Opening Song: "Holy Diver" by: Dio/Killswitch Engaged
Something that sounds like paper crinkling wakes me up as I place my hand on my chest. A silky feeling brushes against my fingertips, and a wax insignia bearing some kind of marking is planted on a folded line.
Damnit Asuka, if you wanted to talk, you should have just woke me up instead of writing a letter, but I can't complain. Maybe she'll let me have a surprise before the mission. After all, I'm probably going to have to take a fucking shot before I go.
I reach over and turn a nearby lamp on. Octavian grunts and rolls over in his fold out bed. Metal springs rattle as he finds a comfortable position and resumes sleeping. The bar completely obstructs the light so he's still in darkness. Good. I don't want to wake the boy up this early.
I sit up and rub my eyes until they fully adjust to the light. The letter falls out of my lap and onto the wooden floor. I reach down, but something rejogs my groggy memory. Asuka doesn't use wax to seal letters. Nor would anyone here.
The red seal is a serpent coiled around a city and bearing its fangs. My heartbeat starts to race as I pop the seal and pull the letter out;
Only fifty-two hours, fourteen minutes and ten seconds remain by the time you read this! You look so much more peaceful whenever Asuka isn't around! A la prochaine Monsieur Alan!
At the very bottom is that dreaded name along with a bloody kiss stain from her lips. It also smells like Chanel perfume. The stuff Oliveria and her girls wear. How the hell did she even get in here without anyone noticing?
I'm going to take a guess and say Alice used M or Astoreth's aura to conceal her own since the three are within the same range in terms of power and ranking. Otherwise, I would have sensed her. Despite Alice's insanity, she's adapting to my behavior as well as everyone else's here. Crafty little bitch, I'll give her that.
"Alan? What are you doing up?" I hear Asuka's voice.
"Oh nothing. I just received a letter about a potential contract." I lie as I neatly fold up the letter and seal it shut.
Asuka rubs the sleep out of her eyes and sits down right beside me. Her huge yawn stretches her jaws apart as she lays her head on my shoulder.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Is that a fact?"
"I was wide awake all night worrying about you."
"Oh, really now?"
"Yeah. I kept having this nightmare about a woman trying to take you away."
"I assure you that's just a bad dream. Nothing like that's going to happen." I say.
"I know you need a shot. That's another reason I came in." Asuka states.
Her body goes limp and she falls unconscious as a menacing presence comes upon us. My senses flair up. Standing in between us and Octavian is a floating mouthful of dripping teeth. I cradle Asuka in my arms, cover her up and draw my handgun, "Get out of my house..."
"Easy there. You'll wake the children. I'm not here to hurt any of you. Yet." Alice replies as she fully appears and walks around the room. The wall with all the pictures of me and the girls grab Alice's attention. She picks up a photo Katsu took of me and Asuka.
"Interesting bunch you go here. Tell me, have things been problematic lately?"
"That's none of your business Alice. Now leave." Astoreth states as she pulls the dog head hammer back on her huge flintlock pistol. Her hair and body is soaking wet. Like she was showering, but hopped out without drying off. She didn't ever wrap a towel around herself.
Daigon is standing directly behind her and dressed in his sleeping attire. He summons his lance and shield, but Astoreth intentionally blocks him off.
"Stay back Daigon. This doesn't concern you."
"Well. If it isn't Astoreth of Sepculus. Oh, how I've longed to see you. In fact, I'd take you on right now, but I'm under oath not to hurt anyone at Hanzo Academy." Alice titters as she stares at the scar that starts between her legs, runs between her breasts and up to where Shen tried to cut her heart out.
"What do you want Alice!?" Astoreth snaps.
"Me? I reckoned I'd check up on my pet before I take him back to Ursania."
Astoreth swells up with anger and puts her finger on the trigger of the weapon, "Now Astoreth. There's no need to resort to violence. After all, he'll be coming with me when his time expires." Alice says with a little giggle at the end of her sentence.
Asuka whimpers and squirms around in my arms at that statement. "Please… don't take Alan away…"
"The only thing you're going to take back to Ursania is a 54. caliber bullet to the ass!" Astoreth rages.
"Oh ho, then shoot as many as you like at me!" Alice replies with a smug grin that reveals all her jagged teeth.
I shush Asuka and rock her back and forth while I keep the barrel of my weapon locked on Alice. Octavian is sound asleep as well despite all the racket we are making. Since Octavian isn't G rank, he can't sense what's going on along with all the other girls.
They can see it in their sleep, but they can't do anything about it. When Asuka wakes up, she will tell me about this, except she will say that I was the only one awake along with Astoreth, and Daigon and that we were arguing with a shadowy figure. That's why she was having nightmares because Alice was harassing her.
"Well I've had my fun. I'll be dropping by again sometime tomorrow night to remind Alan how much time remains. I may even pay Asuka a visit again." Alice says as she pins the photo back on the wall. She steps back and disappears. Her presence is now gone. Thank God.
I put my thumb on the hammer, pull the trigger and de-cock the weapon. Daigon uses his shield to cover Astoreth's naked body up as she disarms her weapon. Asuka relaxes and falls back into a sound sleep within my arms now that Alice is gone.
"Forgive me for not wrapping myself up. I was in the middle of bathing, and I could feel something harassing you and Asuka."
"You saved us Astoreth. Thank you." I reply as I try to figure out what to do. If I move Asuka back to her original position, she'll wake up. Maybe I'll just sit here. I throw a blanket over Asuka and tuck it under her body.
Astoreth puts a bath robe on and sits down in a chair right next to me. She's nervously kneading her hands together and her right leg bounces up and down. Daigon is keeping an eye on Octavian. Probably making sure he doesn't wake up.
"Alan…"
"Yes Astoreth?"
"Mr. K told us about you and Oliveria. Then Octavian told me about how she thinks Asuka is the thief."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Alan, do you really think you can find that stone within the next two days?"
"I'm positive I'll find it at Gessen when I leave in a couple hours."
"And what happens if you don't?"
"I'll let Alice have me so Asuka and the others won't have to suffer. I made the deal, so I should face the consequence." I say as I run my hand through Asuka's hair. She lets out a muffled laugh and utters something under her breath.
"Alan, I want you to know that whatever you tell me and Daigon, we aren't going to let Alice take you away." Astoreth states.
"Astoreth…"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. If anything, drastic happened, I'd rather die knowing I protected you, and the girls rather than live knowing I didn't."
She reaches over and takes a hold of my hand, "I know my word doesn't mean much. Especially compared to someone like the Queen or Kagura, but that is my promise to you and Asuka." Astoreth says.
"Your word and Daigon's mean more to me than Kagura's, or M's ever will, my shepherds of fire."
Astoreth smiles as she lifts my hand to her mouth and kisses it. She bends over and kisses Asuka on the side of her face. Daigon walks over and helps Astoreth stand, "It's about time for your mission to start. Good luck." Daigon says.
"Thanks."
I flip open my little pocket watch and take a measurement. Fifteen thousand. Damnit. I'm a little over but still. At least I'm still feeling fine. Asuka rubs the side of her face and wakes up, "Oh Alan. I had the strangest dream. You, Astoreth, and Daigon were arguing with someone in the living room, and it was the same woman that was trying to take you away. It's like I could see it happening, but I couldn't do anything."
"Sounds like your suffering from sleep paralysis because you were muttering in your sleep, but it's okay. I was awake to keep you calm." I say as I continue running my hand through Asuka's hair. Hopefully she will forget. Asuka sits up and pulls the blanket off of us.
"It's time for a shot Alan." She sighs.
"I know."
Asuka reaches into my side satchel and pulls out the stuff while I look the other way. The only good thing about this entire ordeal is Asuka is actually coming back around now, and that she cares there is a possibility of me dying. Either that, or she's pretending to care to keep me from seeking Katsu's help instead. I haven't figured out which yet.
Asuka feels up and down my arm until she finds a vein. Her fingernail digs into my skin and leaves a small marking where to inject. I rub it down with an alcohol pad while she prepares the syringe.
"You ready?" Asuka asks.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
The needle bites the tissue underneath my skin and penetrates the smooth muscle of the vein. I close my eyes and try not to think about what's happening. The holy water floods into my system and purges the excess darkness within me. I try to ignore what's going on within me, but it's becoming more and more apparent. This time feels different.
The middle of my chest feels like it's about to burst into flames from the mixture of water and corruption. My arm that received the injection begins to spasm. I've held it in as long as I possibly could, but I can't handle it anymore.
I get up and take off towards the bathroom. Katsu is currently showering for the morning while Ikaruga is combing her black hair. I place my hands on a toilet seat and hunch over. There's a lump in my throat that prevents me from swallowing.
"Alan!" Asuka yells as she bends down beside me.
Katsu turns the water off and wraps herself up in a towel while Ikaruga stands over me. The lump suddenly pops and my throat flexes. Liquid mixed with chunks that look like stones turn the water within the toilet bowl a dark maroon color.
In fact, it's not as black as it was last time. Not to mention chunks of what appear to be rock. The three girls constantly rub my back and offer moral support of any kind. The rocks greatly concern me because this has never happened. It hits me again and more darkness flows out.
"Ikaruga, go call Jonathan! This hasn't happened before!" Asuka states.
Ikaruga nods and leaves for the phone. Jagged, misshaped objects scrape against the back of my throat as a wave of holy water, hydrochloric acid and corruption flow over it. The irritation is severe enough that I can barely draw breath. With all the air I have left, I spit as hard as I can. There's another pop within my mouth and the liquid escorts the chunks out of my body.
"What do you mean you've never seen this before?" Katsu asks.
"Alan has never thrown up rocks."
"His body is adjusting to an internal injury." M states as she walks in.
I try to turn around but I lose my balance and collapse to the side. Both Asuka and Katsu desperately try and pick me up, but I can't even move right now. This is worse than that time we encountered Hades out in the wasteland.
"What do you mean 'an internal injury!?' Tell me!" Asuka demands.
"Oh, he has never told you? Then again, I guess I wouldn't either." M says as she crouches down beside me and touches my stomach. Strength re-enters my body and everything returns to normal. Katsu works her hands underneath my back and helps me sit up.
"Tell her what? What's happening?" I ask.
"Deep within your body, you've suffered some kind of internal injury. For some reason, it wasn't fatal enough to kill you. Yet it continues to slowly bleed. A direct result of that injury, being half blood, the amount of power you have, and your hemo-crafting ability is the formation of blood stones within your body."
M holds out her hand, and the stones appear within her palm. She rolls the rocks around and makes them bounce off one another, "Judging by the sound and shape, they would be considered a chunk in Yharnam despite being in pieces." M states as she holds them up to her ear and shakes them back and forth. The rocks make a distinct noise that sounds like polished stones rubbing against each other.
"So, what's that mean for Alan?" Katsu asks.
"It means keep your mouth shut or I'll kill you and everyone else here. If the shinobi or hunters ever found out about Alan's ability to generate chunks, he'd be in more danger than he is already." M says as she grinds the stones to dust with the bare hand.
"Look woman, what is your problem? Ever since you've got here, you've been treating us like we're stupid!" Asuka snaps as she stands up.
"Stupid is a relatively cruel word. I prefer the terms foolish and naïve."
Asuka acts like she is going to do something, but Katsu and I grab her arms and hold her in place until M leaves the room. There's no telling what M is talking about, but I do see the significance of keeping this a secret.
"You girls get ready for training. I got a job to do." I say as I walk out of the bathroom. Ikaruga comes back with a phone and is talking back and forth with Jonathan.
"He's right here." Ikaruga says as she hands me the phone.
"Hello?"
"Alan, you alright?"
"Yeah. For now."
"What's the problem?"
"Well the Queen said I'm developing stones in my body."
"Damnit…" Johnathan sighs.
"What is it?"
"Alan, don't let anyone know about your condition."
"I reckon those stones are something of interest?"
"How do you know?"
"M said something about more trouble is to come if the counsel or any hunters found out I'm creating stones within my body."
"Those stones are very valuable and only come from half-bloods. I knew someone who was being used as a garner."
"Guessing it didn't end too well for the harvesters?"
"That person didn't leave anyone alive."
"Hell, if I was being used as livestock, I'd kill everyone involved too."
"Just be careful son. It isn't anything serious medically, but if the wrong person found out, you'd be in a lot of trouble."
"Alright Jonathan. Bye."
I put the phone away and head into the living room. Ayame is sitting on the couch, dressed in a Gessen uniform and ready to go. She's got contacts that change her eye color from red to blue and her black hair is neatly folded into a bun. She's even got a pair of glasses. If I only seen her once, I wouldn't recognize her. On Ayame's lap sits the box containing all the stuff I need for our infiltration mission.
"Everything okay Alan?" Ayame asks as she hands me the box.
"Yeah, I'm good."
"So how are we going to get there? A train is going to take at least half a day."
"This little toy right here. It will let us travel using mirrors. Courtesy of the Mirror Queen. Patent pending." I reply as I point at the ring on my ring finger.
"Wow. That sounds pretty awesome." Ayame states.
I open the box and rummage through what Murasame got me. A Gessen Teacher's uniform, a low security teacher's badge, a pair of shoes, gold contact lenses, a pair of red framed reading glasses, black stockings? A black wig…
Murasame! You son of a bitch! Beggars can't be choosers though, and this is exactly why he did it because he knew I didn't have room to complain. I bet that idiot is laughing his ass off and sipping brandy from his room. Knowing that he pulled one over me. I'll give credit where credit is due, I deserved that one.
"How the hell do you even put this thing on?" I say.
"Here, let me help." Ayame says as she helps me step into the dress.
I let her do most of the work while I remove my greaves and kick my boots off. The stockings aren't that hard to put on. At least I can do that much. Jesus, this sucks. The bottom half of my body feels naked. This is the first time I've actually walked around in anything but my armor. Even though my leather chest piece is going to remain under the uniform.
I slip the shoes on and Ayame tightens the laces and buttons all the snaps on this elegant looking piece of clothing. I have to admit; the grey blazer, and the black long sleeve undershirt is surprisingly comfortable. Although I hate the fucking air the skirt lets in.
"Looking good." I hear Mr. K tease as he rolls Gehrman into the living room. The rest of the girls are wide awake and are following behind him.
"Breathing taking. Aren't I?" I reply as I place my hands underneath my chin and do a girly gesture.
"What the hell are you wearing son?" Gehrman gasps.
"It's for a mission old man. Calm down." I say as I put the black wig on and look into a mirror.
All that's left is for the contact lens. Since my eyes are very unique, and Yumi and everyone at Gessen has them memorized, this will act as a cover to prevent them from recognizing me, or at least throw them off.
"Hey Alan, you look like that nurse from Shinmai. Except in a Gessen uniform." Hibari giggles.
It takes me a couple moments but then I realize it, "Holy fucking shit! I do!"
"You might need these!" Katsu shouts. She puts something on her thumb and stretches her other hand back. Something that's striped red and green fly directly at me. I hold up my hand and catch it. I immediately know what it is because I can tell by how the fabric feels.
"What's this? There's color everywhere, and it's Lacey!" I say as I stretch Asuka's underwear apart with my thumbs.
"Hey! Give those back!" Asuka shouts as she runs over to me. I quickly throw them to Daigon and he tosses it to Astoreth.
"Hot potato!" I shout as Astoreth launches them back to me.
"Alan! I'm warning you!"
I launch the underwear back to Katsu but M catches them midair with her telepathic powers and holds it out of Asuka's reach, "Don't worry Alan. Asuka's just jealous because you could probably make this pair of bad boys look better than she ever could." M states as she launches the underwear back to me.
"Well I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a complement." I step next to Octavian and pop him in the arm with the elastic band of Asuka's underwear. He snorts and jumps up from fear. His eyes haven't even adjusted to the light so he bends over and tries to rub the sleep from his eyes.
He casts his eyes on me, and a surprised look grows across his sleepy face. I play the part and stereotypically cross my arms like those sassy, anime waifus do. I don't think he's caught on to who I truly am yet. Snickers and stunted laughter come from all around us while Octavian tries to figure out who I am.
"Who are you?"
"Well I'm glad you asked." I reply as I take the wig off.
His face slips into depression as he finally recognizes me. Daigon can barely contain himself as he walks over and puts his hand on Octavian's shoulder, "Well Alan, the good news is the disguise works. Octavian has a boner. The bad news is, it's in the shape of a question mark."
"By the gods, what strange times we live in." Gehrman shutters.
"Believe me old man, there are stranger things other than a guy dressing up as a female teacher to infiltrate a prestigious girl's only shinobi school." I reply as I hold my eye open and look up. The clear plastic lens slightly irritates the white of my eye. I let go, look down and blink a couple times before putting the other in.
"I haven't been here more than a couple hours and you've proven to be quite a character." Gehrman says.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." I answer as I dab some make up on the side of my face to conceal the scar.
I look myself over and make sure everything lines up on the uniform. Ayame looks herself over and gives me the thumbs up that she is ready to proceed with the mission. As of now, it's about seven in the morning. Classes don't start until nine or so. There are some early classes around eight, but we'll be sure to avoid them.
"Okay Ayame, here's the story, your name is Okatsu and your parents were killed in a freak wrestling accident…"
"Is that the best you can come up with!?"
"I don't hear you coming up with any backstory Asuka! Okay, your name is Okatsu. Spare the back story because I lack the imagination to make one up. You're from the northern part of the country and your family makes lots of money. Because the north is primarily controlled by douchebag shinobi, and backed by asshole hunters, your family thought it would be better if you attended Gessen because Gessen is apparently the best school in the country."
I cup my hand over my mouth, "And when I say apparently, it is…"
"Kiss up."
"Shut up Yagyu! Nobody asked for your input! Anyway, just stick to your name, keep it casual and you'll be fine."
"That's good, because Alan didn't think anything through like always…"
"I thought a lot further ahead than you did misses salt rock." I sneer as I launch Asuka's underwear back at her.
"So, I'm just Okatsu and my parents are rich?"
"Correct. Having a backstory is a lousy idea. Way too mainstream."
"What about you?"
"I'll make something up if the situation occurs." I reply as I stand in front of the mirror and think about the house over by Roger's grave. It looks like it's unoccupied, but well taken care of since I was there last time. Gehrman puts his hands together and turns into a koukla shaped like a chiseled yoma fang. Katsu picks him up and hands him to me. In reality, he's more of a necklace than something that hangs from the hip, but I attach him to my belt regardless.
"Remember Alan. Nemo currit ad Kagura. Alioquin(No running back to Kagura. Otherwise) …" M holds up her claymore handle up, and the sea foam color blade erupts from the hilt.
"Yeah, yeah, I gave you my word! You crazy broad…" I reply as I take my side satchel off my greaves and hook it to the black belt that runs across the waist of my skirt.
No one other than Hibari understands what M said, and a great look of displeasure grows on her face. Hibari folds her hands together and walks to where Ayame and I are, "Alan, Ayame, please be careful."
"Yes. We wouldn't want anything to happen to the Queen's little toy now, would we?" I hear Mojo tease from a nearby bookshelf. His tail swoops back and forth out of mischievous habit. His eyes have changed color, and he has that demented looking smile that stretches from one ear to the other.
I pop a suppression pill and swallow. The effects are almost immediate. All the color from my vision bleeds into nothing but black and white before colors slowly return. For a second, I couldn't tell if Hibari had pink hair or grey.
My yoma senses feel like they are completely nullified. Just to play it safe, I focus and try to draw power from my soul. No matter how hard I try, nothing happens. For a brief second, I can feel the bottom half of my eyes turning black, but it quickly drains and reverts back to normal.
"M, can you sense my yoma power?"
"I sense your immaturity, but not the beast blood."
"It works!"
The only down side is I will not be able to regenerate any wounds if I get hurt. Which means I'll have to tough it out on top of it hurting a hell of a lot more than it usually does. Nor will I have access to any of my powers.
I put the hollow tooth over one of the molars in the back of my mouth. The soft, acrylic resin fits over the tooth and assumes a natural shape that doesn't feel in the way. All I'll have to do is forcefully dislodge it and bite down.
"Before you go, you might need this." M says as she hands me some kind of skeleton key made out of black clay.
"Alright. Here we go." I say as I kneel down and motion for Ayame to come over. She puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Alan."
"Yes Asuka?"
"Take care."
"I'll be back. Promise."
Hearing that makes me happy, but I can't let it distract me since I have Ayame to look after. I need to be at one hundred and eleven percent for this mission to be a success. Asuka's life as well as everyone else's here is at stake.
I slowly reach out and touch the mirror. In an instant, Ayame and I are within the house at Gessen. It hasn't been used in a while. The cold air sinks its teeth into my legs. The black stockings are completely useless at retaining heat of any kind. Probably the most useless piece of clothing to be wearing in winter.
Either that, or Murasame intentionally got me some that weren't insulated. I'm putting money on Murasame trolling me. Two in a row. Damn Murasame. You're on fire. That's the most he's ever pulled on me in the course of a month.
"Okay Alan. What's the plan?" Ayame asks as she secures the house.
"From now on, I'm Misses Yuno, and I have something to do really quick." I reply as I walk out of the house.
So far, there is no one in the courtyard or anywhere near the trails. Roger's tombstone is still standing, but its been dug up and refilled. Probably from when Octavian left Gessen. He brought his brother's ashes in hopes of spreading them or protecting his gravesite from desecration.
I squat down and place my hand on the tombstone, "Hey Roger. I know we used to joke about how Minori got me to do a lot of dumb things, but I swore she'd never get me in a dress. Well… Here I am. If only you were here so I could see your reaction." I scoff with a small laugh.
I wipe my mouth and try to think of something without being transported to that night at Hebijo, "Jesus Christ Roger, I really wish you were here right now. There's so much going on right now. It's nothing I can't handle, but it's hard not having my brother tell me where to go, or what to do. But however things pan out, I'll do everything I can to make you proud."
Ayame is standing directly behind me. She must have listened to the whole conversation. Ayame squats down beside me and touches the grave with me, "Was he your brother?"
"Yes."
Ayame nods her head up and down, "My parents and older sister were good shinobi. I lost my mom and dad to evil shinobi. The hunters took the life of my sister. For the longest time I truly hated them both. I swore I'd kill every last one of them until I was adopted by a family that turned out to be evil shinobi, and they taught me the importance of healing over hating."
"There are good people on all sides, but they all wrestle with the inevitable fact that there is also evil on all sides as well." I reply as I stand up and check my pocket watch.
It looks like Ayame wants to say something, but because she doesn't have experience, Ayame doesn't know what to say. Still though, her kind and supportive manner somehow brings a certain kind of comfort to me. The kind where I know she cares without her expressing it through words or actions.
"Let's go find that stone Ayame."
"I'm right there with you Alan…"
Ending Song: "Stillborn" by: Black Label Society