Chapter 20

Junichiro sat in front of his computer and looked over the information he had available about Asia Argento as he contemplated what he should do. First and foremost, he knew he was going to protect Asia from Raynare and her little cabal of losers. While he had no feelings toward Asia as anything other than a cute and clueless girl, he also felt the need to protect her innocence. That meant he was less inclined to allow a situation to develop where Rias would be able to reincarnate Asia into a devil.

Of course, thinking that made him feel a little guilty. In the anime he'd seen how sad Asia's existence had been before her reincarnation. He'd then seen how happy she was after it. His problem was that he had no idea what to do. He wanted to protect Asia and do right by her. At the same time, he wanted to avoid any possibility of her falling for him as she had with Issei. Asia was cute and all but he'd never liked the religious types. It wasn't about who or what people worshiped but about the concept of religion itself.

"Still can't figure out what you want to do eh?"

Junichiro looked at the small dragon body that Ddraig was currently residing in and sighed, "No, I can't. Other than knowing for a fact that I want to keep Asia from dying and finally kill off all those fuckers in the old church... I have no idea what to do afterward."

Ddraig snorted and Junichiro could hear a bit of contempt in it, "Then don't do anything. Idiot."

Junichiro suddenly had the deep desire to smash his face into his desk over and over. There was literally no reason he had to do anything other than make sure to protect Asia. What happened after that was none of his business. She was old enough to make her own choices so he'll just let her do that. With his mind made up, he climbed to his feet and made his way over to the doorway that led to his knock-off time chamber.

"Come on Ddraig, tonight's the last night before shit starts to hit the fan. Asia and Riser are just the opening acts. Once Kokobiel shows up it will be nothing but hard core monsters from then on."

Ddraig got up from his comfortable lounging position and stretched his mechanical body. He'd constantly asked Junichiro for upgrades and now the robotic body felt just like a real body. Sadly, he knew he had to remain small as his preferred adult form was far too massive to be inconspicuous. He followed Junichiro into the time chamber as he acerbically commented, "Maybe this time you can make at least some progress toward my balance breaker. It's never taken any of my previous hosts this long to achieve it."

Junichiro's groan of annoyance echoed in his apartment as the door to the time chamber slammed shut.

Junichiro sat on a park bench sipping on his drink while watching a live stream on his phone. He was currently observing Asia Argento through one of his spy drones. Her flight had landed just a few minutes ago and she was currently waiting for her luggage to arrive on the conveyor. His first plan had been to just meet her at the airport, but he had no valid reason for doing so and lying to her just felt wrong somehow. So, he was determined to get his point across without ever lying to her. After all, his personal opinion on how shit fallen angels were wasn't a lie.

It also boggled his mind that the fallen hadn't been there to meet her and just left the clueless girl to wander around alone. Asia's ignorance could be considered one of her 'cute' traits by some people. For Junichiro it was just another reason to despise the Church and everything it stood for. He briefly contemplated what kind of fun and chaos could be had if he got strong enough to force all of the remaining Heavenly Host to renounce the church publicly and purge it for the collective sins the institution had.

It was four hours later when Asia finally gave up on waiting for someone to show up and escort her to the local church. With an adorable look of determination, she walked out of the airport dragging her small rolling suitcase behind her and began her first ever solo journey in Japan. Junichiro made his way toward her location. He was prepared to help her out once she began to look a little flustered. Part of him felt like a jerk and as if he was wasting his time. Another part felt this was something Asia should do. The poor girl had lived her whole life within the Church system and had never had a chance to really do anything on her own. Seriously, she'd never even eaten a hamburger before! So, letting her have a little adventure actually seemed like a nice thing to do for her from his point of view.

He finally caught up to her about two hours after she left the airport. She was wandering around aimlessly and trying to ask the occasional stranger for directions. Unfortunately, she'd been raised in seclusion in Italy and only spoke Italian. What little she'd managed to learn of the Japanese language rather recently was thoroughly butchered by her accent. Junichiro had no issue understanding anything she said due to being a devil but anyone else she approached was completely clueless and unable to help the little nun out.

Junichiro walked up to Asia with a warm smile and addressed her, "You seem a bit lost."

Asia spun around and looked at him in shock. To her ears it sounded like he spoke perfect Italian with just a hint of an accent. To Junichiro, he'd just continued to speak in Japanese, magic was amazing. Asia immediately brightened up and went from slightly dejected to full on perky in just a moment, "Yes! I'm trying to find my way to the local church. Some people were supposed to meet me but no one showed up."

Junichiro smiled at Asia as she radiated an feeling of excitement and happiness, "The only church I know if has been abandoned for a rather long time and is in terrible disrepair. Not to mention occupied by some rather foul creatures. Are you sure that's where you want to go?"

Asia looked confused when he mentioned 'foul creatures' occupying the church and gave voice to that confusion, "What do you mean?"

Junichiro gestured for her to follow him as he led her in the direction of the park he'd been loitering within earlier, "Well Sister, I'm not sure how aware you are of certain issues but the church is currently occupied by the worst sorts of sinners imaginable." He looked at her closely as he finished with, "Fallen Angels and excommunicated exorcists."

Asia looked more confused and even slightly offended, "But, they're angels of our lord!"

Junichiro gave her an almost pitying look, "Are they?"

Asia nodded her head firmly in her belief in the angels. Junichiro knew he had to disabuse her of that notion immediately so he explained his view on the matter, "I may not be the most religious of men or spend all my time reading the good book, but let me confirm something. Fallen Angels are angels who have fallen from grace right?"

Asia still looked confused but nodded in confirmation so he continued, "Then I would argue they are the single worst evil imaginable. Even worse than Devils if you think about it." He looked at Asia seriously, "All Angels were created to serve a purpose, to serve the one who created them in all things. They were his lieutenants, his hands, his messengers, his extension into our world. They were created to serve him in all ways. Right?"

Asian nodded in agreement. Seeing she was following along he continued, "Then by falling, by losing their grace, by making a choice, they chose to turn their backs on their purpose, on their Father. They betrayed him and fell by their own words and actions. The only exceptions to this are the fallen angels that have been born between a fallen and a mortal since their falls. Those children never had a chance to make that choice. Every other fallen angel though? They deliberately turned their backs on their father and paid the price for it. They are traitors of the highest order cast out and banished by their very own Father."

Asia looked shocked by his declaration. She'd never thought of it that way before but it made sense in hindsight. Though something still bothered her, "I don't see how that makes them worse than Devils though."

Junichiro chuckled, "On the surface of things you might be right. However, take a moment to contemplate this. Angels were created to serve their Heavenly Father. Who were Devils created to serve?"

Asia immediately piped in, "They were created to serve Lucifer... Oh."

Junichiro grinned broadly, "Yes, 'oh.' Lucifer created the Devils as a weapon against heaven. They did not chose to be the way they are. They are simply the way they were made to be. It is their nature, their purpose, it is why they were created. The fact that some devils are actively working to try and improve the negative image of devil-kind and make progressive positive steps toward the future puts them as above the Fallen in their purpose. They are actively fighting against what they were made for in a positive manner while the Fallen fought against their purpose and fell to evil. Kind of ironic don't you think?"

He didn't give her a moment to think as he continued, "Let's not forget what the Fallen Angels did after they fell. Instead of trying to repent or working with the other Angels in an effort to redeem themselves, they formed their own faction and joined in battle against both Heaven and the Devils. They literally fought against their brothers, sisters, and Father by choice. And that's really the key thing you need to think about, choice. The big guy up stairs gave free will for a reason and what people, or other beings, choose to do with that free will is very telling of who they are."

Silence fell between them as Asia got lost in her own thoughts. She was a very kind and forgiving girl and would forgive anyone just about anything. Yet, even she could see that the boy beside her had a valid point in what he said.

For Junichiro's part, he was only speaking his own opinions based on what he'd seen from the anime back in his last life. He felt it was pretty accurate but likely not as black and white as he'd made it seem. He was pretty sure that the Big Guy probably had given his Angels orders to kill their fallen brethren, he was a dick like that. So, rather than all the fallen getting together and deciding to fight against Heaven, it was probably more about survival, for most anyway. He was one hundred percent certain some were just dicks like their daddy.

Asia finally spoke up in a timid voice as they stepped into the park, "So... You believe that the fallen angels are worse than the devils because they chose to be evil where the devils were made to be evil but are trying to be good?"

Junichiro shrugged his shoulders, "It's all relative really. Honestly, I think all the members of all the factions, not just the Abrahamic ones, have their good guys and bad guys. Some people just want to spend time with their families living their lives peacefully. Some people just want to watch the world burn. You should pay attention to the beings your interacting with and who they choose to interact with. I'm not saying all Fallen Angels are pure evil, but I'm also not saying they're all Holy light and goodness."

He bought them both drinks from a vendor and led them over to a bench where he sat down and handed one of the drinks to Asia. He continued, "Let's just talk about the fallen within the church you're looking for and who they choose to associate with."

Asia sipped on her drink and let out a happy sound at the sweet taste. She'd never had anything like it before! Just trying something new made her feel remarkably happy and listening to the boy with her talk gave her new insights into the world. This was definitely the best day ever!

"The fallen in the church near here have gathered a rather large group of excommunicated exorcists. That's not automatically a bad thing. Sometimes people are kicked out of the Church for the stupidest of reasons." He almost brought up Asia's own excommunication but moved on, "Reasons like politics come to mind. Other times it's well deserved. Take the case of one Freed Sellzen. Freed is a homicidal maniac who revels in blood and death. As far as he is concerned if you've ever even laid eyes on a Devil then it's perfectly okay for him to slowly torture you to death. Doesn't matter if you had no idea it was a devil you saw, doesn't matter if you're a true believer, it's enough of a reason for him to kill you in the most painful way imaginable."

Asia paled a little at his words. Junichiro wasn't really over exaggerating all that much either. Freed was one fucked up dude. Of course, it probably didn't help that he was also one of the churches dirty little experiments that they liked to pretend didn't exist. Kind of like Kiba's situation really.

They sat in silence for a while until Asia's stomach rumbled loud enough for Junichiro to hear. Asia blushed bright red while he gave her a playful smirk, "Come on, lets get some lunch. I'm feeling pretty hungry myself."

Asia couldn't say anything through her embarrassment and silently followed him as he led her to a small family restaurant. Once they were seated and looking at menu's, he was reminded that Asia knew about as much Japanese as someone who read one of those tourist phrase books, let alone being able to read any of it. So, he ordered them both some burgers and fries. Good old American comfort food, nothing beat it. Well, except maybe some good old Japanese comfort food... Okay so all comfort food was good!

The meal was especially pleasant when he saw just how much Asia was enjoying her experience with new food. She was practically vibrating with joy and lightly bouncing in place as she hummed happily to herself. Clearly the good food and new experience was doing her some good after the heavy talk earlier. He decided to do some more for her to give her a good time. He still wasn't really sure what he wanted to do with her. It would be much easier if he could get in touch with some legit Angels and ask them for some help for her. He honestly felt that someone as innocent and pure as Asia shouldn't be subjected to the life of being a Devil. It would also likely get her protection from that bastard Diodora. Though, the first time he spots that little shit Junichiro planned to annihilate him.

Once their lunch was finished, Junichiro took Asia out for a tour of the city. Well, mostly he stuck to their immediate vicinity and the shops and such there. Kuoh was definitely not a tourist destination. The most entertaining thing he could do with Asia, without violating her ears with his singing, was take her to the arcade. He hadn't been to an arcade since he was a kid in his first life back in the early to mid nineties. It was nostalgic and pretty fun. There was just something fundamentally more fun about being in an arcade with a friend than sitting at home in front of a TV to game.

The trip to the arcade did teach him one thing though. He was never, ever, going to let Asia drive again! He'd helped her learn a bit on a driving game but if he left her to it alone she did impossible things. The game was on a simple oval race track and somehow she ended up crashing the car so bad it flipped into the stands. He hadn't even known that could happen! He thought it was so funny he tried to do it on purpose but couldn't recreate her antics. Even after practicing for a while she would crash the same way some people would trip over nothing. It was... inevitable.

As they were leaving the arcade, Asia stopped and looked at one of the claw machines near the doorway. Junichiro paused and looked in the direction she was. Didn't Issei end up winning her a small stuffed animal of some kind? He couldn't quite remember if that was Asia or Raynare in the anime. Not that it mattered to him. Junichiro walked around to the claw game and stuck in some coins for a few tries. He was far from an expert in these kinds of games.

As he started putting the money in, Asia seemed to come out of her daze, "What are you doing Junichiro-san?"

Junichiro grinned at her as he aimed the claw at a 'cute' little stuffed animal, "It seemed like you were attracted to this so I decided to win you something as a memento of today."

Asia blushed bright red while she stammered, "Y-you don't have to do something like that for me. I'm perfectly happy."

Junichiro watched the claw descend and open while he answered her, "I'm sure you are, but there's nothing that says you can't be happier."

They both watched as the claw closed and slowly rose up with a small stuffed mouse of some sort clasped in its claws. Just as it reached the top of the cabinet, the mouse slipped out of the claws weak grasp and fell back into the pit with the others. He glanced to the side and saw Asia with a cute little pout of disappointment. He'd seen small moments like this all day when she showed more than the happy face the church taught her to wear at all times. It showed her more human side versus the holy maiden persona she'd been groomed to have.

Her adorable little pout brought a smile to his face as he called out, "Don't worry. I'll get it next time."

When she opened her mouth to lodge some form of protest he cut her off, "I want to give you something to remember today by."

Asia looked away and blushed while he stuck in the last of his change. Simultaneously he secretly summoned forth his Psionic Magic gem. He'd spent well over twenty thousand yen in the arcade, sneakily winning a small stuffed animal wasn't going to bankrupt the place. As the claw, once again, gripped the little mouse, he used a small bit of telekinesis to tighten the grip of the claw and let it play out like it normally would if he got the toy legitimately.

Once the small mouse-like toy dropped into the chute, he collected it and held it out to the starry eyed blonde, "Like I said, something to remember today by."

Asia tentatively reached out and accepted the little toy, "Thank you Junichiro-san."

Junichiro grinned at her and continued to lead her out of the arcade. It was the middle of the afternoon and he'd gotten a notice on his phone that Raynare and her two buddies were looking for Asia. Raynare was closest and he wanted to give her a chance to catch up to them. He was very much looking forward to meeting his Ex once more... Did one good date that she fled in terror from make her his Ex?

AN

Junichiro says he doesn't really want Asia to fall for him, then treats her like a princess. However, I defy anyone to try and treat Asia like anything less!Asia is just too cute and innocent to be treated as anything other than a princess. So, his plan was doomed from the start. lol.

Just another chapter to feed to you guys while I work on the rewrite. I hope you enjoyed it!