Chapter 1
Perhaps I should not have been surprised. Dying and waking up as a toddler in another life should have been the first clue that I should not expect things to be or, in fact, remain mundane. I was born in Italy and spent most of my life in an orphanage. All was perfectly normal, until it wasn't.
Was it destiny? A predetermined outcome? A meddling force beyond my sight? I could not say, though I sincerely hope for neither of those. The best thing for me to do, and continue to do, is to believe that all of what has happened to me is just one big cosmic accident. If only for my own sanity.
On some level, I probably don't even believe it myself, to be honest. How could I, when I have been staying in Kuoh for the last two weeks, holed up in an abandoned church filled with a bunch of Fallen Angels and exiled exorcists? The world was full of monsters, and I was just a little fish in the pond for now.
It has been 18 years since I was reborn. 8 years since I found out what world I was actually in. And 6 years since the last revelation that threatened to give me a heart attack but at the same time ensured I would not be sentenced to die an unimportant death in this world of monsters. Growing up in an orphanage in Italy and then being raised for the last few years of my adolescence by a priest who adopted me was mostly as mundane as it sounds. What was not mundane was Father Jaime handing me off to Fallen Angels.
Fortunately, I was equipped to deal with this second life of mine. I simply had to find a space in which to do so. With that in mind, it was easy to convince the young nun, who was so cruelly excommunicated, to join me in my little escape from this place. Asia Argento arrived at the Fallen hideout four days ago, looking like a lost lamb, with no guidance of her own, just a resigned feeling of doing what she was told.
Persuading her has been easy. The young girl was so starved of normal human contact that just a few kind words and a helpful attitude, and she was convinced I was her friend who would only try to help her.
I honestly pitied the girl. I knew I was not taking advantage of her and would try to help her, but any person with enough ill intent would not even have to try too hard to lead Asia astray. It did not matter now, I suppose. The course was set, and I was walking towards power, and little Asia trotted the road with me.
/Break
We were making our way towards the school; its gates were still open, and students were slowly starting to trickle out. Looking up the schedule hours of the classrooms has not been hard, so I arrived around the time most of the students finished with their homerooms.
Walking with the young blonde Asia beside me, I stopped a female student passing by.
"Good afternoon, do you speak English, please? I am looking for someone."
I asked in English, though it still came out accented, my accent from this second life noticeably present.
The young girl I approached appeared startled. She was perhaps a year or two younger than me.
"Umm, hi … that is ... I mean, yes, I speak English," she said unsurely, most likely not used to speaking the language aside from the classroom.
I put on a smile, as I did not want her to feel awkward, and tried to speak as intelligibly and slowly as I could. "Perfect, I am looking for a family friend from Europe. I came to visit Japan and wanted to surprise them."
"Europe?" she replied, putting her finger to her chin and tilting her head.
Oh god, is this a thing in Japan, or am I in an actual anime world? I bemoaned my new existence in exasperation.
Before my thoughts could spiral away in my head, the Japanese student spoke up.
"Ah … you must mean Gremory-san; I think Chisake-chan mentioned she is from Europe. Is that the person you are looking for?"
Bingo
"That is precisely it, thank you very much, Miss …?" I trailed off.
She blushed for some reason, proving once again the weirdness of the social skills in this country.
"Hirise"
"Hirise … san?" I tried. "That is how you say it, correct?"
"Hai … I mean, yes."
"Thank you, Hirise-san; my name is Kairos Belmonte," I said, bowing slightly, not sure if I was overdoing it or not; better safe than sorry. "Would you be able to point me to where I could find Miss Gremory? I would like to still surprise her with my presence." I said with a small smile.
"Umm … she is part of the Occult Research Club, so she should be in their clubhouse right now." She said, pointing off to the side, where a large building on the edge of the campus could be seen.
With a few more words of thanks, I left the young student behind me and started walking towards the large building where my gamble was to be made.
Asia Argento, the young girl dressed in nuns' clothing slightly behind me, looking around her with wide and curious eyes.
As we approached the building, I stopped and turned fully towards her.
"Asia, we are about to meet with a devil, or multiple. I know I do not have the faith that you do, but I must ask all the same, do you trust me in this?"
At first she looked a little hesitant but then nodded her head. "I do, Mr Kairos. You said Miss Raynare and others wished harm on us, and you … uhm … have been kind to me in these last few days, so … uhm … I trust you."
I contemplated my next words for a moment. "It does seem unfair to be in the position we are in; the Church discarded us both. You are worse than I am in that regard." I said with a sad smile, then shook my head. "The fallen likewise wish to do harm to us; what else is there but to turn towards the third option?"
"Remember, Asia, when the big wage war, the small suffer the most, and in this world, we are the small ones, so we must do what is best for ourselves here."
I paused for a moment, hoping my smile was a reassuring one.
"It does not matter where you stand when the time comes, only what you do in the meanwhile."
After a moment of silence, Asia seemed to gather her courage and spoke. "I trust you, Mr Kairos," she reiterated her previous sentiment. "The Lord watches over you, and I put my trust in him."
I was not so sure of that; in fact, I was pretty sure he did not watch over anyone these days, but assumption is the poison of fools. The system he set up still existed, and there were people to act on his behalf, at least in his spirit. It would not do to become careless in this world where monsters walked among us. Unless one were to become a monster as well. I thought and heard a deep rumbling that sounded almost like a chuckle inside my mind.
Letting that be, I smiled again at the young nun.
"Indeed, Asia, the Lord will love you, no matter where you are, if you keep doing good and behave with kindness. Look to your actions in his garden first and foremost, and you shall be in his grace, no matter the path you walk."
I hope I'm not laying it on a little thick. But her beaming smile and vigorous head nodding proved me otherwise.
I nodded to her, and we started walking towards the Occult Research Club building again.
Just as we neared the entrance, I slowed again and turned my head sideways to look at Asia. "One more thing, do not mention God directly; I have heard it is not pleasant for devils."
She looked a little disturbed by that piece of information but nodded, looking somewhat resolute.
With that done, I looked ahead, towards the door of the building, and with a deep breath, we entered.
/Break
Rias Gremory was sitting down behind her desk in the clubhouse, busy contemplating the most serious question of the day. Shall I do the paperwork now, or should I just do it later? She scrunched her eyebrows over the stacks of paper; they have been piling up the last few days, and she did not feel like dealing with them today.
It's a conundrum.
Just then, a pleasant aroma tickled her senses, and Akeno stepped out of the adjacent room with a tray carrying a steaming tea kettle. She smiled pleasantly at her queen and a friend.
"Akeno, perfect timing."
"Ara, ara. Avoiding work again."
"I am not avoiding anything."
Her queen did not look convinced and merely widened her smile, and somehow she smiled with her eyes as well.
Rias pouted at her.
"You are being mean to me again."
"Oh my, am I? Apologies, Rias." Said the dark-haired devil sweetly without meaning a word of it.
Rias pouted harder but could not let the quip go unanswered; such was not her nature.
"I am merely allocating my time properly; it is better for me to do it in batches rather than a little every day." Said Rias with conviction she was not sure she was feeling. She just didn't feel like doing it; what of it? She was a devil; she could be lazy if she wanted to be.
Akeno simply held her smile, not saying anything.
A smirk made its way to Rias's lips. "Perhaps you're right; perhaps I should consider a different approach to handling these matters," she uttered, seemingly conceding the argument.
"Perhaps delegation is the way to go, you know, lighten my load so I can focus on the important stuff," she said with a smirk, seeing Akeno's smile freeze on her face slightly.
Just before her queen could offer any rebuttal, a knock sounded on the door.
She exchanged glances with her queen; her peerage would not knock, and neither would Sona. Not to mention, she would let her know beforehand if she wished to visit, the Sitri heir being punctual about such things.
The entrance doors downstairs and to this room were both unlocked, so perhaps someone from the faculty or one of the students? They almost never came here, though. With a nod to her queen, who positioned herself in front of the desk and facing the doors, Rias called out.
"Enter."
Two unknown humans entered through the door. One girl and a man. Man or a boy? He looks around my age, but you can never be sure.
The girl was young, perhaps closer to Koneko than to her or Akeno. Long blonde hair and a pretty face with green eyes. The nun outfit threw Rias off slightly, as she was not sure if this was a genuine nun or someone cosplaying. She has seen weirder things, to be honest.
The man – and she decided on a man, seeing as he was quite tall and she could see the last shave already needed to be repeated – was also quite an unusual sight in the Japanese nation. Tall, especially for the local standards, he had bright brown eyes that Rias could call almost amber if she was feeling poetic. Dressed in casual clothes that told her nothing at all, the young man seemed to be the one leading the blonde girl as she followed behind him.
"Good afternoon, I am sorry to interrupt, but are you perhaps Miss Gremory?" he asked her after observing both her and Akeno for a moment.
"I am indeed. Rias Gremory. But you seem to have me at a disadvantage."
The man nodded.
"My name is Kairos Belmonte, and this is Asia Argento. Pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you as well. What can I help you with?"
The man looked sheepish for a moment, as if deciding what to say.
"We are currently staying with the Fallen Angels who operate inside of Kuoh."
Rias's previous smile dropped slightly, her attention fully on the duo in front of her.
"I assume there is a reason for telling me this and not expecting to meet a painful end?"
"Ufufu," chuckled her queen, the smile she previously had now turning more dangerous.
The man nodded. "It is somewhat of a story; perhaps we could sit down and I will explain. I assure you, we mean no harm to you, Lady Gremory."
Rias considered the pair for a moment and decided that nothing bad would happen just to hear them out. The rest of her peerage should be arriving shortly, and she did not think those two could do any serious harm to her or her queen. Learning more about the Fallen, who seem to think they can breathe with impunity in my city, is not something that I should let pass by.
She motioned for them to sit on the sofas, but she herself remained seated behind the desk. Rias felt it gave her an upper hand in any talk and a little bit of distance from them if they tried anything.
Akeno placed down the tray with still steaming tea and made herself the hostess.
With tea graciously accepted, her queen stepped back, taking position on the side of her desk, ready to act in defence of her king.
The man seemed to be trying very hard not to stare at her and Akeno, as he was currently trying to hide behind his teacup, which made her mouth quirk up. They made eye contact, and the man noticed her smirk and blushed in slight embarrassment.
Amusing
"Now, please explain to me what two Fallen agents are doing in my clubroom."