1) Omnisaurus: THANK YOU! Someone with some common sense!
2) Gerden360: I was thinking of doing that but while that was in drafts, the entire paragraph would be a LITERAL wall of text. Since my OC also speaking in complete sentences, that's why I decided to put them at the bottom of the chapter. Thank for this suggestion and I greatly appreciate the thought you gave. Can we get a big round of applause for Gerden over here? *Clap, clap, clap, clap!*
3) Ace: They do?... well, shit. I must've missed/forgot that. I'll revise the chapter accordingly. I also don't have a favorite genre of music; and I also have not played Devil May Cry, but plan too at some point. The game looks good, I just can't give an honest opinion without actually playing it first.
Chapter 4: Nun of that Nonsense - Part 2
The day after the Viser battle, Anthony was sitting in the ORC on a sofa reading an Italian recipe book. He did all his pacts/contracts already... though it would've been nice if Rias warned him that Magic Circle teleportation would made him wanna barf out his lunch on the first try! Damn shame too, he worked all last night making that meat sauce perfect for his fettuccine!
'You'll get used to it, she says... cagna dai capelli di pomodoro' Anthony thought to himself, still a little pissed about it, also mocking Rias' words. He'll get over it eventually, but he's still an Italian for Christs sake! He LOVED his food! Speaking of Rias, she was at her desk doing what he could guess was paperwork. Aside from them two, the only other person in the room was Koneko... it's like the kid never left the room, almost like how a cat would go to the same couch for a catnap or claw the side of it.
Actually, she was always sitting on that exact same sofa...
Koneko gave out a yawn, the 3rd one in under two minutes. "You ok, Koneko?" Asked Anthony, putting his reading material down. Koneko didn't respond to him, not that he expected her too. Getting a better look at her, he noticed the poor girl had bags under her eyes. She tried eating her egg roll, but the piece she had on the stick fell. By the time she realized it, it was already at the mercy of gravity and out of her reach. Leaning over the coffee table, Anthony reached quickly over to try and catch it, only to fall over and bang his head on the floor with his legs in the air.
"Nice try, slick" Koneko remarked, closing her eyes and crossing her arms, scoffing at Anthony's attempt to be 'manly'. In doing so, she felt an unwanted sensation on her mouth... along with flavor... huh? Opening her eyes in shock, Anthony's finger had pressed the small piece of the roll into her tiny mouth. He was grinning as well. Rias couldn't help but giggle at the younger students reaction, guess the yokes on her.
"Italians' NEVER miss food" he joked, sitting back in the opposite couch. Koneko just stared, but went back to eating, not even thanking him. "Come on, kiddie; what's wrong? Tell Uncle Antonio" Anthony continued, making Koneko gasp.
"Y-You know?" Asked Rias, looking up from her stuff.
"Know what?" Asked Anthony, confused. Upon his confession, Koneko calmed down... what was that all about?
"It's nothing" Rias answered, getting back to her work. She thought Anthony said 'Kitty' for a second. Anthony just continued to look at Koneko. He had to admit, she was a cute girl, its no wonder the school considered her the mascot.
"Keep staring, I'll break your face" Koneko warned, sensing Anthony's staring at her.
"So you can stare, but I can't? Seriously Koneko, what's the matter? You look like the Grumpy Cat without sleep" said Anthony, trying to get Koneko to talk to him. He hated when people were upset, it made his heart bleed.
Once again, Koneko looked like Anthony had said something scary to her. "What?" Asked Anthony, still confused at her reaction. What was up with her today?
"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?" She said after a moment of recovery, turning her head away.
"Sì, signora. I just want to help, you look exhausted" Anthony said, getting up and sitting next to her. She was gonna snap at him to stay away from her but... his presence felt warming somehow, she couldn't respond. "Koneko; if your sick, you shouldn't be here! You need rest!" Said Anthony, putting his hand on her forehead. Rias of course was about to warn him; but to her surprise, Koneko didn't do anything. She just sat there, unmoving. It reminded Rias whenever Anthony touched her... was the same thing happening to Koneko?
"Well, you don't have a fever, so what's wrong?" Anthony asked for 4th time in a row. Koneko was still recovering from his touch. She didn't know how to describe it but it felt... calm, pure, soothing... she felt her face heat up and willed herself to stop, what the hell's the matter with her? Maybe the stress from overworked requests... yeah, that was most likely it...
"I've gotten allot of requests today... and there's no way I'll be able to do them all. It'll take me days before I'm finally finished" she confessed, which surprised Rias even more. Normally, Koneko would only go to Rias.. she'd RARELY spoke to Kiba or Akeno for anything.
"That's all? I could take a few then" Anthony offered, and Koneko felt her face pink up again. He was offering to assist her?
"... no, I don't need your he-" she began, but that's when Anthony rubbed the top of her head... it was actually a sensitive spot where her ears were hidden, she couldn't help but feel good.
"Peccato!" Anthony claimed, getting up and walking up to Rias, who pretended to be absorbed in her work. "Rias, mind giving me half of Koneko's requests?" Anthony asked. That definitely got a reaction from Koneko, her eyed widened in surprise. She couldn't believe her ears, this boy was serious!
"You... don't have to do that" she called out.
"Um, YES! I do. You look more tried than a mother cat after giving birth to 3 litters at once" said Anthony, turning back to Rias for Koneko's extra work. Because of this, he didn't notice her facial expression upon saying 'mother cat'. Still, Koneko couldn't deny that she felt flattered at Anthony's kindness, despite him still being human and still learning the ways of Devils.
-TIME BREAK-
The rest of that day, Anthony handled half of Koneko's requests pretty while... a few of them were cosplaying for lonely old men though, not that it was a big deal as Anthony had taken acting classes at 14 and was a natural... some of the cosplay was best suited for women, but still.
Poor little Koneko had at least 94 summons and as Anthony promised, he'd take half. He'd do all of them if he had to, but Koneko insisted she was a tough girl (which Anthony had witnessed firsthand) and could handle it... she still never said grazie for his help though. Regardless, there was only one more pact to make, then Anthony could go home. Knocking on the final houses door, it creaked open at his touch.
"Uh, hello? Anyone home?... Its not sicuro to keep doors unlocked nowadays, especially at night!" He called into the dark house, but no one answered. On one hand, he could just go but on the other, he still needed to get this done for Koneko and Rias... he promised, and he'll move Hell itself to get it done if he had too!
Against his better judgment, mostly from watching Friday the 13th movies at a young age (he maaaaaay have swiped his dads credit card and miiiiiight have rented them from a local Blockbuster, but at least he never had to return them for... reasons. Asia'll kill him if she ever found out); he walked inside the home. "Hello?... Don't shoot, I'm a servant sent by the Gremory family..." he said, holding his hands up just in case. Ya never know with people these days.
Heading further into the house, Anthony noticed a light coming from another room down a hallway. As he took another step forward, his left hand tensed up.
[Careful...]
"Fine, I wi-" Anthony stopped himself, who was he talking to... and for that matter, where did that voice come from?! He's never heard such a deep tone before, it also had an honorable vibe to it which demanded respect. The voice was male obviously, but was it from the owner of the house? The voice seemed to echo in his head before fading away... deciding not to worry about it, Anthony pressed on.
Entering the room, Anthony was greeted by the smell of candles. Stepping inside, he stepped on something slippery... maybe the owner just waxed the floor? Then again, he actually forgot to take his shoes off before entering, it was a thing in Japanese culture... some of America just copied it to shit.
"Sorry, my apologies. Forgot to take my..." he was saying but as he started taking off said article of clothing, he felt the substance on his shoe... it didn't feel like wax at all. Bringing his hand up, he saw the odd coloring of the wax. "... b-blood?" He asked out loud. Looking down, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he saw a pool of liquid that originated from the other side of the room. He immediately held in a gag reflex. "Holy... shrimp... scampi" he said, trying to process what he saw.
"I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless... Isaiah 13:11. What words to live by" said a voice in the room. Looking to the left, Anthony saw a man sitting on a sofa.
"Uh... c-can I help you?" Asked Anthony, starting to back away. This guy gave him the creeps. Standing up, the man turned around to show himself. He had short white hair and red eyes, and was dressed in priests robes, also sporting a cross around his neck.
The priest took a bow, but there was nothing noble about it. "Freed Sellzen, at your service, and you must be the pussy-ass little devil this priest's going to exorcise" he said, a little too happily.
"A-A-Actually, you got it all wrong. See? I-I-I'm just running an errand for a friend and..." Anthony tried to explain, but Freed cut him off.
"Oh please, like I haven't heard THAT one before. Putting down Devils like you is my job, and no ones better than me" he said, pulling to items from his robes. He raised a scabbard-looking object that grew into a sword of light, and had some type of gun in his other hand. "FIRST... I'm gonna cut out your heart with my heavenly blade of light. Once that's done, I'll blow a hole through your demonic face... sound fun? GOOD!" Said Freed, leaped at Anthony with inhuman speed.
CLANK!
Anthony's arm turned into a gauntlet and blocked the attack just before it made contact. 'The fuck? I didn't even summon it!' He thought to himself, seeing that his Sacred Gear come out on its own. While it wasn't the first time this happened, the question was mostly from shock of the situation.
[Didn't I tell you to be careful?] Said the Gear... WTF?!
"Your... talking to me?" Anthony managed to get out, still trying to wrap his head around everything. It was like the world pressed the fast-forward button: first he learns he has a magical metal gauntlet in his body, then Devils aren't necessarily evil, followed by a follower of the Lord was trying to kill him, and NOW his Sacred Gear was speaking it him?! It all happened so fast!
"Heh. Not bad, Devil. Not many can withstand the power of the holy spirit, but try THIS!" Said Freed, shooting his gun into Anthony's leg. He rolled on the floor, clutching his shot limb. "These bullets have been blessed by Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Hope they taste good, scumbag!" Said Freed, with a smirk that could rival The Joker's.
'Ugh... Devil or not, these hurt like a madre stronza' Anthony thought to himself.
[BOOST!]
Boost? The fuck did that mean? And was it just him, or did he feel stronger somehow?... Anthony didn't care right now, he was more concerned how he was gonna get out of here alive. Getting an idea, Anthony tried doing the same thing at the abandoned house with Viser and sure enough, he shot an energy beam at the man. There was no way he'd...
BONK!
Freed knocked it away into the roof with his holy sword, making the ceiling crumble a little. It reminded Anthony of The Legend of Zelda's Ping Pong match of Death. "That's it? Get a guy worked up and leave him halfcocked? That's not a nice way to treat a gentleman like ME!" Said Freed, raising his sword to strike...
?: AAAAAAAAAH!
That was the sound of a girl screeching in fear. Looking behind him, Anthony saw a nun had walked into the room where he and Freed were... 'exercising'.
"Asia? What are you doing, did you finish the barrier yet?" Asked Freed, annoyed that his 'session' was interrupted. Anthony's eyes widened at the mention of Asia's name and turned to see her, mouth agape at the corpse Freed left behind. "OH RIGHT! You just got assigned here. Well, listen up my dear. This is what the job IS... a little messy, I'll admit; but this how we dispose of people who have been bewitched by the evil Devils, like this young man right here. It's not all yelling bible verses and throwing water in they're faces, ya know" Freed explained.
Asia just kept staring at the dead body before turning her gaze to the person Freed was exercising. "A... Anthony?" She gasped, not believing her eyes. Anthony? A Devil? No way, that can't be true!
"Hmm? You both... know each other?" Asked Freed, even he was surprised.
"Asia... I can explain..." Anthony tried to justify.
"Well, if that's the case; you have no business being together anyway. The Fallen Angels had strictly forbidden all forms of contact with Devils, or have you forgot that already?" Said Freed. Fallen Angels? What did they have to do with any of this? Anthony's mind immediately flashed back to Raynare.
"Not that you can, but I hope you've said your prayers!" Said Freed, raising his sword once again, but Asia ran in-between both men, holding her arms out like a human shield. "You've got to be kidding me. Asia, get out of the way!" The priest ordered.
"Please Father... please spare this man... forgive him of his sins... I beg you, have mercy on his soul" Asia preached, crying.
"That THING isn't a man, its a Devil. You've made a pledge to destroy evil like them" Freed said.
"I DON'T CARE, HE'S MY FRIEND! I known him since childhood. There's goodness in his heart, I just know it! It doesn't matter what he is, but what he becomes! I know He would never approve of this, your simply murdering him!" Asia cried.
SLASH!
Freed's response was swiping at Asia, her clothes ripping open. "HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND, OR DO YOU HAVE MAGGOTS GROWING IN THAT PRETTY HEAD OF YOURS!" Fried yelled.
"DON'T TOUCH... NRGH!" Anthony tried to intervene, but his leg was killing him.
"You know what happens to naughty little nuns, don't you?" Freed threatened with a perverted smile on his face. Seeing this, it lit a fire inside Anthony.
"Leave... her alone..." the Italian warned/ordered.
[BOOST!]
Freed stuck Asia to a wall by her clothing with his sword. He then grabbed one of Asia's breasts and started groping her. "Don't hurt me!" Asia begged.
"Oh don't worry, I'll do more than that..." Freed oozed.
[BOOST!]
"Hey... puttana dell'uomo..." Anthony growled. The priest looked over at him expressionlessly. "I said... leave her alone..." Anthony growled.
"Get in line, Devil man. I got her first" Freed joked. That just got Anthony even more angry.
"Vattene... lei... solo... giusto, ADESSO!" He roared.
[BOOST!]
At this point, Anthony was flowing with power from his Gear, but Freed paid it no mind. Instead, he whistled mockingly. "My, my; someone's horny tonight" Freed said, dropping Asia deliberately hard. "Tell ya what. Come over here and make me, and maybe I'll let YOU have a taste of this tramp!" He continued.
That... was his last mistake.
[BOOST!]
He officially pushed Anthony over his limit, Asia could feel her Sacred Gear in her hand tense up. The Italian was out for the priests red sauce... and NOT the kind used for pasta! Looking up at the priest, "Resquieta in pace" Anthony said and with that, he rushed forward to Freed to punch him. He blocked it with his sword, but only for 2 seconds as the boosted power from the Sacred Gear was too much and flung him into a wall.
(AN: Now, I know what your all thinking if you've played Assassin's Creed 2... but above is NOT how you say rest in piece in modern Italian. I'll leave the REAL translation in the Dictionary below, but I'm keeping this translation because its become iconic, thanks in part of said game. This is another reason why I have a Dictionary at the bottom.)
With the priest taken care of, Anthony ran (or at the very least, limped) over to Asia, helping her to her feet. "Asia, you ok?" Anthony asked, Asia in his arms... it took some willpower to ignore the fact that she was partly naked, and showing the world 'how much she's grown'.
"I'm... I'm ok, Anthony. Thank you..." she said, looking into Anthony's eyes. Both of them turned to the sound of rumbling, Freed was still alive but banged up.
"I'll admit... I'm actually impressed. You survived both my holy sword and my blessed bullets... why not we go for a new world record, and see how many pieces of meat I can chop you into!" Freed said, jumping with his sword drawn and going for both nun and human, having lost himself to his craziness.
CLACK!
From a magic circle, another sword clashed with Freed's own. "Kiba?!" Asked Anthony.
"Hey, Anthony. Thought I'd join the party" said Kiba. Appearing from the portal was another Devil, Akeno.
"Ewww, what a mess. Anthony... Anthony, you here?" Said the Queen, looking around the room at the mess and then noticed the boy she was calling for. "Oh, there you are! Koneko was worried about you" she said, looking around for the human and when she spited him, teased at Koneko's expense.
"I was not. Just wondering if he was done, that's all" Koneko denied, also appearing from the portal.
"Aw, HELL YA! This is what I can a gang bang!" Said Freed.
"Sorry, but your done here, he's with us" Kiba said, his sword still drawn in case of another attack.
"OOOOH! I GET IT! He's the catcher, your the pitcher" said Freed.
"For a priest, that's quite the mouth you got there" said Kiba.
"Trust me, his cortecce worse than his mordere" Anthony groaned.
"My, my; he's sounds like a piece of work" said Akeno.
"And you sound like a hot piece of ass! OOOOOOOH! Nothing like lusting for a sexy Devil bitch" said Freed, blushing and hugging himself while standing sideways.
BLAM!
A red beam missed Freed's nose by a hair, destroying the wall behind him. "Keep talking, stronzo... WATCH what happens" Anthony warned.
"He can try, but I don't think he can handle it" said Rias, also making herself known. She had prepared a spell of Destruction magic, but Anthony beat her to the punch so she powered it down before entering the premises. As she did however, another portal opened from above Freed.
"Hope your hungry, cause we're serving all-you-can-eat light spears! MUAHAHAHAHA!" Freed laughed. Rias knew the wouldn't stand a chance against an army of Fallen Angels, so she had a teleportation circle prepared by Akeno. Unfortunately... the magic only allowed members of the Gremory house to teleport...
-TIME BREAK-
The next day, Anthony didn't say a single word. Even after Rias healed him in the shower, he didn't thank her. He just walked out and snatched the towel that Akeno was holding for him, and dried himself in all his naked glory. She helped put bandages on as he sat on the sofa shirtless, but Anthony didn't thank her either... in fact, he didn't thank anyone for their assistance yesterday.
Koneko had enough at brought it up. "You could say thank you instead of being a jerk."
When he looked up at her, she flinched. There was intense anger in his eyes. "If I'm the jerk... what's that make all of you? You all left her behind, and God knows what that psicopatico is doing to her now..." he said, trying to hold his temper.
"I already told you, that teleportation spell only works for members of my house. There was nothing I could do" said Rias from the shower.
"Liar" Anthony simply stated with a mumble.
Hearing it; Rias, still dripping wet and naked, looked out at him. "Excuse me?" She asked, hoping she heard him wrong. Kiba looked away, being the gentlemen that he was, but it caught him off guard all the same.
"We could've grabbed her like a normal person and got outta there, no magic portal required" Anthony said.
"And lead the Fallen Angels to us? I don't think so" said Rias.
"In other words, instead of doing the right thing, you chickened out" said Anthony.
"I was thinking of the best course of action in seconds, you think I wanted to leave a defenseless soul like that? We would've been at mercy of the Fallen Angels" Rias defended.
"So you left her to die... like Raynare did with me?" Asked Anthony. Rias had no comeback ready for that. "You told me that Devils and Fallen were separate entities... from what I've seen just now, you couldn't be anymore alike..." Anthony said, coldly. Koneko was about to speak up and defend her president when Anthony spoke again. "She was my friend, Rias... my childhood friend... and the last memory I'll have if her, is her crying face as we just left her like an unwanted pet..." he said.
"... I'm sorry... I really, really am..." Rias apologized, wrapping herself up and stepping over to Anthony to caress his cheek, but he blocked her attempt by grabbing her wrist gently.
After looking into each other's eyes for a few seconds, "Yeah... me too" Anthony said one final time before releasing his grip, putting his shirt back on and left, slamming the club door shut.
Anthony's Italian Dictionary:
1) Cagna Dai Capelli Di Pomodoro: means "tomato-haired bitch"
2) Signora: means "ma'am" (AN: Didn't think I needed to put the definition of Sì, that one should be obvious)
3) Peccato: means "too bad"
4) Grazie: means "thank you"
5) Sicuro: means "safe"
6) Madre Stronza: means "motherfucker"
7) Puttana Dell'uomo: means "man-whore"
8) Vattene Lei Solo Giusto Adesso: means "leave her alone right now"
9) Riposare in Pace: means "rest in piece" (AN: Incorrectly translated as Resquieta in Pace)
10) Cortecce: means "barks"
11) Mordere: means "bite"
12) Stronzo: means "asshole"
13) Psicopatico: means "psychopath"
Since Anthony isn't a Devil, I think having you-know-who warn him about Freed is within the realm of possibility... he senses almost everything else such as demonic power, etc. Also a bit of family feud in the Gremory family, can/will they make up? Find out in the next chapter of The Italian Dragon Emperor!