A/N: I have a new found respect for FF writers. You don't really know how long 5k words is until you're on page 8 of a word document. I was so happy when I finished, I screamed "Fuck Yeah!" in a very public place (never going to that Starbucks again). Thanks for all the PMs and reviews guys.
joe: here's the answer to your question.
For the first time in weeks, Issei woke up with a full night's rest. As his eyes slowly slid open, he put a hand in front of his face to stop the light pouring in from the window from blinding him. A thin layer of frost covered the world outside in white. Issei sung his legs off his bed and put his shirt and pants on. He walked downstairs and saw Train sitting at the table eating from a bowl of cereal and milk.
"Morning" Issei called out.
"Morning" Train replied.
The fixer put down his spoon and looked up at Issei.
"Now may be a good time to talk about the job we have tomorrow" he said.
"Alright, let's hear it" Issei said as he sat down across from his coworker.
"Sarutobi set us up with something pretty simple. We got rich dad, a big wig in some lumber company, and his daughter. So the daughter went and ran away with some older guy. The guy goes by the name 'T-Dog' on the street" Train said, "apparently, the guy carries around a piece, nearly put a bullet in dear old daddy when he tried to convince his daughter to come home. Apparently daughter dearest wants to stay with this prick, it's our job to bring her back".
"You guys take on these kinds of jobs?" Issei asked.
"We're fixers, we take on any job that pays and is within our range of capability" Train explained.
"How much is this one going to pay?" the devil asked.
"The client is offering seven thousand in American dollars, pocket change once we split it among the group but a good place for you to start" Train replied.
As he finished explaining, Haru came down from the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly a thought came to Issei.
"Hey Train, Sarutobi said that magic isn't something we need to do these jobs, but do you use any?" Issei inquired.
Train spared him a thoughtful glance.
"I prefer to not use magic on most occasions. I say that if you can't do a job without magic, you shouldn't be doing it at all. It is pretty helpful when you're in a pinch though".
"What kind of magic do you use?" Issei asked.
"I can't use many types of magic, but I can alter the speed my body moves at. It lets me move, aim, and shoot faster. Haru over there has a whole arsenal of magic, especially healing; she has a natural talent for it".
At this Haru stopped rummaging through the refrigerator in the kitchen and turned to them for a moment with a piece of bread hanging from here mouth. She gave a quick nod towards Issei before continuing to pillage the company's food supply.
"Anyway" Train continued, "this job should be quick and easy, I doubt we'll even need any magic while we're out there".
After they talking a bit more about how Kronos functions, Connor came down for breakfast.
"Issei! I meant to ask you, did you want to check out the city? I doubt you got to see it very well without any money".
Issei laughed half-heartedly, "yeah sure".
"Great" the blond said, "let me just grab something to eat and we can hop in the car and go".
Five minutes later, Issei and Connor had both gotten into a plain black sedan and set off for the city.
"Niigata is the largest city in this prefecture. The prefecture itself has around two and a half million people in it, almost as many as Kyoto" Connor explained, "the city itself is huge, you should just see the skyline at night".
Issei stared out at the towering buildings around the city leading all the way to the ocean on the western side of Japan.
"This city is the base of our operations, it's where we keep the headquarters. However, it is pretty common to get jobs that require us to go to other districts in Japan or even out of the country" Connor pointed out, "hell, just last week I was in Pakistan. Barely made it out of that place alive; took a bullet to the thigh for my efforts".
They puled up to a fancy hotel close to the center of the city.
"This is where your for tomorrow is staying" he said, "I'm pretty sure he wants you to deliver his daughter somewhere around this location, I doubt he wants you to drag her inside the hotel though. High profile clients like this prefer not to make a scene. That's usually why they hire us, we're discreet and stay out of the public eye".
After a few more hours of sightseeing, the two fixers stopped at a WcDonalds to get lunch.
"So what do you think of the city Issei?" Connor asked.
"It's amazing, the town I used to live in was nothing like this" he replied.
"Really? I'm used to this kind of thing, I grew up in New York. Came over here about five years back and took odd jobs around the city. Around three years ago I found my place in Kronos" Connor said.
"I thought your name sounded American" Issei remarked.
Connor looked at his watch, "we've been out longer than I thought, you want to head back?".
"Alright" Issei replied.
They left the WcDonalds and traveled home.
"Hey! Good to see you guys back" Sarutobi greeted them from the kitchen as they walked through the door.
"Haru and Jonah just left on a job" she said.
"What job?" Connor asked.
"The one up in the Aomori prefecture" she replied.
"Are you sure it was okay to send just the two of them?" he asked.
"Of course! They'll be fine" Sarutobi said as cheerful as always, "how do you feel about your job Issei?".
Issei smiled, "I'm excited to start" he said.
"Wonderful, with Train as your partner it should go by without a hitch" she said.
Later that night, Issei lie awake on his bed and wet through the pictures of his old life again. He truly had a wonderful time back then. He was surrounded by beautiful girls, had the power to match the biblical God in a fight, and a place he belonged. All of that was gone now.
After his evil pieces were taken from him, Issei lost a huge portion of his power. The pieces were forcefully ripped from his body, so many of his magical circuits were destroyed. As a result, he could hardly summon any magic at all; even the most basic techniques were difficult.
By far the worst part in all of this was his inability to contact Ddraig. Before he was turned into a devil, it was impossible for Issei to talk to the dragon emperor; with his meager supply now, he may never speak to him again. On the bright side, he did get to keep his devil-hood. Initially he had thought that removing a reincarnated devil's pieces was a death sentence, or at the very least they would revert to being a normal human. He managed to retain his status as a devil, including the enhanced strength and speed. As the warm embrace of sleep took him, he couldn't help but wonder if he might be able to build himself up again with Kronos.
Issei was woken up by a hit to the ribs. He got tangled up in his blanket and wrestled with it on the floor as he regained his motor functions after a long night's sleep. Once he finally dislodged himself, he look up and saw Train standing on his bed smirking at him, his leg still in the air after kicking Issei off.
"Morning" he said.
"What the hell!? Who does that to their partner!?".
"Well it's time to get up, we have a job to do" Train said casually.
Issei sat up, "oh, right" he remarked, "when do we go?".
"fifteen minutes" Train replied, "be ready by then or I'll be delivering you wake-up calls for the next month".
Issei shuddered at the thought, "alright, I'll be downstairs in a second" he replied.
After getting dressed, Issei walked down and into the living room where Train waited. He had a black coat on over his usual attire. It was open in the front, revealing his shirt underneath and reached down to just above his knees. He was tapping his foot impatiently as he leaned against the wall. He looked over to Issei.
"took you long enough" he said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol.
"Here" he said, offering Issei the gun "a fixer should never work without a weapon, you never know when a job will go south".
Issei took the gun and noticed the words 'Glock 17' on the end of the square slide. He felt uneasy as he took the weapon.
"I've never shot one of these before" he said.
Train smirked at him once again, "well then maybe we can get some practice in while we're on the job, eh?".
The idea of killing wasn't exactly new to Issei. He had killed members of Khaos Brigade during his battle at the devil capital and exterminated plenty of stray devils with his peerage. This was different though. More often than not he wouldn't know if the people he was aiming at were truly evil, at least not in this line of work. The young devil steeled his nerves and put the gun in the back of his waistband. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.
"Connor is letting us use his car for this one, lets go" Train said as he walked out the door.
They both climbed in the same black sedan Issei and Connor had use to drive around the city yesterday.
"Remember, we want to remain inconspicuous" Train reminded him, "go in, get the girl, get out. With any luck we won't run into anyone along the way".
After driving for ten minutes, Issei and Train arrived at the poorer districts on the outskirts of Niigata. Issei could see graffiti on the walls and boards over the windows and doors of the small houses throughout the area. Eventually, they pulled up in front of a small house with bars placed over its windows and front door, not unlike most other houses in the area.
"We're here" Train said and proceeded to park the car across the street and get out.
Loud music could be heard coming from inside as they walked up to the residence. Train crept up and put his ear to the door. After a moment he looked around to make sure no one was watching and smashed the lock of the door with the butt of his pistol. He holstered the weapon and glanced back at Issei.
"Lets go" he said and walked into the house.
The inside of the house was a mess. The lights were dimmed, clothes were strewn about, and a torn up sofa could be seen in the corner. Issei looked around and couldn't help but notice the thin layer of smoke in the air. Train walked to another door in the back of the room. The door opened up to a bedroom where a girl around their age could be seen.
"T? Is that you?" she called out.
She seemed to be in a daze, probably due to the syringes and dirty plastic spoons that could be seen littering the floor. The girl looked as though she was normally beautiful, but right now her hair was unkept and her eyes glazed. Train walked over and prepared to lift her up. Just then, the front door swung open to reveal a heavily tattooed man.
He took one look at the fixers and his face twisted into an ugly glare, the veins could be seen bulging in his neck past all the ink. He dropped the small WcDonalds bag he had been holding and brandished a pistol. Suddenly, faster than the eye could see, Train drew his own weapon and fired.
The shot went straight through the man's right temple and out the back of his head. The sickening sound of blood splattering against the floor resounded throughout the room.
For a single instant, all sound seemed to disappear. Even the music seemed to fade into the background. Then it began again, with all of its fury. The girl let loose an ear piercing scream. The music continued to pound in Issei's skull and gave him a headache. The world seemed to spin. Train leapt into action at that moment; the fixer grabbed both Issei and the girl and dragged them outside. He threw the girl in the trunk and Issei and in the passenger's seat and drove.
'That was a human' Issei thought to himself, 'not a stray devil or one of Khaos Brigades magic users but a human that had no knowledge of angels, devils, or anything from our world'.
Once the car stopped Issei opened the door, fell on his knees and threw up. The bile stung his throat and his eyes burned. After Issei had spent a few minutes on his hands an knees outside the car, Train came around behind him.
"You done yet?" he asked cooly, "this is the job, get used to it".
The rest of the job went smoothly; they delivered the girl to the designated drop-off and reunited her with her father. Once the fixers were paid, they began the journey home. The entire time not a single word was spoken between Train and Issei.
After arriving back at the house, Train went to the kitchen for a drink while the young devil went straight to his room. An hour later, Issei's door creaked open, Sarutobi walked in and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Train gave me a full report" she said, "are you alright?".
Issei gave a short nod. "Yeah" he croaked, "I just wasn't prepared for that. I've had to kill before but never in cold blood like that".
Sarutobi moved her hand in a circle on the small of his back.
"It's okay" she whispered, "no one is ever ready for that. But you have to understand that this is part of the job. We try to avoid killing innocent people, but sometimes it can't be helped".
"I…I understand" Issei replied.
"Good. Get some rest, okay?".
Issei nodded and Sarutobi walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. After that, Issei drifted into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, butter toast and a grinning Connor greeted the young devil as he walked into the kitchen.
"You want one?" Connor asked as he held a plate up to Issei.
"Thanks" Issei said as he took the plate, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
After they had both sat down with their plates, Connor looked up at Issei,
"so Train tells us you've never fired a gun before" the blond fixer remarked.
"Yeah" Issei admitted, "guns aren't very common in Japan so I never had the opportunity".
"Don't worry, Sa-chan volunteered to take you out for shooting lessons today".
"That's right" Sarutobi said as she walked down the stairs, "we'll be leaving in a little bit so finish up there and get ready".
Issei quickly ate his toast and headed upstairs to put on clean clothes. He went over to his desk and picked up the gun he had deposited there the night before. He looked at it hesitantly before shoving it into the back of his pants and slipping on his windbreaker. He walked back down the stairs and out to a silver truck Sarutobi was waiting in.
"We're going down south toward the bottom of the prefecture" she said, "we can't have too many people around when you're firing off shots".
Issei got in the truck and they drove for two hours, he watched as small houses in the rural area of the region faded into the distance. Eventually hey began to drive through a more wooded area as trees began to envelop the landscape.
"This looks good enough" Sarutobi said as she pulled the truck to a stop.
Issei got out and observed the area. They were at the edge of a small forest, behind them stretched a long plain of grass with trees dotting the landscape. Other than the narrow road they had arrived on, there was no sign of civilization at far as the eye could see. A light fog had settled in the cold evening and the sun couldn't be seen past the dull gray hue the sky had adopted. Sarutobi retrieved a paper target from the bed of the truck and pinned it to a tree. Once she was sure it was secure, she walked back over to Issei and stood beside him.
"Alright, let's see where you're at. Try shooting that target over there".
Issei pulled his gun out and took aim at the target. He waited until he felt the shot was lined up just right and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out of the chamber with an ear-splitting crack. It clipped the edge of the paper target and flew into a tree further in the forest.
"Not terrible" Sarutobi remarked as she took the gun out of Issei's hands, "but it needs a lot of work".
She slipped the magazine out of the gun and pulled the slide back to eject the bullet out of the chamber.
"Now that you've had a chance to fire it, let's review" she said, "the gun you just shot is a Glock 17 with a threaded barrel. It fires a nine-millimeter bullet at three hundred and fifty meters per second. Not first choice but it gets the job done".
she let the slide fall back into place and put the gun back in Issei's hand.
"Aim the gun just like you were earlier" she demanded.
Issei got into the same stance he was in moments ago.
"Keep your elbows relaxed" Sarutobi instructed.
She put her hand over Issei's, "keep you left thumb under your right when you fire" she said while moving his fingers into place.
She leaned forward, pressing her chest into Issei's arm, "make sure you line up the sights correctly".
Issei's face grew red slightly at the close contact.
"Right" he replied and adjusted his stance.
"Good, that's perfect" she said with a smile.
She proceeded to show Issei how to load rounds into a magazine as well as how to insert and eject the magazine from the gun.
"When you're ready, try firing the gun again" Sarutobi said.
Issei nodded and brought the gun up toward the target once more. He mimicked what she had shown him and fired. The round hit home three rings out from the center of the target.
"Great job!" she praised.
They continued to discuss the mechanics behind the gun and firing practice rounds for hours.
Eventually, the sun began to set and they were running low on ammunition.
"I think that's good for the day. You're a fast learner Issei" Sarutobi said.
They collected the targets they had gone through and got back into the truck.
"We'll keep practicing, you're getting better but I'm not confident in pitting you against live and moving targets" she explained.
Issei nodded and they began the long journey home.
The following week, Issei and Sarutobi went out to practice shooting three separate times. Issei was steadily gaining progress and could manage to hit a still target from a good distance away easily. As they walked in through the door of the house after another session, Connor came up to Sarutobi with a worried look on his face.
"Have you heard anything from Haru and Jonah?" he asked, "they haven't reported back for a couple of days now".
A frown formed on Sarutobi's face,
"No, I haven't" she muttered.
She turned towards the young devil standing beside her,
"Issei, get Train from upstairs, I want you two ready to move within the hour" she ordered, "They wouldn't miss a report without a good reason, I want you guys prepared to support just in case".
She turned to Connor, "get me their last known location" she said.
Connor nodded and hurried over to the laptop he had left open on the kitchen table. After Issei arrived at the kitchen with Train in tow, Sarutobi tossed them the keys to the sedan.
"Start driving up to the Aomori prefecture, Haru and Jonah are in trouble".
Within minutes, the two male fixers were on the road. As Issei began driving, Train called Sarutobi from the passenger's seat. While the number was dialing he hooked up his phone to the port in the car. When she picked up, Sarutobi immediately began briefing them.
"Haru and Jonah took a job eliminating an elite of the local yakuza in the Aomori prefecture" she began, "the man's name is Kiyoshi Takayama. The price on his head is five hundred and forty grand in American dollars".
Issei took a left turn onto the highway, traveling north toward Yamagata and past that, Aomori.
"There have been recent reports of gang shootouts that coincide with the time and location of our last communication with Haru and Jonah" she continued, "if they aren't dead, then they are most likely holed up somewhere and hiding. Either way, you're bringing them home".
"Got it" Train confirmed.
"Good luck out there boys".
With that the call ended and they drove in silence. Four hours later they crossed into Aomori.
"Alright, Sa-chan sent me the address of their last known location" Train said, "looks like they were somewhere in the suburbs, just outside of the city. A lot of apartment buildings in this area so finding them might prove to be a real bitch".
As they approached the address, the streets seemed to grow devoid of life and eerily quiet.
"Here" Train said as they pulled up in front of a large apartment complex.
They got out of the car and slowly made their way to the building. Issei heard a distant crack and suddenly he was thrown off his feet as though someone had just hit him with a sledgehammer.
"Shit!" Train yelled.
He slung Issei's left arm around his shoulders and used his magic to speed them off toward the building. As Train put him down, Issei could feel a searing pain spreading from his right shoulder and down his arm. Train sat the young devil against a wall and began putting pressure on the bullet wound in his shoulder.
"That sniper was waiting for us" Train said, "this confirms our suspicions, they must have found Haru and Jonah out".
He stopped putting pressure on the wound to take off Issei's windbreaker and shirt.
"Looks like the bullet went clean through. The hole isn't too big, they must have used a smaller caliber round. Any larger and you would probably be dead" Train assessed, "still, if we don't get you help fast you'll die of blood loss regardless".
He took a small first aid kit out of a pocket within his Jacket and began to wrap gauss under Issei's armpit and around his shoulder. He finished it off by wrapping it around the devil's chest twice before ripping it off the roll from the remaining gauss and tying it tight.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright" Issei said through gritted teeth.
"I highly doubt you're 'alright'" Train retorted as he put Issei's good arm around his shoulders once again to help the devil move.
As they were walking, Train pulled out a pistol from his coat.
"That sniper probably alerted the other men in the area, get ready for a fight".
Issei nodded weakly and pulled out his own pistol. They could hear voices from the doorway they had entered through and began to move faster. As they were walking down a long hallway, a voice screamed out from the end they had just come from.
"over here, I found them!".
Issei lifted his gun and fired off three shots blindly toward the voice. The act of lifting his injured arm so quickly and the recoil of the weapon sent a fresh wave of intense pain up through his shoulder. Bullets peppered the wall next to them just as they rounded the corner. Issei's vision was turning blurry and the sounds around him grew distant. Suddenly, one of the doors lining the hallway swung open.
"In here!" a gruff voice called out.
Train dragged Issei into the apartment and propped him against the wall once again as the door closed behind them. Issei lifted his head to see Jonah standing at the door, peering through the peephole. As Haru came over, she caught sight of Issei and adopted a horrified expression.
"Oh God" she whispered as she hurried to his side and put a hand on his wound.
Her hand began to glow a soft green and the steady flow of blood that had been pouring from his shoulder slowed to a stop. Once Issei's condition was stabilized, Train turned to Jonah.
"Why the hell are there snipers in the middle of an urban area?" he whispered urgently.
Jonah looked through the peephole once before looking back at Jonah. He didn't dare raise his voice above a whisper, not with so many Yakuza in the building.
"They found out we were here to start trouble. We were attacked shortly after our last report and lost most of our equipment. The bastards were probably watching us the moment we entered their territory" he said, "after we got away they cordoned off the entire neighborhood, no one goes in or out".
"No wonder they were so quick to shoot, that also explains why this entire area seems deserted" Train remarked, "why aren't the police doing anything?".
Jonah gave a dry laugh.
"they own the police in this part of the country" he said.
Train looked down at Haru, her hand still over Issei's wound.
"Can he move?" the fixer asked.
Haru looked back up at him with worry still clear on her face.
"He's lost a lot of blood, but it should be okay to carry him" she replied.
Train nodded, "Our car isn't to far from here. If we make a break for it, we might just make it out of here alive".
Haru took Train's previous position, slinging one of Issei's arm over her shoulder to help him walk. The other two fixers drew their guns and prepared to move. They threw open the door and began to move down the hallway Train and Issei had come from.
Three shots around a corner cleared the way as they began to pick up speed. Two more shots, they were out the main door. Yakuza members began to fire at them as they ran for the car. Train and Jonah were letting loose a constant barrage of bullets by the time they reached the vehicle.
Haru laid Issei down in the back seat before sitting next to him. She ducked down low as two bullets shattered the window behind her. Train slid over the hood and got in on the driver's side. Blood spewed out onto the roof of the car as Jonah let out a grunt before getting in the passenger's seat. They were speeding down the road within seconds.
"Haru, my arm" Jonah said as a look of pain washed over his face.
Haru put her hand over a hole in Jonah's left bicep. There was a soft green glow and when she pulled away there was no evidence of the wound.
"You should be fine" she said as she put Issei's head on her lap. She brushed his sweat-drenched hair out of his face and her eyes widened slightly.
"Interesting" she whispered as she examined Issei once again.
Hours later, Sarutobi opened the door to find her team standing outside. However, her smile quickly fell when she saw Jonah carrying a sleeping Issei.
"He should be fine" Haru said, noticing the worry on Sarutobi's face, "he just needs a bit of sleep".
The woman nodded, "Let's put him to bed and get you all debriefed then".
After two hours of reviewing the events in Aomori, most of the tired members of Kronos went off to bed. As Sarutobi was about to leave, Haru grabbed her arm.
"We need to talk" she said.
They both sat down at the kitchen table again.
"When I was healing Issei, I noticed something peculiar" Haru began, "the majority of his magical circuits have been destroyed".
Sarutobi looked down at the table.
"I know, he told me they were damaged when we first brought him here".
"It's not just that" Haru said, "while there are a number of ways to damage you magical circuits, I have never seen anything like this before".
Sarutobi gave the Haru a quizzical look, "what do you mean?".
"His magical circuits weren't simply damaged beyond repair, most were utterly destroyed" the healer explained, "it's as if someone had thrown a molotov cocktail inside his magic reserves. I can only imagine how painful the process must have been".
Sarutobi was shocked. She hadn't thought much of it when Issei told her that his circuits were shot. Someone with that much power was bound to overexert themselves one too many times and pop a fuse, but she hadn't been expecting something to this degree.
"What could have possibly done that?" She asked.
"I'm not sure" Haru replied, "but I think some of them may be salvageable. With any luck he can get some of his magic back. Sadly, he'll never have as much magic at his disposal as he once did".
Sarutobi contemplated for a moment.
"We'll tell him once he recovers" she decided.
"Alright then" Haru agreed, "I better get some rest. If we go through with this, the procedure will require of magical energy".
"Alright then, goodnight Haru" Sarutobi said.
"Night Sa-chan" the girl replied.
With that Haru went to her room an Sarutobi was alone.
'Issei Hyoudou' she thought, 'what an interesting man'.
A/N
So I plan on releasing a 5-10k chapter every week. Thanks again for all the support you guys are giving me through PMs and reviews. I have so many plans for this story, some of which I will have to ask you guys about in a couple polls when the time comes. Until next week.
~Junior