye."
All tact.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't get very far, only taking a few steps before the nun called out to his retreating back.
"Um, excuse me?"
Shiki winced. Did she know what he was already? He suddenly wished he had asked Rias how to do that weird Jedi mind trick spell she had cast on his parents at their first meeting. Would have really come in handy at a time like this.
He weighed his options. He could ignore her, keep walking and hope that she just took him as some rude man before going on her way but that could turn out badly if she was the persistent type, even more so if she was the kind of person to make a scene. Or he could answer whatever she wanted to ask him, hope she didn't know he was a Devil and hope they would just go their separate ways once it was over.
"Yes, can I help you?" Shiki asked, turning back around to look at her, deciding to go with Plan B.
Actually looking at her now instead of just her clothes, he could say for sure she was a looker. Long, golden blonde hair with split bangs over her forehead that well complimented her emerald eyes and white skin. A very cute face that was currently looking at him shyly. A blonde beauty through and through.
"I was wondering if you knew where the local Church is? I've been assigned to it but I'm new to this country," Shiki noticed for the first time that she was carrying a small suitcase with her, "and my Japanese isn't very good."
Now he was faced with another problem. Help the (cute) blonde nun find her way to the Church, which would likely require walking her there if her sense of direction was just that bad, and likely anger Rias or just give her the directions and hope she could get there herself. Shiki sighed once more. He knew what the correct choice was but, at the same time, he knew what the right thing to do was too.
'Damn it all.'
"Yeah, I know the place. Follow me, I'll take you to it."
"R-really, you will? Thank you! To have met someone as kind as you, it must be thanks to God!" she exclaimed happily, hands clasped in front of her chest.
Shiki had to brutally stuff down the urge to tell her that she should probably be thanking Satan instead. He had the feeling that wouldn't go over very well. He had been doing that a lot lately, stopping himself from telling jokes that wouldn't at all fit the mood. Probably something he should work on.
"Oh, I'm being rude, I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Asia Argento, it's nice to meet you!"
"Shirayuki Shiki. Just call me Shiki. Nice to meet you, Sister. Now, let's get going before the sun sets."
"You absolutely cannot go near that Church again."
"Yes, I know. I get it, Buchou." Shiki said, a bit exasperated. He knew what he did was wrong but did he really need to be scolded so much for it?
"Take this seriously, Shiki. You were lucky to have not been attacked by Angels, likely because you were only helping a nun with no ulterior motive and you didn't actually enter the Church itself. This could have ended a lot worse for you." Rias said with a stern look as she scolded her Pawn for putting himself in danger.
"I know, Buchou. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Shiki assured her. He doubted he would even see Asia again, which was kind of a shame. After such a tiring day it had been nice to have a somewhat normal conversation with someone outside of his usual social circle. It helped that she was kind to a fault, even stopping their trip to heal a young boy that had scraped his knee with her Sacred Gear, or at least what he assumed to be a Sacred Gear.
"I'm just trying to keep you safe. I can't bring you back a second time, and if you were to run into an exorcist you could be exorcised. It wouldn't even be death, just nothing. You would be reduced to absolutely nothing."
"Buchou is just looking out for you, Shiki-kun."
Shiki jumped as someone spoke into his ear and spun around only to be greeted by Akeno's smiling face. She had definitely not been there when he and Rias had started talking and he didn't hear the club room's door open either.
"Akeno-san, can you not sneak up on me like that, please?" Shiki asked, trying to get his heart rate under control.
"But your reactions are so cute. Seeing your embarrassed face makes me want to tease you more." Akeno said, her usual smile in place but Shiki could swear he could see something else in her eyes. An emotion he couldn't quite identify but, for some odd reason, sent a chill down his spine.
"On a more serious note," Akeno continued, turning to speak to Rias now with a humorless expression, "we've been sent a message by the Archduke. There's a Stray Devil loose in this town."
"I see. Shiki, have you ever fought before?"
"Not really? I've gotten into a few fist fights in the past but I don't have any formal training. Why?"
Watching Akeno electrocute the Stray Devil, Viser, they had been sent to hunt down, he finally figured out what that look in her eyes from earlier was about. To think that one of the Great Ladies was actually a sadist, wasn't that just something?
"Ara ara, you're still so energetic. I wonder how much you can take."
Shiki slowly backed away before hiding behind Rias and watching the light show over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I don't actually have a joke for a time like this for once. Just promise that that," he gestured to the writhing Stray Devil on the ground currently being lit up like a Christmas tree, "isn't in my future."
"Don't worry. Akeno is quite gentle with her allies so you have nothing to fear." Shiki looked blankly at Rias, then at the black-haired girl still enthusiastically frying the Stray, then back to Rias. His expression clearly said that his worry hadn't been alleviated one bit by Rias' claim. Rias sighed. "Akeno, that's enough now."
"We're already done? I'm a little disappointed," Akeno said, cutting off her stream of lightning before bringing a hand up to her blushing cheek. She looked at Shiki as Rias walked past her and up to the currently smoking, literally, Viser. "Buchou is right, Shiki-kun. I promise to be gentle."
"Whatever it is that's being offered to me, I'm going to pass. I don't have that kind of fetish."
"Have you ever tried it?"
"No, and I'm not going to either, Akeno-san," Shiki said with finality, Akeno laughing as he turned to look at Rias, who was confronting the Stray. It begged for death and Rias was quick to deliver, a blast of demonic power shooting from her palm and eradicating it. When the power finally dissipated Viser was gone, not even a drop of blood remaining. "Alright, that was pretty cool," he said with admiration.
"Buchou's strength partly comes from her Power of Destruction, a magic that runs in her family. Being hit by it leaves not even a single trace. That's how she received the title Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess, as well as Princess of Destruction." Kiba said as he flicked the blood off of his sword before sheathing it.
"Fancy names. We good to go then? My parents are already on my case about staying out late all the time so if we're done then I'll just get going."
"That's fine. Everyone is dismissed and free to go. Report to the old school building tomorrow, same time as usual, for your daily assignments." Rias said as they exited the abandoned building together before breaking off and going their separate ways.
He could feel it in his bones, eyes drilling holes into his back, a chill creeping up his spine as he walked home. This sort of killing intent was pretty intense, whoever it was really wanted to take him out. It put him on edge, his fight or flight instincts going haywire. Deciding to see if whoever was stalking him would at least have the courtesy to face him or if the knowledge that he was aware of their presence would scare them off, he called out into the darkness.
"You gonna watch me all night or just till you get bored?" And then he heard it. The flapping of wings, but not a Devil's. As black feathers began to fall from the sky his mind went back to that evening sunset where he died. 'It's her.' Shiki thought, not sure if it was in anticipation or fear. He'd finally be confronting the person that killed him.
"You're pretty bold, boy." Or not. That voice, it definitely wasn't Yuuma's. Too masculine, too deep to be her. He looked up and spotted the source as it began to descend, a middle-aged man with short black hair and piercing blue eyes, dressed in a pale gray trench coat, black pants, and a fedora. Definitely not Yuuma. "I'll commend you for not trying to flee, not that it would have helped you. Who is your Master? Speak quickly or I may mistake you for a Stray."
Shiki held up his right hand and the sigil of the Gremory clan appeared. Rias had magically engraved it onto his hand, both to display which Peerage he belonged to (something he felt was a little too close to branding but he shrugged it off at the time) and to enable him to use the Gremory magic circles.
"No Strays here, geezer. Well, there was one but we actually just got done killing it. My King destroyed it in one attack. I think its arms might still be on the ground of that building though, maybe you can entertain yourself by stabbing at those instead?" Shiki said, mocking the older man. He smirked as he heard the Fallen Angel growl.
"You're lucky that killing you would case more problems than I'm willing to deal with. Be thankful, boy. Tell your Master to be more careful with her playthings. If she leaves them to roam unattended someone like me may decide to kill them." The Fallen Angel began to rise up into the air once more, making his departure. "My name is Dohnaseek. Pray that we never meet again." And with those parting words, he was gone.
Shiki glared at the retreating figure until it was out of sight. As soon as it was, he let go of the breath he had been holding, placing a hand over his racing heart. That was close, way too close. If the Fallen Angel, Dohnaseek, had decided he wanted to fight regardless of the consequences Shiki wasn't sure what he would do. Maybe if he had awakened his Sacred Gear he would have been more willing to fight but the damn thing still wouldn't answer his calls despite actively trying to summon it for over a week now.
He sighed a ran a hand through his hair in frustration and annoyance. Rias was going to want to hear about this little encounter. Just great, after he had already upset her by helping Asia earlier in the day too. He cursed quietly to himself and resolved to handle it tomorrow when he had the energy.
At least this time it wasn't his fault.
Thankfully, Rias had been understanding when he told her of the previous night's unexpected meeting with Fallen Angel Dohnaseek. No scolding this time, though she did promise to look into why the Fallen Angels were so active recently after Shiki had voiced his concerns. For them to be scurrying about in a Devil's territory was unusual and Rias had agreed. Until they had the answers they were looking for though, he was to resume his usual duties, meaning contracts.
Which was how he currently found himself straddling an insane priest by the name of Freed Sellzen, desperately slamming his fists into said priest's face as he laid on the blood-soaked floor of his (now deceased) client and hoping to every existence imaginable that the madman would stop struggling.
It had begun when, in a flash of light provided by the magic circle, Shiki appeared in the client's house, their living room to be precise and within a few moments, he knew something was wrong. The air in this house, it had this weird metal scent to it. "Yo, client. You call for a Devil?" Shiki asked, trying to remain casual to who he assumed was his summoner. Some guy with white hair, not even looking at him, sitting on the sofa.
"Not me. Him though, he might be who you're looking for~." the white-haired man said in a sing-song voice, pointing behind Shiki.
'Oh great, another weirdo.' he groaned mentally. If he was lucky maybe this guy would end up like Morisawa, just a guy with some oddities about him but otherwise normal. Tragically, that wasn't the case this evening.
He turned around to look at whatever was being pointed at and immediately wished he hadn't.
It was a corpse. A mutilated corpse nailed to the wall, stomach slit open to expose the intestines that were currently in a pile on the ground before it. Nails had been driven into its hands, both feet and the hole in the corpse's stomach, posing it in the shape of a cross. Shiki almost puked at the sight of it, finally realizing that what he smelt when he walked in wasn't metal, it was blood.
He began to shake, the gory scenery and blood splattered everywhere bringing memories of his own death to the forefront of his mind. He forcefully shoved those memories down, focusing on the present and the reality that he was now occupying a room with a murderer. No, not just a murderer, a goddamn butcher. An animal. That was what the guy on the sofa must be because no human being could do this to another person and still be considered human. Only a monster could do something like this.
Written on the wall, in what he assumed was the victim's own blood, were words in a foreign language he didn't recognize. The "Language" skill conferred to all Devils, unfortunately, couldn't translate written words, only spoken.
Sensing his "guest's" confusion, the white-haired man spoke up. "You like it? It says "Punishment for the wicked." I'm quoting Holy Scripture here, I thought it was pretty fitting. Really makes this one of my finer works."
Shiki twisted his head back around to look at the speaker, who had finally risen from his seat and began walking over to him. He looked to be a teenager around the same age as him. "I hadn't expected a Devil-kun to arrive but here you are!" He spoke, tongue hanging from his mouth in a twisted expression. His eyes though, his eyes are what truly gave away his insanity.
This wasn't the brand of crazy he had seen with Viser, this was something much worse. Viser was an unthinking beast, only caring to consume more and more. The man before him, his ruby red eyes were like a void. An all-consuming void that only projected his desire to destroy everything and anything before him. A monster with the guise of a human being.
The stranger did a mock bow to him, hand over his heart, "My name is Freed Sellzen. Please don't introduce yourself though, I don't want to have the name of a filthy Devil swimming around in my brain." And just as quickly as he composed himself, he was jumping up and down, hands waving wildly as he began to sing. "A young priest who's part of a certain exorcist orga-"
Shiki didn't give him time to finish his song, leaping at him as his eyes were closed and sucker punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He didn't have much experience fighting but he knew for a fact that his physical strength was superior to pretty much any human being's and he would readily use that. He'd be damned if he just stood there like an idiot while listening to this psycho's monologue.
Before the priest could retaliate with whatever he was reaching into his clerical robe for Shiki jumped on top of him, wrenching his arm away and causing whatever he had grabbed, some sort of sword handle with no blade attached, to fly out of his hand and across the room. He slammed his fists down upon him, punching at his face, his throat, bringing his hands down in a hammer blow across his nose in an effort to break it, anything he could to try and end the fight quickly.
He knew practically nothing about fighting itself or necessarily how to fight, just going off of whatever his instinct told him and at that moment his instincts were telling him that if he let Freed off the ground there was a very real chance he could die. He wasn't willing to take that chance and had no interest in a fair fight. He'd club Freed, to death if he had to, retreat, then contact Rias and tell her what had happened.
Freed, to his credit, wasn't just laying there and taking it. He pulled his hands and arms up to guard his face as best he could but it wasn't doing him much good. Shiki's superhuman strength allowed him to pull an arm away with one hand to break his guard and then bring down the other to strike him. This carried on for some time, the only sounds in the room being Shiki's labored breathing, Freed's incomprehensible screaming and the meaty impacts of his fists trying to break Freed's skull.
Unfortunately, Freed hadn't come to this location alone, a fact that made itself apparent as a door behind the two opened and a familiar blonde nun walked out.
"Shiki-san?"
Shiki either didn't hear her or didn't care to, continuing to rain down blows upon Freed. He couldn't afford to let up, not even for one second. Fight or die. Win or die.
"Shiki-san!"
This time he did hear her, head instinctively whipping around to look at whoever was calling his name. Eyes wide and panicked, he addressed the girl looking at him in shock.
"Asia?"
That moment of distraction was all Freed needed to reach into his robe, pull out his gun and promptly shoot Shiki right in the stomach. He would have aimed for the head but in the struggle his arm had been pinned down by Shiki's leg, his stomach was the highest he could raise it but it was more than enough.
Shiki gave a blood-curdling scream as he felt his insides burn, more than that it felt like his entire body was burning. The pain was so much worse than when Yuuma had stabbed him, at least that pain had been centralized in one area. His brain was on fire and he only distantly felt pain as Freed threw his body off and he landed on the ground.
"Thanks for the save, Asia-chan. Knew it was right to bring you along." Freed mumbled before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Did you finish setting up that barrier like I told you to?"
"F-Father Freed, what is this? What's going on?" Asia asked, ignoring his question.
"What, this? Me and Devil-kun here," Freed pointed at Shiki, who was desperately trying to rise to his feet but even the slightest movement aggravated that horrific searing pain, "were having a little disagreement. Probably about my masterpiece, I don't think he cared for it much." Freed moved his hand from pointing at Shiki to pointing at the body still nailed to the wall.
Asia's hands flew to her mouth in horror. "Y-You did that?"
"Yep. Like I was telling Devil-kun before he rudely interrupted me and the super cool speech I had prepared, I think it's one of my better works. Really captures the feel of what happens to humans that summon Devils, don't you think?"
"Devils? Shiki-san, you're a-"
"Huh? You two know each other? Oh, that's a surprise, a forbidden romance between Devil-kun and Sister Asia-chan! Actually, that's kinda disgusting, now that I think about it. Makes me wanna puke. Bad Asia-chan, getting all friendly with Devils in her free time. Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?"
Shiki finally managed to stand, the effort and the pain almost causing him to blackout. "Yeah, I'm a Devil. Sorry for not telling you earlier, I thought it would have made things awkward." Shiki tried to joke, putting on a pained smile. "Probably not the best way for you to find out."
"Eh, Devil-kun is making jokes at a time like this? Are you sure you're not the one that got hit on the head instead of me?" Freed mocked. "Well, whatever. You should know better than to go talking to Devils, Asia-chan. Isn't that what got you thrown out?"
'Thrown out?' Shiki thought in a confused haze. Was Asia no longer with the Church?
"Devils and humans are incompatible, especially humans from the Church! Get that through your thick skull already, stupid. And that's not even mentioning that we need the protection of the Fallen Angels just to get by now that we're just heretics that have been abandoned by God!" Freed glided over to the sword handle that had gone flying across the room and picked it up off the ground.
"Alright, talking's done now." A blade of pure energy sprung from the handle as he stalked towards Shiki, who barely had the energy to raise his hands to defend himself. "You put me in a bad mood, Devil-kun, so I'm going to make sure this hurts really bad. Try to endure as long as you can, okay?" Freed pulled back his arm as he prepared to leap at the Devil.
Before he could Asia dashed out in front of Shiki, arms spread out as if to protect him. The priest adopted a look of anger at this. "Oi, Asia-chan. Do you know what you're doing right now? Are you serious?"
"Father Freed, please spare him. Please forgive him and let him go. Please!"
"Do you have any idea what you're saying? This is some high-class heresy, trying to save a Devil's life."
"He might be a Devil, but Shiki-san isn't a bad person! And God won't forgive you for such a deed!"
"Who the fuck cares? We're killing Devils, I think that'll make God happy enough, don't you?" Freed walked forward and shoved Asia to the ground. "Ya know, the higher ups told me I can't kill ya but you're really starting to piss me off. You mind if I screw your brains out? After I kill that piece of shit over there, of course."
Shiki felt fury course through his body with just as much fervor as the searing pain he was experiencing. This guy, he was seriously threatening to do something like that to Asia? He'd kill him. To hell with retreating or falling back. He'd murder Freed. And, if he couldn't, if he just didn't have the strength left to kill him, he'd at least buy enough time for Asia to get away.
"Alright, no more interruptions! Time to die, Devil-kun!" the priest exclaimed before leaping into the air, ready to split the raven-haired Devil in two. "Eh?" Freed made a noise of questioning as a magic circle appeared before the Devil he was intent on carving up.
Shiki watched in amazement as it grew and expanded rapidly until a person came flying out of it, stopping Freed's light sword with a sword of their own. "Kiba?"
"Sorry we're late, Shirayuki-kun. There were a few complications. Don't worry, we'll take things from here."
"Ara ara, how awful."
"Exorcist..."
Akeno and Koneko came through the circle as well. They had come to save him. Kiba spoke again, this time to the exorcist who's sword he was currently clashing with, "Sorry, he's with us."
Freed just let out one of his crazed laughs. "So that's how it is? All the Devils are here, this is great. Tell me, since you're the one coming to save his skin does that mean you're the top and he's the bottom? Is that your relationship?"
Kiba glared at Freed in disgust. "What a vulgar mouth. I can't believe you're a priest. Is that why you're a Stray Exorcist?" Kiba pushed back against Freed's sword.
"Yeah, I'm pretty vulgar, sorry! I strayed away, I got kicked out! That's why fuck the Vatican! To hell with God! So long as I can cut up Devils like you whenever I want then I'll always be happy! Don't talk down to me, pests!"
"Even Devils have rules," Akeno said, smile in place but eyes deadly serious. Even without having it directed at him Shiki could feel the killing intent she was radiating. Freed jumped but not out of fright, it seemed more out of glee than anything.
"Onee-san, I love that intense stare of yours. You're the best, I can really feel your desire to kill me. Is this love? No, it's killing intent! I'm so excited, it doesn't matter whether I'm killing or being killed!"
"You should disappear then." Rias appeared last from the circle, her Power of Destruction destroying the area where Freed was previously standing as he dodged. Kiba pressed the advantage and continued his attack as Rias spoke to Shiki. "Shiki, I'm sorry. I never thought a Stray Exorcist would attack a client. We would have come sooner but there was a barrier until only a few moments ago. Are you wounded?"
"The girl," Shiki said, half delirious from the pain. Rias looked at him in confusion, unsure who he was talking about. He rose a shaky hand and pointed at Asia, who was still lying on the ground, watching the scene play out. "Asia. We have to take Asia."
"Shiki, she's a nun."
"Doesn't matter." Shiki forced out. The blood loss was finally getting to him, his vision was getting blurry but he had to make sure Asia would be safe. He just had to stay conscious a little longer. "That guy's insane. We have to take her with us. We have to. Buchou, please." The strength drained out of him and no longer able to support his own weight, Shiki collapsed, only to be caught by Akeno. She looked at him with worry before glancing back at Rias.
"Your orders, Buchou?"
Rias was conflicted. To kidnap a nun from the Fallen Angel faction, there was no other way that could be taken other than an act of aggression. The logical side of her brain told her that it was a bad idea, that nothing good could come from it. And yet, Shiki was so desperate to try and take the girl, for him to make such a plea he must have had a good reason for it. Her mind made up, she prepared to give Koneko the order to grab the blonde girl when Freed spoke once more.
"Oh, you're fucked now! The cavalry's finally arriving!" Freed cackled wildly as a magic circle appeared on the ceiling.
"Buchou, there are several Fallen Angels approaching this area," Akeno warned, her eyes displaying even more anger than they had before. "At this rate, we'll be at a disadvantage."
Rias knew what that meant. She hoped that her Pawn would be able to forgive her but there was no other choice now. She couldn't risk everyone's life for the sake of what Shiki wanted. "Retrieving Shiki is the top priority. We're returning, prepare for teleportation." Rias ordered. Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno nodded before drawing back, Koneko flinging a sofa at Freed and flattening him to prevent him from pursuing.
"What are you doing?" Shiki muttered as the glow of the magic circle beneath them began to light up the room. "Save her. Save Asia, dammit! Take her with us!" He began to struggle, the fire inside him reignited as he realized they were leaving without Asia, to get out of Akeno's grip, trying to reach out to the nun.
"This magic circle can only teleport Devils. We have to leave her behind. I'm sorry." Rias said apologetically. Shiki's struggling only increased as began to get more desperate. "Shiki, stop!" she ordered as he became more frantic.
"We can't leave her here! Let me go!" He got within centimeters of nearly breaking the circle and making a dash for Asia before Akeno yanked him back. His hands flew to the ones currently holding him, desperately trying to pry them off. "Stop trying to stop me! We can't leave here without Asia! I can't leave here without Asia!" he screamed, doing everything he could to run out to Asia.
She had risked her life to save his, stepping in to plead for his life from a homicidal monster, and he was supposed to just leave her behind? This girl who so easily placed her life on the line was going to be abandoned to whatever Freed had in store for her and he couldn't stop it, how could he accept such a thing?
"Shiki-san," he froze, his struggling stopping as he looked at Asia as she spoke with tears in her eyes, "let's meet again, okay?"
The teleportation spell finished and the Devils were gone without a trace.
"I'm sorry, Shiki," Rias said, breaking the silence that had been between them since they had arrived in the club room. Her bare body was pressed against Shiki's back as she used her demonic power to heal his wounds as best she could after they had been bandaged to stop the bleeding.
"It wasn't your fault," he replied quietly, still drained after losing so much blood. Despite Rias' healing, he could still feel the lingering pains of having been shot. His King had explained that it was most likely a gun that fired bullets of light.
In a way, he supposed he was incredibly lucky to only be shot in the stomach. A little bit higher, or if Freed had decided to be pragmatic rather than theatrical when trying to kill him, and his brains would have been on the walls, right next to his unfortunate client's body.
"If anything, it's my fault. If I had been stronger then-"
"Don't think like that," Rias ordered, tightening the hold her arms had around him. "You can't beat yourself up thinking about how things would have been different."
"But it is my fault. If I could just summon my Sacred Gear I'd have beaten Freed! I could have taken Asia and-"
"And what? Where would you have gone? You would have been hunted by the Fallen Angels for kidnapping a nun affiliated with them. Would you have brought her to your house, putting your parents in danger? Would you have brought her here, possibly leading the Fallen Angels right to us? Trying to save her means making the Fallen Angels our enemy. We would have to fight to defend you." Rias knew she was being a bit hypocritical, considering that if the Fallen Angels hadn't arrived as backup for the Stray Exorcist she had every intention of honoring Shiki's wish to rescue the girl from the clearly deranged priest, but she needed to make him understand that nothing could have been done in their circumstances. She couldn't have him beating himself up.
"I..." He had no answer. He didn't even know what he would have done after grabbing her, just that he wanted to get her out of there and away from Freed. He had no plan. More than that, could he really put everyone else in danger because he wanted to save Asia? If it was just himself alone then it didn't matter, not to him, he would have taken the chance. Rias and the ORC or Asia, he couldn't make such a choice. He didn't want to think about being forced into a position where he would have to choose. "I would have figured something out." he finished, dodging the question.
Rias sighed. He could be so stubborn at times. "Regardless, what's done is done. Dwelling on the past won't change anything." His expression didn't change, still looking at the floor with regret in his eyes. "We're about done, I've done all I can. You should be fine now, but don't move around too much or you may reopen your wounds." She moved to leave and give him some privacy to dress.
"Alright. Thanks, Buchou."
"Shiki." The boy turned his head to look at Rias as she called his name. "Take the day off tomorrow. I'll handle any complaints or problems it causes, just get some rest, okay?" Shiki could read between the lines and understood what was being left unsaid. She was asking him not to do something like going looking for Asia.
He waited for her to leave before cursing himself under his breath. He was supposed to be strong, wasn't he? His Sacred Gear made him hot shit, Rias had told him as much (granted, not in those exact words). Yet here he was, hole in his stomach that he had to have healed, again, body throbbing as if he had been beaten to hell and back, feeling like complete shit. His client had been brutally murdered, Asia was still with Freed and he had worried everyone by almost dying for the second time.
Too weak to win, too weak to save Asia, too weak to do anything other than be a burden.
Shiki milled around the park aimlessly. Rias had given him the day to himself, no school, no Devil work, but he had nothing to do. Couldn't work on contracts while he was injured, carrying around a huge stack of flyers would have aggravated his wounds so that was avoided as well, there was just nothing for him.
Staying home had been out of the question too, would have raised too many questions. It was bad enough that he came home in the middle of the night, only barely able to keep the limp out of his step so they wouldn't know he was hurt. Changing his bandages had been a pain too, stuffing the bloody ones into his school bag to dispose of outside where his mother wouldn't mistakenly come across them.
Worse yet, he couldn't stop brooding over the previous night's events. He wanted desperately to just charge the Church he had taken Asia to but he knew better. That was suicide. He'd be dead to rights the moment he broke down the door, achieving absolute nothing.
"Shiki-san?"
For now, he was resigned to sitting on a park bench, agitated by his inability to do anything.
He had to get stronger. Learn how to actually fight, build up his body, figure out how to use his own demonic power, summon his Sacred Gear, become the damn strongest. This disgusting feeling of failure, of failing everyone, he never wanted to experience it again.
"S-Shiki-san? Are you okay?"
He snapped out of his thoughts, head turning to whoever kept calling his name. Wait, wasn't this a bit too familiar to last night? His eyes widened as he caught a glance of a familiar blonde approaching him cautiously.
"Asia?!"
Author's Note: Another chapter finished. Small side note, more related to the first chapter than this one, but I've made a small adjustment to the beginning. Not something huge, just a change to the first day the story took place. It was an error on my part, Volume 1 of DxD starts at the beginning of April and not the end so I changed it. Other than that, not much to say.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review with your thoughts and have a nice day!
