Life 5: Unexpected Intersection

"Kalawarner's dead?!"

Somewhere within Kuoh Town, the shocked words from the Fallen Angel Raynare echoed in the room. She gave out a frustrated growl as she sat back against the wall, biting a thumb. Around her, the remaining two of her three teammates stood. It had been Dohnaseek who'd delivered the news of the unfortunate results of Kalawarner's outing that night, returning with nothing but a handful of her feathers.

"I bet it was that damn half-breed!" Mittelt snapped, gesturing to her still scarred wing.

"Why do you think she went out tonight?" Dohnaseek stated, holding up one of the feathers he'd returned with. And it flickered with a spark of strange, dark-crimson light. "Raynare, it also seems he's awakened some unknown power, going by the remnants on these feathers. It's one thing for this half-breed to possess a Sacred Gear. It also seems he's made contact with the Gremory Peerage that oversees part of this territory."

"So, what are you saying?" Mittelt snapped, "That we just turn tail and run like cowards?! We'd be the laughing stock of the Grigori if we come back from this mission with one of us dead!"

"And it's also clear we're now in over our heads!" Dohnaseek snapped. "Need I remind you, Mittelt, we were sent on this mission to assess the status of this town and confirm the information given to us by Lord Azazel. Raynare, let's be honest, the decision to attack that Devil was a foolish one. He's far stronger than expected. If he has allied with the Gremory or Sitri groups, then this is beyond us now…"

"Is it?" Raynare bit, "Do you really want to just leave? After the way he humiliated us? How he's done it again by killing one of ours?"

"Be logical about this," Dohnaseek interjected. "Our first encounter proved how powerful he is. And I'm sure Kalawarner didn't go into the fight underestimating that. And she still lost while our foe now has something new under his sleeve. He still didn't go all out against us if that's the case. I can assume he's at least on the tier of a Mid-Class Devil, higher if we factor in his Sacred Gear. And even then, I could be misjudging off the little we know."

"You're telling me that nobody has a Longinus?!" Mittelt snapped, giving a cawing laugh. "As if! What kind of luck would someone need to have to be half-Devil and get something like that? You'd be a fucking paradox if that was the case! I'm not running! I want payback for that bastard nearly taking my wing!"

"Then you'll end up like Kalawarner. Face it, we can't beat this guy and we're fools to try. We should return and give our report and be done with it."

"There is something else…" A wicked grin split Raynare's face as she finally broke her silence. "You do remember the other plan, yes? The one we so painstakingly acquired that relic of a device for?"

"You're not serious at this point," Dohnaseek said. "That Extractor is a prototype that was supposed to be disposed of. If it gets out we took it so you could do a little experiment without authorization, we'll have more to worry about than a Half-Devil with a Longinus."

"But what if we use it and remove such a threat from the equation?" Raynare suggested, "We'd come back hailed as heroes! The brave lower-ranked Fallen Angels who braved hell and high water to prevent our enemies from getting their hands on such a powerful piece! And all for the life of one measly human."

"You're acting deluded," Dohnaseek scoffed. "You two are free to run headlong to your own deaths, but I'll have no involvement in signing my death warrant over this."

"Feel free to run then!" Mittelt cawed, raising a middle finger as Dohnaseek left the room without so much as a side glance their way. "Miss out on the fun then."

"Not worth the air Mittelt," Raynare said, looking off to an object in the room currently covered by a large dark cloth. "We just need to wait a while is all. Once our little test subject gets here, things will start going our way. We just need time to prepare."

Having beelined right for his house, when Noé saw the front door was not in fact the normal one, he paid little mind as he barged through it. Papers suddenly flew about as Noé stormed into his father's office, Van flinching as Noé strode in.

"N-Noé?!" Van spluttered as he caught some of the papers that went flying. "You're… back a bit sooner than expected. So how did…" the man slowed when he saw that Noé had not entered in anything resembling a good mood. "Did the contract not go well or something?"

"It went fine, actually… but that's not the problem," Noé leaned forward on Van's desk, raising one arm, which then flickered with crimson light that remained until he forcefully snuffed it out. "This. The hell is this?"

"… what happened while you were out?" Van's air shifted to a far more serious one, Noé grumbling as he turned around.

"One of those Fallen Angels showed up again tonight. I was trying to pull my punches to avoid killing her outright but then this…" another flare of that crimson energy sparked across his hand. "Appeared out of nowhere and finished the job. So, what I want to know is what the hell it is!"

"I was wondering when it would awaken…"

"So, it is part of me being a Devil! Does mom have this power too?!"

"Slow down, and calm down," Van said, Noé taking a few breaths. "I know you're a bit frazzled. I understand you're upset because you killed someone against your whims. But you won't get anywhere by losing control… especially since that power of yours is clearly acting up as a result."

"Can you at least tell me what it is?!" Noé grabbed his forearm as that light flared again. Van reached across the desk and grabbed Noé's arm, not at all perturbed by the sparks of light arcing across the limb.

"Like I said, calm yourself first," At the urging, Noé took another deep, long breath. As he repeated the process, the sparks long his arm faded and finally stopped. As Noé drew his arm back, Van leaned back himself. "Now to answer it, yes, this power is the one tied to your heritage as a Devil. As for what it is… have you ever wondered why you're so oddly resistant to light, even for a Devil?"

"I just figured I got lucky," Noé muttered. "I know a powerful enough Devil can resist it entirely, but I figured I just lucky and had a good natural resistance."

"You're half correct," Van said. Noé raised a brow in confusion. "To correct the first statement, the only Devils who can resist light are those with the proper amounts of power to develop resistance to it. Your resistance, however, is an entirely natural phenomenon tied to your bloodline. Tell me, what usually happens when you encounter light based weaponry?"

"Well… the stuff tends to darken first, then the weapons usually shatter," Noé put a hand to his chin and mulled it over. He felt a light bulb ding in his head as things suddenly began to line up. "Wait… is this weird… light or whatever it is part of that? Does it negate holy power or something?"

"In a manner… to be more precise, it absorbs it and then converts it for your own use. Light constructs dim when they come into contact with you because even passively, this power of yours sucks the power from it, effectively vampirizing Holy power itself. As for its name… it's known simply as Darklight."

"You mean like… inverted holy power or something?"

"In essence, yes," Van nodded. "If it were 'reverse' that would simply be Darkness. Instead, this is something borne out of a 'negative'. Something that is neither holy nor unholy… simply put, Darklight is the 'null' that exists between the two."

"… if that's true… then are mom and I really Devils? Or are we something else?" Noé said, looking at his hand with wide eyes. "That doesn't sound like a power any Devil would have."

"Those are answers I don't have the right to give you," Van said, leaning on a hand. "The only one who has the right to that is Luna herself."

"How am I supposed to get them when Mom is always Satans know where?!" Noé slammed his hands on the desk, Van looking to the side. "She only ever comes home a few times a year, and you're telling me now not only do I have some weird power, I may not even be a real Devil, and you can't even tell me what you mean by that?!"

"Noé, why do you think we stay in Japan, and not some other country?" Van cut in, Noé flinching. "It has more to do than simply the work I do with Zeoticus in line with our contract. What you are… what you and your mother are, isn't something a simple Sorcerer like me has a right to drag you into. When Luna is home again, she'll tell you… after this long you deserve to know that much."

"And when is 'again' going to be?" Noé growled, "You know as well as I do Mom only comes back on a whim. We can't just predict that."

"Correct… but you know it never takes long once she decides on doing so," Van said. Noé clicked his tongue, folding his arms as he leaned on the desk. "Hagh, look, I understand you're frustrated. But for now, you just have to wait. Who knows, maybe those Fallen Angels will wizen up and leave you alone now that one of their allies is dead. For now, just keep focusing on work with Rias and our contracts. I'll do what I can to help you gain control of the Darklight as well. I know enough about it to do that much at the least."

"Ugh… fine," Noé grumbled. As he began to head for the door, he stopped for a second. "Ah, right. You left this door attached to the front door again. If you want me to make dinner, you'll need to move it back."

"C-Crap, I did? Always slips my mind sometimes…" Van chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, Noé rolling his eyes. "I'll shift it so you don't need to go in and out… hmm, you cool making some karage tonight?"

"Do we even have the ingredients?"

"I bought some stuff this afternoon before work."

"Well okay then, guess I'll get started on that… then I'm going to bed. Today's been exhausting."

Van rolled his fingers along the desk as Noé strode out, the soft light from inside their house. As the door shut, Van leaned back with a sigh, staring at the ceiling with its array of magical runes and symbols scrawled across it. Luna, please come back soon… even if Noé still can't be told the WHOLE truth, he deserves to know why we've kept him hidden here for so long. We already know one day he would be dragged into this world because of his bloodline… but include the Sacred Gear, and I almost fear what fate has in store for our son. And all we can do is prepare him for it… how frustrating.

In the kerfuffle that was the previous night's incident, it wasn't until school the following day Noé had remembered the one thing he had forgotten to do: That being report to Rias about the summoning request.

So, now here he was, standing in the ORC room, and giving the biggest 'could not care less' expression as he slouched on the free sofa, all eyes from the Peerage on him as Rias looked over the flyer that had returned to her the night before. Noé returned the held gaze Rias was giving him between glances at the flyer, not a word from her as his placid gaze shifted.

"This kind of thing's never really happened before," Yuuto said, Noé giving him and acknowledging glance before looking back at Rias.

"Edelweiss…" Rias said.

"Hm?"

"So… you talked with the client about tokusatsu shows… and then what else? What about the contract?"

Noé just sighed as he started messing with his bangs. Rias cleared her throat, the teenager leaning forward.

"Yeah, well, problem… all the stuff he wanted to wish for would've outright killed him. So… nothing. Then we just kind of chatted for a few more hours till it got too dark, and I left," he said.

"And did anything else happen?" Rias's question was the kind posed by someone who already knew the answer, at least, partly. She hasn't been using her familiars to spy on me, has she? Was Noé's train of thought. "Anything we may… want to know?"

"Just to ask, do you already know the answer?"

"Just… say it yourself," Rias sighed and tented her hands. Noé grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. There was no avoiding this it seemed. But he also wasn't about to tell them about this strange new 'Darklight' power of his. Not until he also knew more about it… and could actually control it for that matter.

"I got attacked by one of those Fallen Angels again. And during the fight… I may or may not have accidentally killed her."

"How… how does someone accidentally kill a person?"

"The same way you accidentally step on a bug."

"Noé, answer me seriously."

"I didn't hold back as much as I thought I had with a blast," Noé said, doing his best to not make it clear he was half-lying. "Must've mistimed it with the Boosted Gear's next power-spike going off at the same time," Noé grumbled as Rias's gaze kept boring into him, "Look it was self-defense alright?! I tried to make her back off, but the stubborn ass wouldn't give. Not even showing the mark made her back off."

"Meaning they thought you were enough of a threat to them being my ward wouldn't matter," Rias clicked her tongue in annoyance. Quite clearly, she felt rather slighted by the brazenness of such a move being made in her territory, against someone her family had under protection no less. Guess in that regard she's at least willing to put up with me. Noé thought. "I can only hope that by one of them being killed over it, the rest are wise enough to flee rather than continue attempting to attack you."

"Dad said the same thing," Noé sighed, leaning on a hand. "But if they don't, be aware I'm not gonna take it that easy on 'em. They're the ones picking a fight."

"I can't deny you you're right to self-defense," Rias said, "I only wish we had more information as to what kind of activity these fallens were even up to. They have to have some reason to be in this area. But why? It's not as if anything important is in Kuoh…"

"By the looks of it they were only scouts," Akeno stated, setting a cup of tea before Rias, "If I had to guess, they were sent to survey Noé and verify information on him, and one of them perhaps had the bright idea to just attack him outright since he was unaffiliated until recently."

"Makes sense," Koneko commented. "Still stupid though."

"With that covered, there is another thing I want to go over," Rias said, her air relaxing a bit. "You're aware that the leaflets we pass out have questionnaires on the back of them, yes?"

"I am now."

"…well, after making a contract, we ask the client to fill it out. Things like 'How was your experience with the Devil?' and all of that."

"Surprisingly fair."

"It's too build up a good repertoire, as best as we can anyway. There's those who aren't so… friendly about it. Now, the questionnaire is filled out but… well, read it for yourself."

Rias handed Akeno the paper, who then passed it on to Noé. Noé flicked the folder flyer to open it, turning it over to view the writing on the back. Huh, the guy's handwriting is pretty dang formal. Though, makes sense for a government worker. Was his observation.

-It was fun. It was my first time having this much fun with a Devil. I'd like to meet with Noé-kun again, and hope that next time, I can actually form a contract with him.-

"Damn, he actually had my back on this," Noé hummed, actually feeling a bit touched by such a positive response.

"This is the first time I've gotten this kind of feedback from a client," Rias said, getting Noé's attention back to her, "I wasn't sure what to do at first, so it's why my expression was, strange, when you first arrived."

"Wait… you're not mad about this?" Noé raised a brow, Rias shaking her head with an amused smile.

"For Devil's, what's usually the most important thing is that we actually get the contract with the humans who summon us. We than take the price for the contract. That's how it's been for a long time… so I don't really know how to react because this is the first time I've encountered something like this. You might have failed as a Devil…"

"Ah yeah just fuckin' shoot me why don't you…" As Noé grumbled, Akeno and Yuuto chuckled, even Koneko seeming a bit amused by his dry annoyance.

"But the client was pleased with you all the same. It's… downright bizarre!" Noé found Rias's smile oddly pleasant as she made the remark, a chuckle coming from the red-head, "It's interesting, it's truly interesting! I don't know if it's because you were raised in a human society, or if it's just some kind of natural skill, but perhaps you'll be number one in unexpected things for a Devil. Just remember that next time, you need to actually get a wish."

"It's not my fault if their wish would kill them. People don't really like to die you know? And quit talkin' to me like I'm a subordinate."

"Exactly the point. Since this was your first go it's not so bad… though I suppose some humans' greed just outweighs their value," Rias hummed to herself as she made the remark, "I guess it's something that can't be helped when it happens."

"Just human nature I suppose," Noé sighed.

"Man, talk about a mess," On his way home from school at least, Noé couldn't help but vocalize his grumbling as he final had some alone time along the roads. "Let's hope Dad and Gremory are right about those fallens getting off my case. Would be way to bothersome if they kept coming back for more after that."

"You're still bellyaching over it?" Ddraig spoke up, Noé grumbling.

"No, I just think it'd be annoying is all. Plus, I dislike people who'd throw their lives away on principal. You have to be a special kind of moron to care that little about yourself."

"Well, I'm not inclined to disagree with that. So, what about this… Darklight, or whatever?"

"Dad said he can help me control it, so not like I have other options to go on with this. But not like this hasn't given me a load of other questions I want answers to now."

If Noé could time it, he would say he first became aware of his Devil heritage when he was about ten years old. It was, perhaps conveniently enough, during one of his mother's surprise returns home. They'd gone on a trip to the mountains, and during it, Noé had quite accidentally blown up a chunk of the woods they were camping in while playing around like a character from a manga. What he had seen as a totally normal, kid-like thing to do at the time had resulted in him quite accidentally managing to do exactly what he was replicating.

After that, he'd been told of his heritage from his parents themselves, and for the past eight years now he'd been continuously training both in his innate abilities with magic as a Devil, and more recently the Boosted Gear since unlocking it a couple of years prior during a job with his father. But, like with this new Darklight power, there was clearly plenty of things he still didn't understand about himself and what kind of Devil he was. Or I guess now, if I'm even really something you could call a Devil.

"Ugh… this is the worst."

"Uwhaaa!"

"Huh?"

The sudden thuds of falling objects caught Noé's attention. When he turned, he felt what could only be a kind of mental snap as he saw what the source was. Amid some now scattered luggage bags was a now somewhat unfortunate looking girl face down on the ground, and in a situation that made Noé ponder the universal probabilities of it, considering her rear was also sticking right up with her dress – or maybe it was a habit – hiked down and displaying her white panties to God and everyone.

"How the hell… there wasn't even… ah, geez," Feeling his better nature take a hold, Noé stepped over to the unfortunate individual, holding a hand out as she righted herself. "Hey, you okay?"

"Auu… why do I keep falling over all the time? Oh… I'm sorry, thank you very much."

Noé froze a bit as the girl turned. Now it was absolutely clear she was in a nun's attire, the white veil of the habit shifting to reveal bright blonde hair. Soft green eyes looked up at him, slowly taking the offered hand. Noé had to guess she was a bit younger than him, and she absolutely wasn't Japanese. European I'd guess, was his thought.

"Th-Thank you…" she spoke in Japanese despite it, though he noted her pronunciation was a bit stilted. And then a sudden gust of wind blew past, the girl yelping as her veil was sent flying off.

"Got it!" Noé did a slight hop, quickly catching the veil before it could sail off. "Don't these things usually clip on or something? Here."

"Ah, th-thank you…" The girl seemed puzzled as she took the veil back, Noé glancing away. I forget sometimes Devils have the gift of Tongues. Whatever language she normally speaks in, she must have heard me in that instead. "You… speak Italian?"

"Ahehe, I guess?" Noé decided it would be safer for him to play along with it. The nun still seemed confused but didn't look like she was about to question it. "Uhm, you okay after that fall?"

"Y-Yes!" The girl nodded, sighing when she looked and saw that her suitcase had been knocked open. "Oh geez… I really am such a klutz. I'm sorry you had to see that. I just trip over myself sometimes."

"Clearly…" Noé looked to the side as the girl gathered her things up, hefting the suitcase up with a bit of effort. "Well, if that's all good then, 'scuse me."

"W-Wait!" Noé turned when the girl grabbed his sleeve. "Can't I at least get your name? S-So that I can thank you properly, you see?"

"Noé. Noé Edelweiss,"

"So then… Noé… san, right? No wait, they use surnames for strangers here…" Noé had to admit, it was kind of cute watching the girl mull over how to address him. "Th-Then Edelweiss-san…"

"You can just use my first name. Too formal if you use my surname."

"N-Noé," The girl cleared her throat. "I'm Asia Argento, nice to meet you. And uhm… if it isn't too much trouble, could you… maybe help me a bit? I'm kind of lost, and I've been looking for where I need to go all day."

So, clumsy and lacking in sense of direction… oh boy. Noé sighed, putting a hand to his head as he pondered just what he was even considering doing next. How Asia was even lost in this part of the town was beyond him. It wasn't like the suburbs were that hard to navigate… at least that was his thought.

"Uh… sure, where do you need to go?" He found himself asking that out of perhaps some better impulses.

"Oh uh… just the Church somewhere in this area. I don't know where it is… and I got lost."

"Ah…" I mean I know she's a nun but just what the hell am I even considering?! Noé's mental words weren't at all matching his expression. Remember Noé, remember! You're half-Devil! Even just chatting with a nun could be a bad idea, no matter how cute she is! "You wouldn't happen to mean that old one up on the hill, right?" WHAT AM I DOING?!

"I think so. I remember it being somewhere in this area, but I… haven't been able to find it."

"I see…" Damn me and my inability to just let someone like her wander around… if she ran into the wrong type of person, I'd actually be worried. Noé sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I know which one you're talking about, so I can get you there… but… ah, I'll see when we get there."

"Thank you very much!" Asia bowed her head, then taking her cross necklace into a hand. "This really must be a gift from God, to come across someone more helpful."

More like the universe just has a fucked up sense of humor… Noé made sure to keep that little bit of snark to himself. It really must have been a joke, a nun getting help from a half-devil. As they began to walk, Noé took note of the size of Asia's suitcase. Seeing it was better than silence, he decided small talk wouldn't be terrible. "So, what's with the massive suitcase? That doesn't look like the kind of thing a traveling Sister would be keeping with her."

"Ah, well, I'm not really on a trip," Asia replied. "I was actually appointed to the church in this part of town."

"I mean I know there's some in the other parts of the city, but this end of it?" Last I checked… wasn't that small church here abandoned like, five years ago? Last time I was near it was when I kept getting bugged about going with that old neighbor of mine… I wonder how she's doing, actually. "Haven't seen anyone go there in ages. At least it explains the look. Some people might've thought you were a cosplayer!"

"Cos… player?"

"… never mind," Noé felt his brow twitch as he let that word drop. Better not to introduce the foreign girl to one of the wilder things done in this country off the bat.

"I'm glad I met such a nice person like you. It must be divine guidance!" That's circumstantial evidence at best. Noé had to look away again as Asia gave a kind smile. He knew his own habits quite well. Nice was not a word he would often use to describe himself, that was for sure. There was also the fact some of his instincts kept firing off, particularly because of Asia's cross. As with any Devil, even looking at holy artifacts was bothersome for him to do. At best, he could compare it to being induced with an annoying pricking at the back of his neck.

"Whaaaa!"

A short way off, the cries of a young boy drew the attention of both. Must have just scraped his knee. Kids have weird pain tolerance. As Noé took a step towards the boy, Asia beat him to it, gently moving the child's hands to look at the ultimately minor injury he had.

"Don't cry; it's just a scrape. A big boy shouldn't cry over something like this," Asia gently rubbed the boys head to get him to calm down a bit, her tone matching the gesture. What followed surprised Noé. A faint, emerald glow grew around Asia's hands, and as that light hummed, the scrape on the boy's knee faded away in short time, soon looking as if it had never even happened. And the source of that light, as Noé caught, were a pair of silver rings with green gems laid into them on Asia's middle fingers, which he definitely knew weren't there before.

And then from that, Noé felt a sudden pulse from his right hand. It was a brief, sharp sense of pain, akin to a quick prick from a needle… or maybe a stab from a knife. But that kind of pulse meant one thing to Noé: That ability Asia used wasn't simply magic. It had to have been a Sacred Gear as well.

But… if she does have a Sacred Gear, would that explain why she's here? He thought, covering his right hand as Ddraig's mark appeared on it.

"There, you're all better now." Noé turned back to Asia and the child, the boy looking at his now healed knee with an awed look. And when she looked at him, she took a 'silly me' gesture. "Oops, force of habit!"

The walk from there remained silent for some time, Noé stewing on the knowledge he'd unintentionally gotten a hold of now. The Church considers Sacred Gears to be a pretty big deal. Shouldn't a girl like this be in some big convent using it to help lost lambs or something? What is she doing out in a place like this with a power like that? Something about this doesn't seem right…

"You must have been surprised, right?" Asia spoke up, Noé clearing his throat.

"K-Kind of," Play it off, play it off. "Well… I admit it was a bit surprising. Still, that was a pretty neat ability you used."

"It's a wonderful power granted by God," Despite the phrase, Asia's expression suddenly took a more downtrodden look. "Yes, a wonderful power… oh! That must be the place!"

"Hm? Oh… so it really was that one?" Their procession stopped as they reached one of the upward climbs in town. At the top of it and past a short stretch of woods, an old, sterling white church stood out with its spire standing prominently out from the tree line. But even from this distance, the fact it was beginning to dilapidate was clear. "Are you sure this old place is where you had to go? I mean… it is the only one in this town."

"Well, thank goodness we arrived!"

"Ehehe… y-yeah."

Even from this far away, Noé had a feeling of unease rising in him. Just looking at that church was enough to dreg up an uneasy feeling in him, as if his instincts were firing off all at once, telling him to get as far from it as possible. Dammit… sometimes Devil instincts suck.

"I'd like to return the favor. Would you like to accompany me there?" Asia sweetly asked, though Noé shook my head in response.

"I-I'm flattered, but I've got something to take care of. I would if I could, but uh… my boss doesn't like it if I'm late," Noé tried to hide it, but the hand clenching the shoulder strap of his school bag was shaking. His body wanted nothing more than to leave, to turn around and never go near that church again if he could. Meaning the place has been reclaimed… but by who?

"I see, that's too bad," Asia said, then chuckling, "Well, thank you, Edel… Noé-san."

"See, you got it right," Noé chuckled as he stepped back, feeling that nauseas feeling start to ebb away.

"Alright then. I'm happy to have met someone as kind as you so quickly after arriving in Japan!"

"Ah, well, y'know…"

"Please visit the church when you find the time. Promise me?"

That's impossible, was what he wanted to say to her. But he couldn't just bring himself to outright deny the girl. "I'll… see what I can do. I'm not much of a church goer, but… maybe."

"Yes. I hope so!"

Sister or no, screw the politics… she's a nice girl, so it isn't bad to be nice back. Noé waved Asia off as she began up the hill. Once she was out of sight, he sighed and turned. But before he could take another step, he heard a trilling tweet nearby. Looking to the fence of a nearby house, atop it he saw a jay bird that certainly wasn't native to the region. The corvid flitted over to Noé and landed on his shoulder, and he gave a nod as he started back down the road.

"Yeah, I get it, that time again huh? Time for the other side of a Devil's work…"