Authors Notes = A/N
"Normal Speech."
'Thoughts."
"Foreign Language."
"Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech."
'Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts."
A/N: And here we have chapter six ladies and gentlemen.
First off, I'd like to just say that I am dedicating this chapter to my Grandmother who passed away the Sunday just gone. She was an amazing woman who had been battling with Dementia for a while, as well as crippling Arthritis. She remains one of the few people on this Earth I have ever fully respected, and one of three people I have ever envied.
So this one is for you Gran. I know it's not much, but hopefully when I do your Eulogy I can give you something far more fitting.
Now, personal stuff dealt with, can I just say that I'm really grateful for the response to the last chapter. I'm so glad that many of you loved the rating game, and that even more of you loved the Sneak Peek of the upcoming Dual Arc; but before we get to that, we need to deal with this.
Okay, so nothing too interesting to note with this filler chapter; it's mostly a chance for you guys to see some more character development and general tying up of loose ends from the last arc. Fortunately this chapter is a little bit shorter than my previous ones (only eight or so thousand words of actual content), but it still covers some useful and important things, so stick around (if only for the NEXT Sneak Peek of my upcoming Dual-Arc)!
Any ways, enough rabbiting by me.
LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!
(Edit: Please note that I have changed Serafall to a Super-Class Devil for the purposes of this Fic. Why? Because I want to.)
Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD or any other series mentioned in this story. 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.)
"I may not be the smartest or the strongest member of Bucho's peerage; seeing as I don't have Akeno-san's amazing control over lightning, Yumi-san's skill with a blade, Koneko-chan's strength or Asia-chan's sacred gear.
But I do have one thing that they don't.
An unbeatable cause!
'Cause I fight for my President, Rias Gremory and nobody else. And even if I had to fight God himself to keep her safe….
I'D TEAR APART HEAVEN TO KEEP HER HAPPY YOU FUCKING BASTARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" Issei had begun his charge mid-speech, and was within striking distance of Riser just as he finished his speech. The moment after, he unleashed his gaunleted fist into Riser's stomach, causing his entire abdomen to explode into a shower of blood that burst forth from his back.
Ever so slowly, the Phenex began to fall off of Issei's fist, slowly turning into blue magical particles as he went, with his body dispersing completely just before hitting the floor.
An eerie silence settled over the battlefield for what seemed like an eternity, until a slightly shaky and disbelieving voice spoke up over the announcement system, as if they could also scarcely believe what had just happened in front of their very eyes.
{R ….. Riser Phenex of….of the Noble house of Phenex has been defeated by way of combat and has been deemed unable to continue fighting on medical grounds.
Therefore…
The winner is Rias Gremory!}
(Chapter Five: I hate Dinner – Jackets)
"Remind me again why I'm doing this again, old man?" Thierry asked with barely contained frustration as he slipped into a pure-white shirt that hugged his muscular and bulky frame perfectly. After accomplishing that, he set about pulling the midnight black dress-trouser of his Dinner Jacket up around his tree-trunk like legs before fastening them into place with an extremely expensive leather belt with a silver buckle. He let out another snarl of frustration as he not only was ignored by Azazel, but also failed to find the cufflinks he was sure that he had set on the side of his dresser. After several more moments of fruitless searching, Thierry began to feel his eyebrow twitching out of frustration, and he was several seconds away from vaporising his room with magic….
"Looking for these Th – UMPH!"
Spinning on his heels with his fist cocked back, Thierry unleashed and explosive punch into the Governor-General of the Fallen Angel's smirking face, which caused him to throw the small blue velvet box he had in his hands into the air as he was sent spiralling to the floor with a broken nose.
Deftly catching the small box, Thierry opened it to reveal two silver cufflinks that had been given to him by Shimhaziel as a Christmas present last year. Pulling them out of the box, Thierry just managed to finish putting them into position as Azazel pulled himself to his feet, holding a bloody nose. Glaring at his right-hand man with his violet orbs, Azazel was quick to voice his annoyance at the events that had just transpired.
"Wha' waz tha' for ya' bastard?" He asked in a nasaly tone, earning a deadpan glare from Thierry as he sat down to put on his shoes.
"For stealing my cufflinks you man-child." Thierry replied dryly, earning an affronted (or at least what Thierry assumed was supposed to be affronted) look from Azazel as he re-set the cartilage in his nose with a small 'crack'.
"I didn' steal nothin' ya little shit!"
"Right, because you were being helpful."
"Is tha' so 'ard to believe?"
….
….
…..
"Fuck you."
"Love you too boss, now fix your nose. I don't need Raynare being all pissy with me for punching you in your ugly mug." Thierry shot back, earning a small nod from Azazel who's hands were already glowing a faint white. After several seconds, Azazel removed his hands, revealing a damage-less face to the rest of the world once more. By this point, Thierry had just finished lacing up his shoes and was in the middle of putting on his suspenders when the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels decided to speak up again.
"So you worry about Raynare's opinion of you now, eh?" Azazel asked with a slight grin, which caused Thierry to almost let go of the first suspender and lose his progress. However, Thierry was unfortunate enough to have dealt with the Governor-General's behaviour on numerous occasions, and as such managed to limit his expression of annoyance to a small glare. But when it became evident that the ancient Fallen was not going to take silence for an answer, Thierry decided to answer him.
"Of course I do. Can't have my reputation as a respectable gentleman damaged by her saying I smashed you in your ugly mug." He shot back dryly, hoping to get Azazel to drop the topic before it got awkward. Unfortunately for the young Frenchman, Azazel had countless years of identifying and dismantling this technique, and as such he was hardly going to be fooled by Thierry's blatant attempt at dissuading the upcoming line of conversation.
Letting out a deep sigh as he saw Azazel sit down on his bed with a serious expression, Thierry finished putting on his suspenders before sitting down with Azazel on the bed as he allowed his mind to formulate an answer. He knew he cared for Raynare, but he wasn't entirely sure as to what that care amounted to. He'd never loved anyone or anything, he didn't know how to; it had been beaten out of him at a young age, and his late master had not been around long enough to help him rediscover his more human side.
And all of this information frightened Thierry.
He was used to being in total control of his emotions, of keeping a calm façade and acting the part he was given by Azazel. He was used to being in total control of his thoughts and emotions; but when it came to Raynare he didn't have anything close to 'control' over his thoughts.
Whenever he thought of Raynare, his heart would start to beat fast and any other thoughts would slowly begin to drift away. The mere mention of her name made any negative thoughts drift away and her company simply made Thierry feel content…
And happy.
"I…..I don't really know what to say Azazel." He finally supplied, earning a nod from said Fallen Angel.
"Tell me what you've been thinking about." He replied in a neutral tone, which slightly surprised Thierry. He would have expected the lecherous leader of the Grigori to be demanding he bed the buxom Fallen that was downstairs and throw caution to the wind; so to see him acting so serious and calm was a (not totally unpleasant) surprise.
"I…I guess I just feel happy when I'm with her. Just thinking about her makes any bad thoughts go away and causes my mind to fall at ease." Thierry finally whispered, eyes focused on the floor. When he didn't get an answer straight away, Thierry felt his heart clench slightly.
What if Azazel told him to stop pursuing this line of thought? If he told him…he told him…..
'You worthless little shit stains are the farthest thing from human! You are not even ab-humans, you are not even fit to be called the scum of the Earth! But when I'm done with you; you'll be worthy of at least being recognised as scum…..especially once we've gotten rid of those stupid little emotions you all seem so keen to keep.'
Thierry felt his breath hitch as the brutal words of his homelands Drill-Sargent rang through his mind. In Zencasia there were no such things as emotions or choices; you were the property of the state, and as such you served at the pleasure of 'the president'. And despite his best efforts, Thierry couldn't but help let those memories influence his thoughts.
'What am I thinking? I'm a monster in human skin; I don't deserve the right to love anyone. The things I've done…that I've enjoyed doing, how could I even consider tainting Raynare. If I care for her at all I won't even go near he….'
*Smack!*
Thierry felt his entire thought-process freeze up as his boss smacked him across the cheek whilst he glared at the young French-Zencasian. Turning his shocked gaze towards the Viceroy of the Grigori, the infamous Jackal could only manage to cock an eyebrow in confusion, which Azazel took as the sign to start actually speaking.
"Stop that right now Thierry." Azazel stated seriously, a small frown marring his handsome features. Thierry made to retort and tell him that nothing was wrong, but before he could, the Viceroy of the Grigori spoke back up.
"You feel like a monster in a man's skin, and that because you enjoyed some of the things you have done, it makes you unworthy of love." Azazel stated sombrely, earning the smallest of nods from Thierry as he took a deep, shuddering breath. Waiting for his surrogate son to compose himself, Azazel eventually spoke back up.
"That's bull-shit Thierry. You didn't choose to do those things; you wanted to keep your men and your friends safe. And you didn't choose to enjoy those things; you were conditioned to enjoy every second of it, which is no fault of your own.
You are not a bad man Thierry. I love you like a son, and I can't put up with all of this self-deprecating bull-shit any more. If you like Raynare that's wonderful, you deserve a brilliant woman or two in your life." Azazel stated to Thierry who had slowly began to lean on his latest father-figure's shoulder as his entire body began to shake with unuttered sobs.
"But….but….."
"Talk to her. Tell her about your life and see how she reacts; because if she feels the way I think she does about you, she won't care and would stick by you. Just like anybody who loves you wouldn't judge you and would stick by you." Azazel stated seriously.
Thierry sat there for a few moments before his eyes hardened and his face set into an unreadable mask.
"It's better for her if she keeps her distance, just like it is for everyone else." He replied in an absolutely dead tone as he stood up and pulled his jacket on before making his way to the door. Leaving Azazel to merely watch with a crestfallen look as the young man walked away from him.
'Dam it Thierry, you need to open up…'
'I just hope that Ray-chan and whoever else follows can give you the love you deserve.'
(Downstairs, a few minutes later)
Raynare let out a small sigh of boredom as she lazily leafed through a fashion magazine that she had Azazel buy her earlier that day. Normally the buxom young Fallen would revel at the chance to indulge in her guilty habit of picking out different outfits from the magazine that she had, but as things stood her mind was currently focusing on one thing and one thing only.
Thierry.
'I hope he'll be okay going alone tonight, Lord knows he hates devils.' The gorgeous girl thought to herself absently as she flipped the page of her magazine on in an effort to distract her from her thoughts, despite how futile that action was. Raynare cared immensely for Thierry, and as a consequence she did not like the thought of him sitting amongst the species that had caused him so much pain in his life, if Azazel's words were to believe.
Raynare didn't know the specifics, but from the little she had managed to piece together from the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels and Thierry himself, the Devils played an integral part in his joining of the Grigori. How and why still eluded her, but Raynare resigned herself to waiting for Thierry to talk about the whole affair; it was his past after all, and like she said, she was not going to push him for anything. If he wanted to talk then he would talk about it to her; and seeing as Raynare had an eternity to wait, she could afford a few weeks or even months of silence on the matter.
'Just play it cool girl, he'll talk eventually. He promised us he would. And if there's one thing you know about Thierry, it's that he keeps his promises.'
Shaking her head slightly to try and re-shift her focus back to her magazine, Raynare was about to delve into the main body of the 'Summer Collection' when an all too familiar voice broke through the peaceful silence that had enveloped the room.
"Looking good Raynare, feeling comfortable?" An all too familiar accented voice asked with a small amount of mirth, causing Raynare to snap her head towards the door. The moment she did, the buxom young Fallen Angel felt her cheeks heat up substantially and her heart beat a little quicker as she now took in the transformed Thierry.
The raven-black Dinner-Jacket that he wore fitted him to perfection, hugging his frame perfectly and doing his god-like body absolute justice. Everything, from the shoes he wore to the Dickie-bow around his neck just screamed 'classy'. Combine this with a clean-shaven face and hair that was jelled into a mini faux-hawk, and Thierry looked like some noble from one of the seventy-two pillars, not an assassin for the Grigori.
Raynare huddled down into her chair ever so slightly as she took in Thierry's appearance; compared to her own hot-pants and baggy shirt (which she'd stolen from Thierry quite some time ago), Raynare felt completely under-dressed and unworthy of being in the same room as him. However, before the Buxom young girl could let her thoughts wander any further, Thierry spoke up again.
"I guess that you don't like the change if the silence is anything to go by." He commented in a joking tone of voice, but given Raynare's previous state of mind, the gorgeous Fallen failed to notice his change of tone…
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I THINK YOU LOOK AMAZING, IT'S JUST…" Raynare was yelling at the top of her voice, arms waving frantically in-front of her and a worried expression on her face as she tried to persuade her housemate that she approved of his outfit. But before Raynare could finish speaking, she found herself cut off by the boisterous laughter of Thierry….which Raynare couldn't help but notice suited him very well indeed.
'He should do that more often.' She thought to herself absently, just before returning her attention to the Frenchman; who now wore a large grin on his face.
"Well thanks Raynare, I appreciate the comment. But in all seriousness, was something bothering you when I walked in?" Thierry's tone started off light, but it quickly filled with concern; something that caused Raynare's heart to beat even faster than it already was. After several seconds, Raynare dropped her magazine and averted her eyes as she brought her left hand up to her right arm, rubbing it gently as she spoke.
"I….I guess I just feel underdressed. You look like some sort of prince and I look like common trash stood here in this." She commented in a voice that was barely above a whisper, gesturing to her distinctly casual attire. After several seconds of silence, Raynare expected Thierry to break down and laugh at her.
What she didn't expect was….
"You idiot."
Raynare let out a small gasp of surprise as she felt Thierry's powerful arms sweep her into a gentle hug, the likes of which he had never done before. Normally he reserved such actions for when the two of them had their 'heart-to-hearts'; he had never done something like this before. So it was with a cutely confused expression that Raynare lifted her head off of the smooth and silky shirt he wore so that she could better focus on his smiling face as he spoke to her.
"Raynare, I could wear the best clothes in the world and you'd still look better than me, even if you were wearing trackies and that shirt. Clothes can't help me when I'm stood next to someone so beautiful, especially when they are of your level." He said softly, causing Raynare to let out a small gasp of shock at his words.
'He thinks I'm beautiful?'
Before she could say anything, Raynare felt her mind freeze as Thierry lent down and placed a light kiss on her cheek as he pulled away from her.
"Don't stay up, I'll be gone for a while." And with that he turned and left a thoroughly confused and shell-shocked Raynare in the living room. After a while, the young girls brain managed to process just what had happened to her.
'He kissed me.'
'He kissed me!'
'HE KISSED ME!'
"He kissed me." Raynare muttered to herself as her heart soared in absolute joy as those three words were played on repeat in her head.
She knew she liked Thierry in far more than a platonic way, but she was never sure as to how he felt about her. To Raynare, this looked like it meant that Thierry also liked her as more than just a friend; and that left Raynare with only one possible course of action.
"I've got to tell Kala! She's going to be so~ jealous!" She squealed to herself as she raced towards the phone in the corner of the room, her raven locks flowing like a river behind her as she made to call her best friend and tell her the news. However, before she could reach the phone, the voice of the third member of the house spoke up.
"So you like him, 'eh?" Azazel commented off-handedly with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, house-phone in hand as he stood in-front of Raynare. Said Fallen's face went absolutely scarlet at his words as she skidded to a halt, but she nodded none-the-less. Immediately, Azazel's face dropped and set into an impassive mask. Raynare audibly gulped and backed up several steps, expecting the Viceroy to crush her hopes of a relationship with Thierry in one fell swoop…but what she got instead was just plain horrifying.
"THIERRY AND RAY-CHAN SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Azazel began to sing the childish and timeless song in a babyish voice that wouldn't have been out-of-place with a ten year-old. His arms were wrapped around his body and he was swaying side-to-side with a content little smile on his face with his eyes closed as he continued with the song. At first Raynare was too stupefied to even think straight….but the moment that her cognitive thoughts returned.
"SHUT UP, ERO-BAKA!"
*SMACK*
"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
*SMASH*
Twitching as a pained groan made its way to her ears, along with the sound of a rolling pot, Raynare stood there with the look all angry women shared between them, her fist out-stretched and her right hand held out to catch the house-phone as it fell from the air, having been left there after Raynare sent the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels flying into the kitchen. Turning on her heels, Raynare went to head to her room (which was directly opposite Thierry's) whilst dialling her best-friends number….leaving a certain lecherous Governor-General to voice his thoughts out-loud to the world.
"WHAT IS IT WITH MY SUBORDINATES AND BREAKING MY FUCKING NOSE? GOD DAMN IT!"
…..
…
….
…..
"Huh. At least Shimhaziel isn't here."
*SLAM*
"AZAZEL, I'VE GOT SOME REPORTS FOR YOU TO READ HERE!"
….
…
…
"Oh fuck my life."
(With Thierry, outside the ballroom of the Gremory Estate, The Underworld)
Thierry took a calming breath as he was lead through the ornate hallways of the Gremory mansion house as one of the maid-servants guided him to the ball-room. Instead of the grandiose and completely unnecessary flamboyance that Thierry had seen during some of his contracts in the under-world, the Gremory mansion was far more tasteful in its expression of wealth.
Instead of diamond encrusted clocks or countless jewel-encrusted weapons or frames, the Gremory family instead opted for gorgeous paintings and suits of armour that were tastefully in-keeping with the Victorian structural design of the Mansion. Each was of the absolute highest quality one could expect to find, but they were not tacky in any way what-so-ever.
'Probably got some human they reincarnated to design the place.' He thought to himself bitterly, doing anything and everything in his mind to either insult or discredit anything that the devils had done. It was bad enough that he had to attend this stupid function and spend several hours of his own time dealing with the scumbags, without being paid. And as a consequence, Thierry felt it only fair that he at least be allowed to rant mentally, if only to ensure that he didn't snap and try to kill anyone over the course of his stay in the god-forsaken hell-hole.
"Mr Dusitoir, we have arrived." The maid stated calmly in a distinctly English accent, causing Thierry to snap out of his bitter musings in order to take stock of his location.
The doors to the ball-room were much like the rest of the Mansion's decoration; classy and expensive without being tacky. They were exceptionally heavy oak doors that had obviously been crafted by hand by a master-craftsman. The doors told the tale of several great battles from either the Great War or the Civil War, with pride of place going to the golden emblazed image at the centre; the four current Satan's facing down the decedents of the original four great Devil Kings of the Underworld. Each of the images lacked any kind of face or overt detail, yet the palpable tension between the two groups was absolutely unmistakable; the fate of an entire race was to be decided by this battle, and by god did that tension shine through with this piece.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" The maid commented off-handedly, earning a small nod from 'Pierr'.
"Indeed, I have only seen a few things that could honestly rival or surpass such artistry." He replied truthfully. Indeed, the only pieces that he had seen that he could honestly say surpassed the doors to the Gremory ball room were either kept at the Grigori or were from memories that Azazel had shared with him from his time as one of God's Arch-Angels. The maid nodded her head with a small smile on her face, clearly pleased that her employers' had managed to wow another guest. Turning fully to face the young man, she bowed ever so slightly before she continued speaking.
"Please excuse me, I need to informer the announcer of your arrival."
And with that the maid turned and went through a small side-door that Thierry had failed to notice, leaving the young French-Zencasian by himself to collect his thoughts and mentally prepare himself for what was to come.
'Keep it calm and collected Thierry; there are far too many devils for you to contemplate picking a fight today.' He told himself calmly as he raised onto the tips of his toes before relaxing back onto his heels and repeating the motion.
'But just think of how many heirs and heiresses will be here tonight! We could kill them all and go down in a blaze of glory, crippling the future of so many devils.' Another part of Thierry's mind argued, causing the young assassin to frown in annoyance.
'What good would that do?'
'We'd get to kill so many shitty devils, what could be better?'
'Living to kill even more devils?' Thierry thought to himself with a dark sense of satisfaction. However, the rebellious portion of his mind continued to scream bloody murder and demanded the deaths of as many devils as possible in the ball-room, but luckily for Thierry, his mind still listened whenever he repeated his most sacred and adhered to mantra.
'It doesn't matter what I'd like to do. Azazel said not to harm a single person whilst I'm here, and no matter what I feel…
Order are Orders.'
Shaking his head as the rebellious part of his mind yielded, Thierry managed to return to the world of the conscious just in time to see the magnificent doors of the ball-room open. After an age of silent movement, the doors were fully open and revealed the ball-room to Thierry in all its glory. A high ceiling that was covered in famous images of prominent members of the Gremory family, the walls were over-hung by a second-floor walkway that overlooked and traversed the entire room, whilst Greek-style columns held it aloft. The floor was made of marble slabs and the room was full of tables and large open spaces…
Which were full of devils.
Thierry felt his breath catch slightly at the sight of so many Devils, but he managed to curb his natural instincts and instead began to make his way into the room, whilst every single set of eyes stayed on him. The moment his foot landed on the cold marble of the room, a loud booming voice echoed throughout the room, breaking the oppressive silence that had quickly developed.
"MY LORDS AND LADIES, PLEASE WELCOME THE GUEST OF HONOUR FOR THIS EVENING, MR PIERR DUSITOIR!"
'GUEST OF HONOUR?!' Thierry thought to himself in absolute shock as he replayed the words of the announcer in his mind…...and said mind could only reach one conclusion.
'GREMORY! THAT LITTLE BITCH! SHE DID THIS ON PERPOSE!' He roared to himself mentally, but luckily he managed to get control of his emotions quickly enough to stop himself from being embarrassed by the ending of the applause, and the arrival of a new voice.
"Ah, Dusitoir-san! Please make your way over here, there are several people I must introduce you to!" The perpetually annoying voice of Rias Gremory called out to Thierry, causing said young man to bite back a snarl of frustration. He was half tempted to simply turn around and march himself straight out of this little slice of his own personal Hell (no pun intended) and back to the comfort of his sofa, books and Whiskey. However, Azazel had told him that unless he stayed for at least three hours, he'd give away Thierry's booze and books, whilst claiming the sofa for himself.
So it was with a resigned sigh that Thierry began to make his way to the Grembitch (as he had dubbed her), who was currently stood on the raised section of the floor, wearing a form fitting white dress that, had it been on another woman, Thierry would have said made her look as sexy as anything.
'But alas, 'tis the garment of the red-head bimbo.' He thought to himself with an amused, silent chuckle as the Devils parted like the Red-Sea for him. The moment he reached the steps leading up to the raised section of the floor, Thierry was greeted to the site of the Gremory heiress; arm hooked perfectly with a D.J-clad Issei Hyodo. To their right stood the youngest member of the red-haired girls peerage, Koneko, who was currently wearing a silver dress that reached her knees along with a pair of matching flats, whilst Asia stood off to the side in a simple black dress and shoes that suited the nun perfectly. Now, whilst the three girls were undeniably well dressed, it was the appearance of the next two females that truly caught Thierry's attention.
Akeno was wearing a black traditional dress-kimono that stopped just short of her knees. The material was obviously of the highest quality, and the gorgeous image of a trees branch in autumn that flowed around the dress in silver stitching seemed to shimmer and dance as if caught in a gentle autumn breeze, due to the light. Her hair was still tied up into its traditional pony-tail, but it was clear that she had paid extra-attention to her hair when she washed it, if the truly magnificent shine of it was any indication. Below her kimono, the young Fallen-Human-Devil hybrid wore far more contemporary, closed-toe high heels that added three or four inches to her height, bringing the top of her head to roughly the top of Thierry's mouth. She truly looked gorgeous in Thierry's opinion, far better than Gremory could ever hope to be….but even Akeno was eclipsed by the young woman stood next to her.
'Woah. She looks beautiful.' Was all Thierry could manage to think as he took in the form of Yumi Kiba.
The buxom Knight had allowed her luscious locks to flow down her back like a river of molten gold that complemented the navy dress that she wore perfectly. Said dress was similar to a cocktail dress, in that it had no shoulder-straps and exposed a generous (yet not slutty) amount of her bountiful chest. The dress hugged her figure whilst allowing full movement, cutting off roughly two inches above the knee. Her feet were clad in open-toed high-heels which revealed the navy nail-polish she had applied (which accompanied her fingernails). On her left wrist sat a gorgeous silver-plated watch whilst a simple yet elegant silver necklace that almost melted against her flawless skin sat around her neck. All in all, she looked more like some sort of Sex goddess than she did a Human-Devil Hybrid. The slight sway in her hips as she and Akeno moved to join their group caused Thierry to mentally groan at how sensual yet natural the movements were….. and if the smirk on her perfectly rouged lips was anything to go by, she knew she had his attention.
"Ara, ara Dusitoir-san; have my Knight and Queen already captured your heart?" Rias asked with a girlish giggle which snapped Thierry back to reality. Catching the sound of laughter all around him, Thierry instantly slipped into his persona of Pierr and allowed it to do the work of one-upping the Grembitch for him.
"Ms. Gremory you should know by now that there is nothing there for them to capture. My libido on the other hand is very happy with what it's seeing right now." He commented off-handedly, causing Rias to splutter in surprise at his rather honest reply, Issei to cheer at the apparent 'conversion' to perversity and everyone else to laugh at his inelegant reply. Koneko merely narrowed her eyes at Thierry for several seconds before shaking her head in what Thierry could only assume was disappointment; although he most certainly did NOT care.
Looking back to the two gorgeous girls that had left him stupefied for several seconds, Thierry could only smirk ever so slightly at the sight of both girls blushing healthily at his comments whilst shying away from his cool gaze ever so slightly; although the pleased smiles that they wore told Thierry that he had most certainly said the right thing. After several seconds of regaining their composure, the two buxom girls smiled slyly before advancing ever so slightly towards Thierry.
"Oh really, tell me Pierr-kun; just how could you possibly hope to…..convey your happiness right now?" Akeno said in a voice that actually caused Thierry to shiver slightly at how seductive it was. And to make matters worse, Yumi was only too happy to follow up her fellow beauty's attempt at flustering the thus far unflappable French Ex-patriot.
"To be honest we feel the same way…perhaps we should show you." Yumi purred as she closed the distance between herself and Thierry. Said young man felt his trousers tighten ever so slightly as the two girls stood barely two feet away from him. However, even with their lustful aura's and sinfully gorgeous appearances, it was still going to take a lot more than mere wordplay to even come close to flustering the young Frenchman. So it was with well-earned and proven confidence that Thierry took a step towards the two buxom girls and grabbed one of their hands in either of his own before cocking his head ever so slightly to the main doors.
"I'm pretty sure there's an empty bedroom about five minutes from here. And trust me when I tell you that if you want to keep our little bit of fun private, we'll need the space and sound-proofing that room will offer." He whispered in a down-right husky voice, causing both girls to go scarlet at his words and their pupils to dilate whilst they tried to stutter out a response. Thierry could only smile and laugh at their reactions along with the group of people present; the laughter only dying down when the two girls managed to calm themselves down.
"Hmph. One day Pierr-kun, we'll beat you." Yumi stated determinedly, earning a nod from her fellow half-devil. Thierry could only grin lightly before letting out a small laugh.
"That's what you've said for the past twenty four times I've beaten you."
"Shut up."
"As amusing as this is," Rias interrupted the two with a massive smile on her lips, "But there are other people to meet." She finished somewhat calmly, gesturing to the group of people arranged in a rough semi-circle behind her. Thierry rolled his eyes before gesturing to Rias with the universal signature for "go on then". Nodding politely, the young girl gestured to Red-haired male and brown-haired, carbon copy of Rias that stood at the far left of the group.
"These are my parents; Lord Joseph Gremory and Lady Venelana Gremory Nee Bael."
"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Gremory, Milady." He stated in the most formal tone he could muster before (reluctantly) shaking the man's hand and lightly dusting his lips across the Lady Gremory's knuckles.
'I'm going to need to wash my lips after that.'
"A pleasure to meet you, Dusitoir-san. We owe you a debt that can never truly be repaid." The current head of the Gremory family stated sincerely, earning an internal role of the eyes from Thierry as Venelana emulated her husband's words. Nodding his head slightly at their words, the young man was then (quite literally) dragged to the next person by Rias.
"Next are the Lord Alexander Phenex and Lady Layla Phenex; Riser's parents." Rias intoned formally. Thierry met the Lords vice-like-grip with his own and repeated the same process he had carried out for the Lady Gremory for the matriarch of the Phenex family.
"A pleasure to finally meet you young man; I've been thinking about hiring you to teach Riser a thing or two about how to really fight, because it's clear that you know how to." The Lord Phenex commented cheerfully, earning a small chuckle from Thierry as his (small) ego was stroked ever so slightly; but he still made sure to shoot down the Devil's hopes
"Unfortunately I am booked out for the foreseeable future….and besides I'm not sure the whole training thing is really for me." The Lord Phenex let out a small faux-sigh of sadness before nodding his head acceptingly.
"If you ever change your mind or become free-"
"I will contact you, do not worry Lord Phenex."
Allowing himself to be dragged along, Thierry let out a small sigh of exasperation as he was dragged over to a small cluster of people, the silver haired woman of said group being someone he was already acquainted with.
"Lady Lucifuge, it's a pleasure to see you again, my favourite person in the whole wide-world." Thierry stated cheekily as he dusted his lips lightly over her offered hand's knuckles, earning the smallest of smiles from the normally stoic 'Silver-Haired-Queen of Annihilation'.
"I should hope so after the amount of money I had to move, Dusitoir-san." She shot back in her traditional monotone, although there was a detectable undercurrent of sarcasm coming from the gorgeous Queen of Lucifer. Thierry made to continue their conversation, but he found his thoughts cut off by something slamming into his stomach with the force of a small missile and almost causing him to lose his balance. After regaining his footing, Thierry looked down towards his stomach, only to find the gorgeous Serafall Leviathan looking up at him with a beautiful smile and deep violet orbs that were as captivating as Raynare's (although Thierry would never admit that out-loud).
"Hiya Dus-kun. I'm Serafall Leviathan, but please call me Levia-tan or Sera!" She exclaimed childishly, earning the faintest of sweat-drops from Thierry.
'I know Azazel said that Serafall liked to appear and act like a super-hot and short, child-minded, teenage girl, but I never thought it would be like this.' He thought to himself in absolute shock. He'd heard the stories from Azazel, but not even Thierry thought the Devils could be stupid enough to allow someone so childish to be a Satan.
'Come the fuck on! There is no way she could be any good at her fucking job if she behaves like this; and if she's the Satan for foreign affairs, I can understand why so many extradition orders are 'lost'. She looks like she can barely hold onto a thought for a second.' Now whilst Thierry knew that this 'girl' was one of the two currently recorded 'Super Devils', he couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild for several moments, before he returned his attention to the dress-clad girl wrapped around his waist.
"A…. pleasure to meet you Sera." Was all he could manage. However, Thierry felt his entire body shiver as the girl sent him an absolutely murderous glare that fitted her following words, unlike her tone of voice.
"Oh, before I forget, Dus-kun; what's this I hear about you threatening my little So-tan not long ago?" Thierry struggled to think as the girls grip became uncomfortably tight around his waist. Thierry made to reply, but before he could, another voice managed to stop him from being sliced into two.
"Onee-samma, I have already told you that it was in the heat of the moment, and that I was as much at fault as Pierr-san." Sona said in her usual dry monotone as she appeared next to her sister, wearing a modest violet dress and heels that (although Thierry would refuse to admit) suited her perfectly. The pint-sized Satan made to say something, but before she could, Thierry decided to swallow his pride and save the situation from deteriorating faster.
"Sona there is no need to apologize; I was in the wrong. I….I jumped to an incorrect conclusion and refused to listen to yours and Miss Gremory's words…and as such I….I would merely like to apologize for any affront I offered. I enjoy the friendship that we have, and I have no desire to see it destroyed any time soon." Each word at the beginning caused Thierry to bubble with absolute rage beneath his cold and calm exterior; they were the ones doing the enslaving, not him. But as his mini-speech reached its conclusion, the young man couldn't help but feel a certain level of sincerity creeping into his words.
'It's just because you like to talk to her; nothing more and nothing less.' He told himself with a tone that was supposed to be absolute, but it sounded anything but that within his mind. But before his mind could wander any further from reality, he was snapped back to attention by Sona's reply.
"Dus…..Pierr-san. There's no need to apologise; We should have explained the situation calmly to you, in private and not left you in the dark on the matter. But non-the-less, I appreciate the apology; I was….. concerned that I was going to lose my intellectual rival." The final few words caused the young Sitiri heiress to look away, and if Thierry was not mistaken, he was pretty sure he caught sight of a blush on Sona's cheeks, no matter how faint it was. 'Pierr' went to answer her, but he found himself yet again cut off by another devil.
'I fucking swear to God I'm going to kill someone.'
"So you're Pierr Dusitoir, huh?" Sirzech Lucifer commented off-handedly as he ran his eyes over 'Pierr's' form. Said young man froze solid as he locked eyes with the reigning Lucifer and the second recorded Super-Devil. One Super-Devil he may have been able to escape from – but two would be a suicide mission. He was powerful – by god he was probably the single strongest human on the face of the Earth. Not even the top five exorcists in the Vatican would be able to match him if he went all out, with the exception of perhaps Dulio Gesualdo, but not even he was strong enough to take on two monsters like Serafall and Sirzech and live, let alone escape from them.
But he couldn't afford to let the apprehension show on any part of his body; if only for personal pride. So swallowing what little saliva was in his mouth in order to try and satiate his parched throat, Thierry forced a smile onto his face as he gripped the current Lucifer's hand with his own and bowed his head ever so slightly, doing everything within his power to avoid holding eye contact with him for any longer than necessary.
"Indeed I am; it's a pleasure to meet you Lord Lucifer."
"Mah~, no need to be so formal Dus-kun, call me Sirzech." He replied flippantly, causing Thierry to raise an eyebrow slightly at the informality of the man. Catching sight of Grayfia narrowing her eyes at her husband, Thierry forced a small laugh out of his dry lips.
"Ahahaha, I could never do that Lord – ACK!"
Thierry was in the middle of rebutting the Devil, but for the second time that evening, the young man felt someone wrap their arms around his ribcage and lift him into the air. Turning his gaze back to the current Lord Lucifer, Thierry couldn't help but let out a squawk of absolute horror at the smiling face of Sirzech Lucifer as he held Thierry in a hug. But before Thierry could even recover enough cognitive thought, he found himself back on his feet and able to breathe again…..and the sight he was greeted to was so outlandish that even the greatest weapon of the Grigori, the right hand of the Viceroy and the Strongest human alive was absolutely stupefied by it.
"AUGH! 'RAYFIA-CHAN! LE' GOAH' MA' CHEE-YOOOOOOWWWWWHHH!" Sirzech screamed girlishly as his normally stoic queen stood next to him with an annoyed look plastered on her gorgeous features as the thumb and index finger of her right hand refused to relinquish their grip on their victim.
"Sirzech-samma, you are a Satan and one of the leaders of our kind. Please act with the decorum and dignity that is expected of your station."
"BU' I-YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW! 'KAY! 'KAY! I'LL 'OP. 'UST LE' GO OH MA CHEEK!" Sirzech yelled as his wife narrowed her eyes at him. After several seconds of her husband quivering and crying at 'Fia-chan's' cruelty, the Ultimate Queen seemed satisfied with her husband's response, and as such she released his cheek, causing a faint 'twang' sound as his comically stretched cheek pinged back into place. Rubbing his cheek gingerly, Thierry could only nod faintly to the blurred voices as they spoke to him, whilst a gentle hand guided him towards a set table, whilst his mind attempted to reboot from what he had just seen.
'That's Sirzech Lucifer. THAT'S THE LUCIFER! WHAT THE FUCK! He's supposed to be the strongest living devil alongside Serafall Leviathan. I know that the Cadre back home said that he was like this, but I genuinely thought that they were fucking with me. How the hell can someone so important think it's okay to behave in such a manner? Azazel would never act so immaturely in an important setting, crass nature aside; at least he knows when to act like an adult.' Thierry thought to himself as he found himself automatically sitting down into a chair and rolling his shoulders. He continued to ponder the stupefying nature of the leaders of the Underworld, praying to whatever deity would listen that Asmodeus and Beelzebub were no-where near as bad as their peers.
But knowing Thierry's luck, they were probably even worse than Thierry had been lead to believe.
Shaking his head lightly, Thierry managed to pull his head out of his thoughts just in time to catch the arrival of a waiter to his left.
"Excuse me, Mr Dusitoir. Can I get you anything to drink?" The brown-haired, plain looking devil asked politely, causing Thierry to descend into a brief period of thinking before a small smile lit up his face.
"Tell me, do you do custom drinks?" He asked casually, earning a small nod from the young waiter and several curious glances from those around him, most notably Yumi to his left, Issei to his right and the heads of the Phenex and Gremory families across from him, as well as the two Satan and Sona.
Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, Thierry began to ask for his all-time favourite drink.
"Alright, pay attention because this isn't the shortest list; three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?" He finished quickly, earning a raised eyebrow from the man and a hearty laugh from Sirzech as the waiter left to bring him his drink.
"A fan of Flemming's work are we?"
"Indeed. I tend to favour Whiskies and Wines, but when you have such a large variety of free drinks, I may as well make use of it." He replied cheekily, earning a healthy chuckle from the adults at the table, as well as Rias and her peerage, although Sona looked like she wanted to complain about his consumption of alcohol.
'If I'm going to be here for as long as Azazel wants, I'm going to need that drink.'
(Two hours later, with Yumi)
Yumi watched as Pierr shook hands with yet another noble, a polite smile plastered on his face as he bid them good-night. He looked every part the quintessential noble, yet there were hundreds of indications that he was not used to this kind of environment; that he wasn't used to dealing with up-stuck aristocrats and being the centre of attention. He had denied it earlier, but the buxom blond could see that he was not comfortable being in this kind of setting; which suited Yumi just fine considering her growing….affection for the French ex-patriot.
Although she'd had several boyfriends over her life, Yumi had never exactly felt anything for any of them; they were mostly for a bit of fun, or scratching certain itches when they needed to be dealt with. But one thing that Yumi did know was that she was genuinely starting to see a lot of the characteristics that she wanted in someone to call her partner.
He was strong, smart, witty and brilliant with a sword; and easy on the eyes to boot. At the moment, Yumi would probably say that she merely felt extreme sexual attraction for the young man, in the same way he seemed to feel it for both her and Akeno; and that thrilled her. Sure, she wasn't exactly one hundred percent happy that Akeno also seemed to be interested in the Frenchman, but she couldn't say that it bothered her completely either. After all, half the fun in snagging a man was in the competition and the chase.
It may sound basic and animalistic, but being a Devil tended to bring out ones more predatory nature, in all things. And it was made even more entertaining by the fact that she didn't actually know how Pierr felt towards her. Sure he would flirt with her and tease her, but like his facial expression or his words, it was virtually impossible to discern his motives or actual feelings. He could be flirtatious and downright sexy one minute and terrifying the next, or hard-working and studious at the start of the day and then finish it as a lazy vagabond. He was like a puzzle that constantly changed, so that when you felt like you had an answer to even a small part of just who Pierr Dusitoir was, he'd say or do something and you'd be back at square one again.
Which meant that any action Yumi was about to take was literally a shot in the dark, and as such she was feeling something that she hadn't felt in quite some time.
Nervousness.
She was nervous because she didn't want to ruin the tentative friendship that she had managed to form with Pierr, and as such she was nervous as to how her actions would impact their relationship….but then again…..
Nothing risked, nothing gained.
So it was with a steadying breath that Kiba laid her head upon Pierr's shoulder, causing the Frenchman to look down at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm in a bit of a pickle, Pierr-kun."
"How so?" He replied casually, causing Kiba to smirk as she gently wrapped and arm around Thierry's broad shoulders. She had to bite back a small, shuddering gasp as she felt his own powerful arm wrap around her thin waist, pulling her closer to his body.
"Well, you see; I have a special someone I want to thank for helping me and some friend out recently, but I'm not sure as to how he would react to what I have in mind." She stated calmly as she slowly swung herself around so that she was in-front of the French ex-patriot, who had now pushed himself off of the wall and had snaked both of his arms around her waist, causing Kiba to smirk.
'He may actually feel this way!'
"How did you want to thank this…..special someone?" He asked with feigned innocence, causing Kiba's smirk to grow into a small yet gorgeous smile as she leant forwards until her lips were millimetres from the object of her desires.
"Like this."
The first thing that Yumi noticed about Pierr's lips were that they felt surprisingly smooth for a males, and if the surprised but almost blissful look in Pierr's eyes was anything to go by, he found her lips to be as velvety and moist as her other lovers had. Closing her eyes, Yumi couldn't help but gasp as Thierry's arms dropped to her waist and pulled her voluptuous form flush against his well-sculpted body. Said gasp was all it took for Pierr's own lips to part and his tongue to dart forwards and into Yumi's mouth.
Said girl immediately began fighting back against the intrusion, but like when they fought with blades, the gorgeous Knight of the Gremory found herself quickly out-skilled by her companion, and was quickly whimpering and moaning into the kiss as she felt Pierr's tongue caress her own. The two remained like that for a while; lost in absolute bliss. Eventually the two broke apart, with Yumi pulling back with her face a healthy red and her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Well…that wasn't exactly how I meant for that to go….."
"Still brilliant though, eh?" Pierr commented cheekily, earning a small giggle from Yumi as she returned to her original position with her head on the Frenchman's powerfully built shoulders. Discreetly casting her eyes about the room, Yumi was happy to note that nobody seemed to have notice their rather intimate moment.
She was about to initiate another moment, but before she could, a faint ringing came from Pierr's jacket, causing the young man to sigh in exasperation and detach himself from Yumi (much to her chagrin). Unlocking the device, he pressed the answer button and raised the phone to his ear, unknowingly attracting the attention of the Gremory Group, the two Satan's and the Lords and Ladies of the Phenex and Gremory families.
"What do you want Thomas?"
(….)
"What do you mean it's still in play?"
(….)
"Did you manage to intercept them?"
(….)
"Shit. Who did you manage to get?"
(…...)
"I see."
(….)
"I want you to keep that little piece of shit right where he is. I can be with you in about an hour.
And let me make this clear to you Muller.
If you fuck up in any way, I'll rip your fucking guts out and use them to strangle your wife whilst you watch you little bitch."
Throughout the entire conversation, Pierr's demeanour had swiftly deteriorated, from annoyed to shocked and then angry, before finally settling on showing the young Frenchman as being completely apoplectic with rage. With several deep breaths, the young man managed to reign in his emotions enough to turn to Rias and her parents, who (like most of the assembled group) were shocked at his swift change in demeanour.
"Excuse me Miss Gremory, but one of my acquaintances has picked up on something very important and I'm afraid I need to head out immediately." Rias nodded shakily at his ice-cold voice, and before anyone could say anything, Pierr had clicked his fingers and was bathed in a small blast of dark blue magical energy. The moment said energy faded, it revealed a drastically changed Thierry, who was now clad in the same gear that he had worn when he had trained the Gremory Group for their match against Riser; with the only noteworthy difference being that his face was now covered in black camo-paint along with his neck, obscuring his handsome face from view.
Bowing his head to Sona, he quickly explained that he may be absent for the next few days of school, and asked for the girl to cover him. The heiress to the Sitiri family nodded calmly and wished him luck, which caused the young man to head for the nearest balcony so that he could privately use the reverse teleportation seal he had been given to return to the human world. But before he could leave, Yumi found herself calling after the mysterious and brilliant Frenchman.
"Pierr-kun!"
Turning around, the young man met Yumi's gorgeous grey orbs with his own shaded eyes. Taking a deep breath, Yumi forced a smile onto her face as she said only one thing to the young man.
"Please be careful."
Averting his gaze, the young man quickly spun on his heels and continued on his way, but not before whispering a reply back to Yumi so faintly that she almost thought she'd imagined his words.
"I'm sorry….."
"But I can't make a promise I know I may not be able to keep."
A/N:
And there we have it ladies and gents.
Okay, like I said at the top (which I'm sure nobody noticed), I KNOW Serafall isn't a Super-Class in canon, but I just don't think Ajuka fits the bill...and to be honest the prospect of someone so childish wielding so much power just amuses the shit out of me. So I changed it. If you don't like that, fine.
But that change is STAYING.
Now with that out of the way, I'm not too sure about how I feel in regards to this chapter. The death of my grandmother and school stress aside, I just feel like this chapter is kind of 'meh', but then again it is only my first interlude chapter, so I suppose I can't expect it to be fantastic.
Any ways, I have an important announcement to make; this chapter may well be the last one for a little while, seeing as Public examinations are coming up. But considering I finish way earlier than everyone else, I'll have a lot of free time to write, so you'll only be without me for a month or so at most.
And that's all I've got to say apart from drop a fave or a follow if you want to keep up with the story (or maybe both), and leave a review to tell me what you thought of the chapter or the preview for my original arc and the Excalibur arc.
Keep it real like a Ninja folks!
Peace,
MetalGearMantis
P.S: Oh and the pole on Rossweiss' addition to Thierry's harem is still up, so go vote mortals! VOTE!
(SNEAK PEEK OF THE 'ACID AIR' ARC)
"The remaining AA-35 is with Franzesca now, I swear Jackal-samma!" Screamed the now wingless Fallen Angel in Thierry's grip as he tried to keep his fearful violet orbs focused on the black-out visor of the most fearsome assassin in the world. His grip loosened ever so slightly as he kept his eyes locked onto the frightened Fallen in an attempt to pressure him into surrendering even more information.
"Where has she taken it?" He snarled out in a voice as cold as the embrace of Death itself, causing the wingless Fallen in his grip to let out a small whimper of fear at the cold edge of his tone. The man made to say something, but before he could so much as utter a syllable, Thierry loosened his grip on the man's jacket even further, causing him to sway in the cold, night-time Russian wind and let out a scream of abject fear as his only grip to life stretched to a few weary fingers.
"I suggest you consider your answer very carefully. Otherwise your friends will be picking bits of your skull up from the floor, because I guarantee there won't be a lot left of you to bury if you lie." The Jackal snarled, causing the man to visibly shake in abject terror at his words. Eventually the pitiful excuse of a Fallen Angel managed to pull himself together enough to answer the young man.
"She took it to the port at Secratz! She said something about it being the quickest way into Japan, but that's all I know. If you want any other answers then you'll…..you'll need to get them from Franzesca-san."
Thierry kept his gaze locked on the pathetic man's eyes before nodding his head.
"I believe you."
So it was with a hopeful look in his eyes that the Fallen asked his next, life-determining question.
"Will you let me go now."
"Of course."
In the end, it was all Raynare could do as she watched Thierry walk away from the edge of the building…
Whilst her brethren screamed as his body neared the cold and unforgiving tarmac of the god-forsaken village they had battled in, some fifty metres below.