Good Afternoon All!

A thousand pardons for the late upload! I was out of town for the 4th visiting family, then work was unusually busy this past week.

I noticed this past week that this story just topped 100,000 hits! I'm truly humbled by your attention, and hope to be worthy going forward. While I initially considered having a fun chapter, I decided instead to cut to the chase and have some action.

As always, positive (or at least neutral) reviews are welcome, I like to hear where you guys are at. As I have mentioned before though, PLEASE do not announce to the world if you are leaving the story because one minute detail is not to your satisfaction. I have read many disappointing stories before that I never trashed in the reviews, to me it's just common courtesy for what you have enjoyed it thus far. Just move on to the next story and find what hits your fancy better. I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but it is really annoying when it happens so I make a point to ask people to please refrain.

But enough of that, your patience must be rewarded!

Please ignore any errors you come across, and as always please do enjoy yourself!

Sasuke calmly watched from the top of the hill as the two church maidens fought for their lives.

As soon as the enemies had boiled out of their stronghold where the shards were being held, Sasuke informed the girls that he would assist when needed and left them to it. Irina had watched in shock as he utilized a shunshin to perch on a nearby hilltop and observe; Xenovia was less reserved as she swore and summoned Durandal.

"If we die out here thou will not receive a penny from the church coffers!"

As the two girls began to engage the mob in swordplay, Sasuke dispassionately scanned the crowd of rabble for any leaders.

He frowned.

To have such riffraff guarding valuable artifacts spoke to something else entirely. Either this whole setup was a trap of some kind, or the artifacts had already been moved to a more secure location.

Suddenly a leering figure emerged from within the mob that was significantly different from the rest of the grunts. Whereas the other traitorous exorcists had standard issue light weapons, this man wielded a sword that was truly beautiful to behold. Sneering at his compatriots, the man began to engage Xenovia in a rather impressive duel. The undisciplined rabble stopped fighting Irina and crowded around the two combatants as they went at it, forming a makeshift circle as bets were placed.

Sasuke was impressed by both of their swordsmanship, though the man clearly had multiple advantages. Despite her skill, Xenovia was still young and seemed to lack much actual battle experience.

This was not the case with the exorcist.

The man moved with the grace of a seasoned fighter, though he refused to take debilitating blows on the girl. If Sasuke had to guess by the small wounds on Xenovia, the man was the type that enjoyed toying with his prey rather than overwhelming them. It was a bad habit that led to the premature death of many ninja; sadists that got off on killing opponents slowly usually lost to more disciplined squads that killed their opponent quickly and were ready for the next attack that was undoubtedly forthcoming.

Xenovia was lathered in a mix of sweat and blood from a multitude of small cuts as she grimaced in pain and redoubled her efforts, managing to open up a small wound on the exorcist's face. The exorcist's eyes blazed as he gestured with the sword in his hand, causing a glow to appear on the blade briefly even as Xenovia began to wildly swing around as if she was attacked from all sides.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and activated his dojutsu.

Ah, it appeared to be some form of magic that created a perfect illusion on the target. Xenovia had no way to tell the real Exorcist from the many copies she was currently fighting. As the tired Xenovia began panting heavily and slowing, Sasuke knew it was time to intervene.

A shunshin took him into the middle of the circle, his eyes blazing as his dojutsu remained active. The crowd of bloodthirsty thugs roared in approval as Sasuke crossed blades with the exorcist in a shower of sparks, new bets being placed quickly.

"Tch, just when I was about to deal with that slut good and proper! You damn interloper, i'm going to ram your own sword up your ass after I have some fun with that little bitch on the ground there!"

Sasuke's eye twitched in distaste. Apparently the exorcist's name was "Freed" given the general chant of the surrounding crowd. If not for his passable swordsmanship, the man would have been a dead ringer for another foul mouthed troublemaker that had been a pain in Konoha's ass many years ago. Hopefully this man would be far easier to kill than that one had been.

"Your form is not bad, but I've seen better."

Freed's face contorted in fury as he made a gesture with the sword, causing it to light up again. His speed instantly increased, even as the sword began to deliver incredibly powerful blows. Dodging one such attack caused an explosion to form as the blade touched the ground, blowing up a few of the betting exorcists.

The circle drew back a considerable distance after that.

Enhancing his blows with chakra a bit more, Sasuke smirked as Freed disappeared from sight and reappeared behind him. Freed growled in frustration as his blade was effortlessly blocked even as he attempted to hit Sasuke's blind spot from behind.

"That sword makes up for your lack of skill, but a weapon does not a warrior make."

Freed's veins bulged as he swore profusely, causing his blade to dissapear from everyone's sight as he attacked with blinding speed. The crowd gasped as Freed's blade completely dissapeared, causing the man to grin in triumph as he swung the invisible blade at Sasuke's head.

There was a soft thump as the confused face of Freed Sellzen stared out sightlessly from a spot of grass next to Xenovia, as if his separated head was morbidly trying to catch a final glimpse of his torso some yards away.

The crowd muttered to themselves as Sasuke flicked his blade clean of the exorcist's blood.

"He depended far too much on that blade to win fights; without it's abilities he was merely a passable swordsman."

Sasuke leveled his full killing intent on the nearby crowd, causing all but the staunchest veteran's to pass out or fall to a knee.

"Would anyone else care to try their luck? Anyone still breathing is free to leave, though this is a one time offer. Anyone who is not over that hill by the time I finish checking Freed's pockets, stays here permanently."

There was a mad dash from the remaining troops as Sasuke reduced his killing intent enough for them to flee.

Snorting in amusement, Sasuke turned to the shell shocked church maidens.

"I believe that sword is what you came here for, is it not?"

Irina was first to recover herself.

"Indeed Sasuke-san, it would appear that they fused the shards together into a very powerful weapon. We will have to take this back to the church for further study."

Sasuke nodded and turned to see Xenovia's furious face glaring at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"How is it thou art such a peerless swordsman? You appear to be the same age as I, and I have studied the sword my entire life."

Xenovia took a step towards Sasuke in aggression as he looked on in amusement.

"How is it that you were able to defeat Freed Sellzen, a master swordsman of the church, while he was wielding a nearly completed Excalbur!"

"Xenovia, peace! Surely you would not assault the man that just saved your life!"

Xenovia looked at Irina like she was insane.

"Assault him, are you crazy?!"

Xenovia bowed to Sasuke in a full seiza, her forehead touching the ground.

"Master, please accept this worthless student!"

"Xenovia! What would Griselda say?"

Xenovia snorted.

"She would beat me black and blue if I didn't beg to become his student. You haven't studied the sword as much as I Irina, you cannot fully appreciate what you just witnessed."

Sasuke looked at the kneeling girl in amusement; it was funny how her formal and archaic speech seemed to lapse at times.

"As I have told you before, I do nothing for free. I already have my plate full with other students and upcoming events that demand my time. What do you offer in exchange for my teaching?"

Xenovia met his eyes unflinchingly.

"My body; I am young and reasonably attractive, my strength will only grow with time. Our children will be very strong."

Irina looked like her face was about to turn purple.

"X-x-xenovia! H-have you no shame whatsoever!"

Sasuke clinically examined her; Xenovia did have a point. As he had noticed earlier at her visit to the Occult research club, her assets were quite impressive and her hair gave her an exotic look that was not unappealing.

Sasuke cracked his neck as he gazed out into the distance, lost in thought. The girls shifted uneasily as the silence dragged on unabated for a solid minute.

"Very well; it seems that this life has led to many surprises, including the adoption of strays. I will draw up a contract for you within the week; I assume that you will need time to inform your superiors of your decision and to return the sword?"

Xenovia got up from the ground in glee, nodding enthusiastically even as Irina rolled her eyes in the background.

Sasuke grimaced as he stretched from the impromptu fight. The girls chatted animatedly about the sword as they walked in front of Sasuke, heading back the way they came.

Sasuke frowned to himself.

This whole thing stank. With all the resources a group like this had, why would they leave something they went to so much trouble to acquire virtually undefended? Obviously it was not an ambush, considering no massive wave of reinforcements had come in to save Freed. The artifacts had not been moved, the girls were able to verify fairly quickly that the sword contained all of the missing fragments, though they were still unsure as to how they had been combined together once again.

This left a single explanation, assuming that the thieves were not just lucky on the theft or somehow incompetent as all hell despite the odds.

As if hearing his inner conjecture, the pendant that Sona had given to him months ago warmed and began to generate a teleportation circle. Sasuke had just enough time to see the surprised faces of Xenovia and Irina whirl around before the teleport activated.

Sasuke immediately unsheathed his katana and activated his dojutsu as he burst out of the teleportation circle. Looking around grimly, Sasuke surveyed the area that had once proudly housed Kuoh Academy. It looked like a bomb went off, the building were all either completely destroyed or on fire.

Sasuke immediately spotted a small desperate group of devils that was attempting to hold off a much larger force of fallen angels.

"Sasuke-san!"

Sasuke whirled to see a disheveled Sona creeping out of the rubble, her matching pendant dissolving as she coughed up blood.

Sasuke gently lowered her back to the ground as more blood pooled from a wound in her stomach.

"As soon as you left yesterday, they attacked. It's like they were waiting for you specifically to leave the area! Fortunately, they did not count on my having a powerful pendant that allowed you to be summoned back through the barriers they placed to keep out all interference. Even the strongest magic has problems against contract fulfillment."

Sasuke grimaced; the conclusion that the entire theft and subsequent treasure hunt was a lure turned out to be completely correct. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure he was occupied when they made their move.

"Why though? What would this group gain by destroying a high school?"

Sona chuckled briefly, causing her to wince in pain.

"For all your unusual experience and intelligence, I sometimes forget your ignorance with regards to our politics, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke raised an unamused eyebrow in silent question.

"I can't be sure, but I would guess that this attack is either to claim Rias and myself as a hostage, or to spark hostilities between the factions once again. Considering their heavy handed tactics, I believe we can safely rule out the first possibility."

Sasuke turned to survey the battle.

"I take it then that you summoned me here to dispatch the invaders, thus using up your favor in the process."

Sona's gaze was ice cold.

"Give them no quarter Sasuke-san; they attacked with lethal force and have destroyed my beloved school. They WILL pay for their lack of judgement!"

Sasuke locked eyes with Sona and nodded once, a magical force binding him even as he accepted the terms of the favor.

Using a shunshin, Sasuke blurred to the thick of the battle and began eliminating rank and file fallen angels left and right. Working his way to Kiba, the two went back to back as they faced the horde of fallen together.

"Didn't think you were going to make it in time Sasuke-san! Glad to see you prove me wrong." Kiba panted out between blows.

Sasuke smirked.

"Looks like you were doing pretty well without me, though your parry still needs some work. When I give the signal, I want you to teleport to the safe house underneath the school."

Kiba frowned.

"I respect you Sasuke-san, but I won't leave my team to die while I flee to safety!"

Sasuke's hand was a blur as he bonked him on the head mercilessly.

Kiba winced in pain as he continued fighting.

"Was that really called for Sasuke-kun? We are fighting for our lives here."

"Then stop asking stupid questions; do you really think I would have you abandon my potential future fiancee or the rest of your team while we escape to safety? I need room to work and your team will only get in the way right now."

There was a tense moment as the two continued fighting back to back before Kiba replied.

"Very well Sasuke-san, I shall await your signal."

Kiba activated sword birth with a roar as he charged back into the crowd, using his knightly speed to stab his opponents indiscriminately.

Sasuke found Lione fighting with Akeno and Koneko, the three struggling to hold back the bulk of the fallen forces as Rias and an injured Sona dueled their stronger lieutenants in the distance. Lione's training shone through as he brutally dispatched multiple opponents, often times teeing up a magical attack from Akeno or an enhanced blow from Koneko.

Sasuke conveyed the same message to them, reassuring them he was on the way to inform Rias of the change in battle plan. Lione was obviously NOT happy at having to leave the battle early, but Sasuke's evil eye eventually convinced him. The few times he had ignored that look in training he had paid dearly for it, and no one ever said that Lione was a slow learner.

Sasuke blurred in a shunshin as he appeared next to Rias and Sona, quickly decapitating one of the lieutenants they were fighting in a rush of speed.

"Sasuke-san!" They inadvertently chorused in obvious relief.

Sasuke inclined his head to them briefly.

"Time is short; when I give the signal, I need all of you to teleport to your safe house. I know you have one that is located far underneath the school; I would suggest using that one to avoid the teleportation block that is stopping your brother from entering Rias."

The two nodded wearily in relief.

"We would have teleported to it already, but with no one to keep them busy they could have cast tracking spells and found us in minutes. I know brother has every troop he can muster attacking the barrier, but it is incredibly strong. I cannot imagine the resources behind this attack, considering that barrier is strong enough to keep out multiple Super class devils if we assume that Leviathan is present as well."

Sona nodded.

"I have no doubt that she is here; this energy disturbance can no doubt be felt even from the Underworld, and her protectiveness of me is at least equal to your brother's."

Sasuke casually strolled towards the bulk of the fallen as he called back over his shoulder "Get ready!"

Sona and Rias began powering up their teleportation circles even as Sasuke blurred to the center of the fallen's ranks a few hundred yards away, surprising quite a few of the grunt troops.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A deafening crescendo arose as the wall of force expanded outwards, crushing the fallen troops not fast enough to escape. Surveying the field, Sasuke was glad to note that all of the peerage members were able to escape, leaving him alone on the battlefield with an army of angry fallen angels and no support until the barrier was overcome.

Sasuke gave a thirsty grin as he surveyed the horde of fallen troops baying for his blood.

This could get a little messy.