Blood 1.4

I awoke to the sound of a woman crying.

She was hovering over me limply holding onto my hand. I could see small golden locks pouring out from beneath a white and blue veil. She wasn't a woman. She looked young, not even out of her teenage years. Her lips were trembling as she held onto me. A soft green glow came from around my hand. I was laying on something. A bed? I turned my eyes down. No, it was a pile of blankets. A musky smell hit my nose, they stank.

Where? I thought. I got shot. I could remember a burning lance of fire coming out from my leg. I grit my teeth as I recalled it. I wasn't in pain anymore. It didn't feel like all my muscles were trying to kill me. I just felt a little tired, and there was a nasty crick in my neck.

"What do you mean you can't fix it?" a male voice growled. It sounded old and scratchy. It was almost reminiscent of my cigar-smoking Grandfather but with just a bit more youth left in it. I turned to the voice.

For one thing, the man was well dressed. He wouldn't look out of place in some old detective movie. His dark trench coat looked well-maintained. The fedora on his head was expensive. It was solid black with a gray band on it; It wasn't made out of that cheap fake leather either. He had an unlit cigarette between his lips as he glared at the girl standing over me. He had a sense of style. Whether or not it should've been left in the nineteen fifties was still up for debate. I gawked at the pair of wings coming out from his back.

"I-I don't know. I keep healing it, and it comes back. I don't know what's going on." The girl stopped and let out a sob as the fallen angel took a step toward her. She wasn't speaking English. Gears turned in my mind as I laid there. Italian. She was speaking Italian. Just hearing it brought me back to my younger years. I missed my grandmother. The girl continued stumbling on every other word, "I think it's a curse. I-I fixed everything else. Please. I'll keep trying."

The man growled. I turned my head up at him. Roughly, he grabbed the girl by the back of her clothes. She let out a small cry as the fallen pulled her away from me. Ignoring her, the man hovered over me. He wrenched my arm upward, forcing my palm to face him. He stared at it, his eyes blank.

What is he doing? I thought. I could feel something. It was weird, like a small tingling coming in through the tips of my fingers and traveling all the way down my spine. It made me uncomfortable. Was it just my nerves? Magic maybe? I don't know. The fallen angel stood there quietly.

There were a few seconds of silence that let me better take in my surroundings.

It looked like I was in some kind of storage room. I could see a multitude of chairs, tables, barrels, and other pieces of wooden furniture. Some of them were broken while others were left whole. All of them had a thin layer of dust coating their surface. Looking across the room, I saw an old wooden door. It was shut, with small metal bars at its top making a window. Just beside the door was a stone statue. It had intricately carved wings curled around its back. The statue's head was sitting in pieces on the floor. At some point, it was an angel.

I was still in the church.

If I was still in the church, then these two would be...I looked over to the still sobbing girl. I knew her name. Asia Argento. She was a nun. Or rather, Asia was an exiled one. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with her Sacred Gear. They were a sort of power-up only given out to humans. Hers was a healing one. She had two small rings on her fingers. They were silver with a small blue gem in one and a green one in the other.

The man, he was familiar, but I couldn't place a name on him. What did Freed say again? Dohnaseek. His name was Dohnaseek, one of Raynare's little crew. He was just as likely to kill me as the crazed exorcist. I had to get out here. If I didn't, there was no telling what he'd to do me.

Was there anything I could even do if I got away? The alternative to staying here wasn't that much better. I could go to the devils. I could go run my way up to that school and hope anyone there would buy a word of what I had to say. That would totally go well. I'd just end up dying, for real this time. They could also just memory wipe me and send me back to the streets. Or even worse, I could end up as one of their devil slaves. Great idea Jack.

The only other thing I could think of was to try and get out of the town. If I could get away, and get somewhere safe, I could start worrying about the rest of it then. I'd still be stuck in a foreign country with actual monsters lurking in the dark, but at least then I wouldn't have to worry about literal devils, fallen angels, and God knows what else breathing down my neck. I didn't have any idea what happened after Kokabiel decided he wanted to try blowing Kuoh to smithereens. Basically all legends were real in Dxd right? I should've watched more of that show. Dammit.

Dohnaseek spit on the ground. His face was contorted. His eyes were razor sharp. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as he snarled, "That's no curse. It's Divinity!"

Faster than I could react, the fallen angel pulled me to my feet. It took him almost no effort at all. Dohnaseek had one hand on my collar and the other by his side. I could easily make out small blue sparks of light peaking their way around his free hand as he held me. The fallen's features were stretched into a hideous visage of rage. An iridescent blue spear formed in Dohnaseek's hand. I could feel my skin dry from its presence. It felt like he was holding a piece of the sun up to my gut. I grimaced. I felt like I should just let out a big sigh and get this over with.

Why is it that everyone I meet here keeps trying to kill me?

"Tell me mortal, what pantheon do you serve?" Dohnaseek growled. Grasping at his arm, I tried to pull away. The fallen angel didn't budge. I felt the skin on my cheek crack and burn as he brought the light spear up to my face. It hurt. Asia cowered in the corner. She was muttering something. Prayer? I opened my mouth to speak.

"I don't serve anyone! I already told you guys, I was just a tourist when that thing attacked me."

A moment passed. Then Two. Three. Dohnaseek still held me. He was staring into my eyes looking for something. I angrily stared back. I was getting tired of this shit. When did everyone decide to make my life some kind of supernatural drama? If Dohnaseek was going to kill me he might as well do it already. He smiled. I felt relief as he let go, dropping me to the floor in a heap.

I let out a hiss of pain and held my cheek. Glaring from the ground, I said, "What in the hell was that for?"

The blue spear dissipated into motes of light. For a second, Dohnaseek just stood there. Ruffling his trench coat back down, he replied, "I had to be sure. I can't afford to bring a rogue agent in on this operation."

Rogue agent? Operation? I didn't know what he was talking about. The only thing I could remember about the fallen was him stabbing Issei and then getting killed by Rias later on in the show. In fact, I couldn't even remember why they decided to get all uppity with the pervert in the first place. It had to do with the Gauntlet and all that, but for the life of me, I couldn't place why they were in Kuoh in the first place. I know the Boosted Gear was stupidly powerful but still...

Dohnaseek explained, "I'm running recruitment here in our little church, and guess what?" He paused, waving his hands out wide. His smile was still there, he was enjoying this act. Immediately, I didn't like him. Did all one-off villains need so much theatrics? He continued, "Your number's been pulled kid. Welcome to the club."

Dohnaseek watched me, waiting for a response. For a second, I considered it. It could give me a chance. I could get out of Kuoh, maybe even learn how to fight. That or magic. Magic was always cool. It was a hopeful thought. Of course, all of this was dependent on me not dying like some kind of trash mob in a video game. I recalled parts of the fight at the end of the opening of DxD.

They had lines of stray priests and other nobodies that fought the knight guy and Koneko off-screen while Issei busted in to save Asia. After the fight, none of them were ever seen again. I could easily guess what happened to the group. I don't ever recall there being a devil justice system mentioned. Maybe they gave them all back to the Grigori? I doubt it. The memories of it were vague, but It was probably full-scale slaughter. Either way, I didn't want to stick around and find out. I assumed Dohnaseek was going to make me one of them. That wasn't going to happen.

"What if I say no?" I asked.

His hands glowed blue. Of course. I should've guessed. The fallen angel didn't say anything. It looked like I didn't have a choice. This was great. Absolutely stellar. I should have some time at least. Rias and her group didn't immediately slaughter them all. I'd just say yes, then figure something out. As soon as I got the chance, I'd make my escape. From there, I didn't have the faintest idea but it'd be better than working with them. Keeping an eye on the weapons in either of Dohnaseek's hands, I said, "Point taken."

The blue light disappeared. Dohnaseek turned towards the door. His trench coat swirled around him. He grabbed his fedora and pulled it down. The blackened wings on his back flapped. He was prancing around like we were in some kind of television drama. I couldn't believe someone would actually go through all the trouble to act like that.

With his back facing me, he barked out, "Girl, heal his face. You two will be with Freed until I return. I have some business to attend to."

Good Lord, that's embarrassing. I thought. Dohnaseek rushed through the door. Glancing down at my left hand, I stuttered out, "Hey, w-wait a minute!"

I still had some questions I wanted answered. What happened to me? How long had I been out? What kind of "operation" were they running? Most of all, what in the hell was he talking about when he'd examined the scar on my left palm?

A girlish voice called out from behind me, "Um, Mr..."

-|-]=[-|-

Asia was a breath of fresh air. Talking to her was like talking to a humanoid golden retriever. She held onto my words like a lost puppy and seemed enthused at just the thought of talking to someone other than the fallen angels and a few of the stray exorcists. If you were to just give her some basic niceties then, she was like putty in your hands. It was a bit weird, but I quickly got used to speaking to her. I'm glad I noticed it so quick. She was innocent and gullible, extremely so. I tried to try and hold back on my usual way of speaking. I didn't last very long.

We were sitting in the same room, on either side of an old table. I slowly tapped my finger on its wood. I had to have patience. It wouldn't do me any good to get mad.

"You can't say that!" Asia cried. She pointed out a finger at me, her face was shocked. She was pouting, her cheeks puffed up. It was adorable, in a child-like way. I felt guilty. She continued, "That's a bad word!"

"What?" I replied. I tried to steel myself. It shouldn't be that hard. I was just telling the truth. Freed was an asshole. Phantom pain ran up my left leg. I tried to look away from her eyes. "He shot me."

"I-I know he's mean, but you still can't say that! It's not right." Asia said. She sat there almost looking like she was going to stamp her foot. Was she angry? I couldn't quite tell. If she was, it didn't show through very well. Her wide green eyes were staring at me. They were wide and doe-like. The slight redness from her early crying didn't help. I think she was glaring. The girl definitely needed to work on it. If she cried, I think I'd immediately fold. I couldn't handle crying women.

I opened my mouth to reply and closed it right after. Just say it. She was still glaring at me, her cheeks were starting to turn red. There was no way someone could actually be this cute. Come on Jack, just tell her no. Asia's eyes were watery. Fine. Letting out a huff of air, I relented, "I got it. I got it. I won't say anymore-" I put up my middle and pointer fingers on both hands scrunching them down. "-bad words."

Asia's face melted into a sunny smile. It was sweet. Asia let out a happy hum as the cute anger faded from her body. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair at all.

"Now, that we got that settled can we go back to what I was asking before?" I asked. Asia nodded her head. I continued, "So, you said it's the mark of a god? Like one of the Greek ones or something?"

The girl nodded her head, dipping it down lightly a few times. She took a hand up to her head, slowly pulling a blonde lock of hair behind her ear. She looked down at the table. She was thinking. About what, I had no clue. She had more experience with this stuff than me. The best I had was some almost useless meta-knowledge.

"I don't think it would be Greek. They don't really interact with people much anymore. That and..." She paused, putting a finger to her lips. I could see a small frown come to her face. Asia looked over at me worryingly. "It, it felt bad. I thought it was a curse. Whoever gave it to you wasn't very nice. It doesn't hurt anymore does it?"

I looked down at my hand.

Covering my entire left palm was an ugly red scar. Asia had said that every time she'd try to heal it, it would reappear carving its way into my skin. She was almost in tears as she described it. It looked like someone had taken a jagged piece of molten glass and carved the symbol into me. The tissue itself was a dark red, while the untouched flesh around it was separated by a small barrier of charred skin. I couldn't feel anything from it anymore. The mark looked unnatural; it was as red as fresh blood. It had long stopped bleeding. The scar was still sensitive to the touch.

In a way, it almost looked like a face. I could see a kind of blocky set of eyes, a sort of triangular nose, and small square teeth. If it was, then the mark was fairly abstract. I felt nervous looking at it. I was missing something, something important. I could feel my heart rate pick up and flutter. It felt like it was on the tip of my tongue, something faint and long forgotten. The scar itched. Maybe it was supposed to be a skull? I couldn't tell.

I looked back up, toward Asia. She was watching me. I think I was staring at it for longer than I thought. I could easily see concern on her face. Quietly, I mumbled, "Sorry."

A loud knock came from the door behind us. I turned to face the noise. The door slammed open. Asia yelped.

Freed Sellzen said, "Strap up kiddies, Daddy's got some devils to kill!"

God damn it.

AN: And that would be chapter four folks! We're starting to get into it some now. I started giving some bits and pieces about the characters and world in this chapter. Please tell me what you think. Also, like always, If you notice any writing errors or typos please point them out so I can fix them.

Here's another fic rec for you. An Impractical Guide to Godhood by Antony444 is pretty good. It's a Percy Jackson/A Practical Guide to Godhood crossover. I think it's hilarious to read and still has a well-written story behind the humor. You don't even need to know everything about the source materials to get into it.

Anyway, You can probably expect the next chapter up tonight or tomorrow. I already have it written, but I still need to edit it. Until then...

~ciao