Hao audibly emits a guttural groan while he rolls over on what feels like a cold slab of rock along with the sound of chains start to rattle around him.
He attempts to separate his hands only to feel restrictions around his wrist, which prompts him to think, 'I figured that they would throw me in the dungeon whenever they could.'
A weak smirk stretches across his face at the thought, he leans his back against the rough edges of what he assumes was a wall.
'At least they took the bait.' He chides as he rests the back of his head against the wall with his eyes close.
An image of the silver haired red eyed woman frequently graced his thoughts during his loneliness hour albeit that the great Hao Asakura felt alone sometimes.
The brunette released a quiet sigh since she was the only human being on the earth that made him feel humanized instead of the ostracized demon.
'Jill in the Box,' Hao quaintly recalled the nickname he dubbed her when he first came in to contact with the now famous Iron Maiden Jeanne and her lapdogs, the X-Laws.
She almost appeared fragile maybe even delicate as she quietly rested in a large iron cast black Iron Maiden on a wooden platform with wheels.
The instant he saw blood trickle from the eyes of the iron contraption, he was instantly interested in what was within it.
The blonde twit of a leader recited some type of speech that was probably rehearsed a thousand times similar to a superhero's catchphrase said before every big battle.
His curiosity spikes once the latches flip open, one of the member pushes the cover up, and reveals amongst a bed of sharp needles a beautiful angelic young lady.
Rose vines entwine itself around the entire length of her body as she appears to be in a peaceful slumber.
"Lady Jeanne…" The blonde male addresses her with the title of Lady as it rouses her from her sleep.
"A tainted heart and soul such as yours should repent for your sins." She softly voices while she slowly lifts the lids of her eyes upward.
Hao narrows in on a pair of bloody red eyes that rival the red of the roses that sharply contrast against her pale skin.
An unknown quiet gasp emits from his mouth as he finds himself lock in a trance at the Iron Maiden before him.
"Who are you to pass judgment on another individual?" He revels with a cocky grin present on his face when he speaks.
Jeanne remains inside of the black cast Iron Maiden, yet her eyes refuse to deter away from his ominous brown eyes.
"Who are you to execute human lives for your own selfish purposes?" She counters as Hao's Sprit of Fire materializes behind him.
He studies her facial expression but there were no visible signs of fear as it causes him to muses, 'What's with this woman?'
She summons her own Shaman Deity when a white dinosaur creature with large golden circular plates around it's crown appears before his eyes with foreign writing on the surface of the book as a response.
The sound of another human being's voice breaks him out of his fond memory of his initial encounter with Jeanne.
"Jeanne?" The brunette questions out of a sense of hope when a light brightly illuminates the darkness around him.
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"What are we going to do with the demon in the basement?" Chris inquires as the X-Laws were in a morning meeting before mass assembles for the day.
The mention of the word "demon" immediately conjures up the image of the brunette male, name Hao Asakura, within their thoughts.
"Kill him." A stern masculine voice cuts through the silence as the members direct their sights to the source.
The green haired male sits before them near Marco's side as it prompts Meene to narrow her sights in on the young man.
"In order for him to atone for his sins, death is more than a suitable enough punishment for him." Lyserg explains his reason behind the chose of death to the group.
A brief silence washes over the X-Laws as a signal to Lyserg that they currently weigh the options of their choice.
"Let's just hypothetically say if we were to sentence Hao Asakura to death, what would that accomplish?" Meene poses in opposition to his plan to kill Hao.
"He'll probably just go through reincarnation and become even stronger than he is now."
"Why risk birthing an even stronger or merciless demon when we already had enough problems in catching them in the first place?" She defends her opinion as she plants seeds of doubt among her comrades.
Lyserg's face contorts to anger when he realizes that once again Meene interjects her opinion in about his choice.
"Explain the numerous innocent lives he has forfeited with his own two hands." He presents to the group as he attempts to curb the anger out of his tone.
Meene senses that if she was to lose out on this argument then the end result would only cause Lady Jeanne nothing but misery.
"How can you just sit here and compare sin for sin? Everyone deserves a right to atone for the sins that they have committed."
"Are you saying that Asakura Hao is...human?" Lyserg demands with an emphasis on the word human since he views Hao as nothing but the scum of the Earth after he hops on to his feet.
"Everyone at this table isn't as wholesome as we present ourselves to be yet we're taught to never put ourselves above others." Meene jaws as she tries to send a hint to her fellow comrades.
Marco starts to grow weary of the constant banter between the two while the others spectates the verbal spat and orders them to, "This meeting is dismissed."
"What about the fate of Hao?" Lyserg reminds the official leader of the X-Laws about the purpose of the meeting.
He tucks his arms underneath his chest as he peers through his glasses until his eyes land on the pair before him.
"This is no longer the appropriate time for this discussion." Marco asserted since he predicted that this back and forth became a repeated occurrence between the duo.
"But Marco…" Meene says but was cut off by Marco, "No ifs, ands, or buts about this! We're going to delay our decision until unity returns back to the group."
"You've got to be kidding me." Lyserg scoffs at the reason why Marco dismisses them because of a lack of teamwork.
"Unity?" The green haired male quips as he scans the faces of his companions, even the bothersome Meene, when he repeats the noun again.
"Humph," Lyserg eventually utters as he plops back down in the empty seat next to Marco as a means to keep him helm in.
'Good…' Meene inwardly thinks as she mentally celebrates a cheer of victory for Jeanne and Hao Asakura.
'At least, I bought some more time for her.' She weighs to herself as she maintains her current expression on her face so she would not give away her intentions.
Meene raise to her feet after Marco proceeds to exit from the meeting as well as other members of the X-Laws.
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Jeanne feels out the basement with her hands after she descends down a flight of wooden stairs along with a lantern in her other hand.
'Of course, they would bring him down here…' She assumes as she ventures downward until the uneven floor levels out.
The teen momentarily halts once she nears rusty dungeon bars that contains the criminals that they capture in until their trail takes place.
Rats swiftly scurry across the slightly damp floor but her focus locks in on just one person and that is Hao Asakura.
There were a dozen of cells that were empty as she lifted the lantern up to the bars to see if they were occupied or not.
'This is getting me nowhere…' The silver haired girl notes after she discovers yet another empty cell while she advances further down the corridor.
"Marco wouldn't approve of you sneaking around in the basement without his permission." Shamash forewarns her in a dull tone.
Jeanne casts her eyes over to where her Shaman Deity materializes only to bug her about her irrational behavior.
"This breaks the law that was set in order by Marco to ensure your safety." It continues to warn her about her decision.
She rolls her eyes at the baby white dinosaur's spiel about justice, laws, rights, facts, and truth.
"When I need you to throw the book at someone you hardly appear yet when it comes down to me you're quick to pull the book out on me."
Her statement seems to have zip the lips of the Babylonian God since it was taken aback by his shaman's curt retort.
A pregnant quietness develops between the shaman and their respective spirit, they advance forward with the use of the lantern to guide them through the darkness.
"You're starting to act like him." Shamash reckons after it closes the book and tucks it underneath its arm.
"If you mean finally voicing my opinion about how I feel instead of remaining quiet while others dictate what I do with my life?" The teen rhetorically poses before she follows up with, "Then yes. I'm starting to act like him!"
A familiar voice utters her name as it prompts her to guide the lantern in the direction of where the source emits from.
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"Hey Anna," Yoh voices as he stretches out against the length of the park bench while he release a deep sigh of relaxation.
Anna faces her husband with an inquisitive expression on her face after she hears the tone he uses toward her.
"We might need to end this vacation." He states as he directs his eyes to the sky as he speaks.
"Why?" She inquires since it was rare for Yoh to stop in the middle of such an important mission as the one there on only to turn back around to head back home.
'He's been acting strange ever since he was unconscious.' Anna notes the subtle change in her husband typical aloof manner.
"What did you see?" She curiously verbalizes as Yoh drops his head to meet her gaze.
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"Meene," Marco calls to the brunette haired woman after she emerges from within the walls of the church after mass concludes.
She turns to the source of her name when her sights land on none other than her blonde haired leader.
He signals for her to draw near him while he rotates to the exit of the chapel and out on to the courtyard.
The woman followed with little to no hesitation since she was already used to his peculiar ways that he exhibited as their leader.
However this time, an expression of concern graces his face since he furrows his brows as if he was in deep thought about something.
"What's wrong?" She immediately questions once she manages to catch up to him due to this long stride compare to her small ones.
The blonde male remains suspiciously mute as the pair exits the church grounds and merges within the traffic of everyday citizens on a lovely afternoon.
Meene swiftly glances over at Marco once again when she senses a pair of eyes follow them as they wait to cross the street.
'Does he know that someone's watching us?' The young woman mentally thinks over to herself as she decides to maintain her façade until Marco signals for her to drop it.
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Author's Note:
07.13.17: Major editing revisions