Quick update for exposure's sake

If you're concerned that they'll stay poor, then have no fear — they won't. You'll see why below

Enjoy boys ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

The Dogs of War

[Chapter 2]

||Chaos is a Ladder, Mind Your Head||

The sky was full of stars, scattered across the deep blue ocean as though the Creator had smashed the windscreen of his car and hadn't bothered to stop to sweep up the pieces, when then a random snotty thought it would be a great idea to coat them with glue and scatter it with glitters. Such a sight, however, was the least of their concern.

Their night had proven to be fruitful so far. Bumping to Xenovia was a bit concerning, but at least she was no longer officially related to the Catholic Church, so they shouldn't worry too much about her. If she appeared again and tried to smite the Devils, a.k.a, their potential clients, then even better — playing bodyguard pays. A lot.

Obviously they had no interest in doing that for more than a week, or at most a month, therefore they were prepared should an offer ever stop at their doorstep.

But first things first — was to get this Devil to the safety of her chumps.

Issei flew low and quietly, gliding rather than flying as he only had to flap his wings a couple of times to gain altitude. Freed, meanwhile, was terribly missing the ground where fear of falling was nonexistent.

His wish was soon fulfilled within ten minutes, and Freed wasted no time in hopping off Issei's back.

"Thanks. I hated it."

Issei ignored his whine for now, retracting his wings and heading towards the very same entrance of the building where he was frustrated not an hour earlier. The Devil was still cradled in his arms. Her breathing had slowed and her eyes were closed, but she should stay alive.

Hopefully.

Otherwise, things might get awkward.

"Intruders?!"

Actually it already might as they heard a voice coming from the floor above them. As the school's flooring was mostly made of wood, they caught the unlocking of several doors, followed by rushed footsteps heading their direction from the stairwell.

But before anyone of the Devils reached their vicinity, Issei managed to exchange a few words with his accomplice.

"Dude, stand in front of me."

"Hah? Aren't you the muscle?"

"Yeah but my hands are a bit busy."

"Just drop her off somewhere."

"And makes us look more suspicious?" Issei griped. "Just stand here and play it cool. I'll handle the talking."

"Alright, alright…"

As Freed took his new position, he measured the rather small and narrow and creepy corridor of the school, and got the jeepers. He hated schools. But regardless, the long, narrow hallway should suit his revolvers fine should things go too far south.

Sure enough, a Devil emerged from the stairwell not far ahead of them.

Only that she was… quite modestly-statured for a Devil. She had straight short white hair too, which led Issei to believe she might be Freed's long lost sister.

The Devils they had encountered so far had a rather… sizable assets or was aggravatingly handsome, but the two out of work mercenaries shrugged it off. They supposed the Devils in Japan were not quite as blessed and this Akeno person was a special exception.

"...Interlopers," she snarled, raising her fists, though she didn't appear too menacing with her cute white pajamas. Her hazel eyes seemed to have larger pupils than most people, and they widened with alarm when they spotted the Devil in Issei's hands. "...Akeno-senpai…? What did you do to her!"

"Look, we know this looks bad, but let us explain—"

"Koneko!" another voice yelled as they rushed to the entrance. This time, however, it was a young girl with a figure that instantly activated the neurons in the two hitmen's brains. She was in her pajamas, rose pink in color, only that some of the buttons were left unfastened.

Someone here sleeps topless.

Her wavy crimson hair was very pretty, they noted, and neither could imagine the amount of hair care products that went into maintaining their hair. They doubted she only used the five-in-one shampoo like them.

"Exorcists?!" Rias Gremory gasped. Fear and anger was visible in her eyes once she saw the state of her Queen.

"Ex—" before Freed could say 'Ex-exorcists' to correct her, another Devil soared from the darkness of the stairwell. Freed rolled his eyes. This better be the last one.

But the Devil didn't stop to announce his arrival or shock, instead, Yuuto Kiba lunged straight at the black-haired ex-Exorcist with a dark blade in his hand. Only once he was getting too close for comfort that Freed became aware that this annoying handsome blonde Devil was trying to lob his head off.

That wouldn't do. Freed could not yet operate without a head.

"Seriously? You won't let us talk first?!" So he drew out his own weapon; a grip without a sword, similar to that one sci-fi franchise minus the awkward circular grip. Within a split second, he concentrated a drop of his Mana into the handle and a saber made of white light buzzed into existence.

Their swords clashed, sending sparks as they did. Issei lamented the fact that this was, perhaps, the worst first impression they've made thus far.

"We're not here to pick a fight! Jesus!" he said with a loud voice, eyes fixed at the crimson-haired Devil as she looked to be the leader of this lot. "Look, can we all just chill out? Your friend's bleeding her chest out here—"

"Don't listen to their lies," the only male Devil seethed as he bounded away, landing next to his vertically-challenged Devil compatriot — Toujou Koneko. For some reason, he seemed the most ticked off, although all the Devils were quite hostile at the moment. "I recognize that outfit anywhere. What're the Vatican Exorcists doing this far East?"

"Hey man, ever considered we might be tourists? Want me to sue your pretty face?"

"To come to my domain and to attempt to fool me with your pathetic lies…" Rias seethed as she glared at Issei — who was starting to get annoyed himself by the escalating misunderstanding. "Yuuto, keep him busy. Koneko, I'll support you. Prioritize Akeno."

"Uh oh."

"Wait- wait! Goddammit—" Freed cursed appropriately as this Yuuto guy sliced at him. He parried his blade away and would have used his free hand to grab his gun and blast this sucker's face if he wanted to completely obliterate their chances with the Devils, so he didn't. "I'll have you know I could've killed you if I wanted to!"

"Looking down on us?" Kiba narrowed his eyes. "That's a sure ticket to an early grave."

"...Shit that was a cool line," Freed scribed that down in his mind as a black bolt of demonic energy nearly exploded his head. "Hey watch it! My head is not cheap!"

"You think this is amusing?! I'll make you regret the day you crossed paths with us!"

"Fuck's sake Freed…" Issei sighed, but he didn't have much time to relax either. WIth his vanguard kept busy, the runt of the litter had easily gone around him by jumping and leaping off the ceiling.

"Let her go," she demanded, both her fists raised.

"Look… I don't want to hit kids…" Issei said, which was a lie. He'd punt those runny little shits if he ever got the chance. "So just let me talk with your Master and we'll be off, alright?"

Koneko took it as an insult and a challenge, and she began her assault.

"Geh… this is stupid," was Issei's lament as he recalled his wings and used it as a kid-swatting device, smacking the unfortunate Devil away and pinning her to a wall by keeping it stretched. "We don't want any trouble, so if you could please hear us out first before throwing your fists— oh lord—" his sentence was cut short since he had to duck a black bullet of descructive power.

"A… a Dragonewt?!"

"No I'm a bona fide human," Issei clarified. "And so is my friend, although I won't blame you if you think he's a gremlin."

"Hey fuck you—" Freed said as he ducked under a horizontal swipe, and struck the Devil's chest with an open palm, sending a shockwave through his body as he pushed him away. "I'm at least fifty percent human. Seventy on a nice day."

"Debatable," Issei countered. The small girl from earlier attempted to rip apart his wing, pummeling it with a hammer-fist repeatedly. He didn't show it, but it kinda hurt… "But here, alright? Let me lay her down, gently to show you we're not bullshitting."

Slowly, he kneeled down and settled the injured Devil on the wooden floor. At this point, her white priestess outfit had been mostly dyed in her blood — no thanks to the Devils' and their 'kill first, ask questions later' method of introduction.

"Dude, get back here. Don't escalate," Issei ushered, keeping Koneko pinned against the wall as Freed carefully backpedaled, though maintaining his lightsaber ready to parry and his left hand hovering in the air, ready to catch the Devil by his collar should he get bright ideas.

Not your everyday swordsman, this fired Exorcist. Freed was more of a gutter fighter or a cage fighter if anything. Inside his brain was an arsenal of the dirtiest tricks he learned from The Book of Dirty and Dishonorable Tricks, as well as Why Rules are Useless: King Bames Version. Those were perhaps the only books the paragraphs-hating ex-Exorcist had ever finished, but Issei suspected it was due to the fact those books had pictures and simple explanations and without too many words that contained more than three syllables.

All that mentioned, Issei, slowly, as though he was being faced by a pack of angry little dogs, carefully backed away to the entrance along with his companion as he just as slowly let go of the Devil stuck on his right wing.

"We don't mean to attack any of you; we're just defending ourselves, alright? Anyone is allowed to do that much at least."

"Should probably get her treated too," Freed then added, nudging at the Devil on the floor. Akeno had been growing paler and paler as she kept on losing blood.

Though they remained indignant, the Devils, at least for now, only kept their eyes on them with high suspicions.

"We get that you're mad, but we didn't do this to her. If we did, then it'd be pretty stupid of us to bring her here just to gloat on your face."

Freed wanted to say that was exactly what he would have done to his enemies, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. As he noticed Issei was lowering his hands, he copied him as the light blade of his saber slinked down, leaving him with only the grip. It was much easier to hide a sword when it didn't have the sharp bits.

"...Who are you people?" Rias finally asked, but not yet letting any of her Servants retrieve Akeno in fear of a trap. "How did she become like this?"

"We were just walking back home. We live nearby that shrine and that's when we heard some loud noises. Y'know, the sound of a fight. Some thunder too," Issei began, intentionally leaving out the part that they were spectating for quite a bit. "So… us being… us, we checked it and your friend here was about to be killed by another Exorcist in exile."

Rias narrowed her eyes. Issei noted that she had pretty eyes just now because he was staring at the exposed part of her pajama top until she covered it up with her folded hands.

"Strays… So you are Stray Exorcists as well."

"Err… technically, we're more of 'fresh graduates' than Exorcists right now…"

"If you know how much being an Exorcist pays, you'll get it," Freed said, disgruntled. He vividly remembered his first paycheck; a loaf of bread, some canned beans, some money to buy a decent pizza, and 'appreciation' and 'exposure'.

"...How can I be sure that you're not the reason behind the murders?"

"Murders?" Issei's eyes widened one size. "We don't do murders."

"Yeah. Above all, we know the value of life; a great deal of money."

Rias gingerly glanced at her Servants, who were still unsure on how to approach these considerable foes with strange backgrounds.

"You're… an Exorcist that murders people for money?"

"No, no. We have principles. Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre. No killing without payment."

"Of course," Freed backed him up. "We're not savages. We give receipts."

Rias was now visibly distraught. "...How does admitting that clear your names?"

"We're hitmen. We hit men," Issei paused, reconsidering his words. "Like, hit to kill. Not just hit."

'So 'Killmen'?' Freed thought to himself, but he decided it sounded like a club made by extreme men-hating misogynists and therefore stupid.

"I know what hitmen means," Rias said, a bit peeved. Admitting that you are, in fact, mercenaries — makes you our prime suspects thus far."

"Because if it was us, then we wouldn't be looking for a new customer this soon," Issei griped, annoyed that they might have rivals in this place. "Look, Ms. Devil-Lady, we're gonna be frank with you because it seems like misunderstanding is a running theme here; we just got here today, and we're looking for work, and you seem like you could use someone to help you with your murder problem."

Freed only shrugged at Issei's casual drop of a bombshell. "Honesty's the best policy I guess."

Hearing that, however, the Devils lowered their guards albeit not completely.

"You're mercenaries."

"Yes!" Freed snapped his fingers. "Mercenaries, hitmen, assassins, aspiring manhunters; you name it. We don't care as long as we get paid… And by the way, your friend is still dying."

Break

Once Rias properly dressed herself in semi-formal clothing that wasn't her highschool uniform, and after making sure Akeno was stabilized and properly treated with (by hugging her and transferring her own Demonic Power to speed up her recovery), Rias headed to her clubroom where her two… guests had been made to wait.

"Be careful of them, Prez," Kiba warned her. He was standing by Akeno's room on guard. "I don't think they are the ones behind the murders, but I still don't trust them."

"Don't worry. Me neither," Rias assured her Knight, and she continued her walk. As she entered her clubroom, she found the two young men in the process of devouring their third donuts — much to Koneko's dismay.

"Thanks for the snacks, little girl."

"...Don't mention it… and don't call me little girl. I'm fifteen. Next time you say that, I'll punch your face."

"Fifteen?" Issei perked his head up, wiping a trace of white powder under his nose. Koneko was about to lose it because he was clearly staring at her petite figure. "Ahh, don't worry about it. Some people are late bloomers."

"I'm not. Worried."

"Alright, alright, chill…"

"Don't mind him," the black-haired person said. "He has no tact."

"Like you're one to say."

Preparing herself mentally, Rias finally made her way to the sofa across their seats, and sat on the middle.

"Right," Issei wiped his hands with the nearby tissue paper, crumpling it and handing it over to Freed, who subconsciously grabbed it and got annoyed that he was handed literal trash. "Let's talk business."

Rias folded her hands, holding her elbows on each palm. "First of all, let me apologize for our rash actions. We have been on edge as of late due to the killing."

Both Issei and Freed nodded sympathetically, but they really just wanted to skip all the bullshit.

"Secondly… you come here offering your services… Which I assume mainly revolves around killing."

"We can 'conveniently misplace stuff at spots that would be easy for you to find' if you'd like," Freed advertised, "but yeah. Lately we just kill and be done with it. It's much less tedious. We're not cheap, mind you."

"Now, now, Kirito-san— I'm positive money won't be the main issue here…" Issei grinned. He didn't know much about furniture or painting, but those Victorian-era-esque furnishings couldn't come in cheap. And carpeted flooring in a school?! These people must be swimming in cash.

"Indeed," Rias acknowledged. You could practically hear the mercenaries' hearts thumping with glee despite their not-so-stoic grin on their faces. "You will be paid appropriately… if you can find our murderer."

"Playing detective eh? Well, we don't do it that much, I'll be honest."

Rias blinked. Why was he selling himself short?

"But… in case you don't… say, fully believe in our capabilities… then perhaps a couple of heads belonging to the Fallen Angels nesting in that church might help convince you otherwise…"

Now Rias was impressed. She knew about their hideout, of course, and she along with Sona had been requesting and waiting for an approval from the bureaucrats so that they could take action. They had received a reply; a quick one, rather. And it was a flat out 'no', written with more than 3,000 words.

Essentially, although those pesky crows had indeed, oftentimes, crossed inside their territory… and even at times, blatantly showed their faces in front of her Servants when they were outside, she was not able to escalate or take action because those Fallen Angels hadn't done a thing. Rias suspected they were behind the murders, but without concrete proof, even she knew better than to bend the rules.

Getting rid of them would be child's play, but the consequences were too great. Yes she was losing some of her contractors, but the Underworld wasn't willing to risk a war for a couple of human souls. They rather sacrifice her name and reputation.

But even so, Rias knew this was the risk of becoming an Overseer. Her case wasn't anything special. She had confided this with Latia Astaroth, and she too, expressed her sympathy, and basically told her to suck it up.

But now that these two men are here…

"Do I need to be concerned about my involvement? I imagine you both are aware of the delicate… fragile 'peace' between our two factions, yes?"

"Ah, privacy? Of course, of course…" Issei smiled. "We have that covered for you, Ms. Gremory. All you have to do is point in a direction, name a few names or numbers… and we'll take care of the rest. We know how to cover our tracks. How to make people permanently disappear. It comes with territory, you see… Once the job is done, all you have to do is transfer the money to a certain number that we'll write; untraceable even by the people in your world, and that's that."

"...How long have you been in this… peculiar business?"

Issei glanced at Freed. "...What… 2-3 years?"

"More or less, yeah."

"You have experience then," Rias sighed. "I'm sorry. You just seem… quite young."

"To be professionals?" Issei said, "Ahh, you mean those people with suits? Nahh… People think just because they've seen John Wick all hitmen dress like that. Some probably do, though."

Freed joined in the argument too. "You have any idea how stuffy it is? Sure they're bulletproof, but bulletproof suits won't stop you from being set on fire by magic."

"...I… I see…" Rias muttered in a low voice. Suffice to say, she wasn't at all convinced by these two and would have thought they were posers if not for the fact that they managed to pacify her —admittedly exhausted— Servants in no time and without shedding blood. Hence why she gave them the benefit of the doubt.

"Besides," he continued, this time with an easy smile. "You're quite young yourself, Lady Rias Gremory."

Rias smiled, conceding her point. "Touché."

That was a relief. They looked and acted like bumbling fools, but this might just be their ploy to lower her guards and underestimate them.

At least that was what she thought.

In reality, Issei and Freed were just simply born this way.

"How can I be certain that you won't stab me in the back? Or sell me out?"

"Well there's this thing called 'trust'..." Freed said meticulously, before adding in an anticlimactic manner, "and cash on delivery."

"And our own clients are the only thing we refuse to sell," Issei then assured. "It's bad taste, and it's also the fastest way to ruin all the trust you've built."

Rias nodded thoughtfully. She was still a stranger to the world of hitmen, in all honesty — she knew they were often employed by other Overseers for things like this. The main problem with them was their loyalty.

It could be bought.

So she had to make sure that nobody, at least not her imminent enemies in this town, could outbid her.

"What about proof?"

"It'll extend the job a few days," because they'd have to get a printer first to print out the photos, "but we'll send you an envelope. It'll be brown, won't have any name, addresses, no magic or all that mumbo jumbo stuff. Just a plain brown envelope. Inside will be pictures," he left out the details as he was sure Rias knew what he meant. "Once you're satisfied, though, we suggest you immediately burn them. Or keep them for souvenirs if you're into that. We won't judge," he shrugged. "We don't care what you want to do with those things; but by that point, our hands are clean, and you can safely assume we're already out of town."

Rias furrowed her brows. "What kind of sick person would want to keep those?"

"You'd be surprised," answered Freed.

Rias shuddered. Appearance could be deceiving indeed. If these people were hacks, then she must say they'd been doing a great job in selling her their lies. …Especially at this… 'Gojou' person…

'Shirt, shorts, and slippers…? Really…?'

"I… don't think I will require the pictures," she then decided. Fallen Angels or not, being sent photographs of dead bodies was still morbid. "I'm certain I can find out if they are dispatched within the next few days."

Issei clasped his hands. "Works for us. How would you like to be informed that we've done our job?"

"We have cellphones you can hold on to. It'll fry its card with the push of a button — just make sure you don't push it before we contact you."

"I suppose I'll rely on trust," Rias smiled. "As for your fees… may I propose… let's say, a thirty percent down payment?"

Rias saw how their eyes lit up and nearly smirked. Koneko thought these two were the lowest of lives but kept it to herself. In her chest. Her small, tiny chest.

"Of course, of course," Issei said with a great smile. "How much are you willing to pay per head?"

That put her into a deep thought. She was expecting them to name the value, not hers… But then again, this might be a test. Set it too low, and they might laugh at her. Too high, and they'd squeeze her dry.

Of course, this was the speculation in her mind.

In reality, the two were simply unsure about the price value in this part of the world, and they certainly knew Euros had more value than Yen unless the stock market crashed again or Europe re-enacted the 1987 Black Monday.

"These are simply stragglers of no importance… Niggling annoyance, at most," the hitmen prepared their hearts to hear a low number as Rias spoke, "therefore… five hundred thousand per head? In Yen, that is."

Issei and Freed paused for a moment, and stared at each other, blinked, and back at her. At the time, Rias and Koneko were holding their breath because they thought she offered it too low.

"How much is that in Euros?"

"...Ah, in that case then… Shall I pay you in Euros instead then?"

"That would be great, yeah."

"Let's see here… assuming 1 Euro is 125 Yen, then— exactly four thousand."

"Huh. It ain't that different then," Freed muttered with mild surprise, allowing Rias another discreet sigh of relief.

"Is that acceptable?"

"Verily," Issei said as he stood up, as did Freed. Not because he was aware of his intention, but because Issei stood up and he supposed he should as well. "Since this isn't your initial intended work for us, you can forget about the down payment… Be ready to pay up. We'll be back before you know it."

"Y-you're leaving right now?"

"Yeah. I mean… it's still 2. Time is money, y'see."

"There are at least two dozen of them," Rias said as a word of caution. "Have you no need for preparation?"

"Ehh… we like to improvise."

"Relax, we know our stuff," Freed took out a small notepad out of the pockets on the underside of his navy green Exorcist jacket, and quickly wrote down a chain of numbers. Though he didn't look like it, he was the one with better handwriting. "Twenty heads eh? That'd be… bah, you're prolly better at math than me. See you people in half an hour."

As Rias gingerly took the piece of paper, the two young men walked out the door without a care in their world. No one would ever suspect these two were sellswords. But she supposed that's what made them more uncanny. If 'Kirito' was wearing casual clothing instead, she might not be able to discern him from the common people. Same with 'Gojou'.

She had no doubt those were merely fake names, but she didn't press; she could think of a few reasons why they kept their name hidden.

And they were skilled as well... at least knew how to fight. And that Gojou... Those were the wings of a Dragon. There was no mistaking it. She was tempted to try and attempt to coerce them into becoming a part of her Peerage, but did she really want to have people like these? Amoral people who see chaos as a ladder? An opportunity instead of the gaping pit it is?

Not a chance. She'd never expose her Servants to people like them more than she should. They should remain her business contacts. Not anything further.

But still… to think that hired killers like these might be walking around her all along… and without her knowing until it was painfully obvious…?

"..." That night, Rias Gremory became a little bit paranoid.

"Are you sure about this, Buchou? Those two look like scammers."

She allowed herself to smile. "It's a gamble, I'll admit... At worst, I'll have to report them."

"If you say so. ...I don't think we should let Sona-senpai finds out about this."

"No. We shan't. She won't take the chance," but that was what made them different. Rias took chances instead of waiting for certainty. "And... Koneko...?" she turned to her Servant. "How tired are you?"

"...A bit…" Koneko scratched the nape of her neck. "But I will follow them if you need me to, Buchou."

"Could you please?" She hated to ask her this, but she wanted to be sure. She would have gone for herself but Koneko was better than her in hiding, and she had to watch over Akeno later on. Kiba hadn't had any decent rest since yesterday and it showed. Well... neither did Rias herself, but she should manage another day.

Break

"Playing detectives? HAH! Fuck that! We're boutta get loaded!"

"And in one night!" Issei laughed as they continued their leisure walk down the town's barren park. Only the shadows kept them accompanied. "Dude, let's hit a resort this week."

"This week? Why not tomorrow?"

"We just got here."

"And?"

"Won't make much sense if we immediately pack up and leave."

"Why not? Our house is haunted."

"Oh right!" Issei smacked his hands. "Let's go tomorrow then. Or, like, this afternoon."

"Sure, sure. You always talked about that open bath thing. Whatsthatname?"

"Onsen?"

"Yeah. That. Been meaning to try that now that we're in this friggin island… Isn't that basically a spa?"

"Basically, but more natural and open. I guess. I dunno, I've never been in one but apparently it's more relaxing than a spa. You're normally not allowed to wear clothes but screw that."

"Yeah, as if I'd go buck naked on a bath with you in it."

"You would if there's scantily-clad women in it. In fact, you already have."

"Oh right…" Freed recalled that one wild night. "Good times, good times…" he calmed down his laughter as he whispered to his accomplice, "...Hey. She's no longer tailing us, right?"

"Nope. She scrammed the moment we dealt with those ravens. Not our problem if she got spotted," said Issei as pulled his elbow for a whiff. "...I kinda smell like blood, shit."

"Your fault for punching them too hard."

"Yea but I didn't know they'd explode," bemoaned the brown-haired former Exorcist. At least most of the blood and viscera splattered on his scale mail instead of his shirt…

"What about me?" Freed then turned his shoulder around, insinuating his partner to check his clothes. "Do I have any on me?"

"Nope. You're clean."

"Keheheh~ just as practiced… That's why I'm telling you, dude; use a sword. One stab through the heart and they'll drop like flies. 'Sides, it's way more convenient than your long stick with a pointy end. Gets stuck less often too."

"It's called a halberd," Issei grumbled. He did not spend his youth learning and mastering the halberd, how to hook and cut and stab, all for it to be called 'a stick with a pointy end'. "...You have a point though."

"Right? It's better to be diverse. Have more variety, y'know. Oh, oh, why don't you try out those punch daggers? Y'know, the one Hassan used? The ones that look like brass knuckles but with a dagger strapped on it?"

"Oh yeah…" He raised an eyebrow out of interest. "Still gotta find them first, though."

"Or just use a gun. You still got room in that thing, right?"

"Yeah, but, why use a gun if I can fire a bullet with my hand?"

"...I dunno… Cuz it's a lot cooler? And with a gun, let's say, a .22, you can at least shoot a robber in your house and still hear if you miss. Meanwhile, if you fired that fucking cannon, you'll shoot through the guy, through the wall, you'll blow your dog's brains out and like, blow the engine outta your car."

And they laughed and exchanged jokes in laughter. The park was devoid of people so they didn't bother much with controlling their volumes. At least until they arrived near the center, where a water fountain could be spotted in the darkness.

"Hang on…" Issei patted Freed's shoulder — a code for him to stop. "My internal radar just detected something."

"Huh? Again?"

{I'm not your 'radar'!} Ddraig shouted in complaint but was mostly unheard.

"Yeah there's people up ahead."

"Devils?"

Issei paused, sniffing once. "...No but they're using cheap perfumes. It's a Fallen Angel and a human. They're not moving… At least not yet. It's someone from the church — she smells divine."

"Just because they smell good doesn't mean they're from a church, y'know."

"No, you moron, I mean their smell reeks of Divine Power."

"Well why don't you say that?"

Issei ignored the jibe. "Why don't you scout ahead?"

"Alright, stay here," Freed said, as he blitzed into the darkness ahead, using the sparse trees as cover and masking his footsteps by stepping on the grass, ignoring the sign that he shouldn't be doing that.

Within the count of seconds, he was back, and Freed looked like his wallet had gone missing.

"So?"

"You're right, it's someone from our end."

"Who is it?"

"You won't believe this; it's Asia."

Issei relaxed. "Well we are in Japan."

Freed glared. "Why would I be talking about a continent you mongoloid— I mean Asia! The person!"

"Seriously? Our sweet, big booba'd, blonde hair, green eyes, bit clumsy, easy-to-bully, big sister Asia?"

"Yeah. Her."

Issei huffed, his brows furrowing. "First Xenovia and now her? Did the Church just like to exile people to Japan? But this is great news. Isn't it?"

"Maybe, mostly? But not just that," Freed continued. "I think she's being mugged by a crow. I think."

"What? Then why didn't you help her?"

"Well… that's because the crow's wearing some… kinky suit. Might be some exhibitionist play. I dunno. I'm not sure. You know how freaky the Fallens are with their sexual fantasies and this is coming from me."

True.

Issei shuddered.

"But this is Asia we're talking about…"

"Yea but… what if that's the reason why she's exiled in the first place…?"

"...Hell are you talking about."

"We never found out why, did we?"

"Are you implying she's into public play?"

"Well who knows?! They always said to be wary of the quiet ones!"

Issei pondered for a few moments. "...Well… I mean… you're not wrong, but… it's just… hard to wrap my head around it… But it can't be that!" he affirmed. "Hell, dude, we're the ones that caused her to be chased away, remember? We're supposed to kill some prick— some… Devil fuckers that touch nuns. We didn't because of her, remember?"

"...Merda, you're right," Freed muttered. He recalled that particular scene as though it was his favorite film noir; late in December, before sunrise. Snow was falling. Everything was white for the most part except for the snow around the Devil's body since he was bleeding quite heavily and was positively dying. They were about to complete their contract. And they would have, and should have, if not for her.

They had forgotten that it was one of the few days when she was allowed outside, and though they tried to keep an eye on the Devil, the bastard had slipped away as more and more people began to fill the streets. He ran away from the country before they could catch him.

Fifty thousand Euros.

Gone.

But… Well… they couldn't stay mad at her anyway.

They did, however, feel their first gutpunch once they discovered of her exile; because she healed the Devil they failed to kill in time.

"I think I forgot because it's just too traumatic for me. Like a buried memory," Freed admitted.

"Who gives a shit," Issei snapped, feeling bad at the very next second. "…I mean, I do, man. I felt awful too, but now's not the time to be sappy. Is she alright? Does she look like she needs help?"

Freed shook his head and sobered. "Can't tell. I don't have supervision; had to stay hidden, y'know? But I swore I saw the crow caressing her cheek, that's why I'm not sure. I'll act it out if you want."

"No thanks."

"So I went straight here to consult."

"And I appreciate that," Issei offered his fist, and Freed bumped it with his. "We should at least say hi—"

"Someone! Help! Please!"

And with that desperate cry for help, belonging to a familiar voice, the two yet-to-be-paid headtakers rushed down the park without any further delay, in white and red blur.

Being raised in an orphanage, brothers and sisters came in droves. Some were crafty little bastards like them, some were the kind that gets adopted quickly because of their look and overall agreeable behavior for a kid. But there were those who were forced to stay due to a rather… unfortunate circumstances.

Asia Argento was one of those children. Spent most of her youth in the abbey, but would always visit the orphanage whenever she had the time. She was kind and good and pretty, people thought she was Griselda's sister because of their hair.

For those who were without a parent, she was the closest they had to a mother. Or a sister.

Sure she was a bit clumsy.

Some might say she was too good.

But nobody in this entire Earth could mess with their sister.

Unless that 'nobody' was one of them, of course.

To be continued…

Regulus Arms: How about make Asia older? I think it never done before. Perfect nuns combination for her would be Kiara sessyoin's dynamite body type from Fate Orsola's soft spoken personality from To aru Index. What do you think?

Well there you go folks. If you needed someone to burn at the stake for making Asia older, this is the guy. Btw i sell pitchforks NFTs for $5.99. It's great for forking people on a stake
( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

Alright, real talk. I think making Asia older is a great alternative because then I can give her another role that is neither clingy whiny girlfriend or a comic relief cockblock despised by all. She'll do nicely to balance out our two goblins' insanity

I've set up some plotlines for this story, and… it's actually decent. Obviously i'm biased because I'm the one who thought of it, but hear me out: it's not that bad. And you all know I will have to include Lint Sellzen at one point, because why have 1 when you can have 2?

The boys don't have much aspirations in life yet. They're kinda like me when I'm younger; get money, spend some, save some — but they'll eventually find out what it is that they want. Just need a drive to… hint hint, establish their own organization.

I googled a bit and read a few articles that might lead someone into believing that i want to put a hit on someone, but apparently the price ranges from $250 for like a random guy on the street to $20k for big shots like… big shots people

That's all i wanted to say, really… so uh... bye :^)

Review! Follow! Because reminders to review and follows aren't annoying at all!