Authors Notes = A/N
"Normal Speech."
'Thoughts."
"Foreign Language."
"Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech."
'Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts."
A/N: And here's chapter 3!
Okay, so not much has changed with this chapter; I've mostly just focused on a few SPaG issues and what not, but the majority of the content is the same. Also this is a single Chapter update, as I want to make a few extra changes for the next chapter.
Now, as a quick side note, I noticed one or two reviews (and I have received several PM's) asking me whether or not I will be adding Yumi (Fem! Kiba) to the harem. To be honest I don't really know just yet. As such I have put a poll on my profile as to whether or not Yumi should feature in Thierry's harem.
Oh, and speaking of Harem's…..
Here's a Harem update:
Kuroka
Raynare
?
?
?
?
?
?
As you can see, a new person has been added to this list aside from Raynare; who I here you ask?
Not telling.
Hahahahahahaha!
*Ahem*
Any-ways, enough childish teasing from me.
LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!
Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only.
(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori).
"And now there's only one thing left to do."
Marching straight over to the Fallen's form, Rias indicated for her queen to wake their final 'target' of the night up. A quick splash of water later and the young woman was wide-awake and her eyes wide with fear. Rias' eyes narrowed and her aura quickly began building.
"Fallen Angle Raynare, for your actions against my peerage, you have condemned yourself to death. Do you have any final words?" She asked in a tone as cold as ice, freezing Issei solid. The pathetic young Fallen's face fell as she looked at the floor; as if she had lost everything that truly mattered in her word.
"Just do it."
With a nod, the 'Crimson-haired ruin princess' unleashed a wave of the infamous Bael power of destruction; a wave of pure black and red energy that began consuming everything and anything in its path, causing Raynare to close her eyes and await her impending doom.
Time seemed to slow as the energy crept within two meters of the girl. But before it had a chance to strike her form, another figure flickered into existence in-front of her, and with his right hand, formed a magical circle before batting the wave of destruction away as it were a mere annoyance.
Every single person of the Gremory peerage stood there with wide eyes as the took in the appearance of this new-comer.
His figure was powerfully built and towered over everyone else in the room at 6'3. His muscular frame was clad in black, fire-proof covers and his torso, shoulders and arms protected by Samurai looking armour. His face was completely hidden by a Ninja-style mask with a skull painted on the metal face-plate covering his lower face and his eyes concealed by a pair of blacked-out ballistic goggles.
Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the young devils recovered enough from their shock to ready themselves for battle. Kiba summoned one of his many demonic swords (whilst dropping Issei to the floor), Akeno charged lightning around her form and Koneko lifted a Pugh to throw, whilst Rias coldly started down the newest threat in the room.
"Who are you?" She immediately demanded, her voice taking on a steely edge that Issei thought impossible for his kind and warm master. It was the sort of tone of voice that would freeze the souls of almost anyone and make their will crumble faster than a house of cards in the wind. But despite this, it appeared as if this new-comer was completely unaffected as he responded in an accent Issei couldn't identify.
"Don't point those poxy weapons at me." He growled in a voice that was barely above a whisper, causing Issei's blood to freeze in terror. He thought he had felt fear when he had been at deaths door, when Dondesheek had attacked him and he had fought Raynare; but none of this compared to the fear he felt as this thing unleashed its presence.
It was as if the source of all the fear and angst; hatred and rage had wrapped itself around Issei's soul and was slowly choking what little bravery the young man had out of his body. Ever sense was dulled to the world around him like he had stood in the bitter cold of winter for too long; save for when they were focused upon the masked figure.
'What…..what is this feeling? Why do I feel so afraid…so alone? Why am I so scared? He's just one man! I, I can't move…..oh fuck…..why can't I feel anything! What the hell is going on!' Issei's body broke out into a heavy sweat as his entire from began shivering from the oppressive aura, his body literally shutting down in an effort to preserve his mind from the psychological damage the aura was beginning to inflict on the Boosted-Gear wielder.
However, as a light made itself vaguely present in his line of sight, Issei Hyodo felt the fear of hell itself slowly seep from the room like tainted blood from a wound; agonizingly slowly.
Slowly but surely.
Following a flash of light, the feeling began to fade at a much greater rate, thus allowing Issei's sense and bodily functions to return…and as he became aware of his terror-struck comrades and the surrounding area, Issei couldn't help but notice one thing.
The masked figure and Raynare were gone.
(Chapter 3: The Fallout and the Strongest Queen).
Raynare collapsed to the floor as the light from the strangers magical circle faded away, her entire form shaking as her eyes focused on the heavy oak flooring as her mind slowly began to catch up with the events of the evening.
'My god! That, that little perverted bastard almost killed me with that last punch. How the hell did someone like him get one of the most powerful weapons in existence? But that red-haired bitch…oh god she almost killed me and the others….wait…..the others!'
With a pained groan, the buxom rave-haired fallen managed to lift her bruised and battered form to its feet, before re-focusing her bleary vision on the terrifying visage of her saviour. She watched as he unclasped the sheathed sword on his belt and placed it upon a weapon-stand that sat comfortably atop a heavy wooden dresser, before silently traversing to the opposite side of the room.
The room was extremely simple in its set up; a LED television was attached to a wall via a bracket, whilst a plush leather sofa faced it and two arm-chairs were arranged around a glass coffee table, on which several texts that Raynare couldn't identify the names of sat. The south wall was dominated by a heavy and very full book-case whilst a door on the east wall seemed to lead to the rest of the house.
In the corner of the room was a mannequin, upon which Raynare's fearsome saviour began to rest his armour, taking his time as he carefully and gracefully removed each piece of his armour in silence. After what seemed like an age, but was in reality a few moments, the masked figure finished removing and storing his body-armour, before waving his hand at the mannequin and his weapon on the dresser.
A small magical circle appeared under both items before they both disappeared in a small flash of light, whisking the gear away to wherever the masked man wished them to go. Taking a small breath Raynare made to speak, but before she could say anything, the masked man spoke.
"Staring is not polite, you know."
The words snapped the young Fallen out of her stupor, causing her to shake her head as she took a small step backwards. However, unlike a currently traumatised group of Devils, Raynare didn't let the man's imposing nature stop her from finding her voice, no matter how cracked and dry it sounded.
"Where…..where are my friends?" She croaked out, swallowing a small amount of saliva in order to allow her to speak a little more comfortably.
The man let out a small sigh as he slowly made his way over to her, pausing as he reached the sofa, where he sat down upon the arm and crossed his own appendages before directing his cold blue gaze at the young, buxom fallen. But he did not reply.
"Oi, you bastard! I'm talking to you! What the hell happened to my fri – GWACK!" Before the beautiful Fallen could continue her rant, she felt another body fly into her own and wrap their arms around her shoulder before burying their face in the crook of her neck, whilst knocking the wind out of her lungs.
All of a sudden, Raynare let out a squeal of pain as her ribs exploded into agony, causing her vision to go black for several seconds and her eyes to fill with tears. The person who had administered the flying tackle almost immediately let go of the young Fallen and clambered off of her prone form before speaking up.
"Ray-chan! Ray-chan! Oh my god your actually alive, that guy wasn't lying when he told me he was going to save you as well. I would have gone with him but he wouldn't let me or Dondesheek come with him to save you and….and….."
"Jesus Kala-san, give Raynare-san a chance to speak. It's the least you can do after smacking her wounds like that."
'Those voices! I know them.'
"Kalawarmer, Dondesheek?" The young Fallen croaked out as her vision was slowly restored, revealing the watery smile and tear-streaked face of Kalawarmer and relieved expression of Dondesheek.
With a lot more care, Kalawarmer gently enveloped her friend in a hug, which Reynaray managed to reciprocate with a little bit of difficulty. After several moments the two broke apart, with Kalawarmer helping Raynare to her feet next to Dondesheek. The three of them broke down into conversation for several moments before Dondesheek spoke up.
"So I guess we have you to thank…." He left the end of his sentence hanging, causing all of the Fallen Angles to turn their attention to their as-of-yet unsung hero.
"You probably know me by a lot of names ; The Shinigami, The Hungarian Hitman, The German Night-terror….but my most famous of titles?
The Jackal."
Raynare felt her breath hitch in her throat as she heard those two words slip through his lips. Why wouldn't it? After all, anyone who was involved in crime or the supernatural world knew each of those names. Each one was feared throughout the world for the same reasons …but none more than 'The Jackal'.
'The Jackal' only 'appeared' about two years ago, allegedly working for some French gang element that was connected with the Supernatural. Within weeks, corpses were piling up with no witnesses and fear sweeping the people of Europe . No matter how well protected the target or how powerful the foe; they all wound up in a pool of their own blood, sliced to pieces and their security detail annihilated.
"Why the hell did you save us?" Dondesheek asked shakily. The Jackal turned his eyes to the Fallen before speaking up.
"Because Azazel asked me to step in should you guys overstep your bounds."
That caused everyone to widen their eyes and let their jaws hang slightly at his words. The Jackal, the most feared Hit-man in the world, was a Grigori assassin? They all stood there in shock, their eyes not moving and their brains struggling to come to terms with this new piece of information. Eventually after several pain-staking moments, Kalawarmer spoke up.
"What do you mean 'overstep our bounds', Jackal-san?" She asked carefully, earning a small sigh of frustration from their masked hero.
"You honestly believe that Azazel gave the order for you to kill Hyodo? For you to execute a potentially Tier-1 asset and eliminate Vali's rival?"
Each of them turned their gazes to the floor as the simplistic logic hit them. After several tense moments of silence, Raynare realised that they needed to defend themselves against any potential further accusations.
"Jackal-san, Kokabiel-samma told us…"
"Save it. I know you were acting on what you thought were genuine orders , hence your lack of questioning regarding the sudden change in orders." He finished calmly, earning a shaky nod from the young woman. She went to ask another question, but before she could, Dondesheek spoke out into the uncomfortable silence.
"Not trying to pry or anything, Jackal-san, but how-come we haven't ever seen you around the Grigori before?" He asked calmly, earning worried looks from the young women around him that just screamed 'are you fucking TRYING to get us killed you dumb bastard!?' as the young man in-front of them laughed lightly before reaching for the back of his mask.
When the mask was removed and sat comfortably in his hands, each of them had exactly the same response.
"YOU!"
Each of them had summoned the most powerful light-based weapons that they could into their hands as they took in the form of one Pierr Dusitoir. He sent their weapons a disinterested look before holding the three's terrified gazes with a look that said 'really?'. After a few moments the three of them began to realise just who they were pointing their weapons at, and before long, the three of them had dismissed their weapons and fallen into the seiaze position whist shouting out an apology at the top of their lungs.
"Get up."
Immediately the three jumped to their feet (with Raynare wincing and swearing under her breath as she did so) and looked at Pierr as he stood up from the arm of the sofa. Clicking his fingers, the three watched in absolute awe as Pierr's skin tanned and his hair turned into a thick, spiky tuft of sandy-blond hair, whilst his eyes turned from a dark grey into a deep and enchanting blue. He was undeniably handsome, with a strong jaw-line and well-defined cheekbones (a fact that caused both Kalawarmer and Raynare to blush faintly)….and undeniably familiar as well…..
"Wait a second…..your…..your….." Kalawarmer stuttered out before trailing off as she and her fellow fallen angles began to connect all of the dots that they had been given over the past few minutes.
"Allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is Thierry Blanc; the right-hand of Azazel and the strongest human in the Grigori." He announced coolly, earning looks of absolute amazement from the three Fallen in the room. Before any of them could even speak, the young assassin beat them to the punch.
"Before you say anything else; the ONLY reason I have shown you my identity is because Lord Azazel asked me to. Not because I wanted to.
And if one of you spills this secret, I have the Viceroy's permission to erase ALL of you from existence along with whoever you tell." His voice was like ice as he spoke, causing Reynaray to shiver in fear and Kalawarmer and Dondesheek to back up several steps in fright. Thierry smirked lightly as he sat down on the sofa and grabbed one of the books on the table before opening it and beginning to read.
"You know you can actually do what you want for now, right? Sit here, watch the TV or go to bed, I don't care. Just be ready to head back to the Grigori for a meeting with Azazel in the evening. Don't panic, it's just for appearances sake." He added calmly, earning a small nod of the head for Dondesheek as he began to make his way towards the book-case whilst Kalawarmer made a bee-line for the sofa and TV remote. But before either of them could actually settle down and enjoy what remained of their evening, something cropped up in Raynare's mind.
"Wait, where's Mittelt?"
The moment her words left her mouth, Kalawarmer and Dondesheek both turned to the young assassin with hopeful and ashamed faces; Hopeful that their friend was with their saviour, and ashamed because they hadn't noticed the lack of the diminutive blond any sooner.
However, Raynare felt her heart stop cold as the young man paused in his reading, swinging his legs off of the sofa and placing his book back on the table. She felt herself collapse onto the arm of the sofa as she watched the young man stand up and speak only two words that confirmed her worst fears for her annoying friend.
"I'm sorry."
The three watched as he got up out of his chair and made his way for the door that would grant him access to the up parts of the house, but before he left, the young man stopped in the doorway and called out to the three Fallen as they moved closer together.
"I know I may not sound like it. But I know how painful it is to lose a close friend; the pain, the anger and the confusion. You feel like you could have, should have, done something different. All so you don't have to deal with the reality of your situation…..so my advice is deal with it tonight and tomorrow morning….
And don't keep running from it like I do."
(Two minutes later)
Thierry closed the door to his private quarters just as the heart-broken sobs of two Female fallen angles reached his ears.
With a shaky breath, the young man slowly pressed his back against the cool wood of his door before slowly sliding down, his breath coming in slow and ragged breaths as he finally reached the floor. With almost a robotic nature, the young man dragged his knees up and placed his hands on his temples, massaging them gently as a faint pain began to creep its way through from the front of his skull.
'Another person you've let down Thierry, well fucking done.' His mind snarked at him as the pain reached around a quarter of the way through his head despite his best efforts to stop the ever-growing pain.
'I've let nobody down. I got Kalawarmer, Dondesheek and Raynare all out alive; Mittelt's death was unfortunate but there was nothing I could do to stop Akeno and Rias from killing her. And besides, the mission was completed, that's all that matters.'
'Oh sure~, just compartmentalise it all away. It doesn't change the fact that someone who you were given responsibility for has, yet again, been killed thanks to your own incompetence. Or have you forgotten what happened back home?' The voice in his head snarked back, earning a pained groan from Thierry as the pain reached well past the half-way point in his head, growing from a dull ache to a far more consistent pain that was beginning to make thinking straight difficult for the young man.
'Well what the hell else am I supposed to do? Let myself drown in the nightmares and memories? Mope for months and months about the friends and comrades I've failed? Why the hell should I?'
'Because you owe it to them you fucking coward. Cowards run from their failing instead of facing them head on.' The voice snarled as the pain increased from consistent throbbing to agonizing pain that felt as if Thierry's head was stuck between the clamp of a steel vice as someone slowly closed it further and further with every passing second.
With a pain-induced hiss, Thierry managed to force himself to his feet and stumbled towards the European style bed that was situated at the far end of the room. Fumbling with the draw on the heavy oak bedside table, the young French ex-patriot dug around in his draw for several minutes before he finally managed to pull what he was looking for from out of the draw.
The small bottle that he pulled out was a solid white with a black label wrapped around it. With a small flick of the thumb, the young assassin flicked the bottle open and poured out two plain white pills.
'Oh~ how brave and mature of you Thierry! Drowning me out with happy pills just because you're too weak to deal with the fact that not only are you a murderer of innocents and a betrayer of trust, you still can't face the fact that you're still messed up after…..'
'Shut up.'
'I mean that's fair 'nough, but still. I'd expect the big bad Jackal to be a lot stronger mentally than this you pathetic wreck of a man."
'SHUT UP!'
With a final mental roar, the young man dry-swallowed the pills in his hands and began rubbing his head in an effort to dispel the voice, Thierry slowly felt the voice recede and the pressure in his skull vanish like a summer's rain. With decidedly shaky movements and steps, the right-hand of the viceroy removed his fire-proof garments and threw them in a corner before he covered the last few steps between him and his bed before clambering onto aforementioned bed and resting his head upon the feathery pillows.
And as his eyelids grew heavy and the world grew dull to his senses, the young assassin couldn't stop the images of countless faces passing through his mind. But of them all, only two stood out; a girl with black hair pulled back into a small braid and a childlike face smeared with soot, dirt and blood that couldn't have been any older than nine or ten years old and a young-ish, good-looking man in his thirties with silver hair and a goatee that were both matted with congealed blood.
'I'm so sorry…Sheva….Master…..'
(The Following morning)
Thierry let loose a low groan as the light from his rooms window hit him full force as the sun rose up above Kuoh town for yet another day. Of all times of day, the morning was Thierry's least favourite; mostly given his upbringing. He hadn't had the chance to actually lay in and enjoy the comforts of a decent bed for more than five or six hours at a time, even when he was incredibly young. And unfortunately, with the life he had lived over the past eighteen years, Thierry couldn't actually bring himself to enjoy the comforts of his places of slumber for more than he had been physically conditioned to.
But then, considering his earliest years, five or six hours of sleep wasn't actually that bad a catch if he was being honest with himself.
So it was with a heavy sigh that the young man decided to pull himself from underneath his bedcovers and begin what was set to be a somewhat eventful day, given the meeting at the Grigori he would have to attend later in the day with the three Fallen currently staying in his main house in Kuoh. But as he made to get up, Thierry was suddenly made aware of a weight on his chest that he had not felt before, save for a few times when he had paid a visit to some less than…..polite districts in certain cities. Except for the fairly light weight that was currently spread out across his body, Thierry was also aware of the faint trail of hot air tickling his chiselled chest and something wrapped and tangled with his own legs.
Despite having a good idea as to what it was underneath the covers, Thierry had to check to be one hundred percent certain. So with a certain amount of care and ease, the young assassin of the Grigori gently moved the rich duvet from upon his upper body…..
And was greeted by the sleeping form of the gorgeous Raynare.
'Well. This was most certainly unexpected.'
The young man laid there for a while, eyes fixated on the young Fallen's peaceful face as she clung lightly to his sides with her lithe arms. Her face was decidedly calmer than it had been last night, but if the tear traces flowing down her face were anything to go by, she had been crying for a long time and had only recently joined Thierry in his sleep and ceased crying. He sat there for a while, admiring the gorgeous form of the Fallen Angle in-front of him and he couldn't help but reflexively move a strand of her raven locks from her face. As an agent and member of the Grigori, Thierry had slowly grown to find those of Fallen and Youkai blood far more attractive than Devils or Angles, which was unsurprising given how frequently he dealt with them.
'Such angelic beauty….. it seems like any fast movements could destroy her visage, she looks so fragile but amazing right now. What did I do to deserve such a gorgeous woman spending even ten minutes in the same room as me? I know this is probably too good to be true…..but for once let something like this be real….please…..' Thierry silently prayed to whatever deity would listen to let this be real. It felt oddly comforting to share a bed with someone who he hadn't paid for once. He knew in all reality that Raynare and her friends would be leaving him today, but for as long as he could possibly enjoy this comfort, he would. He was used to people either staring at him with lust-filled eyes or abject horror and hatred, before leaving the room a few minutes later, leaving him completely alone in the world again. Half the time it was because of said people. The other half the time it was because of his own actions and mannerisms….after all…
If he wasn't close to anybody, he couldn't get hurt again.
But for now he could enjoy the company.
And so he lay there for what seemed like an eternity, eyes fixed to the ceiling and one arm subconsciously wrapped around the Fallen Angle resting on his chest, just above her waist.
Eventually, the young assassin felt the young Fallen stir against his chest, turning his gaze downwards, he watched as the buxom woman let out a soft yawn before detaching both her arms and using her hands to wipe her eyes clear of sleeping-dust. With a small sigh, the young woman moved slightly so that her face was facing Thierry before opening her bleary eyes to reveal her captivating violet eyes to the world once again. Raynare took several seconds to focus her gaze back onto the world of the living, before a confused frown crossed her features as her right hand felt around her head and shoulders for the duvet.
The moment she didn't find it, she froze like a deer caught in the head-lights. With an audible gulp, the buxom Fallen turned her gaze towards Thierry's face, where she was greeted by his cool eyes and a small, amused smirk flickering onto his face for half a second. Reynaray froze again, her captivating violet eyes holding Thierry's own deep-blue oceans for what felt like hours but was in reality a few seconds. The young assassin cocked an eyebrow and went to speak, but unfortunately for him (and his ear-drums), Raynare beat him to the punch.
Literally leaping from her position on his body and further down the bed, whilst using the duvet to (barely) cover her considerable cleavage and the rest of her modesty before screaming at the top of her lungs.
"KYAAAAAH~ ! I'M SO SORRY JACKAL-S –MPH!"
However, before the buxom young woman's screams could completely destroy his ear-drums, Thierry managed to cover her mouth with his hand.
"There's no need to shout, Miss Raynare," he began in a surprisingly calm tone of voice (if the way Raynare's eyes widened was anything to go off of), "My eardrums can only take so much this early in the morning. So, I'm going to remove my hand, and you can say what you were going to say, but at a normal level, okay?" Finishing in exactly the same tone, he watched as Reynaray nodded dumbly as the final words left his mouth. The moment he saw the nod, he moved his hand away….but kept it free so that he could stop her shouting again.
Cruel as it sounded, Thierry had found out pretty early on that when in such situations, it never hurts to be prepared to protect your eardrums.
Luckily, it seemed like Raynare had gotten the message, because instead of having another screaming fit, she simply bowed her head in shame and began again.
"I'm sorry Jackal-san….."
"Call me Thierry, Raynare, I'm not at work." Thierry interjected softly, drawing a shocked look from the young woman opposite him. Raynare went to protest but one look from the most dangerous human in the Grigori and Azazel's right hand stopped her, so she opted to continue with her apology, as instructed.
"T….Thierry-san, I wish to apologize for violating the privacy of your bedroom and your bed. I will accept any form of punishment you deem fitting for my transgression." She spoke in a near monotone, earning a confused look from Thierry. Her apology sounded genuine, as did her decision to accept any punishment he decided upon; which meant that something was bugging her. After all, her dossier spoke of how proud, independent and outspoken she was. This was most definitely NOT normal behaviour for the young woman in-front of him; ergo someone or something must have upset her. Thierry already had a pretty good idea as to what was bugging his temporary bed-mate, but he decided it was better to get his suspicions confirmed by the girl in question.
"So why did you join me in my bed? Don't bother trying to lie to me, I'll know if you are."
He tried to convey the words he spoke in as non-threatening a manner as possible, but Raynare still seemed to flinch slightly at his words, causing an unfamiliar pang to run through Thierry's body as he watched the girl drop her head in shame and pull the duvet around her form a little tighter.
'What was that feeling…why do I feel so …so…sad looking at her?' Thierry thought to himself, but before he could continue his mental deduction of the odd feeling that crept through his body, the crestfallen young Fallen spoke up again in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
"I…..I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing that Gremory bitch and Mittelt…..and I always sleep better when I have something to hug. So I thought I could sleep in here for a while and then leave before you noticed."
The moment he heard those words, Thierry reached out gently and placed a hand on her shoulder, and again felt the weird sensation course through his body as she flinched slightly at his touch. However, he couldn't dwell on that for now, as he had to deal with Raynare; and despite certain, ingrained and self-built parts of his mind screaming at him to keep his distance, to keep her safe from the trouble that followed him, the majority of his mind was yelling for him to do what he was about to do.
'Don't do it! Don't hurt someone else because of your own selfish wants and needs, you heartless bastard. If you truly care for her well-being you'll stay the fuck away from her and let her live.'
'You don't have to close yourself off to the world! The pair of you have been through trauma, and you know how to deal with it, at least in theory; she doesn't. Help her, guide her and heal her.'
'Yeah, look how well that fucking turned out the last time you did that! If you want to help you'll just forget this ever happened and let her move on, and you'll stay out of her life.'
'You've been alone so long that the only you that interacts with people is the whatever persona you've set up for that particular mission. This is a chance to free ourselves again, to become a real fucking person. Just because you're doing this doesn't mean you love her or even care for her. It just means that you want to be a normal person again…..'
'Yeah, because we know all~ about being normal and dealing with this, don't we?'
With a shake of the head, Thierry re-focused his unflinching gaze onto Raynare's gorgeous violet depths and let out a deep sigh before he spoke.
"Listen Raynare. I know how it feels to lose someone and feel scared, alone and angry,' He began softly, causing Raynare's breath to hitch and her eyes to begin watering, but Thierry pressed on regardless.
"So I'm not going to let you feel like that, for as long as I live and breathe. I know how bad it can get, and Lord knows I wouldn't wish it upon anyone but my enemies. So if you need someone to talk to so you stop feeling alone, I'll listen for as long as you want.
If you need someone to spar against and let out all the anger; I'll fight you for as long as you need.
And if you need a shoulder to cry upon or a body to hold at night to let the fear and angst go, you can come to me at the Grigori and I'll hold you until your tears run dry and you sleep soundly again."
Thierry took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he finished his impromptu speech. He didn't know if it was his medication doing all his thinking and talking, but even if it was, he hadn't meant to offer the girl so much, but something at the back of his mind told him to keep on going. He knew it was wrong to offer such companionship to alleviate his own isolation and remove his mind from his own grief and guilt…..but something in the back of his mind was telling him that those were not the only reasons he had given the girl such an offer. He didn't know what that feeling was trying to push him towards in terms of an end goal, but for now he would settle for companionship and the potential for said companionship to alleviate his own demons.
But all of this hinged on the girls response.
So, it was with baited breath that Thierry opened his eyes, judging by the silence that the girl was outraged or offended by his offer in some way….but he wasn't expecting a crying Raynare to launch herself at the young assassin and wrap her arms around his bare torso before burying her face in the crook of his neck and knocking him onto his back.
Thierry lay there awkwardly for several moments, slightly shocked and unsure as to what he should do; but after several seconds, the young assassin gently wrapped the grieving Fallen Angle in his arms and just laid there.
And forgot about the world for a little while.
(Roughly a week later, with Thierry on his walk to school.)
It had been a week since Thierry had taken Raynare and her fellow Fallen back to Azazel at the Grigori. The three of them had explained their actions to Azazel, who pardoned them before lying and saying that Kokabiel was merely acting rashly and that he would deal with his 'incompetence' later (an act that Thierry dearly hoped he would be involved in).
Following the meeting, Thierry could quite honestly say that it was the weirdest week he had ever had. Starting with the fact that the young assassin was no-longer operating alone in Kuoh town for the foreseeable future, unless he decided to finally snap and kill Azazel for his constant, incessant and annoying meddling.
The reason?
Raynare was now living with him and working with him on this operation.
The main reasoning was due to the fact that despite her usage of only one set of wings, Raynare actually had two sets of wings in terms of power. The reason she hadn't used them (and thus the extra power) during her fight with the Occult Research club was out of both arrogance and necessity. Arrogance as she didn't believe that they would pose a threat to her, and necessity as she didn't want to trigger any potential alert wards within the city that could have brought a small army to her front door. Any ways, Azazel had told Thierry that the young Fallen truly had the potential to be something special if she was trained correctly, and thus he turned said training over to Thierry. At first Thierry had rejected the idea outright, claiming that he had neither the time nor the experience to handle the buxom Fallen's training, and thus it wouldn't be fair to her. But when Azazel informed him of his intention to train both Kalawarmer and Dondesheek personally (due to their high potential), and the crestfallen look on Raynare's face, he eventually relented and agreed to train the beautiful Fallen Angle at the weekends and establish a training regime for her to follow during the day so that she could continue to grow stronger even when he wasn't there.
Initially, the real reasoning that Thierry had for wanting to keep Raynare away was worry. He was worried for her safety in such a hostile environment, which was a given considering the places he was sent to. But it wasn't just that; he was also worried that she'd figure out his reasoning for helping her and hate him for it. She'd hate him for using her as a means of absolving himself of his guilt regarding the death of Mittelt, not because he actually gave a dam as to whether or not she recovered from her grief.
However, as he offered her a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen….Thierry found his standpoint changing. At first he merely saw Raynare as a means to deal with his own demons…but as he continued to talk with her and help her through the grief, he honestly could say that he was actually beginning to care for the lost and confused Fallen Angle. Naturally the iron-hard and ice-cold logic he used on a day-to-day basis had argued that he was merely treating her like a mission asset; nothing more and nothing less. But another part of his mind had argued that the reason he had even offered to help Raynare in the first place was because, whether he chose to admit it or not; he felt responsible for her grief and actually cared enough to want to deal with it and help her move past all of this. The argument had raged on in his head for several days, but between his initial decision to help the young Fallen and his tendency to acquis to her needs or wants, even if it meant dropping whatever he was doing, he eventually realised something that was both worrying and warming.
He had actually began to care for Raynare.
He wouldn't sacrifice himself for her or go out of his way to make sure she was happy all of the time, but he would most certainly help her if he could, and he wouldn't let her die if he could help it. Not exactly the greatest progress in the world, but for someone as alienated and broken as Thierry, that was some serious ground.
'Ack, god dam it Thierry. Stop letting your mind wander and get it back in the game!' Thierry all but growled to himself mentally as he made his way towards the front gates of Kuoh academy, giving his head a small shake to clear away any potentially distracting thoughts as he made his way over to the gates. He didn't know why, but he had a horrible feeling about the upcoming day, and he suspected that if anything was going to go wrong or crop up, it was likely to occur first thing today.
And unfortunately for Thierry, it cropped up in the form of the flaring of two rather distinctive aura's.
The first one felt like a raw destructive wave; there was no malice or hatred to it, but rather it felt like a force of nature. It was like a tidal wave or thunderstorm ; untameable and unending. But in all reality, despite how impressive it was, the second aura was by far and away the more impressive one.
It felt like heat. Raw, unparalled heat and fire. The aura felt as hot as the sun itself, and like sunlight with shadows, it was completely drowning out the destructive aura of one Rias Gremory with ease. And as far as Thierry and his employer were aware, the sheer aura that was currently trying to engulf his senses could only belong to one young Devil.
'Riser Phenex; youngest son of the ancient and noble House of Phenex, one of the remaining 72 pillars. Said to be an absolute genius on the level of the Sitri and Gremory heiresses, he combines his natural brilliance with his amazing power, natural fighting talent and incredible regeneration powers to make himself one hell of a potential threat to any Fallen or normal Angle with two to three sets of wings. He's currently tied for 'strongest youth' alongside Sairaorg Bael…. And currently betrothed to one Rias Gre…' However, before Thierry could finish his mental evaluation and recall of the young mans' aura, a third one burst into life.
Cold.
Scratch that, absolutely freezing cold. That was the only way Thierry could truly explain the aura he was now feeling to someone else.
It was as if the arctic itself had been brought to Kuoh and given a physical manifestation in terms of magical/demonic aura. It was all-consuming, and as much as Thierry didn't want to admit to it, the aura currently enveloping the grounds of Kuoh academy dwarfed his own natural reserves by a fair amount. Not to the point where he wouldn't fight said aura's owner, but enough that he wouldn't actually look to win the fight; rather fight until he had the chance to get the hell away from them.
He would never admit it out loud, but even Thierry knew when he was outclassed in terms of raw power and experience, and given who was flaring their aura before, and the level of raw power currently on display; there could only be one person that the aura could belong to, given that the second person couldn't even enter the human world without authorisation from the Devil government.
'Grayfia Lucifuge. Wife of the current Lucifer and known as the 'Ultimate Queen'. Formerly a member of the Lucifuge Extra-Demon clan, Grayfia is an absolute monster in terms of raw-power and battlefield nous. Favours ice-magic and has enough raw power to annihilate Japan several times over, yet enough control to strike a nail at five hundred yards with a shard of ice. She has one son and is an incredibly serious person, and regarded as a class-1 threat.' Thierry mentally recited to himself, but before he could take another step, the power dropped back of, along with the power of the Phenex and Greymory clan.
Unsurprising given the power they had been subjected to.
He lent casually against a nearby wall, eager to figure out what he could, but before he could extend his senses even further and try to use the fluctuation of his targets aura's to discern their emotional state, the Phenex's aura faded away and the Gremory's seemed to relax back to normal.
The aura of the Ultimate queen though?
That most certainly did not relax.
Just as he was about to make his way to home-room (and a light debate with Sona), Thierry was forced to freeze as the ice-cold aura returned, and was this time directed solely towards the young French assassin. It was less powerful, but more ferocious than the first time he had sensed it; indicating that the owner wished to see if Thierry had the magical muscle to free himself from this frosty embrace.
'What the hell are you playing at you filthy little devil?' He spat to himself mentally, and felt the aura slowly increase in its power and its intensity as it continued to try and goad him for a response.
So, it was with great reluctance that Thierry quickly checked the surrounding area for nosy students or surveillance cameras; happily noting the distinct lack of either of the aforementioned annoyances.
As such, he quickly delved into his allowed magical reserves, building it up to the point he would be able to push the she-devils aura away and then some. He held back the power for as long as he could physically manage, like a dam filled to the bursting point. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he continued to force his power to obey his commands, and eventually, after what seemed like an age, but had in reality been but a few scant moments…
The dam burst.
The power poured forth from Thierry like a fiery tidal wave of death and an oncoming thunderstorm. It was truly a ferocious display of power, and like a force of nature, it completely annihilated the slightly flimsy aura surrounding the young man, obliterating the feeling of cold and bitterness that had been surrounding him, before surging back towards the source.
Thierry smirked with satisfaction as he felt Grayfia's power flare in surprise, but before she could unleash another, more powerful fluctuation of energy, Thierry reigned in the burst. Like a master horse-tamer bringing a stallion to heel, the young master-assassin of the Grigori reigned in his burst of power, before forcing it to dissipate into the thin air.
Taking a deep breath, the young man quickly set-about moving swiftly away from the now-scorched earth where he had stood.
After that whole situation, school was looking a whole lot more appealing than it did when he first signed up for this job…..but even with his desire to get to classes, one single thought would simply not stop bugging Thierry Blanc as he slipped into the person of 'Pierr Dusitoir'.
'What the hell was that all about?'
(Later that same day.)
'Well, Sona and Rias had no idea as to what the hell Grayfia was attempting to do earlier, so I'm still mostly in the dark as to why she would specifically target me with her aura. And that is not something I am AT ALL comfortable with in any shape or form.' Thierry mused to himself as he passed through the gates of Kuoh academy, offering a small nod of acknowledgement to those who wished him a good-evening as he made his way out of the school.
'I should probably contact Azazel later and ask him what he makes of all of this.'
Plan of action decided upon, the right-hand of the Viceroy turned right before taking off down the pathway that would lead him to his home.
The evening was quiet and peaceful as Thierry walked; the sun was slowly setting in the West, casting a captivating orange/red light over the slowly quietening town of Kuoh whilst painting the sky a plethora of colours that seamlessly and almost artistically flowed across the evening sky. The streets were mostly quiet and the world slowly falling towards slumber.
It truly was a beautiful sight to behold; one that Thierry wished he could have enjoyed more as he grew up.
However, before the young assassin could fall into painful memories, he caught a figure out of the corner of his eye that he most certainly did not expect to see.
The figure was most certainly that of a women, if the generous bust, well-flared hips and mile-long legs were anything to go by. The young woman (who looked no-older than twenty five or twenty six) was wearing a pain of silver high-heeled shoes and jeans that hugged her legs and perfectly shaped rear-end magnificently. She wore a plain black shirt and blazer, whilst a silver scarf was pulled around her neck and her silver hair was pulled up into a pony-tail. And all the while, her gorgeous face was tilted slightly towards Thierry, and her eyes fixed firmly on him as he walked past her.
Despite the lack of her traditional maid's uniform or braided/free-flowing hair, Thierry knew exactly who was following him.
'What the hell is she doing here?' He thought to himself with a tiny amount of worry as he subtly increased his pace as the 'Ultimate Queen' began to tail the prolific assassin.
'I can't detect any killer intent or any power build-up…..so she must be following me for another reason…..and there's only one way I can find out what the hell it is she wants.'
Plan of action decided upon, the young man quickly made his way towards the local park, deliberately slowing his pace and taking the time to observe the Sakura trees and Cherry blossoms as he casually strolled through the park, taking note of how Grayfia expertly managed to look like she was not following him.
Well, at least to the untrained or undertrained eye.
Eventually, after meandering his way through the park, Thierry brought himself to a halt on a small bridge in an isolated section of the park. He subtly cast several aversion spells so that no humans or weaker Supernaturals would stumble through this section of the park; naturally this didn't stop the wife of Lucifer, seeing as it wasn't meant to anyways.
Letting out a small sigh, Thierry slowly leaned onto the edge of the bridge and cast his gaze out across the small river; taking delight in how the water reflected the sun's rays, causing it to take on a gorgeous but unthreatening red hue as he merely enjoyed the view as he waited for his 'guest' to arrive. About a minute later, the sound of high-heels striking wood met his ears as the silver foot-ware thudded against the heavy wood. Moments later, a second person leaned against the railing…..
And stood there.
With a very subtle glance, Thierry noted that Grayfia had her eyes cast out over the same area as he did, though with a face as cold as ice, he found it hard to discern whether or not she was enjoying the view as much as he was. It soon became slightly awkward as the tension continued to grow and permeate the surrounding air until Thierry finally decided to break it with his first language.
"Beautiful, isn't it, Lady Lucifuge?"
"Indeed it is, Dusitoir-san." Her voice was like silk and ice; it was soft and gently caressed the ears-drums, but it also held a certain detachment and level of emotionlessness. An odd combination, but oddly fitting for the stony-visage-d woman stood next to Thierry.
"Care to explain why the wife of the current Lucifer is stood next to me?"
"Would you care to explain as to why an S-class magician is currently at school with my Sister-in-law?"
"Like I told Gremory, unlike you Devils, I can't just disappear back to the underworld. I need a full education to keep the 'normal' government off of my back." He replied coolly before turning his head slightly to meet the piercing gaze of the wife of Lucifer. She stood there for a while, her silvery eyes boring into his own grey ones, as if searching for any signs of deception or misdirection. However, Thierry's front held fast and he managed to earn a small nod of acceptance from the young woman.
"Rias said as much, Dusitoir-san."
"I doubt this is just a check-up to make sure I'm not a threat to your sister-in-law, now is it? After all, your husband would have just sent a pawn or something if he was truly worried." He stated after his question, earning a small nod from Grayfia. Feeling comfortable enough to continue the conversation with the powerful she-devil, 'Pierr' pushed the conversation towards its main issue.
"So what was with the power contest earlier?"
"It was a test."
"For what?"
"To see if your what I am looking for."
That caught Thierry's attention and caused him to tense slightly. He was well aware of the fact that Grayfia had an Evil-Piece set that she had yet to use, and as such, her words could hold some extremely bad connotations as far as Thierry was concerned. However, before the young assassin of the Grigori could jump to any conclusion, Grayfia spoke up again.
And her words where something of a shock to the young assassin.
"I need someone to train my sister-in-laws peerage, and I have decided that you are the best candidate for the job."
That frozen Thierry's thoughts for several seconds. In fact, his thoughts were so shocked by Grayfia's words, it was all he could do to merely title his head slightly in the universal gesture for 'Eh?'. Unperturbed by his lack of a verbal response, Grayfia continued.
"Dusitoir-san, as I am sure you are aware, there is an arranged marriage between Rias and Riser-san," here Grayfia's lips quirked downwards and her eyebrows creased for a moment as she frowned, "And my sister-in-law has made it quite clear that she has no intention of marrying him. As such, it was decided by both Lord Gremory and Phenex to hold an unofficial rating game to decide the matter."
Taking a deep breath, the 'Silver-haired Queen of Annihilation' continued on her mini-speech.
"Despite my reputation, I care deeply for my family; Rias and my son Millicas more so due to their age. And I cannot stand the thought of my sister-in-law marrying someone she will be unhappy with. But the issue is that Rias is not powerful enough to break-off the engagement, despite what she believes. Riser is a powerful young devil and easily one of the strongest to have been born in quite some time. That is not to say Rias is weak; it is merely the case that Riser is incredibly strong for someone so young and so lazy.
And given that Rias will be going up against a full peerage without one of her own, lacking experience…..well let's just say that their chances of winning this match currently stands at nil. My husband has a hair-brained scheme already in the works, should my plan fail, but I would rather put my faith in them winning the match as opposed to what will essentially be a game of chance."
Grayfia's reasoning made perfect sense to Thierry; Riser was incredibly powerful and gifted, more so than Rias. But that still didn't change the one question that was now nagging the young assassin.
"Why me?"
"Whether you fully know it or not, Dusitoir-san, but you are unnaturally powerful for a human your age. You could probably beat Riser and Rias combined if push came to shove, and your ability to use more than one element at such a young age merely adds to my point. Rias would not accept anyone from our family aiding her during the ten day training period she was granted by Riser directly, as she feels they are the ones who put her in this mess in the first place. But what she fails to recognise is that she needs guidance, and I feel that you would be the best choice for Rias and her peerage to learn from."
Thierry stood there silently as he processed the woman's words. Again, her reasoning was sound and her motives fair, and this made Thierry pause and actually think about the offer on the table.
'I should just say no. After all, why the hell would I want to make my enemies stronger, and thus potentially create problems for myself and the Grigori later down the line? It technically makes no sense at face value. That and they're devils! Any skills they pick up from me could be used to further their kind's poison throughout the planet. However, as much as I loathe to admit it, the potential to understand the Gremory heiress and identify her strengths and weakness, find potential blackmail material, as well as the chance to examine the power of destruction is just too good to pass up….'
After several moments of silence, Thierry spoke.
"I cannot give you an answer right now, as I need to check my own schedule. However, if I am able to, I will aid your sister-in-law in her training…..for a fee of course." He added those last words with a large amount of satisfaction.
Hey, he was going to be potentially spending ten days with the race he hated most, so why the hell shouldn't he be compensated?
Grayfia again held her visage as she produced a small card with a number written on it.
"Call this number when you have an answer. Money will not be an issue, I can assure you."
And with that the strongest Queen turned around and headed back to the surrounding world. Thierry stood there, waiting until he was absolutely certain she was gone before quickly running a scan to make sure no surveillance runes had been left in the local area.
Fishing out his phone, the young man quickly dialled a number and placed the phone to his ear.
"Azazel, I've got something I need to talk to you about."
(Later that same evening, Gremory Territory, Underworld)
Grayfia sat in-front of an ornate wooden chest of draws in her and her husband's private quarters in the Gremory Manor. She was currently brushing her hair with an ivory-handled and backed comb, working out the knots in her hair. Her husband was currently in the shower, thus giving her some peaceful time to herself before her husband inevitably began bouncing around the room like a hyperactive child on the biggest sugar-rush of the decade.
Setting down her comb, the buxom queen was just about ready to make her way to bed when her mobile phone on the dresser went off, altering her to a text.
Picking up the device, the 'Ultimate Queen' unlocked her phone before reading the text message she had just received from one Pierr Dusitoir. At first her heart soared with joy as she read the first few lines of the message, but that all quickly changed when she read the next part of the message.
Payment.
As she finished reading through the instructions as to where to pay the fee for her services, the devil couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly at the figure at the bottom of the message. And it was all she could do to smirk ever so slightly before shaking her head at the boys' boldness when dealing with her.
"Cheeky little bastard."
A/N:
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd done.
Okay, so here's the re-post of chapter three. Like I said very little has actually changed, just a few miniscule dialogue changes and the occasional SPaG pieces. I wanted to keep this chapter as it was, because I feel this is actually one of the best I have ever written; the interactions between characters especially.
But any-ways, enough self-praise, let's move on.
Now, I know some of you are probably confused as to why Thierry was so 'nice' to Raynare. My answer to that?
He's not… well not yet anyways.
As you've probably noticed in this chapter, Thierry has a lot of issues and personal demons that he is running from and refuses to face. However, Mittelt's death is fresh in his mind, and he has actually seen the damage that it caused to others; which has in-turn damaged Thierry even more. As such, he is looking for some sort of absolution or at least closure by helping Raynare move on and grow stronger. And whilst he may 'care' for her; he doesn't yet see her as a friend or as anything more than that. She is merely the beautiful young woman who he believes holds the key to escaping his latest demon….and as such he 'cares' for her. So don't worry, he hasn't gone mushy on you just yet !
And as a lot of you have probably noticed, we are now onto the Phenex vs Gremory arc.
Initially I didn't want Thierry involved all that much with this arc, but when I realised the opportunities for character development etc. that it possess, I couldn't help but jump at the chance.
Don't worry, the arc is probably only going to be about three chapters long tops if I have anything to say about it, which will allow me to hit the far more interesting Excalibur arc a lot quicker than most authors, and thus allow me to move onto some far more epic battle-scenes and what not, whilst brining in a rather large plot-changes that follow on from earlier events …as well as unveiling one of my big surprises for throughout the story.
It's not the biggest…..but it's cool and important, so I'm not going to talk about that any more.
And just to clear up any confusion; neither Thierry or Grayfia were using their full power. Thierry used enough to throw off a weak aura from Grayfia. As it stands, Thierry is strong, but like it says in the text, he's not stupid enough to think he can take on the 'Ultimate Queen.'
Ah, information dump complete.
So now all I have left to do is ask that you leave a review telling me what I have done well and not so well in this chapter, and as such what needs fixing and what can stay the same. And all I ask is that if you find yourself liking this story, is that you perhaps drop a fave or a follow (maybe even both) so that you are always up-to-date with the story.
Oh, and of course,
Keep it real like a Ninja folks!
Peace,
MetalGearMantis