The Chaos that consumes the world

VII

The door swung open with a loud crash, he cringed only in the sense that it caused the entire lobby to turn silent as a crypt. All those people inside now turned their eyes towards the source of the commotion, as such he was treated to an audience as he staggered inside and limped towards the front desk.

Glares were aimed towards those who happened to be either too close or were just in the way. Sometimes because he just didn't like their face or how they were looking at him.

That wrangled his nerves with the way they were staring at him, all these dumbasses seemed to be moments away from trying to either call someone for help or move as far away from him as possible so that they didn't have to deal with him or something. He didn't personally care which but he was here now and he wasn't in his best form to just kill the ones that pissed him off.

He stumbled to a stop at the front desk, falling over slightly and throwing his right hand out to catch himself on the corner, leaning heavily onto it as he breathed in and out. The receptionist stared back at him with wide eyes, looking him up and down as she clearly had little idea what exactly she was supposed to be doing in this situation.

Neither one of them said anything to the other, he spent those few seconds catching his breath from the admittedly painful walk all the way over here. It had been dusk when he started and it was virtually night time now, but he'd had to take over a dozen back alleys in order to stay out of sight for as long as possible.

A wheezing breath escaped him as he cleared his throat, then paused and turned to the side as he gathered up the thick metallic tasting liquid in his mouth and then spat it out onto the floor with a wet splat, he grimaced as he stared at the mixture of blood and saliva, then turned his eyes back onto the receptionist, who was similarly looking away from the glob now staining the floor.

"Get me a line with the…" He paused for a moment, then lowered his head and exhaled as he remembered an important factor. Namely that he hadn't been staying at this hotel with the others and had been residing elsewhere so he didn't know which floor they were actually on. "Fuck sake!" he snarled, slamming his fist into the table with a cracking sound as he fractured the wood.

A faint gasp and scraping in front of him brought his eyes up, the woman having risen from her chair and taken a step backwards-

"The fuck you think you're scuttling off to?" The sneer brought her to a halt, snapping his fingers several times he pointed back to the spot in front of him with an annoyed frown, mixing with the pain of the jerked movement once again. "Fucking quality of service around here stinks…which floor are the priests staying on?"

The woman opened and closed her mouth several times, unfortunately none of those times produced an answer for him. Which was starting to get on his nerves, especially because he could actively feel his bones starting to protest the fact he was still standing and there was no way in either Heaven or Hell that he was going to collapse on his ass in the middle of a shitty hotel lobby.

"Fucking today would be nice." He cringed, pressing his hand tight against his ribs once again as another cough threatened to bubble up, though this time he managed to contain it into a muffled wheezing sound. "I ain't got all night…"

"S-sir, would you like me to call an amb-"

"The fuck would-" He brought his hand up and nursed at his temples, groaning loudly and eventually snarling and snapping his hand out. "I didn't ask for a-you think if I wanted to go to a doctors I would have fucking come he-" he was cut off by his own body, he turned sideways and hunched over, hacking and sputtering as flakes of blood shot out from his throat, keeping a tight grip on the desk to stop himself from falling over.

When he finished he brought his sleeve up, wiping away at the blood around his mouth and snarling at the sight of it. A huff of air escaped his nose as he pulled himself back up, then became acutely aware of the silence and turned his head away from the desk and towards the lobby itself, narrowing his eyes as he saw that everyone in the room was still staring at him around the same time they were looking towards the doors.

"Fuck you all looking at!?"

His shout hastened them into action, most just moving towards the door at a rapid pace while one or two just went back down and looked as though they were hoping he'd be the one to end up leaving, the rest just ignored him and probably hoped he wouldn't pay attention to them any more.

Dismissing them all, he turned back to the receptionist and clearly his throat. "...Who is staying in the highest paying room?"

The woman paused, then visibly gulped as she looked him up and down before a slow and rather nervous reply escaped her. "S-sir, that information is confidential…I can't tell you without-"

"I don't know if you've noticed…but I've had a rough night." He cut her off, speaking slowly and in a toneless voice. His left hand moved away from his ribs and joined the other on the desk, wiping bloody fingerprints across it. The woman glanced down at his hands and then back towards him with another nervous twitch. "So you can either tell me who is staying on the top floor…he'd be a tall guy with long dark hair and elf ears. He'd stare at you like you're a trash bag."

She just started to shake.

A sigh emerged from him as he lowered his head once again, then waved a hand. "Fuck this." he looked back up and pushed himself away from the desk and then towards his inside coat. Only to pause when his fingers graced over his empty holster and he recalled he'd lost his gun in the battle. His eyes closed and he leaned backwards, his head pointed towards the ceiling as his hand came back empty.

His eyes opened. "...There a payphone nearby?"

Looking back down, he watched the woman nod her head up and down rapidly, the speed at which she agreed was either because she was terrified or because she was too eager to get rid of him. Probably a little bit of both, her eyes darted towards the direction in the corner of the lobby, he slowly turned to where she was looking and spotted it mounted in the side of the wall by a box.

He exhaled and turned away from the desk, hobbling towards it.

This night was starting to get more and more annoying as it went on.

The door to the hotel opened and he paused as the tallest and palest looking son of a bitch he'd ever seen strolled through the doors and closed them behind him. The tall man with a long black trench coat and what seemed to be a matching black undersuit glanced around the room for a couple of moments before their eyes landed on him and narrowed ever so slightly.

A frown came upon his face as he and the tall man stared at one another for a couple of moments, then they advanced towards him without making a sound. He felt a groan rise in the back of his throat as he straightened himself out and glared at the man "And who the fuck ar-"

His chest exploded with pain as the man's arm blurred and struck him, he didn't even register the movement before he was shot backwards and slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it, a weak and bloodied wheeze escaped him as the very last of his air was driven out of his body, screaming all around him as people moved clear of him and then rushed right past and towards the doors.

The tall man snapped his fingers, Freed felt a brief jolt as something washed over him and the people slammed into the doors and moved no further, pressing against them desperate to escape but unable to get out. His eyes widened as he realised what it was, a bounded field. Though doing it here was a stupid as shit idea because he knew for a fact his boss was here.

The man stopped walking, then paused and tilted their head, taking a single sniff of the air and raising their brows ever so slightly. Almost as though they were surprised by something, a moment later they glanced back towards him and tilted their head. With long strides they moved towards him and reached out, he lacked the strength to do anything else as their hand wrapped around his collar and hoisted him up and into the air, bringing him eye level with the man.

"Which Fallen Angel is residing here and what rank are they?"

Something pulsed in their eyes, he wasn't sure what it was but he was too tired to do anything else and before he could even help himself, he opened his mouth and replied to them. "Kokabiel, Cadre."

That brought the man up short for a second, if his narrowed gaze was any indication, then he thinned his lips and nodded once. "I see."

Something rippled, a sound like tearing flesh reached his ears as the bodysuit beneath the overcoat started to twitch and bubble, Freed lowered his eyes and stared at it, then they shot as wide as they could as he reached up with as much strength as he could muster and slammed away at the hand currently holding him, unable to do even as much as bring a twitch out from them, the arm remained as solid as stone and it's grip akin to a vice.

"What the fuck!?" He spat out blood in his shout, continuing to slam down against the arm holding him as the chest of the man split open, it didn't reveal what one would expect to find in a body, instead it opened up like a mouth with jagged sharpened teeth stretching out as wide as they could. He felt himself get pulled closer towards the maw and started to thrash around even harder.

"What the fuck!? What the fuck!? What the-!?" His tirade was cut off as the jaws slammed down against his knee, a scream ripped its way from his throat, all while the screaming of the lobby only intensified.

So there was a Cadre Class fallen here, that was certainly something he hadn't been expecting but it made a great deal of sense. Only someone of that influence and power could possibly have the means of obtaining something like an Excalibur, though it begged the question of how many they had stolen.

Not that it was his question to ask, but the presence of the Church made a great deal more sense as well as the skill of the exorcist he had seen in the engagement. They were here for the Cadre and them alone, he could smell them on the many floors above and was certain they would have sensed something was amiss by now, the bounded field he set up to prevent people from escaping would confirm as much.

His eye twitched as blood splattered against it, he glanced briefly towards the screaming man as he forced them deeper and deeper into the maw, the snapping of bone and cartilage was mostly drowned out by the terrified cries and shouts of the other humans in the room.

He turned his head towards them, which only seemed to intensify the shouts and screams as they banged away at the doors to the hotel. Not that they would ever break open for them and not that anyone would ever even notice either.

Forcing the last of the exorcist into the mouth, he clamped the jaws shut and pulled his hand back, turning to face the crowd as he spread both his arms wide, the surface of his skin bubbled and rippled like the ocean as hundreds of very hungry mouths voiced their desire to feast and it was a feast he was offering them, with the main prize being something that would certainly make this little detour worthwhile.

How often did he get the chance to consume such a powerful Fallen?

His body opened up and hordes of his pets spilled outwards, throwing themselves into the crowd with primal intent and tearing into them, he watched dispassionately as he brought his arms back around and folded them behind his back, nodding once before he turned his focus from the slaughter and walked towards the nearest door, briefly pausing to glance at the desk.

Stepping around, he leaned down and locked eyes with the pale woman hiding beneath it, the two of them staring at one another.

He moved his hand around and grabbed the corner of his coat and pulled it aside.

"No-!"

Her scream was cut short by a wet splat, the claw of the arthropod clamped down and dragged her back, body hanging limp as it was consumed by the black void of his skin and disappearing, the only evidence to remain was chittering from beneath his body mixed with the sounds of slicing and crushing.

That done, he leaned back and turned towards the door once again.

Best not dawdle.

It was well past the night when he finally trusted himself to stop moving, having danced through several back alleys and multiple public walkways in order to cover his tracks, double backing more than twice and eventually running around the entire forests near the town once before he returned to the small little place he had been renting away.

His armour dismissed itself beneath the camouflage spell once more, the spear returning to the small dimension that resided near him. All of which had been gifts by Jedidiah, while he would never speak ill of Merlin at least when it came to their capacity as a mage, he would certainly credit his newfound ally for being much more proactive when it came to assisting him.

Pulling out his key from his pocket, he slipped it into the lock, shooting a glance either side of him before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Locking it shut and moving through into the main room.

A faint breath escaped him as he turned his eyes towards what he had carried, disguised underneath a bin bag he had been forced to find, it ached his heart to be forced to use such methods upon even a fragment of the sword but he had little choice in the matter, especially if he wanted to avoid attention.

Unfurling it from the bin bag, he tossed the used black bag aside and laid the weapon down onto the small table in the centre of the room. Briefly pausing and glancing to his right arm, his left hand reached across and laid itself upon the wrist, his lips pursed and his features tightened as he felt the limb shudder and tremble under his grip. A low humming sound of the vibrating metal, matched soon by the gentle hum of the Excalibur shard.

He'd seen it happen before, though he would have to prepare himself for what came next.

Walking across to where the drawers were, he pulled the top one open and grabbed hold of the thick leather belt. Folding it over as many times as he could and then taking in a deep breath, walking back towards the table and lowering himself onto his knees, moving the belt towards his mouth and pausing for only a moment.

The first time this happened with the provided Excalibur, it had burnt.

He knew what he would be in for.

Pressing the belt into his mouth, he bit down on it as hard as he could as his right hand moved forwards and hovered just an inch above the Excalibur, then fell down onto it and clenched tightly around the handle, his eyes closed as he felt the arm tremble with excitement, even through his shut eyelids he could see the light start to filter through, opening them up he was treated to the sight of the golden tendrils leaking from the arm and sliding over the sword once more.

Where they touched the blade, they expanded out like veins, it was a slow climb at first and yet as it continued their speed hastened, almost as though they were now eager to claim the blade, all while it shuddered and spasmed in his grip, his arm shook as he fought to keep it upright.

A hissing sound, steam rose from the sword as the last of the golden tendrils covered the weapon, spreading across the surface until not even a hint of the original blade could be seen. Then it started to fizzle while burning brighter and brighter, then it abruptly lost it's form, melting down and falling onto his arm, the handle dropped like goo and washed over his bronze fingers.

His jaw pressed hard against the belt as it felt as though the entire arm had turned into molten steel and from how it looked, that was not a poor analogy, he leaned forwards and slammed his palm into the table, fighting back tears as pain the likes of which he had rarely experienced flooded right through his person, tears welled up in his eyes as a muffled cry rippled free of his throat and leaked through the belt, but only just.

A glance at the sword showed that it was no longer a blade, merely an amorphous mass of glowing light which was sliding over his arm and sinking into every nook and cranny that it could find. His eyes snapped shut as a fresh wave of agony rocket through his person, clawing his hands and dragging them inwards, faintly aware of resistance where he did so and something sliding under his fingernails but it barely registered to him.

The smell of burning flesh reached his nose, fully aware that it was where the arm met his skin that was starting to sizzle from the heat, sweat was forming on his brow and falling down from his face like raindrops, all the while he kept his composure and maintained his grip on the sword until it was done, despite the fact his arm wished for nothing more than to toss the blade away and rip the burning limb from his body.

It was when the stiffness in the arm started to fade that he slumped forwards, dropping his head onto the table and letting out a gasping moan through the belt, blinking out the tears and turning his head onto its side, staring through shaky eyes at the arm as the light started to recede from it, furrowing his brows as he watched the once deep bronze had lightened into a damascus pattern of copper and silver, though with trace elements of the bronze still lingering near the joints almost like rust.

The final glows faded, yet the heat remained as he opened and closed his fingers with a creaking slowness. Turning his arm left and right and glancing over it, the pattern traced across the entire surface, the molten remnants of the sword having blended right into it. He opened his mouth enough for the belt to slip out from his lips and drop onto the table with a thud, pulling his head away to reveal a pool of sweat and tears along with drag marks through the wood.

His eyes moved to his left hand, he grimaced as he saw the swirls of wood stuck underneath his fingernails.

Flicking his hands, he shook the wood chippings out from beneath his fingers, pressing against the table and staggering back up to his feet and taking in another breath. His eyes danced over his arm once more, it still felt hot but it was starting to recede, his arm dropped down to his side slowly, he fought back another cringe of pain as it came too close to his bare skin.

Turning his mind from that, he focused more on what had occurred today.

That woman who fought him for the Excalibur, it had been only a short time but her skill was frightening, not just in sword combat but also unarmed as well. If he were to make an educated guess, it was that she was just like him. A combatant who was accustomed to dealing with individuals who were stronger and just as skilled as they were, it had been his experience which kept him going over her but he couldn't trust that to win a second engagement with her.

Those who accompanied her with the Excaliburs looked decidedly less skilled but that was no slight against them, he was sure that they had plenty of skill and he would not underestimate them. Though it ultimately fell to him trying to catch those two out where they could not make contact with the other.

His lips pulled down at the thought of a sneak attack, it wasn't exactly his preferred choice but if it would net him a victory then he would be left with little choice in the matter.

The problem was the Devils, his presence had been exposed and he had briefly spotted them, if they were not already trying to track him down then they would likely be doing so very soon. Though they might have also been focused on the large collection of animals which had attacked them, that had been rather unusual and yet his mind…there was something about it which was familiar.

Not something he had seen but perhaps heard of?

Either way, the Excalibur's were his concerns right now.

He'd need to go on the offensive once again, if he remained idle too long they would likely find him.

The first step was finding out where Kokabiel was hiding inside Kuoh; he'd been informed of that much prior to his arrival. It was concerning enough that it had been revealed that one of his obstacles here was going to be a figure of such strength and power, had he been either Sirs Gawain or Lancelot then he suspected he would have had a much easier time of it.

Still, if the calibre of his allies were the likes of the fiend he had encountered, then he would likely only need to worry about the Fallen Angel himself, the Devils would be another matter entirely. They never approved of unannounced visitors in their territories, which he certainly was.

His hand shot into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out the map once again, sure enough he wasn't seeing any sign of reaction from his arm. Even as he held his fingers over the top of it, he could feel nothing no matter where he moved his attention to, with a sigh he pocketed the map once more. Clearly they had covered up what Excalibur's they had, he'd need to wait until they were exposed once more before he moved.

Watching the students work up and down the street, fixing potholes with a wave of their hand, repairing torn up cars and floating tiles back onto the roofs of the damaged houses was something that he would have never guessed was even possible if he hadn't seen it for himself, it was almost eerily quiet the way in which they went about doing it, something that would have taken whole construction crews probably days was being done in the span of an hour by teenagers.

Magic really was something else.

"...You know, you'd probably do really well for yourself if you ever decided to go into construction." He joked towards the blonde near him, Saji paused and then sent him a small and almost amused smile as they shook their head, he just offered a faint turn of the lips and a shrug of the shoulders. "I'm just saying…no shortage when it comes to utilities, it's decent work."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Archaman-sensei." Saji replied with the same level of amusement, "but I've got my own sort of plans in life…besides, I'm not as skilled as the others when it comes to this sort of work. That's why I'm repairing the roof tiles."

Sure enough, he glanced around and noticed that the others were moving much faster than Saji was and were doing something a little bit more complicated. His brows rose as he watched Tsubasa pick up the turned over truck with her hands and hold it up, only arching her back ever so slightly as she started to walk back to where it had been, then dropped it upright with a crunching sound, the suspension jostling rather violently from the impact.

Tsubasa stepped back, dusting her hands off with an almost proud smile, at least until he saw Hanakai marking towards her with a rather small frown on her face, coming to a stop near the teal haired girl and gesturing towards the truck with a clear disapproval in her words if her posture was any indication. Probably for the handling of the truck, if he was to guess.

"Practice makes perfect though, right?" He turned his focus back onto Saji and offered what little support he could, nodding his head towards the tiles as he did so. "I mean…I couldn't do anything like this, probably at least…"

Saji paused for a moment, then sent him a sympathetic look. "I'm not that bummed about it, Archaman-sensei. Everyone has to start somewhere, Kaichou says that there is no shame in working from the ground up, hard work is just as valuable as natural talent." he jerked a thumb towards himself with his free hand, the smile on his face turning more confident. "So I'm going to work as hard as I can."

"Well…I'll…" Romani nodded his head up and down, turning away from them and walking back the way he had come, he was mostly just looking to be out of the way at this point. They all seemed so used to this sort of thing that he was starting to wonder how often they would actually do it…he was still reeling from seeing everything that happened and they were just taking it all in stride.

His eyes moved over the street as he walked back, hands in his pockets and lips pulled thin. He paused as he caught sight of Asia standing off to the side, Rassei tucked in her arms and rubbing her hand over the top of its head rather gently. He smiled lightly at the sight, then resumed his small walk, managing a few steps before he caught a flash of reddish brown hair sliding to a stop next to him, briefly jumping before he relaxed as he recognised the figure.

Meguri offered a somewhat guilty wince. "Sorry for scaring you there, Romani-sensei."

"N-no…I wasn't really scared just-" His words died in his mouth, then his shoulders dropped and he looked to the side. "...I guess I was a little spooked, just high strung at the moment but that's really it…"

The girl nodded her head up and down, folding her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I can understand that…really, this has been rather surprising for me as well. I mean, I've never run into anything like this before." a short pause, then she snorted and her lips pulled up. "Well, except at a zoo…I guess it makes sense why they tell you not to go outside in a safari, right?"

Gradually, his head turned back around to stare at her, he blinked twice.

She winced after a moment. "Too soon?"

"No, it's not that, I'm just…surprised you could joke about it at all…" His hands came out of his pocket, his right one moving towards the side of his neck as he rubbed at it. "Just…still trying to make sense of everything but I guess you guys are just more used to it…I feel as though I really should have been more freaked out but I…I guess it just hasn't hit me yet."

A small huff escaped him, a smile he really didn't feel wormed its way onto his face. "Or maybe I'm just getting used to nearly dying, right?"

Meguri stared at him with naked concern after that, the smile on his face dwindled away before vanishing.

"...Yeah." He coughed out, "You all…is everyone alright then?"

She stared at him for a couple of seconds, then flashed him a reassuring smile, bringing up her hands and giving him two thumbs up. "Absolutely, in fact, I owe you big time! If you hadn't shouted out about the bug, then I would have been in some serious trouble." she shuddered for a moment, making a disgusted face as she rubbed down her arms. "Did you see what it did to the pavement? And it tried to spray me with that stuff? Nasty…but yeah, thanks for that Sensei…" she paused and then offered a small but softer smile. "...Really."

He sniffled a little, bringing his arm up and rubbing at his eyes as a small huff of hair escaped his mouth. "Yeah, just glad I could help. So long as everyone is alright at least, even outside of school, I've got to make sure that I'm doing my job, right? School nurse…" he lowered his arm, blowing air out of his mouth and staring up at the sky. "...I don't think I'd get overtime for this either."

It was a thin attempt at humour, but he was rewarded with a light giggle from the teenager, despite himself he felt his own mirth bubble upwards.

His eyes burned-

The blonde comes to a stop at the end of the street, his eyes linger on the building in the distance, their glare hardens as they start to march forwards without any sign of hesitation.

A look of concern from the brown haired companion, he glances to the white haired girl at his side for a second before shaking his head and following after them, all of them move towards the building with no sign of slowing despite their hesitation.

"We should tell Buchou about this-"

"She wanted us to find them." The blonde cuts off their worries with a curt tone of voice "We won't know they're here unless we go inside." they turned around, revealing their face. A look of fierce determination, nearing hostility. "So I'm going to go inside and have a look, once we know then we can leave. Just…"

They trailed off, closing their eyes and taking a deep breath, straightening themselves out. "...Just walk in and ask around then leave."

Words as though they were pulled from their throat like teeth from gums, and just as pleasant on the person that spoke them. As though they wished for nothing more than to recant that and return to whatever they were doing.

"...I'm just saying, Kiba." Issei speaks up again, waving down their hand and offering a strained tone of voice. "If this is as bad as Buchou says-"

"We're not fighting them so it's fine."

"Still dangerous." The comment this time comes from the white haired girl. Koneko Toujou stares with a twitch of the head, her lips pulled down ever so slightly. "...Should have told Buchou."

"And if it turns into a dead end then we'd have wasted her time." It sounded so logical, but from him it felt like an excuse. As though he knew what the answer would be if it was brought before someone else. They would tell him to stay their distance.

The jaw of the blonde visibly clenched harder. "It's better this way."

It felt as though there should have been more added onto that sentence, but the words were cut short by the speaker.

Neither Issei nor Koneko seemed convinced.

"Look…just a quick call to Buchou to say we're investigating a possible lead." Issei suggested with a shake of the head, placing his hands on his hips. "Just in case it does actually turn out to be something that way we won't be all alone…everyone makes this Kokabiel guy sound like bad news and then…" they glanced to the side, closing their eyes and exhaling. "Just…seems reckless."

The blonde remained silent, at least with words, though the sound of their gnashing teeth could be heard as they turned around and brought their hands up to cover their face.

More silence.

"...Fine." It sounded as though the words were pulled out. "Fine…call Buchou and tell her it might be a lead…if that will make you feel better, but I'm going on ahead."

Issei nodded his head, then paused and stepped forwards. "Hang on, shouldn't we call Buchou and then-"

Kiba was already storming towards the hotel without waiting for anyone else to offer something.

"-omani-sensei?!"

"Huh?" He jerked back with the shout to his name, blinking as he turned his attention down to find Meguri jostling him slightly with a rather worried look on her face. Ah, right, she would have seen that little episode of his. "Y-yeah, sorry just…"

He found himself trailing off as he realised he didn't have anything to say in regards to what caused it, the worry in her eyes only made him feel more guilty as she withdrew her hand from him. Rubbing at his eyes, he took a step away from her and shook his head from side to side. "Guess it's still hitting me, huh?"

It was a weak excuse but he really hoped she bought it, the complicated expression she made didn't do much for his confidence on that matter. Her gaze bore into him for what felt like several agonising minutes, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly before she made a small humming noise and then stepped back, folding her arms over her chest. "...Alright then, just remember to get plenty of sleep tonight, Romani-sensei."

Bringing up a finger, Meguri pointed towards him. "And make sure to see Asia-chan if you need some healing…"

"Y-yeah, will do." Nodding to her, he waved his hand from side to side as he started to move away and towards the direction of Leona, glancing left and right as he did so just to make sure there didn't seem to be any within earshot of him, or at least close enough they could have been.

Then again, Devils had better hearing than some people.

He stopped at the foot of the gate leading to their house, staring silently as the outer wall pulled itself back together, the bricks knit themselves together and mortar formed between them, solidifying once more as though nothing had ever happened to it in the first place, all the while his wife stood before the house with her back to him, not even so much as lifting a finger.

It was definitely…something, at least.

"...Hey, Leo?"

She stopped, then whipped around at speeds that he coudn't quite follow, causing him to take a half step back in surprise from the sudden movement, Leona froze and stared at him with wide eyes for all of a second, then closed them with a faint sigh of relief, the short blink ended and her posture loosened. "Ah, Roman…sorry, I was just focused on the house, I didn't hear you arrive."

"Ah, sorry."

"No, no. Nothing to apologise about." She assured him with a wave of the hand, smiling in her usual way but seeming more exhausted. Maybe she noticed that he noticed, because she turned back around before long. "Just me being a bit in the zone…not used to working like this in front of other people, specially not you…I'll get it done within the hour, maybe an hour and a half."

"...Wow."

"Fufufu~" With a flick of her wrist, she threw some of her hair over her shoulder accompanied with a muffled laugh. "There's no reason to be so impressed, Roman. There isn't a magus out there who couldn't do something as simple as repair a damaged workshop…well, maybe an entire house in such a span of time does make me rather incredible." a paused, then she continued on. "Really, it's just me having to work through all of the lingering Holy energy which is disturbing the flow of mana. Just making it more complicated."

He didn't understand a word of that, but she was fixing a house with magic so that was definitely impressive to him at least. "Okay…"

Pausing for a moment, he glanced down and then closed his eyes. "I think…I think I might have made a mistake when I…when I made the suggestion for them to-"

"Romani." Leona cut him short, turning around and levelling him with a soft look. "...What did you see?" her blue eyes flickered past him towards the others. "They can't hear, so don't worry about it just…what did you see this time?"

"W-well, nothing yet." He brought his hands up and waved them down. "But it's…it's not so much what I saw as what I didn't see? I'm just…" it wasn't something he could describe easily but from how he saw Kiba behaving, from how worried both Issei and Koneko looked, he could tell that it might have been a mistake for him to say anything. "...I'm worried about them."

"Hmmm." Humming to herself, Leona nodded her head up and down for a couple seconds. "Yeah, I get that…They're still students to you and this is definitely more dangerous than what they would normally do but if they're smart and Rias seems like a smart cookie." a pause, then a chuckle. "And Miss Sitri most certainly is, then they should stay out of trouble long enough for them to be fine and…well…they've got the worlds best school nurse looking out for them, don't they?"

A pointed look was sent towards him, with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

He fidgeted on the spot and looked down, a bit of heat entering his cheeks but it was put off by the lingering doubts. "Even if you say that…I didn't see the…I never saw this coming so…" he brought his hand up, waving towards the house and grimacing. "...What if next time it-"

"That is something you cannot blame yourself for and I will not let you blame yourself for." Leona turned around fully, stepping towards him and frowning. "This was my mistake, I was getting much too comfortable and I let my guard slip and I'm most certainly not going to forced to rely on you for-"

He cringed, then she did as well.

"...That came out wrong." The amendment was followed with a sigh. "What I meant was that I don't want to put all this pressure on you to have to look out for everything because then you'll start blaming yourself if things go wrong…" she stepped closer and rested a hand on his arm. "You get flashes every now and again but you're not omniscient, I don't expect you to do everything and besides…" a crack of the lips. "...You did tackle me to safety, don't forget."

"More like flopped around and got beat up."

"Romani…you can't see everything so don't blame yourself when you don't see something. Just…for what you do, for what you offer…It's more than enough." She urged him. "Not many things in this world - and certainly not many humans - can predict the future with such accuracy, let alone see it. Asking any more of you is being way too greedy."

Even if she said that, it felt as though it just wasn't enough.

Just playing audience in a theatre and then being in the splay zone.

Then when he tried to help, when he tried to do something…

His hand came up, rubbing at his eyes. "Sorry, just…just tired, I guess…"

"I know." A soft reply, Leona pulled him close into a hug, running her hands up and down his back and giving a gentle pat as she did so. "I know…It's been a long day Romani…I think we'll need a vacation soon."

He could believe her.

But his mind still focused on the expression on Kiba's face.

He was not letting this slide.

"Alright, pardon my language, but what the hell was that supposed to be about?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"That, that right there!" He pointed squarely towards Kiba's face, narrowing his eyes and thinning his lips at the downright dismissive answer that the blonde gave him. Coupled with their posture, it looked as though they were just trying to ignore him at this point. "What was up in there? I got pissed at their comments towards Asia but you were looking to start a fight with them before they even got a word in, hell, from the second they showed up."

Kiba spared him a glance, a brief look of annoyance flashed across his face. "You don't know what you're talking about-"

"Uh-huh." He wasn't convinced in the least, suddenly Mister blonde prince acts like he's a street thug and he thought that he was gonna let that slide? No way. Folding his arms over his chest, Issei stepped around and then brought himself in front of the blonde, much to their continued irritation if their clenched jaw was any indication. "So when you were about to march down miss exorcist, you weren't about to throw hands?"

If Kiba hadn't been glaring at him before, then he was certainly glaring at him now.

"So where are you going, anyway?" He changed the topic, though kept his voice disinterested as he glanced around the new street they had found themselves inside. It was a far flung area from where he had normally seen Kiba come walking from in the school mornings, in fact he would say it was in the other direction. "...You're jumping at Roman-sensei's idea, aren't you?"

"Naturally." Kiba straightened his posture, his tone curt. "The sooner we find the Fallen and the bas-priest." Issei raised a brow at the correction he made, combined with the nearly venomous remark but otherwise let him finish. "The sooner we can deal with it. It's better for Buchou this way as well, she doesn't need to worry about the Grigori or the Church running amok and the…Excaliburs can be destroyed."

Issei slowly raised a finger and pointed at the blonde. "Why would we destroy them?"

Kiba looked at him like he'd said something stupid, though he then paused and glanced around for a moment. "Because…they're Holy Swords and our natural enemy," he settled on after a brief silence, though it didn't sound as though that was his actual reason. "Why would we help the Church get them back? If they're in the hands of the Grigori, then we can destroy them easier. It deprives them of weapons."

"And pisses off Miss Super exorcist as well." He pointed out with a raised eyebrow, the fact that he could see what this would do was getting concerning. Kiba didn't seem like an idiot to him, sure he didn't like the guy but he didn't really hate him as much as he used to, their help had been enough to revise his opinion. Or this determined about something reckless. "You know, the lady who even your teacher is worried about? What's she gonna do when it turns out you've smashed up the thing she's meant to be taking back with her?"

The blonde paused, then ground his teeth together.

Issei sighed to himself, then brought his hand up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, this seems really important to you and…listen, it's not that I hate you or something or I'm saying this to be an asshole, but you're seriously looking pissed off with everyone right now." he pulled his hand down, frowning lightly. "If you do this, it's like you're gonna go off the rails and get yourself hurt and…I'd rather not have that happen."

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the look of surprise that flashed across the face of Kiba wasn't it. The blonde took half a step backwards before they thinned their lips, opening their mouth to speak, though Issei cut in before he had the chance to.

"Look, you really helped save my ass a couple of times and with that whole thing with Asia…I really do owe you one for that." He stepped forwards, folding his arms over his chest. "So if you're going through something tough right now, whatever it is, I'm not going to let you rush in by yourself…"

Kiba remained silent for a second, then glanced to the side. "...This coming from the one who spoke blaspheme to the face of a Burial Agent?"

He bristled at the light ribbing. "S-shut up! Hell, in fact if I'm being the voice of reason here, you should take a long hard look at yourself! That should be more than enough proof that something isn't right here!"

A cringe. "...This is something that does matter to me, you are correct..but it is a personal issue, Issei-kun and I would much prefer that you stayed your distance from it." their expression hardened. "You are right, it might well be reckless, but it is something that I must do and for that reason I can't let anyone else get hurt in pursuit of it. I would be deeply troubled if you got hurt or even died over it-"

"I can make my own choices, Kiba." He cut the blonde off with a frown. "We're in the same peerage and Buchou talks about how for the Gremory's, that's like being in the same family, right?" there was a short silence before he shuddered ever so slightly. It did feel rather cliche when he said it out loud but it got the point across. "So…we've got to stick together, also if this Kokabiel guy does have the zoo crew, then you're gonna need all the help you can get even if it is to act as literal lion bait or something."

The expression of Kiba twisted twice over before his eyes lowered down. "...It seems as though there is no arguing with you…and while I could run away, I suspect you would just go to my Teacher and tell him of my actions. It would be the smart thing to do, at least."

A brief shudder. "Yeah, no offence but that guy seems sort of like a hardass."

Kiba let out a faint snort. "Yes, quite. Though it isn't how I would describe him, I shall not deny that he is rather merciless when it comes to training, as you so eloquently remarked when you saw the sheet I gave to you." a brief pause, then the blonde pursed his lips. "...Though on that note, I would advise that you not bring that up around him. He's something of a perfectionist and if he catches wind of you trying it he will probably request to show up until you can complete it."

What the hell.

"Right…" He took the advice internally and made a note of it. "So then."

"Where to?"

Both he and Kiba let out a faint noise as they jumped and whirled around to the speaker, only to relax as they found themselves staring down into the blank eyes of a rather diminutive white haired girl. They glanced between the two of them for a few short seconds, then tilted their head to the side and gave a deadpan expression.

He felt his surprise - he definitely hadn't be scared of her - leave him as he stared at the expression and then slumped his shoulders, a shake of the head and he was facing the girl with a raised eyebrow. "How long were you there, Koneko-chan?"

"Followed."

Which more or less implied that she had been there for the entire conversation, he frowned lightly but didn't really comment that much on it. She probably saw what Kiba was like and came to have a talk with him herself, he just got here first was all. "Fair enough, so you're going to come along then?"

She nodded silently, stepping closer towards them and then turning her head towards Kiba with a slightly narrowed gaze. "Letting you go alone too risky. Safer together."

A supporting nod, his eyes fell onto Kiba once more as the blonde finally looked as though he gave in to them, brow beaten into accepting their help. "Alright then…" his hands fell to his hips with his lips turning thin. "My familiar has been scouting around for any sign of something suspicious, there's a hotel further into the town that seems to have something happening. I overheard a couple of conversations about people spotting a bleeding priest heading towards it and a couple who claimed they saw him go inside."

Issei furrowed his brows a touch, cupping his chin. "Bleeding priest, huh? Sounds like that Freed asshole." the mere thought of that guy being around again made him want to break out into shivers, though the followup knowledge that the guy had once again been in for an ass kicking was rather good to hear, but he kept his smile on the inside. "So we're gonna head to this hotel and see what's what then?"

"That was my plan." Kiba announced and then, without waiting for anything else, he started on his way and walked around him without another word. Issei stood still for a couple of seconds, blinking in surprise at the blunt nature of it, glancing to Koneko and seeing she was now sporting a light frown of her own.

The two of them looked towards the back of Kiba as he continued up the street, seemingly without even noticing that he wasn't being followed by them.

He leaned towards his junior, lowering his voice as he did so. "We'll get to the Hotel and then see if he wants to call Buchou or not…I get the feeling that he's going to want to storm in there all by himself and I'm worried what happens if he does."

Koneko looked at him with a touch of surprise through her eyes before it faded. "That sounds smart…Are you really Issei-Senpai?"

His face fell as he stared at her, then stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I like to think avoiding getting between a guy who can kill everyone and the super exorcist who can also kill everyone is the thing that everyone would do, common sense prevailing." he paused for a moment, than rubbed the side of his head. "But yeah, me making these smart suggestions is weird, even to me…"

The white haired girl stared at him for another couple of seconds, then continued on her way as though she said nothing. He waited for a moment, then gave chase after the pair of them.

He'd stayed mostly quiet as he watched Leona work, though as it went on he found that more and more, his mind was drifting back to the vision he had once again. Whether or not it related to something pressing in the future - and he had gotten nothing else since then - he found that he couldn't quite banish it from his mind.

His gaze turned downcast as he looked to the ground, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Something was definitely going to happen in the vision, he couldn't deny that something was definitely going to happen. It happened every other time and it was going to happen again, even if he didn't know what it was, even if he hadn't seen what it was, it was something that he couldn't deny was going to happen.

The question was, what was he supposed to do about it in the first place?

It had become rather obvious that there wasn't a lot he could do when push came to shove and more often he was the one who would end up shoved down onto the ground with no hope of getting back up by himself. That time when he saved Issei had kept him down and virtually out for over an hour, the time when he was bringing Issei and Asia back and he was knocked down once again and almost killed.

Then there was the time where he went to save Asia and was just…if…he didn't even know how he survived that in the first place, by all rights he shouldn't have. No matter how grateful he was in the first place that he did, it just felt like he was teasing it again and again, like standing on the edge of a cliff and hopping one foot.

This was the final straw, the one that brought it all down.

If that man hadn't come along he would have died.

His whole job was trying to keep people healthy and safe and yet it felt like everyone was having to walk on eggshells around him. Like even a strong wind would send him flat on his back.

He…he didn't like that, he didn't like being a burden to everyone else like that.

Turning around, he started to walk away.

He'd vaguely recognised the building they were walking towards and if he started now then he would probably get there before-

"Roman?"

The voice stayed his feet, he stopped and then looked down, keeping his head low as he felt a stare aimed at the back of his head. "...Where are you going?"

"...They might be in trouble."

"Then let me just make a phone call and Rias can handle it." Leona argued back to him and it felt reasonable, it really did. Though for him it felt like a stab in the heart, he was supposed to be someone that students could turn to when they had problems, that was the whole point of working in a school. To be there as something of a pillar for them, even if he was just a nurse.

Slowly turning his head, he kept his expression even. "Even if you say that…I'm just standing here and doing nothing, Leo." he muttered softly, turning around to face her and pocketing his hands, giving a small shrug. "That's…that's all I ever do. Either I stand around or do nothing or I try and help and just get beat up…but if I stop trying then I'm a failure of a nurse."

"You're not-"

"I am." He grimaced. "It's-It's like watching a kid skateboard right past you into a road and doing nothing because you tell yourself the parents will save them…" it felt like an ugly comparison but it was the one that felt more apparent. "I…I can't ignore it like this, I can't just pass this off to others and then say I've done my best…It's like…" he lowered his head towards the ground, taking his hands out his pocket and staring at his hands.

"...Someone told me that when feeding birds, they don't appreciate what you're doing." It was a weird thing to call about now, but it was all he could think of. "But you still feed them because it's about doing it for the sake of it…not because you expect something out of it." he looked up and into her eyes. "...I'm not doing this because I expect anything from it but…because I just need to do it…I'm not trying to get hurt, I actually like to avoid that but…"

Leona closed her eyes, then lowered her head. "...Always brave at the worst times with you…" she muttered quietly, then brought her head back up and turned to face him, taking several steps. "Alright…Alright. You go and you go with help. At the slightest sign of danger, at the barest hint of anything, then you come right back here without delay."

She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a phone, flipping it open and then putting it to her ear. "I'll let Rias know and then…" the rest of it didn't need to be spoken, he knew what she meant.

"...Thank you."

His heart felt a little lighter.