AN: Just a note for FreakyFreak: It's not really an AnimeXover. I did use four crossover characters, but I blended them into DxD rather than making the anime enter DxD. This is DxD alone with something of OC characters based on characters from other anime.
I might be wrong, but it doesn't feel like enough to make that cross official.
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Disclaimer: I don't own any original content; I claim no ownership of DxD or HxH content. With that said, I sure as hell wrote this fic so don't steal my shit.
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Chapter 4.
Teleportation never got easier for me.
Well, I could say that I was used to it, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Like taking cold showers. You might be used to the feeling, but you will still flinch each time the cold water hits you.
When the teleportation faded, I found myself back in the court yard of the old man's home.
The place that had been my home that shaped me for five long years.
Extending out my senses, I fell into the void as I searched for my teachers familiar aura.
Without even opening my eyes, I followed it to its destination with a heavy heart.
Standing by a grave under a tree in a secluded corner of the property was my teacher.
"You have returned child."
His old and weary voice came out and struck me with how familiar and warm it was.
I bowed my head even with back turned to me.
"Yes teacher."
"Mn. Welcome home."
I walked up beside him and opened my eyes to look at him.
His posture was straight, never bending.
His hands rested on the handle of a cane as he looked forward with a calm and peaceful gaze.
But his face was wrinkled and weary.
Even though his health was perfect, his lifeforce was running out.
I swallowed heavily and stood in silence with him.
Basking in the familiar aura he has had since the day he found me all those years ago.
After a few minutes of silence, my teachers hand fell on my head gently.
"It is good to see you child."
I nodded and didn't fight his hand.
"Mn. It's good to see you as well teacher."
He let out of a soft chuckle.
"Haha, those cats are keeping you busy?"
I let out a wry smile and I sighed.
"Like a bored cat who found a new toy to play with."
His chuckle turned into laughter as he patted my shoulder gently.
"Haha, good, good, they will make you strong. Strong enough to handle the supernatural world and make the name of Lupa resound through it *cough*."
His laughter turned into a cough at the end of his words that descended into more coughs.
In the blink of an eye, I sped over to an outdoor table with a pitcher of iced tea and poured a glass before rushing back and handing it to him.
He took it with a grateful nod and drank it.
"Ah, thank you child."
I gave him a worried look.
"Please don't overexert yourself teacher."
He shook his head and placed his free hand down on the tombstone of the unmarked grave.
"It is fine child, I am at the end of my road."
I held back tears from his words and looked away.
He seemed to see it though as he chuckled and through an arm over my shoulder.
"Do not be sad Hei, an old man knows when it is his time. Now come, help me to my chair."
I nodded and supported him to his rocking chair.
It seemed he moved it to the porch while I was gone.
He sat down and I was quick to wrap the blanket around his legs and give him a pillow for his lower back.
"Haha, always mothering me child. Enough, come sit."
He waved my hands away and I chuckled while pulling up a chair by him.
We sat in peaceful silence under the days warm rays of sunlight and drank some iced tea.
After an hour, I asked a question that had been bothering me for a long time.
"Teacher."
"Hm?"
"Who is that grave for?"
He didn't answer immediately and seemed to get lost in his thoughts.
I wasn't sure if I asked something I shouldn't have considering we never talked about it before, but to my surprise, he answered.
"My lover."
My eyes widened slightly at that.
"Your lover?"
He seemed to find my answer funny and laughed.
"Haha, yes child, I was once a younger man and had a lover. Is that so shocking?"
I shook my head with a smile.
"You have always been an old man to me."
His cane lightly tapped my leg.
"Rude disciple, show your elder some respect."
He made sure to pop out his chest slightly to look more imposing and I couldn't help but break out in laughter that was soon joined by him.
Once we calmed down, he spoke once more with a weary but happy tone.
"Carlia, that was her name. Such a beautiful woman, a goddess to my eyes."
I gave him a moment to enjoy his memories before moving on.
"What happened to her?"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"She was taken from this world far too soon."
I looked down at that but he went on.
"I had many enemies child, and one of them caught up to me when I least expected it…
…
…
I believe it's time for me to tell you my story, the story of Amon Lupa."
I sat up straight and listened with my full attention.
While he occasionally told stories from past missions, it was always with the purpose of teaching me something.
He never actually told me of his life before.
And he never said his first name before now.
"My story began as a young street rat in the city of Cairo, Egypt…"
He began his tale.
A street rat forced to pickpocket to survive while living in the alleys of the city.
There were hundreds of children like him, orphans abandoned and uncared for, forced to steal to survive.
But the streets had an owner, there was a gang who ran it.
They organized the kids into areas and took a portion of their cuts.
The ones who didn't get anything got beaten and were left to starve.
The gang didn't care if they killed anyone, the kids were all resources they could dispose of when they wanted.
If a young girl got old enough and caught their eye, she would go missing.
It was a hellish experience where the street rats suffered.
But then came a day, a fateful day, in which the young boy Amon tried to pickpocket a seemingly normal looking aged woman.
It was just like any other day.
He blended in, slashed a pocked with his old pocket knife, grabbed what fell out, and ran away.
He was completely unaware of the stalker he picked up.
Unfortunately, the wallet he got was empty, there was nothing in it.
When the day came to an end, he was the only one who had nothing to show for it, and the gang decided to make an example.
He was beaten black and blue, the older men and woman didn't care if he died.
And just like he once stood with fear among the crowd, so too did his fellow street rats.
There was no unity among them, they were just kids wanting to survive.
But then, as he laid on the cold ground in a world of pain, his stalker appeared.
Like a hawk descended from the skies, she fell among the gang wrapped in a cloak and flashed out with a storm of attacks before they could even fight back.
As she bent her wrists, hidden blades stabbed out and reaped the lives of the gang members.
To the young and dying boy, she was like a goddess of war who trampled the monsters that seemed insurmountable to him before.
And then, in a moment he wouldn't understand, his unswollen eye met with the woman's, before she saw something and wordlessly picked him up and walked away.
That was the day he met Ms. Lupa, his soon to be teacher.
She had apparently taken on a job to eliminate that gang and used him to find them.
But she too was getting on in her years and decided it was time to do her duty to her legacy by finding an heir.
There was nothing special about himself, but it seemed that his eyes on the edge of death still had fight in them and his teacher saw potential in that.
I sat with my teacher as he went on.
For three days, he didn't stop his story.
He would occasionally fall asleep, or descend into coughs, but I remained by his side the whole time.
I didn't need the sleep; I had been trained to be able to stay awake for days with little rest.
Joy the panda maid brought us meals while we talked.
My teacher's tale took many turns.
His live had his ups, downs, joys, sorrows, laughs, horrors, hardships, accomplishments, and much more.
He told me of the things he had seen, the horrors he was forced to choose between that haunted him for years to come.
He told me of the passing of his teacher, how he lost his way, and how he found himself once more.
His days moving up the ranks of the Mercenary guild, building connections, flirting with women.
And then came the day he did something he promised he wouldn't.
He fell in love.
To a woman named Carlia, a fellow mercenary who was on the opposing side of a job.
She was highly skilled and actually managed to injure him just as he got her.
They were bleeding out in some random alleyway in a forgotten city, and in that moment at the edge, they seemed to have felt a spark and connected.
The clients on both sides had been killed so they both accomplished and failed their jobs, but they didn't care.
They moved away from it all, took a break from their blood drenched lives to have a moment of peace and heal.
Eight glorious months, eight months of love and passion filled their lives.
But then life caught up to them.
An old enemy of his, an organization he had thought had long since perished came after him.
They were caught off guard and he lost the love he found.
Carlia was taken from him.
He grieved and buried her beneath the tree they spent so many days under.
This very home was their place away from the world, a place of love and joy.
Without even marking the tombstone, he picked up his blade and left.
For two years, he hunted, he hunted each and every corner of the globe for that organization.
He left hundreds of bodies in his wake and turned up a major storm in the underworld, even devils and fallen angels were left in his wake.
Every connection, every branch, he clipped each and every one off until he found the very source, a mid-class devil, and rooted them out whole.
Men, women, and children, he left no roots for them to survive.
Then broken and void of emotion, he crawled back here and broke down in tears before Carlia's grave.
Crying and screaming at what he had done.
But time moved on, uncaring for the feelings of those stuck in their pasts.
He set down his sword and closed off from the world, he was already an emerald grade mercenary, there was no need to go further.
His fire had all but gone out.
Time moved on and he aged, wallowing in his grief.
But one day he seemingly woke up.
He said he had a dream, a dream in which he recalled the memory of the first time he met his teacher, but the words she spoke were telling him to wake up.
When he got up the next morning, old and wrinkled, he had recalled something he almost forgot.
He had a legacy to continue.
It was more than him, worth more than his grief and pain.
It gave him a purpose once more.
He traded his sword for the cane sword he held today and went off into the world to try and find someone special.
He reconnected with a few connections like Winston and Tom to help him on his search, but he didn't find anything even after a year of searching.
Nothing that stood out to him in particular.
It seemed the supernatural factions had been much more active these years and were collecting anyone of worth.
And then one day while eating at a random restaurant he stopped at, he felt my sacred gear awaken and came by.
The rest was history.
As he spoke, his voice steadily got weaker and he moved less and less.
It stabbed me inside to him like this.
It would only take a single instant; his teacher couldn't stop him.
He just had to ignore his teachers wish and throw a lifespan pill in his mouth. Just one and he could live another year.
But every time he tried to build up the courage to do it, he would look at his teachers face and his resolve would crumble.
His teacher knew what was coming.
He was burning his oil to tell him this tale, but he never stopped and I never interrupted.
He was ready to go…..even if I desperately wanted him to stay.
I was an orphan in my first life as well.
I never once got to know the feeling of a parent.
When I was reborn, I was lucky to be aware and could remember the single moment of motherly love and care my birth mother had for me.
But then she was taken from me.
I put it behind me and went on with life, tried to focus on where I was and what power I had.
And when I was banging my head against a desk in despair after trying almost everything I could think of, my power awakened, and the old man showed up.
He was strict, up front, brutal, and in many people's eyes would probably be a child abuser for what he put me through.
But he was caring, calm, guiding.
He spent every day dedicated to improving me through theoretical teaching or physical skills.
When I struggled he would be there to explain and guide me.
When I was frustrated he gave me an outlet.
When I was pushed to the limit, he found ways for me to relax and push on.
He was my father.
The first father I had in two lives.
And it killed me inside to see him wither away.
But I respected him too much to take away his desire.
He wanted to see his end, to take the chance that even with his blood soaked hands, he could see his lover once more in death.
It was a hope that I tried to help with by offering one of my abilities, but he turned it down.
#14: Double Postcard to the Dead – Mail this return postage-paid postcard to a deceased person, and you will get a reply the next day. A book of 10.
It's a mind boggling card, but it works.
At least I think it does.
I tried it a couple times and sent a message to some of the famous people from human history, but I got responses that made me twitch and never try to contact them again.
Achilles: 'Who dis?'
Einstein: 'You have reached the wrong number.'
Edison: 'Did you hear about my lightbulb?'
I burned them all.
Dead famous people are assholes.
On the third day, the old man finished his tale.
While looking out into the skyline, his almost whispered voice spoke out.
"Hei, go to my room. Under the third floorboard, bring me the item inside."
"Yes teacher."
I got up and did as he asked and went inside.
I didn't enter his room often, but it was a simple and spartan design.
I counted the floorboards and took out a knife to peel back the piece of wood.
It came up with little protest and beneath it I found a long wrapped bundle.
With both hands, I lifted it up and carried it back to the porch.
The old man's eyes seemed to focus heavily on the object.
"Good child, bring it here."
His hand shakily reached out and I was quick to lean the item into his hand while supporting its weight.
He untied the knot on the cloth and pulled it back.
The sunlight shone down and reflected off the metallic surface of an exquisite and beautifully carved sword handle.
The sword was long and thin, something that could have been wielded single handed.
The pommel had a sharp metallic growling wolf's head as its base.
The hilt was wrapped in worn leather pocketed with spots of stained blood.
And the handle was of a roaring wolf with its mouth being the base where the blade met the sheath.
It was a work of art to look at.
The old man's raspy voice rang out with an awed sound as he rested a hand gently on the pommel.
"The name Kusabimaru beseeches: 'A shinobi's role is to kill, but even a shinobi must not forget mercy.'"
I looked up with a questioning look and he went on.
"I read that passage from a book as a child, and it stuck with me.
When I received this blade, I named it Kusabimaru and imbued it with the meaning of that name."
His hand trailed the blood stains on the hilt.
"But I betrayed that meaning in my vengeance. I lost the right to wield my partner."
He hand fell from the handle and stretched to his mouth and to my confusion, he bite down on his thumb and drew blood.
Before I could question him, his voice rang out.
"I am sorry old friend, but it is time to say farewell. It is time for the next generation to rise."
He dropped his blood on the pommel and to my surprise, the blade began to glow.
I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating but I almost felt like I heard a soft whimper directed at the old man, but he was just smiling softly.
"Watch over him for me."
With his final words, the sword released a sound like a growl before it dissolved into a small golden egg.
His hand was there and caught the egg before it could fall and the cloth fell away with nothing left to hold it up.
I stared between the egg and the cloth a few times before speaking up.
"Teacher?"
He held up his off hand for me to wait as he focused on the egg in his other.
He gently caressed it and seemed to once more get lost in memory before he looked up and smiled at me.
"Hei, there are two more things I shall leave you before I go."
He held out his hand with the egg.
"Take it."
It felt wrong to take something so precious to him but I reached out a shaky hand like he asked and under his encouraging gaze, I lifted it.
It was light and warm.
It seemingly was made of gold and had intricate patterns all around it.
"Drop some blood on it to bond it to you."
I gave him a questioning look but still complied.
I bite my thumb and squeeze out a couple drops.
The egg seemed to absorb the blood as it landed and it glowed slightly but remained the same.
When nothing else happened, I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore.
"Teacher, what is this?"
His quiet voice spoke out with pride.
"That child, is the gift of our legacy.
It is said it was a gift to the first Lupa by the wolf goddess herself, but there is no proof of such a story. Where it came from or who made it, I cannot say.
But it has been passed between teacher to heir for longer than I can recall.
It is a special item, one I believe holds a very simple intelligence.
It cannot speak, but it understands.
It is bonded by blood and cannot be used by another until its owner has passed on."
He paused to take a breather.
"What does it do?"
"It conforms to the ideal weapon of choice for its user.
It only changes once; you cannot alter its shape after that.
But you must put your soul into what you wish from it.
You must choose a name, a name with meaning.
Just as I chose the name Kusabimaru, you must find a name with true meaning.
Otherwise it shall never awaken.
The words must mean something to you, on a deeper level.
But once you find it, it will bloom and become the perfect weapon for you.
Furthermore, it takes on two abilities.
The first is one of your choosing.
I personally asked for a way to strike at those supernatural's who held so much energy compared to us. My blade formed with the ability to burn the energy of those it touched.
It would cause greater pain the more energy one held inside them, but I was never strong enough to take on high class beings.
The second is that the weapon will always answer your call.
Call for it when you need it, and it shall appear to you."
His gaze was locked on the egg in my hand.
"It never failed to answer my call. Even when I betrayed the name I set for it, it never left me. A truly loyal partner."
His eyes came up to match my own.
"It is yours now child, imbue it with a name and meaning, and it will be reborn in your ideal image. It is said you could even take it farther then it's first form if you became strong enough, but I don't think any Lupa ever got that far.
We were only human after all, and humans have their limits."
He chuckled at that before breaking out into coughs once more.
I was at his side handing him some water in a second.
He accepted it with a thankful nod and drank it.
"Ah, thank you child, always so thoughtful."
His hand fell on my own that was holding the egg.
"Take care of it Hei, it is the gift of our legacy."
I nodded resolutely.
"I will teacher, don't worry."
He nodded back.
"I know you will. Now, the second thing I have for you."
His finger tapped on the ring of my gear.
My eyes widened as I understood his meaning.
"No! Hell no!"
I couldn't help the anger at his suggestion, how could I do something like that to my teacher?!
His kind eyes turned toward me.
"Peace child, let it be my final gift to you."
I adamantly shook my head.
"No! How could I do that? In your condition it will kill you!"
His hand rested on my shoulder with a surprisingly firm grip.
"Hei! Look at me."
I met his eyes with tears on the edge of mine.
"It is my time anyway, let me give you a final gift.
I will rest easy knowing you sent me off while I gave everything I could."
I turned my head down as my hair hid my tears.
"But…."
His hand moved to my head.
"It's ok child, it's time to let me go. Do me this final favor."
I stayed still for a moment as my tears fell to the ground below.
My right hand lifted up.
"B-book."
The binder appeared in a soft glow.
I never thought the glow felt holy after I read the biblical gods message, but in this moment, it felt sacred to me.
Heh, perhaps that's why they are called 'sacred' gears.
The binder opened and I turned the pages.
I didn't need to, I could have just called the card to my hand, but I wanted to have the few extra moments with my teacher.
I reached the page and my watery eyes turned toward the card.
A card I was so thankful to have, but now felt sick about using.
My teachers whisper like voice called out.
"Go on child."
My shaky hand reached forward and took ahold of it.
Spell Card #7: Trade - Establish a trade between two parties. Goes into effect immediately and will be fulfilled immediately on completion of the agreement.
I held it up and my binder closed with a soft thud.
But my hand couldn't crush it.
In one hand I held a golden egg, in the other the card that would take my teachers life if used.
"I…I…"
I was lost for words, never before had I felt like this.
My teachers hand gently rested on my hand with the card and his voice rang out with a hint of steel.
"Hei. Look at me."
I looked up with red eyes as tears fell down my cheeks.
"You are the heir of Lupa. No, you are Lupa now. I have watched you grow, trained you from the boy I found you as into the young warrior before me now.
I have seen your potential, and it can take you above the heavens themselves.
Never falter, never look back with sorrow.
Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate."
His voice lost its edge and lowered but it held tremendous warmth.
"You are ready Hei, do it, set me free."
His calloused and weary hand tightened on my own, always seemingly guiding me toward what I needed to do.
With fresh tears, I grabbed onto whatever will I had in me and crushed the card.
It dissolved into motes of light and the effect activated between us.
Only I could ever tell when an effect began, it was silent and untraceable.
But my teacher understood.
"I immediately offer all of my mana to Hei, if he shall agree to carry on my legacy and find love to hold, cherish, and protect with his life."
He sent me a meaningful look with a wink and I couldn't help the wet chuckle that escaped.
'Sneaky old man, getting in one final jab. Fine.'
"I…I...accept."
I felt the card take hold and from this proximity, I could feel with my energy sensing how mana began to leak from his aura and trail into mine.
The euphoric feeling of mana filling me felt cruel in this moment.
The old man just smiled at me as his mana slowly drained.
"Thank you for all these years Hei. You have brought more joy into my old and weary life than I could have wished for."
I couldn't help it and I fell to my knees before him with my head bowed.
"No! Thank you old man!
Thank you for finding me!
For guiding me!
For everything you gave me!
For every minute that you spent on me!
*Hic*
Thank you father!"
I shouted the last words and cried as I felt his hand rest on my head one final time.
"Your welcome… my son."
I looked up to see his smile as the setting sun illuminated his face, before the light left his eyes and his hand slowly fell from my head.
I grabbed on to his hand with both of my own.
"Father!"
I called out but he no longer responded.
I desperately called out, wishing to hear his voice once more, but nothing responded.
I broke down crying by his prone form.
I cried, I screamed, I begged, but nothing happened.
Before I knew it, I was wrapped up in a hug by Joy, and I buried my face in her fur and sobbed.
The sun set as a full moon came out, and a young wolf howled into the night sky.
*Line Break*
In the Nekoshou village.
In a certain home belonging to one of the village leaders, Leone.
A special box that was handed to her many years ago in case the worst happened, sitting calmly on a shelf dedicated to it alone and gathering dust, had finally activated and opened with a puff.
But Leone wasn't home, she was out drinking with the girls and making a future training plan for Hei and speaking about how proud of him they truly were.
Proud of their young wolf, and unaware of his current turmoil.
*Line Break*
The glow of the morning sun illuminated the world, casting it's glow down upon the earth, and shining gently against the smooth surface of a new tombstone and the simple words carved into it.
{In loving memory of a teacher, a father, a friend, and a true warrior to the very end.}
Mr. LUPA
And beneath the words was a very detailed looking carving of a wolfs head growling.
The image was taken from the pommel of his sword, it was his symbol as he lived and worked.
The first name of Amon would only be known to the carver. It was tradition among the Lupa, they lived and died as one, their first name wasn't needed to be recorded.
And next to that tombstone, was another that was once blank, but now held a beautifully carved symbol.
A Carnation flower, the flower Mr. Lupa had said was he favorite.
He bought her hundreds of them, wanted to playfully drown her in the flower that could make her smile so wide.
And above the flower carving was a single name that Mr. Lupa could never bring himself to mark down.
{Carlia}
Standing before both graves underneath a simple tree in a corner of the courtyard was Hei.
Standing with bloodshot eyes, messy hair, dirt covered clothes, and a sore throat.
He stood before the graves, and like his teacher before him, he placed a hand against the smooth surface of the tombstone and whispered a final prayer.
'Rest in peace father, I hope you find her again. Thank you, for everything.'
His hand fell from the grave and with a final look, he turned and walked away.
By the gate at the entrance, he gave Joy a final hug and she patted his back consolingly.
"Thank you Joy, watch the place for me alright?"
She nodded and patted her chest.
Hei smiled at her and walked off.
And as he walked, the smile fell from his face.
He felt empty, he felt alone, he didn't enjoy this feeling of loss.
He looked up at the clear blue sky and recalled his teachers words.
"Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate."
A soft chuckle escaped his face devoid of emotion.
'Who knew he could unknowingly quote an anime.'
With steady steps, he walked on.
It was time to work.
He would walk forward and forget his grief by drowning in work.
Ideal way to grieve? No.
But the ideal solution is rarely the one we choose.
He had a legacy to live up to.
*Line Break*
Leone woke up with a pounding head with the room spinning.
"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick."
"That's your own fault."
The calm voice of Ghislaine rang out nearby as she got dressed to head out.
Leone looked up to see herself and Yoru sprawled on Hei's bed.
Yoru was still out cold.
Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
"What happened?"
Ghislaine moved toward the door with a wave.
"Yoru egged you on to a drinking game, Chloe and I bet on who would win, I lost."
With those parting words, she left like it was just a usual day.
And it was.
When Hei was gone, the girls found they had way to much free time and tried to find stuff to keep them entertained.
Now that they had endless access to good booze, they often just drank for fun.
Well Leone and Yoru did.
Chloe wouldn't get drunk if she didn't drink a LOT to override her poison resistance, and Ghislaine was a calm and slow drinker.
And while drunk, of course Hei's bed seemed like the best place to crash, it was just unfairly comfortable compared to their own.
Leone got up with a grown and washed up in the bathroom before making her way out.
It was midday already.
"Sheesh, I got to take it easy. I've been drinking way to much lately."
She passed through the village waving greetings and dodging the flying tackles of the triplets before making it back to her place.
Getting inside, she through off her clothes into a hamper on the side and stretched.
"Ah~ what should I do today?"
She walked to her closet and passed by a certain shelf.
Only to pause mid-step with her foot in the air and slowly back track.
Her gaze turned robotically to the shelf and saw an innocent box.
A box that was popped open and empty.
Under certain circumstances, she was told the box would hold a golden egg and a letter with detailed instructions, but there was neither of them.
Her eyes opened wide and she grabbed the box and lifted it up.
It easily bent under her grip and she dropped it in shock.
The box was unbreakable before.
"No…"
Her face paled and her heartbeat picked up.
"Oh no! Hei!"
Her energy surged and a teleportation circle flared to life in her home.
The other girls felt her energy spike for teleportation but they just shrugged and went on. It was normal for Leone to pop in and out of the village.
A minute later, a half-dressed Leone appeared in Mr. Lupa's courtyard.
"Hei!"
She called out but there was no answer.
She closed her eyes to sense for him but there was no one there.
Joy the panda maid came out and Leone's eyes lit up.
"Joy! Where's Hei? Is Mr. Lupa…."
Joy looked down sadly and pointed a paw in a certain direction.
Leone followed her paw and her eyes fell upon two innocent tombstones.
She walked over and her eyes watered.
"Oh Hei….."
There were indents in the dirt from where Hei must have been kneeling.
Leone bowed her head in respect and gave her wishes to the old man.
He saved her life when she was in a pinch, and he was a man worthy of respect.
Then she turned back to Joy who was sitting and watching on sadly.
"Where's Hei?"
Joy pointed her paw toward the gate and Leone's heart fell.
'I need to find him!'
She knew, she knew Hei would be in pain right now, and she had to find him.
It wasn't long, but in less than half a year, Hei became integral to the Nekoshou Village and the four leaders.
He was their little brother in all but blood.
Their monster, their wolf.
She would bring him home.
She rushed out of the home with determined eyes, she wouldn't rest until she found him.
*Line Break*
Despite the feelings of those affected by it, time moved on indifferently.
~One week later~
Paris:
A trio of thugs were running through the alleyways in the middle of the night.
"Shit, shit, shit! Why the fuck is the reaper here?!"
"Everyone is fucking dead! Who put out the hit on us?!"
"Why did this fucker have to take this job!?"
They each screamed their questions as they ran but no matter what they asked, they would never get their answers.
*Bang* *Bang*
Twin gunshots rang out and two bodies fell to the earth with wide eyes and holes in their heads.
"AH! No! No! Please! Mercy!"
The last member lost even the strength to run. He just pushed up against a wall and held out his hands into the dark.
"Please! Lupus! I'll pay whatever you want! Just let me live!"
Calm steps came from the darkness as a form seemed to shimmer into existence.
A floating white mask with red lines over the frame was all the man could see, but if he focused harder, he might have caught the movements of a dark cloak wrapping around the attackers mask.
Black hair fell over the mask to each side, creating the image of the mask being the face itself.
Seeing his attacker stop moving a few steps away, the man sighed.
"Let's just take it easy, alright? I got the funds, I can give you as much as you want. Let's negotiate, alright?"
There was no answer from the masked attacker.
The man grew nervous.
"Hey, let's jus….*Bang*"
The man slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood in his wake with a shocked look frozen on his face.
The masked attacker didn't blink as he holstered his smoking pistol and took out a cell phone before dialing the number.
It rung three times and connected before a scrambled voice spoke a simple line.
"Job completed, issue the funds within one hour or expect a visit."
The figure hung up and immediately moved to a list of jobs before choosing one and pulling out a special card and crushing it, taking off in a burst of energy into the sky.
Two hours later, a figure dropped into the alley and saw the carnage with indifferent eyes.
The figure smelled the air and growled.
"Damn it brat, slow down will you!"
The figure rushed off like an arrow.
The bodies would be cleaned up by the client before the morning came.
*Line Break*
~Two weeks after Amon Lupa's death~.
New York City:
Sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, a figure in a cloak and mask looked far down below where his targets lay.
Tying a rope to his foot, the finger kicked off the roof at an angle and free fell without a twitch of care from his body.
The wind roared in his ears, and something unseen was on the other side of his dull red eyes.
The rope reached its end and pulled taught, swinging the figure with great force on a specific angle.
At a specific point in the swing, the figure pulled out a pistol from a hostler, took a shot, and swung away before cutting the line and floating to a rooftop and pulling out a phone and making a call that was shortly answered.
"Job completed. Send the money within two hours or expect a visit."
Once more, the figure pulled out a card and crushed it, taking off into the night sky.
And once again, a golden eyed figure arrived over two hours later.
"Damn brat! Stay still!"
*Line Break*
~Three weeks after Amon Lupa's death~.
Moscow:
A high speed train moved through the city in the dark snowy night with an unknown passenger on its roof.
The figure was crouched low and had a black cloak wrapped around their form with a white mask tilted to the side slightly to reveal their mouth.
It was revealed because the figure was smoking a cigarette.
But not just any cigarette, but one that seemed to give off strange red smoke.
The figure took a deep breath before seeing his target approaching and flicked the cigarette away with a mutter.
"Devil's delight, how appropriately named for such a spicy smoke."
He readjusted his mask back into place and looked forward at a bridge approaching that the train would pass under and a specific car making its way across that took such a route at the exact same time every week.
The train reached the tunnel, the figure jumped up and seemed to use the momentum to direct him toward the car.
He landed on the hood, placed a magnetic charge, shot the driver, and jumped off to the other side of the bridge and landed back on the train.
The car behind him blew up, lighting the night sky, and illuminating the figure pulling out another cigarette.
A half an hour later, a golden eyed figure observed the police closing off the bridge and muttered a curse.
'I'm getting closer. You can't run forever brat.'
*Line Break*
~Six weeks after Amon Lupa's death~.
Berlin:
A cloaked figure sat against an alley wall with their head slumped forward. Twitching and muttering while seemingly in a nightmare.
*Meow*
The figure flinched at the sound and shot awake with wide eyes not truly seeing for a moment before looking around.
A brown stray tabby cat looked up at the figure with curious eyes.
*Meow*
It walked forward and began rubbing against the figures leg.
He watched on as the cat meowed and purred against him for a moment before picking it up and putting it on his lap, slowly petting the small creature into a purring bliss.
The figure looked down through his mask at the peacefully sleeping cat and let loose a few tears from his eyes behind the mask.
He gently curled around the cat and hugged it close to his chest while crying silently.
An hour later, a golden eyed and very annoyed woman dropped into the alley, but all she saw was a tabby cat sleeping peacefully with its tail swishing behind it.
The woman's eyes softened and she approached, petting the small creature and waking it up.
It yawned and stretched while the woman looked at it, recognizing the scent all over it.
"Hey buddy, where did he go?"
The tabby cat looked at her with a tilted head for a moment before seemingly feeling the desperation in her gaze and turning its head in another direction that the masked figure had gone.
The woman smiled and rubbed it's head.
"Thank you dear, I'll help him, I promise."
*Meow*
The woman rushed off in the direction.
'Come on Hei, just give me an opening.'
*Line Break*
~Two months after Amon Lupa's death~.
Amsterdam:
Sitting on a roof, looking up into the sky with a blank gaze, and with a cigarette hanging off his lips, was none other than Hei.
It had been two months since his teachers death.
The day he walked away, he put on his mask and cloak, and pulled out his phone to find a job.
Since that day, he rarely ever took off the mask and cloak.
It just felt better to hide away from the world.
Without them he felt naked.
But for one of the rare moments, he put them down to the side.
Mostly because they were covered in blood.
Beneath the roof he sat on, laid two dozen corpses quickly growing cold.
The remains of his job, taking out a trafficking ring that kidnapped young children from traveling families and sold them in underworld channels to interested buyers.
These months he mainly took jobs on criminal elements.
It wasn't out of some morality or such things, it just felt 'cleaner' in a way to target scum.
He never stopped looking for 'fat sheep' to milk, but he only found two interesting ones in the dozens, if not over a hundred jobs he had taken that he could sense had above average mana reserves.
Adding in his own mana, and what he got from his teacher, he estimated his mana pool was around 4-500 units at the moment.
His teacher, despite not being a mage and a human, still lived a long life and had small tricks, so his final mana pool was around 350 units.
Despite how he felt about it, he knew it was time to come to terms with things and accept it.
He had a legacy to live up to after all.
He took up smoking again, without his teacher around, he felt less restricted from his past life addiction, and it soothed his nerves.
Except this time, he wasn't smoking toxic nicotine, but what he got from his designated card.
#75: Tobacco Vending Machine – Every day, the options change and you may select a single box of tobacco.
He doesn't sell it, but he still has the Joy at his warehouse collect them once each day.
There were all kinds in the pile.
Not feeling like poisoning himself after all his effort, he threw all the nicotine ones on the side and only chose from the magical effect ones.
They generated flavored smoke with various effects while still giving the satisfying feeling of smoking tobacco.
Some were calming, some spicy for cold environments, some chilled the breath to create exhaled snowflakes, and some just had random effects.
And none of them were addictive or poisonous, and they also didn't leave a bad scent.
It smelled like what it tasted.
It was a perfect way to get his fix, feel the smoke in his lungs, and all without it being bad for him.
But despite the novelty of them, they never truly made him happy.
It was just a short term fix to fill a void.
A void that only grew with time.
A void he was running from.
But there is only so long you can run.
Especially when the one on the other end is the one who not only taught you but is also much better than you.
A figure landed on the roof in front of Hei, who was still just sitting back against the railing, smoking, and looking at the sky with dull eyes with a dirty face.
His sleeveless shirt was torn up and full of holes.
His pants were in tatters and patched up in places.
And his combat boots were caked with dry blood.
Yet the figure didn't care for that, she walked up right in front of him and looked down, blocking his view of the sky.
A dry voice came from his throat.
"Leone."
Leone, his teacher, friend, and big sister, just looked down at him with an empty gaze, before she crouched down and gently pulled his head forward to rest on her shoulder.
"I'm here Hei."
They had things to talk about, she had a lot to say, but for just that moment, for just that point in time, she embraced him, and he embraced her back.
And his tears fell once more.
"Leone….I'm sorry."
She patted the back of his head.
"Shh.. it's alright."
*Line Break*
It took me an hour to calm down, and I felt a bit embarrassed about how I appeared at the moment.
Leone seemed to realize I was ok for the moment and pulled back.
"You look and smell like shit brat."
A chuckle escaped my dry throat.
"I'm still handsome though."
She rolled her eyes and flicked my forehead.
I didn't try and dodge.
"Ow."
She huffed as she sat next to me.
"There are a lot more 'ow's' coming in the future you brat. How dare you run from me for so long. I'm half annoyed with you and half damn proud at how much you learned from me."
I laughed at that and a cough escaped me.
She handed me a water canister that I took with a nod of thanks.
"When's the last time you ate a decent meal brat? Or even slept in a bed."
I shrugged and handed the container back.
"I don't know, I stopped caring after the second week. It was just on to the next and all that."
She shook her head with a sigh.
"What am I supposed to do with you brat?"
"Love me, feed me, never leave me."
There was a pause before we both laughed at my words.
If she heard some of the desperation in my voice with the last part of that, she didn't comment on it.
"Hei, we have to talk about what you're doing."
I sighed and looked down.
"I'm grieving."
She rose a brow at me.
"You have a very…. unique way of doing that."
I shrugged and pulled out my cigarette pack but it was grabbed out my hand before I could take one.
"And what the fuck is this?"
I gave her a dry look and tilted my head.
"Smell it before you yell at me."
She quirked a brow at my counter and did so before she moved her back with a curious look.
"What is this? Blackberries?"
I chuckled at grabbed it back.
"It's from my ability, it can generate random flavored cigarettes, I get all kinds, I only take the no nicotine ones."
She looked interested and I handed her one.
Before I could take out a lighter, a small fireball appeared in front of my face and I sent her a deadpan look while she smirked wide and took a hit.
"Show off."
"You know it. Hm… ok, it's not bad, doesn't have any harmful effects either."
I shrugged and lit mine.
"I told you so."
"Then why do you smoke them?"
"Who knows, it just feels like it takes the edge off the pain."
We stayed silent for a moment before she released a cloud of smoke and brought the main topic up.
"You need to stop Hei, Mr. Lupa wouldn't want to see you this way."
I looked down and shrugged.
"I know, but I have a legacy to live up to."
*Slap*
I held a hand to my cheek while blinking before the pain registered.
"Ow."
I turned to see an angry eyed Leone and swallowed a bit.
"Don't give me that crap Hei! You think this is what it means to live up to your legacy?! To run yourself ragged and take endless jobs until your name revolves around the damn world?! Is that what you want!?"
I felt a spark of anger rise up in protest.
"What do you want me to do! His last words to me were for me to walk forward, to never look back, to abandon my fear and move. So I've done that! I abandoned my fear and pushed forward!"
Then the anger left me like the tide and a tear fell from my eye as I sagged.
"I…I don't know what I'm doing…
It hurts Leone…it hurts a lot, I just want to hear his voice again.
To let him see me become someone who could bring honor to the legacy by rising to the top.
To make him proud of me…"
Before I knew it, I was being pulled into her chest and her arms wrap around me.
Her calm voice spoke into my ears.
"You did make him proud Hei. You made him prouder than any parent could have been. He looked at you with nothing but pride and joy.
You were one of the greatest things to enter his life.
Do you know what he told me before I met you that day?"
My voice came out slightly muffled against her chest.
"What?"
She smiled while looking into the sky with a faraway look.
"He threatened me."
She scoffed.
"An old man like him, so close to his death bed, actually threatened me.
He said if I ever let things go too far and you became traumatized or significantly injured, he would come down to the underworld himself to find me.
And you know what I thought at that moment?"
She didn't wait for my answer.
"I believed him.
For in that moment, what stood before me wasn't a dying old man, but an aged alpha wolf staring me down with the threat of death. No matter what would happen to him in the process."
I chuckled at her description.
"He really could be scary went he wanted to be."
She chuckled back.
"Damn straight. But in the next moment, your walking in and he goes back to a defenseless old man needing his heir to pour him tea and tuck in a blanket around his legs.
I was speechless at the contrast.
But he had a wide smile on his face and pride in his eyes as he looked at you.
Be proud Hei, for you brought life and joy to a tired old man's life.
You eased his burden and let him die with a smile.
Because I know he wouldn't have died with any other look on him."
Her words hit home and I couldn't stop the tears again, so I buried my head in her chest to hide them. I was getting tired of crying.
"Shut up Leone, your making me emotional."
She laughed and pulled me in tighter.
"Good! You need to get this out now, so let it out brat. Your big sister is here for you, you can go back to being the big bad Lupus or reaper after you're done."
I scoffed wetly and lightly slapped her arm.
"Shut up sis."
Leone's smile at hearing that title could have lit up a Christmas tree.
But there was no further words needed.
We stayed there in a tight embrace, until the sun began to set and I was beginning to be lulled into the gentle embrace of Morpheus's realm.
I hadn't slept more than a few random hours here and there for the last two months, and I was tired, more tired than I felt in a long time.
As my form slumped against Leone in a half conscious state, I missed the tender look she sent me as she rubbed my head.
"What a silly little brother, such a handful."
She got up and threw me over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes and frowned at the lower weight I had.
I mumbled in my sleepy state.
"Stupid sis."
She laughed at that and lightly slapped my ass.
"Deal with it, there are a few other cats who want to take a bite out of you, this is the least you should be worried about."
I grumbled in protest but the pull was to strong and I fell asleep.
Leone waved a hand and a magic circle popped up around her.
"Let's go home Hei."
Even asleep, a small smile formed on my face.
We disappeared in a small flash with the backdrop of the setting sun.
Chapter end.
Omake: The Carp Jumping Over the Dragon Gate.
Back in a certain warehouse, settled in a pocket dimension, deep in the Himalaya mountains, another day had risen and a certain divine reality warping panda maid was going about her daily chores.
She was sitting cross legged in the air as produce was being neatly stacked inside crates by invisible hands as she held up a clipboard and was organizing where each item would go.
Unbeknownst to her, while she was busy, a certain fruit tree decided it wasn't done breaking the world yet.
One of it's branches began to shake as a peach began growing rapidly.
The peach was dazzling and wafted with a mind numbing aroma.
If certain Wuxia Sect Elders on the path of immortal cultivation were in the vicinity, a war that would shake the great lands would commence as experts and immortals fought over such a divine treasure of the world.
For it was a peach of evolution.
Allowing for ninth stage experts to shatter their bottleneck and achieve true everlasting immortality!
But there was no sect elders around.
And to the extreme gratitude of a certain MC's sanity, there was no cultivation sects in the world itself.
And thanks to that, no one was around to pluck the plum before it grew to heavy for the branch to hold.
It's energy gushing, it fell from the tree like a gentle leaf despite its size as it drifted down in defiance of gravity.
An unseen wind blew through the closed chamber and blew it toward a certain fish pond where a divine son of the heavens, a bluefin tuna, was watching with wide eyes and a blubbering mouth.
The entrepreneur tuna was wiggling it's body in excitement as it pushed off the water with greater force than it ever had before.
Which led to the scene of a few hundred pound bluefin tuna soaring through the air like a majestic bird of prey as it's mouth closed on the Peach of Evolution.
The moment it's fruity flesh touched the tongue of the fish, it melted into a stream of divine liquid fresher than the ale's that grace Odin's halls.
The bluefin tuna completed it's journey through the air and fell back into the water, just as the water glowed and the body of the tuna began to glow and grow.
It grew, and grew, and grew, quickly outgrowing the pond itself and forcing it to make land to not be squeezed to death.
It's fellow brethren watched on with wide eyes and blubbering mouths as they lamented their fate to miss a divine opportunity as their senior brother grew before their eyes.
Before long, the light faded and next to the fish pond stood a twenty one foot long draconic serpent with a massive set of jaws and large eyes.
"RROOARRR!"
A deep and loud roar shook the dimensional pocket as it released it's joy and exuberance on the world.
The evolved fish looked toward the heavens above and thanked his ancestors for their dedicated worship of the holy fish gods.
*Cough*
The sound of a clearing throat shattered the draconic fish's exuberance and it looked down with wrathful eyes on the great enemy of its' kind.
The executioner.
She comes by the turn each cycle to harvest their brothers and sisters for her own evil schemes.
Well no more.
For now he has the power, and she will learn to fear.
FEAR HIS PO-…*BAM*
The massive draconic serpent was smacked over the head by a gentle paw and knocked out cold.
Joy the panda maid looked down with narrowed eyes before clapping her paws together.
The draconic fish vanished as it was teleported into the nearest ocean.
With that done, she went back to her duties.
It was just another day for Joy the panda maid.
*Line Break*
Gyarados blinked open his eyes in confusion.
He looked around at the ocean bed he was laying on.
He didn't know where he was, but he knew his name was Gyarados.
How did he know? He had no idea.
All he knew was he had a name and a purpose.
His eyes flashed with a holy light.
He would create an underwater kingdom for his glorious creator who's pond had birthed his flesh and spirit while his tree had granted him the Peach of Evolution.
If he did not pay back this great gift of karma, his heart would never be settled and he would form inner demons that would obstruct him on his great way.
He would build a kingdom, and his great and majestic armies would answer the call of his creator when he called.
"RROOAARR!"
A deep roar shook the water for miles.
A new predator was here, and it had a purpose.