Hello, everyone.
Based on the lack of feedback regarding beta readers or Discord –still grateful for the favorites, follows and positive comments, by the by–, I'm going to make a wild assumption and say that people are just fine with the way I'm doing things right now. Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong. If not, then in the spirit of maintaining the present course, I'll keeping plugging away and hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, nor do I own Type Moon or any of its intellectual properties.
…
Published: May 2, 2021
Updated: TBD
Chapter 7 – Catch
Friday morning promised to be an interesting one for the American magus. He had several people to talk with and get things arranged, which was why he elected to arrive at school an hour earlier than usual. In doing so, he crossed paths with students he didn't normally see in the mornings, such as the athletic teams performing their daily routines. Most were surprised, but greeted him nonetheless.
Taking a sharp left upon switching out his shoes and entering the school house, he walked to the end of the hallway and passed through the double doors separating the main building from the academy's club wing and stopped at the nearest door on the right. Occupying one of the smaller rooms, the club-in-question's title was laminated and fixed to the door.
Shodō. (1)
For such a bold and prominent sign, the interior of the clubroom was remarkably low-key.
In the center of the small room sat multiple small desks grouped together to form one large table, a heavy canvas drop cloth draped over it and six wooden chairs lining its left and right sides. Along every alabaster-colored wall, at least two framed pictures of Gyosho style calligraphy were hung up to proudly display their messages. Most were excerpts from inspirational quotes or poems, and others like them could be found in various other classrooms and clubs across the academy. None more so than here, though.
The room was currently vacant, save for one man sitting at a desk in the corner. Garbed in an ink-stained yukata and a white bandana tied over his messy black hair, he gazed down at the sheet of paper, writing another piece as part of his morning ritual. So engrossed was he in this that he didn't even notice Connor opening the door to the room. He just continued drawing, singularly focused on the task at hand.
Connor waited until he finished before knocking on the doorframe. The man looked up to to see Kuoh's resident American transfer student waiting for entrance.
"Oh, good morning, Lochlainn-san. Come in," he beckoned, setting his tools down.
With a short bow, he entered, maneuvering past the chairs and desks at the room's center.
"What brings to this little hole in the wall?" The man asked, punctuating his joke with an easygoing smile.
Connor shrugged. "I've been cruising the clubs recently, but I've gone long enough without making a decision, according to Kaichou. I've got until Saturday to pick a club, otherwise she'll force me into one."
"Okay. By you being here, am I to assume you chose the Shodō Club?"
"If the offer is open, Handa-sensei, yes, I'd like to join."
'Handa' raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? How much calligraphy do you do on your own?"
"I practice every day when I can."
The man nodded and stood up, swapping out the paper on his desk for a clean sheet and handing the brush in his hand to Connor.
"Alright, show me. Pick something and go with it. Let me see what you've got."
Connor nodded, taking a seat. He sat still for a moment to decide what kanji to write, then set to work. Going from left to right, top to bottom, just as Reya had instructed him to do when writing in Kaisho, the most basic of Shodō.
Each stroke of Kaisho followed a rigid order, and the composition and proportions had to be carefully executed, which made the style almost always the first one that students in Japan learned first. His runic magecraft was similar to Kaisho in regard to that rigidity, requiring that each rune follow a strict geometry and never exceed the bounds of an imaginary box. Given this, Connor had thought that the transition between the two would be easier for him than most. However, unlike runes, which had to be individually drawn in no more than one or two strokes, Shodō required multiple, and used different techniques when beginning and ending those strokes.
Things were going well at first, until he reached the bottom. At that point, he made one mistake, which caused him to lose focus. Within seconds, he started falling back on old habits that came from years of scribing runes. Still, he powered on through. When he was finished, he set the brush down and leaned back, his eyes fixating on the one stroke that began the downhill slide. He wasn't satisfied with what he saw, but couldn't do anything to correct it. That would only make it worse. In the end, it was what it was.
Tamashī.
"First impression: not bad. Unfortunately, it's really rough," the adviser bluntly critiqued over his shoulder."A bit heavy-handed, honestly. See this here? You wavered on this hidaribarai (leftward downstroke), as if your hand anticipated something that your mind didn't, and you overcorrected. You also picked straight up on your brush instead of stroking into and away on several starts and ends here. Overall, I'd say that the drawing itself is fine, but your execution is what's lacking."
The student nodded, which the instructor seemed glad to see.
"But, I can tell how much you want this," he added. "Even when your hand wavered and you started overthinking things, you kept going. You acknowledge your own mistakes, and you faced your criticism without losing your temper, something that can cost you more than just the used ink and paper. Trust me, I've seen it happen. There's room for improvement, but that's what this club is for. If you're serious about joining us, then I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to."
Connor smiled, glad that his audition could pass muster, despite the flaws.
"Will you be starting right away?"
"Er... Not just yet, sensei. I've got a lot of things going on at the moment, and I need to get those sorted out first. Picking a club will take a little bit of the edge off. "
The man nodded, understanding the feeling all too well. "I see. Well, I'll be glad to have you, Lochlainn-san, and I know the other students will be, too." He offered his hand out to shake, which Connor returned proudly.
"Thank you, Handa-sensei."
"Once you get your things in order, come back so we can get you introduced to the others. Go ahead and let Shitori-san know that you've got my approval to join. You'll need to bring your own tools and yukata, and we meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after classes end. "
"I'll let you know, sensei. Thanks again."
He bowed once more at the doorway before turning toward his next destination.
'Now comes the tough part.'
After Connor left the clubroom, the Shodō Club adviser looked back at the drawing the young man had made. He brought it closer to study it further, finding another couple of flaws that could be easily addressed to habit: The ink had pooled in several spots where Connor brought the brush directly up or had taken a fraction of a second too long in order to make a corner. Such pools tended to bleed right through and onto the working surface if the workpiece wasn't proper mulberry paper.
These could be fixed, and if nothing else, the kid wasn't a loose cannon to criticism, like he had been.
Seishū Handa himself had come a long way from the arrogant twenty-three year old artist that assaulted a museum curator for criticizing his work. For much of his career, he had operated under the assumption that he needed nothing more than the basics to succeed in calligraphy, given his natural talent in the art, and didn't that kindly to anyone who told him otherwise. He had allowed himself to stagnate, and thought the whole world to be against him for thinking differently. Looking back, he could find nothing but abject embarrassment at his conduct then. Even to that day, Kawafuji, his oldest friend, never let him live it down, even though he was somewhat responsible for that mindset.
Now twenty-eight, and with a teaching degree of his own, he sought ways in which to show others how to improve themselves through improving their writing. To that end, he was strict when it came to critiquing the calligraphy of those who learned under him, but supportive to those that didn't quit. Hard to believe that a seven year old girl was his biggest help in finding his new perspective. A hellion as she was when they first met in that village of busybodies in the Gotō Islands, Naru Kotoishi was a ray of sunshine in the dark world he had trapped himself in for so long. (2)
He traveled much of central Japan for a while after getting his degree, drawing for local exhibits and offering tutelage every now and then, before receiving an offer at Kuoh Academy as a Fine Arts teacher. The pay was good, and the student body were disciplined, so there wasn't a lot to complain about. It was a shame, however, that there wasn't as much dedicated interest in calligraphy here as there was in the bigger cities.
When Connor Lochlainn came to Shodō Club asking for membership, he was surprised.
He'd heard talk from two other teachers about how the American was making friends with members of the academy's sports clubs, and even had personally witnessed a growing friendship between him and Reya Kusaka of the Student Council. While he wasn't the gambling type, Handa had put his unspoken bet on the Kendo Club.
It was a nice surprise, if Handa were frank. The kid was well behaved and obviously driven.
Only time would tell if that drive would keep the wind in his sails.
At the Student Council Office, Connor had just been let in by Tsubaki while Sona was seated at her desk. The stack of paperwork didn't seem to have changed in size since he last saw her, and she looked ready for a break.
"Is there something I can help you with, Lochlainn-san?"
Connor had been running the upcoming conversation in his head over and over again last night. With any luck he could convince the Devil heiress to not instantly dismiss him.
Picking a club would be his overture to the discussion.
"Well," he began casually, "first of all, I'm letting you know that I'm looking to join the Shodō Club. I got Handa-sensei's thumbs-up."
Sona looked at him strangely. "Oh? You're 'looking' to join? If you have his approval, then why not officially join?"
"I'm pretty much waiting till the last minute. There's no rush," he smiled lightheartedly. He could almost feel Sona's desire to roll her eyes as well as Tsubaki's deadpan expression pointed at his head.
A little bit of dry humor to further ease the atmosphere.
"Taking an attitude like that with your education will get you into trouble someday, Lochlainn-san. I suggest you rid yourself of such before it's too late," the Devil heiress scolded.
"Yes, ma'am. And secondly... there's something I need to talk with you about. Alone."
And finally, the hook.
He looked Sona dead in the eye to let her know he was serious. The change in tone worked just like he wanted; he had her full attention. She said nothing for several seconds, before turning to address her Queen.
"Tsubaki, leave us."
The Student Council VP looked hesitant at first, but a nod from Sona alleviated what worry dotted her face. She bowed and gathered her things before quietly exiting.
Once the door closed, Connor took the seat across from Sona, just as he had two days ago.
'Hope you're right about this, Kiyome.'
"What is it you need to tell me, Lochlainn-san?"
Connor took a calming breath. "How about I start with where this fiasco began?"
Her confused expression turned to disbelief as he relayed Asia's story to her. He did, however, put more focus on her meeting the Devil that led to her exile over what happened afterwards. Her time as a ward of the Fallen would just distract Sona from the real issue at hand.
The Sitri heiress finally voiced her thoughts. "Lochlainn-san, what you're telling me is completely absurd. No Devil would ever set foot in the Vatican."
"I know. I thought so, too, and that's what bothers me," he countered. "There hasn't been any uproar, otherwise you would've heard about it by now, right? Every Devil would have heard. Granted, the Church probably covered it up in order to save face, but the Vatican is a fortress city, there should be no way for a Devil of any caliber, for any reason, to slip that far in unnoticed. And yet, here we are, talking about a nun who met a Devil in its dead center. It's so outrageous that nobody would dare believe it or give it a second thought, and that's exactly why it's so dangerous."
Her brow furrowed in confusion, which served as his signal to extrapolate his argument.
"This Devil is a predator; he saw an opportunity and took it, however risky it was. I don't doubt that he's still after Asia, and if he succeeds in getting her, he'll be more emboldened to go after somebody else now that he knows a way to get inside the Vatican without a problem. He's no idiot, but he's not perfect either, and things will happen beyond his control. You don't need me to tell you what the result will be if he screws up and gets himself caught."
The answer was obvious. The Church would interpret the intrusion as an act of aggression and retaliate. Few things in the world were more dangerous than religious zealots, and if somebody ended up pushing the right person the wrong way, it could very easily be the spark to ignite a war in which nobody would win.
Sona looked down to her hands for a moment, then back up to him. "You make a good point, but I simply cannot take action based on the words of a relative stranger. There is no precedent of a Devil setting foot in the Vatican, and you're right, the very idea is simply too preposterous for any Devil to believe. Even if I were to acquire a testimony from Argento-san herself, the accusation would be considered empty and discarded almost instantly."
He figured she might say that. She had even less reason than him to do anything regarding Asia. It was only natural that she would say 'no.'
'Well, at least she gave it real thought. It was wort-'
"However," she continued, "if what you say is true, then at least one of the Maou should be made aware of this situation."
He blinked. "You believe me?"
"I'm taking what you say with a grain of salt, Lochlainn-san. I would like to believe you, given how highly at least two of my servants think of you, but I need proof. If you want my help on this, I need to be absolutely certain that what you're telling me is the truth. Then, if I turn it over to the Maou, they can begin an official investigation, and their authority is absolute."
"Okay, I'll bite. Which Maou did you have in mind?" he asked, wanting her to fill in the blank.
"My sister is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. She handles matters that concern relations between the Devils and other supernatural factions. I can contact her to inform her of a threat to the security of our race if the need arises."
Connor brightened. This was great. Sona had family even higher up in the pecking order than her! He was about to ask for details, but when Sona said nothing more for several seconds, and even started to look pensive about the idea, his smile fell flat.
"There's... something you're not telling me. Do I want to know?"
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in what looked like aggravated indignation.
"Serafall Leviathan is one of the most powerful Devils alive today, but she is embarrassingly unprofessional," she explained, her cheeks starting to flush red. "If I call her and let her know that there's something I need her help with, she will drop everything and come running, regardless of any mess she might leave in her wake. It wouldn't be the first time she's ditched work for an unplanned visit."
That last comment made Connor suspicious.
"You haven't used that to your advantage before, have you?" he asked.
Slowly, the most sly smile he'd ever seen appeared on Sona's face. She adjusted her glasses in such a way that the sunlight coming in through the window caused a glare that made him wince. When he refocused, her blush was gone and her eyes held a dangerous new glint, as if a different persona had taken over in that split second.
It was quite unnerving to see the straight business-like Sona looking so... unscrupulous.
"I do not confirm nor deny. To call her now, however, may not be wise. Her presence here might scare off this predator, and it if does, your chance of proving Argento-san's story goes to waste."
"I would think that having your sister here as a deterrent would be a good enough trade-off, especially if she could talk to Asia herself. Get a direct testimony, am I right?" Connor reasoned.
"Perhaps, but I suspect that it would become a case of 'He Said, She Said,' given her reputation, and I would prefer getting to the root of this problem. That said, I still need evidence of a crime committed before I can do anything. If you bring me that, then we can discuss what to do about it. I will tell you this, if it helps: As the interim governors of Kuoh, any Devil other than the Maou must receive clearance from either myself or Rias to enter or reside here. Thus, any Devil without that clearance is trespassing, regardless of whether they are a Stray or not."
It was the best he could get. Her hands were tied unless she had a fully legal reason to intervene. In the eyes of her people, he was just one human and Asia would always be part of the Church. Sona had no reason to stake her position on a hunch and have it turn out to be a false alarm.
Still, even if it was only in response to a misdemeanor or a citizen's arrest, it was nice to know that he had some semblance of Devil law working in his favor.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," he supplied.
"In addition," she resumed, "I would like to see first-hand what you are capable of. To merely know that you've killed a Fallen Angel is not enough to satisfy my curiosity of you. If you're willing, I could arrange a spar between you and several of my servants, and if that's not to your liking, then I can settle with a chess game. A friendly competition of wits."
There it was. The catch he was waiting for. She wouldn't go out on a limb even a little bit if she didn't feel she could benefit in some way. She was putting the deal in her favor as much as she could, hunting for information with as little risk as possible. At this point, he couldn't tell who was the real politician: Sona or this Serafall Leviathan.
He didn't want to say that he trusted her now, but he did find her to be... sincere, thanks to this.
"Well, Asia has expressed an interest in attending a real school. If you would consider enrolling her into Kuoh as a transfer student, then yes, I think a chess game would be nice," Connor acceded. He'd show her some of what she wanted, but not all of it.
That same little smile was now back on her face. It honestly made him squirm in his seat a little bit. "Excellent. I'm looking forward to working with you in the future, Lochlainn-san."
"Likewise, Sitri-sama," he smiled back.
'Note to self: Ensure that all relations with Sona Sitri remain amicable.'
The school bell rang loudly at 4:30 P.M., signaling the dismissal for the day. The students of Kuoh would be back tomorrow for morning classes, then be free to do as they would with their Saturday and Sunday. Many had homework to complete and club activities to attend, but Connor had other plans.
Having struck his deal with the Devil, without any binding paperwork or blood pacts, Connor was optimistic about his chances. Procuring 'proof' would be an adventure into madness that he didn't expect to engage in, but the payoff was too good to pass up. Sona definitely seemed more than glad to oblige by his requests, and if she could get Asia situated, even better.
He was about halfway on his walk back to the apaato when his head shot up from his contemplation. He sensed something. A magic presence, much larger than that of an average person, just crossing the Bounded Field to the complex, then stopping. He picked up the pace, hoping that whatever he had sensed would just pass by. Unfortunately, the presence hadn't left the outer edge of the Field since first coming into contact. If anything, it kept going back and forth across it.
That was a bad sign.
As the building came into view, he saw the source of the anomaly. It was a man, rather short with dark green hair and dressed in a dark gray suit with a long matching overcoat. He was looking this way and that, like he was searching for something in the road before him.
Connor approached the man cautiously. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Hm?" The man turned to face him with his gold-colored eyes and, from what Connor could tell, was trying to hold back a sneer.
"Do you need help with something?" he asked as politely as possible.
"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. I'm looking for someone."
Connor had to clench his teeth to keep from smiling as one of his favorite movie lines from a certain green alien popped up in his head. (3)
The man continued, "She is my fiancée, and we're spending our engagement traveling the world. Unfortunately, we got separated. I haven't seen her in hours, and I'm starting to worry."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Have you... tried calling her, or the local police station?" Connor offered. That story had more holes than a broken sieve, but he tried to keep his disbelief from showing. Traveling the world for their engagement, and he lost her, in this tiny town? Really?
"Yes, and she's usually very quick to answer. I think she might have lost her cell phone. And the police won't be of any help. Those fools are all too busy with other matters."
"I see. Okay, um... well, what does your fiancée look like? What's her name?"
"She's only the most gorgeous woman in the world!" the man gushed, turning overly dramatic on a dime, "Her name is Asia. Asia Argento. She has long blonde hair, brilliant green eyes, the voice of an angel, and she has the kindest soul you will ever meet! There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about her, and it pains me to think that she's out there somewhere all alone."
The very thing had feared would happen had just come true right in front of him. Now, a chilling sense of dread was forming in his stomach, similar to the kind that one gets when they venture within striking range of a venomous snake.
'Of all people...'
"You wouldn't happen to have seen her, would you?" The man asked, having finished his monologue.
Connor looked him in the eye, resisting the urge to swallow the lump in his throat. His right hand went into his pocket slowly, grasping the runestones inside. "Well, with how you described her, I think she'd be pretty hard to miss. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone like that."
"Are you sure?" the man probed further.
"Yes. I'm sure."
Nothing more was said as the two stared at one another for a few seconds before the man eventually sighed.
"Very well, I'll just keep looking."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help, but I need to go," Connor excused himself. "Good luck in your search."
The man watched with narrowed eyes as Connor disappeared from view into his apartment. He could feel the gaze on the back of his head as he moved. The door closed behind loudly, the sound almost echoing in his ears to exacerbate what he already knew.
It had been a frustrating twenty-four hours for the Astaroth heir, what with the endless obstacles he faced in securing Asia. The search had turned up almost nothing. It was only just now that his incensed wanderings had brought him to this tiny apartment building with a barrier of some sort surrounding it. On closer inspection, this barrier wasn't constructed or held together using the same formulae that he had seen most magicians use. Even his own Bishops didn't have such magic in their arsenals. If anything, it looked like this one was formed by drawing magical energy from the earth itself. Curious.
In the middle of his inspection, he was interrupted by an apparent denizen of the building. A rather nondescript specimen, no distinguishing features besides the fact that he spoke fluent English and was thus clearly foreign. He came off as a fool at first, but the way he turned rather curt after Diodora described Asia was enough of a clue to him.
That human was hiding something.
While sorely tempted to force answers out from him, there were witnesses coming along in several directions, so he let the whelp go. He was about to summon his Queen and several more of his servants once the coast was clear, but then got an idea. Canceling the magic circle, he headed back into town, looking for a suitable pair of individuals to carry out his bidding.
Sure enough, within about ten minutes of searching, he spotted two exorcists in street clothes touring the market district for snacks. He had seen two others last night, and one of his Rooks had evidently seen even more, which led him to believe that they were looking for Asia, too. In that case, it wouldn't take much to 'enlist' their services, should the need arise.
Such need had done just that.
He ducked into a nearby alley, watching them as they checked out from a vendor and moved in his direction. There were no witnesses looking their way; perfect. Just as the two were about to pass by, he turned the corner in front of them. He quickly placed his hands directly in their faces before they could react, invoking magic circles to open their minds to suggestion.
"Do not be alarmed. You are happy to see me."
He let his hands down, and the men stood in place with dazed stares. They both blinked, then looked at Diodora and stood at attention as if he were some sort of officer, dropping their newly purchased cargo.
"Good to see you, sir," one of the men said with a hint of pride.
"Yes, it is," he said with a smirk. Pitiful as they were, it was always fun to use humans like puppets. "Listen up. Asia Argento is in a small apartment building to the north of here. Your orders are to bring Asia to me, alive and unharmed, by any means necessary. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
They turned and marched away, neither of them seeing the smirk on Diodora's face widen. Helping himself to some chocolate-coated pocky among the forgotten comestibles, he slowly strolled into town, taking his sweet time to enjoy the cherry on top of his little plan.
A smart Devil used every resource at his disposal. And Diodora Astaroth was a smart Devil. While his own peerage members would certainly get the job done, having such mindless pawns do the heavy lifting was a rare treat. If they succeeded in their 'mission,' he would simply kill them and take Asia once they retrieved her. It made no difference to him if they killed the human male in order to do it. If they failed, he lost nothing. The deaths of the human and/or the exorcists could be written off as more victims to a murderer that had appeared in Kuoh not long ago.
Whatever the means, Asia would be his.
"It won't be long now."
Connor, in the meantime, was quickly checking all of his existing runic defenses in his apartment.
He knew that his cover was blown, and by his own hand, no less. The Devil had seen through his attempts at denial. Not that he could've dissuaded the man anyway. He could sense the Bounded Field, and was starting to get pushy towards the end of that conversation.
Why Connor didn't ask Asia earlier for a physical description of the scumbag was beyond him, but he could kick himself for it later.
That, and a few other things.
–––––
He had waited until the Devil's presence had left the Field before slipping outside again, checking in all directions, then knocking rapidly on Asia's apartment door.
"Come on, Asia, open up," he mumbled impatiently, eyes continuing to dart around the area.
The door clicked and opened slightly, giving him the chance to push the door open just enough and slip inside and close it again.
Asia was taken aback by the forceful entry. "Connor? A-are you okay?"
"I wish. Asia, before I say anything else, I need you to promise me that you won't panic. Can you do that?" She nodded nervously. "Alright... That Devil you healed in the Vatican? I just met him outside."
He didn't give her much time to react as he quickly grasped her shoulders and locked eyes with her.
"Asia, listen to me. He doesn't know where you are, but he believes that I know. If we want to keep it that way, I need you to stay inside, not make a sound, and not even look out any of the windows until I come to get you. I know I've been asking you to do that already, but I really need for you to do it now. Okay?"
His entreaty had quickly squashed her panic, but now she expressed worry for a different reason. Once again, she nodded.
"Okay... Just... promise me that you won't get hurt."
"I'll do everything in my power."
–––––
He didn't like making promises that had no guarantee, but he hated seeing her scared even more.
The camouflaging runes inside her apartment would keep anyone outside from sensing her, even while within the Bounded Field itself, but only so long as she stayed where she was. As far as Connor knew, the Devil didn't know precisely where Asia was, and would be coming after him in order to find out. He would be using that to his advantage.
With everything currently in order, he went back to the bedroom to review the runic traps that he wanted to place. There wasn't time to do all of them now, but maybe one or two-
He sensed the Bounded Field detecting two new signatures passing through its border. They were bigger than a normal person's, but not like the Devil's had been, and they were heading straight for him. Abandoning his efforts for the time being, he killed the lights and took cover in the bathroom.
It was only for about thirty seconds that he stayed crouched behind the wall. From his point of view, though, it felt like hours. Just listening, waiting for something to happen.
Finally, he could hear the footfalls of heavy boots come up to the door, then stop.
…
…
…
The silence was agonizing.
Connor could hear own heart beating a mile per minute in his ears.
Suddenly, a loud bang reverberated from the door, as if someone were kicking at it. It made Connor jump, but he maintained his position. Several more bangs followed, and still the door didn't budge. He knew it would hold; it had been the first thing he reinforced after coming inside. Eventually, the banging stopped, and the silence continued.
Slightly emboldened, Connor started to lean out of the bathroom to take a curious look. According to the Field, they were still there, but-
Two blue-and-white blades of light ignited and pierced through the cracks between the door and the frame, slicing straight down and shearing through both the lock and hinges like so much paper. Another strong kick sent the door forward, hitting the genkan's step and slamming into the ground.
'Son of a bitch... hadn't considered that.'
The silhouettes of two individuals now stood in the open doorway. The last remnants of evening light funneling into the apartment made him squint for a moment as his eyes adjusted. Judging by the unnatural shapes at the ends of their limbs, the two were also wielding firearms.
He stayed still, watching as the first form crept through the corridor and past the bathroom. He could identify them now: two men, clothed in the same contrasting uniforms he saw at the church. Setting that aside for later, he waited until the second man came into view.
Then he struck.
Connor leaped out and sucker punched the second man with an enhanced right hook, sending him headfirst into the wall and causing the weapon in his hand to clatter to the floor. His cry of pain alerted the other man, his head whipping around to look behind him. Connor had also turned to look right back at him, Mystic Eyes ablaze. Looking into his eyes bore what he sought: The intent of his first attacker. The man was going to draw his gun and open fire, not thinking about whether he would hit his compatriot or not. Panic was clouding his reason, as if he were... bewildered.
In response, Connor grabbed the second man's coat and rolled backward against the wall, switching places with the stunned man and putting him between himself and the to-be shooter. As he foresaw, said shooter's large pistol let loose three bullets in rapid succession, striking the human shield and killing him almost instantly when one pierced his heart.
Connor's ears were screaming from the god-awful noise of gunfire in this small space, but he couldn't stop now. Firing the adrenal runes on his arms, he put all the strength he had available into throwing the now lifeless body towards the shooter. The corpse barreled into the man, sending him into the wall and then the floor and his gun flying across the room. Taking this chance, Connor darted forward and hoisted the man up before putting his neck in a sleeper hold. The man reached for something on his belt, but Connor kicked into the man's knee, forcing him down, then leaned in to continue applying pressure to the hold.
Now disarmed, off balance and out of air, the man raked and clawed at Connor's arms, trying desperately to make him let go.
'Go to sleep! Go to sleep, damn you! C'mon!'
After what felt like an eternity for the magus, which was really only ten seconds, the man finally stopped struggling and went limp. Connor quickly checked for a pulse. Finding a faint one, he loosened his grip to drop him, then leaned against the wall to catch his breath and calm down while shutting off the Eyes and allowing the backlash to run its course.
He'd been expecting for his attackers to be of a more fiendish variety, not rogue exorcists. Thankfully, prior to the attack, he had placed runes on the walls that soundproofed his apartment from the inside. Even Asia and the elderly couple living on the first floor wouldn't hear a thing of what happened.
Then again, somebody might have heard the breach attempt. If anyone did show up to investigate the noise, he'd have to hypnotize them quickly to make them leave.
Running a hand down his face, noting the sticky sensation, he looked down at the unconscious man.
He could've killed him. He still could kill him, but that would be pointless. There hadn't been any indication that the exorcists holed up in the church had discovered this place at all. Not a single one had passed by in the last week.
He needed answers.
He turned the kitchen light back on, then dragged the man into a dining room chair, using Nauthiz to lock his wrists against one another behind the chair's back and his legs against those of the chair. They would all be stuck together like glue until he dispelled the runes. From there, he propped the front door up along the wall and moved the corpse out of the main corridor and into the dining room, propping him up against the wall opposite the bound man.
He took out his phone and called the number he'd been holding out on.
"Hello?"
"Hey, you got a few minutes?"
"What? Um... sure, what's going on?"
"Get over to my apartment. There's something you need to see."
"Lochlainn-san, what's going on?"
"Just get over here."
"...Okay. I'll be there shortly."
Connor hung up, then double checked the exorcist's restraints before going into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he saw the drying streaks of red along his face and the flecks dotting his neck and shirt from the impromptu shield. After cleaning and ridding his face of the grime, he decided to inspect the damages done to the door. Before long, he felt another presence enter the Bounded Field. He looked up and sighed in relief when the man he'd made the call to came into view.
The Grigori agent blinked in surprise, seeing the state of his 'informant.' "Whoa... What happened here?"
"Unwelcome visitors. One is dead, the other's out cold. Figured you might want to listen in." Connor beckoned Tobio inside and showed him the man in the chair as well as the corpse.
"Exorcists?"
"From the looks of their stuff, yeah."
Tobio walked to the dead exorcist and bent down to pull some device off of his belt, looked to the captive's belt, then held the item up for Connor to see.
"Luc-ky," he complimented. "Looks like you dealt with these two so quickly, neither one had the chance to activate these."
The magus squinted at the object. "What is that? A pager?"
"An emergency GPS beacon. All exorcists work in pairs, and large groups always have a quick means to contact one another if a field team runs into trouble. Cell phones, flares, things like that. This is a standard issue, so I can guess that it's not the only one here in Kuoh. It goes off, and every exorcist within five kilometers will be alerted."
"Calling for backup would be the first thing you do in the event of a raid, right?" Connor asked, getting a nod. "Well, they just came right in, swords drawn, no backup."
"Really?" Tobio looked toward the bound man. "Then there must be something- oh look, he's coming to."
"Perfect timing. Hey, wake up," Connor said, unceremoniously slapping the man across the face.
The captive glanced around confusedly, as if he had no idea where he was. "T-The fuck?! Wh-"
"Hey, look at me, focus." Connor snaps his fingers in the man's face. "You and your buddy would have a lot of explaining to do, but you'll have to do it for both of you." He gestured to the body of the man's colleague, intending to scare him with it. "You tell me everything I want to know, and I promise that I will not kill you, even after you tried to kill me. How many of you are there in Kuoh? I know that there are more."
"Fuck you!" the guy spat. "If you know that, then you should know they'll come looking for me, wherever here is! And what'dya mean I-"
"They won't get here in time to save you," Tobio interrupted, his calm and level voice acting in contrast to Connor's demanding tone. "And even if they did, they'd likely kill you themselves for getting caught in the first place. You've got no reason to protect them, so it's really in your best interest to speak up."
"And if what I've learned is any indication, then Freed will not make it quick and painless." That got a reaction. The man's eyes widened, showing Connor how much the fear of Freed held with these guys. "So answer the question: How many?"
Even after being reminded of Freed, the man hesitated to answer, but caved before too long. "It was... fifteen to start. But when the... our old bosses bailed, the new boss brought in some more guys. I think it's twenty or so now, maybe two dozen."
"So you knew the Fallen had left Kuoh?" Tobio asked.
"Yeah, I knew! We all fucking knew! But the boss's got his head up his ass and- Wait, how do you know about the Fallen?"
"Stay on topic, genius. Why did you come here? To this building?" Connor continued.
"I... I don't know. We... my partner and I were in the market district and... and then, the next thing I know,... I'm here... I- I don't even remember coming here!"
"What do you mean 'you don't remember?' It's at least a ten minute walk from here to the market. Are you saying you blacked out and sleepwalked here? The both of you?"
"I don't know! I can't remember!"
'Hypnosis,' Connor guessed, leaning back. He exchanged glances with Tobio, who he could assume was thinking the same thing.
"Fine. Next question: What are you hiding in the basement of the old church?" the magus pressed.
The exorcist began to sweat a bit more. "Wh- The fuck're you talking about? It's just us down there."
Connor exhaled through his nose and laid into the man with a hard left punch to the man's diaphragm before grabbing him by his hair to force his head back up. "Listen, you waste of oxygen! I don't care if you remember doing it or not, but you and your buddy just tried to kill me, and I am really not too thrilled about it. I'm not in the mood for bullshit, so answer the fucking question before I start feeding you your own teeth!"
"That's enough!" Tobio pulled the magus away, leaving the captive gasping and sputtering as he fought to catch his breath again. Connor was reaching a boiling point, prompting Tobio to play the good cop, otherwise they'd never get what they wanted. "Look, what happened, happened, whether you like it or not. But brutalizing your one source of information until he can't talk is not the way to get results. Settle down." He turned and leaned down to meet the captive face-to-face.
"The sooner you talk, the closer we get to working out a deal for your cooperation. I can't help you otherwise. Got it?" Tobio explained.
The man nodded. "Okay... I'll talk... The boss... had a bloodsucker brought in with the new guys. He thinks that... she has a Sacred Gear. We've been trying to extract it for several days, but-"
"With what?" Connor cut back in, ignoring Tobio's glare, "Your state-of-the-art facilities? The most advanced minds of your age? You're wasting your time with a spell that's obviously not working, and vampires can't get Sacred Gears, anyway!"
"She's a dhampir! Half human, half vampire, I don't know how the fuck that works, but Boss thinks she's got something real special."
"How?"
"I don't know! He says he can sense it!"
Connor stared at the man. Tobio had said that 'hybrids of humans' could be born with a Sacred Gear. A vampire having a Sacred Gear should be impossible, but if said vampire or whatever had a human parent, did that make all the difference? Did that apply to anything with a trace of human heritage, no matter what else they might be?
He turned to Tobio for a second opinion, only to find the agent looking down in deep thought.
"What's with that look?"
"Give me a minute. I need to make a call." Tobio took out his phone from his pocket and walked out the front doorway without another word.
The sudden exit left the room's two remaining occupants in an awkward silence. Tired and frustrated, the magus took this time to sit down in another chair and take several calming breaths. The exorcist watched and waited for him to finish, not wanting to take another hit like before.
"Hey, look... I know we've been wasting our time," he slowly began. "It didn't work the first three times we tried it, but the boss is nuts. I guess he thinks that... that this is his ticket into favor with someone high up in Grigori. I don't know, nobody believes him, but everyone's scared of him. Just the other night, Freed slaughtered a guy in his own home, and the boss said he'd let that happen to us if we deserted. He's the only one Freed listens to. He's got him on a leash and a noose around everyone else's neck!"
"No, I get it," Connor waved it off. "Some bigshot takes charge, the power goes to his head, and everyone else suffers for it. Happens all the time, but I'm not the one you need to convince." He gestured to the front door where Tobio had stepped out. "It's that guy. He and I are working for different people."
"Oh...Who're you working for?"
"Can't say. All I can tell you is that they're not as big as his people."
Thirty more seconds of silence later, Tobio came back from the apartment entrance, completely straight-faced. Unlike before, Jin was now right next to him, staring at the exorcist intently.
Connor stood up slowly, not liking that look.
"Tobio?"
Jin suddenly darted past him.
"Wh-"
"No! NONONO-AGHHGH!" The captive didn't get much else out before the sentient Sacred Gear lunged at him, pushing the bound man onto his back and sinking its fangs into his throat. A choked scream preceded the sound of tearing flesh, and a frantic gurgling soon followed. Within seconds, it was over, and Jin withdrew to return to Tobio's side, its mouth coated with blood and dripping onto the floor in a trail.
Connor stared at the newly made corpse in shock. The man's eyes were staring up at the ceiling, frozen in terror and pain, while the pool of blood beneath him continued to grow, in no small part due to the gaping hole that was his neck. The sounds of the execution replayed in Connor's head over and over like a broken record.
He turned an irate glare towards an indifferent Tobio. "What the fuck was that?! What happened to the deal?!"
"No deal for any of them," Tobio declared. "New orders from Azazel-sama. He wants the exorcists terminated and the dhampir retrieved, immediately."
"Terminated? Really?" Connor scornfully remarked. "Your boss not worried about bad publicity anymore?"
"No, he was using his 'No Objections' voice. The last time I heard him speak like that, it was a diplomatic nightmare, and a lot of people died."
"Diplomatic? How does that-" Connor began to ask, but gave up, throwing his hands in the air. There was no point in trying to make sense of it. "You know what? Fuck it! Whatever. So you're finally tying up the loose ends? Fine, you go and do that. If you're just gonna kill them all, they won't be my problem anymore."
"Glad you agree. I was going to suggest that you stay here and watch over Asia, in any case. You could tell, couldn't you? These men were hypnotized, and obviously by someone powerful enough for it to work on trained soldiers, and they knew where to send them. If a second wave comes and neither of us are here..." he trailed off, letting Connor finish that hypothetical for himself.
Connor nodded. "Right... Okay, I'll hold down the fort, and... do something about the door. You two have fun with your hunt."
"Actually, I'm leaving Jin here with you. He'll be your backup. I can handle the exorcists by myself."
His eyes widened slightly, truly surprised that Tobio was willing to throw him yet another bone. Or was he just trying to ingratiate himself? Connor looked down at the... entity, which merely tilted its head like a curious dog. It would be an amusing sight if there wasn't still some blood dripping from its maw.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Thanks, but what about you? You're not just going to scour town for them, are you?"
"No, not when I have this." Tobio answered, holding up the beacon.
The wheels started to turn in Connor's head. Tobio was going to use their distress beacon against them and draw them all back to him for an ambush. Using one beacon at a time would take too long, but there were more beacons at the church like Tobio suspected and he set them off at the same time, the away teams might coming running back like the world was ending. Right into his crosshairs.
"Alright. Assuming you terminate them all, however you will, can I expect you to come back here with the dhampir?"
"Yes, I don't know what kind of condition she's going to be in. And uh..." he paused, looking down at the dead men on the floor, "don't worry, I'll help clean up this mess."
"I hope so," Connor said dryly. "I don't want to explain to my landlord that I'm using my apartment as a body dump."
Cleaning up was actually quicker than the magus thought it would be. Tobio simply had the bodies dropped into a dark magic portal, what he called a 'shadow pocket,' and said that he would destroy them later. Connor's own runes took care of the blood through the use of Tiwaz and Raidho drawn onto an empty jar to pull the splatters and pools inside for easy disposal. The front door would have to wait, given that its supports were completely ruined.
With the cleanup taken care of and the plan reviewed for good measure, Tobio was about to depart for his extermination task before Connor stopped him at the front door.
"Before you go. There's a false wall right behind the altar that leads to the basement. I don't know the layout down there, but that's where you'll find your dhampir. Also, if you can, try and salvage some of the exorcists' equipment for me, or at least leave some behind for me to go pick up later. I'll consider that my bonus for my investigation."
Tobio arched an eyebrow, then let out a chuckle. "You're pretty greedy, you know that?"
The magus just shrugged in response. "Every magus is greedy. Comes with the lifestyle, and I'm always looking to expand. You sure you've got this?"
"Jin and I have faced worse. These peons will be nothing. Just be ready for when I come back." With that, he jumped the railing, taking off to the edge of the Bounded Field and vanishing into the darkness once past it.
Connor sighed, then went back inside to begin the process of trying to barricade the entrance, Jin padding behind him. He didn't feel the need to wish Tobio luck. It wouldn't make a difference. If he was confident enough to take on two dozen Strays by his lonesome, then that was his prerogative. He didn't know how Sacred Gear wielders fought, but he imagined that just one was more than enough to match a large force of those lacking one.
A massacre was inevitable.
'The real question is where it'll happen. There, or here?'
…
(1): Sadly, Kanji don't really appear well on this site; the Doc Manager doesn't let you alter text size.
(2): A more mature, less irritable version of Barakamon's main character.
(3): Kudos to anyone who guesses the line correctly.
…
There you go.
Whew. I'd say this chapter made up for the last one in length.
Things are starting to heat up. I've been putting off action scenes for the sake of world-building and setting the conflicts in place, but that can't be avoided anymore. Look forward to it.
Recollecting my question from several chapters ago, I said that nothing would be written in stone for a while. Well,... it's been a while, and I've decided upon three Servant classes, as well as the specific Heroic Spirits for two of the three. Bearing that in mind, I have one more question for you all: What Assassin, of Japanese origin, would you like to see make an appearance?
If you would like what you read, leave a favorite, a follow or a review to let me know. Any advice or support that you could give would be greatly appreciated. If you'd like to take a shot at the challenge listed in chapter 1, send me a PM, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
As always, thank you for reading!