First new story of the year so i am legally allowed to do it

SHUT UP I WRITE WHAT I WANT. I'LL FINISH THE OTHER STORIES LATER inhales copium

Don't Fear the Reaper

〖Prologue〗

|| Reason 0: He Picked Zero for a Name||

"So. Who is this… lost kid?"

That particular question was thrown by someone very particular indeed, and oftentimes rather peculiar. With an array of fancy priestly garments, add in a wreath of winged shoulder-decorations wrapping his neck, not to mention his lime green hair — Dulio Gesualdo was not, in any way shape or form, a man easily mistakable.

And standing before him in an awkwardly, shifty, uncomfortable manner yet trying their damndest to not look as uncomfortable or terrified as they actually were —at least as well as a seven year old could manage—, was an ordinary-looking boy in an ordinary boyish outfit for a kid with a bandage wrap over his brown hair; a pair of shirt and shorts. Red and white. Turn him upside down and he'd be the flag of Poland.

"Answer him, young man."

The boy stiffened as a woman in standard nun outfit spoke at him in a strict tone. To his credit, Griselda Quarta, despite being a teenager, was found to be a menacing teacher according to nine out of ten children. The tenth child was suspected to be lying as they were interviewed right as the subject of the questionnaire walked past them, but that would be a story for a different day.

He shiftily glanced around the weird place that he would soon learn to be a 'cathedral', already feeling smaller than a guppy in a lake.

"I'm… I… Can't remember Sir… I think I have amnosia."

"A Japanese kid with Amnesia… At least that's a first…" Dulio muttered aloud, fingers underneath his smooth chin. "How in Heavens did he get here?"

The boy gulped. "I… was in a plane, but then I was at… the sea…?" he said, not really sure how things went yet that resulted in him being asked by these weird people, not having the understanding to understand that he was a survivor of an unfortunate air crash.

"Ah," Dulio nodded, already seeing the rest of the story. He caught Griselda's ever-chilly blue eyes softening a little as a wave of sadness swept over her face. He already knew what she wanted him to do.

Leaning from the wooden stool, Dulio lowered himself to meet the boy's height. "Well then, let's have a game of Questions and Answers, hm? Have you heard of it already?"

The boy shook his head.

"It's a really simple game. I ask, you answer. Truthfully. Then you get to ask, and I answer. Simple right?"

The boy nodded gingerly.

"Alright, to show you the ropes; I'll start first. How old are you?"

The boy blinked. Perhaps he was estimating a way harder question. "Um… si… six…?"

Dulio flashed a cheeky grin. "You don't sound so sure. You're not lying, aren't you?"

"N-no I-I'm not!" The boy looked deeply offended. "I… just don't know the properly answer. P-proper!"

He might be young but he was rather sound for a kid, Dulio surmised. "Okay. That's good enough. Your turn to ask."

"...Um… What question can I ask…?"

"Anything!" Dulio smiled. "Alright, my turn."

"H-huh?"

"What? You asked a question already, didn't you?"

"Th-that's not—" the boy was about to complain, but after mulling about it, looking confused in the process, he seemed to get that he did in fact have asked a question. He didn't feel great about it, thinking he had been scammed, but nevertheless submitted to the rules of this game Dulio had just made up. "Fine. Your turn."

Dulio's smile lightened. If the boy could make a petulant pouty face like that, it meant he had gotten himself comfortable enough to make faces appropriate for a young kid.

"Second round, and this one's for Sister Griselda right here, so you have to cover your ears and not eavesdrop, capisce?"

"Huh?"

Right. Dulio forgot that slangs didn't get automatically translated by the Bilingual spell. "I mean, understand?"

"Okay."

As the boy covered his ears, looking mystified, but at the same time, staring intently at Dulio's mouth to see if he could lip-read the weird priest, Dulio nonetheless launched his question at the sister.

"Who's he?"

"Hyoudou Issei. Doesn't seem like he remembers his real name."

Quite an extreme case of amnesia, Dulio pondered. Torrid luck for him. "Beside him, any other survivors?"

She shook her head. "Zero."

Maybe he wasn't so lucky.

"How much did he remember?"

"Nothing."

"Family?"

"Died in the crash."

"Relatives…?"

"They're either deceased or don't have the minimum necessities to take him in. He doesn't have a huge family."

Dulio showed a bitter expression. Other than the streets, a life in the orphanage was the least preferable option for most. Though, it didn't appear the boy had any other choice either.

"Okay," Dulio nodded, and put on his smiley face as per usual when he was talking to any of the kids. He motioned the boy to stop covering his ears, and he did just so. "Alright boy, now this one's for you; do you think Sister Griselda here is scary?"

Griselda's expression went from stifled sorrow into one of thinly-concealed annoyance in the drop of a bat.

"Uh… erm… n-no…?"

"Hmm…? Is that really the truth? Remember, there's one rule for this game, and that's no lying."

The boy gulped and paled. "...S-sorta…?"

'Brave boy', Dulio admitted, smiling all the same, except he was more amused by Griselda's apparent glare towards him, likely misinterpreting his last question as him using it as an opportunity to tease the child-scarer. She wouldn't be completely wrong though.

He motioned the boy for his turn.

"Why is your hair green?"

"Hm? These? Hmm… blessed by the Lord Himself I guess!" Dulio beamed, laughing comfortably at ease. "Why? Do you think it's cool?"

"It's weird," the boy said. "I've never seen people with green hair."

"That's because you've yet to see many things, young man," Dulio smiled. "Stick around me and you'll soon get to see a lot more. Are you the adventurous type?"

"It's my turn now!" the boy exclaimed, looking a bit smug even with his smile. "You asked me if your hair is cool."

"I did, didn't I?" Dulio raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. "Smart lad. You're getting the hang of this game quick," he chuckled, before then giving Griselda a motion with his head, telling her to leave him. She excused herself and returned to her nunly duties, which might include scolding the bratty kids to behave.

"What's your name?"

"Huh? I haven't told you?" The boy shook his head. "How rude of me! It's a-me! Dulio!"

The boy known as Hyoudou Issei beamed a bright smile. "Like Super Mario!"

"Yes! Exactly! Except my name's Dulio. Funny eh?" Strange, Dulio noted. Perhaps there were some familiarities that it triggered his memory, but Dulio expected the reference to fly past the boy's head as he had memory loss. Then again, he was no doctor. Who could tell what he should and shouldn't recall?

"My turn now. Who's your name?"

"Uh… I don't remember. The nurses told me my name is Issei?"

"Do you believe them?"

"I don't know."

"SO. Issei-who-isn't-yet-sure-of-his-name— Sister Griselda told me you're going to stay here. I'm gonna have to make sure you have what it takes, so you're going to take a difficult version of this game to see if you can handle it."

"Okay," the boy nodded firmly, thinking he had been acing this game thus far. "Bring it!"

"Who-hoa there, I like your spirit kid, but here goes; do you have prior experience living with other people?"

Immediately his spirit wilted. Because he couldn't understand the words Dulio had just said.

"Haha, my bad, my bad— what I meant to say is, have you lived with other people before?"

"...? Huh? I don't know. I can't remember."

"Alright. That's acceptable. Let's say zero for now," Dulio made other mental notes about the boy's memories. "Second question; would you like to have a lot of friends?"

"Yes!"

"How many friends do you have?"

The boy opened his mouth, ready to answer, but appeared conflicted midway and went quiet. "...? Zero? I guess?"

"We all start at zero, don't worry about it," Dulio said. "Third question! How many friends would you like to make?"

"A lot more than zero!"

"Great answer!" Dulio clapped his hands once. "Second to last question; how many times have you ever washed the dishes, mop the floor, swept the broom, or tidied your bed?"

The boy looked downright horrified. "Z-zero… sir."

"And that's perfectly a-okay!" the priest cheered, instantly psyching the boy right up. "All that matters in this game is that you answer it honestly, which you did. You're crushing this game so far, kid."

The boy smiled, fistpumping himself out of excitement.

"Alright, last question. This one's the hardest so you'll have to think carefully before you answer, capisce?"

"Okay," the boy nodded. "...Was that the last question?"

"No, no," Dulio laughed, "this is; would you like a new name?"

〖Reason 1〗

||He Can't See in Black and White||

Thinking about it, he wished he had chosen a better name other than 'Zero'. He couldn't remember how many times he had nagged Dulio for not being a more responsible adult to let a kid choose his own name by impulse. Of course he'd picked 'Zero'. It had the letter 'z' in it, it sounded cool for a six year old, and it was frequently used during his 'interview'.

Add in four years to his age and maturity, 'Zero' had finally realized the absurdity as well as the irony of his own hand picked name.

Of course, Griselda had changed his name. She actually tried to make him reconsider it days after, but for a six year old, few names were cooler than Zero, so she didn't get far. Eventually, as he grew up and learned, she helped him in changing his name to the complaints of a lot of kids that had grown accustomed to calling him Zero.

It wasn't Issei. At that age, he had chosen that it would be better to fully let go of his past. Whatever kind of life he'd lived as Hyoudou Issei, it was dead. He'd buried it so completely that he would likely forget about it in the future. He wasn't that sentimental.

So what name did he pick then?

Why, of course, for a ten year old orphan that was absolutely fixated at getting one of those cool red cars that oftentimes roamed the streets of Rome — it had to be Enzo. Yes, because it had a 'z' in it, but the biggest factor was because he thought that by having the same surname as the founder of a famous exotic car manufacturer; Ferrari, it would be certain for him to be gifted with one of his cars during his birthday.

His eleventh birthday was a huge letdown and a cruel slap of reality to dear Enzo.

And it wasn't until later in his teenage years that his new name's meaning was 'uncertainty'. The irony was palpable at that point.

Growing up in the orphanage was a lot of fun. Difficult, but fun. He had to learn plenty of things, perhaps le-learning some that he had forgotten. The Italian language was exceedingly hard to understand, what with all the different intonations and dialects everyone seemed to have. If not for Griselda's strict teaching, perhaps Enzo would have flunked all of his tests. He was never really good at it. It might have been the main thing that held him back from being adopted.

But perhaps it was for the best. He grew up well, all things considered.

Rubbing his head, the now twenty-one year old Enzo reflected upon how he had gone from a lost Japanese orphan into this line of unpaid labor as an Exorcist. Probably that time when he asked Dulio to be taken under his wings when he first learned about the existence of the unearthly creatures. Devils, Vampires, Demons, Werewolves — all cretins that God didn't make but came to existence nonetheless.

Yeah. That likely was it. That, or when they discovered his ability.

Nicknamed and codenamed 'Zero' for irony's sake as well as the uncanny similarity it had to his 'ability', Zero found himself drifting the streets of Tuscany in the dead of the night.

It was a Devil this time. The Devil that had been kidnapping the nuns was believed to be targeting the nuns of this city's abbey according to the pattern of his previous victims. Dulio had tasked him and Griselda to take care of it, with Griselda acting as the bait.

It wouldn't work. He had made a bet with another Exorcist that wasn't as averse to such an unholy crime as making bets.

No matter how she tried to dress herself as an ordinary nun, with the amount of unordinary Holy Power Griselda emitted, the Devil would be an idiot to even consider approaching her. Even he couldn't help but shudder whenever Griselda approached him, but that was likely due to him always being told off whenever she wanted to 'speak to him'. She was notably stricter with him than the other boys, but now that he was older, he couldn't blame her.

As a kid, he was a rowdy jackass. As a teen, he was a rowdy jackass under the tutelage of Dulio Gesualdo, a renowned improper priest that liked to do his own thing without regard to his surroundings. Kind as he might be, Dulio Gesualdo was not at all the ideal adult you'd want a kid or a teenager to look up to and aspire to be. When all the other kids aspired to be Batman, for Enzo, Dulio was his Batman.

Smirking to himself, finding similarities of the fictional Batman character and himself currently, Zero leapt towards another building, landing swiftly and smoothly. Griselda took a turn at the streets below, heading towards a secluded, narrow, long, poorly-lit alleyway far enough but close to a nearby monastery that was rumored to be the hotspot of this city. And then he waited there, using a rag used to cover bricks and other materials he brought to blanket himself with. Unfortunately, he didn't have some sort of neat cloaking device or anything remotely related to 'magic' or fancy spells he could use to hide himself better in the guise of the night, but this had never failed. Perhaps the Devils or Demons he hid from never expected a low-effort disguise, but it had never failed him.

At least when paired with the night.

Therefore, he waited. Unmoving. Solid as a statue. For minutes to hours until he got deathly bored and considered plunging down to introduce his face to the asphalt.

'This 'mission' is whack,' he thought. Nobody told him he couldn't complain about it. He could be doing many other things. Things that would earn him enjoyment or money or both. He might be an Exorcist but thanks and 'blessings' wasn't going to fill his stomach or satiate his earthly desires.

He wondered what Griselda was doing, and sure enough, she was kneeling over a pile of boxes, still praying at the same damn spot.

Her dedication to the bit was admirable, if not unsettling. She might be praying for all those lost nuns and their well being, but despite being raised in a Catholic surroundings, Enzo knew a pair of hands working could do more than a thousand hands clasped in prayers. But he supposed there wasn't anything better she could've done at the moment.

Maybe he should start praying too. Not for those nuns but for something, anything to happen. For a divine intervention to put an end to this whole failed stakeout so he could get back home and not out in the damp, uncomfortable night summer where it was lukewarm in the night, during the darkest hour, peering over a praying nun like a creep.

Still, he wasn't going to be the one that aborted the mission. He wasn't going to risk himself an hour of ear-chewing.

After what seemed like forever, Griselda stood up and straightened her dark outfit, readjusting her nun veil, turned around and exited the alleyway without sparing him a glance, meaning the mission was still a go. Begrudgingly, He reconsidered jumping off the ledge. At worst he'd break a bone or two. On the flip side, that'd secure a month or two of zero labor.

Then as they were moving to another dark alleyway, he felt the roof underneath him collapse as the monastery exploded.

Badia Fiorentina burned all too well despite being mostly built of bricks. It being summer didn't help either. Lint called it a hot bastard of a summer. Too mean to give out rain, and she wasn't wrong. Dust and smoke quickly rose as flames licked the skies alight, quickly engulfing the belltower. The quietness of the night dissolved into a crescendo of chaos as citizens sprawled out of their homes, some fleeing, screaming, some getting closer to get footage of the burning facility, screaming while recording with their phones.

Zero jumped down the collapsing building, breaking his fall with a well-timed roll and quickly dashed over towards Griselda. The explosion was close and the shockwave had knocked her off her feet. She wouldn't need his help over it, and he wasn't going to offer it either. He was running up to her because an urgent matter clearly had taken over their mission.

Griselda picked herself up in no time, reached down to the lower part of her nun outfit, and ripped it off in one clean stroke of her bare hand.

"I forgot you have legs underneath all that. I mean—" too little too late to retract his comment. That silent glare from her meant a scolding.

As he followed her running towards the burning monastery, they immediately noticed something was off. The bluish green hue of the roaring flame was unnatural. Arriving at a clearing, a huge crowd had already gathered at the outskirts, distancing themselves from the fire and the heat, murmuring in horror as sirens of firetrucks and ambulances blared throughout the city.

"What do we do?" Zero pulled up his mask up to his mouth. His dark outfit wasn't completely out of the ordinary, but his Japanese-face was easily recognizable to separate from the rest.

"The obvious. We help."

Zero dreaded hearing that word. He wished people could be more self-sufficient, but alas they weren't. He was no exception either, of course, but that doesn't mean he wasn't allowed to despise it.

"Give me cover."

With a nod, he took out a small circular item out of his belt and tossed it to the ground. Dark smokes instantly billowed as the smoke bomb exploded, shrouding them in its dark embrace.

"Keep track of anyone that gets out of here. The Devil may play a part in it. We'll regroup in the alleyway." Casting a handful of spells on herself, ones that gave her fire resistance included, Griselda promptly stormed into the three-storey building, using the smoke as cover.

Zero snorted gruffly as he made his way out of the dissipating smoke. He wasn't worried about her in the slightest, but it was irritating that he couldn't go with her as he'd likely burn himself or suffocate from the smoke. Sure would be nice if she could cast those Spells on him — he was no magician.

But if there was one thing he was a master at, it would be scaling the walls. Pure skill and strength, and a little bit of luck. Within seconds, he had climbed up the nearby building that was slightly damaged from the blast.

Waiting gave him time, or rather, forced him to scrutinize the situation. Who could've done it? A certain terrorist group immediately popped into his mind. Khaos Brigade or whatever. They were the main culprit of the nunnapping, though it wouldn't be far-fetched for it to be the work of an individual Devil instead of a collective group. Still, to pull off this kind of stunt, blowing up a monastery in a populated region of Italy — the center of Catholicism — was not a feat to sneeze at.

They were coordinated. They were stealthy. And most importantly, they had no qualms targeting children.

Irredeemable bastards.

As more and more people gathered outside, and more police force expanded to control and secure the masses, Zero circled the burning place, leaping from roof to roof, using his provided tools whenever necessary and using his surroundings to help him reach his place faster. All the kids might outsmart him in test scores, but nobody could outpace him on the roofs. Even with the radiating heat, few things in life beat this simple joy of feeling the night breeze brushing past.

Although spotting a lone Devil in the run was pretty close.

'Why hello there…' he smiled, spotting and sensing the Demonic Essence leaking from this cloaked Devil. Or as the priests would have described them 'vile spawn of Hell'. To be fair, the ones he'd taken care of had all been rather foul.

He saw two black wings burst from the back of the Devil beneath, and as they took off, he jumped off.

And landed square on their back, catching them —her, as the feminine shriek would suggest— by surprise, tossing and embedding a light-infused dagger right through her shoulder as they plunged to the ground.

"Gr—ah!" she grimaced as pain exploded, first from her shoulder and now from her entire body as she slammed into the ground.

The pain didn't yet fully register before a dagger with light-blade was jammed into the ground right before her eye.

"Get… Get off me! Ugh—!"

Taking off his glove to not soil it with 'vile' blood, he pushed his thumb down her stab wound, drawing an agonized scream out of her throat. As he took his thumb out, the girl loosened and collapsed, breathing raggedly.

Looking worse for wear. Must've been caught in the explosion, he deduced.

"Ever heard of a game called Questions and Answers? It's an easy game. I recommend you participate, because my partner is not as talkative as I am, and she's going to be really pissed off if you're the one who blew up the monastery."

"It… that… was not my doing…" she breathed, moving her head to look at her captor, only to see a hooded and half-covered face, and the lapel of his dark outfit. "Let me go… I have nothing to do with this… You won't regret it."

"Yeah, well, you're a Devil so that's a no," he replied offhandedly, still sitting on her back, both his legs straddling her arms. Any Devils could have easily knocked him away or at least struggled, but this one seemed content in just laying there.

"Then perish," she snarled as black mass of violent Demonic Energy burst forth from the air in front of him, homing right onto his face. Everything turned black for a second — until that vicious energy perished the moment it made contact with his nose.

"Nice try gattina."

Her eyes widened as it dawned on her who her captor was. "You're the Reaper…!"

"Reaper? Ri-ight, I'm him," he giggled ominously, whereas the she-Devil was completely nonplussed. "If I'm not mistaken, that was the Power of Destruction you blasted at me. Which means—" with a yank, he revealed the pretty face hidden underneath her cloak as well as the lustrous crimson hair of hers into view.

"Signorina Gremory. Fancy beating you here."

"Wait… I can explain. The abbey… It wasn't me."

"Not so tough now that you know your little tricks don't work on me eh? Typical."

"Y-you've got it all wrong… I was… hoping it would get you off of me…" she coughed, rather roughly and painfully, and he noticed a few splotches of blood coming out of her mouth into the bricked road. "Please… I… was trying… to stop it… Believe me…"

"Bit rich of an excuse since you just tried to decapitate me."

"I told you," she rasped, this time a little bit more defiant, as if annoyed by his disbelief. "It was to get you off of me! Nrgh— I… I'm wounded…"

"Well I stabbed you."

More coughs before she could reply to his stupid matter-of-fact answer. He noted her paling face, and, his guts and instincts be damned, but he was starting to buy into her words. The Gremory Family was not a common name around these parts. They were well known around the Vatican and its communities and institutions, but not due to their terrorist acts, but instead because of the rumors that they were hunted by other Devils.

Those were merely unconfirmed rumors, however, and he'd be an idiot to unrestrain her.

"Please…" she pleaded, this time more desperate. "I… I can't die yet…"

Zero grunted as his ideals clashed with his values, but he eventually stood, and quickly grabbed her by her arms. She whimpered as he manhandled her up to her feet, but she had expended the rest of her energy in that one attack, and was completely powerless, nearly slumping back down to the ground if he didn't have her in a bind.

It was then he took note of the redness of her what should have been a completely white dress shirt.

"You're bleeding," he said. "Got in a fight?"

"M-more or less…" she whispered back, then smirking as she stared at him with her face, glistened by cold sweat. "Hah… haha… I don't seem able to walk on my own."

"I can drag you around like a sack of bricks."

She paled further. "...P…Please don't… I'd rather die than endure the humiliation..."

Still had some strength left to joke around her captor? He couldn't lie, this captive of his was quite endearing. Captivating looks as well. A shame she was a Devil.

"This is going to be pointless if you die on the road."

"I won't," she persisted. "I'll… manage… I just need a quick rest…"

"Fancy a rose-scented bath while you're at it?"

She chuckled weakly. "That would be well appreciated…"

Alright. Bad or not, this Devil was at least alright in his book as an individual. All his life he had wanted to see if there would be one Devil that could prove his teachers wrong; that there existed some Devils that were alright and didn't want to bring humanity into ruin. Why bother when humans could do it perfectly on their own anyway. Like they'd need help in destroying themselves.

Either way, he was supposed to wait for Griselda. And once they regrouped, she could cast a spell to force the Devil into telling the truth. This Gremory must have been the youngest as Zero didn't need to exort much focus in debilitating her magical capabilities.

"This might hurt a bit," he warned her as he dug out another tool off his toolbelt, and shot a grappling hook out of a hand crossbow.

Rias Gremory would have shrieked as they 'flew' into the rooftop if she wasn't severely hurt, but she wanted to.

Break

"You sound young."

"I am young," Zero acclaimed.

"I'm surprised someone as young would be the dreaded Reaper…"

"Uh-huh," no response whatsoever. It seemed his pride wasn't easily stroked. "Who came up with that name anyway? And why?"

"Do you hate it?"

"No, I just don't see the correlation."

"Rumors tend to spread like the wind— nrgh—!"

It must have been forever since she was treated manually. By manually, it meant no magic, no spells, no enchantment. Nothing that was magical in the slightest. Just alcohol and bandages — and it stung. It stung terribly. She had to bite the hand towel he gave her earlier to suppress her scream, lest anyone else heard and got too nosey.

The bursting pain prevented her from breathing normally as the towel fell off her mouth. She'd never felt this weak before, and it was… on one hand, it taught her she should have been more mindful. On the other hand, it was deeply frustrating.

"I'd say sorry for stabbing you," he began as he tied up a bandage wrap over her shoulder, eliciting a meek whimper out of her, before continuing his sentence, "but that'd be lying. Circumstances called for it and I do not regret the actions I've taken.."

"I understand, believe it or not…" Rias muttered. Too drained to be properly mad about his excuses. "...Thank you."

"First time anyone thanked me for stabbing them."

"For treating me," she corrected, wincing because she jerked her head too fast to retort.

Zero laughed quietly like the gadfly he was. It wasn't a rarity for him to joke around with his prisoners — even if he had to off them afterwards. Liked to see them go out with a smile. Too much misery in this world and not enough joy to go around.

At the moment, Rias was half-naked. She had taken her shirt off in order to bandage her wound located near the back of her shoulder, and putting them on was a lot harder and painful when she couldn't move her right arm.

"...A little help… Or do you prefer to debase your captives like this?"

"Much as I'd want that, it does conflict with few morals I have left; so no."

And thus he helped her dress herself back without much fanfare.

"For an agent of the Catholic faith, I'm surprised to meet one that can keep their composure around a half-naked lady."

"Oh you've no idea how bad it is for me," Issei muttered, and Rias shuddered at the thought. "I'm joking~ sorry. That was a horrible joke. Got possessed by Freed for a bit there…"

"Not your first time seeing a lady's skin, I assume."

"Nope," he said dryly. "Nice bra. Purple. I like purple. A daring color."

Rias finally smirked. "...You're rather sinful for an Exorcist."

"Murder is a sin, but I received blessings for doing it," he pointed out.

"Did they bless you for debauchery as well?"

"No, but they fiddled with the choir boys and they've got all sorts of excuses for it. Why shouldn't I make some for myself?"

Rias blinked, and allowed a sigh of relief. "Refreshing to see an Exorcist that isn't completely brainwashed by religion."

"They tolerate me as I tolerate them. They don't get to decide my morals when theirs aren't spick-and-span either. And using religion as a tool to control the masses… Yeah. That ain't my style."

"And yet you turn a blind eye."

"It's my home and I got paid for it. Those that cling to old traditions are often terrified with the very idea of change itself," Zero quoted Dulio word for word back when he confronted him about the absurd amount of child molestation cases the Vatican knowingly hid from the world. "And those in positions of power… well, preventing change is what they want in the first place."

"And so you accept to live in a world like that?"

"Tolerate it," he corrected. "Begrudgingly."

The growl in that last word told her he could be a potential connection for her endeavor. Rias presumed her best bet to get out of here alive was to make him trust her.

"So," he went on, taking a seat at a stack of cement next to her. "You said you wanted to stop this? That means you know about this plan huh?"

"I do," she nodded surly. "...If I came here quicker then perhaps it might've been possible but…" Rias sighed. "It's not exactly easy sneaking in."

"Well, that's kinda the point of having patrols," he sniggered. Despite her frown, she seemed appreciative of his easy going nature. She should be thankful it was him that had to scope the area instead of Griselda. Were she to meet Griselda, she might have been deader than dead, or wishing she was dead.

"And yet your building burns," Rias bit back. It seemed to have struck a chord. Not too strongly that it offended him, but he seemed concerned about it.

"Indeed it does," he grumbled, glancing towards the still burning building, now surrounded by fire trucks that struggled to douse the unnatural flame. "What did your people do this time, eh?"

"They are not my people," she snarled. "Do you consider extremists your own as well? Human they might be?"

That pushed a button. Either she was a great actress or she simply hated those that weren't her people. "Fair point, I concede. Tell me who they are then. Seems to be a common enemy."

"Khaos Brigade," she replied, getting a little bit hazier as the flames began to blur. Clutching her head, she continued quieter than before, "...You ought to hear about them."

"I've heard of them plenty alright. Got any proof that it's them?"

"I… you won't believe me."

"Try me."

"..." Rias measured her options as she stared at him. She could only see his russet brown eyes and a little of his brown bangs, the rest of his facial features hidden by the hood and the cloth mask. "I'm trying to conserve my words at the moment. Why would you trust me anyway?"

"Gut feeling. I dunno," he shrugged. "Maybe because you're my prisoner so that you'll tell me anything you think I'd want to hear. Maybe because you're cute."

It drew a giggle out of her. Though it halted as it was painful for her to even laugh. "Ah… haha… a charmer, aren't you. How many times have you said that line to the other Devils?"

"Not plenty. The ones I tend to face aren't much of a conversationalist. The last one I hunted down was a four-legged abomination with lasers firing out of her nipples. Now I'm all for shape and sizes, but a mammoth? That's a bit too much."

"You're giving me a lot of information for an enemy," Rias giggled. "Is that really wise?"

"Hm? So you're an enemy?"

Rias felt her hackles raised and her stomach flipped. If not from the sudden drop of his happy-go-lucky tune, it was from the way he was staring at her. His eyes were smiling, and she could see the thin smirk forming under his mask, but it was the uncanniness of his change of demeanor that raised all alarms in her psyche. This man had slain enough Devils to gain him that reputation. Plenty of them qualified as High-Class if not for their caste. There was a reason this man in black and red outfit and the unmistakable crimson cross of the Templar Order was rightly dreaded.

His friendliness hid a viper that could struck her down at any time.

She realized the blunder she had made, and hoped her realization didn't come late.

"N-no," she stammered once she had collected her scattered thoughts. He was not the type of person she should antagonize or be defiant towards. She sensed he wouldn't be as 'friendly' once she crossed a certain line he set. "No… I'm not."

Zero hummed, gauging her up. Satisfied once he made sure copying Griselda's method of intimidation worked quite well as intended.

"You've been very lucky today," he told her, back to his casual tone. "Don't push it. You won't know when it'll run out until it does."

'Right back at you…' she wanted to say, but locked it shut inside the closet of her mind for now. So far, he had been the right amount of everything. The right amount of charming, right amount of friendliness, right amount of awkwardness, but all that visage tanked like a rock the moment he reminded her the man she was talking to.

But wouldn't he make just the right ally…? Respected by his peers, 'tolerated' by his superiors, feared by his enemies… Someone who saw the world in gray instead of the absolute white and black as most of them tended to do. If she could convince him… if she could bring the right argument… she might be able to sway his mind, or at least rock his faith with the church.

She had a sinking feeling this wouldn't be their last encounter. Whether in jail or her tribunal, she had to make sure he'd come to see her again.

No harm in trying. "...H-hey…"

"Hm? Yeah. Sup."

"Have you heard about the 'Holy Sword Project'?"

To be continued…

Ripped straight out from The Grand Budapest Movie. Excellent movie all around and everyone should see it at least once in their life, because then you'd want to watch it again

SO. 'Issei' is older. As is Rias. They both got an upgrade in maturity as they did in age. No, I'm not yet sure yet if it's gonna be an IsseixRias pairing as I like to let the story write for itself first before setting any ship to sail off the port. 'Issei' is also a little bit unhinged. You'd be too if your best friend was Freed Sellzen. What sane parents would pick him up for adoption?

And you know me, I hate describing clothes in details; so just google AC Rogue outfit and there you have 'Issei's outfit.

Yes, there will be Lint Sellzen in it, and of course Irina and Xenovia, and domi-nun-momi Griselda sprinkled about. Since DxD didn't really have a proper art for her instead of that one in her wiki, i am once again ripping a face out of Nasuverse and slap a poster of Artoria Lancer's face on her. Any objections? No? Good. end of discussion

Yes, it's AU. Technically, all fics are AU anyway otherwise it'd just be a carbon copy of the original material. Rias don't have her usual starter party in this story. by starter i mean Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko. She'll have to 'catch' them one by one.

No, 'Issei' won't be a Devil or an Angel or anything. He'll be a human and a human he shall stay until he die.

Lastly, i'm considering making a discord 'fan' server, where you can read all the shit i didn't post anywhere on the internet and are just collecting dust there in the google drive folder, but i'm a bit eeehh on the idea. Lmk anyway if you'd like that. There's probably 10-12 stories that are buried in that folder

And i do appreciate ideas and inputs, and maybe it'd be nice to chat with you plebs, but idk.

Anyway bye