Happy Weekend all!
Fairly short Author's note this week; shout out to everyone who reviewed last week, please keep it up.
I have a new side story, completely unrelated to this work. It's definitely very much you like it or hate it; basically your "dumpy sack from earth dies and gets reincarnated" (kind of) into the Harry Potter universe; as Lucius Malfoy. I always like the idea of pioneering new ideas, and unsurprisingly there are not a whole lot of fics starring Lucius, even in the format I am going for where there need be no ties to the original character. So if you feel like trying it out, here's a link s/13594965/1/The-new-life-and-times-of-Lucius-Malfoy.
Shameless plug finished, now on to what you really wanted!
As always, please ignore any spelling or grammatical errors you come across.
Lights!Camera!Action!
Sasuke ducked as the blade whistled over his head, immediately punishing his opponent with a kick to the ribs. His assailant didn't even flinch as they locked blades again, eyes meeting in a challenging stare.
Sasuke smirked.
If Issei kept this up, he might have to start using chakra... in a century or so.
Wooden bokken a blur, Sasuke mercilessly disarmed Issei even as his instincts prompted him to dodge to the side, narrowly missing Kiba's surprise attack. Feinting a power blow, Sasuke took the opportunity to knock out Issei as Kiba instinctively went into guard position to defend.
Kiba's eyes narrowed in frustration as he attacked Sasuke with everything he had. Ever since the rating game weeks ago, most of the Gremory peerage had sought him out for private training.
Considering that Rias was going through with her part of the bargain, Sasuke had agreed to train them for now, conditional on how the talks went. If things went well, it would be in his best interests to continue training them into useful soldiers under his command. If the talks did not go well, no harm done; he did little outside pound them into shape, something any competent trainer could duplicate with little effort.
With a thunderous crack, both of the hardened bokken broke in two on a particularly fierce clash. While there was a whole rack of waiting replacements, Sasuke tapped his sheathed katana and raised an eyebrow in silent question.
With an answering grin, Kiba nodded and began utilizing his sacred gear sword birth. Demonic matching swords of fire and ice shimmered into existence as Kiba took a guard stance. Sasuke unsheathed his peerless katana in a smooth motion, gesturing for Kiba to attack.
Kiba was a blur as he utilized his knight speed to attack. Sasuke countered with a shunshin as the two wove a tapestry of steel around the unconscious Issei, an awed Asia watching in rapture on the sidelines.
Sasuke lazily twirled his blade as the two swordsmen circled each other, looking for an opening. The boy was definitely improving; he had almost outgrown Sasuke's "easy" mode. Thus far, he only used a shunshin to counter Kiba's use of knight speed, and just a trickle of chakra to enhance his blows to the level of Kiba's devil strength. This old dog still had a few tricks to play though, even on easy mode.
Timing it perfectly, Sasuke used a shunshin in the exact moment Kiba began changing swords to an earth variation. Cursing, Kiba frantically raised his remaining blade in a futile counter as Sasuke literally disarmed him, moving his blade to Kiba's throat even as the devil's face became a rictus of pain; Kiba's eyes shifted to his right hand lying on the ground in dull shock.
Asia took this moment to rush over and began healing Kiba, holding his cleanly amputated hand to the stump. It was much faster and less exhausting for Asia to heal a severed limb if she merely needed to reattach it, versus growing an entire limb from scratch.
Sasuke flicked his katana to clean it before resheathing his blade in a smooth motion, adopting a nonchalant stance as he observed Asia finish healing Kiba and move on to the unconscious Issei.
"How is it you are so skilled with sword? I feel as though I have only scratched the extent of your skill, yet you appear to be a human in his teenage years. What are you, really?"
Sasuke gave an enigmatic grin.
"If you can defeat me, I will tell you anything you want to know."
Kiba gave a ferocious grin as he stretched his reattached appendage.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Hours later, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Kiba begged off to go meet the rest of his peerage. It was Saturday, and apparently they had some frivolities planned around town. Issei, long since having come to terms with the devils during training, asked Sasuke if he could join them as well. Making a dismissive gesture, Sasuke watched them jog off in excitement for the coming day spent at the local mall.
Personally, Sasuke saw such things as a complete waste of time. His life had always been about battle, or training for battle. It was only in his retirement years he and Naruto had kicked back and lazed around regularly; during their active years they would sometimes hit up a certain ramen stand after a hard day of labor, but not often.
What Issei chose to do in his spare time was his business of course, so long as it didn't interfere with his training schedule or put him in undue peril. Besides, there was another key reason he had agreed so readily to Issei wasting the day away.
"Are you planning to hide over there all morning?"
A light laugh came from a nearby bush as a figure began to materialize.
"How did you know? I should have been completely invisible."
Asia looked on in awe as an angel materialized seemingly from thin air, her four ivory colored wings shining in the sunrise like a mural on a church window.
Sasuke was not impressed.
"So, the final faction of the big three. It's gratifying to know that you are merely spying on me instead of trying to kill me like both of the other factions. Still though, aren't you supposed to be above reproach? Why then are you skulking around like some brigand, spying on me?"
The angel had the grace to lightly blush at the faux pas.
"Unfortunately Sasuke-san, little is known about you. According to rumor, you have killed multiple of our fallen brethren; quite an impressive feat if true. Further, there were recent reports of your crashing a highly anticipated rating game and single handedly wiping out an entire peerage. Is it so surprising we would want to know more about you?"
Sasuke looked pensive.
"You're not wrong, though I think you know this is not the way to go about things properly. Instead of skulking around, you should have requested a meeting and left it to my discretion as to whether or not I was interested."
"That was indeed our intention once we finished observing you. If you were deemed worthy, we planned to approach you with a potential offer of alliance, since we share many enemies."
Sasuke shook his head.
"I'm afraid such a thing is not possible at this time. While I certainly can't throw stones at someone for information gathering on a potential ally, I do take offense to the treatment Asia received at the hands of your followers. Perhaps at a later date we could meet and discuss possible terms, but it will be on my timetable."
The angel bowed her head in deference.
"Of course Sasuke-san, we shall eagerly wait to hear from you. Simply tear this card when you wish to summon me and we can discuss meeting details."
As the angel handed Sasuke a surprisingly thick business card, she vanished back into thin air and was gone.
"That was incredible Saint-Sama! A real angel; I'm so excited to meet the rest of them!" Asia exclaimed in an exuberant tone.
Sasuke chose not to comment, instead examining the business card thoroughly. The Angel's name was Chastity; he felt there was a joke in there somewhere.
Still though, he would have to keep an eye on these angels in the future. He did not doubt that they would likely disapprove of his many side business dealings and criminal underworld activities. Not that he cared what they thought, but he would like to avoid having all three factions unite in a hunt for his head if he could avoid it.
Speaking of the Yakuza, it was nearly time for the weekly meeting. Gesturing for Asia to follow him, Sasuke began a slow walk towards the designated meeting place. Ironically, the nearby factory he had bought to mask the sound of their training served as a suitably intimidating meeting place.
As Sasuke and Asia reached the refurbished factory, Sasuke checked the time. It would be roughly six hours until the meeting at noon; plenty of time to get some more training in. Sasuke and Asia took time to shower and put on clean clothes from their well-stocked wardrobes kept on site. After becoming presentable, Sasuke read books on magical theory even as Asia read anatomy textbooks and notes she had taken from lessons with Sona. Training the body was paramount, but neglecting the mind was foolish when one had the time to spare.
As the hours passed and the Yakuza heads finally started pulling up in blacked out Limos, Sasuke stretched and took his place at the head of the massive table he had procured for these occasions. Asia took the seat at his right hand, a steno pad at the ready to take meeting notes. With her chic glasses and teased up hair, Asia looked quite fetching in Sasuke's opinion. He appreciated the fact that outside calling him Saint-sama, she had behaved quite tolerably around him. In truth, she reminded him much of Naruto's wife Hinata; a truly kind soul that took it upon themselves to make the world a better place. In addition to her invaluable healing abilities, her willingness to assist him with odd jobs such as these meetings was truly endearing.
It had been a truly great payoff to the gamble he had made to save her life.
As the current Yakuza heads filed in to their seats, Sasuke sat in silence and made sure to look as bored as possible. Honestly, he hated these damn meetings. Unfortunately, his days of being a faceless phantom were over if he wanted to continue keeping these rowdy children in line.
After multiple (former) Yakuza heads had gathered their courage and tried to renege on their payments, Sasuke had to drive the point home to them in a permanent fashion. In order to curtail these annoying instances, Sasuke had resigned himself to meeting the leaders once a week to remind them who they were paying every month and why they should keep doing so.
Sasuke silently met the eyes of his up and coming lieutenants that stood guard behind the current leaders and received nods of respect from each. He was pleased by their progress thus far, and planned to one day have them one day replace the current Yakuza heads. Obviously, such a move would be premature as of yet; let the gangs settle into the new order of things before making any large changes.
Impatiently making a motion to the spokesperson, Sasuke indicated that the meeting should begin.
"Thank you for having us Kakashi-sama, we are honored by your presence."
Sasuke gave a curt nod.
"Now on to business; with Kakashi-sama helping put down the anomalies that have been plaguing us in recent years, production has increased by nearly fifty percent across the board."
A murmur of approval went through the room at this welcome news; this would help keep the higher ups in Tokyo off their backs.
"Our products are in demand, while distribution has been better than expected..."
Sasuke tuned out as the meeting took a more technical turn. Nobody dared say anything as Sasuke planted his feet on the desk and pushed back the padded seat into a more comfortable position. Asia busily took notes of all the major points; Sasuke would take some time to go over the figures later.
"Finally, we do have another incident for your perusal Kakashi-sama. It would appear a team went missing last week; all we could find was some scattered body parts at a nearby slaughter house."
Sasuke grimaced; the stray devils had a bad habit of eating people. Typically it ended up being Yakuza members because they were one of the few groups that was active at night.
"I'll take care of it; you can all leave now."
As opposed to taking offense at the abrupt dismissal, most of the leaders seemed incredibly relieved. Walking quickly, they all bowed to Sasuke on the way out and left the property as fast as possible.
Sasuke allowed a savage grin to overtake his features as he caressed his sword hilt. It appeared a hunt was in order; for the good of the people of course.
"Asia-chan, see if you can locate Sona. If you do, tell her that I would prefer your training be pushed to today as opposed to Monday. If you cannot find her, perhaps you can go join the Gremory peerage in their frivolities."
Asia paused in her note organization.
"Oh? Going to hunt down the strays Saint-sama?"
"Indeed; I don't expect the hunt to take particularly long, though I will contact you if plans change. Make sure you are near one of the two peerages; it is too soon after the rating games to relax our guard yet."
"Of course Saint-sama; good hunting!" Asia said with a cheery smile.
Giving Asia a brief nod, Sasuke used a shunshin to begin the long trek towards the slaughterhouse.
As Sasuke arrived at the mentioned slaughterhouse, he immediately tensed as he sensed bloodlust. Sasuke unsheathed his sword, more than slightly disappointed that he would not need to track the prey. Sasuke sullenly activated his Dojutsu and froze. This power was certainly not what he would expect from a stray devil; it was considerably stronger.
Sasuke whirled and blocked a slash even as he assessed his attacker. Blue hair with a green streak, a muscular build, female.
Definitely human.
The girl attacked with grim efficiency, forcing Sasuke to utilize chakra to bolster his strength and speed. While Sasuke was never one to turn down a good fight, he felt it was wrong that they were seemingly fighting over a misunderstanding. He seriously doubted any of the factions would stoop to sending human assassins after him, so this girl must be loosely affiliated with one of the factions. Likely the church, given that she had not been turned to a devil and the fallen angels seemed to just kill most humans on sight.
Sasuke locked blades with her and used a chakra empowered kick to send her through a wall.
Exiting the slaughterhouse, Sasuke saw her attempting to summon something. Her hands were already wrapped around a golden hilt as she struggled to pull the entire weapon from the portal. Using a shunshin, Sasuke appeared behind her in a blur, holding his katana to her neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The girl tensed but otherwise showed no fear; impressive for one so young. She must have been extensively trained.
"Release your sword and dissipate your summoning or I will end you." Sasuke intoned dispassionately.
Realizing she was outmatched, the girl gritted her teeth and obeyed.
After he had secured her with chains he found in the nearby slaughterhouse, Sasuke scooped her up and began the trek to his apartment. Hopefully Asia would be occupied for a while; it was time for some answers.
As Sasuke arrived at his apartment, he unceremoniously dumped his stoic prisoner on the floor.
"Considering the crowd I have been dealing with lately, I am feeling generous today. Thus, I will give you a choice; would you like to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"
The stoic girl finally spoke.
"I know not what kind of fiend thou art, but I will tell thee nothing of my mission. Do with me what thou will."
Sasuke cocked his head at her.
"Big talk, but torture changes a person. You're obviously a skilled fighter, especially for your age. You're young though, and naïve. What is your name?"
She raised her head in defiance.
"Xenovia Quarta, remember it fiend!"
Sasuke chuckled.
"You know, I'm willing to bet that you are affiliated with the church."
A slight flinch was enough to let him know he was dead on.
"I just spoke with an Angel this morning; she gave me a certain card that would summon her in order to set up a future meeting. I wonder how they would feel about a member of their church attacking one of their future allies?"
As Sasuke continued to speak, the blood steadily drained out of Xenovia's face.
"Prove it then! What was the Angel's name?"
"Chastity."
Xenovia looked stunned, obviously expecting a generic answer such as Gabriel or Michael.
"That is indeed the name of Lord Michael's attendant... though art truly not a fiend?"
"That likely depends on who you ask; the real question is, were you sent here to kill me?"
"NO! Of course not, we are never dispatched on assassination missions. In truth, I was looking for a friend and came across the dismembered bodies in the slaughterhouse. When I felt your power, I felt sure you were a fiend possessing a human form and moved to slay you."
Rubbing his chin, Sasuke decided to go with his gut.
Xenovia closed her eyes as the deadly katana swished through the air towards her.
Clang!
Sasuke had sheared through the stout lock holding the chains together, freeing Xenovia.
"Not that I am ungrateful, but why would thou free me so readily when I tried to kill thee not an hour ago?"
"First, you are not a serious threat to me."
Sasuke smirked at her as she bristled.
"Secondly, I believe your story. You are a very straightforward person and would likely make a poor liar, thus you were trained to keep silent on capture."
Xenovia frowned and nodded once.
"So, the only question remains, what to do with you now?"
Even as Sasuke considered the question, the door opened and Asia entered the room.
Xenovia's eyes narrowed as she looked at Asia in disdain.
"Thou's status is conflicting to me; thou does not act a fiend, yet thee wouldst consort with witches?"
Ah; Sasuke supposed it made sense that the Church would have used extensive propaganda to turn their followers on the once popular "Holy Maiden".
"I expect you to keep a civil tongue in your head around members of my staff, regardless of your personal opinion. Not to mention, you are truly a fool; would you insult one of my followers when I have yet to decide your fate?"
Xenovia turned slightly red as she muttered under her breath.
Sasuke turned to Asia.
"Asia-chan, I would like for you to call Rias and ask her to meet us at the Occult headquarters. Tell her that I would like her opinion on something and it cannot wait."
Roughly grabbing Xenovia's arm, he pushed her towards the door.
"Start walking; we're going on a little trip."