NMHA Ch. 27 - Strive


When Lunarunn woke up the next morning in that Tokyo hotel, it was on a cloud looking at the sky.

She quickly realized that she was just sleeping on a shockingly comfortable bed beneath a glass ceiling.

Perks of being in the penthouse suite, Luna supposed. Though she could only imagine the zeroes needed to have a single night in this room. The entire hotel was of the five-star variety, so to have a reservation for the very top? That kind of cash intake boggled the mind.

Supposedly, Ruval set her up for ten. Really, he spoiled her. Though Luna had the feeling she would be heading back early anyway, she'd live up the excessiveness for a little bit.

With a yawn and a stretch, the brunette climbed out of bed, smacking her lips in order to work some saliva back into her mouth as it had opened at some point during her surprisingly peaceful rest.

'Huh.'

Did she snore? Luna never had anyone mention it before.

Then again, she hadn't really slept in the same room as anyone she knew. At least, not in a way that was healthy.

Injury-induced unconsciousness didn't count.

By that point the Devil used Worldweave to tug her hanging towel off the hanger and use it to cover herself up for the short distance between the shower and the bedroom. After a brief peek out into the hallway, light feet carried her swiftly to those hallowed grounds where even for a moment she could feel clean.

Especially as she closed the door, tossed the towel onto the sink counter, then stepped into the shower and turned the faucet on to nearly full heat.

The brunette breathed out a long sigh as the hot water started trailing down her skin, taking comfort in the warming room and soft pressure against her neck and shoulderblades.

Such a simple pleasure, it was. Yet still, in a world that seemed set against her, it was a comfort that Luna would gladly take.

Her eyes turned downward, not to rake over her form like she typically would, but in introspection and melancholy.

Ruval was right to have her take this vacation, but with it came its own bevy of problems.

Such as figuring out what the hell she wanted to do with herself going forward. Or figuring out how to wiggle out of Zekram's political trap while remaining true to her own values. She knew full well that just giving in would screw her over in the long run, though the brunette had a good feeling she only saw part of the picture.

Such was the issue of inexperience. Falbium and Diodora had proved surprisingly helpful to steering around particularly sensitive political issues, but even if she respected them for their similar vision, she had no doubt that they were taking advantage of her relative youth in some fashion. Devils were Devils were Devils after all.

So few people she could honestly and earnestly trust. Even then, sharing the burden only did so much.

Luna felt as though she were being pulled apart trying to keep ahold of everything.

"Then decide what to let go of."

'Eh?'

"You heard me." The brunette could almost hear her patron's internal sigh. "If you feel so spread thin that any more pressure will start tearing you to shreds, then you must reconsolidate. Reprioritize. Determine what is most important to you, and defend that with every option available."

It made sense, but... how was she supposed to do that when everything felt that important to Luna?

"Then your priority during this sabbatical is to determine such."

Once more the presence withdrew, leaving the brunette to exhale softly, head tilting upward.

Where she was sitting right now lined up pretty evenly with what Ulan had mentioned before.

Why did she choose to fight?

Luna knew it was to help others.

But who were the 'others'?

...Everyone she could reach.

And what about those who would stand in her way?

That was why she wanted strength and influence, so that she could overcome those obstacles.

Yet, when it came to a certain grandfather figure whose shadow had long since crept into every corner of the Underworld... she was stuck.

Sure, the FFP may have a wedge share in the Devil's Assembly, and growing on top of that, but much of that growth was based on her own popularity, which regardless of her choice would be negatively affected.

Either she'd get shredded by the traditionalists for refusing to revive a Pillar to the point where her presence would actively incite action against the FFP, or she'd get lambasted by the progressives for bending knee to that same influence which held the Underworld in its aristocratic social stagnancy.

That would mean all but being ousted by the FFP proper, and they didn't exactly have someone else to act as the face of the party.

Yet, she couldn't exactly turn away from the FFP either. She'd adopted the mantle of leadership after all, so to leave a party which seemed so set on affecting social reform hanging like that? It probably would become the founding part of the Khaos Brigade if Luna just left.

She yearned for more strength, and more influence... but was she willing to sacrifice her values for it?

...To a degree. Luna had damned Strays for her own gain, and she couldn't turn away from the weight of that. But now that the Underworld was asking for what was basically her own freedom, she was balking at the chance that other Devils would commit massacres for?

The Worldweaver laughed softly, lifting a hand to her eyes as her face turned to the sky.

"If only I wasn't so selfish."

But was it selfish to desire to do good in the world, without having to give up her sense of self in the process?

At least in the Underworld, it seemed so.

Ulan had a point, it seemed. The brunette didn't want to give up all the progress and good things she's lead, but didn't want to clip her own wings either.

She had to decide which was more important.

It was truly a crossroads, that Luna had come to.

Power to achieve her goals?

Or freedom to pursue them her own way?

The showerhead stopped raining down warmth. Luna realized after a moment that her hand had turned the knob to its off position.

It was true that she wasn't going to figure things out while in the shower, though. Perhaps her hand was onto something.

The brunette got out, and began drying off, taking her time to enjoy the feeling of the cloth against her skin, rubbing it free of any liquids.

She then walked over to the mirror, wiped it of the condensation that had appeared during her shower, and gave a cheeky wink at the reflection.

"Hello, beautiful. Fancy meeting you in these parts~"

"Am I lactose intolerant? I feel ill from how cheesy that was."

That got Luna giggling, holding one hand to her mouth in a fist before grabbing her hair with her other hand as to begin tying it into her usual ponytail.

By the time she was done with that, the Worldweaver was ready to get on with her usual feather touches of makeup.

Then again, she had put her bag beneath the sink the night prior, as worn out as she was from the mess that was her little prayer session.

Luna opened the cabinet door and bent over so she could reach in.

Naturally, the world had to get involved.

As she was bending over, the door opened, and she could hear the person who'd opened it stop. She could hear them stop so much as breathing, and had to close her eyes with a tension that shot into the air could have been cut with a knife.

Luna slowly rose to a standing position, and held her arms out, as though inviting for a hug despite facing the complete opposite direction.

She was rather glad at this moment that the mirror had fogged over again.

"Look, I get my ass is firm enough to bounce a coin off of, and you're getting a full moon." Her tone was casual enough, though the brunette could more feel the danger behind the words than actually feel the anger herself. Her head turned to smile in the direction of the interloper, though to said interloper her eyes were shaded and the one closest was glowing a bright red.

Or so she liked to think. So maybe it really was. Worldweave was weird like that. "Believe me, I'd be stunned too. I'll cut you a little slack and not immediately maim you on account of my being just that hot."

"But," she added, after a moment, "if you're still there by the time I turn around, I'll be snapping the arm you didn't break clean off and force-feed it to you. Okay~? Okay~"

With that same smile on her face, the towel that had been cleaning herself off went around her torso to cover all those private parts. By that point, the person that had caught a full view of her bare derriere had beaten an expeditious retreat, feet pounding against the ground like his life depended on it.

Which was good, because it did.

There was a sense of smug satisfaction that rose from scaring an exorcist to such a degree that he ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels, but at the same time there was a not insignificant amount of exasperation.

Luna blamed Heaven's System.

Ulan just chuckled.


"So, how'd you find the couch last night?"

"More comfortable than the bed back at the barracks, that's for sure." Granted, Masaomi was also nursing a black eye courtesy of a (in her opinion) well-deserved sucker punch from Luna, but from the looks of it he figured that it was a small price to pay for a good rest and a brief glimpse of Heaven.

Was that vain of Luna to think? She wasn't sure, though she definitely understood the exorcist's stance on the matter.

"Considering I let you stay in a five-star penthouse suite, I'd hope so."

Said exorcist chuckled. "Thanks again for letting me use the couch, by the way. That was probably a better rest than I'll get in years."

That... was kind of sad, actually. "The Church prefer expediency over comfort?"

"More like the Church wants its people to 'indulge not in the pleasures of the sinful Earth'." Masaomi rolled his eyes. "Which apparently applies to sleeping arrangements, too."

Luna snorted. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like them. Let me guess, it's more likely that they're just finding excuses to keep mission costs down?"

"That's my line of thinking too. The Church certainly isn't hurting for funds."

"Pretty cynical of you to think of the Church as such."

She got a shrug. "What can I say? I've always been something of a skeptic."

"I'm guessing that's why you were paired with Shidou-san?"

"Traditional enough to keep me in line, temperate enough to tolerate my 'deviancy'," he confirmed, though froze as a certain explosive event came to mind. "...At least as far as family isn't involved."

"Yep, I can definitely attest to that." The human-turned-Devil snickered, before stilling. "Wait, what's that about deviancy?"

"I ask too many questions. Pretty sure I went over this before, actually."

The answer came smoothly.

Too smoothly.

'That was practiced. Okay, now I'm curious what he means by 'deviant'.'

"Well, you definitely aren't the naive altar boy that I would expect an exorcist your age to be. You've matured since last time, that's for sure."

"Considering how we both nearly got killed because you were too good at distracting us, Shidou-sensei and I went through some additional..." he cleared his throat. "...training, to not be so easily tempted."

"A little teasing was considered tempting?" Luna goggled at the exorcist. "Holy fuck, you guys are prudish."

"Considering just how backwards the Church has it when it comes to resisting temptations, I can't exactly argue that. I'm honestly more surprised that exorcists of the male variety haven't gone rogue en masse because of repressed desires."

"Well, single-minded fanaticism would definitely do the trick."

Masaomi glanced to the side, a blank, wide-eyed expression coming over his face as he scratched his cheek. "The Sinai division certainly agrees."

Wait, he was talking about branches in the exorcist ranks now? That sounded like... dangerous information to share.

"You sure you're allowed to be telling me this kind of stuff? Seems a bit like a breach of contract to me."

"Considering exorcists are trained to fight Devils, there really isn't any sort of privacy requirements. But, yeah, I suppose my sharing a bit about my life as an exorcist could be taken as treason."

"Like how making friends with a Devil would be taken as treason?" the brunette dryly guessed.

She got a shrug in return. "A bit more severe, but pretty much. I'm not exactly sharing the distinguishing accessories of each division, or their individual strengths or weaknesses."

"I can guess a few considering that the 'Sinai division' is supposedly made of fanatics."

"Somehow I doubt that what I'm telling you, the main military forces in the other factions wouldn't already know."

"True." Luna smirked. "So, what division do you belong to?"

Masaomi rubbed his chin, before letting out a breath. "Nineveh."

Nineveh... the name rung a bell.

Oh!

Oh.

Luna's expression went completely deadpan."...The division named after the city Jonah proselytized, but wanted burned regardless because they were so blasphemous?"

So did Masaomi's. "Yep."

"Let me guess, that's the least trusted division in the exorcist ranks?"

"Yep."

"I'm also gonna go out on a limb and presume that it's also got the highest defection, excommunication, and execution rates of the exorcist ranks."

"Yep."

"Does the Nineveh division usually get only tedious and-or suicidal missions, with no middle ground between the two?"

"Yep."

"You also probably get a lot of shit from other exorcists for being part of that division?"

"You have no idea."

"So the Church condones hazing and bullying." Luna slouched over the table. "Gee, I'm glad I'm not an exorcist. Gotta say, I feel kinda sorry for you."

"Yes, yes, believe me, there's multiple reasons why I'm thinking of leaving." Masaomi chuckled, shaking his head and leaning back in the chair. "The moment you get assigned to Nineveh, you're basically blacklisted. There's a reason that the most exorcist losses come from that place. And if I ended up getting put there after asking too many questions? Not sure I'm comfortable continuing to serve such an organization."

Another thought came to mind. "Would that mean Shidou-san is also part of the Nineveh division?"

She got an arched brow in return. "Would the Church want a near-heathen to teach another budding exorcist?"

"...Right. They'd want to try and 'reform' you somehow, so it's definitely a higher-ranked one."

"Spot on. Shidou-sensei's part of Galilee. They're fairly high-ranked in terms of general trust from the church, filled with..." Masaomi paused to figure out a way to describe the general exorcist populace of that division. "...the kind of people who are strongly devout, but still reasonable."

"Remind me, what's Galilee again in terms of geography?"

"A fertile region in Israel."

"Ah." Considering that Nineveh was a city filled with heathens and blasphemers... "Then Galilee's the Church's most preferred group of exorcist?"

"Sort of. They're certainly the most versatile, as far as the kinds of missions they can perform. The further up the chain you get, the closer you get to what are pretty much holy zealots. Sinai's certainly the most dangerous and trusted division, but also the loudest, since they basically live and die at the Church's behest. You know how some terrorists are suicide bombers?"

"...I think I get the picture." The Sinai division being a group of hyper-religious nutcases willing to kill themselves to further their cause certainly didn't paint a good image of the Church's military branch in Luna's mind.

"Thankfully, they're considered a last resort."

That helped her previous image, but not by much.

But it left another question. "So... how do you justify working in the same organization that makes use of religious maniacs?"

"Every group has their madmen. Better they be aimed in a direction that would be at least somewhat helpful than left to their own devices."

That was... decent enough reasoning. Granted, Masaomi still clearly was harboring thoughts of leaving, but she couldn't exactly blame him.

"Well, the more you know I guess." Luna pulled a face, and leaned back in her chair. After a few seconds, she spoke up again. "...Not sure if I've said this already, but. You're not the only one thinking of leaving."

"Hm?" The exorcist looked up. "You mean the Underworld?"

"Yeah. I think you've seen just how messed up my struggling to gain clout there's been making me. It's not healthy, y'know? On a spiritual level. I'm only starting to realize just how badly I need to make a choice."

"Whether to stay or leave?" he clarified.

Luna nodded, one side of her lips pulling into an expression of consternation.

"Mhm. I was thinking about it in the shower, and eventually came to the conclusion that... yeah. I can't keep up like this."

"Well. Considering that I'm in a... similar position, maybe we can share thoughts on the matter." The black-haired man turned in his seat to better face Lunarunn, inclining his head forward. "So what's keeping you from making your decision to just leave?"

The Devil thought on that for a few seconds, before slowly coming out with an answer.

"So... part of it is because I've already set myself on this path. I'm the kind of person who likes to see things done the whole way through. I don't really like the idea of turning away from something I've worked so hard on for so long."

"Grew up training to be an exorcist," Masaomi commented, lifting a hand with a wry smirk. "I have that exact same feeling."

"Well. That's only part of it. The other is... also sunk cost fallacy, I suppose." Luna's gaze cast down. "I already said this back at the cafe, but I feel like I have to keep going, otherwise I'm just spitting on the lives of those Strays that I brought to death in order to gain more influence in the Underworld. Even if it means losing more and more because I'm too stubborn to know when to quit."

"That? I don't exactly have a similar story to empathize with. But, I get what you mean. At least you recognize that it's a fallacy though, and recognition of a problem is the first step to overcoming it."

The Worldweaver gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Logically I know that. Emotionally, that's another story."

Masaomi cracked a smile. "I can't argue that. Emotions aren't exactly logical, after all."

"Two different parts of how the brain works, yeah."

The two sat in a comfortable silence before the brunette continued.

"Plus... well. I'm doing a lot of good where I'm at now." Luna glanced back up at him. "You know how the Underworld's taken a turn for accountability and recognition of past transgressions? That was largely because I've been pushing for transparency in the Assembly. It's been like pulling teeth, but already I can tell that things are looking better."

She lifted her arms in a helpless shrug. "It's not healthy for me to keep doing so when the cost to my personal being keeps growing and growing, but how am I supposed to turn away when I'm making the lives of others better by the thousands, if not millions?"

"Your body is your temple, your mind its altar. If by brightening the well-being of others you're despoiling that holy ground, then is it really a good thing to keep doing?"

"It is as far as utilitarianism goes."

"Utilitarianism also does not account for the human condition, and so doesn't consider how such actions might negatively impact someone such as you over time."

The exorcist fell silent for a moment, as though debating what to say next, before deciding to add to his prior comment.

"I also think you might be overestimating how much you're helping people as a whole by playing the politician."

That drew a sharp look from Luna. Her Deadly Sin wasn't Superbia like Ajuka, but that didn't mean she wasn't proud of what she'd done. "...How so?"

"Well, you've said yourself that you've been focusing on improving transparency in the Assembly. So far, that's lead to... a formal apology to the governing body of the Youkai for stealing their people?"

"And the Consensual Peerage Addition Act."

"Right. So you have a statement, and a supposed law that by all means should be common sense."

"Devils are Devils are Devils."

"...Right. I suppose that's a bit of a nonstarter. Still, the point is, out of the years of work you've done, you've done not too much, beyond smooth over relations and reduce the number of people who would be coerced into joining a Peerage somehow."

"That's still going to be a lot of lives bettered because of my efforts."

"Perhaps. But even so, it's such a small portion of the population affected by your actions. Reincarnated Devils aren't exactly a major population group in the Devil demographic. Sure, I guess making it more fair for them is a major achievement, but at the same time it's still a small one compared to what I know you could come to do."

Masaomi hummed for a second. "I can't help but also wonder... it's not just the good you do that you want, is it?"

"Eh?"

"...I've learned that people have different ways of deriving worth from their actions. For the most part... it's usually not the amount of good they do in the world. Just how they make the people around them happier."

"So you're saying I stretched myself too far?"

Masaomi's head tilted this way and that, and he lifted a hand to emphasize his see-saw motions.

"I suppose? But what I more mean is that... you want recognition for what you've sacrificed. But you're not getting it from being a greenhorn politician in a hostile arena. Instead, you're asked more and more of yourself, without thought of what you've already given, and it's eating at you. Am I mistaken?"

Silence. Luna would have twitched, had this been an interrogation. As it was though, she couldn't help but acknowledge his words.

Yeah, he kind of hit the nail on the head there.

The brunette looked down again. An empty uptick of her lips once again rose to her face.

"...No. No, I guess you're not. I just. Is it selfish for me to want that? To have the efforts behind my contributions noticed?"

"Not at all." Masaomi's swift answer had her looking up toward an understanding smile. "Everyone wants to be acknowledged. Even God himself, in a sense. That your own needs would be ignored, that you'd be asked to work harder and harder for the same amount of recognition that someone born into that position would get, that wouldn't be healthy for anyone in any situation. As vibrant as I know you can be, you're the same."

The compliment drew a small, more emotional smile from Luna, before speaking again. "The way you put it, it almost sounds like I'm in an abusive relationship with the Assembly."

"I mean. If everything I just said is true, that's a neglectful one, so...?" He lifted a hand and wobbled it again.

Damn, when he put it that way, Luna really was the redheaded stepchild in the conglomeration of families that was the Underworld Assembly, wasn't she?

And if that was the case...

No. She'd save that line of reasoning for last. It was selfish, more just to support what was already there.

But the reasoning to leave was already pretty sound, especially when contextualized in a relations point of view.

She looked down.

"...Still. It's hard to just... walk away. Y'know?"

Even if Luna knew that much of why victims of abuse and neglect remained in such relationships was because of the difficulty in walking away. And how such a dynamic might blow up once the victim was trying to escape.

Fear, both of reprisal and of the unknown, made for a powerful argument to not rock the boat. To say nothing about loss.

"Yeah. That's why I'm still an exorcist, after all. It's basically everything I've grown up to be, everything I'm good at." The black-haired man rested an arm on the table, resting his head on that hand. "Considering that helping others would be... a lot more difficult if I go rogue, it's... something like being trapped between a rock and a hard place for me. Still, one day we both may have to make that leap of faith."

He trailed off, shaking his head and leaning back in his seat.

"..." The Worldweaver looked back up at Masaomi. "Why did you become an exorcist, anyway?"

"Hm?" Masaomi lifted a brow askance.

"I mean... you're not really all that 'religious', so to speak," she expounded. "You decided to stay here and sleep on the couch, rather than deal with whatever hardships the Church had put before you. It sounds like you've been in the Nineveh division for a while, and if that means dealing with the shit the other Exorcists put you through, I can't help but wonder why you would put up with it as long as you have."

She grinned. "To say nothing about the way I know you ogled my ass back when you barged into the shower."

The exorcist had the decency to blush at the reminder, coughing into a fist. "Look, can you drop that? It was an accident."

"The barging into the shower was. The ogling wasn't, though."

Masaomi pouted, which nearly sent the brunette into chortles. "Look, do you want to know about my past or do you want to keep teasing me over a perfectly natural reaction?"

Ah. Not so funny now. The urge to laugh quickly died, and Luna gave a quick nod. "Yeah, sorry. Go ahead."

The black-haired man sat back, crossing his arms with eyes looking into the air as he mused over how to start.

"Most exorcists are trained from a young age. Usually they start at four or five years old, when they leave their infancy. That's about as soon as they can be accurately tested for compatibility with holy energy."

Luna nodded once. "Judging by the way you said it, you're not one of them?"

She got a nod back. "Yeah. I was about nine when I was recruited. Gotta say, it was pretty embarrassing losing out to kids three years younger than I was when it came to training."

"How did you end up getting recruited?"

"That... is kind of a story in itself, actually. Considering I'm Japanese, people of my nationality are pretty uncommon in the Church."

"I take it that it has something to do with the relative lack of impact Christianity had in Japan?"

"Something like that." Masaomi affirmed. "But that doesn't mean we don't have holy weapons of our own. My parents weren't... well, they were agnostic. They believed something was out there, but they didn't really ascribe to Christianity or Shinto, or any other religion out there. On one hand, that was probably for the best, since it gave me a lot of perspective compared to other exorcists... but, well, I was basically destined for Nineveh once I joined the Church."

Ah. Considering the Church's stance on their soldiers asking questions, Luna could definitely see that. Still... "How does this tie back into Japan's holy weapons?"

"My parents took me to Nagoya one day, to one of the shrines there that supposedly held one of Japan's sacred treasures. The Kusanagi no Tsurugi. Like the dumb kid I was, I ended up touching the thing."

"And you resonated with it?"

He nodded, expression quickly darkening.

"To the point that the nearby youkai freaked the hell out and attacked us to keep the sword dormant." Masaomi's smile didn't reach his eyes. "It... it got dicey."

Seeing as she'd stumbled on a sensitive topic, Luna's own tone softened. "...Your parents were killed, weren't they?"

He swallowed, hard, then nodded. "Yeah. It... it wasn't pretty. My dad tried to hold them off so mother and I could run, but he got flash-frozen by a yuki-onna before an oni shattered him to pieces. And mom... she pushed me away before I could get skewered by one of the tengu pikemen."

And took his place in the line of fire. Masaomi didn't need to finish; Luna already understood.

"I'm sorry about your parents," she whispered.

He smiled back, though it was a brittle thing. "It... it doesn't help much, but I'm glad you can at least try and understand how bad it was. I hated youkai for years after that. I still don't really like them, if I'm going to be perfectly honest."

The brunette nodded. She probably would, too. "I'm guessing their sacrifice bought you enough time to be rescued by exorcists?"

"Yeah. Shidou-sensei was... he was on a date with his then-girlfriend, now-wife, and fought them off. He got hurt pretty bad doing so, nearly got himself killed actually, but... he saved my life. He and she both brought me into their household, and helped me come to terms with what happened."

"I take it, that Shidou-san told you about exorcists, and your affinity for holy swords?"

"He figured the aptitude bit out pretty quickly; youkai are territorial, but they aren't outright hostile unless provoked, and there was no other way a nine-year-old brat would be able to provoke them so thoroughly."

Luna inclined her head in understanding. Seeing that, Masaomi continued.

"He... offered, to teach me how to fight. After seeing just how fast and strong he was, and how I couldn't do anything to protect my family, I agreed in an instant. Back then, it was to get revenge against the youkai who killed my parents."

"So what changed?"

"For a while, I was so busy trying to catch up to the other kids that was all I could focus on. The only thing I had going for me back then was a burning passion to improve and an unusually high affinity for holy weapons, but in every other category I was... pretty lacking. By the time I had caught up, and was able to start focusing back on that hatred, I was taken aside by one of the priests and told a story."

"About?"

"About Joseph, and the brothers who sold him to slavery. How he was able to, through God's grace, forgive his sibling for the evil they did to him. How even if our lives were different, even if the sins of the youkai were greater than that of Joseph's brothers, I should still seek to make peace with the past, and move forward with love in my heart."

The exorcist grinned. "I straight-up told the priest that I wasn't Joseph, and no matter how many stories of forgiveness he told me I was never going to forgive the creatures that killed my mom and dad. Then I spat on the floor and stormed out. I think he might have nominated me for Nineveh after that day."

Lunarunn laughed. Yeah, that sounded like an angry pre-teen alright. The hypocrisy of the priest in preaching forgiveness and then setting a kid up for tribulation via the worst of the divisions over a slight only added to her amusement.

The smile on the black-haired man fell, and his expression became more contemplative. "Though, after another couple years of training, and after Shidou-sensei became my teacher, I had a bit of a revelation. We'd ended up making contact with some youkai who were willing to help us track down a Stray Devil, and one of them noticed I was just shy of drawing my blade on them."

Luna's own laughter had died by that point, and she watched him closely as he lifted a hand to stare at his palm.

"That very same Youkai asked me plainly, why I was so ready to do harm to them. By that point, I'd had enough of their presence and shouted. Shouted that 'you bastards killed my parents'. Touji nearly knocked me out then and there, but stopped when something... amazing, happened."

The Worldweaver tilted her head.

Masaomi laughed, though it was a brittle one, much like his smile was when he spoke of his parents dying, setting his hand back in his lap. "That Youkai, he was the commanding officer of the creatures that killed my parents. He admitted to being the one who sent them out to patrol the area that fateful day, and then he laid on the ground in dogeza and apologized. Him, an officer of similar rank to a colonel, a youkai of notable prestige, laid on the ground, apologized to a fourteen-year-old, and offered his own life in exchange for his subordinates."

Oh. So that was where this was going.

"...Did you kill him?"

He shook his head. "No. God, I wanted to. But no. Something stayed my hand that day. Whether that was because I'd be killing someone who probably had his own wife and child back at home, or because I was touched by his humbleness, empathy, and honor... I'm still not sure. Maybe it was both. But I didn't kill him, and I think... I think his actions had me re-evaluating my own life to that point."

The black-haired exorcist stilled for several seconds, breathing in and out softly, tilting his head to the sky to recompose himself. He swallowed, then carried on with his story. "I asked Shidou-sensei if it was planned that I'd meet the Youkai whose actions led to the deaths of my parents. He answered that only God could have planned that... and that perhaps He did."

Masaomi swallowed again. "I... I do still have my doubts. I still think it could have just been one giant fluke. But... He gave me the closure I needed to finally move on. To stop living for revenge, and start living for something else. To be like Shidou-Sensei, to protect others from meeting the same sort of fate my family did. To be like that colonel, who was humble enough to give his own life to save people undeserving of salvation. If for nothing else... I choose to believe in Him, I choose to fight in His name, because of that. Even if it was just pure, dumb luck... that luck had to come from somewhere."

He looked down. "...Right?"

Lunarunn reached across the table and took his hand. When he looked back at her, she squeezed it gently, and smiled.

Masaomi's own story had a very similar feel to it as Kiba's... but that didn't make it any less meaningful.

"I should know," she agreed. "I got hit by a truck, and through that same 'pure, dumb luck' I ended up the person I am today. Somehow... even if I'm not human any more, I survived. We're changed... but we've both come out stronger for the struggles we've went through. Better, even. I'm not sure if it all happened on purpose... but that doesn't mean the tragedies of our past can't have a good reason anyway."

The brunette glanced away, over to her bag, then back to Masaomi. "And maybe, even our own meetings have a good reason to them."

Finally, she pulled her hand away and reached into her backpack to pull out the Knight piece she'd showed him back at the cafe. This time, she set it on the table between them and left it there.

Masaomi stared at it like it might grow legs. "...Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"Yeah. You wanted out, right? To live your life for others your own way? Let me give you another option."

"...I thought you said that you wanted to use your Pieces to help those who you Saw coming to meet an unfortunate fate without your intervention."

The Worldweaver smiled with a touch of self-deprecation. "I did. Doesn't mean I can't kill two birds with one stone though."

Realization dawned on the exorcist, and with widened eyes, dilated pupils, and a suddenly dry mouth, his gaze refocused on Lunarunn.

"Did you see my death in those visions of yours?"

He caught on pretty quickly. Luna nodded.

"I didn't 'see' it. But I heard of it in my visions. An assassination, to preserve the status quo."

"I..." He swallowed, hard, gaze flicking between the Knight piece and the Devil who laid it on the table. "H-how?"

"You met the wrong Devil at the wrong time, and grew fond of her in a romantic sense. Not me, but another." Considering the timeline... "I... think if you hadn't found me, you'd have met her yesterday."

"That..." The black-haired man breathed out heavily, standing from his seat. "I need a minute to process."

Luna smiled weakly back. "Take your time. It's a lot to take in."

Masaomi left the table, leaving the Devil sitting there, her Knight Piece sitting innocuously on the table as if its placement didn't have major implications for the one she offered it to.

As he left, the Devil reopened her bond with her patron, to pass the time.

'Do you think I came on a little too strong?'

"When someone who claims to see the future suggests they have foreseen your death, it is obviously going to weigh heavily on you."

'Well. I guess, I'm just a little worried he might think I'm trying to manipulate him.'

"Are you?"

'Of course not.'

"Yet you're trying to coerce him into joining your Peerage for his own safety, gaining a potentially powerful ally in the process, at a moment where he's already emotionally vulnerable. What is that if not manipulation?"

What was Ulan getting at? Luna's jaw clenched.

'It's called giving a damn about someone who deserves it!'

"Then stop worrying. Masaomi is not a politician; overthinking his reactions will get you nowhere. Be earnest like you normally are with him."

Right. She could do that. She has been doing that.

Oh, there he was, sitting back down, hair a touch messier than when he'd left.

"Sorry to dump that sort of information on you like I did." Luna smiled with a touch of self-reproach. "I probably could have been a little more discreet."

"It's... it's alright." Clearly it wasn't entirely alright, considering how put-off the exorcist still looked, but he waved off her apology regardless. "May as well rip off the bandage rather than drag it out. So... how long have you known about this?"

The brunette scratched the back of her head and sighed. "...Even before I met you and Shidou-san, to be frank. I've sort of been sitting on that for a little while, wondering if my actions had taken you off that path. And... it sort of has? Still, from the sounds of it the Church definitely has it out for you anyway."

"So now that you know that, and how I'm looking for an out, you decide to conveniently offer me one." Masaomi stared at the Knight piece with a not insignificant amount of suspicion, though Luna could also note the hint of trepidation in his expression as well.

"It's an option, nothing more." The brunette gestured to the Evil Piece standing between them. "If you become my Knight, then you'll lose access to your exorcist arts. But you'll be stronger, faster, and so slow-aging as to be basically immortal."

"Pass."

Luna grinned. "Yeah, figured that wouldn't appeal to you. I kind of envy your remaining human to be quite honest."

"It's not even a matter of changing what species I am." The exorcist reached out to push the Knight back to Luna. "It's a matter of remaining true to myself. I might be the same person as a Devil personality-wise, but I wouldn't be the same Masaomi. I'd be a Devil, a creature of darkness. I might still be a protector, I might still be that person who could save a family... but how could I make that ultimate sacrifice, give my life for others, if it's already given to a single person? I... I couldn't do that. I couldn't sign my life away to a single person like that. Marriage is one thing, because we'd both understand that I might one day die for what I believe in, and accept it.

"But something like joining a Peerage? Where I might have to stand by and watch someone get hurt or worse, not able to do something about it? That's... that's another thing entirely. I don't think I could stomach being Reincarnated, even if not doing so meant the death of me."

And there laid the final brick in the act that was his and Cleria's death at the hands of a brief Church-Underworld joint operation. That he wouldn't give up his humanity meant that their love would be a forbidden one, and punished as such.

"I understand." The grin softened, and the Knight went back into Luna's knapsack. "The offer will remain open until that piece is used up, but that dedication to your values is truly admirable. I won't bring it up again."

She tilted her head. "...That doesn't mean I can't offer another way for you to use your talents in a way you wouldn't be harassed or have to bend your morals for."

"Well..." He sighed. "I'm willing to hear you out. But does it really matter anymore? I've never met this Devil you talked about me growing fond of, and from the sounds of it I missed what would have been our first meeting."

"Hey, you're the one who said you're ready to leave the exorcist ranks. I'm just giving you options where you didn't think you really had any before. I still want to help a friend out, y'know?"

The exorcist tilted his head, lifting a brow with a not insignificant amount of curiosity.

"You consider us friends?"

"I gotta start somewhere, and unlike most of the people I meet I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry too much about what I say around you." Luna's smile widened. "Just because I lost the friends I had doesn't mean I can't find or make a group better than the last."

Masaomi stared at the table again, this time in a more thoughtful silence.

"...Also, when you said additional training because of the near-crash, what did you do exactly?"

He stilled. "No comment."

The brunette's grin turned shit-eating. "You pored through porn on your own time, didn't you?"

"No comment."

"Lots and lots of it too, huh?"

"No. Comment."


As the exorcist took his leave, Luna walked out to the balcony of the penthouse suite. Seeing how high she was, she could only wonder if being so high up all the time went to the heads of the wealthy.

In a sense, she could buy it. Everyone else seemed so small and insignificant where the brunette was leaning on the handrails, that she could almost see it happening to herself over the course of years.

...The vast glut of wealth afforded to High-class Devils such as herself, even without a Pillar bloodline to her name, wasn't exactly something she'd aimed to get when Luna had pursued her social promotion.

It had always been for the Evil Pieces.

Now that she had them, though... that left this.

Her, leaning over the railings to stare at the diminutive forms of the people walking below. In the arms of wealth unimaginable to someone such as herself, before she'd found herself a patron in the Phenex Pillar.

A childish part of Luna wanted to spit and see if it hit anyone.

She immediately felt bad for thinking about it. That would really ruin someone's day, wouldn't it, to be spat on by someone so far above them that they would never truly look each other in the eye.

Er. Literally.

Hopefully.

If it ended up being metaphorically as well Luna would really need to reevaluate her life choices.

She never wanted to become blind to the plight of others.

The brunette tilted her head to scratch behind her ear, noting a glint in the distance.

She blinked as something washed over her.

She didn't have the time to recognize what that was before that glint became something far more dangerous.

'Pain'

Something smashed into her shoulder, sending her spinning with the force of the impact before crashing into the ground.

'It burns it burns it burns'

It didn't burn like holy light, but it still felt like her shoulder had caught fire.

'What is it what happened it burns it burns it hurts'

"Lunarunn, focus!" The voice of her patron broke through the haze of agony and shock, the saving grace of a lighthouse in a foggy predawn morn. "Listen to my words. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, focus on your shoulder, breathe out, and breathe out the pain, numb that area. Breathe in the burn, breathe out the pain."

Though it took no longer than a few seconds, for Luna it felt like long minutes as the outcry of her shoulder faded to a dull ache. Unfortunately, the rest of her arm was similarly unresponsive, but at least she could focus again. Even if she couldn't see very well.

'Oh, those are tears. Right. Wipe those away.'

Just what the hell hit her?

The brunette's gaze, after a quick swipe of her able arm to clear her eyes, shifted to the place where all that pain erupted, and finally realized she'd been shot.

As if the sensation alone wasn't telling enough, the hole freely leaking out her lifeblood and the way her arm screamed at her when she tried moving it was indicative that there was something stuck inside.

Her blood ran cold as Luna recognized what happened.

An assassination attempt.

But who?

Why?

"No time to think about that right now; that sniper is still out there, you need to do something about them."

Right, from the feel of it whoever was behind the sniper had triggered a bounded field before taking the shot. Still, that she didn't take a bullet to the brain meant that her motion to scratch her ear saved her life.

'Fuck, and here I was hoping I'd have a peaceful vacation! Fine, if that jackass wants to intrude so badly then I'll go ahead and tear him limb from fucking limb!'

No rest for the wicked, it seemed.

With a grimace, Luna focused her powers on her shirt. Threads leaped out from the bottom to wrap around her shoulder and forearm to bind them tight against her torso, and then she immediately leaped off the balcony.

There was a brief moment where Luna felt something streak by her by way of wind, thanking her brief pause before spreading her wings, and then did just that to speed in the direction that the original glint had come from.

She had already procured a barrier in front of her to prevent any additional shots from hitting, but found it pointless as no more shots came her way.

Repositioning, then. If it was human, then they'd probably be going to ground. Youkai would try to blend in and hit while she showed her back to them. Angels or Devils would probably move to engage directly, though Fallen were trickier.

'Okay. What do I know? Nothing about who I'm up against. Current known weaponry appears to consist of some sort of sniper. That suggests a modernized loadout.'

Luna briefly saw a flicker of movement from the roof of the building she was flying towards, and increased her pace to try and keep up.

'Youkai would stick to talismans and traps, Angels or exorcists would use holy weaponry to disable me from that distance, and Devils would primarily use magic.'

That most likely meant humans not from the Church. But that didn't explain the Bounded Field. Would that mean a magician to prevent collateral damage to the city? That suggested an enemy that wanted to keep the attempt on her life hush-hush.

Still, Ruval was gonna be pissed when he heard that she was shot in Phenex territory.

'Right, the Phenex Tear!'

Luna briefly glanced down at the pendant that concealed the healing substance, but immediately turned the thought down. She was shot and bleeding, but it was only a shoulder wound. She could fight with that kind of injury no problem, especially now that she'd induced localized anesthetic to that location.

As long as her head remained operational, she could keep fighting.

Wait.

'Ulan, keep an eye on the composition of blood going to my vitals. I'm not sure whether or not that bullet was poisoned.'

"Understood."

She could filter out poison from her blood, but that'd be another element to keep track of when Luna wanted to have as much focus as possible on the situation she was in.

The rooftop that the flicker of motion had come from was abandoned, as expected. The brunette dropped down onto it, and immediately dropped to one knee to rest her good hand against the floor.

She closed her eyes, and let them into the infrared as they reopened with the colors of the rainbow, ignoring the twinge of her brain as it struggled to keep up with the new kind of information it was receiving from her vision.

There. The imprint of a body laying flat on the ground, fading slowly, and footsteps leading off the other side of the rooftop. That sniper had been waiting for her to step out onto the balcony and dropped altitude once his shots failed to score a kill.

But how would they have known she'd actually visit it?

No, there was no guarantee that Lunarunn would have stepped onto the balcony.

She doubted this was an amateur either. Who would benefit from a botched assassination attempt?

That meant the sniper had to have allies who were previously watching other exit points.

Such as the entrance, or the fire escape.

'Shit, did Masaomi get caught up by one of those assassins?'

She really hoped not.

But at the same time, he was an exorcist, and a damn good one from what she could remember of canon. He'd probably be alright against other humans, so long as he wasn't caught by surprise.

Luna had to hold out hope that Masaomi would be able to take care of himself and focus on her own situation.

Like following those fading footprints.

She got back to her feet and ran after them, jumping off the rooftop and removing the infrared from her range of vision.

When she landed in the alleyway below, Luna felt like the scenario was... familiar.

After all, it wasn't the first time she was cornered in an alley by cloaked individuals sweeping out from behind the corners. At least this time, it wasn't by exorcists. Unfortunately, there were multiple, instead of just two.

Well. None of them appeared to have any holy paraphernalia, anyway.

"Alright, which of you fuckers put a bullet in me?!" she shouted, holding one hand to the side to create a swirling sphere of blue and orange, absolute cold and blistering heat alternating within the same attack, held in check by her force of will as she lunged forward.

She got no answer, save for one of them hurling something at her. It wasn't magic, though it was actually vaguely familiar.

Still, she swung at it to knock it aside.

If she'd recognized what it was, she wouldn't have.

'Definitely professionals the-'

Luna never got the chance to finish the thought before that thing thrown at her burst.

Her vision went white, and it felt like someone slammed both sides of her head with a hammer; absolutely nothing registered but a heavy ringing. On instinct, her working hand went to her head, and though thankfully her own attack had dissipated, it left her completely defenseless.

"This was a trap," Ulan murmured, and Luna could still hear her patron despite her hearing having been blown out.

As she felt the hot and thick trickle down her ears, her feet were swept out from under her and something wet was clapped against her mouth and nose. Almost the same time, her head hit something else that was hard. One of the walls maybe? Or was it the ground? Yet, she was so disoriented from whatever it was that hit her, that the thought of making space didn't even occur.

Not that she had any further thoughts afterward.


Ruval Phenex smiled at his Queen as his most trusted advisor poured the heir a cup of tea. Lifting the teacup to his mouth, the blonde Devil took a sip, then sighed contentedly.

"Thank you, Pierre."

That his Queen was also his butler was not lost on Ruval, and many have noted that similarity between him and Sirzechs. Himself included, though the details were as different as Pierre and Grayfia were as individuals.

Pierre bowed. "I am glad that my tea remains a constant comfort to my liege. Was today a trying affair?"

Ruval nodded, setting the teacup down on the table. "Indeed. It seems as though Luna had a few more obligations than she initially let on, as far as leading the FFP goes, and though Lord Astaroth is doing his best I had to pick up the slack."

"Speaking of which, are you sure it was prudent to let Dame Bael out of your sight? Considering her most recent addition to her Peerage, as well as the offer extended to her by Lord Zekram, I would not be surprised if she has crossed some line with one or more of the other families."

The Phenex's lips turned downward at that.

"Lunarunn is strong. If there is a conflict, she should be able to handle it on her own."

"She is strong in a direct fight," his Queen corrected him. "However, does not her scope of combat ability and experience render her vulnerable to surprise attacks and disorientation?"

Ruval stilled, an expression of consternation coming over his face.

"You... raise a valid point, Pierre," he admitted. "I had not thought of that before sending her off, so perhaps it would not be remiss to check in with her."

"Well, luckily for you I have already dialed in the hotel that you reserved a room for Miss Bael in." With a knowing smile, the Queen held out a phone - a Blackberry, fresh off the assembly line - to his King, so that Ruval might take it.

It was with a grateful inclination of the head that the blonde did so, confirming the number before hitting the 'call' button and holding the cellular phone up to his ear.

Some time passed before the other side picked up, and from the sounds of it, there was some sort of commotion.

That... was worrying, especially with the concerns that his Queen had brought up to Ruval.

It did not take long for that worry to erupt.

"...What!?"

The Phenex didn't catch fire. He didn't break the table. He didn't so much as touch his teacup.

But the teacup broke anyway under the pressure of that barely-contained fury.

Lunarunn was nowhere to be found.

There was blood on the balcony.

There was a high-caliber bullet wedged in one of the outside walls.

She was nowhere to be found.

His ally, his friend, his moon, was nowhere to be found.

On one hand, that was good news. No corpse meant there was a good chance she was still alive.

On the other...

Ruval was not prone to bouts of anger, nor was he one for moments of wanton destruction.

Yet that didn't stop him from turning the phone in his hand into nothing but ash with a burst of blue flame.

He shot a look at Pierre, who had a good inkling on what Ruval had overheard.

"I'll gather the Peerage and send them to you immediately, my liege."

The Blue Phenex gave his Queen a brief nod, before immediately invoking a teleportation sigil to go topside. Damn the ordinary way, this was an emergency.

And if he couldn't find her, heads were going to roll.


A/N -

new chapter woo

fanservice woo

worldbuilding woo

backstory woo

kidnapping woo

angry bird woo

So, I'm noticing at this point that I'm starting to run short on steam for the story, and am wondering if it's because the parts I really want to get to still have some development required to come out properly. But I want to do this story justice, so it is what it is.

Anyway, work is a pain in the ass. Dinner and closing shifts ain't fun, people. At least it pays.

Also, props out to the guy who checked in on the chapter before I posted and offered suggestions on how to improve it. Enki, you rock, and your feedback (even when not looking into specific chapters) has done a lot to improve the story over the past few chapters. Especially this one! You can thank him for helping me fill and refine the chapter before I posted it.

It also looks like, according to the polls, that I should leave the proof of concept/prologue in. By a pretty significant margin, at that. Honestly, I was expecting that the poll would go the other way. It is what it is, though, so I'll go ahead and leave it there.

To those of you who wanted it taken out, I can completely understand your position, and would have voted that way myself. Even if I counted myself multiple times though, the other option would have still won out.

Strange, but amusing nonetheless.

Ah well. At least for now it's an introduction to the story conceptually, if not thematically.

Tempura Wizard out.