The Devil and the Chicken

Chapter 6: Strawberry Flavored Drink

Arc: Monk of Destruction.


Glossary:

"Greetings." Normal speech.

'Greetings.' Thinking speech.

[Greetings.] Comms and phone speech.

{Greetings.} TV and Radio speech.


{START}


~Bazzard Black~ Thursday – TIME: 12:15 PM

"So…"

Bazz veered away from the vending machine and stared at Tatsuki Arisawa, who was leaning by the wall nearby, drinking her strawberry flavored drink.

"…Is it just me or is this school is slowly becoming international?"

Bazz raised an eyebrow before realizing what she meant. Following her line of sight, he found her staring at Hyoudou Issei talking to the one person he did not expect to come to this backend of an academy.

Asia Argento giggled as Issei told her one of his tall tales involving himself, Bazz, and a cat (Long story there, one he does not want to remember) and how Issei helped him out in the incident if you consider running for your life to be helping him out then why not. But Asia did not ask about the truth of his stories and simply enjoyed Issei telling them in his own, annoying way.

Patient girl, Bazz will give her that, not many people would have had that sort of thing with Issei if he didn't have a habit of putting himself over in a story and exaggerate it to a ridiculous degree, which would cause anyone to try and strangle him for it.

It's been three days since the whole Fallen Angels incident in the Church has happened, which made him realize that the week ended way quicker than expected. Almost everything is back to normal…ish. If you consider going to school and getting annoyed by the President of the Student Council who is also a Devil to be normal, then yeah, it is normalish enough in Bazz's book.

But some important stuff has happened these past few days, one of them being Asia Argento, the young Italian girl who now found herself with nowhere to go, found a home by living in the same roof as Issei 'How the kid convinced his parents to let her stay is either a mystery or they want a girl in the house…' thought Bazz, his eyes veering at the two talking amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company.

The other note, which made him a little irate about it, is that Gremory managed to snatch Argento to join her little peerage. How and why that happened can factor on Argento clearly liking Issei, and not the same kind of like he gets from the girls here in Kuoh 'He did save her, so what am I judging her for?' and that little bit of emotion probably factored in joining Gremory's peerage without hesitation along with her not having a home, and being exiled from the Church doesn't exactly give you that many options.

And so, Rias Gremory has her hands in the wielder of Twilight Healing, a Sacred Gear that can heal almost anyone and anything without any sort of negative reaction they might suffer.

Gremory truly lives up to her people's habit of taking advantage of a situation.

"Probably" Bazz shrugged and turned back to the vending machine, putting the coin into the slot "What? Not happy with the takeover?" he noted sarcastically, picking out one of the drinks available to him.

"Hey, I am all for diversity, it helps broaden your horizon" Bazz turned and gave her a look like he was staring at a stranger "What? Oh, don't give me that look ya slacker. Been watching a lot of shows on the internet, nothing wrong with that" Bazz continued staring with half-lid eyes at her "Alright, International Studies"

Bazz scoffed "Never took you for a nerd" he noted as looked over his choices of drinks "And for the record, there aren't that many foreigners in the school, you got Argento over there" he pointed at the blond-haired girl then at himself "And me, and that is about it"

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow "Really? Come on, you got Gremory with their weirdly bright red hair" she noted "Not to mention you got that blond-haired dude, Kiba something, that dude screams European! Even Shitori has that… very exotic look about her"

"Exotic? Seriously" Bazz asked her like she was out of her mind.

"Hey! Don't judge me for appreciating someone's look" Tatsuki defended herself "But you've gotta admit, a lot of people come to this town. It makes you wonder if Kuoh got some serious advertisement over there" she noted, putting a finger under her chin in thought "You guys get any of our stuff in Germany?"

"Don't exactly focus on those types of stuff " he answered, still trying to pick up his drink until Tatsuki pressed on the button of a drink before he could pick his own "I was still picking" he growled at the black-haired teen.

"You were taking too long so I picked it for ya" Tatsuki explained "Maybe your luck with this stuff will be better with a little touch of me."

Bazz grumbled unintelligibly. He will admit, Tatsuki is more observant than he gives her credit for. She has this habit of noticing the littlest of things in a person, be it in appearance or mannerism, it's one of the reasons she always beats him in a fight because, according to her, he has a habit of dropping his hands every time he throws a punch. Added with her very informative way of writing her notes. She puts more into them than any other person he has taken their notes on a lesson he might have missed, and he shared classes with a lot of smart people.

So it wasn't shocking that Tatsuki would notice a lot of students looking different than others. You got every person here looking like they picked a color from a pack of crayons, added with a lot of people coming from Europe 'Allegedly' finding themselves in a small town like Kuoh. And in Japan, you don't just find yourself in such a small town and people wouldn't be noticing.

He was a little worried when she noticed some changes in Issei and was suspicious of Asia on the first day but quickly buried it behind her mind after a couple of interactions with Asia. Tatsuki quickly took a shine into liking her right away.

Tatsuki is the only person he knows, and there aren't that many, that is not aware of the whole supernatural world that is surrounding her, which is for the best, sometimes living in bliss; unaware of the horrors that hide in the shadow is a whole better than living in it.

'So why am I overthinking about this?' he asked himself, before hearing a clicking sound inside the vending machine.

Sighing, he opened the bin and grabbed his drink "Oh hell… seriously?" he asked, showing his drink to Tatsuki, the drink she picked.

"Wow," Tatsuki said in a mocking tone "I never knew you liked Strawberry"

Bazz glared at her "I still have no idea why you like this stuff" he raised his newly bought drink "This crap tastes way too sweet for me"

Tatsuki scoffed "It's sure as hell is a much better choice than whatever you were getting," she said in a confident tone "And don't diss on my strawberry" she raised her strawberry-flavored drink "They are awesome and gives me happiness"

"Whatever…" he opened the can and took a quick sip. Grimacing from the taste "Too sweet…"

Tatsuki shook her head and went to her strawberry drink, turning to Issei and Asia, and going back to her thoughts. Bazz noticed she's been doing that since Asia arrived in the academy two days ago, and he can't blame her for being suspicious of this whole situation. An Italian girl arrives in Kuoh town, not exactly a place known for anything of interest. The Church was closed long even after she arrived, officially. And now, Hyoudou Issei of all people is not only familiar with her, but also lives in the same roof? And enrolled in Kuoh Academy and is part of the famed ORC from day one? the same club where people would sell their left leg to join? Yeah, even a blind monkey would notice something is wrong with this whole thing.

'Devils making any situation more confusing than it has any right to be...'

Walking through the hallway, Bazz took lead as the other three followed behind him.

"So how's the job search going?" Tatsuki suddenly asked nonchalantly, both of her hands behind her back as she walked by Bazz's side "Something to do with you needing to pay up your apartment?"

Bazz quickly swiveled his head to glare at Issei, not happy with anyone knowing what he is doing these past two days.

Issei raised his hands in fear "She had me in a headlock! I didn't have any choice!" he defended himself "Ask Asia! She saw how I got bullied into it!"

Asia couldn't help but let out a small "Eh?" after hearing her name "I do not remember anything, Issei-san" she said innocently and honestly.

"You" he pointed at Issei, his tone tuning low and menacing "Need to know the fucking meaning of privacy and keeping a simple secret" he warned the brunette. If that took for Issei to admit something as simple as him looking for a job with just a headlock, how much more can Tatsuki get out of him if she asked the right questions.

Like the ORC…

'Nah… he can keep important secrets…' he sighed, once again overthinking the circumstances. This was just a small unimportant secret. Bazz would have probably asked Tatsuki about it sooner or later 'But he sure falters quick…'

"No, didn't find anything yet," said the German, hands in his pockets "Most of the places I went all told me I didn't fit their employee criteria. Whatever the hell that meant" he emphasized the word fit in a mocking tone "Even the kid backing me up wasn't enough to change their mind"

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, intrigued "What places did ya ask for a job?"

"The local grocery market near my house" Issei revealed in his stead "Even went to the mall and asked some of the places if they can give Bazz a job but they all said the same" he laughed in embarrassment, "I think maybe your rep is hampering a bit there" he eyed Bazz's hair "And probably the hair"

Bazz turned to Issei "Are you telling me to cut it or something?"

"What? Oh! No that is not what I am saying!" Issei raised his hand in defense once more "Just… make it presentable?"

"Fuck off" Bazz chided in irritation but he had to agree with Issei in this one. Most of the places quickly told him no based on his appearance and his reputation, there aren't that many red-headed German with his description walking around a Japanese town for anyone to take a quick guess who he was. So most of the local places knew him long before he even met them, and those who knew him quickly refused his request.

"Even that grocery store?" Tatsuki wondered in shock "What for? That place gets anyone to work with them, even the assholes troublemakers worked there."

"I…" Bazz thought over his next set of words before answering "Might have thrown someone through the store window during a fight…"

"Seriously?"

Bazz sighed, aware of what's coming next "And…. I've probably thrown the same guy through it five times and flipped the owner off after he complained."

"Seriously?! Hahaha!" Tatsuki laughed at the German "Now I can see why everyone doesn't want your sorry ass working for them. No, sorry, I meant the King of Kuoh working for them," she cited mockingly at his name "Girls can't get close to you for a confession without you telling them to F off, now even stores avoid you!"

He glared at the black-haired girl, his reputation will forever be the bane of his existence the longer he stays in this school, and in this town, which grows forever annoying by the day.

To this day, he has no clue just how the hell he got that nickname. It just... happened one day.

'I really need to keep up with this mess...'

Bazz felt a hand on his shoulder and found Issei giving him a sympathetic look along with Asia.

'You've got to be kidding me…'

Quieting down her laughter, Tatsuki wiped away the tears "Ah… thanks for that, been a while since I had a good laugh."

"…Whatever" he muttered and continued his stride, already back in a foul mood.

"Wait," Issei came in between them, turning to Tatsuki and asked "What about working at your place? I am sure your aunt will let Bazz work in the dojo?"

"Nah, that's like sending you to a death sentence," Tatsuki scoffed and turned to Bazz "No offense, but my aunt has this weird way of hiring people by fighting them one on one" she explained, sounding exhausted like this wasn't the first time someone asked her for the job "If ya think fighting me is a hassle, my aunt is a whole other level when it comes to dealing an ass-whooping" she took a sip from her strawberry drink "The old lady can still kick my ass any day of the week."

Bazz felt a sweat drop from his head, judging from her tone, her aunt was probably the one who trained her, meaning she is a whole other monster should Bazz decides to take up the offer and work under her family dojo.

An image of an older woman looking like Tatsuki throwing him around and telling his reactions sucks quickly came to his mind.

"No," he said with a firm tone and Tatsuki nodded in understanding. He is trying to collect money, pay rent, and move on with his life. Not making it harder by getting beat up by old folks.

"Hey, now that you reminded me" Tatsuki brought out her wallet "I remember hearing that they were shorthanded…" searching through her wallet, she smiled after finding what she was looking for "Here, I worked with them last summer when my aunt closed the dojo up during that time. Good folks, a bit of a hardass but you'll like them" she held up a white card to Bazz.

Taking it, Bazz read its content and raised a lone eyebrow.

"Unagiya shop?" he read the card title aloud "And why is the text pink?" he asked, Tatsuki shrugged in response.

"Unagiya?" Issei read the title while leaning close to Bazz's shoulder, his tall height eclipsing the second year significantly, so he had to toe to reach to his shoulder, even if barely "We have an eel shop in town?"

Tatsuki sighed, rubbing her hair in irritation "It ain't an eel shop. They do errands and odd jobs" she explained "The name just confuses people into thinking that they sell eels"

Bazz's understanding of Japanese can be seen by some to be fluent, but even he gets confused about some parts of the language. And that is trying to differentiate between dialects, which is very important because you can talk in a certain accent in one area in Japan only to go to another area and find out that their accent is a whole other dialect that confuses the hell out of everyone involved.

He is still working on that part, with mixed results.

The other problem that gets him confused is the names as it's very important in Japan and its meanings, one name can mean an animal and people will presume that you are associated with it. Sometimes your old grandpa did something horrible and people will judge you over it because of the name, and vice versa if they did some good with their life. Hell, it even gives you luck with your life.

Japan can be frustratingly confusing sometimes…

"They ain't the sort of people who just hire you know, they'll interview ya first," said the black-haired teen.

"That's fine, nothing wrong in getting to know the people who are hiring you" Bazz shrugged, he found the cell number at the bottom of the card, maybe later today he'll give them a call. Turning to Tatsuki, who was explaining to Asia about eels, weird conversation to talk with a nun "What kind of jobs these people usually take?" he asked.

"Errands and Odd-jobs or whatever the people who hire you gives out" Tatsuki explained "I can't give you what to expect because you can get just about anything if it wasn't breaching the contract"

"Contract?"

"Yeah, it's just there to make sure the shop wasn't dealing with anything illegal or something" she explained, drinking her strawberry flavored drink "If you are worried I can vouch for you. The pay is decent and the clients give out tips if ya did a good job out of it"

"Hmm…" Bazz stared at the card before pocketing it "I'll give them a call"

Tatsuki gave him a thumbs up "Sweet! Maybe my vouching worked a whole lot better than Issei"

"Hey! I did my best in backing Bazz up!"

"Not really" Bazz noted, they stopped their walk and stood near his and Tatsuki's classroom "You gave up pretty easily when they brought up their reasons and didn't bother convincing them"

Issei gawked at the German, feeling betrayed by his criticism. Desperate, he turned to Asia, the one person who will praise him no matter what.

"Uhmm…" Asia turned red after noticing Issei's hopeful gaze "You… You can do better next time Issei-san! Even if you failed in helping Bazz-san! Don't let it bring you down!" she bawled her fists and gave him a wide smile "I believe in you!"

Issei looked like he had his heart shattered.

"Thank you, Asia… thank you…" he said in a downtrodden tone, seeming broken from her honest answer of his failure and her praise "You are too kind for me…"

Bazz couldn't help but scoff and took another sip from his drink, grimacing from the taste of the flavor.

'Too sweet… sheesh… who likes Strawberry drinks…'

He took another sip, grimaced, and continued with his day in Kuoh Academy.


{D&C}


~Student Council~ TIME: 04:00 PM

"So far, every sports club except for one has submitted their suggestions and reports for the Sports Festival next month" Tsubaki reported, standing by her President's side as she listened closely.

They've just finished examining the papers submitted by the clubs on what they will be presenting for the upcoming Sports Festival. One of the duties of the Student Council in the academy is insuring all preparations for events such as these. With other clubs assisting in the effort. And with it being a sports festival, many of the sport-related clubs in the academy quickly put their energy into making the event go as smoothly as possible.

"Who is left?" Souna asked, taking the report her Vice-President handed it to her.

"The Karate club has yet to submit anything" Tsubaki noted, "I've asked Arisawa-san and she told me to expect it this week because they have yet to get around to it since they came back"

"Tell her she has until next Sunday, Monday at max. They did just came back from the nationals and are now keeping up with their studies" said the Council President.

The Karate club lost in their nationals after going up against some tough competition in the tournament, so she is sure that some are still downtrodden over it, but she trusts Arisawa to send her a report soon. She always appreciated her dedication compared to the other club presidents she deals with

"Saji" Shitori called for her Pawn's attention

"Hai, Kaicho!" Saji stood straight. Like any eager servant waiting for orders.

"Prepare a meeting between all the club presidents with me and Tsubaki," said the President "Tell them to expect it at the most next week"

Saji nodded as he wrote it down on a piece of note he carried around "Do you have a day in mind, Kaicho?"

"We need to check up with the club presidents when they are all available, but next Thursday sounds preferable"

Saji nodded and wrote it down on his notepad.

"Now, is there anything else that is needed to be addressed?" she asked her Council, but received no answer, smiling, Souna continued "Good, now that we got that out of the way, remember that all of us have exams coming in the next three weeks. So we will have one more meeting next week then I will put them on hold until after the exams are finished…"

Some of the members groaned in the realization of the upcoming exams, and Souna sighed at this. She never saw why students found studying a tiresome thing to do.

She tapped her hand on the table, catching their attention "No whining, I will be keeping a close eye on your grades after the exams" her eyes narrowed, focusing on all of her peerage "So do not disappoint me"

The Student Council members let out a collective groan, Saji, however, nodded profusely and fear of her threat. Compared to the others in her peerage who has been by her side for a long time, they have grown used to her threats, even seeing it as a challenge from her, which was the intended reaction the Council President wanted to give to her peerage. You can't truly grow unless you were given the challenge to overcome, and studying for an exam is no different.

Satisfied with the somewhat lukewarm response after a long day's work, Souna nodded at her peerage members "Until then… enjoy the rest of your day" she dismissed them.

As everyone was preparing themselves to leave, Souna went back to reading her report, looking if she missed anything on the upcoming event.

Well… tried to read. Souna's mind has been on whole other topics than the upcoming Sports Festival next month, a whole other set of problems.

As the last one of the Student Council left the room, only Souna and Tsubaki remained, as ever loyal, Her Queen always stayed last before closing the office for the day.

"Is everything alright, Kaicho?" her Queen asked, sounding worried for her King "You seem to be… distracted for the duration of the meeting"

Sona sighed, setting her report down "Was I that obvious?" she asked, she made sure to listen to almost everything for today to make it less apparent, almost. But it seems Tsubaki quickly noticed her behavior.

Tsubaki nodded "Very. You even let Saji-kun present his fight tournament ideas with no interruption" the President flinch, yeah she was distracted to allow Saji to present his ideas without her stopping him "Which reminds me, do you want me to add cage fights as part of the event?" she asked, and Sona sighed, her Queen can be blunt, blunter than she could be.

"No," she cited, putting her report a part of a binder she set up for the festival "I will tell Saji we will not go forward with his foolish idea to regain his pride"

Saji did not hide the fact that Sona inadvertently wounded his pride when he asked her if he could take on Bazzard Black in a straight fight and how she along with the rest of the peerage wholeheartedly agreed Saji would lose, no matter what. But his attempts to find ways to fight Bazz are always met with disapproval from the Council President.

If Saji keeps this up, she will personally discipline the Pawn before Bazz gets his hands on him.

Tsubaki nodded and jotted it down on her note "He will be devastated with the news, Kaicho"

"He will survive" she cited in a bored tone.

Silence came, with Sona fixing her papers into a binder and Tsubaki getting ready to leave. But just as her Vice-President was about to take the first step to the exit, she turned to address her King.

"Is something the matter, Sona-sama?" Tsubaki asked once more, using her first name, a rare thing for her to do unless she was worried "Does it have to do with Gremory-sama's new Bishop?"

Sona scoffed "Certainly not. What and how Rias does with her peerage is her business, even if she should have told me about it like our deal with the Boosted Gear user" she noted in annoyance. Even if she hides it, it still bothered her a bit that Rias got her hands on another Sacred Gear user, and a healer to boot, one whose powers are extremely valuable for Devil kind.

Sona sighed, she has been thinking about it for a few days when Rias revealed it to her, and it intensified when she found out Asia Argento signed into the Academy.

'Rias recruiting the priestess into her peerage is one thing but making her a student in Kuoh would just paint a target to those who are looking into them…' thought the Council President 'If she would have told me about it… I wouldn't be overthinking about this…'

Sighing once more, she tried to control her emotions, a Sitri should not let it consume her over such trivial matter. Rias is a Devil, she took advantage of the situation and Sona commends her for it. Judging her actions would just be a waste of productive time on her part, and she has a more important thing to worry about than a fellow Devil gaining a powerful piece.

Tsubaki's remained staring at her King as if waiting for her to continue with her explanation but Sona quickly changed the topic into other matters, this was not the time to talk over such things "Did Loup send anything from his search?" she asked.

There was some change behind her Queen's eyes, while it remained neutral, even cold, behind them was a small hint of disappointment. But whatever it was, Tsubaki did not voice it out and went and answered her question "Garou-san reported of… odd phenomenon happening around the city," said the Vice-President, standing straight with her hands behind her back "It matches with the same oddities we've been reading about last year, a surge of power in one area, then the death of an innocent bystander in the next"

"Did he find out where it originates?"

Tsubaki shook her head, causing Sona to sigh.

"And so we are back where we started… nothing," Sona pinched the bridge of her nose "Are these series of deaths unconnected?" she wondered tiredly, wondering if all the work they put in this search has been for nothing.

For the past month, Sona has been working on the side of an investigation that she started after reading a report she received. Around Kuoh town, even in neighboring towns, a series of attacks have been happening everywhere to the locals. After careful investigation, it was deemed to be a supernatural problem, but what had her tearing her hair out was the lack of information around these attacks. She chalked it up as possible a Stray Devil attacking people, or even the Fallen Angels that were in Kuoh before Bazzard Black and Hyoudou Issei put an end to them, but neither of those fit the pattern she was getting.

The attacks, those who survived it, all describe some unseen forces were attacking them. Making it impossible for any sort of concrete description to be written down, even with careful investigations. The description that she did manage to get was about those who were killed, the lack of existing wounds and their gaunt appearances solidified that this was something supernatural attacking these people.

"Do we send our findings to Gremory-san? It seems this investigation is not enough with the three of us handling it" Tsubaki asked "Even if we found nothing, Garou-san confirms that something is attacking these people" she noted calmly, but Sona quickly noticed a flair behind her eyes.

"No" she shook her head "We are still unsure what we are dealing with here, dragging her along with this wouldn't solve anything but waste time and resources," said the Sitri heiress and sighed in frustration "I shouldn't have rushed in my investigations and wasted Loup's time and energy over nothing…" she leaned against her leather chair, feeling somewhat defeated.

"I disagree, Sona-sama," Tsubaki noted, her calm tone ever-present "You put the effort in assisting those affected by these attacks. That alone signifies your compassion in caring for those in need even if you are carrying this responsibility on your own"

Sona, for once, even if she was being complimented, felt a sweat drop at her Queen's explanation. Even she acknowledges unnecessary padding and sympathy build to one's reputation.

She can hear Bazzard Black's scoff of being pleased with his assessment of her character.

Sona sighed "I wish my compassion resulted in solving this case. But that would make things easier" she set her binder aside and stood up "For now, tell Loup to take another look at the nearby towns on the recent attacks before coming back" her Queen nodded at the order "And you are right, Tsubaki. This investigation cannot be handled by just you and me and Loup. Next week's meeting, we will involve the rest of the peerage in this one"

Her Queen smiled and bowed "Hai, Kaicho"

For the past few weeks, she thought she would be able to solve this mystery on her own.

But the reasons behind her choice vary that even she didn't have a concrete answer. Was she trying to prove herself to people like Rias that hard work does have its rewards no matter their status? Did her pride finally come her way?

Did she finally become just like her mother?

She sighed, feeling exhausted with this. Tsubaki was right, she cannot shoulder everything on her own. Even Rias, for her pride and sometimes arrogance, relies upon her servants not because she wants to use them, but because she trusts and cares for them.

She trusts her own peerage, it's just her fears engulf her confidence over their safety. Not all of them are as experienced when it comes to handling outward threats, even compared to Rias's own peerage's experience who regularly handles Stray Devils in Kuoh while hers handles the more political problems they might come across, as rare as it is.

But not this time, she took this investigation and put her focus into it, and now she and her peerage will solve it. By hook or by crook.

"Ah, Kaicho" Tsubaki handed Sona an umbrella, "The news said there will be heavy rain today. So I brought in an extra umbrella"

Sona smiled and accepted it "Thank you, Tsubaki"

These past few weeks have been very hectic but with help and effort put into these tasks she put herself into will move just as smoothly as her school life.

And now, she hopes to translate it to her Devil life.


{D&C}


~Bazzard Black~ – TIME: 04:00 PM

"No."

"Come on dude! You didn't even think it over!"

"I did, and it's not changing anytime soon"

Walking through the streets heading home, Bazz and Issei walked side by side with Asia following behind them. A change of the usual routine didn't affect that much, the only difference is Issei putting more attention on Asia than him, which Bazz found a blessing because he can finally think in peace without Issei telling him one of his long-winded useless stories.

"Oh don't be like that. Imagine it! If you join Buchou's side, you'll get support for life! All the money problems you have solved! Not only that, but you also get to fight side by side with the beautiful Number one and two beauties of Kuoh!" he explained, carrying a lecherous grin all the while he started imagining Gremory and Himejima is that imaginative mind of his, the kind Bazz finds annoying "Oh! And you'll get me too as support!"

"Thanks for the useless support but I am good" Bazz noted bluntly, walking forward and not turning to Issei. "And last time I checked Gremory hates my guts" Bazz noted, He wouldn't exactly call it hatred, but Gremory clearly does not like him for the disrespect he was showing to her, the same way Shitori sees him "So I don't expect any of the red carpets if I join her crew"

"I am sure she wouldn't mind" Issei waved it off as if it's an afterthought. Either the kid is that blindly dense to see Gremory not hiding the fact she finds Bazz annoying, or he is too optimistic than he thought. Whatever the case, the German will commend the efforts the Gremory Pawn is putting out for him "Like… yeah, she did mention of wanting to blast you with her magic any time she hears your voice…"

Bazz can't blame her, Shitori has been wishing to do that since she decided to speak to him the first time last year. So another member of the ever-growing 'The Club of Wishing Death upon Bazzard Black' just became bigger.

"…But don't worry about that! For I've been working hard these past few days in clearing your name to Buchou!" said Issei with pride of his effort "And it looks like it's working! Been talking up to you regularly whenever we have a meeting! Even the others seem to agree with me! Akeno-san is helping out too!"

Bazz felt that sounded too ominous if Himejima is helping the kid out in trying to recruit him, he was always uncomfortable being around Himejima for a while, and her helping Issei out just made it worse.

The brunette turned to Asia "Don't you agree, Asia? Do you think my stories are finally getting to Buchou to ease up with Bazz!"

"Uhmm… I… I think you've made it worse, Issei-san" Asia answered with an honest tone, turning to Bazz, she gave him an apologetic look "I am sorry, Bazz-san but Buchou does not like you that very much…"

Bazz snorted "Gee, now that's news" he cited in sarcasm and turned to Issei, who looked dejected after Asia revealed the truth, feeling like he would be twisting the knife more with his answer but Bazz did not care, he just wants to move on and keep his head down from all the supernatural mess "Look, I appreciate what you are doing, but the answer is still the same"

Issei became more dejected "Oh man… I even planned out how I will make you my Queen when I get my own peerage"

Bazz had to fight the urge to not smack him right then and there for the comment.

"That's alright, Issei-san!" Asia patted the boy's shoulder, smiling in support "I can be in your peerage!"

"Asia-chan!" he cried out in joy "Your support fills my heart!"

Bazz had to control himself from scoffing, he noted he's been controlling his temper far more than his liking and it is slowly killing him.

"Say, did you call the place Tatsuki told you about?" Issei asked.

"I did after class. They told me to come over tomorrow after school for an interview" Bazz noted and shrugged "Didn't exactly expect to get one this soon but what the hell, I got nothing else to do. And Tatsuki said she'll show where it is, so I'll have company"

Tatsuki wasn't able to come with them after school was finished. Said something about finishing a report for the Student Council, so she'll be busy today. Tomorrow, however, she said she can come with them to show where the place was and hopefully talk to the owner that he wasn't a menace to society at large just because he looks the way he does.

'Unagiya Shop... sure sounds promising... hope I can pay the rent for this month...'

The trio continued their walk, with Issei and Asia continuing with their conversations, which was mostly about Asia's experience in the Academy so far, even if she shares the same class with Issei 'Which makes me wonder which sorry sap that got the ax for Asia to take their place in his class' Bazz thought.

Bazz saw something coming up and nodded at Issei who acknowledged back. Slowing their stride to a halt. They found themselves staring at the roadside memorial they visit every once in a while to pay their respects to the deceased. The memorial still carried the air of solemn around it, the altar left unchecked and taken care of only by family and some friends and even respectable strangers like themselves who keep an eye out for its sacredness.

'They finally left the glass alone this time…' thought Bazz in relief after noticing the glass of water with the flower, the one he and Issei put last week, still stood neatly in its place, along with another batch of fresh flowers, possibly left by the girl's family.

He did not know the girl, never even met her as by the time he came to Kuoh she was already gone from this world. But he made it a habit to visit and pay his respects, even if it means doing it to a complete stranger.

Why? He does not know.

Was it because he pitied the family? All because one day he saw the mother of the girl crying by herself by the shrine with no shoulder to support her? Because he was too much of a coward to help a grieving mother?

Or was it an excuse to try and find something that isn't there? Something to respect even if he has nothing to do with it.

Something he lost a long time ago.

He wanted to say it didn't matter his reasons for doing this, but he knows there was a reason, and that is to compensate for himself, as selfish as it sounds and he can't deny the fact he is doing this more to himself than for the girl.

And he hated doing it, not to the girl, she deserved than whatever the cards life handed to her, but to himself.

All the information he got was from Issei, and even that is nothing but small info because the second-year wasn't that well acquainted with the family, only that they lived in their neighborhood and his parents knew hers. Maybe that is one of the reasons why Issei got along with this routine Bazz made more to himself. He never asked why Issei decided to go along with it, and Issei never asked him why Bazz started doing it, they just did, and if the kid sees it as a way to help someone out, then so be it.

Issei got down to fix some of the flowers neatly with Asia helping him. The girl became a part of their routine after she started hanging out with them, and her work as a sister of the church came to use as she was able to do a better job in placing the flowers in presentable places for everyone to see it.

"And… there!" Issei proclaimed as he managed to fix the flower "That should do it" he stood up and took a few steps back, giving space and respect to the shrine.

Asia nodded and clasped her hands together.

"Oh Lord- OW!" She clutched her head, feeling the divine punishment upon her for praying. Another side effect of being a Devil is the weaknesses against anything related to Heaven and the Big Man himself. And for someone as religious as Asia, it would make it hard for her to get used to it, especially if you grow up in a church all your life.

Issei patted her on the shoulder as he consoled her, sympathetic with her plight with the inability to pray like she always has.

He remembered something Issei mentioned to him about her cross...

Bazz sighed and grabbed on the chain wrapped around his belt

"Here…" He unhooked the chain that held his cross off his belt and handed it to Asia.

"Eh?" Asia stared at the cross before realizing what he was doing "Oh! There is no need for that, Bazz-san!" she said, but Bazz noticed she was eyeing the cross with a look of fear, and not the Devil kind "I still have my rosary that I brought with me from home!"

He wanted to correct her that this wasn't a cross but he bit his tongue, it's useless information anyway "But can you hold it?" Bazz asked and his question stabbed her like a knife to the heart.

Out of shame, possibly out of the inability of praying as she used to, nodded hesitantly.

He sighed, the look she carried reminded him of a kid finding out Santa Clause wasn't real, except this one had to do with the fact you can no longer practice the very thing you were raised to do, and compared to most, Asia found happiness in praying and being under the Lord's light as some of the priests say.

"Look, I am not trying to judge you and clearly you are still… acclimating… with this whole Devil" Bazz grabbed the cross by its chain and raised up, its silver frame shining through from the dimming sunlight "But imagine it like you moved in a new place, adjusting to the environment or close to it. I know I had to do that when I came here, so I had to find ways to get used to my situation with something familiar" he brought the cross forward "Here, don't worry, you won't get hurt"

"You… you don't need it?"

"Don't exactly pray so no, you can have it"

Azazel will understand him giving away what basically is a weapon of mass destruction to someone else, but he can imagine the Fallen Angel not minding him giving it away. Thanks to Azazel, who designed the damned thing, the cross's main control reacts only to him on command, so it's safe in the hands of anyone else.

He'll give the old goat credit, he can a genius when it comes to building this sort of stuff, even if he can a lecherous bastard finding ways to annoy Bazz.

"But isn't it like… apart of your powers? How will you use it without that cross?" Issei asked curiously. Bazz explained to him the basics of how his powers work and with the cross acting like a focal point of focus for him to able to create his weapons, not just bow and arrows, but any other weapon he can think of on a moment's notice.

Bazz's hand went to his neck, grabbing the chain that was wrapped around it "I already have a spar" he noted, showing them the pentacle he used back in the Church "Thing is smaller and less apparent than this damn thing" he explained. The pentacle is smaller in the frame compared to the cross, and being more comfortable to walk around with just made it better.

Another note Bazz made was his powers. He felt… powerful, more so ever since he first came to Kuoh. Whatever he did in his fight against Kalawarner somehow made him powerful, not as he was before coming to Japan, but certainly getting closer.

'Azazel was right… my powers aren't completely gone… just dormant…' he noted inwardly, when he absorbed the Kalawarner's holy blade in their fight, something within him woke up. The usage of his powers did not hinder him as much like before. Which made him wonder… how much more he can do…

Slowly and hesitantly, Asia stretched her hand and touched the cross, possibly out of existing fear of being stung. Her finger touched the cross, and nothing of an effect came. Eyes widened, she clutched the cross with her hand, tears of joy falling as Bazz let the cross go and Asia brought the cross close to her heart.

She knows she can no longer pray like she used to, but this small thing he has done, giving her the cross, giving her something she is familiar with should help her with the process of adjusting with her situation. Issei can be there to support here, but emotional support comes in many forms, and familiarity is one of them.

Issei smiled at Asia's happiness as she continued studying the cross close before turning to Bazz with a grin "You know, Bazz. Sometimes you can be a dick but you are a good guy underneath all that dickish personality you got going" he gave the German a thumbs up "I am proud of you!"

"Why do you make it sound like I am hopeless" Bazz gave him an annoyed look and sighed, feeling more tired than necessary.

"Hey, now that reminds me of the talk you just did. What did you do that you were familiar with?" Issei asked and Asia turned her attention to Bazz, curious too.

He raised an eyebrow but shrugged, no harm in revealing that part about himself.

"Gardening" he answered bluntly, sounding proud. Remembering the potted plants back on his apartment balcony he's been taking care of for the past few months.

"…"

"…"

He was taken aback at their silence.

"What?" he asked. Issei had his mouth agape while Asia seemed shocked before smiling.

"Wait… wait…" Issei began scratching his head, dumbfounded with the tall student's answer "You… you do gardening?" he asked, letting out a small chuckle under his breath, which Bazz noticed.

"What's so wrong with me gardening?" he asked, annoyed.

"Nothing!" Issei raised his hands in defense, fearful as Bazz's glared down at the second-year "There- There is nothing wrong with gardening! Or that you are doing it!" he cited nervously, but Bazz can see he was holding back from saying anything. Another bout of an intense glaring and Issei relented "It's… gardening is like… really the last thing I expected you to do"

Bazz's eyes narrowed "What did you expect my hobby to be?" he asked, his tone growing dangerously low.

Issei gulped in fear but soldiered on, feeling he can't show weakness in front of Asia. "Uhh…" he flinched, feeling embarrassed at the weak tone he was using "…something that involves punching?"

Bazz continued glaring at the brunette, feeling offended at the presumption that someone like him wouldn't do anything as simple as gardening. But people's perception of him being as nothing more than a simpleton because of his hairstyle and, admittedly, difficult to deal with personality. So he won't blame Issei for perceiving that way, he doesn't exactly tell the boy what he does in his free time and most of what he sees him is beating up people trying to start something.

Then again, he feels the urge to punch something right now.

Asia clapped her hand, smiling at the German "Well... I say that is a beautiful hobby to have, Bazz-san" she cited, giving him a supportive smile.

"Thanks for the support" Bazz noted, smiling before turning back to Issei and giving him a nasty glare "Unlike some people-"

"Hey! I found the bastard! He is right over there!"

The trio swiveled their heads at the sound of the voice, and was met with the most unexpected annoyance Bazz has laid his eyes on. As footsteps, numerous of them began to echo around the road they stood in. Asia and Issei's shoulders tense up, sensing some danger approaching them.

A group of ten people, each of them wearing what looks like a high school uniform from the neighboring school.

A local delinquent crew. Clearly aiming their focus on Bazz whose infamy around town has reached the point a lot of gangs were trying to fight him just for recognition.

And honestly, it is starting to be tiresome.

"Remember me! Chickenhead! You will pay for what you did!" the leader spoke up, he was the tallest of the bunch. Walking in front of the gang with a sneer on his face. He had his face bandaged up, his nose completely covered, and his left ear. His dark brown hair is made in a cornrows hairstyle, weird style to be sporting; with a small, if a little pathetic looking mustache.

Bazz scratched his head in confusion, a contrast to Issei and Asia, he did not seem all that worried in staring down a large gang contingent "And you are?"

"Motherfucker! I am Yokochini!" he spat out in anger "You pulled out my awesome chain last month and almost cut off my ear because of it!" shouted the delinquent in anger, almost crying from the memory "Even beat up my crew with my beautiful bike!"

"…" Bazz continued staring at him for another five seconds before shaking his head "Still nothing"

The leader, Yokochini, gritted his teeth in anger, tightening his grip with his chain he had wrapped around his hands. The rest of his crew followed, tightening their bat closely.

"Uhh… dude… I think I know them" Issei whispered to Bazz eyeing some of the delinquents and recognizing them "They are from Karakura… the same ones you threw from the bridge that one time?" The brunette studied the one with bandages over his face and grimaced "And I think you pulled his earrings that one time"

"Bazz-san!" Asia exclaimed in horror with this bit of information "That is very mean of you!"

Bazz sighed and pinched his nose "How do you even remember them? I can barely remember what I eat for the last hour" he asked him, he'll admit, all these fast are just grouped together to the point he can't differentiate them. Even if you had a gun to his head, he cannot tell the difference between any of these fights.

"They… kinda tried to throw me off that same bridge that one time" Issei noted, flinching from the memory of being dangled at the edge of the bridge that one time "Can't exactly forget something like that"

"Wait… was it the one when you tried to help me in the fight? Only to get your ass kicked?" Bazz asked and Issei flinched.

"Dude! You don't have to make it sound like I did nothing!" Issei complained, "At least I was backing you up!"

"If you call curling yourself into a ball while getting stomped is considered help… then sure..."

Issei avoided Asia's disappointed gaze the moment Bazz revealed his contribution to the whole affair last time.

"That's it!" Yokochini shouted in anger, signaling his crew "Come on boys! Let's fuck him up!"

"YEAH!" The others with him shouted back, pumped up for a fight.

Issei tensed up, putting his hand in front of Asia and pushing her behind him "Sorry, Asia. Looks like we will be getting home a little late" he said apologetically, removing his bag and handing it to the sister "Can you hold this for a little while?" he asked and Asia obliged, smiling in support.

"You gonna be useful this time?" Bazz asked, eyeing the delinquents with an unimpressed look.

Issei pumped his fists together "Did ya forget? I will always back you up! And with me being a Devil just gives me a chance to help you!"

He was glad the Yokochini's crew were too focused on Bazz to notice what Issei just said.

"Just so you know, you can't use your Boosted Gear" he noted, hearing chains echoing in the road "We are dealing with humans, not crows. Gonna keep up the whole supernatural thing under wraps"

"I know" he raised his fists, grinning in anticipation.

Bazz let out his own grin and cracked his neck "You holding back?"

"Nope"

"Good boy"

Bazz, while he finds Issei an annoying little shit with his dreams of women and harems, is a good kid at heart.

And one he trusts with his life.

'It feels nice… to trust someone'

Bazz marched forward, throwing his bag aside, cracking his fists as he aimed his focus at the gang. It's been a long week full of annoyances, getting hurt, more annoyances, and getting judged by everyone from here to the Academy. Added with the somewhat sourness he's been feeling the whole day, this? A couple of pissed off delinquents wanting to fight him because of a title he was given? This was normal.

It wasn't a hobby, it was training.

"Alright, ya pests!" Bazz shouted, which caused some of the gang members to flinch back in fear "Right now you are disturbing this shrine just by standing there!" he pointed at the shrine of the girl they were paying respect to. Most of these delinquents tend to desecrate these shrines without remorse. That lone action made them enemies for life in Bazz's eyes "So I'll give ya two choices: Option A, step down and move on with your life. Option B, step up and you'll be wishing you've made Option A through a tube"

Some of them seemed were picking the first option, but their leader stepped forward, either out of bravery or stupidity, usually those two go hand in hand.

"Waste em!" Yokochini shouted his crew and they charged forward, weapons raised and blood pumping.

No one picks Option A.

Bazzard Black and Issei Hyoudou charged ahead, arms crocked back and ready to punch ahead, bulldozing through them like a tank.

The rest of the day Asia had to tend to the two's wounds. After all is said and done, scolding them and despairing over their injuries. Surrounding them were the unconscious and crying bodies of Yokochini and his crew, regretting taking on Bazz and not picking Option A.


{D&C}


Later that day… TIME: 06:00 PM

Rain.

Heavy drops fell from the dark skies, wetting the pavements of the streets. The weather forecast has proven correct with their report that today would be the start of a month-long heavy rainfall across the region. Where towns such as Kuoh, Karakura, Kagomine, and Shizukana located in this region all suffer the occasional heavy rains and cloudy weather. The locals in this region tend to call this the Month of Rain because of the weather.

Walking through the heavy rain, a man in his thirties had a newspaper over his head as cover. Carrying a batch of groceries his wife asked him to get on his way home, he failed to realize that today of all days it would fall such heavy drops of rain.

"…Should have burrowed the umbrella back at the store…" the man grumbled, holding the grocery bag close as he rushed through the downpour. Stepping on the puddle of water with each stride he took, wetting his shoes, causing him to sigh. The man checked the grocery bag for a quick look for anything he might have missed. His wife told him to pick up a slice of bread while his children asked to pick up some drinks because the house did not have their favorite drink.

'What's with kids these days liking strawberry flavored drink? Can't they choose something like an orange juice…?'

He continued his pace, trekking through the rain until he came close to the bridge. The Kuoh Bridge is one of the older pieces of architecture in town, and one of its most famed. Its wood made, strong enough to stay standing for years with proper care, and the city made sure in taking care of the bridge. Wide and spacious, big enough trucks and cars to pass through it without any trouble, but that is only for deliveries or people traveling from town to town.

Walking over it as it is the quickest way for him to head home, he powered through the heavy rain, keeping the bag close.

Until he saw something ahead of him.

"What the...?" he muttered. The man noticed something was standing near the edge of the bridge, and his eyes widened, realizing it was a person "Hey! Are you alright?!" he called out to the person but they did not respond "The weather is getting bad! You can't stay here!"

She was a girl, possibly a high schooler judging from her uniform but one he does not recognize. Odd, by this time all the students should be back home.

The girl had her head down facing the lake ahead, standing near the edge of the bridge.

"Hey! Can you hear me?!"

The girl took the first step forward, climbing up the high side of the bridge, and that's when his heart sank, finally realizing what the girl is about to do.

Tossing the grocery bag aside, the man ran full sprint, trying to catch the girl from jumping over the bridge. The lake below wasn't that deep, in fact, it reached below the knees even. And if a person jumped from such a distance from the bridge, they can seriously hurt themselves or worse, lead to their death.

And so, as any good person would do, he ran and tried to save the girl. Stretching his hands forward to try and grab the girl's arm from jumping.

"Wait! Don't do it!" he shouted but the girl did not respond, taking another step to take the leap into the lake below "WAIT-"

The girl turned her head, but it turned in such an unnatural way it forced the man to stop his sprint.

She did not have a face.

"What the?-"

"Hehehe…"

The man screamed in pain, feeling something sharp pierce his back, causing him to spit out blood from his mouth. The blade went deeper, stabbing through his organs until it came out to the other side.

The man collapsed, his hands covered the wounds where blood began to come out profusely. He tried to crawl away, trying to cross the bridge but felt something step on him, something heavy.

The man looked up, and the girl was gone.

A deep chuckle resonated behind him "Look at you... a human with a heart... How cute" said the voice, his heart slowly sank at how… unnerving it sounded. Like he was hearing two voices, a woman and a man, at the same time "But that is why I find you meat sacks so delicious..."

The man screamed, feeling something using its weight to stomp further. He could not see what attacked him, only feel that there is something stepping on him.

He heard sniffing and the thing let out a disgusted sound "Uggh… old… old humans taste horrible… but the young ones? Oh now that is food" complained the voice but it let out a tired sigh "But what the hell… a meal is a meal… I ain't that picky"

The man was forcefully flipped over to his back, and his eyes widened in horror at the sight in front of him. Even as the rain continued falling to his face, it could not hide what he was staring at.

The thing grinned, showing its large teeth to the man. Its red eyes staring at him like a predator eyeing its meal "Now… don't move. I don't like it when my meals squirm around" the thing let out a burst of dark laughter before it started opening its mouth "Let me savor this"

The man screamed, but the thing did not care.

The man tried to beg, tried to tell the thing he had a family, but it did not care.

His screams ranged hollow. It meant nothing to the thing.

The last thought that came to the man was his wife and children before darkness came to him.

The rain continued falling, it continued pouring…

Then… silence


{END}


Author Note:

Another chapter in and now heading into a new arc, and this time, it's original!

Well... mostly, it's an inspiration with early Bleach arcs with some similarities to them but still, original. Those who read Bleach can take a guess what this arc will focus on the most.

In the next few arcs, I'll be focusing more on the Student Council characters as a way to develop them. Almost everyone here already knows the ORC and their personalities, so redoing DxD arcs again just seemed like a time waster and creatively unfulfilling, I want you guys to enjoy something new, not the same story beats.

And I want to keep my promise to focus on other characters in this one. Hopefully, with this arc, I am able to do that with other DxD and Bleach characters.

A few notes on this chapter:

Expect a slice of life type of chapters like these between arcs, its a way to bridge between arcs and for character development and interactions to happen. Nothing wrong with a bit of relaxation for our favorite Quincy.

I've also decided to put Karakura as a neighboring town to Kuoh, will it cause an impact? probably not, but world-building is always a fun thing to do, same with Kagamine. Shizukana is a town I picked in a Bleach fansite, so I added as part of the same region where Kuoh and the rest are located.

The theme I will focus on in the arc and even the saga is Pride, and how it affects you. And the Past, and the inability to move on.

Other than that, hope you guys enjoyed it!

Remember, constructive criticism is always welcomed. So leave a review and let out your honest opinion, no matter what it is! It really helps.

EndNote.