〖Reason 3〗
|| He's Officially Homeless ||
"With each drop of blood we spill, we wash away the sins of our fathers.
There is so much sin... and we have so much more blood to spill."
-
It was thanks to her intelligence that she had survived this long in a world where her kin was widely despised, oftentimes hunted down like dogs and executed without a just hearing. But today, as she groggily woke up from her deep sleep, feeling the aching spreading through her entire body, her hazy vision slowly focusing at the stone bricks reflecting the orange glow of a candle situated next to the bed she was resting, Rias learned it wasn't her intelligence that saved her.
"You're finally awake," greeted her hunter-turned-rescuer, "That didn't take long…"
Rias managed to catch him checking his watch, leaning by a wall, hands crossed, both his hood and mask still up.
She grunted as she tried to sit up.
"Expected you'd be out until morning. You Devils are, as they say, 'built different', eh?"
"Some, not all," she corrected, clutching her stomach, wincing, hurting. Pain, pain, pain — their sting was all she felt as she forced herself to sit. Even getting up to sit felt like like someone stabbing her again. A sensation she wasn't keen of getting familiar with.
The thin blanket rolled off her chest, and catching sight of her bra and the fresh bandages around her stomach told her enough of what had happened when she was unconscious. She pulled the sheet to cover her chest out of dignity rather than embarrassment. She wouldn't mind showing a bit of skin to court favor, but her royal blood demanded her to retain a semblance of decency and consideration to her stature.
"Where… are we?"
"Florence. A mansion now a rickety shed. It'll be some time before the patrols start sniffing around old rickety sheds," he said lightly, nudging his hooded face towards the bedside table. "Though I wouldn't count on it."
"I see…"
"Drink up. You sound like you just swallowed a toad."
Her face frowned at that. "...A charmer, aren't you…?"
That must be the first time anyone outright told her that she had just swallowed an amphibian because of how hoarse her voice was. In her estate, the housekeepers would've run straight at her, ready with all sorts of medicine and a glass of the freshest water. Lately, however, Rias had learned to settle for less.
She drank from the water bottle anyway, screwing it shut and letting it sit on her lap.
And proceeded to groan as she held her head.
The stinging pain finally made themselves heard again. Her body was screaming. Her shoulder felt like it was being prodded by a blazing metal rod. Then the nausea, the headache, and all sorts of discomfort that made her regret waking up.
But even being in this pitiful state, a lady mustn't forget her manners.
"Thank you," she whispered, clearing her throat. "For helping me."
He glanced at her. "Hm?"
"I'm in your debt," she added. "...Nnh…I…hope you don't intend to ask for a settlement just yet…"
"Yeah. We agreed that it can wait," he told her, taking a seat at a chair across the bed, sitting backward. He slung his arms atop the headrest and rested his head there to stare at her.
He was inspecting her, she realized. Skimming over her body, making her feel even more fragile than she already was. Still, Rias had anticipated this outcome. No men, more so an established Devil Hunter, would willingly help a Devil pro bono. And after all, albeit jokingly, she did offer herself as a reward.
