Following Raynare and her cohorts capture, the few loyal Stray Exorcists that remained in Kuoh, in spite of the dangers involved, the church had been heavily dismantled. The Devils had ensured that it could no longer be used as a base of operations, and dismantled the holy grounds upon which it stood. It was no longer a House of God, and therefore, whatever blessings it may have had could no longer be sustained. Not that it would have mattered. The church had long since fallen out of operation, and without prayers being offered in it daily, the holy blessings had long since waned.
Now, the Stray Exorcists had gathered in the forests that lay behind the church. Several bounded fields were erected to prevent them from being discovered by the Devils that ruled this territory. Their numbers were somewhere between forty to fifty, all of which somewhat competent in their respective fields. They were all armed to the teeth: holy water, light blades, crosses, guns loaded with blessed shells, etc.
To Freed Sellzan, however, such numbers were, in his own words, rather shitty. "What the actual shit, Lint?" he questioned the woman sitting over by a tree, fiddling with the rifle in her hands. "How come we don't have as many meatbags?! We used to have over a hundred!"
Lint Sellzan, Freed's "sister," had the same face as him, if only much more feminine and untouched by bouts of insanity or crazed anger. Her hair was a mix of black and white, and her eyes possessed a red shade. Her skin was slightly pale, but not enough to be considered unhealthy. "Not all of us here were loyal to Lady Raynare, brother." she told him without looking at him, giving her gun a quick check before going back to working on it. "In fact, over half of our number is like me, if you have forgotten already. Also, please be quiet. If you continue to scream profanities like a sailor, the Devils will hear us, Bounded Field or no."
"Oh, let those bitches and whores hear me!" Freed scoffed before he raised his voice, screaming at no in particular. "You hear me, you Shitty Devils?! You ain't nothing but a bunch of bitches and whores and cunts in need of a good fucking!"
Lint sighed, shaking her head. "Why do I even bother..." she muttered to herself before she noticed one of the exorcists approaching. "Report."
The man nodded. "We've received new orders from our superior." he said brisquely. "We're to kill the humans Namikaze Haru and Kiryu Aika, and capture Tamamo-no-Mae, as well as the nun Asia Argento."
"He wants us to capture that woman?" she asked with a mirthless smile. "It seems our owner truly does consider us expendable. No human on this Earth, save perhaps those group of so-called Heroes in the Khaos Brigade, can hope to match the Sun." Sighing, she shook her head and stood up, fastening her rifle over her shoulder. "But, we cannot go against him." She turned to Freed and called out. "Brother! We've received new orders from Lord Kokabiel."
"'bout fucking time." Freed spat. "So, what's the word?"
"We are to kill two humans, both of which are affiliated with the newly revived Avatar of Amaterasu-no-Mikoto. Our original plan hasn't changed in the least, however. We still have orders to capture Asia Argento and remove her Sacred Gear."
"Good! I've always wanted to take that Holy bitch. All I want to do is talk and shoot her. Maybe skull fuck her corpse a few times while I stab her."
"As vulgar and uncouth as ever..."
In the short time, that being two days, that Asia Argento had come under the care of Namikaze Haru and Kiryu Aika, she was hopelessly confused, yet also touched by the concern that a mere bunch of strangers had shown such concern and care for her. She had no idea what was even happening when she was assigned to this Church. All she knew was that when she got there, Fallen Angels were trying to kill the people that led her there. They fled, and more Fallen Angels showed up. Fortunately, they were saved by nice people. And now here she was.
Now she was inside the Namikaze household lost in her thoughts.
Aika had told her that she would let her stay at her place until the whole thing blew over, but once she found out that Asia only had a meager handful of belongings, the girl decided to hold off on her coming to her house and decided to get her the necessary items, and perhaps spruce up her future room. Asia was quite grateful to her for that, though she initially tried to tell her it was fine. She was given some yen before she was shipped off to Japan, so she could easily purchase a room at some cheap motel.
Unsurprisingly, though, both Haru and Aika had put their foot down. Now, she was effectively grounded until they purchased all of her necessities before she was allowed to move in with Aika. At least until Aika's parents returned. After that, the girl would have to explain why Asia was with them in the guest room.
It was all so surreal to her. They were very nice to her.
… Very much different than her treatment in Italy.
She closed her eyes and shut off the memories from her mind. They had been dark times for her, especially when people had begun accusing her, but she promised herself that she would brave those times. That God had not yet abandoned her. And even if he had, she would still move forward. She will not give in to despair. She will follow though with her beliefs no matter what.
Idly, she grasped the cross that hung around her neck. Her only real link to her old home. So much time had passed since she had left, and she had yet to forget everything that had transpired. Some days were harsh, but others times had been filled with some warmth, especially when someone came and told her that she would be leaving the village, tasked with attending another church. She didn't know who they were, but they were among the few that showed her even a modicum of kindness. So she whole-heartedly accepted. And then there she was, on her way to Japan. Then previous circumstances took place, then here she was. She wondered if God was guiding her, and if so, then for what purpose? Was she destined to meet Haru and Aika? Did the Father have a plan in mind with her, as many believed He did for them?
Sighing softly, Asia unclasped her cross and looked up, only to let out a cute yelp when she found a curious-looking Tamamo in front of her, studying her features intently. "M-Miss Mae!" she cried, blushing. "I-I'm terribly sorry! I didn't hear you coming in!"
"It's fine, it's fine." She waved off her worry. "Don't worry about it. And please, call me Tamamo! Miss Mae makes me sound so old."
"O-Okay then. Miss T-Tamamo..."
Tamamo nodded with approval. "W-Was there something you needed?" Panic rushed through her when a thought occurred. "O-Oh no! I haven't done anything wrong, have I?!"
"Oh heavens no, I wanted to see how you were doing. My Husband did ask me to look after you while he is at school." the woman told her with a small smile. "That, and I was quite curious about you."
"E-Eh? Me?"
"Yes. After all… you seemed to have attracted the interest of my dear husband… and looking at you now, I can see why..."
"Eh?"
"You're just so adorable !" Before Asia could react, Tamamo pulled the girl in for a tight hug, rubbing her cheek up against hers. "You're so cute~! Oh, if only you were a plushie! Then I could keep you forever!"
"E-eh?! B-b-b-b-but...!"
This situation was quite foreign to her. Never once had she been put into something like this. On the one hand, she felt quite warm, being held like this. It felt like she was sitting out in the sun and its rays were washing up against her pleasantly. On the other hand, the affection and attention she was receiving from her was quite different from anything she's ever felt before. She was often admired and complimented from afar. Never this in close proximity. And she was certainly never held quite like this. The preacher that had taken care of her prior to her becoming a so-called Holy Maiden had taught her self defense in the event someone with impure intentions attempted to grab her, but no matter how much she struggled, Tamamo's grip was like that of iron. Not that she could resist for much longer, anyway. Slowly, but surely, Asia was turning into putty in her hands. Her resistance was melting away.
"I must say, when I first saw you with my darling Haru, I was quite worried you would steal him away from me." Tamamo remarked as she continued to cuddle with the poor girl, who's head was beginning to steam. "But now, I just want to keep you for myself. You're just so adorable, Asia-chan." Much to Asia's relief (and disappointment), Tamamo relinquished her hold on the girl, allowing her to sit back down on the couch. "On a more serious note, though, I'd like to ask you something."
"W-What is it?"
"Those rings on your fingers." Tamamo pointed to the items in question, sitting on her respective index fingers. "They don't feel like normal accessories. What are they?"
"Ah, these are part of my Sacred Gear." Asia told her.
"Sacred Gear, you say? And what does it do?"
"My Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, is a gift from the Lord. With it, I can heal any wound outside of lost limbs and diseases."
Tamamo's eyes widened considerably. Had she not known any better, she would have considered that to be a blessing. However, she thought otherwise when she saw the shadowed cast of lingering doubt in Asia's own words, reflected in her bright green eyes. It was a stark contrast to the warm and gentle smile she otherwise had when revealing its nature and ability. Pursing her lips, she sat down on the chair opposing the sofa, crossing a leg over the other.
"... You don't sound happy about that, though." she remarked, startling Asia. "For a moment, you looked quite sad when you told me about what it could do. Do you perhaps hate your Sacred Gear's powers?"
Asia shook her head. "N-No, far from it!" she insisted fiercely. "In fact, I'm grateful that God was graceful enough to allow me to possess this power. B-But..." She bit her lip, eyes glancing down to her lap. "My Sacred Gear... At first, myself and many others believed it could only heal humans, as we are created in his Divine image. But, that wasn't the case. My Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing..." A saddened look crossed Asia's expressions as she cradled her hands in each other, thumbs running over the rings representing her gift. "... it allows me to heal all manner of entities. Including non-humans, such as Devils."
"I sense a story behind this..."
Asia nodded slowly. Slowly, with a heavy heart, she began to explain to Tamamo her past. She had been abandoned, left on the doorstep of an orphanage in Italy. She had been raised and taught in the house of God, thus when she was old enough, she was officially made a member of the Catholic Church. It was also around this time that her Sacred Gear had begun to manifest. The first incident occurred when a group of exorcists had returned from a mission, severely wounded. One of them had even been fatally injured by a Stray Devil. The doctors had told them that he wouldn't have survived the night. When Asia had tended to him in the middle of the night, hoping to alleviate the pain, Twilight Healing had emerged and healing the man's wounds. Come morning, the exorcist was as right as rain.
News of this miracle had spread like wild fire. Before long, Asia was placed upon a pedestal, proclaimed as a Holy Maiden to the villagers and to the men and women of the Church. For a time, she was loved and held dearly. Asia cared little for the attention, instead focusing on her duties and prayed to the souls who were sent to Heaven and for the safety of those who left for their mission in the name of God. She also tended to the wounded, using her Sacred Gear to do what she could for them. Such actions only served to increase the praise she received. The Bishop in charge of the Church in the village, in particular, seemed to take great pleasure in her presence. She never understood why, though she had guessed that it was perhaps due to the fact that many of the villagers had taken to paying more and more donations.
And then, one night, Asia discovered a Devil outside the village. He had been terribly wounded to the point where he could hardly speak or breathe. Though he was an enemy of the Church, Asia had only seen a poor soul in need of healing.
The people of the Church, however, saw this differently. What they initially thought to be a virtue blessed upon those with a pure heart, they later made out to be a heretical item belonging to a twisted soul. Before long, fellow Fathers and Sisters spurned her, calling her a witch. The people of the village treated her with harsh words and scorn. Some had even taken to refusing to allow her to set foot within their stores. Only a mere few kind hearted souls refused to see her as a witch, but the minority was stamped out.
In the end, Asia Argento was excommunicated and sent away from the village, never to return. Asia had been by herself, relying only on the few items she was able to take with her and the generous donations of the previously mentioned kind hearted souls. At some point, she had met a stranger, who had offered her sanctuary in Japan as well as a clean slate, leading to her appointment in tending to a church that was now run down and dilapidated in the small, rural town of Kuoh.
By the end of it, Asia was left slightly out of breath. She had to admit, it was rather strange of her to tell a stranger whom she had just barely met her life story. Especially since they were a youkai. She had nothing against the woman, but she couldn't help but feel a bit cautious.
Unknown to Asia, this was one of the side-effects of Tamamo's prowess. If she willed it, she could subconsciously compel someone to reveal things to her. Things from the bottom of their hearts. Tamamo herself was aware of this power, but she didn't quite have a full handle on it. Thus, there would be times when she unintentionally used it on a person, such as now. Her charm had more or less made Asia tell her everything about her past.
When she looked up, Asia blinked in confusion, finding a teary-eyed Tamamo.
"Y-y-y-you..." Tamamo sobbed before she leaped at Asia, pulling her into an even tighter embrace. "You poor thing! Uwaaaaah!"
Asia panicked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. "M-Miss Tamamo! You're squeezing t-too tight!"
"I'm back!" Haru called out as he stepped into the living room. Unknown to either girl, a second male had also entered, that being Kiba Yuuto. Upon seeing the two girls, however, they blinked in confusion. "Uh... What'd we miss?"
"D-Darling! Listen to this!"