Chapter 1: A Morning in St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Francis II liked to consider himself an experienced man. With losing one of his lungs, living through the Argentinian Junta and its "Dirty War", as well as having to see to the needs and requests of hundreds of millions of Catholics worldwide, he expected himself to be less than fazed by whatever life may have to throw at him.
However, that axiom of his was proven today to be nothing but an assumption. For as the Pope looked upon the dossier laid down on his desk, all his knowledge gained from years of service to the faith was effectively thrown out of the window.
"What even…"
Pope Francis II turned a page on the dossier, his eyes speeding through the contents inside. One word managed to pop up time and time again through the dossier.
"Vampires?"
By all accounts, it seemed ridiculous. On any other day, the Pope may have considered this a prank played upon him by perhaps some of the younger acolytes. However, this dossier was brought to him by none other than the Camerlengo himself.
"I am afraid so, your holiness, and in Japan no less. Apparently, our Japanese branch has already been combating these entities."
"And they failed to notify us?"
"Well…yes."
The Pope would pinch the bridge of his nose, staring down at the documents on his desk. His hands would twitch as he picked up another page from the folder. He appeared…troubled, to say the least. No amount of Papal training could have prepared for this occurrence. It's not like he can travel to Japan and give a sermon on why sucking the blood out of infants is bad.
"Do you have any idea why that may be?"
The Camerlengo sitting across from him would furrow his brows, tapping the desk. He would adjust his spectacles, taking the dossier with his shaking hands. Then he would cough to the side, clearing his throat.
"Well you see your holiness, if this page is accurate it appears that the local church had been sending…" he would take a deep breath, "sacrificial brides."
The Pope would blink twice, staring at the Camerlengo. "Pardon?"
"Yes, for some strange reason apparently the Church in Japan had resorted to sending young women to vampires as sacrifices. Unfortunately, we do not yet have information on why this may be the case, it can be presumed to be some form of practice of appeasement. By perhaps choosing to send sacrifices, the local church may avoid conflict for some time."
"But you mentioned that they were actively combating these vampires?"
"Your holiness, I trust that you understand the reality of war, that active conflict cannot last forever, and when mistakes are made sometimes one's tracks must be covered regardless of the question of ethics."
The Pope would furrow his brows, his hands clenched on the armrest of his chair. His aged knuckles bleached white. "And I trust that you, my dear camerlengo, understand our vows and duties as men of faith, men of God. This…should this practice continue, I doubt we would be able to call ourselves the rightful heirs to St. Peter, much less Christian men."
"Then what do you suggest they do, your holiness? All of our intelligence at this point in time is most likely a mere fraction of what is possessed by our branch in Japan. For all, we know if we order them to stand down it may undo decades of progress in their war. In OUR war. Your holiness, I understand your desire to act, believe me. However, an action taken in wrath most certainly will not lead to a better outcome."
"And you wish for me to place my trust in those who practice such rites as to make us indistinguishable from cultists? Your caution is commendable, my friend, but sometimes haste is of equal importance to the virtue of patience, lest one's soul rusts in the spirit of fear."
"Then what do you suggest we do, your holiness? Do we simply order a church far away across the globe to stop these practices on the pain of excommunication? Forgive me for my tone, however, that is absurd! In all ways that can be seen our legitimacy will fall. I know your next words, that by failing to intervene our legitimacy has already been abandoned, and…and I agree. This…fate, as you may say, is cruel. It should never be, and should this earth have been just it would have never been. But this truth of illegitimacy need only sta-"
"And where did I suggest excommunication, my friend?" the Pope would smile, dare I say even grin as a glint appeared in his eyes.
The camerlengo would lean back into his chair, his eyes uncertain. "Just what are you insinuating?"
"Tell me, camerlengo, have you seen a troop of soldiers marching through the courtyard in the early morning?"
"Major Senn's men, sir?"
"Yes, him. What is your opinion on the major?"
"Well, your holiness, he seems to be a most forthright and honest man. If perhaps a little meddling in his ways, but no man is without his flaws, who knows, perhaps that may be one more gift bestowed upon his character that I simply find no benefit to."
"I see, it appears that you have not changed one bit, my friend." The camerlengo would raise an eyebrow at the pope, causing Francis II to smile, "I meant that with the utmost affection, I assure you. However, due to those qualities, he and his men have been working quite hard recently, don't you think?"
"Why yes, I suppose he has…"
"Well then, in that case," The pope would smirk at the camerlengo, slowly rising up from his chair, "Why don't we arrange a small vacation for our brave guardsmen down there?"
Author's Notes
So yeah, this is my first fanfic. I actually don't know if there's going to be a pairing in the future, guess I'll have you people find out. I actually don't know how often I'll be able to update the story as I am in my senior year of HS, but hopefully once a month. Hope you enjoy the rest of my story.
Oh yeah and the standard procedure of copyright stuff, Diabolik Lovers and all of its characters are the intellectual properties of Rejet, any and all resemblances to real-life individuals are purely coincidental, and finally do not sue me.