Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by me except the OC's that appear. Everything else is owned by their rightful owners.

I have no idea how or what Maria said that convinced my parents to take the trip to Italy, but she managed to do it on the same day she announced to me and Irina that we would be going there.

Anyway, there was still some time until the Easter holidays, so that time was mostly spent with me training with my Sacred Gear and the Shidou's teaching me and Irina some rules and things we would need to know once we got to the Vatican, like who all knew about the Supernatural stuff, and how we should behave when we get there.

I was more focused on my Sacred Gear training, to be honest. Not because of the trip and who I would be meeting, but because I wanted to see what exactly I could make once I was fully focused. If I managed to make a small group of Ewoks who seemed to be fully combat-capable by accident, who knows what I could make when I actually put my mind to it.

And I needed to make a few countermeasures in case some priest tried to get friendly with me.

So besides the standard Sacred Gear training, I did some secret training when I had the time. That consisted mostly of me brainstorming ideas, testing out my current limits, and then actually trying to summon them. It was a long process, but I was making some good progress in both quality and quantity.

One additional thing I noticed from the creatures I made is that for the most part, they would have a personality trait from the start besides their loyalty and obedience to me. For example, if I were to summon a creature known for its laziness like a Snorlax, it would behave like ... well, a Snorlax. But if I were to give it an order like to move, It would follow the order, but it would be really sluggish and sleepy in doing so.

Easter holidays soon came and our trip to Italy was booked and planned. We all had different suggestions about the places we would want to visit, with even me and Irina giving a few suggestions. I suggested Alba, Piedmont for a simple reason. It was the birthplace of Nutella, so as a sweet lover, you knew I had to get my hands on the stuff they had there.

All I got as an answer was "We will see if we have the time". A small part of me died, I think.

Moving on from my crushed dream, the Shidou's were the ones who booked a direct flight from London to Fiumicino. Probably also pulled a few strings, because the tickets weren't as expensive as my parents thought. Since we were in public, I couldn't exactly use my Sacred Gear to entertain myself and Irina during the flight, so we settled for some alternatives such as cards, in-flight movies, or comics.

The flight lasted for about 3 hours before we landed in Italy. We disembarked the plane and made our way to Rome with a van Touji organized in advance for us. Once in Rome, we went to our hotel and since it was already evening, had a quick meal before hitting the hay.

This all brings us to today.

After some discussion, Touji and Maria managed to convince my parents that they "look after" me for today while the two of them went sightseeing and just had fun. My grandma decided to go and explore the city alone, so that left the four of us to go and do what we came here for.

I was waiting in one of the corridors of one of many buildings in the Vatican. Touji and Irina went their separate ways since they had their own things to do, probably related to the latter Exorcist training. This left Maria and me to find the person who requested me to come here.

We soon found a kind nun who led us to the office of one of the people I was supposed to meet. Maria went inside first, while I was told to wait outside.

That happened 10 minutes ago and I was slowly starting to get bored.

As I pondered the idea of wandering off a little, I heard footsteps.

"Matthew? Is that you?" a familiar voice called out for me as I turned my head and saw Griselda walking towards me with a surprised look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Griselda." I greeted her with a wave and a smile as she walked towards me. "As you can see, I came to visit you."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You must have missed me really bad then. Why didn't you say anything that you were visiting when we talked last time?"

"Didn't want to spoil the surprise." at my answer she patted my head.

"Nice try, but I already knew you would be coming." Guess that much is expected from an Exorcist, but it was still nice she played along a little. "Where are Maria and Touji? I thought one of them was supposed to be with you?"

"Touji went with Irina since they had something else to do and Maria is inside talking with someone." I said as I pointed to the office where the talk was taking place. "They have been in there for a while now."

Griselda looked at the door for a second before looking back at me. "They should have been finished by now then."

Without saying anything else, she walked to the office and knocked on the door. A faint "Come in." was heard as she opened the door and entered the office, with me close behind her.

It was a rather humble and ordinary room. A bookshelf, a few portraits of Saints, a cross on the wall, and a desk in front of which Maria stood with a serious expression on her face. Behind the desk was a man sitting. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties and was dressed in typical priest clothes.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Griselda cautiously. Can't blame her since you could cut through the tension in the room with a knife. Who knows what they were discussing.

"Ah, Griselda. You are not interrupting anything, don't worry." the priest waved off her concerns easily before turning his attention to me. "And you must be the newest host of Annihilation Maker, am I right?"

"Yeah. Matthew Ainsworth. Nice to meet you. " I greeted politely the man who smiled and nodded his head in greeting.

"Likewise. I'm Father Enrico." the now named Enrico introduced himself before turning back to Maria. "I believe we are done for now, Maria. You are free to go. I will notify you once we are done."

Maria looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it. "Understood, Father Enrico." She was about to leave the room, but not before walking to me and crouching so she was at my eye level. "Listen Matt, they are about to have the talk and ask the questions I told you about. Just answer them to your best ability and you will be done in no time."

"Got it. But where are you going?"

"I have some other urgent things to do but don't worry. Griselda will be here with you, so you have at least one familiar face around." she stood up before sharing a look with Griselda, who only nodded her head. "We will meet up later once we are all done here."

With that said, Maria left the room leaving the three of us. Honestly, I was getting a feeling something serious was being discussed here before we entered.

Enrico clapped his hands, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Why don't we start? Matt, please take a seat."

I did as instructed at took a seat at one of the chairs opposite to him. Griselda chose to stand on my side.

"Touji and Maria already explained to you everything, so I assume you understand just how important your Sacred Gear is." he began seriously as he took out a paper and a pen.

"They did explain to me that it is one of the thirteen Longinus. Ranked number ... three, I believe."

"You are correct. Annihilation Maker is ranked as the third strongest Sacred Gear, so there are a lot of people who would be interested in it. Right now I will ask you a few questions regarding it and your experience with it so far. I need you to answer them as truthfully as possible. Can you do that for me?"

"I will try." I answered honestly, seeing as this all shaped to be just like a survey. Not like there was much I could even tell him and somehow I doubted they knew about me summoning the Ewoks and Slimes in my sleep.

"Good boy. Now tell me: when and how did you first awaken Annihilation Maker?"

He asked me questions for about half an hour. Most of the questions were fairly basic, like "How many creatures can I make?" and "How strong they are?" So, I didn't see any problems answering them, but I didn't spill all my secrets. You know, just to be careful.

Once that was done, Griselda led me outside to an impressive and massive garden where she told me I could explore and wait till someone picked me up. She would have looked after me herself, but something came up and she was sure the garden was the safest place for me to be.

So here I was, sitting under a random tree, bored out of my mind. I walked around the garden a little, taking in its beauty, but that could be interesting for only so long before getting boring. Since it was a nice day, I picked a random tree to sit down and just enjoy the nice weather.

I have half a mind to just summon one of my creatures to play with, but the other half told me that someone not aware of the Supernatural might catch a glimpse. Griselda never told me if this place was private or open to the public.

Which also makes me question how long I need to wait for someone to pick me up. I was starting to get hungry.

"So bored." I signed to myself as I leaned back on the tree.

"You can say that again." a voice suddenly coming from above me made me jump away from the tree in surprise and somewhat alarm. Turning to look up who spoke, I saw a boy maybe around my age lying on a branch. He stood up and stretched like he had just woken up before jumping from the tree and landing perfectly on the ground.

Now that we were on the same eye level, I could get a better look at him. Messy platinum blond hair, big sky blue eloquent eyes. He wore a pair of pants and a simple hoodie. He looked me over with a carefree, but critical look.

"So, you are the new user of Annihilation Maker?" he asked me as he gained a soft smile before extending his hand for a handshake. "The name is Adam."

"Um, Matt." I returned the handshake, somewhat unsure how to respond. "So you know about-"

"The Supernatural?" he finished my question as I nodded my head. "Yeah. It's been part of my whole life, so nothing new. But I take it you just recently got dragged into it. Am I right?"

"Pretty much." I answered before noticing something he said. "Wait, how did you know I was the user of Annihilation Maker?"

"Simple. The old fossils kept talking and talking about how you would be coming today and have been debating what to ask you and how to recruit you." Adam answered with a shrug before gaining an annoyed expression. "Honestly, I was getting tired of them talking I had to go to this garden. It is the only place I could find a moment of peace."

His expression then shifted to one of amusement. "So imagine my surprise when the person who has been the talk of the Vatican came here. I just had to speak with you eye to eye." he walked a little around me, looking me over. I made sure to always keep him in my line of sight, ready to summon something in case things turn south. "And now that I got a good look at you, I have to say ..."

Ohh brother, I know this type of scene. I could almost bet he was going to go on a tirade on "how Annihilation Maker is wasted on someone with no prior ties to the Supernatural" or something similar. It was a pretty cliche type of scene from most mangas I have read.

"... Annihilation Maker sure picked a decent host."

"Say what now?" I was caught by surprise. Not by what he has said, but by the sheer sincerity in his words. I could feel he meant every word he said. Not that I was complaining, I just didn't expect it.

"You heard me. You seem like a decent host of Annihilation Maker. I can tell you have a ton of ideas on what you can create."

"... Can't deny that." I mumbled to myself, but Adam seemed to hear.

"I see. Then I know we just me and all, but I have a favor to ask." he grabbed me by the shoulder and looked me straight in the eye. "Can you show me some of you creatures?"

Weird request. Moreso since it is the first time anyone asked me to use my Sacred Gear since I came here. "I can, but is it safe to do it here? What if someone sees me doing it?"

"Don't worry. The garden rarely gets visitors who aren't aware of the Supernatural. Now, let's see your Sacred Gear in action." I could almost see stars in his eyes from the sheer anticipation he radiated. I was going to turn him down, but there was something about him that made me give in.

Signing to myself, the shadow began expanding below my feet. "Fine, but only one creature and I get to choose which. Got it?"

Adam only nodded his head, already fixing his gaze on where the creature would spawn from.

You know the saying "time passes faster when you are having fun"?

Well, time passed way too fast for me and my new friend as we were sitting in the Vatican cafeteria.

You see, what was supposed to be a single creature soon turned to Adam and me going overboard with what all I summoned. It started as simple creatures, then we moved to cute ones and then we moved to awesome ones. Granted, all within the limits I still had, but I have to admit today served as a good exercise in fast summoning and quickly coming up with what to summon.

Overall, Adam would suggest something I could summon, I would summon that or something I came up with and we would play with it or them till we decided to change.

It was really fun till one of the nuns came to fetch me (and by extension Adam) for lunch. We had a good laugh once she saw us using a Hydramon (only in appearance since I couldn't give it powers yet) as a jungle gym. The face she made still makes me chuckle.

Anyway, once she calmed down and realized the giant plant monster/dragon was in no danger, she guided us to the cafeteria, where we would eat lunch. She also said that Griselda would fetch me later and take me back to the Shidous.

So, right now, Adam and I are eating lunch. We have a simple carbonara and a glass of our choice of drink. We both went with juice.

"I thought you people at the Vatican ate simpler food." I said as I looked at the carbonara on my fork in thought.

"Usually we do, but from time to time we like to treat ourselves with some delicacies." Adam answered casually. "Truth be told, if some of the more religious folks were deciding our food, we would be only eating bread and water."

"No offense, but I can't imagine myself living on such a diet." I said honestly as Adam waved his hand as if to say "None taken".

At that point we settled in a peaceful silence, eating our meals as the cafeteria we sat in began filling with other exorcists, priests, and nuns.

"So what are you planning on doing now?" asked Adam suddenly as we finished our meals.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, will you be joining the Church? That was the whole purpose of why you came here from England?"

"I was told they wanted to meet the new user of Annihilation Maker. Once I got here, I was asked a few questions, but none of them were if I wanted to join the Church." at my statement, Adam snorted.

"They were testing the waters to see if they could recruit you or not. Honestly, can't they do anything directly without tip-toeing?"

"Speaking from experience?" at my question Adam gained a conflicted look on his face.

"Something like that. You see, I'm in a similar situation as you. As in, I possess something the Church wants." his confession made me widen my eyes.

"You also possess a Sacred Gear?" I whispered in surprise. But that seemed to amuse Adam as he smiled.

"Nah, no Sacred Gear. What I possess is ... unique to say at least. Almost as valuable as a Longinus for the Church. Remember when I told you I knew about the Supernatural my whole life?"

I only nodded to his question, now listening more closely.

"Well, that is because I was literally raised here. The moment I was born and they learned I possessed it, I was taken in by the Church. I didn't even get to choose if I wanted to be part of it or not. All because of something I was born with." he then looked at me with a look of sympathy. "But you are in a different situation. You possess something the Church would want to have, but you can still choose if you want to join them or not. So if I was you, I would seriously think you want a restrictive life like this."

Something I noticed while hanging out with Adam, was that he had moments where he appeared to be smarter than a kid his age. I will just assume it was related to the thing he possessed.

"On the other hand, it will be real fun watching you create monsters like Hydramon and the Church trying to explain why such a creature is on their side." added Adam as I saw a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"You think I would stop at monsters like Hydramon. Buddy, I have ideas that will blow your socks off." Translation: I remember ideas that will be fun to recreate.

"I'm listening." Adam said as he appeared more focused. The previous topic has already been forgotten. I was about to share some of my ideas when a sleazy voice was heard behind me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Carefree himself? And he finally found a friend? How lovely."

I didn't need to turn around as I could see from Adam's expression that the owner of the voice was an unpleasant one. And from the sounds of snickering, he wasn't alone.

"Don't tell me: the cliche group of bullies who think they are better than others?" my complete deadpan was only matched by Adam's own complete deadpan.

"Yep."

"Probably looking for trouble with you and by association, also with me?"

"Most likely."

"... Bring it on."

"I'm telling you, what you and the higher-ups are suggesting isn't going to work."

"And pray tell, what makes you say that?"

Currently, both Griselda and Enrico were walking through the halls of the Vatican. They just came from a meeting with their higher-ups and discussed what they would do regarding their current visitor.

"Because unlike you and the others, I actually got a chance to speak with him informally and got a chance to get a read on his personality. Even the Shidous, who he spent time with every day since his Sacred Gear awakened, can tell you that the suggestion will not work. And even if we manage to recruit him, there is minimal chance he would go along with the second part."

Enrico stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his colleague with a serious look. "Explain what do you mean by that."

Griselda signed, knowing this might turn into a longer-than-necessary discussion. "Look, recruiting Matt shouldn't be much of a problem. The Shidous are already teaching him so he might have shown some signs of being interested in this work. That is good for us. The part that most likely won't work is the part where the Church would be the ones in charge of what he would summon on missions."

Enrico blinked at that, confused. "And what is wrong with wanting to have fitting troops? Troops that clearly show which Faction they belong to?"

"Because the same troops would be made by a child who clearly knows what he wants to make." Griselda answered back. "I read the reports and from what they told me there is a clear difference, in both power and quality, whenever Matt creates something he wishes to make and something someone else suggests he makes. That is not to say he can't be persuaded into also liking the idea, but from the reports of the Shidous, the most common keywords the creatures that appear most refined have are "cool", "cuddly" and "he saw it on TV and thought it would be awesome"."

"So what? We just have to persuade him that what we suggest fits one of those keywords."

At that, Griselda snorted. "Good luck with that. I saw the stuff he likes to make and trust me, I doubt we will find anything that can top it in his eyes. And even if we did, who knows how long it will last before he finds something else that catches his attention."

Enrico was silent for a few moments. Seeing the metaphorical gears turning in his head, Griselda continued. "Look, getting Annihilation Maker on our side will be a huge boost. I don't see why can't we let him make creatures he prefers. Sure, it would look weird if a group of Exorcists were on a mission with monsters and what else, but think of all the good things having him on our side would bring us. Think of all the people we could spare from dangerous missions."

"I know that and I fully understand it, but it doesn't mean I have to accept it." said Enrico after a heavy sigh. "We as servants of God are supposed to battle evils, not having creatures in their lightness take part in our battles. It would be sheer hypocrisy and sheer blasphemy."

Griselda was about to say something when the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching was heard. Looking to the side, both saw one of the many priests running towards them before stopping. As they saw the panicked look on his face, they were immediately on alert.

"Father Enrico! Sister Griselda! We need to get to the cafeteria quickly!" the young priest pleaded.

"Calm down, first. What happened?" asked Enrico as the priest calmed down after a few seconds before answering.

"A big fight broke out. Some of the senior members tried to intervene, but ..." A look of dread crossed the priest's face. "... that thing was too strong. We need to hurry, please."

Enrico and Griselda only enchanted looks before running towards the cafeteria. As they drew closer, the sound of battle grew louder. Once the entrance was within sight, they noticed a few Exorcists, priests and nuns were already outside with the formers being treated by the latter.

Bracing for the worst, the two opened the doors only to be greeted with a sight to behold.

The cafeteria was in a state of pure chaos as tables and stools were scattered around, food was on the floor and there were at least a dozen Exorcists knocked unconscious and scattered around the thing that they assumed was responsible for the mess.

The thing in question was easily over 2 meters tall and looked a lot like a knight in full-body armor. Said armor covered every part of its body, except some parts which glowed in a soft light green color. The most prominent part of the armor was the sun-like symbol with a core that glowed the same light green color that it had on its chest. Its stance was like that of an experienced warrior as it used a younger Exorcist in training as a makeshift weapon to bat away anyone who dared to approach it.

"What in God's name is that?" muttered Enrico as they watched the knight use the Exorcist in his hand like a sword to strike another Exorcist who tried to get a drop on him.

"I have no idea, but I do know who might be behind it." said Griselda as she pointed to the only table that wasn't scattered or broken. Or to be more precise, at one of the two kids sitting at it.

Matt and Adam were unbothered by the chaos happening around them, as they watched the knight. However, if someone were to look a little closer, they would notice that Matt appeared tired.

"You know, I think I could try and copy what the Knight just did." said Adam suddenly as they didn't move their gaze away from the fight.

"You mean Guise?"

"Is that how you call it when he grabbed that dude and used him like a nunchuck?"

"Truth be told, I didn't really expect him to be able to follow that order like that."

"Well be glad it could because I now have something new to use during training."

"Tell me how it went."

"Ahem." a voice was heard behind the two as they turned around and saw both Enrico and Griselda looking at them with serious gazes.

While Matt had somewhat of a surprised and confused expression, Adam gained one of indifference. Like he knew what was about to happen.

"Would either one of you mind explaining what is going on?" Griselda asked with steel in her voice, something which was a first for Matt to hear.

"What is there to explain? We can already guess who had a hand in starting it." Enrico said as he glared at Adam, who didn't look bothered at all.

Griselda gave Enrico a side-eye before turning to Matt. "I take it this is one of your creations? Why is it using an Exorcist as a weapon?"

"Well, the Exorcist and his group came to us first since they had something against Adam here. And that apparently also meant they had something against me. So I make the Black Serpent Knight as an act of self-defense." his expression turned sheepish. "And from then on, things escalated quickly."

"Like way too quickly." added Adam from the side.

"So we decided to move to the side till the whole thing calmed down." Matt finished explaining as he waited for the response from Griselda. "We really didn't mean to cause this much trouble, but we also weren't going to let some jerks bully us."

After a moment of silence, she released a tired sigh before adopting an understanding look. "I understand and I'm not mad at you for doing it in self-defense. But next time you need to be careful about how you handle this situation because this is not the right way."

She pointed to the Knight, who apparently finished fighting as he threw the Exorcists away.

"A lot of people that didn't have anything to do with this were injured and it will take a long time for them to recover." Griselda explained as Matt looked a little ashamed of it. She noticed that and patted his head. "But it is good you stood up for yourself and your friend. Just next time, don't go overboard."

"Got it." answered Matt meekly as Griselda smiled. The shadow appeared below Matt as it stretched to where the Knight was standing. Once below it, the Knight began sinking into it. But not before giving one last bow to Matt.

"Now let's bring you to the Shidous. They are also finished with their things, so you can go back and enjoy your trip in Italy."

"And we will talk about this whole mess on a later date. Understood, Adam?" while Griselda talked with Matt with understanding and care, Enrico was cold towards Adam. Said kid to his credit didn't look much bothered by it, only responding with a blank, almost mocking "Yes, sir."

It seemed to anger the priest as he was the first to leave the cafeteria.

"What was that about?" asked Matt only to receive a shrug from Adam.

"Long story." he answered simply before turning to Matt. "But today was fun. Shame you will probably leave now."

"Yeah. But we can write to each other." Matt suggested. "Who knows? Maybe the Church will have an exchange program so you can come visit me in England."

Adam thought about it for a moment before smiling. "That would be awesome. Make sure you have more awesome creatures to summon till then."

"Only if you learn a few cool Exorcist tricks to show off."

The two shared a small laugh before dapping like they were two lifelong friends.

Griselda and Enrico looked at the exchange from the doors, one with a smile and the other with a neutral expression.

"Something tells me that this is the birth of a long friendship." mused Griselda as she looked at them.

"Only time will tell is that a good or bad thing." while Griselda was happy about the formed friendship, Enrico had other thoughts on the matter.

The rest of the trip to Italy went like a breeze. After my visit to the Vatican, we spent the rest of the time traveling to all kinds of different places. Sadly, we didn't have time to visit Alba, Piedmont. Something which left me, Irina and to my surprise my dad deeply upset. But we did get a chance to taste other Italian delicacies and desserts.

Let it be known that you didn't taste a good tiramisu till you tasted an Italian-made tiramisu. I think I alone had like three servings of it before being full.

Anyway, today was the day when we came back to home sweet home. And since it was already late at night when we came back and all of us were dead tired from the trip, none of us wasted any time in going to our separate homes. Once home we made sure everything was fine, unpacked, and went straight to bed.

My parents and grandma were already in their rooms sleeping or preparing to sleep as I finished unpacking everything. I was about to hit the hay when I sensed a gentle breeze coming from the window.

As I turned towards my windows to go and close it, I was met with a strange sight. Well, alarming would be a better way to describe it since I immediately summoned the shadowy portal as an emergency.

A young adult, maybe in his early twenties, was leaning on my window. He was dressed in a dark green samue, a black haori, some sandals, and a striped dark green and white bucket hat that shadowed his eyes. In his hand, he was lazily twirling a cane.

From appearance alone, one would assume Urahara came to visit me, but I knew better.

"And here I thought I made the disguise good enough." the fake Urahara said with fake disappointment, almost as if he knew what I was thinking. "I went through all the trouble of finding a fitting character."

"Who are you? And what do you want?" I asked him seriously. It only made him chuckle in amusement.

"Right to the point? I like that." he put his hands up in surrender. "Let me make it clear first: I mean no harm. I just wore these clothes since I thought it might be a good ice-breaker. Oh well. Better luck next time."

It made me relax a tiny bit, but I still had Annihilation Maker ready in case things turned south. But something told me it wouldn't be of much use.

"And as for your question ..." he began before something weird happened to me. The best thing I can describe it is that one moment he wore the Urahara disguise and the next he wore new clothes. This time he wore a simple tank top along with robes tied around his waist. He possessed long blond hair that was tied back in a large bun. Peach-red tinted glasses covered his eyes.

I immediately recognized the appearance he took this time, and if the smirk on his face was any indication, that was his goal.

"I think this appearance should clue you enough on who I am. And as for what I want ..." he pulled his glasses down to look me directly in my eyes. That is also when I noticed that his eyes were pitch black with his pupils taking the shape of a lily. "... Let's just say that you have caught my attention like no one in a really long time."

There is not much to say except that this chapter made me realize that I find it easier to write in the 3rd POV rather than the 1st POV. So I might change that later on or in potential future stories. Nothing official, just some plot bunnies regarding a Bleach story and a Genshin story. But we will see how it all plays out. But let me know if you would be interested in reading one of the two.

With that being said, follow and favor this story and review, because that is something we authors love to see and gives us motivation.

See ya all next time. Peace out.