Discipline 1.6

Koneko Tojou was in a nightmare.

Lightly, the girl shook with fear. She could still feel it. That pervading sense of wrongness bleeding into her senses. It was angry, brutal, raw, and all too like her sister. She hated it. She hated it with every fiber of her being. As the beast stood there staring at her with her best friend's head in its hand, all she could do was tremble.

Slowly, it brought the head down, using Kiba's hair to tie it to its belt.

No words came from her lips. The only noise bouncing around the house was the crackling of fire, and the slow beating drip of blood leaking out of the two heads on the monster's hip. Its eyes were a beady blue. They were crazed, almost hungry in a way as they stared her down. The matted brown hair on its head was stained red. Koneko took a sharp breath as she watched it step closer. Horror flooded her as she stood there, unable to move. The slashing wounds crisscrossing the beast's face seemed to sizzle before fading to scars. A few seconds after that, it was like they were never there at all.

When the President had sent her after Kiba, Koneko wasn't expecting this. She wasn't expecting this at all. It was supposed to be simple. He didn't report in. She was just going to check on him. This, she couldn't comprehend it. She wasn't willing to, despite the truth being right in front of her eyes.

Kiba, he couldn't just... She thought.

A groaning voice came out from the thing. It was young and male. The voice, it sounded delirious. "More," it said. A slow hand dragged itself forward. The bloody and dark axe it wielded fit right in.

The weapon was colored dark. The black metal reflecting in her eyes made her flinch as it was pulled across the floor. Bright red runes glowed along its blade. They seemed to shift and change as she watched, none of the symbols even remotely recognizable to her. The large backward spikes of the weapon were covered in chunks of flesh. Black smoke billowed down from it, settling on the ground around the beast. From its top to its bottom, the axe looked like it was designed to cause pain.

It matched the beast in design with the similar blackened leather and bits of metal dotting its body. The same glowing ruins were all over its armor, seeming to shift as she tried to focus on any singular one.

Weakly, the girl cried, "N-No."

She tried to move, to run, to get away. The monster in front of her stalked closer. She was breathing in and out. Her heart thumped in her chest. The air wouldn't stay in. She was hyperventilating. Tears came to her eyes as she fell back. A small cloud of dust came up as her butt hit the ground.

Seemingly snapping out of her daze, Koneko scrambled backward expecting it to attack her.

When nothing came, she was confused. That confusion quickly switched to anger as the beast leaned down toward her, looking into her eyes. Whatever it was looking for the monster didn't find. Slowly, it pulled itself away.

"Weak. Unworthy." It paused turning its head up to the night sky. A single ragged breath left its lungs before it continued raging. An arm rose to the sky, seeming to grasp at something Koneko couldn't see. "Where is it? Why can't I find it?"

Koneko didn't know what the monster masquerading in man's flesh was talking about, and she didn't care either. After the abject fear left her body, the girl quickly started pooling her demonic power. Angry tears rolled down her face as she stared at the heads of the men on the thing's belt. Her tiny hands clenched into fists.

In a voice showing more emotion than she'd thought possible, Koneko said, "You killed him."

The monster turned toward her, its neck slightly curled. The questioning look on its face made rage build in the little girl's heart. He'd killed Kiba. He'd killed her best friend. He took him away. When her fist flew up at the thing's face, Koneko wasn't expecting it to catch it. As the bones in its arm popped and cracked, the young devil jumped back.

She wasn't expecting it to smile either. It was long and pointed. The beast's teeth stuck out like daggers, threateningly turned toward her. It almost looked happy as its lips pulled back further. Its injured arm fell by its side.

Koneko could see where she had hit it. Two of the fingers were bent at an odd angle, while its forearm bulged in an obviously painful way. She steeled herself. Yelling, the devil ran forward again. When the beast rushed to meet her, she ducked. It had flung its injured arm at her. Dodging the blow had been the wrong choice.

The girl barely had a moment to think before she was on the ground. Something had pulled on the back of her leg from below. She felt a sharp pain come from her ankle as it did. The beast had used the hook of its axe to pull her to the ground. The cry of pain that escaped from her mouth with it set the beast into hysterics. Joyful laughter came out without any thought.

"Finally..." It growled.

Its axe came down soon after. Koneko rolled to the side. The wood she laid on not even a second before was smashed in. Splinters exploded out like brown shards of glass. Koneko tried to stand, wincing as she put weight on her foot. A gasp of air left her mouth as she fell back to her knees.

Broken? She thought, trying to put a bit of weight on it again. No, it's sprained.

Gritting her teeth, the girl stood. The monster was there, watching her. She saw it grasp its axe in one hand. Then, it lurched forward. Being careful not to put any weight on her bad foot, Koneko dodged out of the way. The axe went flying to her left, spinning in circles as it went. A loud thud came to her ears. The axe carved itself into a nearby wall. Its broken arm slowly turned as it walked. The limb looked to be straightening itself out. It was healing again. Although, it didn't seem as fast as before. Koneko couldn't figure out why.

Many thoughts flew through the girl's mind as the beast walked over to retrieve its weapon.

Putting them aside, she rushed towards it. Her fist met one of the blackened plates on the monster's back. She felt his flesh ripple and crack underneath. The beast let out a gasp as she struck. Quickly, it turned to face her. Rage was practically spilling out of its blue eyes.

Faster than Koneko could react, a booted foot lashed out. The strike was fast. The girl felt all the air rush out of her lungs. Koneko was flung backward. She rolled as she landed. Saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth. Pain lashed up from her chest as she churned on the ground.

Slowly, Koneko tried to breathe. The air came in quick, short bursts. Sharp pain flared from her ribs. It hurt to move. She groaned from the floor. As she stared at the beast trudging toward her a thought came to mind.

Is it playing with me?

That speed from before was nowhere to be seen. The monster was watching her. It slowly walked forward, dragging its axe. It didn't make sense to her. What was it doing? If the thing had wanted to it could've struck her down on the ground. When she didn't move, it simply stood there. Waiting. Watching. Then, it spoke.

"Get up."

That answered her question. Although, it didn't answer any of the other ones. How did it do this? Why did it do this? How was it so strong? How was it healing? Who or what is it? Whatever it was, that inky black feeling emanating out from the creature like waves certainly wasn't demonic power. She had thought it was a stray at first, but the feeling had quickly quelled that thought. It wasn't an angel's or a fallen's light. It certainly wasn't ki or magic power. She didn't have anything to compare it to. It felt utterly alien. It was as if the thing was leaking sentient malice. It made her sick to her stomach.

The world around her seemed to recoil as more black smoke poured out around the monster standing over her.

A pungent smell of copper hit her nose. Koneko grimaced. Something gnawed at the back of her mind as she smelt it. The presence, whatever it was, relished in itself. It felt as if the fact it was simply here was a feat in itself. It was clawing its way into this world, ripping and tearing itself in, and Koneko wanted nothing to do with it.

Koneko knew what she had to do.

With a small burst of demonic power, a bright red sigil appeared on the floor. It quickly formed a circle around her, glowing with more red light. The beast above her tried to react, but it was too late. The red rapidly turned into a blinding white.

Koneko could hear an unrestrained roar of "Coward!" as she disappeared. Seems like she got one over on it in the end. It didn't make them even, not even close, but it was a start. When she returned, Akeno and Rias would be with her. They'd tear the bastard to pieces.

Smirking, she called out, "Sucker."

-|-]=[-|-

Waking up was not a pleasant experience.

It felt like I went on a bender, drinking as much whiskey and bourbon as my poor stomach could hold. Then, I decided to join in a triathlon. Followed quickly after by military boot camp and more alcohol. The best part about it was that I knew I'd never done any of those things.

Everything and everywhere hurt. It felt like my muscles were screaming in protest by simply existing. I felt heavy. My stomach was doing flips as I lay out on the ground. Speaking of that, where was I? I cracked open my eyes, slowly starting to look around. What met them certainly wasn't inviting.

The first thing I saw was a head. A severed one at that.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, rolling on the ground.

Its skin was a chalky white. Its features were soft and boyish, if a bit cut up. The bright blonde hair coming from its top told me all I needed to know. There were two others there as well. I easily picked out the mangled remains of Freed from the three. The other, I didn't recognize. It was male, beaten and bloody with large fangs coming out from its mouth. Its nose was flattened entirely, the orifice making him look more snake-like. Whoever it was, they definitely weren't human.

"What happened?" I asked aloud.

The pounding headache and constant acidic burning in my muscles made it hard to think. I took a deep breath and tried to recall what I was doing before this. It came to me all at once. I could remember my argument with Freed, the fight soon after, and the old widow. After that though, I was drawing a blank. I frowned. I'd kept pulling on that well of power even after I'd beaten Freed. I didn't mean to go that far. I'd lost myself in it. I always seemed to be doing that. Damn it. I sat up, slowly pulling a gauntlet-covered hand toward my face.

A gauntlet? I thought. I looked at my left hand.

It was covered in black armor. Every individual section of my fingers had a different piece of plate sticking to them. I could barely make out some kind of thick leather beneath it. The fingers came up into sharpened points. I couldn't tell what the metal was, but it felt heavy. It was a bit of a struggle to move. The metal made very little noise as I opened and closed my hand.

The rest of me was covered in much the same. The only difference being some red-colored highlights on the cuirass and greaves. They were painted a dull red. It looked like runes of some kind. The only part of me that was uncovered was my head. There was a simple black helm laying beside my feet. I assumed that would be why.

Great, this is great. I sarcastically thought. It was just like my first day here. I was just missing one thing. I let out a large sigh at the sight of the dead monster laying in pieces on the other side of the room.

"Thought you said they weren't that common Freed," I commented.

This one, unlike the two I had seen before, was covered in scales. It almost looked reminiscent of the Lamia of legend. Except for the headless male torso sticking out of its top. The stray devil looked like it had gone through a meat blender. There were many sections of its tail split down to the bone. I quietly turned my eyes down to the head bearing white hair below me.

"I-I didn't..." My voice trailed off. It didn't matter anymore. Freed was dead. I killed him. I enjoyed it while I did. Quietly, I muttered, "Fuck."

I didn't want to kill him, not at first. I had tried to talk him down. That went about as well as I expected it to. I didn't really have a plan for after that. Maybe, I could've subdued him, knocked him out or something. Again, I sighed. I didn't know how to do that. I was only good for swinging my axe and tanking hits. It wasn't like knowing how to build a computer would help me here, not in this fucked up world.

"God damn it."

I turned down at the other head sitting in the line. Its' now roughly scarred face looked back at me in judgment. Kiba, he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve any of this. I stopped. My mouth felt dry. I could feel something rise inside of me. Regret. It was hard, rigid like stone. It immediately tore its way through my body and out my mouth.

"I...I'm sorry." The words came out slowly. I meant them too. Even though I did, it wouldn't matter. Kiba was gone. Freed was gone. I'd fucked things up beyond all recognition. What else had I done while I was out chasing more fights like an addict's next high? I grit my teeth. Something that had been building for days seeped up from my gut. Everything I'd been piling up and throwing away since I got here came out at once.

I slammed my fist into the ground. The concrete below me shattered. If It was the younger me, he might've cried. Me? It came out with anger, rage. It, all of this, it just wasn't fair. I thought when you got Isekaid you got to go on some magical adventure, not this bullshit!

"Fuck this place!" I seethed. Quickly, I stood. I felt my muscles groan in protest. Instinctively, I drew on the power that waited within my body. A small trickle was all that was needed to make the pain disappear. A low growl came out of my mouth. I stomped over to Freed's head. Its eyeless gaze was almost mocking as I glared at it. I threw my foot forward. The plated boots I was wearing hit the head with a meaty thwack. Freed's head shot away from my foot, landing a couple of yards away. I glared at the thing as it rolled around on the floor.

"You!" I growled. He'd been the start of this. Freed had been the cause of this whole horrible night. It was because of his dumb ass crap that I was involved in this in the first place. "If only I hadn't walked into that church, I-"

I stopped.

What would've happened if I didn't walk into the church? Where would I be now? With the devils? Still on my own? Dead maybe? I'd had never met Freed. Dohnaseek. Asia. The exorcists. Raynare. Any of them. Only God knows where I would've ended up.

Everything in my life just seemed to only get worse.

My father had been out of the picture since before I could remember. My mom? Pancreatic cancer. Same shit Grandpa had. I was still pretty young. I could barely remember anything about her. Couldn't even remember her fucking voice. I hit the ground again. Spiderweb-like fractures ran out from beneath my hand.

My Grandmother was the only family member I had left. Samuela D'oro. The kindest person I had ever met. She'd taken me into her home without a single thought after my mother had passed. She was all I had for years and years. Despite money being tight and the world around us being harsh, she did her best to raise me. At times, it felt like it wasn't enough, but the woman had given it her all.

Then she died too. This time, it was breast cancer.

I'd cried then. I'd cried more than any person ought to. When the water finally stopped flowing, my cries turned to quiet sobs. I was alone. Completely and utterly fucking alone. That wasn't the end of it though, life just loved to jerk me around. It dangled a carrot in front of my face before smacking me back down with a stick.

I'd gotten back on my feet. I made a plan. I had always liked computers, technology, any of that stuff. It fascinated me as a child. I wanted to go to college, go and make something of myself. I even met a few friends who tried to support me along the way. I'd gotten into the tech school I'd always wanted.

And then, when I thought I was going back up, you know what happened?

I was hit by a goddamn truck.

I was just crossing the street. The little sign holding up a red hand turned green. I had done it hundreds of times before. I didn't think anything of it, nothing at all. I should've. If I would've taken the time to check left and right, I might've survived. All of a sudden, I heard the horn. Frowning, I had looked up. Air was hissing from the truck along with its squealing brakes. I barely made out the sight of its front right tire being in pieces before it hit me. After that, it was nothing but agony followed by chilling cold.

Then, I found myself here, in all this world's ridiculous glory.

I was alone again.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. It came out in short bursts. I hated this feeling in my chest. It wasn't quite sadness, yet it wasn't full-on depression either. Melancholy maybe? It was something in between. The best part about all of this was, that I didn't have anyone I could talk to.

Who would believe me?

Really, who would? I certainly wouldn't. I don't even think the more supernatural denizens of this world would. They'd just as well call me crazy as the normal people going about their daily lives here around Kuoh.

I was getting tired of this shit. The only good thing about me even coming here was-

"Asia."

That girl was the only good thing that had happened to me since I'd been here, and how did I pay her back for it? I'd let her have to deal with the constant bullying and depravity of those in the church. Sure she wasn't being hurt, not directly, but it still wasn't good.

"Pull yourself together." I said. Standing tall, I slapped my cheeks. The metal stung as it hit. I ignored it. That was still another thing I had to deal with. All this armor would slow me down. The metal made my limbs feel like they were moving through molasses. I needed a way to get rid of it.

As the thought came to my head, black smoke drifted down from my chest. Slowly, it started to disintegrate. A small smile came to my face as I felt the weight of the metal completely disappear. Looking down, I was in my clothes from before. They were a little torn up, but they'd work.

If I ever wanted to have the armor back could wait. I had a plan. I was going to right this one wrong at least or die trying. I was done seeing such an innocent girl cry, not if I could help it. I searched around the room around me for a second, looking for my axe. A bit of panic came to me before I found it. It was embedded in the monster's corpse.

I hefted the now-blackened weapon over my back. It was heavier, much so. Ignoring it, I soldiered on. As I slowly trudged up toward the door leading out of whatever back room I had awoken in, a thought came to my head.

God help anything that gets in my way.

AN: And that's the end of the chapter folks!

I'm gonna be brief here as I don't got a lot of time here before I have to start getting ready for bed. Work awaits! Yay...

Anywho, please tell me what you thought. This chapter is the opening to the final part of this first "act" of the story. I think Jack's come a long way from where he started in these twelve short chapters. It was certainly a challenge to have what I wanted to have happen while simultaneously having him stay in character. Please tell me what you thought down below. Also, if you noticed any errors please point them out.

The next chapter should be up next week, we'll be picking up with some of the other characters new and old, followed by Jack himself. Until then...

~ciao

Edit: I had to update this one after reading it, I think because I edited it the first time right before going to bed a lot of errors slipped in. I was pretty tired then. Still am now, but that's besides the point. There were just too many errors for me to let it sit there, so I fixed those I saw. Next chapter should be up tomorrow or Sunday. See you all then.