The Reaper

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“W-what are you doing?“

That was, until he seemed to pick her up. Eyes widened and she would blink a few times before a scoff passed from her lips. While it was nice to be carried it was a little awkward, and embarrassing!  She would scowl in her usual way. She would accept it, but it did not mean she liked it.

  As for the points he made about repelling intruders and having knowledge of them, that she could usually devise a scheme for. With them living so high up, as Death pointed out, they would have some time before anyone reached the top. -

“ Just leave the scheming to me.“

- She would cheerily reaffirm the fact that she placed a great deal of emphasis on her intelligence. Really she was trying to impress her Servant, in a way, since she knew she was probably not the stronger master out there…. either way it did not stop the woman from being herself. That even included that somewhat bossy attitude that would begin to spark up as she became more and more comfortable with Death. 

Because there wasnt much else to talk about, and the silence was a bit unsettling she would glance up at Death before asking. - 

“Does your steed have a name?“

Nevertheless, he didn't care for such traits as physical strength in a Master as long as it was capable of providing him with the Prana needed to stay in this war.

After a while of walking in silence, his Master asked something he didn't expect. True, stating the name of his Phantasm Steed wasn't going to reveal his true name before the enemy could see the steed for himself, and even if they managed to discern his identity as one of the Horsemen from Lore, it wasn't likely they knew which one of them he was.]

A curious Master aren't you? It's name is Despair.

For now I advise to move locations to one where you could see the enemies coming from any side.

He was right. Which gave her an idea. Looking to him she would smirk as she held up a finger. -

“ An apartment in a highrise, I do have some funds… and we should avoid going to the Church for help so early.“

- It sounded more like she was muttering to herself than to Death but either way, she made it so he could follow her line of thinking.  With that she started to stare up at the tall buildings of the city.  They werent too far away, and she wouldnt have to climb a million stairs right? Because in this era they have things called “elevators”.  She was aware that Rider class servants usually had some sort of thing they well, rode on, but she would be foolish to have him expend Prana just for her selfish needed, no matter how much she wanted to and how tempting it was.  She knew this was serious, and if they were attacked he would need to keep as much Prana as possible intact. She scrapped the idea and riding anything and mentally prepared herself for walking.  You think after being dead for …awhile you would want to walk…or something. - 

Very well. Just ask for the highest room in that case. In the worst case scenario I'll have to summon my steed to get us out of there safely.

[And by that he obviously meant get his new Master away safely because he could survive without any problem even if the whole building were to fall on top of him and he was buried in all the debris. His Master however, didn't seem like she could withstand too much punishment so it was wise to keep her as far away from the enemies and the battlefield at all if possible.

Death summoned a cloak from his armory and covered his body with it, making the act look as if he made a cloak appear out of nowhere while in fact, was just one of the many items stored in his armory and then proceeded to lift his Master and placed her on one of his now cloaked shoulders.]

I believe we'll reach the place faster this way.

“In that case, tell me one of your many given names.” Her arms folded across her chest sternly. His attitude was beginning to irritate her — not surprising, really. The pilot felt great irritation towards being told what to do like that. Especially since he was essentially telling her to shut up.

And pray tell me, how do you believe I should trust a suspicious girl who suddenly blocked my way? Why is it my duty to introduce myself after I helped you with no obligation to do so? 

[He was suspicious-looking, no arguing that but the looks this girl had, were quite suspicious too. A battle of arguments wasn't exactly within Death's taste, but being an elder being who had exchanged arguments with deceitful demons, he knew far too well how to work around those.]

Call me whatever you wish, it makes no difference.

As soon as he let go, she opened her eyes and glared at him, rubbing her head and smoothing down her auburn brown hair. Maybe he was going to try to kill her? Right. And these sorts of scenarios were exactly why she couldn’t trust a single soul in this damned place.

Her head ached but only fueled her suspicion and irritation. After gathering herself, Asuka bee-lined after him in quick, large steps, fists balled up at her sides and a very serious look on her face.

“If you did it on a whim with no other motives, then I’m sure you’d have no problem telling me your name, in that case?”

Who goes demanding a name without properly giving theirs first? In any case, I have no name. I discarded it a long time ago and I've only been called countless names by people.

[Most of those nicknames were obviously regarding to his feats and most of them were accomplished after he became the Charred Council's tool for judgement. One Horseman was enough to deal with hordes of both angels and demons, but if the 4 were to be together, most definitely they could take on the the entire legions of both realms. All of this power was given to him by forfeiting his name as a nephilim and taking on the name of Death.]

It'd be wise if you learnt when to ask and when to stay in silence.

He was powerful, honestly, how did one cheat Death? This boded well for them, though she was vaguely aware of the limitation she imposed on his powers, but she was confident that she would be able to lend her scheming mechanics to her Servant to ensure their victory.  She was not going to give up. 

Now the question remained, where did they go? It would be foolish to rush blindly into conflict without knowing anything of who else would oppose them.  Her eyes seemed to become discolored as she placed a hand on her chin in silence, evident that she was scheming something up. 

If they became allied with people from the beginning, they would be easier to betray later.  Of course, she had to be mindful not to let her feelings get in the way.  Everyone in this War were merely pawns, meant to be used and then discarded. Glancing up at Death she seemed to have come to a conclusion.  -

Very well. Information gathering before executions.

[Death would prove to be quite sarcastic whenever he felt like it and if there was any room for jokes, the only kind of jokes he would be able to make would be very grim ones, given the nature of his "profession", as the extinguisher of life.]

For now I advise to move locations to one where you could see the enemies coming from any side.

Eventually they entered a shabby looking warehouse. It was dimly lit and the concrete of the floor felt cold even through the padded soles of her plug suit. The sight before her was one she had not anticipated: a group of thugs with weapons galore. Suddenly, she was second guessing this whole thing. Hopefully this guy knew what he was doing, otherwise …

The leader of the gang spoke out loud and all of their eyes lingered on her in unison. Instinctively she crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows angrily. “What do you think your looking at, weirdo?!” If not for the fact that she had common sense, she would have pounced those guys right then and there; give ‘em a swift kick in the face. Make ‘em so ugly not even their mothers could look them in the eyes again! But instead, she shrunk back and gave a low growl, a disgusted look on her face. People like them really got her blood boiling.

Before the thugs could move, her ‘companion’ spoke out loud and rose his arm, revealing a revolver. She stared up at him with her mouth agape. Was he going to do what she thought he was go—

Oh, look at that. He was.

With each firing of the gun Asuka flinched at how loud it was. In such a confined space, the sound bounced off the walls and increased drastically. She was not unfamiliar to the sight of blood, death, or gun wounds though so she did not look away or yell out. (However she did curl her mouth back in mild disgust when he shot two men point blank).

While the girl was used to these sorts of things … when she was required to kill, it was an Angel. The only human death she’d faced was her mother’s. Her head was swimming and she bit down on her lower lip, averting her gaze away from the man who’d just murdered ten people without blinking.

Even if she claimed to be familiar with blood and death, the events that had just transpired shook her a tiny bit but it was something she’d have to wholly get used to, right? Considering she’d just been forced into the middle of a war of sorts. That’s what she told herself, anyway. Asuka sucked in a shaky breath and did not let her eyes examine the carnage for too long lest she began to feel sick.

Ten very human lives had been taken just so she could get her hands on a weapon. Asuka swallowed and felt her head pounding at the mere thought. Get used to it, get used to it, get used to it. The phrase repeated itself in her head numerous times before she finally managed to move her feet and walk forward.

He walked past her as well and stood by door, making a comment about how they probably had more weaponry stashed away than what they were armed with.

The young pilot took hesitant steps towards the bodies and the crates and other such things surrounding them. They all seemed to be carrying pretty regular guns from what she could see out in the open. As she inched closer to the corpses she covered her mouth and nose with her left hand in an attempt to mask the smell of blood. It was a futile attempt for the most part as the scent managed to make it’s way to her despite said efforts. Eugh.

Sucking it up, she continued her search in the dim light of the warehouse. After a few minutes passed, the man’s statement was proven to be true! Asuka forced open one of the wooden crates with her bare hands and a knife she’d found laying next to one of the dead men (most likely it had fallen out of his pocket somewhere between all of the ‘excitement’). The knife clattered to the concrete floor when the box was open and the lid was likewise tossed onto the ground. The contents of the crate seemed mostly to be filler, until … a grin widened across her face as she pulled out a medium-sized gun that felt as if it radiated some sort of magical energy.

The gun was black (secretly she’d been hoping it would match the colour scheme of her Eva, but oh well) and resembled a Beretta M1951 in shape. Nothing to take a second glance at, certainly, but the energy that the gun emitted was another thing altogether. It was this kind of hidden power that appealed to her. No one would expect a small, light gun to pack one hell of a punch, right?

Handling the gun as she’d learned back in the military, Asuka walked over to a corpse and removed the hostler from around it’s waist without much of a second thought, however she did not look at the wounds or face — just on the task at hand. Her plugsuit didn’t have any pockets and it wasn’t as if she could carry the damn thing around every second of every day. Knowing this, the holster was removed and she put it on herself. It was a bit big, settling on her hips and weighing down a bit more on the side she put the gun into.

“Let’s get out of here before I throw up at the sight and stench of these disgusting things.”

Her thumb pointed back at the bodies. After the lecherous looks they’d given her prior to their slaughtering, she didn’t have much of an issue with saying such blunt things.

After exiting the warehouse and taking in a gulp of fresh air, Asuka pivoted on her heels and looked the man, speaking: “That was kind of unnecessarily bloody, don’t you think? But … thanks for the help, I guess,” She stuck out her lower lip and scratched her cheek with her index finger for a second.

Her eyes traveled to the hand he’d used to fire that revolver. “You’re not gonna try to like, kill me, or anything? This is a war, you know. We’re not friends just because you decided to help me for some reason.”

The fact that she was more than obviously disgusted by the dead corpses meant that she was not entirely used to battlefields so it was even more of a wonder how did she even think of using a weapon such as a firearm. Being the avatar of death, it was only a natural sight for him that he had no attachment nor disgust towards.]

You are far too young to categorize that as bloody, and no need for thanks.

[If she had seen just a fragment of all the deaths that had been witnessed by him, this were pretty clean deaths with the least pain he could give so in a sense, they were perhaps even the most merciful ones available to men such as those.

Then the girl had to go and say something that truly amused the Horseman. He was one to never show much emotion but amusement was one he allowed himself to show when the irony was too great.

Without a warning, Death moved his left hand and grasped the girl's head and squeezed with little power. Still, the unholy strength of the Horseman would be enough to show that her life could be taken at any instant.]

Maybe I am.

[He didn't even put enough force to crush her skull but with that display of power from him, maybe she would understand better her position and stopped questioning him so much. After a brief moment that would freeze most people in fear of death's grasp, he let go of her head and continued walking, at a slow pace, not even walking towards her.]

Do not be mistaken, your time has not come yet, but if I wished to take your life, I would've done it from the first moment we met.

[The fact that she mentioned the war made Death sure of her involvement in it. With that suit of hers it was impossible to ascertain however if she was a Master but he doubted that such a puny girl would be a Servant.]

If you are so curious about it, I did it on a whim.

Bringing her attention back to the matter at hand, Asuka awaited a reply. Thinking about it, it really was not such a great idea to be asking fellow residents of the city for help. She knew not to trust anyone and surely most others had the same mind set. For all she could guess, this man was planning on deceiving her and quite honestly she wouldn’t have blamed him for it either. She would have taken utmost advantage of the situation just as well.

While she’d act friendly … enough, the redhead would not let her guard down for even a moment.

Then, he took a few steps forward as if he meant to walk away from her altogether. Briefly, she had almost thought so and had intended on stopping him, but thankfully he stopped beside her and glanced downwards. The girl caught a glimpse of a small portion of his face although her expression betrayed nothing. … In mind, however, she did think his face a little strange from what she saw. The voice and visage of an old man, and yet she’d never seen someone old with a build like that. Strange, strange. Best not to question the people of this city, though. A lot of people seemed very … irregular.

‘Hmph. I will lend you a hand this time, but those weapons will be of no use against the storm that’s coming.’

Her hands dropped to her side and she trailed behind him as he began to walk again. No use? Well … he did seem to know what he was talking about, considering. She’d take his word for it.

Taking quick steps to keep up beside him now, she tilted her head and looked up, a questioning look arranged on her features. “Then are you going to take me somewhere that’ll actually have something of use?”

“I want to maximize my potential. I want powerful firearms. Take me somewhere that’ll meet both of those requirements, okay?” Her index finger rose, “and don’t you dare try to trick me, or you’ll regret it!”

A legal arms shop was of course not the best bet here since the girl would hardly have the requirements to get an arsenal, which was both currency and authorization by human's laws. The best bet was to go to an illegal establishment  and take them by force. but as he said, human weapons would be of no use against Servants were she in need to defend from them.

However Death thought of it, there existed no place to find weapons that could serve against Heroic Spirits unless they were altered through the use of magecraft, and if this girl was a magus, she might be able to do so but even if he felt prana from her, he could not imagine this girl to be such.

Then as they were walking, she made a comment that made the Horseman to actually let out a muzzled yet grim laugh, at the irony of her words. Death was a "man" of word and if he agreed to help someone, he'd do it to the end, because there was something to be gained from it too, but the irony was that for Death in the flesh to be warned of using trickery. If he really wanted to take her life, he'd do it head on and without such elaborate ruse.

After a few minutes, they were near a river in a dubious area who would make most sane citizens stay away from. They made it to a warehouse where they were received by a little company of roughly 10 thugs that had all sort of weapons with them.]

Guys, looks like we got ourselves some home delivery for first class entertainment!

[The guy who seemed to be the gang leader said and the rest started howling and celebrating as their lecherous eyes went first towards the girl in the plug suit and it didn't take too much to realize what they were thinking of.]

Not today.

[Only those two words left the nephilim's mouth as he raised his arm that was already holding an obviously crafted revolver and with deadly accuracy, he shot all ten of them in either the head or the chest and those that hadn't been instantly killed by headshots tried to crawl away while bleeding only for Death to calmly walk towards them shot them at point blank until they all stopped moving.

After the massacre that unfolded, Death walked towards the girl and passed her by once again towards the door of the place he basically raided and stood there as if to stand guard.]

The pain was affecting her concentration. She needed to concentrate. Otherwise, she’d risk losing herself to them. The urges. Bloodlust, destruction, clawing away at her mind like rabid dogs. The berserker stood back up while releasing a number of feral growls more akin to that of an animal than a human. The wound on her chest left by the gun was healing and within seconds had disappeared entirely. A gunshot to the heart would hardly be enough to kill her.

“Nnng… I would appreciate it if you did not do that again. Please don’t make me fight you.”

Hmm, there aren't many sentient beings capable of that.

[Death pointed the muzzle of the revolver upwards as if complying to her actually polite demand. True, he was here to find out information rather than go all out so this much was actually a good harvest.]

Then state your business, if you do not seek for battle.

She took a few unsure steps back in order to create a bit more space between the two. He was intimidating, of that she was certain. Not that she would weaken her demeanor before him — not a chance. Simply, the redhead swallowed and crossed her arms, keeping her stance strong and looking him dead in the eyes.

“Is that really any of your business?” Her head inclined ever so slightly, one brow lifting.

Breaking eye contact then, she glanced side-ways. “Use your eyes, maybe it’d be obvious then,” When intimidated, get snarky. Good plan, Asuka! However she had assumed it was obvious. A young girl clad in only a plug suit? Lacking any sort of visible weapon to defend herself at a breath’s moment if she’d ever need to? “But if you really must know, it’s for … self defense, of course. You never know.”

Quickly, she unfolded her arms and placed her right hand on her hip, standing with most of her weight on her right foot, then looked back up at him with a hard stare. “So are you going to help me out or what, mister?”

Such a sight would definitely look many ways to all the people around the area, from being some sort of show that was going on like those of hidden cameras, to some guy harassing the girl, to even more shady business. People surely let go of their imagination fast.

Still, Death payed no mind to the whispers because what he really aimed was to find any possible Servant and depending on what could be done, either track him back to his hideout or even challenge them to a fight.

For the time being, he could use this to his advantage and go along with her to draw attention to him. Bystander's attention were unimportant but since he felt some prana in this girl, he could try to ascertain what her take in this war was and maybe draw some other Servant's attention as well.

He then stepped to one side of the girl as if he was going to simply pass her by and briefly stopped at her side and turned his head a bit to the side so she could catch a glimpse of his face. The holes on his mask were enough to see the wrinkled skin on his face around his eyes that resembled an old man, or perhaps something else, but made sure that his glowing eyes were not in her line of sight because that would be impossible to explain or be ignored by anyone.]

Hmph. I will lend you a hand this time, but those weapons will be of no use against the storm that's coming.

Of the many things she knew concerning war, two points came to mind: know your enemy and always be prepared for a battle.

Know your enemy? Considering the circumstances, it was a bit difficult for her to personally know her enemy and their weaknesses— the threat surrounded her every moment of every day she was here. Anyone and everyone was game; was a potential risk to her survival. At this point, it was more about making sure her enemy didn’t know about her more so than the other way around.

Always be prepared for a battle? Unchecked. So much for those two points.

However, the very fact that Asuka Shikinami was not on her toes and ready to defend her life at any given moment was the exact reason she was fretting at the moment.

The young girl was currently seated on the concrete steps of a shop’s front — a shop she hadn’t really bothered to acknowledged given the occupancy of her mind on more important matters. Such as: how was she going to be able to protect herself in basic battle or in the very feasible situation that someone were to try to ambush her? Her hand-to-hand combat skills were sub-par. On the other hand, her gun handling was fairly decent after years of experience.

Ever set on an assured victory, these sorts of thoughts had assailed her mind since her summoning. What with all of the apparent natural combatants and weapon-bearing citizens all around her, her chances of success in this war were seeming kind of slim.

So, that was that: she’d get a weapon. Something to defend herself with, something she was comfortable using.

A pistol at the very least … but she was sure even that wouldn’t be enough eventually.

Her chest expanded and contracted as she sighed heavily. If only she’d been blessed with some of the more fanciful and powerful abilities that characters in shounen manga’s had. What a burden.

Asuka’s forearms rested on her knees as she shuffled her feet, looking down at them with a troubled expression before straightening her back and adorning a more focused look. There was no point in dwelling on stair cases and pitying oneself! She wasn’t that idiot daddy’s boy; she’d actually take some initiative and better herself without complaint!

With new-found confidence, the pilot abruptly rose from her position and pushed her hair back so that it rest against her shoulder blades rather than framing her face.

In order to get a weapon, she’d need a weapon’s store. In order to find a weapon’s store, she’d need to find someone who knew the area. Alright.

Lips pursed and gait strong, Asuka took a few big steps towards the first person that caught her gaze, stopping them in their path without much thought to her actions.

“You!” The next words were caught in her throat for a moment before she spoke again, “Do .. do you know where a store that sells weaponry is?”

Actually, she felt a bit foolish asking. But what must be done, must be done. And if she were lucky maybe they’d offer to train with her. … Not that she’d trust them, of course. It wouldn’t be wise to trust anyone here. It’d just be a good opportunity to test out her new weapon — and hey, if she K.O.’d them in the process, bonus.

Unfortunately Fuyuki City didn’t come with it’s very own Dogma Terminal where she could suit up and be fitted with appropriate gear for the situation. She’d have to figure this out on her own. It wasn’t like she could depend on her mediocre hand-to-hand combat skills and Prana-spending abilities forever— what if she were to run out of Prana in the middle of battle? One must always be prepared for any situation.

As she awaited the person’s reply, Asuka balled up her fists on her hips and looked away, swallowing and turning ever so slightly red in the cheeks. It certainly felt like she was one of the very few naturally under-powered Servants in this city.

However, for someone with an appearance such as his, there was no way of hiding his unique appearance in broad daylight other than wearing a long cloak. His build and his height were above average so if he didn't wear that coat that covered his features and the mask that he had never once taken off, his identity as a Servant would become more than obvious.

Still something he wasn't expecting happened. Someone stepped into his path and demanded an answer to a most uncommon question. Without raising his head from the hood, Death replied with a gruff voice that sounded like that of an aged man.]

And tell me young girl. What do you need those weapons for?

[Death knew how fickle was the human's mind and that it wasn't really impossible for young girls to be murderers or even suicidal, but Death had a feeling that this girl's intentions were not the completely either of those. Times were dangerous for the citizens of this town might be concerned for the recent attacks that the town had been undergoing, most probably by the fights between Servants so if they tried to get any sort of weapon for self-defense was also an possibility.

That should be enough hamburgers for one day.. Well, yes she did leave with one in her hands, but after that she’d have no more. Having spent nearly 12 hours in that fast food restaurant had attracted far too much attention, which her master likely wouldn’t approve of. As such, Arcueid was forced to leave for the evening and tend to herself. What would she do? Where would she go? Nothing and nowhere. She merely went where her feet took her and not much else. Fear of being attacked? Not entirely. She was confident that she could escape if it came to that. That and her normally horrendous fighting strength was boosted by the night. from 3% to 30% power, she was feeling good about her chances. Even though 30 had been her standard strength prior to becoming a servant.

She’d lost herself in idle thought. Once she paid attention to her surroundings she found that she’d strayed quite a ways away from the heart of the city. This was.. some sort of factory? Or was, at least. It didn’t look to be in working condition. Probably set to be demolished some time in the future. Fuyuki City was always looking to expand, after all. Crimson orbs remained fixated upon the building before turning towards something. There was a sound.. Like breathing. And surely enough, there was the silhouette of a person. And this feeling emanating from him.. It was clear he was no regular bystander..

“*much munch* Are you perhaps.. *munch* a servant?”

I am, same as you. But you seem awfully relaxed after coming all the way here.

[Another thing that came to his mind was the fact that this Servant had come alone. Usually a Servant who wasn't of the Archer class wouldn't be wander that far away from their Masters unless they were ordered to fight and so far the woman's intentions were far from clear so Death decided to give it a push and see how she reacted.