—
—(3:27 pm)—
Gasper sat on a sofa, leaning forward with his arms resting on his thighs, his face practically glued to the system screen right in front of him…
His eyes wide with disbelief.
"Tsk!"
'My coins…' Gasper brought his head down, clenching it with both hands.
Gasper sighed, then leaned back into the sofa, his system screen following him.
'Seriously, what's with this luck?'
He looked at the screen again, and every single pull was a mortal-tier item.
'Maybe Serafall isn't cutting it anymore.' he closed his eyes, feeling like crying.
His goddess has forsaken him.
He opened his eyes, 'But if not her, then who?'
"Ahem! Gasper!"
Gasper blinked and looked past his translucent screen. A redhead sitting right across from him stared back.
She held a whiteboard in one hand and a marker in the other; her eyes narrowed as an exasperated look washed over her face.
Gasper slowly averted his gaze, "..............Yeah?"
Rias sighed, "You weren't paying attention, were you?"
Gasper waved his hand in front of him. "No, I totally was."
"Right…so what did I just say?"
"..."
Hearing nothing but silence, Rias put down her whiteboard and got up.
She turned towards the door and started walking towards it.
Gasper raised a brow. "Where are you going?"
Rias didn't even look at him. "I'm leaving."
Gasper's mouth went wide, "Huh?! But I thought we were training for the whole evaluation thing coming up!"
Rias sighed, "We were, but if you're going to space out, then this is nothing more than a waste of time. If you're not willing to take this seriously… then I might as well cancel the evaluation,"
Gasper jumped out of his seat, raising a hand towards her, "WHOA! Now that's a bit excessive, don't you think?"
Rias came to a full stop. "No, I don't; if you're this lax with the training, then once the day of the evaluation comes, you'll make a fool of yourself!"
"You make….a good point." Gasper's hand dropped back to his side, his face relaxing.
He sighed in exhaustion.
"But why exactly do I need to know which fork is a salad fork, for this evaluation?"
Rias turned back around with a smile on her face. "So you were paying attention."
Gasper brought his hand behind his head, rubbing his neck. "Well, of course I was, it is about my freedom after all…But I guess I can take it more seriously."
She walked back to the sofa and sat down. "That's all I ask you to do."
She grabbed her whiteboard back.
"But seriously, why do I need to know which fork is which?" He pointed at her whiteboard. "I mean, it's a fork for magic's sake!"
Rias's gaze slowly drifted to the side. "Well, Grayfia likes to nitpick… a lot."
Gasper rolled his eyes, "Of course she does... "
"And I can't have you acting like a hooligan once she gets here," Rias said as if stating a fact.
She looked down at her whiteboard, 'When she decides to get here…'
"I ain't no hooligan, I'll have you know I'm a perfectly well-mannered young man," Gasper said, raising his head up high
"..." Rias stared at him with a blank look on her face. 'Says the boy that acts more like a street rat than vampire royalty.'
"Oh, By the way, where's Akeno? I thought she'd be here too."
"Well, she had to take care of something, but she'll be back any minute now." Rias wiped the whiteboard down. "Well then, let's continue, shall we?"
Sighing, Gasper nodded.
Finally giving his undivided attention to the girl in front of him.
*****
—<(2 days later)>—
On a grassy field, two blonds stood a good distance away from each other.
Gasper's eyes were sharp as he stared at Kiba… But a grin slowly crawled up his face.
He could see it in Kiba's eyes… well, more so in his physique.
'He's gotten a bit stronger.'
"So, Kiba, what's this new technique you wanted to show me?"
Kiba closed his eyes… and slowly opened them again, his gaze as sharp as the blades he wields.
"...Well, after our last spar, I noticed something, a horrible weakness of mine."
Gasper raised a brow.
"So, I asked Akeno to help in developing a new move."
Gasper slowly turned to the side, throwing a questioning look toward Akeno sitting on a lawn chair.
She simply sipped her tea.
The intensity in Kiba's eyes lowered for a second, "But I have to thank you, Gasper; after all, it was you I got the idea from."
Gasper's eyes sparkled as he turned back to Kiba, "Wait…did you finally master cutting steel?!"
"UH!" Kiba felt a phantom knife go through his chest. "No.....I'm afraid I haven't made much progress there…"
.
.
.
.
Akeno took a sip of her tea, her eyes never leaving the two of them. 'The way Gasper is progressing, we should be able to start working on ice magic by next week… but to think Kiba would actually take Gasper's ramblings… and turn it into something like that.'
She almost felt like laughing
Just almost.
'...honestly, he should have waited until he's mastered it to use it.'
Her mind flashed to Kiba…leaking out more demonic power than what was going into the attack.
'But, I guess I really am a sucker, if it's to please my students.'
Akeno sighed, her eyes focusing on Gasper. '…Perhaps it's time to start upping my own magical training…'
Out of nowhere, a red ethereal light shone to life.
Akeno turned her gaze toward it; it carried a familiar magic signature and an even more familiar magic crest.
Through a red magic circle, a girl with white hair appeared.
Akeno smiled at the girl. "Well, hello there, Koneko. A pleasure to see you here. What's the occasion?"
"Akeno-Sempai, Buchou is calling Gasper up for more training."
Akeno blinked, 'What? This early in the morning?'
Akeno cleared her throat, "Oh, well that mig—"
Kiba took a deep breath, "...Gasper, I know you haven't shown me everything you're capable of…"
Koneko turned her head, hearing the name of the one she was looking for.
Kiba extended both of his hands, and blue energy condensed in both, one taking the shape of a translucent sword, and the other becoming a bright red sword.
Gasper's eyes narrowed, seeing the red sword. 'Well, that's a sword I haven't seen before.'
Kiba took his stance. "But even so, if you can… "
Kiba took a deep breath in, "Use as much power as you deem necessary." Kiba lunged forward, his body turning into a blur of speed.
Gasper opened his right hand, a blue magic circle burning to life as a blob of water formed quickly; he brought his left hand up, grabbing a hold of the blob with both hands.
He brought his left hand fully across his body and brought forward his right.
The blob molding into an arrow of raging waves!
Kiba saw this and increased his speed!
Gasper's left hand let go, sending the arrow flying—!
KRKABOOM!
A shockwave forming on its escape… Its path led to only one place.
Straight towards Kiba!
But…
Before the arrow even left Gasper's hand, Kiba… had already raised his translucent sword in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, the arrow was sucked into Kiba's sword, and without wasting a second, even though he knew he was nowhere near his opponent, Kiba swung the sword down with force.
Gasper's eyes shrank to pinpoints; moving quickly, he shifted his body to the side. The ground right next to him split open. The same went for the unfortunate trees standing behind him.
Gasper let out a small breath.
'It was thin… almost so thin I couldn't see it; it was like a line of pure water. It's identical to the move I used on Bludwan… but to think a sword would make it this much stronger.'
Kiba, arriving close enough, stopped right in front of Gasper and swung with his translucent sword.
Gasper took a deep breath, waves of hamon spreading throughout his body!
He brought his right hand back and swung it forward, his fingers straight and locked into place as if it were a blade!
Shhhhnk!
His hand went straight through Kiba's blade, cutting the blade in half!
Gasper's hand turned into a blur before stopping right in front of Kiba's stomach, his fingers pressing down on it.
In the blink of an eye, he clenched his hand into a fist, connecting directly with Kiba's stomach.
The force of the punch sent Kiba flying through multiple trees.
BOOM!
"AHHHH!!!" Spit flew from Kiba's mouth as he came to a stop, embedded in a tree.
Kiba dropped his broken blade and pushed himself off the splintered trunk of the tree; he exhaled, blood leaking at the side of his mouth.
Kiba spread his legs wide, planting them firmly onto the ground, and passed his red sword to his right hand.
Slowly, he gripped the body of the blade with his left as if putting it in an imaginary sheath on his waist, his right hand turning almost pale by the force of his grip on the handle.
"HMMH!!!!!!" With a grunt, a wave of demonic power surged from his body.
The grass surrounding him began to float from the sheer force of his aura alone!
Gasper looked on and slowly started walking towards Kiba, his hair whipping in the wind.
His eyes were completely stone cold, reflecting only Kiba. 'He's releasing a shit ton of Demonic power, but why?... Wait….'
Gasper's eyes glistened.
'...is this it? The new move he wanted to show me.'
Kiba looked forward, his eyes half hidden by shadows, locked onto Gasper's.
Gasper smiled, seeing the intensity behind his eyes.
Koneko, seeing this from afar with Akeno, opened her mouth to speak, but Akeno merely raised a hand, her eyes sharp as blades.
Kiba closed his eyes, 'like a stream, it's consistent… Channel it all in a single place…'
Kiba's sword glowed a bright, intense red.
'And release it all at once!'
The grass surrounding Kiba immediately ignited into a small ring of flames.
Kiba unsheathed his blade…the blade sliding out in a perfectly straight line….
A wave of flames… no, an energy beam posing as fire was released from the tip of the sword!
Gasper, seeing the attack, crouched low and jumped far into the air—
BOOM!
The ground beneath him cratering—
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!!!
The beam cut straight through every tree it touched; anything near its path immediately caught on fire.
Gasper's gaze moved towards the path the beam went….
"Ha."
"HA!—"
.
.
.
….He just couldn't help himself, could he?
"HA!…AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!YES, KIBA!!!"
Kiba, with his shirt completely turned to ash and his skin a lighter shade of red, looked up with a smile on his face.
Gasper had a feral grin on his face, "That WAS!—"
"—A sword beam!"
"A sword beam," Kiba immediately knew what he was going to say once he heard that crazy laugh of his.
Gasper released his wings, keeping himself floating in the air as he stared down at Kiba. "Looks like you've finally taken your first steps to become a true swordsman, Kiba!"
Gasper took in a deep breath, an undying smile on his face.
Gasper swiped his right hand towards his side. "KIBAAAAA!!!!!!!"
Kiba let out an awkward laugh.
"In celebration of this monumental achievement, I've decided!"
Kiba's face went dead serious. "That's!!— an insane amount of demonic power!"
Gasper's demonic power was practically coming off in waves.
"I'll dedicate…" a blue magic circle came to life…covering the sky. "...my single most powerful attack to you!"
Akeno's eyes narrowed, 'Isn't that… a little much?'
Akeno got up from her chair. "Koneko."
She turned to look at Koneko.
She was frozen in place…her eyes focused on the sky.
"Get behind me."
Koneko turned to look at Akeno…only for her to see dewdrops rise right off the grass they were standing on, the sun reflecting off them, giving each one of them a radiant golden glow…
Gasper thrust his hand upward; every drop of dew immediately raced upward…
The clouds above raced into Gasper's hand, covering him in a vortex.
Kiba, looking at this, felt a bead of sweat drip from his brow… only for that bead of sweat to rise into the air, becoming one with the vortex above.
Kiba gripped his sword with both his hands… and looked at the hot, red blade. "For a knight to think of ever matching a bishop in magic power…Is the height of idiocy..."
Kiba's grip on his sword tightened. "But…"
He looked back up, his hair whipping in the wind.
Kiba gave a slight smile. "To not try after showing me something so grand...would be a disgrace not just to you...but to myself."
The leather hilt of the sword Kiba was holding slowly began to melt… as the jewel on the hilt burned bright.
With a release of the rest of his demonic power, Kiba raised his sword to the sky—
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!
A red flowing beam parted the clouds…
Kiba's eyes went wide… but he took a deep breath, steadying himself as he stared towards the sky.
An Asian water dragon stared right back at him, one as big as a skyscraper.
Kiba released a breath he didn't know he was holding, "I would expect nothing less from you, Gasper."
Gasper brought his hand down…
The dragon raced forward as it opened its maw.
Kiba brought his sword forward.
The beam poured directly into the dragon's open maw, painting it gold… yet the dragon continued advancing.
Kiba narrowed his eye, his muscles bulging as he forced more power into the blade, 'IT'S?!—IT'S NOT ENOUGH!'
Panic slowly crept up Kiba's heart.
Kiba knew Gasper wasn't an idiot.
He would never throw something at him that he didn't think he was ready for…
Kiba's eyes focused on the dragon…no, they focused on the person behind it.
Was he really…
Was he really going to fail once he finally got Gasper to go all out?
.
.
.
.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kiba yelled, pouring every last drop of his demonic power into his attack.
The beam grew wider with every passing instant.
The ground beneath Kiba slowly began to liquefy into molten magma.
"AGGGGGGGGAHHHHHHH!" with a primal roar, Kiba brought his sword down…
.
.
.
.
Gasper's eyes widened…
The dragon...
It was split directly down the middle—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The dragon exploded, creating a shockwave that tore away the remaining clouds.
The remaining water from the dragon falling back to the earth as rain.
"Huff~" Kiba panted hard as he looked up at the sky, his eyes half-lidded, his body steaming.
And slowly he started to fall backwards.
TAP!
Only for his body to be stopped from behind.
A hand on his back keeping him upright.
He weakly turned his head.
Seeing the familiar set of blonde locks, he smiled.
Gasper smiled back.
"...Not bad, Kiba."
"Not bad at all."
.
.
.
.
Akeno put down her barrier. "Are you alright, Koneko?"
"Yes…" Even though she responded, Koneko did not look at her; her eyes stayed fixed on one person.
Gasper, with Kiba's arm over his shoulder.
She slowly unclenched her fist… not realizing that she was clenching them in the first place.
It was then… A cold realization settled into her heart…
Gasper…
He's stronger than I am.
*****
—<(February 5th, 2007)>—
The room was dark.
The only bit of light coming from small rays of sunlight, a smartphone set on a table…and…
A lone cigar sitting in the mouth of a man sitting on a couch.
"You should come check it out, A. You're in Kouh, right?" a voice said from the smartphone.
Puff*
"Ha~"
Crowley exhaled, a puff of smoke leaving his lips. "Yeah, I am… but that does not mean I'm coming to see your new hotel open, Azazel."
"Now don't be such a buzzkill; it's only like a three-hour train ride to Kyoto."
"...I'd rather die than ride in that bloody death machine," Crowley said, leaning his head back against the worn leather of the couch.
"Not every train is going to derail on you, just give it a chance."
"Tell that to the ten trains that did." Crowley took a hit of his cigar.
"That was just bad luck."
Puff*
"In a row."
"..............Well, we were being targeted at the time…so that doesn't count," Azazel said, his voice carrying a distinct, unapologetic tone.
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Right…"
"Just think it over; it's in two months anyway."
"My mind is set in stone, you bloody bastard," Crowley said, putting down his cigar on the ashtray right on the table.
"HA! That's what you said about our trip to Scandinavia, and you still had a grand time, didn't you?"
Crowley almost immediately gained a headache thinking about Scandinavia, "I had to go, I couldn't just leave poor Shemhazai alone to deal with your shenanigans."
"I'm not that bad."
"You are…" Crowley's eyes narrowed. "So why the hell are you calling me for Azazel? I really doubt it's just about your hotel."
"What? Can't say hi to my favorite Pale Hunter?"
Crowley physically cringed. "You know I hated that name…"
"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that if it was ever said out loud and a bloodsucker heard it, they might drop dead on the spot, HAHA!" As Azazel chuckled, the sound of ice clinking against a glass echoed over the speaker.
Crowley sighed, "If only it were that easy, mate."
"...But there is a reason I called you; I heard about the favor you asked Shemhazai."
Tsk*
Crowley clicked his tongue. "He just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he…"
"Now, now, it's not poor Shemhazai's fault I grilled him after I heard you called him up."
"Now you know I'm fine with helping you out; you're an old friend after all, but I have to ask…"
"What's with the interest in the dead son of Vladi?"
Azazel gasped. "Wait! Don't tell me you're hunting again, Alan!"
Crowley brought up a hand, rubbing his temples. "No, I'm not hunting again; I'm retired, and I intend to keep it that way, Azazel. It's… simply about a hunch I had, but at this point I guess it doesn't really matter."
He couldn't lie; at first, he was wary… a vampire is a vampire, after all.
But after a while... he couldn't really say when... the boy just kinda grew on him.
"A hunch? About a dead boy, what? Is he really alive or something?"
"..."
"...well, yes, he is."
Azazel went silent for a second, "...Oh, you're serious?"
"Remember when I told you I took in two students?"
"Yeah…" The sound of Azazel taking a sip of his drink passed through the speakers.
"Well, as bloody crazy as it sounds, the name of one of them, or at least how he calls himself, is Gasper 'Vladi' Joestar."
"PFFFFT!!"
For a solid minute, only the sound of coughing was heard through the speakers.
"*Cough* W-what, but I thought you said the ones you picked up were a human and a devil?!"
Crowley brought his left hand to his right hand, playing with a silver ring on his ring finger, "I wasn't lying; he is a devil… I just didn't tell you he was also a vampire, with Vladi as his middle name. I didn't jump to conclusions after all. What noble vampire sidelines their pride? And for one connected to a vampire lord to submit and become a servant, well, the possibility was very low."
"...Alan, how sure are you?"
"One hundred percent it's definitely Lord Vladi's kid; I mean, slick back his hair and they might as well be twins."
The other side practically went silent.
"pftt—HAHAHHAHAHHAH!"
Crowley's eyebrow twitched. "What the hell's so funny, you feathery bastard?"
"OH COME ON! You can't tell me you don't find it hilarious, you! One of the most prolific vampire slayers, training and nurturing a vampire. I mean, the irony is practically written on the wall!"
"Well, I am retired, Azazel." Crowley sighed, "And he's a good kid; he has a weird obsession with poultry and a weirdly good taste in wine, but he's still a good kid."
Azazel's laughter slowly stopped. "So even someone like you can get soft, huh?... But I guess, I'm not one to talk, am I?"
"But why Joestar? That's like the most obvious cover-up name I've ever heard."
Crowley snickered, "Well, knowing the kid, he probably chose it because he thought it sounded cool."
Azazel hummed, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, but if I were you, I'd keep an eye on him."
"I am, but he is practically harmless unless you give him a good reason to fight."
"..."
"...Hey, this line is encrypted, right?" Azazel's voice got low.
Crowley raised a brow. "What do you take me for, an amateur?"
"Hey, just making sure."
"Well, get this, some of my people on the inside brought me some interesting news the other day, news that you might want to hear."
Crowley thought about it for a second, watching the smoke of his cigar rise.
"Lay it on me."
"I can't say for sure, but it seems there's tension building up in Romania, but the thing is, it's just the Tepes faction and them alone."
"A large portion of them seem to be rallying behind one person."
"But why?"
"Well, to that, my friend, I have no clue."
"For a second, I thought it was a group of radicals, you know, the usual, not happy with the current Queen, but it doesn't seem to be the case… Say, what do you think might be going on here, A?"
Crowley scratched his head. "I don't know, maybe they finally decided to stretch out of Romania?"
"Like what, some type of exploration striking force?"
Crowley shrugged, "Could be."
"Uh, not likely you know them; they'd rather step into the sun than willingly leave Romania, but I'll keep it in mind."
"...Well, for what it's worth, thanks for telling me."
"Don't mention it; I'm just passing along some info I thought you might find interesting. If not from me, you probably would have heard it from Shemhazai anyway."
.
.
.
.
"...so hotel opening, so you there, yeah?"
Crowley sighed, "No, Azazel."
"Oh come on, why not? Think about it, you, me, Shemhazai, maybe even Baraqiel if he's up for it, going out for a drink, eh? For old times' sake."
Crowley got up from the couch.
He reached out his hand, grabbing ahold of the phone.
"I'm hanging up," he said, his voice ice cold.
"Ahgh~, come on, don't be like that, jus—"
Crowley brought his finger over a red button, "Goodbye, Azazel."
"Alright, alright, I know when I'm not wanted… but, A, promise me something."
"What?"
"Don't go off being all mopey today, all right?" Azazel said, his voice sincere.
Crowley closed his eyes, "...I'll try."
Pressing the red button, Crowley cut the line.
He put the phone in his pants pocket, sighing.
He raised his hand up, looking at his watch,
Crowley sighed.
"Well, it's about time I get goin—"
RATTLE!!!
Huh?
Out of nowhere, light flooded the room.
Crowley turned his gaze to the source of the light, only to see his metal shutter open and a figure standing in the light.
His blonde hair almost blended in with the sun's light.
He had oversized brown goggles on, the sun reflecting off them like a beam. A blue jacket with a big yellow five-pointed star on the back, and some black pants.
Crowley's eyes narrowed, "...What the hell are you doing here, kid?" he said in a somewhat annoyed voice.
Gasper opened his mouth slightly, "huh?"
←–TO BE CONTINUED—