I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Ichiei Ishibumi*
M for mature topics. No children allowed. *
The Broken Boosted Gear
By Try Another Time
"You are cursed. Your whole family is cursed. You can't fall in love with anyone, Asia. Your whole bloodline is tainted with an endless curse." She can still hear their voices. The voices of the people in the city.
Asia Argento was the name she was given by the members of the church that had been taking care of her since she was a baby. She had never met her mother but the rumors she had to hear from the visitors that came to the church had confirmed that she was dead.
More rumors helped her confirm that her dad was no longer around Milan either. He had moved on and what he had with her mother was a farce. Just a fling of one night.
Asia was cursed and because of that, she prays every day. As she sat on her knees in front of the Virgin Mary, she prayed for herself, for the soul of her mother, for the soul of those girls that came before her.
She didn't have all the information but she knew that she wasn't the first. Others just like her had suffered the same cruel fate. Dying young and losing the man that they love at some point. It was a curse, that was what everyone said, at least those who visited the church.
Not a single member of the church confirms nor denies the allegations.
"Focus on your tasks as a nun, Asia. Your power to heal should be used for the sake of those in need." Those were the words of the head priest in charge of the church.
Yes, she was cursed but she also was blessed with the power to heal. Such an ironic situation. A child that came from a cursed bloodline was blessed with the power to heal.
"Heavenly priest and holy mother who watches over earth and the lives of men. I pray to you once more to thank you for the life you have given to me. Thank you for the blessings I have received. Thank you for allowing me one more day on this planet." Asia said as she prayed before the statue.
The same routine every day. The same routine she had been following for most of her short life.
Pray, sleep, eat, heal, clean, help others, and repeat the cycle all over again. She didn't dislike it nor did she find anything wrong with it but Asia felt that something was missing in her life.
"Is it wrong that I want to have a family? Is it wrong that I wish to be normal? Is it wrong that I don't want people to keep calling me a cursed child? I pray for the cleansing of this curse. I... I want a life outside these walls. I want to experience what other children experience."
She wasn't the only orphan who had reached this church. Those other children had left after being adopted or growing into adults but her case was different.
"Becoming a nun is your path, Asia. Your power to heal is proof of that. You were born to serve God and help the people of Milan. This is your home." The words of the head priest were still clear in her mind.
She wanted to believe them but her heart wishes for freedom. No curse, no rumors, not a life that she didn't get to choose on her own.
She believed in God but she also had feelings of her own. "Please hear my voice. I don't know what to do. I need a signal. Is being a nun really my destiny? Or can I choose to leave this place and move on?"
Thus, she continues to pray for the whole night waiting for a miracle.
The next day, Millan.
Our trio had reached the city of Millan. Somehow the girls were able to calm Issei down after he left the coffee store the night before.
Flashback Starts
He wanted just to fly right into Millan and begin to look for Mikhail's descendants.
"It's my fault. There is no curse and yet her whole family has suffered so much after Mikhail died. I need to find them." Issei said before he summons his wings.
Raynare and Kuroka trapped him between their arms.
"You are not doing this like this, Issei. You're too emotional." Kuroka said as she uses all of her strength to prevent him from flying off.
"Welsh-sama I told you that I was going to help you through all of this but you can't do anything like this. I told you before and I'm telling you now, it is not your fault. Life can be cruel and I believe your words. There is no curse attached to the family. Everything that has been happening to them is just coincidences and bad luck. They're not the only humans that suffer tragedies or have to endure bad relationships. You can't blame yourself for every single thing that goes wrong in the lives of others." Raynare says.
Issei tries to fly away but his emotions are in disarray. He knew that they were right and that all of this was just due to his emotions getting the best out of him. So, he just gave up that night.
Flashback ends.
Now they were right in the middle of Millan and needed to start to look for the descendants of Mikhail.
"So where do we begin Raynare?" Kuroka asks.
"Government buildings will have documents on all citizens. It worked in Palermo but it might be more effective here. We just need to make our way in while the building is close. We have to look for the descendants of Josephine." Raynare says.
"The curse is the way we can find them. If they are known as a cursed bloodline someone is going to have some clues." Issei said.
Thus began their search throughout Millan. They were chasing after the stories, the rumors, and the appearance of the girls. If the curse had any real claim, it was just that. Some genes are more persistent than others and Le Fay was a living example of that. They just needed to find blond ladies with green eyes.
But that was easier said than done.
Four days after reaching Millan.
"Another fake lead," Kuroka said as she set the documents down on the kitchen table of their hotel room.
"Although those are green eyes and she is blond she has no relationship to Josephine," Raynare says after dropping her documents as well. "I have read many of these documents but the path ends in Clarissa Abruzzo who died 8 years ago. She had no daughters and committed suicide due to unknown reasons. Twin sisters, cousins, aunts, grandmothers, all of them are dead or have left the country and never return. I don't think that any of his descendants are left within the city or even the nation." Raynare said.
Issei said nothing and just kept looking at the documents. They had confirmed that there had not been any boys in the family or at least those who were descendants of Josephine but there were also some lies. Not every single one of them had endured miserable lives. Those who had left the country were living normal lives. The curse was a farce like they expected. This relieved him from some of his guilt but there was still something that told him that not everything was fine.
"What about the rumors of that girl in the church outside of the city?" Issei asks.
"We have no information on her parents. She is a clean slate and she is under the care of the church. I believe her name is Asia but her last name doesn't match any of the other ones. She is also called a cursed child but we have no way of confirming her blood connection to Mikhail or Josephine. She matches the description but her lack of family information may lead to another false lead. Based on the reports she might also be a sacred gear user." Raynare says as she looks for the folder. "Here she is."
Issei grabs the folder and looks at the photo. Blond hair and green eyes. She matches the characteristics but there was nothing else that could tell him if she was the last descendant of Mikhail in the city or the country. "I'm going to go and check it out myself. After that, we can move on to the next treasure. You two have a free day tomorrow but please stay away from trouble. If you need me just scream loud enough so that I can hear you."
"Why don't you want us to come with you?" Kuroka asks.
"One is a church. Two, you two have been working non-stop for my sake. You two deserve a break and I need to accept the fact that all of this is not my fault. I just need to check this last lead out and then we can leave this city." Issei says.
Kuroka and Raynare look at each other before feeling a sense of relief.
"If that's the plan I'm not going to oppose it but remember our words. This is not your fault. Humans die and life can be cruel. Enjoy the night, Welsh-sama." Raynare stands up and leaves the kitchen.
"Are you really going to be fine?" Kuroka asks.
"I am. Don't worry about me." Issei takes a seat at the table and grabs an apple. He looks at it but puts it away after not feeling well. His stomach was enduring his stress and that was killing his appetite.
"Your eyes tell me otherwise. You still feel guilty about them. You care about the lives of others and the fact that Christa and Josephine had hard lives still hurts you."
Issei says nothing.
Kuroka grabs his right arm. "I know that Mikhail appreciates your sentiment. You're not a heartless monster and you took the steps to prevent any other boosted gear tragedies from happening. You also created that tribute site for them. You can let go of the guilt." Kuroka gets up from her seat and gives him a hug.
Issei allows it to continue for several minutes until she releases him and goes to sleep leaving him alone.
"Issei… Ddraig…." The phantasmagoric voice of the husk of Mikhail was heard in his mind.
"I know. I have always known but I'm still sorry about it. You were my partner. I will never truly be paid for what I did to you."
"Let… go…"
"I can't."
"Is… fine…"
"It was your family. Your daughter. Your wife. You were supposed to go back."
"Move… on…" Although he was a husk of his former self Mikhail was still capable of talking a few words. His mind was broken but the pieces were still there and with the escape from the boosted gear they were beginning to pull themselves together.
They were husks and that might be their fates for the rest of eternity but they were not forgotten nor would they disappear. They were going to continue to follow the Welsh Dragon until the end of time as a sign of his past and the end of an era.
The Welsh Dragon just needed to move on and accept that nothing could be done to repair the damage.
The next day.
Another day had begun for Asia and like any day people were coming to her for healing.
Believers visited the church each day for different reasons but many only came for her healing abilities.
"Pray the Lord for the blessing of this child." Those were the words of many of the visitors when she helped them with her powers.
She had seen many faces since her powers awakened. She had saved many lives since then and some even call her an angel in disguise but she knew she was far from being that.
Helping others felt good. It felt right but she also had doubts and dreams of her own.
The day continues without any changes until a certain boy enters the building. Asia's eyes were focused on him as soon he got closer to her position.
He was wearing a fancy black suit with white flowers. His hair was brown but those strands of green hair made him stand up from the rest. Then she saw his eyes and her mind couldn't let go of the feeling of curiosity. He looks at her once and then turns away.
"Sadness, anger, and guilt. Why do you look so hurt? Why do you also look so strong? What are you? Who are you? Why are you here?" Asia had many questions but the boy kept walking past her.
He shows no interest in her powers and just went ahead with his objective. Asia watches as the boy begins to talk to one of the members of the church before he leaves the church without stopping to look at her for a second time.
Asia didn't see the boy for the rest of the day until late afternoon.
"Asia?" The priest in charge of the church approaches her.
"Yes, head priest?"
"You have one last meeting. A young boy donated a lot of money to the church and asked for a private meeting with you."
"A private meeting? Since when do we do those?"
"Let me rephrase my words. He asked for a meeting with you in the garden of the church. We're going to be around but he just wanted to talk with you one on one without that many visitors around. He donated a hefty amount of money and asked for nothing else. I wanted to say no but his eyes looked-"
"Full of pain and guilt. I understand head priest."
"Thanks for understanding."
Asia began to follow the priest into the extensive garden where the young man was sitting down near the pond. His back was turned to her.
"Go ahead, Asia. We're going to be around just in case we need to interfere." The priest said. The other members were also watching from a decent distance.
Asia began to walk towards the boy until she was right behind him. "Thank you for your donation Mr."
"Issei is ok."
"Mr. Issei."
"Issei without the Mr. is ok."
"Understood. Your name sounds like it's from another place."
"Japan."
"And you know Italian?"
"I learned it from a friend."
"That friend taught you well then. So why did you ask for this meeting, Issei? Do you need my powers?"
"I don't think my injuries can be healed by those powers. I just wanted to talk to you."
"To me? Why is that? I don't think I know you."
"No, you don't," Issei says before he turns to look at her. "Now that I see you from this close, I can almost say that you are his descendant."
"Do you know my family?"
"Sort of. Do you want to hear a story?"
"What sort of story?"
"A story of guilt and regret. A man's guilt and regret. A story that might be related to you."
"You asked for this meeting and I don't see why I shouldn't hear it."
Issei smiles and begins his story. "A long time ago, two partners went to a battlefield to finish a conflict that started many years ago with another group. One of the two men had a lover who he was going to marry. She was also expecting their child so this final battle was going to be the last one. During the fight, the soon-to-be husband lost himself. He became a mindless beast bent on killing his opponent and didn't remember his own name. His partner saw this and took the choice of allowing both of them to get killed. He couldn't allow the wife to see what had happened to him and he couldn't endure the guilt of failing to prevent it from happening."
"So, both men died?"
"Yes, but one of them came back to life with the help of a certain item. Many years had passed and he felt that he needed to see what had happened to his partner's family. When he came back to Italy, he found a destroyed home, a family that had to endure many hardships and his friend's wife had to suffer the tragedy of not really knowing what happened to her husband. The man found out that the wife died while waiting for her husband for many years and their daughter suffered a similar fate with her own marriage. Since then, the family has suffered many tragedies but some of its members have enjoyed happy lives outside of Italy. The man came looking for at least one of his friend's descendants to see how they were doing and to ask them a few questions."
"Could I be one of those descendants?"
"Maybe. The man is not sure either."
"Let's say I am. What are your questions?" She decides to play along with this conversation.
"Is your life good?"
"I guess so."
"Is your life peaceful?"
"It is."
"Are you eating each day?"
"I am."
"Are you happy with your life?"
"… Sort of."
"Does that mean you're sad?"
"It is complicated."
Issei doesn't look happy with the answer but decides to continue. "If that man told you that he is sorry for hurting your family, would you forgive him?"
"I guess I would. After hearing what he did for the sake of his partner's family I can forgive him. A mindless beast doesn't sound like a good parent." She laughs.
He feels a little sad about it. "If that man offers to help you with anything, would you accept it?"
"I don't think I need help."
"But aren't you sad?"
"It's complicated."
"Do you blame the man for this complication?"
"No. I can feel that the man has no association with my current life. He was dead after all."
"He was but he was still sad about what he did."
"He shouldn't be. He should try to move on."
"…" Issei said nothing and just turned away. "That man feels that he owes you something."
"He shouldn't, I wasn't even alive when that event happened. Is there any other thing that this man wants to say?"
"If you ever need help, the man is going to be here for the next three days. After that, he is going to disappear and move on. If at any point you need help during that time, that man will hear your screams and will come right away. He offers you his support if you feel like you need it."
Asia feels that he actually means it but she doesn't know if she should believe a kid that looks as old as her. "I will keep it in mind. Is that all?"
"That's all. I thank you for this talk, Asia. I hope that you live a happy life." Issei stands up and looks at her with a smile.
"You look better."
"Just a little bit. I still need to come to terms with many things." Issei says. He then summons his wings.
Asia and the other members of the church are left speechless but nobody moves from their spots.
"Thanks for meeting me, Asia. Take care of yourself and remember my words." Issei flaps his wings and disappears into the sky after reaching incredible heights in a matter of seconds.
Nobody moves for a few seconds before everyone begins to talk. The priest approaches Asia.
"Asia, are you fine? Did he do anything to you?" The priest asks.
"No, what was him? A devil?" Asia asks.
"No. A devil wouldn't be able to enter the home of God. He was either a dragon or at least the wielder of a sacred gear. Let's go inside. We need to discuss this event with the rest of the church." The priest guides her inside but Asia is still thinking about the boy's words.
"A dragon? Why here? Why me?" Then she remembers the story. "Was it all true? Does he really know about my family? He came here because he was blaming himself for my family's pain?" Her mind reflects on their conversation.
The rest of the day went on and she barely paid any attention to what was taking place.
That night Asia lay awake on her bed trying to go to sleep. She wanted to ignore everything that took place but she couldn't do it. She had prayed for a miracle and the one that showed up was completely different from what she expected.
"He was so young; it shouldn't be possible for someone that young to be so old." But she knew that it was possible. Her powers weren't normal and she had knowledge regarding devils, fallen angels, and angels as well.
It was the first time that she had met a member of the supernatural and she was still coming to terms with the fact that he was connected to her.
"How long back does my connection with him go? How many generations? Did my mother know about it? Do the priests know?" She had so many questions but no way of answering them.
She approaches her window and looks out into the night sky. She wanted to call out to him but she didn't have the guts to do it. This whole situation was a mess and she was still dealing with what she had learned.
"What should I do? God, please give me a signal." She looks at the sky but receives no answer.
Asia turns back and begins to walk towards her bed.
"You should follow your heart." A voice called out to her.
Asia turns around and finds an angel but not any angel. She finds Gabriel right in front of her.
"An angel?" Asia kneels before Gabriel. "Your holiness."
"You don't need to do that, child. Raise your head and look at me. I heard your worries. My name is Gabriel. I'm one of the members of the four Seraphs. It seems you have a connection to somebody very special."
Asia raises her head. "You saw all that?"
"I did. He is someone well known and I'm planning on how to meet him at some point. I'm keeping an eye on him. I didn't expect him to approach the family of one of the former wielders of sacred gear. He really has changed since then." She remembers the war like it was just yesterday.
"So, you know who he is?"
"Yes. He is the Welsh Dragon and also a former human that was called Issei Hyoudou."
"Former human?"
"If you have the time, I will tell you the story of how he came to be."
Asia nods and sits down on her bed.
Gabriel begins to talk about who Ddraig was, his past, and the booster gear. She describes the users and the curse that comes with the power. She then moves into Issei and the events that took place two years ago.
In the end, Asia is left mentally exhausted. "So, my ancestor was a wielder of the boosted gear?"
"Yes."
"And he died while fighting the user of the dividing gear."
"Exactly. Their rivalry has lasted for a long time but it seems that Ddraig has moved on based on what Azazel has told us. Even his rivalry with Albion had a limit."
"And Issei is the host of Ddraig's soul."
"Azazel told us that they are becoming one, so I can induce that he has the memories of the past. He feels guilty about everything that involves your family's fate."
"But he didn't do anything. My ancestor went mad and based on your words he did what was best for us."
"The emotions of a dragon are more complicated and complex. They feel stronger emotions than the rest."
Asia understands his reasons but still finds it too extreme. "I told him I forgave him and he offered me his help. What should I do?"
"You tell me. You're the one that wants freedom and a life beyond this church."
"But I like helping people too."
"And that's not wrong but making yourself sad is not a good option either. Your life has been rough and I feel that you deserve the chance of choosing your own path. So, I'm telling you as an angel to make your own choice. He is offering you a chance and it's up to you to take it. Although following him would mean finding yourself in a different kind of life."
"How different?"
"He is a dragon. A fallen angel is his maid. A nekomata is under his care and he has alliances with devils and fallen angels. Is far from being a normal life but is one that you might like if you give it a try and it's up to you to choose it or not."
"Isn't he an enemy to you then?"
"We are not looking for wars anymore and especially not with him. Not every devil and fallen angel are bad. There are even some members of the church who use the word of God to do evil around the world. Not everything is black and white."
"But I'm afraid of taking that step. I want a life beyond this place but I'm not sure."
"You have two days to choose and my recommendation is that you follow him. You're eight and going out into the world by yourself is not the best choice. If you wait too long you might also regret it. So, choose what's best for you, my child." Gabriel hugs her and kisses her on the forehead. "I'm going to be watching over him but I can't interfere more than this. You should follow your own path without intervention but for this once I will make an exception. Take care, Asia."
Gabriel disappears leaving no signs of her presence behind.
Asia was left to reflect by herself. She had the guidance of Gabriel but it was up to her to make the final choice.
Back in heaven.
"What did you do?" Uriel asks his sister.
"Answered a prayer?" Gabriel says. She was an airhead and innocent but that didn't mean she didn't have her moments of glory.
"You interfered," Michael says.
"I did?"
"You did." Raphael grabs his temples.
"I did it for her sake. She is the descendant of the previous boosted gear and we know that a certain devil has his eyes on her." Gabriel says in an angry tone.
"We shouldn't interfere Gabriel. Unless it is an emergency like the cursed island we should leave humans to their own devices for the most part. Their faith matters to us but they shouldn't follow us like mindless puppets. They need to be able to choose for themselves." Michael explains.
"But she will choose by herself. I just gave her some words of encouragement." Gabriel says with a smile.
The three brothers look tired. Michael then begins to talk.
"We prohibit you from interacting with any other humans except for that girl. If she chooses to follow the Welsh Dragon, she is going to be your responsibility." Michael says.
"Wait, what?" Gabriel asks.
"You want us to take you seriously so this is going to be your new task. You're going to be the one that takes care of anything regarding the Welsh Dragon and heaven. We are going to sign that treaty of non-aggression with him and you're going to be the agent that we put in charge of following his movements and actions. You can interact with him and his group but you can't join any fights. We ask that you suppress your powers and hide your identity while in the human world." Raphael continues.
"When did you decide all of this?" Gabriel looks at her brothers.
"For the last four days, we were thinking about how to do this. Azazel has Raynare as his piece and the devils have Tiamat as theirs. We need someone that can talk on our behalf with him. We asked other angels but all of them said no. You're the last option. You're going to be our connection between him and heaven." Uriel finishes.
Gabriel looks perplexed. "You planned all of this without me?"
"You were sleeping."
"Or planning how to approach him."
"Or doing any other thing except paying attention to us. We asked you several times to join us."
The brothers throw their reasons at her like spears that call out her carelessness. "But I have been working hard."
"We know and this is why you're perfect for the job. Michael can't be the one because he is our leader, Uriel doesn't like him and I'm needed here." Raphael explains and the other two nod in agreement.
"So, you're giving me to him as a bride or maid?" Gabriel asks.
A few seconds go by and nobody says anything. Then it explodes.
"No! Neither one of those things!" The three brothers say in unison. "Don't you dare cross that line! If you do, we're going to start a war."
"But you're asking me, the girl of the group, to follow the dragon and the rest of his group. You know what can happen if we spend too much time together?" Gabriel says.
"Do you want the job?" Uriel asks.
"I do," Gabriel admits.
"Then don't cross the line. Father told us to stay pure and that's going to stick." Uriel continues. "You will remain pure!"
The other brothers nod.
Gabriel reflects once more. "So, no falling in love, no fighting, keeping my identity hidden from humans and preventing him from affecting heaven?"
"YES!" The brothers scream in unison.
"What's going to happen to my old work? And when do I start with this new task?" Gabriel looks at them.
"We can take care of your tasks here in heaven most of the time. Just come back once in a while to help us. You can start right after the meeting with him. Just stay with him for as long as necessary." Michael says.
"Good then is practically an arranged marriage." Her mind was a complete mystery to her brothers. The things she says could have a deeper meaning or just be completely innocent comments. Nonetheless, Gabriel was the chaotic one of the four siblings.
"No!" They were losing it.
It was going to be a long night for them.
Meanwhile, the underworld.
Diodora Astaroth was losing it. He had been observing Asia for several months since he got his latest puppet. He loved breaking nuns and adding them to his collection but the fact that Issei had approached her was unacceptable.
To make matters worse, he had seen Gabriel in her room. This makes two obstacles that he needed to evade if he wanted Asia in his collection.
"This shouldn't be possible. Why is the Welsh Dragon interested in her? Why is a Seraph talking with her? She is my target!" Diodora says before he kicks one of the former nuns that was massaging his feet. "Asia is mine and I will get her no matter what. That stupid fire lizard and heaven whore are not going to prevent me from getting what I want."
He didn't care what others said about him. He didn't care about the fact that Gabriel could destroy him with one finger. He was Diodora Astaroth and no dragon or angel was going to stop him at all.
"Ladies. Get ready, we are taking a trip to the human world. There is a prize I need to get." He looks at his peerage and sees their head bowing to him.
Every single one of them was one of his toys and Asia was going to be the newest piece no matter what. He didn't care if he had no evil pieces left. She was his newest obsession and that was final.
What he desires he was going to get it even if it means using drastic approaches.
The next day.
Asia awoke to a new day feeling less stress after having her talk with Gabriel. She still had her doubts but with two days to make a choice she had time to think about it in peace.
What she didn't expect was the arrival of a certain maniac with a fascination for breaking nuns whenever he pleased.
*Notes of the author: You should expect everything and nothing from this story. Bring a waterproof coat for the next chapter. There might be a probability of rain with an extra possibility of screams. Regarding Gabriel… her brothers said no so that's the end of the discussion (She is a wild card and her arc goes a long way). Thank you for the support and please Batman1998 don't go there. I am planning those events and yes there will be a holy sword project event but it's not going the way you think it will. I love hearing your comments but some of you are either reading my mind or come from the future (please stop). Expect the unexpected. Also, no oppai dragon because of obvious reasons. I enjoy the ecchi of the cannon but this story is more serious and the jokes that I write don't follow those cliches. *