I'm back! I told you guys I wasn't abandoning this, you really need to have more faith in me lol. If you ever want to know what the status' of any of my stories are then check my Bio, I have a section for each of my stories which says if they are in progress, on hiatus or completed. Anyways, I won't say much more here and instead just let you read the chapter, if you want more information about what I've been up to than check the authors note at the end of the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Highschool DXD, nor any of their respective characters.
Guardian of the Dead
- Chapter 12 -
He didn't care. He didn't care that the man's fingernails were shredding his arm, he didn't care that his shins were getting battered by his flailing legs. He didn't care that at this moment as he watched the corrupt exorcist struggle desperately to fill his lungs with air that he was a monster.
He just wanted this man dead.
Feeling his muscles flex he pushed harder, the drywall creaked under the pressure and the spiderweb-like cracks which formed on the initial impact spread further. He could see the fear in the man's red eyes, the once psychotic gleam having diminished completely leaving only a primal terror. It only made the Shinigami angrier.
"What right do you have to be afraid?!" he spat out, voice barely above a whisper, "What about all the innocent people you've killed- butchered for your own sick pleasure.. what about their fear?" he paused, struggling desperately to keep his reiatsu from exploding outwards. Gritting his teeth he pulled the man back away from the wall briefly only so he could slam him into it once more, "how many of them begged, huh? Grovelling on their knees, crying at your feet? And did you show them any mercy?"
Seeing that the man was trying to say something he relented a little of the pressure he had on his throat and give him a moment to suck in some much-needed breaths of air. Yeah, he probably should have just killed him there but in the teens darkened state of mind he wanted to hear what the exorcist had to say, he wanted to hear all of the pathetic excuses he could come up with.
"Sh-she beg-ged me- to just spa-re h-hurrk!" the man paused, a bout of coughing having taken over, not even attempting to wipe the drool coming from the side of his mouth he pushed on, "spare her- daughter.." the man choked out a horse huff of laughter before continuing again" So I- pinned the bitch to the floor- with my sword.." he paused again, another cough escaping him. And then, a sickening smile spread across his face, one that made the teen begin to regret letting him speak at all. "..her screams of agony as I- I raped her daughter.. I've never been so horn-" any other words were cut off as the teen before him snapped.
Before one blink and the next, the exorcist's body had been implanted in the floor of the home, the Shinigami was above him, his fists moving in a blur as they continued to lay into the exorcists face.
His eyes had a distinct stinging sensation as he ground his teeth together, he had never felt such a blindingly hot rage within him, not even the anger he felt in Hell when Yuzu begun forming one of Hell's chains could compare to this. He wasn't even trying to kill the exorcist anymore, he was long past that now.. 'I want him to suffer.. I want to hear him beg for his life.. to feel the cold terror that he put his victims through!'
"-higo.."
"Ichigo.."
"Ichigo! Calm down!" Ryujin roared, finally getting through to his young wielder.
The teen recoiled back as if he'd just been slapped, greedily he sucked in a deep, calming breath of air. It felt as if he had been downing, unable to pull himself back above water, the darkness just kept growing around him as he struggled. The sound of his blood pounding in his ears was deafening in this now silent home.
Looking down towards the man Ichigo grimaced, not because of what he had done to him- no, he deserved all of it plus more.. he was just disappointed in himself for letting it get to that, for losing his control.
Standing up he took another couple of deep breaths, his heartbeat slowly settling back down. He would speak to his Zanpakuto spirit again later but for now, he just sent a mental 'thank you,' to which the old spirit sent out a comforting pulse of heat from the depths of his soul.
Ichigo cursed softly under his breath when a red glow filled the area, an intricate magic circle forming on the opposite side of the room. He could have gotten away still without meeting them face to face, none of them had any hope of keeping up with his Shunpo, but he was just too mentally exhausted. And what good would it have done anyway? They already knew he was here, he had been mildly aware of how wildly his reiatsu had been fluctuating during that situation only he hadn't cared.
So even if he fled now they would just see each other at school, might as well just get all of the headaches over in one go, right?
When the group appeared in a flash of red they immediately covered their mouths and noses. The smell in the home was still quite rancid from the corpses not to mention there was a lot of dust floating around the air from the impromptu remodelling he had done using Freed's body.
Their eyes first went to the mangled heap of corpses sat in the corner though none of their gazes lingered, next, as they shifted towards the darkened corner of the room looks of fear filled their expressions. Ichigo couldn't blame them, he supposed he would make for a pretty scary sight right now, shrouded in darkness with eyes glowing from his stirred reiatsu, blood covered fists as he stood over a mangled body and nearly unrecognizable face.
Asia half hid behind the Red Dragon, just peaking around his shoulder, she seemed to really be struggling with the whole situation and that he felt bad for. She was much like Inoue it seemed, a desire to help her friends but just unsuited for the lifestyle. Kiba was glaring venomously at the bloodied body at his feet so clearly, there was some history there, he didn't seem to be directing any of that emotion towards Ichigo though, he was just cautious.
Koneko had a mixed look on her face, partially sympathetic when her gaze flickered towards him and partially angry when her eyes fell on the trash at his feet. Akeno, the Queen of their peerage seemed a little troubled by everything going on but for the most part, she looked pretty impassive. And finally, Rias. She, much like her Queen was holding it together pretty well, she seemed torn between letting her usual arrogant and haughty personality come to the forefront or just staying as she was for fear of angering him.
Shifting his weight to his back foot he huffed, he found it kind of amusing to see them twitch every time he so much as moved a finger. Normally he wouldn't want to be feared by anyone, well maybe except his enemies, but right now he just didn't care, he just wanted to go home.
"K-Kurosaki-san.." the Gremory Heiress managed to get out, though her voice held none of its usual volume and authority.
He gave a brief hum of acknowledgement in response, "Gremory-san."
Straightening her posture she took a step forward, "I would like to thank you personally for apprehending this man,"
Brow raising curiously he looked towards the Devil with a little bit of surprise, 'huh.. well that wasn't what I had expected,' he mused. She seemed genuine in her words of thanks, maybe she wasn't so bad after all-
"However.." she continued, pausing slightly when she saw his eyes fall into an unimpressed stare, "-however, you have overstepped your boundaries." She finished strongly, some of her backbone having returned.
"What?!" He hissed, rounding on her with an incredulous stare. Had he just misheard her? He really hoped that was the case.
"I-It is as you've heard. Kuoh town is a joint territory under the control of myself – the Heiress to the house of Gremory – and Sona Sitri – the Heiress to the house of Sitri – anything that happens in this town must be approved by one of us first. I don't know what mythology you belong too, Kurosaki-san, or where your loyalties lay but you are not exempt from this either as long as you live in this town."
The room fell dangerously silent as he mulled over the verbal garbage she had just spewed towards him, she made it so easy for the Shinigami to hate her. "Overstepped my boundaries?" he echoed back in a mumble, he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"Your territory, huh?" He said lightly with a burst of mocking laughter. "I'll be blunt with you here, Gremory-san, I couldn't care less about what is or is not a part of your territory, all I care about is helping people and stopping bad guys.." he paused, debating mentally if he really wanted to keep verbally pushing her. The last thing he needed right now was to start another fight which could- and most likely would draw in more Devils. And, considering the way her peerage members glared at him for his rudeness towards her told him the possibility was all too real, but then again, he just really didn't care right now.
Well, he never was one for half-assing things..
"It's fine if you want to stand their all haughtily with your worthless pride telling me what I can and cannot do in your territory, but if you're going to go down that route then you'd better make damn sure you can back it up." Glancing down towards the presumed dead man at his feet his mouth twisted distastefully and his temper flared once more. "This piece of shit has been running around butchering people indiscriminately since I arrived here, you've got Fallen Angels running around behind the scenes stirring trouble with the Excalibur Fragments and what have you done about it? Nothing." She flinched.
"You claim this is your territory right? So protect it! And if you're not going to do it than stand back! You have no right to get all high and mighty when someone comes around who's willing to do the work that you won't!"
She had to wonder where her peaceful life went- well she knew where it went, she just didn't want to accept it. After years of practically begging her family let her move to the human world to experience their culture she'd finally gotten them to agree, and with it, she'd moved to a small town called Kuoh in the Country of Japan.
Even though nothing truly major had happened yet it felt as if her life had been turned on its head since her third year of high school had begun. With her engagement to Riser suddenly being pushed forward, her meeting of Issei and Asia and their subsequent resurrections into her peerage, her first ever rating game against the man she hated most in the world and her unfortunate loss.
She could still vividly remember the cold dread that filled her as her wedding dress was donned for the engagement party, only increasing when her sole pawn stormed the ballroom and demanded that she be given back to him. Her heart fluttered now at the memory but she still wished it had never come to that, because of her weakness Issei had to give up his arm to the Red Dragon, a price which could never be refunded.
Perhaps she had gotten complacent in her time away from the underworld, though could you blame her? After two years of peace and quiet away from her home, away from cunning and arrogant nobles, deceitful and treacherous politics, the name of Gremory which had suffocated her since her birth, how could she not grow dull to the world after she had become a 'normal girl' that didn't have to deal with suck-up's trying to get a good word put in to her Onii-sama.
She'd been avoiding this topic, however, unwilling to humour the idea that she'd fallen behind in her training, that she had let the town she swore to her brother she would protect fall into chaos due to her lack of caring. And, after her arranged marriage had been cancelled and peace had seemed to once more befall her life she was more than willing to let it drop again.
But now as she stood face to face with the terrifying transfer student who was none too kindly dressing her down she realized it was time she stopped running from all the trouble happening around her, it was about time that she released her grasp on the fragile peace around her and fought for something better.
Stepping forwards Kiba put a reassuring hand on Rias' shoulder, the backbone she'd had melted away quickly upon hearing the words spoken by the transfer student. "Kurosaki-san.. while I believe you are a good person who wants to help people, I cannot sit back and let you speak so disrespectfully to my master, if you continue to do so than I-"
"Am I wrong?" Ichigo cut in bluntly, levelling the Knight with a challenging stare.
The Knights mouth opened to respond however no sound came out, seeing that he was at a loss for words Ichigo decided to call it there and made way for the home's entrance. As he brushed past the speechless Devils he was not surprised to receive no objections to his departure.
You could feel the tension slowly fade away from the room with every step the transfer student took away from them, their bodies finally loosening up as they heard the soft squeak of the porches front steps from his weight before he vanished from their senses. Giving it a couple more seconds the Gremory Heiress turned too her peerage and opened her mouth to speak.
"Let's take our leave from here as well, there isn't much left for us now.." The Heiress commanded, her voice a little weak as she began to speak, "I'll contact my Grayfia and ask her to send someone to clean this up.." she trailed off, unwilling to look towards the carnage any further. With accepting nods from her peerage her Queen summoned another teleportation circle below their feet and whisked them away.
When all parties had left and silence once again reigned in the ruined home a single, bloodshot eye crept open and stared ecstatically at the ceiling. In a show of thanks to the devil scum, he would make her death as painless as possible the next time he saw her. Thanks to her naivete she had failed to check if he was really dead or just playing the part to bide his time and try for an escape.
He was in a pathetic state, barely breathing from the thrashing he'd received.. It was a hit to his pride to be so utterly crushed but thanks to their error he would be able to leave this place and return the favour tenfold. Mustering the last of his strength he reached into his coat pocket and grasped a small grey ball, crushing it between his fingers the room was filled with a blinding light and when it faded he was gone.
~ Kuoh Academy
Okay, she would admit that she was pretty nervous right now, why wouldn't she be? Just as she told her peerage she would, she contacted Grayfia about getting a team to come to the Human World and clean up the mess that was the latest victim's home. And, although the task had been accomplished and people had been sent out the conversation had ended with Grayfia telling Rias she was to come to Hell for an important meeting with not her brother, but the Crimson Lucifer and Sin of Pride himself.
She had mulled over it for a good twenty minutes just trying to think of something- anything that this meeting could be about, unfortunately to no avail, she was never called to meet with the Satan Lucifer, it was always her brother Sirzechs.
Anxiously she sat in the silence of the occult research club's main room, lightly biting at her fingernails as she waited for the clock to strike seven, that was when the magic circle would appear to take her to Hell, and hopefully to a brother in a good mood.
"Do you think this could be about Kurosaki-san?" Akeno asked in a curious tone as she held a finger to her raised chin.
Rias thought over the question for a moment, in truth she'd already considered that possibility once but it was just hard to really believe, "I just can't see it.. other than a couple spikes in energy there hasn't been anything that would really draw Beelzebub-sama's attention, especially considering how much of a hot spot Kuoh has been recently, it's likely that they would just brush off small abnormalities at this point considering everything that's going on."
"And you've never mentioned him to your brother? Not even with the earlier report?" she asked further after giving a nod and hum of agreement to her King's initial reasoning.
"No," she began with a simple shake of her head, "maybe it was wrong on my part but I never felt the need to tell them, me and Sona aren't obliged to mention every spiritually adept person who comes along," pausing, she blushed slightly when she noticed her Queen giving her a sly smile and a look of 'really?'
"I think we can both agree that he isn't just 'another spiritually adept person' who came strolling along Rias.."
Puffing her cheeks she turned away with a quick 'hmph,' though try as she might to hold her pout firm she cracked at the soft giggling which came from her best friend behind her. With a small huff of laughter of her own, she relented and turned back to her Queen who was now giving her a sympathetic look.
"I get it, you just don't want to be a burden to your brother, you want to show him and everyone else that you can handle things on your own," she spoke softly.
Nodding slowly Rias gave a lopsided, sombre smile, "Kurosaki-san's words hurt last night, like a punch to the gut or a slap to the face.. but they were true," seeing that her Queen wanted to object she gave gave a simple shake of her head, "It's just as you said, I don't want to be a burden to my brother, I want people to know they can rely on me to do things but I haven't tried hard enough, I let my peaceful life here in the human world dull my sense of responsibility, I hoped things would just resolve themselves nicely while I sat in the back puffing my chest out as the co-ruler of this territory.. and instead things only got worse."
Sighing out heavily she slumped back into her seat and stared out at the dimming sky, "then, last night he goes and captures the stray exorcist who's been brutally murdering people which I couldn't do, and how do I repay him? With a half-hearted thank you followed by a bratty princess act."
"I'm sure if you just apologized to him he would forgive you, he seems very nice despite the frosty demeanour he shows outwardly.." Akeno added reassuringly while laying a comforting hand on her friend's arm, however this time it was Rias' turn to give her a mirthless smile and a look that said 'really?'
I don't know if you've noticed it yet Akeno but he doesn't seem to be too fond of me- well to be fair he doesn't act like he's very fond of anyone here in Kuoh but with me, it's like he has a little less patience than with everyone else.
Those were words that Akeno couldn't really deny, she had noticed the slight animosity which filled his gaze when Rias was near but as confusing as it was she'd never gotten the courage to actually go up to him and ask what it was all about, as far as she knew there was no history between the two.
Seeing a soft silver glow light up the front of the room and the magic circle which they'd come to associate with Grayfia appear on the floor the two girls stood, Rias more stiffly than her Queen. With Akeno's aid, the two made sure her uniform was spotless and that there wasn't a hair out of place on her head before both walked towards the edge of the pulsing magic circuit, and Rias prepared herself to step through.
~ Unknown Location
"Oh dear.. all I could hear from this room was a fanatical, venomous tirade and so out of curiosity I came to see what going on and this is what I find?" Shaking his head in mock disappointment the embodiment of evil surveyed the damage done to the once hospital like space.
Overturned beds, gashes and bullet holes marring the once pristine room, pools of blood on the floor and splattered on the walls. Smears of the same crimson liquid smudged on the white tiles showing a panic that had once filled this room when the now butchered victims had tried to escape their killer.
The perpetrator himself was stood naked over on the far side of the room above an equally nude female sacred gear wielder. She was scratched and bleeding in a few places but not dead, however judging by the tears streaming down her blank face as she lay there broken and defeated she probably wished she was.
"Ah, so you would be Siegfried's brother," the newcomer spoke in a honeyed tone, "they had told me you were the psychotic one of the pair but I didn't expect it to be this bad," he continued further glancing around the room, completely uncaring that he was insulting the man, the stray exorcist was nothing more than a bug at his feet and both of them knew it.
Eyes shining with a malicious glee he let more of his toxic words slip, the anger that was growing on the exorcists face only further fuelling his dark game, "Or perhaps this is how you act every time you come crawling home from nearly getting your life taken away."
Unable to hold back anymore the grin that split his face was simply mocking, it was comical to the Devil how this exorcist grit his teeth and bristled with anger, "or so they say, you're the laughing stock around here right now," he finished with an uncaring shrug before starting to turn around.
"kill him.."
"Hm?" the Devil hummed curiously as he heard the same zealous tone that originally drew him here in the first place.
"Kill him.."
"Kill him.."
"I'll kill him.. I'LL FUCKING KILL THAT PUNK," Freed roared, his eyes bulging and bloodshot, mouth twisted as a depraved laughter escaped him.
Interest renewed Freed's sole observer turned towards him again as he continued to stare off into space as if in a trance while chanting about what he'd do to this so-called 'punk,' as well as the Devil whore, her peerage, and a whole town too.
"It seems you have quite the hit list, but can you really do it? Your first attempt didn't go so well," he mocked.
The sudden words having broken him from his dream the exorcists eyes snapped back onto the man stood in the door, this time however his taunting jabs didn't bring forth an anger in him, no, now it just made him laugh more because he had a trump card, "Of course.. old man Valpa has been working on something for me."
"Ah yes, the Chimera project.." the Devil affirmed, "but will it really be enough?" he asked curiously while bringing a hand up to stroke his beard. "What if you could have something more?"
It didn't take long for Freed to realize the meaning of his words, face relaxing back into neutrality – well as normal as could be for someone with such little sanity – he wasted no time in confirming his assumptions, "a snake?"
"Of course, call it a whim but I think this could be interesting.. get dressed and follow me if you're interested."
In a rare show of self-preservation, the exorcist actually hesitated, "The first thing I was told when coming here was 'don't trust Rizevim.'"
At those words Rizevim burst out into a rare display of laughter, "that's good advice, you should heed it," he spoke honestly.
Seeing Freed give him a suspicious look the man's laughter finally began fading into a light chuckle, leaving the exorcist with some parting words he turned and began to walk away, uncaring if the man would actually follow him or not, "however.. I never told you to trust me."
Thinking the situation over for a moment a grin spread onto his face as he started reaching for his clothing, 'when did I become such a pussy? Who cares what happens to me as long as I can kill Devil loving scum?'
~ Underworld, Capital City of Lilith
Waiting for her on the other side was the same person who'd prepared the teleportation circle in the first place, her brothers Wife, Queen, and the head maid of the house of Gremory, Grayfia Lucifuge. The woman in question looking as calm and poised as ever merely inclined her head respectfully towards the Gremory Heiress before gesturing for Rias to follow her.
It didn't take her long to realize that this wasn't the Gremory house which she was accustomed to, instead it was her brothers office building in the Devil's Capital City of Lilith, 'this really isn't looking good..' the crimson-haired princess languished mentally, her hands unconsciously gripping at the hem of her skirt.
"Do you have any idea why my brother has called for me, Grayfia?"
"I do not know the particulars of it, however, Sirzechs-sama has indeed given me some information regarding the purpose of today's summoning," glancing to her left and seeing the hopeful glint in the high school girls eyes the maid quickly added onto her previous statement, "it would however be very disrespectful towards the Lord Lucifer were I to disclose that information since I have not been given his explicit instructions to do so."
Inwardly the Gremory maid smirked at the childish pout which found its way onto the girls face, though of course her outward demeanour never so much as twitched. In truth, she knew exactly what this meeting was about and Rias was right to be a little nervous. While Sirzechs wasn't planning on punishing her per say, he also wasn't going to be his usual doting big brother self, this meeting was to be somewhat of a wake-up call for Rias.
When the pair stopped in front of the two large wooden doors which led to their final destination Grayfia didn't even have to knock on the door to signal their arrival and a powerful voice was coming through the door giving them permission to enter.
She'd only been in his office twice before today and both times she previous she was considerably younger, however, it was still as lavish as she remembered it too be. The decor was slightly different than what most would expect from a Devil but it was still well within the range of what you'd expect from the one called Lucifer.
Dark oak, various shades of red, taxidermy and a few skulls from legendary creatures, apocalyptic scene's covering the walls and a large portrait of the man in question behind his desk, personally Rias found the room to be very tacky – an opinion she knew her sister-in-law shared completely – however this was the one room her brother was allowed to decorate as he wished and Grayfia could note intervene.
Sirzechs himself was stood at one of the many windows in his office, regal and proud with his arms crossed behind his back. He didn't have on his usual royal attire and was instead clad in a simple white suit though that didn't mean his presence was any less domineering.
"Good evening, Onii-sama," Rias finally called out, her voice slightly unsure.
Turning away from the window finally he met the two woman with a smile but made no effort to move from his place in the room. Glancing first towards his wife his words were simple, "Thank you, Grayfia, you may leave now." The woman in question nodded tersely first in appreciation of his gratitude and then bowed at his command before turning on her heel and exiting the room, the doors shutting silently behind her.
"Good evening, Rias, I trust you've been well?" He continued, now looking towards his sister. His words were soft and his smile warm but deep within his eyes could be seen the cold, tempered ruthlessness of his true position as Leader of the Devils.
"I have been, thank you," she replied sincerely, her words bringing a visible relief to her brother however short lasting it may have been.
Walking towards his desk he gestured to the many seats which surrounded his sister, "why don't you have a seat, as you've probably guessed this isn't just a family gathering, I have some questions I'd like answered and time is of the essence right now."
Wordlessly she did as instructed, seating herself gracefully in one of the frontmost chairs which faced his desk directly, she tried her best to keep her hands still in her lap however the feeling of dread that was quickly building around her made it hard to stop the fidgeting.
'Please don't be about last night, please don't be about last night, please don't be-'
"About last night.."
'Dammit..'
"I was informed late last night by Grayfia that you had contacted her regarding a cleanup team which would be required after the latest victim of that stray exorcist, but also that – much to my delight – you and your peerage had finally eliminated the man.. however, the report I received from the cleanup team this morning left me puzzled, do you have any idea what it might have said?" He finished in a relaxed tone, his face completely neutral save for one curiously raised brow.
Swallowing the lump in her throat she replied simply, "I do not, Onii-sama."
Letting out a soft hum Sirzechs leaned casually against his desk and reached for a group of papers sat atop it, after a moment of shuffling he found the specific piece he was looking for and set back down the rest. Outstretching his hand he gave the report to his sister, "read that first paragraph for me."
Again she wordlessly did as instructed, and with every line that she progressed through her eyes grew further with shock until she reached the end, "..there was no body?" It was only a whisper but in the Lucifer's silent office the words were heard clearly.
"Mm, and there was a trace of magic left where his body was supposed to lay," he finished off for Rias.
Seeing that she was at a loss for words as she stared blankly at the report he decided to just be blunt about the situation, "I won't mince my words here Rias, despite how lacking you have been in your training since going to the human world," he paused briefly seeing his sister flinch slightly at the jab, he didn't want to insult her but it was something that needed to be said, "despite that I know for certain that you wouldn't be naive enough to not check and see if your enemy was really dead or just playing the part."
"More so," he continued when she remained silent in her seat still, "Ajuka picked up quite the interesting pulse of energy just before you said your peerage defeated this stray exorcist, the same interesting pulse of energy that has been popping up randomly for the past couple of weeks.."
'Bingo,' the Crimson Lucifer thought to himself as he watched his little sister, he hadn't missed the way her mouth thinned and her eyes briefly widened at that little tidbit of information. It was as he and the other Satan's had guessed, someone pretty interesting had taken up residence in or around Kuoh town and much to Serafall's and his own surprise both of their sisters felt it was unnecessary to tell them.
Rias he could understand, she'd always tried to shoulder burdens on herself to make his job easier, but Sona was usually so diligent, always cautious with potential enemies. She, much like Rias had always preferred trying to solve things on her own however she never hesitated to tell her sister what was going on just in case something went sour.
Whoever this mystery person is, they must be quite something if even Sona was willing to keep tight-lipped, 'now I just need to find out who it is.'
"Now then, let's say there was a mystery person who was unaffiliated with the Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels that came to Kuoh, and this mystery person for whatever reason decided that they were going to put an end to this stray exorcist. Maybe you got there just as they were finishing up, or maybe they had already left by the time you arrived, that I don't know, but my guess would be the former since I doubt they'd leave a job like that unfinished.
I assume you arrived there and spooked this mystery person forcing them to leave without finishing what they'd started, and, considering what was chopped up a few feet away from him I doubt you wanted to stay for longer than you needed to, thus you understandably didn't go and check to see if the exorcist still had a pulse.
This, unfortunately, leaves us at our current situation, an iffy report, a mysterious person running about and an exorcist who's either a great actor or just got really lucky.."
With a loud groan the younger of the two Gremory siblings finally spoke up again after her long silence, "ugh, you were spot on.."
The smile that Sirzechs gave his sister response was ever so slightly smug.
"I didn't get the position as head of the Devil race solely for my power Rias, my brain isn't too bad either.. Now then, why don't you tell me just who this mystery person is?"
"Well.. his name is Ichigo Kurosaki.."
It took about forty-five minutes to get everything off her chest, despite the short time the transfer student had been there Rias had quite a lot to say about him. Sirzechs for his part just stayed silent the whole time and just let his sister talk, a downward turn of his lips here, a twitch of his eye there, he merely took in all of the information and tried to piece things together as best he could.
The first word that came to his mind when all was said and done however was suspicious. The whole thing reeked of something fishy but he couldn't put his finger on it. And why the hell did the name Ichigo Kurosaki sound so familiar?
Crossing his arms at his chest he let out a deep sigh and let his mind fall further into thought. He was really trying to fit everything together as best he could but there was just so little to go on. They didn't know what kind of fighter he was as the only time they'd been close to seeing him in actual combat was when they caught him with bloodied fists standing over a beat up exorcist, yeah maybe he was a hand to hand fighter or maybe he just had some personal history with the guy, lost his cool and proceeded to pound him into the ground.
Considering what the damage was to the inside of the home he was betting on the latter.
He could be an Elementalist like Serafall, Sona and Akeno, he could be a swordsman like Souji, hell, he could even be a magician who stayed in good shape, Sirzechs just didn't know. Ajuka couldn't pinpoint a race either because the guy's energy was unlike anything he'd ever seen before which meant he could be allied with anyone or even no one.
At least he didn't seem hostile, that was his main concern right now, the safety of Rias, Sona, and their peerages. But, if Rias' words were to be believed than asides from a disinterest in making friends he wasn't a bad guy overall.
Though it could just be an act..
Ignoring the mysterious transfer student for a moment there was one other thing that was bothering him about this whole story, "are you sure that's all Koneko was able to find out?" He asked in a low voice, though his question caused Rias to bristle in anger.
"What?! You can't possibly be suggesting that she lied to me!" the Gremory Heiress couldn't believe what she'd just heard, to even suggest that her servant would lie to her was just ridiculous. But, as the seconds ticked by and her brother made no effort of correcting himself she couldn't help but start to lose some of her vigour. In fact, he simply shrugged at her question and let a devilish smirk creep its way onto his face, one that made her think Lucifer and send an uncomfortable shiver down her spine.
"I'm not saying anything Rias.. however you know her abilities and capabilities as well as I do, maybe even better, for that to be all she could find out.. I just find it odd, that's all.."
Truthfully, Rias found it odd too, but she would have faith in Koneko.
Letting his expression fall back to that of neutrality he stood up and stretched his body before addressing his sister once more, "forgive me, it wasn't my intention today to make you doubt your servants, I just need all the information I can get right now, things are further progressing to chaos in the world of supernatural politics."
That brought a frown to the girls face, "more issues with the Shinto Faction?"
"Surprisingly no," he answered, giving his head a brief shake, "I was contacted by Azazel recently with news that would be going to the Angels as well, it seems that Hades is moving suspiciously behind the scenes right now, I was a little suspicious at first considering how serious a claim it was but then he told me that the information came from Indra of all people, now I have to take it with the utmost seriousness."
Rias blanched, more monsters that were worlds above her. Hades was someone considered to be in the top ten strongest beings of this world much like her brother however her brother and Beelzebub-sama were both ranked higher than he was and could most likely win in a one on one fight, Indra however.. if her memory served her correctly than Indra was someone on the same level as Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun, both of whom could take on her bother and Beelzebub-sama at the same time. She couldn't even imagine what kind of strength you would need to do such a thing.
And to think Indra isn't even the strongest of his faction. At least with the Shinto, it doesn't get any worse than Amaterasu, but with the Hindu, you have the whole Trimurti, Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer, the same Destroyer which is said to be able to fight on even ground with the Infinite Dragon God, Ophis.
Maybe it wasn't so bad to be lower on the food chain after all? At least then you wouldn't have to deal with beings who could destroy the world.
"I'm sorry for keeping it from you, Onii-sama," she finally answered, a look of guilt present on her face, in her own desire to seem grown up and capable to everyone else she forgot about the serious, world-threatening matters that her brother and the other three Satan's needed to deal with on a daily basis. To her surprise, however, he merely shook his head at her apology.
"You don't need to do that Rias, I'm happy that you and Sona are trying to grow as Devils but just remember that it isn't a sign of weakness to ask for council or even just to keep us updated on what's going on down there in the human world."
"I won't forget, I promise," she answered with a smile.
With a smile of his own he prepared to send her back, "good," pausing in front of his office door he turned to face Rias one last time and levelled her with a hard stare, "you must train harder Rias, you and your peerage have a lot of potential that must be unleashed. I'm not telling you to sacrifice your peaceful life in the human world but you must start taking training more seriously, the world is teetering dangerously on the brink of another world war and if we want any hope of surviving it than the Devil race is going to need all the strength it can get, and that strength must come from today's youth."
~ Kuoh Town
It had been relatively quiet since his run-in with Rias and her Peerage a few nights ago. He had spent all of Sunday mulling over his actions the night prior, satisfied with the overall outcome but displeased with his own lack of self-control. But then again, how could he hold his sanity after hearing what he had? He couldn't.
More so, the fact that his daily training had been limited to meditation and Jinzen hadn't been helping matters either. He still wasn't used to keeping his power so tightly wound up and so Kido training had been his one way of expending power without leaving massive signatures that could give him away. After Saturday night, however, his Kido training had screeched to a halt due too the little white cat which had been watching his every move.
Without a way to expand the raging energies within himself, the infuriatingly arrogant Devil Heiress whom he wished he'd never had to meet and the knowledge he held of the despicable means she and her brother used to recruit her peerage. Not to mention the encounter with the psychotic and disturbed killer, he would admit his nerves were frayed and the frustration was building quick.
He was almost at the point of just blowing his own cover, this whole sneaking around just wasn't his forte. He'd dabbled in it twice now, first when he went to go and rescue Rukia, and the second when he entered Hueco Mundo to settle his score with Grimmjow, save Inoue, and maybe just stop Aizen's plans altogether right there.
On both occasions, the stealth thing went out the window and he was left fighting multiple enemies with everything he had, what was the point in trying it a third time when he knew damn well how this would end? With Ryujin Jakka drawn and his enemies drowning in a sea of flames.
Sighing out he pushed his hands deeper into his pant pockets and further slouched as he continued down one of Kuoh's busier streets. As much as he wanted to just dive in head first and start swinging like he used to, he couldn't, because that would cause problems that Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi would have to clean up and he didn't want to create problems for them or anyone else, that just wasn't him.
It was for that reason that he'd always tried to lone wolf it, to carry all the burdens on his shoulders so that no one else too – too bad he'd always had good friends who wouldn't let him do something so foolish. No matter what arguments he posed, how stubbornly he protested they would always be right there charging into battle with him. He couldn't keep the soft smile from curving his lips as he thought about everyone back home in Karakura and the Soul Society.
He wouldn't be able to go back and see them until his cover was blown due to the fact his signature would vanish upon leaving this dimension and that would only cause problems for him upon his return, so, for now, all he could do was hope that things moved along quickly.
Speaking of quickly.. spotting a narrow alley coming up on his left he turned sharply and took a few long strides towards its centre. His smile shifted to that of mischief as he felt the energy signature of his shadow picking up speed to trying and regain eyesight on him, just as his classmate was nearing his location he clamped down on his reiatsu and launched himself skywards in a flicker of Shunpo.
It was obvious that he knew what she was doing, she never once doubted for a second that he was oblivious, in fact, she'd never met someone who was so alert, aware and in tune with their surroundings at all times than her new Senpai. So yes, he knew she was tailing him, watching and waiting for anything that might be useful information to bring back to her master. And, perhaps it was because he knew she was following him that he wanted to make her job as difficult as possible, or more accurately her masters job more difficult whom he'd shown great dislike towards thus far.
She often wondered if there was a secret history between the two, if so than her master was very good at playing the part of obliviousness. It was a weak theory the cat would admit and she didn't really believe it herself, it was just something interesting to consider every now and then. The only real logical conclusion in her eyes was that he knew something about her master, something that would cause him to hold a great animosity – though hidden well – towards her.
It was troubling to be sure, what if this unknown information had to do with her or her other peerage members? A dirty secret that might cause a divide between them all.. shaking her head lightly she stopped that train of thought. 'Rias-buchou saved me, saved everyone.. I have no reason to doubt her..'
Giving the seemingly empty ally where her Senpai should have been another once-over her face fell deadpan. This is what she'd meant by giving her a hard time, he would cut into somewhere hidden like an ally, behind a large wall or tall tree where no one was looking and just disappear without a trace. She assumed it was some sort of teleportation because of how abruptly he would vanish but there were never any traces of magic left behind to confirm her assumptions, however.
Surely it couldn't be just raw speed, right?.. right?. She shuddered at the thought.
"It isn't nice to follow people, y'know," a teasing voice called out behind the Nekomata causing her to jump slightly. Spinning to face the head of the alley where the voice originated from her expression fell apathetic as her gaze landed on her Senpai who was casually leaning against the side of one of the buildings surrounding them. The mischievous grin on his face actually brought a small pout to hers, much to the young man's surprise who had yet to see such an emotion from her.
"Have you had lunch yet?" he called out, lifting himself from the wall so that he could stand up straight. Seeing her shake her head in the negative he spoke up again, "I was just on my way to eat now, I know of a quiet little shop with food to die for, I'll buy you something to eat if you want."
Seeing her hesitate for a moment at his offer he decided to prod her further, "It'll be easier to keep an eye on me from up close right?" he added with a cheeky grin. When she finally nodded in acceptance of his reasoning he jutted his head to the side in a silent expression of 'follow me,' then continued "Come on, they have some amazing desserts there too."
He swore he could see ghostly images of two cat ears standing up straight atop her head at the mention of 'amazing deserts,' he'd heard she loved sweet things but never really knew how true it was. Well until now, the excited glint in her hazel eyes told him every word of that rumour was true.
The first few moments of their walk was done in comfortable silence, the smaller Koneko taking two steps for every one step of Ichigo's in an attempt at keeping up. He had slowed down his pace to make things easier but she could tell he wasn't used to being in the company of others, he displayed all the traits of a 'lone wolf' even though he tried hard to suppress them.
"So, do you do this a lot? The whole reconnaissance thing?" he asked, throwing a curious, sideways glance towards the girl.
Nodding her head she hummed out a brief affirmation, leaving her response with a simple reply of "sometimes.."
"It makes sense," Ichigo hummed out, more to himself than anything, "when it comes to hiding your presence and detecting others I can't say I've met anyone in this town even close to you in terms of skill, you've almost spotted me more times than I care to admit," he finished with a small chuckle.
Koneko really felt like asking when these supposed times had been because as far as she was concerned she couldn't track him in the slightest when he didn't want her too. Speaking of.. "why don't you leave traces of magic after teleportation?"
Much to her surprise, Ichigo rounded on her with an expression that said he was just as confused as he was.
"You haven't noticed?" he asked incredulously, "I don't leave traces of magic because I don't use magic in the same sense that you do, I can't actually use those teleportation circles."
This time it was Koneko's turn to look at him with an uncharacteristic shock, "so you really are just that fast..?"
Ichigo merely shrugged, "speed has always been one of my specialties, plus I've trained a lot in controlling my own energy and suppressing it, so it's not surprising that you would assume I'm teleporting."
While interesting his answer was it merely caused another question to pop up, "how to do travel between dimensions?" To teleport between dimensions wasn't something easy to do, even if you could use teleportation magic and magic circles if you didn't have high enough levels of power to push through the dimensional barriers than you wouldn't be able to cross.
Her master and Akeno-senpai could, if need be, use a magic circle to get to Hell in an emergency but the reason they mostly used the dimensional train still was because they weren't strong enough yet to be trusted with cross-dimensional travel on a regular basis.
If her Senpai couldn't use the magic at all then how did he do it?
"I have a technique," he said with an air of nonchalance, like techniques for travelling between dimensions were the most common thing around. "Though mine isn't as smooth as the magic circle that you guys use. My technique breaks a hole through the dimensional wall, then I have to cross the dimensional gap and break a hole in the dimensional wall of my destination which allows me to 'crossover,' so to speak."
The Nekomata stopped dead in her tracks at his words and her eyes bugged out. Was that a headache she could feel coming on or had her brain just given up trying to rationalize the existence stood in front of her. It felt like she was part of an 'in another world' manga where the main character is brokenly overpowered and doesn't even know it because they don't understand the new world they're in and the logic that governs it. And her new Senpai was the brokenly overpowered character.
He just casually admitted to being able to shatter dimensional walls and survive trips through the dimensional gap.. she just couldn't keep up with this.
"Judging by your expression I just said something pretty crazy, huh.." he mused, his right hand coming up to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.
Taking a deep breath of air she slowly exhaled back out a regained her usual look of disinterest, she would eventually learn to stop expecting the normal from someone who the rules of common sense clearly didn't apply too, if not she'd probably just lose her sanity.
Seeing that they were drawing a fair bit of attention from the people around as they just stood there Koneko started walking forward again, Ichigo wordlessly falling into step alongside her once more.
"At least you'll have something good to report back to Gremory-san now, I'm sure she'll give a good reaction if it's really as crazy as you make it out to be," he finished in a huff of laughter.
She understood that it was only logical for him to assume she had spilled his secrets to her master, he had no reason to think otherwise, but.. she would admit that it still hurt her a little bit to know that he had so little faith in her, especially after he'd originally opened up and told her a little about himself when he had no obligation to do so.
But again, she completely understood why he assumed what he did, however.. "I didn't tell her anything.."
Sitting down on the park bench Ichigo pulled his right leg up and set his ankle squarely over his left knee, feeling the wood beneath him shift ever so slightly he glanced at the diminutive girl whom he'd just shared lunch with. Well lunch for him, she had instantly passed on the regular foods and gone straight for the dessert menu, not the healthiest of lunches but for someone of the supernatural, it didn't really matter. Having been in her presence for so long now he'd really come to realize how reticent she was. He didn't see it as a bad thing though, how could he when Chad was the same way? Just like with his brother back home he'd just needed to look for her subtle nuances. The way her hazel eyes turned molten gold if she was happy or excited, the way her eyelids would droop if she was unimpressed with someone or something going on around her, the way her lips would purse ever so slightly with a pout when she was mad, the small crinkles that would appear at the corners of her eyes when she found something funny.
It was honestly surprising how expressive she was if you only knew what to look for.
Uttering out a sharp 'tsk' under his breath he looked away from the people passing by on the street, the amount of attention the two of them had gotten while out was absurd. It had started earlier when he'd noticed a group of students that went to Kuoh Academy pointing with shocked looks on their faces and typing wildly on their phones, now it felt like everywhere he looked there were more students coming to catch a peek at the duo.
He could understand it, Koneko was the school's mascot and extremely popular between both males and females and he – as much as he hated it – was popular with the female student body, they were something like idols at Kuoh with others like Rias, Akeno, Sona and Kiba. The young Shinigami thought the whole thing was stupid but it's how it had always been, even at Karakura High.
"I thought you would be better with it," the Nekomata suddenly spoke up, having watched him glare at onlookers for long enough.
"You'd think so," he began in a light tone though it didn't take long for it to come back down, "I used to get picked on because of my hair, fought a lot because of it, I gained a reputation as a delinquent which got me even more unwanted attention through middle and high school, well before coming here at least."
"You do look like a delinquent Senpai.."
"Che, whatever," he responded with mock annoyance, "what about you then? How do you deal with the attention so well?"
Instead of a verbal response, the girl merely shrugged her shoulders, an action which caused her Senpai's eye to twitch.
Discontent with the silence that surrounded them the Nekomata decided to ask something which had been bugging her since the Kendo incident, "Who was that?"
The 'who' she was referring to was obviously Ryujin Jakka, the spirit had told him that he'd made contact with her briefly when hopes of reawakening hos powers were looking dim. Regarding the girl briefly from the corner of his eye he mulled over the question and what response he should give, he definitely didn't want to give a long-winded full explanation so instead, he simply said, "he's the manifestation of my power."
"So you control fire then?" she asked curiously.
"Among other things, fire is just my main attribute I guess you could say."
"Other things like?"
Ichigo couldn't help but huff out in laughter at her question, "Oi oi, I've got to have some secrets don't I?"
"You know everything about me," she quipped back with a small pout.
Ichigo grimaced, "not everything," he tried to defend, 'just most things,' it would probably be best if he kept that thought to himself.
Deciding it was time to change the subject Ichigo figured it was his turn to ask something which had been bugging him, "why didn't you tell her about me?"
He didn't receive a response immediately, in fact, she sat there for a few moments without making so much as a peep, even though she hadn't said so yet herself it was quite obvious to the teen that she didn't know why she'd held her tongue either.
"I.. don't know.."
When she finally did speak and Ichigo could hear the guilt and inner turmoil she felt over the decision he decided that he would press the subject no further. "Well I appreciate it, seriously, I promise you won't have to keep me a secret forever, just a little longer.." and that really was the truth, he had a bad feeling that things were going to turn south real soon.
~ A/N:
So, where have I been? Honestly, I just haven't been writing xD I've been watching lots of anime, reading lots of manga and playing lots of xbox. Skyrim and Dragon Age are great at eating up free time lol. Now NHL 19 came out so I'll be spending a lot of time on that, but don't worry I'll still be writing.
On the subject of anime I watched the new season of DXD and honestly, I liked it. The new art style was a little hard to get used to but I do like it, the original had its good points of course but the new style isn't bad either. I'm glad they went back to the LN's for material and fixed the mess that was S3. The fight scenes were good, True Longinus is one of the most badass weapons I've ever seen and Kunou is cute as hell.
If you have any thoughts on this chapter than feel free to leave a review, I'm always looking to improve my writing and so constructive feedback is appreciated. If you have any questions then feel free to message me, I always reply when I can.
- Vertius