A/N: Yo! I'm back, what's crackin'? I really outdid myself with this chapter. It's basically just one huge fight scene, so I hope you guys enjoy it.

Oh and, if you glance at my profile, you'll see a poll. And if you want to help contribute to the narrative, then I suggest you saunter on over there and vote, as Kyousuke's Assassin will be decided by it.

Devils? He could handle devils.

Priests? Too easy.

Fallen Angels? Chump change.

A job that involved escorting some snooty Devil royalty throughout all of Kuoh?

That's where he drew the line.

As a Low-Class Devil, he'd done many demeaning jobs, but this? This was worse than any of them. For instance, the man he was escorting wasn't even a combat-type devil. He was the kind of prick who sat in his house all day while getting tended to by his peerage. He was fat, obnoxious and looked down upon everyone around him. Kintoki had muttered something about him being like a Fat Gilgamesh and upon viewing the Rider's memories, Kyousuke couldn't help but agree.

"Servant boy," the man said, or rather, gargled through the food he was shoveling in his mouth, "can you please go slower? The bumps in the road are making it hard to eat."

Kyousuke glared back at him and had to use all of his willpower not to chew him out. If escorting him wasn't already bad enough, he was being forced to pull this guy's fat ass around in a cart. Like he was some kind of discount Roman Emperor. "Yes, sir" he said through gritted teeth as he turned his eyes back to the road. Was it wrong that he was currently hoping for a stray meteor to fall out of the sky and blow this asshole's brain up?

He knew that Sona had told him that this was a higher tier job and that he'd get considerable points toward his rank with this, but that didn't mean he was going to enjoy it. Everyone knew that escort quests were the worst. Speaking of, where were the random encounters? Where were the bad guys that could hopefully put this guy out of his misery?

He turned down a less crowded street and paused as his devil senses picked up something. And that's when he saw them, three devils jumping out of the shadows and aiming their weapons directly at his charge.

"Me and my big mouth!" he yelled as let go of the cart and leapt up to meet them. "Hey, chucklenut! As much as I want him dead, that'd reflect poorly on me. So screw off!" he shouted as he let loose a roundhouse kick into the face of one of the devil's and sent them flying backward through a window - belonging to a house he hoped was empty - before landing on top of the carriage and facing the remaining two devils. From their energy signatures, they were stronger than the guy he'd just sent flying. Definitely Mid-Class.

He stared at them, both girls, and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, ladies. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is that you stand there and let me punch you. The hard way is you try to fight back, but just end up getting hit harder for being a pain in my ass."

He smirked.

"So, which will it be?"

They both brandished their weapons.

"Hard way it is."

He strengthened his stance and focused his mind. For all his bravado, he knew that these two were ranked higher than him. And though he could call upon his servants, he didn't want to rely on them to solve everything. He had to get stronger on his own, only then would he feel confident in his ability to protect Sona and everyone else he cared about.

They came at him with blinding speeds, causing him to muster an 'eep' before one of them slammed their hammer into his stomach and sent him hurtling into a nearby wall. A second later, he burst free and dusted off his clothing. "Y'know. If it wasn't for my enhanced defense, I'd be a goner" he mused before he turned toward one of the devils, who was wielding a scythe. "But I take it you knew that. Because it looks like you really want to test out how durable I am with that toy of yours."

"Don't call her a toy!" the black and red haired devil snarled at him as she hefted her scythe into the air. "My baby is more than that!"

Kyousuke's eyebrow rose and he turned to the other girl with a question in his eyes. "Uh?"

The orange haired devil shrugged, resting her hammer on her shoulder. "She loves weapons a lot."

"Right. Anyways. Where were we?"

The hammer wielder smirked. "We were kicking your ass!"

"I dunno. That doesn't sound right. Because to be kicking my ass, you'd have to land some damage first!" he bellowed as he launched himself forward, his fist meeting her hammer in a clash that sent out a shockwave so powerful that the fat devil huddling in the carriage cried out in fear as the vehicle began to shake uncontrollably.

"Take it easy up there, servant boy!" the fat blob yelled as he banged on the roof.

"Shut it, Jabba! I'm trying to keep your blubbery butt alive right now!" Kyousuke retorted as he narrowly avoided an attack from the scythe wielder "So just huddle in your cubby and don't come out until I say so, capiche?!"

"How dare you talk to me like that?! Don't you know who I am?!"

"I swear to Satan, if you say one more damn word, I will defect and assassinate you myself" the Rook growled as he blocked the ginger's hammer with his right foot. "Do I make myself clear?"

Seeing as there were no more words from the living lard, Kyousuke nodded to himself before refocusing fully on the fight. These two were definitely no jokes. Both were masters of the weapon's they wielded and they both definitely had more experience as devils than him. If it weren't for the fighting experience he had gained from his servants evening the playing field, he'd be in a whole lot of trouble right now.

He gazed at the ginger. She was clearly a Rook, so she could take pain and dish it out. The other was obviously a Knight. So she was incredibly fast, but if he could land at least a single hit on her, she'd likely be taken out, which would allow him to turn this into a true slug fest with his fellow Rook.

The only issue was, getting that Knight to sit still long enough for him to punch her.

He breathed in and out. There was one way. It was dirty. It was cruel. And it was downright devilish. But, wasn't that exactly what he was?

A smirk slowly formed on his face as he pointed at the scythe wielder.

"Hey! After fighting with you, I gotta say. That scythe is a real piece of shit! It wasn't able to land a single attack on me! Like, who made it? A five year old? It's pathetic!"

"What did you just say?!" the redhead growled as she glared at him, hate filling her eyes.

"Ruby, don't! He's baiting you!" the ginger called out.

"I'm sorry, Nora. But I can't forgive him!" she shouted as sped forward at full speed, only for Kyousuke to duck under her horizontal slash at the last second.

When using a polearm, it was important to always remain in control. If you let your emotions cloud your judgment, you'd resort to incredibly predictable attacks. The memories of Cu had taught him that.

His right hand shot upward and he grabbed the shaft of her weapon before kicking her in the stomach with his full strength. Blood spewed out of her mouth as she lost her grip on the scythe and she was sent hurtling backward into a pile of trash cans.

He rested the scythe on his shoulder and grimaced. "This thing is really unwieldy. The fact that she was able to use it makes her even more impressive."

"Ruby!" Nora called out before turning toward him. "You! You bastard! How could you?! That was dirty!"

Kyousuke rolled his eyes. "Lady, do I look like an angel to you? And besides, last I checked, you were an assassin. Where do you get off on calling me out for playing dirty?"

She glowered at him before hefting her hammer into the air. "Give that weapon back! It's special to her?"

Kyousuke held the scythe in front of him. "You mean this weapon? The one she tried to kill me with?"

He snapped it in two and tossed both pieces to the side, where they clattered on the ground beside the carriage, once again startling the poor man inside.

"Sorry, but you seem to be mistaken about your situation. This isn't just a casual hit job."

His eyes narrowed.

"You've just tried to assassinate a high ranking noble in Kuoh Town. A town that's under the jurisdiction of Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory."

Nora's face paled a bit.

"I am the Rook of Sona Sitri" he said as he stepped forward, the pressure beneath his step denting the roof of the carriage. "And I crush her enemies!"

He burst forward, his fist slamming into the hammer that she had only just barely managed to raise in time to defend herself.

"Wait!" she shouted. "We didn't know that Kuoh was under their protection-" she was cut off when he kneed her in the face, causing her head to snap upwards.

"Such things are common knowledge. And though I might be willing to believe that your superior never told you, it's not my problem. For you still broke the rules."

Nora hissed at him and brought her head back down, ferociously headbutting him in the face and sending him staggering backward. "If that's the case, then I'll just have to double down!"

The two stared eachother down, both daring the other to make the first move. It was obvious that Kyousuke was the weaker one by this point. But he was still not one to be underestimated.

But Kyousuke had overlooked one important fact. And that was, just because a Knight had poor defense doesn't mean it was easy to put one down.

He felt a sharp pain in his gut as a black and red blur slammed into him. He blinked from the suddenness of it all as he looked down to meet tear filled silver eyes. It was Ruby and in her hands was a knife. This entire time, she'd had another weapon.

"You . . you killed her!" she cried as she glared up at him. "I'll never forgive you!"

Kyousuke saw the hate in her eyes. The resolve. The pain. And he could only sigh.

"At this rate . . . I'll die."

He closed his eyes and lamented his failures. He had underestimated the Knight. He had underestimated her resolve. Just as he had something to fight for, so did she.

And it had landed him in this precarious spot.

He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice.

"Include - Lancer!"

Bloodlust exploded from his very being as he jumped backward, Ruby's knife sliding out of him as he did so. In his right hand was a blood red spear that he twirled in an arc. His once blue eyes were now a bloody red as he gazed at the enemy Knight.

"Sorry."

He crouched down.

"But you leave me no choice."

His eyes narrowed.

Nora, having clearly caught onto the change in atmosphere, panicked. "Ruby, get away from him! He's going to do something dangerous!"

But it was too late.

For the words that could rewrite fate itself left his lips.

"Gae-"

He shot forward.

"-Bolg!"

Ruby could not dodge, because the heart was already pierced, and because the heart was pierced, the spear was thrust.

Such was the Noble Phantasm of Cu Chulainn.

"For what it's worth," Kyousuke whispered into the dying Ruby's ear. "Your scythe was really pretty."

He pulled away and watched with a solemn look as she crumbled to the ground, unmoving.

"Why?! Why did you kill her?!" Nora screamed at him, tears streaming down her face.

He sighed and turned his gaze toward her. "Because it'd be far more cruel if I didn't. Ruby, she was a warrior, through and through. She wouldn't have given up no matter what. And if I had spared her after destroying her weapon? It'd be akin to slapping her in the face. And I refused to do that to a person. To a fellow warrior."

He didn't have to be actively channeling Cu to know that. He had seen enough of the man's memories to realize that Ruby deserved an honorable death.

"So what, are you going to kill me now too?! You clearly have the power to do so!"

Kyousuke remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No."

Nora reacted as if she'd been struck. "Why? Why are you letting me live?!"

"Because killing you now, when you've lost all your resolve, would be meaningless. Striking an enemy who has no will to fight is the same as striking someone who's unarmed. I could never do that."

She let her hammer drop to the floor. "Y-You bastard."

And in that moment, he appeared before her and slammed the blunt end of his spear into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her onto her back.

She gazed up at him, though the hate had mostly faded from her eyes. Instead, there was just acceptance. "Why'd it have to be you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"If it were the Gremory Princess, she'd have just fried Ruby. It'd have been over in an instant. But you, you're different. You gave Ruby a death that didn't insult her. You're letting me go because I lost the will to fight."

She choked out a sob.

"Why? Why did it have to be someone I can't bring myself to hate?"

And then movement caught Kyousuke's eye and his left hand shot forward, catching a knife before it pierced Nora's heart. "Oi. The hell are you doing?"

It was the man from earlier, the one he had sent flying through a window.

He wore a cloak, so it was hard to discern his features.

"Disposing of trash. She failed her duty, so she must die."

"Last I checked, you failed pretty hard too, buddy."

The man turned toward him and he was met with menacing yellow eyes. "Aye, but the King still has use for me. And he's ordered me to end her life. So if you would kindly let go of me, I will kill her and let you be on your way."

"Of all the, why did an escort mission have to become so complicated?!" Kyousuke growled before palming his face. "Oh right, because I damn jinxed myself. Friggin' Lancer luck!"

He tossed the man away. "Sorry, but. I can't let you kill her. Honor's a real bitch like that."

The man gazed at him before sighing. "In the end, it's of no concern. The King has kicked her from the Peerage" he said coolly, causing Nora to gasp "so even if I do not kill her, someone else will. Strays don't live long, after all."

He turned away "Not to mention, I do not like my chances of fighting you and surviving."

With that, he melted into the darkness.

"Well shit," Kyousuke said as he allowed himself to power down before glancing down at his shell-shocked fellow Rook. "What do we do now? I doubt Sona's gonna give a crap about your dilemma, Nora."

"Why don't you let me handle that?" a snide, yet very charismatic voice said as a newcomer touched down upon the carriage's roof.

Kyousuke whirled around and his eyes slightly widened.

Sona had briefed him on the leaders of every faction, and standing there, with a bemused expression and a relaxed posture, was the Governor-General of the Grigori.

Azazel.

A smirk appeared on the man's face as he regarded them coolly.

"You know, I just so happen to be searching for a new subordinate. Care to sign up?"