The Human Pillar
Chapter 3
The Pillar's First Day
Waking up in bed back at his apartment was not a pleasant experience, because unlike most other lone living students in Japan - though there weren't really many of them to begin with - Furuichi had the luxury of having his own personal pinkette doctor to take care of him. Of course, that meant she did doctor-like things, such as scolding him the moment he tried to move his body off the bed.
"I can't believe how reckless you are!" Lamia said, her hands on her hips as she stared Furuichi down. Now that Lamia was taller she didn't need to try as much to look down on Furuichi, but a part of the young Lieutenant still felt the nostalgia at seeing this now grown fifteen-year-old Lamia behaving as he remembered just a year ago - actually was it possible to feel nostalgia after only a year?
Furuichi scratched his cheek, mumbling a defence for himself as he did. "It wasn't really my fault, Alaindelon brought me there, and the guy attacked me first, so I had to respond," Furuichi said. "Besides, I'm alright! I'm not dead!"
"Are you even listening to yourself! You sound like Oga!" Lamia accused, and Furuichi's heart nearly crashed at the shock of someone saying that. "You've got three fractured ribs, a fractured ulna, and your radial artery had been cut! It's a miracle you survived the few minutes it took for Alaindelon to get you and bring you back to me!"
Not for the first time in his life, Furuichi was beginning to understand that he was in some deep shit with Lamia at the moment. "Wait, wait. I understand what you mean, but isn't this why I am here in the first place. Looking at it plainly, I was just doing my job!"
Lamia grabbed his collar and began violently rocking him and forth. "Your job was to investigate and report, not go out of your way to attack random exorcists in the street! You're lucky Gremory-sama's Knight was there! You could have gotten hurt!"
"Is this how you're supposed to treat a wounded patient! Lamia my stitches are being undone!" Lamia let go of him, letting him fall back onto the ground. That did not mean, however, that she was satisfied with the ear lashing that he had received so far. I don't mind getting scolded for being stupid, but this is a little bit too much, Furuichi thought despondently, for once actually wishing he was back at Ishiyama.
Furuichi pulled himself up, rubbing a hand over the soreness of his body as he glanced up at Lamia's unpleasant expression. "Ok, ok. I was being careless. I should have immediately run away with Alaindelon."
Lamia puffed out her cheek, glancing at the ground in apparent agitation at his sudden compliance. Furuichi got the feeling that he still wasn't off the hook. "No, you did the right thing in that situation, and nothing more could have been reasonably asked from you. I was just surprised to hear that you apparently went into a fight out of your own accord."
Technically speaking, I was dragged into that fight as well, Furuichi thought but wisely kept those thoughts inside himself. Out of sheer curiosity, Furuichi checked the clock on his nearby bed stand and nearly sputtered when he realised he was running late for school - and it was his first day! "Lamia! I have to get ready!" He exclaimed, surprising the little pinkette with his outburst.
With a speed of motion that belayed his lithe frame, Furuichi quickly put on his uniform and swung the tie over his neck as he opened the door to his room - leaving behind a squawking and indignant pinkette behind. Furuichi sent a mental apology to her - knowing full well that it would end up doing nothing for him when he met her next - and sprinted as fast as he could for what would be his first day in the 2nd year of Kuoh Academy.
This was a scene that, until recently, had been utterly devoid from Furuichi's life. Considering that Ishiyama had no tests or homeworks to speak of, after school all Furuichi did was lounge around until he fell asleep. Then it was all about waking up and heading to school - which, as you'd expect, was a rather leisurely time for him. It was best to say that Furuichi hadn't really been living a high school life; more like he had just been living, and not the fun way.
Besides what he had just experienced with Lamia, Furuichi had the odd feeling of being...normal for a change. Wasn't that a simply pleasant thought. Furuichi decided to give Lamia an apology for his quick run out later in the day, after school, when his head was on straighter - because he was having some pretty hectic anime-ish reflection going on in the back of his numbskull.
By the time Furuichi reached school, he was half sure that first bell had already rung. Not a good first impression he was planning on giving to his new school debut in an almost entirely all-female school - but there were worst ways he could have gotten picked out in the crowd; it wasn't like the uniform was doing him wonders anyhow.
Seeing the front gate to Kuoh Academy right in his eyes, Furuichi thought he should gun it and forget about everything as he went - at least, that was what he would have done, had he not noticed a blonde haired kid waiting outside from him - what was his name? Genshirou Saji, of course, how could I forget one of the people I want to die? Furuichi thought amicably, stopping just before the Gate to straighten out his uniform. If he was stuck with it, might as well make it work, right?
After tightening his tie so that it looked semi-presentable, Furuichi walked the rest of the way to the gate, trying to formulate a reason in his mind as to why he was late to school. That seemed like a pretty moot point though when he realised the boy looked more afraid of Furuichi than Furuichi was at being faced with a possible reprimand for his tardiness.
"Ah, yes, Lieutenant-sama, ah, Lieutenant-san, ah, the Lieutenant from the 34th Pillar Squad, yes, I'm here, I...uh, I have a message for you!" The boy stuttered through, sweat accumulating on top of his forehead as he looked at everywhere except for Furuichi's eyes. The former delinquent didn't know how to respond other than to stare blankly at the pathetic attempt at trying to gain his attention but decided amiability was the better part of social interaction and nodded his head in greetings to the nerve-locked student council member.
"Yes, it is I, Furuichi Takayuki," Furuichi answered with a dashing smile that was so bright it could block out the sun. Thankfully, Saji was staring at his feet and couldn't see the Lieutenant's own pathetic attempt to appear cool and authoritative in front of him. Furuichi had to give himself a mental pat on the back - and then a slap - for his good luck and shook his head free from any other thoughts to appear weird out of sheer comedic necessity.
Genshirou shifted his feet nervously and bowed towards Furuichi - making him infinitely glad that he came to school late just so that this embarrassing moment wasn't seen by a lot more people. "Yes, Sona-kaichou has requested your presence at the student council room."
Furuichi blinked then glanced at the school. "Isn't it a bit late already? It wouldn't do well for my cover if I'm late for the first day of school." Not to mention - first impressions matter; being a slacker kind of cancels out the exoticness of being a foreign student.
'It's alright, we have made preparations if asked say you were in a meeting with the principal over your transfer papers - if not, then just act as though its a regular school day," Genshirou said in way of explanation. Well, that made things easy for Furuichi, and he wouldn't really gain anything by saying no and heading to class anyway - well, besides getting an early view of the girls in his class, but Furuichi firmly believed it was more conducive to his health if he just followed along for now.
"Right, then, you lead the way," Furuichi said politely, gesturing for his hands for Genshirou to rise up from his bow - yes, he was still bowing - and walking after the boy as he seemed to make a beeline towards the school building. I'm not gonna bite your head off, Furuichi thought dryly, noting how Genshirou was more akin to speed-walking that trying to escort him safely to the location.
It wasn't long until he took him to a room on the 2nd to the highest level of the school building. There was a marker atop the dead which reas 'Student Council Room' and Furuichi was a little amused at the school having one - not just because of his experienced in Ishiyama High and Saint Ishiyama High, but also the fact that the Student Council had, for all intents and purposes, a Princess as the President. It didn't really bode well to the election system for the school.
"Here is the room - thank you for following me," Genshirou said, bowing respectfully to Furuichi as he gestured his hand towards the door. Furuichi nodded his head and stepped through, not wanting to keep the Sitri beauty waiting; especially considering he was late to school first before he was late to the impromptu meeting. He tried to think up something of an excuse before he was fully floored by the sight of the bespectacled beauty that was standing across from him.
His eyes, in the usual fashion, were immediately drawn to her milky white legs - and he prayed that every girl in this school also had a preference to short skirts as their apparent school representative seem to.
"Lieutenant Furuichi Takayuki - it is a pleasure to meet you," Sitri Sona said with a brief smile. Ah, that smile could melt the antarctic glaciers in Furuichi's opinion - simply beautiful! Furuichi would have raised his hand for a wave, but his uniform, somehow, restricted him from doing this and forced him to give a salute. Wait, wait - agck! Furuichi might have been imagining it, but he could have sworn he felt the collar tighten around his throat when he tried to resist the movement. With no other option, he decided to roll with it.
"Lieutenant Furuichi Takayuki reporting, ma'am. It's also a pleasure to meet you," he said sheepishly, hoping to convey some modicum of normalcy with his action by shooting her a smile. Actually, scratch that, smiling probably has the opposite effect, Furuichi thought despondently. Luckily, Sitri-sama didn't seem to have noticed his smile and had instead occupied her attention by gesturing to the seats that were in front of her desk in the student council room.
"Very professional - I don't personally dislike that, however, I would like it if we can keep this conversation a little more light hearted, even if the contents of it are not as such," Sitri-sama said as she sat behind her desk. If that was her intention, Furuichi wondered why she was sitting behind a desk rather than sitting opposite him in a regular chair. But he supposed she was a Princess - he couldn't really say anything against her.
"Of course," Furuichi murmured - it wasn't like he had any intention of saluting in the first place. "I'm sorry for being late, had I known that you were expecting me for a meeting - well, I'd probably be here a lot sooner."
Sitri-sama shook her head, and while Furuichi could sense a gleam of strictness from behind her glasses, he saw a light of understanding as well. "Rias has informed me of what happened yesterday night, and nothing can be done for it considering the injuries you might have sustained. Nonetheless, I would appreciate it if you refrained from being late in the future - circumstances permitting of course."
Seeing that the matter had been scrubbed easily enough, Furuichi chose not to push it and nodded his head.
She seemed to have caught something appreciative about him; evident by the small smile she gave after seeing his response. "Your colleague Hecadoth-san spoke very highly of you - I believe your moniker among the 34th Pillar Squad is 'Tactician'? Surely, somebody with that reputation has to be something of a learned man."
Curse you Hecadoth, Furuichi thought. He didn't mind being overestimated if it meant he looked good, but it was another thing entirely if he had to operate on that overestimation. "Ah, I'm not all that smart at the end of the day. A title is just that - a title."
"Humble as well," Sitri-sama returned at the apparent dismissal of his superior's praise. "Well, that's fine. I'd still like to get your opinion on the situation at hand." Furuichi raised an eyebrow at the use of the word 'situation' but did not interrupt. "As of this morning, two Exorcists of the Church have contacted me asking to set up an audience between them and Rias Gremory - whose clan holds authority in this territory. Seeing no reason to reject their offer, I had passed along the message with confirmation of a meeting later today."
"Exorcists?" Furuichi asked, his mind flashing back to his earlier fight with that Priest guy - what was his name? Freed?
Sitri-sama nodded her head. "I find it very telling that a group of Exorcists are requesting a meeting after one of their members had seemingly attacked you without orders. Exorcists often times serve the will of the Church and as such usually do not contrive themselves to attacking random Devils on the street unless they were doing something that warranted intervention."
Furuichi racked his brain to think of something - but naturally, after so many years of learning to decode the intentions of inter-group violence, amd stupidity, he didn't really need to think long. "If they're willing to talk to a group that's meant to be their mortal enemy - then what they are dealing with must be big. But not big enough to affect the Devil society, if they think they can get away with sharing information with us. Considering they wanted to meet with Gremory-sama in particular means that...means that they probably came here to ask for permission to handle an internal problem in the area."
"I had thought so too," Sitri-sama confided, steepling her fingers together as she smiled at Furuichi. "Even so, the idea of two highly trained and dangerous Exorcists operating so close to the school is...let us say, undesirable. However, while I have authority here as the Student Council President - I still understand that the area around the school belongs to Rias Gremory. As such I shall leave this to her discretion."
Furuichi nodded his head, unsure of what to say to add on to that conversation. He believed that, as far as he was concerned, he was a background observer to everything going on. "I'm here purely on the investigation as to whether the situation involves the Old Mau faction or Fallen-Angels. Considering the situation from yesterday and today - this seems to purely contain elements of the Church."
Sitri-sama pushed her glasses back. "I understand that, however, we cannot deny that the situation might escalate to the point that it might involve the Old Maous - no, the Fallen-Angels. At the very least there should be some inkling of it."
She was grasping for reasons - Furuichi knew it and she knew it as well. Despite himself, Furuichi couldn't help but cut through all the useless floundering. "If you want my help, you need only ask Sitri-sama."
She blinked, pulling herself back on her chair as though surprised by what Furuichi said. Then she recomposed herself, this time a more respectful look passing through her features. "Right, I understand. Then, I would like it very much if you were to attend the meeting between Rias and the Exorcists. I feel that, if you were there, then I may rest easy. Considering you are of the 34th Pillars squad, you would represent the authority of Beelzebub-sama and as such have the power and cause to be present at the meeting." Sitri-sama leaned back on her chair. "I also believe that Rias is far too forgiving of her peerage and would often allow them to act too freely. I'd prefer if a situation like that could be dissuaded."
Furuichi had no reason to refuse - personally, Furuichi didn't even want to refuse. The idea of working to gain positive relationship points with the bespectacled beauty in front of him was far too good an opportunity to pass up, and the young boy had no problems with raising a thumbs up at her. "I'll see to it that I can drop by later today for the meeting, you don't have to worry about that."
Sitri-sama nodded her head thankfully. "I don't think it would be polite of me to hold you for any longer."
"Of course, Sitri-sama."
The young woman smiled, dazzling Furuichi with her beauty. "In school, Sona-kaichou is fine."
0o0o I'm from...Macau, I guess? o0o0
Self-introduction wasn't the smoothest thing that Furuichi had ever experienced in his life. Considering how he wasn't supposed to mention Ishiyama - or really, even wanted to associate himself with the delinquent school - Furuichi had fallen back on the tested excuse of nearly everyone in the world - I'm from Macau.
It had gotten more than a few curious looks - suddenly he was elevated from some new odd exchange student to a foreign exchange student, which was always popular in a school simply for the change in the environment that they brought. Of course, the kind of change Furuichi brought was always readily apparent.
He made a mental note to thank all the Gods he knew - because as it turned out, there wasn't any other male in Year 2 of Kuoh Academy. Do the math, statistically speaking, Furuichi had a higher chance of scoring a girlfriend if he was the only viable option around - lucky him!
The girls he met were probably angels sent down from heaven. He never thought he'd ever end up in a classroom full of A-Class beauties, but here he was. What a time to be alive - or at least, that was how he felt like. But even though Furuichi would like nothing more than to bask in the warmth of being surrounded by such beauties, he had a promise to another beauty to do a job - one that he never really thought he would do.
So, while reluctantly, he politely refused Miyamura and Katase on hanging out after school and headed towards the old school building, where the Occult Research Club and Gremory's peerage used as a part of their homebase. All the while, Furuichi couldn't help but reflect in how he had somehow gotten in over his head with accepting to come here.
Furuichi wasn't stupid - at least, not like how the delinquents in Ishiyama were. He had no particular desire to run headlong into battle or fight strong opponents out of some need to confirm his own masculinity. He was a simple man, with simple desires and simple goals. Being thrust upon the Devil world stage in the middle of what was started to look like a war dressed in nothing but a uniform he didn't even know he had to wear in the first place was never on his highest priority list.
But if he was stuck here then he would have preferred if he was stuck here with a little bit more information. After getting a far enough distance from the main school building, Furuichi stuffed a roll of tissues in his nose and focused on summoning a specific Pillar. Over the months he had the tissue, Furuichi had managed to learn how to summon desirable Pillars in a given situation - some of the Pillars liked to say he was bias though, so he refrained from doing it unless necessary. Right now, he figured a little bias on his part was warranted.
"I didn't expect you to call on me so soon," Hecadoth said in way of greeting after his soul materialised next to Furuichi. Despite the fact that he was currently walking as fast as he could towards the old school building, Furuichi couldn't help but do a double take when he saw how tattered Hecadoth looked - his usually pristine Pillar coat was now ripped in several places and there were signs of blood on his face. Hecadoth seemed to notice his staring and grinned disarmingly. "Nothing to worry about Lieutenant - it's not like the Pillars were staying idle while you were here doing your job; most of this is just superficial, so it's nothing serious."
"If you say so," Furuichi said skeptically. "Did you hear about what happened yesterday?" Furuichi got into the nitty-gritty of what had transpired the night before - as well as the information which Sona-Kaichou had shared with him. All the while, Hecadoth listened silently, a rather disgruntled expression on his face as he digested the information through his own knowledge of the situation.
"It seems like something serious - for those crazies in the Church to even want to talk to us," Hecadoth murmured. Furuichi only barely held himself from replying about how most of the Pillars were themselves, crazy sadistic psychos. "But she was right when she said this might involve the Fallen-Angels - Jabberwock-sama debriefed us yesterday and informed us that he smelled feathers after beating back that Exorcist. Intelligence also suggests that Freed had been excommunicated from the Christian Church some time ago; might explain why he's traveled past his hunting grounds in France to end up here; that shitty Priest, if I had been summoned yesterday, I would have cut the man in two."
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up, I don't get what's happening at all, what's all this about? I didn't even know there were Exorcists, to begin with? And in addition to that, isn't Kunieda also an Exorcist? Are they the same? Goddamnit Hecadoth, explain this better!" Furuichi ranted.
Hecadoth huffed in mild exasperation, but he did seem to understand that Furuichi was squabbling in the dark on this - it was hard to expect him to know what was going on when he'd quite literally been thrown into the hotpot without wondering how he fit into the taste. "What do you want me to start with?" He asked.
"Start with this whole Fallen-Angel thing - what is all this even about."
"I'll explain it all to you the best I can. Right now the situation between the Three Factions - that is, the Angels, the Fallen-Angels, and the Devils, are at a tipping point." Furuichi fell silent, listening intently as he kept dodging anyone still lingering around the school. "Right now, the Fallen Angels are stirring some things up and there is a chance that the Old Maou Faction will do something as well. Not many people know this, which is why the situation is so unclear. What we do know however is that recent activity has dictated a shift in favor. I don't know what's going on in the Angel side, but the Fallen-Angels have gotten troublesome members into their factions, especially a single man who, in any case, will be a troublesome factor; especially with the Red Dragon Emperor now serving as a member of the Devil's side."
Furuichi frowned, "Red Dragon Emperor?" he asked. Hecadoth shook his head in the negative as he hardened his eyes.
"You'll see him eventually, Dragons are existences which still gather much attention in the world after all. Even our castle once belonged to the Great Dragon King Bahamut. In any case, as you can understand, the current predicament for the 34th leads to our battle readiness being at an all time high. The majority of the 34th is spread across the vast expense of the Demon territory, keeping an eye out on the recent events and ensuring the stability."
"I thought the 34th is loyal to En?" Furuichi asked.
Hecadoth nodded, "However we still obey the orders of Beelzebub-sama and that of the Four Governing Maous. Militaristically, the 34th is under the command of Asmodeus-sama, who is in charge of all Military assets in the Underworld. The 34th usually deals with internal affairs; however, there are times when we are called to the Human World to secure territory on Earth or escorting young High-class Devils under protection. But that's beside the point," Hecadoth made an irritated grunt at his own monologue, "The point is that, for two Exorcists to willingly come to us, it shows just how desperate the situation has become. Michael, the Archangel, has always been the most righteous, even if he does really wish peace now that the war has ended. The Christian belief was never so flexible, and with Jabberwock mentioning one of the Excaliburs in possession of a rogue priest, it just goes to show how desperate they must be. Listen here Tactician, the Excalibur is a dangerous sword, able to make even High-class Devils perish with a single blow. Whatever they came here for, if it is connected to that sword, then be wary at all times."
"I'm not sure I can understand it completely," Furuichi muttered, "But basically this event that I'm on could represent the beginning of something big?"
Hecadoth nodded in agreement, "It's best to wait and let it develop. Right now the 34th is tied up with current matters, hence why you're here. I have to go now, while it was nice breaking bread with you, I could only spare a few moments."
"Why?"
Hecadoth frowned, mulling something over, before shaking his head, "We've received disturbing news from an old Devil in the magic association. Really this situation is becoming more and more troublesome. Not to mention we share our borders with that." Furuichi wondered what he meant by that, but couldn't ask any further. He was nearing the Gremory club room and he could feel Hecadoth start feeling impatient with his summons. Knowing that keeping the Pillar General there would be a social faux pas, Furuichi said his goodbyes and removed the tissues from his nose.
He had arrived early for the meeting, which was fine for him as he addressed the thoughts in his mind. He understood that Excalibur in the possession of that insane rogue Exorcist would spell doom to both the Angels and the Devils. Furthermore, Hecadoth had mentioned Excaliburs which meant that if anything, the meeting would be about the priest and his own Excalibur. However, would the priest really be that much trouble to warrant sending two Exorcists? Or even meeting Devils, who they apparently fervently hate. No, hate wasn't so easy to let go for cooperation, Furuichi knows this from his own personal experience. Which meant there were things here he didn't know.
As he was thinking, the club room doors open, and Furuichi noticed the Occult Research Club enter with...uwaaa two beautiful foreign beauties. Before anyone could notice, Furuichi saved their images in his mind, even if their bodies were covered by the cloaks. Then he noticed that Yuuto kid standing behind the group, his hands tucked behind his back and a sour expression on his face. He was glaring at the Exorcists with a look that Furuichi had seen plenty of times shot at Oga's back. Whatever was troubling him ran deep, soul deep.
"Gremory-sama," Furuichi greeted respectfully as his body reacted automatically with a salute. The redheaded Gremory girl, whom Furuichi couldn't help but glance a peek at her bust, seemed surprised to see him there before a calm and cool expression took over her features.
"Lieutenant-san," she greeted, "I had forgotten you would be attending the meeting with us." She glanced at the two Exorcists next to her and said, "Excuse me, this is Lieutenant Furuichi of the 34th Pillar Squad, he will be standing here as a representative of Beelzebub-sama."
Furuichi carefully watched their expressions and noted the slow widening on the darker haired one's eyes. "The Pillar Squad?" She said after a moment, expressing her surprise in a quiet exclamation. "Are you expecting a war? While we are Exorcists from the Church, even we recognise the Devil Army uniform anywhere."
Furuichi felt rather out of place to answer but before he could even attempt to the Gremory heir had already interjected, "While the 34th Pillar Squad is, in layman terms, an organized Army, their main duties is the protection of Underworld's borders from outliner threats."
The Exorcist seemed to scoff, "It is still known, widely I might add, that the 34th has a large number of highly powered Devils among their ranks."
Furuichi frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Exorcist-san, however you seem to know a lot about the 34th."
"It's Xenovia, and of course, given that your members use the names of Angels. It is practically insulting to us Exorcist, who follow and safeguard the Christian beliefs," Xenovia stated with the girl next to her nodding vigorously.
Furuichi frowned but didn't really know much to counter her. "Pillar Generals are among the strongest of the Pillars lowest Echelon, ranging from Low to Mid-Class Devils on their own. While Pillar Barons themselves max out at High-Class with their General in command standing at Ultimate-class," the Gremory girl said. "The fact that they hold those names and have survived the reprisals from the Angels' sensibilities is proof that they've earned the right to carry them." She seemed to toss a glance at Furuichi after her apparent defence of the Pillars reputation and Furuichi had the sudden worry that she might have thought of him as a coward - he had remained silent after all, and in Ishiyama terms that was as bad as admitting defeat.
"Either way, if you are with the Pillar Squad then the air has shifted dramatically," Xenovia stated. "Irina?" She glanced at the girl next to her, who smiled in an energetic manner before she and her partner began to explain the situation. It was easy to follow the conversation, well, easy if he just took a minute to connect the dots and ponder on the situation. Three Excaliburs had been stolen from the Church, and all their Exorcists sent to investigate the situation have since not returned. One of the leading suspects was one of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel the Fallen-Angel.
Keeping his expression cool, Furuichi listened on, all the while taking mental notes to ask Hecadoth questions with later. "Our request… No. Our order is to not have any devils intrude in the battle between us and the Fallen-Angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere with this incident."
The Gremory girl pursed her lips and asked the very obvious question. "Such a manner of speech. Do you think we would ally ourselves with the Fallen-Angels?"
"The Headquarters has decreed that it is a high probability," Xenovia stated.
"That is absurd," Furuichi interjected under his breath. He thought he had been quiet about it but all eyes turned to him unexpectedly, and he resisted the act of scratching his neck out of surprise. Maybe it was the uniform talking but he was able to keep his posture straight as he formulated a coherent explanation. "I'm assuming you would think that the situation would be a win-win for both sides? However, allying ourselves with the Fallen-Angels and giving them the Excaliburs would create a shift that would benefit the Fallen-Angels. The current situation that we are in now, in a way, is a tipping point," Furuichi said, borrowing Hecadoth's words, "And giving swords which can cause damage to Devils to the Fallen-Angels would place the Devil side in the corner, rather than those on your side. If anything, the situation is just as troublesome for the Devils as it is for you."
Xenovia mulled his words over, watching Furuichi critically, before grunting, "You have a sound mind and bring up valid points. The higher ups mustn't have thought about it when they sent us here. That reasoning is enough to sate our current objective needs." Furuichi frowned. So the meeting was for non-interference? Rather, it was to ensure that the Devils won't play sides.
"Still, you cannot expect us to sit idly by. While this is an internal matter to the Church itself, the immediate moment either of you stepped into the Gremory's territory, the situation has become a Devil problem as well. The fighting will damage the Devil side directly, and as such, could be cause enough to declare war."
"You are quite knowledgeable about this Lieutenant-san," Irina stated, eyeing him in quiet amazement. Furuichi resisted the urge to blush and tried to look cool in his statue-like 'at ease' position.
"The 34th Pillar Squad mostly handles internal affairs after all," Gremory-san stated, "In fact for the past year they've been active around Japan for reasons only I can imagine. As such, it is to be noted that their members have a good grasp on the political situation in the Underworld."
Furuichi sweatdropped. Rather they spent that year trying to kill Oga so as to ensure En would be the only contender for the title of Beelzebub. "For them to be active for a year without us knowing," Xenovia muttered, "I expect you yourself are a veteran member?"
"No, rather I'm a human which has contracted with the Pillar Squad," Furuichi said honestly. A look of shock appeared on the Exorcists and some of the Gremory groups face.
"A human?! And you're a member of a Demon Army?! You must have contracted with someone immensely powerful!" Irina muttered in shock. "Can I ask who you contracted with."
Furuichi just shrugged, "All of them." Silence dominated the room as everyone stared at Furuichi in shock, everyone besides a blonde haired girl and a brown-haired boy who both looked rather confused. "What's the matter, did I say something strange?" Furuichi sked.
"With all of them, you say?" Xenovia stuttered, "And a human? You must be exceptionally strong." Furuichi was about to correct her but Irina interrupted him.
"How long ago were you inducted?" Furuichi frowned and crossed his arms - he felt suddenly uncomfortable by the scrutinization he was receiving from the both of them.
"A year ago. It was a year ago when I started summoning members of the Pillars to lend me their strength, but after we fought against Satan, I was formally inducted into the group."
"You fought against Satan?!" Both Xenovia and Irina stared at him with wide-eyed shock. "Such a powerful human," Xenovia muttered. Furuichi felt himself start to sweat. No, really you're terribly mistaken, I had my ass handed to me by that smug shit.
Even though he surprise was greater than everyone else there, the dark haired Exorcist girl was the first to regain her bearings, and after a while began to stand up while motioning for her partner to do the same. "We must leave, I don't think this meeting has a purpose anymore." She stated. Furuichi watched them, wondering about their reaction. Was his current situation really that unbelievable? He had thought it was plausible and that it wasn't really all that surprising. Apparently, it was.
Before they left Furuichi remembered about the situation with Freed and turned to inform them about the rogue Exorcist, considering he didn't want to be accused of withholding information - that is, until the room was suddenly engulfed in demonic swords.
0o0o Big Oof o0o0
Furuichi didn't act, it was more like instinct. The moment he heard the first sword break ground and pierce through the wood flooring in the room, his first thought was 'Gotta Blast!' and he threw himself back, his King's Crest blazing as he skidded off the ground and screeched to a halt away from the blast radius. And calling it a blast radius was not too far off the mark. The entire zone looked like an impact crater - just sprinkled overhead by a dose of demonic swords which clung to the ground like punji sticks in a Vietnam war theatre.
Furuichi was struck at the odd ability - on the other hand, he couldn't help but be thankful Kanzaki or Himekawa didn't have the ability themselves. Despite his curiosity in how exactly an ability to create swords from nowhere worked, Furuichi had a greater priority. Keeping his promise to a bespectacled beauty - and admittedly, he probably already broke it by allowing this to happen in the first place.
He drifted his eyes up the stream of demonic swords to lock eyes with Yuuto-san and he didn't like what he saw. Sharp anger and hatred glazed off the Gremory Knight's eyes, threatening to burn the two Exorcists were they stood by sheer intensity alone. He eyed them like a lion watching a gazelle, bound to an instinctual need to find a weakness and exploit it. He'd seen plenty of those eyes directed at him.
Furuichi stepped forward, instincts honed after years of trying to play mitigator to Oga and his violent outbursts brimming to the forefront of his mind as he held his hands out to separate the two sides from each other. "Yuuto-san, restrain yourself!" Furuichi said, his voice only a touch bit desperate as he threw the man a look. He did not want to go back to the Student Council room and report how he had failed to stop a diplomatic incident - it would be too much for him if that bespectacled beauty were to turn on him with eyes filled with hate. "Defending yourself is one thing, but attacking someone without prior provocation is unreasonable!"
"She was insulting Asia-chan!" A brown-haired boy next to Yuuto-san yelled. Furuichi turned his eyes from the blonde haired Knight towards the sudden interjector. He recognised him as Issei Hyoudou, one of the newer members of Gremory's peerage. Next to him, Furuichi could see a blonde haired girl trying to hold him back, small tears clinging to her eyes as she tried to redirect Hyoudou-san's hate.
Trying to defend a girl? How chivalrous - a stark difference from Oga, who was as dense as a fifty-inch steel wall when it came to women. Furuichi can understand their reasoning, perhaps better than anyone else there, but he had made a promise to Sitri-sama and he wasn't going to be the bearer of bad news just to sate somebody else's hero worship. "The actions that you take reflect that of the Devil world. While, yes, you were defending the pride of a comrade, details like that can easily be overlooked, and be subject to scrutiny, in front of a court!" Furuichi said.
The brown-haired boy froze and Furuichi realized a little bit too late that in his haste to create an argument, he had unknowingly sealed a threat in his own words meant to diffuse the situation. But Yuuto-san either hadn't zeroed in on it or ignored it completely, because he continued stared at the Exorcists balefully as though Furuichi wasn't standing in between him and them.
"Gremory-sama," Furuichi said, hoping for her to jump into the fray. The Gremory heir shook her head and stepped forward, prepared to call her servants back when Xenovia-san muttered something into the palpable silence.
"It might be interesting to test the strength of Rias Gremory's servants. Also, I'm interested in the strength of the so-called senpai." Furuichi paused and glanced at the Exorcist, his eyes swirling in shock. But one look at Xenovia's face showed that she had already made a decision. It was a look Furuichi had seen plenty of time with the top dogs of Ishiyama. This was pride.
"The Church will not be informed of this incident, and so long as we aim to wound rather than kill, then there wouldn't be any problems now would there?" Furuichi mulled over what she said and after years of experience working with loopholes to get either him or Oga out of trouble, he guessed that was good enough. But still, what was with them?! Was he missing something between Yuuto-san and these two Exorcists?
I doubt it was just them bullying Asia that drove him to such lengths, he thought. The image he was seeing of the Gremory Knight now was completely different from the image he had of him from the night before.
"Still," Furuichi tried to placate, even if he knew it was futile, "The two of you are on an important mission! What would your superiors say if they saw you battling against Devils!"
"They would praise us," Xenovia said calmly.
"Yes, they would!" Irina agreed.
Furuichi made a mental note that everyone in the supernatural world was just battle horny idiots. He couldn't even sweat drop anymore, that was how resigned he was to this fact. "If it makes you feel better, Lieutenant-san, you can be a part of this battle as well. Of course, we are not trying to be insulting; we understand you are more powerful than us, however, if it would make you less worried, then I'm sure my partner and I would not have any problems crossing swords with you while we battle against Gremory's servants."
Furuichi frowned, but on the inside, he was screaming. He was just trying to stop them! Don't twist his words to the point that it left him little choice but to appear satisfied with the option. Sweating Furuichi grabbed the back of his neck as he stared at them. "W-well, I suppose that I would be able to step in, however, it would be unfair to you, if you were fighting against three opponents."
Xenovia laughed quietly, "That wouldn't be a problem. You can just referee the match while we fight."
Furuichi was trapped now. There was little he could say to even try and get out of this, and one look at Gremory-sama showed that she also had made up her mind. Furuichi resigned himself to being a referee and allowed the 'friendly' spar to take place.
