Chapter 18: Chapter 018
Asia was pretty shaken up by the past week she had been through, but being back in Kuoh after being rescued by the agents of Death during their raid on Kokabiel's hideout felt like an act of kindness she didn't deserve. She was kidnapped by the exorcist Freed two days after she arrived in Kuoh after she healed his right arm. He pushed the two of them through a portal after Mittelt and Kalawarner disappeared, and she had no idea where they ended up. She felt sick remembering the advances Freed kept making, and it was only the constant presence of Fallen that prevented him from defiling her, she was sure.
The other man, a man named Valper, was also excommunicated like Freed and herself, though she did not know why. He was even worse than Freed, but in a different way. He would talk about experimenting on her, and Asia felt that it wasn't going to be long before Kokabiel decided to allow it.
That vile, vicious creature Kokabiel, and his cursed wroth. He whispered harsh words in her direction, mocking her continued faith in God despite being cast aside by the Church. He finally broke her one night, the night she was rescued by who she now knew were the Angels of Death.
Oh, she knew they were no Angels, not Heavenly in the slightest, but she was almost satisfied when she watched them make short work of the Fallen that watched her continuously get verbally and physically abused and slapped around. They did not lift a finger to help her, no matter how much she begged to be released from the massive cage they kept her in. Her kindness, her begging, it got her nowhere. They would laugh at her plight.
The skeletal figures freed her from her confines and pulled her into the deep pool of darkness that opened up beneath them. It felt like cold water washing over her skin, but to her, it felt like a baptism. She felt her worries and her sadness wash away, and she felt happy in the embrace.
After being received by the Fallen loyal to whom she learned was the true leader of the Grigori, she was quickly relocated from the prison area after much confusion among the Fallen. They couldn't imprison a prisoner, not one who seemed to be worse for wear and dressed in rags. They contacted their higher ups, who contacted their higher ups, and it was Shemhazai who came to escort her away from the chaos.
Now she was in the presence of a being whom she owed her freedom to. She was surprised by his appearance, and his personality, but certainly in a good way. She was expecting a tall skeleton wielding a massive scythe, and instead she got a blue haired teenager with a quiet, but commanding voice. He was not a monster like Kokabiel, either. The fact that he was willing to let her stay with him, despite not knowing her, brought tears to her eyes. Legitimate tears of joy.
She was elated that what Azazel said was true, and that Death was kind. She could see the compassion in his eyes when he looked at her.
Asia almost felt relaxed as she walked around, chatting with Bennia about various topics the Grim Reaper wanted to talk about. The two shared laughs about pranks Bennia had committed in the past, and Asia felt it was scandalous to laugh. After the week she had, though, the ridiculousness was like a balm to her soul.
It felt great to be back in Kuoh.
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"Asia!" A voice halted the group of three near the bank where Makoto planned on opening an account, seeing as Azazel decided it was necessary to pay him with a check. It was just another inconvenience, something that Makoto felt the man embodied himself. One large inconvenience.
"Issei!" Asia greeted back with enormous amounts of cheer in her voice, rushing forward to greet the boy that Makoto had given the choice of Humanity or Devilry to. As per an agreement between the two, made not long after Makoto had met with Sirzechs, Issei would mutter not a single perverse thought or vocalize depravity in his presence.
Issei greatly respected Makoto for guarding him and healing him after Raynare tore straight through his chest cavity, so much that he had begun to idolize him to a degree. He remembered that terrifying presence he controlled, and he saw what he did in his stead. No one had ever done anything like that for him. He was sure most people would have let him bleed out instead of helping him due to his perverse ways, but Makoto didn't.
That was why he was searching for him, to ask the man to train his team for the upcoming Rating Game with the Phenex clan heir. Seeing Asia with him, someone he thought he would never see again, it lifted a weight from his mind. After the day he spent with her, he thought he had made another friend, but she never came back from the Church. He had walked the town a few times trying to find the kind girl, despite the warnings from Rias, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He even did what he told Rias he wouldn't, and investigated the Church by himself.
It was like she up and disappeared after he walked her to the boundaries of the holy building.
The two seemed to be having a moment together, so Makoto and Bennia moved to stand aside and not seem like they were eavesdropping when Issei broke away from his conversation with Asia to approach Makoto.
"Please wait, Makoto-senpai! I… I want you to train me!" Issei declared loudly while pumping his fist in Makotos' direction, "I must protect Rias from a forced marriage, and I don't think I can do it alone! Please, I… I don't want to lose her, not to him…" Makoto was moved by the passion in his voice, so when Issei bowed low at the waist and cast his eyes to the floor, Makoto tapped him by the shoulder and shook his head.
"Do not bow to me. What…" Makoto stopped for a moment, a displeased look appearing on his face, "What is it you want to learn from me?"
So that was how Asia, Bennia and Makoto found themselves in the middle of a beautiful training camp owned by the Gremory Family for a ten day vacation away from Kuoh. Makoto at least had in mind to pick up the keys to his new home from Azazel before departing, it would do no good to be locked out of his own home despite not technically needing the door to enter it.
The thirty Grim Reapers were ordered to remain and act as a vanguard, and they did as requested without complaint.
Makoto liked that about them.