Training

"I'm sorry Strada-san. but if I don't know the reason of your visit I cannot allow you near Asia." He did not seem to have ill intentions, but I could not allow him near Asia before making sure.

"Oh sorry. I forgot to explain. I am here to help miss Argento there. I heard that she was banned from the church for curing a devil with the sacred gear so I came here to make sure she was safe. " He said while smiling. So he was not here to exorcise the witch or something. I could feel it from his aura that he was not lying. Just by looking at his face he seemed just like the gentle old man next door.

"He says so Asia. What do you think? Do you want to talk with him." She seemed a little hesitant but in the end nodded.

"Well then Strada-san, come inside. Nice to meet you. I am Kurokawa Haru, a friend of Asia. " I said while guiding him inside.

" Thank you. " He said while entering inside.

We gathered all in the living room. Thank god this house is really big.

"May I offer you something Strada-san. How about some coffee. I've got Italian brands too." I could not leave my house without coffee. I asked Rias to bring me some from Italy. In my last life I needed at least 3 coffee cups every day. I'm pretty sure as an Italian he would appreciate it.

"Oh, thank you. I will take one." He said smiling amiably. I don't know why but talking to him reminded me someone. I still did not understand who. I left them alone and went to make the coffee and take some sweets. After some minutes I came back with the coffee and sweets for everyone else. Especially for Koneko. I don't know where she puts that insane amount of food she keeps eating.

When I arrived he had already started talking to Asia. It seemed that he really came to help her. The most strange thing was that Rias and the others seemed to recognize him. And from their reaction he probably was a formidable exorcist during his prime.

"Here, Strada-san. May I know how do you intend to save Asia? As you can see she is fine. Do you want her to go back to the Vatican?" When she heard me say that, it was brief, but she seemed a little sad. Did she not want to return?

"Honestly I came because I was worried for Argento. I still did not know in what situation she was after the church banned her and marked her as a witch. If she wishes to come back, then I will make them accept her, but she seems to want to remain here. I guess she has find a place that gives her happiness." He said while drinking some coffee.

"This is a good one. I could not feel difference from the ones I had in Rome." He said. I was a little happy for that. Here no one seems to appreciate good coffee.

"Thank you. Asia, if you want to remain here, just say so. I will take care of you until you will want to leave. " I really meant what I said to her. I was going to take my responsibility until the end. Since I saved her from becoming a devil, I would guide her until she was able to find something she wanted to do. In that instant she broke down in tears while smiling. It was such a strange scene.

"What is it? Did I say something that hurt you? Are you okay?" I really am not good with people who cry, especially women.

"No. No. I was just scared that you did not want me anymore, now that you are going out with Akeno. I was happy to hear you say that. Thank you Haru -san." I am really a failure as a friend. I have been passing too much time with Akeno and Rias and so in turn I ended up neglecting her.

" How is it possible. I am your first friend, remember? If I do not give you enough attention next time, come and tell me directly. I will do my best to avoid it though. " I patted her head while talking. I felt like I had gained a little sister.

"It seems like she wants to remain here. Thank you for coming here just to make sure she was safe, Strada-san." I said to him, while bowing.

"It's fine. It was our fault after all. Well then, I will excuse myself now. I managed to see the new wielder of Durandal too. " He said. The person he was looking at was Xenovia. This old man must be really strong. She seemed to respect him very much. She seemed like a little girl meeting her idol. But she did not try talking him. Was she still ashamed because once she was a member of the church too? It was in this moment that I had an idea. Wasn't he just what I needed right now? A human who seemed to have broken his limits. Someone who had managed to become such a monster even without cultivation. He was the perfect teacher. I needed to ask him to teach us. At least for some time. The only problem I had was how to convince him. In that moment I realized it. It was very simple what an old warrior would want.

"Strada-san, may I ask you something?"

"Do tell me, young man."

"Since the first time I saw you, I could feel from your aura that you are very strong. That's why I want to ask you if it would it be possible for you to train us. For at least a month?" Just like I expected he did not seem very excited at the idea. He was part of the church after all. Why would he help the devil faction grow stronger. But I had something that he and the church would both desire.

"Of course, I am not asking you to train us without compensation. You see, I am very proficient in senjutsu. Mine is a little special compared to the others though. I could make you gain your strength again. Make your body younger and even grow your lifespan. Would you not be able to save more pious believers from evil creatures. I do not believe that just by peace your services would become unneeded. What do you say?" I must say that if I were at his place I would jump at the offer. He still seemed hesitant though.

"I can show you a part of it, if you still can't believe me. " At my offer he nodded. I got near him and activated the life ki inside my body. Golden flow of energy started crawling around his body, covering him completely. I started by rejuvenating his body. From the skin to the single cells. I made sure every part of his body started going back in time, to a better form, to his prime body. In about an instant I had already made his body younger. I think it's at least 20 years younger, but still his death would be the same. If I did not recover his lifespan then he would still die. I think in this world it's not only the body that has some sort of expiring date. To truly prolong his lifespan I needed to make his spirit recover too. I could feel that his soul was very weary, different from the power I could feel from his body. He could feel the changes in his body too, so the surprise in his face was expected.

"I will agree to your conditions, young man. I could feel that you did not try to turn me into something else. Thank you, for giving this old man the possibility to keep fighting for our Lord." He said so while praying.

"But I cannot teach you the secret techniques that I learnt in the Vatican. I can only show you some directions in your training. In your case, I think I could become a sparring partner. For the young lady there I could show her how to use Durandal since heavens allowed her to keep it." He said while pointing to Xenovia. She seemed excited and ashamed at same time. Being trained by her idol and some doubts about her decisions were twirling in her heart.

"Good enough for me. Well then allow me to show you your room, Strada-san." I said while walking to the second floor. In that moment I felt a shift in space and a familiar aura. Exasperated I turned toward the shift and while he was materializing I said.

"Is it so difficult using the door, Azazel-san?"

"You know, in this moment my spectacular surprise appearance was ruined." He really appeared when you less expected him.

"Oh, I can see you already met Vasco Strada. I forgot to tell you guys that he was coming. Oh, I forgot to notify you about my appearance too, ahahah."He started laughing. It really was not a laughing matter. If it was the past me, I would have attacked Strada-san without think too much about the consequences.

"Yes. He is going to remain for some time to help our training."

"What? I was supposed to become your clubs advisor? How did things evolve like this?" He seemed shocked at the situation.

"You can still teach us too. I have some good idea in the artificial sacred gear creation. It's a method only I can use though. It would be nice if you could help me. " He seemed even more surprised at my words.

"What? Why didn't you say so from the beginning? Let's go. " He started dragging me away.

"Wait. Wait. I must accompany Strada-san at his room first." I said, running away from him. His reaction was a little creepy. I felt like an animal that was about to be dissected.

After that we started our training with Strada-san and Azazel. He could do everything, from teaching sword arts and holy swords handling to Kiba and Xenovia, to teaching fist arts to Koneko and helping in the improvement of Rias and Akeno's demonic power manipulations.

In my case it was something more practical. It was just fighting with him everyday. He banned me from using my body refining art too much, because it would cause my body to develop wrongly. My body needed to be broken in a more natural way. I think he intended that I should use my muscles to the limit not break them in a relaxed position. The way I was using improved my constitution but did not help me gain explosive power.

And so here I am. Another day of beating by Strada-san. I lunged myself forward applying shave and moon step at the same time. Just when my fist was about to hit him, he just used his massive hands to catch my fist. It was not that he was much stronger than me, but he was able to use it better. I had predicted that and in that moment I twisted my arm still clenched in his hands and kicked him in the head.

As if that was still within his predictions he parried it with his left arm, but the power behind my kick still managed to make him back away. The moment my left arm broke free, I made it heal immediately with my life ki. Just like that I kept attacking him. The moment he grasped my leg, I just broke it. I was scared that time my leg detached from my body. In that moment I thought that I had become a cripple, but it grew back in an instant. Since that time I used every part of my body like it was a disposable container, but I still avoided breaking my head. Our battle become a bloody one. My body kept pushing his limits. Every single part of my flesh and spirit was put under extreme pressure. But I still kept moving forward. This pain was nothing to the pain I felt when I realized master had died because of me. I prefer being the one receiving the pain than dealing with the loss. It still kept haunting me every night. But I could feel it. the void he left behind was being slowly filled by the people around me. Thanks to them, I avoided being just a bloody avenger who had nothing in his life apart bitterness and anger.

"I think this is enough for today, young man. My body can't recover like yours. No matter how many time I see you fight I still am not able to get used to it." He said. I could see that his body had accumulated wounds too, so I went and made him recover with my life ki.

"Now I think we can keep going." The moment I said that he looked at me incredulously, like I was some monster wearing human skin.