Chapter four: Cipher
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD
Kazuto stood at the end of a long dirt road with a map in his hand, a dilapidated building standing fourty-five feet away from him with its broken windows, peeling paint, and broken bricks. Kurenai and Jarreth stood at his side, the two Youkai glaring at the last place they wanted to be. Kazuto glared at the two before he folded the map and looked at the piece of paper to check the adress his Fallen Angel informant gave him. Deciding between finding and ending a genocidal High-class Fallen Angel with information from another Fallen or to keep the grudge up, the information was the lesser of two evils. Despite the fact that he made a promise to wipe out the Fallen Angel race, Kazuto wasn't above asking an Angel for information. Then again, no one but Kazuto knows that Anmael is alive nor do they need to know that Kazuto healed her. Kazuto quickly and quietly walked towards the door and kicked it open, dust kicked into the air as the wooden door clattered against the tiled floor loudly.
"Ugh, this suuuucks!", Jarreth whined as the three exorcists walked between the dusty aisle of the green carpet that led to the stairs. "Why the fuck would a genocidal dickbag hide in a library? It makes him look like a big nerd!" Kurenai stopped and read a dusty chalkboard.
"Library of Dark Magic and Necromancy." Kurenai read aloud before his face contorted in aggravation. "Okay, what the fuck? Who the hell builds a fucking library in the middle of buttfuck nowhere to rent out illegal tomes for practitioners of Immoral Magic? This is stupid. No, this is beyond stupid. This is regoddamndiculous." Jarreth feigned a shocked look.
"Blasphemy!", Jarreth shouted loud enough to make Kazuto slap him on the back of his head lower his volume. "I'm telling Gabriel you said that." Kurenai turned to glare at him, his red eyes glowing like a flame in the dark library.
"You wouldn't!", Kurenai hissed.
"Oh, but I would," Jarreth goaded, his lips stretched into the type of smile you usually want to punch off of someone's face. "And you know it too." Kurenai took a slow menacing step forward which made Jarreth take a step back.
*Creeeeeeeeaaaakkk!*
Kazuto glared at Jarreth and looked around, hoping Azureil didn't hear anything, and breathed out a sigh of relief. Then the gunfire broke out. The three exorcists dove behind the bookshelves, bullets ricocheting off of the stone floor or blasting holes into the paper of the hardcover books. Kazuto pulled his revolver from his cloak, the holster wrapped around his shoulder, and checked the rounds he had left. He had four and a few more held in his pocket. Kazuto pulled back the hammer of his gun and turned to Jarreth and Kurenai, the Youkai taking cover behind a table they pushed over, the volumes and volumes of books piled on the floor as they swept them off in a flurry.
"Jarreth," Kazuto shouted over the bark of gunfire, a bullet splintering the bookcase, "Kurenai! You got eyes on shooter?" Kurenai looked up and flinched as all the gunfire concentrated on his raised head, the spray of bullets forcing him to duck.
"There's five of them!", Kurenai shouted, his loud voice taking over the silence of the library as the bullets stopped raining down. "Five human mercenaries with Russian-made Kalishnokovs!" Kurenai and Jarreth, in synchrony, pulled out there weapons. Jarreth worked the slide on his Spas-12 that he pulled from the hem of his duster and Kurenai pulled out a petite little .9 millimeter and their guns burst to life in a crack of thunder that made Kazuto's ears ring. He rolled to the desk as Kurenai and Jarreth reloaded their weapons, the half-vampire slapping a new magazine into his pistol and the werewolf pumping shells into his shotgun. Then the gunfight continued, all three of them fighting as one.
The throaty bellow of Kazuto's revolver went silent as his gun clicked empty and placed it back in the holster, the blaring of the AKs continuing in a steady stream. Kazuto unsheathed Valkyrie and looked at his hand and them back at the situation he was in. He scowled and bit his finger, his teeth drawing blood as his teeth sharpened into fangs, his hair lightening into a metallic silver. He glided his bleeding finger across the black blade, a deep blue hue of fire licking across the flame. He stood up and wiped his blade in a wide arc, metal clinking to the ground as bullets were sliced half completely. Kazuto took Valkyrie in two hands, the hilt long enough to support both of his hands at the same time, and took a ready stance with his legs spread apart and not of his arms holding the blade's tip outward and the hilt near his cheek.
"Hellfire!", Kazuto snarled, the magically enhanced flames licking against the blade glowing intensely. Kazuto took a step forward, made a wide arc with his blade, and deflected several bullets.
"Rookie, you idiot! You're going to get us all killed!", Jarreth shouted as he ducked under another split bullet, the lightning fast metal shattering the stone tiled floor.
"I'm trying! Shut the fuck up, Shiloh!", Kazuto growled which making Jarreth yell like a puppy.
Kazuto walked forward slowly, menacingly, up the stairs with his cloak dragging against the carpeted steps and said nothing as the gunmen threw their guns to the ground and made a run for the doors, their ammunition spent. The first one tore at the door's handle and shouted in fear as he tugged on the locked door with the other four behind doing the same. Kazuto grabbed one mercenary with one hand, his fingers gripping the man's temples tightly before he opened his eyelids, his glowing red eyes looking down at the ground. The veins all over his body began to turn black, forming into a spiderweb-like design. He began to chuckle to himself, a dark and terrifying sound that sent shivers of fear down everyone's backs. Jet black scales formed on his right arm, a gauntlet forming all the way to his shoulder, the jagged armor's red gems glowing.
[Let me loose.], a dark, deep, almost demonic male voice demanded in his head. [I can feel the enjoyment deep down in your mind. Admit it, you love ripping your opponents to shreds with your sword. But you deny your feelings. Open Pandora's Box and kill all who stand in your way.]
(Stay your path, Divine Warrior!), an angelic, beautiful female voice said as the black armor grew to cover his right side, his eye twitching in pain as it alot began to form over his eye. (Do not let Astarot corrupt your path! Stay true and fight for justice and for the weak!)
Kazuto dashed forward, wrapping his hand around a mercenary's throat and slammed the man to the ground, a crater forming in the stone that began to spill with red, and the mercenary's neck snapped. Kazuto turned and sidestepped a wild swipe from the female mercenary of the group, her black eyes trailing tears as she swiped wildly. Kazuto ducked under her arms as she continued to swing wildy, whirled around behind her, and severed her head completely from her shoulders, her head rolling across the floor and down the stairs. Kazuto turned and glanced at the remaining three, all of them shaking as his hardened red glare met them, before he walked forward. Two mercenaries, at the same time, nodded and charged forward. Kazuto mowed the first down in a flurry of slices and ripped the other into pieces in a blur of swipes, slices, and swings.
Kazuto walked forward slowly, step by step, towards the final mercenary,. The black armor fading away back into his right arm in a flash of purple. Kazuto fought to keep himself from collapsing in exhaustion when the armor vanished, every single bit of energy in his body gone in an instant. Yet, he trudged on, Valkyrie's black blade gliding across the stone floor as he slowly moved forward. The final mercenary back away in fear as Kazuto stepped forward.
"Please don't do this!", she begged for her life as Kazuto got two feet away from her, dropping her assault rifle and backig away. Kazuto continued to walk forward. "Please, I have a family!" Kazuto took another step forward and she backed away quickly. Her back hit the wooden door and, staring into his eyes with unshed tears, said, "You, you're not human." Kazuto rammed his sword into her stomach, twisting slowly before he tore it sideways, her dark red blood painted across the wall and stained his blade. "You... monster.", she gasped as she slid down front he door slowly and onto the floor, her eyes dulling of life.
"Damn," Jarreth breathed out as both him and Kurenai watched Kazuto's brutality, "What happened to preserving life, rookie?" Kazuto thrust Valkyrie downwards, flinging all the blood from the blade to the stone, and held the weapon in front of him, the light from the lantern reflecting against the blade. He turned to them and sheathed Valkyrie, using his left hand to wipe flecks of blood from his face.
"They sewed their fate and accepted death when they took the job. I'm just the reaper here to collect." Jarreth and Kurenai didn't fail to notice the cold tone in his voice.
"Damn, Cipher.", Jarreth said as he shifted uncomfortably. "That's cold. Even for you." Kazuto didn't pay him any attention beforre he kicked the large wooden doors open, the low thud echoing in the large chamber. The imprisoned exorcists stared at the three of them in joy, screaming in the bandana gags around their mouths, most of them flinching from the sudden light.
"Holy shit...", Jarreth and Kurenai cursed at the same time as the exorcists, who were mostly young boys and girls save for one woman, all screamed in their gags. Kazuto removed the knife in the sheath he kept wrapped around his right leg near his combat boot and made his way around the room, cutting the ropes and gags they used to keep the exorcists still. Kazuto snarled as the children began to cry about the "mean man who beat them up" and all three of the able bodies exorcists all agreed that they were going to kill Azureil. Kazuto ripped the gag from the woman's mouth and she cried: "Get out! Everyone get out of here. The mercenaries set up C4 on the suppor beams!"
Jarreth took a deep breath from his nose. "She's right. I can smell the charges but we won't be able to deactivate them." Kurenai and Kazuto both glared at the werewolf.
"And now you tell us?!", they both shouted, making Jarreth flinch and rub his ears.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that I bought these fucking phenominal brownies from a few guys that were behind the sake store. This stuff is the shit, I can't even remember the last time alcohol made me feel this way!"
"Are you telling me that you're high?", Kazuto asked unbelievingly, the sweatdrop forming on his forehead rivaling Kurenai's.
Jarreth chuckled, removed his Dodgers cap, and rubbed at hair, his white ears flat against his head before he pulled it tightly back around his head. "Hehe, well I sure as hell ain't low." Kurenai and Kazuto both snickered and began to cough to hide it. Oh, the irony. Jarreth was the shortest Werewolf in the Silverrain Clan.
"Nothing, Jarreth. We're just trying to rise above the situation and about how low and desperate Azureil has gotten." Kazuto snickered, "The mercenaries and hostages were a low blow." Kurenai strained to hide his laughter in his sleeve.
"We're going to need a little help.", Kurenai chuckled as realization dawned on Jarreth's face. He would've retorted if the woman didn't jump up and shout: "This is not the time nor the place for a miniature melt down!" Jarreth pouted and walked out of the room, eventually leaving the library entirely. Kazuto turned and winked at the woman, her cheeks tinting a dark pink, before he motioned to everyone in the room to leave. They complied and left the building like he asked since no one doesn't listen to the gilded hero who saved their lives. Kazuto smirked and wiped the small fleck of blood that stained his cheek. He turned around and the female merc wary he stabbed in the stomach standing in the doorway, blocking his way, with a crazed smile. And she had a detonator in her hand.
"Shit.", Kazuto cursed as the woman cackled, the laugh laced with pain-induced insanity. She placed a shaky finger on the button and Kazuto stood still as his mind raced for a way out of the situation.
"You ripped my friends to pieces and left me to die. Let's see how you like having your fate left in someone's hands!" Her thumb slammed the orange button down and at fist, nothing. Then there was the hiss of sound and a burst of orange-red flame that started around the support pillars that spread out and began to consume everything. Kazuto stood still, his legs shaking, before he collapsed to his knees and allowed the flames to consume him.
Kurenai turned around watched the building burst into rubble and flame, the burst of deafening sound shaking trees and making the little kids hide their ears in their hands Kurenai watched as the building collapsed and the fire spread to the trees. Jarreth gazed at the brilliant flames that reflected against his brown eyes.
"Poor rookie...", he said as flames crackled in the night. "What are we going to tell his family?" Kurenai breathed out deeply from his nose.
"He was adopted by the Hyoudou family in Kuoh. His real parents are dead." Kurenai turned his head and glared at Jarreth out of the corner of his eyes. "Crying for his mommy, huh?" Jarreth didn't acknowledge him and watched the inferno. Kurenai, out of the corner of his eye, saw a black piece of clothing ablaze that slowly fell to the earth. He recognized it as Kazuto's cloak. He walked towards it and caught it in his hand, patting the flames out and folding it before stuffing it into his satchel.
"Come on.", Kurenai said after awhile of standing in silence. "We have to go back and report the losses. And tell Gabriel that her apprentice has fallen in battle." The group nodded and gave their fallen comrade a moment of silence before they trudged back to the church.
The door to the church creaked open and the remaining exorcists that survived the failed raid poured in, some crying while others looked pale and about to be sick. Gabriel and the expierienced exorcists watched as ten out of the original ninety exorcists walked in with pained expressions. Gabriel looked through the crowd, looking for the man she wanted to confess to. She spent the four hours he was gone to word her confession and spent the four hours longing for his touch, his hand in hers, his loving words directed towards her, and his lips against hers. But instead of seeing Kazuto, the man she fell hopelessly in love with, she was approached by another exorcist. His red eyes gave her a look of pity and her heart stopped. Why was he looking at her like that? He reached behind him and into his satchel and pulled out a torn, burnt, and battered black cloak. And Gabriel's heart stopped as he handed it to her.
"He once told me that if he never came back, that he wanted you to have this. I'm sorry, Gabriel.", Kurenai said, trying to hide the shaking of his fingers, every cell in his body telling him to shred Azureil to pieces for his brother-in-arms.
She felt the warm tears trail down her cheeks and the attention of every exorcist and Angel in the room focused on her. She slowly lowered herself to the ground, Kazuto's cloak in her arms, and began to sob as the realization that her first love was dead dawned on her. She began to relive every single memory she had of her and Kazuto. His smile. His warm, pale skin against hers. Her head against his shoulders when she fell asleep. The times he fell asleep during lessons. The times he fell asleep in her office and she would always look up from the paperwork she was doing to stare at him. The times he would learn a difficult spell to impress her. The times he would fight against insurmountable odds and come back to her. The times they hugged. The times she kissed his cheek. The times where she ate lunch with him by themselves. The time where she realized that he was clueless when it came to women being attracted to him. The times she was upset or stressed and he was there to help her through it. And now he was gone. She cried as the thought of them being together was crushed in an instant. She never felt more alone.
Gabriel stood up and made her way into her office, ignoring the worried looks she got as she passed by, and locked the door behind her. She collapsed down on the couch that Kazuto always slept on and buried her face into the pillow. She breathed in and could smell the cherry scent his hair always had and she slowly drifted into peaceful sleep.
